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Animation as an art form has a history as long and complex as human storytelling– predating even the invention of television itself!
So to that end, we’re doing an “iceberg chart” style deep dive into the most amazing, important, but lesser-known and forgotten animated movies lost to time.
We’re not just talking about forgotten childhood cartoons but works of art that broke new ground and raised the bar in key moments in animation history.
The “iceberg” here refers to the rather elaborate meme format. It lists topics in descending order of obscurity, starting with ideas most novices would have at least heard of; but as you go “deeper,” they get increasingly fringe, where only the most hardcore enthusiasts know what’s up.
How many of these underrated animated movies and TV shows have you watched, or at least heard about?
Let’s take the plunge.
We’ll start off on easy mode with the tip of the iceberg, with animated movies and TV shows you have probably heard of.
These are the somewhat better-known masterpieces and cult classic animated movies and TV shows, that took huge risks and great leaps forward and raised the bar for the art form:
You can’t call yourself an animation fan if you haven’t at least heard of Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.
Widely considered one of the best animated movies of all time, the pure artistry of its hand-drawn 2D animation cannot be denied and cemented Studio Ghibli’s permanent status as a veritable god of animated storytelling art.
If you haven’t seen it, watch it for yourself and find out what all the hype is all about— and why it’s absolutely well-deserved.
Arcane is a visually breathtaking and emotionally gripping animated series that brings the world of League of Legends to life with a depth rarely seen in video game adaptations.
What sets Arcane apart is its jaw-dropping animation, blending hand-painted textures with fluid, cinematic motion, creating a world that feels both fantastical and real.
The storytelling is rich and nuanced, with complex characters, emotional depth, and moral ambiguity that elevate it beyond typical hero-villain narratives.
With stunning visuals, a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack, and masterful world-building, Arcane sets a new gold standard for animated video storytelling, captivating both League of Legends fans and newcomers alike.
The Iron Giant is a stunningly beautiful animated movie with a decidedly retro look, that tells the tale of an enormous giant robot with the heart of a child who comes to Earth.
Ultimately, he has to choose whether to become what he was built to be or choose to be who he wants to be.
For what is ostensibly a children’s movie, it packs a surprisingly heavy and mature message at the core of the story.
And it does this so well, that it’s one of those movies you point to when someone argues that animation is just for kids and cannot be a real artform– to prove them wrong.
It tops any Buzzfeed-worthy list of “hidden gem animated movies” for good reason.
And while it’s one of the best forgotten animated movies from its time, it’s certainly one you will never forget.
For me personally, the ending is seared into my memory. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Another animated masterpiece that seems to have been forgotten by modern mainstream audiences, Titan AE was an ambitious attempt at using 2.5D animation to tell a post-apocalyptic tale of humanity persevering even in the face of interplanetary homelessness.
The Earth has been destroyed (hence the “AE” in the title, which stands for “After Earth”) and humans have been reduced to galactic refugees struggling to survive and thrive.
As dire as it all sounds, the movie is heartfelt and shimmers with hope and positive energy, making it one of the best obscure animated films today.
The visuals and worldbuilding stand apart from the era, and the animation is simply stunningly beautiful, and not just for its time.
If you’re a GenXer, you probably grew up hearing people argue that “cartoons and comics are just for kids” and not adults.
Fortunately, that’s been proven wrong repeatedly— and Bojack Horseman is one of those examples of high-quality character animation aimed at an older audience.
It’s set in a world of anthropomorphic animal characters living alongside humans, but that’s where the fantasy aspect starts and ends.
The show deals with some heavy topics around mental health, trauma, depression, and healing, generously peppered with humor to balance things out.
The writing has been widely critically acclaimed and praised, and the show enjoys a fanatic cult like following— and for good reason.
Notable episodes to check out include Time's Arrow and View from Halfway Down.
Let’s deeper and explore lesser-known or forgotten masterpieces that accomplished big things in animation.
The Boondocks is another strange one. An anime-styled cartoon series about a black family living in a predominantly white suburb, and tackling themes of race relations and politics.
It doesn’t sound like it should work so well, but it does. Its sharp writing and contemporary themes make it a show of far higher quality than its popularity, making it an especially underrated series— and therefore, earns a place on this list.
A lesser-known part of the Matrix franchise, The Animatrix is a compendium of animation from wildly diverse creators, deftly hopping from one style to another, while exploring the background of the Matrix world and how it came to be.
The initial success of the franchise allowed the Watchowski sisters to have free reign and try things most Hollywood filmmakers would have never thought of, let alone asked studios for.
