Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella (1950)

[4] Cinderella was the biggest hit Walt Disney had since 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt credited it for saving the company from bankruptcy. While I'm certainly thankful the film allowed Disney's legacy to continue, I can't say…
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

[4] In this animated film from Japan, a teenaged boy tries to take care of his little sister after their mother dies in a bombing by the Americans during World War II. The children's father is a soldier at sea…
Make Mine Music (1946)

Make Mine Music (1946)

[4] If musical animated shorts had to audition to be part of Disney's Fantasia, then Make Mine Music is a compilation of the rejects. Without an overarching narrative to connect these shorts in any way, the film hinges on the…
Bambi (1942)

Bambi (1942)

[10] With relatively little dialogue and an abundance of montage, Walt Disney's Bambi plays out like a beautiful tone poem on rites of passage, death and rebirth. There's a 'circle of life' undercurrent to the film that makes it especially…
Fantasia (1940)

Fantasia (1940)

[7] Walt Disney was somewhat ahead of his time experimenting with music and animation in Fantasia, an experimental achievement of artistry, craftsmanship, and innovation in animation. It's essentially a series of MTV-style music videos -- some narrative, some more abstract…
Flow (2024)

Flow (2024)

[9] Flow, one of the most cinematic and meaningful animated films ever made, takes place in an unknown world and unknown time, where a cat must learn to trust animals of other species in order to survive a great flood.…
Rango (2011)

Rango (2011)

[7] A pet chameleon named Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp) gets lost in the desert where he stumbles upon a drought-stricken town in need of a sheriff. He fakes his way into the job and enjoys playing the part until…
Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

[6] A pampered Cocker-Spaniel named Lady falls for a street mutt named Butch in Disney Animation's nineteenth animated feature, Lady and the Tramp. Lady comes from a well-off family on the good side of town, but when her owners start…
Anastasia (1997)

Anastasia (1997)

[7] There’s a lot to like about the first animated feature produced by 20th Century Fox, even if the sum of the parts is a bit uneven. Anastasia draws upon Russian history and legend, centering around the youngest daughter or…
Heavy Metal (1981)

Heavy Metal (1981)

[7] Producer Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) wrangled together animation companies from around the world to assemble Heavy Metal, a string of six animated shorts based on the popular adult fantasy magazine. The stories are tied together by a loose framing device…