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The Top 100 Animated Films Countdown officially begins HERE! We delve into the first 20 of the 100 animated films. Some controversy will be had here so stay tuned. Beware, this is one of 5 detailing the actual list. So join us in Episode 52 of GeekCast Radio to discover the good, the bad and the ugly in the GeekCast Radio Network’s Top 100 Animated Films Countdown! Be sure to leave your feedback in the various mentioned ways and as always “UNLEASH THE GEEK IN YOU!”
Geeks
Steve “Megatron” Phillips
Mike “TFG1” Blanchard
Kevin “OptimusSolo” Thompson
Dan “MovieRevolt” Clark
UNLEASH THE TOON IN YOU!!!
Only thing I’m REALLY bummed about is Lilo and Stitch is way too low IMO. Other than that it’s a fine list so far, glad to see Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir make it!
FINALLY The Countdown has come back to Geekcast Radio. Of course I said that in the Rock’s voice lol. It’s great so far. The Waltz movie and Persepolis I never heard about, but they sound interesting. Looking forward to see what is to come!
Persepolis was waaay too low. That should easily be in the Top 20 maybe even top 10
A lot of fun so far guys. I’m a little surprised to see the World’s Finest on here. Was that really an animated movie? I guess it was, and I did love it.
as stated in the ep originally it was a three part ep arc in Superman TAS. Which they then later combined all three parts by taking out the previously on and end creds of STAS. The film version plays a lot smoother then watching three eps lol
I could see what you are saying, and I do like that it. I don’t know if it is a movie per say though
Cool, but take it from an obsessed DCAU nut…. when they “cobble multi part eps into film style… it’s not done half assed at all.
The did the same treatment to Justice League Star-Crossed which was the Season 2 three part finale. The film version added NEW music and end credits, and it was very smoothly spliced as if the end credits pr prevuously on was never there.
Crap I feel like I just repeated myself. MAYBE people can listen to LOTDK Ep 25 when it releases….. Steve and I will be doing commentary on WF then! That way I can get my point across better in general lol
Agreed, I say its even works better as a movie than a TV episode
It doesn’t make it a film though. They take out the ‘previously on’ stuff when they put it on Netflix. It doens’t make it a movie now. Nearly every TV show or cartoon series has had multipart episodes. Would you include the Spider-Man episodes where The X-Men showed up as a movie to? You open the flood gates if you are going to say The World’s Finest episodes is a movie that belongs on this list.
Really? Waltz of Bashir and Persepolis in the bottom twenty? Not going to lie, not starting off on the greatest foot there lol. Though points for having Dark Knight Returns Part II and James and the Giant Peach.
never even heard of Waltz or Persepolis… The only Polis I know is Metropolis lol So there’s no way I personally could vote for stuff that I never even heard of.
I understand what you are saying here but you have to realize that any time a list is being created using upwards of 20 people that more niche films, unknown films, or ‘non-mainstream’ films usually don’t get ranked very high. Not saying I agree with all of the selections so far but the mere fact that they made the list shows their value and is a positive in my book.
Persepolis is far too low. Still happy it made the list.
I never heard of those movies before I listened to this list
Obviously Waltz being at 100 does hurt me quite a bit, but honestly I was surprised it even made it. Like I have said, and will say again, the number part is fun, but to me I am in it more for the discussion and discovery.
Great fun so far! BIg ups for a Goofy Movie Forgot that even was MADE lol
Loving it so far. Glad to see the love for Dark Knight Returns! Part II was so EPIC! A Goofy Movie making it was the biggest surprise to me so far.
It’s been pretty good so far. I think Ninja Scroll and Lilo and Stitch should be higher. Always thought Oliver and Company was crappy, but besides that its been fun.
I can’t believe the HATE for Oliver & Company….. I didn’t go into FULL detail as to why I enjoy it so much during this ep of the countdown. But it has several things that are great about it:
-Good characters
-a bit of mystery when it comes to the villain
-Billy Joel rocks as a voice actor
Sure the plot is standard, but I love the action of it, and the songs were awesome too!!! The animation looked crisp to me, and loved all the different dogs!!!
