Survey Results: Favorite Animated Film

Here are your top picks for the Listener Survey question “What is your favorite animated film?” In all, 88 different titles were chosen as someone’s favorite film and 33 people couldn’t decide.

EDIT: WOW, what a huge oversight – I skipped Beauty and the Beast in the results. You’ll now find it at it’s rightful place, tied with Jungle Book for the number 3 spot. THANKS EMMA!

Here are the Top Ten:

10. Finding Nemo
9. 101 Dalmatians
9. The Lion King
9. The Little Mermaid
8. Spirited Away
7. Toy Story
6. Pinocchio
5. Monsters, Inc.
4. Aladdin
3. Beauty and the Beast (tied with “Undecided”)
3. The Jungle Book (tied with “Undecided”)
2. The Iron Giant
1. The Incredibles

41 Comments on “Survey Results: Favorite Animated Film

  1. as if the incredibles is number one… i feel it is the worse of the Pixar movies made (i havent seen cars yet… so ill up date my opinion then)…

    there is an obvious inclination of movies that involve male characters, with only 2 having lead female characters…. (TLM, Spirited Away)

    and where is Beauty and the Beast??? it is absolutely astonishing that it isnt up there…. 🙁

  2. Wow Emma, you caught my biggest mistake so far on the podcast!

    Of course – Beauty and the Beast!!!

    I overlooked it when I sorted the results.

    It’s tied with Jungle Book with 33 votes.

  3. do i get a prize clay?? lol … how ’bout one of my questions being given to Glen Keane! (ill send you an audio…;)… god… how embarrasing with my Aussie Accent and everything… lol)

    B&tB has been called the best animated movie of all time… i was beginning to think people on this site had no taste in what they were actually listening too… lol 😀

    much better…

    how about how every one else would order those movies in the list… just out of curiosity…

    1. Beauty and the Beast
    2. The Little Mermaid
    3. Toy Story
    4. Aladdin
    5. Monsters inc
    6. The Lion King
    7. Finding Nemo
    8. Jungle Book (the animation is ok. but i havent seen this one in ages…)Spirited Away
    9. Spirited Away
    10. The Incredibles

    **movies i havent seen (or in a long time, so i don’t feel that it is fair to include them in my list): Pinocchio, The Iron Giant**

  4. The Incredibles was one of the best movies I had ever seen! Not very many animated films released these days have such a high level of intelligence.

  5. Oh my god! Where is “Treasure Planet”?? its one of the best animated films not just because of those great characters like John Silver and Jim Hawkins. i dont know what u guys think, but i absolutely love that film…

    martin

  6. Maybe not the best film per se, but Tarzan, helllooo? The animation kicks ass from the baby to that hella funny little baboon, not to mention Glen Keane’s groundbreaking work on Tarzan. I mean you could practically learn everything you need to know about anatomy.
    And hasn’t anyone seen Triplets of Belleville? Totally awesome! Blows the lathargic Spirited Away out of the water.
    And I agree with martin on Treasure Planet. Also the best integration of 2d and 3d I’ve seen.
    And Iron Giant should follow right behind B&B and Lion King. Totally sweet. OK, I’ll stop…
    We should have a survey of best animated song. King Louie should take the prize.

  7. I usually would never leave a comment but I can not even believe half the movies listed on that top ten list. The Incredibles being #1, in what reality would the Incredibles ever be on a top ten list of anything. There has yet to be a 3D animated movie that would make my top 25 list of animated films. People seem to be easily amused now day, very disappointing. If someone could please tell me where there is an ounce of depth in The Incredibles characters I would love to hear it.

  8. Todd you’re being harsh on the 3d animated movies; the Incredibles is a great movie and the characters deliver emotions, lets take Bob for example, i really like the transition of Bob being the hero in the old days, then getting married and beign bored of the normal life, and the excitment when he get back to beign hero again, i senced the change in Bob’s character through out the movie, anyways, i think picking up the favourite movie is like picking up your favourite hat or dress, each one of us relate to the characters in a different way. Personally i love “The teasure planet”, i used to watch the treasure island when i was a kid and i think it is an amazing movie, a great mix between 2d and 3d, and the character John Silver is amazingly animated, i can’t get enough from watching it. That’s my opinion and as i said there is no right list of favourite animated movies, it is a personal thing.

  9. I thnk that the kind of animation doesn¬¥t matter, I mean it¬¥s just a tool, now we can have like great animated movies that are made just with cut out papers, of course if you have great animation an great story together it¬¥s a blast but think about nice animations purely supported by a decent story…it¬¥s just crap, on the other hand good story with not so good animation still works. So I think that people gave credit to movies like the Incredibles ¬¥cause there¬¥s a good balance between the two elements, on top of that I believe there¬¥s plenty of great 3d characters out there, just take Ice Age and Toy Story as an example.
    I am not saying that ´cause I am a 3d guy, I actually work for a 2d studio, but again for me it´s just a tool.

  10. I did not have a chance to vote but I do put alot of thought into this subject. I saw Alladin when I was 9 years old and I still remeber the excitement I felt when I first saw the genie. I remeber being mesmorized by these beautiful characters dancing on the screen, I knew this would have have to be involved in my life in some way.

