Want More than Cute Animal Videos? See this List of the Best Movies Starring Animals Protagonists, Ranked!

As we all know, the internet loves animals. We’ve got platforms dedicated to “animals being friends” and “animals being jerks” and a whole lot of cuteness involved. And while you may not realize this, there’s actually a plethora of movies with animals as protagonists as well. We’ve only collected the best ones in the list, but we assure you, there’s more out there. From the beloved man’s best friends to felines, to lovable pandas, to even tiny honeybees, we’ve collected a whole lot of diversity here. So, if you ever want more than just a cute 30 second video of dogs being derps, we think you will find this list very helpful.

1

Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Jason Alexander
Lasse Hallström
2009

A drama based on the true story of a college professor's bond with the abandoned dog he takes into his home.

8.1 IMDB
2

How to Train Your Dragon

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson
Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
2010

As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father

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8.1 IMDB
3

Finding Nemo

Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould
Andrew Stanton
2003

Nemo, an adventurous young clownfish, is unexpectedly taken from his Great Barrier Reef home to a dentist's office aquarium. It's up to his worrisome father Marlin and a friendly but forgetful fish Dory to bring Nemo home -- meeting vegetarian sharks, surfer dude turtles, hypnotic jellyfish, hungry seagulls, and more along the way.

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8.1 IMDB
4

Ratatouille

Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano
Brad Bird
2007

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely - and certainly unwanted - visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy's passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

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8 IMDB
5

Zootopia

Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
Byron Howard, Rich Moore
2016

Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia's police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case - even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.

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8 IMDB
6

Isle of Dogs

Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton
Wes Anderson
2018

In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island that's a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.

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7.9 IMDB
7

Fantastic Mr. Fox

George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman
Wes Anderson
2009

The Fantastic Mr. Fox bored with his current life, plans a heist against the three local farmers. The farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with the sly fox, seek revenge against him and his family.

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7.8 IMDB
8

Paddington 2

Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton
Paul King
2017

Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.

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7.8 IMDB
9

Ice Age

Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary
Chris Wedge
2002

With the impending ice age almost upon them, a mismatched trio of prehistoric critters – Manny the woolly mammoth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger and Sid the giant sloth – find an orphaned infant and decide to return it to its human parents. Along the way, the unlikely allies become friends but, when enemies attack, their quest takes on far nobler aims.

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7.5 IMDB
10

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Milo Ventimiglia, Kevin Costner, Amanda Seyfried
Simon Curtis
2019

A family dog—with a near-human soul and a philosopher's mind—evaluates his life through the lessons learned by his human owner, a race-car driver.

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7.5 IMDB
11

Kung Fu Panda

Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie
Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
2008

When the Valley of Peace is threatened, lazy Po the panda discovers his destiny as the "chosen one" and trains to become a kung fu hero, but transforming the unsleek slacker into a brave warrior won't be easy. It's up to Master Shifu and the Furious Five -- Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey -- to give it a try.

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7.5 IMDB
12

Finding Dory

Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Hayden Rolence
Andrew Stanton
2016

Dory is reunited with her friends Nemo and Marlin in the search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?

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7.3 IMDB
13

Rango

Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Ned Beatty
Gore Verbinski
2011

When Rango, a lost family pet, accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt, the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt.

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7.2 IMDB
14

Sing

Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane
Garth Jennings
2016

A koala named Buster recruits his best friend to help him drum up business for his theater by hosting a singing competition.

7.1 IMDB
15

Madagascar

Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer
Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath
2005

Alex the lion is the king of the urban jungle, the main attraction at New York’s Central Park Zoo. He and his best friends—Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo—have spent their whole lives in blissful captivity before an admiring public and with regular meals provided for them. Not content to leave well enough alone, Marty lets his curiosity get the better of him and makes his escape—with the help of some prodigious penguins—to explore the world.

