Genre: Animated

Stories told in or about animation — works where the medium’s freedom from realism shapes the storytelling, from the fantastical to the deeply personal.

Cars 2 (2011)

2011 Pixar sequel with Lightning McQueen and Mater drawn into international espionage. Widely considered Pixar's weakest film.

Animated • Family

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Spirited Away (2001)

Miyazaki's 2001 fantasy. A ten-year-old girl trapped in a bathhouse for spirits. First non-English Best Animated Feature Oscar winner.

Animated • Foreign Movies

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Princess Mononoke (1997)

Miyazaki's 1997 environmental fantasy. Iron age Japan, forest gods, no clear villain. The film that defined Studio Ghibli's mature period for Western audiences.

Animated • Foreign Movies

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Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Takahata's 1988 Studio Ghibli WWII drama. Two siblings starve in firebombed Japan. The animation widely cited as the most devastating ever made.

Animated • Foreign Movies

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Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Zemeckis's 1988 live-action-animation noir. Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Roger and Jessica. The technical achievement nobody has matched.

Animated • Comedy

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Cool World (1992)

Bakshi's 1992 live-action-animation noir. Brad Pitt, Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne. The disastrous attempted Who Framed Roger Rabbit follow-up. Notable mainly as a cautionary tale.

Animated • Fantasy

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Megamind (2010)

DreamWorks 2010 animated superhero comedy. Will Ferrell as the supervillain protagonist. Substantial engagement with genre conventions through inversion.

Animated • Comedy

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Bee Movie (2007)

DreamWorks 2007 Jerry Seinfeld animated comedy. The meme afterlife has substantially exceeded the original commercial reception.

Animated • Comedy

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Flatland: The Movie (2007)

Johnson and Travis's 2007 animated adaptation of Edwin Abbott's 1884 novella. Martin Sheen, Kristen Bell, Michael York. Source long thought unfilmable.

Animated • Educational

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Wreck-It Ralph (2012) / Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) — Duology Review

The Wreck-It Ralph duology demonstrates one of the more visible quality declines between original Disney animated production and direct sequel extension. The 2012 original delivered substantial creative achievement within video game source framework. The 2018 sequel substantially weaker work that...

Animated

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