Who doesn’t love a feel-good animation to remind us of our childhood? Disney and Pixar have combined to give us some of the best animated features to date and they are still churning them out. While I may not be a fan of animation personally, I have a great respect for what these companies have managed to create.
*Disclaimer: There will be no Disney princess movies on the list…other Disney movies are not exempt however*
#5: Monster’s Inc. (2001)
This movie and the prequel, Monster’s University (2013), are two enjoyable movies that show people what really is hiding in their closet. We get to see the world of monsters and how their life is not that different from our own. Their life is thrown for a loop when a human child accidentally manages to work her way into the monster world.
#4: Up (2009)
Up created a more emotional relationship in the first ten minutes of the film than Twlight did in four movies. Grumpy widower Carl Fredricksen decides to travel to Paradise Falls in South America in honor of his wife. Wilderness Explorer scout Russell slips on board and the two go through misadventure after misadventure. From talking dogs to prehistoric birds, Up is not afraid to throw wacky material at us but make the movie work nonetheless. For real though, if that montage didn’t give you the feels you’re most likely a sociopath: http://bit.ly/1I8aWDs
#3: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Everything about this movie is awesome (except that awful “Everything is Awesome” performance at the Oscars). The cast is astounding, the animation is perfect, and the fact that we got a great movie that never came off as a huge commercial is surprising. This is also the only movie on the list that wasn’t created by Disney or Pixar. Who knew other people knew how to create animations? You should check out Couch Tomoato’s clip showing the comparisons between The LEGO Movie and The Matrix because it is spot on: http://bit.ly/1DAUedj He is new to YouTube but this guy has a big future ahead of him.
#2: The Lion King (1994)
The Lion King put animation back on the map in 1994. After winning two Oscars, The Academy added a new category for Best Animation primarily because The Lion King deserved more than just best sound and original song. Without The Lion King, we would be missing a ton of the great animations that we get today.
Honorable Mention
The Emperor’s New Groove (2003)
The Bee Movie (2007)
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
WALL-E (2008)
A Bug’s Life (1998)
#1: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3 (1995-2010)
If I were to split up the Toy Story series, I would have little room on my list for anything else, so I decided to combine them into one big pick. Toy Story is one of the easiest animations to relate to and leaves everybody feeling happy inside. While it has been announced that there will be a Toy Story 4, it will always be a trilogy to me because there is no way that they can recapture the magic of the third one.
What are you favorite animated movies? Should a princess movie be on the top five? Tell me how wrong I am.
CinemaStickler 