59. Ice Age (2002)
Directed by: Chris Wedge
Written by: Michael Berg, Michael J. Wilson and Peter Ackerman
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Višnjić and Jack Black
Music by: David Newman
Rated: U
Set during the Ice Age, a grumpy woolly mammoth named Manny (Ray Romano) finds himself stuck in the company of Sid (John Leguizamo), an annoying ground sloth, after saving his life from angry rhinos. However, after rescuing a human infant from drowning, Manny and Sid learn from a Smilodon named Diego (Denis Leary), that the local human tribe have already migrated north, and all three decide to head there in order to return the baby. Little do Manny and Sid know, that Diego is secretly working as second-in-command for the Smilodon leader responsible for the separation, Soto (Goran Visnjic)…
Notable as the late Blue Sky Studio’s first feature film after working for years as a visual effects studio for films like Alien: Resurrection and A Simple Wish, it is shocking to watch Ice Age and see how far the sequels fell in quality as the first film is an incredibly emotional and epic animated adventure that just happens to have creatures from the Ice Age in it.
Although the Scrat segments are really funny despite having nothing to do with the narrative, it is Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary that carry this film, with Manny’s tragic past and Diego’s redemption arc being some of the best character development arcs for the entire early 2000s animation era of the rise of CGI. Speaking of the CGI, although the animation is a bit dated even by that time as Monsters, Inc. had already done wonders with the challenge of animating fur, Ice Age still looks impressive as a first film from a new studio at the time.
Overall, Ice Age is an incredibly entertaining and heartwarming adventure that will warm the coldest of hearts and make you wonder how in hell the sequels fell so far!
Rating: 4/5
58. ParaNorman (2012)
Directed by: Sam Fell and Chris Butler
Written by: Chris Butler
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Jodelle Ferland, Tempestt Bledsoe, Alex Borstein and John Goodman
Music by: Jon Brion
Rated: PG
Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young outcast from the witch-obsessed town of Blithe Hallow, who has the ability to speak with the dead. When his recently deceased Uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman) gives him a task to stop a witch’s curse, Norman, along with his best friend Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), his older sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick), Neil’s older brother, Mitch (Casey Affleck) and the dim-witted bully, Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) find their whole town overrun by zombies….
Although it may not be as fresh as Coraline in terms of character depth, ParaNorman is still a visual treat to look at, with a surprising twist warning of the dangers of prejudice, but not in the way you may expect with the zombies.
The throwbacks to 1980s slasher films, such as being set in a town out of touch from the rest of the world and having a cast mostly consisting of teenage stereotypes, are mostly a hit or miss. Although there are funny moments that come from this such as the Puritan zombie’s reaction to the modern world or a majority of the townsfolk being represented as even more crazy and bloodthirsty than the zombies, a lot of the humour is very low-brow and mostly goes for the easy route of stereotype humor, although both the characters of Mitch and Alvin get their moments from time to time.
What this film does better than Coraline, is having a much more stylized art style and character designs of the humans ,due to technological advancements in stop-motion and 3D printing allowing for more complex facial expressions for the characters with the most impressive being Aggie the witch, presented in all three animation forms, with stop-motion for her body, CGI for her hair and hand-drawn animation for her lightning bolts.
Overall ParaNorman is brilliant to look at, has a strong message about the consequences of prejudice and wonderful stop-motion animation to keep horror fans entertained for weeks.
Rating: 4/5
57. Persepolis (2007)
Directed by: Majane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Written by: Majane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux/Gena Rowlands, Simon Abkarian/Sean Penn and Gabriele Lopes/ Amethyste Frezignac
Music by: Olivier Bernet
Rated: 12
After changing her mind on boarding a plane to Tehran, Iran, Marjane “Marji” Satrapi (Chiara Mastroianni) reflects on her life while waiting in a French airport. From her childhood being changed forever in the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, having social freedoms removed, leaving Iran to escape the Iran-Iraq Wars and facing difficulties in both Western and Iranian environments, Marji can only rely on her beloved grandmother (Danielle Darrieux and Gena Rowlands), to help her get through this difficult period of history…
While not the first independent animated film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, Persepolis, based on a series of biographical graphic novels by Marjane “Marji” Satrapi, was the first one to be based on subject matter only for adults. While being humorous at times, this film doesn’t shy away from the awful and complex aspects of a young woman’s life in post revolution Iran.
While the pacing is poorly handled in the second act, in which a longer running time would have given Marji’s story a lot more depth, the film’s use of black and white animation, helps in both the contrast of her struggles, even when she is in a free country like Vienna. Overall, Persepolis is an important film for both detailing the struggles of Iranian women, and for opening a pathway for films like Flee, The Breadwinner and Loving Vincent to get award recognition in a category that mostly consists of family films.
Rating: 4/5
56. Treasure Planet (2002)
Directed by: Ron Clements and John Musker
Written by: Ron Clements, John Musker and Rob Edwards
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Michael Wincott, Laurie Metcalf, Roscoe Lee Browne and Patrick McGoohan
Music by: James Newton Howard
Rated: U
In an alternative universe in which humans, aliens and robots live together in a steampunk galaxy, a young teenage boy named Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), spends his time living as a trouble-maker on the planet Montressa. One day, his life is turned upside down when, as a result of getting a spherical map from an old alien named Billy Bones (Patrick McGoohan), his mother’s (Laurie Metcalf) inn is destroyed by pirates. When it’s discovered that the map leads to Treasure Planet, the secret hideout of the legendary Captain Nathaniel Flint (Peter Cullen), Jim, along with family friend Dr. Doppler (David Hyde Pierce),hire a crew and a ship to travel there, led by the no-nonsense Captain Amelia Smollot (Emma Thompson), who assigns Jim to work as a cabin-boy with the cyborg chef, Silver (Brian Murray). As the journey progresses, Jim and Silver form a close bond with each other, despite the fact that the old cyborg has dark secrets of his own…
This science fiction retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 classic pirate novel, Treasure Island, was planned as far back as 1985, when it was suggested as a possible future animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker on the same day that the likes of Oliver and Company, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, The Prince and the Pauper, Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas were presented to Michael Eisner as part of a Gong Show.
Rejected multiple times by Eisner and Katzenberg as Clements and Musker went on to develop Mermaid and Aladdin for Walt Disney Feature Animation throughout the years, until the latter made a deal with them to allow them to make their passion project if they agreed to direct Hercules first. Clements and Musker finally got to make Treasure Planet, which sadly became one of the biggest box-office bombs for the company, due to the mainstream audience losing interest in traditional animation, in favour of CGI at the time.
Thankfully, that does not represent the quality of the actual film as despite the fact that Disney had already adapted this story twice as their first fully live-action film in 1950 and in 1996 with the Muppets, Treasure Planet stands as the absolute best in terms of emotion, with the complicated father and son relationship between Jim and Silver being one of the best arcs of all of the Disney films.
The animation of the worlds and space is absolutely stunning and the worldbuilding revolving around this steampunk alternate version of 1883 with planets, aliens and robots is so interesting that it is easy to see why the cult-following is so massive online. Both David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson have adorable chemistry as the bumbling dog-man Dr. Doppler and the no-nonsense cat-lady Captain Amelia, but unfortunately Martin Short’s B.E.N. (this version of marooned shipmate of Flint, Benjamin Gunn) can be extremely annoying, even by Disney sidekick standards.
Overall, Treasure Planet stands as the most underrated Disney Animation film thanks to its original take on this classic pirate story and having one of the best father and son relationships depicted on film!
Rating: 4/5
55. Loving Vincent (2017)
Directed by: Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman
Written by: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Jacek Dehnel
Starring: Robert Gulaczyk/Jochum ten Haaf, Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Saoirse Ronan, Helen McCrory, Chris O’Dowd, John Sessions, Eleanor Tomlinson and Aidan Turner
Music by: Clint Mansell
Rated: 12A
A year after the suicide of artist Vincent Van Gogh (Robert Gulaczyk and Jochum ten Haaf as his voice), a postmaster named Joseph Roulin (Chris O’Dowd) sends his son, Armand (Douglas Booth), to deliver the former’s last letter to his brother, Theo (Cezary Lukaszewicz). When Armand discovers that Theo is also deceased, he decides to head for the town of Auvers-sur-Oise, the place where Vincent spent his final weeks, to ask the locals what really happened to the artist…
While a bit drawn out in some places narratively, Loving Vincent is a stunning visual experience from the animation alone. Bringing the tragic story of Vincent van Gogh’s final weeks, with the oil painting artstyle of the famous artist telling the story, was an incredible idea from directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, delivering an animated film unlike anything that has been seen before.
Even though it is a bit disappointing that this animation style isn’t used for much outside of dialogue sequences between rotoscoped actors, they do a fine job with the material they are given with. Armand’s character arc of learning what type of man Vincent was, does go through the motions that is expected, while the likes of Jerome Flynn, Saoirse Ronan and the late Helen McCrory, all get interesting moments as the locals who have differing opinions on Van Gogh.
Overall, Loving Vincent is a stunning visual representation of Van Gogh’s final days and fans of his work will be absolutely delighted with the respect given to his legacy. However, this new style of rotoscoping animation has the potential to be used in projects that can be fully explored in differing styles, which is becoming a missed potential over the years.
Rating: 4/5
54. Rango (2011) (Winner of 2011 Best Animated Feature Award)
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Written by: John Logan
Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant
Music by: Hans Zimmer
Rated: PG
Stranded in the Nevada desert after getting separated from his owners in a car crash, a unnamed chameleon (Johnny Depp) with a love of theatrical action and stories, ends up in Dirt, a town populated by animals living within a Western style community. After accidentally saving Dirt from a hawk attack, the town tortoise mayor, John (Ned Beatty), assigns the chameleon with the title of sheriff to investigate the dwindling water supply. Now newly renamed as “Rango”, the green reptile must gather the townsfolk on an adventure through the desert to find the truth of the water disappearance, even though he has no idea how to be a true hero and that the infamous gunslinger, Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy), is on his trail…
Quite possibly the weirdest and most unorthodox animated film to ever win the Best Animated Feature Award at the Academy Awards, Rango may not have the most original story out there, but the stunning visuals and much more darker themes, makes this something worthy of checking out.
While the animation would be later overtaken in quality by the stunning The Adventures of Tintin a few months later, the absolutely incredible background animation and cinematography of the Nevada desert, makes this film a great love letter to John Wayne and Spaghetti Westerns, with a cameo appearance from one of the most iconic characters from that era of cinema, being one of the major highlights.
Even though Johnny Depp does his usual typecast role in the role of the eccentric Rango, and Isla Fisher isn’t that interesting as love interest iguana, Beans, it is the vocal work revolving around the villains that really shines. Ned Beatty, fresh off of his success with Lotso in Toy Story 3, is great as the corrupt mayor, Ray Winstone is a lot of fun in the minor role of Bad Bill, but the true highlight is Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean co-star, Bill Nighy, as the terrifying Rattlesnake Jake, that is the best character of this film, with blood red eyes and a machine-gun tail.
Overall, with stunning visuals, strange character designs and moments of violence, murder and dark themes that actually earn its PG rating, Rango is an underrated film that deserved to end Pixar’s winning streak in this category, even though the next wins are a little questionable, as the Disney bias really started getting bad in the 2010s.
53. Toy Story 4 (2019) (Winner of 2019 Best Animated Feature Award)
Directed by: Josh Cooley
Written by: Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Ally Maki, Jay Hernandez, Lori Alan and Joan Cusack
Music by: Randy Newman
Rated: U
Two years after being donated to Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) by Andy (John Morris), Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) is given a new purpose when his new owner makes a spork named Forky (Tony Hale). During a family road trip with Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the other toys, Forky jumps out of the van and Woody leaves to go after him. However, an unexpected reunion with a toy long thought gone, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), forces Woody to realize that his future has more options than he previously thought…
Nine years after Pixar’s most iconic franchise was seemingly brought to an end with Toy Story 3 concluding the story of Andy’s relationship with the likes of Woody and Buzz, this unexpected third sequel to the first CGI animated film ever made, had a lot to live up to. Although Josh Cooley’s directorial debut does have some odd pacing issues and character development for some characters, Toy Story 4 is still a really good film on its own terms.
New faces such as Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key), Bunny (Jordan Peele) and Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) are really funny to watch, but the biggest highlight comes from the 1950s doll antagonist Gabby-Gabby (Christina Henricks), and how her arc subverts expectations from the likes of previous characters such as Stinky Pete and Lotso. Forky may lose importance in the overall plot by the time the second act comes, but Tony Hale’s performance makes the little spork excel in both the comedic and more tender moments.
Tom Hanks gives one of the best performances of his career as an older version of Woody desperately seeking for a purpose and although his role in the story does override some aspects of Toy Story 3, the closure of his character arc does fit in with the previously established themes of the franchise.
However, aside from Annie Potts giving a completely different take on the Bo Peep character from the first two films, the rest of the old characters barely get any screentime. While in the case of some characters like Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles via archive recordings), is understandable due to the passing of their voice-actors, others such as Jessie barely get anything to do, with the worst example being Buzz’s dumbing down to pure comic relief.
Overall, Toy Story 4 may not have been necessary, but it is still an excellent epilogue (not anymore) and stand-alone film to one of the greatest trilogies of all time.
Rating: 4.5/5
52. The Illusionist (2010)
Directed by: Sylvain Chomet
Written by: Sylvain Chomet
Starring: Jean-Claude Donda and Eilidh Rankin
Music by: Sylvain Chomet
Rated: PG
Set in 1950s Europe, an elderly magician is struggling to keep his vaudeville magic acts relevant in an ever-changing environment. After unsuccessful gigs in Paris and London, his next performance takes him to Scotland, where a teenage girl named Alice joins with him in his desperate attempts to keep the magic alive…
A complete polar opposite of French animator Sylvain Chomet‘s comedic debut feature, The Triplets of Belleville, The Illusionist is a bleak, yet beautiful film about the dark truths of staying relevant in the entertainment industry. Adapted (very controversially) from a 1959 script written by the late French director, Jacques Tati, this emotional film serves its purpose as a tribute from a father to his estranged daughter, as shown in the sweet relationship between the magician and Alice.
While there are still funny moments to be found in the character animation and the dialogue-less physical comedy, The Illusionist doesn’t shy away from how depressing the situation that the magician and his fellow performers find themselves in. With a beautiful score by Sylvain Chomet as well, The Illusionist is a heartbreaking, yet powerful film about the fall of an entertainer.
Rating: 4.5/5
51. Nimona (2023)
Directed by: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Written by: Robert L. Baird and Lloyd Taylor
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Riz Ahmed, Eugene Lee Yang, Beck Bennett, Lorraine Toussaint, Karen Ryan and Frances Conroy
Music by: Christophe Beck
Rated: PG
In an alternate reality where medieval culture kept evolving alongside modern technology, Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), has his future career as the first knight with a commoner background, cruelly snatched away when he is framed for murdering Queen Valerin (Lorainne Toussaint). With the whole kingdom, including his boyfriend and the descendant of the ancient heroine, Gloreth (Karen Ryan), Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang), hunting him down, Ballister is forced to team up with Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a shapeshifting teenage girl, in order to clear his name. Unfortunately, Nimona’s love for destruction and mayhem makes this easier said than done…
Out of all of the more recent animated films to have come out of Netflix, none (apart from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) have received as much attention as Nimona. Back in 2015, Blue Sky Studios, the same animation studio that created Horton Hears A Who, The Peanuts Movie, Robots and the Rio and Ice Age franchises, bought the rights to Nimona, a subversive graphic novel by RD Stevenson, that was a collection of previously published webcomics chronicling the adventures of a shapeshifting girl and a knight framed as a villain. Unfortunately, when The Walt Disney Company shut down Blue Sky Studios in 2021, the film adaptation was scrapped despite being 70% completed, another example of the terrible effects Bob Chapek’s awful time as CEO had on the company.
Thankfully, Netflix and Annapurna Pictures came on board in 2022 to salvage the project, and as a result, this fantastic finale to the legacy of the house that Scrat built, was worth the wait. While sharing a lot of plot elements with Shrek, in being set in a fantasy world with modern technology and being about two outsiders going against the world, what makes Nimona stand out, is the incredible worldbuilding and the powerful allegory for LGBT acceptance, which is desperately needed in these dark times.
While not being as violent as her comic counterpart, Chloë Grace Moretz steals the film as this delightfully twisted titular character and her shapeshifting abilities lead to some really creative fight sequences. Riz Ahmed shines as Ballister Boldheart and his relationship with Eugene Lee Yang’s Goldenlion, is so adorable and heartwarming, in spite of him being forced to track him down. The Spider-Verse animation revolution continues with Nimona’s fantastic artstyle, finally using the technology that Disney created for Paperman and Feast, to create a more painterly look to CGI, making the half-medieval, half-modern world look like a twisted Disney fairytale on steroids.
Overall, Nimona is a terrific twisted fairytale that makes one what wonder the future of Blue Sky Studios would have been like, had they continued to exist. This fantastic film was their magnum opus, and even if the way it was shut down was unforgivable, at least they ended on a high note!
Rating: 4.5/5
Chaz’s Cinematic Odyssey 