2008- Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is about a panda bear named Po (Jack Black), who is a big fan of the Furious Five, the heroes of China. After a few failed attempts to break into the Jade Palace, Po finally makes it in and earns the nickname of "the Dragon Warrior" by the wise tortoise Oogway. Much to his dismay, Shi-Fu (Dustin Hoffman), trainer of the Furious Five, now must train Po so he can defeat an evil snow leopard named Tai-Lung (Ian McShane).
Kung Fu Panda, along with Pixar’s WALL-E, are among the best animated movies of 2008 with a timeless and engaging story, awesome animation, three-dimensional characters, and a great score from Hans Zimmer and John Powell.
2009- Fantastic Mr. Fox
I’m sorry that I didn’t include Up, but I already included six Pixar films.
Based on the children's book by Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox tells the story of a fox (George Clooney) who steals chickens for a living. When his wife Felicity (Meryl Streep) gets pregnant with a cub, she tells Mr. Fox to get a new job. Twelve fox years later, the cub grows up to be a stubborn boy fox named Ash (Jason Schwartzman), and gets jealous when his talented cousin Kristofferson (Eric Anderson, director Wes Anderson's brother) comes over. After convincing his lawyer Clive Badger (Bill Murray) to buy a tree his family can live in, Mr. Fox plans on doing one more heist between three farmers: Walt Boggis, Nate Bunce, and Franklin Bean. However, the heist puts all the animals in danger, and it's now up to Mr. Fox to make things right.
Fantastic Mr. Fox truly is fantastic with top-notch animation, a story that exceeds the source material, fun characters, a great score from Alexandre Desplat, needle drops that fit like a glove, and an all-star voice cast that gives their all.
2010- Tangled
Tangled is about a 17 going-on 18-year-old girl named Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). She was secretly kidnapped by a woman named Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) so she could use Rapunzel's magic hair to keep herself young. On the day before Rapunzel's 18th birthday, Rapunzel encounters a thief named Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi), and the both of them go on an adventure that will change both of their lives forever.
Tangled has the honor of being Disney’s 50th animated movie with a story that sticks true to its source material while also adding something new, animation that shows off its 260 million dollar budget, three-dimensional characters, and the best Alan Menken songs since the 90s. This would also be Disney’s last animated movie to feature a true traditional villain for 13 years, though Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon were pretty close.
2011- Arthur Christmas
In this movie, Santa Claus gave up the old reindeer-and-sleigh routine in favor of a high-tech aircraft that can deliver a whole city in a few minutes. However, there’s one gift Santa forgot to deliver: A bicycle to a young girl in Trelew Cournwall, England! Now, it’s up to Santa’s youngest son Arthur, along with Grandsanta and wrapper elf Bryony, to travel all the way to Trelew before Christmas morning.
Even though the character designs are a little uncanny compared to other CG films I included (Arthur’s eyes look like they’re gonna pop out!), Arthur Christmas more than makes up for it with Pixar quality writing, laugh-a-minute gags, engaging and funny characters, a great score from Harry Gregson-Williams, and memorable quotes.
2012- Wolf Children
Wolf Children tells the story of a woman named Hana, who falls in love with a man who's really a werewolf. They had two children named Ame and Yuki, who can also turn into wolves. When the father gets killed, Hana and her children travel to the country where it's less busy. As Ame and Yuki grow older, however, they start developing their own traits and preferences: Yuki feels more comfortable being a human, while Ame feels more comfortable being a wolf and wants to live in the woods.
Wolf Children is an underrated gem with Ghibli-quality animation, a timeless story and atmosphere, and compelling and relatable characters. As much as I love Wreck-it Ralph, I feel Wolf Children is slightly better.
2013- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
A lot of people expected me to pick a certain CG film about two Norwegian sisters, but I wanted to subvert everyone’s expectations with the final movie from anime legend Isao Takahata, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
Based on the Japanese folktale ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’, this movie tells the story of a tiny girl nicknamed Takenoko, who was found in a stalk of shining bamboo. She grows faster than the other kids and is soon a delightful, curious girl out enjoying the forest with the local boys. One day, the bamboo cutter, her adoptive father, finds that the bamboo she came from is shining again, this time with treasure. With his newfound fortune, the bamboo cutter moves to the city to give his princess a proper "young lady's" education, complete with an uptight royal governess. Despondent about moving away from her beloved country home, Kaguya's only joy is an outdoor garden she tends for herself. When she comes of age, tales of her beauty reach the highest levels of Japanese society, and five titled men vie for her hand in marriage. But Kaguya still misses her first crush, Sutemaru, from her childhood home.
‘Kaguya’ is a diamond in the rough with an animation style that deters away from the typical anime style, an emotional story, a wonderful score from Joe Hisashi, and a strong female lead different from your typical Western Princess. However, I do wish it was 20-30 minutes shorter.
In Part 4, you’ll see movies featuring emotions, teenagers, skeletons, and a mailman!
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