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Produced by Sony Pictures Animation (best known for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Into The Spider-Verse) and distributed by Netflix, The Mitchells vs. The Machines is one of the best animated comedies of the year. The movie centers on the Mitchells as they attempt to bond on a family road trip but eventually find themselves having to save Earth from robots who are trying to take over the world. The all-star cast is especially charming, with the Mitchells voiced by Danny McBride, Maya Rudoplh, and Abbi Jacobson, two hilariously malfunctioning robots voiced by Fred Armisen and Beck Bennett, and Oscar winner Olivia Colman (you read that right) as the vicious leader of the evil robots. The Mitchells vs. The Machines is the best kind of family comedy that Sony Pictures Animation is known for: it works on both an adult level (with parents dealing with their children leaving for college) as well as a child level (all of the zany, charmingly childish jokes sprinkled throughout) and excels in both modes. A blast to watch and especially perfect to watch with family this holiday season, The Mitchells vs. The Machines is an absolute delight.
A big hit at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, I Lost My Body was one of the most critically acclaimed, yet underrated animated films of 2019. It even won the Nespresso Grand Prize at Cannes, the first animated film to accomplish this feat. I Lost My Body follows young Naofel (Hakim Faris) as he begins to fall for librarian Gabrielle (Victoire du Bois) after an accident in which he loses his hand. Meanwhile, his hand journeys across town from the morgue to reunite with Naofel. A truly original animated film, I Lost My Body is as beautifully animated as its plot is inventive. At times romantic, comedic, and magic realist, I Lost My Body tells a wistful, moving story. The animation combined with a great score from French band The D, creates a wonderfully specific portrait of the characters and the evocative world they live in. I Lost My Body is one of the best movies of last year, and is also one of the best animated films of the last couple of years.
This was the first film since 2009 from director Henry Selick, of A Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline (both movies to which we'll return, don't worry). Having not lost a step, and joined here by co-writer Jordan Peele, the director fashioned another stop-motion masterpiece, this time about a couple of demon brothers (Peele and Keegan-Michael Key) and the troubled young woman (voiced by Lyric Ross) who they try to manipulate into helping them start their own demon carnival. Turns out she's not such an easy mark.
Chris Williams, an animator who has either directed or had a hand in some of the best animated movies of the last decade (Bolt, Big Hero 6, Moana, etc.), brings us this story about a girl who stows away on the ship of a legendary monster hunter (Karl Urban) and sets off on an adventure that gives her new insight into what truly makes someone (or something) monstrous. It makes use of modern animation technology without ever feeling gimmicky.
One of early Disney's shortest films, Dumbo is a brisk, occasionally heartbreaking story about the titular elephant with the enormous ears. The movie's racist crows are a problem, but otherwise it's a tender, occasionally heartbreaking story about a kid who just wants to belong. "Baby Mine" is among the most effectively tearjerking numbers in the entire Disney musical pantheon.
Yes, this is another example of Disney doing a westernized version of a non-western culture, with all of the problems and inaccuracies that entails. Nevertheless, it's still a beautiful, inspiring story of a young Chinese woman impersonating a man to take her father's place in the military, and saving her country from invading Huns in the process.
While Eddie Murphy feels like a highly questionable choice for Chinese-folktale-inspired Mulan, he's very much at home here as Donkey, teaming up with Mike Myers as the titular ogre to save the imprisoned Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz). The movie blends genuine laughs with some genuine feels, ultimately turning the Disney princess formula on its head by making clear that true beauty is found in the swamp. It was the very first film to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
From the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas and based on the book by Neil Gaiman, the stop-motion-animated Coraline is every inch the dark fantasy that you'd expect from that team-up. In the film, Coraline explores her new home in the general absence of her preoccupied parents, discovers a door into a slightly sinister, but definitely appealing alternate universe. Coraline is forced to choose which reality she'd prefer to live in, and fight for the opportunity.
The sharp Aardman Brothers comedy has some incredibly fun stop-motion animation and an awful lot of chickens. It remains the top-grossing stop-motion animated movie of all time. And 20+ years later, we got a similarly good sequel.
