The Worst Animated Movies of All Time

In this Pixar film, vehicles not only have minds of their own, but in fact can drive themselves through a human-like world that is devoid of actual humans. This backstory oversight may leave viewers with some nagging questions: Who built these cars? These roads? Is this a post-apocalyptic future where the machines won? Watch the movie and you will be no closer to the answers.

Released during the dinosaur craze that brought us “Jurassic Park,” this attempt at a less terrifying dino flick follows a group of dinosaurs who end up lost in New York City after a scientist hires a time-travelling alien to give them an intelligence-increasing cereal and transport them to 1993. Understandably, the film received criticism for its convoluted plot and lack of character development.

Although young children may find joy in this simple film about an alien astronaut who is sent to earth to respond to an SOS call, their accompanying adults may do well to heed critics’ warnings about the lack of laughs that this frivolous comedy induces.

Although the original Japanese release of the first Pokémon film was positively received, the English-language version has been criticized for inferior voice acting. It has also received negative feedback for its contradictory anti-violence message. Pokémon are, after all, creatures whose sole purpose is to defeat one another in battle.

This 2007 CGI and live action movie is a reimagining of the 1958 story of three singing chipmunks with a human father-figure. To keep up with the times, the chipmunks perform rap and pop songs amidst scantily clad female chipmunks and conspicuously placed products. The film has received criticism for its shallow characters, sexism, and blatant consumerism.

Set during the WWII bombing of London, this sequel to “Peter Pan” follows Wendy’s pragmatic daughter Jane, who is captured by Captain Hook and can’t escape Neverland (or Never Land) until she starts believing in magic. Although the concept is well executed, the film has been called “dull” and “uninspired” for lacking the charm of the original film.

This frenzied reimagining of the fairytale “Henny Penny” adds baseball and aliens to the original story. While it may be entertaining to young children who are easily thrilled by its colorful chaos, critics have pointed out its poor plot and lack of comedic or intellectual substance.

This movie about a young, restless junkyard worker befriending an oil-guzzling creature from the netherworld received many scathing reviews. Revealing their lack of faith in the film, Paramount Pictures took a $115 million writedown against expected losses before the movie was released.

Shark Tale is an underwater gangster movie that was strangely marketed as a family film. Children may fail to make sense of the characters’ struggles with relationships, debt, and the dangers of the mob. They may also miss the dozens of inside jokes aimed at fans of the 1972 R-rated film “The Godfather.”

This sequel to the first “Goosebumps” feature film received criticism mainly for being a sequel, complete with all the second-rate qualities sequels are known for: lesser known actors, a lack of originality, and an inferior storyline compared to the first movie.

This film follows a young boy who shrinks himself and enters a magical world to save his grandmother’s home from developers. The combo live action and CGI movie was criticized for its inferior and stylistically disjointed animation, its lack of humor, and for the questionable romance between 10-year-old Arthur and an ancient (adult) princess, however animated they may be.

Despite its all-star voice cast, this horror comedy was poorly received and criticized for both its darkness and its lack of humor. With an unclear target age, the film may be too gloomy for young children but too vapid for adults.

This animated western flips the traditional cowboy script by highlighting the stories of the cattle rather than the wranglers. Although the soundtrack has been complimented, the film received mixed reviews for being too simple and dull compared to other Disney animated hit features.

With a critic score of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes, the English-dubbed version of the second “Pokémon” film — much like the first — received criticism for its voice acting. On the positive side, some critics noted that it was slightly better than its predecessor.

This live action and animated film follows a fearful boy who ends up in a fantasy world of literary characters where he learns that books can actually be fun. Roger Ebert called the film sad and dreary, and the animation dingy and unfocused, as if “glimpsed through a yellowing, dusty pane at twilight.”

A flashy animation about a small-town plane with big dreams and a fear of heights, “Planes” may be useful for distracting young minds so parents can get a load of dishes done in peace. Various Rotten Tomatoes critics have called it “boringly average” and noted its use of “wince-worthy ethnic stereotyping.”

