#1

Toy Story 3

Released: June 18, 2010

Runtime: 103 minutes

Rating: G

Animation Style: 3D computer-generated imagery (CGI)

Studio: Pixar/Disney

Here it is. The number one animated movie for EYG. Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the trilogy of Toy Story. I know there have been two more movies since, but that does not take away from this conclusion to the Andy storyline. Toy Story 3 had one of my absolutley favorite movie villains in Lotso and has a final scene with Andy and Bonnie just before Andy heads off to college. Then, when I first saw the film, I thought they were literally going to burn our heroes to death in an incinerator. That scene when Lotso leaves Woody, Buzz and the others to face a fiery doom was shockingly tense. Nothing has matched this for me. Toy Story 3 is the #1 Animated Movie in the Daily Countdown.

Voice cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson, John Morris, Charles Bright, Jeff Pidgeon, Blake Clark, R. Lee Ermey, Laurie Metcalf, Bea Miller, Emily Hahn, Lori Alan, Erik von Detten, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Garlin, Amber Krone,Brianna Maiwand, Bud Luckey, Lee Unkrich, Teddy Newton, Woody Smith, Whoopi Goldberg, John Cygan, Jack Angel, Jan Rabson, and Richard Kind.

#2

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Released: December 14, 2018

Runtime: 117 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a hybrid 3D-and-2D technique that mimics a living, hand-drawn comic book

Studio: Sony Pictures Imageworks

The first big screen appearance of Miles Morales was a masterful film. The adaptation of Miles, along with the use of some of the awesome Spider-Man variants such as Peter Porker, Spider-Noir and Penny Parker, made this such a fun and emotional movie that you just did not expect. The animation is some of the most creative and original animation you will ever see… so much so that some people said the animation was what bothered them the most. This won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Voice cast: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Chris Pine, Lake Bell, Liev Schreiber, Jorma Taccone, Marvin “Krondon” Jones III, Joaquín Cosío and Post Malone.

#3

Inside Out

Released: June 19, 2015

Runtime: 95 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: stylized, expressive 3D computer animation

Studio: Pixar/Disney

“Take her to the moon for me.” These words took a fabulous movie, which to this point had been funny, spectacular and made it one of the best of all time. The sacrifice of Bing Bong is one of the most emotional Pixar moment of all time, right up there with the “Remember Me” scene in Coco and the opening of Up.

Voice cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan, Dawnn Lewis, Paula Poundstone, Bobby Moynihan, Paula Pell, Sherry Lynn, Lori Alan, Dave Goelz, Frank Oz, Josh Cooley, Flea, John Ratzenberger, Carlos Alazraqui, Pete Docter, Nick Pitera, Peter Sagal, and Rashida Jones.

#4

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Released: June 2, 2023

Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: combines 3D computer animation with 2D hand-drawn comic book techniques

Studio: Sony Animation

The second Miles Morales film expands the universe, literally. We get more Spider-Gwen, we get Spider-Man 2099, and a ton of Spider-Mans. One of the best animated films of all time. The only reason it is not higher up the list (which is weird to say since it is #4) is because of the cliffhanger ending. It is a spectacular movie.

Voice Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, and Oscar Isaac.

#5

Aladdin

Released: November 25, 1992

Runtime: 90 minutes

Rating: G

Animation Style: a distinct artistic style inspired by Arabic design, flowing curves, and the caricatures of Al Hirschfeld

Studio: Disney

The renaissance of Disney animated movies in the 90s piqued, for me, when Aladdin came out. I am a huge fan of Robin Williams and his performance as the voice of the Genie was transcendent. The music is superior. The movie was a total kick, and it is my #5.

Voice cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale, Frank Welker, Jim Cummings, Charlie Adler, and Corey Burton. Brad Kane and Lea Salonga provide singing voices for Aladdin adn Jasmine.

#6

The Incredibles

Released: November 5, 2004

Runtime: 115 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: blends stylized 1960s retro-futurism with caricatured 3D computer character animation

Studio: Pixar/Disney

The Incredibles was an epic super hero story featuring a family. Many called it the best Fantastic Four film we have ever gotten. Brad Bird directed this masterpiece and gave us a classic villain. One of my favorite quotes from the film came from Syndrome who said, “Everyone can be super! And when everyone’s super… no one will be.”

Voice cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Brad Bird, Elizabeth Peña, Teddy Newton, Jean Sincere, Bud Luckey, Wallace Shawn, Lou Romano, Michael Bird, Dominique Louis, Bret Parker, Kimberly Adair Clark and John Ratzenberger.

#7

How to Train Your Dragon

Released: March 26, 2010

Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: stylized 3D character design with grounded, realistic movement and cinematography

Studio: DreeamWorks

The film that kicked off one of the best animated trilogies of all time, How to Train Your Dragon even had one of the best live-action remakes, a rare occurance for sure. The scene where Hiccup and Toothless go flying for the first time is one of the greatest moments in movie history.

Voice cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig,T.J. Miller, David Tennant, Ashley Jensen, Robin Atkins Downes, Philip McGrade and Kieron Elliott.

#8

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Released: December 12, 2000

Runtime: 77 minutes

Rating: PG-13

Animation Style: Bruce Timm art style

Studio: Warner Brothers

The highest Batman movie on the list is this one featuring the return of the Joker into the orbit of Terry McGinnis. The scene with Joker and Tim Drake from the past was totally haunting and took this from a great film to an instant classic.

