Best biography, animation, & documentary shows on Paramount+, ranked.
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- #1100

Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005–2008 · Series · 3 seasonsAnimation · Action
1 EmmyBest Animation SeriesIn a war-torn world of elemental powers, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
NetflixParamount+Prime Video - #1290

Invader ZIM
2001–2006 · Series · 2 seasonsAnimation · Action
1 EmmyAn alien named Zim from the planet Irk is sent on a secret mission to conquer Earth, not realising that his leaders were just trying to get rid of him and hoped that he would die. Once there, Zim manages to disguise himself as a h...
Paramount+ - #2687
Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head
2022– · Series · 3 seasonsAnimation · Comedy
The iconic animated duo are back and dumber than ever. The '90s pop-culture phenomenons return, voiced by creator Mike Judge, to confound common sense, torment each other, and showcase some of the dumbest comedy imaginable.
Paramount+ - #2986
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
2022 · Movie · 1h 27mAnimation · Comedy · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
After a "creative" judge sentences them to space camp, a black hole sends our adolescent heroes 24 years into the modern future where the duo misuse iPhones, embark on a quest to score, and become targets of the Deep State.
Paramount+ - #3285
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987–1996 · Series · 10 seasonsAnimation · Action
Four mutated turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo), fight crime and eat pizza, whilst battling the evil Shredder and his foot robot ninjas as well as aliens, mad scientists, comedic gangsters and other weird muta...
Paramount+ - #4783

Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough
2015–2016 · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary
David Attenborough revisits the Great Barrier Reef after nearly 60 years. His visit takes him from the most exposed part of the reef as well as down to 300m below the surface discovering corals never seen before.
Paramount+ - #5282

South Park: Joining the Panderverse
2023 · Movie · 48mAnimation · Comedy · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
The end of Cartman's familiar, beloved life is predicted by his incredibly unsettling dreams. As the arrival of AI upends their society, the grownups in South Park are also struggling with their own personal decisions.
Paramount+ - #5681

Beavis and Butt-Head
1993–2011 · Series · 8 seasonsAnimation · Comedy
The show is about two slow-witted teenagers Beavis and Butt-Head and their everyday exploits, including trying to get laid (or "score," as they like to call it), breaking things, pulling pranks, skipping school and watching TV.
Paramount+ - #6680
Rugrats
1991–2003 · Series · 10 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, Phil and Lil and Susie find themselves in a slew of adventures - both real and imaginary. Baldly go where no baby's every gone before as the Rugrats turn the ordinary into the extraordinary every day.
Paramount+ - #6979
We Need to Talk About Cosby
2022– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography · Crime
Writer/director W. Kamau Bell's exploration of Bill Cosby's descent from "America's Dad" to convicted sexual predator. Comedians, journalists and survivors have a candid, first of its kind conversation about the man, his career an...
Paramount+ - #7379
South Park: Post COVID: The Return of COVID
2021 · Movie · 1h 2mAnimation · Comedy
If Stan, Kyle and Cartman could just work together, they could go back in time to make sure Covid never happened and save Kenny's life. Traveling back to the past seems to be the easy answer until they meet Victor Chaos.
Paramount+ - #8777
Amistad
1997 · Movie · 2h 35mBiography · Drama · History
In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legal...
Paramount+ - #9676
The Angry Beavers
1997–2001 · Series · 4 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
Brothers Daggett and Norbert Beaver have left home to gain independence by living on their own. Their goal is to live a wild bachelor lifestyle but, as might be expected from young brothers, they get into some weird situations.
Paramount+ - #10076
South Park (Not Suitable for Children)
2023 · Movie · 46mAnimation · Comedy
A new sports drink called Cred is all the rage at the kids' school. Meanwhile, after a teacher at the school is discovered to have been making large amounts of money from OnlyFans, Randy decides to become an OnlyFans model.
Paramount+ - #10375
The Backyardigans
2004–2013 · Series · 4 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin are a group of young friends who get together to play in the backyard they share. Each day, their imaginations transform that backyard into a different photo-realistic landscape.
Paramount+ - #12473
Sid & Judy
2019 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Biography · History
Revealing new look at Judy Garland fifty years after her tragic, untimely death. Fusing the unpublished recollections of producer, manager and third husband, Sid Luft, with film clips, rare concert footage and Judy's own inimitabl...
Paramount+ - #13073
Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored Story of '80s Hair Metal
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary
Follow the wild, excessive '80s hard rock scene's insanity and ambition that enthralled generations. Uncensored behind-the-scenes look at an iconic musical era's influence on culture through candid insights from renowned rock jour...
Paramount+ - #14272
Kyle Kinane: Whiskey Icarus
2012 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
In his first hour-long Comedy Central special, Kyle Kinane contemplates the existence of God, and the true meaning of being delivered an unsliced pizza. This special is extended and uncensored with all sorts of extra Kyle.
Paramount+ - #14372
Inside the Factory
2015– · Series · 10 seasonsDocumentary · History
How our favorite foods and products are made? Cherry Healey and Gregg Wallace go into the factories to figure out, while Ruth Goodman tell us about the historical development of the manufacturing process of these products.
Paramount+ - #14572
The Day Kennedy Died
2013 · Movie · 1h 32mDocumentary · History
Captures the frantic rush to the local hospital, the public chaos that ensued, the quickly mobilized manhunt by law enforcement looking for a suspect after witnesses identified the source of the gunshots as the Texas Book Deposito...
Paramount+ - #14772
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
2025 · Movie · 1h 28mAnimation · Action · Comedy
Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following the Flying Dutchman, a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate, to the deepest depths of the deep sea.
Paramount+ - #14872
The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs
2015 · Movie · 2hDocumentary · Drama · War
Documentary revealing the inner workings of the world's most powerful intelligence organization, with unprecedented access to America's spy network, all 12 living CIA directors and top agency operatives, who talk candidly about to...
Paramount+ - #15371
Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day
2021 · Movie · 15mDocumentary
During 1880-1968 over 4,000 African Americans were lynched at the hands of white mobs. These lynchings were commemorated through souvenir postcards that would ultimately be subverted by Black activists to expose racist violence in...
Paramount+ - #15571
The Wild Thornberrys
1998–2004 · Series · 5 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
Eliza Thornberry is not your ordinary kid. It's not just because she travels the world in an RV with her parents: famous nature show hosts. Eliza also happened to be granted the magical ability to talk with and understand animals.
Paramount+ - #16470
Irena's Vow
2024 · Movie · 2h 1mBiography · Drama · War
Through the eyes of a strong-willed woman comes the remarkable story of Irena Gut, and the triumphs of the human spirit over devastating tragedy, as she risked her life to save a generation of Jews from the atrocities of the Holoc...
Paramount+ - #17570
The Last Expedition
2024 · Movie · Polish · 1h 20mDocumentary
The true story of Wanda Rutkiewicz, the first woman in the world and the first person from Poland to climb the highest peaks on earth - told by herself. Wanda entered the men's world of high-mountain expeditions without an invitat...
Paramount+ - #17770
Super Mario World
1991– · Series · 1 seasonAnimation · Action · Comedy
Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool are living in Dinosaur Land and have a cute always hungry dinosaur named Yoshi as a pet and a caveman child as a friend. They must stop evil King Koopa and his minions the Koopalings.
Paramount+Prime Video - #18169
The Mountain Lion and Me
2018 · Movie · 51mDocumentary
On the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park is Paradise Valley, Montana, home to bears, wolves, elk, and an animal so secretive, few ever get to see it: the mountain lion. Wildlife filmmaker Casey Anderson became one of those lu...
Paramount+ - #18669
Mystery in Yellowstone
2015 · Movie · 46mDocumentary
Yellowstone National Park is home to a vast array of landscapes and a huge diversity of animals, united in a fascinating ecosystem, one that is currently in severe trouble. The area once contained over 19,000 elk, but its numbers ...
Paramount+ - #18769
Americans Underground: Secret City of WWI
2017 · Movie · 44mDocumentary
An amazing discovery has been made beneath a farm field in Northern France: a vast underground city where World War I soldiers, on both sides of the conflict, took refuge a century ago. Even more remarkable, it is one of hundreds ...
Paramount+ - #18869
Madagascar: Africa's Galapagos
2019 · Movie · 50mDocumentary
It's the 10th of May 1836, Charles Darwin leans on the beaten wooden gunwale of The Beagle. He's yet to start writing his "Origin of the Species", but he's already forming his theories about evolution. Locations like the Galapagos...
Paramount+ - #19269
Miles To Go Before I Sleep
2016 · Movie · 35mDocumentary
35 minute documentary about musicians and the relationships they have with their roadies. Features Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Chris Shiflett (Foo Fighters) and Jim James (My Morning Jacket), who talk about their time on t...
Paramount+ - #19469
Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison
2021 · Movie · 27mDocumentary
Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison gives us a window into playwright Liza Jessie Peterson's performance in 2020 of her acclaimed play The Peculiar Patriot performed at Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, ...
Paramount+ - #19669
Unbelievable Flying Objects
2007 · Movie · 52mDocumentary
In the history of aviation, there were some ideas that didn't quite...fly. From the bizarre vertical "Pogo" plane to the disastrous Goblin, nicknamed the "Flying Egg," we take an in-depth probe of some magnificent men and their no...
Paramount+ - #19969
More Than I Want to Remember
2022 · Movie · 14mAnimation
1 EmmyOne night at her home in southeastern Congo, 14-year-old Mugeni awakes to the sounds of bombs. As her family scatters to the surrounding forests to save themselves, Mugeni finds herself completely alone. From there, she sets out o...
Paramount+ - #20069

Out of the Rubble
2016 · Movie · 17mDocumentary
This is a fine short film neatly pulling together post-war archive to tell a story of the modernisation of Britain through architectural change, town planning, immigration and attitudes towards all this. All done in less than 20 minutes. There's such a good flow to the editing that it probably won't even feel its running length. There's a few contemporary additions including interviews with some of the subjects from the archive, which help to pull of the social commentaries together, but none detract from the flow or style of this piece of documentary cinema. All in all it's a good use of the BFI's archive so hopefully there'll be more similar efforts like this in the future.
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