If you’ve ever listened to the director’s commentary for The Incredibles, there’s a very memorable comment by director Brad Bird. He brought up how animation should not be considered a genre. It’s a medium that is as viable as any live-action film out there. And if he heard anybody say animation was a genre, he’d punch somebody in the face.
It might be worth looking into what makes a remarkable animated film to avoid a Brad Bird punch. Animation tends to get painted with a broad brush of being the type of film associated with children and family entertainment. But there’s way more to the medium than being a wholesome night at the movies. Let’s list the essential animated films to illustrate Bird’s point better.
Essential Animated Films
30. Fantasia (1940)
One of Disney’s earliest films was a revolutionary marriage of animation and music. Classic orchestral pieces are given new life, acting more like animated music videos. Of course, the film is most notable for Mickey Mouse’s role in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. While that segment is charming, you can’t forget the abstract visuals for Toccata and Fugue in D Minor or the frightening monster for Night on Bald Mountain.
29. Mary and Max (2009)
Quirky and heartfelt, Mary and Max centers around the long-distance relationship of a lonely eight-year-old girl and an autistic middle-aged man. The two are honest in their letters, expressing so much of the oddness that inhabits their worlds. There’s a real charm to the stop-motion animation by writer and director Adam Elliot.
28. Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
At a time when digital animation was becoming easier to produce, Sita Sings the Blues was a real trailblazer. Using Flash animation on a limited budget, the film follows the Hindu goddess Sita and her devotion to her husband Rama. The tweened Flash animation worked well in evoking the style of Indian shadow puppets. Nina Paley also directed the film with plenty of music, romance and comedy to showcase the true potential of Flash for feature films.
27. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
One of the oldest animated films ever made, this classic German film draws great inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights. As Prince Achmed ventures through faraway lands, he encounters beautiful princesses, friendly witches, and dangerous demons. Told in the form of shadow puppets, there are some mesmerizing visuals of sharp contrasts. For predating Disney’s first animated feature film by over a decade, The Adventures of Prince Achmed is one of the most dazzling and colorful animated films ever made.
26. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
The exaggeration in Sylvain Chomet’s film is off the charts. The odd adventure follows a squat grandmother trying to rescue her gangly grandson. Her rescue mission takes her to New York City, where she befriends the retired celebs known as the Triplets of Belleville. With hardly any dialogue, Chomet crafted a weird and quirky cartoon world that is fun to get lost in. It’s funny, sweet, and oddly musical, considering the instruments that the triplets play in the film.
25. Song of the Sea (2014)
Cartoon Saloon drew well from Irish folklore for Song of the Sea. The film follows two siblings on an adventure that delves deep into Celtic lore. The story has heartfelt characters, wondrous magic, and some beautiful traditional animation. It’s a gentle adventure and feels grounded in earnest fantasy, with plenty of breathing room to appreciate the distinct style. As another strong showcase from Cartoon Saloon, Song of the Sea was highly revered and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film.
24. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
At a time when superhero films were all the rage, Spider-Verse stuck out as more than an animated detour. Miles Morales was suitable for this Spider-Man origin story, but his multiverse tale didn’t make it seem childish. Sony merged the computer animation with comic book visuals to create an eye-popping visual feast of slapstick comedy and superhero action. The superhero film was so refreshingly vivid and vivacious that it would win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
23. The Lion King (1994)
Disney continued to revel in their ‘90s renaissance with this musical tale of the animal kingdom. Simba’s tragic journey from prince to king features some wonderfully alive animation and colorful characters, like Timon and Pumbaa. But the highlight, of course, is the earworm music composed by Hans Zimmer and Elton John. The songs are still fun to sing, and the story drawn from Hamlet feels surprisingly mature for a film with a meerkat doing a hula dance.
22. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
For kids who can’t decide between Halloween and Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas combines both in darkly comedic stop-motion. When Jack Skellington grows tired of Halloween, he ventures into the realm of Christmas, stumbling to celebrate the holiday. As a massive change of pace from Disney’s usual films of the 1990s, this fusion of horror, comedy, and musicals was an intoxicating experience. It also boasts unforgettable music by Danny Elfman and helped launch the stop-motion career of director Henry Selick.
21. Waltz With Bashir (2008)
Ari Folman used animation to convey his own experiences with war. His experiences as a young soldier are recalled with bold and somber animation, sometimes blending archival footage. Regarded more as a documentary, Waltz With Bashir changed the medium of animation to reflect more of the reality of massacres. This animated autobiography was such a breakthrough that it was not only nominated for the Oscar of Best Animated Feature Film, but also won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Documentary Feature Screenplay.
