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[AlteredForms]

Rules:

Three maximum selections.
Feature length movies only.

3 - Chicken Run (2000)
Aardman Animations & Dreamworks
United Kingdom

From Aardman Animations & Dreamworks comes a movie that's both extremely original and extremely charming. Chicken Run as the name implies tells the story of anthropomorphic chickens on Tweedy's Farm in Northern England. Our feathered poultry friends have a challenging life of laying eggs for their cruel owners and those that are no longer able are for the chop. Things turn upside down when an American rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson) stumbles into the farm and things turn extremely upside down when Mrs Tweedy orders a pie making machine for the purposes of making chicken pies out of all the cast of colourful characters. Chicken Run parodies the classic movie The Great Escape and a large portion of the film revolves around the planning and preparation to escape the farm, all the while being faced with the lingering thought of being turned into Yorkshire pies. It's inclusion on this list is largely because of nostalgia and the fact that a British film from a humble stop-motion studio still has enough heart to compete alongside their unstoppable American counterparts.

2- Spirited Away (2001)
Studio Ghibli
Japan

Spirited Away is an unusual selection for me because it's been so long since I last watched it and even then I don't recall watching it fully. Despite this, I still remember the absolutely beautiful scenery and loveable protagonist. I've always thought of it as the Japanese rendition of Alice In Wonderland, with an innocent and sweet child transported to a magical and faraway world with interesting locales and characters whom inhabit the landscape. In both cases the main villain is a powerful and maleficent bitch, in Spirited Away it's an evil witch who resembles Umbridge from Harry Potter. Our protagonist Sen is forced to work in her bathhouse as she has turned both her parents into pigs and until she figures out a plan to save them and return to the real world. With a large and entertaining cast of characters and a dragon fresh outta Pokémon, Spirited Away is one delightful time. I was in two minds about including it on my personal list as I've only watched bits and bats of it, but I knew I had to include a Ghibli film as they do fantastic work, with this release widely considered to be their best. Plus, having a Japanese studio only adds to the variety.

1 - Shrek (2001)
Dreamworks Animation
United States

This wasn't a challenging selection and those who keep my company know how I feel about this film. Shrek is absolute perfection in the animated form. From the character dialogue, voice acting, animation, cinematography, soundtrack, storyline and of course sexual innuendos, everything is absolutely top notch and incredibly memorable. The film follows the eponymous Shrek, an ogre who lives within the seclusion and solitude of his swamp from society. His silence and serenity all come to a screeching standstill when fairy-tale creatures from across the land are banished to him swamp thanks to the villainous Lord Farquaad. Pissed by the intrusion, Shrek embarks upon a long and unforgettable journey alongside Donkey (voiced by comedy legend Eddie Murphy) to reclaim his swamp by rescuing Princess Fiona in exchange for Lord Fuckwad. What appears on paper to be a rather rudimentary adventure film is exactly what directors Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson intended as one of the multifaceted layers of Shrek is the satirization and parody of existing animated storytelling norms. This isn't a 90 minute feature with one dimensional steadfast and noble heroes with sticks up their asses, damsels constantly in distress and chatterbox supporting characters, well maybe the last one. Shrek turns the entire thing upside down by casting a big stupid ugly ogre as the main protagonist and humanizing him so that we may understand his lonely nature from his side. The supporting cast are in themselves parodies, but they're not overdone parodies and exist comfortably within environment.

