100 Greatest Animated Films Of All Time

8/22/2019 100 Greatest Animated Films Of All Time

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Honorable Mention:

125. Gay Purr-ee124. The Little Mermaid II: Return To The Sea123. Steamboy122. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

121. Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest120. Recess: School's Out119. The Return Of Jafar118. Ice Age117. Appleseed116. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted115. The Sword and the Stone114. Rio113. The Aristocats112. Fantasia 2000111. Whisper Of The Heart110. Wakko's Wish109. The Rescuers Down Under108. Batman: Under the Red Hood107. Metropolis106. Oliver and Company105. Ponyo104. Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island103. Tokyo Godfathers102. The Fantastic Mr. Fox101. Meet the Robinsons

The List:

#100: Pokemon: The Movie 2000 (aka Pocket Monsters The Movie: Revelation Lugia)Year of Release: 1999 (original), 2000 (USA)Director: Kunihiko Yuyama

The best of the Pokemon movies, Pokemon 2000 improved on its predecessor in pretty much everyconceivable way, from the quality of the animation, to the epic battle in the endgame, to the music andthe characters and pretty much everything else. I was very surprised to find out that critics hated itbecause it really is a quality film. In this film, the villain (Lawrence III in the American dub, Jirarudanin the original) attempts to capture the three legendary birds, which causes weather calamities all overthe world. He's capturing them so that the mighty Lugia will emerge to quell the fighting and then hecan capture Lugia as well. However, Lugia fails to stop the fighting and that's when Ash comes in, Ashhas to gather the legendary treasures together (while avoiding getting killed by the birds and stormyweather) and use them (along with a special musical tune) to quell the birds' rage. The villain wasrather cheesy but he WAS voiced by Chairman Kaga in the original, so that's to be expected. I alsothought the character arc of Melody was quite nice, she starts out as this rather spoiled, ditzy girl butthen turns out to be the key to saving everyone by playing that song at the end. The music, particularlythe main theme (which got a great Donna Summer rendition in the American credits) was much moreepic than the music in the previous film and we didn't have to deal with any of that cheesy "my brother"garbage from the first film. And we also got a Herman Cain meme out of it 11 years later, so it turned


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out to be the gift that keeps on giving. The fighting between the mystic birds was spectacular, muchbetter than the final battle in the first movie. I know there's going to be some disagreement on thesubject of "best Pokemon movie" (I've heard a lot of people really liked the third), but all the elementsof this film really come together and ultimately we get the Pokemon adventure that the first film shouldhave been.

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#99: Epic

Year of Release: 2013Director: Chris Wedge

A very recent film but one that really impressed me, Epic was a lot more than the sum of its parts andtranscends what one would expect from the typical "person gets forced into a natural world and has tohelp the local denizens" type of film that we've seen in the past. There were comparisons to Fern Gullybut instead, Epic just turned out to be a very well animated and well paced film. There weren't anyoverbearing environmental messages, the decay creatures weren't caused by human intrusions into theforest but were just the natural forces of decay personified and turned into an army of wicked andhorrific creatures. So yeah, the story itself was quite good even if this film still had plenty of cliches togo around. The voice acting, while loaded with a star-studded celebrity cast, was very nice, withAmanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Colin Farrell, and even Beyonce standing out and giving goodperformances. The animation was utterly beautiful, the natural environments looked colorful and vividand it was definitely one of the best looking animated films of all time. There were a lot of littlemoments that worked quite well, like the little plant girl who eventually became the new queen, andany of the scenes with MK and her dad. The snails didn't take over the film like comedy reliefcharacters have done in so many other animated films as of late. Epic's biggest triumph was definitelythe quality of its animation, had the entire film been as good as it looked it would have gotten a muchhigher spot on this list, but the film still stands out as one of the best animated films of this youngdecade.

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#98: Cats Don't Dance

Year of Release: 1997Director: Mark Dindal

"BIIIIIIIIIIG AAAAAAAND LOOOOOOOUD!" Released in the waning age of animated musicals,Cats Don't Dance was one of Warner Brothers' first forays into this field that had been so successful forDisney over the decade. The film follows a young cat named Danny from Kokomo, Indiana, who triesto make it big in Hollywood but finds out that the big city isn't what it seems and eventually runs afoulof the starlet Darla Dimple, best described as the spawn of Shirley Temple and Satan. Darla Dimplepretty much stole the show and credit to the casting department for putting a real little girl (in this caseAshley Peldon, though Lindsay Ridgeway was amazing as Darla's singing voice) in the role. Honestly,she could have been the top animated villain of that year if the year hadn't happened to be a banner yearfor great animated villain performances (more on that later). Danny and Sawyer's romance was prettycliche, you expected them to get together, though their character interaction was still somewhat fun.The plot also attempted some social commentary, with the plight of the animal actors reflecting theplight of real minority actors in Hollywood at the time, which added a layer of complexity to theotherwise ordinary storyline. Cats Don't Dance was at its core a fun musical. Nothing too special but


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with a fantastic and memorable villain (and villain song), Cats Don't Dance secures its place as a trueanimated classic.

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#97: Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs

Year of Release: 2009Directors: Phil Lord and Chris Miller

A silly and surprisingly touching animated film, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs took a lot ofpeople (including me) by surprise when it was released back in 2009. Based on a children's book, thefilm expanded and transformed the world of the book and in this case it worked. Basically, Flint is aninventor who's become a pariah in the town due to all his failed inventions, but when he invents amachine that causes it to rain food, he instantly becomes a hero and his town becomes famousworldwide....but as to be expected with these types of things, there's a hitch in the device and only Flintcan fix it before it destroys the town (and the world). One of the characters that really stood out for mewas Sam Sparks, the weather girl reporter played by Anna Faris who turned out to be a massiveweather nerd. Of particular note was the adorable scene where Flint makes a jello scrunchie for her andtells her she looks really beautiful when she's wearing it, it was a very funny and sweet scene and it wasreally adorable that he ended up having a thing for nerdy-looking girls, it helps that Sam really is cutewhen she's wearing the scrunchie. We also got a really nice performance out of James Caan as Flint'sfather, he had two stand-out scenes, one involving technology that's absolutely hilarious if you have aparent who's no good with computers, and then there's that scene at the end where Flint's dad tells himhow much he really loves him. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs succeeds because of its greatcharacters and the relationships between them.

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#96: Titan A.E.

Year of Release: 2000Directors: Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

The swan song for Don Bluth and for Fox Animation (at lleast until the Simpsons movie), Titan A.E.was a sci-fi animated film taking place after the destruction of Earth by energy beings known as theDrej. Its plot revolves around the protagonists' search for the Titan, a ship that can be used to create anew world for humans to call home. A lot of the controversy surrounding this film revolved around itsmarketing problems, people didn't know whether it was intended for kids or for adults and it ultimatelybombed at the box office, ruining Don Bluth's career and signaling one of the first death rattles for 2-Danimated movies in general. That said, the film was ultimately ahead of its time. The animation wasquite good and better in a lot of ways than Treasure Planet while on significantly less of a budget. Thecast of characters was quite lovable as well, Cale and Akima were fairly cliche but Korso (voicedexcellently by Bill Pullman) turned out to be quite complex and had some great moments, particularlyhis heroic sacrifice. The voice acting in general was great, it was one of the first big celebrity casts but,as in Anastasia a few years before, the celebrities performed quite well. It's a shame that sci-fi animatedfilms don't tend to do well at the box office because they're usually really good. I guess they're anothercasualty of the Animation Age Ghetto.

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#95: Charlotte's Web

Year of Release: 1973Directors: Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto

Based on the classic children's novel by E.B. White, this Hanna-Barbara film was a movie musical inthe vein of the old Disney musicals, with some pretty big names at the time making appearances in the

voice cast. Standing out, Debbie Reynolds as Charlotte gave an amazing performance and Paul Lyndeas Templeton wasn't far behind, at times stealing the show. There were some VERY memorable songsin this film, the songs in fact are what I remember most. Charlotte's song, "Mother Earth and FatherTime", turns heartrendingly poignant as it's the song she's singing when she dies. Templeton's song atthe fair as he gathers up and eats lots and lots AND lots of abandoned food was a treat as well. The filmwas easily the best adaptation of E.B. White's book, beating the pants off of the live-action film from2006. I know he hated it because of all the music, but the music really was the best thing about thismovie and it really was fitting for the film, which captured the crucial parts of the book in a way thatmade the movie both touching and fun. At a time when Disney was entering its Bronze Age, it was niceto have films like Charlotte's Web to pick up the slack. The animation itself was far from perfect(barely a step up in quality from Hanna Barbara's televised fare) but the voice acting, songs, anddialogue more than made up for it and the film itself is a more than worthy adaptation of a fantasticnovel.

