10 Best Blue Sky Movies, Ranked

Within the greater scope of American animation companies, one studio that made its mark was Blue Sky Studios. Owned by 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky created some of the most popular animated films of the 2000s and 2010s, including Ice Age, Rio, and The Peanuts Movie. While Blue Sky’s films weren’t always popular with critics, nobody can deny they had a knack for creating unique worlds, good messages, and even some stellar performances by the voice actors who played fun and memorable characters.

Sadly, the studio’s future was put into question after the Walt Disney Company’s buyout of Fox in 2019, and the studio officially shut down in 2021. While some of their characters and even canceled projects have found new life, much of the special touch the studio had has been lost. Regardless if all their films were good or not, Blue Sky Studios showcased magnificent potential even in their most mediocre of products.

10 ‘Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs’ (2009)

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs isn’t as emotionally charged as the first two movies, but it finds a way to expand on its prehistoric setting that works within the film’s universe. While Manny (Ray Romano) is dealing with Ellie’s (Queen Latifah) pregnancy and Diego (Denis Leary) is debating whether-or-not to leave the herd, Sid (John Leguizamo) has begun to feel left out. He soon stumbles upon a cave with three large eggs and decides to adopt them. When they hatch the next morning, the group is shocked to discover they are three baby T-Rexes – and their mommy is coming to take them home.

After taking Sid with her, the group follows the T-Rex underground to discover a hidden oasis populated by dinosaurs. Hoping to get Sid back and make their way home, the herd enlists the help of a crazy, one-eyed weasel named Buck (Simon Pegg) to survive in this new terrain. Not all of the film’s jokes land, but it still has a heart where it counts.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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9 ‘Spies in Disguise’ (2019)

Directed by Troy Quan & Nick Bruno

Spies in Disguise became the last theatrically released film made by Blue Sky during its lifetime, but it’s still a fun film to go out on. Lance Sterling (Will Smith) is a hotshot spy working for the secret agency of H.T.U.V. (Honour, Trust, Unity & Valor). While on a mission, Lance accidentally gets transformed into a pigeon thanks to awkward young scientist Walter Beckett (Tom Holland). Now the two must join forces to not only turn Lance human again but also defeat an evil cyborg terrorist (Ben Mendelsohn) hellbent on destroying the agency once and for all.

Spies in Disguise utilized a different aesthetic to most other Blue Sky Films, with more of a stylized approach to its human characters. The Spy action is fun, Smith and Holland make for an entertaining duo, and it does have a well-meaning argument against using lethal force in action. While Blue Sky was shut down after this film was released, Spies in Disguise’s directors were able to complete their next intended project – the Oscar-nominated Nimona.

Spies in Disguise can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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8 ‘Dr Suess’ Horton Hears a Who!’ (2008)

Directed by Jimmy Hayward & Steve Martino

In the jungle of Nool, Horton the elephant (Jim Carrey) seems to hear a noise coming from a dust speck on a clover. Most of the other jungle animals, predominantly a Sour Kangaroo (Carol Burnett), mock Horton for entertaining the idea of a person on a dust speck. But it turns out that Horton is right – the dust speck is actually a tiny planet, on which resides the town of Whoville, populated by tiny people called « Whos » that only Horton can hear.

After making contact with the town’s accident-prone Mayor (Steve Carell), Horton vows to find a safe home for Whoville at all costs, even as the other animals begin planning to get rid of the speck by any means necessary. While Horton Hears a Who has some jokes and story beats that don’t always hit their mark, it is still widely regarded as the best film adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book. The added connections between Horton and the Mayor and new perspectives given to minor characters do help strengthen the book’s plot for a movie format.

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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7 ‘Epic’ (2013)

Directed by Chris Wedge

After her mother’s death, Mary Katherine/M.K. (Amanda Seyfried) moves in with her dad (Jason Bateman) in a house next to a forest in Connecticut. Her dad has become obsessed with proving the existence of tiny people who live in the forest, much to his daughter’s annoyance. But soon M.K. discovers that those tiny people are very real, as she’s shrunk down and taken to a tiny kingdom populated by flower people, talking slugs, and an elite group of warriors called the Leafmen.

Entrusted by the kingdom’s dying queen, Tara (Beyoncé Knowles), with a pod that will determine the next ruler, M.K. must avoid the wrath of the evil Mandrake (Christoph Waltz), a Boggan who wants to corrupt the pod and destroy the forest. While not quite as epic or profound as its title suggests, Epic is still an entertaining and thrilling film with likable characters and beautiful animation.

Epic can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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6 ‘Rio’ (2012)

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

In Minnesota, bookshop owner Linda Gunderson (Leslie Mann) is informed that her domesticated pet bird Blu (Jessie Eisenberg) is the last known male blue Macaw in the world. Blu is quickly brought to Rio de Janeiro to mate with the last known female blue Macaw, Jewel (Anne Hathaway). The two prove to be polar opposites, with Jewel being fierce, bold, and daring, while Blu is neurotic, constantly afraid, and can’t even fly.