Peeling through the other layers reveal how diverse and varied the film is, with there literally being something for everybody. Action is here with the castle brawl and dragon escape being prime examples, adventure with Shrek and Donkey throughout varied locales, comedy in the form of Eddie Murphy stealing the entire show, romance as our lovers return to Duloc, musical numbers galore and of course drama when all this delightfulness comes crashing down. The highlight of the movie is when our party chooses to go their separate ways due to a misunderstanding, with emotions and pride ultimately breaking up the group. What follows is an incredibly sombre and unforgettable scene to the sound of John Cale's Halleuljah as our trio move on with their lives. What's profound is that they all got exactly what they wanted. Shrek receives the solitude of his swamp, Donkey his freedom from the amorous dragon and Fiona her prince charming, but what they eventually realize is what they truly wanted was the exact opposite, and it hits deep to those who never got it in reality. I could go on and on about my adoration and fondness for this movie and I'm sure many will claim I'm clutching at straws but I'll leave you with this. There have been many commercially and critically successful animated movies prior to Shrek, but there was only one that created an entirely separate category for Oscar animated movies and that's Dreamwork's masterpiece from 2001.

Also...

Shrek is love. Shrek is life!!!

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Princess Mononoke
Klaus
The Little Prince

 

[Doom85]

3. The Lion King

Disney’s most epic film.

2. A Silent Voice

A gorgeous film that will tug at heartstrings with both sad but eventually heartwarming moments.

1. Toy Story 3

Pixar at it‘s finest, quite a few of their others come pretty close but this one manages to stay as my favorite.

Honorable mentions:

Spoiler

Inside Out

End of Evangelion

Wall-E

Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Up

Kung Fu Panda 2

Coraline

 

[AlteredForms]

Princess Mononoke
Klaus
The Little Prince

Always thought Princess Mononoke was a completely satisfactory film, though not worthy of the amount of praise it gets.

3. The Lion King

Disney’s most epic film.

2. A Silent Voice

A gorgeous film that will tug at heartstrings with both sad but eventually heartwarming moments.

1. Toy Story 3

Pixar at it‘s finest, quite a few of their others come pretty close but this one manages to stay as my favorite.

Honorable mentions:

Spoiler

Inside Out

End of Evangelion

Wall-E

Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Up

Kung Fu Panda 2

Coraline

Toy Story 3? Man alive, since when does the third installment get all the love? I was expecting this thread to be a lot more popular as there are tonnes of animation lovers on NeoGAF. OmegaSupreme Happosai , get in here you bastards and spread the love!

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Always thought Princess Mononoke was a completely satisfactory film, though not worthy of the amount of praise it gets.

What do you think of the other 2?

 

[AJUMP23]

Chicken run. Really?

vampire hunter D

Golgo 13 movies

ive been rewatching the rankin and bass movies.

 

[poodaddy]

Ninja Scroll.

Cat Soup.

Perfect Blue.

Incredible movies.

 

[jason10mm]

Secret of the Kells
Ghost in the Shell
Watership Down (the OG one)

 

[Happosai]

Happosai , get in here you bastards and spread the love!

You summoned me? Very well, then.

1. Dragon's Heaven (1988)

2. Fire & Ice (1983)

3. The Last Unicorn (1982)

Ninja Scroll.

Cat Soup.

Perfect Blue.

Incredible movies.

Impressive list. Ninja Scroll was fairly well known but Cat Soup is nearly a nearly forgotten masterpiece.

 

[Happosai]

Chicken run. Really?

vampire hunter D

Golgo 13 movies

ive been rewatching the rankin and bass movies.

Golgo 13: The Professional is superb if you can ignore the early CG heli scene. Try to avoid Queen Bee. It was made nearly 11-years after the Professional and to put in perspective...it'd be the Eastern equivilant of Heavy Metal 2000 vs. the stellar original.

VHD original was my favorite and the CBS JP release held a secret missing scene yet to be restored till this date.

Rankin & Bass never really animated nor knew how. They were producers and they'd often oursource animation to JP studios (including direction and key animation) to Mushi, Toei and Topcraft. This did lead to some works under their branding to look much better on a tight budget.

 

[jason10mm]

While we are rolling:

Heavy Metal (1982, though 2000 has some good bits as well)
Black Cauldron (how has this not been remade yet???)
That first Netlfix anthology ("Love, Sex and Robots"?) was pretty damned good as well.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

While we are rolling:

Heavy Metal (1982, though 2000 has some good bits as well)
Black Cauldron (how has this not been remade yet???)
That first Netlfix anthology ("Love, Sex and Robots"?) was pretty damned good as well.

