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By Ken Miyamoto from ScreenCraft · February 7, 2024
Cinematic animated movies have been around since the dawn of cinema. Early 19th and 20th-century filmmakers did simple experiments that explored ways to bring animated drawings to life.
These explorations led to animated short films, which became popular in the 1910s and 1920s. Animated shorts were primarily comedic relief or novelties shorts shown before the main feature in movie theaters. The tradition continued until the 1950s.
One of the earliest and most influential figures in animation was Winsor McCay. He created notable works like Gertie the Dinosaur (1914), which amazed audiences with its character animation and interactive performance aspect. McCay would appear to interact with Gertie on screen.
Another significant contribution came from brothers Dave and Max Fleischer, who introduced characters like Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor. Fleischer Studios pushed animated movies forward with innovations like the Rotoscope, which allowed animators to trace live-action film movements to create more realistic movements.
Fleischer Studios would also invent an innovative technique that skillfully merged three-dimensional backgrounds, typically crafted from cardboard cutouts arranged on a large turntable, with two-dimensional characters. Animators placed the cartoon figures, drawn on animation cels, in front of the modeled backgrounds, using clear glass frames for positioning. This setup allowed the film camera to record, from beyond the cells, the effect of “flat” characters moving within a “realistic” environment.
Disney began its Silly Symphonies series in 1929, which included shorts that experimented with Technicolor and synchronized sound, eventually leading to the first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Let’s shift focus to the animated features that would come shortly after all of these innovations, leading to one of the most popular genres in movies today: animation.
Here are the top 10 most influential animated movies of all time! These movies have left indelible marks on the landscape of animation, influencing generations of filmmakers, animators, and audiences worldwide.
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Director: David Hand (Supervising Director)
Writers: Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, Webb Smith
Academy Award: Won an Honorary Academy Award for Walt Disney for Lifetime Achievements, Exceptional Contributions to Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Outstanding Service to the Academy
Synopsis: Snow White, a young princess, flees from her evil stepmother and finds refuge with seven dwarfs.
Walt Disney, fueled by passion, launched the first-ever feature-length animated film, paving the way for full-length animated movies to become a lucrative avenue for studios and animation houses.
The film demonstrated animation’s potential for storytelling beyond short films, setting the foundation for Disney’s future and other movie studios that later created animation departments of their own. It also further developed animation techniques like the multiplane camera that added depth to animated scenes, influencing countless animated features that followed.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs won a Honorary Academy Award for Lifetime Achievements, Exceptional Contributions to Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Outstanding Service to the Academy.
Director: Multiple directors, including James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, and others.
Writers: Multiple writers, including Joe Grant, Dick Huemer, and others.
Synopsis: A collection of animated interpretations of great works of Western classical music.
The film introduced stereophonic sound and blended classical music with imaginative visuals, pushing the boundaries of animation. While the animated classic did feature Disney’s animated mascot, Mickey Mouse, in one segment, the rest of the film explored cinematic animation as an art form, setting a precedent for using the medium to showcase non-narrative, artistic expressions.
Fantasia won two Honorary Academy Awards for its innovative use of sound and visual techniques.
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Writer: Katsuhiro Otomo, Izo Hashimoto
Synopsis: A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath.
Based on the highly popular 1982 manga, the cinematic adaptation revolutionized anime as a global phenomenon, influencing countless comics, graphic novels, animated shorts, animated features, and live-action movies. Its influence continues to this day. Its detailed animation and complex, mature themes challenged perceptions of animation as just for children.
The film operates on violence and gore, serving mature narrative stories, themes, and concepts. The direction of the action and visuals still stand the test of time. Akira has not only had an immense impact on animation but the science fiction genre as well.
Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Writer: John Musker, Ron Clements
Synopsis: A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain to become human and win a prince’s love.
This animated classic marked the beginning of the Disney Renaissance, where Walt Disney Feature Animation returned to producing critically and commercially successful animated musical genres with its combination of captivating storytelling, memorable characters, and Broadway-style songs after a decades-long decline in popularity at the box office.
The Little Mermaid‘s success reinvigorated Disney’s animation studio and set the template for animated features for the next decade, emphasizing stronger characters, compelling narratives, and high-quality musical scores.
The movie was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Original Score and twice for Best Original Song.
Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Writer: Linda Woolverton
Synopsis: A young woman named Belle is imprisoned in an enchanted castle by a Beast, who soon falls in love with her.
While The Little Mermaid introduced the new look and scope of Disney animation, Beauty and the Beast was highly influential as the first animated film nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, proving that animated films could be taken seriously as cinematic art.
Beauty and the Beast elevated the status of animated movies in the eyes of both the public and critics, paving the way for future animated films to be considered for major awards. It also created additional animation techniques still used to this day.
