Source: IndieWire Compiler: Meta Knife
"Nezha's Devil Boy Descending" has become a summer rescue hit, and the current box office has surpassed "Red Sea Action" to become the fourth highest-grossing film in Chinese film history. But in terms of the content of the film itself, it is difficult to say whether it can be called a "great cartoon". After all, many viewers believe that 79 years' "Nezha Noisy Sea" is more imaginative.
When it comes to great animated films, the first thing that comes to mind are Pixar and Studio Ghibli. But in fact, in addition to these two giants, there is another broad world.
Animated films are becoming more and more artistic, as more and more people realize that it is not just a medium for children, and more and more animation companies and independent studios are creating outstanding stop-motion, hand-drawn and 3D animation works.
After entering the new century, animated films have developed so rapidly that we may not realize that the Oscars only began to establish the best animated film award in 2001. Before 2010, only three animated films were nominated for Oscars each year, but since then, the increasing level of animation has been reflected in the competitiveness of awards (films such as "Flying House" and "Toy Story 3" have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture).
Unfortunately, not every outstanding cartoon has made it to the Oscars or the list below, such as "The Red Turtle", "Kubo and the Two Strings", "Ernest and Celestine" and other films are well worthy of nominations.
<h1 class="ql-align-center" > top 20 best animated films of the 21st century</h1>
The Best Animated Films of the 21st Century
Selected by the famous American media IndieWire in 2017
20. "Song of the Blues"
Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
Director: Nina Paley
Nina Paley's Song of the Blues is a visual feast and an experiment in the personal retelling and interpretation of masterpieces of Indian literature. The film also reviews one of India's two great epics, the Ramayana.
The Ramayana tells the story of Prince Rama who rescues his wife, Seata, from the evil king Ravana. Pelley divided the film into three stories, each of which produced a different style of painting through different animation techniques. The most direct adaptation of the story uses Rajput paintings (a fine painting of ancient India, mostly based on the Mahabharata and Ramayana and other Hindu myths), and uses a Greek choir to explain the meaning of the original poems. Another story is similar to the Ramayana, but set in modern times, proving the eternity of the original text. The final story tells the story of a more active "Theta" who modifies the original story by making herself an independent woman. By putting power in the hands of "Theta" and making her no longer just a woman in trouble, Paley eventually made Song of the Blues a radical film that redefined the sacred. It's bold enough, so it's impressive. ——Zack Sharf
19. "Shaun the Sheep"
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015)
Directed By: Mark Burton / Richard Stazack
Who would have thought that a spin-off movie from Super Smash Bros. Brawl would be as good as the original series? Even many people think it is better than the original series. The bold work quietly launched by Aardman Animation has allowed the company to surpass itself. The film has a simple story opening (Sean and his companions cause a lot of pranks during a day away from the farm) and entertaining scene installations. There's no dialogue in the movie at all—or at least not at least, because sheep bark like sheep in the real world, and humans talk no differently than adults in Snoopy. "Snoopy" focuses more on the almost Chaplin-esque madness. It feels like a generalization to rate an animated film as entertaining as adults and children as paired, but Shaun the Sheep does exactly what very few works can do. ——Michael Nordine
18. "Aberration"
Anomalisa（2015）
Director: Charlie Kaufman / Duke Johnson
"Everyone you talk to has a day like this, some are wonderful, sometimes not, but they all have such a day. Despite all the pain and joy Charlie Kaufman has experienced in his entry into the animation world, this seemingly simple reminder remains one of his deepest reflections. When we're in love with someone new to meet, we may forget ourselves and our loved ones — especially during a business trip to Cincinnati (a city in southwestern Ohio, U.S.A.) (the film's plot) — but Kaufman portrays the haunting memories of the past with an honesty that is hard to look at.