It’s the same old story: boy hates vegetables and would rather read comic books than do his homework. Naturally, he’s grounded and hates his mom until something terrible happens to her and he realizes the importance of family. Only this time, the terrible thing that happens is an alien abduction. To quote film critic Roger Ebert, “if a movie is not about baseball or space aliens, and you have to use them, anyway, you should have started with a better premise.”

Although the animation and acting in this combo live action film has been commended, critics blame the script for leaving the actors nothing redeeming to work with — especially not the crude adult humor scattered throughout this child’s tale of a renegade rabbit.

Besides praise for the voice acting, critics had few compliments for this unfunny comedy starring bulls with udders. This anatomical blunder may in fact be the most noticeable aspect of the film, as the plot struggles to cohere into anything memorable.

“Strange Magic” is a fairytale based on a storyline by George Lucas, who wanted to create a “Star Wars”-like film for his daughters. Unfortunately, critics pounced on the film’s tired tropes, unoriginality, lack of humor, and strange, incongruous classic rock soundtrack.

“Planet 51” follows a human astronaut who lands on a distant planet and discovers a quaint 1950s-esque society of aliens who are terrified of…well, an aliens — in this case the human. Although the role-reversal concept is cute, it alone couldn’t float the movie, which was criticized for its stale storyline and predictable characters.

The first fully animated feature produced by Reel FX Creative Studios, “Free Birds” follows two time-travelling turkeys who head back to the Colonial era to ensure that their species never makes it onto the first Thanksgiving dinner menu. Despite generally negative reviews, the film was a Domestic box office success.

The second of three feature-length films about the mini, blue, magical forest creatures famous in the ’80s, this film has a score of 14% on Rotten Tomatoes — the second lowest for any film produced by Sony Pictures Animation. Critics were unimpressed with the movie’s fart jokes, slapstick humor, and overall lack of charm.

For a film based on a series of third-person shooter video games, it’s no surprise that critics cited “Ratchet & Clank”‘s lack of creative direction and originality. The action, however, is true to the roots of the video game franchise and may keep the attention of youngsters.

While some of the film’s voice and live action actors were praised for their performances, the first Smurf movie received lukewarm reviews for its generic storyline and for lacking much resemblance to the beloved Smurfs cartoons of the ’80s.

It’s admittedly hard for any 21st-century “Star Wars” movie to please fans of the originals these days, and this feature is no exception. The animation received much criticism, specifically for the characters appearing mechanical, with the stiff movements of marionettes.

Although some critics enjoyed “Valiant,” a story about carrier pigeons serving the Allies during WWII, many agreed that the film’s adult humor and war movie clichés would leave children more than a little confused. The voice acting, however, was generally applauded.

With a combination of CGI dinosaurs and breathtaking live action settings — filmed in New Zealand and Alaska — this film has been praised for its visual brilliance. Its script, however, which is dominated by tired wisecracks and fart jokes, left critics with a bad taste.

Produced and co-written by Adam Sandler, this holiday redemption flick has a 12% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics bashed the film for its crude potty humor, blatant product placement, and dearth of kid-friendliness.

The fourth and final installment in the Chipmunks franchise left critics grateful that it’s the last time they’ll have to listen to what Times (UK) critic Kevin Maher called “three enormously punchable helium-voiced rodents.”

“Collision Course” is the fifth installment in a once-popular movie franchise that saw its peak returns after the third film. With a reliance on potty humor and a boring plot, this movie left critics hoping that the Ice Age may finally be coming to an end.

This film about missing garden gnomes is a sequel to the 2011 film “Gnomeo and Juliet.” Despite vivid animation and a worthy voice cast, the film nevertheless failed to impress due to a convoluted storyline, tiring self-references, and a general lack of inspiration.

Following the trials of a selfish squirrel who destroys his town’s food supply, “The Nut Job” fails to infuse its central character with any redeeming qualities, leaving audiences bored with the cheap gags meant to float the film.

The second film in the Chipmunks franchise follows the three singing rodents as they navigate high school bullies, crushes, and a Battle of the Bands. The slapstick humor that drives the film might be all children need to stay entertained, but adults may need earplugs to make it through “The Squeakquel.”

This cyber action movie about secret-agent rodents failed to impress critics, who lambasted the film for its formulaic storyline, dependence on poop jokes, and generic, uninspired plot.

This film follows two incompatible wolves who must stick together in order to help their pack. Critics called it “unambitious” and “poorly written,” critiquing its predictable plot, which seemed to borrow elements from a handful of other movies, while injecting nothing original.

Nobody should expect to take a movie about chimpanzee astronauts too seriously, and some critics were able to get behind the constant monkey puns and hijinx in “Space Chimps.” Others were turned off by the banal jokes that seemed to be aimed at adults, but missed the mark.

Although critics praised the computer generated graphics — including impeccably detailed fur and realistic feathers — in this film about zoo animals who’ve escaped to Africa, many agreed that the characters and plot come off as a mere regurgitation of elements from previous animated features.

Take any well-known cast of characters, maroon them on a tropical island, and you’ve got yourself a sequel. This unnecessary third installment received worse reviews than the previous two Chipmunks movies, and has an approval rating of 12% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Although it featured excellent vocal performances by Bill Murray and Tim Curry as two look-alike cats, “A Tail of Two Kitties” received generally poor reviews. The best thing to be said about this sequel is that its runtime is under an hour and a half.

In this live action/animated feature, a washed-up Rocky and Bullwinkle are living on residuals after their show has been cancelled; luckily for the audience, their nemeses decide to stir up some trouble in Hollywood. The film received mixed reviews and was cited as having a few laughs, but not enough to justify the 92 minutes of screen time.

Although the first Garfield feature film received generally poor reviews, it was a success at the Domestic box office. The vocal performance of Bill Murray as the lasagna-loving cat may be the film’s greatest boon, as critics agree the movie won’t please anyone but the youngest of children.

This live action and stop motion animated feature has some striking and refreshingly bizarre visual elements, especially in the carnivalesque spirit world that the protagonist finds himself in while his body is in a coma. Unfortunately, the flat characters and juvenile humor led to a poor reception and the film flopped at the Domestic box office.

This film follows a feline spy who seeks world domination, causing the feuding cats and dogs of the world to set aside their differences to defeat a common enemy. Children under 10 might find the premise cute, but older viewers may cringe at first recognition of the villain’s name, which is a throwback to a certain James Bond character.

In this sequel to the successful 2005 independent animation “Hoodwinked!,” a mishmash of classic folktale characters are tossed into an action/crime story in which they can’t help but to make numerous pop culture references. Critics gave the film scathing reviews but praised the voicework of Bill Hader and Amy Poehler as Hansel and Gretel.

With a 9% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, this film about a talking Great Dane with a penchant for flatulence failed to impress critics. Fans of the comic strip on which the film is based may do well to stick to the funny pages.

This CGI and live action feature based on the classic cartoon about a hungry bear was met with negative reviews. The script, called humorless and bland, was criticized for giving the comedic actors nothing of value to work with. Justin Timberlake, who voiced Yogi’s sidekick Boo Boo, was however praised for his charming voicework.

“Cool World” follows a cartoonist who ends up sucked into a cartoon world. This live action/animated film has a fun concept that wasn’t properly executed. With a startlingly low approval rating of 4% on Rotten Tomatoes, critics acknowledged that although the film had massive potential and great actors on board, the storyline missed the mark.

This fairytale mashup received poor reviews and only a 4% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although some of the voice acting was commended, many critics claim that even the youngest of children won’t find joy in the lazy plot and outdated jokes.

A film that never should have been, “The Emoji Movie” features the floating emotive faces who live in the soulless cyber-city inside a cell phone. Even the concept deserved no more than a guffaw and a one-way ticket to the wastebasket. The talented voice cast could not save this film from itself.