Kids' movies 2017: Here are 6 animated releases that adults will love too

Culture

Thanks to films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Batman v. Superman and Captain America: Civil War, 2016 was a record year at the U.S. box office. The year was particularly strong for animation, as Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets and Zootopia all grossed over $300 million at the domestic box office; in fact, Finding Dory grossed $486 million, making it the top grossing animated movie ever. 

Some analysts believe that 2017 will be an even better year at the box office. ComScore's Paul Dergarabedian told Deadline that "2017 is likely to blow the doors off 2015 and 2016." And a big part of 2017's box office run will likely be animated movies. 

While these films are enjoyable for children, they are also quite a bit of fun for adults as well. Perhaps some of you have even dragged your kids to a movie just so you can see it? If so, here are several animated movies coming in 2017 that adults will love just as much as their kids. 

The Lego Batman Movie, Feb. 10

One of several movies coming out in 2017 that will feature DC Comics' characters, The Lego Batman Movie comes three years after the The Lego Movie hit theaters and earned just under $470 million worldwide. The follow-up features arguably the most popular character from that film, Batman. 

The trailers for The Lego Batman Movie have played up the film's humor, some of which is targeted directly at adults. With a cast of characters that includes Batman, Robin, Superman, the Joker, Harley Quinn and more, adults should have no trouble explaining away their desire to see this movie. 

The Boss Baby, March 31

Featuring the voice acting talents of Alec Baldwin, Miles Bakshi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Buscemi and Tobey Maguire, The Boss Baby is poised to be an animated comedy that both children and adults can enjoy. From DreamWorks Animation, the studio that brought us Shrek and the How to Train Your Dragon series, The Boss Baby looks to be one of their funniest films yet. 

The film follows Tim Templeton, a kid who must deal with no longer being an only child after his parents bring home his new baby brother. As it turns out, though, this is no ordinary baby. 

Captain Underpants, June 2

DreamWorks Animation's second film in 2017 will be Captain Underpants, based off the children's book series of the same name. The film is set to feature the voices of comedic talents like Kevin Hart, Nick Kroll, Kristen Schaal, Ed Helms and Jordan Peele, promising no shortage of laughs for adults. 

The film will hit theaters 20 years after the first book in the series, The Adventures of Captain Underpants, was published. So not only will the comedic voices be a reason for adults to see this film, but there may be an element of nostalgia as well. 

Despicable Me 3, June 30

This film needs no introduction and little explanation. The Despicable Me franchise has become one of the most dominant — critically and financially — in all of animation. The series, which includes Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2 and a spin-off, Minions, has grossed a combined $955 million domestically and $2.67 billion worldwide. 

While the Minions spin-off was not quite as well received as the two films from the main series, it still went on to gross over $1.1 billion worldwide, good for second place all-time among animated films. A children's movie simply does not put up those kinds of numbers if adults aren't having fun as well. 

Expect adults to show up in droves with their children for the third film in the main franchise. 

The Lego Ninjago Movie, Sept. 22

There will be two The Lego Movie spin-offs coming in 2017. Several months after The Lego Batman Movie hits theaters, The Lego Ninjago Movie will see its release. While perhaps not likely to appeal to adults quite as much as the spin-off featuring Batman, the Lego brand has proved popular, and The Lego Ninjago Movie should be a solid, crowd-pleasing film.

The film is set to feature the voices of Olivia Munn, Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Michael Pena and Jackie Chan. The official synopsis from Warner Bros. (via Movie Insider) is as follows: 

'Ninjago' is the story of six young ninjas tasked with defending their island home, called Ninjago. By night, they're gifted warriors, using their skill and awesome fleet of vehicles to fight villains and monsters. By day, they're ordinary teens, struggling against their greatest enemy: high school.

Coco, Nov. 22

It would pretty difficult to make any sort of a credible animated movies list without including at least one Pixar film. The Disney-owned studio will be releasing two films in 2017: Cars 3 and Coco. The Cars franchise has largely been one of the studio's more forgettable series, but Coco sounds like it will be another Pixar hit. 

Entertainment Weekly revealed the film's lengthy synopsis in December, which you can read here.

The voice cast will be lead by Benjamin Bratt and Gael Garcia Bernal, while newcomer Anthony Gonzalez will lend his voice to the main character, Miguel.