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#94: Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Year of Release: 2005Directors: Nick Park and Steve Box

Wallace and Gromit's first feature film made a lot of waves when it hit the theaters back in 2005,making nearly $200 million and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Its critical andcommercial success were well-deserved, this was quite a delightful film. The plot revolves around thetwo main characters, Wallace and his dog Gromit, as they attempt to run a successful pest controlbusiness and prevent rabbits from invading the town's vegetable gardens. The pair attempt to use amind control machine on the rabbits in order to control them better but end up creating a special rabbitnamed Hutch who might well be the Were-Rabbit, the beast chomping the town's vegetables andthreatening its upcoming competition. In a somewhat hilarious twist, the Were-Rabbit turns out to beWALLACE himself and Gromit has to somehow stop him. The film features plenty of the visual humorthat's become the hallmark of the Wallace and Gromit franchise, with lots of absurdity and charm. Thefilm doesn't try to ramp things up beyond what would typically be seen in a Wallace and Gromit short,instead taking what we already loved about the characters and just giving us more of it. As for thecharacters unique to the film, Ralph Fiennes' Victor is a memorable villain and Helena Bonham Carteris quite charming as Lady Tottington, though it's Wallace and Gromit who truly shine. The partnershipbetween Dreamworks and Aardman has produced some real gems and it's truly fortunate that Wallaceand Gromit were able to get a feature film as a result, because this was probably the best animatedfeature of 2005.

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#93: The Castle of Cagliostro (aka Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro)Year of Release: 1979 (original), 1991 (USA)Director: Hayao Miyazaki


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Hayao Miyazaki's first appearance on this list (hint: it won't be his last), The Castle of Cagliostro wasactually the SECOND Lupin III film (what is it about second installments of anime feature film seriesbeing so good?), and one of his greatest adventures. The film revolves around the master thief Lupin III(of course) and his band of thieves stealing a bunch of counterfeit money and attempting to track downthe source of the bills. Ultimately, they get caught up in a massive adventure where Lupin has to rescue

the beautiful princess Clarisse from a wicked count. This was at its core an incredibly fun movie thatpretty much contained everything that makes Lupin III so great. Humor, both character and situationbased, high adventure, thrills, spills, chases, and just incredible fun, it's to Lupin III what Curse of theWere-Rabbit was to Wallace and Gromit (which is why they're both so close together). Americanaudiences were likely introduced to this movie from footage that appeared in the laserdisc arcade gameCliff Hanger (when I saw it on Starcade it looked more awesome than Dragon's Lair) and you'd have tohave no heart to not want to see more after viewing that footage. The climactic scene in which Lupinhas a showdown with the count atop a clock tower was incredibly dramatic and exciting, and one of themore visually beautiful scenes to appear in an animated film as well.

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#92: Bolt

Year of Release: 2008Directors: Chris Williams and Byron Howard

Bolt might get some hate, but it's really unwarranted as I felt that this film was the beginning ofDisney's animated film recovery in the late 2000s. The film is about a dog named Bolt who stars as asuperhero dog who rescues a girl named Penny. However, the dog truly believes he has actualsuperpowers and when he believes Penny is in real danger, he escapes his confinement and sets out ona cross-country journey to save her. Along the way he recruits a cat named Mittens (whom he believesto be in league with Penny's kidnappers) and a hamster named Rhino who happens to be one of Bolt'sbiggest fans. The three have a number of adventures together as they make their way to try and rescuePenny. The dynamic between all three main animal characters is at the core of this film, and thechemistry between Bolt and Mittens (not THAT kind of chemistry, shippers) provides some of the bestmoments of the film. Susie Essman's excellent line delivery as the sardonic cat provides some hilariousone liners, while Rhino has some fantastic moments as well. The film was very touching at its core,especially after Bolt finds out he's not really heroic and comes to believe that Penny doesn't care abouthim, and it's Mittens who has to convince him that Penny truly does love him. The film's climax, whileadmittedly having relatively low stakes compared to some of the classic Disney films, is still extremelydramatic as you've really come to care about these characters over the course of the film. Even MileyCyrus' performance as Penny was decent enough. While not a truly great film, Bolt is one of thosemovies that gets a lot more hate than it deserves, but it's definitely among the better of the post-Homeon the Range Disney fare and a film that proves that the Mouse House still has it.

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#91: The Triplets of BellevilleYear of Release: 2003Director: Sylvain Chomet

This Oscar nominated French film from 2003 is one of the stranger movies on my list, but it proved theversatility of animation, particularly the old-school 2-D type of animation, as a storytelling medium.


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The film features a woman named Madame Souza, whose grandson Champion is a professional cyclist.When he's kidnapped by gangsters and taken to the city of Belleville, Souza has to team up with agroup of elderly singers (the titular triplets) to rescue him. The film used music and visuals in a veryunique way, its musical style an homage to the big band swinging of the first half of the 20th Century.This is one of those films you can't just tune out and listen to while sitting and doing something else,you really have to watch close for all the visual gags, which animated movies and shows don't do all

that much anymore. It's one of those films you have to watch more than once to get everything. Whiletelling a very emotional story at its core, the film was DEFINITELY a comedy at heart with some of itsscenes laugh-out-loud hilarious (the dog Bruno is one of the best animated dogs maybe ever). Again,this was a film that showed why animation is still important by telling its story in such a way that alive-action film couldn't have done. You can't really do the story of a grandmother searching for herkidnapped grandson as a comedy in live-action unless you make it an out-and-out farce. There weresome farcical moments in Belleville to be sure, but the medium of animation allowed the film to becharming while also being dramatic and emotional and the result was a beautiful homage to classicalanimation with some of the best of the medium's modern achievements mixed in.

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#90: Nausica of the Valley of the Wind

Year of Release: 1984 (original), 2005 (USA)Director: Hayao Miyazaki

One of Hayao Miyazaki's first masterpieces, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a post-apocalypticfilm that revolves around the character of Nausicaa, a brave young woman who lives in a jungle andattempts to find a cure for the polluted, dessicated planet. The film has inspired many, many fictionalworks, some of them (like Disney's Atlantis) can be considered direct homages while other films(possibly Fern Gully and even James Cameron's Avatar) have taken some measure of inspiration. Eitherway, this film is one of the most influential animated movies of all time and there's a good reason why.The animation is vivid and beautiful, an early Studio Ghibli hallmark (though the studio didn't actuallyexist at the time, this film is considered a direct precursor). Nausicaa herself is a fantastic characterwith one of the best character arcs of all the Miyazaki characters, she's a pacifist at heart but anabsolutely fierce warrior when provoked. Nausicaa isn't the best of Miyazaki's works (I felt thatNausicaa herself was the only really well-developed character in the film), but the wonderful animationand the fact that this film inspired so many more down the road make it an easy choice for this list.

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#89: Transformers: The Movie

Year of Release: 1986Directors: Nelson Shin and Margaret Nichols

Forget Michael Bay's trilogy, this was the first and best appearance of Optimus Prime and friends onthe big screen. The film's action revolves around the intrusion of the evil and enormous Unicron on theTransformers' home world of Cybertron, while Megatron converts into the powerful Decepticon knownas Galvatron. This movie is of course known for the death of Optimus Prime, which made many a kidcry in the movie theater. This movie was before my time, so I never experienced such a thing but theway the death was presented in the movie was shocking and would definitely stir the emotions of anylong time Transformers fan. The film is known for featuring Orson Welles' last acting performance asthe voice of Unicron and in typical Orson Welles fashion he did a fantastic job, a hell of a way to go


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out. We also had Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron in another inspired performance. Hell, the whole castwas star-studded. The fights in this film were absolutely epic, beyond anything that appeared in any ofthe live action Transformers movies. The movie is jam-packed with some of the best action sequencesin an animated movie. And then of course there's that finale, one of the greatest scenes in movie history,where Hot Rod transforms into Rodimus Prime. They couldn't have picked a better song for that scene.This was another one of those "what you see is what you get films", it stumbles when there's not much

action on screen but the action itself is thrilling enough to make this a true animated classic.

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#88: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Year of Release: 1977Directors: John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman

This delightful film is technically one of Disney's "package films" in the tradition of Disney's WorldWar II-era films such as Fun and Fancy Free. However, the featurettes work together as a wonderfulpackage and this film is essentially the pinnacle of Disney's Winnie the Pooh material. You get some ofthe best of Pooh Bear's adventures (Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day is particularly good, withWinnie and friends searching for a new home for Owl after the wind knocks his old house down) withadded animated material to tie them all together into a cohesive film. This film was released duringwhat was considered to be the nadir of Disney animation, the period between the death of Walt Disneyand the beginning of the Disney Renaissance, but the era still produced some good films and this wasone of the best, utilizing one of Disney's most beloved characters to help carry the company through arough patch. It's a film that's particularly fun to watch on re-viewings, as Winnie the Pooh's adventuresnever get old and they're simultaneously funny and adorable.

