The family-friendly movie DC League of Super-Pets is the latest animated movie to explore the superhero world. While the live-action take on the superhero genre provides huge blockbuster movies, there is so much that can be done by taking these larger-than-life characters into the animated format.
Fans on IMDb have proven that there is just as much love for these kinds of superhero adventures as the live-action ones. From the Marvel and DC properties to original superhero creations, and from fun for the whole family to more adult-themed stories, these animated superhero movies were big hits with fans.
Justice League: Doom (2012) - 7.4
Bringing together the Justice League is a lot of fun as fans get to see some of the most iconic superheroes of all time sharing a story. However, such a collection of heroes also requires a formidable collection of villains to provide a credible threat.
Justice League: Doom finds the Justice League taking on the villain team the Legion of Doom who target the heroes in devastating ways. The team-vs-team aspect of the story really worked for fans and there is the thrilling twist about how the heroes were targeted so effectively by their enemies.
Justice League Dark: Apokolips War (2020) - 7.7
While the DCEU initially seemed to have big plans for the villainous Darkseid, fans may have to settle for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War to do the character justice. The story finds virtually every hero in the DC universe coming together to take on Darkseid only to lose in a brutal fashion.
At the center of the story is John Constantine who makes for a terrific reluctant hero. But while he is the main focus, fans get to see the remaining heroes team with the likes of the Suicide Squad, Lex Luthor, and some other former enemies in order to even the odds against Darkseid.
Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker (2000) - 7.7
Though a futuristic take on Batman might have sounded like a bad idea at first, Batman Beyond proved to be a surprisingly great animated series. It was successful enough to get its own movie as well with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
The movie finds the new Batman Terry McInnis taking on a villain who claims to be the original Joker. This causes Bruce Wayne to revisit some traumatizing moments from his past. Like the series itself, the movie is a thrilling way of creating a new story while building on the mythology fans know so well.
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993) - 7.8
There are many fans who feel the very best take on Batman outside of the comics has been Batman: The Animated Series. The show was so acclaimed that it allowed for the first theatrical Batman animated movie with Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
The movie maintains the dark and brooding tone of the series as Batman confronts a new mysterious vigilante who is killing some of Gotham's biggest crime figures. The movie amplifies everything that made the series so great, from the style to the writing to the voice-acting.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012) - 7.9
Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns is one of the most acclaimed Batman stories ever written. While it influenced live-action movies like The Dark Knight Rises and Batman V Superman, fans got a straightforward adaptation of it with the animated two-part movie.
The story follows Batman who is now retired as a crime fighter stepping back into his old heroic role as Gotham is consumed in violence. While the first part is a lot of setting the stage, it still makes for a dark, grim, and fascinating take on the Caped Crusader.
The Incredibles (2004) - 8.0
Pixar has explored a lot of interesting areas in their movies and they decided to take on the superhero world in The Incredibles. The story takes place in a world where superheroes exist but have been outlawed. As one super-powered family tries to live an ordinary life, they are soon called back into saving the day.
The movie has the signature humor and heart that makes Pixar movies so beloved by fans. But the movie also boasts some incredible superhero action that stands toe-to-toe with any live-action superhero movie and has led some fans to suggest Brad Bird is the right director for the MCU's Fantastic Four.
Batman: Under The Red Hood (2010) - 8.0
Though Batman has saved countless lives, he is often shown as a hero consumed by guilt over those he failed to save. This is the character's torment at the center of Batman: Under the Red Hood which explores Batman's loss of his former Robin, Jason Todd, and the emergence of a deadly new enemy.
It seems that fans especially enjoy the Batman stories that find the iconic character being attacked in very personal ways. This animated thriller brings in several beloved Batman characters for a compelling and complex story.
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) - 8.1
While fans still want to see The Flash live-action movie is very much in question, the speedster hero was at the center of the excellent animated adventure Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. The movie adapts the popular story in which Flash finds himself in an alternate reality where the Justice League is not as he remembers.
There are a lot of fun ways in which the heroes are reimagined such as Thomas Wayne becoming Batman following the death of Bruce, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman at war, and Superman being kept as a secret government weapon. It is a wild ride from beginning to end.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013) - 8.3
The story of an aged Batman returning to his life as a crime-fighter continues in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2. And while the first half delivered plenty of thrills, this conclusion really gives audiences the moments they have been waiting for.
The second part finds Batman in his final confrontation with Joker as well as an epic showdown with Superman. It feels like a definitive take on the hero in the midst of a genuinely thrilling superhero adventure.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018) - 8.4
While Spider-Man: No Way Home pulled off the feat of bringing every live-action Spider-Man together in one movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse beat them to the punch with a similar multiverse story.
Centering around Miles Morales, the movie sees the young man with his newly acquired Spider-Man abilities joined by several other versions of the hero as they teach him what it is to be a hero. With its humor, emotional story, and inventive animation style, it is not only considered by many to be the best Spider-Man movie but also possibly the best superhero movie of all time.