10 Best French Animated Movies, Ranked (2024)

French cinema has always been synonymous with its increased focus on artistic merit, experimentation, and cinematic vision compared to films released in other areas of the world. These core aspects that have made French cinema a staple for so many decades also apply to the numerous creative and iconic animated films to be released by filmmakers in the country. More than any other individual country, French animated films have consistently told highly creative and provocative stories that strive to inspire and enlighten their audiences first, above all else.

The country has seen a wide variety of great animated films dating back to the earliest days of experimental animation, up until modern-day triumphs that use the extent of what's technologically possible. The extent of how excellent and iconic French animation is goes beyond simply the feature-length experience, with a number of great animated series and cartoons finding their origins in France. For as long as French cinema continues to inspire and evolve throughout the modern era, there will continue to be mesmerizing and groundbreaking French animated films.

10 'Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest' (2006)

Director: Michel Ocelot

Azur and Asmar: The Princes' Quest tells the story of Azur, a young Frenchman who was raised on the magical tales and stories of a Djinn fairy princess. Being inspired by these stories, he travels to North Africa in search of a magical creature known as the djinn fairy, entranced by the creature's ability to grant wishes. Azur soon learns that his childhood friend, Asmar, an Arab youth whose mother raised both Azur and Asmar, is on the same quest in North Africa.

Azur and Asmar makes perfect use of early 3D animation to create a visually entrancing and highly stylized fantasy adventure that, despite its incredibly low budget, still holds up visually to this day. The film could easily be seen as an early precursor to the modern craze of stylized animated films taking inspiration from 2D animation. The film also has a graceful and respectful understanding of all cultures explored within the film and comes across as a true love letter to mythology and fantasy, as opposed to simply using another culture's legacy for its own sake.

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9 'A Cat in Paris' (2010)

Directors: Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli

A Cat in Paris follows the story of a young girl named Zoe, who decides to follow the stray cat who often visits her family across the Paris rooftops to see what he gets up to when he isn't around them. This soon launches Zoe in the center of a thrilling crime mystery in the heart of the city, as he soon finds herself on the run only accompanied by the cat and new ally, Nico, after witnessing something she was never meant to see.

Especially in an era that was greatly defined and overwhelmed by 3D animation, A Cat in Paris showed that beautiful and mesmerizing 2D animation could still be made for the big screen. The film has a beautiful artistic style and aesthetic that makes every frame feel as if it leaped directly off of the pages of a children's book and onto the big screen. The visual style, on top of being a feast for the eyes, works wonders in furthering the film's themes and messages about childhood innocence and coming of age.

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8 'The Summit of the Gods' (2021)

Director: Patrick Imbert

The Summit of the Gods follows the story of a photojournalist on his obsessive quest to uncover the secrets and truth surrounding the first expedition to Mt. Everest. His quest leads him to search for an esteemed climber who supposedly went missing, as his journey has him make many self-discoveries that he never could have expected. As is the case for anyone who attempts the dangerous task of climbing Mt. Everest, the experience forever changes someone and their outlook on the world as a whole.

The Summit of the Gods combines breathtaking 2D visuals of luscious and glorious mountaintops with powerful themes of self-discovery and purpose to create a must-watch animated experience. The film takes a lot of inspiration and insight from Japanese animated films both for its visual style and its method of storytelling, creating a beautiful melding of French and Japanese cultures on display. The film is arguably the closest that another studio has gotten to achieving the tone and raw emotional energy of a Studio Ghibli film.

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7 'A Town Called Panic' (2009)

Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar

A Town Called Panic is a stop-motion animated film that was internationally co-produced by France, Belgium, and Luxembourg and follows the misadventures of a strange and colorful town. The town sports a wide variety of strange and quirky citizens, most notably a talking horse who lives with the chaotic duo of a cowboy and an Indian. After a birthday surprise for Mr. Horse goes wrong, the trio find themselves on a colorful and unpredictable adventure that goes beyond the confines of their town.

There is an overarching chaotic yet wholesome energy that looms over A Town Called Panic that makes the entire viewing experience highly entertaining, hilarious, and overall pleasant. The stop-motion animation and usage of everyday toys and figurines add to the chaos and insanity of the proceeding events, as the film consistently one-ups itself in unpredictability. The film is easily one of the most underrated animated movies from the 2000s, as it continues to delight and enchant audiences over a decade after its release.

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6 'Ernest and Celestine' (2012)

Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner

Ernest and Celestine follows the story of the unpredictable friendship that forms between the small mouse Celestine and the massive bear Ernest. Celeste is attempting to avoid a future with a dental career, and Ernest is craving an artistic outlet, despite their hesitant nature, the duo soon enough form a bond and liking for one another. Soon enough, the duo begins doing all sorts of things with each other, most notably, forging a highly successful life of crime.

