Your Top 3 Animated Movies Of All Time

shrek
incredibles
advent children

@grafikdon
Lionking only downside is its 2dimensional and that is slowly gettin phased out. so i doubt if its leadin the pack like u said

Moondust, 2D isn't going anywhere,it is here to stay like the palm of your hands.  Lion King is still leading the pack, especially if you consider the ticket price of 1995 ain't the same as that of 2004/2007.

Couldn't have said it better myself! It seems some folks fail to understand that not only is 2D here to stay, but also that there are certain stories that can only be best told  visually via that medium/genre, as also applies to 3D.  E.g. I can imagine Dreamworks' "Shrek" as a 2D movie and will tell you straightup that it wouldn't have succeeded as well as it did as a 3D flick, same way Lion King would(a) suck(ed) [BiG TimE!] if done in 3D. Neither is better than the other [as both have their strenghts and weaknesses], it's just left to the storyteller to determine which of both mediums would/can best bring a story to life visually. Try telling the Japs that animes would be better in 3D -- as I write I'm trying to mentally picture the beautifully animated and visually stunning NINJA SCROLL in 3D, and I cringe~~~.

Mine would have to be:

my choices are based primarily on the quality of the animation, and then the story.

(1) the Lion King -- I saw clips of the pencil tests of this movie, and was blown away by the quality of the animation. Definitely an all-time classic/favourite.

(2) the Incredibles -- it had a 2D look and feel to it -- a la the squash and stretch, character designs/proportions -- and GREAT animation. Has to be the best 3D feature animation out there, atleast so far.

(3)  Road to Eldorado -- LOVED the character designs and animation, and story/plot wasn't bad either.

As the above article points out, the big studios choice between 2D and 3D isn't based on the false premise that either is better than the other [notwithstanding their respective strenghts and weaknesses], nor is it based on the cost of production -- as, according to the article, "the general consensus held that there are very little cost differences between producing 3D and 2D on the film side". In my experience, animation affords the artist a medium to express his creativity without bounds, and without the limits/constraints that are extant in live-action. As an animator, you're limited only by your imagination; you can think up and animate anything imaginable, even unrealistic gestures and movements can be brought to life. And as a 2D animator, I can relate to the comment made by the Dreamworks studio rep., Mark Swift, about 2D "line mileage", which he felt was a benefit of Computer Generated (CG) 3D over hand-drawn 2D. In truth, it does take longer to draw those lines over and over, especially if the animation is in FULL [SMOOTH/FLUID] ANIMATION STYLE (mainly used in 2D features -- usually at the frame rate of 24 frames per second). It's the reason why Japs. mostly use extremely LIMITED ANIMATION style in most of their animes [in low frame rates], as it's cheaper that way and less time-consuming to produce/animate. BUT, that said, ANYTHING CAN BE ANIMATED IN 2D just as in 3D, GIVEN ENOUGH TIME. I know this because I've animated some very difficult characters that took longer mainly because they had more lines/detail that had to drawn repeatedly to depict the action, especially when done in full animation.

@ Lafem, that's what I have been pointing out but I guess the razzle dazzle of 3D has more influence than I imagined. I am yet to see any present day 3D film that will surpass Lion King in any category (Music and animationetc). Don't get me wrong, I am a big hard core fan of animation, be it claymation, cut out or 3D, but when the chips are down, I will pick a well made hand drawn 2D animation before looking at a full 3D feature. My DVD collection is a huge testimony but again, there are far more 2D animated features. . .

With all due respect, is the above quote a statement of fact or a personal opinion, because if it's the latter, as I suspect, then you haven't seen enough 2D animated films to make such a spurious judgement. I think Graphikdon is free to say he'D take 2D over 3D anyday, as that comment is clearly subjective and based on his personal taste and preference as an animator himself and as an enthusiast. And I for one share his view in that respect. Like him, I also have more 2D flicks than 3D, and that's by conscious choice, perhaps because of my 2D background. I don't just watch animation merely for entertainment, but rather as a professional animator myself and as a film-maker with an eye for technical and esoteric detail that may be lost to the casual viewer. You mentioned how you thot Shrek 2 and the Incredibles were 'mind-blowing', fine, but you failed to contextualize that statement, relative to the subject matter. I mean, in what sense and by what standard or benchmark did you arrive at that judgement? Is it in terms of the story/plot/screenplay, or the animation? I can tell you why I think Lion King is superb, though other fans may have entirely different reasons for appreciating the movie; a la plot, characters, music, e.t.c. For me it's definitely because of its brilliant animation. As for the plot, I personally thot it was pedestrian/prosaic and , well, just o.k. But clearly the movie had enoff meat and broad appeal to make it a huge success. In the case of Shrek, I personally thot the animation wasn't anything special, compared to the Incredibles for example. IMO, the strenght of Shrek was in its well-developed characters, kapish. The Incredibles also had well-developed characters, but even better animation than Shrek, IMO. And THAT is what I find 'mind-blowing' about it -- if I can borrow that expression.



