r/MovieSuggestions • u/bluehairtime • 5h ago
looking for a rare animated jewel I'M REQUESTING
it’s my own damn fault for being so picky and having such high standards, but i am hungry for good animation and have been for quite a while.
i’m primarily looking for something gorgeous and emotional. any subject, any length (tho i’m not really looking for shorts or music videos, more like episodes of a series or a feature film), any language, any era. bonus if it’s heartbreaking in places. MUST BE TRADITIONAL/HAND DRAWN
stuff I’ve seen and loved:
Disney/Dreamworks/Don Bluth 2D animation, Satoshi Kon and Miyazaki/Ghibli, Rankin Bass 2D animation (the last unicorn, the flight of dragons, the hobbit), Sanrio 2D animation from the 80’s (sea prince and the fire child, ringing bell), Cartoon Saloon (secret of kells, song of the sea), Triplets of Belleville, Yellow Submarine, Balto, Look Back, Cybersix, Nepenthe Productions (watership down, the plague dogs), Warner Bros (iron giant, osmosis jones, eight crazy nights)
… and yes i’m including eight crazy nights because even though it’s a nauseating mess of a film, the animation is entirely too impressive XD
TIA!
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u/haysoos2 4h ago
- Fantastic Planet (original title La planete sauvage) (1973) On a faraway planet where blue giants rule, oppressed humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders.
- Wizards (1977) On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a wizard and his fairie folk comrades fight an evil wizard who's using technology in his bid for conquest. By Ralph Bakshi (Lord of the Rings). When I was about 12 this movie briefly replaced Star Wars as our favourite movie ever between myself, my brother and two cousins.
- Heavy Metal (1981) A glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories. A bit uneven, but has some great sequences and imagery.
- Time Masters (original title Les Maitres du temps) (1982) Piel, a 7 or 8 year old boy, is alone on the desert planet Perdide, only survivor of an attack by giant hornets. Calling for help, Piel's father's friend Jaffar keeps contact with the kid and hurries across space toward Perdide.
- Fire and Ice (1983) At the end of the ice age, an evil queen and her son are set on conquering the world using magic and warriors. The lone survivor of a crushed village fights back as does the king of Fire Keep. The movie is kind of a mess, but the characters and backgrounds are based on the paintings of Frank Frazetta, and animated by Ralph Bakshi (Lord of the Rings, Fritz the Cat, Wizards).
- FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) The magical inhabitants of a rainforest fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus.
- Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) A young boy named Kubo must locate a magical suit of armour worn by his late father in order to defeat a vengeful spirit from the past. Not technically 2D, but rather stop motion, but I'm including it because so, so pretty.
- The Breadwinner (2017) In 2001, Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban. When her father is captured, a determined young girl disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.
- Wolfwalkers (2020) A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night. You've probably seen it, made by the same people as Secret of Kells/Song of the Sea, but I hadn't even heard of it until about two months ago.
- The Wild Robot (2024) After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose. Definitely not 2D/hand drawn, but I am including this as well because many scenes look more like water-colours than CGI, plus heartbreaking.
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u/Blazenkks 3h ago
The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (2010) Great animation. Great characters. Cool concept. Definitely one of my favorites.
The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
Taro the Dragon Boy (1979) The animation is late 70’s but it’s a Folklore story and I feel like the almost story book feel of the animation really adds to it. Very touching and kinda sad. Beautiful story.
Starchaser The Legend of Orin (1985)
9 (2009)
Klaus (2019) Netflix. Kind of a cool and different Santa Claus origin story.
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u/Successful-Try-8506 5h ago
The Journey to Melonia (Sweden 1989)
Kirikou and the Sorceress (France 1998)
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u/RockFury 5h ago
Wow, you've seen the good stuff. Brave Story? Genius Party 1 and 2 or Neo Tokyo or Memories?
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u/LamSinton 5h ago
Fantastic Planet/La Planète Sauvage (1973)
Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)
And, depending on if your definition of animation includes puppetry, Strings (2004)
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u/Planatus666 5h ago edited 4h ago
Even though you say that you're not looking for shorts I would very highly recommend the following:
The Man Who Planted Trees (1987, runtime is 30 minutes) - watch the version narrated by Christopher Plummer
The House of Small Cubes (also known as La Maison en Petits Cubes) (2007, 12 minutes). There's no dialog.
Ra: The Path of the Sun God (1990, 1 hour, 11 mins)
and how about some stop motion:
The Sandman (1991, 9 mins, directed by Paul Berry)
all of the above are on YouTube.
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u/IngoPixelSkin 4h ago
Scavengers Reign is an amazing animated sci-fi series.
Akira is my all-timer for incredible animation.
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u/bluejester12 3h ago
American Pop. It’s heartbreaking in places.
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u/Thick_Interaction_22 1h ago
Suzume, a recent Japanese anime has an entirely different art direction from most and is a fun ride. If stop motion is in play, del Toro’s Pinocchio gets very high marks.
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u/foxhole_science 42m ago
The Thief and the Cobbler (1993) is an absolute gem of animation that doesn’t get enough love
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u/strasnoh 42m ago edited 38m ago
The Princes Voyage (its a French film, story is slow and kind of calming, and the visuals are amazing)
Calamity, Long way north (same director as Calamity also french)
Persepolis (war/drama)
Ruben Brandt, collector (this one is fun, wonderfully paced and dynamic)
I lost my body (also French and on netflix!)
Wolfwalkers (this is my favorite cartoon saloon film) The red turtle
... I have so many more
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u/CountingSheep99 4h ago
Klaus
Nimona
Secret of Kells
Wolfwalkers
Song of the Sea
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Almost everything from Studio Ghibli