10 Animated Movies with Distinct Art Styles
- Jun 7, 2024
- 13 min read
TL;DR
Not all animated films have the same styles — and that’s what makes them unique.
Technical limitations can become creative strengths: Films such as Yellow Submarine and Belladonna of Sadness turned limited animation techniques into defining artistic choices.
Animation style inspiration can come from anywhere: Oil paintings, comic books, watercolour illustrations, and surrealist art movements all influenced the visual storytelling behind these animated films.
Inspiration for animation style can come from anywhere: The movement, colour theory, framing, editing, texture work, and environment design in these movies all offer practical lessons for developing an original animation art style.
Modern animation continues to evolve: Movies like Paprika and Loving Vincent show how unconventional production techniques can completely reshape how audiences experience animation.
Table of Contents
Why Art Style Matters in Animations
There is something special about sitting down to watch an animated movie and realising that what you are watching is one of a kind. Animation gives artists total control over everything on screen — the colours, the shapes, the textures, the way light falls, the way characters move. When that freedom is used well, it results in something that feels less like a movie and more like stepping into a living, breathing painting.
Animated movies are one of the most expressive forms of visual storytelling. Their art style becomes one of the biggest reasons why certain animated films stick with you for years. It is the thing that makes one film feel dreamy and gentle while another feels electric and chaotic. It can make a world feel cosy and familiar or strange and completely unlike anything you have seen before. Some films go soft and painterly; others go loud and abstract, and both approaches can be just as powerful depending on how well they are used.
This list brings together ten animated films with visual styles strong enough to stand on their own. They come from different countries, different eras, and different schools of thought about what animation can be. Some might already be on your watchlist; others might be new to you entirely. Either way, whether you are looking for something new to watch tonight or hunting for visual references for a creative project, this list is a solid place to land.
10 Animated Movies with Unique Art Styles
1. Yellow Submarine
Release date: July 1968
Genre: Jukebox Musical
Animation method: Traditional animation (Limited animation)
Country of Origin: The UK
Director: George Dunning
Rated: G
This animated jukebox musical of the same name as The Beatles' album — Yellow Submarine — undertakes the surrealist style of psychedelic animation, the zeitgeist of its time in the ‘60s. The film’s distinct visual identity was shaped by art director Heinz Edelmann, whose bold and flat designs defined its look. It follows The Beatles and their departure on a Yellow Submarine to save an underwater city.
The movie took full advantage of the benefits that come with animation, playing with colour, shape, and texture to produce a mind-bending piece that was only bound to do well with the pop culture of its time.
Being a jukebox musical, it alluded to and played songs like “Hey Bulldog” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, which appropriately are of the psychedelic rock genre. This affirms that the style in this animated movie was an exploration of art.
Despite the hallucinogenic implications of the movie itself, it was "a smash hit, delighting adolescents and aesthetes alike", according to time.com. The reuse of character frames, thoughtfully chosen yet playful colour schemes, and a unique approach to storytelling ensured there was enough entertainment for the whole family.
The animated movie with unique styles is set in the fictional city of Pepperland, where the antagonistic, music-hating group called the “Blue Meanies” causes a blockade. The Mayor’s pleas cause The Beatles to step in to free Pepperland.
Inspiration Takeaway: Notice how Yellow Submarine uses limited animation deliberately. Reusing character frames isn't a shortcut here; it's a stylistic choice that reinforces the film's surrealist, dreamlike quality. If you are an aspiring animator, you can learn that technical constraints can become a defining feature of your art style, and what feels like a boundary can end up being the thing that makes your work recognisable.
2. Isle of Dogs
Release Date: 23rd March 2018
Genre: Dystopian, Comedy-drama
Animation method: Stop-motion animation
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Wes Anderson
Rated: PG-13
Wes Anderson’s second approach to stop-motion animated movies was the critically acclaimed Isle of Dogs. Through exploration of Edo-period aesthetics, washed-out colours, and gritty sets, the movie follows a 12-year-old Atari in a dystopian Japan. Set as a tribute to Japanese aesthetics, Anderson’s eye for Edo-period symmetry, texture, and restraint runs through every frame.