Here’s ToonCast Classic Ep 34 where I ramble on more about Oliver and Company.
https://www.geekcastradio.com/archives/tooncast-classic/tooncast-episode-34-oliver-and-company
I think I watched that cartoon once as a kid or so. Saw it with my kids recently and they hated it. It has not aged well I’ll say date. All the songs play like bad MTV video knock offs.
Great list so far. No big complaints some interesting surprises.
You are one of the few lol. Thanks for the support.
Actually haven’t heard hardly any complaints compared to what lists like this usually get…
Glad I heard about this. I enjoyed listening a great amount. I don’t think I have even watch 100 animated movies so no big complaints yet. The extreme hatred for Princess and the Frog is odd to me. I still don’t get why. Besides that all good.
I hate it because they made a poor resolution to the story. It was a freakin’ catch 22 that she even “became a damn princess”
Man has this been a trip down memory land so far. It bringing me back to the glory days of my childhood. James and the Giants Peach. Are you kidding me! I forgot that movie even happened. Man now I need to go watch some movies again! Great podcast so far. Looking forward to hearing more
Thanks for the kind comments, hope you enjoy the rest of the episodes!
Glad you are enjoying it! It has been a trip down memory lane doing it as well.
Sheeeeeeeeet! The first three episodes of “Visionaries” was released as a feature length episode on video back in the 80’s. Could I have included that?
I agree, don’t get why that one was even included. It’s a TV show not a movie. Ok they released it DVD. They did that with The Spider-Man animated series among many others. I understand direct to dvd movies being included, but cartoon series or TV movies should be in a separate category.
You’ve made your opinion known, no need to repeat yourself numerous times ;) It was deemed eligible end of story
geez man. Settle down. Just making conversation. Touchy, touchy,
I believe you missed my smiley face ;)
While I don’t feel as strongly about World’s Finest as Steve and Mike I do think it does qualify for the list. We did make the regulation that movies that went to straight to DVD do qualify, and to be fair World’s Finest isn’t just three episodes of one cartoon. It is combing multiple cartoons into one story. So while other cartoons have had multi part episodes with it being a ‘special event’ does make it different then something like Spider-Man having a guest star.
The podcast has been good so far, but there are many movies I have an issue with. Watz, Persepolis, Lilo and Stich, Aristocrats, among others should be much higher. Oliver and Company was the low point of Disney animation, and the reason they changed course for the better. Rise of the Guardians was crap and should be tossed out. How anyone can say Despicable Me 2 is the 6TH GREATEST animated movie of all time is crazy to me. Its an okay sequel at best. Nothing about the story is ‘damn good’.
Fox and the Hound was probably the low point of Disney animation, Oliver and Company was on the upswing and was the test case for a Disney musical before The Little Mermaid. Without Oliver and Company there’s no Disney Renaissance.
I don’t agree with that Disney was doing musicals since it began. Maybe not directly taking a musical and putting on screen, but they have always been heavy on the musical base. Not to mention it was critically panned. So how can you say its a test case?
Plus I like Fox and the Hound. Besides Little Mermaid its the best Disney had to offer in the 80s
He’s saying it because it’s a fact. This has been mentioned by people actually working at Disney.
I stand corrected, still does not make it a great movie.
agreed don’t think anyone was claiming it was great though haha
if you look at DM1-2 they are awesome stories, and the sequel takes the story further. Hence why I rated it so high. I found more enjoyment in that film than most of the animated garbage that has come out this year.
The stories are ok. The idea of the vilian being won over by children has been done to death IMO. The first movie is good, but the 2nd one is an average movie at best. The animation and story in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is much better.
Plus 6th movie of all time? Lion King, Spirited Away, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin–you think that movie belongs in the same league as those? There is no explanation that can make that true.
