Here is the 5th and final installment. The first entry is the first successful full-length animated feature, the second is my personal favourite of all time. All comments are in my far-from-humble opinion.
2) Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937, dir: Walt Disney): this film was the first full-length animated feature ever released in the United States. This film showed that full-length animated movies were commercially viable, silencing critics who labeled the film "Disney's Folly." The movie may seem tame and hokey now, but keep in mind that when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves first played at New York's Radio City Music Hall, management had to replace the seat cushions because children kept wetting their pants (and the seats) during the forest sequence. A historically important film, and a movie well worth its place in any animated lover's collection.
Fun fact: When Lucille La Verne, who played the Wicked Queen, was asked to change her voice for the "hag" incarnation, she responded by removing her false teeth.
1) Spirited Away (2001, dir: Hiyao Miyazaki): I swore I would restrict myself to only one Miyazaki film, and this is it. I'm also a huge fan of Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle, but Spirited Away is (ever-so-slightly) better, in my opinion. IMDb users agree: Spirited Away is consistently the highest-rated animated film on its Top 250. The story of 10-year-old Chihiro, who must rescue her parents from being served as pork product by working in a bathhouse of the spirits, is a continual visual delight and an engrossing fairy tale. The jewel in Studio Ghibli's crown, and proof that Hiyao Miyazaki is possibly the greatest living animator in the world.
Reminder: Whenever possible, try to find the subtitled Japanese originals of these movies. Disney, the North American distributor for Studio Ghibli, has a nasty habit of "sanitizing" these movies for an American audience, which detracts from the power of these films.
Thanks for reading, and strike back in the blog. Did I miss your favourite movie, or do you know of an underappreciated treasure? What would you put on your list? Bring it on!
