Back in the original days of short cartoons playing before movies, the biggest competition was between Disney and Warner Bros. While Disney cartoons are often seen as the more childish and classically based of the two, Warner Bros. always had more of a free-flowing, anarchic, and mature edge to their sensibilities. But as the last few decades have passed, the big competition shifted more so towards Disney and DreamWorks, with Blue Sky and Illumination providing occasional alternatives for audiences.

But over the last three decades, Warner Bros. has continued to make its mark on theatrical animation, making animated films with unique personalities, vibrant esthetics, and characters that leave a strong impression. A few of their films have even become regarded as some of the best animated films ever made. While not as frequent an output as Disney or DreamWorks, when a Warner Bros. animated film comes to theaters, you can always count on something creative.

10 'DC League of Super-Pets' (2021)

Directed by Jared Stern

Released amid constant reinventions of DC properties, DC League of Super-Pets makes for a fun Justice League movie for kids. Throughout Superman’s (John Krasinski) life, there has only been one constant companion by his side - his dog, Krypto (Dwayne Johnson). But while Superman begins a new relationship with Lois Lane (Olivia Wilde), Krypto soon makes friends with a group of pets that have been given superpowers thanks to Lulu (Kate McKinnon), an evil guinea pig with orange kryptonite. After the Justice League gets captured by Lulu, intending to give them to Lex Luthor (Marc Maron), they decide to form a team to take her down - while also finding some new super owners in the process.

While much of the film’s starting premise could be seen as derivative of The Secret Life of Pets, it still has enough personality and reverence for the world of DC that it manages to carve out its own identity. If nothing else, it has Keanu Reeves voicing Batman, and that’s always going to be a fun image.

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9 'Smallfoot' (2018)

Directed by Karey Kirkpatrick

In the Himalayan mountains, a tribe of Yeti live in peace, far from human eyes. But when curious Migo (Channing Tatum) discovers evidence of a “small foot” (humans), he ventures down beneath the mountain for the very first time. Meanwhile, British documentarian Percy Patterson (James Corden) is desperate for his next big break and decides to fake evidence of a yeti sighting. One thing leads to another and both Yeti and humans make contact. Migo takes Percy up to his village, but soon finds out there’s a reason both sides don’t make contact with each other.

While at first Smallfoot seems to have a somewhat predictable story, the film does eventually present a relevant message about communication, the control of information, and why people in power keep big secrets. But on top of its startlingly strong themes, it also has great voice acting, catchy songs, and vibrant, almost Looney Tunes-esque animation.

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8 'Teen Titans Go! To the Movies' (2018)

Directed by Peter Rida Michail & Aaron Horvath

While Teen Titans Go has a divine reputation among animation fans, most critics and audiences were delighted by this spin-off film. The Teen Titans are going about their usual business, fighting bad guys while not taking their jobs seriously. Seeking to improve their status, especially Robin’s (Scott Menville), they decide to head to Warner Bros. Studios to get their own movie made. But they soon face a greater challenge when they meet the new villain Slade (Will Arnett) and try to appeal to film director Jade Wilson (Kristen Bell).

Much like the Titans themselves, Teen Titans Go! To the Movies doesn’t take itself even remotely seriously. After all, this movie includes the Titans preventing and restoring the Justice League’s origins, Micheal Bolton voicing a singing tiger, Nicolas Cage finally getting to play Superman, and even a Stan Lee cameo in a DC movie. It’s a film that utilizes the best aspects of the TV show while adding a delightfully subversive and meta edge to the modern superhero movie landscape.

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7 'Happy Feet' (2006)

Directed by George Miller

On the icy shores of Antarctica, every Emperor Penguin has a song to sing - except for Mumble (Elijah Wood), who finds that he’s a terrible singer but a wonderful tap dancer. With the other penguins and even his family not knowing how to deal with this, Mumble finds acceptance among the outcast Adelie penguins, led by Ramon (Robin Williams). But when Mumble begins to notice evidence of “alien activity” (humans over-fishing and misusing the environment), he must not only find acceptance in himself but also save his kind by teaching them a new way to communicate.

Happy Feet is a basic idea for an animated film that benefits greatly from the direction of legendary director George Miller. Being one of the few non-Disney and Dreamworks films to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, the film exhibits beautifully realistic animation, a simple yet effective environmental parable, and a great mix of animation and live-action.

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6 'Storks' (2016)

Directed by Nicholas Stoller & Doug Sweetland

Ever since the beginning of time, storks have delivered babies all over the world. But after an incident where a stork tried to keep a baby (and also because there are so many other ways to get babies these days), storks now deliver packages for an online store. But when a young boy writes them a letter asking for a new sibling, top delivery stork Junior (Andy Samberg) and orphaned human worker Tulip (Katie Crown) accidentally create an illegal baby.

