Animal Characters
This Spotlight focuses on movies featuring animal characters, including live action and animation, and ranging from documentaries to realist drama to fantasy. These films provide a unique perspective on our world, showing how animals interact with each other and with human society.
Cow
An empathetic portrait of the life a dairy cow on an industrial British farm.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Andrea Arnold
- Cast Lin Gallagher
- Genre Documentary
- Available on MUBI, Sundance Now, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
Kedi
This documentary looks at the thousands of free-roaming cats in Istanbul, Turkey, showing the city through their perspective.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Turkey, United States • 2017
- Director Ceyda Torun
- Cast Bengu, Deniz, Duman, Gamsiz, Aslan Parcasi, Psikopat
- Genre Documentary
- Available on YouTube Premium, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Okja
A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend — a massive animal named Okja.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea, United States • 2017
- Director Bong Joon Ho
- Cast Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Byun Hee-bong, Steven Yeun, Lily Collins
- Genre Action, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Shaun the Sheep Movie
Shaun the Sheep and his flock must rescue their farmer, who's lost and suffering from amnesia in the big city.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France • 2015
- Director Richard Starzak
- Cast Justin Fletcher, Omid Djalili, Richard Webber, Kate Harbour
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Family
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Plex Channel
Paddington
A young bear travels to London and moves in with a human family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, United States • 2014
- Director Paul King
- Cast Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin, Madeleine Harris, Julie Walters
- Genre Adventure, Comedy, Family
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Starz, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Starz Apple TV Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Amazon Video
White God
(Fehér Isten)
A girl and her dog are separated and must each deal with their harsh situations, culminating in a canine revolt.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Hungary, Germany, Sweden • 2014
- Director Kornél Mundruczó
- Cast Zsófia Psotta, Luke, Body, Sándor Zsótér, Thuróczy Szabolcs, Lili Monori
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, FlixFling, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla
Ernest & Celestine
(Ernest et Célestine)
When mouse Celestine meets bear Ernest, they overcome their learned animosity by forging a life of crime together.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium, Luxembourg • 2012
- Director Benjamin Renner
- Cast Anne-Marie Loop, Lambert Wilson, Pauline Brunner, Patrice Melennec, Brigitte Virtudes, Léonard Louf
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Tubi TV
The Rabbi's Cat
(Le Chat du rabbin)
A rabbi in 1920s Algeria attempts to teach his cat about religion after it gains the ability to speak.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2011
- Director Joann Sfar
- Cast François Morel, Hafsia Herzi, Maurice Bénichou, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Daniel Cohen, François Damiens
- Genre Animation, Comedy
- Available on OVID, Fandango At Home, Apple TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
A Cat in Paris
(Une vie de chat)
A girl's cat lives a double life working with a burglar, putting the girl in danger.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2010
- Director Jean-Loup Felicioli
- Cast Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Bernadette Lafont, Oriane Zani, Patrick Ridremont
- Genre Animation, Comedy
- Available on Fandango At Home, Apple TV, Tubi TV, Hoopla
Ponyo
(崖の上のポニョ)
A fish makes herself human to return to a boy on land, but she must fix the disastrous consequences of her magic.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2008
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, George Tokoro, Tomoko Yamaguchi, Yuki Amami, Kazushige Nagashima
- Genre Animation, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Kes
A working-class boy, miserable both at home and at school, finds refuge in learning falconry.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 1970
- Director Ken Loach
- Cast David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland, Brian Glover, Bob Bowes
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV
Au Hasard Balthazar
(Au hasard Balthazar)
In the French countryside, donkey Balthazar experiences different sides of human nature as he is passed from owner to owner.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Sweden • 1966
- Director Robert Bresson
- Cast Anne Wiazemsky, Walter Green, François Lafarge, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Philippe Asselin, Pierre Klossowski
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video