Presenting the list of 10 must watch animated movies of all time. Everyone should see these animated films at least once in lifetime.
Top 10 must watch animated movies:
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Walt Disney Pictures.
Produced by Walt Disney Productions in 1937, it is an American animated musical fantasy film. The film was ranked among the 100 greatest American films, and also named as the greatest American animated film of all time. Also one of the 10 must watch animated movies.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Snow White is a princess of great beauty, which makes her stepmother jealous. She asks her magic mirror daily to tell her that she is the most beautiful. But one day, the mirror says that the most beautiful woman in the kingdom is Snow White. The queen then decides to kill her but the guard charged with this task does not find the courage and abandons Snow White in the forest. Lost, exhausted, she fails in a house where seven Dwarfs live.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
Certainly, and contrary to a widespread idea, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not the first animated feature film in the history of cinema. Nevertheless (nothing to do!). It is the film that immediately comes to mind when talking about the beginnings of the cartoon on the big screen; That offered Walt Disney his status of master; Always who knew how to reach the general public first, and this since the end of the 30’s.
How not to be amazed, while we are still in 1937 and the animation is always synonymous with nice cartoons in black and white, in front of the fireworks of colors, songs and characters as real life? Nearly 80 years later, we still have not managed to forget the chorus of the seven Dwarfs, the eyes of the witch and the fluidity of the movements of the young princess.
9. The King and the Mockingbird (1980)
Studio Canal.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
King Charles V and Three make Eight and Eight make Sixteen reign as a tyrant over the kingdom of Takicardie. Only a playful and talkative Bird, who has built his nest at the top of the gigantic palace, near his Majesty’s secret apartments, dares to taunt him. The King is in love with a charming and modest Berger whom he wants to marry under duress. But this one likes a little chimney sweep. Both flee to escape the King and, refugees at the top of the highest tower of the palace, save a small reckless bird caught at one of the traps of the Tyrant. The grateful Father Bird promises in return to help them.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
If you only have to choose one French animated film to see during your life, opt for it without hesitation. It’s one of the best and 10 must watch animated movies.
Firstly because it is the first construction in the Hexagon; Then because it is unlike any other. Probably thanks to the combined talents of Paul Grimault, considered the French Walt Disney, and Jacques Pervert, scriptwriter of the film.
Equipped with a poetry worthy of a fable of La Fontaine. The King and the bird makes children dream while stirring social and philosophical issues in which their parents will recognize, sometimes approaching a novel of anticipation or even science fiction.
DID YOU KNOW?
It will take 30 long years for The King and the Bird to finally be presented to the public in its final version. Started in 1946 by Grimault and Pervert, the film saw its production interrupted, and released without the knowledge of its authors in 1953, under the title La Berger and the Chimney sweep. Renounced by its director, this first version of the film will be reworked years later. Paul Grimault will end up with a new version in 1979, called “The King and the Bird”.
8. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Kazé Animation
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Japan, summer 1945. After the bombing of Kobe, Seita, a fourteen-year-old teenager and his four-year-old sister Setsuko, orphans, will move to their aunt’s home a few dozen kilometers from their home. This makes them understand that they are an embarrassment for the family and must deserve their daily rice. Seita decides to leave with her little sister. They take refuge in a disused bunker in the countryside and live happy days illuminated by the presence of thousands of fireflies. But soon the food begins to be sorely missed.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
Hard to stop his choice on a single feature film when attacking the studio Ghibli. Of course, Le Voyage de Chihiro and Princess Mononoké are founding films and (they too) participated in writing the history of animation through the poetry deployed by Hayao Miyazaki.
But too bad! We had to decide, and it was on the co-founder of the famous Japanese studio, Isao Takahata, that we decided to stop our choice. Considered by many to be the most powerful work produced by Ghibli, his Tomb of the Fireflies is in any case the most moving, no doubt about it!
More magical creatures and legendary dragons here. The feature film bravely stands in the sad reality of Japan in 1945. To the atrocities of war, Takahata responds with a rare delicacy, and the violence suffered by his country, he opposes a shocking sweetness.
To see urgently, therefore! But not without your pack of tissues!
DID YOU KNOW ?
The Firefly Tomb was released in Japan in 1988 along with another film from Ghibli Studio, My Neighbor Totoro, signed by master Hayao Miyazaki, which received a much more enthusiastic welcome. Commercially, although uniquely recognized since as an absolute masterpiece, The Tomb of Fireflies was indeed considered a semi-failure, with only 800,000 entries. If the advertising campaign around the film was designed for both children and their parents, Isao Takahata’s work was considered far too dark, not to say absolute darkness, what the film is otherwise ; to the point of seeing the audience turn away.