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#87: Waltz With Bashir

Year of Release: 2008Director: Ari Folman

A powerful documentary about the 1982 Lebanon War, the film used animation as a medium to retellthe brutal and yet touching story of Folman's time in the IDF during the war. Its unique animation stylemerged a comic-book like styling with traditional animation to provide realistic-looking people andimages while combining them with the exaggerated, fantastical imagery that animation makes possible,allowing the viewer to get a glimpse into Folman's mentality during this incredibly brutal conflict. Thiswas one of the first Israeli animated features to be released in nearly half a century, and it's clear thatthe country's tumultuous circumstances have influenced the style of its art. The fact that Folman usedthe medium of animation to tell his story is indicative of his desire for this documentary to stand outamong the many, many other war documentaries that have been released, the medium allowing Folmanto choose which images to make vivid and bring to the viewer's attention. It's not the best documentaryor the best animated film, but the combination of the two media is something more directors should try.

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#86: The Secret World Of Arrietty (aka The Borrower Arrietty)Year of Release: 2010 (original), 2012 (USA)Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi


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Based on Mary Norton's novel The Borrowers, this film tells the story of Arrietty, a tiny person who isone of many such creatures who intrude into people's homes and "borrow" various items. Arriettyencounters a boy named Sho (Shawn in the English dub), who befriends her and eventually comes toassist her in her missions. One is of course reminded of the 1990s live-action Borrowers film when firsthearing of this movie, but Arrietty is ultimately a vastly different and vastly superior film, focusing on

the struggle of Arrietty to save her people and of the strength that both Sho and Arrietty give to oneanother (Sho has a heart condition and needs an operation, which is not likely to succeed, it's Arriettywho gives him the strength to endure it and pull through.) The English voice cast is excellent, withBridgit Mendler and David Henrie both great as the voices of Arrietty and Sho respectively. The filmrevolves around two axes: the relationship between Arrietty and her family and the relationshipbetween Arrietty and Sho. There's more than just heart to this film though, the animation is whimsicaland beautiful (as to be expected from a Ghibli film) and it's quite exciting as well, you really getattached to Arrietty and her fellow Borrowers and there are a lot of tense moments throughout.

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#85: The Polar Express

Year of Release: 2004Director: Robert Zemeckis

The first of Robert Zemeckis' big budget mo-cap based CGI films, The Polar Express was based on theclassic children's book, bringing the story of the train that takes good children to the North Pole to meetSanta to life in beautiful fashion. The film was controversial among some animation buffs, whobelieved the ultra-realistic CGI created characters that fell too deep into the Uncanny Valley to bevisually appealing. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but I felt that for the most part thecharacters looked quite nice and there were indeed times when the advanced animation made some ofthe incredible visuals seem real. The train was beautifully animated as it chugged through the snowyexpanses toward the North Pole, and the characters themselves were quite endearing. The friendshipbetween the main children was extremely heartwarming, particularly the scenes when the girl lost herticket and the boy had to get it back for her. Tom Hanks was fantastic in this film as all the voices thathe did, showing that once again he's just as good at voice acting as he is at live-action acting and thecomplaints of too many celebrity voice actors don't apply to him. He's the star of the film and heabsolutely excels in every part he plays. He even did the motion capture for the main boy character(though Daryl Sabara did the voice and was quite good at it). The sound of the train chugging throughthe landscape was awe-inspiring and the film's soundtrack, headlined by Josh Groban's excellent song"Believe", tied everything together. The Polar Express does the book justice and most of the complaintshold very little water. All-around, it's a magical film.

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#84: Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost

Year of Release: 1999Director: Jim Stenstrum

The second DTV Scooby-Doo feature following the late 1990s series resurrection, Scooby-Doo and theWitch's Ghost is the film I consider to be the best DTV Scooby movie ever. Yes, better than ZombieIsland, which I also consider to be a great movie. What made Witch's Ghost the superior film in myopinion was that it was more like a classic Scooby-Doo mystery, rather than Zombie Island which


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included paranormal elements from quite early in the film. In Witch's Ghost, Scooby and the gang haveto uncover the mysterious hauntings in a New England tourist town. Ultimately, it's the townspeoplethemselves who have been conducting the hauntings to drum up tourist dollars. Of course, that's whenthe movie gets truly paranormal, when the Witch's Ghost herself is unleashed by Ben Ravenscroft whoturns out to be descended from the witch. The film combines the best of the old Scooby Doo mysterieswith the paranormal elements of the newer series, giving us one of Scooby's best adventures to date.

The film introduced the Hex Girls, a goth-themed rock band who had some killer musical numbers inthe movie (Jennifer Hale as Thorn was inspired casting) and had some great character interactionbetween Freddy and Daphne, with some nice Shaggy and Scooby comedy as well. Tim Curry appearedas Ben Ravenscroft and performed fantastically as he usually does (and even better once he revealshimself as a villainous warlock) The movie is just fun all over and something no Scooby Doo fanshould miss. It's always nice to see a legendary animated character get a movie worthy of their legacy.

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#83: Pocahontas

Year of Release: 1995Directors: Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg

Pocahontas was intended to be Disney's next big Oscar bait film after Beauty and the Beast. In fact, itwas considered during production to be the A project while The Lion King was considered the Bproject. We all know how that went, of course, but Pocahontas still has lots of things going for itdespite the controversy it's received over the years. The film is based on the legend of Pocahontas, thebeautiful Native American girl who fell in love with the English settler John Smith and brought peacebetween their tribes. It's of course not what REALLY happened, Pocahontas in real life was a younggirl and the real John Smith fabricated the romance story to impress his men, but even knowing the realPocahontas story, the film itself presents a cohesive and fascinating story of its own. Yes, it's the wholeDances with Wolves/Fern Gully culture clash romance archetype we've seen so much before, but thecharacters, music, and animation in Pocahontas provide a far more compelling narrative than FernGully. The voice acting is superb (why didn't they include Mel Gibson's song in the film? He's a goodsinger) and some of the scenes are incredibly beautiful (like when Pocahontas first encounters JohnSmith). Then there's the "Savages" scene, featuring some of the most goosebump-inducing visualsyou'll ever see in a Disney film. Looking past the flaws, Pocahontas itself is a good movie. It doesn'trank highly when compared to some of Disney's greats or even some of the other 90s films, but it'sentertaining and heartwarming nonetheless. All Nostalgia Chick hate aside (and she's picked apart morethan one film on this list), Pocahontas still captures a lot of that great Disney magic.

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#82: The Rescuers

Year of Release: 1977Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, and Art Stevens

Disney's other film release from 1977, The Rescuers was one of Disney's forgotten films in a lot ofways, but it was a fun adventure that definitely kept up the company's reputation for fun-filledanimated adventures. Based on a series of books, The Rescuers revolves around a pair of mice, Bernardand Bianca, who are members of an organization known as the Rescue Aid Society, who protect andrescue people in need around the world. This time, it's a girl named Penny whom they must rescue froma greedy woman named Madame Medusa who seeks a lost diamond. The two mice get into many


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adventures on the way to rescue Penny, contending with Medusa and her pair of vicious crocodiles. Thefilm is a straight-up adventure, there's not too much complexity to it, with the two big emotional storiesbeing the growing romance between Bernard and Bianca and Penny's desire to have a real family. BobNewhart and Eva Gabor perform the voices of the two mice and they do quite a good job, particularlyBob Newhart who's always funny in whatever he does. The film's best scene is likely when Penny andthe two mice have to retrieve the diamond for Madame Medusa while the cave they're in slowly floods,

you're pretty much on the edge of your seat which of course was the intended effect. There's not toomuch to The Rescuers, but what it does it does especially well.

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#81: Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa)Year of Release: 1986 (original), 1989 (USA)Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Based slightly on the floating land of Laputa from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Castle in the Skysoon carves out its own world of adventure and wonder. In the film, Laputa is the only remaining skycity with all the others having been destroyed by various calamities. The heroine, Sheeta, possesses amysterious amulet. The film itself is visually very beautiful, the skyscapes making it one of the bestlooking of all of Miyazaki's films. It's more of a straight-up adventure than a lot of his later works,eschewing a lot of the quirkiness that made those films so memorable, instead focusing on its main castand on some very nice action and battle sequences. For that reason, while it's not as profound andmemorable as some of Miyazaki's other works, it's still an extremely fun watch. Pazu and Sheeta aresome of the most likable of all the Miyazaki protagonists, and you really find yourself caring abouttheir plight throughout the film.

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#80: The Black Cauldron

Year of Release: 1985Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich

The Black Cauldron is perhaps the most obscure Disney feature film outside of the package films, it'seasily confused for a Don Bluth movie and was notably the first Disney feature to get a PG rating. Thatsaid, it was an excellent fantasy film and it should get a lot more love than it currently does. Based onthe Newbery award winning Prydain books, The Black Cauldron is the story of Taran, a young boywho dreams of becoming a great warrior and defeating the evil Horned King. Along the way, hebefriends and eventually falls in love with the princess Eilonwy and must discover his own innerstrength in order to save the realm and the princess. Sounds like the plot of an old-school JRPG, doesn'tit? The Horned King should've gone down in history as one of Disney's most memorable villains, he's adevilish beast and one of the scariest animated villains of all time (and voiced perfectly by John Hurt).Meanwhile, Eilonwy's probably the most obscure Disney Princess. Good luck seeing her get anymerchandise, Disney's tried to bury this film and has only recently acknowledged it with home videoreleases (still waiting on that Blu-Ray, Disney!). Seriously, this film got beat by the CARE BEARSMOVIE (which will not be appearing on this list). People had bad taste even back then, it seems.

