Aachi & Ssipak (2006)
Demented Korean Anime
South Korean anime that is set in a future world where people are obsessed with shit. This comes with a demented energy and a filthy-mindedness that is determined to outrage
Animation
Animation refers to films in which the films are drawn individually by hand, each frame moved slightly to give the impression of movement. Animated films from the mid-1990s onwards have been increasingly drawn by computer to the point that today the art of hand-drawn animation is a dying art form.
The first animated film was Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and the success of this has spread until animation now covers a sizeable percentage of contemporary box-office earnings.
Animation in the American mainstream is almost always sold as being for family audiences (although there is a reasonable amount of animation for grown-ups, particularly outside the US, this has by and large not been financially successful). Content frequently deals with fantastic topics such as fairytale adaptations, the lives of anthropomorphic talking animals or adventures featuring young protagonists.
See also: For animation from Japan see Anime. Films in which animation is blended with live-action are discussed under Toons. For animation using three-dimensional models see Stop-Motion Animation, for animation that uses models molded in clay see Claymation. For films that remake prior animated works in live-action see Animation in Live-Action.
Flushed Away (2006)
Animation/Talking Rats
Aardman Animation abandon Claymation for regular animation in this story of a pet rat thrown out of his comfort zone down into the sewers. Alas, this only serves to make it just another talking animals animated film
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Animation/Philip K. Dick Adaptation/Identity Bending Drugs
Richard Linklater conducts an animated adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel with extremely faithful results. Keanu Reeves is a police officer assigned to investigate what he realises is himself
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (2006)
Animation/Barbie Fairytale
Another animated Barbie film that leaves you quite certain that every problem in life can be solved with a positive upbeat ditty
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005)
Animation/Mouse Boy
The third of the Stuart Little films, this one animated instead of its live-action predecessors
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
Anime/Computer Game Adaptation
Not a seventh sequel to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, this adapts the videogame of the same name. Dazzling anime action but is take-no-prisoners with explanations about what is happening to non game players
Chicken Little (2005)
Disney Animation/Talking Animals/Alien Invasion
Head-scratching animated oddity from Disney that adapts the talking animal fairytale only to throw in a series of bizarre plot elements that end up as an alien invasion story
Valiant (2005)
Animation/Talking Carrier Pigeons
Amiable British animated film set amongst the Allied Resistance during World War II, all cast with talking carrier pigeons
The Emperor’s New Groove 2: Kronk’s New Groove (2005)
Disney Animation
Another of the cheap made-for-video Disney animated sequels that were made during the 1990s/2000s, they tries to get by on association with its predecessor’s name
Robots (2005)
Animation/Cute Robots
Enjoyably likeable animated film from Blue Sky Studios set in a world inhabited by robots. Lots of visual invention and madcap slapstick
Kong, King of Atlantis (2005)
Animation/King Kong vs the Lizard People of Atlantis
The most ridiculous work to bear Kong’s name – an animated film with songs where Kong has two buddies who says “dude” and “bro” a lot and Kong fights the lizard people from Atlantis
Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015)
Comic-Book Superhero/Animation
An animated Batman film that is essentially an extended commercial based on a line of toys wherein Batman fights super-villains that have an animal motif
Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005)
Animation/African Folk Tales
Michel Ocelot returns to make a sequel to Kirikou and the Sorceress. This expands the quality of animation and is slightly the lesser than its predecessor but not without its charms
Hoodwinked! (2005)
Animation/Little Red Riding Hood Deconstructed
Animated film that offers a revisionist take on Little Red Riding Hood. Everything is played in a manic barrage of pop culture gags and level of inanity that is seriously mind damaging
Madagascar (2005)
Animation/Talking Animals
Enjoyably silly DreamWorks animated film concerning a group of talking zoo animals that are released into the wilds of Africa for the first time. This spawned a series of sequels
The Batman vs. Dracula (2005)
Comic-Book Superhero vs Vampire/Animation
A film spinoff from the animated The Batman tv series, this offers a great title match but proves a disappointment. Moreover, it has to twist comic-book canon to make the plot work
Shark Tale (2004)
Animation/Talking Fish
DreamWorks animated talking fish film that was dismissed in the shadow of Pixar’s earlier Finding Nemo but is perfectly likeable in its own right
Shrek 2 (2004)
Animation/Fairytale Spoof
Shrek was a fresh and original hit. The first of four insipid sequels, this seems to merely coast by on our liking of the characters while upping the fairytale parody
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
Anime/Alternate History/Mysterious Tower
Beautiful anime from Makoto Shinkai, made in the Hayao Miyazaki style set in an alternate history Japan concerning a mysterious hyper-dimensional tower
Appleseed (2004)
Anime/Future Anti-Terrorist Squad
A dazzling reboot of the earlier manga/anime made with stunning photorealistic animation design and breathtaking action scenes that made this a benchmark for modern anime. Sequels followed.