Yeah Season 2/3 of Love Sex and Robots was terrible

The quality really took a dip

Not to mention how there was no attractive female nudity on screen like there was in Season 1

I could tell that Netflix woke policies started to show up in Season 2

My favorite episode from Season 1 is still Beyond The Aqulia Rift

I love Cosmic Horror

 

[jason10mm]

I think the real issue with LS+R was that those first ones were game trailers and demo reels as showcases pulled together to make a show, so not really "Designed" for netflix. But then they started asking for specific things and the netflix influence can be seen.

 

[Happosai]

While we are rolling:

Heavy Metal (1982, though 2000 has some good bits as well)
Black Cauldron (how has this not been remade yet???)
That first Netlfix anthology ("Love, Sex and Robots"?) was pretty damned good as well.

Black Cauldron doesn't need a remake. Nothing does. If anything, all the footage that Katzenberg ordered to be cut from BC still likely exists. The workprint's an entirely different film and darker. That's the release we need of Black Cauldron.

 

[Doom85]

Black Cauldron doesn't need a remake. Nothing does. If anything, all the footage that Katzenberg ordered to be cut from BC still likely exists. The workprint's an entirely different film and darker. That's the release we need of Black Cauldron.

Less of a remake and more of a re-adaptation. I know fans of the books were severely disappointed in the many changes from the source material, and I don’t think even the cut footage would fix that.

It‘s like the remake of True Grit. I understand if people feel the original worked great and they don’t have interest in a remake, but it’s worth pointing out the remake is more faithful in tone (especially the ending) to the original book.

And as much I enjoy Kubrick’s The Shining, I would love to see an adaptation that is both excellent AND actually portrays Jack faithfully. He’s such a flawed yet three-dimensional individual in the book, so it took me a long while to warm up to the movie‘s far less sympathetic version. And no, that subpar TV miniseries does not suffice.

Also, if nothing needed a remake, John Carpenter’s The Thing wouldn’t exist.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Less of a remake and more of a re-adaptation. I know fans of the books were severely disappointed in the many changes from the source material, and I don’t think even the cut footage would fix that.

It‘s like the remake of True Grit. I understand if people feel the original worked great and they don’t have interest in a remake, but it’s worth pointing out the remake is more faithful in tone (especially the ending) to the original book.

And as much I enjoy Kubrick’s The Shining, I would love to see an adaptation that is both excellent AND actually portrays Jack faithfully. He’s such a flawed yet three-dimensional individual in the book, so it took me a long while to warm up to the movie‘s far less sympathetic version. And no, that subpar TV miniseries does not suffice.

Also, if nothing needed a remake, John Carpenter’s The Thing wouldn’t exist.

True Grit Remake is fantastic, loved that ending especially

Didn't know the movie is divisive

I admit I never watched the OG though

 

[EverydayBeast]

 

[Doom85]

True Grit Remake is fantastic, loved that ending especially

Didn't know the movie is divisive

I admire to never watching the OG though

I wouldn’t call it divisive, most enjoyed it, but there‘s probably a few people out there who didn’t give it a fair chance.

The original is great too, not one of the best Westerns of that era, but definitely worth checking out.

 

[Happosai]

Less of a remake and more of a re-adaptation. I know fans of the books were severely disappointed in the many changes from the source material, and I don’t think even the cut footage would fix that.

It‘s like the remake of True Grit. I understand if people feel the original worked great and they don’t have interest in a remake, but it’s worth pointing out the remake is more faithful in tone (especially the ending) to the original book.

