Has anyone noticed that Hulu has been getting a decent little collection of media together? They’ve been creating some original stuff, too, but in terms of established properties, the platform has a good bit of content, especially for fans of animation. 

Sure, they’ve got those Animation Domination shows like Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, and American Dad, but when you’re looking for animated feature-length films for yourself or the little ones, there’s a good selection here, and we’re going to talk about just a few of the best animated movies on Hulu right now. 

We will do our best to keep this list updated, since streaming services and property owners sure do like to change streaming platforms at the drop of a very heavy hat. 

Trolls World Tour (2020)

Alright. So. If you’ve read a lot of the other stuff we’ve written about here on the site, you’ll know that we tend to like more heady media, whether it’s animated or live-action. 

The Trolls film franchise, on the other hand, is not very heady at all. Each one still offers a good solid story, but these movies were not created to make you think, and that’s ok. 

We’ve seen all three of the Trolls movies by this point, though we’d have a hard time telling you what happened in the first two. 

But Trolls 3, also known by its real title of Trolls World Tour, is all about the rock trolls who want to make all trolls everywhere only play rock all the time because they like it or something and they’ve closed their minds to other genres.

Right away you can probably guess at the moral messaging of the movie: being ok is different and you should respect people who like and do and are different things. 

Again, nothing outstanding. Not a big Oscar contender, in our opinion. But the candy-colored visuals are lovely, even for grownups, and the music used throughout is trendy without being toooo current or out of touch with the sensibilities of the modern-day youth. 

Oh yeah, there’s also a whole section where the Funk trolls sing a song that’s kind of about cultural appropriation, so I guess it ends up earning the heady badge after all. 

Chicken Run (2000)

We were so very happy to discover that Chicken Run, the early-2000s stop-motion CLASSIC, is readily available on Hulu right this minute. And if it’s not anymore, we’re so, so sorry. 

This is a great movie. Chances are you’ve seen it already by now, but that doesn’t matter at all. Watch it again because you can. Get a friend’s Hulu login, tip-type the title into the search bar there and get whisked away to one of the most creative and bubbly (yet somehow weirdly grounded) animated movies of the last 20 years. 

Chicken Run comes from Aardman Animations, the studio responsible for Wallace & Gromit as well as the fantastic short-run series Creature Comforts. 

We follow a bunch of hens looking for a way to escape their imminent demise. That’s all we’re gonna give you. Sorry. 

Rango (2011)

Rango has gained an interesting reputation in the many years since its release. It was released toward the tail-end of Johnny Depp’s prolific period, but the real draw, at least for us, is just how great this movie looks. 

I mean, just go through the trailer. Look at that lighting. The character models are fantastic. They’re realistic while still having fun, exaggerated features. 

This is yet another animated feature where, sadly, the story isn’t the most compelling aspect. But if you want a fun movie that plays on plenty of Western movie tropes in a fun, kid-friendly manner, this is a great option, and it’s just sitting there on Hulu. 

Bolt (2008) 

Bolt is one of those Disney Animation features (NOT Pixar) that has mostly been lost to time, and it’s really not even that old. 

Standing out on a limb here: the voice acting isn’t that great. Sounds like one or more of the actors hired here maaay have been phoning in their performance just a bit. 

But it’s also a weird, fun story concept that works shockingly well. There are whiffs of Homeward Bound, but it’s really just a story about a dog who’s a TV star, who also thinks he’s much better at everything than he really is. Kind of like Buzz Lightyear, come to think of it. But after many trials overcome in America’s heartland, he realizes that being a dog, and nothing more, just might be enough. 

See? Hire us to write the back-of-the-box synopses. 

The Road to El Dorado (2000) 

The Road to El Dorado will probably always be remembered as that one Disney animated movie that isn’t actually a Disney movie at all.

But look at those character models. Look at how they move. And look at the story premise, whch takes an element of a foreign culture and makes it the basis for a movie about more familiar and relatable characters trying to mess up that bit of cultural heritage. 

This one just screams Disney Renaissance, does it not? 

But nope. This is a DreamWorks movie, which is really only tipped off to the viewer by some of the slightly more adult humor. 

No matter how you look at this one, however, it’s an impressive movie, and it works very well for anyone who has just gotten incredibly tired of watching Aladdin once a day, every day, for 10+ years. 

A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)  

You might have noticed that lot of the movies on this list are fairly recent, but here comes one right out of left field, a baseball position that Charlie Brown never played because he was always the pitcher for some reason. 

In fact, a baseball game is how this one starts off. After losing it, predictably, Charlie Brown begins one of his highly existential journeys to discover his value in the world, simply by trying to win one single thing, no matter what it is. 

We’re not here to give a detailed summary (Wikipedia has already done all that quite well for us), but this is definitely one of the Charlie Brown movies that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. 

It’s sad, bleak, and yet strikes at some core element of being a living person. It’s free on Hulu for the moment, but you should get to it before it has the chance to slunk away.