ROTTEN TOMATOES: Best Animated Films

Best Animated Films

September 15, 2008

Animated films: they ain't just cartoons anymore. Nor have they been for quite some time. RT celebrates the imaginative, dazzling world of animation with out countdown of the best-reviewed animated films of all time.

Like the world of animation itself, our list of the Best Animated Films is wonderfully diverse: we've got Disney classics (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), dreamlike anime (Spirited Away), gleefully surreal foreign entries (The Triplets of Belleville), blissful stop-motion (Chicken Run), and of course, CGI from the mighty Pixar Studios (Toy Story). In short, we've got something for everyone: kids, grownups, fanboys, and arthouse types.

Before you start raising hackles about the fact that, say, The Secret of NIMH isn't represented here, allow us a second to explain our parameters. Each of the films presented here has at least 20 reviews in order to maintain a measure of critical weight. We also omitted such classics as How the Grinch Stole Christmas that were made for television.

We hope you're drawn to our list of the Best Animated Films!

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(1-20 of 304 posts) | Reply

demmeisgod writes:
on Sep 24 2008 03:21 PM

Kung Fu Panda ahead of Bambi and Little Mermaid? For shame..

(Reply to this)

Saint Hedwig writes:
on Sep 24 2008 04:13 PM

How can Chicken Run be ahead of Spirited Away and Persepolis?

(Reply to this)

And The Answer Is 42 writes:
on Sep 24 2008 04:32 PM

bambi? good lord...

Wall-e? good lord...

Monster's Inc.? good lord...

NO SURF'S UP? good lord...

Terrible entry you guys, terrible.

(Reply to this)

meinink2y writes:
on Sep 24 2008 04:47 PM

Toy Story 2 in no way deserves to be at the top of the list. It is Pixar's worst movie (well...it's down there with Cars). Wall-E should have been #1 easily.

(Reply to this)

AL_X writes:
on Sep 24 2008 05:13 PM

In reply to this comment (#2044712)
This list is laughably HWD-one-eyed. Not to mention the lack of Chinese animation classics like The Monkey King, numerous Ghibli-studio masterpieces are missing completely. I'm no animation specialist, yet I can immediately think up Porco Rosso, Tonari no Totoro, Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies) and Mimi wo Sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart) which all belong in the top 25, most top 10. Well, this is what you get when people who don't know film and are just crowd-pleasing make silly lists.

(Reply to this)

RT-Matchity writes:
on Sep 24 2008 05:17 PM

AL_X, the problem is that there simply aren't enough reviews for things like Porco Rosso and Grave of the Fireflies to be included on the list. And in case you missed it, we're ranking these according to critics' consenses (with some adjustments for the amounts of reviews), and not our personal own personal tastes.

(Reply to this)

blattman writes:
on Sep 24 2008 05:49 PM

I think this is an admirable list. I'm thrilled to see two Nick Park films and The Iron Giant on the list. Sad that Yellow Submerine got on the list and Heavy Metal didn't. I really liked Road to El Dorado, but I know it did dismal box office and won't make two many lists. Sigh!

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:08 PM

Bambi was a sadistic film. . .Walt Disney, before he believed in Cryogenics, thought the tears of children would give him immortality.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:14 PM

Oh, I didn't get to look at the whole list. Can someone please tell me:

Is Felix the Car on there?

Heavy Metal?

or one that I really hope is on there: A Scanner Darkly?

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caseyfan14 writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:19 PM

This is rediculous. Most of Miyazaki's movies didn't even make the cut. How is Shrek the 2nd better than Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa, Kiki, Porco Rosso and others. These movies are some of the best animated movies and some of the best movies of all time. How is Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies left off.

Any list that has Kung Fu Panda and Shrek 2 in it is not credible. Beauty and the Beast, Akira, Lion King, Aladdin, Miyazaki films, and others should be in the top ten.

This list is flawed to the core.

(Reply to this)

tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:34 PM

Akira isn't top 10?

Damn. . . I am surprised.

Ireally liked Princess Mononoke, but I guess that isn't top 10 either. Sigh.

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Matanuki writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:41 PM

In reply to this comment (#2044597)
Chicken Run ahead of Spirited Away??!! Thanks for the heads up. I won't even bother looking at this list.

(Reply to this)

hevlarxis writes:
on Sep 24 2008 06:44 PM

Come on folks, give them a break. They did the best they could according to the critics. If they didn't use the critics as the measuring stick, they would just be picking their own favorites.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 24 2008 07:10 PM

In reply to this comment (#2044878)
Or they'd be making a list of, ya know, best animated films. ;-)

(Reply to this)

southwick writes:
on Sep 24 2008 07:37 PM

In reply to this comment (#2044873)

Chicken Run = 98 %
Spirited Away = 97 %

Thus Chicken Run > Spirited Away.

(Reply to this)

tomwaitsjr writes:
on Sep 24 2008 07:50 PM

Spirited Away is much better than Chicken Run. . .

LIes, Lies, and statistics.

(Reply to this)

agniyo writes:
on Sep 24 2008 07:51 PM

Hahaha: "Chicken Run > Spirited Away."

Fantastic Planet?
Waking Life, and/or A Scanner Darkly?

Guess they don't have suitable tomatometers...

(Reply to this)

Shagohad writes:
on Sep 24 2008 07:59 PM

How could they forget Peter pan? I mean seriously...

Also Titan A.E. , The Secret of Nym and what about An American Tail.

Meh :(

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 24 2008 08:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2044944)
I know, right!? The mere suggestion, bizarro tomatometer aside, is just plain old garden variety ridiculous.

(Reply to this)

Captain Guy writes:
on Sep 24 2008 08:14 PM

What a piss poor list.

(Reply to this)

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