November Animation Preview: The Studios are in Full Swing

As we near the end of the year, we have two major forces at work in the movie business. Awards season goes into full throttle, and tons of contenders will be getting releases. Some of them are limited platform runs just to qualify for Oscars consideration -- they'll then get proper nationwide berths in early 2027 to capitalize on nominations and wins they've accrued. 

The other force is the Quest for Money. Alongside awards hopefuls, studios will be pumping out lots of big movies with bigger dreams of capturing audience attention during the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas both serve as movie-launching anchor holidays. Kids have time off from school, work slows down. People have time to go to the movies, even multiple times.

November brings a bit of both on the animation front, which means a very exciting month is ahead.

In Theaters

When Warner Bros. Animation's The Cat in the Hat got delayed from its previous February date to November 6, I shook with fear. I was going to have to put up with that trailer for another nine months? Not that the trailer is bad, per se, but it's a bit much to have to see over and over again. When you go to the movies as much as I do, a cloying trailer becomes something more sinister.

The Cat in the Hat

Anyways, the movie itself looks like a lot of fun, and sets off to chart new territory for the classic Dr. Seuss character. This time around, Bill Hader is providing the voice of the Cat. He's tasked by the Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration (I.I.I.I.) to cheer up siblings Gabby and Sebastian, who have just moved to a new town. One of the film's swings revolves around the Things. While the book had two Things in its story, the movie has, I think, thirteen of various shapes and sizes. It should be a solid hit for Warner Bros. (which they desperately need after their dire year at the box office) which should have legs through Thanksgiving, at least.

The Cat in the Hat will be preceded in theaters by Daffy Season, a new Looney Tunes short starring Daffy Duck. Daffy is ready for Duck Season to begin, but he finds that Elmer Fudd has a new soccer obsession keeping him from his usual hunting activities. Soon enough, all the other characters are also getting into soccer, becoming mindless fans of the sport. It's always a treat to see these characters on the big screen, and this one will be bittersweet, as we will of course be hearing the late Eric Bauza (a true voice acting legend) as Daffy. 

Viva Kids is bringing Canadian DJ Kid Koala's directorial debut Space Cadet, based on his 2011 graphic novel, to theaters on November 13. This is, I think, the best movie Viva Kids has every distributed, and caps off a really strong year for the company (I really enjoyed Buffalo Kids, The Pout-Pout Fish, and The Last Whale Singer). Space Cadet follows a young woman and her guardian robot, whose paths diverge when the former heads to outer space on a grand adventure. Meanwhile, the robot stays on Earth, trying to find ways to pass the time while he waits for her. It is a wordless tearjerker somewhat in the vein of Robot Dreams, but with its own unique voice and style. It is a wonderful movie, and comes highly recommended -- you can read my review from last year here.

Space Cadet

November 13 also brings the 10th anniversary re-release of the original The Angry Birds Movie to theaters. If you don't recall, this first adventure found Red, Chuck, and Bomb becoming heroes in the face of the arrival of green pigs to their island. I can't say I'm a fan of this movie (though the sequel was more fun), but it's smart to get these characters back in everyone's minds ahead of the third entry's release in December.

Peppa Pig is back on the big screen on November 14 with a new hour-long holiday special called Festive Fun with Peppa Pig Cinema Experience (really rolls off the tongue, eh?). Like previous theatrical Peppa outings, this is made up of a bunch of episodes with similar theming. There will also be some new songs and a special storyline about little Evie's first Christmas. It'll surely be a fun way for families to start getting in the holiday spirit.

On November 25, Disney Animation releases their latest original movie, Hexed. The film follows a teenager named Billie coming to terms with her magical powers. This leads her to a full-on magical world called Hexe, where she has to work alongside her very cautious mother to face off with the evil Queen Celeste. Disney Animation's track records in recent years is pretty rough. For every Encanto or Zootopia 2, there's a Wish, a Strange World, a Moana 2. A lot of stinkers surrounding the gems.