    A couple years later I saw Toy Story and those same feelings set in again, but this time I had a realization that people did this for a living. You could ANIMATE for a career. From then on thats all I concentrated on.

    These films have had a prefound effect on me and help me with my animation everday. Thank you Clay, these interviews inspire me everyday.

    P.S. Alladdin should be #1.

  11. The great thing about lists like these is that they don’t change anything. We don’t lose any films just because they didn’t make the list.

    But really… “Dalmations” beat “Snow white”? Ouch.

    Glad to see “Iron Giant” doing well.

  12. i think the nightmare before christmas shouldve been on there!tht movie rox!!!

  13. I cannot believe the slamming of The Incredibles. As a filmmaker and animator, I have endless admiration for Brad Bird. Not only does he have the keenest sense of story, a beautiful director’s eye and a strong sense of what makes a cartoon a cartoon, he is tremendously respectful of his team. The Incredibles took a hackneyed idea… superhearoes, for the love of pete… and gave it a fresh spin. Stellar, and I mean STELLAR, vocal performances from Jason Lee, Craig. T. Nelson, Samuel Jackson and (especially) Holly Hunter round out a stunning achievement in every field. Sound, lighting, direction, animation, humor, depth of character, music, design… all of it unequaled by any animation I’ve ever seen. Except the Iron Giant,which has Dean, too.

    The dearth of Miyazaki is troubling, as is plentitude of Disney. Little mermaid and Beast were, to me, very hard to bear because of the overblown and unnecessary broadway musical numbers. And no Emperor’s New Groove or Lilo and Stitch? Surely the wonderful style and fresh, humorous animation counts for something, eh? I tend to like shorts better, but my feature list :

    1. The Iron Giant
    2. The Incredibles
    3. Porco Rosso
    4. Lilo & Stitch
    5. Snow White
    6. Cinderella
    7. Spirited Away
    8. Mulan
    9. Lady and the Tramp
    10. Grave of the Fireflies

  14. Haha, oh man, the fights over favorite animated movies. The Incredibles is at the top of my list since it came out. It is quite an accomplishment to get all the honest emotion of love of family in a film without it coming across as a sort of cheesy “Cheaper by the Dozen” movie. Personally I think the music in The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast are awesome, and push the story forward in a very fun way. But then again, I like musical theatre, so… Music in animated movies is done poorly when it doesn’t push the story along, and it’s just a soundtrack. But I do kinda miss the great music from Aladdin, Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, and (gasp!) would like to see a new great animated musical someday.

    I think the survey is a pretty good representation of some of the greatest animated feature films ever made.

  15. this is hard to order but..
    My top ten would be… and understand its just an oppinion, ok

    1. Aladdin
    2 Spirited Away
    3. Lion King
    4. Princess Mononoke
    5. Mulan
    6. Beauty and the Beast
    7. Happy Feet.
    8. Monster Inc
    9. Incridbles
    10. Batman the Retun on the Joker uncut

  16. I have to comment on your “Happy Feet” entry, nothing against you and I know it’s an opinion but I must mention something.

    MY OPINION is that you have an absolutely amazing list of movies, most of which would fit into my top ten as well but then as I stroll down the list I am punched in the stomach by Happy Feet. The film was beautiful, don’t get me wrong it looked great. But brilliant computer graphics does not a good movie make. I mean the characters were uninteresting and the story stretched in so many directions and the end left me kind of…well…depressed and unsatisfied…not a recipe for such classics as Monsters Inc. and The Incredibles.

    Again, just my opinion.

  17. I’m not entirely surprised that Ghibli’s only presence on the list is Spirited Away, although I do feel the likes of Totoro and Princess Mononoke deserve their place among the best. And personally I rate Akira and Ghost in the Shell as two of the most amazing and ground breaking animated films ever made.

  18. Wow… aside from a couple, none of my favorite animated films are on there at all.

    1. Grave of the Fireflies
    2. Whispers of the Heart
    3. Iron Giant (an amazing film ruined by the final shot. Still really good tho)
    4. Secret of Nimh
    5. Robot Carnival
    6. Finding Nemo
    7. Only Yesterday
    8. Akira
    9. Porco Rosso
    10. Princess Mononoke

    Honestly, i don’t get why no one saw Mononoke in the theaters in the US… Spirited away, as far as i’m concerned, is one of Miyazaki’s worst films. I’m also disappointed by the fact that Takahata – the OTHER director from Studio Ghibli – gets no recognition at all. His films are much better. Probably has something to do with the stupid American concept that animated films are for little kids. Were it not for that, there would probably be more American films on my list. I just can’t watch a movie talks down to me. A longer version of my list might contain a few older Disney flicks and a couple other Pixar movies and the Shreck films. The rest of the stuff made in the US all go out of their way to let me know how stupid / young the creators think i am. I find it insulting and long for some studio to break out of the “cartoons are for kids/humor” mold and make something good.

    /end rant.

  19. I find it very interesting that there are no traditional 3D animations in this list(Corpse Bride, The Wrong Trousers, Nightmare before christmas etc).

