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ANIMATED MOVIES
Aladdin (1992)
If you want a perfect example of how ultra-expressive animation can complement and benefit a freewheeling comic masterclass of a voice performance, look no further than Aladdin – because the title character has the entire show stolen from him by Robin Williams' Genie. The big blue guy is a creation of pure, cartoonish elasticity – shape-shifting from second to second as the comedy icon's firecracker heavily-improvised performance explodes in multiple directions at once. That the visual comedy lives up to William's wit is a marvel – no wonder Will Smith and Guy Ritchie couldn't match it in the live-action version. Beyond the Genie, Aladdin is still a belter thanks to its Alan Menken / Howard Ashman songs, Gilbert Gottfried's acerbic Iago, and its underdog story of a 'street-rat' who bags himself a magic lamp – and might just win the heart of Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin). The Middle-Eastern stereotypes certainly don't fly today, but everything else does – the carpet included.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Pinocchio (1940)
Disney's second animated feature is a major leap forward from Snow White – more narratively expansive, more technologically complex, and way, way darker. Adapting Carlo Collodi's novel, it follows the titular wooden puppet on an existential quest to earn his humanity – one that finds him exploited by a shady showbusinessman, swallowed by a rampaging whale called Monstro, preyed on by an upsetting cat-man, and, in a truly disturbing sequence, taken by a demonic coachman to the sinful 'Pleasure Island' where rebellious boys are mutated into donkeys and shipped off for nefarious purposes. It is, in short, not really one for kids – but adults will find much technical mastery in its vivid tracking shots and creepy character animation. Plus, it has a stellar song in 'When You Wish Upon A Star' – nowadays the unofficial Disney theme tune.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Coco (2017)
Rarely a team to rest on its laurels (and it has some well-earned laurels), Pixar, spearheaded by Lee Unkrich, decided to really challenge itself and develop a film showcasing the cultural touchpoint that is the Day of the Dead. Or at least, that's the background — the real story here is of young Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), who dreams of being a famous musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). That's no straightforward ambition, especially when his family has banned music after his great-great-grandmother's husband left her to pursue a career as a performer. (Literal) buried secrets come into play as Miguel crosses to the land of the dead on a mission to learn the truth. Coco is a vibrant film that honors Mexican cultural traditions, and – because the Emeryville studio is so good at it – plucks at the heartstrings as effectively as some of the guitar players here. The movie itself and original song 'Remember Me' both won Oscars, each well-deserved. Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
The Jungle Book (1967)
It's not exactly faithful to Rudyard Kipling's source novel, but The Jungle Book shows what Disney adaptations do best – stripping out the boring bits, upping the fun, and heaping on a handful of earworm tunes to seal the deal. The final animated film overseen by Walt Disney, who died around nine months before its release, ambles along in the same manner that its central character does – though the plot essentially finds man-cub Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman) running for his life from vengeful tiger Shere Khan (George Sanders), really it's a pleasant stroll through the lush Indian jungle as he encounters fun-loving sloth bear Baloo (Phil Harris), protective panther Bagheera (Sabastian Cabot), and the hypnotic hissing Kaa (Sterling Holloway). For all the pyrotechnics of its fiery final reel, really it's the double-whammy of Disney bangers at its core that endures: the jazzy blast of 'I Wanna Be Like You' courtesy of King Louie (Louis Prima), and slacker anthem 'Bare Necessities'.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Beauty And The Beast (1991)
A soaring, Broadway-calibre musical meets sophisticated, pioneering animation in Disney's landmark fairytale. Beauty And The Beast is truly a marvel in terms of animated architecture – from the beast's cavernous, gothic castle, to the overstuffed shelves of Belle's (Paige O'Hara) beloved bookstore. Yet Disney didn't sacrifice its childlike sense of wonder in the name of showing off its new approach to animation. The film's choreography remains some of the studio's finest, be it Belle's opening number with her nose in a book, skimming blissfully through the inner workings of her small town, or the central ballroom setpiece that coaxes out the tentative romance between beauty and beast. Yet its twinkle lies in the character design of the castle's cursed inhabitants – each a little sad and wonky, but not without lashings of charm – as well as in the much-loved lyrics of Howard Ashman that inform some of the film's most delightful moments. "Try the grey stuff, it's delicious. Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!"Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
From its medieval setting, to its iconic villain, to the sheer width of its frame, everything about Disney's third princess movie feels epic – a rich fantasy saga that has more than just romance on its mind. Painstakingly produced over the course of eight years and backed by a Tchaikovsy-inspired score, Sleeping Beauty is gorgeous in every respect – full of stylistic touches inspired by renaissance art, with stunningly detailed backdrops and dynamic character designs delivered on an expansive Cinemascope canvas. If the story itself is pretty slight (evil fairy curses baby, baby grows up and eventually falls into an enchanted sleep, the kiss of a prince breaks the spell), it's all livened up by the magnificent Maleficent (Eleanor Audley), a cracking, cackling villain with a flair for the dramatic, even transforming into a green-fire-breathing dragon for a climax that today echoes Game Of Thrones. Ironically, it was slept on at first – flopping on release, and only seen for what it was in the decades that followed: an absolute beauty.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
If you were to tot up a list of Pixar's most loveable characters, and another list of the most brilliantly imaginative worlds they've created, Monsters, Inc. would come out near the top end of both. After two Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, the studio proved it really had the goods to become one of the greats with a sweet, silly and sentimental buddy comedy about monsters who are secretly terrified of the kids they spook every night. Hanging out with James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) – a furry blue top-scarer and his sardonic green ball of a co-worker – is a total joy, as is spending time in the streets of Monstropolis, packed with eye-catching beasts, sight gags galore, and Harryhausen in-jokes. If the fish-out-of-water set-up (Mike and Sully accidentally unleash human girl Boo in the monster city) is mined for major laughs, it provides huge emotional punch as they come to realise she's not a danger at all – just try not to weep at that final 'Kitty!'Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
An animated beacon of hope for Jack Skellingtons everywhere, Tim Burton's gothic musical remains a beloved, wretched festive treasure. Everything about this gorgeous gothic stop-motion fantasy endures because of its off-kilter charms, beginning with the angular and disproportionate character design, which Burton dreamed up with visionary effects artist Rich Heinrichs. The jewel in the crown is, of course, Skellington (Chris Sarandon) – the disgruntled Pumpkin King who finds a new lease of life under the glowing lights of Christmas Town – but each ghastly and/or ghoulish addition to the ensemble is a gnarled, slightly terrifying work of art. Composer Danny Elfman, a self-professed Skellington type who even supplied the character's singing voice, imbued the film with its haunting cadences and morbid soundscape, which at times manifests into intoxicating musical numbers. The film took a meandering journey to the screen, in part due to Disney's failure to accept Burton's vision – but when it arrived, it was unlike anything that had ever come before it, and continues to touch the hearts of outsiders everywhere.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Toy Story 3 (2010)
The original Toy Story was a groundbreaker. Toy Story 2 rescued a sequel from the jaws of straight-to-video oblivion. No pressure, then, for the third outing, which had to follow those two hits. Under the careful, thoughtful direction of Lee Unkrich (who had been with Pixar since the first film), Toy Story 3 deepens the narrative of Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang by having them confront the prospect of moving to a new home when their owner Andy outgrows them. The Toy Story films had always been about heart, loss, family and terrifying, cymbal-crashing monkeys (okay, maybe that one just applies to the threequel), but the third finds Team Pixar on fantastic form. One scene in particular (one word: incinerator) sent fans — including Quentin Tarantino, who named it his favourite film of 2010 – into paroxysms of worry and sniffles with its palpable sense of finality.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Persepolis (2007)
Few international animations have garnered the same global success as Persepolis. That the film takes place amidst the Islamic revolution – captured through a broad, unfussy style of animation in a mostly monochrome palette – is only further testament to the power of its storytelling. The film is co-adapted by Marjane Satrapi from her autobiographical graphic novel series of the same name. Through documenting her young life in Tehran and later Austria, Satrapi relays the torment inflicted on her leftist family and friends by the Shah through the eyes of her punkish, Bruce Lee-loving tearaway. The way in which Satrapi weaves her humanist beliefs into this simple yet elegant narrative is effortlessly moving, and made her the first woman director to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2008 Academy Awards. Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Ratatouille (2007)
