AFI Top Ten Animated Features

[MikeBSG]

The AFI just posted a list of Top Ten animated features. I thought this was the best place to mention this:

1) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2) Pinnochio
3) Bambi
4) The Lion King
5) Fantasia
6) Toy Story
7) Beauty and the Beast
8) Shrek
9) Cinderella
10) Finding Nemo

[cinemalover]

Another safe list.

At least there are some solid entries that had a profound effect on the genre. I'm not sure how Shrek makes that list though.

Snow White started the animated feature genre, Pinnochio includes some of the best quality animation ever filmed. Beauty and the Beast was the first animated feature to incorporate computer anmimation with traditional hand-drawn animation.

[MikeBSG]

I would rather have "The Little Mermaid" on the list instead of "Beauty and the Beast." I was rather surprised that "Dumbo" didn't make the list.

[cinemalover]

Mike,
I would definitely consider Little Mermaid for the list, but not at the expense of Beauty and the Beast. I would have replaced Cinderella with Sleeping Beauty for their fabulous use of design and color.

[charliechaplinfan]

Personally Cinderella is my favorite I certainly know my Disney princess movies by now

I thought Dumbo should be in too.

[klondike]

Uh-oh!
Just got off the phone with Tiger Lilly (we go way back), and she is on the warpath over Peter Pan's omission from the AFI list!

I'd bug out for the fort right now, if I were those guys!!

[jdb1]

I can't agree with you on Roger Rabbit, Bryce. A lifelong cartoon/animation lover, I hated it when I saw it in the theater, and a subsequent TV viewing hasn't changed my opinion.

I think a good word for the movie is "desperate." It desperately shoves in every cartoon character and cartoon cliche available, and mixes them all up to the consistency of a rapidly sinking lead balloon. I find the movie singularly humorless; I don't see that it captures any of the essence of any of the iconic cartoon characters involved. It misses the mark on everything I think it may have been trying to do. I wasn't bowled over the effects, either. There's better human/cartoon interaction in Betty Boop cartoons from 70 years ago.

I don't see it as an homage, I don't see it as a parody, and I surely don't see it as a comedy.

I think also that it's the worst performance Bob Hoskins ever gave.

In short, there's likely a very good reason AFI omitted Roger Rabbit.

[MichiganJ]

I would bump Cinderella and put in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Maybe even add The Iron Giant in there somewhere. I mean, I love Disney, but, with the exception of Shrek (and you are right, Bryce, it should be Shrek 2), it's a virtual Disney...(um)...land.

[jdb1]

Bryce, it's all a matter of taste. I suppose I feel strongly about films I don't like - they've wasted my time and my money (not to mention often wasting the talents of the people who made them).

I wasn't in love with any of the Shreks, but I guess I'd prefer any of them to Roger Rabbit.

What were AFI's criteria in choosing these particular animated films? Popularity? Artistry? How much money they made? I wonder. I think that especially in the world of animation, artistry can rule -- much moreso than in live film. I can think of lots of animations that are absolutely beautiful, but didn't make it to the list. I certainly agree on Fantasia, although I don't like every single bit of it.

[charliechaplinfan]

The one I don't get is Finding Nemo this may be because it's the first DVD my then two year old daughter ever owned and was on constantly for about a month. I don't think there is much story to it, Nemo is a little soft for my liking, no I just don't like it.

I've also been subjected to repeated viewings of Bambi, The Lion King, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast all of these I prefer, they're just have a better structure with more engaging characters.

[jdb1]

Perhaps AFI's list is an attempt not to have every film on the list be a Disney film.

I'd like to see, for example, Alice in Wonderland on the list - I think Disney did a very good job of paring the story down and capturing the spirit of the book, albeit in Disney-like terms. Not an easy task -- I've seen countless live and animated versions of Alice that just don't seem to get it.

[charliechaplinfan]

Yes, Alice is very difficult to get right. It's been many years since I saw it, to me, it did capture the essence of the original work.

[jdb1]

Alison, have you ever seen the made for TV version of Alice (combined with Through the Looking Glass, actually) of about 10 years ago starring the exellent young American actress Tina Majorino? It has been run a few times on one of the cable stations here, but in a shortened version -- I've never seen the whole thing. It's a really good one.

Whoopi Goldberg is the Cheshire Cat, Martin Short is the Mad Hatter, Miranda Richardson as the Red Queen (hilarious); and there are many more stars. I think the effects in this one are really good, and young Tina (about 11 at the time) does a very credible English accent. (Do you know her? She was in Goldberg's movie Corinna, Corinna and, now grown up, she was very cute as Napoleon Dynamite's friend Deb.)

The story line is changed a bit, as it usually is, but I don't think it's particularly detrimental to the general attitude of the piece, which has a an appropriately gentle manicness about it.

I do wish I could see the entire thing - it's about 3 hours long. In this version, my favorite parts are a combined live-action and puppet rendering of "The Walrus and the Carpenter," with Peter Ustinov as the Walrus, and Pete Postlethwaite as the Carpenter; and I also particularly liked Alice's encounter with Donald Sinden (voice only) and Gene Wilder as the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, respectively. The Turtle and Alice's rendition of "Beautiful Soup" is very sweet.