My Top 25: #5 - #1

#5: Tokyo Godfathers (2003): Sometimes the best you can do is protect the innocent with all of your might. Three homeless men find a baby and resolve to take care of it; by doing so, they end up resolving their person issues and finding their own homes. Equal parts pathos and bathos, Tokyo Godfathers mixes humor and seriousness in such a way as to create a weird melange, and one that just works. Somehow. If the concoction was mixed with just a little more or less of what it has, it would have been an unworkable hodge podge of disparate elements, but the mix is just right, making for an incredible movie.



#4: Bambi (1942): Ironically the source of many controversies, including hunter's rights, animal rights, the right to bear arms, and the definition of vegetarian, this movie seems to have grown legs beyond its original meaning, which was merely a deer growing into its own destiny. A perennial family favorite, this is one of those few movies where grown men cry without embarrassment.



#3: Ghost in The Shell (1995): Exploring the nature of what makes us us, this cyberpunk classic combines beautiful detail and existentialism with some of the genre's greatest characters and plot to create something rather unique. By the end of the movie we are debating the existence of good and evil, recognizing that even the most insane among us have identifiable goals and that we all strive towards those goals. We are defined less by who we are and what we do; in a society where those roles can change at the drop of a hat, does that make us all disposable, like easy-to-reprogram robots? GitS asks this question just as we may advancing into a realm that makes it possible.



#2: Castle of Cagliostro (1979): Obviously a sentimental favorite (this is one of the first anime movies I watched), there is a lot to recommend this movie, and why it keeps showing up on convention schedules. Although it is a comedy, there are also levels of seriousness to the movie, such as Lupin deciding that he was going to defend the maiden's honor, as well as the teaming up of hunter and prey. It also cements the Lupin/Fujiko relationship. And the final reveal is worth it, especially if you like complicated machinery in action. There is a reason that this movie is a fan favorite, and will remain so for a long time.




#1: Pinocchio (1940): This is what animation is meant to be. This is one of the earliest cartoons to step away from the barely possible and simply have a lot of fun with the impossible. There are puppets turning into boys, boys turning donkeys, and a fish large enough that one can live inside of it. Unlike the other Disney movies, or even the shorts, there is nothing plausible about anything that happens in this movie, and yet we do not deny that any of could happen, even after we finish watching the movie. We can strip the legendary elements from almost any other Disney movie and still have a commoner become a princess, a prince find his love, or even a nobleman debate if he is more beast than man; it doesn't matter that Maleficent can become a dragon so much that she is the expression of evil or that a lion cub must grow to lead his pack. With Pinocchio you cannot strip those elements away without leaving a poorer tale behind, and that is what truly makes this movie the best animated ever.