Rolling Stone's 40 Greatest Animated Movies Ever

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Rolling Stone wrote:
It’s crazy to think that, in the century-plus since Winsor McCay and the French Fantasmagorie first made moving drawings on a screen a form of popular entertainment, animation has given us everything from steamboat-steering mice and sly stop-motion foxes to, well, you name it: a septet of singing dwarves, psychic Japanese teens, counterculturally hip cats, crooning French triplets, classical-gassed satyrs and demons, humanity-saving robots, superhero families, the young-female brain’s emotional terrain and a lovable, unclassifiable creature known as a Totoro. What was once considered a cinematic distraction for children has blossomed into a medium that’s as creatively fertile and emotionally resonant as any live-action films aimed at the 18-and-over crowd (or, in the case of a stunner like Anomalisa, an incredible substitute for “adult” movies featuring actual adults).

So we’re counting down our picks for the 40 greatest animated movies of all time — the features (and a handful of key shorts too good not to include) that have pushed the boundaries of what drawn lines, computerized pixels or manipulated puppets could accomplish for filmgoers. These are the ones that scare us, move us, crack us up and remind us of how fun and moving it is to watch cartoons, etc. with a crowd.

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  1. 1 -

    Fantastic Mr. Fox

    2009, in 9 top lists Check
  2. 2 -

    Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi

    2001 — a.k.a. Spirited Away, in 39 top lists Check
  3. 3 -

    Fantasia

    1940, in 20 top lists Check
  4. 4 -

    Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    1937, in 25 top lists Check
  5. 5 -

    Duck Amuck

    1953, in 11 top lists Check
  6. 6 -

    WALL·E

    2008, in 26 top lists Check
  7. 7 -

    The Iron Giant

    1999, in 14 top lists Check
  8. 8 -

    The Nightmare Before Christmas

    1993, in 15 top lists Check
  9. 9 -

    Street of Crocodiles

    1986, in 6 top lists Check
  10. 10 -

    World of Tomorrow

    2015, in 4 top lists Check
  11. 11 -

    What's Opera, Doc?

    1957, in 7 top lists Check
  12. 12 -

    Inside Out

    2015, in 18 top lists Check
  13. 13 -

    Tonari no Totoro

    1988 — a.k.a. My Neighbor Totoro, in 23 top lists Check
  14. 14 -

    Steamboat Willie

    1928, in 3 top lists Check
  15. 15 -

    Chicken Run

    2000, in 9 top lists Check
  16. 16 -

    The Little Mermaid

    1989, in 8 top lists Check
  17. 17 -

    Anomalisa

    2015, in 2 top lists Check
  18. 18 -

    Waking Life

    2001, in 9 top lists Check
  19. 19 -

    Akira

    1988, in 22 top lists Check
  20. 20 -

    Pinocchio

    1940, in 16 top lists Check
  21. 21 -

    The Lego Movie

    2014, in 5 top lists Check
  22. 22 -

    Toy Story

    1995, in 25 top lists Check
  23. 23 -

    Yellow Submarine

    1968, in 8 top lists Check
  24. 24 -

    Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed

    1926 — a.k.a. The Adventures of Prince Achmed, in 13 top lists Check
  25. 25 -

    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

    1999, in 8 top lists Check
  26. 26 -

    Bambi

    1942, in 13 top lists Check
  27. 27 -

    Vals Im Bashir

    2008 — a.k.a. Waltz with Bashir, in 11 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    The Wrong Trousers

    1993, in 7 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    The Incredibles

    2004, in 13 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Persepolis

    2007, in 9 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Fritz the Cat

    1972, in 4 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Les triplettes de Belleville

    2003 — a.k.a. The Triplets of Belleville, in 11 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    Hauru no ugoku shiro

    2004 — a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle, in 18 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Up

    2009, in 16 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    The Secret of NIMH

    1982, in 2 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    La planète sauvage

    1973 — a.k.a. Fantastic Planet, in 10 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Hotaru no haka

    1988 — a.k.a. Grave of the Fireflies, in 21 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Charlotte's Web

    1973, in 2 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    Coraline

    2009, in 3 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    Rango

    2011, in 3 top lists Check
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Last updated on Apr 1, 2020 by Gershwin; source