Cozy Animated Fall Movies For The Season
As the autumn season carries on and the holidays come for us all, I find myself craving some nice fall movies. Not Halloween movies, just some cozy movies that fit into the feeling of fall. So I will offer that exact list to anyone else craving that fall feeling in animated form. Settle down with some pumpkin spice, a blanket, and listen to the rain drops on the fallen leaves as I give some recommendations to fit the season.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973):
Many people probably were expecting Charlie Brown to be somewhere on this list and here it is to start us off. It is also the one explicitly holiday-themed film on this list, along with being the oldest and shortest film here as well. But in only twenty-five minutes, this short from the seventies is the embodiment of cozy fall vibes. Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts cast celebrate a makeshift Thanksgiving feast of popcorn, toast, and jelly beans. Though even the simplest Thanksgiving meal can’t go without a massive snag of some form or another.
Truly, this movie does what Peanuts does best by giving the characters simple, grounded, and low-stakes problems to solve. All the while, we get some hijinx from the mute Snoopy. This is the kind of movie you put on loop in the background of a family gathering to occasionally sit down and watch a few minutes with an uncle or cousin you barely talk to for the rest of the year. Just taking in the low-energy comfort of a Peanuts story that doesn’t try to be anything grander than just that: simple and cozy for the autumn season.
Kubo And The Two Strings (2016):
While I know some find stop motion animation leans more towards the creepy rather than the cozy side of fall, I feel much the opposite. I see the unique form of animation as comforting, and none do stop motion better than LAIKA Studios. I would name their best to be Kubo And The Two Strings.
The story follows a young boy named Kubo who had his left eye stolen by his evil grandfather, The Moon King. Kubo wields a magical shamisen that lets him animate paper to life while journeying to find the three legendary armor pieces that will let him fight his grandfather, all while accompanied by the grouchy but wise Monkey and the jovial and kind Beetle and facing down Kubo’s evil aunts.
This is a much more grandiose story, and for some that may disqualify it from being cozy. But for me that just amplifies the small and comforting moments between the characters. Those themes of memories, destiny, compassion, and the power of family are what really set this as an autumn movie for me. That and the colors. Everything consists of comforting warm tones of yellow, orange, and red. From the fallen leaves to the paper to even the sky itself. Along with the many spookier moments scattered through the movie that, like the salt in caramel, makes those gentle moments hit so much sweeter as Kubo untangles the web of his family.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009):
Another stop motion film to go with Kubo. And I’d say Fantastic Mr. Fox fits into the fall aesthetic even a little better than its stop motion compatriot.
The story follows the titular fantastic Mr. Fox, who was the greatest chicken thief until he made a promise to his pregnant wife while in a life or death situation to give up his dangerous career. Cut to several fox-years later and he has lived up to his promise, becoming a newspaper writer and living in a hole with his wife and their son, Ash. But the call of his old exciting life pushes Mr. Fox to move them into a tree and begin silently stealing chicken and cider again, only to earn the ire of the three biggest fox hating farmers known, and right when his wife’s nephew comes to stay with them.
This is an adaptation of a Rhoald Dahl book of the same name and so comes with his very unique sense of humor and ability to create some of the most deep and achingly real moments of emotion. You will be shocked how deeply you will feel for the struggles of four foxes standing in a dirt hole. Apparently mid-life crises and losing yourself in trying to provide for your family is universal across species…
Not to mention the movie’s color scheme is something like 70% oranges, yellows, and browns. It is deeply autumn. And something about what I could best describe as “scruffiness” of the movie contributes to how endearing and fall-themed I find the movie.
Wolfwalkers (2020):
Wolfwalkers is a 2D animated movie by Cartoon Saloon, also known for Song Of The Sea (2015), The Secret Of Kells (2010), The Breadwinner (2018), and My Father’s Dragon (2022).
The movie is the third in the studio’s Irish Folklore Trilogy, following a young English girl named Robyn Goodfellowe living in a walled off town with her hunter father. They have been summoned to hunt down the wolves within the nearby woods when Robyn meets a girl in said forest named Mehb, who reveals herself to actually be a shapeshifter known as a wolfwalker with the ability to turn into a wolf when she sleeps, suddenly leaving Robyn to realize all she’d known of wolves and the wild was a lie.
The story is full of autumn colors in just about every moment the character spends in the woods, feeling like something out of a fall greeting card or nostalgic storybook. Each leaf and branch is painted in welcoming orange, yellows, and browns. Not to mention Cartoon Saloon’s unique style is on full display here with these stunning visuals of sketchy lines and brilliant colors.
But what truly makes this feel like a fall movie is Wolfwalker’s themes of the cycle of decay and renewal, found/chosen family, tradition, nature, and healing. This is one of those movies that will make you cry and remind you to hug your loved ones. And you’ll never be able to hear “Running With The Wolves” by AURORA ever again without tearing up.
Spirited Away (2001):
Ok- Ok- Ok! Let me cook here! Spirited Away is a fall movie! Trust me!
Spirited Away follows a ten year old girl, Chihiro, who is moving to a new home with her parents when they discover a tunnel leading them to a mysterious ghost town. But when Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs after eating spirit food and they are all trapped in the spirit world, Chihiro gets a job at a nearby bathhouse and must grow up to save herself and her parents.
It’s not a fall movie in the exact same way other movies on this list are, but it’s more fall for again, the themes. Spirited Away deals growing up, empathy, renewal, and family—all things that feel very fall-coded to me. Not to mention the somber feeling much of the movie hangs onto. Though like the colder seasons, the movie comes out the other end with a happy conclusion that makes you feel renewed.
If you know anything about Studio Ghibli, the studio behind Spirited Away, you’ll know this will be a treat for the eyes. And honestly a treat for the soul as well. Something to make you feel warm as the cold creeps in.
Ok, how are we feeling about that? Are we ready to sit down for a harvest festival feast? Maybe lay in some fallen leaves? Well if not, maybe give a few of these movies a watch or rewatch. Enjoy them as the leaves change color. Soon enough it’ll be winter and this unique feeling of the season will be gone. So let’s sit back and enjoy the ephemeral nature of it all. Or let’s just watch some animated fall movies together and not get into the weeds of it all. That would work too. Just pass the apple cider!