Best Animated Films - Not from the Big 5

I love animated films. I love the worlds people can create, the larger than life characters, the fun of it all. With the right imagination, an animated film can take you anywhere. So, I thought it would be a good idea to write a list. But not your ordinary list, if I just did an ordinary list of animated movies then it would be dominated by Pixar, Disney, and Dream Works. So instead, I went out of my way to put films on here that are not a part of the five biggest animated studios in the hope that it would expand peoples horizons or something like that.

First things first, the studios I've identified as the five biggest animated studios are:
Disney
Pixar
Dream Works
Ghibli
and Aardman.

So, no Miyazaki, no Wallace and Gromit, a lot of films I'm sure most of you haven't heard of, and now I'm just blabbering. Let's begin!

10. The Princess and the Cobbler (1993)

I took a long time agonising over whether or not I should put this one on the list, since it was released through Miramax, which is owned by Disney. But in the end, my nostalgia won me over. This is one of the first films I remember watching, and after re-discovering it years later I can see that it is not the best movie ever made. The plot is odd, the characters a little one note, and the songs are pretty awful. and don't get me started on the troubled production history. I could go into a lot of detail about the back-story to this film (it did take 28 years to get finished and released), but I'm not going to. Instead, all I will say is what makes it stand out is the animation. It is one of the most beautiful messes you will ever see, with one of the best chase scenes I have ever seen in cinema, let alone animated. So yeah, this one is a little indulgent. But I don't really care. I love this film and its animation, and I don't think I will ever stop.

9. Despicable Me (2010)

If adorable was a film, this would be it. What makes this film work so well is the way it combines slapstick and physical comedy with a really good script and characters. Plus, it's refreshing to see an animated film about parenting and fatherly love rather than romantic love (though that's thrown out the roof in the sequel, but the sequel is still good). And then there are the minions. I love these guys, they overstay their welcome slightly in the sequel, but here there is just the right amount of silly. This is a pretty perfect film for any family, no matter how old. I even managed to persuade my mum to watch it with me. Now that is incredible.

8. Sita Sings the Blues (2008)

I love how the poster calls this the greatest break-up story ever told, cause it really is. So, putting it simply, this is a retelling of the Ramayana using the songs of Annette Hanshaw intercut with the directors own disintegrating marriage and subsequent divorce. And it's free, the whole thing, on youtube. Go see it. You will not see anything like it. The animation here is really well done, with three distinct styles for each of the segments; cutouts for the telling and discussion of the Ramayana, this really cool vector-like artwork for the musical numbers, and a rougher, sketchier style for the modern day parts. It's possibly the second weirdest film on this list, but if you have any interest in Indian mythology, then it is definitely worth a watch. Plus the musical numbers are really fun.

7. Persepolis (2007)

So, I'm sure a few of you have heard of this one. It made quite a splash when it first came out, and despite only watching this recently I can see why. For starters, it happens to be an autobiographical animated film, directed by the original graphic novel's author, Marjane Satrapi. That in itself is unique enough. But then it also happens to be a coming of age story set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. This is not an easy, popcorn film. But it is excellent. The animation style is really fluid and the designs are fairly simple, but that works in its favour since more flashy designs would get in the way of the story. If you want something a little more serious, that looks at recent history from a personal view-point, then I would definitely recommend this.

6. The Secret of Kells (2009)

I wish there were more historical, fantasy animated movies like this, because this film is beautiful! It's so gorgeous! The animation style takes inspiration from not only other animated films like The Princess and the Cobbler, but also from those big, old, Latin books that were held in monasteries and written out by hand and had gold leaf covering the borders! The story itself draws on both Celtic and Christian mythologies, centering around the book of Kells, which is an illuminated gospel book. It's really interesting the way Christian and Celtic ideas interact in 8th century Ireland, and you come away from the film with the feeling that both worlds need to co-exist and continue through the ages. It really is a fascinating film, with excellent characters that I love coming back to. And I haven't even gotten to the music! Definitely one to check out!

