# Best non-Disney animated movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317 "2017-05-10T21:39:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/21 "2017-05-11T12:34:20Z")
Not mentioned so far are a couple by Satoshi Kon: Millennium Actress Tokyo Godfathers (Though they are by the same director, they are in completely different styles.) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/22 "2017-05-11T12:34:30Z")
What - no love for **The Lego Movie**? I freaking love that film. (The recent Lego Batman film, however, should be avoided.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/23 "2017-05-11T12:40:54Z")
The Triplets of Belleville. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/24 "2017-05-11T13:15:13Z")
Correcting myself-- The Brave Little Toaster. Which, if I’m remembering correctly, had a storyline very much like Toy Story but with appliances. Or should I say Toy Story had a storyline very much like The Brave Little Toaster, since the TBLT is almost 10 years older. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/25 "2017-05-11T13:24:25Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > What - no love for **The Lego Movie**? I freaking love that film. (The recent Lego Batman film, however, should be avoided.) See, I’m the opposite … _The Lego Movie_ was okay, but I really liked _Lego Batman_. Laughed out loud several times. > [@Biggirl](#): > > Correcting myself-- The Brave Little Toaster. Which, if I’m remembering correctly, had a storyline very much like Toy Story but with appliances. Or should I say Toy Story had a storyline very much like The Brave Little Toaster, since the TBLT is almost 10 years older. I liked TBLT in spite of myself. I didn’t _want_ to like it, because it was just so weird and treacle-y, but I did anyway. And seconding (or thirding, or whatever) _The Iron Giant_. One of my favorite movies, period, animated or not. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/26 "2017-05-11T13:24:57Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Correcting myself-- The Brave Little Toaster. Which, if I’m remembering correctly, had a storyline very much like Toy Story but with appliances. Or should I say Toy Story had a storyline very much like The Brave Little Toaster, since the TBLT is almost 10 years older. Some of the same people were involved - John Lasseter, Joe Ranft. There are elements from it in all three _Toy Story_ movies, really. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/27 "2017-05-11T13:29:29Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Some of the same people were involved - John Lasseter, Joe Ranft. There are elements from it in all three _Toy Story_ movies, really. Yeah, if memory serves, it actually tracks most closely with _Toy Story III_. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/28 "2017-05-11T16:14:11Z")
All Dogs Go to Heaven An American Tail ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/29 "2017-05-11T16:27:44Z")
My favourite animated film of all time is _ **Lupin III and the Castle of Cagliostro** _. Although Lupin and his gang were already established by the time of its release (1980) with manga and TV series, Miyazaki added his magical touch to this movie. Like _Big Trouble in Little China_ or _Pacific Rim_, I could watch it again and again, any time it comes on. My favourite Miyazaki film featuring his own original characters is _ **Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind** _. My favourite Pixar film is still _ **The Incredibles** _, which came out in 2004, prior to the Disney buyout. Does it count? Like _Lupin_, I could watch it any time it comes on. No capes! Other … _watchable_ non-Disney animated films that haven’t yet been mentioned in this thread:[ul][_] **Rock & Rule** - Geez… Debby Harry, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop all lent their pipes to this animated rock opera about a small-time band that gets swept up in an evil musical mastermind’s plans for world domination.[_]_ **Starchaser: The Legend of Orin** _ - A lot of folks poo-poo’ed this sci-fi tale about a young lad who escapes an underground mining world to find that the universe is indeed vast, but I liked it![_] **Patlabor: The Mobile Police** - If you use 30-foot tall robots (“Labors”) for construction and military purposes, somebody else is going to use them to commit crimes; that’s why you need “Patlabor” (“Patrol” + “Labor”) to police them. The first movie is fantastic. The TV shows and OVA’s can be hit or miss (the live-action adaption looks horrid!), but are generally good if you stick with them.[_]_ **Robot Carnival** _ - When it was released, _Robot Carnival_ was a pretty big deal as a monumental collaborative effort. It’s a collection of short stories – most of which have no dialogue at all - that involve robots one way or another. Each story is presented in a different style by various famed animators and character designers, including Katsuhiro Otomo (_Akira_), Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (_Neon Genesis Evangelion_), and Hiroyuki Kitazume (_Mobile Suit Gundam_).[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/30 "2017-05-11T16:46:58Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Nightmare Before Christmas IS Disney. > > Through the Touchstone subsidiary, at first, but it’s been incorporated into Kingdom Hearts, so Disney clearly is absorbing it into the main brand. My mistake - it is Disney from a financial/distribution sense, but I’m pretty sure that the Disney animation department was not involved in the production. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/31 "2017-05-11T17:18:44Z")
