Founded in 2013 as the successor to Warner Bros. Feature Animation — the company behind films like Space Jam (1996) and The Iron Giant (1999) — the Warner Animation Group (WAG) is Warner Bros.’ primary feature animation studio. Since its launch, the studio has become best known for bringing the LEGO Movie universe to the big screen and, across ten feature releases, has generated roughly $2 billion at the global box office.
WAG established a clear identity early on: animated films that lean into referential comedy, rapid-fire jokes, and star-studded voice casts. Many of its films mine Warner Bros.’ extensive library of characters, creating projects that aim to appeal to both children and adults through layered pop culture references.
After an emphatic debut with 2014’s The LEGO Movie — a film many argued deserved Oscar recognition — WAG has seen mixed critical and commercial returns. The studio’s path has been uneven, with some films earning high praise and box office success while others underperformed. The animation landscape is increasingly crowded, especially since Disney acquired Fox in 2019, and that competition has only underscored the importance of fresh ideas and confident execution in feature animation.
In this edition of Ranked, The Film Magazine evaluates Warner Animation Group’s ten theatrical features and orders them from weakest to strongest based on artistic merit, critical reception, and public perception.
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10. The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Budget: $70 million
Worldwide Box Office: $123.1 million
Starring: Jackie Chan, Dave Franco, Kumail Nanjiani, Justin Theroux, Fred Armisen, Zach Woods, Abbi Jacobson, Michael Peña, Olivia Munn, Ali Wong, Charlyne Yi, Constance Wu, Randall Park, Retta
Released the same year as The LEGO Batman Movie, The LEGO Ninjago Movie aimed to capitalize on the brand’s momentum but struggled to find the right audience. Its Ninjago IP skewed younger than previous LEGO outings and failed to attract the broader young-adult crowd that enjoyed the franchise’s earlier films. The result was a modest box office return and a reputation as one of WAG’s least successful theatrical releases.
The film’s visuals and martial-arts theme showed promise, but a combination of weaker animation detail compared with earlier LEGO productions and a screenplay that didn’t land consistently left the movie feeling flat. As a whole, Ninjago reads as a misfire in a series that had previously balanced irreverent humor and heartfelt storytelling more successfully.
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9. Tom & Jerry (2021)
Budget: $79 million
Worldwide Box Office: $131.9 million
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Pallavi Sharda, Colin Jost, Ken Jeong, Rob Delaney
Tom & Jerry Review
The 2021 Tom & Jerry film struggles with identity. It attempts to revive the classic cat-and-mouse antics for a family audience while wedging in a human-centered workplace story about a young woman trying to succeed in her job. That tonal split dilutes the charm of the original cartoons, and the movie too often feels like a repurposed script rather than a cohesive revival.
Still, the film has moments of levity and benefits from the decision to render Tom and Jerry in a stylized 2D form alongside live-action settings. Those choices offer visual variety, but overall the movie lacks the spark and clear focus needed to make it a memorable entry in WAG’s catalog.
8. Scoob! (2020)
Budget: $90 million
Worldwide Revenue (including Premium VOD): $35.5 million
Starring: Frank Welker, Zac Efron, Will Forte, Amanda Seyfried, Gina Rodriguez, Mark Wahlberg, Tracy Morgan, Jason Isaacs, Ken Jeong, Kiersey Clemons, Simon Cowell
Scoob! Review
Scoob! attempted to build a larger Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe while also serving as a testbed for Premium Video-on-Demand release strategies. That approach hampered its theatrical prospects and left critics and audiences divided. The film features a wide cast of familiar characters and recognizable voice talent, but the execution felt uneven.
Issues included inconsistent animation quality, underdeveloped side characters, and a screenplay that sometimes tried to be clever in ways that missed the mark for younger audiences. There are sincere, touching moments and moral clarity in the story, but ultimately Scoob! underutilizes its IP and fails to reach the level of warmth and invention WAG has shown elsewhere.
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7. Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Budget: $150 million
Worldwide Box Office: $154.9 million
Starring: LeBron James, Cedric Joe, Don Cheadle, Sonequa Martin-Green
Space Jam: A New Legacy Review
Space Jam: A New Legacy is unabashedly commercial — a spectacle that doubles as an extended showcase for Warner Bros.’ IP catalogue and streaming platform. Despite that, the film delivers a level of family entertainment with vibrant visuals, playful energy, and heartfelt moments, particularly where nostalgia and the Looney Tunes’ anarchic spirit are concerned.
It isn’t a deep film, but it succeeds as a high-energy family spectacle and a platform for LeBron James. The exaggerated visuals, frenetic set pieces, and familiarity of the Tunes make it an enjoyable, if lightweight, entry in WAG’s slate.
6. DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
Budget: $90 million
Worldwide Box Office: $207.4 million
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, Ben Schwartz, Natasha Lyonne, Keanu Reeves, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Diego Luna, Marc Maron, Dascha Polanco, Daveed Diggs, Keith David, Jameela Jamil, Olivia Wilde, Lena Headey, Alfred Molina
DC League of Super-Pets is a modern Warner Bros. product that leverages DC Comics’ expansive roster in a family-friendly animated adventure. Its premise — focusing on the pets of famous superheroes — is a playful, meta take that resonates well with younger audiences and DC fans alike.
Though the animation occasionally feels more corporate than artistic, the film benefits from sharp, comedic voice work (particularly from Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart) and an affectionate knowledge of DC lore. Heartfelt story beats and fan-friendly casting choices elevate the movie, making it a solid, crowd-pleasing entry in WAG’s catalog.
5. Storks (2016)
Budget: $70 million
Worldwide Box Office: $183.4 million
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Andy Samberg, Katie Crown, Kelsey Grammer, Ty Burrell, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Danny Trejo, Awkwafina, Ike Barinholtz
Co-written and co-directed by Nicholas Stoller, Storks retells the classic stork-and-baby fable with modern humor and a colorful animation style. The film delivers a number of genuinely funny moments and strong voice performances, but its central premise feels stretched thin at times, leading to a script that relies heavily on quick jokes instead of deeper narrative development.
Visually, Storks is polished and appealing, though it’s difficult not to compare the approach to earlier, shorter works that handled similar themes more concisely. Still, it’s an enjoyable family film with a warm center, even if it lacks the lasting impact of the studio’s best entries.
4. Smallfoot (2018)
Budget: $80 million
Worldwide Box Office: $214 million
Starring: Zendaya, Channing Tatum, LeBron James, James Corden, Gina Rodriguez, Common, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Jimmy Tatro
Smallfoot approaches its story with heart and a family-friendly sensibility. The film’s animation ranges from striking to ordinary at different moments, but its themes — curiosity, questioning assumptions, and celebrating differences — are consistently earnest. The voice cast brings warmth and personality to the characters, and the movie’s message lands in a way that’s accessible for children and pleasant for adults.
Smallfoot performed well at the box office and remains one of WAG’s more reliably entertaining releases: not groundbreaking, but a satisfying, heartwarming family film.
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3. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019)
Budget: $99 million
Worldwide Box Office: $192.3 million
Starring: Chris Pratt, Tiffany Haddish, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Stephanie Beatriz, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Jason Momoa, Richard Ayoade, Cobie Smulders, Noel Fielding, Ralph Fiennes
The LEGO Movie 2 followed a wildly successful original and faced high expectations. While it offered many of the same strengths — inventive visuals, witty dialogue, and heartfelt moments — it didn’t reconnect with audiences as strongly as the first film. Box office returns were underwhelming relative to cost, and the sequel’s performance signaled waning momentum for the LEGO franchise on the big screen.
Still, the film remains an enjoyable watch: clever in places, emotionally sincere in others, and threaded with the same playfulness that made the first movie a standout. It ultimately stalled commercially and creatively compared with its predecessor, but it’s a respectable entry in the LEGO series.
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2. The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Budget: $80 million
Worldwide Box Office: $312 million
Starring: Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Zach Galifianakis, Ralph Fiennes, Jenny Slate, Jonah Hill, Mariah Carey, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, Billy Dee Williams, Conan O’Brien, Eddie Izzard
The LEGO Batman Movie is a sharp, self-aware take on the Dark Knight mythos and one of WAG’s most entertaining offerings. The film balances satire, character study, and rapid-fire jokes with surprising emotional depth, especially in its exploration of Batman’s loneliness and his evolving relationship with allies and adversaries.
Full of clever references, guest cameos, and a relentless comedic energy, LEGO Batman captures the best aspects of the LEGO film formula: irreverence, heart, and smart pop-culture commentary. The animation is lively and the voice performances — especially Will Arnett’s Batman — are pitch-perfect.
1. The LEGO Movie (2014)
Budget: $100 million
Worldwide Box Office: $468.1 million
Starring: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Will Ferrell, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson
The LEGO Movie is WAG’s high-water mark: original, cleverly written, emotionally resonant, and technically impressive. What could have been dismissed as extended product placement instead became a witty, inventive film that simultaneously celebrated creativity and delivered a punchy emotional twist.
Its animation was meticulously detailed — convincingly mimicking stop-motion through digital techniques — and its story about imagination, play, and parental relationships resonated with audiences and critics alike. The LEGO Movie remains one of the most memorable animated films of the 2010s and stands as the studio’s crowning achievement.
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What do you think of this ranking? Would you order these films differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and follow The Film Magazine on Facebook and Twitter for more curated lists and movie coverage.