Movies in the Animated genre

Grave of the Fireflies, a 1988 production from the famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, is perhaps the saddest animated movie ever made. As emotionally wrenching as any live-action film, Grave of the Fireflies resets expectations of ...

The 1966 animated TV Christmas special, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” is as perfect an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book as one is likely to find. Featuring an iconic vocal performance by Boris Karloff (doing double-duty as the narrator...

The mention of Pinocchio generally stirs up memories of the 1940 Disney animated feature, which (at the time) was the greatly anticipated follow-up to 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Today, Disney’s Pinocchio is regarded as one of the...

The familiar fairy tales we were weaned on aren't good enough any more. First, Shrek playfully toyed with some of our old friends by having them interact in atypical ways with a big, green ogre. Then along came last year's Hoodwinked, which refus...

Happy Feet is a weird movie. No one can accuse director George Miller and his co-writers of playing it safe, but there are some genres - such as family-friendly animation - where adherence to conventions can be viewed as a positive trait. 75 minu...

Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cr...

Not since Reese Witherspoon figuratively donned the red cloak in Freeway has there been a fresh take on the story of "Little Red Riding Hood." With Hoodwinked, the production team has made an attempt to change that, although the end result is more...

Hoppers is Middling Pixar. By that, I mean that it's a perfectly fine animated film, especially for kids, but not an exceptional one. It lacks the unquantifiable magic that has imbued the best of the studio's offerings, operating instead withi...

Admittedly, it's been about 35 years since I was reader of Dr. Seuss, but my memories of his books are that they're short and economical with words. Neither of those descriptions applies to this theatrical version of Horton Hears a Who!, which has...

Not since Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein have the great Universal monsters been subjected to such dismal treatment. Okay, maybe Van Helsing was a greater embarrassment. Hotel Transylvania is an animated monster movie for older kids (in the ...