The 22 Best Animated Movies of the 1990s

Disney's renaissance, Pixar's first experiments and a run of anime landmarks all landed inside the same ten years. Ranking them means picking fights between studios.

1

The Lion King

Disney's 1994 Serengeti epic about a cub who flees his father's death and returns to reclaim Pride Rock.

2

Princess Mononoke

Hayao Miyazaki's 1997 Studio Ghibli epic about a cursed prince caught between an iron-mining town and the gods of the forest.

3

Beauty and the Beast

Disney's 1991 musical romance and the first animated film ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

4

Toy Story

Pixar's 1995 debut and the first fully computer-animated feature, about a cowboy doll threatened by a new spaceman toy.

5

Aladdin

Disney's 1992 Arabian Nights musical, powered by Robin Williams' improvised Genie.

6

The Iron Giant

Brad Bird's 1999 Warner Bros. Cold War fable about a boy who befriends a giant alien war machine.

7

Toy Story 2

Pixar's 1999 sequel in which Woody is stolen by a collector and learns what he is worth.

8

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Henry Selick's 1993 stop-motion musical about the Pumpkin King who hijacks Christmas.

9

The Prince of Egypt

DreamWorks' 1998 retelling of the Exodus, staged as a hand-drawn epic between two brothers.

10

Mulan

Disney's 1998 film about a young woman who takes her father's place in the Chinese imperial army.

11

Ghost in the Shell

Mamoru Oshii's 1995 cyberpunk anime about a cyborg officer hunting a hacker who has no body.

12

Perfect Blue

Satoshi Kon's 1997 psychological thriller about a pop idol whose identity unravels after she turns actress.

13

Porco Rosso

Miyazaki's 1992 Ghibli adventure about an Adriatic seaplane pilot cursed with the face of a pig.

14

Whisper of the Heart

Yoshifumi Kondo's 1995 Ghibli coming-of-age story about a bookish girl chasing her first novel.

15

A Bug's Life

Pixar's 1998 colony adventure in which a misfit ant recruits circus bugs to fight off grasshoppers.

16

Anastasia

Don Bluth's 1997 Fox Animation musical imagining the lost Romanov duchess retracing her past.

17

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Disney's 1996 adaptation of Hugo's novel, unusually dark for the studio's Renaissance run.

18

Tarzan

Disney's 1999 jungle adventure with Deep Canvas painted backgrounds and a Phil Collins soundtrack.

19

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

The 1993 animated-series feature in which a masked killer stalks Gotham's mob and Batman takes the blame.

20

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

The 1999 cut-out musical that turned a TV show into an Oscar-nominated satire of censorship.

21

Antz

DreamWorks' 1998 CG debut about a neurotic worker ant voiced by Woody Allen.

22

Balto

The 1995 Amblimation film based on the sled dog who carried medicine across Alaska in 1925.