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#79: Watership Down


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Year of Release: 1978Director: Martin Rosen

One of the greatest British animated films of all time, Watership Down is the story of a group of rabbitsled by a rabbit named Hazel who seek to find a new home after one of them, a rabbit named Fiver, hasa vision of the destruction of their own home. Thus they set out on a dangerous journey (and the

dangers are very, VERY real, as demonstrated right from the start) to find a new place to settle,eventually deciding to seek a hill known as Watership Down. Though the plot follows the "journey"type of adventure that pops up in many animated films (and that we'll see more of on this very list), thisfilm pulls absolutely no punches in the danger it presents its protagonists. Not only do they have tobattle other animals and the forces of nature, but other rabbits as well, displaying a vivid parallel toman's own inhumanity. It's a powerful movie with a powerful message, though some of the scenes areextremely intense and frightening. The violence is among the most realistic ever seen in an animatedfilm, magnifying the mood of the film and the tensions the characters face. Watership Down wasclearly meant to leave an indelible impression on anyone who watched it and in that aspect, it morethan succeeds.

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#78: Persepolis

Year of Release: 2007Directors: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

Persepolis is a French animated film based on the autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian girlwho was forced to flee Iran during the Iranian Revolution. The film chronicles her life before, during,and after the revolution, and Marjane's struggle to remain true to herself even as societal pressures pushand pull her in different directions. The film depicts a struggle that many Iranian expats have faced,struggling with homesickness in new environments, wishing for the chance to return home whileknowing that it can never be as long as the new regime remains in place. The stylized animation issimplistic but expressive, though comparisons to the Triplets of Belleville, another French film thatappears earlier on this list, are like comparing apples to oranges. Persepolis' strength lies not in thepower of its visuals but with its message, conveyed through animation in such a way that showsMarjane's struggle in an informative and inspiring way. It's a film that anyone who's interested in thestate of the modern Middle East needs to see, depicting the conflict between internal and externalpressures and the struggle between pride in one's homeland and anger with injustice. Definitely one ofthe most informative animated films of all time.

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#77: The Brave Little Toaster

Year of Release: 1987Director: Jerry Rees

The Brave Little Toaster is a film about a group of appliances led by, you guessed it, a brave littletoaster, as they set out to find their owner who has seemingly abandoned them. Along the way, theappliances must work together to find their way to their owner but get into all sorts of predicamentsalong the way. Like a lot of the animated films of the time, The Brave Little Toaster is a musical,featuring a number of highly memorable songs, among them "It's A B Movie" and of course"Worthless", sung during a nightmare-inducing scene by cars in a junkyard about to be smashed to


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pieces as the appliances are about to share their fate, this film featured some rather scary imagery forsuch a light-hearted children's movie, but that just added to its charm. The entire cast, from the pluckytoaster to the grumpy vacuum Kirby, is likable, and the voice acting (Jon Lovitz is a standout asLampy) is a standout as well. The film doesn't carry much of a message other than the typical "powerof friendship" typically seen in these journey-type films, but the fun songs and exciting action, alongwith the fairly brisk pace, make it a memorable and classic animated adventure and one of the better

animated films of the late 80s.

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#76: The Great Mouse Detective

Year of Release: 1986Directors: Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener, and John Musker

Based on the "Basil of Baker Street" children's book series, which was itself inspired by the classicSherlock Holmes novels, the Great Mouse Detective is about the mouse Basil and his assistant Dr.Dawson as the two of them take on the case of young Olivia Flaversham, whose father has beenkidnapped by the wicked criminal mastermind Ratigan. Let me just start by talking about Ratigan whohas to be considered one of the great Disney villains. Voiced by Vincent Price, he's a walking pile oftheatrics, hamming it up gleefully and providing some absolutely hilarious moments even as he's beingan absolutely despicable bastard, Ratigan makes this movie and propels it above what would otherwisebe superior Disney films. The film is basically a classic Sherlock Holmes-esque detective movie, withplenty of narrow escapes, death traps, and adventures for the protagonist Basil. The ending set piece, inwhich Basil battles with Ratigan inside of Big Ben, is a classic final Disney confrontation, completewith the villain Ratigan taking a plunge off the clock to his doom. In a lot of ways, this film is rathercliched and predictable, but they're FUN cliches and the film itself rarely lags, providing plenty ofmemorable moments and lighthearted excitement. While it's true that Disney films were hitting a realrut by this point, the Great Mouse Detective was a welcome sign that there were still talented people atwork at the studio, and lots of the people involved on this film were a major part of the Renaissance tocome.

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#75: Despicable Me

Year of Release: 2010Directors: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

Despicable Me is a film about a mad scientist named Gru who is seeking to make a name for himself asyounger and richer villains emerge to steal his thunder. He decides to steal the Moon to prove himself,but in order to do that he needs the help of three young girls, whom he decides to adopt. It's a ratherunique premise, the first part of this film revolves mostly around the back and forth struggle betweenGru and his rival Vector, but then after the adoption of the girls, it takes a more emotional turn and wesee Gru's human side come out. This was definitely one of the more heartfelt animated films in recentmemory, something that the numerous trailers and previews (which focused more on the raw comedyof the Minions) didn't show. It's about a man who learns to care about something besides himself (ofcourse, we already see that he at least treats his minions well), and in the process finds that his truepurpose in life isn't to be the best villain he can be but to be the best man he can be. In between, there'slots of silly humor, character-based shenanigans (all three of the daughters have their own quirk and arefunny for different reasons, particularly the tomboyish/somewhat "evil" Edith and the ultra-adorable


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Agnes), and a real engaging story inbetween. With the glut of CGI animated features lately, it's becomea pleasant surprise to discover one that's more than the sum of its parts, and Despicable Me is that film.Though the sequel came a few days after the cutoff, it too would have made this list, though theoriginal is the better of the two, with more hilarity and a bit more heart as well.

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#74: Kiki's Delivery Service (aka Witch's Delivery Service)Year of Release: 1989 (original), 1997 (USA)Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Yet another Miyazaki entry on the list, Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young witch named Kiki whomoves to the big city and decides to get a job using her broom to fly around and deliver food from abakery. This is one of the more light-hearted of the Miyazaki films, it's a coming of age story in a lot ofways, as Kiki struggles to make friends and find her purpose in life. The animation is vivid and colorfuland this is definitely a fun film to watch over and over again. The English dub was one of the best ofthe Miyazaki dubs, with a young Kirsten Dunst providing Kiki's voice and Phil Hartman excelling asKiki's black cat Jiji. While the film doesn't provide some of the emotional and thematic complexities ofsome of Miyazaki's truly great works, it's enjoyable to watch the entire way through. Kiki and Tombo'srelationship is cute but not forced, unlike some of the romantic relationships in lesser films. The townof Koriko is beautiful, the natural charm of the city is a known quality in Ghibli films and it mixes thebustle of a large city with the quaint beauty of the Japanese countryside. All in all, Kiki's DeliveryService is a very good film with very few flaws, it doesn't excel in anything in particular but is one ofthe most enjoyable animated films to come out of Studio Ghibli.

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#73: The Simpsons Movie

Year of Release: 2007Director: David Silverman

The very, VERY long anticipated Simpsons movie finally came out in 2007, and people understandablyhad some trepidation leading up to the release. The show had been declining in quality for years and alot of people believed that the movie would be just another lousy sign of the show's erosion. Butinstead, what we got was a genuinely funny, genuinely heartwarming movie. The plot of the filmrevolved around the Simpson family being forced out of town after the EPA covers up Springfield witha giant dome because of all the pollution the town has generated over the years. They later find out, viaa great Tom Hanks cameo, that the EPA plans to blow up the town by detonating a bomb inside thedome, and the Simpsons are the only people who can save Springfield from destruction. There wereplenty of great moments, including a recurring Spider-Pig song that became a meme in the year of2007, it wasn't just a random joke but it had a great payoff at the end, which is always nice to see. Wealso saw Homer finally reaping the consequences of his actions after increasingly being a jerkass overthe past few seasons of the show. Indeed, a lot of people believe this film saved the series and that thequality of the show has been significantly better following the film's release, though that's still a hotlydebated point of contention amongst fans. Either way, both fans and non-fans alike embraced TheSimpsons Movie and it was the biggest traditionally animated film success since Tarzan back in 1999.It took a massively hyped franchise movie to resurrect 2-D animation theatrically, but we're all gratefulfor it.