I saw the first cloudy and it was meh lol
Loving it so far guys! No complaints yet! Keep it up! lol. Honestly though nothing all the big annoyed me number wise. Have enjoyed the discussion as well.
awesome!
Well where do I start. For one too many newer movies, Rise of the Guardians, Despicable Me 2, and Polar express have no place on this list. Cloudy, an actual good recent movie, should be much higher. Ninja Scroll too low but I expected that after listening to the 1st episode and lack of anime knowledge. I’ll give you credit that I have no idea what to expect next.
I would argue that even though Polar Express isn’t ‘great’ that it is unique and from a technical standpoint important enough to make it into a top 100.
I agree sir!
You mean the awful performance capture, which nearly ended Robert Zemeckis career? I hate that animation The only time it was used well at all was in Avatar and in video games. The characters in Polar Express look soulless lol
I was never a fan of that look either. I still really love Polar Express though. Watch it every Christmas.
I have no issues with the numbers by any means. You can argue until you are blue in the face the what movie goes where. My question is more so how much research went into this list for some of you. I think its impressive you went to so many sources, but some people on the record appeared, I apologize if this sounds rude, limited in the area. Certain movies I think are essential viewing when making a list like this appear to be foreign to some of you. You can’t watch everything I get that, but if I were to put out a list there are certain movies that I make sure I watch. Something like Persepolis would be on that list considering how huge it was in critical circles. It’s only the first full episode so I may be saying that too early. I do look forward to hearing the next episode.
My issue with this is, one if it wasn’t originally released here I personally don’t care to see it. Two that also means I would never have heard of it to begin with. So doing “research” I have seen almost every North American released animated film. Granted my knowledge maybe lackluster or dated on whether I remember them all at this point but I have seen them. Not discounting films such as Persepolis or others similar to it in quality but to me I have my own issues with that will come out in the next episode. The fact some of these even made it on here speaks volumes as to those that have seen the films.
Persepolis was released here, by the way, and was nominated
for an Oscar. Not that it means anything, it does show it was rather acclaimed and not a niche’ film. Look at any major listing of the greatest animated movies and I’m sure you will see it there. I assume when constructing a list like this that was done correct? I would assume if you all are going to this trouble, promoting this thing, you are at least looking at what are the top films in the genre, and not just going off of the films you watched as a kid? And if you haven’t seen them trying to? Did you see any movies in preparation to try to fill those holes?
The statement about only be interested in films that were released here troubles me some for the rest of this list. How can you construct a list and purposely ignore a huge part of the animation world. I understand if you don’t like them, but not doing the decent thing of WATCHING them makes we wonder why you even did a project
like this. I’ve seen many similar lists to this one online, and I enjoy
listening and reading them. I enjoy the ones a lot more when I see people are doing a decent amount of research. I get that you can’t see everything, but not even giving an effort to see some of the more notable that aren’t made by Disney or Dreamworks makes this project kind of pointless. I hope you bothered to watch movies like
Fritz the Cat, Heavy Metal, Fire and Ice, Animal Farm, A Soldier’s Tale, Plague Dogs, and The Story of the Fox?
I love lists like this, and for my money this is the only Top 100 Animated Movie list I have ever seen so I got excited for it. But when some of the major people involved put little thought into their lists my enjoyment does dissipate. To be fair I can’t say that is the case for everyone. Just some of the people on the record. I hope the other episodes prove me wrong.
