This is definitely a movie to see in the big screen. It’s not just the detail, it’s the vast scope of the landscapes presented — keeping in mind that all of this is supposed to be taking place inside the head of an 11-year-old girl!
All in Animated
GARGANTIA ON THE VERDUROUS PLANET
Plot twists develop that are unexpected and handled in surprisingly dramatic and original ways. I found the series getting more interesting as it progressed as it addressed issues of militarism, greed, social structure, duty, honor, generational transition, artificial intelligence, and reliance on technology.
Hiroyuki Okiura's LETTER TO MOMO
What a lovely, gentle, and funny film this is!
Yasuomi Umetsu’s KITE
Kite from 1998 has an infamous reputation.
Ari Folman's THE CONGRESS
Ari Folman’s THE CONGRESS is a feast for the eye and the imagination. On it I hereby bestow my coveted ONE OF A KIND tag though I must admit that some of the other films in that category seem now to pale in comparison with Folman’s masterpiece.
Shinji Aramaki's SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK
There’s so much eye candy displayed you almost forget about the labored exposition and hackneyed plot.
Disney's FROZEN
I put Frozen right up there, almost with Tangled, but with better music
Jean-Francois Laguionie's THE PAINTING
The Painting is simultaneously charming, enchanting, and entertaining. A group of characters in a painting are involved in a class struggle:
Eric Khoo's TATSUMI
Tatsumi is an adult animated film about the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi who is often credited with starting a movement in Japan to publish adult-themed manga comics.
Alexa Gajic's “TECHNOTISE: EDIT & I”
Edit herself is an interesting mix of naïveté, intelligence, raw energy, and stubbornness. Why she hangs out with the losers she does is never fully explained but, taken together, they make up a very entertaining ride that has some of the most interesting technology animation this side of WALL•E.
Don Scanlon's MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
I enjoyed this movie immensely. Visually inventive in ways I could never imagine on my own, the characters and story are involving and potentially more sophisticated than might be appreciated by very young children.
Hayao Miyazaki's LUPIN THE 3RD: THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO
This is Miyazaki’s first feature films. It portends a lot of what’s to come in his career: dizzying action, vibrant color, clever stories, strong females, and humor.
Akiyuki Shinbo's LE PORTRAIT DE PETITE COSSETTE
A young man becomes obsessed with the spirit of a murdered girl he finds entrapped in a glass in the antique shop where he works.
Disney's TANGLED
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are engaging, the story is clever, and the animation is absolutely positively gorgeous, at times almost breathtaking in its use of glowing color.
Guillaume Iverne & Arthur Qwak's DRAGON HUNTERS
I was transfixed by this animated film, not because of the story — a traditional mix of family-oriented fantasy quest elements — but because of the astonishing artistic imagination on display throughout the film.
Rob Zombie's THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO
My biggest complaint about this feature length “adult” cartoon is not about gratuitous sex and violence — that’s Rob Zombie’s whole point — it’s one very simple but unmistakable fact:
Robert Brousseau's “RACE”
This is the “intergalactic pod race” story you get from people who don’t read enough good science fiction.
Hayao Miyazaki's PONYO
This is some of Miyazaki’s best work. It’s enchanting, touching, sentimental, funny, and occasionally, simply astonishing. Miyazaki has a gift for capturing the honesty and wonder of childhood yet he does so without sugarcoating or pandering.
Nina Paley's SITA SINGS THE BLUES
I was mesmerized and entertained by this animated film. Paley intertwines the classic Ramayana with a modern love story, old blues songs, and lively comments on Indian culture by talking shadow puppets.
Fumihiko Sori's VEXILLE
This movie has plot holes galore, the graphic concepts and technologies are derivative, and the characters are oddly un-engaging. Still, it moves along at a very fast clip, the story itself is unusual, and some of the action sequences are spectacular.