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#72: Shrek 2

Year of Release: 2004Directors: Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, Conrad Vernon

Shrek was a major commercial and critical success back in 2001 and it was inevitable that it wouldreceive a sequel. What we got was Shrek 2, which built on the first film in a lot of ways without theburden of having to introduce all the characters. It did lack a lot of the charm that the first one had (andultimately appears lower on the list), but was still quite a good film in its own right and deserved thehuge box office money it got when it hit the theaters in 2004. Shrek 2 continues the events of the firstfilm after Shrek and Fiona's honeymoon. Shrek is invited to a royal ball by Fiona's parents to celebratehis marriage to Fiona, but there's a confrontation between Shrek and the king, which leads to a situationin which Shrek and Donkey sneak into the Fairy Godmother's factory and steal a potion from her,which turns him into a man. It turns out that the Fairy Godmother is trying to dispose of Shrek in orderto arrange a marriage between her son Prince Charming and Fiona. As in the first film, a number ofcomedic misunderstandings and mishaps force Shrek and Donkey to work together so that Shrek cawin Fiona's heart and save the kingdom once more. The comedy isn't quite as focused and outrageousas the first film but the plot still works and by the end everything comes together and you're left feelingas good after this movie as you did after the first. Shrek 2 is the rare example of an animated cash-insequel that works, proving that it isn't just Pixar who knows how to build a successful, qualityanimation franchise.

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#71: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Year of Release: 2000Director: Curt Geda

One of the greatest DTV animated movies of all time...hell, one of the greatest BATMAN movies of alltime, this film is based on the hit Batman Beyond animated series. 40 years after the events of Batman:The Animated Series, The Joker has seemingly returned to cause crime and wreak havoc in Gotham.The new Batman, Terry McGinnis, has to get to the bottom of this new crime wave. What he uncoversabout the Joker is the key to the movie and the key to this film's PG-13 rating (the unrated edition, atleast) AND this film's position on the list. Basically, the Joker and Harley Quinn kidnapped the oldRobin, Tim Drake, 40 years before. After Joker and Harley brutally tortured him for three weeks,Batman and Batgirl finally arrive to save him. Batgirl sends Harley seemingly plummeting to herdoom, while the Joker is shot in the chest by Tim who has been nearly completely broken by the tortureand he collapses sobbing into Batgirl's arms after the Joker's death. After years of therapy he'sseemingly gotten past it but as it turned out, a microchip has been implanted into him that had theJoker's memories and personality imprinted onto it, allowing the Joker to take control of Tim's mindand forcing Tim to "become" the Joker. This film cemented Batman Beyond as a key part of the DCAUand was one of the darkest DC animated films ever released. It explained the Joker's return perfectlyand has been a fan favorite ever since. It's a shame that some of the film's releases and appearances onTV were censored, as the brutal original is the ONLY true version of the film and more than worthy ofbeing called one of the greatest animated movies of all time.

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#70: Frankenweenie

Year of Release: 2012Director: Tim Burton

Tim Burton finally got a chance to do a full-length Frankenweenie feature after his short in the 1980s,and the result was an endearing and indeed very scary old-school style monster film in stop-motion.

The black and white was a stylistic choice that enhanced the old-school feel of the movie, it didn't needcolor to get its message across and indeed it actually enhanced the chill factor at times, with shadowsand contrast increased by the effect, making the darkness more frightening and the monsters moreintimidating. The plot of the film revolves around a young boy named Victor whose dog Sparky iskilled in a car accident. He uses lightning to bring Sparky back to life, but soon all the other kids in theneighborhood learn about Victor's discovery.... and in the climax they revive their own animals insimilar fashion with predictable chaotic results. The kid characters are at the center of the film and eachbrings their own quirks to the table, from Victor's creepy friend Edgar to the quietly disconcertingWeird Girl (brilliantly voiced by Catherine O'Hara), every character in the film has a purpose. Theclimactic showdown at the end of the film is very tense and exciting, though the ending wraps itself upa bit quickly after all the action is over. When your biggest flaw as a film is that you're too short, it's apretty good sign that you're doing something right. Frankenweenie is a well-executed animated homageto classic creature features and a fun ride all the way around.

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#69: The Prince of Egypt

Year of Release: 1998Directors: Simon Wells, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Hickner

This animated retelling of the Book of Exodus was one of the first Dreamworks animated films and avery exciting musical film. The film chronicles the life of Moses, from his birth to his receiving of theTen Commandments on Mount Sinai, similar to the old Charlton Heston Ten Commandments movie.The choice to make the film an animated musical is justified by the number of memorable songsfeatured in the movie, including the ballad "When You Believe" and of course the now-legendary"Plagues" song (in which Ralph Fiennes gets to show off his pipes). The relationship between Mosesand his adopted brother Ramses is at the core of the movie and it does an outstanding job showing howclose the two of them were, they were best friends before Moses began his crusade to free the Hebrewsfrom Egypt. The animation is among the most beautiful of any 2-D animated film, right up there withthe great Disney films of the time such as Mulan and Tarzan. As far as biblical-based films go, it's rightup there with the best of them, telling a wonderful story that any believer or non-believer canappreciate.

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#68: Ninja Scroll

Year of Release: 1993 (original), 1995 (USA)Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri

An anime classic, Ninja Scroll is a film about a group of ninjas known as the Yamashiro clan, whosegreedy leader wishes to possess the gold collected from a hidden mine. One of the clan members,Gemma, then attempts to kill the other ninjas in his clan to keep the secret of the mine for himself. Aninja named Jubei survives the slaughter, avenging his clan by killing Gemma. Gemma then returns as


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a demon lord, and this sets the stage for the film's events, depicting the continued struggle for controlof the mine. The film features a mixture of gritty realism and mystical elements, creating an action-packed movie that keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. It has some of the best combat ever seenin an animated film (as to be expected from a film featuring ninjas) while also providing a deeper storyin Jubei's search for revenge and redemption. Gemma is a terrifying villain, one of the most wicked andevil animated villains ever and a perfect contrast to Jubei. The film is full of intrigue and mystery as

well, almost reminiscent of some of the old Batman animated series adventures. Ultimately this wasone of the great anime films of the 90s, a visceral, edge-of-your-seat action epic.

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#67: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Year of Release: 2001Director: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

One of the more controversial and obscure Disney feature films, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was a visualand auditory tour-de-force, one of the most beautifully animated films in history and a vastlyunderrated movie that should have done far better at the box office than it did. It tells the story of MiloThatch, a young cartographer who believes he's found the secret to locating the lost city of Atlantis.He's commissioned to find the city by a woman named Helga and a rich benefactor named PrestonWhitmore, and this leads to the expedition to discover the city. The expedition is of course successful,Milo and his motley crew find the city under the ocean and Milo meets the beautiful princessKidagakash (aka Kida). Milo and Kida later have to defend the city when the evil Commander Rourkeseeks to exploit it for his own gain. I don't think I can say enough about the animation in this film. Thevisuals are among the best ever seen in a Disney film, taking the best of CGI and traditional animationand combining them in an effort that brings out the best of both worlds, creating an incredible visualfeast that shines through throughout the film. The plot itself doesn't quite match up to the animation,which keeps this film out of the top 50, but it's still one of Disney's best post-Renaissance films and,IMO, it even tops the anime classic that inspired it, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. The voiceacting is top-notch, with Cree Summer standing out as Kida amongst a star-studded cast that includedMichael J. Fox and James Garner. Atlantis was an all-around classic and it's a shame Disney didn'texperiment more with combining CGI and tradition animation before moving on to CGI entirely in2005.

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#66: A Goofy Movie

Year of Release: 1995Director: Kevin Lima

Who knew that with all the attention and hype given to Pocahontas, that the best Disney animated filmfrom 1995 would be a Goof Troop movie? In this classic road trip film, Goofy wants to have a greatsummer with his son Max as the two of them head across the country on a vacation, but Max wants toimpress his crush Roxanne by appearing on television during Powerline's big concert in Los Angeles.The two get into a variety of crazy situations as Max feels conflicted between the peer pressure fromhis friends and Roxanne to appear cool and his desire to have a good relationship with his dad. Thereare of course some very sweet moments of father-son bonding in the film, Goofy trusts Max to plan outthe trip which of course leaves Max feeling guilty with his deception, there are of course somemoments when everything seems lost, but this all leads up to a spectacular ending, where Goofy helps


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Max get onstage with Powerline in the absolutely epic "Eye To Eye" musical number which issimultaneously awesome and hilarious as Goofy keeps getting into trouble during the song itself. AGoofy Movie is a cult classic for a reason, it's a smart, funny, and ultimately sweet little movie thatprovides the perfect "finale" for the beloved Goof Troop series and even introduces a great new loveinterest for Max in Roxanne (even if they completely forgot about her in the sequel). A Goofy Movie isgoofy but it's also great.