We see everything from hand-drawn 2D cel animation to detailed 3D CGI worlds.
And yet, rather than the styles clashing with each other or confusing the audience, it all fits together neatly like a stunning mosaic of storytelling and worldbuilding.
You wouldn’t think an animated show about Star Trek aimed specifically at children would be the latest breakout hit on television and streaming– but here we are.
Star Trek Prodigy has shocked everyone from die-hard Trekkies to total novices over the past few years, making it a truly unexpected sleeper hit.
While its sibling animated show, Lower Decks, has also earned unanimous praise from critics and even the most cynical Star Trek outsiders, Prodigy is notable for being explicitly a children’s show, as opposed to a broader adult audience like the rest of the franchise.
Santa Claus is hardly a stranger to animated film and TV.
But few renditions of jolly old St. Nick have been quite as heartwarming and visually stunning as Netflix’s Klaus, an animated film that reimagines his origins with a fresh, emotionally rich take.
The story follows Jesper, a spoiled and lazy postal trainee who is sent to the bleak, feuding town of Smeerensburg as a punishment.
There, he meets Klaus, a reclusive toymaker with a mysterious past.
And together, they inadvertently spark a tradition of gift-giving that transforms the town and ultimately gives rise to the legend of Santa.
Where Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away used 3D animation and made it all look 2D hand drawn, Klaus took the opposite approach.
Its stunning 2D animation uses innovative lighting and shading techniques to create a depth and texture while remaining reminiscent of classic hand-drawn animation.
The film balances humor, adventure, and heartfelt moments, delivering a story about kindness, redemption, and the power of human connection.
With a fresh perspective on holiday mythology, memorable characters, and a visually enchanting world, Klaus is a modern Christmas classic that resonates with audiences of all ages.
Now it’s time to take the plunge and submerge ourselves in the shows hiding beneath the glossy surface. Even lesser-known paradigm-shifters of their eras that pushed the limits of what animation is capable of. They include:
It seems unthinkable today, but there was a time when 3D graphics were still trying to find their place in film and animation.
There were the limitations of technology to contend with, and a lot of wild creative experimentation as filmmakers and studios were figuring out what was possible with this then-disruptive new format.
Disney’s Treasure Planet was a Herculean, ambitious effort at seamlessly blending 2D and 3D animation on screen, back when it wasn’t clear if this was even possible, let alone a good idea.
While there were some notable breakthroughs like Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which blended live action with hand-drawn cel animation, Treasure Planet was arguably an even bigger challenge.
This sci-fi retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island takes the classic beloved novel from the seven seas and flings it far out in deep space, with wildly imaginative worldbuilding and visuals for such a mainstream commercial project.
The animation was groundbreaking and innovative– because it had to be, as it was attempting things no one in film had done before.
Which makes it all the more impressive that it holds up even today.
The whole “aliens come to Earth and try to live alongside humans” is hardly a new theme by now.
But few shows go to the extent that Solar Opposites does, exploring both the social conflict as well as wildly imaginative hard sci-fi themes.
Created by Justin Roiland, co-creator of the critically acclaimed Rick and Morty, the series follows alien refugees trying to blend in with human culture.
One oddity is that everyone around him knows they’re a family of aliens, so there’s so much subterfuge here, just a bizarre clash of cultures that drives every storyline.
Think of the show as “Rick and Morty but with even crazier sci-fi” and you’ll have some idea of what it’s really all about. With themes of amoral scientific power running rampant, it’s equal parts hilarious and uncomfortable to watch; but for the most part, we mean that in a good way.
Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai is a visually stunning and thematically rich animated series set in Edo-period Japan, blending historical drama with intense action and a deeply personal story of revenge.
The series follows Mizu, a master swordswoman born with piercing blue eyes—a rarity in Japan, automatically marking her as an outsider.
Fueled by a lifelong resentment toward the foreigner who fathered her, Mizu embarks on a bloody quest for vengeance, navigating a world where honor, prejudice, and power dictate survival.
What sets Blue Eye Samurai apart is its breathtaking animation, cinematic storytelling, and unflinching portrayal of identity, isolation, and resilience.
The fight choreography is incredibly fluid and brutal, rivaling live-action samurai epics, while the narrative digs deep into themes of belonging, destiny, and self-determination.
With complex characters, a gripping plot, and a fierce, unforgettable protagonist, the series carves its own path as one of the most compelling animated shows in recent years.
The great thing about animation is that you’re not limited by your budget.