7. Toy Story 3 (2010)
Disney – PIXAR
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Andy is about to leave for college. Abandoned, the famous band of toys is found … at the nursery! Raging toddlers and their little fingers able to tear everything off are a real threat to our friends! It is urgent to build a plan to escape them as quickly as possible.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
15 years after having revolutionized the world of animation by giving birth to the first feature film entirely made of computer-generated images, John Lasseter and his team of magicians decide to open their toy box for the third time.
Pass after the first two games of Toy Story and their undeniable qualities is really challenging. The level of requirement is colossal. But as often in Pixar, the miracle happens …
After 10 years of absence, Woody and Buzz are back, and they have lost none of their irresistible humor. The emotion is also more than ever at the rendezvous, and especially in the final sequence of the film, which concludes the trilogy of a sumptuous way.
Again, plan the handkerchiefs….. This is one of the 10 must watch animated movies.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, who lend their voices to Woody and Buzz respectively in the original version, insisted on dubbing the film together, which they did not do for the first two episodes, and that is elsewhere quite rare in animation in general.
6. Wallace and Gromit: The Mystery of the Garbage Rabbit (2005)
DreamWorks Animation SKG
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
An intense “vegetarian fever” reigns in the small town of Wallace and Gromit, and the ingenious duo took advantage of this craze by inventing a human and ecological anti-harmful product, which saves the lives of rabbits. The trick is simply to capture, by hand, a maximum of these rodents and put them in cages. A few days before the Great Annual Vegetable Contest, Wallace and Gromit’s business has never been so successful, and everything would be best in the best of all worlds, if a giant waswolf did not suddenly come to attack the sacro -saints vegetable gardens of the city. To cope with this unprecedented danger, the contest organizer, Lady Tottington, turns to our two “specialists” and asks them to apprehend the monster.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
At Aardman, animation is an art that is cultivated with patience, just as we take care of a garden. Thus, perhaps it is not a coincidence that the Mystery of the rabbit-garou speaks of vegetable culture, so much the authors have sprinkled perseverance and meticulousness.
Stop motion (or frame-by-frame animation) requires goldsmith precision, and sometimes up to a full day’s work for a second of a movie. The mass of work is monumental, but the harvested fruits are too.
After the awesome Chicken Run, the second feature film of the British studios is a real nugget with British humor devastating and that gives off a real feeling of authenticity: each of the sets that we see on the screen exists for real, each object has been fashioned by hand, modeled at the cost of long efforts, and the result necessarily suffers.
The icing on the cake, it’s his two mascots, the endearing Wallace and Gromit, that the Aardman studios are reserving this time the place of honor, thus offering them their very first feature film.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Each figurine used in the film consists of a metal skeleton covered with a special modeling clay (the Aard-mix), more resistant than the current modeling clay. Unlike the Chicken Run figurines, whose texture was perfectly smooth, those of the Mystery of the Were Bunny retain some imperfections to reinforce the craftsmanship that is the charm of Wallace and Gromit’s films. The sixth among 10 must watch animated movies.
5. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Walt Disney France
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Jack Skellington, Pumpkin King and Halloween City Guide, is bored: For centuries, he’s tired of preparing the same Halloween party that comes back every year, and he dreams of change. It is then that he has the idea to seize the Christmas party …
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
In terms of stop motion, impossible not to mention the American Henry Selick and his famous tale as magical as Gothic, taken from a poem written by Tim Burton.
With a unique atmosphere that has inspired much popular culture, Mr. Jack’s Strange Christmas is the first full-length feature film produced entirely.
But if the final result is so striking, it is largely to the musical score of Danny Elfman that we must. It is also the composer himself who gives his voice to Jack the Scarecrow when he sings in the film.
DID YOU KNOW ?
As Tim Burton walked past the window of a store, he had the idea of writing the poem that inspired Mr. Jack’s Strange Christmas, and especially seeing the staff exchange Halloween characters for those Christmas, combining the two worlds for a moment.
4. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Pathe
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
In a futuristic Japan governed by the Internet, Major Motoko Kusunagi, an ultra-sophisticated cyborg woman, is haunted by ontological questions. In spite of herself, she belongs to a muscular cyber-police with virtually unlimited means to fight against computer crime.
The day her section finds the trace of the ‘Puppet Master’, a mysterious and legendary hacker whose identity remains totally unknown, the young woman is about to penetrate the body of it and analyze the ghost ( an indefinable element of consciousness, related to the soul) in the hope of finding the answers to its own existential questions …
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
Japanese animation is not limited to Ghibli studio films, far from it!
Considered by James Cameron as “the first adult animated film to achieve this level of excellence,” Ghost in the Shell mixes an incredible animation technique with an ultra-immersive futuristic universe.
This feature film, adapted from the manga of the same name and directed by Mamoru Oshii, deals mainly with profound themes that are more relevant than ever, namely the relationship between man and machine, and the notion of transhumanism.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Ghost in the Shell was one of the major inspirations of the Wachowski brothers as they performed Matrix. Besides the fact that the two films share similar themes, there are several similar sequences. Anyway it’s 4th among 10 must watch animated movies.
3. Up there (2009)
Disney / Pixar
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
A 78-year-old balloon salesman, Carl Fredricksen, finally realizes the dream of his life. His desire to live a great adventure pushes him to tie thousands of balloons to his home to fly to the wilds of South America. But he sees too late the presence of a package in the form of his worst nightmare: Russell, a young explorer 8 years a little too optimistic, will accompany him on his journey.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
“For every burst of laughter, you need a tear,” said Walt Disney.
In 2009, Pixar Studios decided to start with the tear by offering their audience a literally overwhelming intro scene. Carl and Ellie’s married life has the immediate effect of quietening the last noises of the room and forcing some viewers to discreetly wipe the glasses of their 3D glasses.
Sobbing sobs follow the laughter, which gives way to tears when Carl Fredricksen’s journey ends. Pixar Studios’ artists are alchemists who distil emotion with as much virtuosity as they handle animation.
Up there is further proof. It’s certainly not the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscars that will say the opposite.
DID YOU KNOW ?
One of the first people to discover up there in the world is a 10-year-old girl. At risk of cancer, the girl wanted to see the film at all costs before she died. The filmmakers sent him without hesitation a copy of the DVD before its theatrical release.
2. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Walt Disney Pictures
Second in our list of 10 must watch animated movies of all time.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
Belle is a sensitive and imaginative girl, who spends her days immersed in reading and who stubbornly repels the advances of Gaston, a muscular and vain belligerent. Only Maurice, his father, a wacky inventor, counts in his life. One day when the latter is lost in the forest, he must take refuge in a castle to escape a pack of wolves. Irritated by his intrusion, the master of the place, a gigantic and terrifying Beast, throws him into a dungeon. To save her father, Belle agrees to be held prisoner in her place …
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
After a long period of skinny cows in the 80’s, Disney studios are back in the early 90s, and prepare to live one of the most beautiful golden ages in their history.
The magic recipe? A return to fairy tales; A breathtaking animation, and songs that the public can continue to sing long after watching the film.
After the success of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast applies the formula to perfection. This project, which Walt Disney himself had given up on, is transformed into a true masterpiece. This “eternal story” is probably one of the most beautiful romances ever told by Disney Studios. And in any case becomes the first animated feature film to be selected at the Oscars in the Best Film category.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Broadway star Angela Lansbury, who lends her voice to Mrs. Samovar in the film. Thought her character was not in the best position to sing the famous song “Eternal History”. At the request of the directors, the actress still recorded a single test. So convincing test that it was finally used in the film.
1. The Lion King (1994)
Walt Disney Pictures
WHAT IS IT ABOUT ?
The lion Mufasa, king of animals, and his wife Sarabi give birth to Simba, a future heir. But Scar, Mufasa’s brother, seeing his chances of gaining access to the throne decreases, encourages the cub to venture into an elephant cemetery located beyond the borders of the kingdom. The film is one of the 10 must watch animated movies.
WHY SHOULD I SEE IT?
Another nugget of the 90s at Disney; The Lion King has become a standard bearer, imposing itself for a long time as the greatest success of the studios until being dethroned by a certain Snow Queen.
Originally thought of as a “small” transitional project while waiting for Pocahontas, this surprise hit surprised everyone as it came out, unleashing crowds and marking the collective unconscious with its indelible claw.
True symbol of a generation, the film has carved the lion’s share with an introduction to fall to the ground. Unforgettable songs and mythical characters.… Not to mention the death of Mufasa, which we still have not handed.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The spectacular wildebeest sequence sweeping down the runway took the film crew three years to complete, as well as the development of a brand new computer program capable of running hundreds of characters simultaneously without them entering, collision. With a total duration of 6 minutes, the scene, technically irreproachable. Also marks the arrival of the CGI within the traditional animation. Like the introductory credits of Bernard and Bianca in the country of kangaroos or the ball scene in Beauty and the Beast. This is one of the first sequences to use digital processes to animate his characters.