text:
Pretty much everyone grows up watching animated films, be it from Disney, a subsidiary or an independent studio. These films capture the imagination as a child and remain in your memory as you reminisce about your youth, when you stayed in on rainy days and watched your favourite movie.. and in England, that means you'll know all the words and songs. Everyone already knows the true classics: Toy Story, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Dumbo.. the list is vast and mostly consists of Walt Disney features.. So what we have here is a short list of the films that you might have missed, ignored or simply never heard of or considered. These aren't chosen on sales or historical sales figures but as personal choices that have managed to hold my attention throughout the years since the early 90s. You'll find films that are soley for children, adults and even all audiences, from the massive conglomerates, whimsical asian studios and relatively unknown names.
10) Fantasia (1940)
To start it has to be a classic oldie that everyone knows - Fantasia, the richest animation concerning music - it combines fantastic visuals for the younger generations whilst providing legendary orchestral symphonies. This film always had me gawking at the tele for the good 2 hours it was on, getting engrossed in the sparkly floral dances, in suspense as the dinosaurs evolved - right to their extinction, mystified by the mythical creatures living in harmony and terrified by a demonic ending sequence. Tyrannosaurus Rex's, Waltzing Mushrooms and Micky Mouse - Tchaikovsky, Bach and Ludwig Van - Educational Art with Classical Music, Lovely.
9) Princess Mononoke (1997)
Studio Ghibli may be the most well known animation studio from Japan, but while its films are notoriously magical and creative, the makers and majority of releases remain in obscurity. Princess Mononoke is a classic tale about the spirit of the forest, with humans in civil war and contesting land against wild animals too, it revolves around a young girl in a wolf pack and a tribesman searching for a cure for his evil curse dwelling within him. It may bore a PG rating, but there is some gore (albeit comedic) and the odd swear word but its certainly a film to sweep away a child's mind rather than be blatantly obvious or silly.
8) Atlantis: Lost Empire (2001)
For me, this one was released during the summer of my first year of secondary school and has some significant nostalgia because of it. The first thing to note about it is the fantastic voice cast of Michael J. Fox, James Garner, John Mahoney and Leonard Nimoy. A group of obscure professionals team up to find the lost city of Atlantis, encountering vivid landscapes and troubles along the way. It may not be spectacularly delivered but it has a good plot, cast and quality soundtrack.
7) South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
No doubt a reason for my rather warped sense of humor, South Park 'The Movie' is a fantastically foulmouthed musical - the ONLY real musical in this list - As a child I would always sigh and tsk whenever a character would awkwardly burst into inappropriate song. However when its a song about being a 'B*ner biting B*stard' or as twisted as a homosexual Suddam Hussein serenading the Satan himself, it peaked a demented interest. Certainly not for anyone under 15, its rating I ignored at 10 years old, its a hilarious plot with that twisted humor the series provides, all the way through.
6) Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest (1992)
A film that 80's kids may know, Fern Gully is a little gem in the animation genre. With Robin Williams voicing a bat who suffered human experimentation, it sounds rather insane, but the overall message is the preservation of the rainforest's - playing on children's sympathies through the use of fairies. It has 3 or 4 songs to sing along too - the Batty Rap - and gloriously green, natural environments are a spellbinder. Fairly difficult to come by as it was made by an Australia based studio and for some reason - remains a lesser known title. James Cameron blatantly ripped this for Avatar!
5) Ninja Scroll (1993)
The goriest film on the list at a solid 18, the Manga release is a superb showing of ninjas and mythical beings in feudal Japan. The plot - Jubei Kibagami (a historical name) is a freelance sword for hire, drawn into several fights that inevitably protect his country. The 8 devils of Kimon are what makes this especially memorable as each one has hugely original powers and abilities to make life hard on our sleepy hero. Reincarnation, Stone-skin, Shadow-sinking, wasp hive backed... what? It has it all in stylish violence - explosions, samurai fights, poison immunities, electric shocks, decapitations, rape, bad language and blood spraying dismemberments. Ok its out of place, but in a good way.
4) Treasure Planet (2002)
This one may disappoint readers of the classic tale 'Treasure Island' on which the film is loosely based, but to hell with them, book people tend to be incredibly stuck up when it comes to film adaptions. Its the same story but in a futuristic setting with classy throwbacks to the original - pirate ships that traverse space - a bit whacky but it this is an original take on a fan favourite that warms the heart with genuine emotion and relationships and a solid musical score to boot - check out John Rzeznik.
3) Spirited Away (2001)
If ever there was a film that highlights the efforts of Studio Ghibli, its this. Spirited Away is hands down one of the weirdest films but somehow manages to whisk you away with its magical characters and setting. The plot trundles along as Chihiro (or 'Sen') and her parents move home, get lost on the way and end up crossing a void into a new world of spirits - that reside at a bath house - mental. In many ways, the title is incredibly apt, on purpose or ironic, this is a captivating one that can be watched by all.. even if you have no idea whats going on.
2) Akira (1988)
The fourth and final 'anime/manga' on the list is the king of them all. It has to be the most ambitious and stylish film ever animated with use of hundreds of detailed illustrated backgrounds and an intriguing cast of characters. The plot is super heavy and would most likely take up an disproportionate amount of space here, so I'll say its about scientific testing, super human abilities and camaraderie. The voice acting, both version of the English dub are satisfactory and the music is astonishing with its highly original sounds, instruments and effects used. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT big on anime - I hate the majority of it and have a great disdain for those who obsess and dress up over it. A 2 hour long 15, its tough to take all at once, with violence, bad language and troubling themes - but remains a class act that sets the standard for truly epic filmmaking.
1) Basil The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
My all time favourite animation is one that is a bit obscure and sadly overlooked. I love everything about this one, each character, the odd song & soundtrack, setting, story and look. It may be because I am English that I hold this one dear as its based in London, full of different accents and showcasing stunning surroundings. Based on a standard kidnapping mystery, by a dastardly villain, Ratigan! and his moronic sidekick peg-leg bat, Fidget. Clearly its the nostalgia of my childhood that edges it to a no.1 spot but I still think its decent today and has stood the test of time.
Honorable Mentions
- Rugrats: The Movie
- The Sword In The Stone
- The Rescuers
- Reccess: Schools Out
- The Fox & The Hound
I'm a huge movie lover and I definitely am a sucker for an animated movie.
10. Oliver & Company - Disney Movie
Release Year - 1988
Box Office - $74,151,346
Oliver & Company is and old Disney movie which is based on the well known Charles Dickens book Oliver Twist. This movie has a twist because its homeless dogs rather than children. The movie is full of strong characters and my favourite would definitely be Oliver because he is such a sweet kitten.
The reason I love this cartoon so much is because it's one of those that rarely used to come on when I was a kid so when it did come on I used to jump at the chance to watch it. I watch it a few months back and it brought back some good childhood memories when I used to watch it.
9. Hoodwinked - Weinstein Company Movie
Release Year - 2006
Box Office - $110,013,167
Hoodwinked is a movie which modernises the story of Red Riding Hood. I love this movie because they change the story of Red Riding Hood and make it much more interesting. The movie works as sort of an investigation kid of thing and it reveals a shocking ending of who the thief is. This movie is on my list because it was creatively put together without ruining the story. My favourite character has got to be Granny Puckett because she is an amazing sweet old lady but yet fun at the same time. Anyone would love a nan like her.
8. A Bugs Life - Disney Pixar Movie
Release Year - 1998
Box Office - $363,398,565
After Flik's latest invention the colony's food they where collecting for the grasshopper falls into a river. This causes the colony of ants to have to collect more food for the grasshoppers by the end of the season. Flik from then on is hated by most of the colony so he sets out to find warrior bugs to fight the grasshoppers and save the colony and his name. After just writing the plot of the movie it sounds so stupid and I'm thinking did I really like this movie lol. I think this movie is really good and the main reason I like it is because Flik's character represents most outsiders of today's world. It's always the nerd or the less popular that manages to prove that they have alot more to them. My favourite character is definitely Flik he has an outstanding personality throughout the movie.
7. Rugrats Go Wild - Nickelodeon Movie
Release Year - 2003
Box Office - $55,405,466
Rugrats meet The Wild Thornberrys is all I have to say about this one I loved both shows when I was younger and them together made a wonderful movie.
6. Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure - Disney Movie
Release Year - 2001
Box Office - Can't be found because it was Direct to DVD
This movie is the sequel to the 1955 movie and was one of my favourite's when I was younger and I used to love watching it. The story follows Scamp who is the son of Lady and Tramp. I've never actually watch the first movie to this but one day would love to if I get a chance.
5. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Sony Pictures Animation
Release Year - 2009
Box Office - $243,006,126
When I went to watch this movie is the cinema with the little cousin I thought I was going to fall asleep but I was definitely wrong. It turned out that my little cousin ended up hating it and I ended up loving it. The movie is about an inventor called Flint that creates an machine which makes food fall out of the sky certain times in the day. The plot is very different and some of the characters made me laugh quite a bit in the movie.
4. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas - Disney Movie
Release Year - 1999
Box Office - Can't find
This movie is probably one of the best Christmas cartoons I know. From the year this movie came out me and my family always watch it on Christmas day as part of our tradition. The movie tells 3 different Christmas stories which all have special meaning to them. My favourite story would be the first one where the 3 kids wish Christmas would be everyday and they get the wish and get bored of Christmas. The message of that story was if you do something all the time it won't be special anymore.
3. An Extremely Goofy Movie - Disney Movie
Release Year - 2000
Box Office - Can't find
An Extremely Goofy Movie is definitely a movie that I will always love. The movie is about Goofy's son Max that goes to college and Goofy later decides to enrol at his sons college and embarrass the living daylights out of him. It's quite a good movie because it shows the strong bond between a father and son. Goofy is by far my favourite character because he brings so much laughter to the movie. I can never get over the scene where they dance at a disco themed party it was hilarious.
2. Tangled - Disney Movie
Release Year - 2010
Box Office -$590,721,936
Another old fairy tale story twist ends up on my list. I'm a huge fan of these sorts of movies and when I saw tangled I was really impressed. The movie is Repunzel with a twist. I liked the fact that they expended on the Repunzel story and made it more interesting and more deep than the fairy tale books.
1.Ratatouille - Disney Movie
Release Year - 2007
Box Office - $623,722,818
Ratatouille is definitely my favourite animated movie because there is simply nothing like it. A rat a gourmet chef who would have thought it. I really love the rat Remy in this movie he is elegant, sophisticated and truly a proper chef although he isn't real lol. I like the way they made this movie because it made me believe the rat was actually a chef and the food look awesome.
I truly do believe the quote that runs through the movie 'Any one can cook but only the fearless can be great'.
So there you have it my favourite animated movies. Hope you enjoyed the read.
I am such a big kid really. I just love animated movies!