And as much I enjoy Kubrick’s The Shining, I would love to see an adaptation that is both excellent AND actually portrays Jack faithfully. He’s such a flawed yet three-dimensional individual in the book, so it took me a long while to warm up to the movie‘s far less sympathetic version. And no, that subpar TV miniseries does not suffice.

Also, if nothing needed a remake, John Carpenter’s The Thing wouldn’t exist.

I doubt anyone's interested in re-adaptation. There's 12-minutes of recovered footage that has been found. Those who worked on the original said it was the product the audience should have gotten. Since when do adaptations relay back to full their original source material? Do you know what adaptation means in film? There are a handfull of occaisions where that was the case.

You bring up a more pure to novel form of the Shining? They tried it. Stephen King was directly involved with the TV miniseries for the Shining and that's about as close as you'll get to the novel. By the way...it's widely been forgotten. I reiterate, remakes are not necessary...ever.

The Thing remake was a one-off example of a remake that was better than the original. Yet, the movie was hated (even by Campbell) during its release. Only in the past 20-years or so has it gotten recoginition deserved.

Back on topic, what were your three again?

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I doubt anyone's interested in re-adaptation. There's 12-minutes of recovered footage that has been found. Those who worked on the original said it was the product the audience should have gotten. Since when do adaptations full their source? There are a handfull of occaisions where that was the case.

You bring up a more pure to novel form of the Shining? They tried it. Stephen King was directly involved with the TV miniseries for the Shining and that's about as close as you'll get to the novel. By the way...it's widely been forgotten.

The Thing remake was a one-off example of a remake that was better than the original. Yet, the movie was hated (even by Campbell) during its release. Only in the past 20-years or so has it gotten recoginition deserved.

Back on topic, what were your three again?

Funny enough I hated The Shining movie by Kubrick

I never watched the Miniseries

Now the book I loved.

 

[Trunx81]

Spirited away, because of the reasons OP mentioned. It’s so easy to get lost in this film, like being a person trapped inside this wonderland as well. It’s in so many places unpredictable, so totally different than normal films. Every set piece and new character hits you with imagination, enough for one Disney movie alone.

The Iron Giant. This is how you make a superhero movie.

And:
Les Maîtres du temps

French sci fi movie with an amazing story, time travel and a great plot twist. For a kid maybe a bit to mature, but you should watch it! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Maîtres_du_temps

 

[midnightAI]

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Akira

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

 

[Happosai]

Akira

The Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Do You Remember Love is long overdue for a remastered release.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Do You Remember Love is long overdue for a remastered release.

Such an amazing style.

And the story concept is great as well.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Do You Remember Love is long overdue for a remastered release.

What I want is a Robotech sequel series to the OG anime we got in the USA

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

I want a blu-ray of Hajime no Ippo OG season's.

 

[Happosai]

What I want is a Robotech sequel series to the OG anime we got in the USA

Harmony Gold tried posting a timeline from the first Macross (Robotech) series. I lost footing big time with Southern Cross and the first movies. Unfortunately, you'd have to hire writers who could properly handle the 1st timeline. I will say this, the U.S. release of the OG wasn't that bad. Now, if you favored Voltron over it's uncut original GoLion...then I'd say otherwise.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Harmony Gold tried posting a timeline from the first Macross (Robotech) series. I lost footing big time with Southern Cross and the first movies. Unfortunately, you'd have to hire writers who could properly handle the 1st timeline. I will say this, the U.S. release of the OG wasn't that bad. Now, if you favored Voltron over it's uncut original GoLion...then I'd say otherwise.

Robotech is the first anime I ever watched

The only Macross I watched is Macross Frontier

I was wondering is there differences in the story between Macross and Robotech?

Also MenMei sucks

 

[Happosai]

Robotech is the first anime I ever watched

The only Macross I watched is Macross Frontier

I was wondering is there differences in the story between Macross and Robotech?