The Incredibles (2004)
Pixar Animation/Superhero Spoof
Big hit for Pixar and director Brad Bird, a witty spoof of the superhero film that shows a superhero family trying to deal with everyday life. Enormously good-natured fun all around
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Cyberpunk Anime
Mamoru Oshii’s follow-up to Ghost in the Shell where he makes a work that pushes both an artistic envelope at the same time as taking his philosophical fascination with the Cyberpunk world to a stunning level
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie – Pyramid of Light (2004)
Anime/Playing Card Dueling
An animated film based on the hit playing card phenomenon, which proves largely incomprehensible to anybody not versed in the game
Barbie Fairytopia (2004)
Animation/Land of Fairies
The previous Barbie animated films had adapted various fairytales but this casts her as a fairy in a magical kingdom – simplistic, but one of the most colourfully animated of Mainframe’s Barbie films
Steamboy (2004)
Steampunk Anime
Sixteen years after making Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo returns to direct a full-length anime, making a Steampunk work that is dazzling in its epic quality and vistas of mass destruction
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Anime/Epic Fantasy
This Hayao Miyazaki film about a girl who becomes assistant to a mysterious magician is not quite in the same league as Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away but has the sublime beauty, eccentric characters and tender charms that all his work does
Barbie as The Princess and the Pauper (2004)
Animation/Barbie Fairytale
Here the Barbie films turn to Mark Twain’s classic (non-fantasy) tale of rags and riches and spins it as a fairytale This has the same blank, plastic style of the early Barbie films and is otherwise bland
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
TV Series Spinoff/Gonzo Animation
Spongebob Squarepants was a sleeper hit on the Nickelodeon Channel that crossed over to find an adult following; this is the first of the film spinoffs. The film comes with a zanily surreal sense of humour that ran through the series that is frequently downright hilarious
Home on the Range (2004)
Disney Animation/Talking Cattle
The last hand-drawn animated film from Disney and one of their few flops, but by no means unlikeable. The premise of talking cows setting out on a quest gives this a madcap eccentricity
The Polar Express (2004)
Animation/Train Journey to the North Pole
This broke ground in being the first animated film made using the motion-capture process. Robert Zemeckis directs with a quite magical touch
Mindgame (2004)
Surrealist Anime
Anime based on an autobiographical manga that leaps off into a variety of styles and comes filled with madcap surrealistic visuals
The Animatrix (2003)
Compilation of Matrix Anime Shorts
To accompany their two Matrix sequels, The Wackowskis hired seven anime directors to each make a short film set in The Matrix universe. The results are often quite remarkable
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
Arabian Nights Adventure/Animation
DreamWorks animated Sinbad adventure by the numbers that seems to go out of its way to tell a Sinbad story divorced of its Islamic cultural background
Barbie of Swan Lake (2003)
Animation/Barbie Enacts Fairytale
The third animated film based on the popular girl’s doll Barbie. This places Barbie into Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake in an okay telling, if one that suffers from the usual limited animation of Mainframe’s early films
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003)
Comic-Book Superhero/Animation
One of the better films spun off from the 1990s animated Batman tv series, introducing the character of Batwoman (although a different one to the comic-book incarnation).
