Once again, I'm not an expert or a critic so all the judgements and rankings I make in this post are completely my own personal opinion. I am however, an illustrator and a designer so it is no surprise that animated movies appeal to me so much. I would definitely say that I prefer animated films over their live action counterparts. There are just these elements of magic and impossibility in the movies, which is why I just love them so much. Having a vast and wandering imagination is a really great benefit when watching these movies too, it really helps you get lost in their worlds of make-believe and wonder. I didn't include any old school Disney movies on this list, there were just so many amazing films that I couldn't decide, I guess I will have to do another separate list of just Disney movies at some point. So without further stalling, I give you the Top Ten animated movies ever (according to Oscar The Third):
10. Pokemon: The First Movie
This is one of the first movies I remember seeing, I believe my father reluctantly took me to the cinema to see it and he suffered through it with me (that's just good parenting). I got a shiny Zapdos playing card when I went to see it and that just made everything so much better. My love of Pokemon is eternal but the reason this movie only made it to number 10 is because of the horribly constructed ending, where Ash is turned to stone by Mewtwo and then Pikachu's tears bring Ash back to life. Seriously. That is the best they could come up with. It just makes the movie a little too cheesy and childish to continue re-watching in my 20's. But there were some kick-ass pokemon and battles in the movie, and I was so excited when I saw Donphan for the first time (back then, there as only 151 kinds of pokemon, so seeing Donphan blew my fucking mind!)
9. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Now I am aware that this movie is technically Disney, but it doesn't really fall into the same category as all the classic Disney films. It is a Disney movie in the same way that Pirates of the Carribean is a Disney movie. However, it was still Disney enough to make it onto Kingdom Hearts and that is probably why my love for it is so strong. Anything that is associated with Kingdom Hearts is alright with me, and I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the gothic/horror side of animation and illustration. The design of this movie is so creepy, yet so lovable and the music is dark but somehow catchy. The idea of the movie is so original as well, but I've never really been a fan of everything Tim Burton does. This movie however, is exceptionally dark and wonderfully adorable.
8. How To Train Your Dragon
This is the most recent movie on my list (and that is in terms of me viewing it, not release date), so maybe with more time and more viewings it will climb its way up the charts, but for now it stands strong at number 8. The main reason I love this movie is because of the outstanding design of all the different kinds of dragons. I remember the scene where Hiccup is flicking through the dragon book and looking at all the different kinds of dragons, and I was just blown away at how amazing all the different dragons were. I really hope we get to see a lot more different species of dragon in the sequel. However, I did find it kind of weird that hundreds of vikings and dragons must have died during that movie and they just sort of pretended nothing fatal was happening. I know that is a kids movie, but that was just a bit weird.
7. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres
It is pretty hard to judge this movie because ATHF is such a fucked up franchise of randomness and awkward humour. The strange layout of the movie and the way nothing ever really happens and yet. things are kind of happening but the movie seems to just be going nowhere, and it is all that weirdness that makes me love the movie and especially the television show. I think the movie was brilliant if you compare it to the television show, but if you showed this movie to the Academy, they would probably throw up a little in their mouths. It is sort of like an origins movie but then it turns into an apocalypse film, and there is always that chicken running around on fire...good movie.
6. Megamind
This is the best movie I have seen this year! Just like How To Train Your Dragon, it will continue to grow on me and I'm sure with a few more viewings that it will radically jump up this list. For now though, it lives at number 6 and it is thoroughly deserving of that spot. I love movies about the bad guy, I am constantly fascinated about who the villain is and why he is doing what he is doing, and this movie is the perfect story for people like me. We get to follow the villain and learn all about him and his history and personality. We even get to root for him during the fights and hope that he ends up with the girl, who is played by the miraculous Tina Fey. Everything that woman touches turns to gold and I physically found myself laughing so much it hurt, during some of her lines. Jonah Hill
5. Hoodwinked
I really enjoyed this modern re-telling of a classic fairytale, sometimes they can destroy what made the original fairytale so great but this movie really embraced its heritage and was a great success. I especially liked how it was the same story told from many different perspectives, that really kept the storyline interesting. The characters were really compelling and worked really well with each other, they almost were acting as alternate dimension versions of the original fairytale characters. I really can;t wait to go see Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil, but if it wasn't for this first movie then how would anybody know how stupid the name Keith makes a bad guy sound? Case closed.
4. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
TYPING! The idea behind this movie is probably one of the most original ideas ever. Imagine being the guy who pitched this idea to a board of directors..."it's a movie about a weather machine...that makes it rain food!" but despite how crazy it sounds, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. They had such a great cast, including Anna Faris, Neil Patrick Harris, Lauren Graham and Bruce Campbell. The main character, Flint, was so quirky and likable, and his love affair with Sam Sparks was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. This movie had some really witty humour as well, it is definitely a movie for all people, young and old.
3. Monsters Inc.
One of the most classic Pixar films, this movie creates such an interesting world that brings logic and reality to the myths we create in real life. Child always live in such fear of the monster inside their closet, but this movie really makes you understand that monsters aren't that much different than people and that we shouldn't judge them based on how they look. At the beginning of the film, they were just as scared of us as we were of them, but thanks to Boo, all that changed. One of the best parts of this movie was the bloopers reel at the end. Not many animated movies would create their own bloopers reel, but it was so fucking funny when it rolled during the credits of the movie and I wish all animated films would attempt to do something like that. The musical was pretty legendary as well.
2. Finding Nemo
A true classic of the modern generation. This movie is one of the defining features of our time, it really is one of the best ever made. It contains a lot of tragedy, especially at the beginning of the movie, but once you get past there, it really is one of the most magical movies. The thing that makes this movie better than all the others can be narrowed down to one simple word...Ellen. Ellen DeGeneres is absolutely amazing in this movie, she plays one of the greatest and funniest characters ever created. Dori is so lovable and endearing, she just lights up every single scene. She will never let us forget Dori either, every week on her television show she makes some sort of reference to her or Finding Nemo (usually it is in the form of the 'just keep swimming' song). Allison Janney plays the starfish and I just love me a good West Wing reference.
1. Despicable Me
Yes, this is my favourite animated movie of all time. It is fairly new, but it just had such an effect on me and I have watched it so many times and it just keeps getting better and better. Just like Megamind, it is told from the perspective of the super villain and that just fascinates me. I love getting to connect with a character who is evil because it gives you a chance to figure out why he does these things and what made him this way (Gru's relationship with his mother clarifies the situation a lot). His relationship with the girls is one of the sweetest things I have ever seen, and this movie is one of the few that actually made me cry at the end. The cast is amazing, with Jason Segal, Steve Carrell, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Wiig and Russell Brand, whose voice acting skills are all so great that it is sometimes hard to tell which actor plays which character. The level of comedy in this movie is astounding and Pharrell's soundtrack is really the icing on the already great cake. The minions are adorable and one of them is played by Jemaine Clement, YEAH NEW ZEALAND!
Agnes: It's so fluffy, I'm gonna *die*!
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Tangled
Kung Fu Panda
Wall.E
Toy Story 1,2 & 3
The first 4 Dragonball Z movies
Card Captor Sakura 1 & 2:The Sealed Card
The first 3 Inuyasha movies
Hellboy: Sword of Storms & Blood and Iron
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