Favorite non Disney/Pixar animated movie?

ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
Around here we all like to think Disney and Pixar make the best animated movies, but there are some non-Disney movies out there that are very good.

My favorite animated movie not produced by Disney or Pixar would have to be Cats Don't Dance from 1997. It's the lone movie produced by Turner Feature Animation and was unfortunately caught up by the studio's acquisition by Warner Bros. animation. It received little to no advertising and as a result had an initial theater run of two weeks. I probably would have never found it if there wasn't a trailer for it on Space Jam's VHS tape.

Now on to the good parts. It was directed by Mark Dindal of Disney animation fame and starred Scott Bakula and Jasmine Guy. It tells the story of a cat named Danny who moves to Hollywood during its golden age to become a movie star, only to find that animals aren't as respected as humans in the movie industry. The animation is pretty good for the time and the characters are all pretty fun. CDD's villain is the child star Darla Dimple who isn't as nice as she seems. The movie's strongest point, however is its songs. They are incredibly catchy, especially the finale "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now." The songs portray optimism, deception and jealousy, sadness, and triumph. You really should check out the soundtrack on YouTube and if you can, watch the whole movie.

Now, what about you guys?
 
Jahona

Jahona

Well-Known Member
I'm going to have to go with How To Train Your Dragon 1 or 2. Probably my favorite 3D animated movie series from Dreamworks.
 
ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
In the Parks
Yes
Demeter Tess said:
Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" and "Whisper of the Heart." Both are so beautiful.
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Ghibli makes great films as well! My personal favorite from Miyazaki is also from 1997, Princess Mononoke. In fact, I had the chance to visit the Ghibli Musuem this past March while I was in Japan.
 
Tony the Tigger

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
fox_198 said:
I've never seen Watership Down, but I've heard it's a little... violent? Not sure how to put it. All I know about it is the main characters are rabbits.
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Yes, it is violent.

I first saw it as a kid. A young TV channel called HBO apparently thought, "Rabbits, animation...Easter!" And they played it around Easter in I guess the late 70's.

I thought, "Rabbits, cartoon...Easter!" and proceeded to watch.

Holy cow, these rabbits were no Easter bunnies! They ripped each other to shreds. There was blood, there was death, there was tension. ZERO to do with Easter LOL.

But I loved it. It's very faithful to the novel (which I read years later for a junior high school book report - 541 pages - don't know why I remember that) and much like J.K. Rowling did, the author created an entire world - complete with its own mythology, rules, etc. There was enough grounded in realistic rabbit facts to tether the fact that they speak, plan, pray, etc.

When you get past the animated blood, it's very moving, brother-brother relationship, friendships, societal commentary (living free vs. living under a dictator) fighting uphill battles, and being at peace with and grateful for what you have.

Not to mention a song by Art Garfunkel called "Bright Eyes."

@Sans Souci - how the heck did I leave out "Snoopy, Come Home!" Makes me cry. Big Snoopy fan.
 
StarWarsGirl

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I admittedly don't go out of my way to see too many animated movies outside Disney/Pixar, but I would say, due to my mild obsession with cats, Puss in Boots. My favorite Shrek character, my favorite non-Disney animated character, and just adorable. There's no shortage of cat-related jokes in the movie either.

Second place would be Shrek 2, with Shrek being in first place
 
Yert3

Yert3

Well-Known Member
fox_198 said:
That's definitely my favorite Bluth movie. It's good in a different way compared to most animated films
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I agree with this. Bluth never got as famous as he should have. It's cool to know that he's back in the game though with Dragon's Lair: The Movie.
 

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