A first date movie needs to do several things at once: be engaging enough to talk about, not so intense it kills the mood, and ideally leave you both with something to say when the credits roll.
Despite everything, the 2020s have produced some genuinely remarkable cinema. Films made under pressure that somehow carry none of it.
The best animated films don't talk down to anyone. They trust that emotion has no age requirement.
Escaping from poverty to become a witcher, Vesemir slays monsters for coin and glory, but when a new menace rises, he must face the demons of his past.
When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
As Gotham City's young vigilante, the Batman, struggles to pursue a brutal serial killer, district attorney Harvey Dent gets caught in a feud involving the criminal family of the Falcones.
With his best friend Luca away at school, Alberto is enjoying his new life in Portorosso working alongside Massimo-the imposing, tattooed, one-armed fisherman of few words-who's quite possibly the coolest human in the entire world as far as Alberto is concerned. He wants more than anything to impress his mentor, but it's easier said than done.
What makes these films remarkable is their emotional honesty. They're animated, but they don't soften anything.
When the Flash finds himself dropped into the middle of World War II, he joins forces with Wonder Woman and her top-secret team known as the Justice Society of America.
Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students - including an impossibly mean substitute teacher.
After a migrating duck family alights on their pond with thrilling tales of far-flung places, the Mallard family embarks on a family road trip, from New England, to New York City, to tropical Jamaica.
The Templeton brothers - Tim and his Boss Baby little bro Ted - have become adults and drifted away from each other. But a new boss baby with a cutting-edge approach and a can-do attitude is about to bring them together again ... and inspire a new family business.
When Lois Lane is killed, an unhinged Superman decides to take control of the Earth. Determined to stop him, Batman creates a team of freedom-fighting heroes. But when superheroes go to war, can the world survive?
Films that mess with your mind work best when they've earned your trust first. The disorientation only lands if you were fully in. These get you in.
The best animated films stay with you the way a dream does. Vivid, emotional, and hard to fully explain.