The Official Animation Challenge of April 2021!

[flavo5000]

Above image found at https://feelinganimatedblog.wordpress.com/

Welcome one and all to the 2021 Official Animation Challenge! The history of animation goes back almost as far as the history of film itself (and in some ways even further back with zoetropes, flip books, etc.). Join us on an excursion around the world as we experience the wonder of inanimate artwork sequentially structured to create the illusion of movement and magic. From the mega blockbusters from the House of Mouse to the bizarre and originals works arisen out of the Eastern bloc to the hypercontextual madness of anime to the quiet and austere visions of the unsung masters of the medium, animation as a style of filmmaking (NOT A GENRE) allows the creator to unleash their imaginations and show us what crawls around inside their heads, unburdened from the practical realities of live action. As usual, the most important thing is to have fun!

*Note: Parts of this OP was copied shamelessly from frbrown's thread last year, so thanks for that!


Goal
Watch as much animation as you can.

Rules:
- Title (year) is the preferred format
- Each film or episode over 40 minutes counts as one point
- A total of 80 minutes of TV or short films count as one point
- Rewatches are allowed and good for the soul, but you can only count any film/episode once in the challenge
- Post the years of your watches.
- Do not edit posts to add new watches, just create a new post
- Also if you're in the top 5, please post regularly (at least every second day). So that the competition stays fair
- I will not allow anyone to enter the top 5 during the final three days with their first post.

If you don't like the competition aspect, you are still welcome to participate in the challenge! Post your animated viewings (no need to number them), and your reactions to your and other people's viewings.


Official lists
IMDb's Animation Top 50
BFI's 100 Animated Features
OFCS's Top 100 Animated Features of All Time
Paste's 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time
Jerry Beck's 50 Greatest Cartoons
Annecy Festival's 100 Films for a Century of Animation

More unofficial lists

ICM Forum Favorite Animated Movies (2019)
Timeout 100 Best Animated Movies
Laputa Animation Festival 150 Best Animations of All Time
The World History of Animation Key Films
Animated Movie Guide's Top 60 Non-Theatrical US Animated Features
500 Essential Anime Movies
Forces of Geek Top Ten Cartoons of Each Year 1930-1950
IMDB Top 250 Animated Shorts 1930s
IMDB Top 250 Animated Shorts 1940s
IMDB Top 250 Animated Shorts 1950s
Golden 100 of Russian Animation
10000 Things You Need To Know: The 100 Animated Movies
Academy Award For Best Animated Short Film Nominees
Academy Award For Best Animated Feature Nominees
BFI 100 Anime
Sight & Sound 50 Essential Anime Films

Interested in Doubling Up on challenges?
Animated Films Nominted for Doubling the Canon 2021

Interesting personal lists by two of our forum members
mjf314's Top 50 Obscure Animated Movies
They Draw Anime Movies Don't They
Onderhond's Top 100 Animated Films
They Draw Anime Don't They: TV Edition


A few lists not on iCM
Sakuga anime lists
80s anime primer
Mike Toole's Other 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time (response to the Paste list)
Various Japanese animators recommend some animation they like (In Japanese)
GAC Forums' "50 Greatest Cartoons" thread

Some online resources about animation

Internet Animation Database
Cartoon Research
Golden Age Cartoons Forum (archive only)
Anipages

Sakugabooru
YouTube playlist of animator reels

Main Challenge Leaderboard

1	flavo5000	94
2	Traveller	42
3	Bing147	40
4	sol	35
5	jdidaco	34
6	Lonewolf2003	33
7	Knaldskalle	27
8	mjf314	23
9	Torgo	21
9	DudeLanez	21
11	Onderhond	15
11	frbrown	15
13	Armoreska	13
14	ororama	10
15	shugs	9
16	OldAle1	8
17	vortexsurfer	7
17	dirty_score	7
17	3eyes	7
20	hurluburlu	6
21	St. Gloede	3
21	pitchorneirda	3
23	Carmel1379	1

