Animated Movies That’ll Give You Serious Cottagecore Vibes

Haven’t gotten your fill of cottagecore yet? Well, here are a few animated movies that can send you directly into the aesthetic.

Step away from Jane Austen and turn towards an animated screen!

Cottagecore is an aesthetic that romanticizes simple and sustainable lives in the country.

Classic cottagecore activities include crafting, baking, picking flowers, picnicking and interacting with nature. You’ll see visual cues of Instagram-worthy agriculture, flowing dresses with bare feet, dainty house decor, quaint kitchens filled with recipes made by hand, and day-to-day chores done with a smiling face.

My Neighbor Totoro

Inspiring tattoos for generations…

Synopsis

When the Kusakabe family moves to the Japanese countryside, they find that their home and the surrounding land is full of spirits. The daughters, Satsuki and Mei, befriend the spirts and one in particular, Totoro, becomes a guardian to them as they navigate their new home and deal with the long term illness of their mother.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 5/5

This movie is exactly in line with cottagecore. It’s visually splendid, with long shots of the Japanese countryside and all its flourishing agriculture, lazy streams, and hidden meadows where friendly spirits roam. Among these sights are touches of home, with beautifully layered cooking, chores in the sunlight, and antique houses that are wonderfully nostalgic.

Wolf Walkers

Jacob Black wishes he was this cool.

Synopsis

Moving to Ireland from England, young Robin’s father is hired to exterminate a pack of wolves that have been threatening the area. Spirited and stubborn, she wants to be a hunter herself but is constantly rebuffed by society due to her gender.

One day Robin sneaks out into the woods and meets a mysterious girl named Mebh who reveals herself to be a WolfWalker – a creature of legend whose spirit becomes a wolf when she sleeps. When Mebh bites Robin in error and turns her into WolfWalker as well, the two have to band together to save the wolves and themselves from the hunters in the town.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 3/5

Wolf Walkers is distinctly cottagecore when friends Mebh and Robin roam through the woods together, both as humans and as wolves. Visually, this is evident in the movie’s coloring, with drabber grey colors representing the town and brighter hues representing the forest. Although it lacks a few of the typical cottagecore activities, it more than makes up for it in how the audience is meant to see and fall in love with Ireland’s nature.

The Secret World of Arrietty

They don’t steal, they borrow.

Synopsis

Arrietty and her parents are Borrowers, little people no bigger than a few inches tall. They secretly live under the house of a human family and “borrow” tiny items from them that won’t be missed. One day a boy named Sho comes to live in the house as a break for his health and sees Arrietty. Although it is forbidden to speak to humans, Arrietty eventually befriends Sho. Once her family realizes they have been discovered, they get ready to leave, but many obstacles remain in their way.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 5/5

In The Secret World of Arrietty you’ll see near every classic visual cue of cottagecore out there, just in disproportionate sizes. You’ll see the Borrowers baking using crumbs of human food, crafting swords out of pins, and using all manner of plants and flowers to fill their home. The Borrowers make a simple and sustainable life surrounded by nature look easy even when they’re only a few inches tall!

The Secret of Kells

Magical Irish folklore awaits!

Synopsis

When young Irish boy Brendan is taken as an apprentice to help complete the sacred Book of Kells, he unknowingly undertakes a task that will lead him on a journey to banish darkness from the land. Along the way he receives the help of the fairy Aisling. Together they face legendary foes, as well as human ones.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 3/5

Similarly to Wolf Walkers, The Secret of Kells shows off its cottagecore chops with how nature is presented verses city life. The forest near Kells is wild, lush, and full of beauty and adventure. Additionally the crafting of the book itself gives us a more typical look into cottagecore activities.

Ferngully

Want to warn children about pollution? Watch this!

Synopsis

The fairies who live in FernGully believe humans to be extinct. However, when the fairy Crysta finds evidence of their existence, she leaves to investigate. Upon finding a few humans cutting down trees, she accidentally shrinks one of them and brings him back to FernGully.

