I run into a fair number of people online who insist that animated films are "only for kids" and that by the very nature of being animated, these films are somehow of a lesser quality. I wholeheartedly disagree and think that animated films are among the best films, period. The first four entries on this list are also in my Top 100 favorite films of all-time and I'm definitely well past the age of being a kid.
For this list, I decided to only include one film from any particular franchise. Otherwise, this list would have consisted of three Toy Story films and both Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University. I wanted to have a bit more diversity.
Don't forget to check out Kyle's blog at www.enterthemovies.blogspot.com for his list, too!
1. Toy Story 3
The only animated film that I've rated 10/10, Toy Story 3 is one of the best films I have ever seen and it perfectly capped off the my favorite film trilogy. The characters I grew to love in the first two Toy Story films - Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Hamm, and Rex are my favorites - join up with some new toys, both friends and foes alike, and have their biggest, most exciting, and most emotional adventure yet. The film starts off with such an extraordinary scene (involving a train robbery orchestrated by One-Eyed Bart and Mr. Evil Dr. Porkchop, naturally) that I wasn't sure if the rest of the film could live up to it. I was wrong. There are so many wonderful scenes and smaller moments that I would have a hard time listing them all. In addition to the spectacular writing and beautiful animation, the voice acting is top notch. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have great chemistry as Woody and Buzz, but everyone absolutely nails their roles. New cast members Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Jeff Garlin, and Bonnie Hunt all fit into the group perfectly. I am somewhat easy to get to, on an emotional level, but very few films have the ability to bring me to tears every time I see them. Toy Story 3 is one of those films. When my son first got into the Toy Story franchise, I saw bits and pieces of this film nearly everyday. Whenever I happened to catch the final scene, I would break into tears. And that reaction hasn't changed, years later.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fantastic Mr. Fox is an unusual film. From an animation standpoint, it definitely hearkens back to an earlier time - the stop motion technique first became popular in the 1960's - when you consider how slick most CGI animated films look these days. That's part of the film's charm, though, a it appears a bit old fashioned and resembles the illustrations from the book written by Roald Dahl. It's also unusual because of its writing. The magnificently talented and quirky Wes Anderson wrote the adaptation and directed this wonderful film and, because of this, the humor is geared more towards adults. I've never watched it with a child, but I imagine most of the jokes would go over the heads of most younger kids, but they'd still get a lot of enjoyment from watching it. Anderson set out to make a great family film and I think he succeeded on every level. The writing, direction, set design, and soundtrack are all fantastic - as per usual with Wes Anderson films - and the voice acting is sublime. George Clooney and Meryl Streep headline a star studded cast that includes Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Adrien Brody, and Brian Cox. Each character is interesting, funny, and they all really add a peculiar charm to the film, which is endlessly re-watchable. Back in my video store days, I used to play Fantastic Mr. Fox on repeat all day long and I never tired of it.
3. Monsters, Inc.
Like most of Pixar's films, Monsters, Inc. combines so many great elements to create a simply marvelous film. It's laugh out loud funny, touching, and utilizes beautiful animation. The stellar voice cast - headlined by Billy Crystal and John Goodman, but also featuring Steve Buscemi, James Coburn (in one of his last films), Jennifer Tilly, and the ever present John Ratzenberger - imbues every line with pathos. Something I really love about Monsters, Inc. is how the monster world is so cleverly created. The characters live and work in a universe that is parallel to our own, but yet they are dependent on humans to sustain their way of life. Goodman's Sully is a huge, horned monster covered in blue and purple fur and each hair seems to have been rendered individually. The end result of such meticulous work is that Sully seems so lifelike and real, despite being so unusual. I have seen the film so many times that I can quote a large portion of the brilliant screenplay by heart, but I never seem to tire of watching it. The characters are so endearing that I was ecstatic to learn they were making another installment in the series back in 2013. Pixar made the right choice and went with a prequel - I'm not sure what kind of story could be made as a sequel, plus the ending here is just perfect - and it didn't disappoint. Monsters University isn't quite as excellent as Monsters, Inc. but it's still a fantastic film.
4. Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo, like all the films on this list and like any great film in general, does a fantastic job of melding all the different parts of filmmaking into one superb and coherent package. There's humor, action, suspense, emotion, excellent writing (the plot, characters, and dialogue are top notch), and an excellent score. Of course, there's also the beautiful animation. Both the above and below water scenes are remarkably designed and draw you immediately into the story. The voice cast, anchored by the brilliant Albert Brooks and featuring Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould (of the Showtime series Weeds), Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey Rush, Allison Janney, Stephen Root, and Brad Garrett, is just amazing. There's not a wrong note to be found among the cast and they all seem to mesh well together. Being a father, I can relate more now to this story than I ever could before, and now I get even more emotional in certain parts. In addition to everything I've said up to this point, Finding Nemo is simply a fun movie to watch and again, like the best of films, it never seems to get old, no matter how many times I watch it.
5. Aladdin
Aladdin came out at a perfect time for me. In 1992, I was ten years old and absolutely loved watching the film in the theater and at home on VHS countless times. I wanted to join Aladdin and Abu on their adventures with the flying carpet and even had a little crush on Jasmine. The film had a little something for everyone - music, romance, action, suspense, even some magic! Back then, my favorite parts were the Genie and the evil Jafar. These days, that's still the case. The Genie, as voiced by the legendary Robin Williams, was one of the most amazing and memorable characters I had ever seen. I've watched a couple thousand more films since then, but that hasn't diminished Williams' performance here one bit. His manic energy is perfectly suited to the role and you can just tell he had a blast while making the film. Jafar is easily one of my favorite Disney villains - he's calculating and devious, and his design is really cool. I will admit to being scared by him, especially during a sequence near the end when he turns himself into a giant cobra and nearly squeezes the life out of the hero, when I was younger. Aladdin was part of the Disney Renaissance along with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, which were all good films, but I think Aladdin is the strongest of them all.
6. Ratatouille
Ratatouille is the story of a rat who wants to be a chef and goes to extreme lengths to make his dream come true. Remy, voiced perfectly by the great stand up comic, Patton Oswalt, is a terrific character who fully resonated with me. He's smart, resourceful, and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. I love to cook and the scenes in the kitchen were exhilarating to watch, as Remy and his human friend Linguini scurry around, creating tasty and inspiring concoctions. The Paris setting provides some breathtaking scenery and the animation doesn't disappoint in its rendering. Some of the landscapes look better than they would if they were photographed in person. Anton Ego, a hateful and egocentric food critic, is one of the best "villains" Pixar has created. The iconic voice of Peter O'Toole fits Ego wonderfully and his transformation at the end is one of the most satisfying moments in recent film history. Like the best of films, Ratatouille is funny, heartwarming, wonderfully acted, and tells a beautiful story. The fact that it's about a notoriously dirty creature working in a kitchen must have seemed like a tough sell to the marketing folks, but the film is so damned entertaining that I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.
7. The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons used to be one of my very favorite shows. It's gone on way too long at this point, but the first dozen or so seasons (and especially seasons 2-11) contained some of the funniest episodes to ever grace a television set. The Simpsons Movie came out in between seasons 18 and 19, long after I had stopped watching every week, and I was worried about it being as pedestrian as the newer seasons had become. I had no reason to fret, as the movie turned out to be insanely quotable and full of laughs and heart, just like the best episodes had been. Homer is just as stupid as always, Marge is just as naggy as usual, Lisa is the same brainy nerd, and Bart is just as much as a trouble maker and smart alec as he ever was, but the characters don't feel stale or tired. The feature length run-time was the length of four episodes, but it never dragged or felt padded. The original voice cast is sublime and Albert Brooks is great as the villain of the story. Tom Hanks even has a cameo and is terrific, as always. The extra budget and production time really added to the overall look of the characters and settings, too. The Simpsons Movie shows everyone and everything in such a more crisp and clear light than I was used to seeing - the colors absolutely pop. One tiny thing that I really love is when movies alter the studio logo at the beginning of a film. The Simpsons Movie does this wonderfully, when they have Ralph Wiggum, everyone's favorite nose picking and glue eating 2nd grader, perform the 20th Century Fox theme when the logo plays. Since 2007, I can't help but think of this little throwaway joke every time I watch a Fox film and hear their standard trumpets.
8. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
I don't hear many people talk about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs very often, which is a shame as I think it's one of the most purely entertaining films I've seen in the last half decade. When I first watched it, after its DVD release, I think I had a smile on my face for the majority of the film. It's a action comedy that hits both notes perfectly, something that isn't easy to do. Like the rest of the films on this list, Cloudy had a good voice cast and a great protagonist. Flint Lockwood (voiced by Bill Hader, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors) is a young man who wants nothing more than to be a successful inventor. Most of his inventions don't work properly - though several, like his spray on shoes and animal translator, are magnificently funny - but his food generator does! Of course, things don't go as planned and soon his little town is being bombarded by gigantic meatballs, ice cream cones, and other messy and dangerous foodstuffs. The animation here isn't in the same league as the rest of my favorites, but the film still looks good and the real draw is the script, which is packed with funny lines, great sight gags, and nice mix of action and romance. The writer-directors (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) of Cloudy went on to make the unwatchable sequel (I shut it off after about thirty minutes) and the fantastic The Lego Movie, which nearly ended up on this list, too. I'm excited to see what they come up with next.
9. Up
Okay, so I love Pixar movies. The fifth and final film on this list from the ultra successful creative geniuses at Pixar is Up, the story of a lonely old man, his young acquaintance, and an adventure of a lifetime. Up packs more emotion into its first 15 minutes than most films do in their entire running time, but the film is consistently great. There are moments of genuine, heartfelt emotion sprinkled throughout and these are counterbalanced with laugh out loud funny jokes, intense action and suspense, and lots of quotable dialogue. Ed Asner voices the crotchety old man wonderfully and Jordan Nagai (only 8 when this film was made) delivers a great performance as Russell, a lonely little boy who knows more about life than you would think. The funniest character, by far, is Dug - a talking, slow minded, Golden Retriever. Dug is so full of life and so well voiced by Bob Peterson (the writer and co-director of Up) that he commands your attention whenever he's on screen. This film has some of the best animation that I've had the pleasure of seeing and the score fits perfectly alongside everything else. Pixar has been in sequel heavy mode lately (in the next two years, we're getting another entry in the Toy Story series, plus a sequel to Finding Nemo) but I really hope they never try to make another Up, this original film is exactly that - original. It doesn't need anything else to be added.
10. Bolt
This is a film that really took me by surprise when I first saw it. I didn't expect much, but was blown away by the slick animation, the funny writing, the amazing action sequences, the music, and the voice acting. John Travolta plays Bolt, the titular canine who believes he really is a super-powered dog who fights crime along side his human, Penny (voiced by Miley Cyrus, before she went out of her mind). In reality, Bolt is a regular dog who unknowingly is acting in a sophisticated television series. The supporting cast includes Malcolm McDowell (playing the villain, naturally), Susie Essman, Diedrich Bader, and James Lipton, but it's Mark Walton (an animator, writer, and storyboard artist who occasionally does voice acting) who steals the movie as Rhino, an intense hamster who joins up with Bolt on his adventure. Rhino gets some of the funniest lines and moments in the entire film and Walton doesn't miss a beat. Surprisingly, Travolta and Cyrus team up to record a really great song that plays during the end credits and it may be one of my favorite aspects of the film. I have a feeling that most people missed out on Bolt, so I hope I'm able to sway a few people to check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
There's my list. I know I'll probably get some comments about not having any classic era Disney films included, but to tell you the truth, I didn't care for most of them as a kid and have never felt any desire to revisit them as an adult. The only one that was even in consideration was Disney's Robin Hood from 1973, but I haven't seen it in so long that I didn't feel comfortable writing about it.
Do you love any of these? Or hate some? Which ones do you think I missed?
Next Friday's list: Part 5 of my 50 Favorite Films.
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