5 Best Auteur Animated Movies With 90% & Higher on Rotten Tomatoes, Ranked
All of them not only entertain, but also make you think and feel.
Auteur animation is a unique genre in which the director becomes the sole creator of a universe in which every frame bears the director's personal imprint.
Unlike studio blockbusters, auteur animations are not subject to marketing laws and are not afraid to be strange, philosophical, or overtly personal.
5. 'Mad God', 2021
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
The plot follows a nameless man who finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by terrifying creatures, such as living dolls and monsters with giant heads.
As he walks from one location to the next, the protagonist witnesses the insane reality of genocide and suicide.
Mad God takes viewers through every circle of hell, slowly plunging them into an abyss of violence. Body horror, dark psychoanalysis, and theological themes intertwine in this movie, which will keep you up all night.
4. 'I Lost My Body', 2019
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Naoufel lives in Paris and works as a courier, however, he's not a very good driver and often gets into accidents. One day, during a downpour, his moped breaks down again, causing the pizza he's supposed to deliver to cool.
When Naoufel finally dials the correct number on the intercom, he realizes that the opening mechanism is broken. A customer named Gabrielle answers, but she is unable to open the door and pick up the pizza.
Trapped between the downpour and the sealed door, the weary courier begins to retrieve the pizza slices while talking to Gabrielle over the intercom. Meanwhile, somewhere in a Parisian laboratory, a severed hand escapes to find its body.
3. 'Flow', 2024
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
People are gone, leaving only their handiwork behind. Now, the space belongs to a nameless black cat who seems to genuinely enjoy his solitude: he studies his reflection in the river and skillfully hides from the dogs.
Everything changes, however, when the land ceases to be a safe place and is covered by water. The cat finds refuge in a small boat already occupied by an unflappable capybara.
Soon, the duo is joined by a lemur, a secretary bird, and a Labrador retriever who has strayed from a pack of mischievous dogs. Together, they must sail hundreds of miles before land appears on the horizon again.
2. 'Wolfwalkers', 2020
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 99%
Robyn, a young rebel, moves with her hunter father from England to a small Irish town. Their mission is to deal with a local pack of wolves that is preventing humans from conquering the surrounding lands, as ordered by the Lord Protector.
One day, Robyn meets a girl her age named Mebh in the forest. It turns out that there are wolfwalkers, people who can transform into wolves at night, living there. Trusting Robyn, Mebh explains why the wolves remain in the forest, risking their lives in the process.
The problem is that Mebh's mother recently disappeared, and without her, the pack can't move. Robyn must now help her new friend and convince her father that the wolves pose no threat – they simply want to find their missing family member.
1. 'Mars Express', 2023
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
It's the year 2200. The emotionless human detective Aline and her robot partner, Carlos, are investigating a series of strange incidents. On Earth, a jobless hellhole, the duo catches a hacker who reprograms robots, freeing them in the process.
Meanwhile, on Mars, a new utopia for wealthy citizens, Aline and Carlos search for a missing student whose roommate was brutally murdered.
These two seemingly unrelated cases are actually connected and are just small parts of a corporate conspiracy that threatens to undermine the harmony between humans and robots.
