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The 20 Best Animated Movies of All Time

By YPB Team

From Studio Ghibli masterpieces to Pixar tearjerkers and genre-defining anime, animated cinema has delivered some of the most beloved films ever made. Which stands as the greatest?

  1. Spirited Away — ranked #11
    Spirited Away
    Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 Studio Ghibli masterpiece follows a girl spirited into a spirit world — the only non-English animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
    1000pts
  2. Finding Nemo — ranked #22
    Finding Nemo
    Pixar's 2003 underwater epic about a father clownfish searching the ocean for his son became one of the highest-grossing films of the year and a classic of the era.
    974pts
  3. Princess Mononoke — ranked #33
    Princess Mononoke
    Miyazaki's 1997 epic fantasy war film pitting industrialization against the spirit world is considered his most ambitious work and a high-water mark of animated storytelling.
    738pts
  4. Coco — ranked #44
    Coco
    Pixar's 2017 celebration of Mexican Día de los Muertos culture follows young Miguel into the Land of the Dead in a vibrant, emotionally devastating film about family and legacy.
    701pts
  5. Akira — ranked #55
    Akira
    Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 landmark cyberpunk anime film set the template for mature animated storytelling and influenced science fiction cinema for decades.
    685pts
  6. My Neighbor Totoro — ranked #66
    My Neighbor Totoro
    Miyazaki's 1988 gentle classic about two sisters befriending forest spirits has become one of the most universally beloved animated films and Studio Ghibli's defining icon.
    636pts
  7. The Incredibles — ranked #77
    The Incredibles
    Pixar's 2004 superhero family adventure is lauded as one of the best superhero films ever made, blending action, espionage, and family drama with wit and heart.
    627pts
  8. Frozen — ranked #88
    Frozen
    Disney's 2013 musical phenomenon introduced Elsa and the song 'Let It Go,' becoming the highest-grossing animated film of its time and a modern Disney classic.
    561pts
  9. WALL-E — ranked #99
    WALL-E
    Pixar's 2008 near-wordless sci-fi romance about a trash-compacting robot explores environmental decay and human connection with breathtaking visual poetry.
    561pts
  10. How to Train Your Dragon — ranked #1010
    How to Train Your Dragon
    DreamWorks' 2010 adventure about a Viking boy befriending a dragon defied expectations to become one of the most beloved animated films of its generation.
    561pts
  11. Grave of the Fireflies — ranked #1111
    Grave of the Fireflies
    Studio Ghibli's devastating 1988 anti-war film about two orphaned siblings surviving post-WWII Japan is considered one of the most affecting films ever made in any medium.
    486pts
  12. The Lion King — ranked #1212
    The Lion King
    Disney's 1994 tale of Simba's quest to reclaim his throne remains one of the highest-grossing animated films ever and a defining cultural touchstone.
    401pts
  13. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — ranked #1313
    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
    Sony's 2018 groundbreaking animated film introduced Miles Morales with a revolutionary art style that redefined what animation could look like on screen.
    401pts
  14. Toy Story 3 — ranked #1414
    Toy Story 3
    The emotional conclusion to Andy's childhood, featuring the toys facing oblivion, is widely considered the perfect animated trilogy capper and one of Pixar's greatest achievements.
    401pts
  15. Shrek — ranked #1515
    Shrek
    DreamWorks' 2001 fractured fairy tale featuring a lovable ogre upended Disney conventions and spawned one of the most enduring animated franchises in history.
    400pts
  16. Toy Story — ranked #1616
    Toy Story
    Pixar's 1995 groundbreaking computer-animated film about sentient toys launched one of cinema's greatest franchises and changed animation forever.
    400pts
  17. Up — ranked #1717
    Up
    Pixar's 2009 adventure opens with one of cinema's most heartbreaking montages, then follows an elderly man and a boy scout on a fantastical journey via flying house.
    400pts
  18. Inside Out — ranked #1818
    Inside Out
    Pixar's 2015 deeply original exploration of a child's emotional interior — personifying Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust — is a masterclass in empathetic storytelling.
    302pts
  19. Howl's Moving Castle — ranked #1919
    Howl's Moving Castle
    Miyazaki's 2004 fantasy follows a young woman cursed to age rapidly who finds refuge with a wizard in his enchanted castle — a visually stunning anti-war fable.
    187pts
  20. Beauty and the Beast — ranked #2020
    Beauty and the Beast
    Disney's 1991 fairy tale was the first animated film ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, setting the gold standard for the Disney Renaissance.
    0pts

Comments 2

Twenty films, five of them drawn by hand at Ghibli and eleven from Disney and Pixar, with Into the Spider-Verse holding a claim on the top: https://youpick.best/articles/studio-ghibli-vs-disney-ranked

YP
ypb-team
Aug 21

Widen the field past Pixar and Ghibli walks in with five hand-drawn entries: https://youpick.best/articles/toy-story-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team
Aug 25