Also MenMei sucks

First for many given it had such mass distribution in North America by Harmony Gold. Robotech in short is just a revisioned title given by Harmony Gold. Robotech covers the first gen arcs of Macross. Localized changes like this were common by American distributors in the 80s. E.g. -- GoLion became Voltron (U.S.) or how GoShūn became Macron 5.

Harmony Gold's site does piece the timelines together but it gets messy with SC and the movie as mentioned.

 

[apocaliptic]

Ok, as always me coming to rescue the thread with the best selection.

3. Suzume
2. Weathering with you
1. Your name

No need to thank me. It was my pleasure

 

[poodaddy]

You summoned me? Very well, then.

1. Dragon's Heaven (1988)

2. Fire & Ice (1983)

3. The Last Unicorn (1982)

Impressive list. Ninja Scroll was fairly well known but Cat Soup is nearly a nearly forgotten masterpiece.

I can't take credit for it, but thanks very much. My brother introduced me to Cat Soup a long time ago. It's actually my favorite movie of all time, and I find it equal parts hopeful, tragic, hilarious, and beautiful. It always manages to make me both melancholic and happy, it's just an interesting movie. Literally every time I've introduced people to the movie, they don't like it as much as me, which always kind of bums me out, but eh, I love it.

 

[jason10mm]

Black Cauldron doesn't need a remake. Nothing does. If anything, all the footage that Katzenberg ordered to be cut from BC still likely exists. The workprint's an entirely different film and darker. That's the release we need of Black Cauldron.

Not a remake of the disney film, but another shot at the 5 book series. I need to reread it, the entire thing is probably the length of a typical epic fantasy novel now.

I'd also throw the GI Joe and Transformers animated films out there, lots of fun from what I remember.

 

[AJUMP23]

An American Tail should probably be mentioned.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

 

[Happosai]

I can't take credit for it, but thanks very much. My brother introduced me to Cat Soup a long time ago. It's actually my favorite movie of all time, and I find it equal parts hopeful, tragic, hilarious, and beautiful. It always manages to make me both melancholic and happy, it's just an interesting movie. Literally every time I've introduced people to the movie, they don't like it as much as me, which always kind of bums me out, but eh, I love it.

It's abstract in implementation but an emotional tale. Unfortuntely, aside from a few forgettables like Martian Successor Nadesico; Tatsuo Sato never really got to direct something as quality as Cat Soup. Then there's Nekojiru was created the manga who sadly committed suicide in 1998. You'd think most wouldn't remember Cat Soup but I'm glad you did.

Not a remake of the disney film, but another shot at the 5 book series. I need to reread it, the entire thing is probably the length of a typical epic fantasy novel now.

I'd also throw the GI Joe and Transformers animated films out there, lots of fun from what I remember.

Not a bad idea. Although, it'd likely look better live action to create an entirely different story around the 5 books.

An American Tail should probably be mentioned.

Don Bluth and Ralph Bakshi films deserve much more of a mention. Some incredible animation teams and really brought Western animation back toward an adult audience.

 

[RavageX]

I like the anime and animation discussions that appear on this site, im always bound to find a classic anime or two ive not seen. (Particularly fond of 80s)

 

[CGNoire]

Golgo 13: The Professional is superb if you can ignore the early CG heli scene. Try to avoid Queen Bee. It was made nearly 11-years after the Professional and to put in perspective...it'd be the Eastern equivilant of Heavy Metal 2000 vs. the stellar original.

VHD original was my favorite and the CBS JP release held a secret missing scene yet to be restored till this date.

Rankin & Bass never really animated nor knew how. They were producers and they'd often oursource animation to JP studios (including direction and key animation) to Mushi, Toei and Topcraft. This did lead to some works under their branding to look much better on a tight budget.

Perfect description of Glogo 13 vs Queen Bee.

I got the Bluray its pretty awesome quality.

 

[CGNoire]

Akira
Wicked city
Ninja Scroll
VampireHunter D 85'
Golgo13 83'
Fist of the North Star 86'
Ghost in the Shell
Fire and Ice
Cowboy Beebop film
The last 3 episodes of Samurai Champloo is basicly a 90min send off film.

Dead Leaves
Redline

Also a shout out to American Tale which is the best western animation of all time IMO.

 

[Husky]

The Wolf House / La casa lobo (2018)
Fantastic stop-motion unlike any other, presented as a strange, dark fairy tale.

Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
The Wicked Stepmother discovers the power of the Fairy Godmother's wand, and twists time to undo Cinderella's happily ever after. Skip Cinderella II entirety, but my god, watch Cinderella III. It's fantastic.

American Pop (1981)
Today, Ralph Bakshi is probably best known for his Lord of the Rings film. I'm a fan of a lot of his work, but I think this is his opus, his true masterpiece. The film follows generations of male musical prodigies through tragedy.

Three maximum? Aw gee

 

[NeoGuff]

Street fighter 2 the animated movie from 1995ish

 

[Trogdor1123]

Robotech is the first anime I ever watched

The only Macross I watched is Macross Frontier

I was wondering is there differences in the story between Macross and Robotech?

Also MenMei sucks

This is best post in neogaf history!

Agree with all of it.

Did that Robotech tent pole movie ever get legs? I thought something about Elijah woods was leading the charge or something? Might be remembering wrong

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

This is best post in neogaf history!

Agree with all of it.

Did that Robotech tent pole movie ever get legs? I thought something about Elijah woods was leading the charge or something? Might be remembering wrong

That was Toby Maguire. He's always been a big fan of anime and especially Robotech

 

[Happosai]

Perfect description of Glogo 13 vs Queen Bee.

I got the Bluray its pretty awesome quality.

Going by the cobwebs of my memory but it almost seems like The Professional was intended to be a high budget animated feature film in Japan. Queen Bee was meant to be a reboot OVA. You have to look at Japanese economy and how it impacted production in the early 80's (bubble economy) vs. the late 90's (when Queen Bee came out). Theory but I believe Queen Bee was an excuse to put together a low budget pilot for a Golgo 13 TV series (which ended up happened whether related to the OVA or completely separate).

I've never seen the blu-ray but my hopes would be that it's a remaster and they didn't mess with any digital scrubbing. I love the gritty style they kept in the VHS and DVD releases of the original HM. Let me know. Did they keep the documentaries and such intact as extras too? Those were worth having as well.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

 

[phaedrus]

Ok, as always me coming to rescue the thread with the best selection.

3. Weathering with you
2. Your name
1. Garden Of Words

No need to thank me. It was my pleasure

FTFY

 

[kondorBonk]

- Fantastic Mr Fox
- The Iron Giant
- The Lego Movie

 

[NahaNago]

Ok, as always me coming to rescue the thread with the best selection.

3. Suzume
2. Weathering with you
1. Your name

No need to thank me. It was my pleasure

Still haven't watched Suzume. Weather with you and Your Name are good. The detail in the background sceneries from what I vaguely remember were amazing.

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

I always preferred Vampire hunter D: Bloodlust. I'd really like a new movie or even a live action. They had so many books they could draw from. I think a South Korean made Vampire hunter d movie could work.

I'm not sure if I've ever seen golgo 13 movie. I thought I owned one of them but it turned out to be the movie Goku not of dbz.

 

[AJUMP23]

I'm watching fire and Ice, I think it is great. I know why my mom wouldn't even tell us about this movie.

 

[Happosai]

I'm watching fire and Ice, I think it is great. I know why my mom wouldn't even tell us about this movie.

The deluxe DVD release is still low end right now on Amazon. Pretty cool collectors case too. I can't remember if they released it to blu-ray but I'd be concerned they'd have digitally scrubbed or recolored the original on a blu-ray release. If you want to see another level of rotoscoping though...take Husky 's 3rd suggestion American Pop. Bakshi's team really went heavy on storyboarding with American Pop.