5 Best Animated Monster Movies to Watch With Your Kids on Cold Fall Evenings

5 Best Animated Monster Movies to Watch With Your Kids on Cold Fall Evenings
Image credit: Universal Pictures

They're sweet, charming, funny, and in no way frightening.

Animated films are not always cute stories about talking animals and princesses. In the world of animation, you can meet all kinds of monsters: and they are not always negative characters.

1. Monster House, 2006

A boy named D. J. lives in the suburbs and doesn't like his neighbor across the street – a nasty old man named Nebbercracker who swears, grumbles, and never returns toys that end up on his turf.

One day, the old man is taken to the hospital, but D. J. begins to believe that the house across the street still has a life of its own. Soon his fears are confirmed – the Nebbercracker House is indeed alive and very evil.

Monster House impressed a whole generation of kids growing up in the 2000s – and you can understand why. Here is an unusual concept of a living building and an interesting detective plot in the spirit of Stephen King: a group of children trying to understand a supernatural phenomenon and literally climbing into the mouth of a monster.

2. ParaNorman, 2012

A small town in Massachusetts is experiencing a zombie outbreak due to an ancient curse. People are in a panic, and only one guy named Norman is not discouraged. The thing is, he has long been able to talk to the dead. So the invasion is his chance to save the situation and tame the zombies.

Every animation from the Laika studio is worth cherishing and protecting – few other studios in the 21st century regularly make stop-motion puppet movies, especially with such attention to detail and such a level of production.

3. Luca, 2021

Luca is a small underwater monster who lives near the shore of an Italian seaside town. He has long dreamed of going to the surface and seeing the life of humans with his own eyes, but his parents strictly forbid him: after all, humans are dangerous to the inhabitants of the depths.

However, his curiosity gets the better of him when Luca befriends another teenage monster, Alberto. It turns out that when the monsters come out on land, they take on a human appearance – and only when they get wet do their scales reappear.

4. Coco, 2017

Coco is considered to be one of the best animated films of the 21st century. This is confirmed by numerous awards and the highest ratings. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an almost perfect score of 97%.

The plot revolves around 12-year-old Miguel, who lives in a Mexican village and dreams of becoming a musician. To meet his idol, singer Ernesto de la Cruz, the boy travels to the realm of the dead, where he meets the souls of his ancestors.

5. Igor, 2008

The movie tells the story of an evil scientist's assistant named Igor. He dreams of becoming like his boss, but during an experiment he accidentally creates a cute monster.

Despite the average box office receipts, the main character of the animation was so charming that he quickly made viewers fall in love with him. At the time of the film's release by the small Exodus Film Group studio, animation projects were still divided into two categories: children's and adult. Igor erased this division and proved that a good animated movie can give strong emotions to all members of the family.