Hey guys! So on Saturday I finally got to see My Life as a Zucchini which means I have seen pretty much every animated film of 2016 except for Sausage Party (couldn’t stomach content on that one). This means it is time for me to do my ranking of these animated films. I made the video above which is long but I hope you all enjoy it. This was such a strong year for animation that nearly 30 films got a B grade or higher. Pretty great!
So here is my ranking of the animated films from 2016-
- Your Name- stunning anime film that starts out being light and funny but then turns into a powerful scifi story
- Moana- classic Disney magic with an Odyssey story and a wonderful lead character with great songs
- The Red Turtle- dialogue free but beautiful film about a man who shipwrecks and finds that nature has plans for him. Amazing music
- Zootopia- a return of Disney fables with a wonderful lead character, world building and stirring message
- Tower- amazing animated documentary about a sniper attack in 1966. Relevant, moving and different than I’ve seen before
- Kubo and the Two Strings- stunning animation and a wonderful lead character that made me smile whenever I saw him
- Only Yesterday- this 1991 film finally got released in US. Beautiful animation and I love the kid parts so much to make up for the preachy adult parts
- Kung fu Panda 3- my favorite of the series. Beautiful animation and loved adoption message and Po learning to become a teacher
- April and the Extraordinary World- stunning steampunk film with a new and surprising story
- Ethel and Ernest- lovely portrait of a couple and their marriage and life. Great vocal performances and sweet animation.
- Finding Dory- tons of heart as we see Dory find her parents. They did some unique things and it made me laugh more than most Pixar films
- My Life as a Zucchini- one I am still pondering. A very unusual film but great animation with powerful moments
- Phantom Boy- a refreshingly small superhero story with beautiful cubist inspired animation
- Jungle Book- amazing realistic visuals and an improved ending/Mowgli character over original. The songs didn’t really work for me and Louie was too mean but still enjoyed it
- Miss Hokusai- beautiful film about a painter in ancient Japan. Enjoyed all the vignettes and stunning animation. A few things, however, I needed more cultural context on
- Long Way North- loved the animation without lines and simple color blocking. Great lead character in somewhat predictable story
- The Boy and the Beast- charming Karate Kid like story with stunning animation but some of plot points don’t really work especially ending
- Harmony- very smart dystopian set up where we are all judging each other for our kindness. Hurt by weak melodramatic ending
- Sing- very predictable story helped by good songs and characters I liked
- Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders- a refreshing comedic take on Batman
- Storks- fairly forgettable but entertaining animated film. Loved message and comedy mostly worked
- Trolls- very uneven yet enjoyable film. Message on conformity a little unnerving but overall pleasant to watch
- Secret Life of Pets- story has problems and Kevin Hart bunny gets old fast but great animation and I liked Gidget and Chloe. A harmless animated film.
- Snowtime- some will find elements a little traumatic but they handle it well. I like the animation and big heart to it if a little bit manipulative at times
- The Angry Birds Movie- a decent animated film for kids with pretty good animation but some stretches bored me and the messaging of embracing anger was weird
- Ratchet and Clank- a fun Saturday morning space cartoon. Pretty good animation and overall was entertained by it
- Little Prince- I didn’t like this film. I felt it was boring and preachy. It got interesting at the end when it went all weird and dystopian but didn’t engage me. Pretty animation.
- The Wild Life- not as bad as most are saying. Some good animation and I was entertained except for the cats. The cats are so awful.
- Ice Age: Collision Course- most of the jokes are characters complaining. Decent animation but also has strange message about youth and beauty
- Blinky Bill: the Movie- a harmless animated adventure for kids but animation is bad and I was pretty bored by it
- Space Dogs 2- a horribly dubbed and animated film I didn’t hate watching. It’s very weird and makes weird choices but it is not good
- Bling- animation isn’t that bad but the message of consumerism and buying love and affection are off putting. Plus a horrible minions copycat.
- Batman: the Killing Joke- offensive, poorly animated morally repugnant film that doesn’t do the graphic novel justice at all
- Norm of the North- terrible animation, writing, characters, story, humor and everything else. Just awful.
So there you have it! What do you think of my ranking?
Wow, Space Dogs 2 and Blinky Bill….barely remembered they existed. Did you ever watch the Blinky Bill show growing up?
Recently saw Storks and Ratchet&Clank. I was underwhelmed by Storks and thought The Angry Birds Movie was a much better film. R&C, however I found to be surprisingly funny and enjoyable; it’s not amazing, but it knew it wasn’t.
Cool. Poor Storks. Nobody seems to appreciate it much. Oh well. Glad you had fun with Ratchet and Clank too 😀. I never saw the Blinky Bill television show. I’ve heard it’s much better than the movie
I vaguely remember seeing one episode of the show when I was younger. I’m not sure how as I don’t remember this Australian show ever being shown on local channels.