The 25 Best Animations

by sercantoz | created - 26 Jan 2014 | updated - 10 Mar 2016 | Public
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1. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

82 Metascore

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa

Votes: 449,212 | Gross: $4.71M

2. Waking Life (2001)

R | 99 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

85 Metascore

A man shuffles through a dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purposes of the universe.

Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Trevor Jack Brooks, Lorelei Linklater, Wiley Wiggins

Votes: 66,917 | Gross: $2.89M

3. Spirited Away (2001)

PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

96 Metascore

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi

Votes: 849,109 | Gross: $10.06M

4. Persepolis (2007)

PG-13 | 96 min | Animation, Biography, Drama

90 Metascore

A precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.

Directors: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi | Stars: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux

Votes: 100,157 | Gross: $4.45M

5. WALL·E (2008)

G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

95 Metascore

In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.

Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard

Votes: 1,200,203 | Gross: $223.81M

6. Finding Nemo (2003)

G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

90 Metascore

After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe

Votes: 1,113,204 | Gross: $380.84M

7. Ratatouille (2007)

G | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

96 Metascore

A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.

Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava | Stars: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm

Votes: 824,787 | Gross: $206.45M

8. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family

86 Metascore

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi

Votes: 380,132 | Gross: $1.11M

9. Monsters, Inc. (2001)

G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

79 Metascore

In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.

Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi

Votes: 978,676 | Gross: $289.92M

10. Cars (2006)

G | 116 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

73 Metascore

On the way to the biggest race of his life, a hotshot rookie race car gets stranded in a rundown town and learns that winning isn't everything in life.

Directors: John Lasseter, Joe Ranft | Stars: Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Paul Newman, Larry the Cable Guy

Votes: 469,845 | Gross: $244.08M

11. The Lion King (1994)

G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

88 Metascore

Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.

Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg

Votes: 1,142,058 | Gross: $422.78M

12. Toy Story (1995)

G | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

96 Metascore

A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.

Director: John Lasseter | Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney

Votes: 1,068,326 | Gross: $191.80M

13. A Bug's Life (1998)

G | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

78 Metascore

A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.

Directors: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton | Stars: Kevin Spacey, David Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere

Votes: 314,466 | Gross: $162.80M

14. Rio (2011)

G | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

63 Metascore

When Blu, a domesticated macaw from small-town Minnesota, meets the fiercely independent Jewel, he takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with the bird of his dreams.

Director: Carlos Saldanha | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, George Lopez, Karen Disher

Votes: 248,456 | Gross: $143.62M

15. Death Note (2006–2007)

TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Crime, Drama

An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.

Stars: Mamoru Miyano, Brad Swaile, Vincent Tong, Ryô Naitô

Votes: 378,319

16. Ponyo (2008)

G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

86 Metascore

A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi

Votes: 163,430 | Gross: $15.09M

17. Happy Feet (2006)

PG | 108 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

77 Metascore

Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!

Directors: George Miller, Warren Coleman, Judy Morris | Stars: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams

Votes: 199,965 | Gross: $198.00M

18. Ice Age (2002)

PG | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

61 Metascore

The story revolves around sub-zero heroes: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, a sloth and a prehistoric combination of a squirrel and rat, known as Scrat.

Directors: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha | Stars: Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Goran Visnjic

Votes: 519,047 | Gross: $176.39M

19. Shrek (2001)

PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

84 Metascore

A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.

Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson | Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow

Votes: 733,994 | Gross: $267.67M

20. Up (2009)

PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

88 Metascore

78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.

Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson | Stars: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer

Votes: 1,124,710 | Gross: $293.00M

21. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)

PG | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

50 Metascore

When Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs gets him abducted by their real mother to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.

Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Michael Thurmeier | Stars: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Eunice Cho

Votes: 264,161 | Gross: $196.57M

22. The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

G | 78 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

70 Metascore

Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama by his ex-administrator Yzma, and must now regain his throne with the help of Pacha, the gentle llama herder.

Director: Mark Dindal | Stars: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton

Votes: 225,406 | Gross: $89.30M

23. Madagascar (2005)

PG | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

57 Metascore

A group of animals who have spent all their life in a New York zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar, and must adjust to living in the wild.

Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath | Stars: Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith

Votes: 437,400 | Gross: $193.60M

24. Antz (1998)

PG | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

73 Metascore

A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.

Directors: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson, Lawrence Guterman | Stars: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone

Votes: 164,048 | Gross: $90.76M

25. Chicken Run (2000)

G | 84 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

88 Metascore

When a cockerel apparently flies into a chicken farm, the chickens see him as an opportunity to escape their evil owners.

Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park | Stars: Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha, Phil Daniels, Lynn Ferguson

Votes: 212,247 | Gross: $106.83M



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