The magic of Ratatouille isn't just that Pixar made a film about a rat chef that somehow doesn't make the audience want to run for the nearest sick bucket – it's the sensory elegance of it that's most dazzling. Director Brad Bird's most impressive feat is turning smells into sights – ingredients become wafts of abstract colour that complement each other as sub-par dishes become works of culinary art, a symphony of swirling scents completed by Michael Giacchino's gorgeous score. Patton Oswalt lends his voice to Remy – a rat with a gift for cookery who teams up with hopeless human Linguini (Lou Romano) in an effort to get his dishes out into the world. But given Remy's rodent status, the discovery of the real little chef would spell disaster for his future. Even by Pixar standards, this sometimes overlooked effort overflows with charm and beauty – just see the scene in which snooty critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) takes a bite of the film's titular dish and is transported back to the warmth and love of his own mother's cooking. Not bad for a film with a pretty basic pun title.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
The Incredibles (2004)
A few years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe's creators found their winning blend of superheroic action and quippy humour, Brad Bird beat them to it. The Incredibles, his first Pixar film, rocketed him straight to the company's 'Brain Trust' of directors who help to shepherd other filmmakers' work and revealed itself to be a spry, warm take on the sort of family dynamics at play in teams such as The Fantastic Four. Focusing on "supers" Bob (Craig T. Nelson) and Helen (Holly Hunter) Parr, who have given up the hero game to raise their family, it sees Bob itching to get back in action despite government pressure to stay out of the way. A mysterious opportunity offers more than he bargained for, and the Parr clan will have to combine their abilities to combat a new threat. Bird wasn't just ahead of the game on the heroic front – he also pinpointed the dangers of toxic fandom and the dangers of capes on costumes. The latter point, of course, outlined by the Bird-performed Edna Mode, fashion consultant to heroes. A character for the ages, dahling. Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Up (2009)
Everyone talks about the opening 10 minutes of Up. And rightly so – it's its own mini-masterpiece, beautiful and heartbreaking as adorable couple Carl and Ellie experience the ups (marriage, picnics, dancing) and downs (miscarriage, bereavement) of life in a single montage that guarantees floods of tears. But what comes next is equally miraculous – a wild, weird adventure movie in which the elderly Carl (Ed Asner) and energetic boy scout Russell (Jordan Nagai) unwittingly float away to South America on a flurry of vibrant balloons, encountering a giant bird called Kevin, a pack of talking dogs ("Squirrel!"), and an evil explorer. It's a heady mix, but director Pete Docter coheres it all spectacularly – the grounded grief and the exotic escapism somehow exist in perfect harmony. Now that's a Pixar miracle.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
The Lion King (1994)
In the heart of Disney's '90s renaissance, The Lion King found the studio back at the peak of its powers – and its anthropomorphised animal take on Hamlet is an astonishing thing. Essentially a sun-kissed African companion piece to Bambi, it's a coming-of-age tale infused with murder and subterfuge – as lion cub Simba (Matthew Broderick) grows up in the expanse of Pride Rock, experiences a life-shattering parental death, and eventually takes his father's place as the ruler of the animal kingdom. Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella) emerge as gold-standard sidekicks once Simba runs away from home, the Elton John-penned songs are off the chain ('The Circle Of Life'! 'Hakuna Matata'! 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King'!), and none other than James Earl Jones lends his booming voice to patriarch Mufasa. All these years later, it's even clearer – The Lion King ain't no passin' craze.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Kubo And The Two Strings (2016)
By this point, it was already clear that Portland-based animation studio Laika could produce great movies – but Kubo is widely regarded to be the pinnacle of their filmmaking so far. Drawing from samurai stories, it follows young Kubo (Art Parkinson and his, er, challenging family. His mother is dying, his grandfather stole one of his eyes when he was an infant, and his father is missing, presumed dead. Under attack from his aunts (who are sent by his grandfather to steal his other eye), Kubo must head out on a quest to find his father's armor, the one thing he hopes can stop his grandfather. It's an enchanting affair, bolstered by great voice work from Ralph Fiennes, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey and George Takei, plus an eminently re-listenable score from Dario Marianelli, and has earned its place as one of the most creative and stylish examples of stop-motion out there.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
The Iron Giant (1999)
