Within these next few months, there is a very exciting lineup of animated films suited for all ages that are coming to theaters near you. Here is a list of the five worth-the-wait animated films released in late 2022 and 2023 in order.
1.“Strange World”
Disney’s “Strange World” follows the well-known Clades family of explorers, who loves a good adventure. They join together on a mission to visit a mysterious planet called Avalonia and come in contact with extraterrestrial and fantastical creatures on the way. The voices of “Strange World”’s characters are packed with well-known stars such as Searcher/Father Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his wife (Gabrielle Union). The movie seems like a super intense, yet family-friendly action movie with super cute pets, characters and creatures. It has been highly anticipated these last few months and is said to gain influence from the adventures of the “National Lampoon” franchise, according to co-director Qui Nguyen in an interview with The Wrap.
“Strange World” will be released in theaters on Nov. 23. You can watch the trailer here.
2. “Avatar: The Way of Water”
This is easily one of the most anticipated animated movies and sequels within the past decade, and its release is finally approaching. The movie begins right where the first one left off, with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Ney’tiri (Zoe Saldaña) forming a family and living happily ever after. But eventually, their family must leave their comforting home to explore the rest of Pandora, leading Jake to be stuck having to fight in an unexpected war against humans. From the trailers and synopsis of the film, it seems to be a more battle-driven and suspenseful film than the 2009 original. Producer Jon Landau told Entertainment Weekly “Ultimately, the sequels are a story about family, and the lengths parents will go through to keep that family together and keep them safe.”
“Avatar: The way of Water” will be released in theaters on Dec. 16. You can watch the trailer here.
3. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
The “Shrek” franchise has fortunately decided that one spin-off tale of the infamous feline wasn’t enough. Puss (Antonio Banderas) returns after 11 years, this time with a serious problem: he has gone through eight of his nine lives as a cat of adventure and peril. This sequel follows Puss as he travels to the Black Forest to restore the lives he has lost and reminisces on the previous lives he took for granted. He risks his last chance at life to take back the ones he wasted through poker games, arguments and senseless quests. And the best part is, we see that his companion Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) stuck with him through the years and joins him on the journey.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” will be released in theaters on Dec. 21. You can watch the trailer here.
4. “The Amazing Maurice”
This film follows a mischievous ginger cat named Maurice (Hugh Laurie) who belongs to a boy named Keith (Himesh Patel) who isn’t nearly as streetsmart as Maurice. Maurice comes up with the perfect money making scam and creates a herd of talking rodents to help him on his lucrative journey. The group eventually runs into trouble- or in other words, runs into a book-loving girl named Malicia (Emilia Clark). It’s revealed Malicia might be smart enough to catch onto Maurice’s plan, possibly ruining their whole plot of scamming money from people on the street. From the looks of “The Amazing Maurice,” it seems like there is a lot of influence from the Garfield franchise despite it being based on a book by Terry Pratchett, but I’m not mad at it. It’s always fun following the lives of talking animals, and this movie is no exception. There hasn’t been much buzz about this movie but seems like it’ll be a good one and worth watching.
“The Amazing Maurice” will be released in theaters on Jan. 13, 2023. You can watch the trailer here.
5. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
This Universal Pictures movie follows the classic story of Mario and Luigi. A plumber named Mario (Chris Pratt) is set on a journey with his brother Luigi (Charlie Day) through an underground obstacle course world to save the captured Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). The movie seems to follow the original plot of the Nintendo games perfectly in terms of storyline and side characters. Universal is even working with Nintendo to make sure the score of the film will have a nostalgic and original feel. So far from what we are presented with, the animation looks out of this world, and anyone who is a fan of the game should be super excited about the release of this film
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” will be released in theaters on Apr. 7, 2023. You can watch the trailer here.
By Amena Ahmed