But when the two are kidnapped and chained together by animal smugglers, they must make their way through the city of Rio during Carnival time, so Jewel can get back to the wild and Blu can get back to Linda. With vibrant colors, catchy and beautiful music, and most of its characters being South American animals, Rio may not be especially groundbreaking, but it is a lovely tribute to the city of Rio de Janeiro, its culture, and its wildlife.

Rio can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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5 ‘Ferdinand’ (2016)

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

Inspired by the classic children’s book, Ferdinand tells the story of a bull who’s big in size and even bigger in heart. Raised from a calf by a little girl named Nina (Lilly Day), Ferdinand (John Cena) is a pacifist bull who’d much rather spend his days in the field just sitting on the grass and smelling flowers than fighting other bulls. But after he accidentally destroys the town square, he’s taken back to the bullfighting ranch where he was born.

While befriending the other animals living on the ranch, Ferdinand learns that the bulls who aren’t chosen to fight become meat, and those who are chosen are doomed to die in the ring. He decides to try and free his new friends and get back home, but may have to face one of the world’s greatest bullfighters, El Primero (Miguel Angel Silvestre) to do so. While the narrative and jokes are relatively simplistic, Cena gives a heartfelt and effective performance as Ferdinand himself, making the film’s emotional arc worthwhile.

Ferdinand can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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4 ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown’ (2006)

Directed by Carlos Saldanha

A fair while after the events of the first movie, Manny, Sid, and Diego are living together in a valley beneath a large ice wall. But they soon discover that the ice wall is set for a giant meltdown, which will flood the entire valley. While seeking to get away, Manny meets Ellie, a mammoth like him who was raised by possums. Along their way to find a new home, Manny and Ellie begin a romance; all the while, the herd faces off against aquatic predators, and Sid unwittingly finds himself the leader of a tribe of sloths seeking to use him as a sacrifice.

The plot of Ice Age: The Meltdown isn’t quite as strong as the first, but it doesn’t go nearly as off the rails as the later sequels did. Ellie and her possum brothers Eddie (Josh Peck) and Crash (Seann William Scott) make for fun additions to the group and Ellie finding her true identity makes for a strong emotional catharsis.

Ice Age: The Meltdown can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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3 ‘Robots’ (2005)

Directed by Chris Wedge

In a world populated by sentient robots, young Rodney Copperbottom (Ewan McGregor) decides to seek his fortune as an inventor in Robot City. After rooming in with a crew of misfit machines, Rodney discovers that his childhood friend Bigweld (Mel Brooks) has vanished, and his company is now owned by executives who only care about producing fancy upgrades. Discovering that robots who can’t afford the upgrades are left for the chop shop, Rodney decides to take the corporation down, find Bigweld again, and repair any robot who comes to him for help.

While the story of Robots is fairly predictable, it more than makes up for it with a unique setting, dark undertones, and creative characters. Stand-out performances among its cast include McGrogor, Brooks, Stanley Tucci, and Robin Williams, all bringing their best qualities while working within the film’s universe. It also has a touching, if somewhat literal message – no matter what you’re made of, you can be special.

Robots can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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2 ‘Ice Age’ (2002)

Directed by Chris Wedge

At the dawn of a new age on the planet, a grumpy wooly mammoth named Manny makes the acquaintance of outcast sloth Sid as they travel north while all the other animals begin migrating south. They discover a dying human woman and rescue her baby before he can be eaten by a pack of saber-toothed tigers. Manny and Sid decide to find the humans and return the baby to his dad, forcing a saber-toothed tiger named Diego to track them down. While Diego intends to feed both the baby and Manny to his pack, the trio soon finds themselves bonding as they brave the icy wilderness together.

Ice Age is the film that put Blue Sky on the map, became it’s longest-running franchise, and gave the studio its mascot with a little nut-crazed critter named Scrat (Chris Wedge). While it lacks the vibrant colors of the sequels, it has a darker, more emotionally driven story-line than what the sequels became, stressing the importance of finding family and moving past trauma.

Ice Age can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.

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1 ‘The Peanuts Movie’ (2015)

Directed by Steve Martino

Over the course of half a school year, Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) tries various methods to win in life and gain the attention of the Little Red-Haired Girl (Francesca Angelucci Capaldi). While he continually fails in most of his plans, his refusal to give up keeps him going, even as other kids discourage him from it. The story is somewhat episodic, focusing primarily on Charlie Brown’s journey while including gags with other kids and especially Snoopy (Bill Melendez).

But in terms of animation quality, The Peanuts Movie was among the first mainstream animated films to begin a trend seen in the likes of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – utilizing computer animation with a hand-illustrated aesthetic. In this case, it replicates the style of Charles Schulz’s original strips and replicates them perfectly in a 3-D environment. In terms of animation, storytelling, and voice acting, no other Blue Sky film measures up to this one.

The Peanuts Movie can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

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KEEP READING: ‘Ice Age’: Blue Sky Studio Let Scrat Get His Acorn in Farewell Short Film