The 25 Best Animated Halloween Movies
We realize most folks are used to getting their annual dosage of scares via live-action films.
But those same Halloween frights can also come your way in animated form. If you do your research, you’ll come upon a laundry list of animated horror movies that provide legit frights and also offer up some more light-hearted moments of the spooky variety. In order to get you all in the Halloween spirit, we collected 25 of the very best animated horror movies for you all to enjoy. Turn out the lights, pull up to the couch with a bowl full of treats, and get extra comfortable as you enjoy some cartoony horrors.
And hey, some of these flicks are even good for the young ones to enjoy. Now let's get into all the spooky stuff!
ParaNorman is the sort of film that holds a great deal of appeal for teenage viewers and their curious parents who’ll no doubt watch it with them. It’s all about a young kid named Norman that’s a spirit medium (someone who’s able to talk to the dead) - he’s forced to use his powers to save his small Massachusetts community from a witch’s curse. This stop-motion animated film touches on the topic of death with great care and entertains in the process.
Jack Skellington is a whole legend and shall forever be treated as such. That iconic character has become a staple of everyone’s childhood thanks to his amazing starring role in this animated movie classic. The Nightmare Before Christmas takes viewers on a wild ride through “Halloween Town” and “Christmas Town” as Jack becomes obsessed with taking over Santa’s signature holiday. A whole lot of warm and funny moments ensue as Jack runs into a huge obstacle in the form of Oogie Boogie and his young troublemakers.
Everyone is pretty used to Scooby-Doo and the gang encountering supernatural baddies that are really conniving humans behind the mask. In the case of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island, viewers are treated to a more sinister threat in the form of undead pirates on a remote island. This Scooby-Doo animated film sticks out as a strong watch due to its darker tone, gorgeous animation, and engrossing plot. If you loved the original Scooby-Doo cartoons, then you’ll most definitely appreciate everything on offer here.
Every neighborhood has that one creepy old house that gives off the spookiest vibes whenever you stare at it too long. Monster House takes that whole belief and turns it into a highly entertaining watch. Mitchel, Spencer, and Sam are the three curious tykes at the heart of this film that make an attempt to thwart an evil house before it harms all the young trick and treaters in the neighborhood. Just imagine an animated version of The Goonies with a horror theme attached to it and you’ll have a good idea of what this film is all about.
How would you and your loved ones react to you marrying a dead woman? Corpse Bride delves into that wild possibility with a film that features the voice talents of Johnny Depp and Emily Watson. Johnny’s character gets dragged down to the underworld after wandering into the forest in a bid to practice his wedding vows. After finding out that his living wife is set to get wed to a surly individual, he fights to find a way to get back above ground and get out of his newfound relationship with a dead woman. If you love Tim Burton films, then you’ll get a kick out of this one.
Zombies. Lots and lots of bloodthirsty, rampaging zombies. That’s what you can expect to see when you finally sit down to watch this gory film unfold. Seoul Station follows a desperate father that’s on the lookout for his missing daughter. Right in the middle of discovering her whereabouts and the problematic life she now lives, he gets caught up in the madness surrounding an ongoing zombie outbreak. Anyone who’s already sat through the equally exciting Train to Busan needs to see this prequel film.
It’s easy to understand how someone can come to despise their current standing in life and the depressing world they inhabit. This film follows a young woman named Caroline that has those very same sentiments - her world becomes all the better once she comes upon a hidden door that transports her to a much better rendition of her world. But when she comes to learn that this new world’s inhabitants don’t want her to leave, Caroline must escape their wrath and get to the bottom of its baleful mysteries.
Now you’ll wanna make sure the younglings are fast asleep while you watch this one. It’s a pretty wild anime that pits a hard-nosed human and a femme fatale demon against an army of multidimensional monstrosities. And why are they handling this tough task, you ask? Because they’re responsible for protecting an important diplomat that’s the key to eternal peace between Earth and the Black World. Wicked City is an anime gem that features mind-blowing visuals and some jaw-dropping fight scenes to boot.
The goth vibes are so strong with this one. And if you’re an avid anime watcher, then you have to put Vampire Hunter D on your watchlist. This film will bring you to a downtrodden world that’s on its last legs of humanity. A skilled swordsman that’s half-vampire named D is called into action to put down a vampiric demon lord that attacked a local village girl. As D heads into that evildoer’s castle, he’s forced to clash with a huge swath of supernatural threats.
If the original Vampire Hunter D captured your imagination, then you’ll most certainly get caught up in all the hoopla surrounding Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. D makes his welcome return here to take on another seemingly insurmountable task - seek out a vampire nobleman who’s responsible for kidnapping a young woman. The visuals for this one are far superior to its predecessor, so you’ll enjoy all the frantic battles that occur on-screen even more.
Horror anthologies are always the move for folks looking to get a different taste of every corner of the genre. Fear(s) of the Dark takes that route and does it in animated form, of course. Six stories are put in place here and they vary from a tale centering on a spirit samurai to a young woman dealing with an insect lodging itself into her body. This French black-and-white animated movie offers striking visuals, quality voice acting, and true scares that play on everyone’s biggest fears.
What if the brilliant Victor Frankenstein used his science to bring back his lost pet instead of creating the familiar monster named after him? Frankenweenie tackles that wild plot within a heartwarming movie that’s perfect for young and old viewers alike. Victor and his reanimated dog Sparky reunite, but things go awry once Victor’s friends look to revive a whole swath of other dead animals. You’ll definitely want to see how Victor and his pup fix their mess in this gorgeously animated film.
