Top 10 Animated Movies for Adults

What if your food had feelings? In Seth Rogen's mind, that doesn't lead to a cute Toy Story tale but to a foul-mouthed existential crisis. The sausages and buns in the supermarket discover that 'the Great Beyond' (our stomachs) is actually a horror scenario. The film looks like a slick Pixar production, which only makes the shock bigger. It's full of sexual innuendo and drug use and ends with a scene you'll probably never unsee. Tasteless? Maybe. Hilarious? Definitely.

This 80s cult classic is a wild anthology film mixing sci-fi, horror and erotica with a thundering soundtrack. Based on the magazine of the same name, it feels like the fever dream of a teenager who read too many comics. The animation styles alternate from raw and sketchy to impressively detailed. A celebration of excess and a perfect time capsule of an era when anything went.

Forget Mickey Mouse or Garfield; Fritz is the cat who shattered the wholesome image of cartoons. As the first animated film to receive an X rating in the US, it follows the drug-using, sex-obsessed Fritz through 1960s New York. It's a sharp satire of hippie culture and race relations, directed by legend Ralph Bakshi. Crude, uncomfortable and at times brilliant, it showed the world that cartoons could be political and provocative.

This Japanese thriller by Satoshi Kon may be one of the most suspenseful films ever made, animated or not. A pop singer leaves her group to become an actress but slowly loses her grip on reality because of an obsessive stalker and an internet impostor. It's a chilling look at fame and identity, themes even more relevant today. The transitions between dream and reality are so disorienting that you become as paranoid as the protagonist.

From the makers of Watership Down, and perhaps even more depressing. Two dogs escape from an animal testing lab but are hunted outside because people believe they're spreading the plague. Prepare for an emotional ordeal: it's a raw indictment of animal cruelty without a Disney ending. The desolate landscapes and the voices of John Hurt and Christopher Benjamin make it unforgettable but heartbreaking.

At first glance, this looks like a sweet story about an elderly British couple, drawn in the soft style of children's author Raymond Briggs. But appearances deceive: it's about their slow decline after a nuclear attack. While Jim and Hilda keep making tea and try to stay optimistic, you watch the effects of radiation take hold. The contrast between their innocent ignorance and the horrific reality makes it one of the most devastating anti-war films ever.

Generations of children were traumatized by this 'movie about bunnies'. What starts as a search for a new home turns into a brutal fight for survival, full of bloodshed and totalitarian regimes. The film takes its audience and characters dead seriously. It's an epic tale of leadership, sacrifice and death, wrapped in beautiful but sometimes terrifying images. You'll never forget the Black Rabbit of Inlé.

This is the film that put anime on the map in the West. In a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, a biker gang member develops terrifying psychic powers after an accident. What follows is a visual spectacle of destruction and body horror. The animation is of unprecedented quality; every explosion and flash of light was drawn by hand. A complex story about abuse of power and corruption that overwhelms you with its scale and energy. An absolute masterpiece.

Technically a puppet film, but it fits perfectly in this 'not for kids' lineup. In a world where puppets are second-class citizens, a private detective must solve a series of murders of the cast of an old TV show. It's a film noir parody in which puppets do things you'd normally only expect on the dark web. Crude, raunchy and designed to ruin your childhood memories of Sesame Street forever.

When South Park came to the big screen, Trey Parker and Matt Stone held nothing back. The result is a brilliant musical about censorship, parenting and a war with Canada that broke the record for the most swear words in a film. Beneath the crude jokes and Saddam Hussein's affair with Satan lies a remarkably smart satire. The songs are genuinely fantastic (and Oscar-nominated!), proving crude humor and quality can go hand in hand.