To be fair I wasn’t claiming to be all knowing. I have seen films and not just by Disney or DreamWorks. As for looking at other top lists, no we didn’t because it wouldn’t be our opinion. Some of us may have but by looking at a list like that to me, I will disagree blindly and not voted more fairly. It would be a game to beat the system. This I voted on my opinion of the top 100 best. Also of note, not everyone has the same tastes. I rank based on what I watched. For you to tell me those are great films is fine, I will try to obtain them. That being said, I’ve never heard of them to even rank. So I would have bothered had I heard of them. I voted sed on what I’ve watched out of 200 films. Others have voted for those so who knows what will show. That’s the benefit of doing such a grandiose list with other contributors. It eliminates the issue of something not getting brought into where it should be. We aren’t claiming this as an all time list either but again the first episode or episode 51 tells exactly what I mean here. I also haven’t tried to vote by what I saw as a kid as much. 95% of my list I’ve watched within the last year or so. Again not discounting your opinion but mine also is taken into account where I am but one piece of 20-25 voting parties. Also as far as the Oscars, to me that whole awards and many others like them are a joke.
Love the feedback and appreciate what you are saying however there are some major problems with your argument here.
First, you assume that just because people are on the ‘record’ that they are ‘major players’ in this project. Outside of Dan and myself no one on any of the records so far or throughout this project is any more ‘major’ or a player than any of the other 20 people/groups/websites/podcasts/blogs who submitted lists for this project.
Second, you can’t make any educated judgements about any particular person within that above mentioned group without seeing the INDIVIDUAL Top 100 List that they submitted. For example, let’s say we get through all 100 and you criticize me because based on what was said on the record you have assumed that I don’t like ‘this or that’ etc etc. However, you would have no idea that perhaps on my own individual list I had those particular movies ranked in the Top 50 or even Top 20… So without seeing the particular lists its hard to think you know how people compiled their lists.
If you listened to the introduction episode you would have heard that OVER 350 movies received votes. Remember though, this is not supposed to be the Top 100 Critically Acclaimed Animated Movies, nor the Top 100 Animated Films of All-Time…this is the Geekcast Radio Network’s Top 100 Animated Films – may seem like semantics but there is a difference.
A lot of people involved did do some research of varying levels and I myself did re-watch or watch for the first time some films that I felt necessary to watch in order to accurately rank my films. Granted most of the movies that most people haven’t heard of I have actually seen already in gathering character images for behindthevoiceactors.com so I had that advantage. (This is proven by the fact that I had a dozen or so on my list that NONE of the other 20 lists had haha). I also did peruse other Top lists but I don’t see that as important as you do. Other lists should not really have any factor in if a movie deserves to be ranked or not…I hate the idea of ‘I should rank this high because such and such did’ that’s just cancer to any list like this.
Again, great to hear such detailed feedback. Keep it coming. Usually the first half of Top 100 countdowns can be all over the place and its the second half where you really see the cream rise to the top.
I see what you are saying, but there are certain things you need to keep in mind. For one we probably had about 30 or so people combined making this list. We knew ahead of time there re certain areas some of us are less versed in than others, which is why we reached out to so many sources.’
Also the only person who knows what is on the list is Kevin, so we are finding out just like you are. So we may not have in depth reviews of a movie right on the spot. On the bright side you get to listen to our honest reaction. So far it seems we disagree with the list more than anyone lol. As we are seeing some of our favorites fall quite quickly–which also shows how well versed of opinions we have when our favorites aren’t near the top.
There maybe a movie or few that I have not seen on the list, or someone else. But the good thing about the record right now in my opinion is we all seem to have differing opinions. What I enjoy is much different that Steve, and Steve’s opinion is much different than Kevin’s etc.. I prefer that as it makes for more interesting discussion, and based on the reaction we are getting people agree.
Also I have said from the beginning the best thing about lists like this is discovery. In the first episode I was not aware of Ninja Scroll, but now I have the chance to watch it. Some may have never heard of Waltz or Persepolis who listened, and I hope they do the same.
Took me a long time but I caught up with this. It’s been fun so far. The mass amount of current movies on the list so far is strange. I hope that means the classic are where they should be.
This is such an epic project. Went back and checked out your old Top 100, and that was awesome too. I mean, I do disagree violently with the list lmao. I still loved listening.
I went back and listened to the first episode and I’ll admit I did rush to judgment a little but. Still, when I hear people so dismissive of movies that aren’t mainstream it irks me a little bit.
