AUSTIN, Texas—Not only do genres run the gamut at Fantastic Fest, the ways they are presented do, too. It’s common to see mashups (like Anne Hathaway + kaiju = Colossal) or films with the same basic premise (“documentary about movie posters and artists” executed in totally different ways.

So it should come as no surprise that Fantastic Fest’s animated films also embrace this ethos—these aren’t your typical Disney-style, kid-friendly cartoons. Three in particular stood out among what we saw: The Red Turtle, Nova Seed, and My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea. And the only thing these films seem to have in common is their choice to eschew live-action.