    My 9 in no particular order:

    1) The Wrong Trousers
    2) Project AKO (Enjoyed the wacky story and characters)
    3) Iron Giant
    4) Little Otik
    5) Howls Moving Castle
    6) The Incredibles
    7) Jungle Book
    8 Charles and Francois (Enjoyed everything)
    9) Flatworld (Enjoyed the technique)

    Saving number 10 until I get to watch “Persopolis”. If it’s anything like the comic books, then this will definitely be in here 🙂

  20. This is my list for the Top 10 Non-Disney films I watch and selected.

    10. “Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
    9. “Ice Age”
    8. “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron”
    7. Tie: “Anastasia” and “The Prince of Egypt”
    6. “An American Tail”
    5. “Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest”
    4. “The Iron Giant”
    3. Tie: “Happy Feet” and “Shrek”
    2. “The Secret of NIMH”
    And finally:
    1. “Cats Don’t Dance”

    Hope you enjoy these films and I hope it’s all right with you listeners. Good luck at the rally with Marlon, Clay.

  21. Here’s my fav’s;

    1. The Iron Giant
    2. The Incredibles
    3. Lilo & Stitch
    4. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
    5. Monster Inc
    6. Ice Age
    7. Finding Nemo
    8. Shrek
    9. Howls Moving Castle
    10. Grave of the Fireflies

  22. No problem, Mr. Media. Everyone’s got their own list! I haven’t even contemplated mine. Well, at least today, this is how I’m feeling:

    1. The Iron Giant
    2. Lady and the Tramp
    3. Peter Pan
    4. Toy Story
    5. The Jungle Book
    6. Aladdin
    7. The Nightmare Before Christmas
    8. Beauty and the Beast
    9. The Secret of NIHM
    10. Bambi

    I guess I’m in a very Disney mood. That changes day to day. My criteria for these is the overall feeling I get when watching them (and a little nostalgia thrown in). If I ranked it based on animation alone, I’m sure it would be a different list all together.

  23. i thought the The Incredibles was an okay movie but i like the movie uh…wait..what is it..i can’t remember the name of it…Ah it is.. Mulan haha best movie ever.

  24. I liked Howls Moving Castle I think that should have been on the top ten. Its nearly my favourite animated movie.

    My friends tell me that ratatouille is Pixar’s best film to date. I liked it but I liked ToyStory better okay heres my top ten. I havnt watched Iron giant but will soon since i see this as everyones favourite.

    1. The Lion King
    2. Howls Moving Castle
    3. Ratatouille
    4. Spirited Away
    5. Toy Story
    6. Lion King 1 1/2
    7. Aladdin
    8. Lady and the Tramp
    9. Mulan
    10. Beauty and the Beast

    Lol I kept changing them.. This is hard

  25. forgotten – Mulan huh? I definitely haven’t loved all the films I’ve worked on but I’m glad to have my name on that one.

    B. – I still haven’t had time to watch Howl’s Moving Castle. I have it sitting at home and since it comes so highly recommended from you you, I’ll move it to the front of the line.

  26. My top ten Disney Animated Movies:
    1. Lion King
    2. Toy Story
    3. Finding Nemo
    4. Monsters Inc.
    5. Lion King 1 1/2
    6. Fox and the Hound
    7. Toy Story 2
    8. WFRR
    9. Oliver & Company
    10. Snow White and the 7 Drawves

  27. How about this top 10

    1. Beavis and Butthead do America (1996)
    2. The Simpsons Movie (2007)
    3. Toy Story (1995)
    4. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)
    5. A Bug’s Life (1998)
    6. Chicken Run (2000)
    7. Monsters Inc (2001)
    8. Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were Rabbit (2005)
    9. Toy Story 2 (1999)
    10. Shrek (2001)

    Is there anything I should swap with these 10 choices?

  28. Hi all, everybody posted some really interesting top 10 animated film choices, i totally disagree with the Incredibles taking first place though, Disney/Pixar has definitely made better 3d animated movies. Here’s my top 10:

    1. Princess Mononoke
    2. Grave of the fireflies
    3. The Lion King
    4. Aladdin
    5. Akira
    6. Spirited Away
    7. Ninja Scroll
    8. Afro Samurai
    9. Tarzan
    10. Secret of Nimh

  29. I have had a LONG time to think about this :/….

    1. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
    2. Bambi
    3. Finding Nemo
    4. Dumbo
    5. Prince of Egypt
    6. Beauty and the Beast
    7. The Lion King
    8. Pinocchio
    9. Ratatouille
    10. Spirited Away

    That is what I think I think for now :/

  30. No love for Robert Zemeckis’ motion capture? He did probably the most faithful adaptations of A Christmas Carol. Here’s my top 10 along with their directors.

    1. The Simpsons Movie (David Silverman)
    2. Beavis and Butthead Do America (Mike Judge)
    3. South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut (Trey Parker and Matt Stone)
    4. Monsters Inc (Pete Doctor)
    5. A Christmas Carol (Robert Zemeckis)
    6. Finding Nemo (Lee Unkrich)
    7. Toy Story (John Lassester)
    8. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton)
    9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selleck)
    10. Corpse Bride (Tim Burton)

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