We rarely get to see the supernatural side of the DC Universe get its shine on the small and big screen. Justice League Dark brings that intriguing corner of DC’s superhero realm into focus and excels because of it. Batman is forced to join forces with John Constantine’s band of magic wielders in an attempt to eliminate an overwhelming plague. The character dynamic that plays out between everyone leads to some tense moments, plus the violence factor is high enough to satiate action movie buffs.
The childhood tales derived from “The Wind in the Willows” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are combined into this wonderful retro Disney film. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad takes viewers on a journey with Mr. Ichabod Crane as he looks to make the wonderful Katrina his girl. But with the threat of a neighborhood bully and the dreaded Headless Horseman in his midst, that goal might be too tough to attain. And with Mr. Toad, you’ll get to get an outside view of the wild ride he embarks on with his three anthropomorphic buddies.
Don’t judge this gory book by its cover - City of Rott’s unique style of animation goes hand in hand with its blood-soaked moments. After Earth’s water supply becomes overrun by a mysterious parasite, the hated beings that come from its eggs turn humans into flesh-eating zombies. Meanwhile, an old man named Fred sets out on a grand journey to find some new shoes (yeah, we’re serious). The only problem is he needs to wade through the zombie apocalypse with his trusty walker alongside him to do it.
Bagdasarian Productions and Universal Cartoon Studios produced three horror-themed Alvin and the Chipmunks films. And the best of ‘em all revolves around the infamous werewolf that’s derived from cinematic history. Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman sees the lovable trio get embroiled in a mystery concerning their new neighbor, Mr. Talbot, who they think is the horrifying Wolfman. Madness and hilarity ensue as the truth becomes clear behind the source of the werewolf epidemic in the Chipmunks’ hometown.
The creative ensemble of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins is responsible for gifting the comic book medium with Watchmen, which is a genre-defining tale that has been recognized as essential reading. One of the better side sales emanating from the Watchmen universe is this one. Tales of the Black Freighter follows a mariner whose lucky enough to survive an attack from a pirate crew attached to the infamous Black Freighter ship. That survivor's trek back home in an effort to warn the locals about the pirates that have attacked him is filled with plenty of terror and unrelenting carnage.
Based on the 1972 novel by Richard Adams, this British animated adaptation offers a quality rendition of a story revolving around a rebellion within a community of rabbits. Things go super left and get really dark quickly as those rabbits encounter a wealth of dangers, which includes rival rabbits that want to stop them from leaving and even a rat-filled graveyard. The path to freedom is filled with plenty of strife and uncomfortable images during your time spent with Watership Down.
The life of a pop idol turned actress can be quite stressful. Perfect Blue explores that major career change through the eyes of a young woman named Mima Kirigoe. Her life shockingly takes a turn for the worst once a stalker begins targeting her. Mima’s grip on reality becomes unglued as she deals with the high price of fame and her unwanted suitor. Perfect Blue hits all the right notes as an animated psychological thriller.
Just imagine this scenario - your father and a sinister being known as the Gamemaster put your life in peril via a game that people actually place bets on. After becoming the lone survivor of that game, a young woman goes back in time thanks to a supernatural entity's aid in order to rescue her loved ones from the horrible outcome of that game. To Your Last Death is certainly a wild ride help up by the vocal talents of Morena Baccarin, Ray Wise, and even William Shatner.
The hellish tale of Dante's Inferno got turned into a game by Electronic Arts and Visceral Games back in 2010. Then the game got the animated movie treatment called Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic, which came out a lot better than expected in practice. Just like the source material it's based on, this film focuses on Dante's demon-filled journey towards saving his love from the nine circles of Hell. Prepare your eyes for bouts of brutality and creepy monster designs that'll stay with you long after this film concludes.
Resident Evil: Degeneration isn't really worth checking out, even if you're a casual viewer of zombified cinematic experiences. It's worth going straight to the far superior follow-up Resident Evil: Damnation if you ask us. Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong make an appearance in this film as they get caught up in a new bio-weapon conspiracy taking place at the same time as a European civil war. This side tale within the Resident Evil saga contains everything fans adore - gunfights with dangerous bioweapons and recognizable characters doing everything to save the day.
If you're a 90s baby, then you probably have a slight memory of what this movie is all about. The Halloween Tree is a classic Hanna-Barbera production that's based on Ray Bradbury's 1972 fantasy novel of the exact same name. This lighthearted animated film follows a group of trick-or-treating little tykes who embark on an adventure to find one of their best friends after he gets spirited away by supernatural beings. Along the way, those kids come to learn about everything that's important about the wonderful holiday of Halloween.
Van Helsing is one of the most legendary demon hunters in all of media. In 2004, he got his very own big-screen adaptation starring Hugh Jackman as the gothic horror hero. And in animated form, we received a prequel film that provides plenty of clarity on all the events that took place before the live-action film. Van Helsing: The London Assignment sees the monster hunter making his way to London in a bid to get to the bottom of mysteries centering around murders caused by a horror icon.
The Batman is one of the more slept-on cartoons to have ever come out of the entertainment production houses of DC and WB. A spinoff film lifted the animation style of that series and focused on DC's "Dark Knight" entering one of his toughest (and strangest!) battles to date. Count Dracula himself shows up in Gotham City to enslave its people and create a new race of vampires. And of course, Batman confronts him to put a stop to that evil plan. You'll get a kick out of this one as you watch Batman, Dracula, The Penguin, and The Joker interact with each other in a fun gothic take on one of DC's greatest characters.