Animated movies are not a genre but an incredibly beautiful and artistic form of film, no different from how a documentary is as well. With so many animated movies becoming pop-cultural icons, others unfortunately don't live up to the critical and financial standards they deserve to meet.

Of course, some could argue that the films didn't meet their expectations due to their quality. However, many titles fall by the wayside regardless of quality, especially within the last ten years, as there are so many options today. Animated films should be respected for the pieces of art they are, especially if they weren't appreciated enough in the first place.

Disney's Elemental is what's considered a "sleeper hit." When a movie releases, regardless of its quality, a great indicator of how successful the film will be is based on its opening weekend numbers. Great movies have made nothing in their time in theaters, and bad movies have become blockbusters. When it comes to Elemental, the opening weekend numbers were abysmal, to say the least. Many wrote this film off as another recent Disney animated flop, only for it to become a sleeper hit and make over $400 million at the box office. So what happened?

A lesson that studios have unfortunately forgotten was perfectly demonstrated through Elemental. If a movie has a long run in theaters, along with good word-of-mouth, it could become a hit. Elemental stayed in theaters long enough for unsure fans to hear how great it was, which soon led to its massive return on investment. Disney's Elemental is a lovely, beautiful film that absolutely deserved the second wind it received.

One Disney animated feature that unfortunately flopped at the box office hard was Strange World. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Melo and Dennis Quaid in a movie about three generations of explorers coming together to venture into a strange new land in order to save their home. The film is beautiful, has a lot of heart, is expertly written, well performed and fits right alongside what Disney has been making today, so why did it flop?

The film features an LGBTQ+ character, which sets certain moviegoers off on the wrong foot. Many complained that the film was "too woke," which is a ridiculous criticism movie studios have faced recently. Another major reason was the film's minimal marketing. Audiences weren't aware that the movie was even in theaters until it had already flopped and went straight to Disney+. Strange World should've been given a real chance, as it is a fun time in the theaters.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is the latest and greatest attempt at rebooting the pizza-loving, crime-fighting amphibians for wider audiences. The Turtles have always been around since their debut in 1984 and have grown to become the pop-cultural icons fans love them for today. When it came time to create a new film based on the four turtle boys, audiences didn't know how great of a film The Mitchells vs. The Machines director Jeff Rowe and producer Seth Rogen had in store.

The film did earn more than its initial budget, but that was far less than the movie deserved. Thankfully, the toys that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are so renowned for helped bridge the gap and raise this film's earnings enough to become a big hit. Audiences can expect to see the Turtles in cinemas next year for their big sequel.

The Transformers franchise has died down since Michael Bay's notorious run and since both Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts failed to make any significant box office impact. However, fans of the Autobots soon rejoiced as Transformers One, starring Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson and Keegan-Michael Key, was a major hit. Directed by Josh Cooley, the film tells the story of the early days of Optimus Prime and Megatron as friends in a colorfully animated world.

The film was enjoyed by die-hard fans and audiences who weren't aware of the Transformers' heavy lore. Although the film was widely considered to be one of the best Transformers movies they'd seen in a while, that somehow didn't translate to the box office numbers. Unfortunately, the film flopped hard, potentially due to some viewers being skeptical if they'd even understand what was going on. Transformers One was one of the most surprising hits of 2024, but not at the box office.

Ever since The LEGO Movie: The Second Part failed to meet critical and box office expectations, LEGO movies have ceased to be seen in theaters. However, their missing streak was broken when Pharrell Williams, of all people, brought them back to theaters. Piece by Piece is a creatively beautiful documentary about Williams' incredible upbringing and career told through the dynamic and colorful power of LEGO.

Animated documentaries aren't new, as in 2021, Flee was nominated for Best Documentary Feature, Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature. Piece by Piece manages to tell an entertaining story through LEGO's powerful visual storytelling, which helps this documentary stand out from the rest. Although the film didn't earn a lot at the box office, fans of Williams certainly had a great time. Hopefully, LEGO will not be afraid of making another exciting movie in the future.

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken is one of the most recent examples of a film that didn't deserve to bomb as badly as it did at the box office. Telling the story of a teenage kraken who wants to fit in but discovers her fantastical and heavy family history that could change the lives of her town forever. The movie was fairly well-received, and the animation is beautiful and fun, but that couldn't save the film from its inevitable bomb.

Many reasons contributed to the unfortunate financial failure, such as poor marketing, a trailer that spoiled the movie and heavy competition in theaters. DreamWorks has had many hits and misses over the past few years, with many being undeserving of its failings. Animated films had been struggling at the box office a lot in 2023, which led to Ruby Gillman becoming an unfortunate victim of the trend.

One of the most popular, intricate and often times breathtaking animation art forms is claymation. The style has led to some of the biggest animated hits of all time, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. The director behind those classics, Henry Selick, created another delightfully spooky and enjoyable claymation in time for the 2022 Halloween season entitled Wendell & Wild.

Starring entertainers Key and Peele, along with a massive cast of talented stars, the film sees demon brothers Wendell and Wild find a way to get to the human world and cause havoc, but they're opposed by exorcising members of the Rust Bank's all-girls Catholic school. The film never debuted in major theaters as it was a Netflix original. Audiences weren't made aware of the film, so Wendell & Wild unfortunately faded into obscurity. More audiences should give this film a try, as it's a delightfully scary time.

Locksmith Animation's first film is surely the underrated animated film Ron's Gone Wrong. Releasing in 2021, the film tells the story of socially awkward Jayden, who gets his very own Bubble Bot. In the film, Bubble Bots is an entertaining allegory to phone culture in youths' lives today. However, Jayden's B-bot, Ron, starts to malfunction. Fearing that his father and the company that made Ron want to take him back, Jayden decided to try and hide the hilarious Ron.

This film is fascinating because it was almost entirely voice-recorded and animated remotely due to the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. The perseverance and eventual success of this film should be appreciated, along with the fact that Ron's Gone Wrong is an entertaining film.

Missing Link stars Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis and Zoe Saldaña in a film about a sasquatch who recruits a fabled explorer on a journey to find his homeland of Shangri-La. It's a great story with plenty of iconic moments and enjoyable performances, but its most stunning feature is its breathtaking claymation. Laika Studios is behind Missing Link, their most recent feature, with their next being another soon-to-be hit, Wildwood.

Although Missing Link didn't have an incredibly enormous budget for a film of its kind, it still only managed to earn back a quarter of its reported budget in theaters. It's a real shame that more people haven't given Missing Link a chance, as the movie is a wondrous example of the beautiful capabilities of the animated art form. Luckily, this hasn't deterred Laika from creating more stunning masterpieces in the future. Missing Link should definitely be seen by more audiences all over the world.

Disney's Onward was probably the biggest and most unfortunate victim of the 2020 pandemic when it comes to entertainment. The film looked like it was going to be an instant success. Onward starred Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as elf brothers going on a fantastical quest to find the magic to bring back their late father for one day. It's an incredibly beautiful and perfect story that Pixar was perfect to tell, but news of the coronavirus quickly halted any further financial improvement as time went on.

With theaters all over the world closing their doors right around the time of Onward's release, the film never stood a chance. It was an undeserving flop, especially because it could've easily become a hit if given the time. Audiences made up for it by streaming the film on Disney+. Unfortunately, the timing ended Onward's possibility of being a box office success quickly.