The Jungle Book 2 (2003)
Disney Animation/Jungle Boy
From the late 90s/early 00s period where Disney were churning out cheap sequels to their animated classics of yesteryear, a wholly unnecessary continuation of The Jungle Book
Finding Nemo (2003)
Pixar Animation/Talking Fish
An unabashed delight among the Pixar films about a fish parent on a quest to find his missing son. This comes with an extraordinarily vibrant palette of colours and a line-up of winningly eccentric characters
Atlantis: Milo’s Return (2003)
Disney Animation Sequel
Another shabby Disney video-released sequel, in this case to Atlantis the Lost Empire. The result looks like three episodes of an unsold tv series slapped together to sell as a film
The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
Gonzo Animation
Splendidly original and completely off the wall work of stylised animation from Sylvain Chomet
Interstella 5555 (2003)
Anime/Intergalactic Rock Band
Dance music duo Daft Punk collaborate with anime directors to create an animated space opera based on their album Discovery about an intergalactic rock band and their fight to save the galaxy
Brother Bear (2003)
Disney Animation/Inuit Warrior Transformed into a Bear
One of the flop Disney animated films of the 2000s, set among the Inuit with the head-scratching premise of a warrior who is transformed into a bear
Stitch! The Movie (2003)
Disney Animation Sequel
Cheaply made video-released sequel to Lilo & Stitch, which is only a rehash but does surprisingly reunite all the voice talents
Barbie as Rapunzel (2002)
Animation/Barbie Enacts Fairytale
The second of the animated Barbie films, this casts her as the title character in the popular Brothers Grimm fairytale, which has been considerably embellished. This suffers the glassy plasticity of the early Mainframe films
Mercano the Martian (2002)
Animation/Alien Visitor/Satire
Satiric Argentinean animated film about a Martian stranded on Earth
Return to Never Land (2002)
Disney Animation/Peter Pan Sequel
Among the cheap video-released sequels to their classics Disney made during the 00s, this Peter Pan sequel emerges as halfway reasonable
Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Disney Animation/Malevolent Alien Creature
Likeable Disney animated film about a young misfit Hawaiian girl who befriends an unruly alien creature. This has a good deal of oddball energy and humour that makes it rather appealing
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Animation/The Lives of Wild Horses
Beautifully animated DreamWorks film that tells the life of a horse on the Western frontier. For once, anthropological realism is maintained and the animals do not talk
Ice Age (2002)
Animation/Prehistoric Talking Animals
This begat an interminable number of tedious sequels. However, the original is a still likeable and appealing animated film about a group of prehistoric talking animals migrating with the onset of an Ice Age
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002)
Disney Animation Sequel
One of Disney’s cheaply produced video sequel to their animated film made during the 1990s/2000s. This one actually emerges as superior to the original
The Cat Returns (2002)
Anime/Girl's Adventure in the World of Cats
Studio Ghibli anime in which a girl saves the life of a cat only to be drawn into a world of cats where a cat prince decides she will be his bride
Treasure Planet (2002)
Disney Animation/Treasure Island in Outer Space
Disney animated film that proved a flop, this lazily remakes Treasure Island set in space. The result is bad science-fiction with sailing ships in space, Ben Gumm as a malfunctioning robot and so on
Tamala 2010 (2002)
Demented Anime/Girl Cat's Space Adventures
Grungy low tech anime that comes out like a sarcastic version of Hello Kitty
Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius (2001)
Animation/Juvenile Scientific Genius
Amiable animated film about a juvenile inventor that only serves to show how more polished Pixar’s films are by comparison
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp’s Adventure (2001)
Disney Animation/Talking Animals
Disappointing video-released sequel to the classic Disney animated film where the engaging characters of the original have become settled down parents
The Trumpet of the Swan (2001)
Animation/Talking Swans
Animated film based on a book by Charlotte’s Web author E.B. White about a trumpet-playing swan
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Anime/Alien Soul Devourers
Despite being made by the same company, this has absolutely nothing to do with the Final Fantasy videogame. It is a visually stunning work of anime that takes place on an epic scale set after Earth has been invaded by spirit beings
Shrek (2001)
Animation/Fairytale Spoof
Before this was spun out into a series of ho-hum sequels, the original was an animated film that burst with a freshness and a series of winning voice characterisations
Metropolis (2001)
Anime/Retro Future/Android Girl
Stunning anime remake of Metropolis based on an Osasmu Tezuka. The visuals and particularly the design are overwhelming – like a Cyberpunk film set in a stylised Art Deco world
Waking Life (2001)
Philosophy and Dreaming/Animation
A unique and very original animated film from Richard Linklater where a character wanders through a dream, encountering various people and their different philosophical outlooks
Millennium Actress (2001)
Anime/Actress's Surreal Biography
An anime from Satoshi Kon that tells the story of an actress and become a surreal journey through Japanese cinematic history
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)
Anime/Future Bounty Hunters
The feature film spinoff of a cult anime tv series
Malice@doll (2001)
Anime/Sex Robot Becomes Human
Perversely original anime about a sex robot in the aftermath of civilisation who is transformed into a human. Imagine Pinocchio by way of H.R. Giger
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
Disney Animation/The Quest for Atlantis
One of the less successful films of the Disney renaissance of the 90s/00s. Disney has never done well with animated SF. That aside, this a very nicely animated Steampunk adventure
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Pixar Animation/Monsters in the Closet
This was the fourth animated film from Pixar and is a winning and delightful Maurice Sendakian tale about the monsters in the closet and their friendship with a young girl
Barbie in The Nutcracker (2001)
Animation/Barbie Enacts Fairytale
The first in a long series of animated films based on Mattel’s girl’s doll Barbie. This casts Barbie as a lead in an adaptation of The Nutcracker ballet
Spirited Away (2001)
Anime/Afterlife Bathhouse
One of the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki, a gentle, beautiful work of anime set in an afterlife bathhouse where Miyazaki’s range of extraordinary creatures and quiet tenderness finds something that Western fantasy rarely ever comes near
Titan A.E. (2000)
Animation/Space Opera
Very nicely made space opera from animator Don Bluth, operating from a Joss Whedon script, that unfortunately proved a big box-office flop
Digimon: The Movie (2000)
Animation/Cute Cyber-Creatures
The first film from Mamoru Hosoda based on a tv series that was a blatant attempt to copy the Pokemon phenomenon and concerning cute creatures that live on the internet
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)
Batman of the Future/Animation
Film spinoff of Batman Beyond, an animated tv series set in the future as a youngster inherits a hi-tech Batsuit from an aging Bruce Wayne. The film resurrects The Joker but fails to do anything interesting with the character
The Road to El Dorado (2000)
Animation/Lost City
Good-natured DreamWorks animated film set during the Conquistadors arrival in South America. Aztec culture undergoes some modern rewriting but this remains modestly enjoyable (*)
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000)
Characters From a Cartoon Series Enter the Real World
Cinematic revival of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle series having the two animated characters emerge into the real (live-action) world. A film that you feel should have been funnier and more energetic than is
Help! I’m a Fish (2000)
Animation/Children Transformed Into Talking Fish
Okay if never standout Danish-made attempt to copy a Disney animated film concerning the underwater adventures of three children transformed into fish
Heavy Metal 2000 (2000)
Adult Animation/Space Opera
Sequel to the animated Heavy Metal that failed to attract the same cult audience that its predecessor did. Telling only one story instead of several, it only offers a routine space opera adventure
Dinosaur (2000)
Disney Animation/Talking Dinosaurs
The first full computer animated film from Disney. It feels like someone decided to give the Jurassic Park dinosaurs their own film, mixed up with the plot of The Land Before Time
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Disney Animation/Man Transformed into a Llama
One of the head-scratching animated oddities produced by Disney during the 2000s. Not unlikeable, the story concerns a self-centered Aztec emperor who is transformed into a llama
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2000)
Space Hero/Animation
Video-released spinoff of the Toy Story films featuring Buzz Lightyear in an adventure. Although released under the Pixar name, the animation is all cheaply produced by a Chinese studio
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
Disney Animation
One of the video-released sequels to their animated films that Disney made in the 90s/00s, this slavishly imitates its predecessor but does have a likeable line-up of supporting characters
Blue Remains (2000)
Anime/Underwater Post-Holocaust Environmentalism
Epic and beautifully animated anime set largely underwater about the struggle to save a dying Earth from an evil super-computer that wants eradicate humanity
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
Vampire Battles Demons/Anime