The animation starts with Atari’s dear dog being exiled to Trash Island by an authoritarian mayor, with themes of corruption and isolation driving the movie and its narrative forward. This stop-motion animated movie was made up of puppets, handcrafted sets, and VFX. Additionally, to stay true to the vision that Anderson had, artists created miniature after miniature instead of modern workarounds.
There were "about 250 sets” used in the film, as Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Tim Ledbury stated in an interview with VFX Voice. The resulting quality stood out among the popular animations of its time, of which most were 3D/CGI animations.
Inspiration Takeaways: Isle of Dogs is a masterclass in world-building through texture and set design. Every detail—from the fur on a puppet to the grain of a miniature table—contributes to the film's aesthetic. For aspiring animators, this is a reminder that your environment design is just as expressive as your characters.
Related to stop-motion animated movie: 5 Stop-Motion Animations You Shouldn't Miss
3. 9
Release Date: 3rd September 2009
Genre: Science fiction
Animation method: 3D animation (CG)
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Shane Acker
Rated: PG-13
'9' is a science fiction animated movie based on the short film of the same name. It’s a CG-animated movie, like most modern-day ones are, but it still stands distinct.
There’s something about the world of this film that’s hard to shake, and it was more than enough to keep audiences watching. It’s set in a steampunk, post-apocalyptic landscape where the ragdoll ‘9’ plays the titular character of the film.
The animated movie is centred around the idea of a man-made apocalypse, exploring themes of humanity, nature, and machines. Plot-wise, it’s linear; 9 dolls set out to save the world, and they do so by retrieving a talisman, effectively bringing life back to the planet.
Inspiration Takeaway: Even within a familiar CG format, '9' proves that a distinctive visual identity can carry an entire film. The steampunk aesthetic and organic design show aspiring animators that strong character design and world atmosphere can carry a story on their own.
4. World of Tomorrow
Release Date: 22nd January 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Animation method: 2D animation
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Don Hertzfeldt
Rated: G
The World of Tomorrow is an avant-garde sci-fi animated movie that can only be accredited to Don Hertzfeldt. It’s a short film that takes place in a world of colour and stick figures. The dreamlike backdrops are hard to summarise in a single phrase, as the hand-drawn short is bizarre and unpredictable in its art.
In an interview with The Dissolve, Hertzfeldt shared that he took inspiration from “covers of old pulpy sci-fi novels”, emulating their “strong solid colour(s)” and “mysterious geometric shapes” in this work.
The simplistic nature of the stick-figured characters works to not overwhelm the audience. Their thoughts and emotions are mirrored in the expressive backgrounds they settle in. The classic technique is supported by pathetic fallacy, rendered through tablet-drawn environments, making up for the subtleties in facial expressions they may lack.
This 2D animated movie depicts ideas of time, youth, and space. These themes were reflected through Emily and the meeting of her adult clone as they travelled to distant futures and moons.
Inspiration Takeaway: World of Tomorrow challenges the assumption that technical complexity equals artistic impact. Hertzfeldt's stick figures strip character design to its most essential form, then compensate with expressive backgrounds. As an animator, you should note that sometimes simplifying your character design lets your environment and storytelling breathe.
Relevant article: The Role of Animation in Video Game Development: Trends and Techniques
5. Angel’s Egg
Release Date: 22nd December 1985
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Animation method: Cel animation
Country of Origin: Japan
Director: Mamoru Oshii, Yoshitaka Amano
Rated: Not Rated
This 1985 surrealist anime is one of the most cryptic films ever made. Released as an OVA with a limited theatrical run in Japan, it was a financial failure that left director Mamoru Oshii without work for three years. It was only through bootleg copies and fan communities in the West that the film slowly found its audience. Forty years later, it was featured at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and received a 4K restoration.
The ambiguous tale follows a girl, her egg, and a soldier in a post-apocalyptic world. It has little to no dialogue, forcing audiences to focus solely on its art direction and music.
