In addition to Flow’s success as the best animated film at the 2025 Oscar awards, the recommendations for movies similar to Flow in this article are no less interesting and exciting for you to watch in your spare time.
Flow is a unique film by director Gints Zilbalodis that tells the story of a dark gray cat in a fantasy world similar to ours. When the cat’s home is flooded, they join a crew of animal survivors to survive.
The main story features engaging animation and beautiful scenery, as well as interactions between the animal sailing crew members. Although different, the movie’s storyline remains similar to other similar movies.
List of Best Animated Movies Similar to Flow
1. Away
Flow fans should definitely check out the animated movie Away that was released in 2019 because it’s very similar. This is director Gints Zilbalodis’ second movie after his debut, which tells the story of a young man stranded on an island with nothing but his bike.
After befriending a bird, they embark on a journey home. Watching the director’s previous work helps to understand their movie, so Zilbalodis’ debut is a perfect complement to Flow.
2. Bambi
Bambi, a classic animated movie released in 1942. The story follows the life of a deer who grows up in the forest with his friends. Throughout his journey, Bambi faces challenges from nature and man, until he finally grows into a full-grown deer.
The animated film Bambi is often cited as one of the best in depicting the beauty of nature. Most of the story focuses on the magic of the forest and has similarities to Flow, both in terms of the lack of dialog and animal characters.
3. The Red Turtle
The Red Turtle is a 2016 animated movie about a man stranded on an island. Every time he tries to escape on a raft, a large red turtle destroys it. He must find a way to escape while facing the threat of the wild animals on the island.
The Red Turtle is similar to the animated film Flow in that it lacks dialogue, emphasizing visuals over words. Both also share a similar cel-shading-inspired art style, and face a conflict rooted in the water element that separates the protagonists from their home.
4. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is an animated film from DreamWorks released in 2002. The story follows a mustang stallion who has his first encounter with humans as they attempt to tame him. Despite this, he forms a friendship with a young man, creating a strong bond between them.
Although Matt Damon voices the horse, the character of Spirit never speaks, making him a mute, cat-like character in the animated movie Flow. The movie also heavily emphasizes the beauty of nature, with the backdrop of the frontier depicting the charm of the Old West.
5. Brother Bear
Brother Bear is a 2003 Disney animated film that is often forgotten. It tells the story of Kenai, an Indigenous boy who is transformed into a bear. In his new form, Kenai tries to find his way back to his body while facing various challenges and meeting new animals, as well as fighting the threat of hunters.
Similar to Flow, this animated movie is about a group of animals exploring nature together. The main character in Brother Bear learns about himself through his experiences with animals, so it has a similar flow to the cat in Flow.
6. Princess Mononoke
Studio Ghibli is famous for creating movies that highlight the beauty of nature, and one of their best works is Princess Mononoke. The movie is set in the 14th century, featuring a magical conflict between humans, animals and gods.
Princess Mononoke is a fantasy movie that presents a natural world similar to reality, but with a magical twist. The movie was very popular and received praise on par with the best animated movie of the year, Flow.
7. Bolt
The movie follows the story of a dog named Bolt who believes that his life on the TV show is reality. After thinking that his owner has been kidnapped, Bolt joins forces with a cat and a hamster to go on a journey to rescue his owner.
Flow and Bolt are different in tone, where Flow emphasizes the serenity and beauty of nature, while Bolt is a straightforward adventure comedy film. Nevertheless, both are similar in that they are about a group of animals traveling across countries and discovering their identities.
8. Wall-E
The Wild Robot has something in common with Wall-E, Pixar’s 2008 movie about robots. Wall-E is a trash compactor robot left on Earth and tasked with cleaning up traces of human waste.
Wall-E and is similar to the animated film Flow mainly in its lack of dialog. Both highlight nature, but with different approaches. Flow highlights the abundance of nature, while Wall-E shows its destruction. The protagonists of both movies are also similar, both being loners who slowly learn to relate to others while engaged in grand adventures.
9. Wild Robot
The next best animated movies with a similar story to Flow is The Wild Robot, which tells the story of Roz, a robot stranded on a deserted island. Roz tries to find her purpose by helping jungle animals survive the challenges of nature.
The Wild Robot and Flow both focus on animal characters struggling to survive. Flow veers towards a fantasy story, while The Wild Robot uses science fiction elements. While both have a lot in common, they offer a unique experience. The animation style of The Wild Robot is also similar to Flow, further linking the two movies.