While the wholesome and cartoonish art style may not initially seem to be a film about a dynamic crime duo, this juxtaposition of styles is exactly what makes Ernest and Celestine work so well. There is a great deal of inherent comedy to come from a crime story having the visuals and perspective of a watercolor children's book, but it's a surprising combination that does wonders for the story and characters. This more mature approach to storytelling allows for much more unexplored creative possibilities that are rarely seen in this wholesome art style.

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5 'The Triplets of Belleville' (2003)

Director: Sylvain Chomet

The Triplets of Belleville sees the grandson of Madame Souza mysteriously kidnapped in the middle of the Tour de France. To find him, Madame Souza and her dog Bruno seek the help of the Belleville Sisters, an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire, to rescue him. What results is a strange and otherworldly adventure through the streets of Belleville in order to find the missing grandson.

While there is an actual story at the center of The Triplets of Belleville, it primarily takes a back seat to the film's more prominent focus, which is the highly experimental animation style. The film is a feature-length showcase of some of the best and most creative animation of the era, displaying animation styles and character designs of all shapes and sizes that fully add to the world and atmosphere of Belleville. The film is also very sparse on actual dialogue, making it an incredibly easy and satisfying watch, even for viewers who aren't accustomed to foreign films with subtitles.

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4 'I Lost My Body' (2019)

Director: Jérémy Clapin

I Lost My Body follows the story of Naoufel, a young man who is embarking on his own story of young love with his person of interest, Gabrielle. At the same time, however, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find the body that it belongs to once again. Sure enough, these two stories soon find themselves intersecting, as it becomes more and more prevalent that the hand is searching for Naoufel to complete itself.

I Lost My Body is filled with a beautiful and artistic rendition of Paris, showing more than just the bright and bustling city through Naoufel's eyes, but the dark underground and sewers through the hand's perspective. The story is deeply layered with a multitude of powerful themes and symbolism, as it tackles several powerful themes about loss, coming of age, and powerful emotions that are both physical and mental.

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3 'My Life as a Zucchini' (2013)

Director: Claude Barras

My Life as a Zucchini follows the story of a young boy named Zucchini, who is dealing with an insurmountable difficult childhood following the death of his mother. He soon makes a new friend in the local police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home where he will live with a variety of other orphans of his age. While in the new orphanage, Zucchini can meet new friends and learn to trust and love once again as he searches for a new family to call his own.

While many casual audiences assume that animated movies are unable to tackle highly mature and depressing storylines and themes, My Life as a Zucchini is a showcase of exactly that. Written by the highly acclaimed Celine Sciamma, the film perfectly balances its animation-centric themes of coming of age and growing up with the harshest and most powerful hardships for its protagonist to overcome. On top of its beautiful and poignant story, the film also sports a distinct claymation style, with nearly every character design feeling distinct and memorable in its own way

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2 'Persepolis' (2007)

Directors: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis takes place in 1970s Iran and follows the story of young girl Marji as she firsthand experiences the hopeful and then exciting defeat of the Shah in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However, as she grows up, she sees that the new Iran isn't as hopeful and exciting as she was led to believe, as it becomes its own repressive tyranny against all that Marji stands for. As she attempts to grow up in this ever-changing new world, Marji gains a better understanding not only of the world but how she fits into the world as a whole.

While many animated films will tackle themes of coming of age and growing up, no film tackles these themes in such a dangerous and provocative way as Persepolis does. On top of its highly poignant and powerful themes and tone, the film has a beautifully simplistic black-and-white style that does wonders for the character designs, making sequences pop out to the audiences constantly. The film stands out not only as a great French animated film, but one of the greatest all-time modern Indie animated movies.

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1 'Fantastic Planet' (1973)

Director: René Laloux

Fantastic Planet follows the story of the planet Ygam, run by a species of aliens known as the Draags who are highly advanced both technologically and spiritually. The Draags continue their ongoing relationship with another species of the planet, the Oms, who they consider to be nothing more than ignorant animals, having them live in slavery or treated as simple pets for children. However, there is a secret underground group of Oms who live outside of civilization and in the hostile wilderness of the planet, as they find themselves periodically hunted and slaughtered like vermin.

There are simply no other animated movies quite like Fantastic Planet, from the distinct and instantly memorable visual style to the highly engaging yet terrifying premise and story. The film is easily one of the weirdest animated movies to ever be created, yet it creates such a mesmerizing and powerful experience that it's difficult to look away from the unfolding nightmare. The film stands out as one of the greatest cinematic achievements in animation, especially in such an early era for animation, creating something that had quite literally never been done before.

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NEXT: 9 Unique Animated Foreign Films That Aren't Studio Ghibli