Best documentary & animation shows streaming, ranked.
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- #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 - #3100

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 - #2296
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023– · Series · Japanese · 2 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
Elf mage Frieren and her fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people arou...
HuluNetflix - #2496
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 - #2596
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 - #3995
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
2020 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · Biography
3 EmmysIn this documentary David Attenborough, the celebrated naturalist, reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime and the devastating changes he has seen. The film provides a snapshot of global nature loss in a single lif...
Netflix - #4894

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 - #4994

Monster
2004–2005 · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Crime · Drama
Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon with a promising future, risks his career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. The boy, now a charismatic young man, reappears 9 years later in the midst of a string of unusual serial...
Netflix - #5993

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
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
2019–2024 · Series · Japanese · 4 seasonsAnimation · Action
A family is attacked by demons and only two members survive - Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko, who is turning into a demon slowly. Tanjiro sets out to become a demon slayer to avenge his family and cure his sister.
HuluNetflix - #7393
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 - #9392
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 - #9592
The Apothecary Diaries
2023– · Series · Japanese · 2 seasonsAnimation · Drama · History
A young maiden is kidnapped and sold into servitude at the emperor's palace, where she secretly employs her pharmacist skills with the help of the head eunuch to unravel medical mysteries in the inner court.
HuluNetflix - #12391
Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed
2014 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
Jim Gaffigan bursts back on the scene with this eagerly anticipated fourth comedy special. Dubbed the "King of Clean Comedy" by The Wall Street Journal, Jim's obsession with all things food comes to fruition on "Obsessed" as he ta...
Netflix - #12791
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 - #13091

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 - #13791
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 - #14791
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 - #14991
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 - #15490
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 - #17190
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
2022– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Action
A Street Kid trying to survive in a technology and body modification-obsessed city of the future. Having everything to lose, he chooses to stay alive by becoming an Edgerunner, a Mercenary outlaw also known as a Cyberpunk.
Netflix - #17490
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 - #17790
Chef's Table
2015–2024 · Series · 7 seasonsDocumentary · Biography
Chef's Table goes inside the lives and kitchens of six of the world's most renowned international chefs. Each episode focuses on a single chef and their unique look at their lives, talents and passion from their piece of culinary ...
Netflix - #18090
City of Joy
2016 · Movie · 1h 14mDocumentary · Crime · Drama
This film follows the first class of students at a remarkable leadership center in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region often referred to as "the worst place in the world to be a woman." These women have been through...
Netflix - #20289
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 - #21289
The Amazing Digital Circus
2023– · Series · 1 seasonAnimation · Action · Comedy
A woman finds herself trapped in a virtual circus where she and five other humans are subject to the whims of wacky AI. In this digital purgatory they must face frightening NPCs and cope with their own personal traumas.
Netflix - #21689
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 - #22488
MythBusters
2003–2018 · Series · 15 seasonsDocumentary · Mystery · Reality
The Mythbusters use science (and explosions) to answer every shower thought ever. From testing the myth that coke and pop rocks can explode your stomach, to recreating historical weapons to see how they worked.
Disney+MAXHulu - #23088
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
2015 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · History
A documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
Netflix - #23588

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 - #23688
Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated
2010–2013 · Series · 2 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
This incarnation finds Scooby and the gang living in Crystal Cove, a small town with a long history of ghost sightings, monster tales and other mysteries ripe for the sleuths to solve once and for all.
Netflix - #25288
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
2011– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Action
A creature named Kyubey offers Madoka and Sayaka a wish if they agree to become 'magical girls' and fight abstract beings called 'witches'. However, a magical girl named Homura is, for uncertain reasons, determined to stop this ag...
HuluNetflix - #26587
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 - #27487
Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
2022 · Movie · 1h 12mDocumentary
Follows celebrated competitive skating icon Leo Baker as they try to make space for themselves in the gendered world of pro sports and build a more inclusive skate culture, which leads them to doing the punkest thing imaginable.
Netflix - #27787
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary
The series chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb and the spread of nuclear arms over the following decades. It continues past the dissolution of the Soviet Union to Vladimir Putin's ascent and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Netflix - #28587
Violet Evergarden: The Movie
2020 · Movie · Japanese · 2h 20mAnimation · Drama · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
After the aftermath of a war, a young girl who was used as a 'tool' for war learned to live. With the scars of burns, she goes back to her past to feel the true feelings of the Major's, "I love you."
Netflix - #29187
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge
2020 · Movie · 1h 20mAnimation · Action
Hanzo Hasashi loses his family during an attack by a rival clan the Lin Kuei. He is given the chance to compete in an inter-dimensional tournament to save his loved ones while other fighters try to save the Earth realm from annihi...
MAX - #29887
Ouran High School Host Club
2006– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Comedy · Romance
You'll fall for the Ouran Host Club: Tamaki's truly romantic. Kaoru and Hikaru display brotherly love, Kyoya's brainy, Honey's innocent, and Mori's manly. Oh, and don't forget Haruhi. He knows what girls want, because he's a girl ...
Netflix - #30786
Once Brothers
2010 · Movie · 1h 19mDocumentary · Biography · History
Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac were two friends who grew up together sharing the common bond of basketball. Together, they lifted the Yugoslavian National team to unimaginable heights. After conquering Europe, they both went to A...
Netflix - #32086
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
2024 · Movie · Norwegian · 1h 43mDocumentary · Animation · Biography
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around th...
Netflix - #32886
The Case Against 8
2014 · Movie · 1h 49mDocumentary · Biography
A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.
MAX - #33786
Kiki's Delivery Service
1989 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 43mAnimation · Family · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Along with her black cat Jiji, Kiki settles in a seaside town and starts a high-flying delivery service. Here begins her magical encounter with independence and responsibility, making lifelong friends and finding her place in the ...
MAX - #34685
One to One: John & Yoko
2025 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Biography
Set in 1972 New York, this documentary explores John and Yoko's world amid a turbulent era. Centered on the One to One charity concert for special needs children, it features unseen archives, home movies, and restored footage.
MAX - #34785
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
Filmmaker Brian Knappenberger investigates the tragic death of an 8-year-old California boy who endured horrific abuse by his mother and her boyfriend, along with the fractured and complex systems that failed to protect him.
Netflix - #34985