Voice cast: Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, Angie Harmon, Tara Strong, Dean Stockwell, Mathew Valencia, Andrea Romano, Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Rosenbaum, Don Harvey, Henry Rollins, Frank Welker, Lauren Tom, Rachael Leigh Cook, Teri Garr, Ryan O’Donohue, Vernee Watson-Johnson, Mary Scheer and Jason Stanford.

#9

The Iron Giant

Released: August 6, 1999

Runtime: 87 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: hybrid animation style that blends traditional hand-drawn 2D animation for the human characters and environments with computer-generated imagery (CGI)

Studio: Warner Brothers

One of the most emotional movies about a giant robot you will ever see. The Iron Giant is a wonderful story of a boy and his gigantic robot. It is a wonderful movie and one of the most underrated classics on this list.

Voice cast: Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel, James Gammon, Cloris Leachman, John Mahoney, Eli Marienthal, Christopher McDonald, M. Emmet Walsh, Frank Welker, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas .

#10

Big Hero 6

Released: November 7, 2014

Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a groundbreaking fusion of traditional hand-drawn aesthetics, cinematic realism, and cultural hybridity

Studio: Disney

Into the Top 10 we go…. Big Hero 6 is an Academy Award winning film based on some lesser known Marvel Comics characters. This is outside the MCU, and includes the breakout character of Baymax.

Voice cast: Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Daniel Gerson, David Shaughnessy, Bill Bush and Stan Lee.

#11

Toy Story

Released: November 22, 1995

Runtime: 81 minutes

Rating: G

Animation Style: computer-generated imagery (CGI)

Studio: Pixar/Disney

One of the greatest animated franchises of all time, kicked off by this excellent film. The friendship that developed between Woody and Buzz Lightyear carries this franchise. Toy Story is a marvel.

Voice cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney, John Morris, Erik von Detten, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, Sarah Freeman, Penn Jillette, Joe Ranft, and jeff Pidgeon.

#12

Klaus

Released: November 8, 2019

Runtime: 97 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: a unique blend of traditional hand-drawn 2D animation and innovative volumetric lighting that creates the illusion of 3D depth

Studio: SPA Studios/Netflix

Another surprise as this came out of nowhere and was nominated for Best Animated Picture at the Oscars. A wonderful origin story for Santa Claus and one of the best animated holiday movies ever.

Voice cast: Jason Schwartzman, J. K. Simmons, Rashida Jones, Will Sasso, Neda Margrethe Labba, Pablos, Norm Macdonald, Joan Cusack, Reiulf Aleksandersen, Sara Margrethe Oksal, Sergio Pablos, and Sam McMurray.

Additional children’s voices:  Evan Agos, Sky Alexis, Jaeden Bettencourt, Teddy Blum, Mila Brener, Sydney Brower, Finn Carr, Kendall Joy Hall (who voiced Annelise Ellingboe), Hayley Hermida, Lexie Holland, Brooke Huckeba, Matthew McCann, Tucker Meek, Leo Miller, Joaquin Obradors, Víctor Pablos, Lucian Perez, Bailey Rae Fenderson, Maximus Riegel, Emma Shannon, Ayden Soria, Sunday Sturz, Hudson West, Gordon Wilcox, Emma Yarovinskiy, and Julian Zane.

#13

The LEGO Movie

Released: February 7, 2014

Runtime: 100 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: computer-generated (CGI) animation style that mimics physical stop-motion brickfilms

Studio: Warner Brothers/Animal Logic

Another film that was a huge surprise. Who would think that a movie about LEGO creatures would be anything but stupid. Yet, The LEGO Movie was one of the best movies of 2014. There is a short section of live action during the animation, but I determined that this would still count under the animation rules I set down at the beginning since the live action stuff was a minimal part of the movie, even if it contained some of the most emotional parts.

Voice cast: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Melissa Sturm, Cobie Smuthers, Jadon Sand, Anthony Daniels, Keith Ferguson, Billy Dee Williams, Shaquille O’Neal, Will Forte, Dave Franco, Jake Johnson, Keegan-Michael Key,Christopher Miller, and Graham Miller.

#14

Grave of the Fireflies

Released: April 16, 1988

Runtime: 89 minutes

Rating: NR/Unrated

Animation Style: grounded, painterly, and naturalistic

Studio: Studio Ghibli

One of the most beautiful and saddest Studio Ghibli films. I had heard so much of some of the other classic Studio Ghibli movies, but not much about this one and it was absolutely spectacular. It is a classic war film as well as a deeply personal family tale. This is the highest Studio Ghibli film on my list and, if you have not seen it before, it is worth your time.

Voice Cast: It depends on which version of the film you watch. The original Japanese voice cast included Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, and Akemi Yamaguchi.

#15

Shrek

Released: May 18, 2001

Runtime: 90 minutes

Rating: PG

Animation Style: 3D computer-generated semi-realistic style

Studio: DreamWorks

Shrek is a wonderful movie that spawned several sequels and a Broadway musical. The movie had some of the most iconic characters of animation.

Voice cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow, Vincent Cassel, Conrad Vernon, Chris Miller, Cody Cameron, Simon J. Smith, Christopher Knights, Aron Warner, Jim Cummings, Kathleen Freeman, Andrew Anamson, Bobby Block and Michael Galasso.