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#65: Kung Fu Panda

Year of Release: 2008Directors: John Stevenson and Mark Osborne

Another film that was far better than it was expected to be, Kung Fu Panda came out in 2008 amidst aslew of hype but also a lot of uncertainty about how good it would really be. The film was releasedand...it became one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. The film tells the story of Po, a pandawho loves kung fu and idolizes the Furious Five, he dreams of becoming a kung fu master like thembut is stuck working with his father at a noodle restaurant. One day, while trying to see who isproclaimed the new Dragon Warrior, the legendary warrior who is said to bring peace back to thevalley, Po himself is proclaimed to be the Dragon Warrior and gets the opportunity to train with theFurious Five and achieve his destiny. The protagonist Po is a very well designed character, voicedhilariously by Jack Black. He is incredibly resilient, never giving up despite the adversity he faces fromthe Furious Five and his master Shifu. Po doesn't have much time to train, as he has to battle the evilTai Lung, Shifu's former pupil. There are some VERY emotional moments in this film, particularlybetween Shifu and Po and also between Shifu and Tai Lung. The scene at the end where Shifu begs TaiLung to change his evil ways is heartrending, you can tell how deeply he still cares about his old pupil.The film, while at times very serious, is lighthearted and whimsical most of the way through, with lotsof funny dialogue and visual gags as well. It's a FAR better movie than it looks on the surface andmakes another great addition to Dreamworks' film lineup.

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#64: The Emperor's New Groove

Year of Release: 2000Director: Mark Dindal

The Emperor's New Groove was originally intended to be a dramatic musical romance film (like theother 90s Renaissance films) called Empire of the Sun, but got retooled into a buddy comedy for betteror for worse. For mostly better, though, as it's one of the funniest films in the Disney animated canonand is quite well loved to this day. The film is about a selfish teenage emperor named Kuzco whodecides to build his summer home on the site of the home of a man named Pacha, rendering him andhis family homeless. However, when the machinations of the evil witch Yzma turn Kuzco into a llama,he has to work together with Pacha to restore himself to normal and retake control of his kingdom. Thetwo get into a number of hilarious adventures together on their way to try and take back control of theempire. The movie is full of fun slapstick comedy and sight gags, but there's plenty of subtle characterbased humor here as well (most of it concerning the selfish Kuzco, but Yzma herself is the funniestDisney villain since Hades). There's of course a lot of touching moments as well, Kuzco has to learnthe consequences of his actions and he bonds with Pacha significantly over the course of the film.While we can't know how good or bad Empire of the Sun could have been, what we got is a true


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Disney comedy, a fun film that's worth watching over and over again (and that produced a greatanimated TV series to boot).

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#63: Fritz the Cat

Year of Release: 1972Director: Ralph Bakshi

Legendary Ralph Bakshi's magnum opus is Fritz the Cat, one of the most controversial films in history.The tagline, "we're not X rated for nothin', baby!" says it all....or does it? Beneath the violence andnudity lies a truly intelligent satire, critiquing the "free love" movements of the time while at the sametime celebrating youthful exuberance, the movie is an honest look at the counterculture of the time andits ups and downs. I was also surprised at the quality of the animation, very detailed and colorful, thecharacters moved in an energetic way, with the right things exaggerated for emphasis, it comparesfavorably to the Disney features at the time. It's no surprise that Bakshi later went on to direct the Lordof the Rings animated features, a worthy effort though they don't match up to the pure ludicrouswhimsy of Fritz. Fritz himself is actually a decently likable protagonist, a hedonist with a heart andcapably voiced by Skip Hinnant. Fritz the Cat is a film that doesn't court controversy so much as itutilizes grittiness and outlandishness to tell its story. Ralph Bakshi's become infamous as a result of thefilm but the controversy obscured the real message of what was ultimately one of the more timelyanimated features to be released.

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#62: Chicken Run

Year of Release: 2000Directors: Peter Lord and Nick Park

Another Aardman stop-motion film, Chicken Run is about a chicken named Ginger who wants toescape from a farm before she and her friends are killed and served up for dinner. To that end, sherecruits the aid of Rocky, who has accidentally crash landed in the farm. Ginger wants Rocky to teachthe other chickens how to fly so they can escape the farm. Rocky decides to help the chickens build aplane and this leads to a series of hilarious near-misses and antics. It was Aardman's first animatedfeature and the reviews were incredibly positive, in fact, this film may have led to the creation of theBest Animated Feature category at the Oscars when complaints that this film was snubbed for a BestPicture nomination arose. Ultimately, most of those positive reviews were well-founded. It's probablyAardman's best work, even better than their Wallace and Gromit material, due to the development ofthe characters and uplifting plot. The viewer really finds themselves cheering for the chickens toescape, it helps that the farmers are pretty cruel (not overly so, for the most part they're average peoplebut they do seem to delight in wanting to kill the chickens). The voice acting is excellent, Mel Gibsondoes quite a good job here (he might be a jerk but he's a good actor) and the rest of the acting is topnotch. Chicken Run might not be QUITE Best Picture caliber but in an era when Disney was starting todecline it was nice to see another animation studio step up with an excellent effort.

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#61: Cars

Year of Release: 2006


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Director: John Lasseter

Cars was one of Pixar's least popular animated films. People really didn't like the heavily merchandisednature of the film and its characters, Larry the Cable Guy was involved...ultimately it just wasn't quiteas good as some of their previously great films. But at the core of Cars is a beating heart, an homage toold-school Americana, particularly Route 66 and its car-based culture, and from that springs the soul of

the film and the reason why it outranks a lot of films that were far more highly regarded. Cars is thestory of Lightning McQueen, a hotshot race car who dreams of winning the Piston Cup in his rookieyear. En route to the deciding race of the season, Lightning ends up getting sidetracked in RadiatorSprings, and is forced to rebuild the main road he tore up. He befriends the residents of the town,particularly Tow Mater, a dimwitted but friendly tow truck, and ultimately comes to slow down andappreciate the finer things in life. As I said, Cars is a film with a lot of heart, though it really doesn'tshow up until the second half of the film (I DARE you not to cry during the "Our Town" sequence).The voice acting, as is par for the course in Pixar films, is great, with Paul Newman and yes, Larry theCable Guy, giving fantastic performances. The ending of the film holds a real message as well, asLightning learns what kind of car he truly is. The sequel might have stumbled (severely), but Cars itselfdeserves its place in the Pixar pantheon.

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#60: Tarzan

Year of Release: 1999Directors: Chris Buck and Kevin Lima

Based on the classic story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the film follows the story of Tarzan, from the timehe was orphaned in the jungle as a child to the time when he grows up among the creatures of theforest, adopted by the motherly Kala and her mate, the gruff Kerchak. When a ship full of explorers(and a man named Clayton who seeks to exploit the apes of the forest) comes ashore, Tarzan discoversthe outside world and is faced with the decision of whether to live among the apes or among the worldof men. Tarzan was the first Disney film since Rescuers Down Under not to be a strict "musical" per se,instead featuring songs in the background (most of them performed by Phil Collins whose score for thisfilm was excellent). The film also took a more realistic stance to a character not knowing English thanPocahontas did, whereas Pocahontas and John Smith could speak each other's languages through "themagic of the trees" or some such thing, Tarzan had to learn English gradually by learning it from Janeand her dad. The jungle is animated beautifully in the film and it's quite thrilling to see Tarzan (andlater Jane) leaping and swinging through the trees. Clayton was a fun villain, in the same vein asRadcliffe but somewhat more realistic and menacing (and his brutal death is an "I can't believe Disneydid that" moment). Tarzan's actually somewhat more serious than other Disney films of the same timeperiod, there's some genuinely dramatic and sad stuff in the film (like when Tarzan is taken back to hisparents' camp, and of course Kerchak's death) though the seriousness means a slower pace that gave thefilm some dull moments that other Disney films don't have in the same quantity. Nonetheless, Tarzanstill ranks as one of the better Disney movies and a great swan song for the Disney Renaissance.

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#59: The Secret of NIMH

Year of Release: 1982Director: Don Bluth


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Don Bluth's directorial debut is this film based on the classic children's novel Mrs. Frisby and the Ratsof NIMH. Mrs. Brisby, a mouse and a mother, seeks to move her family elsewhere, but her son comesdown with an illness and cannot be moved. Mrs. Brisby has to find some way to protect her familyfrom the farmer's plows, and she eventually discovers a group of rats who have access to electricity andlots of knowledge. With the rats' help, Mrs. Brisby might just be able to move her home and keep herailing son safe. The film contains a lot of the Don Bluth hallmarks, it's darker than the typical Disney

film (it's even dark for a Don Bluth film), with lots of mystical and fantastical elements. The animationis really excellent, particularly where lighting is concerned, they used a lot of different techniques toget the lighting effects they wanted and it really shows, adding greatly to the mood of a lot of scenes(and making the scenes that are supposed to be frightening quite so). Mrs. Brisby herself is a verybelievable heroine, brave but still realistic, seeking only to protect her family, she's incredibly devotedto her children (and it shines through at the end) and anyone can understand her motivations, providingthe driving force for the movie. Don Bluth's directorial debut was one of the most promising for anyfilmmaker, period, and set the tone for the animated features of the 1980s.