Bro, 2D will never go out-of-date, atleast for some of us. First of all, those tools you alluded to in the above quote already exist. YES! Most of the major studios [e.g. Disney, DreamWorks, and Warner Bros.] all have WELL-PAID IN-HOUSE software engineers/developers who design their animation softwares to incorporate and blend 2D and 3D, and I can even refer you to a couple of 2D animated features that [sometimes almost seamlessly] blended 2D and 3D/CGI. The practise's been going on for decades sef, bro. 2D flicks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was released in the late '90s, Tarzan, Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, e.t.c all have this feature. Infact, most, if not all of the Disney and Dreamworks studios 2D flicks released in the past decade and a half [atleast], all have sequences that blended 2D and 3D; either in the context of a 2D foreground over a 3D background, or vice-versa, and especially in the areas of special effects. Not to mention Japanese animation examples, a la Ghost in the Shell, Blood: the Last Vampire and many others.

While you're entitled to your opinion, that opinion remains just that, an opinion, and not a statement of fact. And here's an even more compelling reason why. 2D traditional animation is a DISTINCT STYLE, as is 3D, as is CLAYMATION, as is STOP-MOTION, as is CUT-OUT style, e.t.c. There will always be 2D artists and fans who, for whatever reason -- be it sentimental or artistic -- will always revere the genre and keep it true to its form. When the camera was introduced did we stop painting? No. To say that CGI will ever replace "old school" animation is a short sighted statement, IMO. Listen, if tomorrow the major studios executives decide to dump 3D for some other animation genre [as they did in the case of 2D], will that be the end of 3D? No, it won't.

Have you seen Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"? If you haven't, please I beg of you to go and see that movie, and more importantly, SEE THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE, THEN YOU WILL COME TO UNDERSTAND WHY THAT STATEMENT YOU MADE ABOUT 2D animation going 'out-of-date' will never materliaze! You see, it took the makers of the Corpse Bride MANY years to make that movie, and you could easily tell/see that the whole movie-making process of the feature was a LABOUR OF LOVE of sorts for them. The movie's done in the STOP-MOTION animation style, which in my opinion is one of the most labourious animation styles out there. It's a pain-stakingly SLOW process, YET the FINISHED PRODUCT makes it all worth it! The makers of the movie, from the producer/director to the artists involved, all knew how difficult it would be to make the movie, they could've easily went the easier route of 3D or even live-action to bring their vision to life, but they still CHOSE stop-motion, because for them it's not just another means of 'interpreting their 2d vision into a 3D world', but about consciously projecting their vision via an artform that they respect and are TRUE to, and KNOW was the BEST platform for bringing their vision/screenplay to life. NOT EVERY ANIMATOR WANTS TO PROJECT HIS/HER VISION IN 3D. I know I don't. Before the advent of 3D, folks enjoyed 2D animation without any complaints, knowing fully well its difference and uniqueness relative to live-action, and that it's merely a HAND-DRAWN 'illusion of life' that's meant to caricature reality. 

I've read of several Japanese animators who still hand-draw and animate 90% of their films, and animate them the old-fashioned way -- drawing on celluloid acetate as was done before the advent of computers and scanners. And believe it or not, THEY HAVE NICHE fans who still appreciate their work, be it for the art or nostalgic reasons. Some of these animators have chose to do all their work in 2D, even though they may utilize pencil-test softwares, and paint their backgrounds and foregrounds ditigally, they still remain in the 2D realm, and none of that alters the spirit of their artistic expression, and I'm yet to hear any complaints from their fans -- nor have I heard of anime fans who wish their characters were in a more 3D environment.

Have you ever heard of the award-winning animator Bill Plympton? Click on the following link to view some of his works: http://www.plymptoons.com/gallery/gallery.html . He's one 2D animator with a DISTINCT 2D/hand-drawn style, whom you can be SURE will never go 3D! He's got a niche of core fans [myself included] who will always appreciate that style for it's originality.