It's a cel-animated film that borrows elements from Catholicism and science fiction fantasies. The inspired world uses contrast with the unnamed, pallid girl and dark settings around her to recreate what can amount to 71 minutes of an aghast fever dream.
Inspiration takeaway: Angel's Egg shows how powerful storytelling can be without relying on dialogue. Almost everything is carried through visuals—the lighting, framing, mood, and even the quiet moments.
For more similar sci-fi animation explorations, you can also read 8 Sci-Fi Animation Masterpieces to Watch.
Loving Vincent
Release Date: 12 June 2017
Genre: Historical Drama
Animation method: Oil Painting, Rotoscoping
Country of Origin: Poland, United Kingdom
Director: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman
Rated: PG-13
The world’s first fully painted feature film, Loving Vincent, was animated by trained painters rather than traditional animators. It took the team 6 years to complete it with 125 painters.
The film’s storyboard was created with Van Gogh’s painting in mind, with a few alterations other than the change of weather and time. The frames were painted and photographed with a total of sixty-five thousand paintings that were produced for the film.
One of the few animated movies about art specifically, Loving Vincent, was a brave and risky move by Academy Award-winning Producers, Breakthru Films and Trademark. The film won the Best Animated Feature Film Award at the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin.
Inspiration Takeaway: Loving Vincent redefines what an animation pipeline can look like. For aspiring animators, this is a reminder that your medium is part of your message. Consider which unconventional technique best serves the story you want to tell.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse and Across the Spider-verse
Release Date: Spider-Man (Into The Spider Verse) - 1 December 2018
Spider-Man (Across the Spider Verse) - 30 May 2023
Genre: Superhero
Animation method: Combination of 2D, 3D and CGI animation
Country of Origin: United States
Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson
Rated: PG
Wanting viewers to feel like they stepped inside a comic book, the Spider-Man films highlight Miles Morales, who definitely gave that in his movies.
The production team wanted to adapt 70-year-old comic art techniques for the film, adding to the list of animated films with a unique style.
It also took inspiration from Hayao Miyazaki’s films and the 1988 Akira movie, with artists working on 2D animation over CGI-rendered frames. Their technique improved further in the sequel film, showing an even more unique take on an animated movie.
The Spider-Verse films bring together years of animation technique and show what the medium can do when those ideas are pushed to their limit. Their inspiration, ideas and innovative approach to this Spider-Man film are beyond words. A clear sign of what animators are capable of.
Inspiration Takeaway: The Spider-Verse films are arguably one of the most interesting animation-style inspirations of the past decade. It’s how the team assigned each Spider-person a different frame rate, line weight, and colour treatment, making the animation style itself a form of character design.
Related article: 5 Animated Movies that Combine Multiple Styles
Akira
Release Date: 16 July 1988
Genre: Cyberpunk Action
Animation method: Cel Animation
Country of Origin: Japan
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Rated: R
A cel-animated cyberpunk film hand-painted across over 160,000 frames, using 327 colours — 50 of which were created just for the film. Akira was not only an award-winning film but also left a legacy that boosted the popularity of Japanese animation globally. If you have seen a scene of a motorbike sliding sideways to bring it to a halt while leaving a trail of smoke and sparks (peek at the image above), that was the origin of it.
The influence of Akira goes far and wide. Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto has said that the series would not have existed without Akira. Not because of the art style, but because of a single poster. As a middle schooler ready to give up on drawing, Kishimoto saw a poster for Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira and stared at it for over an hour. That moment brought him back and eventually led to Naruto.
Called the Akira slide, this action has been widely referred to in many works of animation, movies, television series and video games.
Inspiration Takeaway: Akira set the benchmark for what hand-drawn action sequences could achieve. For aspiring animators, the lesson here is in its movement—fluid, weighty, and kinetic—a standard that still hasn't been fully replicated. Study how Otomo's team used hand-painted backgrounds and high frame rates to give every scene a sense of visceral momentum.
Paprika (2006)
Release Date: 25 November 2006
Genre: Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller
Animation method: Traditional animation, CGI
Country of Origin: Japan
Director: Satoshi Kon
Rated: R
Paprika is a Japanese animated film directed by Satoshi Kon, praised by critics as his best work and a film that pushed what animation could do as a medium.