In terms of dubbing, David Hurris and Jennifer Jason Lee performed well. And the decision to have Tom Nonnan voice all the other characters may be the real genius of this movie. Of course, this is an extraordinary film, which is even more special because it is rare. Learn from Michael's mistakes and remember them, even if you've finished it all and returned to the everyday mundane. ——MN
17. "Crazy Dating Mirador"
Les triplettes de Belleville (2003)
Director: Shirwan Schomer
Few silent films have achieved such a high level of international popularity as Hilwan Schomer's Mad Date Mirador. In French comic-style brushstrokes, the characters either lazily fall into the frame or bounce around happily, depending on their mood. The film's soundtrack was beautiful and intoxicating, and it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song (the film itself was nominated for Best Animated Feature). The story is about a loving mother-in-law desperate to save her grandson, and it is full of emotion, spirit and humor that give the film its rightful place in the classic animation array. ——Jude Dry
16. The Lego Movie
The Lego Movie（2014）
Directed by: Phil Rod / Christopher Miller
This blockbuster animated blockbuster, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is truly breathtaking. The director duo once surprised everyone with the and comedy 21 Jump Street, and now they are once again using this toy brand promotional film to amaze the four sides, originally everyone did not think that a promotional film could be so good-looking.
Widely acclaimed for its poignant satire and colorful visual style, the film deconstructs the cheesy genre blockbuster formula and reshapes it into one nonsense after another. Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) voices the silly and cute LEGO character who must destroy the evil president who rules the LEGO world. The funky punk Winsdale is a tragic but super-powerful and fun girl character. With creative CG technology to make Lego toys move and create a steady stream of jokes, "Lego Movie" has become a classic of this era. ——JD
15. Ratatouille
Ratatouille (2007)
Director: Brad Bird / Jane Pickwa
With Ratatouille, director Brad Bird saved a problematic project and set a new benchmark for Pixar. Ostensibly it's a brother comedy that tells the story of a little mouse remy with culinary talent and a restaurant apprentice who wants to become a chef, but at its core it's the director's praise for cooking, art, and innocence. When the grumpy, cynical food critic Coron took a bite of the rodent's eponymous dish, he returned to his childhood in a purifying way.
It's a ridiculous French farce, and the wisdom of the animation itself creates lively rat images, exquisite Parisian sweets, and mouth-watering delicacies. In real life, restaurants and rats can't coexist, but thanks to Bird and Pixar, they rely on "comic breast milk" to form. ——Bill Desowitz
14. Hal's Moving Castle
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Winning an Oscar for "Spirited Away" is a bittersweet pill for the pacifist Hayao Miyazaki, who is full of anger at the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In response, he poured his energy into this beautiful, poignant, and complex anti-war film. This film proves that life should be cherished and that old age is not a curse.
The story takes place in a magical kingdom during wartime, where a hat shop girl, Sophie, has an affair with Hal, the owner of the mobile castle, and is eventually turned into an 80-year-old woman by a vicious witch. A journey to reverse the curse begins, and Sophie joins the rebellion. The meaningless war in the background did not lead to a story of good and evil, but a tragedy in which no one should be blamed and all should suffer. The anime itself is one of Miyazaki's most complex works, with stunning scenography and one of the most technically demanding works of the maestro's creative career. ——Chris O’Falt
13. "Ghost Mother"
Coraline (2009)
Director: Henry Selik
Animator Henry Selick has refined his stop-motion animation techniques through films such as Nightmare Before Christmas (written by Tim Burton) and The Adventures of the Flying Peach. Using a flexible digital camera, he shoots the puppets frame by frame in a large number of miniature scenes and then animates them. His masterpiece, the magical gothic fairy tale "Ghost Mother", is better than any previous stop-motion movie.
The heroine of the film, Caroline, is an extremely lonely girl who lives in a crumbling new house in the country. Her workaholic parents neglected to care and take care of her, and she had to seek solace in another parallel universe, where she played and cooked with another group of fantasy parents and tended to a fabulous garden.
Impeccable scene characters, all handmade by artists over months, include a large number of hand-manipulated dolls and thousands of paper flowers.