No I completely understand your position though. Maybe in a yer or two when we do it again we will know better. I just don’t follow films unless I know the franchise or its been to theaters.
what steve says below about not following films unless he knows the franchise is exactly where I’m coming from too. Plus as I’ve stated many times before, I’ll watch something that has Russian being spoken, but with subtitles. However I refuse to watch anything in a total other language, forcing me to read subtitles through the entire thing. That to me feels like work.
Glad you are enjoying the ride
I’m not unsympathetic to your disinterest in anime. I don’t really think that there’s much anime that’s truly worth watching. Even during the golden era (way back in the early-to-mid-90s), the main reason we were watching the stuff was because other than Animaniacs and Batman, there was no animation on TV worth watching. So my friends an I would hit up Blockbuster and rent one or two selections from the “Japanimation” section.
If any of you have ever stayed up late watching terrible B-movies on UHF channels with your buddies, this is really no different. Just something that is fun and weird to watch at 11PM at night. And eventually, this sort of ritual is what evolved into MST3K.
There are certainly some gems, but I think most anime is pretentious. In particular, Ghost In the Shell is so far up its own ass, it’s practically lost. And I’m sure it’s ranked high on this list. …unfortunately.
Can’t speak on Ghost In the Shell but agree with everything else you said here!
So you are dismissing an entire genre of animation that is adored by millions with a whim, yet you are saying it is Anime that is up its own ass. Hmmm…okay.
Replace “adored by millions” with “adored by an extremely vocal minority”.
And I’m hardly dismissing it. Ask Blanchard about my affinity for anime. Or you can listen to my podcast where I talk about it all the time. If you think I don’t like it, you’re sorely mistaken.
What I’m saying is that anime has become pretentious in how it is marketed to the west. I recommend anime all the time, but I also have many, many critiques as to how it’s produced in Japan and how it’s marketed to the west. It’s repetitive and it turns off a mainstream audience.
I think there is a lot of anime that Blanchard and company SHOULD watch, but I also understand their disinterest in it, because a lot of it is utter crap. For every good anime, there are at least ten bad ones. And thanks to people who think that anime is a genre (that’s like calling all of American animation a genre), we had companies like ADV who just bought up the rights to everything they could get their hands on, whether or not it was actually worth watching. That’s how garbage like Godannar go localized.
Frankly, I blame the anime fanbase for the downfall of Japanese animation in the west, because they’re the ones who put Japanese animation on a pedestal. And companies like ADV listened. And now ADV is out of business, because they sold way more garbage than what was actually worth watching.
You know what ADV’s highest DVD sales were? The remastered version of Robotech. It sold way more than even Evangelion. That should be a wake-up call to anyone who thinks that anime has been relevant in the last 20 years.
Western audiences just aren’t interested. Get over it.
I totally agree with Neil here.
“Get it over.” Smart choice of words there, as the
entire time I am reading your off tangent remarks that barely form any sort of logical point the phrase that echoed through my head violently was this statement is written by a person who really needs to get over themselves.
Your incredulous masturbatory remarks are interesting. I’ll give you that. So maybe when I’m in a masochistic mood I’ll spend some time and listen to your podcast.
Making a big deal about calling something a genre like anime
is a pointless argument of semantics that I honestly don’t even want to bother to get into, but I’ll amuse you. The term genre has greatly morphed over the years, and now is even used to describe the likes of superhero movies. Is it a genre in the same vein as action or comedy? No, but anime does tend to share certain characteristics and style—which is commonly associated with genre. I’m sure I could have used a better turn of phrase to categorize anime, but genre did the job and unknowingly had the side effect of striking some sort of random nerve with you. So if it’s that big of a deal to you I’ll admit a mistake there.
Also you do realize how many people are in this world right,
and when I indicated millions nowhere did I indicate specifically the west. So no I was right. Millions across the globe have a strict fondness for anime.