5. Yellow Submarine (1968)

This wasn't my first introduction to the Beatles (we'll get to that another day), but this certainly helped cement my love for the band. I think as a six year-old though, a lot of psychedelic imagery went over my head. Now, of course, I can watch this and love all the techniques that they used to create an incredibly different animated film, especially for 1968. There isn't that much plot, the film sort of jumps from song sequence to song sequence, showing off as many Beatles songs as they can. Which is completely fine with me. I think each of the song sequences work well for the songs they are put with. The one that stands out the most for me is 'Eleanor Rigby', I think this film matched the melancholy of the song just right. If you're a Beatles fan then you have to see this. And if you're not a fan, see it anyway! It may change your mind!

4. Coraline (2009)

If I didn't make it abundantly clear in my ParaNorman review, Laika is my new favourite animation studio. Their first film is dark, foreboding, tense, and a lot safer for kids that its source material, in all honesty. (Seriously, the book is so much freakier, but what do you expect from Neil Gaiman.) Coraline Jones is an excellent heroine, and her adventure is at turns spine-tingling and hilarious. I really love French and Saunders doing the voices for Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. And the design of both worlds created here is really stunning. Stop-motion animation at its most impressive. This is why I love animated films, because you get glimpses of worlds that couldn't be created in any other way.

3. Mary and Max (2009)

Wow, 2009 really was the year for excellent animation! Especially stop-motion. This is the first feature film from Adam Elliot, who created the incredible short Harvey Krumpet. Both use very exaggerated, almost grotesque character designs, and both mix deep pathos with witty humour. It's very dry, and very Australian. You will cry during this film. I know I did, and so did my mum. The story is fairly simple. It's a retelling of a correspondence between lonely Australian girl, Mary, and even lonelier American, Max, who has Asperger syndrome. Again, not an altogether easy film to watch due to heavy subject matter, but there are frequent moments of humour that lighten it, and the relationship between these two misfits is so compelling. One of the best Australian films ever made, in my opinion.

2. The Iron Giant (1999)

Yep, the film that made everyone in the 90s cry while simultaneously destroying Warner Bros. animation studio. I'm glad that nowadays it is seen as a classic. This film, it's just so nearly perfect. (No film is perfect, perfection is a myth. Nearly perfect is the next best thing.) The giant robot is awesome, the voice acting is excellent, the animation is beautifully created. I really can't fault it, except it's so darn sad! It's also a really smart film, and has themes and scenarios that might go over a lot of really little kids heads. Which is probably why it failed on its first release. But now, all those kids are grown up and they love it. Me included.

1. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

I honestly don't know how to explain this movie. I could tell you the plot, but the film has a greater impact if you don't know what's going to happen. I will say that bikes are involved. And the most bad-ass grandmother that ever lived. Seriously, see it for the grandmother. She paddle-boats all the way to New York. She is that amazing. The animation is, once again, kinda grotesque. But absolutely incredible. It's so fluid and quick, and given some of the sequences, it's really astounding how quick the animation turned out. Yeah, I know I'm not really selling this film. And you're probably thinking 'Why should this be number one?' Well, this is the most interesting, different, uniquely animated, insane film, with amazing characters, and a plot that must've been thought up whilst on some kind of substance. It's ... it's leaving me wordless. That is how brilliant this is! See it! See it now!!

So, there's that list. I'm sure some of them you would've guessed. I hope a couple were a bit of a surprise. I hope to get another one out during the break, but I'm not making any promises. Until next time, readers.

MIFF: ParaNorman

Due to unforseen circumstances, this will be the last film from the MIFF this year that I will be talking about. I was hoping to see The Suicide Shop as well, but that sold out for some reason. And not this amazing film. They must've had a smaller cinema. Oh well, Melbourne is a weird place, with very tiny cinemas it seems. This film is rather weird too. For starters, this is incredibly dark for a kids film, which makes it a risk. But they managed to pull it off. Hey, they did more than pull it off! This is pretty incredible (and I will go into why soon), but the best way I can describe it is a coming of age story, with zombies. That's it in a nutshell. Out of a nutshell, and this film is so much more.

Norman is an 11 year-old social outcast who can talk to ghosts. When his town is threatened by an ancient curse that raises the dead, it causes panic amongst it's residents. It's up to Norman and his associates (his sister Courtney, his friend and fellow outcast Neil, Neil's brother Mitch and school bully Alvin) to try and stop the attack before the town is destroyed. But that's just the main plot. The voice cast includes Kodi Smit-McPhee as Norman, Tucker Albrizzi as Neil, Casey Affleck as Mitch, Anna Kendrick as Courtney and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Alvin, with John Goodman also making an appearance as the town crazy, Mr Penderghast.

