7 Hidden Gem Animated Kids Shows on Netflix Worth Watching

Picture Credits: Netflix

Curating a list of quality kids’ content can be tough. The children’s animation industry is one of the most prolific on the planet, pumping out products through traditional broadcasters, streamers and YouTube at a rate that’s almost impossible to keep up with. For any kids’ show landing on the market, there’s a lot of noise to cut through, but every now and again there’s one that manages it. Whether it’s through deeply resonant themes, artfully executed animation, or well-considered comedy, some shows give you hope that there are people out there trying to make genuinely great stuff.

With Netflix itself being home to a host of kids’ content of varying quality, we put together a list of seven shows that stand out in quality.

Picture Credit: Netflix

When it comes to kids entertainment, trends reign supreme. If something with a particular look and tone gets popular, there are 10 clones coming out next month. That’s what makes the presentation of The Last Kids On Earth stand out. The characters have delicately exaggerated features and move almost like an old Warner cartoon. The lighting in the show is also super sophisticated and brings out the wide range of colours the show throws at the screen. Those colours come from the supernatural threats that orphan Nick Wolfhard and his team of middle schoolers have to face off against in the wake of the apocalypse. For such a heavy premise, the show strikes a breezy and funny tone.

Picture Credit: Netflix

Jentry Chau is a quintessential high school superhero story that wouldn’t be out of place in 60s Marvel comics. The main character is imbued with mythical powers that stem from her native Chinese mythology and burdens her with a responsibility that she simply cannot be bothered with. As she is working through sticky moments in her friendships, romance and familial relationships, she has to deal with the looming threat of the king of the underworld looking to track her down.

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The show does an excellent job of highlighting the things that make these stories fun. It’s so true to the teenage experience, it works as a power fantasy, its humour is calibrated well enough alongside the drama and it is deeply specific to Chinese culture. Rounding it off is the excellent animation by Titmouse, which delivers on massive and inventive action set pieces.

Picture Credit: Netflix

In a similar mode to Jentry Chau, Maya and the Three is another teenage power fantasy that is hugely specific to an underrepresented culture. Set in pre-colonial Mesoamerica, Maya is confronted by vengeful gods who she must take on to protect her people. The scope of the miniseries is huge, and at the end of its nine episode run, it leaves you feeling like there’s more on the table.

Maya and the Three’s most potent weapon is creator Jorge Gutierrez whose off-kilter character designs and sense of humour make Maya unlike anything else out there. His design philosophy on 2D projects like Book of Life translate amazingly well to a CG style, these oddly proportioned bodies constantly drawing you in.

Picture Credit: Netflix

Very few titles in the kids’ space take on the visual swings of Oni. So much of animation relies on telegraphing the characters emotions using a lot of big expressive facial features. Oni shoots for a minimal approach, with characters donning small button-shaped eyes and not much else besides. Tonko House set themselves a challenge of squeezing these designs for everything they have, and they achieve it with aplomb.

Despite its visual swings, Oni fits into a comfortable mode of storytelling, essentially working as a Japanese fairy tale. The world is inhabited by various yokai and demigods from Japanese folklore, and Onari herself is yet to grow into her own distinct personality. It works well as a subtle mythology but also a perfect allegory for finding your own path as you grow up.

Picture Credit: Netflix

The Cuphead Show might not have the depth of some of the others on this list, but it’s an undeniable delight. Adapted from the game of the same name which used 1950s animation aesthetics for a series of rock-hard platforming boss battles, The Cuphead Show is a bit of a trojan horse. No studio would commission a completely original IP that looks like this, but by using an established one, three seasons slipped through the cracks.

The show’s animation is so considered yet leaves enough roughness for it to feel true to the era it replicates. The colouring is slightly off, the resolution slightly muddy. That era of animation was defined by the magical feeling of seeing a drawing move, and that fundamental wonder is the lifeblood of The Cuphead Show. It bursts with energy and joy in every frame.

Picture Credit: Netflix

Adapted from Luke Pearson’s graphic novel, who also went on to show run, Hilda stands out for its cosy, cute and colourful art direction. As the show depicts Hilda and her crew taking on a mystical creature of the week, that art direction keeps it grounded and the stakes low, but in a way that makes Hilda endlessly watchable.

So much care is put into making sure the animation doesn’t feel static, whether it’s having someone’s hair bounce slightly as they walk or having their eyes contort to all sorts of shapes. Hilda is also in the running to be the most wholesome thing on the streamer, you’ll leave the show wishing you could adopt almost every character.

Picture Credit: Netflix

Few gaming properties have been adapted to TV and film as much as Pokémon, and while some middle in quality, Concierge is a showcase for what happens when the biggest media property on the planet throws money at some genuinely passionate creators. Just one frame of this stop-motion masterwork will instantly communicate its appeal. The characters, including the Pokémon themselves, are made out of felt models, a fuzzy and adorable sheen given to a franchise that embodies warm and fuzzy feelings.

Pokémon designs are carefully tailored to look their best in the game’s pixel or CG art, and translating them to a new medium can make for a disaster, just ask Detective Pikachu. But the team at Dwarf studios avoided that uncanny valley effect and found a way to make the pocket monsters feel just at home in felt as they do digitally. Concierge keeps its stories small and that decision pays dividends. Our POV character is Haru, who starts work at a Pokémon hotel and deals with all sorts of issues for its adorable guests. An episode centered on a Pikachu with social anxiety is a highlight for the show, and for Pokémon as a franchise.

That’s our picks of the best kids’ animated series on Netflix – what are yours? Let us know in the comments down below.