Makoto Shinkai followed up Your Name with this equally impactful successor, a gorgeous vision of rain-soaked Tokyo, and a young woman who can control the weather (this movie doing for water imagery what Your Name did with light). Troubled runaway Hodaka meets and befriends Hina, whose emotions impact the weather. There are life- and world-threatening consequences to all of this, but, ultimately, it's about the triumphs and tragedies of first love.
Dutch animator Michael Dudok de Wit teamed with Studio Ghibli for this dialogue-free film that tells the story of a man who becomes trapped on a desert island with only a giant turtle for companionship. What starts as a survival tale takes on deeper resonance as their bond grows. A powerful emotional journey.
Presented as an animated pseudo-documentary, Flee sees director Jonas Poher Rasmussen telling the story of Amin Nawabi, heading off to marry his boyfriend but stopping to recount his childhood journey to escape Afghanistan at the end of the Soviet occupation. A gripping, and deeply moving, journey of self discovery.
This French science fiction film defies any attempts to succinctly describe its plot, except to say that it takes place in a distant future on a world where giant blue humanoid creatures keep humans as pets, when they're not treated as wild animals. It's almost pure allegory for whatever you'd like to slot in: perhaps animal rights, perhaps racism, but it's ultimately a beautiful, deeply trippy journey to a vividly imaginative world.
Miguel enters the land of the dead to find his grandfather, and bring the gift of music back to his family in this Oscar winner. The stunningly detailed depiction of the afterlife not only celebrates Mexican culture, it feels deeply universal.
A gorgeous, deeply spooky fairy tale that sold audiences on the then-unheard-of idea that people would sit still for a feature-length animated film. It remains both entertaining and a work of art in its own right.
A visual stunner from the team behind Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, The Mitchells takes its cues from the classic road-trip films of yesteryear. Parents trying to connect with their uninterested kids? Check. Pit stops at roadside attractions? Yup. A quest to free all of humanity from a machine apocalypse launched by a sentient iPhone and an army or robots? Okay, the Griswolds never dealt with that. But still, despite its kinetic action, this is very much a tender family film at its heart, one whose jokes hit with precision that speaks to parents and kids alike. Rated PG.
The rat can cook! This sweetly ridiculous movie about a naive, ambitious rodent named Remy (charmingly voiced by Patton Oswalt), who longs to become a great chef is witty, clever, gently moral and dramatically convincing. Who doesn't love Linguini (voiced by Lou Romano), a hopeless human moppet controlled by the supremely talented Remy? Will they win over the Snow White-style villain, a power-crazed food critic named Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole)? We won't spoil the fun for the three of you out there who don't yet know the ending! Stream on Disney+. Rated G
Gru is awfully busy trying to steal the moon. However, his evil plan is uprooted when he becomes responsible for three orphan sisters. The wicked scientist doesn't seem to mind his new role as a father, but how will this affect his evil, other-worldly ordeals? Stream on Netflix. Rated PG
This Pixar classic, quite literally, takes the fun to new heights when balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen has his way. The grouchy senior ties a bunch of balloons to his home and lifts off to South America, something he's been dying to do for ages. All is fine and dandy...until Carl realizes he has company in the form of an overly enthusiastic Boy Scout. Stream on Disney+. Rated PG
Equal parts endearing and heartbreaking, the Disney classic rotates around young lion Simba, who must rise to power after the loss of his father, Mufasa. You would think the family would be supportive, but one evil uncle has it in for the cub. Hang in there, Simba! Remember: Hakuna matata! (Don't forget to check out the 2019 live-action reboot!) Stream on Disney+. Rated G
Is there a sister duo out there more popular than Anna and Elsa? The two rose to Disney fame in 2013 when Elsa's powers froze the entire kingdom. Anna sets out on an adventure to put a stop to the never-ending winter and free her big sis from seclusion. We're willing to be you've heard the flick's popular tune, "Let It Go," a few million times, right? Stream on Disney+. Rated PG
Ariel has had enough of her mermaid tail, and the youngster yearns to see what life is like on land. The singing sensation of the sea gets a taste of this fantasy, courtesy of the wicked octopus, Ursula. However, the sea witch has a plan. If the hunky prince Ariel sets her sights on fails to kiss her within three days, Ariel will lose everything. Stream on Disney+. Rated G
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