Great Animated Films
by BlueDevilReviews | created - 24 Apr 2011 | updated - 14 May 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Balto (1995)
G | 78 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
An outcast Husky risks his life with other sled dogs to prevent a deadly epidemic from ravaging Nome, Alaska.
Director: Simon Wells | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Bob Hoskins, Bridget Fonda, Jim Cummings
Votes: 48,149 | Gross: $11.35M
A fine piece of 90's cinema, with interesting characters and fantastic animation.
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Approved | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.
Directors: William Cottrell, David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen | Stars: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell
Votes: 215,576 | Gross: $184.93M
The very first full length animated feature. Truly, it plays a huge role in animation history and shows what Disney should be. For some reason, despite being the first, it has been very overlooked by animation lovers.
3. Wizards (1977)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wizard and his faire folk comrades fight an evil wizard who's using technology in his bid for conquest.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Bob Holt, Jesse Welles, Richard Romanus, David Proval
Votes: 13,020 | Gross: $9.00M
Bakshi's take on fantasy. Despite many flaws, it is a pretty creative story with some genius moments. The fantasy-like character designs are also fun to look at.
4. Titan A.E. (2000)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young man learns that he has to find a hidden Earth ship before an enemy alien species does in order to secure the survival of humanity.
Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | Stars: Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Jim Breuer
Votes: 63,973 | Gross: $22.75M
Now, let's face it, Don Bluth did some pretty bad movies in the 90's. However, I think this was his last good movie. Also, a great mix of hand-drawn animation and CGI animation.
5. Fire and Ice (1983)
PG | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
At the end of the ice age, an evil queen and her son are set on conquering the world using magic and warriors. The lone survivor of a crushed village fights back as does the king of Fire Keep.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor, Sean Hannon
Votes: 12,641 | Gross: $0.76M
6. The Road to El Dorado (2000)
PG | 89 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Two swindlers get their hands on a map to the fabled city of gold, El Dorado.
Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Don Paul, Jeffrey Katzenberg | Stars: Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Armand Assante
Votes: 107,521 | Gross: $50.86M
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel
Votes: 227,671 | Gross: $23.16M
Animation genius Brad Bird has brought us an animated feature than shows that you don't need music to tell a great story, and it is a great story with decently done animation and great voice acting.
8. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
G | 84 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman's love.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart
Votes: 479,850 | Gross: $218.97M
To me, out of all the films in the Disney renaissance, This is one of the best. It's like a modernized take on Disney classics.
9. Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Set on the subterranean Mine-World, a band of human worker are treated like slaves under the power of the evil overlord Zygon until one, Orin, unearths the hilt of a mythical sword that ... See full summary »
Director: Steven Hahn | Stars: Joe Colligan, Carmen Argenziano, Noelle North, Anthony De Longis
Votes: 2,524 | Gross: $3.36M
10. The BFG (1989)
91 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A young orphan girl, Sophie, gets taken away to a faraway land populated by Giants and Dreams.
Director: Brian Cosgrove | Stars: David Jason, Amanda Root, Angela Thorne, Ballard Berkeley
Votes: 7,507
11. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
G | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Basil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy maker and uncovers its link to his archenemy, Professor Ratigan.
Directors: Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, David Michener, John Musker | Stars: Vincent Price, Barrie Ingham, Val Bettin, Susanne Pollatschek
Votes: 54,453 | Gross: $38.60M
12. The Hobbit (1977 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A homebody hobbit in Middle Earth gets talked into joining a quest with a group of dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Orson Bean, John Huston, Theodore Gottlieb, Cyril Ritchard
Votes: 16,359
13. The Lord of the Rings (1978)
PG | 132 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
The Fellowship of the Ring embark on a journey to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's reign over Middle-earth.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
Votes: 35,892 | Gross: $0.92M
When you get past the half-@$$ed animation, Goofy moments, It is actually a well done adaptation of the novel. In some ways, it's actually better than the live action movies. Mostly for it's great soundtrack and dark atmospheric style.
14. The Sword in the Stone (1963)
G | 79 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.
Directors: Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi, David Hand | Stars: Rickie Sorensen, Sebastian Cabot, Karl Swenson, Junius Matthews
Votes: 106,543 | Gross: $22.18M
To me, this is one of the best Disney films out there. This was the last one that was made when Walt Disney was still alive. The movie itself does try to be it's own thing. It's doesn't have the princess formula, which has an interesting outcome. I found the characters comedic and fun. The animation is kind of weak, but when you get past that, it is a Disney masterpiece.
15. The Black Cauldron (1985)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich | Stars: Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 40,777 | Gross: $21.29M
Known for being the first animated Disney film to receive a PG rating. At one point, almost got a R rating. Despite all the flaws in character development and straying away from it's source material, It does have it's place in animation history and a fine addition into dark fantasy.
16. The Last Unicorn (1982)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A beautiful unicorn sets out to learn if she truly is the last of her kind in this sparkling animated musical.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin
Votes: 29,563 | Gross: $6.46M
Rankin/Bass has done a lot of holiday films, but to me, their finest work is their fantasy related works. "The Last Unicorn" is their masterpiece in my opinion. Wile the animation is a little off, the style is beautiful and it has some of the best voice acting to ever be in an animated feature film.
17. Rock & Rule (1983)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Fantasy, Music
A malevolent rock star kidnaps a singer to force her to participate in the summoning of a demon, and her band must help her stop him.
Director: Clive A. Smith | Stars: Don Francks, Paul Le Mat, Greg Salata, Susan Roman
Votes: 4,034 | Gross: $0.03M
18. Sea Prince and the Fire Child (1981)
TV-Y7-FV | 108 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A prince of the sea and a child of fire engage in a tragic forbidden romance.
Director: Masami Hata | Stars: Tôru Furuya, Mami Koyama, Ikue Sakakibara, Jûkichi Uno
Votes: 592
19. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Each night, young Nemo goes to Slumberland and has adventures and befriends the king of Slumberland, Morpheus. But one night Nemo discovers Nightmare Land, and the evil nightmare king, throwing Slumberland and Nemo himself into danger.
Directors: Masami Hata, Masanori Hata, William T. Hurtz | Stars: Gabriel Damon, Mickey Rooney, Rene Auberjonois, Danny Mann
Votes: 8,273 | Gross: $1.37M
A very well done mixture of Japanese and American animation and story telling. The animation is very beautiful to look at as well, and some VERY creative ideas along the way.
20. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
PG | 98 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.
Directors: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders | Stars: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson
Votes: 801,141 | Gross: $217.58M
A fine piece of modern animation. To me, this is like a modern take on fantasy films of the 80's for the whole family.
21. Up (2009)
PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson | Stars: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 1,125,726 | Gross: $293.00M
22. Brother Bear (2003)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
Directors: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Jason Raize
Votes: 123,917 | Gross: $85.34M
23. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
G | 82 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.
Director: Don Bluth | Stars: Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet
Votes: 45,207 | Gross: $10.14M
24. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
G | 91 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A deformed bell-ringer must assert his independence from a vicious government minister in order to help his friend, a gypsy dancer.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Mary Kay Bergman, Corey Burton
Votes: 171,797 | Gross: $100.14M
25. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,649 | Gross: $1.11M
26. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi
Votes: 165,709
27. James and the Giant Peach (1996)
PG | 79 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
An orphan who lives with his two cruel aunts befriends anthropomorphic bugs who live inside a giant peach, and they embark on a journey to New York City.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite, Simon Callow
Votes: 74,033 | Gross: $28.93M
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