And by that we mean, you’re not constrained by practical aspects of production like limitations to your sets, special effects, or costume design. If you can imagine it, you can draw it and animate it.
And that’s where Scavengers Reign really shines. A spaceship crashes on a stunningly imaginative alien planet filled with beautiful and bizarre lifeforms, and the crew is increasingly haunted by visions and hallucinations that force them to confront their personal demons and past mistakes.
To say it’s visually stunning and unlike anything else on the screen, is an understatement. It should be seen to be believed.
Diving into the dark depths of animation history, we find some shining jewels of animation that stand apart from the rest.
They took bold risks, gambled with creative experimentation, and blazed trails into realms no-one had dared venture before– and they earned their places in history for it.
Liquid Television walked so that shows today like Love, Death + Robots could run.
MTV threw caution to the wind and platformed a carefully-curated kaleidoscope of the most bizarre, cutting-edge, avant-garde creations that the world of animation had to offer at the time.
It was like nothing that had ever been broadcast on such a huge mainstream network.
Watching Liquid TV was less like surfing Netflix today, and more like being dropped into an experimental film festival while tripping on acid.
Liquid TV also featured many creations that went on to get their own standalone shows and even big-budget Hollywood movie deals. Just to name a few:
The Midnight Gospel is an animated series that blends trippy, surreal visuals with deep philosophical conversations.
Created by Adventure Time’s Pendleton Ward and comedian Duncan Trussell, the show follows Clancy, a “spacecaster” who travels across bizarre simulated universes using his malfunctioning multiverse simulator.
Each episode drops him into strange, dying worlds where he interviews eccentric beings—who are often voiced by real-life guests—from a zombie-slaying president to a fish in a robot suit, discussing topics like spirituality, death, meditation, and the nature of existence.
What makes The Midnight Gospel stand out is its mix of mind-expanding ideas and hallucinatory animation. Conversations—pulled from Trussell’s Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast—flow naturally, often delving into existential themes while chaos unfolds on screen.
The final episode, a deeply personal exploration of grief and acceptance, cements the show as more than just a visual spectacle—it’s a profound meditation on life itself.
To call it one of the most underrated animated TV shows of all time would be an understatement.
Let’s be clear: The Midnight Gospel is not for everyone. But its unconventional storytelling and raw emotional depth have made it a cult favorite among fans of experimental animation and philosophy-driven content and thus earns its place on this list.
It’s hard to imagine today, but there was a time when superheroes weren’t mainstream (with the notable exceptions of Superman and Batman franchises that crossed over into Hollywood success).
Until Marvel came along, for many decades, superheroes were relegated to the then-nerdy comic book world, a scene that was borderline underground compared to today.
The Maxx was a superhero unlike any other. Now we know that phrase gets thrown around a lot; but in this case, it’s legit.
The Maxx started out as a graphic novel series that told the story of a homeless bum who also ruled a surreal subconscious dream world as a powerful protector of the Queen– who is his therapist in real life.
The stories are told in parallel between these two worlds. But as the barriers separating them begin to unravel and bleed over into each other, the reader begins to question which world is the “real” one, and where one really ends and another begins.
With MTV’s Liquid Television, The Maxx was brought to animated life to a stunned audience and eventually got its own standalone show.
Sadly, it became one of the best forgotten cartoons from its era– a fate it did not deserve.
Another offshoot of MTV’s Liquid TV (you may be sensing a common theme here), Æon Flux was a highly stylized femme-fatale secret agent and assassin in a deeply paranoid cyberpunk world of espionage.
It was bizarre and ultraviolent, set in a world that was simultaneously futuristic and yet reminiscent of Cold War era paranoia.
The plotlines were confusing and often non-existent, and the titular character gets killed in almost every episode. Or does she? Who knows.
What originated in experimental comic books– which were often packaged as cool top-secret intelligence dossier folders– eventually found a home on Liquid Television.
It was later adapted into a regrettable big-budget 2005 Hollywood action movie starring Charlize Theron.
However, the film carried almost nothing from the original look and feel of the comic and animated show and was a commercial failure.
The world of animation is not so much an expansive wonderland, as it is a bottomless ocean. The deeper you go, the stranger and more wonderful it gets, with bizarre new discoveries to be made with every deep dive. You’d need several lifetimes to explore all of it.
We hope you enjoyed this deep dive, and trust that this “iceberg” style examination of animation throughout history will serve as an appetizer of sorts to whet your creative appetite, and inspire you to find more hidden gems and wonders on your own!
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