Beauty and the Beast was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Writer: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton
Synopsis: A young lion prince flees his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery.
With Disney’s revived success at the box office (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), The Lion King managed to up the ante of animation even more, setting a new standard for animated feature films with its epic storytelling, groundbreaking animation techniques, and iconic soundtrack. The success of the film lead to it being adapting to for the stage, which became one of the most successful Broadway musical ever.
Despite the success of later Disney animated films like Tarzan and Hercules, The Lion King was the last of the Disney Renaissance films—at least when it came to traditional 2D animation.
The Lion King was nominated for four Academy Awards and won Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
Synopsis: A cowboy doll feels threatened when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as the top toy in a boy’s room.
Director: John Lasseter
Writer: Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow
Disney’s partnership with Pixar Animation Studios, a former Lucasfilm company, revolutionized animation. Toy Story debuted as a surprise cinematic marvel with its pioneering use of CGI technology. Gone were the traditional 2D animation cell drawings. Toy Story showcased the power of computers, setting the stage for the future of animated movies.
Disney/Pixar would dominate the animation field for decades. But once the 1990s were over, other studios were catching up to the digital animation giant.
Toy Story was nominated for three Academy Awards. Additionally, John Lasseter secured a Special Achievement Award for his pioneering work in developing and using groundbreaking techniques that brought the very first feature-length computer-animated film to life.
Director: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson
Writer: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger S.H. Schulman
Synopsis: An ogre’s quiet swamp is disrupted when he rescues a princess for a villainous lord.
For the 2002 Academy Awards (celebrating the achievement of films from 2001), the Academy introduced a new category to honor animated feature films: Best Animated Feature.
Dreamworks SKG Animation introduced a new kind of digitally animated feature with Shrek, which would become the first Best Animated Feature winner. The box office hit challenged traditional fairy tale narratives. It also introduced a new era of animated films with humor, sophistication, and appeal to children and adults.
While Pixar certainly had been doing that throughout the latter half of the 1990s, Shrek leveled up those dynamics and even added pop music to the mix to create a standout cinematic experience for audiences young and old. Pop culture was referenced throughout the film, adding another element for adults to enjoy.
Shrek was nominated for two Academy Awards, and won Best Animated Feature.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Synopsis: A ten-year-old girl navigates a world ruled by gods, witches, and spirits, where humans change into beasts.
While Hayao Miyazaki had already been an established giant in the animation field, his feature film Spirited Away brought international recognition to his work, Studio Ghibli, and Japanese animation as a whole, showcasing the potential for animated films to convey even more deeply emotional and complex narratives.
Miyazaki’s masterpiece highlighted themes of environmentalism, feminism, and the loss of innocence through his unique style of animation.
Its Oscar win for Best Animated Feature validated the importance of cultural diversity in animation and encouraged the distribution of international animated films worldwide.
Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Writer: Phil Lord, Rodney Rothman
Synopsis: After Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man, he teams up with others who share his special ability to stop a mutl-deminsional threat.
Before its debut, no animated film looked and felt like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film pushed the boundaries of animation by blending pop-art animation techniques to create a new, unique, comic-book-inspired aesthetic.
The story also celebrated diversity, and the idea that anyone could wear the mask of an iconic superhero. This influenced the animation industry and the broader superhero genre, pushing for greater representation and creative storytelling techniques.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Read More: How to Format an Animated Scene
Director: Henry Selick
Writer: Caroline Thompson (screenplay), Tim Burton (story)
Synopsis: Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town and attempts to bring Christmas to his home.
Tim Burton and Henry Selick’s dark fantasy musical influenced stop-motion animation by demonstrating its potential to tell dark, complex, and engaging stories. Its unique aesthetic and emotional depth have inspired numerous filmmakers and animators to explore darker themes and alternative animation techniques, expanding the genre’s emotional and aesthetic range.
Though its initial box office performance was lukewarm, the film has blossomed into a cultural and generational classic.
The Nightmare Before Christmas was nominated for one Acadamy Award for Best Visual Effects.
Director: Nick Park, Steve Box
Writer: Steve Box, Nick Park, Bob Baker, Mark Burton
Synopsis: The beloved eccentric inventor Wallace and his intelligent dog, Gromit, set out to discover the mystery behind the garden sabotage that plagues their village and threatens the annual giant vegetable growing contest. As they encounter a monstrous, vegetable-ravaging beast, the duo must use all their wits to save the day.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit elevated stop-motion animation with its intricate detail, inventive storytelling, and unique British humor. The film continues the legacy of its beloved characters while showcasing the potential of stop-motion. Its success at the Oscars underscored the global appeal and creative prowess of Aardman Animations.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Read More: Writing Emotional Scenes in Animated Films
Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.
He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76
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