Hail all,

Category: Movies

So - been watching a lot of animated films lately. Some I'd seen before, others - not so much. Surprisingly, all the movies I inform are my top 100 below are films I've seen within the past year. Some are old - some older than myself, though most come from within the past 25 years as well. There is a rule to this list though. All films must have had a theatre release, must contain at least 50% animation, and must be a singular story - no collections of short stories here. Without further ado...

PART 1 here.

PART 2 here.

PART 3 here.

PART 4 here.

PART 5 here.

PART 6 here.

61. Appleseed

Ok, so the plot is a little cliched. But it's told well and the action sequences are excellent. And on top of that - the animation is mind-blowing. So Appleseed, while a good film, has it's faults. I enjoy it for what it is - mindless action, and "been there, done that" exposition. A good film, and a fun one that's more enjoyable to watch due to whats on screen rather than what it represents.

62. The Princess and the Frog

Now this was a return to the Disney animated films of yore. The Princess and the Frog represents everything I enjoy about Disney animation and is a return to form for the studio. Before they started pumping out rubbish like Home on the Range and Chicken Little, they made truly great films. The Princess and the Frog is just a wonderful throwback to the nostalgic Disney films I remember growing up. Look at that poster. The crocodile reminds me of the one from Peter Pan and the Frog looks like that dancing one from the WB cartoons. Both very good things. A lovely film.

63. Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!

Ok, not so well known around parts. And technically and reception wise - it wasn't highly regarded. In fact, I was never really a fan of Yogi Bear in his cartoons or otherwise. I enjoyed Hanna Barbera cartoons when I was younger, but Yogi Bear wasn't really my thing. It was very American. Yet I enjoyed this film for some reason, and when I saw it recently, I questioned myself why. I'm still trying to figure that out. But I saw the trailer for the new Yogi Bear film and I think - wow, that's bad. This is just... less bad.

64. Shrek 2

While it is inferior to the original, there's no denying that the Shrek magic is still in this film - and a lot of that is due to Puss in Boots. This lovable character and would be assassin is the saviour in the film - which treads very closely to the original story. Yet again, Shrek and Donkey are on an adventure and again every fairytale story is up for parody. It features far more pop culture than the original film, with things such as American Idol, Cops and Hollywood up for airing. Still, a wonderfully funny film and almost as good as the original.

65. The Road to El Dorado

What I most like about this film (other than a return to beautiful hand-drawn animation) is the two main characters. They are con-artists and best friends, and we see that relationship change over both money and love - two very big evils. Their relationship changes, but so does their mindset. This was the first time I really heard about the El Dorado legend, and as such the film was a bit of an eye-opener to me. A beautifully well drawn film that has heart and warmth, even if it's not particularly memorable.

66. Pocahontas

The film is special to me because as a young High School student, I sang several of the songs from the film as part of the school's choir. So I got to know them fairly well. I got to know the film fairly well and as part of social studies, we learnt about animism and in science, we learnt more about how every rock, every life form has a purpose, has an identity. I guess this kind of led me to Taoism, but I remember at the time falling out of Christianity. Another great Walt Disney film.

67. Cars

The first time I saw this film was in The Netherlands. And I didn't like it. I thought it was a step back from Pixar, who had dazzled me with films like Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. But over time, I found myself enjoying it, and now I find myself liking it. The brash Lightning McQueen isn't cery likeable, at least initially, but his temperance is equalled by the brilliance of character Mater. Others, like Red, Sally and especially Doc make this memorable. A definitely love letter to automobiles and Route 66.

68. Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

Now here is a rare film. It's the sequel to the original film which was based on a long running children's cartoon. What's even rarer is the fact that it was better than the original film - no small feat. The film almost usurps the always main character of Tommy as Chucky becomes the lead - looking for a replacement mother. Some incredibly humourous scenes, including the children taking control of a giant "Gozilla-like" dinosaur and running rampant around Paris are highlights. A delight to watch.

69. TMNT

I'm a bit of an old-school Ninja Turtles fan. I had a bunch of the toys growing up and religiously watched the original series. While it was apparently a parody of other superheroes, it never felt as much as me. Each of the turtles had their own ****- Leonardo was calm and collected, Michealangelo was the comic relief, Raphael was the brooding member and Donatello was the intelligence. The film picks up where the original series left off - yet it brings the Turtles back to New York and back to fighting the foot clan and more. Great to see the Turtles doing what they do best.

70. Bambi

The Circle of Life. This film is essentially about the circle of life. A truly great film which showed an unnatural vision for Disney - the characters were very real. It also came out in the middle of WW2 and had a huge backlash by hunters, who are the main "enemy" in the film. Whats great about this film is that it clearly shows how life is in the forest - and how Man has set it's domination of the creatures within making them a threat. Beautiful animation and some amazing backgrounds culminate in a film that shows the wonders of the forest edens.

This is the 7th such part in my animation countdown of my top 100 animated films. I hope you've missed at least a few of the above titles and seek them out. I can recommend them all.

Cheers,

Saga.