The 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival is currently underway. Ahead of their presentation in France, Netflix invited select outlets to get a sneak peek at highlights from their upcoming TV and Film slate.

Moviefone was in attendance, hearing about several projects, including ‘Ghostbusters: Night Shift’, ‘The One Piece’, ‘Steps’, ‘Ray Gunn’, and ‘Alley Cats’.

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‘Charlie Vs. The Chocolate Factory’ picks up after Willy Wonka, voiced by Taika Waititi, has spent the years since the golden ticket contest behind bars for the crime of turning a child into a blueberry. Having served his time, Wonka returns to his factory determined to add a little sweetness to a bitter world.

Set in modern day London, this film retains the quintessential charm synonymous with Roald Dahl’s beloved ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’, while featuring a new adventure, original songs, a feast of new characters, and some surprising returns. The early footage ensures that viewers are in for a good time, with stunning animation and a lot of humor.

‘Alley Cats’ follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats who seek companionship while ruminating about the struggles of everyday life. It features an incredible cast that includes Ricky Gervais, Tom Basden, and Andrew Brooke. The trailer is exactly what you would expect from reading the synopsis, promising a raunchy adult comedy done in beautiful 2D animation.

Attendees of the event were shown a clip of ‘Ray Gunn’, in which Raymund Gunn (Sam Rockwell) is doing what a private detective does best – snooping. We are introduced to a few fun characters before jumping into an action-packed sequence which proves this film has it all.

After the footage was shown, Brad Bird himself came out to discuss the film and why he chose animation as the medium to tell it in.

Brad Bird: When I was first starting in animation, there were some old timers. And I was trained by old guys, so I’m not slagging on old guys. God bless old guys, I’m one of them now. But there were also old hacks, people who you don’t want to emulate. And they would say, if you can do it in live action, don’t do it in animation. I would say, I disagree with you 400% because you were basically dooming animation to extinction because live action will soon be able to do anything you can think of. That’s never the reason to do animation anyway. The reason to do animation is a word that is often used negatively, which is caricature. But it’s not a negative thing. Caricature is about capturing the essence of something and making it more so. And so animation allows you to do that not only with design, but also with movement. There are people who imitate other stuff really well because they zero in on something that’s very specific to that person. So there are things that you can get away with, things that you can play with, that have to do with caricature and capturing the essence of something.

‘Ray Gunn’ will release globally on Netflix December 18, 2026.

‘Steps’

‘Steps’ tells an untold side of Cinderella’s story. It follows stepsister Lilith (Ali Wong) who’s sick of living in the shadow of the perfect Cinderella (Amanda Seyfried). On the night of the royal ball, Lilith steals the fairy godmother’s wand and accidentally turns her sister Margo (Stephanie Hsu) into a frog. This is what breaks the fairy tale, so to speak, and sets us down a different path.

The footage that was shown follows Lilith as we see a side of her that isn’t so bad. It turns out, that perhaps these stepsisters have more in common with each other than they think.

‘Steps’ will release globally on Netflix on November 20, 2026.

Showrunners Elliot Kalin and Ben Hibon introduced ‘Ghostbusters: Night Shift’, a series that is set in 1994 and serves as a bridge between the original Ghostbusters films and the Afterlife generation. The new team consists of five young adults – The Goth, The Punk, The Kid, The Con Man, and The Scientist – plus a Terror Puppy. The series releases in 2027.

The scene that was shown is genuinely terrifying, proving that this series is not messing around when it comes to the scares. The showrunners explained that they did not want to shy away from the darker elements of what the franchise has always encorporated.

‘In Waves’, which premiered at Cannes, takes place in Los Angeles where AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen. She lives for surfing and he loves skateboarding and drawing. They fall madly in love, and a happy future seems within reach. But everything changes when Kristen faces a sudden illness.

Director Phuong-Mai Nguyen spoke about what made her want to be a part of bringing this film to life.

Phuong-Mai Nguyen: I was really, really moved by AJ’s story because it was rooted in the California coast and also the surfing culture. But what touched me most is the universality of this story. It’s a story about first love, about friendship, and also about grief. And it tells a story about how art can help you to overcome a heartbreak. I think that animation helped us to move very freely between memories, history, reality, and dreams, much like the waves themselves.

‘In Waves’ will release globally (excluding France) on Netflix on December 11, 2026.

‘The One Piece’ is a brand new adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s best-selling manga series, made by Wit Studio. It is coming to Netflix in February 2027 and offers a new starting point for those who want to learn about Monkey D. Luffy and his gang but do not have the time to catch up on thousands of episodes or over one hundred mangas.

The teaser trailer features incredible animation and fan favorite characters. Fans will be thrilled for a new adaptation of this story, but it also serves as the prefect kicking off point for new fans.

Keep an eye out for more anime titles from Netflix including ‘The Ribbon Hero’, ‘Sparks of Tomorrow’, ‘Bass x Machina’, ‘Fool Night’, and ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Season 2.

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