Now this misfit pair must travel around the world to get that baby to her new family before the head management finds out. Co-directed by Nicholas Stoller, the man who helmed Forgetting Sarah Marshall and who wrote the 2010s Muppet movies, Storks is a delightfully silly movie. Much of its humor comes from its remarkable self-awareness, poking holes in its own logic nearly every five minutes, yet it keeps its story sincere and likable.

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5 'Cats Don’t Dance' (1997)

Directed by Mark Dindal

Helmed by future Emperor’s New Groove director Mark Dindal, Cats Don’t Dance is a tribute to old-school Hollywood musicals that proudly wears its heart on its sleeve. Danny (Scott Bakula) is a Gene Kelly-esque cat who travels to Hollywood intending to become a star. But he soon learns that all the animals who work in the industry are just background actors forced to play second fiddle to their human co-stars. Danny decides to help his friends get the attention of the executives in charge of their new film’s production.

The only thing in their way? Darla Dimple (Ashley Peldon) - in public, she’s the loveable, sweet, and innocent child superstar of her day. But behind closed doors, she’s a raging, psychotic egomaniac who hates animals and will not hesitate to set her gargantuan butler Max (Mark Dindal) on them. With beautiful 2-D animation, fun music, and an entertaining villain, Cats Don’t Dance is a nostalgic delight.

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4 'The Lego Batman Movie' (2017)

Directed by Chris McKay

It was perhaps inevitable that Will Arnett’s brick-built take on the caped crusader would eventually get his spin-off. But many Batman fans were surprised at how genuinely heartfelt, funny, and reverential The Lego Batman Movie was to the character’s legacy. Unlike most Batman films, which focus on his fights with a single villain, The Lego Batman Movie not only makes light fun of the character’s history but also looks beneath the surface of what makes the dark knight tick and sees him genuinely grow as a person.

After defeating every single villain in Gotham City (even the d-listers), Batman begins to realize the aching loneliness that comes with being a solo crime fighter. But that soon changes when he unintentionally adopts young orphan Dick Grayson (Micheal Cera). Begrudgingly needing help to stop the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) from releasing every villain in the Phantom Zone, he decides to let his new ward adopt the persona of Robin, as the Bat-Family begins to take shape.

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3 'The Iron Giant' (1999)

Directed by Brad Bird

Before Brad Bird made his mark at Pixar with The Incredibles and Ratatouille, he made this underrated masterpiece. In October 1957, a mysterious giant robot (Vin Diesel) crashes near a small town dealing with the Cold War. Young Hogarth Hughes (Eli Marienthal) discovers the amnesiac and curious robot and decides to hide and protect him from overzealous government agents looking to blow him to kingdom come.

But when the giant begins to show hints of his true original purpose, he will soon have to decide whether he will become the thing he was created to be or what he chooses to be. The Iron Giant is perhaps the quintessential example of a film that did not do well upon its release, largely due to poor marketing, but in the years since, it has almost become a household name, with the giant appearing in both the MultiVersus video game and in the Steven Spielberg film Ready Player One.

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2 'Batman: Mask of the Phantasm' (1993)

Directed by Eric Radomski & Bruce Timm

While under-performing at the box office when initially released, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm has become what many fans regard as the best Batman movie. A spin-off of the beloved Batman: The Animated Series, reveals a new face in Gotham - The Phantasm (Stacy Keach). This hooded figure, mistaken for Batman by both police and crooked politicians, is killing former mob members and getting attention from the likes of the Joker (Mark Hamill).

While Batman (Kevin Conroy) is on the case, he runs into a former flame from his past (Dana Delany) and begins to reflect on what he sacrificed for the sake of his crime-fighting career. Much like The Lego Batman Movie, this film takes a look at the underlying psychology of what makes Batman tick, albeit through a much more serious and tragic approach. This film acknowledges that being Batman is both the ultimate destiny for Bruce Wayne and a curse that seems to strip everything that makes him happy away.

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1 'The Lego Movie' (2014)

Directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller

What could have been one of the most cynical cash grabs in cinema history instead turned out to be one of the smartest and shockingly profound animated films of the last 20 years. In a world built out of Lego, ordinary construction worker Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) stumbles upon a mysterious piece hidden underneath a cave. After it becomes stuck to his back, Emmet discovers he is “The Special”, the one destined to foil the plans of the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) and save all the Lego worlds.

While teaming up with an assortment of characters, including punk girl WyldStyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), talking unicorn cat UniKitty (Alison Brie), and even Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet discovers the prophecy is a little more complicated than anybody thought. With fun characters, a brilliant third-act twist, and genuinely thought-provoking themes, The Lego Movie is simply put, a modern marvel.

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Next: 10 Essential Warner Bros. Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes