Most loved animated films

Hey hey, out there!

Today I want to introduce to my absolutely most loved animated movies.
I know that a lot of people think animated movies have been made to entertain little children up to twelve years but I think various approach kind of difficult contents that aren't understandable for kids. When I was little I often didn't get all of the jokes or even the partly profound themes of an animated movie. The makers stated these types of content have been put into the films to entertain the parents who are forced to watch it with their descendants. But exactly this is the reason why I love to watch them and I try not to miss any of them.

So here I made a list of my 15 most loved (and probably most watched) animated movies in reverse order:


15. The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

This is a film from the animators of "Wallace & Gromit", therefore a british stop-motion movie from 2012. It is overstuffed with funny moments and jokes that are mostly not adapted for children. It is set in the Victorian ages and handles with the themes of endangered species, friendship and the Zeitgeist of that time. The movie doesn't spare itself and contains characters like "the pirate with the scarf", "the albino pirate" and "the surprisingly curvaceous pirate" who hides a little secret.
I couldn't stop laughing during this film. The characters are cute, likeable and the animation is fantastic! I just cannot imagine how much time and nerves this animation must cost. It looks simply indescribable perfect.

14. The Adventures of Tintin

I'm referring to the film from 2011 by Steven Spielberg. There are so many reasons this movie is one of my favourites. To start off with, the producer was Peter Jackson (director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy), the writers were Steven Moffat (one of the heads of the Sherlock series and writer for Doctor Who) and Edgar Wright (Cornetto Trilogy). Even though of these names I first refused to watch it because I was never such a fan of Tintin's adventures, I just knew a few of his stories from my childhood. But I was off base. These movie is just beautiful. It has been one of the best computer animated movies up to now in my opinion. The story is thrilling and gripping. I recommend watching the Behind the Scenes, simply incredible.



13. How to train your Dragon

How to train your dragon is a computer animated film from 2010. It's about a young viking boy who
refuses to kill dragons like his ancestors and befriends with the Night Fury dragon Toothless.
I love this film on the one hand because it has dragons (DRAGONS!) on the other because it has a really nice, untypical storyline. Toothless is one of the best "animal" friends I have seen for a while.
He is cute, intelligent and a mixture of a cat and a dog in a dragon shape. The film is based on the books by Cressida Cowell but the books are really, really different! The movie is more like an alternate universe.

12. Coraline

Made by Henry Selick and based on the horror children's novel from Neil Gaiman, Coraline is one of the creepiest children movies I've seen. It has a thoughtful story about loving your life the way it is, but also a lot of horror elements I wouldn't have stand as a kid. It was made in 2009 as a stop-motion movie. Nevertheless, Coraline has some funny moments and the gloomy atmosphere creates some nice characters. The style reminds of the Tim Burton movies but Coraline gets more in-depth with the story.





11. Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a computer animated film from the Pixar Animation Studios. It
has been released in 2007 and deals with the french gourmet cuisine. The film tells a story from the standpoint of a rat that dreams of being a gourmet cook in Paris. As a fan of the epicure kitchen I like the way the movie shows the inside of a commercial kitchen. It doesn't take itself too seriously, so you will have a lot to laugh. The music in this film is brilliant.
And I have never ever seen so delicious looking, animated food before...

10. Mulan


Welcome to the top ten! Starting with Mulan. This movie from 1998 has been one of my favourites since I was little. Based on the famous Chinese woman warrior Fa Mulan Disney created a film about a girl sneaking herself into the Chinese military and trying to protect China against the Huns.
There are four reasons I love this film: One, it is a story about a very strong woman who ins't dependent on men (even though it is set in an old century). Two, the songs are just beautiful and the main song "True to your Heart" by Stevie Wonder is just a dance-along-groove. Three, it's about the asian culture, that gives a gorgeous setting and is simply a bobby-dazzler. Four, MUSHU. Mushu, the dragon, is one of the funniest characters ever. I love his voice, his jokes and the way he always overestimates himself. Brilliant!

9. Wolf Children (Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki)


I discovered Wolf Children only a few months ago and I like his slow and calm style very much. It's an Anime from 2012. The film is kind of fantastic but mainly the story handles with a kind of coming-of-age-tale of the two children portrayed in the movie. The film is very emotional, so grab your tissues! 

8. Rise of the Guardians



The reason I like Rise of the Guardians so much is mainly, so embarrassing, because of Pitch, the antagonist of this movie.

The story is imaginative. It's about the four guardians of light and Jack Frost, who must defend the world of children against Pitch Black, master of darkness and nightmares.
The scenes with Pitch give me goosebumps. He is such a well-designed and deep character.
The other characters are nice, too, but Pitch is outrageous.










7. Frankenweenie

Eventually, a Tim Burton movie!
Frankenweenie is from 2012 and a reboot of one of Burton's first
stop-motion animated films ever. The movie is black and white and deals with a boy losing his dog and reviving him with the aid of his self-made lightning-machine. After his resurrection, Sparky, the dog, has to be hidden.
The film is untypical in his style, story and genre. It is clearly a kind of parody of the monster film and book "Frankenstein" and so most of the hints can't be understood by children.
Fun fact: Sparky occurred in every stop-motion film by Tim Burton so far. Look for him closely...

6. Wall•E


Wall•E is everything. It's a science fiction. It's an adventure. It's a love story. It's a comedy. It's a criticism.
This film about two little robots won my heart. I don't think this is really a children's movie, because it deals with deep issues like environmental pollution, materialism, vanity of Men and the restricted affect of society. Besides, Wall•E and his friend EVE are really cute and even though hardly a word is said in this film it get's never boring.




5. The Lion King

What a classic! I guess everybody has seen it. The music is spectacular, the
songs are bombastic, and even though it's the comic version of Macbeth the story carried me along.
I saw it first when I was 3 years old and was scared as hell when Mufasa died. Still, I could never get enough of Lion King. I had a cassette I heard all days long (I fast-forwarded the part where Mufasa dies EVERYTIME...) and three years ago I visited the musical.
Lion King was part of my childhood and I would never start to defend why I love it so much.

4. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton, the second. I can't believe it's from 1993! It's still so up-to-date and I love the thrilling and creepy atmosphere this film delivers. All stop-motion movies before have been for little children, fluffy and cute, but Nightmare Before Christmas overshadows everything. It is genre-crashing. And I love it for that. Even though it's a musical it never gets embarrassing or even inappropriate. But I will never be able to decide if it's a Halloween or a Christmas film...





3. Brave

Really, Brave on third place? Yes. I think this movie is much too underrated. It is just beautiful. It's like my eyes have been set to heaven.
The movie is about Merida, a Scottish highland princess, released in 2012 by Pixar. It's ABSOLUTELY not the typical princess story. She doesn't find the love of her life at the end. No, you're wrong here.
Merida is brave (as the title anticipates), rebellious and kind of tomboyish.
The movie tells a wonderful story about family and finding your way. The end is not predictable and the whole 93 minutes you will experience a bath of emotions.
Bave was the first animated movie that made me cry like a little bitch.

2. Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi)





Sssecond: Another Anime. From the one and only Hayao Miyasaki which shall be represented in this list by my absolutely most loved film by him. It's so hard to find word for this overwhelming complex story I never fully understood until this day. But I love making theories about this mystical world he created. Again, a dragon is involved but also creatures he invented, which reach from cute and cuddly to scary and disgusting. When I see this film I'm forgetting my own world.
Along with it, the music gives me goosebumps.







1. How to Train your Dragon 2

I know. I'm sorry. Not only we have had this franchise before, as well there is a theme we had in other movies. Dragons. I cannot do anything about that.
But the second movie is much better than the first one. I never had so many emotions in one movie. You will be happy, scared, surprised, cheerful, compassionate, afraid, deeply grieved and relieved.
There's a wonderful song in this movie, that can compete with the Mountain Song from Hobbit I.
This movie made me cry a lot. And there's nothing what I could wish for a animated movie more.
This film is art.

This list ist just my personal opinion! I know there are a LOT more of wonderful movies in this universe, but these are the ones that struck ME most.
What is your first place? I would love to hear!

Have a nice time, wherever you are!
xoxo

Light