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#58: Rango

Year of Release: 2011Director: Gore Verbinski

An animated film done in the style of an old Western, with just a tad of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegasthrown in, Rango is a rather unique, charming, and exciting animated film that you can clearly telleveryone involved had a lot of fun making. Rango is about a pet chameleon named Rango (of course)who becomes stranded in the middle of the desert and comes across a town called Dirt. He pretends tobe a rough and tumble macho lawman in order to fit in but soon bites off more than he can chew andhas to rely on his quick thinking to survive. While not a motion-capture film, Gore Verbinski used afilming technique where he filmed the actors acting out their roles and used that for the animation ofthe film (in a similar way to how Walt Disney would have his voice actors act out their roles for the oldDisney animated classics). The effect is that the animal characters employ human-like motions with thevoices captured in mid-acting, making everything seem quite realistic. The celebrity cast was quitetalented, particularly Isla Fischer as Beans (I firmly believe Isla Fischer could be as good as TaraStrong and Grey Delisle if she switched to voice acting full time), and of course Johnny Depp gives aspirited performance as Rango (and his fingerprints are all over the style of this movie). Rango's just afun movie with a great sense of humor.

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#57: The Princess and the Frog

Year of Release: 2009Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker

The hype over Disney's long-awaited return to traditional animation was nearly overshadowed by thecontroversy over Tiana being the first black Disney Princess. Originally, of course, she was intended tobe a chambermaid but her character was changed to that of a waitress seeking to save up to buy herown restaurant. The controversy in my opinion was overblown, Tiana herself is a wonderful DisneyPrincess in the vein of all the other great characters who have held that role, and no matter what herrace is, it's the power of her heart that shines through. Politics aside, the Princess and the Frog doesn'tQUITE match up to the greatest classics of the Disney Renaissance, but it's a wonderful film in its own


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right, with an absolutely fantastic villain in Dr. Facilier (Keith David is brilliant in this role) and asurprisingly funny and adorable supporting character in Tiana's friend Charlotte. Honestly, it's Charlottewho steals the show, she's great in every scene she's in and you find yourself wishing there was a lotmore of her. She didn't even get to sing a song! Speaking of songs, the songs in this movie were quitegood, Facilier's villain song "Friends On The Other Side" is a classic and Tiana's "Almost There" isupbeat and catchy, the animation during the song was a nice throwback to the classic Disney style. The

film's biggest triumph is in the characters it creates, Tiana and Naveen almost take a backseat toFacilier, Charlotte, and Ray, and that's probably the thing that held this film back from the top 50.Despite the film's flaws, it's an overall triumph and it leaves Disney fans wishing for some moretraditional animation in the studio's future (though the next two CGI films would satiate that hunger abit).

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#56: My Neighbor Totoro


Another whimsical anime classic from Hayao Miyazaki, it's the film that made Totoro an animationicon and that many anime fans will cite as their personal favorite. It takes place in late 50s Japan, wheretwo girls, Satsuki and Mei, have just moved into a new house. Mei soon meets a spirit creature namedTotoro, who introduces Mei and her sister Satsuki to a world of mystery and wonder. The film is full ofcurious visuals and amazing creatures, including a cat that is actually a bus and living spirits made ofdust. While it's a visual feast, it's also a heartwarming story of friendship, with Totoro helping the twogirls through a difficult and scary time in their lives. The 2006 dub, featuring Dakota and Elle Fanningas the two girls, is quite well-done, though the original Japanese voice actors are excellent as well. Thecreature of Totoro is very well-animated, expressive and instantly endearing, though of courseMiyazaki is well-known for his skill with creating amazing non-human creatures in his films. You canjust watch Totoro while he's on screen and be entertained, there's a reason he's one of the most belovedanime characters of all time. My Neighbor Totoro continues to be one of the most well known of allanime films and is a great jumping off point for anyone getting into Japanese animation for the firsttime.

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#55: Monsters University

Year of Release: 2013Director: Dan Scanlon

Monsters Inc. was a big critical and commercial success and with Pixar doing more and more sequelsrecently it's only natural that Monsters Inc. be considered. What we got was a prequel, a film showingwhat Mike and Sulley were up to in college. After a chance encounter with his hero as a youngmonster, Mike decides to attend Monsters University, though he quickly finds himself in confrontationswith the strict dean and the arrogant monster Sulley, whom he's later forced to bunk with. Mike findshimself at risk of being expelled unless he and Sulley and his new fraternity win the Scare Gamescompetition. The film contains a lot of college film cliches, from the tough, disciplinarian dean to thehard luck fraternity, there's definitely some homages to films like Animal House in here with all therequisite party action (G rated party action, of course), but like most of the Pixar classics, there's a lotof heart in this film as Mike and Sulley eventually bond despite their disagreements. It's an


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inspirational film, as the "failures" of Oozma Kappa all discover their true talents and gain confidenceworking with Mike and Sulley as they train for the Scare Games, and the ending is unexpected but itleads perfectly into the original film and has a really nice message to go along with it. While Pixar'sstumbled a bit in recent years, films like Monsters University are a good sign that the company can stillproduce a great animated film.

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#54: Paranorman

Year of Release: 2012Directors: Sam Fell and Chris Butler

Laika's follow-up to the hit film Coraline, Paranorman is another frightening but heartfelt film about achild who experiences paranormal events. In this case, it's Norman, who has the power to hear and seethe spirits of the dead. Of course, this blessing is in a lot of ways a curse, as no one believes Normanand people tend to think he's crazy. One day, he encounters his uncle, who has recently died. Norman'suncle tells him that the town is in grave danger in a few days unless Norman reads a book at the gravesof a group of dead settlers whose spirits will haunt the town if he doesn't complete the ritual. Thefollowing events are a cacophony of hauntings and phenomena that threaten the whole town, withNorman teaming up with his new friend, his big sister, and the quarterback of the local football team tosave the day. The film starts out rather slow, though the emotional pathos of Norman's everydayexistence still resonates with anyone who's been bullied or treated as an outcast. However, it's thesecond half of the film where Paranorman really catches its stride. The film culminates in the discoverythat the ghost haunting the town is in fact Agatha, a young girl who was hanged in the witch trials 400years before, and whose spirit Norman has to calm in a tear-jerking, brilliantly animated scene that isone of the best scenes in an animated movie in years. The voice acting is great and there's plenty ofhumor and scares to keep audiences of all ages thrilled, the film was a fantastic follow-up to Coralineand I can't wait to see what Laika does next.

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#53: Howl's Moving Castle


Based on a classic children's novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle tells the story of ayoung hatter named Sophie who is transformed into an old woman by the Witch of the Wastes. Seekinghelp to reverse her condition, Sophie discovers a large, walking castle and its master, a mysterious mannamed Howl, who secretly participates in the fierce war ravaging Sophie's kingdom. Intrigue, magic,and action follow as Sophie discovers the secrets of Howl's castle and the secrets Howl is concealingabout himself. The film is typical Miyazaki, with the castle's movements and animation some of thebest in the film. The film's dramatic war scenes are also quite thrilling, as Howl transforms into amystical beast and fights against the witch Suliman's forces. The Witch of the Wastes is quite anintriguing character, menacing at first but then docile and almost sympathetic after Suliman strips herof her powers. There's actually a LOT going on in this movie, enough that one can easily get confusedif not following closely, but the animation and fun characters (Calcifer, voiced by Billy Crystal in thedub) make it easy to stay invested and Sophie's own transformation, both external and internal, is quitefascinating to watch. Howl and Sophie's friendship is beautiful, in many ways like the one shared byHaku and Chihiro in Spirited Away. Howl's Moving Castle has become one of the more obscure of


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Miyazaki's movies but it's absolutely a must-watch.

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#52: Anastasia

Year of Release: 1997

Directors: Don Bluth and Gary Goldman

After releasing a series of turds (Rock-a-Doodle, A Troll in Central Park, The Pebble and the Penguin)into theaters in the mid 90s, Don Bluth made a return to classic form with this film, taking a "if youcan't beat 'em, join 'em" stance and appropriating some of the Disney Renaissance tropes into this grandmusical adventure. And to be quite honest...it worked. Yes, this story of Anastasia absolutely butchersRussian history, but all that aside, it's a fun, heartwarming film full of great musical numbers andawesome characters. The film depicts Anastasia, ten years after her supposed "death", in search of herlost family. She comes across a con artist named Dmitri who tells her she can get an audience with thegrand duchess, who turns out to be Anastasia's grandmother, if she goes with them. Meanwhile,Rasputin is alive again and he's seeking revenge (and gets an AWESOME villain song to boot),complicating things quite a bit. What follows is a whirlwind adventure as Anastasia and her newcompanions travel across Europe, Dmitri in search of a big reward and Anastasia in search of herfamily. The animation rivals anything Disney put out during the 1990s and the songs are fantastic."Journey to the Past", "Once Upon A December", "At The Beginning", and "In The Dark Of The Night"are right up there with the great Disney musical numbers, making Anastasia a suitable rival to itsDisney contemporaries. Historians might eviscerate this film, but the rest of us should just tune themout and enjoy it for what it is, a fantastic animated adventure.