Most of these will be Disney, with a few others thrown in!
1. Pocahontas- 1995
This has to be my all time favourite Disney movie. I remember almost wearing out the VHS of this movie. I also has all the merchandise like the doll, cups and plates and stuffed animals. It is really such a great movie, with the colourful character and catchy songs, which I now have on my I-pod, Pocahontas will always remain a favourite of mine.
Favourite character: Meeko the Racoon.
2. Toy Story- 1995
Clearly a great year for Disney, Pocahontas and Toy Story! Who cant love a movie about living, talking toys!! Come on!! I think probably for me this is the funniest Disney movie, for the fact of characters being voiced by Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. This movie is Pixar animated and I know some people prefer the older Disney movies, like Pocahontas that weren't Pixar animated. But for me I think that they are all brilliant and Toy Story is my favourite Disney Pixar movie.
Favourite character: Rex the Dinosaur
3. Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island- 1998
So when I was little I was obsessed with Scooby-Doo, probably even more that I was with Disney or Barbie. I had every video there was and all the Scooby-Doo merchandise I could get my hands on. Well out of all the Scooby- Doo movies, this was my favourite. As you might have guessed from the title is does involve the team encountering zombies and this actually scared me a bit when I was little!! Lol
Favourite character: Scooby- Doo
4. The Iron Giant- 1999
Another Warner Brothers movie. This is a favourite of mine and my dad's and even now, myself being 18, whenever it is on we sit down to watch it together. This really is such a heart warming move and you really can't help but be touched when watching this movie. I just love the story line of this, a boy making friends with a huge Iron giant. After watching this movie it really makes me want to be able to have a friend like that, would be awesome!!
Favourite character: Hogarth Hughes
5. Madagascar- 2005
DreamWorks this time and Madagascar. I don't even remember this coming out in the cinema, but still one of my all time favourites. I think this movie was so brilliant, not just because of the fantastic exciting storyline, but also the all starred line up for the voices of the characters. You have Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer ( love him!) and Sacha Baron Cohen. Just hearing the line up for the characters you know this movie is gonna' be great!
Favourite character: Melman, the Giraffe
6. Mulan- 1998
Back to Disney we go and Mulan is number six. I think it is just the up lifting feel that you get from this movie is why I like it so much. It really has catchy songs in it as well. I also think that making a movie where the female in the movie is the hero really appealed to me as I think too many times is the girl or woman in a movie is the damsel in distress! You rock Mulan!!! J I also love the fact that this movie is really humorous, in light of the slightly more serous topic it is about. Eddie Murphy voices the character of Mulan's sidekick, a little dragon called Musha and some of the lines he has are just hilarious!
Favourite character: Mushu
7. The sword in the Stone- 1963
This is one that is known as a Disney classic and I agree 100%. I really love the exciting storyline and humorous characters. This movie, like many other great Disney movies, has brilliantly catchy songs. I honestly think this movie doesn't get the respect it really deserves, as you hardly ever see it being played in TV and on the Disney channel. But never the less, this movie will always be one of my favourites.
Favourite character: Merlin
8. Shrek- 2001
Of course this movie has to be mentioned. It is the very modern day, very different love story. It has singing, fairy tale creatures, adventure and oh yes Eddie Murphy's voice...what more could anyone want? I really do love the fresh ideas that this movie bought to our screens and the idea that you can still fall in love if you are an ogre!! This movie is on over Christmas so much and it really does cheer me up on those cold winter nights, to just settle down with Shrek and his friends.
Favourite character: Donkey
9.Sleeping Beauty- 1959
Ahh.. The ultimate Disney love story, that of Princess Aurora finding her Prince.
I know to many this sounds really cheesy and maybe slightly boring, but if really isn't. I love the fact the this movie gives so much more that you expect from it. I especially love the fun and up lifting songs that are in it and along with that the fun characters that are the three fairy's. There is a scene in this movie which I love and it is the one where the three fairies are making cakes...Mmmm. That actually explains why 13 years later I am totally addicted to cake...
Favourite character: It is characters in this one: the three fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.
Last but not at all least, it is Finding Nemo- 2003
This film just really makes me laugh!! I remember actually going to see this film with my mum and my sister in the cinema. It never ceases to amaze me how Disney is able to create such a reviving and exciting stories with slightly, in my opinion boring, animals and creatures, such as fish. Truly amazing! I really love this movie, but it is slightly sad in parts of it. But I really find it such a great animated adventure movie.
Favourite character: Dory
I'm a massive fan of animation. Be it 2D or 3D, i just love the way that anything can be done, the styles and the effort some studios go to to create massive, stunning environments.
I didn't intend to find this to review, but once i did, i thought it would be good to get my thoughts out.
The number 1 is definitely number 1. The others, i could more than likely swap them around again and again.
There is a lot of Pixar love in my list, but thats because i personally believe they are currently the best at what they do, and their movies are up there with all animated features of the past.
Im a massive fan of animated movies - adoring even the early movies like Snow White. So even though my top 10 is everything from the 1990s onwards, i do have a massive appreciation for everything.
1. Wall.E
You could probably see how much i praise Wall.E from the review i did.
Produced by Pixar and released in 2008, it tells the story of the last remaining waste clearing robot on Earth after humans have abandoned the planet due to the mess they made of it. Everything about Wall.E is perfect in my eyes. The stunning CG and art, the score, the storyline. Its stunning how much emotion is portayed in the first half of the movie when there is next to no speech at all.
2. Toy Story 2
I remember Toy Story when i was growing up, and the Toy Story 2, but just enjoying them. As i got older, they became far greater movies in my eyes. They have a sense of fun and friendship about them, with some emotional underlying story arcs. Toy Story 2 improved on everything that was great in part 1 in my opinion, and i still laugh at parts of it as if it was my first viewing - the traffic cone road crossing for example!
3. Daft Punk & Leiji Matsumoto's Interstella 5555
Very different to everything else on the list, however, the way this is put together still blows me away years later. The story of captured aliens told without any dialogue to the soundtrack of Daft Punks' Discovery. The animation is sublime and the story and soundtrack fit together perfectly. Daft Punk really know what they are doing.
4. The Lion King
Songs from this still swim around my head regularly. And i havent seen it is quite a while. Surely a good sign? Released by Disney in 1994, it got some fantastic reviews at the time, and is still considered among the best animations ever. The story is heartwarming, and upsetting at the same time. But overall, a fantastic achievement and a great movie to watch for kids and adults.
5. The Emperors New Groove
I adore this movie. A fairly recent 2D animation from Disney, it had me in stitches the first time i saw it, and it took me a fair while to track down a DVD. The Emperor is poisoned, with the intention of being killed, but is accidentally turned into a Llama instead, with him then trying to get turned back. Theres plenty of humour in it for adults, which is one thing that appeals to me so much.
6. Ratatouille
I was a massive fan of Pixar before Ratatouille, but this is where my obsession with the studio set in. First off, the film is gorgeous. One of the best looking animated films ever, and the score is stunning - criminal that the score didnt get an Oscar. It tells the story of a rat in Paris who has a love for food, who ends up helping a young chef in a high class kitchen. Its very adult in comparison to alot of Pixars work, but it is definitely a classic.
7. Up
More Pixar! I hyped this movie up for so long, i was worried that i wouldn't enjoy it as much. I was wrong! Pixar just cant seem to do anything wrong nowadays. Once again the balance of comedy and emotion is perfect, with Dug and Russell being the highlights. "But he's a TALKING DOG!". Its an epic journey and the first 10 minutes in particular are very hard hitting.
8. Aladdin
Aladdin was one of the first films i remember watching over and over when growing up. A definite Disney classic. Robin Williams as the Genie is a storke of genius, and the idea that having everything you want isnt the most important thing in the world is a great message.
9. Monsters Inc.
Pixar again! 2001 they released Monsters Inc and blew my mind with the fur shading. The monsters must sneak through doors in their factory to scare children in their bedrooms and harvest their screams, as they provide power for life in the moster world. A very original idea, and one that leads to lots of creative set pieces and lots of laughs.
10. The Incredibles
And Pixar finishes off my list! I love the artistic style in this movie. And the idea that superheroes have to retire at some point. The powers make for some funny moments in the movie, and it feels like a throwback to a classic tv series or something. A genuinely funny movie with something for everyone.
I'm really loving these top 10's in speakers corner and have a big list of them that I'm working through at the minute. I don't know anyone who doesn't like at least one animated film but I like quite a lot of them. I've had a look through the existing lists and find that most of them are Disney films so I'm hoping to have something a little different. Here are my top 10 animated films: (Not in a specific order)
1. The Lion King - This was the first film I can remember going to see at the cinema. I sat there the whole time with a huge smile on my face apart from when Mufasa died. I will never get bored of watching this film and I love to sing along.
2. Cars - When I worked in Canada in a children's shoe shop I got to watch DVD's while it was quiet. I'm glad DVD's don't wear out like VHS's used to because I think I would have killed this one. The story of cars falling in love is very entertaining while at the same time, the minor characters are extremely funny.
3. The little mermaid - What I love most about this film is the songs. Each one is fantastic and extremely catchy. This was another VHS that me and my sister wore out and had to buy multiple copies. I think we drove my mum crazy by playing it over and over and singing the songs all day long.
4. FernGully: The Last Rainforest - This film was adapted from a book by Diana Young. The main appeal of this film was the cast who provided the voices. Stars such as Christian Slater, Tim Curry and Samantha Mathis were some of the main characters. This is a story of a fairy girl who accidentally shrinks a human to stop him from being squashed by a tree. While it is a great love story, it was one of the only animated films that I have seen about saving the environment and I think it still teaches children a valuable lesson.
5. Care Bears the Movie - This one was released in 1985, before I was even born but I was brought up watching the Care Bears. This was the first time we ever saw the Care Bear cousins, who I found to be a lot more entertaining and fun than the actual Care Bears. The Care Bears must help a couple of orphans who don't care about anything, even the people around them. Even kids films have a bad guy and I thought Nicholas, the magician's apprentice, was quite scary and creepy at the time.
6. All dogs go to heaven - This film was released in 1989 (when I was only 3) but me and my sister went through a couple of copies of this film on VHS because we watched it so much. I think this film was the first one I ever cried at. Charlie, a German Shepherd gets killed by his gangster business partner but with a magical 'life watch', he is able to come back to earth to try and do one good deed before he has to go back to heaven. The story is lovely and heart warming. I'd forgotten how much I love this film.
7. The land before time - I'm beginning to see a trend to my favourite cartoon films now. Most of them seem to be from the 80's, a decade where I was only around for 4 years and not really old enough to understand any of the films at the time. The land before time tells the story of Littlefoot, a Apatosaurus who is orphaned and must find his way to the 'Great Valley' after being separated from his Grandparents. This is a lovely story of friendship, family and hardship and how the young dinosaur deals with it all.
8. The BFG - I actually remember watching this for the first time when I was really young and falling in love with it. My dad used to read Roald Dahl books to me all the time and seeing it transformed into a film was fascinating to me. I thought the story was very magical along with the words and sayings throughout. Every child should have seen this film at least once. There are 12 films in this series but I have only ever seen the first one.
9. Charlotte's Web - Wow, I have another one from before I was born. Charlotte's Webb was released in 1973 and based on the 1952 book by E. B. White. This film also made me cry and the story was absolutely fantastic. Charlotte's Web is a story of a pig who gets saved from being slaughtered and goes on to make friends with the other animals on the farm.
10. The Snow Queen - This is one of Hans Christian Anderson's best stories and the film made of it was just creepy. It is a story of the struggle between good and evil and the children that have to face the Snow Queen. It used to really scare me but is still one of my favourites. It's a shame I can't find a copy of it anywhere though.
I hope you enjoyed reading my top 10. Let me know if any of yours are the same!
Well as I am still a big child at heart, I still love watching my animated classics. They help me forget all my worries in life. I have so many Disney films, I find hard to chose just ten.
1) Disney's "The Lion King":
I love the story, characters and the music to this classic. For those of you that don't know the story, it's about the life of a young lion prince (Simba) dealing with the pressure of growing up. Simba and his best friend Nala (a young lioness selected to be his future mate) are always exploring and getting into trouble. After an unfortunate accident, Simba runs away from the pride lands and befriends a carefree meerkat (Timon) and warthog (Pumba). Life is peaceful, until Nala (now fully grown) convinces Simba to return to confront his Uncle Scar. Although I am not a fan of Elton John, his soundtrack to "The Lion King" features some classic song from the up beat "I just can't wait to be king" and "Hukuna Mata" to the love ballad "Can you feel the love tonight"
2) Disney's "The Lion King II: Simba's pride":
We return to the pride lands with the birth of Simba's daughter. The villain is Scars mate, who is now banished from the pride lands. She has trained her son (Scars last heir) to take over the Pride lands. Unfortunately the plan fails as her son fall in love with Simba's daughter. Although this isn't as good as the first you still have your favourite character such as Timon and Pumba, Simba and Nala as well as a bunch of new characters.
3) 101 Dalmatians:
I have always loved Dalmatians so this was a definite favourite. They are so cute as puppies, not as a coat. You have the two proud parents of 15 puppies, Pongo and Perdy. On night, whilst they are out for their walk, the puppies are stolen by the wicked Cruella De Ville, who plans to make a coat out of them. They must go out to rescue them, only to find 99 puppies. You cant help but to sing along to "Cruella De Ville". My favourite characters are sergeant Tibbs (a cat) and the Kernel (a deaf sheep dog)
4) Mulan
A young girl joins the army in her fathers place. She must keep her disguise as a man, with the help of her guardian, Mushu, (a lizard who is supposed to be a dragon), her trusty horse and a lucky cricket. They must save the Chinese empire from the evil attacks. The main reason why I have chosen this as one of my favourite is the humour of Eddie Murphy as Mushu.
5) The little mermaid
This is a classic from my childhood and the first Disney film I watched. I always wanted to be a mermaid as a child and spent many of hours swimming at the bottom of the swimming pool. I love the songs in the film such as "Part of Your World", "Under the Sea"
6) Discworld- soul music
I have read a few books from the discworld series and was thrilled to see they had made a cartoon version of Soul music. The characters are just as I imagined them to be. The main story line is about a young musician called Buddy, who find instant fame due to a mysical instrument. Death has disappeared to try to learn how to forget things, leaving his grand daughter Susan to take over. Lots of comedy links to the Beatles. only downfall is it is a long cartoon, originally spread over 6 episodes.
7) Discworld - wyrd sisters
Another cartoon adaptation of the discworld series. This is based on the story of macbeth. 3 witches, 1 dead king who is a ghost, an evil nephew of the king persuaded by his wife to kill the king. I really like the characters in this adaptation, especially one of the witches. originally shown in 3 parts on TV.
8)Fox and the Hound
This is a heart warming tale about 2 best friends who really should be enemies. I really like films about true friendship, always makes me think of my closest friends. As they always say " friends are the your family you chose yourself"
9) Jungle book
Who doesn't like the jungle book. You only need to start of singing "look for the bare nessesaties" and nearly everybody will reply with the rest of the song. All the characters are fantastic fron baloo the bear to King Loui. My favourite are the vultures "I dont know, what do do want to do?" "now dont start that again. The songs are memorable to every generation.
10) happily Never after
possibly not a well known cartoon, as I have only discovered it myself recently, but I love it. This is a twist on the well known tell of Cinderella. I you like Shrek I suggest you give this a try as it is very similar. As thw wizard in charge of the balance between good and evil in fairy tales takes a golfing trip to Scotland, He leave his magical staff in the hands of two complete idiots. Cinderella's evil stepmother manages to get her hands on the magical staff and all hell breaks loose. This is a very entertaining catroon from start to finish.
All my favourites are Disney films but aren't they everyones:
1. The Lion King - is the heart-breaking story of a young lion's life troubles as he grows up and must confront his past. Involving a murderous uncle Scar and a dear friend Nala, Simba the young prince must fight for his freedom and the guilt that has lived with him since his father Mufasa died. The young prince makes friends with the unforgettable duo Timon and Pumba soon ending up with some useful knowledge from the wise old baboon Rafiki.
2. Pocahontas - is the story of a young Native American princess who falls in love with the dashing John Smith. Pocahontas soon finds herself unable to find the path that leads to where her heart lies but with the help of Grandmother Willow and some friendly animals including Meeko the racoon and Flit the humingbird, Pocahontas soon realises that in following her heart some things may have to be given up.
3. Bambi - a tear-inducing story of a young fawn who grows up to become the prince of the forest. With his mother's death and the saddening music it can cause even the hardest hearts to melt.
4. Treasure Planet - based on the novel 'Treasure island' Treasure Planet is a young boy's journey to find the loot of a thousand planets. Jim Hawkins and Dr Delbert Doppler take on a voyage around the solar systems whilst fighting off a murderous mutiny and a great discovery. It is a story of freedom and trouble, treasure and happiness as well as family love and the need to sacrifice.
5. Brother Bear - this is a story of a young boy's goal to become a man. Kenai is a Native American boy who ends up hating bears as his brother is killed by one. In his quest to avenge his brother Sitka, Kenai ends up killing the bear which angers the great spirits that control the world, so they turn him into a bear. Kenai then travels to the mountain of the great spirits whilst meeting Koda a little lost bear cub that had lost his way. Kenai soon becomes friends with the animals of the forest and the comic duo of the dumb moose Rutt and Tuke but all the while he is hunted by a hunter who is too close to home then Kenai would like.
6. The Incredibles - this film is following the now-retired superheros of the Parr family. It involves the adventure of Bob Parr (Mr Incredible) and his wife Helen Parr (Elastigirl) as well as their children Dash and Violet while they try to find out who is killing off the other superheros and a blast from the past scares Bob into becoming a better father and husband to his famiy.
7. Ratatouille - the story of a little rat Remy as he tries to obey the orders of his father and the colony where he lives whilst trying to cultivate his culinary skills. Remy eventually ends up in Paris and soon becomes friends with the human Linguini who helps Remy realise his love of cooking. Encouraged by his hallucination of the chef Gusteau he helps Linguini become a great chef.
8. Tarzan - it is the story of the young boy who's parents are killed whilst living in the jungle and who is taken in by a kind gorilla Kala. Growing up as an outcast Tarzan is scorned by his family but he always lives to protect his family. Soon he grows up and meets the posh english woman Jane and her Father as well as the villain of the film Clayton who tries to capture Tarzan's family. As Jane and Tarzan get closer, the further apart they seem to become. But, of course, love conquers all including the differences between culture.
9. Mulan - this follows the journey of a young woman growing up in a male's world of China. She, along with her dragon gaurdian Mushu and little cricket Crickee help join the Chinese army in order to save Mulan's father's life. In doing so she helps defeat the Chinese enemies called the Huns and their terrifying leader Shan Yu, save the Emperor of China and honouring her family by becoming China's hero.
10. The Emperors New Groove - the story of selfish emperor Kuzco who tries to get whatever he wants no matter the cost to others. He is cruel and greedy but ends up being turned into a llama by his evil assistant Yzma and her dumb-as-a-plank henchman Kronk. After being turned into a llama he ends up far away from the Palace in the home of friendly peasant Pacha who after some internal debate decides to help Kuzco get home and change back. Eventually being chased by Jaguars, falling off waterfalls and finding out about Yzma's treachery Kuzco finally figures out that it doesn't pay to be selfish so decides to change his groove to a kinder one.
Top ten animated movies hey... Well after a quick think I have chosen mine and thought I'd reveal them to the beautiful people on this site, (bit of creeping kicking in there my friends)...
Here we go then, I hope you enjoy the short list...
1) Shrek (2001)... this is one of the funniest movie I have seen in a long time, especially with the calm Scottish accent of the ogre coming from Mike Myers and the stressed out Donkey (Eddie Murphy), made even more comical when they encounter the rather odd princess Fiona, (Cameron Diaz)... It's a bit of an action packed movie with a strange romantic angle...and with the addition of probably every fairy tale character you can think of and a rather brilliant ending, you'll be laughing throughout...
2) Shrek 2 (2004) sees the many characters from the first movie reunited in this hilarious sequel... this time it is to help stop the rather inappropriate actions of the fairy godmother as she interferes in Shreks future happiness with his new found love Fiona and her parents, who happen to be the king and Queen of Kingdom of far far away... with the introduction of another brilliantly comical character, the fearless French cat named 'Puss in Boots'(Antonio Banderas).
So with the already funny voices of Myers and Murphyin this movie adding the likes of Banderas, John Cleese as the King and Jennifer Saunders as the fairy godmother you know the banter is going to be non stop... and the sequel is as comical the first.
3) Finding Nemo (2003) A slightly heart warming story about a father, Marlin the clown fish, and his struggle to rescue his kidnapped, (or should that be fish napped), son Nemo, who has been taken across the oceans by scuba divers. Marlin's search takes many twists and turns, especially when he meats Dory, a rather forgetful fish who offers her help, and a bunch of Sharks who are trying to give up eating meat or other fish... although it is not as easy as it seems for one of them.
4) Ice age (2001) is a simple story of prehistoric animal migration, although it is not so simple for one character named Sid, the Sloth, whose life takes several funny turns when he ends up travelling with a Woolly Mammoth called Manfred and a sabre toothed tiger named Diego in there quest to re-unit a baby with its father.
And watch out for Scrat the squirrel whose main concern is protecting his nuts..???
5) Wallace and Grommit, The wrong trousers (1993) with the brilliant voices of Peter Sallis. This hilarious movie is simply about a rather odd man, his more intelligent dog, a pair of rather special trousers and a villainess penguin called Feathers McGraw who thinks he is a master of disguise... I found this one to be more comical than the first W & G special, A Grand day out (1989) due to it's complete and utter slapstick nature and the outrageous story it tells
6) Who framed Roger rabbit (1988) is a classic with its mix of cartoon characters and humans to bring a brilliantly comical movie to the screen. With the main 'human' being a drunken private eye named Eddie Valiant, (Bob Hoskins) who unwittingly becomes the savour of the animated Roger Rabbit, (Charles Fleisher) in a bid to uncover the horrific truth about Judge Dooms (Christopher Lloyd) hatred of 'Toon Town. And you'll never forget the insatiable Jessica Rabbit who, for a cartoon character, does have a habit of turning heads(LOL).
7) Toy Story (1995) is a story of childrens toys which seem to be alive. Mainly surrounding the life of a toy cowboy named Woody who becomes a little confused and slightly jealous when his owner, Andy, receives a new toy, Buzz lightyear, a space ranger... only things become rather dangerous for the two toys when they inadvertently end up being misplaced and have to find there way back to Andy before he and his parents move house... it is a full blown comical firepower movie with much action and adventure for all the little ones to enjoy.
8) Monster House (2006) is a fantastic story with D J and Chowder, a couple of friends, who have a dilemma when they realise that the house opposite them is not quite what it seems, holding some dark secrets which are being protected by a rather load and very thin man named Nebblecracker, a man who simply hates kids going anywhere near home and land. Only his aggression is hiding more than he is letting on.
So, with Halloween approaching, the scene is set for a disaster surrounding Nebblecrackers house... but D J and Chowder have other ideas.
9) The Simpsons movie (2007), mainly because I am a big fan of the Simpsons to start with and I was really looking forward to this long awaited release... and for me it did not disappoint... It contains everyone of the Springfield characters as they fight to survive inside a glass dome which has been place over the town which has now become a cesspit, mainly due to the incompetence of one Homer J.Simpson and his little pet pig, Spider pig/Harry Plopper...
It is full of the classic Springfield banter from all the cast and leaves nothing behind in this near 90 minutes of pure pleasure...
10) Chicken Run (2000) is in my list due to its comedy and simple entertainment.
It is a story about a group of chickens who live like prisoners on a farm and there attempts to escape the evil Farmers wife who wants to add them to her home made chicken pies when there egg laying days are over....
So with the help of a strange Rooster named Rocky(Mel Gibson), who believes he can fly, the chickens decide there only option to escape the pie factory is to fly out to freedom.... Only chickens can't really fly can they..?
*** So that's my ten most favourite animated movies... but not in any particular order of course...
And I do realise that they are not to everyone's choice but this is MY list so be please read with an open mind and a kind heart...
Thanks for looking.
Oh dear I am going to give a warning which if anyone knows me then it is truly fair. I have avidly watched as many animated movies as I can beg, borrow steal or own from anyone really. Who can't love the computer generated, stories that we get from such movies that of course are animated. Now you may have your favourite style of animated movies like 2.D rendered or 3.D style drawings or even hand drawn flick book style movies (sorry i take media studies so i may end up geeking, that is to say I AM going to geek) Well I can tell you that animation is probably one of my favourite style of anythign that comes from the TV/Big screen, you know why, becuase almost anything is possible (as long as you have a big enough budget), the special FX's, the stories, the characters even the backgrounds (told you geeking)
also animation though typically surreal often keeps the real theme throughout the entire movie, whether it would be characters personalities, the haracters themsleves, the moral (usually animated movies have a moral, trust me i know these sort of things) or just the fact that it's part animation; part real life (surprisngly they do actually count as animated movies) SO Onto my top ten, hich is proably gunna go something like Disney, Disney, Disney, Pixa, Disney, Dreamworks. If you catch my drift.
**Top Ten (reverse order)**
10.Shrek The Third; A dreamworks animation film who also created the rest of the Shrek series plus a few other quite brilliant and stunning movies that i cannot be bothered mentioning at this point. Anyway Shrek the Third; What's not to love about a story about an Ogre? I mean you do not expect a hero to be an Ogre, you don't even expect sidekicks to be an Ogre but it works, really well in fact, he is the anti hero that not only can we relate to, but we can completely sympathise with. Who doesn't know someone who is a bit of on Ogre (both in looks and personality if you fancy) Then of course the person who would normally be considered the hero is the villain;Prince Charming, well hes not your steretyopical prince, hes narcisstic, hes selfish, terrible at acting, is by all accounts a little bit gay (no offense to anyone who is gay but he is a bit of a sterotype),, he is a massive mummies boy (you can imagine him crying when someone says "your Mum") these exagerated trueisms of the movie coupled with the 3D style animation as well as a brillaint way to close a trilogy and the amazing humour which is a combo of background humour, visual puns and terribly witty remarks tied up with this truly imaginative storyline make this my 10 on my top ten, I love it when fairytales are turned on there heads, ripped to shreads then put back together the way they should have been, which is with an ogre winning the girl, becoming king (temporaily) and having a load of adventures while some stuck up prince reckons he is the rightful heir andall that jazz. If only they could have made the storyline more well interesting, I mean I do like the story in Shrek The Third but it seems a tad like a re-run if you know what I mean, even though they have put an unfamiliar twist on farily familiar plot it's still a bit boring for a lack of better words, that and the special FX are a little bit pathetic compared to what you can do with animation,
9.Hercules (disney); I will tell you something, i used to watch this whenever I was ill in primary school (albeit i was ill quite often) it always made me feel a little bit better, simply because you can never get tired of good quality, modified mythology, it must have been far easier than to come up with a whole new storyline than to modify an already fampus storyline. I know when i was young even though i had seen this movie like a million times; i always wanted Hades to win, because Hercules is actually one of these movies that could have meant that Hades with another set of story writeres could've won. I love the moral behind Hercules; trying to find where you belong and then finding something else, it just completely sums up how i would love life to be. That and I Just LOVE the actors in this, espcially Hades' voice (James Wood) because he must of ad-libbed little bits of his script, because the dialogue seems truly original, you just can't write that kind of stuff. I quite love the fact that everyones all pinty; because it's really funny as that is usually the telling way to tell who's a villain or not, that and the use of opposite colours in things like underworld scenes(or when hes suddenly destroying the underworld) it shows his true state which is like anger and sombreness (sorry geeking, media studies, don't blame me, i even analyse adverts and tv shows like this while watching them, its very subconcious)
8.Beauty and the Beast, One of disney's darker movies, based on a novel by a french writer. If anyone hates this movie then shame on you, there is nothing to hate about it! The fact that the characters are more realistic (personality wise) than in any other film I have ever seen, the settingis far darker giving it an edge over the usual happy fairytales, and there is singing cutlery who can't love that! I shall start of with the real personality thing. I love this aspect of beauty and the beast because they are actually characters you would want to be in reality, i know that Belle is stubborn, free thinking, completely uncaring about how the world percieves her, smart and pretty as well! As far as I know this is the first time disney actually used a princess who thinks for herslef and is just that little bit rebelious instead of the archtypal blonde haired, blue eyed princess who didn't seem to have a clue about anything and only dreamed of happy ever after. Belle is down to earthwhich is something that is well very much loved. Then theres the beast, too be frank I was very scared of the beast when i was yung but he is quite scary, he is like an abusive authoritarien figure who has a soft side. He is well a typical man ( no offense, but he is a stereotype) He is rude, arroagnt uncaring yet shy, almost vunerable and of course very caring. Okay, enough about characterisation, onto the sinning cutlery. The musical numbers in this film i feel are based on big show stopping numbers from the ebst broadway or west end musical, because of the extravigance and the fact that the songs are far mre chorus based giving it that feel that it is a proper musical (admittedly it is on Broadway currently)
7.Cars; I don't want to write too much about this one because i could proably write 1000 words on it. So keeping it simple, Story is great (The hero humbled and falls in love) animation is FANTASTIC as animation goes, very up to date and inkeeping with pixars animation style, funny characters (my fave being Matyr) and pretty much what cars ould be like!:)
6.Toy story 1+2; I'm doing these together because otherwise they will occupy valuable space. Both toy stories have some of my favourite quotes "ooo A stranger, from the outside OOOOOOO" "To infite, and beyond" "That's not falling, thats flying...with style" and of ocurse the typical pixar bloopers followed by everyone of thier movies, you know I would just watch the bloopers sometimes because I think that is the best thing about these films, that and the fact its about toys talking and the reltionship with whoever owns them, don't you just find that so endearing:)
5.Pocahontas (you do not know how many times i useed to spell that wrong) Ah so disney does a story about the legendary Pocahontas, trying to emphasise anti racism, and equality. Well okay I will admit this should proably be like number 6 not number 5 but the reason that it is number 5 is because it has the endearig, toatlly cativating Romeo and Juliet storyline, which most disney films are loosly based around in some way shape or form. The Stunning special FX and interstnig characters coupled with this Romeo and Juliet storyline just make it seem so much better than most movies that are animated. Gotta say "My Bark is worse than my bite" (If you don't get the refernce that is one of the characters Grandmother willow who happens to be a tree...enough said there.)
4.Enchanted; Look i know it's not proper animation, but who cares. About a fairytale girl in the real world making new friends, causing ahvoc and finding her true love. Oh dear I know what your thinking; she going to go all goo-go eyed over some disney animation that isn't proper animation, So what. I thought my life had actually been completed when Enchanted came out, (don't worry, i know stay in school, get good grades ect.) because it sos sappy, that is could actaully be quite true, well at least the bits set in new york, and the fairytale girl gettingv a rude awakening, with the Evil hag witch lady with a dippy step son (who is played by the gorgeous James Marsden) Did you know that it references millions of disney flicks, for example the very beginning is a reference to Snow white and Sleeping beauty. Or the Trolls loincloth is actually a lot of the dresses worn by all the other princess's (i've watched the film so many times i took the time to find these things out, yes I know I am sad get over it.)
3.Peter Pan, but i'm not going into long explanations now, getting very tired, simple really, who really wants to grow up.
2.Winnie The Pooh; As tory about a bear with a rumbly tummy, with cutesy characters with lots of little storylijnes and based on a book, wwhat more could you want.
1. OKay I'm going to take my time here, my number one is..........The little mermaid, I love the songs, there just so romantic but yet so funnny,also the story about a curious young women who is sick of being trapped within the world shes in (i'm sorry if that sounds wrong to everyone.) Also love the villain in this, shes just funny, she kinda reminds me of my Grandma...not going into that though.
I hope you enjoy my little geek fest if you want just skip it because to be honest it's really bad...i know someone will probably disagree with me. Okay simple to say I love animation and I don't care how geeky I sounded :)
I have always been fascinated by animated forms of entertainment. I can clearly remember watching endless streams of animation as a child. I remember being utterly fascinated by the small details and backgrounds while ignoring the action going on up front. It was like looking into another world where colors were cleaner, bolder, brighter, and life didn't always have sharp edges that you could cut yourself on.
While I couldn't say I take the field of animation as seriously as some aficionados out there, my love for the genre is genuine. So, in addition to the trivia on this topic I have already accumulated, I did a little research before leaping into this review. What is Animation? Well, a common definition runs something like..."The display of images which are slightly different in their placement, shape, size, lighting and so on which, when shown consecutively, give the illusion of motion."
A motion picture is projected at 24 frames per second and in a two hour movie this would work out to 173, 000 frames, and you would need at least that same number of cels! Kind of makes you respect all those folks behind the scenes who put in so much work to make an animated film flow effortlessly before our admiring eyes, doesn't it? Our next question becomes...What kinds of animation are there? Hmm, well without breaking it down into styles, like Anime which is wildly popular now-a-days, here are the different animation techniques that I have found.
1. Clay Animation or Claymation:
Using models made of clay or other malleable material. This technique has also been called Stop-Motion.
Examples: Wallace and Gromit, Mr. Bill, The Velveteen Rabbit
2. Puppet Animation (including Puppetoons developed by George Pal):
Using models made of wood or similar material. Unlike Stop Motion, the figures positions, expressions, etc are not moved infinitesimally between each frame. Instead the entire figure is replaced by the same figure in the desired new position!
Example: The most popularly known examples are probably the Rankin/Bass holiday productions like "The Year Without a Santa Claus" and "Rudolph's Shiny New Year". "Jack Frost" is one of my favorite examples of this form of animation.
3. Rotoscoping or Direct-on-film Animation: Painting, etching, or otherwise altering a live action film frame by frame. Pixilation Animation: Animating live objects, usually people, by photographing them one frame at a time.
Example: The original animated Lord of the Rings is most likely the leading example of this type. There is also an excellent animated version of Watership Down that used this method. Oh and the BBC version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe!
4. Cut Out Animation: Using paper figures with hinged limbs
Example: Hands down my favorite example.... the animated shorts from the Monty Python show. The only other examples that are springing to mind are shorts that were done on Seasame Street. I'd actually like to see more done with this style.
5. CGI Animation : The latest and rather widely known form, Computer generated images.
Examples: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Spiderman Trilogy, and the Harry Potter films are all prime examples.
6. Traditional Animation, for the lack of a better term, would be the technique that started it all and the form that most people probably still think of when you talk about animation. Each frame is a meticulously layered scene where all aspects have been done more or less by hand, the characters, background, foreground, objects, etc.
Examples: The Lion King, Peter Pan (Disney), and Spirited Away
From the time animation began in America in 1911, animated celebrities have been created and their images have endured long after their once popular cartoons have faded from popular memory. Ko-Ko the Clown, Betty Boop, and Felix the Cat were all born in the early days of animation and they can still be found today, in glorious color, on all types of products from cookie jars to clothing!
I don't remember what channel aired these early animations when I was a child, but I consider myself fortunate to have been introduced to them at an early age. Betty Boop and Felix were probably my first heroes from the animated world and while their cartoons in shades from black to white may appear primitive in this age, they still hold an endless fascination for me and are obviously still a part of popular culture.
It wasn't until 1924 that the world of animation merged with the man who would become famed the world over for his animated productions, Walt Disney. Walter Lantz (best known for Woody Woodpecker), Isidore "Friz" Freleng (co-founder of Looney Tunes), Fredrick "Tex" Avery (creator of Daffy Duck and with the help of two other notable animators, Bugs Bunny!) Max Fleischer (also known for Popeye, who was introduced in a Betty Boop cartoon!), Richard Williams (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), and Don Bluth have all had their impact upon the animated world, but it was Walt Disney who first moved into full-length films.
I have my qualms about Disney as an individual, as well as being severely disappointed in the hypocrisy, prejudice, gross commercialism, and insensitivity perpetually generated by the Disney Corporation. However, I will be the first to admit that they have also created some of the finest animated films ever and that the world of animation would not be what it is today without Disney. After loading you down with all this information, you are probably wondering if I will ever get around to telling you what my Top Ten favorite animated films are! Momentarily, but first my criteria for this list... The films were chosen for their suitability for family viewing and animation being the focus of the film rather than a sidenote. That's it. Well, now that I feel I have shared a healthy dose of information on one of my life-long passions, I'll retire politely and hand over that list...in no particular order of course. ~grin~
A single mom tries to raise her only son, Hogarth, (poor kid) during the 50's and is the last to find out that he's made friends with a giant robot from outerspace. The armed military response should have tipped her off. The Iron Giant eats metal, has amnesia and very little understanding of how people like us socialize, but he and Hogarth discover that friendship needs no common denominator.
I adore this film. The dialogue is engaging despite the fact that it was intended for children, which is rare. The dinner prayer that Hogarth improvises while trying to hide pieces of his robot friend is Hysterical! The animation is appealing and the characters feel like they've always been friends.
Nick Park, who helped to create Chicken Run, is truly an amazing and talented artist. This three volume set of claymation shorts is by far my favorite of his works to date, and they preceed Chicken Run which got more notice, but pales in comparison. Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers, and A Close Shave are the titles included in this set and if you have never seen any of them, I seriously suggest you just go out and buy them! All three are marvelous and entertaining works. The animation is amazing, unique, and very pleasing, and the humor in all three has a universal appeal to young or old of any origin.
Each story revolves around the adventures of Wallace, an eccentric inventor/cheese enthusiast/part-time window washer, and Gromit, his faithful canine companion who does it all from flying airplanes and rewiring robots, to fixing breakfast and fetching Wallace's slippers. The feature length film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, was equally delightful, but these early works are what hooked me.
Once upon a time, superheroes were everywhere and they lived to help the community. Then, after Mr. Incredible received some bad publicity, people began suing them for damages! Suddenly the Supers must hang up their tights and live quiet "normal" lives. Mr. Incredible, Bob and his wife, Elastigirl aka Helen, have worked hard to form a "normal" and loving life for their three kids. But Bob is unsatisfied by a life where he not only can't help the people around him... he can't even be himself. When Syndrome, an unwelcome blast from Bob's past, finds a way to begin quietly eliminating the hidden Supers from society, this Incredible family must come together and embrace their unique selves to save the world.
Brad Bird and the Pixar studio have given us some great films. This is one of their best to date. I know Bird wants to do a sequel, but at this point nothing concrete is being said. I would Love to see more of this delightful animated family! The rich characters, amusing dialogue, and tsk tsking of some of society's worst habits of discrimination and litigation are just too amusing for words. Edna Mode, the designer of appropriate (and fashionable) clothing for Supers is hysterically funny, and I had no idea that Bird himself voiced her character. She gives a very vivid explanation to Bob why she will not include capes in her design. I wish this film had been around when my three kids were of an age where such sage advice might have done them some good! lol No mom ever wants to catch her kid preparing to leap off of some object in eager anticipation of flight just because they've made themselves a Super cape out of a handy towel! Thank you E for all the generation of Super kids to come who can safely play without taking this plunge. There is plenty here to entertain viewers of all ages, and I have to say that Jason Lee was an inspired choice as the voice of Syndrome.
Tim Burton's controversial stop-motion film is truly a lovely, if rather dark, vision. The Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington, is the leader in the land of Halloween. Not content with his lot in life, Jack accidentally stumbles into the land of Christmas and is so enthralled with what he finds there, that he is inspired to take over Christmas and 'improve' it. The results are not what he had hoped for! Sally, his undead love interest, helps to save Christmas and bring peace to Jack himself.
This is definitely the Addams Family of Christmas tales. It's dark and just, well, crawling with somewhat distasteful things like the macabre inhabitants of Halloween land and the bizarre gifts they delight in giving. The animation is breathtaking though and the music is stunning. I've long delighted in the black comedy offered up by the Addams Family, so this is right up my alley. The Corpse Bride, another Burton animation, was enjoyable, but doesn't even come close to this one.
Magical Pepperland, which lies just beyond the Sea of Holes, is under attack from the Blue Meanies who want an end to all goodness and music! Four friends (John, Paul, George and Ringo) are gathered by Fred, and brought to Pepperland in the yellow submarine in the hopes that they can stop the Meanies.
In stark contrast to Nightmare Before Christmas, the animated film, Yellow Submarine, is all bright colors and feel-good sentiments. Filled to the brim with shimmering, vibrant displays and timeless Beatles tunes, this is an outstanding film. I have seen Yellow Submarine captivate an entire roomful of eight year olds, as well as adults! What better recommendation could you want?
Mrs. Frisby is a widowed field mouse with plenty of hungry mouths to feed. Her youngest child falls ill with pneumonia and can't escape from their winter home before the farmer starts plowing. Mrs. Frisby turns to a mysterious society known as the Rats of NIMH for aid. What are the origins of these strangely intelligent rodents and can they devise a way to save young Timothy? What will they ask of Mrs. Frisby in exchange?
I believe that this was the very first film to ever inspireme into looking up the book that it was based on. That alone should be enough to nominate any animated film! This is also the first Don Bluth film that I ever remember seeing, Bluth is one of the very few to attempt challenging Disney in the field of animated films. Bluth has been far from successful in most of his attempts, but the Rats of NIMH is a classic that simply shouldn't be missed. Touching, suspenseful, and thought provoking, this film is an old favorite.
A young boy's toys come to life when no one is around, and his favorite, Cowboy Woody, is their leader, of course. Woody has a hard time dealing with his hurt and jealousy when a new toy takes the spotlight in his boy's eyes. Spaceranger Buzz Lightyear doesn't even believe that he, or anyone else inhabiting Andy's room, are toys! Their quarreling gets them lost in the big world. They will both have to face facts and solve their differences if they hope to make it home.
This is the first full-length film done completely with CGI and it is an amazingly life-like work of animation. The shifting leaves of trees cast their shadows upon the ground, and roads look just as gritty, unclean, and manmade as they do in real life! Tons of great humor and a solid story line helped to make this the ground-breaking film it is. Surprisingly, the sequel was just as good as the original! I hear a third is in the works and I only hope that they can keep the quality up.
It's 1947 and someone in Hollywood is out to destroy Toontown, the magical madcap section of town where all the 'Toons live when they aren't filming. Toontown's benefactor has been murdered and the finger is pointed at Roger Rabbit. Roger is a 'Toon star who has seen brighter days, but he's a chipper fellow. Who wouldn't be with a wife like Jessica "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Rabbit? ! With the help of an embittered human private eye, Eddie Valiant, Roger hopes to clear his name and uncover the dastardly villain along with his diabolical plot...
This film is an amazing blend of live action and animation that simply has to be seen to be believed. You'll watch it over again and again out of sheer delight! Released in 1988, this was a revolutionary work for the world of animation and the effects still hold up under scrutiny! Fast paced, hilarious, and highly entertaining, this is a mad romp through the world of cartoons. You'll see all of the greats from the history of animation (Betty Boop, Popeye, Donald and Daffy Duck, etc), as well as some memorable newcomers!
Chihiro and her parents wander into a magical world, very like the Underhill of Faeire folk lore. Here, a rather wicked witchy woman, Yubaba, rules with an iron fist. Everyone comes to her bathhouse to refresh and cleanse themselves; elementals, spirits and even gods. If you aren't a paying customer... you better do exactly what she says if you want to avoid either endless servitude or life as an animal! Chihiro's parents are turned into pigs for their intrusion, and Chihiro gives up her name to work in Yubaba's bathhouse and save her parents. She makes some rather unlikely but very unique friends along the way and unravels a spellbinding tale.
Spirited Away is an absolutely astounding piece of animated fantasy that should be seen by anyone who loves this genre. Hayao Miyazaki has given us some marvelous works of animation, and I have yet to find a single work he has created that I haven't enjoyed. The animation is breathtaking and the story, while vaguely reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, translated to English very well and has an utterly unique feel. Other titles to look for by this director are; Princess Monoke, Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle (which I think of as Miyazaki's Wizard of OZ).
A unicorn has been living happily in her woods since she was born, but once she hears two hunstmen mention that she must be the very last unicorn in the world, she can find no peace. Leaving her beloved home, she sets out upon the hard and unfriendly roads made by man in search of her lost and immortal people. Captured by a witch, she befriends Shmendrick, a kind if incompetent wizard, who confirms the rumor that her people were gathered long ago by the fearsome Red Bull, a magical creature bound to King Haggard. Molly Grue joins their quest when they are waylaid by Captain Cully and his band of Robin Hood wannabes. The unicorn cannot enter Haggard's kingdom unnoticed in her natural form, and through some miracle Shmendrick manages to transform her into the Lady Amalthea right before the Red Bull's fiery eyes. Can this unlikely trio of heroes rescue Amalthea's people from the cold and greedy grasp of Haggard? Will Prince Lir, Haggard's adopted son, still love Amalthea when he discovers the truth? Can the Red Bull be so easily eluded, or will Amalthea be driven into the same pen as the rest of her people?
This 1982 film from Rankin and Bass is by far their best work! Gorgeously animated with vivid and fantastical characters that will become beloved family friends by the end of the film. This is one of my favorite fantasy works, both film and book. I have lost count how many times I've had to replace the book once it has begun falling apart, and I very much fear I shall soon be replacing the film as well. After my first viewing, I went out immediately and bought the book, and I am pleased to say that this is one of those rare instances where the film stands up very well in translating from the written medium. I believe this is because the author wrote the screenplay. As I understand it, Peter S. Beagle is still locked in a legal battle with Granada Media over nonpayment of contractually-due profit and merchandising shares for this film, which is a crying shame. Such a rich and lovely film, that continues to top all polls as a favorite work of fantasy, should not be bringing grief of any sort to its creator. Personally, I think it is a Must Own for any animation or fantasy fan, and an absolutely delightful film for the family.
Honorable Mentions:
A special mention should be made here of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It is amazing just how much of this film is animated... basically everything but the actors and a few props and pieces of set! The film itself is an entertaining adventure for older kids and adults and a truly marvelous tribute to a classic piece of fantasy.
More kids films...
Monsters Inc., Brother Bear, Hoodwinked, A Flight of Dragons, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Emperor's New Groove, Lion King, Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad:Legend of the Seven Seas, Ice Age 1&2, Thumbellina, Steamboy, Castle in the Sky, Cars, The Borrowers (the original), The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (original and new have their appeal), Finding Nemo, Shark's Tale, The Hobbit and Jack Frost.
The Shrek films just missed my top ten list. In the end I found that I couldn't bump any of my favorite traditionally animated films, no matter how fond I am of these additional works. In my opinion, the third is only mildly amusing and wasn't worth a theater viewing.
I wish I could include Titan A.E. in this list as a favored film, as the animation is truly gorgeous, but I had major issues with the writing. After all, a truly great animated film isn't just about the animation!
For More Adult Audiences:
Pink Floyd's The Wall, Robot Chicken, Wizards, Monkeybone, Cool World, Svankmajer's "Alice", The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, A Scanner Darkly, Aeon Flux, Witch Hunter Robin, Heavy Metal, Hellboy, and Ghost in the Shell
It's important to remember that Animation isn't just for kids and that works both ways. More adults should allow themselves to enjoy this genre, with or without kids in tow, and we should also remember that just because it is animated doesn't mean it is suitable for kids. Well, I hope I haven't bored you too much with all of my expounding, but I hope even more that I have shared with you a world of possibilities that has enthralled me for years...Animation.
I think animated movies are simply an amazing form of media in general as they can accomplish so many more things which just cannot be physically accomplished in live action movies.
The majority of people reading this probably will have never seen my number one choice for this category which is "the end of evangelion" movie. It is actually an alternative ending to the neon genesis evangelion Japanese anime tv series, which was created after the director received death threats from hard core fans disliked the anime series ending. It was released in 1997.
The film focuses on the secret the Nerve government organizations human instrumentality project in which all human beings loose their physical form and form one whole composed of LCL or primordial ooze, However the protagonist shinji Ikiri the head of the organizations son decides it is better to live with others than with just himself and stops the process, in the television series this part of the plot is not made clear and left open to assumption.
The movie uses mainly European classical music for its sound track , with artists such as Bach and Beethoven, which is scientifically proven to make you more intellectual in order to comprehend the story. The series is still on going and incredibly complex, the characters may look slightly generic but their development physically and mentally is almost like that of real people, the movie also discusses the concepts of religion, the first introjection and the other. It goes without saying though that this is a movie for adults and was given a rating of 15 in the UK.
My second choice would be the studio ghibli movie "the grave of fireflies", it was released in 1988. It is based on the lives of 2 children a little girl of 3/4 and a young man around the age of 13, their world is torn apart when the war hits their town and their mother is killed, they become orphans, and are forced to live in a bomb shelter on their own.
This story is a total tragedy from start to finish but it is beautifully constructed with great animation and music.
The children get sick from malnutrition and are forced to steal food just to live, if this movie dosent make you cry, or feel moved by the children's efforts to live then you are ultimately one of the most heartless people in existence. Was rated a 12 in the UK because of the sombre and depressing story line.
My third choice is a very recent and lesser known anime movie called "a tree of palme" which is a combination of Pinocchio and some sort of sci fi horror movie.
The story is about a wooden puppet boy made from an ancient tree which stores human memories, but after his creators wife goes insane after seeing the blue sap from the tree and the puppet stops also. This is until he is discovered by a woman he mistakes for his once surrogate mother who comes from the land where the ancient trees come from and place an ancient egg holding the soul of an angel inside his chest.
He now takes it upon himself to deliver it to the world where the trees come from.
Although the animation for this film originally looks childish, it soon turns very dark and disfigured, simply the noises the puppet makes when he is in pain makes your hair stand on end as he is incapable of screaming, he sounds like some sort of animal.
The music used is very eerie and the creatures seen in this movie are so beautiful and alien looking, it is like something out of Alice in wonderland or maybe a yellow submarine, except much more colourful and creepy looking, for instance there are what look like gargantuan jelly fish floating in the sky made of the most amazing colours you have ever seen before.
The English dubbing track is very well done in this and don't take away from the movie what so ever. This film will move you in strange ways.
Fourth i would have to say "cowboy bebop knocking on heavens door", the story follows a group of bounty hunters trying to capture a man called victor who was experimented on and left for dead on an abandoned wasteland. As a revenge victor wants to release a virus on halloween which affects peoples bone marrow, however he is far from sane when making his decisions and kills all around him. Cowboy bebop is better introduced through the television series but this movie stands up pretty well on its own. It also has a great plot design, kung fu action sequences and jazy music adapted specifically for each scene and character in the movie.
Fifth would be "spirited away" the movie by Hayao Miyazaki, its ultimately unique in its visual beauty and animation, the characters are well developed and increasingly interesting as the movie goes on, The story follows the adventures of a young spoilt brat of a girl who accidentally comes across a bath house for the spirit world. She then becomes trapped to do as the owner or of the hot spring sees fit otherwise they will eat her parents which have been turned into pigs. I get the feeling it is a story of personal growth and determining who your real friends are and what is really important in life. A bit dark perhaps at times but ever involving.
The apocalyptic "akira" is my sixth movie of choice, the animation and music are original and extremely diverse for its time and the story is extremely enthralling. It follows the story of a group of troublesome teenage biker gangs as they tear up the streets of Neo Tokyo, but one night they accidentally come in contact with a government experiment and one of their friends gets taken into custody after being contaminated.
He then starts developing psychic powers and becomes very dark and sinister and will stop at nothing until he meets his match.
Seventh would be the movie "Belville roundes vous", which is about the tour de France, a young man and his grand mother work towards it non stop, however during the race the grandson is captured by the mafia, the old woman and her large rather comical obese dog cross land sky and earth in order to track him down. It is more a less a silent movie, the only spoken words are French or musical lyrics. The music and scenes flow beautifully together with great character designs and hilariously twisted plot.
I am yet to watch a movie of this style and callibur since.
Eighth would be "interstella 5555 the story of the secret star system" though technically this is a really long continuous music video of a daft punk album, but because of this it developes a sort of individuality and beauty in its self even if the animation dosent include hundreds of computer pixels worth of animation like other movies. The character development and ending are very positive and portray great messages of how deep down no matter what we look like we are all the same inside.
Ninth "Princess mononoke" even just because of its themes on environmentalism you don't see theme such as this is many animated movies, but was a subtle way of evaluating human impact on nature. The animation and music connects well the landscape and the characters and plot are also interesting and well developed
Lastly south park bigger longer and uncut because it is what it is and very close cut , sharp and hilarious, but proves more than anything that you don't need special effects to make a great movie
I have a hobby that I absolutely love to do. I draw cartoons - perhaps with the hope that one day, I will be able to get them published whether it be on greetings cards or some other medium altogether. You may be wondering just what this has got to do with my Top 10 animated films
? Well - I get great satisfaction out of drawing cartoons - even though most of them are very simple in premise. As well as the joy of creation, theres the good feeling that comes from seeing peoples reactions to my cartoons - whether its just a smile or an out and out laugh - the knowledge that you can touch someone on that level is an extraordinary feeling.
As someone who is extremely interested in cartooning, I felt compelled to write a little review about my Top 10 animated films Im already wondering how on earth I can pick only ten animated films to put here. I know for certain some of the films that will be going here without a shadow of a doubt and hope I wont leave out too many classics that will make me kick myself at a later stage
Anyway I dont think these are going to be in any order of preference but will be ones that have that special something - at least in my opinion.
Based upon Ted Hughes 1968 childrens novel The Iron Man, and directed by Brad Bird (who also dire The Iron Giant is set in 1957 - at a point when the Cold War was at its full height and American paranoia about the Soviet Union was fuelled by the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite and the fear that if the Soviet Union could get more advanced technology into earth orbit, then they might be able to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.
The main character in The Iron Giant (apart from the Giant himself of course) is Hogarth Hughes - a young boy who befriends the 50-foot robot after saving his life. The Giant eats only metal and when he attempts to eat pylons at a power station - which results in him being blasted by a deadly surge of electricity that is sure to destroy him - until Hogarth runs to the main power switch at the power station and switches it off. The Giant is temporarily stunned - but when he reactivates, a friendship between the metal behemoth and young Hogarth is born.
Hogarth is faced with the incredible task of trying to keep the Giant a secret and therefore keep him out of sight from everyone that lives in his nearby town. The question is: how can you keep a 50-foot robot who has a thing for eating anything metal from TV antennae to tractors and more? The answer: you cant.
Eventually, a smug U.S. Government agent named Kent Mansley is sent to the town to investigate the strange goings on. Before too long, he becomes aware that young Hogarth knows more than he is letting on and goes out of his way to expose the Giant. His plan is to elevate himself to hero status by discovering and destroying the monster that is terrorising the town.
I dont want to go into too much detail here as I wouldnt want to spoil this film for anyone who hasnt yet seen it and may get around to it and not least of all because I still have another nine animated films to list!
The Iron Giant has all the right ingredients that to be honest put a lot of the more recent Disney efforts to shame. The animation is of an incredibly high quality - completely capturing the feel of 1950s America. The voice acting is simply brilliant - with a cast of some very well known celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr and most surprisingly, a then little-known Vin Diesel as the voice of the Giant. It has lots of very funny humour and lots that will make you think - and maybe even have you reaching for the hankies.
Another very notable addition to this film is the musical score by the late Michael Kamen. The music perfectly partners the onscreen action whether it be the more intense moments or the very emotional moments.
I just cant recommend this film enough. Its one that the whole family will love - so if you have children, give it a look - but dont be surprised if the Giant captures your heart too.
On the surface, the very idea of a film that revolves around the secret lives of toys while we humans arent around will put some people off on its very premise. It is a childrens film but as with so many other productions aimed at children, there is also a lot of humour that is aimed at the adults who will no doubt be accompanying the little ones. Humour that is often way over the heads of children - and will make the adults smile and laugh.
Toy Story is an incredible film which has a simple - but very effective storyline. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is a cowboy doll and is Andys favourite toy - until he gets a Space Ranger named Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen). For his birthday. Woody then has to learn to cope with suddenly being second best - or at least thats how he perceives the situation.
There are lots of other very funny and loveable characters in Toy Story that despite being computer generated interpretations of childrens toys are every bit as human as you and I in the way that they are portrayed.
When Woody and Buzz end up lost (the details as to how they end up lost is something I wont go into here as once again, Im trying to avoid spoilers as best I can) and in the possession of Sid - the sadistic boy who tortures toys by many different means and who lives next door to Andy, they have to pull together to escape his clutches and find their way back to Andy and the other toys.
This is such a feel good movie - with a lot of huge laughs and an equal amount of emotional parts of the story, its a classic that can be watched and enjoyed over and over again.
I would have considered this cheating - having just listed the original Toy Story above - but Toy Story 2 managed to be as inventive, funny, touching and fresh as the original.
Focusing on the exploits of Woody and Buzz Lightyear once again, all is going well until Woodys arm tears at the shoulder when Andy is playing with him. Andy is saddened at this and Woody is placed up on a shelf where he is horrified to realise that he is now a broken toy.
Andys mother accidentally takes woody from the shelf among other things that are going to be in a yard sale being held in their front garden. Woody is spotted by Al McWhiggan - the proprietor of Als Toy Barn. Al recognises Woody for what he really is - a collectors item as Woody used to have his own television show called Woodys Roundup. When Al asks Andys mother how much Woody is selling for, she realises her mistake and tells him that he isnt for sale. Unfortunately, Al creates a distraction and steals woody. Thankfully, the other toys have seen this happen and all head out to find their friend.
The film has some incredibly funny moments - among them Buzz Lightyear being set-upon by a newer version of himself who is suffering the same delusions that he himself suffered in the first movie - in other words not being aware that he is a toy and not a real Space Ranger.
There are some other very funny scenes - with subtle and not subtle references to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars - in particular The Empire Strikes Back Fantastic!!!
This is a very unusual film but was quite a revolution in terms of computer animation. Based in part on the highly successful Final Fantasy video games, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within featured very lifelike characters. The level of detail was unlike anything that had gone before - with a huge amount of detail - especially in areas such as characters hair and even imperfections in the skin.
Admittedly, it doesnt feature the most amazing story ever as its somewhat convoluted and occasionally confusing but the spectacle of the life-like characters and their environment will for the most part distract you from the weaker points of this film.
With an impressive voice cast including Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Donald Sutherland and James Woods - theres certainly a lot of talent in this film - which goes over and above the amazing talent of the animators themselves.
In the story, it is the year 2065 and the old cities of the earth are now uninhabitable graveyards - due to the infestation of phantom-like spirits of an alien race that had crash-landed on earth on a chunk of what was left of their own planet - destroyed in a war between them and another alien race. The military is convinced that these spirits are a danger to what is left of man-kind and is determined to eradicate them at all costs. They begin to attempt to destroy them with a super-weapon they have devised. The problem is that the phantoms are retreating from the effects of the weapon and the military now risk injuring the spirit of the earth itself - and destroying the earth along with the invading phantoms.
Amid all this chaos, Dr. Aki Ross teams up with the Deep Eyes squadron while out on a mission attempting to find one of the last living spirits in the outside world - in this case, one remaining living plant among the ruins of a deserted city. These spirits - of which there are eight in all - are all part of a puzzle into understanding the attacking phantoms - which is extremely important to Aki - as she has been infected by the touch of a phantom - and has limited time left to find a cure.
The notion behind the spirits that Aki is collecting is that when the spirit of whatever she finds - whether it be a plant, a deer or a child that has survived against all odds, the spirits will mature and when they die in the eventuality of time, their enriched being will help cure the earth itself when they return to Gaia (named after Gaia - the Greek Goddess of the Earth).
The film has a strange mix of good action sequences and yet carried a message that we can see is being ignored in todays world - just look at the news we see on TV and the other media - we should be looking after the earth before its too late - if it isnt already. Some may find this element of the film a bit too tree-hugging and hippie-ish for their liking but its a poignant reminder that we are not doing enough to help the environment. I am a hypocrite to write that as I would like to do more for the environment but dont even scratch the surface on what needs to be done. It goes to prove that every little step is a step in the right direction - whether its changing energy companies to one that stand for more ecologically friendly ideals, for the sake of our children and our childrens children, we have to start making a difference.
Wow! That was deep!
Anyway - Final Fantasy: The Spirits within should blow you away with the richness of its detail and I defy anyone to watch it and forget after a short while that they arent watching real actors. Its not 100% life-life but its not a million miles away either. Its certainly convincing enough to suspend most peoples disbelief.
Crashing right down from saving the earth with Final Fantasy, I bring us back down to levels of the gutter - and way below that - with the South Park movie.
Let me put this as matter-of-factly as I can. If you love South Park on TV, chances are you will most likely love this. If you dont this may be the worst film you will ever see.
In a suitably ridiculous story the usual suspects from the TV series - Cartman, Kyle, Stan and Kenny go to see Asses Of Fire - the new movie by the foul-mouthed and farting Canadian duo, Terrance and Phillip. When the boys come out of the film, they are at their own foul mouthed worst - and this not being the TV version of South Park, the swearing is just as the films title suggests uncut.
Strangely, the film is also a musical - with some genuinely catchy and foul songs - along with the likes of Terrance and Phillips Uncle F*cker.
When the boys parents discover that they have sneaked in to see the Terrance and Phillip movie - and have subsequently been warped by it. Kyles mum takes matters into her own hands and starts a huge campaign against Terrance and Phillip - which results in them being taken into American custody and sentenced to death while appearing on The Conan OBrien Show!
In retaliation, Canada launches a deadly bombing blitz on America - by killing every member of the Baldwin family! THIS IS WAR!!!
As with every episode of South Park on television, Kenny comes a cropper in the movie too - and having been turned away from the gates of heaven is plummeted into the depths of Hell itself - where Satan is waiting for him. Kenny discovers that Satan is not alone though as he is joined in Hell by none other than Saddam Hussein (who in the movie has been killed - right at a point when Saddam is about to face trial for war-crimes and faces the death penalty thats ironic!) who is Satans homosexual lover!!!
The twist is that Satan (and maybe Saddam - if he stops constantly annoying Satan for sex!) are due to take over the world when Terrance and Phillip die and their Canadian blood touches American soil!
If you think it sounds bizarre it is and then some! Infantile and offensive to the max - but very, very funny!!!
This Pixar-animated film is directed by Brad Bird (who sounds like he should be a cartoon character too - with a name like that!) who also directed The Iron Giant (see above).
The story revolves around a family of superheroes. Bob Parr (AKA Mr. Incredible) and his wife Helen (AKA Elastigirl) used to be superheroes - until a lawsuit was filed by the likes of people that were saved who didnt actually want to be saved. Now they have three wonderful children - Violet, Dashiell (although hes known as Dash Hmmmm) and baby Jack Jack. Of course the children are normal, ordinary kids - arent they?
Sick of his new life of selling insurance, Mr. Incredible receives a mysterious message that he is needed again - unaware that it is merely a trap set by an old admirer whom he shunned years before.
Falling for and becoming the bait himself, Mr. Incredible is unknowingly tracked by Elastigirl who discovers that her husband is in danger. Unfortunately - or should I say fortunately - Violet and Dash manage to sneakily follow their mother on her mission to save their father - due to their developing superpowers! Violet has the ability to turn invisible and as Dashs name might suggest, he can run at super-speeds! Certainly useful characteristics to have when embarking on a rescue mission.
The Incredibles lives up to its name - with some extremely good action sequences and very funny humour as well as an excellent voice cast that includes the like of Samuel L. Jackson, Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Jason Lee.
This is easily up to the excellent standards set by previous Pixar movies and I hope there will be a sequel Im sure it would be er incredible.
This extremely stylish and well made Batman adventure can proudly stand up and be counted with other Batman outings such as the Tim Burton Batman movies and the more recent Batman Begins.
A media frenzy erupts in Gotham City when crime bosses begin to get killed off one by one. Any eyewitnesses to the heinous crimes are reporting a dark, ghostly figure and are convinced that the ominous character is none other than Batman himself. This of course puts the Caped Crusader on the run from the police whilst attempting to find out who is really behind the killings.
Things are made even more difficult for Batmans alter-ego, Bruce Wayne, when an ex-girlfriend of his reappears in Gotham - bringing back long dormant memories and haunting Bruce Wayne even more than usual - if that is possible.
As the police close in on Batman, he himself is closing in on the trail of the mysterious Phantasm and is amazed to stumble onto another evil plot conjured up by one of his greatest arch-enemies ever: THE JOKER (almost unrecognisably voiced by Star Wars Luke Skywalker - Mark Hamill - in an amazing and maniacal performance)!
Stylish, dark and utterly compelling - Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm is a great film that fans of Batman and indeed the genre will remember long after they have watched it.
This animated film might not be for everyone but its always been one that Ive loved. Its decidedly British and may be ever so slightly dated but it turns a very simple story into a very dark and frightening tale.
A young rabbit named Fiver is the runt of his litter and is more or less ignored - until he has a terrifying vision that the Sandleford warren where he, his family and many other rabbits live - is facing imminent destruction from an unknown and unseen danger.
Having convinced his brother Hazel of the danger that is coming there way, Fiver attempts - and fails to convince the chief rabbit that they must leave their home. Fiver, Hazel and a small group of rabbits who believe in Fivers premonition slip silently away from the comfort and familiarity of their surroundings and into an extremely dangerous but fantastic journey in the search for a new, safe place to live and settle down. The dangers that they face on their voyage come in many forms - humans, predators such as birds of prey and other, ferocious rabbits - led by the terrifying General Woundwart.
Featuring the like of John Hurt, Richard Briers and the late Denholm Elliott, the voice cast is formidable and adds more weight to this already extraordinary film.
It is worth noting that this film might be quite frightening for small children - as some of the violence can be very bloody - especially between some of the vicious fights between rabbits. Also more than merely spooky for young children may be the spectre-like Black Rabbit of Death which some of the rabbits see ominously in the sky during the film.
The film notably features the love-it-or-hate it Bright Eyes written and performed by Art Garfunkel. Personally I like this song and it fits in very well with the rest of the film.
On a personal note - I dont believe there has been a single time that I havent watched Watership Down without bursting into tears at the end. That said, I havent watched it in quite a few years but I may have to watch it again soon - just to see if Im over the crying like a little girl because of those bloody rabbits!
This is very bizarre film - for a few different reasons. It went against the grain of the up-and-coming computer generated imagery and went with old-fashioned stop-motion animation - which lends this strange little tale a lot of character. Given that this film is produced by Tim Burton, it should hardly be surprising to see such a strange sense of style getting carried off with such ease.
In this story, every holiday season has its own world. Easter, Christmas and Halloween. In Halloween Town, Jack Skellington is the pumpkin king who delights all the ghouls and boys every Halloween and yet, he is tiring of his annual glory and pines for something new and fresh.
One day while out walking his ghost-like dog, zero, Jack accidentally happens upon Christmas Town a place unlike anything he has every seen - with brightly coloured lights, happy people and good feeling everywhere. Jack is inspired by his experiences in Christmas Town and tries to import Christmas to his own Halloween Town. Of course - things dont go according to plan - when Jack enlists the help of Lock, Stock and Barrel three mischievous little trick or treaters who are also working for Oogie Boogie - the boogie man.
Lock, Stock and Barrel go to Christmas Town and kidnap Santa Claus - as Jack embarks upon his new mission: to deliver Christmas gifts to boys and girls the world over but with news spreading fast of Santas kidnap and of a strange skeletal figure delivering terrifying, possessed toys in every home, the military are soon trying to blast Jack out of the skies.
Will Jack realise the error of his ways before it is too late - for himself, Santa and Christmas?
Although not directed by Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas has all of his trademark weirdness. With a great musical score by Tim Burton collaborator Danny Elfman - there are lots of memorable songs in this film that should appeal to young and old alike. There are lots of very bizarre and yet likeable characters in this story - courtesy of Tim Burton who wrote this bizarre tale - and would have directed if he hadnt been tied down with Batman Returns at the time.
Why have Shrek 2 on this list and not the original Shrek?!? I hear you cry! Before you start to think I dont like the original movie - calm down - I do. I love both the Shrek films and was tempted to count both Shrek and Shrek 2 as one choice but thought it would be another sneaky bit of cheating!
Also - the inclusion of Antonio Banderas Puss In Boots is absolute genius (which on top of Mike Myers grumpy ogre and Eddie Murphys slightly annoying but ultimately lovable Donkey is saying something!) is one of the reasons I added this one to the list - beating the original one to the post just!
Following the first movie, Shrek and Princess Fiona have married and are about to settle down back in their swamp for their honeymoon - only to find Donkey waiting for them. Annoyed at the interruption of their honeymoon plans, Shrek tells Donkey he cant stay and hounds him out of his house. Outside a letter is delivered from Fionas parents - inviting Fiona and her er Prince Charming to a dinner celebrating their marriage.
The problem? Fionas parents - the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away (voiced by John Cleese and Julie Andrews) are unaware that the curse their daughter had as a child is still upon her and that she is now also an ogre.
What follows makes for great entertainment with awkward silences and initial dislike between the King and Shrek. The King is threatened by the lovely Fairy Godmother (voiced by none other than Jennifer Saunders) as her own son - Prince Charming - was supposed to rescue Princess Fiona from the tower she was locked up in, free her from her curse with loves first kiss and marry her. The King is forced to go to extreme lengths in an attempt to get Shrek out of the picture and get Prince Charming and Prince Fiona back together. He is told of a great assassin who can get rid of this terrible ogre. The legendary Puss In Boots
I wont go into what follows as I dont like dishing out spoilers as there are lots of great laughs in Shrek 2 that I think people should discover for themselves. If you loved the original Shrek, youre definitely going to love Shrek 2!
Awww look at him in his wee little boots! I mean, how many cats can wear boots? Honestly?
And that concludes my Top Ten Animated Movies - for those of you who have read through this in its entirety and are still awake I thank you!
I am a big fan of all sorts of movies but I think some of the cleverest ones are actually the animated ones as I think a lot more thought goes into them and to be honest they sometimes look better. Animated movies have been around for years and I think Disney do them better than anybody else which is why my list does include a lot of Disney. With animated they can stretch the ideas they come up with and basically go to new lengths all of the time and I do not know many people who hate animated movies. I love them and here are my favourites.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 2005 Version.
Yes I know this has people in but it is still about 80% animated and it is absolutely fantastic. What I find amazing about this film is just how real it looks and how much fun people must have had animating all of those creatures. This is one film I would have loved to have worked on as I think it would have been a time to remember. This film truly shows how animation can totally fool the viewer.
Monsters Inc.
This film is funny and to be honest is quite confusing for an animated film my Mom thinks but I think it is great as it explores what every child gets scared of and that is monsters in your bedroom closet. I know I used to be scared and couldnt sleep if the door was open.
Why this film will always strike me as one of the best is because it was the first film I noticed how much animation has grown and how you could even see the monsters fir swaying which looked so real. It is a funny and silly film though which is always good for a laugh.
The Incredibles.
I watched this and I honestly was not expecting it to be as funny as it was. I do not think they took animation to much more than it had gone already but I love it so much because of the humour as it one of the funniest movies ever. Everybody is obsessed with superpower and I know I would love to have one and this film about a family who cant get away from theirs is just great. This is one in the same league as Shrek so if you liked Shrek give this a go as it is just as clever.
The Lion King.
Who doesnt love the lion king, I mean for one the story is amazing and then the animation is just Disney classic and then the songs are so memorable you end up singing them hours after you have actually watched the movie. I remember watching it and wanting Simba when he was a lion cub to be my pet as he was so cute. The one thing about this film though is that the characters are some of the funniest with Timon and Pumbaa being the ones that stole the limelight more than Simba.
I am going to include all three Aladdin films here as they are all fun to watch. Again it is Disney classic animation which I think they should have continues to do and as usual with Disney films the music really tells the story and the music in Aladdin is fun, funky and 100% memorable.
The characters in this film make it for me as Aladdin is so cheeky and he is a good guy who you just really want to defeat the bad guys. Robin Williams was fantastic as the genie and perhaps one of the most famous people to get a voice over in a Disney film. This is one of the best as it is just so hilarious.
Toy Story.
Ahhh the first of its kind and I think Toy Story just amazed everybody not just me. I remember watching it at the cinema and thinking how far we had come with IT to make such a realistic yet not film if that makes sense. I love it because it is fun and the characters are great and I just think it will always stay in my memory as I was just amazed that we had a film like this to watch.
Finding Nemo.
I love sea life and watching a film about all of these cute fishes is wonderful. As an adult when I watched this I was enthralled at what I was seeing and I can imagine that a child must watch it and just find it so enjoyable. I think the characters are so memorable and my fiancé Dave calls me Dory after the character in the film because I am so ditzy.
The fun thing about this animation as it lets you explore a bit about a world that not many get to see and it is just a lot of fun with a great story and great characters.
Everybody should love Shrek because it is one of the best animated films for kids to love because of silly little jokes and then for adults to love because of all the jokes aimed at adults. The animation is great as it is just purely for fun as many of the creatures are ones we have loved from other animated films which is great.
The one reason I love Shrek so much though is because it is hilarious and it is one of those films you can watch over and over and still notice new jokes. For animation purposes it shows how much fun people can have creating characters and making them seem like people, it is just amazing.
Ice Age.
This film had to be number two on my list because I have to say I never laugh out loud so much as when I watch this film. The animals just look so great and real and even the fur on them sways in the wind and makes you want to reach into the movie and give them all a cuddle. My favourite character though has to be Scrat, the small mischievous squirrel and he is just so adorable.
This is one film that I find has all of the aspects you should have in a film and I wish they would make loads more like this that are just for watching and falling in love with everything about it. I would actually recommend this film more than Shrek as I find it cuter.
The Little Mermaid:
This is my favourite animated movie of all time and of course it is by Disney. This wonderful story of Ariel a little mermaid wanting to be part of the human world is just wonderful and I can seriously watch it over and over. It is classic Disney so no particular fancy animation but the story is great and the songs are absolutely amazing and in my eyes unforgettable.
I would like this film to come to DVD as I have now lost my video and I miss it so much. I know it is sad but when I was little I wanted to be Ariel and marry Eric as he is gorgeous for a cartoon character. It is still my ambition to be Ariel in a Disney parade so if anyone has any ideas how I can do this then let me know.
What fantastic movies and I think it is great to get some opinions off on animated movies as they are fantastic and in ways better than normal movies as they take a lot more planning and a lot more work in many circumstances. If there were any movies I would want to be involved in it would be animated ones.
Thanks for reading.