Almost one in four adults regularly watch children's animated content, including family films and cartoons, and more than a quarter of them do so without any children present, according to survey data cited in a new roundup of 2026's best animated films. Studios in Russia and abroad are releasing dozens of animated projects this year, from new musical hits to original indie work and sequels to established franchises.
Fans of Frozen 3 and Shrek 5 will have to wait until 2027, but 2026 still brings new adventures for the Three Bogatyrs, Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear, Mario and the cats of the Hermitage Museum.
Pixar and Disney sequels
Hoppers, a Pixar feature for Walt Disney Pictures directed by Daniel Chong, creator of the series We Bare Bears, premiered worldwide on February 28, 2026, and holds a Kinopoisk rating of 7.5. It follows Mabel, a curious student and wildlife activist, after scientists develop technology that lets human consciousness inhabit robotic animals able to communicate with real ones. Mabel transfers her mind into a robot beaver to try to save a wild area her late grandmother loved from a new mayor's highway plan, and must learn the hierarchy and rules of animal society from the inside. The filmmakers originally planned to put Mabel in a penguin's body but switched to a beaver, reasoning that penguins already dominate animated films.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic and Pierre Leduc, opened worldwide on April 1, 2026, and carries a 6.6 Kinopoisk rating. The sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie finds Mario, again voiced by Chris Pratt, and his brother Luigi facing a new threat: Bowser Jr., the son of the imprisoned villain Bowser, who is meant to be undergoing rehabilitation. Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, a squad of Toads and Yoshi set off on an interstellar journey to stop him.
Swapped, from director Nathan Greno, premiered on May 1, 2026, and has a Kinopoisk rating of 8.0. In a valley where predators and prey have kept an uneasy truce for centuries, a small forest creature named Ollie, voiced by Michael B. Jordan, has spent his life hiding from a bird of prey named Ivy. A magical event traps the two enemies in each other's bodies, forcing Ollie to see the world from the air and Ivy to live as the creature she once hunted. The swap threatens the valley's fragile balance, and the pair can only reverse it by learning to cooperate. Greno previously directed Tangled (2010).
New Russian releases
Koschei: The Secret of Living Water, directed by Roman Artemyev, opened in Russia on May 28, 2026, with a Kinopoisk rating of 8.0. The sequel to Koschei: The Abduction of the Brides follows the folklore villain, voiced by Viktor Dobronravov, after 300 years of searching finally finding his bride, Varvara, only for a conspiracy to put her in danger as their wedding is being prepared. Koschei, joined by an animated gingerbread man called Kolobok and a hero named Yelisei, sets off to find the living water needed to save her.
Hermitage Cats 2: The Secret of the Egyptian Hall, directed by Vasily Rovensky, premiered in Russia on March 26 and has a 7.9 Kinopoisk rating. Two years after the cat Vincent and the mouse Maurice saved the Hermitage from the theft of a touring Mona Lisa, Vincent is now raising two kittens with his mate Cleopatra, while the restless Maurice still craves adventure. Maurice discovers an ancient papyrus map leading to an Egyptian genie hidden in the catacombs of Luxor, a genie who grants only one wish every thousand years, forcing the pair into a new quest and a test of rivalry between them.
Cinderella: The Secret of Three Wishes, directed by Vladimir Sakov, opened in Russia on April 9, 2026, and holds a 7.5 rating. The Russian reworking of Charles Perrault's fairy tale, with a fantasy twist, follows Cinderella after her father's death as she lives under a harsh stepmother, sustained by her friendship with a woodcutter named Severin who dreams of fame. When Severin angers a magic tree and is turned into a talking chipmunk, Cinderella must meet the tree's condition to restore him while also trying, against her stepmother's wishes, to reach the royal ball meant to pair her stepsister with a shallow prince.
Trucks, bogatyrs and other Russian titles
Truckers, directed by Dmitry Grachev, premiered in Russia on April 30, 2026, with a Kinopoisk score of 6.9. The first film in a new Russian franchise clearly inspired by Cars follows Sanya, a teenage dump truck who dreams of becoming big and powerful while living a sheltered life with his parents in a stone quarry. After meeting a veteran cement truck and a cheerful water-sprinkler truck who show him the wider world, Sanya must unite with his new friends when a volcano near the quarry threatens everything he has come to love.
Three Bogatyrs. Not a Day Without a Feat 3, directed by Ekaterina Salabay and Anna Mironova, opened in Russia on June 25, 2026, with a 7.8 rating. The third anthology from the long-running Melnitsa studio franchise about the heroes Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets tells three short stories: recovering a stolen wish-granting spruce tree for the Kievan Prince, freeing the horse Yuly from a love spell, and exposing an impostor angling for royal favor. Actors Oleg Kulikovich, Valery Solovyov and Dmitry Bykovsky-Romashov return as the three heroes, with Sergei Makovetsky voicing the Prince.