Before he joined CG giants Pixar, director Brad Bird worked with co-writer Tim McCanlies to (very loosely) adapt Ted Hughes' The Iron Giant. A beautiful, emotional throwback to 1950s paranoia thrillers, at its core it tells the heartening E.T-esque story of a lonely young boy and the giant robot who becomes his best friend. Bird weavs in themes of identity and fighting against the box people might wish to shove you in, while showing just how impressive traditional animation can be (even if the Giant himself is a computer-generated creation). Add in a gravel-gargling Vin Diesel as the voice of the towering metal man, and you've got a winner that sadly didn't connect at the box office but has long since earned cult classic status. Oh, and have a giant box of tissues ready for the tears you'll shed by the end. Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Akira (1988)
To say Akira is insanely influential would be a major understatement. Not just in the world of anime, but beyond that – everything from The Matrix to Stranger Things can be traced back to Katsuhiro Otomo's monolithic masterpiece. Set in (what used to be) the future of 2019, it follows a gang of biker kids in the sprawling city of Neo-Tokyo. When Tetsuo (Nozomu Sasaki) is injured in a crash and taken to a top-secret government facility, experiments give him telekinetic powers that soon spiral out of control and threaten to destroy the city – just as the mysterious Akira did 30 years previously. It's up to his friend Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata) to try and stop Tetsuo becoming a monster. Visually astonishing, thematically layered, and with dazzlingly kinetic action, Akira is captivating – even as its final reel becomes an increasingly abstract blend of metaphysical musings and flesh-mutating body horror.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Spirited Away (2001)
The film that brought Studio Ghibli to the Western mainstream is, curiously, not its most accessible work – but Hayao Miyazaki's coming-of-age fairytale is so steeped in gorgeous, culturally-specific Japanese imagery it's no wonder it captured the world's imagination. Darker than your typical Disney fare, it centres on Chihiro (Remi Hiiragi) who becomes trapped in a grand, mythical bathhouse frequented by spirits after her parents are transformed into pigs. There, she's forced to work by the witch Yubaba (Mari Natsuki), and forms a friendship with dragon-boy Haku (Miyu Irino). If the narrative is often loose, especially as the film continues into its second hour, Spirited Away is beguiling and enchanting, conjuring up an entire world of curious creatures while contemplating notions of identity, spirituality, personal growth, environmentalism, and moral ambiguities that extend beyond simple good and evil. Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Inside Out (2015)
Few films can claim to have the sheer emotional intelligence of Inside Out – a film about intelligent emotions that's both a rollocking adventure, and a nuanced exploration of feelings, dreams, memory, and imagination. If the protagonist is technically Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), really it's the voices in her head – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Anger (Lewis Black) – that take centre stage. With all the upheaval of moving to San Francisco with her family, Riley's inner world is thrown into turmoil – teeing up an existential odyssey as Joy and Sadness careen through the corridors of her mind, via abstract thought, the dream factory, and halls filled with precious memories. It's beautifully conceptualised and gorgeously realised, culminating in perceptive notions about the need for sadness, and the way happy memories become tinged with melancholy over time. And don't get us started on Bing Bong…Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
It's impossible not to be charmed by the sheer goodness that exudes from Hayao Miyazaki's ode to childhood. My Neighbour Totoro is bursting with imagination, while being far more laid-back than most kids' films – a gentle jaunt into the Japanese countryside, filled with forest spirits, friendship, and furry creatures. Sisters Satsuki (Noriko Hidaka) and Mei (Chika Sakamoto) find themselves spending a summer holiday in a rural house while their mother recovers from an illness in hospital, and soon find a giant, grey furball in the nearby woods. If that sounds simple, well, it is – but it's that simplicity that makes the film such a delight, coupled with the fact that there's no villain or antagonist across the entire runtime. From Totoro himself, to the Soot Sprites (which return in Spirited Away) and the Catbus, it's full of iconic imaginative designs, serene imagery, and with a theme-tune that'll never leave your head: "To-to-ro to-tooo-ro!"Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Wall-E (2008)
The opening act of Wall-E is nothing short of astonishing: a largely dialogue-free trundle around the scorched remains of human civilisation, as the titular robot cleaner crushes Earthly detritus into neat cubes while pining for any kind of companionship. It's at once chilling and charming – the adorable swivel-eyed Wall-E contrasted against the horrifying mess we've left behind. The scope of it is stunning – and then in swoops fellow robo Eve, turning the whole film on its head, as Wall-E becomes smitten and a warped sci-fi rom-com eventually gives way to an intergalactic chase movie. From the fire extinguisher-assisted space dance, to Wall-E dancing along to Hello Dolly, to a mission to protect the one final piece of viable plant life, Wall-E is frequently breathtaking. With its dire ecological warnings, it's a film sure to resonate deeply for decades to come – all the while being a masterful piece of science fiction, with heart-popping emotion to boot.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Princess Mononoke (1997)
