Netflix Animation First Looks: ‘Ultraman’, ‘The Monkey King’, ‘Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget’, ‘Nimona’, & More

While Netflix has yet to win the big one at the Oscars, not for lack of trying, they have been doing phenomenally well in the realm of animation, winning Best Animated Feature earlier this year for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio. And now we’re seeing the streamer go all-in with animation over the next eighteen months, with first-look previews at nine anticipated features.

The previews include the high-anticipated Nimona, featuring a cast led by Riz Ahmed and Chloe Grace Mortez; Ultraman based on the classic Japanese anime; Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget; musical comedy Leo starring Adam Sandler; The Monkey King; the newly-announced In Your Dreams; the SpongeBob Squarepants spinoff Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie; That Christmas from Love Actually writer Richard Curtis; and Thelma the Unicorn from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess.

Check out the full preview below:

1 of 10

Nimona

Coming Summer 2023

• Synopsis: When a knight in a futuristic medieval world is framed for a crime he didn’t commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona — a mischievous teen who happens to be a shapeshifting creature he’s sworn to destroy.
• Directed by Nick Bruno & Troy Quane
• Produced by Karen Ryan, p.g.a; Julie Zackary, p.g.a.; Roy Lee
• Screenplay by Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor
• Story by Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Marc Haimes, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin
• Based Upon the Graphic Novel by ND Stevenson
• Executive Producers: Megan Ellison, Robert L. Baird, Andrew Millstein, John Powers Middleton
• Production Company: Annapurna Animation
• Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Frances Conroy, Lorraine Toussaint, Beck Bennett, RuPaul Charles, Indya Moore, Julio Torres, Sarah Sherman

The Monkey King

• Synopsis: The Monkey King is an action-packed family comedy that follows a charismatic Monkey and his magical fighting Stick on an epic quest for victory over 100 demons, an eccentric Dragon King, and Monkey’s greatest foe of all —his own ego! Along the way, a young village girl challenges his self-centered attitude and shows him that even the smallest pebble can have a big effect on the world.
• Director: Anthony Stacchi (The Boxtrolls)
• Producer: Peilin Chou
• Executive Producer: Stephen Chow
• Cast: Jimmy O. Yang, Bowen Yang, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, Jo Koy, Ron Yuan, Hoon Lee, Stephanie Hsu, Andrew Pang, Andrew Kishino, Jodi Long, James Sie and BD Wong

Leo

• Synopsis: Actor and comedian Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania, The Wedding Singer) delivers signature laughs in this coming-of-age animated musical comedy about the last year of elementary school – as seen through the eyes of a class pet. Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo (Sandler) has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle (Bill Burr). 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. It ends up being the strangest but most rewarding bucket list ever…
• Directors: Robert Smigel, Robert Marianetti, David Wachtenheim
• Produced by: Happy Madison
• Cast: Adam Sandler, Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Jackie Sandler, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel, Jo Koy, Stephanie Hsu

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

• Synopsis: From the multi Academy and BAFTA award-winning Aardman (Creature Comforts, Wallace & Gromit, and Shaun the Sheep), and Academy Award and BAFTA-nominated director Sam Fell (ParaNorman and Flushed Away, respectively), comes Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved and highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, Chicken Run. Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world. When she and Rocky hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
• Director: Sam Fell
• Story by: Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’ Farrell
• From a screenplay by: Karey Kirkpatrick & John O’ Farrell and Rachel Tunnard
• Producers: Steve Pegram, Leyla Hobart
• Executive Producers: Peter Lord, Nick Park, Carla Shelley, Paul Kewley, Karey Kirkpatrick
• Cast: Thandiwe Newton, Zachary Levi, Bella Ramsey, Imelda Staunton, Lynn Ferguson, David Bradley, Jane Horrocks, Romesh Ranganathan, Daniel Mays, Josie Sedgwick-Davies, and Nick Mohammed

In Your Dreams

• Synopsis: A perfect family? Siblings who get along? Yeah… in your dreams. This is a comedy adventure about Stevie and her brother Elliot who magically travel into the world of dreams with the mission of finding The Sandman who will grant them their ultimate wish — saving their parents’ marriage. The kids are total opposites, making them an unlikely duo to navigate the absurdity of their own subconscious. Along their journey, they discover that as long as they have each other, they can face anything, even their worst nightmare.
• Director: Alex Woo
• Co-Director: Erik Benson
• Producers: Gregg Taylor, Tim Hahn

Saving Bikini Bottom: The Sandy Cheeks Movie

• Synopsis: When Bikini Bottom and all its denizens are suddenly scooped out of the ocean, Sandy Cheeks and SpongeBob SquarePants journey to Texas to save the town from a villainous plot.
• Director: Liza Johnson (The Last of Us, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dead to Me)
• Teleplay by: Kaz and Tom Stern
• Story by: Kaz
• Based on the Series SpongeBob SquarePants Created by Stephen Hillenburg
• Executive Producers: Marc Ceccarelli, Vincent Waller
• Animation Supervisor: Piero Piluso
• Music by: Moniker
• Music Supervisor: Karyn Rachtman
• Cast: Carolyn Lawrence, Tom Kenny, Wanda Sykes, Clancy Brown, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Rodger Bumpass, Johnny Knoxville, Craig Robinson, Grey DeLisle, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Matty Cardarople

That Christmas

• Synopsis: Based on the successful series of children’s books by BAFTA winner and Academy Award nominee Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Yesterday), Locksmith Animation’s heartwarming film marks the feature film directorial debut of renowned character animation and story artist veteran Simon Otto (Love, Death & Robots, How to Train Your Dragon trilogy). That Christmas follows a series of entwined tales about love and loneliness, family and friends, and Santa Claus making a big mistake, not to mention an enormous number of turkeys! Nicole P. Hearon (Moana, Frozen) and Adam Tandy (The Thick of It, Detectorists) are producers.
• Director: Simon Otto
• Producer: Nicole P. Hearon, Adam Tandy
• Writer: Richard Curtis

Thelma the Unicorn

• Synopsis: Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamourous music star. In a pink and glitter-filled moment of fate, Thelma is transformed into a unicorn and instantly rises to global stardom. But this new life of fame comes at a cost. Thelma the Unicorn is a hilarious, quirky and heartfelt ride from directors Lynn Wang (Unikitty!) and Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite).
• Directors: Jared Hess, Lynn Wang
• Producer: Pam Coats

Ultraman

• Synopsis: Based on the beloved Japanese character, Netflix’s Ultraman follows baseball superstar Ken Sato as he returns to his home country of Japan to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman. He soon finds more than he bargained for when he’s forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe. Ken must go on a heroic journey, balancing parenthood, his estranged father, and the relentless Kaiju Defense Force to rise beyond his ego and discover what it truly means to be Ultraman.
• Director: Shannon Tindle (Lost Ollie)
• Co-Director: John Aoshima
• Written by: Shannon Tindle, Marc Haimes
• Produced by: Tom Knott, Lisa Poole
• Production Company: Tsuburaya Productions, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM)