Best documentary & animation shows streaming, ranked.
Your next watch, decided. Every show ranked by quality — not popularity. No more arguing about what to watch tonight — share a WatchList with your partner.
Sign in to triage shows — WatchList, SkipList, or rank what you've seen. Triaged shows are hidden.
- #1100

Planet Earth
2006– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Family
4 EmmysBest Documentary SeriesA documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenbo...
MAX - #2100

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 - #1496
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
2023 · Movie · 2h 20mAnimation · Action
Traveling across the multiverse, Miles Morales meets a new team of Spider-People, made up of heroes from different dimensions. But when the heroes clash over how to deal with a new threat, Miles finds himself at a crossroads.
Disney+MAX - #1596
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
2013 · Movie · Japanese · 2h 17mAnimation · Drama · Family
Kaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.
MAX - #1996
Man on Wire
2008 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
1 OscarA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Prime Video - #4394

Capturing the Friedmans
2003 · Movie · 1h 47mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
MAX - #5393

Cameraperson
2016 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Biography · History
Exposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.
MAX - #6593
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
2024 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary · Biography
Reeve's rise to becoming a film star follows with a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After the accident, he became an activist for spinal cord injury treatments and disability ri...
MAX - #6693

Gleason
2016 · Movie · 1h 50mDocumentary · Biography
After he is diagnosed with ALS, former professional football player Steve Gleason begins making a video diary for his unborn son, as he, his wife, and their friends and family work to raise money for ALS patients as his disease pr...
Prime Video - #8392
Princess Mononoke
1997 · Movie · Japanese · 2h 13mAnimation · Action · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
While seeking to cure himself of a curse, young warrior Ashitaka stumbles into a conflict between the people of Iron Town and Princess Mononoke, a girl raised by wolves, who will stop at nothing to prevent the destruction of her h...
MAX - #8992
20 Feet from Stardom
2013 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Biography · History
1 OscarBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
Prime Video - #9092
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
2004 · Movie · 2h 2mDocumentary · Biography · History
The story of Z Channel, one of the first U.S. pay cable stations and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974 in LA, their eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Prime Video - #9892
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 · Movie · 1h 20mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Prime Video - #10992
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary · Action
A behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Prime Video - #12491
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
2022 · Movie · 2h 15mDocumentary · Biography · Sport
Follows famous skater Tony Hawk's personal life, career and relationship with skateboarding, including never-before-seen footage and unprecedented access to Hawk, along with interviews with figures from the skateboarding world.
MAX - #12691

Grey Gardens
1976 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Comedy · Drama
Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Ca...
MAX - #13491
Howl's Moving Castle
2004 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 59mAnimation · Action · Family
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.
MAX - #15091
The Legend of Vox Machina
2022– · Series · 3 seasonsAnimation · Action
After saving the realm from evil and destruction at the hands of the most terrifying power couple in Exandria, Vox Machina is faced with saving the world once again-this time, from a sinister group of dragons known as the Chroma C...
Prime Video - #15191
Great Teacher Onizuka
1999–2000 · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Comedy · Drama
About Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year-old ex-gangster member and a virgin. He has one ambition that no one ever expected from him. His sole life purpose is to become the greatest high school teacher ever.
NetflixPeacockPrime Video - #15291
Escape from Kabul
2021 · Movie · 1h 13mDocumentary · History
Features never-before-seen archival footage of the historic confrontation at Kabul airport, from the U.S. withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan through the subsequent evacuation of Afghan citizens after the Taliban seized the ...
MAX - #16190
Shaun the Sheep Movie
2015 · Movie · 1h 25mAnimation · Action · Comedy
When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it's up to Shaun and the flo...
MAX - #16290
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021 · Movie · 1h 47mDocumentary · Family · History
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most impactful children's series in TV history. From the iconic furry characters to the songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed our world.
Prime Video - #17590

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+ - #17690
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story
2017 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Biography
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is the harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder, cinema's most prolific killer, in a gut-wrenching, but inspiring, documentary. After decades of watching Kane Hodder on screen, get ready to meet the man behind the mask in To Hell and Back - an uniquely human story about one of cinema's most vicious monsters.
Prime Video - #18690
The Secret World of Arrietty
2010 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 34mAnimation · Action · Drama
The Clock family consists of three four-inch-tall people who live incognito among humans, borrowing only what they need to survive. Their quiet life changes when their teenage daughter, Arrietty, is discovered.
MAX - #20589

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey
2017 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Action · Biography
Fred Beckey is the legendary American "Dirtbag" mountaineer whose name is spoken in hushed tones around campfires. This rebel climber's pioneering ascents and lifestyle form an iconic legacy that continues to inspire generations.
Prime Video - #21389

Red vs. Blue
2003–2024 · Series · 19 seasonsAnimation · Action
After the Halo event of 2552, there is a brief but violent period of civil war among the humans. Two armies on opposite sides of a canyon, the Reds and Blues, fight in the most worthless piece of real estate in the galaxy.
PeacockPrime Video - #21989
After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News
2020 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary
A look at the ongoing threat caused by the phenomenon of "fake news" in the U.S., focusing on the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories and false news stories have on the average citizen.
MAX - #22089
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
2018 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 55mAnimation · Action · Drama
Maquia, a teenager, belongs to the Iorph community whose members can live for hundreds of years. But her life changes when the Iorph settlement is invaded and she comes across an orphan.
Prime Video - #23889
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
2013 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 58mDocumentary
Follows the routines of those employed at Studio Ghibli, including filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki as they work to release two films simultaneously, The Wind Rises and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
MAX - #24088
The Universe
2007–2015 · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · History
This educational show explores many scientific questions and topics about the universe (Big Bang, the Sun, the planets, black holes, other galaxies, astrobiology etc.) through latest CGI, data and interviews with scientists.
Prime Video - #24888
Lucy and Desi
2022 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
2 EmmysThis film explores the rise of comedy icon Lucille Ball, her relationship with Desi Arnaz, and how their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy" forever changed Hollywood, cementing her legacy long after her death in 1989.
Prime Video - #24988
Dororo
2019– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Action
Sightless Hyakkimaru wields fearsome prosthetics in place of the limbs his father traded to 12 demons. When he encounters the young thief Dororo, the pair sets out to reclaim Hyakkimaru's body parts and survive the demon-infested ...
HuluPrime Video - #25188
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles
2019 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary
The origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were ev...
Prime Video - #26188

Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda
2011–2023 · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · Crime
Through re-enactments, discussions with investigation teams, and interviews with victims' families and other involved persons, the show highlights Lt. Joe Kenda's successes with his 387 homicide case history and 92% solution rate.
MAXHulu - #26988
Silicon Cowboys
2016 · Movie · 1h 17mDocumentary · History
Three friends dream up the Compaq portable computer at a Texas diner in 1981, and soon find themselves battling mighty IBM for PC supremacy. Their improbable journey altered the future of computing and shaped the world we now know.
Prime Video - #27987

George Carlin: It's Bad for Ya!
2008 · Movie · 1h 10mDocumentary · Comedy
It's Bad For Ya, Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected...
Prime Video - #28587
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
2025 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Comedy
Cult musician Swamp Dogg and housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty have turned their suburban LA home into an artistic haven. They journey through the turbulent music business, forming a special friendship transcending eras.
Prime Video - #28787
Fragments of Paradise
2022 · Movie · 1h 38mDocumentary
Jonas Mekas chronicled life via diary films over 70+ years, from his 1949 NYC arrival until 2019. The Lithuanian exile shaped avant-garde cinema while building indie film institutions. "Fragments of Paradise" delves into his archives
Prime Video - #29387
When Marnie Was There
2014 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 43mAnimation · Drama · Family
Anna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to...
MAX - #29987
This Is Not a Movie: Robert Fisk and the Politics of Truth
2019 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary · Action · Biography
The groundbreaking and often game-changing reporting of legendary foreign correspondent and author Robert Fisk is profiled in the latest from acclaimed documentarian Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze).
Prime Video





























































































