Secret of NIHM
Any top animated list without Pinocchio and Dumbo is unthinkable, to my mind. Musts.
Split in to traditional and CG:
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Aladdin
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The Lion King
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Beauty and the Beast
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Mulan
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The Emperor’s New Groove
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Toy Story
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Wall-E
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Up
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Finding Nemo
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Shrek
5 traditional animations and 5 CG animations seems like too much CG, but I’m not sure what traditional animation I would add in favor of cutting Shrek. Probably Pinocchio.
Because some animated movies aren’t for kids at all. Yes, adults enjoy good kids’ movies, but Team America, World Police; South Park, Bigger, Longer and Uncut; and Fantastic Planet aren’t for kids at all, and it’s not what the OP was after.
I’m glad The Iron Giant has gotten a reasonable amount of love in this thread. It’s definitely my #1.
It’s really hard to really compare movies across genres and decades and so forth, aside from that. My favorite recent CGI films are all pixar, with I think my top two being Up and The Incredibles. My favorite non-pixar CGI is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. My favorite classic Disneys are the trio of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin (but NOT the imho vastly overrated Lion King). And I adored Spirited Away, and prefer it to the 3 or 4 other Miyazakis I’ve seen. Oh, and Fantasia 2000 is fantastic, and better than the very good original.
I obviously know that animated features appeal to adults also otherwise I would not be in this thread. But I just did not want people coming here and listing films like Fritz the Cat, Persepolis or South Park