Wesley “Wes” Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker with a history spanning slightly over three decades.
Born on May 1, 1969, Wes Anderson launched his filmmaking career in 1992. He gained early recognition for his directorial and screenwriting role in the 1996 crime comedy film ‘Bottle Rocket.’ Scores of other movies would follow soon after.
Wes Anderson is considered by many critics as one of the most talented filmmakers of his generation. His movies are characterized by eccentricity, prolonged narration, and unique visual styles. The filmmaker typically exploreS the themes of loss, grief, broken families, and loss of innocence.
If you’re looking for the most scintillating movies to add to your watch list this festive season, you definitely want to consider films by Wes Anderson. But with more than 20 Hollywood blockbusters to his name, you’re bound to be spoilt for choice when sifting through Anderson’s movies.
Fortunately for you, we’ve gone ahead and researched Anderson’s most exciting films of all time.
12 Best Wes Anderson Movies
1. Bottle Rocket (1996)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
- Producers: Polly Platt and Cynthia Hargrave
- Stars: Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and James Caan
- Running Time: 91 minutes
- Language: English
Bottle Rocket was Wes Anderson’s first feature film and is considered his official launch pad into the cinematic world. The movie was an epic commercial failure, bringing in a paltry $560,069 from a $5 million budget. However, it garnered quite impressive critical acclaim.
Bottle Rocket revolves around a group of three wacky friends who devise a silly plot to pull off a simple robbery and then go on the run. The trio’s primary motivation is their individual quest to escape their boring suburban life. What follows is nothing short of an outrageous crime spree dotted with a series of comic misadventures.
Consider adding Bottle Rocket to your watch list if you’re into hilarious, raw comedy. Although the movie’s plot isn’t very suspenseful (which is understandable considering its genre), this is one of Wes Anderson’s projects that will leave you entertained yet drenched in laughter.
2. Rushmore (1998)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
- Producers: Barry Mendel and Paul Schiff
- Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Williams, Bill Murray, Brian Cox, Seymour Cassel, and Mason Gamble
- Running Time: 93 minutes
- Language: English
After the epic commercial failure of his 1996 feature film, Wes Anderson partnered once again with comedian Owen Wilson in this 1998 Hollywood blockbuster. Suffice it to say that Rushmore outperformed Bottle Rocket in all fronts. It received critical praise in addition to raking in $17.1 – 19.1 million at the box office from a budget of $9 – 10 million.
Rushmore is a coming-of-age film that was highly praised for its quirky characters and sobering storyline. There’s also a range of unconventional social dynamics driving the theme. The film is about a 15-year-old highly ambitious but surprisingly witless preparatory school student called Max Fischer, who gets in with a depressed businessman called Herman Blume.
Fischer and Blume’s personalities are as different as day and night. The duo miraculously manages to keep their friendship intact while fending off any challenge that threatens to throw them off the rails. But they’re about to taste the ultimate test of their union when they fall for the same woman, a teacher named Rosemary Cross.
3. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Barry Mendes, and Scott Rudin
- Stars: Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke, Wilson, and Owen Wilson
- Running Time: 109 minutes
- Language: English
By the time Wes Anderson released The Royal Tenenbaums, he had somewhat already found his footing as a filmmaker. The film checked all the dots in terms of the plot, character selection, and even the visuals.
In The Royal Tenenbaums, we’re briefly introduced to Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline, as well as their three children. All the Tenenbaum children are incredibly gifted in their own way and have achieved success in their respective spheres.
After living separately for years, the three Royal Tenenbaum children suddenly have to reunite in one winter when their father announces his impending death. The reunion, which also brings together Tenenbaum’s estranged wife, is replete with comic episodes.
4. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, and Scott Rudin
- Stars: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, and Bud Cort
- Running Time: 118
- Language: English
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is another Wes Anderson’s film that performed dismally at the box office. The movie brought in $34.8 million from a $50 million budget. That notwithstanding, it propelled Anderson further onto the limelight and helped cement his reputation as one of the most promising filmmakers.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou stars an eccentric oceanographer called Steve Zissou, who sets on an unfamiliar revenge mission. Zissou is out to serve revenge to the “jaguar shark” that savaged a member of his crew called Esteban. The plot gets more interesting when Zissou is joined by a man who thinks he’s his father and a journalist with child conceived out of wedlock.
Zissou and his cranky crew members set off to find and nail the killer shark. But he soon realizes the journey will be long and treacherous when he begins to encounter vicious pirates while also dealing with traumatic characters from his past.
5. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, and Jason Schwartzman
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher
- Stars: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Anjelica Huston
- Running Time: 91 minutes
- Language: English
The Darjeeling Limited received mixed reviews, with some critics taking issue with its somewhat disconnected narrative. But there’s a general consensus that the film aptly captured the theme of dysfunctional families, one on which Wes Anderson has based most of his movies.
Just like The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited is another family reunion-themed film that brings together three previously estranged brothers.
