Every animated movie, ever. Or something like that.

I found this at Roger’s blog, and you’d better believe I’m doing it!

The Rules:

– X what you saw
– O what you haven’t finished/seen or saw sizable portions
– Bold what you loved
– Italicize what you disliked/hated
– Leave unchanged if neutral

CLASSIC DISNEY
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[X] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[X] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[X] Bambi (1942)
[X] Cinderella (1950)
[X] Dumbo (1941)
[X] Fantasia (1940)
[X] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[X] Mary Poppins (1964)
[X] Peter Pan (1953)
[X] Pinocchio (1940)
[X] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[X] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[X] Song of the South (1946) (Not a movie in this bunch that I don’t love, except the first two, which are OK. Even Song of the South, although when I saw it I was nine and was blissfully unaware of the racial tones. I want to see it again and find out how it holds up…but Disney refuses to release the film in the US. Peter Pan is my favorite classic Disney film, by the way.)

DISNEY’S DARK AGE
——————————-
[X] The Aristocats (1970) (It’s an OK flick, but you want to talk about some ethnic stereotyping, check out the Siamese cat. I mean…check out what happens at the 2:50 mark of this song from the movie. Whoa.)
[o] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[X] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[X] The Great Mouse Detective (1986) (Not a bad movie. A fun adventure.)
[X] The Jungle Book (1967) (I have never liked this movie. Mainly because I can’t stand Mowgli and end up rooting for Shere Khan.)
[X] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[ ] Oliver and Company (1986)
[ ] Pete’s Dragon (1977)
[X] The Rescuers (1977) (I love this one, even with its 1970s era static-background, lazy animation.)
[X] Robin Hood (1973)
[ ] The Sword In The Stone (1963): Uh…Walt was still around for this one…

There’s some good stuff in here. And some not-so-good stuff.

THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
——————————-
[X] Aladdin (1992)
[X] Beauty and the Beast (1991) (I adore both of these films. The Girlfriend (now The Wife) and I saw them in first release. We saw Aladdin five times.)
[ ] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[X] Hercules (1997)
[X] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) (Both of these seem terribly underrated to me.)
[X] The Lion King (1994)
[X] The Little Mermaid (1989) (And both of these seem terribly overrated to me.)
[X] Mulan (1998)
[X] Pocahontas (1995) (Both of these are just kind of “meh”. Mulan tends to be prized by film music fans because it has a score by Jerry Goldsmith. Not that good of a Goldsmith score, but there are people for whom Goldsmith can do no wrong at all.)
[X] The Rescuers Down Under (1990) (Not a bad adventure flick.)
[X] Tarzan (1999) (Love this.)

DISNEY’S MODERN AGE
——————————-
[X] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) (I love this one! It’s such a fun adventure story.)
[ ] Bolt (2008)
[X] Brother Bear (2003) (This could have been so much better.)
[ ] Chicken Little (2005)
[O] Dinosaur (2000) (A stunning opening sequence, followed by ninety minutes of “meh”.)
[X] The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) (Absolutely great. The Disney people were channeling the spirit of Chuck Jones on this movie.)
[X] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[X] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002): Watched this the other day for about the fourth time, and it still holds up for me. (All fine films. Even Home on the Range, which was goofy fun.)
[ ] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[X] Treasure Planet (2002): There’s some nifty stuff here, but the idea doesn’t work as well as it could have. Author Philip Reaves did much the same kind of thing in a series of “Victorian space operas” a few years later.)

PIXAR
——————————-
[X] A Bug’s Life (1998) Not a huge fan of this.
[X] Cars (2006) Well…I like a lot of the individual stuff in this movie, even if there’s something subtly creepy and unbelievable about the world the movie creates.
[X] Finding Nemo (2003) My favorite Pixar film.
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[X] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[X] Ratatouille (2007)
[X] Toy Story (1995)
[X] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[ ] Toy Story 3 (2010)
[X] Wall-E (2008)
[X] Up (2009) Both of these suffered the same fault: “First-halfitis”. Wonderful first halves that were followed by conventional, dull second halves.

DON BLUTH
——————————-
[ ] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[ ] An American Tail (1986)
[ ] An American Tail: Fieval Goes West (1991)
[ ] Anastasia (1997) (Always wanted to see this one.)
[ ] The Land Before Time (1988)
[ ] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[ ] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[X] The Secret of NIMH (1982) I love this one!
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[X] Titan AE (2000) This movie sure disappeared into a black hole, didn’t it? But I liked it.
[ ] A Troll in Central Park (1994)

CLAYMATION AND STOP-MOTION
——————————-
[ ] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[X] Chicken Run (2000) Just great!
[X] Corpse Bride (2005)
[X] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[O] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[ ] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) I desperately need to see this.
[ ] Coraline (2009) This too.

(I changed the category header here; it was just “claymation”, and that’s not true of each of these films.)

CGI GLUT
——————————-
[X] Antz (1998) I loved this, considerably more than A Bug’s Life, which came out roughly the same time.
[ ] Bee Movie (2007)
[X] Happy Feet (2006) This movie makes me want to club baby seals. I HATE it.
[X] Ice Age (2002)
[X] Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) Love the first; the second is “meh”.
[ ] Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) I’ve heard good things about this one….
[O] Kung Fu Panda (2008) I should watch the whole thing; I was kind of amused by the parts I saw.
[ ] Madagascar (2005)
[ ] Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
[X] Monster House (2006) Fun flick.
[ ] Over the Hedge (2006)
[X] The Polar Express (2004) I love this movie…even the supposedly “dead eyes” of the characters don’t bother me. We watch this every year.
[O] Robots (2005): I liked this one more than I probably should have.
[ ] A Shark’s Tale (2004)
[X] Shrek (2001)
[X] Shrek 2 (2004)
[X] Shrek The Third (2007) Love the first, love the second even more, kinda liked the third.
[ ] Shrek Forever After (2010)
[X] Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) I liked this one more than I thought I would.

IMPORTS
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[ ] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[X] The Last Unicorn (1982) Love it!
[ ] Light Years (1988)
[ ] The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
[ ] Persepolis (2007) But I read the brilliant, brilliant comic.
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[ ] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[ ] Wonderful Days (2003)
[ ] Yellow Submarine (1968)

Heavens, I need to see some of these!

STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
——————————-
[X] The Cat Returns (2002)
[ ] Grave of the Fireflies (1988) I’ve had this on DVD for six years or so and still haven’t watched it. Don’t know what I’m waiting for.
[X] Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) When I finally saw this, I couldn’t figure out why it was so roundly disliked by other Miyazaki fans.
[X] Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
[X] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) Both fantastic films.
[ ] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999)
[X] My Neighbor Totoro (1993) SO good!
[X] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984): I watched this a couple of years ago, and I’ll be damned if I remember anything about it.
[ ] Only Yesterday (1991)
[ ] Pom Poko (Tanuki War) (1994)
[X] Porco Rosso (1992)
[X] Princess Mononoke (1999)
[X] Spirited Away (2002) Three amazing films…and none has anything in common with the other. Miyazaki’s diversity of storytelling is amazing to behold.
[ ] Whisper of the Heart (1995)
[X] Ponyo (2009) Wonderful.

Most of these feature wonderful music by Joe Hisaishi.

SATOSHI KON
——————————-
[X] Millennium Actress (2001)
[ ] Paprika (2006): Visually lovely, but I found it hard to follow.
[ ] Perfect Blue (1999)
[ ] Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

SHINKAI MAKOTO
——————————-
[ ] She and Her Cat (1999)
[X] Voices of a Distant Star (2001) Deeply haunting film…and it’s only 25 minutes long.
[ ] The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
[ ] 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

OTHER ANIME FILMS
——————————-
[ ] Akira (1989)
[ ] Angel’s Egg (1985)
[ ] Appleseed (2004)
[ ] Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
[ ] Arcadia of My Youth (U.S. Title – Vengeance of the Space Pirate) (1982)
[ ] Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2003)
[ ] The Dagger of Kamui (U.S. Title – Revenge of the Ninja Warrior) (1985)
[ ] Dirty Pair: Project Eden (1987)
[ ] End of Evangelion (1997)
[ ] Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone (2007)
[ ] Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
[ ] Fist of the North Star (1986)
[ ] Galaxy Express 999 (1979)
[ ] Ghost in the Shell (1996)
[ ] Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
[ ] The Girl Who Lept Through Time (2006)
[ ] Lensman (1984)
[ ] Macross: Do You Remember Love (U.S. Title – Clash of the Bionoids) (1984)
[ ] Memories (1995)
[ ] Metropolis (2001)
[ ] Neo-Tokyo (1986)
[ ] Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
[ ] Ninja Scroll (1993)
[ ] Patlabor the Movie (1989)
[ ] The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
[ ] Project A-ko (1986)
[ ] Robot Carnival (1987)
[ ] Robotech: The Shadow Chronicle (2006)
[ ] Silent Möbius (1991)
[ ] The Sky Crawlers (2008)
[ ] Space Adventure Cobra (1982)
[ ] Steamboy (2004)
[ ] Sword of the Stranger (2007)
[ ] Unico and the Island of Magic (1983)
[ ] Urotsukidoji: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
[ ] Urusei Yatsura: Only You (1982)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D (1985)
[ ] Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)
[ ] Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987)

Wow. I need to see some of these. A lot of these.

CARTOONS FOR GROWN-UPS
——————————-
[ ] American Pop (1981)
[ ] The Animatrix (2003)
[X] Beavis & Butthead Do America (1996) Yeah, we went to see this. And we liked it. So there!
[ ] Cool World (1992)
[ ] Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
[ ] Final Fantasy: Advent Children (2005)
[ ] Fire & Ice (1983)
[ ] Fritz the Cat (1972)
[ ] Halo Legends (2009)
[X] Heavy Metal (1981) So cheesy! It still appeals to my inner 15-year-old kid. And a great score by Elmer Bernstein.
[ ] Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
[ ] Hey Good Lookin’ (1982)
[ ] Lady Death (2004)
[ ] A Scanner Darkly (2006)
[ ] Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
[ ] South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) I want to see this.
[ ] Street Fight (Coonskin) (1975)
[ ] Waking Life (2001)

OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES
——————————-
[ ] The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
[ ] Animal Farm (1954)
[ ] Animalympics (1980)
[ ] Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon The Movie (2007): I watched about half of this; what is hilarious for 15 minutes proved to be tiresome for almost an hour and a half.
[ ] Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
[ ] Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
[ ] Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
[ ] The Brave Little Toaster (1988)
[ ] Bravestarr: The Movie (1988)
[ ] Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
[X] Care Bears: The Movie (1985) Ahhh, The Daughter’s Care-Bear phase! To be honest, I never even found the Care Bears all that annoying. No idea why.
[X] Charlotte’s Web (1973)
[ ] Fern Gully (1992)
[ ] G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987)
[ ] Gobots: Battle of the Rock Lords (1986)
[ ] Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)
[ ] He-Man & She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword (1985)
[X] The Hobbit (1977) It really isn’t bad. Here’s an old post about it.
[X] The Iron Giant (1999) Every bit as great as its reputation. It’s the Shawshank Redemption of animated movies.
[ ] Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010)
[ ] Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
[X] Lord of the Rings (1978) (Ugh….)
[ ] Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1992)
[ ] My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
[X] Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1982) (At least, I think I liked it. I saw it five times, and was sober for none of them.)
[X] The Prince of Egypt (1998) Very well done, even if the opening musical number (“Deliver Us”) is so good that it overshadows all of the ones that follow.
[ ] Powerpuff Girls: The Movie (2002)
[ ] Quest For Camelot (1999)
[ ] Ringing Bell (1978)
[X] The Road to El Dorado (2000)
[ ] Shinbone Alley (1971)
[ ] Space Jam (1996)
[ ] Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985)
[ ] Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)
[ ] Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010)
[ ] Superman: Doomsday (2007)
[ ] The Swan Princess (1994)
[ ] Transformers: The Movie (1986)
[ ] Wizards (1977)
[X] Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) One of the best films of the 80s.
[ ] Wonder Woman (2009) Don’t ask me why I haven’t seen this.
[ ] Balto (1995)
[X] Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) Watched it with the Kid. It was just kind of there.

Wow, that was pretty exhaustive. And yet even so, there are omissions, such as last year’s The Book of Kells. Animation marches on!

On an editorial note, I encountered someone on Facebook the other day who literally dislikes all animation. She claimed that none of it was “her cup of tea”, and that she’d rather watch real actors emoting than drawings of people emoting. I found that attitude utterly mystifying. I don’t watch movies for actors; I watch movies for story. If you can tell a wonderful story with a drawing or with an actor, well…who cares about the “how”?

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