The doll is supported by a metal skeleton with skin made of plastic silicon, handmade clothing, and a replaceable head. These heads are stored in trays with all sorts of expressions: frowning, smiling, pouting... Because there are Carolines in almost every shot, they made a total of 20 Caroline dolls. An animator shoots 50 or so quarter-scale miniatures of black curtains in a huge Laika warehouse in Portland, Oregon, over three and a half years, just to make a 10-second shot. Selik's team consists of artists, assemblers, electricians, lighting engineers, costume designers, makeup artists, voice actors and animators. They meticulously crafted all the elements of the film's scenes. From the 7-inch-tall Caroline doll and the little black cat, to the miniature trees, leaves and blades of grass, to the shining lights, Selik has brought the world to life. ——Anne Thompson
12. "Flying House Tour"
Up (2009)
Director: Peter Doggett / Bob Peterson
The title of Flying House is only two letters, but it is a huge film about regaining childhood dreams, building impossible friendships, worshipping heroes worthy of worship, and endless sadness.
Released in 2009 and voiced by veteran actors Ed Asner and Christopher Plummer features (The Sound of Music male protagonist), The Flying House created the most memorable house of paradise in the film since The Wizard of Oz.
When the grumpy Carl is forced into a nursing home, the old man, who once monopolized balloons, comes up with a grand plan to leave his middle-class neighborhood. He succeeded, and took with him an unexpected passenger, a young boy named "Wilderness Trailblazer", Xiao Luo.
The film's beautiful characters and Crayola-like color style contrast the opening even more heartbreaking, as Carl thinks of his young wife, Ellie, before his adventure. Seeing them go through a life-and-death separation, you'll be sadder not only than seeing the death of their father in The Lion King and the death of Bambi's mother in Bambi, but also more sad than seeing the death scenes of all Disney cartoons. ——Jenna Marotta
11. "Red Hot Chili Peppers"
Paprika (2006)
Director: Toshi Imabari
Imatoshi is not widely known, so many fans may not realize that the animation master's death from cancer in 2010 at the age of 47 was a huge loss. Both Christopher Nolan and Darren Aronofsky (director of Black Swan) were inspired by his cinematic creativity; the roots of Inception can be found in Imatoshi's last film, Red Hot Chili Peppers. The film is about a device that allows the therapist to enter a patient's dream. But Nolan needs to pause constantly in order to keep the audience up to the dialogue-driven exposition, and Imatoshi's film can effortlessly show his own fully understood conceptions of time, space, dreams, and reality. ——CO
10. Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Director: Lee Unkrich
One person who had never cried in the first 15 minutes of Watching Flying House said he felt incredible pain when he saw Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the other members of Toy Story 3 who had to face not only what seemed doomed, but also accept their shared fate. And before this crucial scene, he believes that Toy Story 3 is already one of the most touching animated films of all time.
Pixar's too frequent sequels may have left many people with little confidence in the quality of the film. But any skeptic, like me, should remember that the company's best film is the third in a series, as if the first one wasn't needed in the first place. The next few Cars may disappoint us, but at least one of them will move us. ——MN
9. "Waltz with Bashir"
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
Director: Ali Foreman
Ari Folman's controversial masterpiece is hard to classify, and not just because of how contradictory a "animated documentary" sounds. It is so strange because it exists above the highly conflicting boundaries between reality and imagination — neither real nor fiction, but a vague middle ground in memory.
First and foremost, it tells the story of a memory. Foreman's film looks back on his 19-year-old experience as an Israeli soldier who witnessed the massacre of refugees in the 1982 Lebanon War, trying to shine some light into the darkest corners of his own heart. By visiting former comrades-in-arms, friends, and psychologists, filming their conversations, and then superimposing them on the film's dreamlike Flash animation, Foreman turns a guilty memoir into a unique historical portrait that lingers in our hearts and cannot be forgotten for a long time.
Many films have been called "memorable films," but Waltz with Bashir really illustrates what it means, becoming one of the few films to actually earn this distinction. ——David Ehrlich
8. "What evening this evening"
World of Tomorrow (2015)
Directed By: Don Hertzfeld
Yes, the film, directed by Don Hertzfeldt, is an animated short, but it contains more creative and emotional richness than most two-hour feature films (including some of the films on this list) in 17 minutes.
