Friday, July 1, 2011

TIME stands still....


Time magazine's movie critic Richard Corliss just published a list of the top 25 animated films of all time.   If you follow this link, you can read the author's comments plus watch trailers from each of the films on the list.  Or, if you're not that interested, I have posted the list below:

1. Pinocchio (1940)
2. WALL-E (2008)
3. The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979)
4. Dumbo (1941)
5. Spirited Away (2001)
6. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)
7. Up (2009)
8. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
9. Finding Nemo (2003)
10. The Little Mermaid (1989)
11. Toy Story 3 (2010)
12. Toy Story (1995)
13. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
14. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
15. Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
16. Happy Feet (2006)
17. Akira (1988)
18. The Lion King (1994)
19. Tangled (2010)
20. Paprika (2007)
21. Kung Fu Panda (2008)
22. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008)
23. Yellow Submarine (1968)
24. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
25. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Huh?   I realize that lists are very subjective, and lists like these are made to invite comments and controversy, but really?  Horton Hears a Who?  The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie??  HAPPY FEET??? 
Sadder than what is on the list are the films that were left out.   Films like Bambi, Fantasia, The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and the Beauty and the Beast (nominated for Best Picture) were left off to make room for films like South Park - Bigger, Longer and Uncut.  And Happy Feet.  HAPPY FEET.   Let me say it again, because I just can't believe it - HAPPY FEET???
I admit that I am no movie critic.   I also admit that I have yet to see every animated films.   I still need to sit down and watch Kung Fu Panda and How to Train your Dragon, both of which I have been told are great films and possibly deserving of this recognition.   I have never heard of Paprika.   I watched Spirited Away, and despite everyone raving about the movie, I just didn't get it.  But any list that puts the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie as the third best animated film of all time is a few sardines short of a can.  I love the cartoons, but 10 cartoons strung together don't work as a movie.  And, for the record, neither does HAPPY FEET.
To give credit to Mr. Corliss, I would put Pinocchio at the top of list.  I think this is one the most technically perfect animated films ever made.   Disney was at the top of their game at the time, and ever scene in the picture is a masterpiece.  As a child, the scene where Lampwick is turned into a donkey terrified me.  It starts slow, almost as a joke, then slowly builds, becoming more and more intense as the pace and horror builds to a climax.   It gives me goosebumps to this day.  



If I have a chance, I'll compile my own list in the next day or so.  In the meantime, I invite your comments.   What do YOU consider as the best animated films of all time?  Post your choices in the comments section below!

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