Kamisama Kiss
2012–2016 · Series · Japanese · 2 seasonsAnimation · Comedy · Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Nanami is left homeless after her father runs away due to debts. When she saves a man named Mikage from dogs, he gives her his house which turns out to be a shrine and she becomes the new deity.
HuluNetflix - #35285
The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo
2025 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary · Biography · History
A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as "the stringer."
Netflix - #36785
Assassination Classroom
2015–2016 · Series · Japanese · 2 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
A powerful creature claims that within a year, Earth will be destroyed by him, but he offers mankind a chance by becoming a homeroom teacher where he teaches his students about how to kill him. An assassination classroom begins.
Netflix - #37385
Sunderland 'Til I Die
2018–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary · Sport
Highlights the unfailing passion Sunderland residents have for their beloved football club, taking viewers through the highs and lows of SAFC's 2017-18 season in the Championship following its relegation the previous year.
Netflix - #38485
Valentine Road
2013 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary · Crime
On February 12, 2008 in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was...
MAXPrime Video - #39385
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods
2013 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 25mAnimation · Action
After sleeping for 39 years, the God of destruction Beerus is surprised to learn that Frieza was defeated by the saiyajin Goku. Upon finding him, Goku is excited to face him, but realizes that his powers are negligible compared to...
HuluNetflix - #39685
Conan O'Brien Must Go
2024– · Series · 2 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy
2 EmmysAfter years of conversations with listeners from across the world on his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend (2018), Conan O'Brien sets off on an epic journey to connect with some of his dedicated followers in person.
MAX - #40584
Rocko's Modern Life: Static Cling
2019 · Movie · 45mAnimation · Action
After being in space for 20 years, Rocko and his friends attempt to adjust to an even more modern life in the 21st century. However, when he learns that his favorite 90s cartoon isn't on the air anymore, Rocko tries locating its c...
Netflix - #41584

Floyd Norman: An Animated Life
2016 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography
Animator. Storyman. Troublemaker. At 80 years old, see how Disney Legend Floyd Norman, the first African-American animator at Disney, continues to impact animation and stir up "trouble" after the company forced him to retire at ag...
MAX - #42084
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 38mAnimation · Action · Comedy
A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
MAX - #42684

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
2010–2019 · Series · 9 seasonsAnimation · Action · Comedy
After learning that her friends, as well as herself, are the magical Elements of Harmony, studious unicorn Twilight Sparkle is sent by her mentor, Princess Celestia, to Ponyville to study the magic of friendship with help from her...
NetflixPrime Video - #43484
Elena
2013 · Movie · Portuguese · 1h 20mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
Elena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra...
Netflix - #43884
The Summer Hikaru Died
2025– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Drama · Horror
Hikaru vanishes, replaced by an entity with his appearance, voice, and memories. The mysterious being maintains Hikaru's persona, making distinguishing it from the real Hikaru challenging as they continue their daily routines.
Netflix - #45783
The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling
2018– · SeriesDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
1 EmmyJudd Apatow presents an emotional two-part in-depth look at the life, career and complex internal struggles of his loving mentor, the influential stand-up comedian and actor Garry Shandling, based on Shandling's personal diaries.
MAX - #46783
The Last Days
1998 · Movie · 1h 27mDocumentary · War
1 OscarIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg,...
Netflix - #46883
Captain Tsubasa
2018–2019 · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Drama · Family
An 11-year-old Tsubasa Oozora started playing football at a very young age. To pursue his dream to the best of his elementary school abilities, he moved to Nankatsu, which is well-known for its excellent elementary school soccer t...
Netflix - #47083
Vivy -Fluorite Eye's Song-
2021– · Series · Japanese · 1 seasonAnimation · Action
The female looking and first autonomous AI named Diva is created for one mission to make everyone happy by singing. Shortly Diva is confronted by an unknown "program" from the future with objective to make Diva join him and destro...
Netflix - #47683
From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke
2009–2024 · Series · Japanese · 3 seasonsAnimation · Comedy · Drama
Sawako wishes to make friends but her weird vibe and lack of communication skills are getting in her way. Fortunately, it's no longer the case since she met Kazehaya, an extroverted guy who she couldn't help but to fall in love with.
Netflix - #49682
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
2018 · Movie · 1h 55mDocumentary · Biography
This documentary chronicles the life of Polish-American artist Stanislav Szukalski (1893-1987) from his early years in Chicago, to his time in Poland and Los Angeles, and his artistic and political contributions to the world.
Netflix - #49882
The Deepest Breath
2023 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Action · Sport
A champion and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another. Despite different paths taken, they meet at the pinnacle of the free-diving world, experiencing the thrilling rewards and inescapable risks of chasing dreams thro...
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