Cannes has a reputation for animated feature-length films. Despite not having an official dedicated section of the festival, when they appear anywhere in the line-up, we should pay close attention. The last ten years prove to be a case in point, with features like My Life as a Zucchini (2016), Robot Dreams (2023), and Flow (2024) premiering at the festival and going on to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. In a category largely dominated by the “Big Three” (Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DreamWorks Animation), the status quo is shifting, with the last four winners coming from outside the three – including Flow.
2026 brought nine films to the Croisette, appearing across the official, parallel, and side sections of the festival, all showcasing unique motifs, electrifying color palettes, and superb animation above all else. Yet there are recurring themes like exploring grief, childhood, and being queer, as well as some being based on graphic novels. Here are the five you should keep on your radar for this year:
Tangles, dir. Leah Nelson
A fear that so often materializes sooner than we could possibly imagine is watching our loved ones grow old. With that fear comes witnessing shuffled walks, repeated phrases, and slow-wittedness. Nelson’s Tangles allows us to sit within dread through Sarah (Abbi Jacobson), whose mother Midge (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has a decline in health after she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Writers Nelson and Trev Renney draw from Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel of the same name to encapsulate the harsh reality of wanting to move forward with independence, whilst wanting to be there for your family when they need you most. It so poignantly mimics how complicated and guilt-ridden life actually gets and how not everything is black-and-white, even though the film is.
Even the sketch-like animation by Manddy Wyckens stuns with its evocative scribbles, illustrating the internal turmoil that occurs when dealing with a memory-deteriorating terminal illness. Make sure to have a gigantic box of tissues to hand before watching because Tangles is sure to tug at your heartstrings.
Le Corset (Iron Boy), dir. Louis Clichy
Iron Boy follows the story of a young boy named Christophe (Gary Clichy) who has an uncontrollable tilt that prohibits him from standing straight, no matter how hard he tries. Forced to wear an iron corset, Christophe faces relentless criticism and judgment from his family, friends, and teachers. The film beautifully tackles conversations on conformity, accessibility, and the ability to succeed despite physical adversity.
The pure artistry of the feature must be applauded, with animator Chloë Aubert honing in on a “traditional animation” approach – developed frame-by-frame. The paradigm shift back to this style of animation has been seen with Remembers’ Arco (2025) and even partially Sony Animation’s Goat (2026). Audiences and critics alike are craving this look-and-feel, which Aubert gorgeously delivers with her mixture of an adumbrate and watercolor style of 2D animation.
From its cleverly contrived cold open to the boundless use of animation at emotionally charged moments, director Louis Clichy handles the film with so much love and care to portray the most authentic narrative that depicts a childhood experience. It is no wonder that Iron Boy was the only animated feature to be selected in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
In Waves, dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen
Let Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves wash over you with its wondrous storytelling and animation. We are let into the life of introverted AJ (English voice actor Will Sharpe), who is lovestruck after meeting the adventurous Kristen (English voice actor Stephanie Hsu) at a party. Their romance unfolds in what becomes a stunning coming-of-age animation. However, when illness strikes, the strength of their love is tested.
Akin to films like The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and La La Land (2016), writers Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux spare no expense in the emotional devastation caused to audiences. For a film rooted in two tonally distinct halves, Burdino and Doux understand that it is necessary to establish a genuine connection between the characters before their world collapses in what otherwise may feel like disjointed parts.
With every frame resembling a Claude Monet painting, you cannot help but be in awe of In Waves. The meticulous details of the ocean crashes and the soft, dreamy haze of the skylines transport you to the golden beach seen in the film. Given that Netflix has picked up the international distribution rights to this, you shouldn’t have to wait too long to see this soon.
You can read our full review of the film on the site here.
We Are Aliens, dir. Kohei Kadowaki
Kohei Kadowaki’s We Are Aliens explores hard-hitting and at times uncomfortable themes through the eyes of Tsubasa Goto (Ryôta Bandô) and Gyotaro Hoshi (Amane Okayama), who started out as friends but quickly diverged. Bullying, identity, and spite – all prevalent during adolescence, but if not handled with care, they can violently manifest into adulthood, precisely what we see with Tsubasa and Gyotaro.
Kadowaki’s brilliant choice of framing the narrative from two perspectives, playing out fully and chronologically one after the other, allowed us to visualize how each of our viewpoints comes from a place of bias, misjudgment, and resentment, construing issues that perhaps don’t even exist. More often than not, the audience is left struggling to pick a side, but that’s what makes it such an unfiltered outlook on how relationships work in reality.
We Are Aliens reminds us how silly child-like mentality can have harmful ramifications and how platonic relationship breakups can be far more devastating than romantic ones.
Jim Queen, dir. Nicolas Athane, Marco Nguyen
Jim Queen is the most electrifying film of the festival. It centers around a gay bodybuilding influencer, Jim (Alex Ramirès), who has to enlist the help of superfan “twink” Lucien (Jérémy Gillet) to cure heterosis – a virus sweeping Paris that turns everyone straight.
Packed to the brim with vibrant color grading and a killer soundtrack, Nicolas Athane and Marco Nguyen craft the most unapologetically genuine love letter to the LGBTQ+ subcultures. From bears to drag queens to cruising daddies, the film has it all. The campy aesthetic paired with the impeccable comedic jabs is a recipe for success. This sex positive mature animation is sure to become a cult classic amongst the queer community.
List Courtesy of Nandita Joshi