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Expanding the feeble envelope of my mindApr 04 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Animated Films. It's what's for Dinner. If you're having Beasts, Toys, Fairies, Camels, Chicken, Rabbits, Marionettes, Kryptonians, Demons, and Dwarfs for dinner. And who isn't? Animation is at it's best when it's showing us things that we couldn't see any other way. With the advent of digital animation and special effects, the line between an animated film and tradition filmmaking is going to be more and more blurred. Animated movies aren't just for kids, either--I'm not referring to the Anime genre, hyperviolent, slow-motion poorly animated still frames that show us the same open mouth and too-large eyes as the background flashes past them... I mean that if you've lost that part of you that finds the magic of animated films appealing, you need to rediscover that. And fast. My Top Ten Animated Movies include films that showed us things we've never seen before, as well as those films that are the pinnacle of their genre, giving us unforgettable stories and characters. Here's the list: 1. Beauty and the Beast (1991) An Oscar-Award winning film, one of the few Animated films to ever be nominated for Best Picture (it actually won for Best Score and Best Song). For me, this is the best of the "new" (post-1989) Disney films--made before we got sick of the formula, told us a classic fairy tale without cleaning it up too much (the Little Mermaid WAS SUPPOSED TO DIIIIIEEE!!!!). The first use of computer animation blended with traditional animation; wonderful music and storyline combine perfectly to tell a familiar story with just enough freshness to make it all new again. There are rumors of a Special Edition in the works, which would throw in two new songs and clean up some of the problems in the animation...if and when that comes out on DVD, I'm first in line. 2. Toy Story 2 (1999) If it weren't so good, I'd hesitate to put so new a film this high on the list, but Toy Story 2 is a masterpiece. Taking the same characters so wonderfully created by Pixar in 1995 and giving them more depth, this is one I saw four times in the theatres. Anyone who had dry eyes during Jessie's song the first time they saw it has no soul. Period. It helps that I love toys, but this movie is about growing up and making changes in your life, and it's one that we all need to come to grips with. I'm better for loving this movie. 3. Sleeping Beauty (1959) My favorite Disney movie of All Time, the combination of art, story, and song make this the best storybook come-to-life of the Disney fairytales. And Aurora is a hottie. A delightful villain, with her evil unsoftened by comic sidekicks, a dashing hero that I wanted to be when I grew up, and enough magic to enchant the soul and excite your imagination. I've written a separate Epinion on this one--check it out. 4. Fantasia (1940) Superior to Fantasia 2000, this is a great concept film executed flawlessly. A truly original idea, the idea of free-form animation and stories set to the greatest music of all time. I was impressed by the sequel (see my separate review), but THIS is the classic. The imagery has become shorthand for our greatest dreams, hopes, and fears, and no one has done it better than the animators of 1940. 5. The Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Movie (1979) a collection of shorts loosely gathered together, this gives us the BEST of Bugs Bunny and friends (and enemies). Forget Space Jam, this was the one to have seen on the big screen. Includes the best of Chuck Jones and Fritz Freleng, the directors who turned Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck from one-note jokes into complex, and hilarious characters. I've written a separate review on this one too--my favorite piece in here is "What's Opera Doc?" ("Kill da Wabbit, Kill da Wabbit, Kill Da WAAAAABBIT!!!") Find this one on video, and you'll have the BEST of Bugs. 6. Prince of Egypt (1998) This is the first date my wife and I had, which may account for my love of it--it's my favorite Bible Movie (and there's not a lot out there to love, let me tell you), and animation works here to it's best effect--to show us a world and time and place and miracles we may have daydreamed about in Sunday School, but we weren't there to SEE. The plagues, burning bush, and the parting of the Red Sea look better than ever, and the music accompanying the film deserve more credit than it gets. A more serious film than most animated features, and you won't find any talking animals or much comic relief. An intriguing way of looking at the fraternal relationship between Moses and Pharaoh; it makes them real people instead of larger-than-life Characters. 7. Chicken Run (2000) Possibly my favorite movie last year; I know I laughed more at this movie than any other. A Claymation feature by Nick Park, when I first heard the idea of a bunch of chickens trying to make a break for freedom, I found it ridiculous. And it was. And it was beautiful. The story of Ginger and Rocky and Babs and all the other chickens in their gulag made me laugh, almost made me cry, became a part of me. Seamless animation, this one will be a classic; if you haven't seen it yet, it's high time. You'll love it. 8. Fleischer's Superman Cartoons (1941-43) A breathtaking series of Animated Shorts, these cartoons introduced a movie-going generation to the Man of Steel, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane, as they fought everything from Nazis to Mad Scientists to Giant Robots to Cannibals. A seamless, smooth, bright animation, many cartoonists today look to them as an example of what to do RIGHT. You can find collections of them on DVD now--I'd recommend picking them up. There are 17 Episodes total, and although watching all 17 at once gets repetitious, it's groundbreaking cinema and a chunk of history. 9. Pinocchio (1940) A dark, but wonderfully animated tale, this deserves to be remembered as one of the greats. A story about family, telling the truth, conscience, and consequences, it's ideal for children or for adults. This one terrified me when I was a pup; both the horrors of Pleasure Island and Monstro the Whale kept me up many a night, worrying that I'd either be devoured by sea-going mammals or turn into a (donkey). Well, at least I've never been eaten by a whale. 10. Snow White (1938) Disney's first full-length animated feature, this is also one of the best; the characterization of the individual dwarfs, the innocence of Snow White fairly BEAMING from the screen, and the unspeakable frigid evil of the Queen; if this film hadn't been as GOOD as it was, there would have been no long line of well-told Disney films running down to this day. Not a fan of Disney the corporation, but MAN, they've made some great flicks. This was the first. If you haven't seen it for a while, pick it up.  |
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by cdm72
