Underrated (animated) movies

Dear god, that was one of the saddest industry stories I've ever heard. I recently read an animation book written before Williams had lost the film, and it mentioned how hard he was working on it and his assurance that it would be "the best animated movie ever"... ugh. Did his original version ever get released, in any form?
 
I thought of some more:
We're Back: This is a fun little movie that just gets no love

Little Nemo in Slumberland: Its a shame no one talks about this one, I know I like it and so does my mom

The Brave Little Toaster: This movie is just good on so many levels.
 
Balto: I've always enjoyed this movie for its great storytelling and the development of characters like Balto. I feel like it definitely deserves better treatment.

All Dogs Go to Heaven: This is my favorite Don Bluth film. I just feel like it had a great story and better characters than many people give it credit for.
 
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned The Last Unicorn. So I will. This is not only one of my favorite animated films, it's one of my favorite movies, period. Based on a novel by Peter S. Beagle (who also wrote the screenplay, and was able to preserve a lot of the story's lyrical, ethereal nature), which also made it one of the movies most faithfully adapted from its source novel.

Other pluses: Awesome vocal performances by Alan Arkin, Tammy Grimes, and Christopher Lee, a beautiful soundtrack by Jimmy Webb (never released in the United States; I had to buy an import from Germany to get the music), and some truly beautiful visual imagery. This movie was one of Rankin-Bass' finest efforts.
 
I'd have to say:

*Cats Don't Dance: This one got royally snubbed by the animation company going splat after it came out. Interesting story and characters, and a bunch of the frenzied, sharp humor that Warner Bros. was known for in the 1990s.

*Fern Gully: What can I say, I love bats. (Not as much as my favorite animal, otters, but how many animated otters are there?) That, and it's not overly heavy-handed with its environmentalist message.

*Secret of NIMH: I loved the story when I read it in grade 5. We also saw the movie and I loved it too. I'm a sucker for anthro animals in general, but I find that premise even more interesting in how it contrasts with the human world in this story.

*The Emperor's New Groove: It's got David Spade, who may be one of my favorite "one-note" actors. He always plays the sarcastic jerk, but always makes it work well. That, and it's a ton of fun, with fourth-wall gags out the yin-yang and an "attitude" that never seems forced.

*The Brave Little Toaster: Do you get the feeling that I like kids' movies that are a little darker than Disney? The story line's been done before to at least some extent, but it's so well executed that it doesn't feel clich
 
While not exactly feature film length, Banjo the Woodpile Cat is another one of Bluth's works that nobody talks about. I can understand why, too: The plot is simple, and we've seen it about a million times before. The character designs are off-model half of the time, and the animation is inconsistent. But, it has a lot of charm, and to me felt like a throwback to classic cartoons.
 
Back
Top