The Top Ten Animated Features

Since the dawn of the moving image, and even before that, animation has been used as a valuable technique for visual expression. Archaic forms of animation date back to the 17^th century, but it wasn’t until the early 1900's that our modern view of the style took shape in cinematic form. As filmmakers’ imaginations soared, so did the tools for expressing them. Audiences both young and old flock to theatres to watch animated films because they allow a different form of escape, an escape where inanimate objects make us laugh and cry, and where the imagination of the filmmaker is contagious and alive. Animation has ushered storytelling into places once thought impossible, not least of all to the Best Picture race at the Oscars (Beauty and the Beast, Up, and Toy Story 3). From Miyazaki’s blending of the magical and the natural worlds to Walt Disney’s fairytales filled with wonder and song, animated films are among the best in all of cinema. Here are the ten best.

10. Princess Mononoke (1997)

Hayao Miyazaki is Japan’s Walt Disney, with perhaps greater influence. He’s written, directed and animated some of the most beloved animated films in Japan and beyond. His 1997 film, Princess Mononoke, brought Miyazaki and his canon of films, dating back to 1979, to the West. The film follows a warrior, Ashitaka, and his quest to find a cure for the evil spirit that has infected him after a run-in with a demon boar on the outskirts of his village. Like all Miyazaki films, Mononoke tackles larger themes: industrial corruption, destruction of the environment, and gendered labor. Its hand drawn animation is a favorite style of Miyazaki, and the forests and other natural landscapes of Muromachi period Japan are beautiful. But it’s ultimately the film’s tight plot and balance between the magical realm and real world issues that cements its place as the first film on this list.

9. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a film that I wish lasted eight hours. It’s that much fun to watch. Wes Anderson is adored by his fans for his whimsical live action films that are live action’s closest thing to animation. His films are like puppet show productions or diorama’s come alive, with their intricate set designs and playful, almost caricature type characters. Anderson’s first and thus far only foray into animation, Mr. Fox is perhaps his finest film, and its stop-motion aesthetic proves an ideal tool for the world of quirk that exists in his mind. With voice work done by George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray, Mr. Fox takes Anderson’s usual collaborators and fuses them with small mammals in an animal dominated world that’s as strange as any of his live action ones. There are clever touches to every shot, and the film is painfully detailed. The story is zippy and the characters are fleshed out. The dialogue is pithy and crisp, and often hilarious. Mr. Fox is evidence that animation might be the ideal format for everything that makes a Wes Anderson film special.

8. WALL-E (2008)

Animated storytelling allows for non-human characters to have very human characteristics. Pixar, the animation studio originally financed by Steve Jobs and a current partner of The Walt Disney Company, has built a deep catalogue of films that animate inanimate objects, perfecting the art of storytelling using empathetic characters that somehow remind us of ourselves. WALL-E features one of Pixar’s strongest storytelling efforts along with one of its most endearing protagonists, the trash compactor who shares a name with the film’s title. Pixar’s animation style typically involves the latest in CGI rendering technology, making WALL-E’s post-apocalyptic Earth a layered wasteland, and the Axiom a beautifully detailed utopia. A Pixar film is the finest of doctored up oatmeal: deeper themes and necessary questions are hidden beneath flawless storytelling, gorgeous animation and memorable characters. WALL-E has all of the above components, and is one of a handful of Pixar films that made this list.

7. Up (2009)

A year after WALL-E was released, Pixar returned with the equally as heart-wrenching, but arguably better film, Up. A story of friendship and adventure, love and the art of moving on, Up is the vibrant life and matter that existed on Earth before WALL-E came to clean it up. Carl, a 78-year-old widow, and Russell, a young boy scout, spend the film exploring the wilds of South America, along with a talking dog named Dug and a colorful bird named Kevin. The film features a brilliant prologue, an emotional portrait of the early years of Carl’s relationship to his late wife. The key to a good adventure is discovery, and what makes Up so good is not only the exotic location of Paradise Falls and a balloon powered house, but what Carl and Russell discover about themselves and each other that makes this story truly special.        