20. Akira (1988)
As a cyberpunk classic, Akira changed the world’s view of adult animation. This cyberpunk flavor of sci-fi depicted a futuristic, dystopian Tokyo. The garish city is overrun with violent motorcycle gangs and threatened by a psychic force that could destroy it. The colorful and detailed animation was equal to Disney, but utilized for high-speed motorcycle chases, bloody shootouts, and the violent destruction of a city. It’s not just an anime classic, but an essential piece of sci-fi cinema.
19. Toy Story (1995)
Pixar’s Toy Story deserves credit for being far more than the first feature-length computer-animated film. The dynamic of the cowboy toy Woody and the spaceman Buzz Lightyear made for an exciting adventure through familiar suburban locations. In the mid-1990s, the film looked astounding and showcased the true potential of comedy and action. Beyond the groundbreaking format, the film still holds up as a compelling tale of friendship, realized through the imagination of toys.
18. Persepolis (2007)
Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel was given a loving animated adaptation in 2007’s Persepolis. Told in stark black and white, Satrapi recalls growing up during the Iranian revolution and finding herself in Europe. Highlighting the joys and hardships of being an Iranian woman, there’s a comforting honesty to how bold this story becomes, addressing everything from the shifting political winds to her changing body. It’s not hard to see why the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the first nomination for a woman director in that category.
17. Coraline (2009)
Having directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, Henry Selick returned to stop-motion horror with Coraline. The titular tween finds herself descending into a parallel world where all her dreams come true. But it also becomes a world of nightmares when the true intentions of the button-eyed doppelgangers are revealed. The stop-motion animation from Laika Studios perfectly combines the beautiful and the creepy. It’s an animated horror film that is genuinely scary for the whole family.
16. Fantastic Planet (1973)
The best word to describe René Laloux’s Fantastic Planet is trippy. Set on a strange alien planet, humans are tiny pets and pests for the towering creatures known as the Draags. The humans, referred to as Oms, must survive this strange alien world of fantastic and vicious dangers. This is a wild animated film to get lost within, especially with its mixture of traditional and cut-out animation. The soundtrack by Alain Goraguer also enhances what is easily the most psychedelic animated adventure.
15. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
It was the first Disney animated feature film that started it all. The classic tale of Snow White came to life with vivid rotoscoped and traditional animation. There were great frights to the princess’s escape through the woods and musical charm to the seven dwarves. Despite the age, the colorful visuals and catchy musical numbers continue to entertain, making it one of Disney’s golden classics.
14. Ratatouille (2007)
Only Pixar could make such a strange concept work so well. The rat Remy has dreams of cooking, and the human chef Linguini can barely cook at all. The two form an unlikely alliance to compose the most sumptuous meals. While boasting fantastic character animation, Ratatouille is a gorgeous computer-animated film that ranks as one of Pixar’s best. The sights of France are beautiful, but let’s be honest, it’s the food. The food in this animated film looks tastier than any other.
13. The Iron Giant (1999)
Before he directed The Incredibles, Brad Bird helmed this sleeper hit about a boy and his robot. The young Hogarth befriends a mysterious giant robot that crash-lands on Earth. The two form a cute bond while trying to conceal the metal man from a 1950s American society that would fear such a creature. For combining traditional and computer animation, The Iron Giant has striking visuals, especially for the climactic fight sequence. But there’s also a lot of heart under all that impressive tech, making for a meaningful picture about identity and mortality.
12. Boy & the World (2013)
Not every animated film needs dialogue to tell a compelling story. Boy and the World is a perfect example of a colorful coming-of-age with hardly a word spoken. The little boy Cuca longs for his father and leaves his village to look for him. His journey will take him through a dreamlike realm of dominating machines, curious animals, and even aliens. Director Alê Abreu infused his film with a mixture of media in the animation, using everything from paints to crayons. The whole movie comes off like a colorful series of child drawings, perfectly communicating a story of adolescence.
11. It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
Even stick figures can make for compelling drama. Director Don Hertzfeldt makes his audience care about the unfortunate Bill, a stick figure stricken with mental problems, as he starts losing his mind. Memories become lost and hazy visions crowd his brain in this deeply surreal and sad film. Through Hertzfeldt’s experimental style and storytelling, he has crafted the pinnacle of stick figure drama.
10. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Following Spirited Away, director Hayao Miyazaki forced a woman to grow up faster in Howl’s Moving Castle. The young Sophie is cursed with old age and must find a way to reverse the process. Her adventures bring her to the magical Howl and his massive walking castle. The Miyazaki charm is present throughout with dazzling animation and wonderment. It’s easy to see why this magical film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
9. Up (2009)
Pixar’s Up takes a more unique route in favoring an elderly hero. The grumpy Carl finds himself longing to accomplish the unfulfilled wishes of his late wife. Arming several balloons to his house, he takes off on a daring quest into South America, making unlikely allies along the way. While the film turns into a thrilling adventure, the opening is one of the saddest introductions of any animated film. Pixar aimed for a tearjerker, and they hit a bullseye.
8. Your Name (2016)
Two teenagers find themselves routinely switching bodies in Japan. Through their shifting perspectives, they experience a different life for the teens existing between the city and rural parts of the country. But they also might have to stop some strange cosmic threat threatening their existence. Directed by revered anime director Makoto Shinkai, Your Name was a potent mixture of star-crossed teen romance and contemporary fantasy. While there are plenty of coming-of-age anime films, Shinkai’s remains one of the most heartfelt and stylish, so well-regarded that it’s been optioned for a live-action adaptation.
7. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
There’s no sadder tragedy in animation than the historical drama of Grave of the Fireflies. Set in Japan during World War 2, an orphaned brother and sister struggle to survive. Amid Japan’s destroyed towns and few resources, the siblings bitterly succumb to the effects of homelessness and starvation. Directed by Isao Takahata as his first Studio Ghibli film, this heartbreaking tale of Japan’s darkest days perfectly highlights the internal scars left by war. It’s such a dark animated film that it’s hard to believe the other Studio Ghibli film it was double-billed with, which happens to be the next film on the list.
6. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Where Grave of the Fireflies was a historical tragedy, My Neighbor Totoro was wholesome fun. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows the rural adventures of two sisters in the countryside. While Satsuki and Mei explore their new home, they discover the cute creatures of the forest, including the towering Totoro and the speedy Cat Bus. Light-hearted and wondrous, this is one of Miyazaki’s most cherished animated films that continues to delight all ages.
5. WALL-E (2008)
Pixar took a turn into science fiction and dystopia with WALL-E. The film finds the titular robot trying to clean up an Earth devoid of humans. But when he meets the gorgeous robot EVA, he decides to follow her back to where the humans are located. The film features Pixar’s usual high-quality computer animation and an apt story of consumerism and environmentalism. It’s not exactly the type of animated film you’d expect from Disney, but it’s more than welcoming for being thematically important and alluringly cute.
4. Perfect Blue (1997)
Rarely does horror grace animated films, but Perfect Blue proves the genre can be done right. Pop star Mima finds her life turned upside down after she turns away from singing. Her attempts at breaking into acting result in a strange stalker following her. Even more creepy is the presence of her old self haunting her visions and destroying her self-esteem. Director Satoshi Kon created a hauntingly disturbing picture that has aged gracefully with its depictions of online harassment and stalking. Although the story was initially intended for a live-action production, Kon’s animated adaptation is more than warranted for the effective frights that only animation could produce.
3. Princess Mononoke (1997)
In what is easily Hayao Miyazaki’s most adult animated film, Princess Mononoke depicts a battle between human villagers and the gods of the forest. The fight focuses on Prince Ashitaka, a man cursed by the forest, and San, a human woman raised by wolf gods. While boasting gorgeous animation, the film presents a nuanced take on the divide of nature amid survival. Though violent and tragic at times, there’s an enchantment to the vivid depiction of Japan’s forest setting. It also remains one of the finest orchestral soundtracks from Miyazaki’s regular composer, Joe Hisaishi.
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
The classic Roald Dahl children’s book received a stop-motion adaptation from the most unexpected of directors. Wes Anderson gave this animated film about a conniving fox the same level of quirky charm featured in his live-action movies. There’s Anderson’s trademark dry humor, but also some wonderment to his rough stop-motion style, where smoke comes in the form of cotton balls. There’s a throwback nature for presenting amusing animation more rough and alive than smooth and fluid.
1. Spirited Away (2001)
It is one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most cherished animated films, and for good reason. Spirited Away depicts Chihiro’s adventure through a fantasy land to save her parents from being turned into pigs. As a tale of growing up, there’s a wondrous wealth of fantastical and magical characters. With irresistible charm and imagination, Miyazaki’s Spirited Away made the director a household name abroad, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. If you want to see the true power of animation, look no further than Spirited Away.
Wrapping Up
And there you have it: the essential animated films that showcase everything the medium has to offer. From Disney to Miyazaki and traditional to CGI, there’s more than one type of animated film. It’s more than just kids’ stuff, with adult animation that ventures into the genres of grounded drama or surreal horror. So be sure to recall these titles whenever animation comes up in conversation.