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6.9 IMDB
16

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Emily Barclay, Abbie Cornish, Essie Davis
Zack Snyder
2010

Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga'Hoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggie's. The film is based on the first three books in the series.

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6.9 IMDB
17

Rio

Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann
Carlos Saldanha
2011

Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.

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6.9 IMDB
18

The Lion King

Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Oliver, James Earl Jones
Jon Favreau
2019

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

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6.9 IMDB
19

Horton Hears a Who!

Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Carol Burnett
Jimmy Hayward, Steve Martino
2008

One day, Horton the elephant hears a cry from help coming from a speck of dust. Even though he can't see anyone on the speck, he decides to help it. As it turns out, the speck of dust is home to the Whos, who live in their city of Whoville. Horton agrees to help protect the Whos and their home

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6.8 IMDB
20

Penguins of Madagascar

Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Christopher Knights
Eric Darnell, Simon J. Smith
2014

Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private join forces with undercover organization The North Wind to stop the villainous Dr. Octavius Brine from destroying the world as we know it.

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6.7 IMDB
21

Ferdinand

John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson
Carlos Saldanha
2017

Ferdinand, a little bull, prefers sitting quietly under a cork tree just smelling the flowers versus jumping around, snorting, and butting heads with other bulls. As Ferdinand grows big and strong, his temperament remains mellow, but one day five men come to choose the "biggest, fastest, roughest bull" for the bullfights in Madrid and Ferdinand is mistakenly chosen. Based on the classic 1936 children's book by Munro Leaf.

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6.7 IMDB
22

Lassie

Peter O\'Toole, Samantha Morton, John Lynch
Charles Sturridge
2005

A family in financial crisis is forced to sell Lassie, their beloved dog. Hundreds of miles away from her true family, Lassie escapes and sets out on a journey home.

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6.7 IMDB
23

Puss in Boots

Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis
Chris Miller
2011

Long before he even met Shrek, the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots becomes a hero when he sets off on an adventure with the tough and street smart Kitty Softpaws and the mastermind Humpty Dumpty to save his town. This is the true story of The Cat, The Myth, The Legend... The Boots.

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6.6 IMDB
24

Peter Rabbit

James Corden, Rose Byrne, Margot Robbie
Will Gluck
2018

Peter Rabbit's feud with Mr. McGregor escalates to greater heights than ever before as they rival for the affections of the warm-hearted animal lover who lives next door.

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6.5 IMDB
25

Happy Feet

Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy
George Miller
2006

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

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6.4 IMDB
26

Lady and the Tramp

Tessa Thompson, Justin Theroux, Kiersey Clemons
Charlie Bean
2019

The love story between a pampered Cocker Spaniel named Lady and a streetwise mongrel named Tramp. Lady finds herself out on the street after her owners have a baby and is saved from a pack by Tramp, who tries to show her to live her life footloose and collar-free.

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6.3 IMDB
27

Dumbo

Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito
Tim Burton
2019

A young elephant, whose oversized ears enable him to fly, helps save a struggling circus, but when the circus plans a new venture, Dumbo and his friends discover dark secrets beneath its shiny veneer.

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6.3 IMDB
28

The Star

Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, Aidy Bryant
Timothy Reckart
2017

A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the greatest story ever told, the first Christmas.

6.2 IMDB
29

The Tale of Despereaux

Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson
Robert Stevenhagen, Sam Fell
2008

Once upon a time... in the far away kingdom of Dor... lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro, who leads him, at long last, on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess and save an entire kingdom from darkness.

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6.1 IMDB
30

Bee Movie

Jerry Seinfeld, Renée Zellweger, Jim Cummings
Steve Hickner, Simon J. Smith
2007

Barry B. Benson, a bee who has just graduated from college, is disillusioned at his lone career choice: making honey. On a special trip outside the hive, Barry's life is saved by Vanessa, a florist in New York City. As their relationship blossoms, he discovers humans actually eat honey, and subsequently decides to sue us.

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6.1 IMDB