Produced by Madhouse, the film had a core team of around 50 animators working over two years. It blended traditional hand-drawn 2D cel animation with digital effects. The film currently holds an 87% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics applauding its visuals, ambitious storytelling, and dreamlike editing style. It has also been cited by filmmakers and animators for its influence on modern psychological and experimental animation.
The story follows a psychologist who uses a device that lets therapists step into people’s dreams. From there, things get wild—reality and dreams start to mix, with scenes full of moving objects, changing angles and visuals that smoothly turn into something else right in front of you.
Inspiration takeaway: This must-watch animated movie shows how scene changes and transitions can tell a story on their own. Kon uses every shift and visual change to reflect what the characters are feeling. Pay attention to how one image flows into another, and think about how you can use that kind of movement in your own work.
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
Release Date: 31 May 1973
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Drama
Animation method: Limited animation, Watercolour illustration
Country of Origin: Japan
Director: Eiichi Yamamoto
Rated: Not Rated
Belladonna of Sadness is a Japanese animated film that pushes the boundaries of what animation can look like. Rather than relying on fully animated sequences, the film uses a series of watercolour illustrations that pan and zoom across the screen. It’s a technique born out of budget constraints but executed with such artistry that it became its defining feature.
The result is something closer to an animated painting than a traditional animated film. Its psychedelic, Art Nouveau-inspired visuals have the sweeping lines, richly detailed backgrounds, and bold use of colour, making it one of the most visually distinct animated films ever made.
Though largely overlooked on release, it has since been recognised as a landmark in animation art style experimentation, later restored and re-released to critical acclaim.
Inspiration Takeaway: Belladonna of Sadness is a reminder that inspiration for animation style can come from fine art traditions just as readily as from other animated films. Its watercolour technique shows aspiring animators how limiting your motion can intensify your visual impact.
If you’re currently working on your animation projects, TESSR helps creative teams manage scenes and feedback in one place.
What Makes Animation Styles Distinct
Animation styles are shaped by the choices an animator makes. The way characters are drawn, the colours used to set a mood, how movement feels, and the overall world of the animation. The animation art style is personal, and what feels distinct to one person may read differently to another. But what tends to connect with a wide audience usually comes down to the same thing: a balance between creative vision and technical craft.
A distinct animation art style covers both emotion and technical skill. An animation project doesn't have to stay in one lane to tell its stories. Studios have shown this over and over, from the bold colours of 90s anime to the mix of 2D and 3D in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which gave rise to a whole new style: 2.5D. We believe that the creative ground in animation keeps moving.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does animation style affect storytelling?
Animation style affects visual storytelling in terms of setting the mood through complex shapes or colours to convey to audiences the themes of a story. There is more freedom when it comes to using animation compared to live action, as experimental attempts can be done without needing a physical actor to express them.
Why do unique animation styles matter in storytelling?
This is because visual effects are a lot more powerful than we think. It creates immersion and mood and gives animators creative freedom, too. Take Loving Vincent, for example. Its unique approach of creating the movie frame by frame using oil painting captures the essence of Vincent Van Gogh.
Audiences not only learn more about the famous painter but also gain insight into the emotions he expressed through his artwork, conveyed more powerfully through this animated film.
What are the types of animations out there?
There are four foundational types of animation — traditional, 2D digital, 3D CGI, and stop-motion — but the full picture is much wider than that. Hybrid and experimental techniques like cel animation, motion graphics, mixed media, and claymation are all distinct types in their own right. Each with their own look, process, and creative possibilities.
Some films push even further. For example, Belladonna of Sadness used watercolour illustration, while Loving Vincent was painted in oil, frame by frame.
Which animation method is the hardest?
While all forms of animation art styles are difficult in their own way, stop-motion animation would be considered the most detailed and careful method of all. Every frame has to be physically set up and shot one image at a time. Each tiny movement done by hand, over and over again, until the whole thing comes together.
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