The Best Animated Film Of Each Decade

Animation has been a tried-and-true staple at theaters since the birth of cinema itself, and while the format has had its creative ups and downs, there are great animated films to be found through each decade of film history. While Disney has something of a monopoly on the entire field of children's animation, especially before some legitimate competitors began to surface in the '80s, there's a wealth of animated films that go far beyond your traditional Disney fare. 

From the silent era, during which theatrical animation was still in its infancy, to the classic fairy tale adaptations that defined our childhoods, to the modern, innovative films that break new ground every day, animation is an incredibly expansive medium with much to offer audiences. It's well past time we treat animation with the respect it deserves; not just as children's entertainment, but as a legitimate art form in its own right.

Walt Disney gets a lot of credit for his early animation work. But although "Steamboat Willie," the first film to feature Mickey Mouse himself, helped to establish a brand that came to dominate the animation industry, German animator Lotte Reiniger proved that animation was an artform in its own right a full two years before Mickey hit the screen. 

On "The Adventures of Prince Achmed," Reiniger used a uniquely laborious style of animation, painstakingly cutting out all of her figures and background structures by hand. These cutouts were then manipulated frame by frame, a process that took Reiniger three years to complete, and tinted with color. The effect is strikingly beautiful. "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" feels full of life, and the gentle movements of her shadow puppets gives Reiniger's interpretation of a classic fairy tale an atmosphere and spirit unlike other piece of animation made before or since.

Of all the films on this list, "Bambi" is probably the one with the least amount of replay value. That's not a commentary on its quality, though. Far from it. If people find it difficult to rewatch "Bambi," it's because it's too painful; "Bambi" was the Disney movie that taught us all that an animated film can make a powerful emotional statement. Just because it's a cartoon doesn't mean that it can't make you hurt. 

"Bambi" starts as a cute romp starring anthropomorphic woodland animals, following a baby deer who grows up and befriends rabbits and skunks and other small critters. It's a smokescreen. Because then, with absolutely no warning, "Bambi" goes to the darkest place imaginable, forcing the audience to watch a child grieving its mother while casting humanity as the villain. With its gorgeous, Japanese-inspired backdrops and powerful emotional core, "Bambi" is perhaps the moving and artistic of Disney's early films.

There is no universe in which "101 Dalmatians" gets anywhere near the credit it deserves. In fact, when it first came out, a lot of people were critical of its sketchy animation, a far cry from the opulent, detailed landscapes featured in the Disney films of the previous decade. But "101 Dalmatians" gets the last laugh, because its charming puppies and wildly fiendish villain have stood the test of time.

Roger and Anita are one of Disney's sweetest couples, and Roger's pointedly passive-aggressive song about Cruella DeVil is a cheeky delight. But most of all, "101 Dalmatians" has great, understated set pieces scattered throughout, like the sequence in which Pongo watches the street, looking for a woman to be Roger's mate, and a series of women walk by with their pet dogs, all of whom bear a striking resemblance to their owners. Despite the dark storyline (they're planning on murdering a bunch of dogs) and the foggy London scenery, "101 Dalmatians" is a light-hearted jewel in the Disney vault.

Animator Don Bluth was on a pretty impressive run during the late '80s. After parting ways with Disney in 1979, Bluth went on to create some of the only animated films that were able to challenge the Mouse at the box office. And "An American Tail," released in 1986 as part of a collaboration with Steven Spielberg, was one of his absolute best. 

A historical musical, "An American Tail" told the story of a young Russian mouse who emigrates with his family to New York City at the turn of the century to escape a dangerous pogrom led by cats, only to be separated from his parents and forced to face a brave new world all by himself. Fievel Mousekewitz is probably the sweetest, cutest, most endearing cartoon mouse ever committed to celluloid. His journey through New York City is terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure, held together by Fievel's ongoing sadness over his lost family, beautifully expressed by the devastating song, "Somewhere Out There." Even just thinking about it should make you emotional.

It required a pretty serious internal conversation not to make this list just a collection of Miyazaki films. So, just know that, for every movie included here, a Miyazaki movie could have easily taken its place. "Howl's Moving Castle" is perhaps less well-regarded than "Spirited Away," but it has a lighter touch and a vibe that isn't quite as unsettling, so it seemed like it deserves a little extra credit. 

A young, mild-mannered hat-maker named Sophie is cursed, becoming a 90-year-old woman. In an effort to break the spell, she heads off on an adventure with a wizard named Howl, who is facing his own battles. "Howl's Moving Castle" is an immensely imaginative story, with a deep roster of fascinating side characters that flesh out the film wonderfully. Miyazaki's films are never what you might call pro-war, but his particular anger at the Iraq War (which was unfolding during production) is felt especially strongly here, creating an eccentric fairy tale with lots going on underneath the surface.

The 2020s are still getting started, so there aren't too many animated films to choose from yet. However, even this early on, "Wolfwalkers" is still a strong contender for the best animated film of the decade. A gorgeously hand-drawn adventure combining Irish history with ancient mythology and a feminist tale of nonconformity, "Wolkwalkers" is as charming as it is beautiful. 

The way that filmmakers Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart design the wolves and depict their unique sense of smell is lovely, and it is well grounded by the two voice actors who play Robyn and Mebh. Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker were 15 and 12 years old, respectively, at the time of filming, but despite their young ages, they bring tremendous heart and spirit to "Wolfwalkers." In a society where girls have such rigidly defined expectations of behavior placed upon them, it's great fun to see Robyn and Mebh find the freedom to run and play in the forest together, unencumbered by rules of the world they live in.