2023 in Animated Features

2022 is over, and 2023 has begun! Warner Animation Group, the company behind The LEGO Movie, Storks, Smallfoot, and DC League of Super-Pets, won't release a new film this year, as they will be taking a break. Their next film is slated to be Toto, a Wizard of Oz prequel that will be released next year.

With all that said, let's have a look at what animated movies are coming in 2023!

In April, Illumination will release their first original film since The Grinch, The Super Mario Bros Movie. I loved both Trailers so far, and I'm hoping that this movie will pay a whole homage to the Mario franchise in the same fashion as The LEGO Batman Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. For the first time in years, I'm actually excited for an Illumination film.

There will be two films coming in June. First up on June 2nd is the long-awaited Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. This movie was supposed to be released back in October, but Phil Lord and Christopher Miller pushed it to June so they can make it the best movie it can be. Instead of Peter Ramsey returning to direct, this movie will be in the hands of Soul co-director Kemp Powers, Joaquim Dos Santos of Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra fame, and Cartoon Network and Sony veteran Justin K Thompson.

Next on June 16th comes the next film from Pixar, Elemental. In a city where fire, water, plant, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman named Ember and a go-with-the-flow guy named Wade are about to discover something elemental: How much they actually have in common. Peter Sohn, director of The Good Dinosaur and the short Partly Cloudy, will direct the movie. Something tells me, however, that this will also be changed to a Disney+ exclusive just like Soul, Luca, and Turning Red.

In July in France, Marinette and Adrienne will appear in their first-ever feature film, Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie. Fans of the French CGI series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir are sure to be excited about this film, even if some of them have to book trips to France themselves.

In August, the popular pizza-loving reptiles will return to the big screen for the first time in 7 years with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. Mitchells vs the Machines co-director Jeff Rowe will helm the project, and maybe it'll be a success.

In October, the famous preschool pups will return in an all-new movie with Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. When a meteor crashes into Adventure City, the pups are given superpowers, turning them into the Mighty Pups. The first Paw Patrol film managed to outgross Raya and the Last Dragon, and who knows? Maybe this one might earn more money than some of the other films discussed here!

There will be two new movies coming in November. First, on November 17th, Poppy and Branch will return for an all-new adventure with Trolls 3: Band Together. With the critical acclaim both The Bad Guys and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish are getting, DreamWorks might be entering a new golden age, and perhaps Trolls: Band Together will be the best Trolls yet.

Next, on November 22nd comes the next film from WDAS, Wish! From Tarzan and Frozen director Chris Buck, this movie will tell the story of the legend of the wishing star. And this will be on Disney's (the company, not the man) 100th anniversary to boot!

And finally, in December, comes another film from Illumination, Migration. In this film, a family of ducks try to convince their overprotective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime. As I'm typing this, there's no Trailer for the movie yet, but already, it sounds similar to The Croods and Finding Nemo.

Of all the new animated movies coming out this year, I'm most excited for The Super Mario Bros Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as well as Chicken Run 2: Dawn of the Nugget, which doesn't have a release date yet.

Once again, there will be more films than the ones listed here, but these were the ones I wanted to cover.

I'm sorry that there are no posters for Trolls: Band Together or Migration. As I am typing this, there are no posters or trailers for those movies yet.

On January 7th, WAG will be turning 10 years old, and on that day, I'll be talking about all 10 of their films so far and their production histories.