Interesting you accuse me of ignorantly lumping anime in as
a genre, and then seemed shocked that the scope of anime would not have a flawless record. You seem to assume that I place anime on this pedestal of infallibility. I agree there is a great deal of it that is not very good. As is the same with any form of film. The bad can outweigh the good.
My statement was simply meant to call out the hypocrisy of diminishing most of anime as pretentious when you statements so far are obviously soaked in pretentiousness. You state you are against things being up their own ass, but so far it appears you enjoy the pleasure of your hand firmly up your own.
Dude, seriously? WTF?!
I try to explain my point, and all you can do is throw a temper tantrum.
All I was saying was that I understand why the hosts of the show aren’t interested in anime. And I’m someone who WATCHES anime.
I try to explain that the vast majority of anime lacks the sort of appeal that would draw a more casual audience. For some reason, you took this personally.
This is exactly the sort of elitist crap that drives people away. Good job.
You didn’t even read half of what I said.
@InsurgentCinema:disqus This is coming from someone who disagrees with @Neilsama:disqus on a LOT of topics….but he is right on just about everything he has said in this post. I’m not trying to flame a war or turn this into a negative conversation or discourse but you seem to have gone in defense mode here because someone ‘seemingly’ said something harsh about something you love and now it seems that you are just grasping at straws and trying to find ways to serve up low blows instead of actually engaging in intelligent well thought out dialogue….unfortunate since I was hoping you two could actually begin an interesting and engaging discussion on the subject… :(
Wow! Lots of comments and feedback. I’m enjoying the countdown so far and believe it is off to a pretty solid start. What is the title of the movie at 100? Wallz something? I heard you mention it a few times and I still can’t make it out. Plus, searching for “Waltz” or “Waltz movie via Google and Netflix isn’t helping. If you can tell me what it is I would be interested in checking it out.
Ninja Scroll got 100% on Rotten Tomatoes?! I think it’s a very enjoyable movie, I’m just surprised so many critics liked it. The fights are pretty darn amazing. I like the animation style and it’s just fun. Glad to see it on the list and I’m not upset it falls where it does on the list.
Likewise, I’m not a fan of the Madagascar movie, and I haven’t seen the sequels. I’ll agree with Mike that the penguins are the best thing to come from the franchise, as the Penguins cartoon is excellent.
I’ve never seen The Polar Express. It didn’t look appealing to me, but it’s on Netflix so I’ll try to catch it sometime.
I agree that Pocahontas is more enjoyable than Princess and the Frog. Princess isn’t bad, it just lacks anything that makes it very memorable. And the songs in Pocahontas are more fun.
I just thought Aristrocats was okay too. Like Steve, I didn’t see some of the 70’s and 80’s Disney toons until I was older, so they didn’t have the same appeal for me. Yet, I feel better movies have that all-ages appeal, and that makes them worthy of being higher on the list, so again, I think they’re fine being on the list, and I’m glad they’re no higher.
The Dark Knight Returns movies (parts 1 and 2) are excellent. It’s one of the strongest of the DCU animated films, and my favorite animated movie of the year as well, Dan. I would like to have seen it higher, but it is recent, so that could be why it ranks lower. The battles between Bats and Superman and Joker are EPIC! I waited to buy them and got the Target Steelbook of the Deluxe Edition and I’m very happy with it.
World’s Finest is an excellent story, but I’m leaning towards Dan’s view that it’s basically three episodes of the cartoon slapped onto a DVD. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, and I’m okay with it being on the list though.
I’m sure there are other comments I wanted to make, but that’s all I can recall for now.
The movie is Waltz with Bashir. It is an Israeli animated documentary where a former soldier interviews his past friends about the invasion of Lebanon
OK. It actually was the first hit on Netflix when I had searched, but the cover art didn’t strike me as being an animated feature. It also suggest that I will “Like” this movie, giving it 3 out of 5 stars. It is not on streaming, so it’ll take a while before I get around to it. Thanks for clarifying.