Hexed

I don't know how Hexed will stack up, but it doesn't look particularly promising. There's nothing inherently wrong with the premise or anything, but from the trailers, there doesn't seem to be much of a hook. It looks like a version of a story we've seen over and over again without much to differentiate it. Other than the three-eyed cat creature voiced by Walton Goggins.

Like The Cat in the Hat, Hexed is preceded in theaters by a new short starring classic characters: Lilo & Scratch. In this new story, Lilo finds an adorable cat named Scratch, and Stitch is on cat-sitting duties. But there's more to the cat than meets the eye (presumably, it's an alien). It's a clever pairing, since the promise of seeing Stitch on the big screen might lure in more audience members who might not otherwise be interested in Hexed (like my husband).

Ahead of its release on the streamer in December, Netflix is giving its awards season contender In Waves a theatrical release on November 27. The film is based on AJ Dungo's graphic novel and features the voice talents of Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu. It follows a shy teenaged skateboarder who falls in love with a surfer, and the rocky road their romance takes in the wake of a devastating illness. I'm catching it next week at a festival here in LA, and I'm really looking forward to it after hearing great things about it from other festivals.

In Waves

November 27 also brings one of the year's biggest tear-jerkers to theaters for its Oscar-qualifying run in LA and New York ahead of a wide release in January: Tangles, based on Sarah Leavitt's graphic novel memoir. The film follows the way Sarah's family is impacted by the Alzheimer's diagnosis of matriarch Midge. It's funny, weird, and (of course) very emotional. The film really pops with its beautiful black-and-white animation, and is so clever in how it visualizes the way it feels to go through something like this. It's a wonderful film, and one that is definitely in the hunt for an Oscar nomination. You can check out my review here.

Tangles

At Home

A new version of Barbie in the Nutcracker makes its debut on Netflix on November 1. This is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original movie, and casts the characters from the recent animated Barbie movies/shows, "Malibu" and "Brooklyn", in key roles. I'm a big fan of the animated Barbie movies, both the old ones and the newer stuff, and I'm excited to see how this one plays out. It's only 45 minutes long, so it's more of a special than a full-length movie, but it'll still be fun to check out, and I expect it'll pack some great humor into the classic story.

Barbie in the Nutcracker

Like most movie lovers, I'm a big fan of the Criterion Collection, the company that helps preserve and celebrate important and powerful cinema from all over the world by putting great movies out on extras-packed discs.  If you want to learn more about film history and international cinema, it's a great place to start. 

Sadly, the collection is a bit lacking on the animation front, but a heavy-hitter is joining on November 3 in the form of my favorite movie of 2025/Netflix's biggest movie ever, KPop Demon Hunters. I'm so glad to see the movie get a physical release, and the fact that Criterion is recognizing the film's impact and significance is really heartening. The extras include a making-of documentary, a feature-length animatic, lyric videos, and more. Should be a hot Christmas gift, methinks. It'll certainly be on my list.

Netflix has a new spin on the classic Cinderella story set for November 20: Steps. In this twist on the fairy tale, one of Cinderella's evil step sisters, Lilith, steals the Fairy Godmother's magic wand and wreaks some havoc, opening the way for the evil Priscilla to ascend to the throne. So Lilith teams up with Cinderella to set things right. It seems like a fun spin, and the voice cast -- which includes Ali Wong and Amanda Seyfried -- is strong. Netflix has made a habit of releasing solid animated family fare around Thanksgiving (think Leo or In Dreams), so hopefully this is another fun hit for them.

Steps

Also on November 20, we're getting a new documentary about animation legend Don Bluth titled Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There on digital platforms. The film chronicles Bluth's life and career, including his early days at Disney and the work he made after leaving the studio, including bonafide classics like An American Tail and The Land Before Time, both of which went triple platinum in my house when I was a kid. 

Don Bluth: Somewhere Out There