6. Finding Nemo (2003)

Before Finding Nemo, Pixar’s fifth film, the studio had produced films about talking toys and talking bugs. So bringing their 3D storytelling talents to the underwater world wasn’t too crazy of a leap (or dive), and in 2003 director and co-writer Andrew Stanton did just that with Finding Nemo. The film’s plot is succinctly summarized in the title, but this film is more than just a story of finding a lost fish. A good deal of the underwater world’s creatures come to life in Nemo to form a charming and diverse cast. Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a forgetful, golden hearted blue fish is at the center of the film’s wacky cast. Joining Dory is Crush (Andrew Stanton), a sea turtle, and Nemo’s father Marlin (Albert Brooks), a clownfish. Who else but Pixar could create a compelling father-son story involving two clownfish? Nemo is one of Pixar’s greatest storytelling and emotional accomplishments, but still a shred below their finest work. So read on!

5. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

The second Miyazaki film on this list (but not the last!), Totoro has everything that makes his films so special: adorable children and their vivid imaginations, the creatures that come from his vivid imagination, a heart warming story, an excellent score and beautiful animations. Totoro, a part cat, part rodent looking creature with magical abilities, is “neighbors” with Satsuki and Mei, sisters who learn to adapt to their new home in rural Japan with the help of their father, a Catbus, and Totoro. In Japan, Totoro is a Mickey Mouse-esque figure, and he also makes a cameo appearance in Toy Story 3. Totoro is perhaps Miyazaki’s most beloved character, which says a lot, and pervades not only Japanese culture, but has found his way into apparel, toys, spin offs and even as inspiration for a food dish in Vietnam. Miyazaki has been widely listed as a main inspiration for famous animators in the West, with Totoro as one of his marquee works.

4. Toy Story Trilogy (1995, 1999, 2010)

These films are all too good on their own, yet work even better as a trilogy to allot them separate slots on this list, so they all land as the fourth best animated film of all time. Before the first installment in 1995, who would have thought that the relationships between a gang of plastic toys and their barely present human owner could bring an audience to tears? Cause an all flesh and bones audience to laugh so hard? Have almost every man, woman and child see themselves in these characters? Pixar did. Pixar took a simple idea, what if toys come alive when people aren’t around, and built three landmark films with so much heart and character that the latest one was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Mr. Potato Head and the rest of Andy’s toys experience friendship, love and loss in their adventures at 234 Elm Street, Any town, USA. The films’ CGI graphics improved with each installment, but the witty dialogue and crisp storytelling was present from the beginning.

3. The Lion King (1994)

To this point, Pixar and Miyazaki have dominated this list. Until now! The Lion King was released during the Disney “renaissance” period, a time of mermaids, beauties and beasts, and of course, lions. Anchored by iconic songs penned and performed by Elton John, The Lion King defined the childhood of every 90s baby (myself included). The film was the apex of the extraordinary run of Disney films from 1989 (The Little Mermaid) to 1999 (Tarzan). It’s the story of a young lion cub, Simba, coming to grips with the death of his father, Mufasa, and the realities of the cold Savannah. Simba is aided by a memorable cast in his quest to destroy his evil Uncle Scar: Nala, his love interest, Timon and Pumbaa, and Rafiki. Despite a spate of direct to DVD sequels (and half sequels) that have oversaturated the franchise, The Lion King remains one of the finest animated films of all time, as well as one of the defining films of a decade and an era that was full of memorable moments.

2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The films released during Disney’s “renaissance” period are all classics in their own right, but it’s Snow White, released 50 years prior, that remains Disney’s greatest achievement in animation. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairytale, Snow White was the first hand drawn feature animation film. It’s a classic fairytale story: A princess is put to death by her evil stepmother, and escapes to a magical forest where a team of dwarfs must aid her in defeating her stepmother and finding a charming prince. The film’s musical pieces are wonderful, as are the characters who sing them. Doc, Grumpy, Happy and the rest of the dwarves are the heart of Snow White’s story, and it’s their presence and the rest of the film’s fantastical elements that make it such a magical film. The layered hand drawn animation, a labored technique that is essentially extinct today, is as dazzling as it was revolutionary. Walt Disney is on the Mt. Rushmore of animation masters, and Snow White is his magnum opus.

1. Spirited Away (2001)

Despite Pixar and Disney’s attempts, the top spot on this list goes to Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 fantasy drama Spirited Away. The films tells the story of Chihiro, a ten year old girl who finds herself trapped in a fantasy world populated by animal spirits, an evil woman with an enormous head, and a black slug wearing a blank, white mask. The character’s that populate the spirit world are both terrifying and kind, and Chihiro’s relationships with them form the heart and soul of the film. Spirited Away is everything that makes Miyazaki so unique.It’s scary. It’s magical. It’s beautiful. Spirited Away is his finest work, and it’s the best animated feature of all time.