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#51: A Bug's Life

Year of Release: 1998Director: John Lasseter

We finish off the bottom half of this list with Pixar's second animated feature, about an ant colonymenaced by greedy grasshoppers. Flik, the hero of the film, is constantly trying to come up with waysto make the ants' lives easier, but he's always failing and by the time the film starts, he's pretty much alaughingstock. When one of his failures causes the ants to not be able to make the grasshoppers' quota,Flik is exiled from the colony and he stumbles upon a group of circus bugs who help him come up witha plan to scare the grasshoppers off for good. The film is mostly straightforward, but Flik (voiced quiteaptly by Dave Foley) is an easy hero to root for, and Hopper (voiced by Kevin Spacey) is an extremelymenacing villain. The circus bugs are hilarious in all sorts of different ways, you've got a thespiancouple, a tough, burly ladybug, a friendly black widow... they make a great crew and they're all lovable.The film's climax also has a great message, and Flik's final showdown with Hopper is as inspiring as itis dramatic. While A Bug's Life might have suffered a bit in terms of its long-term legacy (being themeat in a Toy Story sandwich will do that), it's still one of Pixar's timeless classics.

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#50: The Jungle Book

Year of Release: 1967Director: Wolfgang Reitherman


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The last film ever produced by Walt Disney, The Jungle Book represented in a lot of ways the end of anera for Disney, the end of its Silver Age if you will. Full of classic songs and characters, the film is anadaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, telling the story of a young orphan named Mowgli whois lost in the jungles of India and discovered by the panther Bagheera. He learns a number of valuablelife lessons from the jungle animals, and soon comes to want to stay with the animals and grow up with

them. He soon runs afoul of the vicious tiger Shere Khan, and must deal with him while at the sametime struggling with his conflict over whether to stay in the jungle or return to civilization. The film is awhimsical classic filled with several memorable musical numbers, there's the classic "Bare Necessities"and other songs such as "I Wanna Be Like You" and "That's What Friends Are For". The film is mostlyfun and upbeat but there are a couple of dramatic moments (like the final showdown with Shere Khan),ultimately though, it's a straight up musical comedy and one of the classic Disney films that everyoneremembers from their childhood.

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#49: Hercules

Year of Release: 1997Directors: Ron Clements and John Musker

Another Disney musical from the Renaissance era, Hercules is a lighthearted musical take on Greekmythology. Like Anastasia from the same year, the film badly butchers the source material, but standson its own as a very fun movie filled with memorable characters and songs and featuring some of thebest animation of any Disney film. The movie is in a lot of ways inspired by films such as Supermanand Rocky, Hercules is the son of Zeus but a scheme by Hades leaves him mortal (but still with god-like strength), he's cast down from Olympus and adopted by a human family who raises him upnormally, but his strength causes him to be an outcast and he seeks to become a hero to find his truedestiny. In seeking to become a hero, he gets caught up in the trappings of fame, and his ego gets toobig for his own good....meanwhile, a woman named Megara begins to charm him, as it turns out,Megara is working for Hades and she's looking to exploit his weakness so Hades can take overOlympus without Hercules' interference. Hercules' journey from zero to hero is filled with fun songsand exciting fights (the battle against the Hydra is a particularly thrilling sequence), and the voiceacting in the film ranks among some of the best in any animated movie (particularly Susan Egan asMegara and the hilarious James Woods as Hades). Hercules has gotten a bit of a backlash in recentyears, it's been bashed as being cliche and of course for butchering Greek mythology, but ultimately themovie's successes far outweigh its flaws and it's still a fun watch to this day.

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#48: Lady and the Tramp

Year of Release: 1955Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

The classic Disney romance, Lady and the Tramp is memorable to this day and its legendary dinnerscene has received countless tributes in many, many fictional works. It tells the story of Lady, a poshcocker spaniel who becomes somewhat estranged from her owners after they start paying moreattention to their newborn baby. When the sister of one of Lady's owners, who hates dogs, takes Ladyto get her fitted for a muzzle, Lady runs off and comes across a mutt from the wrong side of the tracks,the Tramp. At first, Lady doesn't trust this wild dog but after his feelings for her shine through, she


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takes a liking to him and the two fall in love. This is one of those films that just warms the heart.EVERYONE knows about the famous "spaghetti kiss" scene and the romance between Lady and theTramp, though it moves rather quickly, is still sweet and believable. The film is somewhat light onlaughs, it really is just a straight romantic comedy (and toward the end arguably a drama), and one ofthe best of all time at that. It lacks some of the magic of the upper echelon of Disney classics but forwhat it is it's a wonderful film and one that resonates with Disney fans even today.

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#47: Dumbo

Year of Release: 1941Director: Ben Sharpsteen

This short but sweet Disney classic tells the story of a young elephant named Dumbo who is separatedfrom his mother and becomes a circus star. It's a heartwarming film with a number of classic sequencesand is surprisingly tear-jerking, Dumbo really gets put through quite a lot before reuniting with hismother at the end. Curiously, Dumbo doesn't speak at all in the film, it's a curious stylistic choice tohave a silent protagonist but thanks to the smart animation, Dumbo is incredibly expressive and wedon't need him to speak to know how he's feeling. The film features the tear-jerking but very sweetsong "Baby Mine", contrast that with the later "pink elephants on parade" sequence and for being sucha short movie it takes the audience on quite the emotional ride throughout. Dumbo doesn't need a bigepic story to be great, it's the simple tale of a young child seeking to reunite with his mother and it's anunforgettable tale.

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#46: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (aka Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door)Year of Release: 2001 (original), 2003 (USA)Director: Shinichiro Watanabe

Based on the popular anime series Cowboy Bebop, this film takes place between its 22nd and 23rdepisodes and shows Spike, Faye, Jet, and Ed in the midst of another high-flying adventure. This time,they're on Mars in search of the perpetrator of a deadly virus that's killed a number of people andthreatens to wipe out an entire city. In search of the creator of the virus, Spike comes across amysterious woman named Electra and an even more mysterious and far more dangerous man namedVincent, and both are key to unraveling the secret of the virus before it takes more lives. In typicalCowboy Bebop fashion, the film features intriguing mystery, great music, and thrilling fights, with allthe characters as you know and love them. In a lot of ways, this movie is the perfect introduction toCowboy Bebop, with everything that made the series so great present and amped up. The animation,already fantastic in the series, is even more fluid and detailed, and the new characters of Electra andVincent are two of the best ever introduced in the series. The voice acting in the English dub is topnotch, the great Jennifer Hale voices Electra to perfection and Daran Norris goes WAY against type asVincent, one of the most dangerous villains in the entire series. The climactic battle is a perfectlychoreographed brawl that you wish could go on a lot longer. This film is definitely worthy of beingmentioned in the same breath as some of the great anime films in history.

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#45: The Hunchback of Notre Dame


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Year of Release: 1996Directors: Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise

One of Disney's darkest films, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was adapted from VERY dark sourcematerial, but the result is one of the finest Disney films of the 90s, a whimsical musical that touches onsome very serious subjects and is ultimately a triumph of writing and animation. The film revolves

around the hunchback Quasimodo, who is secluded away in the bell tower of the cathedral Notre Dameby the vicious Judge Claude Frollo, a deeply pious but bigoted man who seeks to wipe out all thegypsies in Paris. One of those gypsies, Esmeralda, befriends Quasimodo but is lusted after by Frollo,whose quest to wipe out the gypsies is accelerated when Esmeralda rejects his advances. The film doescontain a few flaws, most notably Quasimodo's gargoyle companions who were added likely to giveQuasimodo someone to talk to in the bell tower and to add some comic relief. The REAL comic reliefcomes from the gypsy leader Clopin, who gets some very nice spotlight-stealing scenes and providessome of the film's biggest laughs, he also gets some of the best songs in the film including theoutstanding opening number, "The Bells of Notre Dame". The voice acting is amazing, with Tony Jay,Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, and Kevin Kline all turning in fantastic performances. While people STILLspeculate on whether or not it was a good idea to adapt The Hunchback of Notre Dame into alighthearted Disney film, the movie approaches its subjects with the appropriate gravitas and is a goodwork of fiction in its own right.

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#44: Brave

Year of Release: 2012Directors: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Brave was released in 2012 as Pixar's first "Princess" film with a strong-willed archer named Merida asthe lead. The movie was greatly hyped going into its release but met with reviews that weren't quitewhat people expected, and the film itself has been somewhat controversial, winning Best AnimatedFeature at the Oscars to the chagrin of many who thought that one of 2012's other great animatedfeatures deserved to win. To be honest, I thought 2012 had four great animated films: Wreck-It-Ralph,Paranorman, Frankenweenie, and this, Brave, which is a lot better than people give it credit for. Let'sget something out of the way... yes, the film lacked a real villain. Sure, there was

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100 Greatest Animated Films Of All Time