The fairies are facinated by the human Zak, but unbengnost to them, the loggers have also cut down the tree that had imprisoned Hexxus, an evil spirit. As Hexxus gains power from human pollution, the Zak and the fairies must band together to save FernGully.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 4/5

Ferngully is set in a lush rainforest and depicts how important nature and living in harmony with the earth is. However, there are less of the classic visual cues and cottagecore activities seen here, as the cottagecore aspect is more in the message of the film and in the location the film is set in.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Parents letting their 13 year old kid leave home for good? Sounds plausible…

Synopsis

Upon turning thirteen, young witch Kiki leaves home to find a new town and start her journey as a full-fledged witch. Clumsy, spirited Kiki decides to create a delivery service and begins with enthusiasm and passion, but her spirits fade as the town isn’t as accepting of her as she hoped they would be. Eventually, after one bad delivery experience, she looses her magic and is forced to look inwards to find herself again.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 5/5

Baking? Check. Day to day chores done with a cheerful attitude? Check. Beautiful scenes of the sea and the surrounding countryside? Check. Cute animals (some that can talk)? Check. Retreating to nature to find yourself in a more simple life? Double check. Plus… flying and magic!

Bambi

The most heartbreaking death Disney has ever created…

Synopsis

Bambi is born as the young deer prince of the forest and after losing his mother to a hunter, must grow up to assume his place as prince and protect the girl he loves.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 3/5

Being animals, the characters of this film cannot necessarily perform classic cottagecore activities. The film instead reflects the beauty of the forest and the nature of the animals who live there. Their simple lives can be uprooted by humans in disastrous ways, visually shown in the color palette of the movie.

Wolf Children

They’re just like regular kids, just with fur and fangs.

Synopsis

Kind college student Hana falls in love with a werewolf and they have two children together, living a happy life. However, upon his death Hana faces increasing suspicion about her werewolf children and decides to move to the countryside so they don’t have to hide who they are. As her children grow, they face the realization that they will eventually have to pick a world to live in, one with humans or one in the wild.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 4/5

This movie has both fantasy and slice of life elements. Slice of life elements tend to work very well with cottagecore, especially when, like in this movie, it is seen in the countryside or amongst nature. Hana raises her children in the countryside as best she can, cooking and doing daily chores with a smile on her face. As they grow up, the screen is split between scenes of the countryside and scenes of the forest – both of which give cottagecore feels.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

No – this is not a Studio Ghibli movie.

Synopsis

After Mary Smith moves to the English countryside, she finds a flower that can grant magical powers for only one day. When the power is transferred to a broomstick, it flies her up to a school for witches in the clouds. The headmistress insists Mary is a magical prodigy, but Mary is honest and tells her about the flower.

Mary returns home, but headmistress later kidnaps her new friend and demands that Mary brings her the flowers. When Mary does, the headmistress locks her inside the college. Mary and her friend Peter must try to escape and stop the headmistress from succeeding in her immoral experimentations using the flower.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 3/5

As so many of these movies are, Mary and the Witch’s Flower is set in the countryside. Thus, the audience is subject to beautiful scenery and a quaint houses with Instagram-worthy finishings. However, since Mary has just moved there, it takes her a while to appreciate her new home and the life she will make there. Luckily, through the help of a magical flower and some new friends, she learns about her own inner strength and the beauty of her new home.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

One of the least popular Disney princesses… and yet she can bake a great looking pie.

Synopsis

Young princess Snow White works as a maid for her evil, vain stepmother. One day, when her stepmother’s mirror reveals that Snow White is more beautiful than she is, the stepmother hires a hunter to kill Snow White. The hunter lets Snow White escape and she runs into the forest, happening upon a cottage of dwarfs. The seven dwarfs agree to let her stay, but the evil queen knows Snow White still lives and disguises herself to find the princess.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 5/5

When a character is as famous for cheerfully cooking and cleaning as Snow White is, how could her movie not be considered cottagecore? The house of the dwarfs is wonderfully quaint and the songs Snow White sings while she works make you want to follow along and bake a pie with her – of course, with non-poisoned apples though.