With lopped limbs aplenty, giant marauding boars, and a flesh-mutating curse, Princess Mononoke is darker than your usual Ghibli fare. It's a stunning, sweeping epic though – a uniquely Japanese fantasy saga that feels equivalent to Lord Of The Rings in its mythical scope and narrative sprawl. It's perhaps the best example of Hayao Miyazaki's environmentalist themes – in which civilisation isn't necessarily evil but must find a way to co-exist with nature, as explosive conflict threatens the future of both. Set nearly 1000 years ago, the story centres on Ashitaka (Yoji Matsuda), a warrior whose arm becomes cursed in a battle against an infected boar god. Venturing west in search of a cure, he finds himself caught up in a war between the industrious people of Iron Town and the raw power of the natural world. With slick, kinetic action, ethereal imagery, and a nuanced narrative, Mononoke is a mammoth achievement – and even the English-language dub is good, with a translation adapted by none other than Neil Gaiman.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Toy Story (1995)
On a technical level, the impact of Pixar's first full-length feature can't be understated. It's as significant a leap forward for the medium as the debut of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs was nearly 60 years previously – cracking open a whole new world of fully-3D computer-generated animation. Using technology pioneered by the studio (in collaboration with Apple), Toy Story wasn't just a phenomenon in its own right: it changed the visual style and filmmaking approach of nearly every major studio animation for decades to come. But beyond its seismic influence, it still stands up as a shining example of everything Pixar does best – it has dynamite buddy-duo dynamics in the bickering Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks; it explores the emotions of anthropormorphised objects or animals; it creates an entire imaginative world from the seemingly everyday; and its screenplay is richly layered with characterisation and gags that work just as well for adults as they do for kids. The sequels might go bigger, but the original Toy Story is a pure blast of creative joy – and nothing since has been the same.Read the Empire review.
ANIMATED MOVIES
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)
If Toy Story was the biggest leap forward for mainstream feature animation since Snow White, it took another 23 years for the needle to shift so significantly once again. But then in thwipped Spider-Verse, boasting a jaw-droppingly ambitious visual identity that feels completely distinct from anything else – blending 2D and 3D textures with comic book paper flourishes, amending the frame-rates of different characters within the same scene, chucking in blasts of acid-flash colour, and leaning into the cartoonish, exaggerated qualities that animation makes possible. And that's before you see our hero Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) sharing the screen with the black-and-white Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), the anime Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and the Looney Tunes-esque Spider-Ham (John Mulaney) all in one frame. It's an all-out pop-art freak-out of a movie, with gorgeous details and genius sight gags packed into every frame ('Bagel!').But all the visual dazzle also serves an emotional purpose, encapsulating the characters' head-spaces. When Miles' Spidey-senses kick in, they do so with pulsing psychedelic colours. And when he's at the peak of his powers in the stand-out 'What's Up, Danger' sequence, the screen flips so that his head-first leap of faith down to the city below instead appears sees him ascending to the heavens, the entire world pivoting around him. Away from the visuals, the characters are layered and loveable, Miles proves himself a more-than-worthy Spider-Man, the multiverse storyline is brilliantly handled, and the emotional gut-punches land with total accuracy too. Plus, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller on producing duties (Lord co-wrote the screenplay too), it's packed with their signature laugh-out-loud gags. Spider-Verse excels on so many levels, it's already an instant classic – both as a superhero movie, and as an animated masterwork. It's a film so ahead of the game, it feels like it blasted in from another universe entirely.Read the Empire review.
Okay, everyone, time to take some rest. Please keep the party alive!
@FrankZ I went crazy today, I guess. Decided to rest up, as I wasn't feeling well, and was frustrated. Had to express somehow. Posting on the thread is the method I chose. And, feeling a lil better now.
All yours now, bro.
Close to 200
Hello,
I would like to double the bandwidth on my 11:11 order if it's possible.
Order Number: 7042995457
Thanks!
Let us reach 200 asap. You in?
Yep. I'm gonna. we gonna do this.
I have to take care of a few things. Then, I will be back with my facts!