All the Miyazaki films. Especially **Spirited Away** and **My Neighbor Totoro**. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/32 "2017-05-11T23:46:09Z")
[quote=“psiekier, post:29, topic:786317”] [ul][li]_ **Starchaser: The Legend of Orin** _ - A lot of folks poo-poo’ed this sci-fi tale about a young lad who escapes an underground mining world to find that the universe is indeed vast, but I liked it![/ul][/li][/QUOTE] I liked this too, it was very obviously a _Star Wars_ rip-off, or perhaps homage, and it used a pioneering combination of 3D and 2D, but then I watched it again on DVD a few years ago and… it’s not quite as good as I remembered it. ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/33 "2017-05-12T05:24:08Z")
I’m guessing few will agree with me, but we love VeggieTales, so I’d put _The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything_ and _Jonah_ on the list. And Aardman, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/34 "2017-05-12T05:28:09Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > As is _Despicable Me_, and its sequel. Haven’t seen _Minions_, but a lot of people like that too. All the _Despicable Me_ films have been very good, IMO. My nomination for the thread would be _The Lego Movie_, which is brilliant and works on so many levels. _The Lego Batman Movie_ was excellent too, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/35 "2017-05-12T08:03:29Z")
_Anomalisa_ — Definitely not a Disney movie! Stop-motion, with amazingly realistic sets. _A Scanner Darkly_ — Very faithful version of a Philip K. Dick novel, and a beautiful example of rotoscoping. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/36 "2017-05-12T09:07:48Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > **American:** > > It’s Such a Beautiful Day > World of Tomorrow (2015) I’m a big Don Hertzfeldt fan so I’m not sure how I missed **World of Tomorrow**. I watched it online yesterday and all I can say is “Holy crap”. For a short film that is pretty much entirely exposition and contains only two characters drawn as stick figures and voiced in a monotone for one and by piecing together the ramblings of a four-year-old girl for the other, it packs a hell of an emotional wallop. In terms of absurdist existential horror-comedy, Hertzfeldt leaves Franz Kafka in the dust. > [@](#): > > Rango Weirdly, this remains my favourite Johnny Depp movie. It took several viewings to get into the groove (and I still haven’t decided which ending I prefer) but it’s strangely compelling. On the **Despicable Me** films I have to say that the first one was very good but the second one had too many rehashes of the same jokes from the first one for me to enjoy it. I laughed exactly once, and that was at the “fire brigade” (which, to be fair, was extremely funny). It is not inspiring me to watch the third one. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/37 "2017-05-12T11:41:43Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Weirdly, this remains my favourite Johnny Depp movie. It took several viewings to get into the groove (and I still haven’t decided which ending I prefer) but it’s strangely compelling. Love _Rango_, but didn’t realize that there was an alternate ending. Apparently, [this](https://paintedwolfjdb.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/rango-alternative-ending/) is it. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/38 "2017-05-12T12:48:49Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Weirdly, this remains my favourite Johnny Depp movie. It took several viewings to get into the groove (and I still haven’t decided which ending I prefer) but it’s strangely compelling. Part of it might be that most animated movies with anthropomorphic animals make them stylized and cute for maximum appeal, whereas _Rango_ makes them ugly as sin, bordering on grotesque. Or “ugly cute,” at best. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/39 "2017-05-12T14:03:09Z")
The Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs movie are absolutely brilliant. They have such a different kind of humor that you either love or hate…and I absolutely love it. Although in terms of overall storytelling, I think How to Train Your Dragon is the best of the bunch. Both movies have compelling stories with GREAT endings. I’ve heard rumors of a third one and I want it to happen very badly. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2017, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317/40 "2017-05-12T14:11:02Z")
My very favorite is **The Book of Life**. It’s beautifully done, and doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. And Diego Luna sings in it! After that, personal favorites include the **Despicable Me** movies, and **Spirited Away**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-non-disney-animated-movies/786317.md?page=3)