The story revolves around a girl named Emily who is invited by her adult clone to travel to the future. Emily's innocent innocence is intertwined with a pessimistic view of the world, forming a heartbreaking dramatic color. Because she was still young, she couldn't understand what adults do. At the same time, Herzfeld's seemingly primitive painting style actually expresses a series of colorful emotions and the pulse of life.
We can't be obsessed with this short, pithy work. It tells a profound philosophical story that is compelling precisely because it is streamlined. It can be compared to Chris Mark's La Jetée (1962) and became one of the greatest short films in the history of cinema. ——CO
7. "I Grew Up in Iran"
Persepolis (2007)
Directed by: Vincent Parland / Marga shatarpi
Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel I Grew Up in Iran is set against the backdrop of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and tells the story of Shatapi's autobiographical growth.
Although the scenes of the film's current time are colored, the vast majority of the scenes of Iranian memories are black and white, not only to be faithful to the comics, but also as a stylistic choice. Shatapi believes that this approach helps to show how Iran differs from other countries.
The enduring charm of this film is that, despite its personal nature, it still resonates with people. Maggie's story is fascinating and an interesting historical record, but it's also a story of how we struggled to build relationships with others and find ourselves. Every experience of heartbreak and happiness we have can be found in Maggie's experience.
"I Grew Up in Iran" was a co-winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival (the other was Silent Light) and became one of the most important coming-of-age stories of the century. ——Jamie Righetti
6. Robot Story
WALL· E (2008)
Director: Andrew Stanton
This is a 2008 Pixar masterpiece directed by Andrew Stanton, and it's perfect from that perspective. Pixar's strategy of popular artistry + moving stories is always perfectly effective.
For the past 700 years, the garbage collection robot Wall-E (WALL · E) Has been laboriously cleaning up a piece of rubble on Earth, but the job has been in vain, because frankly, the ruins have actually gotten worse. Yet, although Wall-E has lived alone for decades, his curiosity and humanity have only grown. He likes to watch songs and dances from hundreds of years ago after work, and he also has a cockroach friend as a companion. His heart was so tender and sweet that it was heart-wrenching. The only thing Wall-E needs is someone to share it all, so when Eve unexpectedly appears, one of the most amazing and rewarding love stories in modern cinema begins.
But that's not all, Stanton, as always, adds a cultural critique to the film—he brings out, through Wall-Eel and Eve, the self-paralyzed human beings who indulge in suspended chairs that can enjoy infinite pleasure, consuming only and never socializing physically, exposing their personalities.
The fact that two robots are able to feel something in an emotionless universe is a basic enough premise, but the real trick of Robot Story is that it actually uses something that evokes real emotions. Even compared to the most exciting animation that Pixar produced in the next 10 years, it still looks novel. Moreover, thomas Newman's soundtrack attaches majesty and magic to every frame of the film. The film has never been one step behind in the last decade, and its dance has never stopped. ——Kate Erbland
5. "The Wind Rises"
Fuze Tachin (2013)
With this indescribably beautiful song, Miyazaki cemented his position as the greatest animator in the history of cinema. The film tells the story of Zero fighter designer Jiro Horikoshi. Everything about the film is extraordinary, first of all the animated biopics themselves are few and far between, not to mention the controversial characters of World War II. Imagine what the social repercussions would have been if Brad Bird (director of The Incredibles) had made an animated film about Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atomic bomb) at Pixar.
"The Wind Rises" eventually overcame the controversy that accompanied the film's release into an unparalleled and unforgettable ode to the creation process and hardships of our most beautiful dreams. ——DE
4. Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo (2003)
Directed By: Andrew Stanton / Lee Unkridge
After her second sitcom offer was canceled, Ellen (a well-known talk show host) — a pioneer of women in the '80s and LGBTQ community in the '90s — found her fledgling film and television career in calm. It was then that Pixar invited her to play a fish with short-term amnesia, Dolly, who helped an anxious father retrieve his son from the dentist's tank.
Finding Nemo became the second-highest-grossing film in 2003, the same year, Ellen launched her hit talk show (the Allen Show). Pixar won the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for the film, and the DVD of the film is still the best-selling ever. Allen hosted the Oscars, won the Presidential Medal of Freedom, her performance attracted more than 75 million fans on Twitter, and of course, she was the protagonist of the sequel, Finding Nemo 2. As for the calm at the beginning? inexistent. ——JM
3. The Tale of Hui Ye Ji
The Story of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Director: Takahata
In the face of a film adapted from ancient folklore, it is always unwise to cling to the hope of a happy ending — the storytellers of the past were not as gentle as later filmmakers. In other words, people can't be prepared to accept a shocking ending like The Tale of Hui Ye Ji when watching Disney movies. It's a story based on a 10th-century AD Japanese legend that creates an emotional rift that no animated film has ever had, except for his own Grave of the Fireflies.
Takahata's style of watercolor incorporates a sense of bittersweet simplicity, but the fairy tale about a girl from the moon who was magically raised by a low-level lumberjack is unforgettablely fulfilling and full of life. But the saddest thing is that this sad masterpiece may be the last Ghibli we can see. ——DE
2. "The Great Fox Daddy"
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Director: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson's live-action films often have a deliberate sense of stop-motion animation, so it's no surprise that he makes a stop-motion film where everything in the frame is handmade by designers and artists.
Anderson's The Great Fox Daddy is not so much an adaptation of the highly sought after Roald Dahl novel as it is the beginning of the director's imagination of his own story world. It's a surprisingly adult world, full of philosophical reflections on humanity in the 21st century.
However, it's also a hilarious children's story, full of hilarity and humor, played by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Wes Anderson himself through witty voiceovers. ——CO
1. Spirited Away
Spirited Away(2001)
Getting what you want is a beautiful and scary thing. In Hayao Miyazaki's full basket of masterpieces, this stunning treasure tells the story of a young girl Chihiro's fantastic journey through a land full of cursed animals, vicious witches and "faceless men". It is Miyazaki's textbook work of magic and weirdness that makes a modern fairy tale comparable to the time-tested Grimm and Aesop's Fables, as well as countless ancient legends that have survived to this day.
Heroes and villains can be transformed in an instant, well-intentioned hands can be used to create evil, and evil enemies will one day be redeemed... What better lesson could there be than that for a child who is going through a strange and dangerous journey? The Faceless Man, Grandma Tang, Grandma Qian, and The White Dragon can all be seen as symbols of this teenage fable, used to express the relationship between modern people and nature, the way we treat our elders...
In terms of tone, color, and thematic ideas, it is a kaleidoscope of Studio Ghibli and perfectly regulated under the direction of the storyteller.
The end of the film perfectly sublimates the story of this magical world. Back in the real world, you're still safe, but something you can't be sure has changed. It's a great promise for film, animation, or other art, where you can present as much truth as possible on top of fantasy. ——Steve Greene
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<h1 class="ql-align-justify" > the ten greatest Japanese animated films of the 21st century 丨BFI</h1>
From the BFI website (the most authoritative film list selection agency)
Spirited Away (2001), Hayao Miyazaki
Tokyo Godfather, 2013, Toshi Imatoshi
Mind Games, 2004, Masaaki Yuasa
Red Hot Chili Peppers , 2006 , Imatoshi
Bad Boy 2006, Michael Elias
The Girl Who Traveled Through Time, 2006, Hosoda Mori
"Letter to Peach", 2011, Keiyuki Okiura
The Tale of Yukihime 2013, Takahata Hoon
"In This Corner of the World" 2016, Katabuchi Mustashi Nao
Your Name. 2016, Makoto Shinkai
< h1 class="ql-align-center" > interaction </h1>
What other animations are more worthy of the list?