Have you ever found yourself scrolling through Netflix, not sure what to watch because you’ve watched everything, and you land on a strange animal movie? Well, I may have had this happen to me more times than I’d like to admit. That, and my siblings and I enjoy watching animal cast movies (if they sing, it’s even better!). I’ve compiled a list of a few of my favourite under-rated animal movies for you to enjoy!.
- G-Force
Imagine the best spies…and now imagine them as guinea pigs. Yep, you heard that right: guinea pigs. I never hear anyone talking about this one, but this used to be a family favourite in my house, and I’m pretty sure we have the DVD somewhere. This movie follows a group of highly trained guinea pigs as they are sent on their latest spy mission: stopping a billionaire from using household appliances to take over the world. While guinea pigs wouldn’t be my first choice for super spies, this movie is so fun and really different from some other animal movies.
2. Over the Hedge
This may have been one of the first talking animal movies that I actually have a vivid memory of, and even though this movie was so strange, 8 year old me thought it was the best movie of the year. Evidently, I had very low standards in 2006. Over the Hedge follows a group of animals from the forest who are being removed from their homes to build a new housing development. They do everything possible to stop this from happening, including some very strange antics. While it may sound odd, the idea of ‘found family’ is super strong in this and will have you awe-ing by the end.
3. Bolt
This movie was watched so often in my house that the DVD actually broke. If that doesn’t scream how amazing this movie is, I don’t know what does. Bolt is about a hit TV show dog who portrays a dog that has superpowers on screen. When he truly believes that he possesses superpowers, he heads out on his own mission to save the world. The is a classic Disney animal movie that is super sweet, and while the main character is Bolt, it also includes a loving cat and a super helpful hamster (rolling in a ball of course).
4. Sing! While this may not be deemed “under-rated,” this is a recent favourite in my house. So much so, that when the second movie comes out on Christmas, my mother has already stated we will be watching it in theatres. This movie is what would happen if America’s Got Talent was run by a society of animals. When a popular music hall is threatened to be closed down, the manager runs a talent show to find the best singers in the city, who will later be putting on a show to raise money. Each singer is vastly different and this movie covers important topics of standing up for yourself, finding your voice, and many others.