Stunning Mamoru Oshii-prodcued anime short about a vampire girl who operates as an American agent eliminating vampires in post-War Japan
Vampire Hunter D (2000)
Anime/Vampire Hunter
Yoshiaki Kawajiri, director of Ninja Scroll and Wicked City, steps in to make a sequel(?)/reboot(?) to the cult 1985 anime with visually enthralling regard
Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists (2000)
Arabian Nights Adventure/Animation
An early CGI animated film conducted on a cut-price budget that tells further adventures of Sinbad
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000)
Animation/Talking Babies
The second entry in the ultra-annoying animated franchise spun off from the animated tv series that only seems to centre around poo and pee jokes, this is marginally more enjoyable than the first film
Tarzan (1999)
Jungle Hero/Disney Animation
This Disney animated adaptation treats the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel with surprising respect and faithfulness for the most part where the addition of talking animals even works for it. Fun and with a great deal of creative energy, one of the better films from the 90s Disney renaissance
Toy Story 2 (1999)
Pixar Animation/The Secret Life of Toys
Pixar’s sequel to their first film and arguably an even better work where they get the plaintive emotion, character arcs and witty humour down perfect
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
South Park Film/Absurdist Adult Animation
A theatrical release spun off from tv’s cult absurdist/scatological show. Not as sophisticated as later seasons of the tv series but with a raucously wacky bite that is frequently hilarious
A.li.ce (1999)
Anime/Dystopian Future/Time Travel
This was the first anime film made in CGI, an ambitious SF film involving a time travel plot and a struggle against a machine-dominated future
Bartok the Magnificent (1999)
Talking Bat's Adventures/Animation
Animator Don Bluth conducts a spinoff from his previous film Anastasia, focusing on the adventures of the talking bat sidekick
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Disney Animation and Music Anthology
Disney’s sequel to Fantasia comes weighted with a sense of its own self-importance – the first theatrical release of the new millennium. However, it fails to produce much that has the stature of the original
Pokemon: The Power of One (1999)
Animation/Cute Creatures
The second of the animated films spun off around the Pokemon phenomenon and an altogether better film than its predecessor due to some imaginative animation
Princes and Princesses (1999)
Animated Fairytale Anthology
From Kirikou director Michel Ocelot, an anthology of animated fairytales that prove quite delightful
Doug’s 1st Movie (1999)
Animation/Children's TV Series Spinoff
Film spinoff of a popular children’s animated tv series Doug about a kid and his observations on life. The film’s story has the title character befriending a local lake monster
Puss in Boots (1999)
Animation/Fairytale
An obscure animated version of the classic fairytale that comes with excruciating puns, much slapstick and has clearly been animated on a low budget
The King and I (1999)
Animation
Don Bluth conducts animated remake of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical memorably incarnated with Yul Brynner. Now the story comes with the addition of fantasy elements
The Iron Giant (1999)
Animation/Friendly Giant Robot
The first animated film from Brad Bird is a sweet and lovely piece about the friendship between a young boy and a giant robot. Underrated at the time, this has subsequently become regarded as a classic
Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
Animation/African Folk Tales
The debut film from French animator Michel Ocelot, a beautifully simple series of African folk tales about a young boy whose plain-speaking truths outwit a witch
Antz (1998)
Animation/Talking Ants
The first animated film from DreamWorks, a rather charming effort that takes place in an ant nest with Woody Allen perfectly voice cast as a nebbish ant who decides to defy the crowd
Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
Disney Animation/Pocahontas Goes to England
One of the better among the cheap video-released sequels to their animated films Disney released during the 1990s/2000s, this actually works better than the original
Pokemon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998)
Animation/Cute Creatures
The first film spun off from the popular Pokemon phenomenon and animated series, this is largely incomprehensible to anyone who is not familiar with the series
A Bug’s Life (1998)
Pixar Animation/Talking Insects
The second film from Pixar. One of their slighter and usually overlooked works, this is nevertheless an enjoyably eccentric reworking of The Seven Samurai set amidst a circus troupe of talking insects
The Prince of Egypt (1998)
Animation/The Biblical Exodus
The second animated film from DreamWorks, an impressively produced retelling of The Book of Exodus and the story of Moses.