Thumbelina

The songs will stick in your head for days afterwards – in a good way!

Synopsis

Thumbelina is a tiny girl born from a flower who lives with her mother in a cottage. Although she loves her life, she dreams of companionship from someone who is as small as she is. One night, the fairy prince Cornelius hears Thumbelina singing and the two fall in love.

Cornelius leaves to tell his family that he will marry Thumbelina, but she is soon kidnapped by frogs who were also enchanted by her singing. She escapes and begins a journey to find her way back home to her prince.

Cottagecore Vibes Ranking – 5/5

Similarly to The Secret World of Arrietty, Thumbelina is only a few inches tall and lives in the countryside. Her life with her mother is filled with daily chores, baking, and crafting – with flowers in her hair. The story is entirely set in the country and in nature, with Thumbelina using birds as a ride, dancing with beetles, and hiding in teapots.

Honorable Mentions

These animated movies were close contenders, but have qualities that kept them out of the final lineup.

Howl’s Moving Castle

After Sophie is saved by a wizard during an outing, she unwillingly becomes entangled in a world of magic. Once she herself is cursed, she goes on a journey to break it, and along the way is further pulled into a world of witches, wizards, and demons.

Why is this only an honorable mention?

Although Howl’s Moving Castle does include beautifully animated depictions of cooking and chores, along with some scenes in nature, it is mainly set in a city or in the moving castle. It feels as if the goal is that eventually they would all live simple lives in nature, but that is not what we see in the movie (and really, with Howl can anything ever truly be simple?).

In This Corner of the World

Cheerful, clumsy Suzu is married just as WWII is starting. At first it effects her very little, and she goes about her day to day life as a married woman as best as she can. Eventually the war reaches her little naval port city and an air raid leads to the loss of her hand and the death of her niece. Even after this, she bounces back and helps her family as well as she can. Then, the atomic bomb is dropped on her hometown city of Hiroshima and Suzu must finally face the losses she has felt and work through her grief.

Why is this only an honorable mention?

In This Corner of the World has all of the elements to fit perfectly within the cottage core aesthetic – showing Suzu’s daily life in the country with chores, baking, and beautiful scenery. She even has the perfect attitude for cottagecore, smiling and willing to try new things with a distinct passion for life. However, the overall tone of this movie is very dark. Yes, the ending has a hopeful touch, but there’s too much death and despair for this to be anything higher than an honorable mention.

Song of the Sea

When Ben’s mother pregnant mother Bronagh disappears and leaves behind a baby in the tide, Ben cannot forgive the baby, Saoirse, even years later. After the mute Saoirse finds a sealskin in a trunk, it’s revealed she’s a selkie and her father disposes of the skin in a bid to keep her from leaving the family like her mother.

Their grandmother takes the children to the mainland in order to separate Saoirse from the sea, but the selkie spirit has already woken up, and magic begins to call out to Saoirse. When it’s revealed that only Saoirse can free the faeries from the evil Macha, she and Ben go on a quest to get back to their home and retrieve her sealskin.

Why is this only an honorable mention?

Song of the Sea is primarily set in the outdoors and there are many scenes that depict different areas of Ireland beautifully. However, the movie is not meant to romanticize the simple life or life in the country, the focus isn’t on that at all – instead focusing on Irish folklore and the relationship between the siblings.

When Marnie Was There

Anna has always felt alone, something that is only heightened when she finds out her foster parents are paid to take care of her. However, when she goes to the Japanese countryside for her health, she meets a mysterious foreign girl named Marnie and the two become fast friends. Anna has never been happier, but eventually secrets unfold that throw the very existence of Marnie into question.

Why is this only an honorable mention?

Again, it’s easy to think that when movies are mainly set in the countryside that they’re cottagecore, but that’s not what the aesthetic means. When Marnie Was There shows that Anna is in fact happier in the country, but that’s due to her new friend, not due to the countryside itself.

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