Family comedies
Charlie the Wonderdog, directed by Shea Wageman, premiered worldwide on January 16, 2026, and has a 7.5 rating. The film follows Danny, a shy nine-year-old who imagines himself and his dog, Charlie, as superheroes, until Charlie vanishes under mysterious circumstances and returns changed, having been abducted by aliens and given real superpowers. Danny and Charlie must then stop a neighbor's cat from seizing control of the world.
Legends, an adaptation of the French comic Les Légendaires directed by Guillaume Ivernel, premiered worldwide on November 9, 2025, and opened in Russia on February 19, 2026, with an IMDb rating of 5.9. The story follows five former warriors, Danael, Jadina, Gryf, Shimy and Razzia, who once defended the kingdom of Alysia, until a battle against the sorcerer Darkhell shattered a magic stone and trapped them in the bodies of ten-year-olds. Mocked and forgotten for years, they reunite when Darkhell rises again to seize a magical tree, forcing them to confront both an external enemy and their own childhood fears.
Toy Story 5 and other Hollywood titles
Toy Story 5, directed by McKenna Harris and Andrew Stanton, opened worldwide on June 19, 2026, marking 31 years since the original Pixar film and carrying a 7.5 rating. The story follows eight-year-old Bonnie, one of the few children who still plays with toys like Jessie and Woody rather than screens, until a smart, frog-shaped tablet called LilyPad captures her attention. Her other toys set out to prove that imagination and real play still matter in a world of gadgets.
Coyote vs. Acme, directed by Dave Green, premiered worldwide on August 20, 2026, and opened in Russia on September 10, 2026. The first feature film about the Looney Tunes character combines live action with traditional hand-drawn animation. After years of failed attempts to catch the Road Runner using faulty gadgets from the Acme Corporation, Wile E. Coyote decides to sue Acme for producing defective products. He is represented by an unlucky lawyer named Kevin, voiced by Will Forte, who faces off against a ruthless corporate lawyer, Buddy Crane, voiced by John Cena, turning the old desert chase into a courtroom fight between cartoon logic and real-world rules.
Still to come in 2026
Asterix and the Kingdom of Nubia, directed by Alexandre Heboyan, is due in French cinemas on October 14, 2026, and in Russia in December 2026. The first installment in the franchise to leave Gaul begins when a rare youth elixir accidentally ends up in the druid Panoramix's potion cauldron, turning the entire village into children. A young Asterix, voiced by Christian Clavier, and Obelix, who narrowly avoided the effect and is voiced by François-Xavier Demaison, travel to the distant African kingdom of Nubia to find the baobab seeds needed to restore everyone's true age.
Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight, is set for a worldwide premiere on October 23, 2026, and a Russian release on December 3, 2026. The dark fantasy, based on the trilogy by Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy, follows twelve-year-old Prue McKeel of Portland after a flock of black crows led by a mysterious woman named Alexandra abducts her younger brother, Mac, into an enchanted forest. With her friend Curtis, Prue journeys into a hidden world of talking animals to save her brother.
The Cat in the Hat, directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, is the first feature-length animated adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic and premieres worldwide on November 4, 2026. The Cat, voiced by Bill Hader, works for an institute devoted to imagination and is sent to cheer up siblings Gabby and Sebastian after a difficult move to a new city, only for the visit to spiral into a fantastical adventure.
Land of Wonders, directed by Denis Chernov, opens in Russia on September 10, 2026. From the director of the Smeshariki series and Finnik (2022), the film follows Philipp, a shy young artist who finds himself in a hidden magical world in the Siberian taiga populated by peaceful creatures called imors, only for careless human interference to put the world and its inhabitants at risk of destruction.
The Angry Birds Movie 3, directed by John Rice, is due worldwide on December 10, 2026. The third installment in the franchise based on the mobile game follows an older Red facing the challenge of parenthood alongside his usual world-saving duties, supported by his friends Bomb and Chuck. Rice, who directed the first film, returns, with a script by Turup Van Orman, who worked on the second installment.
Hexed, directed by Jason Hand, Josie Trinidad and Fawn Veerasunthorn, is scheduled for a worldwide premiere on November 25, 2026. The new Disney fantasy centers on Billie Dawe, an impulsive teenager struggling to connect with classmates, who discovers a powerful magical gift during an incident at school that accidentally opens a portal to Hex, a hidden realm of witches. Billie travels there with her mother, Alice, to uncover long-held secrets about her family's past.
