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[cormack12]

Let's throw it all in, Disney, Pixar, Ghibli, Dreamworks etc. Any date/era.

 

[Trunx81]

From a franchise point, with a lot of money through toy sales included, it has to be Frozen. Even years later, little girls all over the world love Elsa and her friends. Heck, I’ve been with my kid to an Elsa themed party at an indoor playground last month. Place was packed!

From an artistic standpoint - Final Fantasy. First one to try a mature approach and “real” humans. Was a warning to all other companies not to underestimate the uncanny valley.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

I would say there is no pinnacle but rather a series of very tall peaks going all the way back to Fantasia.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

 

[AJUMP23]

Disneys beauty and the beast.

Vampire hunter D.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

 

[jufonuk]

Grave of the fireflies.

 

[Oberstein]

Macross Plus

It aged so well. And that dogfight sequence:

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Batman the Animated Series and GIJOE the Movie.

I never saw the whole way through Transformers the Movie except the early bits where some Autobots get blown apart. One day I'll watch the whole thing.

 

[Punished Miku]

Akira probably.

 

[IDKFA]

1990s were the golden era.

Disney were putting out bangers, Pixar started up with Toy Story, animated TV shows were at their peak and 90s japanese anime was on fire.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Akira for me.

 

[dr_octagon]

Howl's Moving Castle.

Batman voicing the main character, a talking fire, walking castle and a turnip scarecrow. What more do you want?

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Howl's Moving Castle.

Batman voicing the main character, a talking fire, walking castle and a turnip scarecrow. What more do you want?

English subs

 

[dr_octagon]

English subs

オレンジはどこですか

 

[Wildebeest]

Song of the Sea was probably the last one I watched, which left an impression on me.

 

[Artoris]

Something from Studio Ghibli

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

 

[Doom85]

Spoiler

 

[Happosai]

Pinnacle decade for American animated movie could be split into two decades: 1940's with film like Bambi or Fantasia.

1980's Bluth films were pretty over the top.

Dreamworks had a quick spark with Shrek which flickered out the moment the realized "we can do this...but bigger"

For Japanese animation the 80's were peak directional periods not just for Ghibli but Kawajiri and Madhouse.

1990's Disney Renaissance is nothing compared to their output on film from about 1937-55

There's no single animated film above them all. If it were for animation alone, I'd pitch Dragon's Heaven or Venus Wars as top contendors

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Let's throw it all in, Disney, Pixar, Ghibli, Dreamworks etc. Any date/era.

Pixar.. Dreamworks

Spoiler

Of the list... Only a Silent voice and Spiderman.

 

[QSD]

Akira for the pure visual style
Spirited Away for atmosphere and imagination
I also have to mention Transformers 1986 because it was somehow so compelling to 9 year old me I watched it dozens of times

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Chars Counterattack. Not only is it beautifully animated, it's also the sexiest

 

[mcjmetroid]

Song of the Sea was probably the last one I watched, which left an impression on me.

Their succesor movie Wolfwatchers is even better. It's one of my favourite animated movies in recent times. It's Irish too like myself

 

[The_hunter]

Laputa, Ponyo, Mononoke.

I want to watch royal space force one of these days.

 

[INC]

Akira

No other answer in my eyes, pathed the way for modern sci fi in cinema, not just in animation

 

[Putonahappyface]

Akira or Ghost in the Shell.

 

[dr_octagon]

Pixar.. Dreamworks

Of the list... Only a Silent voice and Spiderman.

You realize a lion, zebra, giraffe and hippo worked together in a movie? Madagascar is something Jam Cameroon wishes he could make.

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

All I know is that GITS (1995) had the greatest intro. That is all.

 

[Putonahappyface]

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust.

 

[nkarafo]

Akira and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

 

[swaffles23]

Ive always loved Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle

 

[Scotty W]

オレンジはどこですか

Koko desu

 

[Kraz]

Waking Life.

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

I miss The Iron Giant

 

[dr_octagon]

Koko desu

Faxing Con_Z_ǝdʇ

 

[Meicyn]

Akira is the easy answer. It inspired filmmakers worldwide and continues to be referenced to this day.

But expanding beyond Akira, Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke are really up there for me, if we’re talking anime. For western animation, Aladdin is my favorite Disney film, and Secret of Nimh my favorite from Don Bluth.

For 3D animation, The Incredibles. No contest. Amazing writing, perfect pacing, and visually stands the test of time.

Howl's Moving Castle.

Batman voicing the main character, a talking fire, walking castle and a turnip scarecrow. What more do you want?

Eh…. it suffers from the same problem several Marvel movies have, it just does a bunch of stuff in the third act that feels like the writers had no idea how to wrap things up so you have a bunch of stuff happening at a ridiculously rushed and confusing pace. Great film up until then.

 

[SirTerry-T]

Few more suggestions to add to all the Ghibli's and Akiras...

Disney at their best, Sleeping Beauty should be in most lists simply because of Eyvind Earle's stunning art direction.





The Raymond Briggs film that isn't about a cute snowman...




The Iron Giant was a criminally overlooked feature upon its release.

Sword Of The Stranger...

 

[jufonuk]

SirTerry-T iron giant is indeed a masterpiece

 

[Amiga]

As far as technique nothing gets close to classic Disney. Those guys did incredible detailed handwork on each frame.

Animating the water, clothes , hair, boat, birds the whale skin as he sneezes..etc.

 

[Zug]

From a technical standpoint, traditionnal 2D "Disney-like" animation probably peaked with Tarzan (1999) :



For a more modern and stylized take, I really like what they did with The secret of Kells (2009) :



When it comes to japanese animation, of course Ghibli and Miyazaki are popular for a reason, but Satoshi Kon always had my preference :

 

[dr_octagon]

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Jelly. Really want that specific Akira one. When i discovered and rented the VHS every weekend it had the Pioneer dub i think not sure.

And although I prefer watching my anime in Japanese having that dub included would be a nice bonus. Not 100% neccessary though.

Love the cover. Bought this but stil have to find a place for it...

 

[West Texas CEO]

Nausicaa or Tekkonkinkreet.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

As far as technique nothing gets close to classic Disney. Those guys did incredible detailed handwork on each frame.

Animating the water, clothes , hair, boat, birds the whale skin as he sneezes..etc.

Yeah, I feel that when you consider the tech and the skill available in each time period and look at the final result, classic Disney is in a league by itself. I saw the 70th anniversary Snow White edition when it released in 2007 and I was still blown away by the animation and the detail. The Disney animated classics from Snow White to Sleeping Beauty were just incredible, all of them.

 

[Jennings]

Avatar: The Way of Water

 

[crazy monkey]

This was amazing.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]