A chance encounter on a train trip across India reconnects three siblings that haven’t spoken to each other for a year since their father’s death. The brothers are all struggling with their individual challenges, which Anderson cleverly weaves into the storyline.
6. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach
- Producers: Allison Abbate, Scott Rudin, Wes Anderson, and Jeremy Dawson
- Stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson
- Running Time: 87 minutes
- Language: English
Wes Anderson teams up with Noah Baumbach yet again in screenwriting, as the duo writes the screenplay for this smashing stop motion animated comedy film. The movie immediately stands out for its detailed setting, impeccable visuals, and a narrative that oscillates between profound and silly.
The story of Fantastic Mr. Fox is about a Mr. Fox who has happily settled into his country life. But beneath his respectable family man façade, Mr. Fox has a wild side for stealing livestock, and he’s about to start reliving his old habits.
However, Fox can only get too far with his antics. He soon finds himself at the mercy of three farmers out to annihilate him and must weave his way out of his predicaments.
7. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriters: Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson
- Stars: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban
- Running Time: 94 minutes
- Language: English
The title points to a heart-piercing, emotionally-drenching film. But considering the movie’s comic storyline, we’ll let you be the judge in that.
Moonrise Kingdom is set in the mid-‘60s on a fictional island off the New England coast known as New Penzance. The coming-of-age film tells the story of two pubescent lovers who’re pulled to each other by their individual struggles to feel accepted in their respective backgrounds.
As a violent storm begins to rage, a search party is quickly put together to try and locate the runaways before calamity strikes. But the team comprises all eccentric adults whose unguarded behaviors continually threaten their common mission.
8. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson
- Stars: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton, among others
- Running Time: 100 minutes
- Language: English
The Grand Budapest Hotel is Wes Anderson’s highest-grossing film ever. The movie realized box office sales of $172.9 million from a budget of $25 million. It’s also one Anderson’s most scintillating comedy-drama films.
The movie is set in the 1930s on a popular European ski resort of the same name. The events and scenery at The Grand Budapest Hotel seem idyllic until the facility’s presiding concierge Gustave H. is framed for murder following the death of one of his lovers.
Gustave’s woes are compounded when a priceless piece of painting is found in his possession. He must prove his innocence against the backdrop of mounting evidence.
9. Isle of Dogs (2018)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson
- Stars: Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, and Scarlett Johansson, among others
- Running Time: 101 minutes
- Language: English and Japanese
Isle of Dogs is Anderson’s first movie released in two different languages, namely English and Japanese. And like The Grand Budapest Hotel, this film stars an ensemble of Hollywood A-listers.
After canine flu suddenly breaks out on the Island of Megasaki, the mayor issues an executive order for all dogs to be quarantined in a vast garbage dump known as Trash Island.
Disconnected from their owners cut from the rest of civilization, the canines are utterly hopeless. But their fate changes when a 12-year-old boy called Atari embarks on a search for his bodyguard dog Spots, also quarantined on the same island.
10. The French Dispatch (2021)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
- Producers: Wes Anderson, Steven Rales, and Jeremy Dawson
- Stars: Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Bob Balaban, Henry Winkler, and Léa Seydoux, among others
- Running Time: 108 minutes
- Language: English and French
It appears that after releasing Isle of Dogs three years earlier, Wes Anderson’s subsequent movies would be released in multiple languages.
Coming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and released in both English and French, The French Dispatch follows a convicted genius art dealer who tries his hands at arts and crafts while serving a term for homicide. The convict initially ventured into arts and crafts as a way to keep himself busy and ward off suicidal thoughts. However, he eventually becomes one of the reliable contributors to the final issue of an American magazine.
The French Dispatch seamlessly blends three different storylines into one riveting plot that will leave you wanting to re-watch the film.
Special Edition
The last two Wes Anderson movies on this list are rather short films. But while these films are barely 15 minutes long, they form a significant part of Anderson’s credits.
11. Hotel Chevalier (2007)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
- Stars: Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman
- Running Time: 13 minutes
- Language: English
Hotel Chevalier explores the relationship between two former lovers and how their being apart from each other brings them ever closer together.
The film was shot in Paris and served as a prologue to The Darjeeling Limited.
12. Castello Cavalcanti (2013)

- Director: Wes Anderson
- Screenwriter: Wes Anderson
- Stars: Jason Schwartzman and Giada Colagrande
- Running Time: 8 minutes
- Language: English and Italian
Castello Cavalcanti is a short film set in September 1955. The movie chronicles the struggles of an unsuccessful Formula One driver called Jason Schwartzman who crashes his car during the Molte Miglia rally.
Schwartzman finds himself stranded in a small town. However, his agonies will soon end when great surprises begin to come his way.
Conclusion
Wesley Anderson has treated the entertainment industry to tons of spellbinding and sobering movies.
However, this collection is a great place to start your search for the best Anderson films to while the festive season away.