I wanted to see this movie from the minute I saw the trailer on youtube. In all honesty, it's one of the best trailers I've ever seen. It gives a perfect depiction of the mood of the movie, using clips that don't give anything away and yet also shows how awesome the film as a whole would be to watch. And it's got the perfect song. (Don't believe me? Watch it here!) So, I watched the trailer about a month ago and have been hyping myself up for this ever since. Was it worth it? Well, in my opninion, this is one of the best (if not the best) kids movies since Monsters Inc.

I'm serious, this manages to be goofy and serious in the right parts, and the message it gives it very relevant and strong. The film is incredibly risky, dealing in all those things that safer studios like Disney and Dreamworks won't even touch. Themes like death and moving on, bullying and the brutal prejudice that comes with fear of the unknown. While many Disney films do deal with death and the outsider trying to fit in, but they never go into death and grief in any great detail, it's mainly used for pathos and shock. And they never examine where this prejudice comes from, or else they just fall into annoying cliches. Laika, the production company for ParaNorman, instead shows a tragicically honest portrayal of those parts of childhood we'd rather forget.

 
This doesn't seem like an anti-bullying film, which is good. Obvious message movies piss me off, I prefer my morals wrapped in pastry. But unlike other movies that simply say bullying is bad and leave it at that, ParaNorman goes deeper and looks into why people will discriminate against those who are different, and also what effects it has on those who are bullied. This makes our main villains, the zombies, more complex than your average douche-bag, and also makes our hero, Norman, so much more realistic. There's also a neat little thing about how prejudice and fear has been around for centuriesand that we are merely repeating the mistakes of out ancestors and that the mistakes of the past will have repercussions in the future. If you watch the movie, you will know exactly what I mean.

But the thing I like most about this film is that it doesn't shove it's message down your throat, it merely presents the story and leads you in the direction they want you to take, but there is no nod to the audience saying "Do this, it's the right thing to do. If you don't, then you're a bad person". Through the characters and their actions do they get the message across. And these characters are pretty amazing. I briefly mentioned Norman earlier, but he really is an excellent protagonist, plagued by a gift he doesn't want and living with a family who find it hard to accept him and connect with him. He gets bullied at school and his only friends (before Neil) are the ghosts that he talks to, including his deceased grandmother. And yet, he is the only one who can save the town because of his gift (ironic, right?), and even though he isn't treated with any sort of respect, he takes on this responsibilty because no one else can, no matter how scared he is. And in the end, his fear drives him to finish his task. The other character I want to highlight quickly is Neil, who is so optimistic despite everything and how he's treated and is the first person to actually try and get to know Norman, yet not out of pity. More out of curiousity, I think, and kindness and empathy. And he stands by him no matter what.

I didn't mean for this to turn into such an essay, but you should know by now that the longer I make a review the more I like the film. So, now let us get on to the animation. So, this is produced by Laika, the same studio that also made the incredible Coraline adaptation. So, you already know that the animation is going to be amazing at the very least. And this is astounding! The character designs are grotesque caricatures of actual people. They look fantastic! They look how real people should look, just not as pretty. And the animation itself is beautifully flawless. This took 4 years to make, and you can really see all the time and love that went into making it. All I have are words of praise and thanks for the animators, so in the unlikely event of any of them reading this, well done chaps!

I really only have one complaint with the film and it's more of a nitpick/personals preference type thing so I'm not even bothering to mention it. This film is amazing, I don't know how many times I've said it, but I will keep saying it. It knows exactly the right moments when to be dark, and when to have a joke, and it treats it's audience (kids) with the respect that they deserve. The dialogue is very naturaland witty, and while it has a few pop culture references, it's not a Dreamworks movie. I'm not going to lie, there are a few gross bits and really little kids may find this scary. But for a slightly older audience this will definitely entertain. The music is also good, but it was when there wasn't any score that the atmosphere really intensified. I've got nothing more to say really, except it's so refreshing to see a smart kids film for one. You should see it. I've used up my entire collection of praising adjectives to describe this movie, and it's one of the rare films that the majority of people will like. Laika took a risk with this, and I'm glad they did. Maybe now a better calibre of kids movies will finally grace our screens. Until next time, readers, tis the season of the witch!