Underrated Animated Films

M

megababy

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To you, which movies are ones that just don't get recognition?

There's only one that comes to mind for me now, and that's The Thief and the Cobbler. I'm honestly not surprised that this movie bombed, and it's a shame. I feel bad for Richard Williams for seeing the movie he worked so hard on get the treatment that it did, but I don't want to get into a rant about that. Luckily, I saw what he probably would've wanted it to be. The lack of spoken lines in the main characters really gave me a silent movie vibe, and Vincent Price adds a nice touch with his performance as the bumbling vizier, Zig Zag.
 
There are so many...

The Prince of Egypt, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Lilo and Stitch, Anastasia, Monsters Inc., Fox and the Hound, Iron Giant... If you haven't seen these or haven't seen these in a while take another look.
 
Don Bluth's Titan A.E.. No, it wasn't a great film, but it was an enjoyable film, and a bold venture for Don Bluth to attempt to offer an alternative to talking animals and fairy tales, which have pretty much been the norm for American animated features. Unfortunately, Titan A.E. did so poorly at the box office that 20th Century Fox closed down it's animated movie department not too long afterwards.
 
I haven?t seen it since it aired on Cartoon Network?s Cartoon Theater roughly a decade ago, but I believe ?Twice Upon A Time? is underrated. I remember loving the way that it was designed and I enjoyed its plot, though I concede that I have forgotten a lot about it. However, I never hear anybody talk about it.
 
Didn't Lilo & Stitch get 2 sequels and a TV series?

I remember when it first came out, it was like, the "must-see" movie when you were a kid. Along with Monsters Inc. Everyone in my school was talking about it. :0
 
Actually, it got one sequel (Stitch Has a Glitch), a pilot movie to the TV series (Stitch the Movie), the TV series itself, and a movie finale wrapping up the plot of the series (Leroy and Stitch). Plus, it's currently getting an anime adaption in Japan (I'm not kidding about this).

In other words, it wasn't underrated at all.
 
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

An intelligent animated movie dealing with The (Businessman) penguin and his cronies/unsavory business partners being thwarted by a female Bat person (not batgirl) and not in league with Batman. Cap it off with Bane as your enforcer villain and you got yourself a good animated flick.

This movie slowly crept up my Batman movie favorites until I liked it as much or more than Mask of Phantasm and ROTJ. I know thats saying a lot, but in a way it did for me...even the soundtrack w/latina song at the end was very enjoyable.

Why this movie takes it on the chin so much is a mystery to me. The Sub-Zero movie pales in comparison to it...I don't even own that one.

For those of you that for whatever reasons didn't watch it or didn't like what they saw, watch it again...it'll grow on you like it did me.:)
 
Agreed. I like this movie, too. I was surprised by the ending.

I think The Batman versus Dracula is even more underrated, though. Whenever I see polls for the "best Batman movie", Dracula usually isn't even listed! It's my favorite Batman movie of them all.
 
I remember back in 88, or whenever it was that it was re-released (I think Peter Pan was re-released around the same time period unless it was really some kind of matinee I saw), that my pre-school class took a trip to see it. We all seemed to love it but I didn't remember anything from it until about 7 years later when Cartoon Network aired it, back when they had that Cartoon Theater block on Saturday nights. Only got to see the second half that time, missed the first half because of a museum trip.

It's a shame, I can't see it now at an age when I'd probably have a greater appreciation of it. You'd think something George Lucas was involved with, no matter how much of a flop, would atleast get some kind of dvd release.
 
I 1st saw Twice Upon a Time on Showtime a long time ago. Some of the dialogue was really raunchy (especially that of the movies villain, Synonamess Botch, particularly his profanity-heavy speeches to his minions). When the movie on Cartoon Network as part of Mr. Spim's Cartoon Theater, all of the profanity was taken out of the film and Botch's speeches to the Minions were cleaned up considerably. Marshall Efron (who provided Botch's voice) re-read all of Botch's speeches so that he be would saying cleaner dialogue with no cursing.
 
Let's see... Disney's Hunchback definitely counts, as does Prince of Egypt (although that one got good reviews back when it came out), and Titan A.E. does as well. There seems to be a pattern developing: Animated films that try and "break the mold" like the ones mentioned above, or try to be more serious-minded, tend to get less appreciation than the more standard animated films.
 
I don't see alot of people talking about Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I know it wasn't one of Disney's better works, and was part their slump, so it doesn't surprise me. But, I've gotta say, I enjoyed it. Sure, the story dragged on in a few parts, but the setting and plot reminded me of something from a Miyazaki movie.
 
Over the Hedge. Probably the only CG Dreamworks movie that was honestly rather good, where the celebrity voice actors didn't feel tacked on, and didn't have any of the annoying features that I believed destroyed Shrek and Shark Tale (like massive product placement).
 
I've gotta agree with you there. Secret of NIMH was probably my favorite Don Bluth movie, even if there were major changes from the book it's based off of. Before watching it, I assumed that all cartoons had to have a cute and care-free feeling. It's so creepy and dark, and was like nothing I had ever seen before. Plus, it was the first time I had heard swearing and seen blood in a movie meant for kids.
 
Quest for Camelot sure the music is kind of corny, and its not as good as some of the others listed but its still a fun movie to watch every now and then.

Cats Don't Dance I'm suprised this one does not get much acclaim, its such a fun movie and the characters are memorable.

and I agree with everyone else on The Prince of Egypt and The Iron Giant great films with beautiful animation and a great story line.
 
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