Animation sampler
In spite of the considerable fraction of my DVD/BD collection that is dedicated to animation, I don't know how to weave them into my ranked lists of top films, so I needed a place to acknowledge a broad range of styles. Animation has had an immeasurable influence on my taste in movies and television. The list is not intended to include all significant animation studios -- more Terrytoons should probably be on here, for example -- but what I like does cover a pretty good chunk of the history of the art for the past 100 years. I clearly prefer traditional hand-drawn animation to 3D computer animation, and otherwise I don't care if the intended audience is adults or eight-year-old girls. I've picked mostly theatrical shorts or features and tried to minimize the inclusion of episodic TV series. Also, I know that puppetry is technically animation, but I'm leaving out Jim Henson and only including stop-motion animation of puppets rather than live performance.
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- 60 titles
- DirectorsDave FleischerSeymour KneitelStarsJack MercerMae QuestelGus WickePopeye takes Swee' Pea to the zoo and spends most of his time rescuing the tot from the various animals.
- DirectorsBurt GillettBill RobertsStarsWalt DisneyMarcellite GarnerEddie HoldenInspired by the Grimm's fairy tale, this classic 1938 Mickey cartoon finds our hero (voiced by Walt Disney) battling a hilariously huge "problem.
- DirectorsDave FleischerWillard BowskyOrestes CalpiniStarsJessica DragonetteLanny RossPinto ColvigA doctor washes ashore on an island inhabited by little people.
- DirectorsJack KinneyBill RobertsStarsJohn McLeishHannes SchrollAfter figuring out how to get dressed, Goofy hits the slopes to demonstrate the art of skiing. Through a series of gags and misadventures, Goofy demonstrates turns, skiing backwards and even the ski jump.
- DirectorsJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsSara BernerWilliam HannaHarry LangTom's new book on "how to catch a mouse" doesn't prove too helpful against Jerry; actually, Jerry seems to make better use of it than Tom.
- DirectorsNorman FergusonClyde GeronimiJack KinneyStarsAurora MirandaCarmen MolinaDora LuzDonald receives his birthday gifts, which include traditional gifts and information about Brazil (hosted by Zé Carioca) and Mexico (by Panchito, a Mexican Charro Rooster).
- DirectorConnie RasinskiStarsBetty JaynesTom MorrisonA Mighty Mouse cartoon which sees Mighty Mouse protect a group of gypsy travelling mice from a colony of bats.
- DirectorJohn HubleyStarsJim BackusJerry HausnerAt the Hodge Podge Lodge, crotchety, near-sighted Mister Magoo takes a banjo-playing bear to be his nephew Waldo.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanBugs Bunny gives Elmer Fudd a close shave as they sing and act out Rossini's opera.
- DirectorWalter LantzStarsMel BlancDick NelsonGrace StaffordWoody is challenged to a zany game of golf.
- DirectorTex AveryStarsBill ThompsonTex AveryJohn BrownDon't be fooled by the title - Droopy looks like Droopy, but he's actually jazzman John Pettibone, with his performing flea combo, and the film shows how it came into being.
- DirectorsGerard BaldwinPete BurnessJim HiltzStarsEdward Everett HortonJune ForayPaul FreesRocky and Bullwinkle, 'Jet Fuel' Part 1; Fractured Fairy Tales 'Rapunzel'; Peabody's Improbably History 'Introduction'; Rocky and Bullwinkle, 'Jet Fuel' Part 2.
- DirectorsLes ClarkJoshua MeadorWolfgang ReithermanStarsJane FowlerPaul FreesClarence NashDonald's goes on an adventure in which it is explained how mathematics can be useful in real life. Through this journey it is shown how numbers are more than graphs and charts, they are geometry, music and magical living things.
- CreatorsJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsGeorge O'HanlonJanet WaldoMel BlancThe misadventures of a futuristic family.
- DirectorsWolfgang ReithermanClyde GeronimiDavid HandStarsRickie SorensenSebastian CabotKarl SwensonA poor boy named Arthur learns the power of love, kindness, knowledge and bravery with the help of a wizard called Merlin in the path to become one of the most beloved kings in English history.
- DirectorsFriz FrelengHawley PrattA house painter uses blue as his color of choice, while the Pink Panther has a different selection in mind.
- DirectorsChuck JonesBen WashamStarsBoris KarloffThurl RavenscroftJune ForayA grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville.
- DirectorWolfgang ReithermanStarsPhil HarrisEva GaborSterling HollowayWith the help of a smooth talking tomcat, a family of Parisian felines set to inherit a fortune from their owner try to make it back home after a jealous butler kidnaps them and leaves them in the country.
- CreatorGardner FoxStarsDanny DarkCasey KasemOlan SouleThe greatest of the DC Comics superheroes work together to uphold the good with the help of some young proteges.
- DirectorsCharles NicholsIwao TakamotoStarsDebbie ReynoldsHenry GibsonPaul LyndeWilbur is a farm pig who's terrified that he'll end up on the dinner table. His friend Charlotte, a charming spider, comes to his rescue. She weaves words into her web, convincing the farmer that Wilbur is too special a pig to kill.
- CreatorsJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsScatman CrothersJoe E. RossKathy GoriA kung-fu-fighting pup and his snickering cat sidekick battle crime.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsOrson WellesJune ForayLes TremayneA young mongoose protects his human family from two murderous cobras.
- DirectorsBill MelendezPhil RomanStarsDuncan WatsonGreg FeltonStuart BrotmanThe Peanuts gang goes to summer camp, and they participate in a river-raft race against some cheating bullies.
- DirectorRalph BakshiStarsChristopher GuardWilliam SquireMichael ScholesThe Fellowship of the Ring embark on a journey to destroy the One Ring and end Sauron's reign over Middle-earth.
- DirectorsMartin RosenJohn HubleyStarsJohn HurtRichard BriersRalph RichardsonHoping to escape destruction by human developers and save their community, a colony of rabbits, led by Hazel and Fiver, seek out a safe place to set up a new warren.