BONUS CHALLENGE: ANIMATION SCAVENGER HUNT!!
Of course we have to have a bonus challenge! If anyone participated in the Comedy Challenge last year, this format will look familiar. The below spoiler tag holds 30 challenges. The goal is to of course complete as many as possible. They have been designed to try to encourage exploration of the various kinds of animation from all over the world since this challenge historically gets dwarfed by the US and Japan due to sheer volume of output.
When logging your bonus participation, please indicate after the title of the film(s) what challenge it applies to using the #BONUS <challenge_name> format
Ex. 1. The Lord of the Rings (1978) #BONUS Style Profile: Rotoscope

NOTE: In the below challenge whenever the phrase "block of" is referenced, it is meant to represent 1 point worth of a particular subject, either a feature over 40 minutes or a block of shorts and/or TV totalling 80 minutes.
2nd NOTE: For any screenshots that may offend (graphic violence, sex, etc.), please put them in a spoiler tag.

List of Scavenger Hunt Challenges

Challenge Name	Challenge Description
Style Profile: Stop Motion	Watch a block of Stop-Motion Animation and provide screenshot
Style Profile: Rotoscope	Watch a block of Animation that prominently uses rotoscoping technology and provide a screenshot
Style Profile: Sand Animation	Watch a block of sand animation and describe how you felt watching it.
Style Profile: Paper Cutout Animation	Watch a block of animation done using paper cutouts and provide a screenshot
Style Profile: Flash Animation	Watch a block of animation using the Adobe Flash program to animate and provide your thoughts on how it looks.
Excuse Me While I Puke	Watch a block of CGI animation including an example of really terrible CGI and provide a screenshot example.
Animation Around the World: North America	Watch two blocks of animation, one from Canada and one from Mexico.
Animation Around the World: South America	Watch two blocks of animation produced in any two South American countries.
Animation Around the World: Africa	Watch two blocks of animation produced in any two African countries.
Animation Around the World: Europe	Watch two blocks of animation produced in Europe, one from France and one from Germany.
Animation Around the World: Antarctica	Watch a block of animation set in Antarctica.
Animation Around the World: Australia	Watch a block of animation produced in Australia.
Animation Around the World: Asia	Watch a block of animation produced in one of the countries comprising Indochina or the Malay Archipelago
In Soviet Russia, Cel Animate You	Watch a block of Russian Animation and post a screenshot of your favorite scene.
This Feels Familiar	Watch a block of animation adapted from a live-action property
Creator Profile: Chuck Jones	Watch a block of animation directed by celebrated talent Chuck Jones
Creator Profile: Jan Svankmajer	Watch a block of animation directed by Czech master of the grotesque Jan Svankmajer
Creator Profile: Osamu Tezuka	Watch a block of animation from visionary Japanese creator Osamu Tezuka
Creator Profile: Ralph Bakshi	Watch a block of animation from button-pushing bad boy of animation Ralph Bakshi
Creator Profile: Halas & Batchelor	Watch a block of animation from influential British animation studio Halas & Batchelor.
Creator Profile: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios	Watch two blocks of animation, one from Japan's Studio Ghibli and one from United States' Walt Disney Studios.
Creator Profile: The Hubleys	Watch a block of animation from influential underground animators John and Faith Hubley
Creator Profile: Norman McLaren	Watch a block of animation from daring and experimental Canadian animator Norman McLaren.
Horrors of War	Watch a block of animation that depicts the horrors of war is a non-comical way and describe why animation is or is not a good format for the particular story experienced.
Geyser of Blood	Watch a block of animation that prominently features an explosion of gore with screenshot of said act.
Tentacles Ahoy	Watch an Adults Only block of animation with a screenshot depicting an example of the prurient behavior.
Moving Pictures Only	Watch a block of completely dialogue-free animation and describe what transpires.
Distance. Effervescent. Time Immemorial. Holding onto Nothing.	Watch a block of abstract/surrealist/plotless animation and include at least three screenshots of examples.
Unsung Heroes	Watch a block of animation from a director of animation you feel is unjustly underheralded and describe why this director is worthy of consideration.
All the Colors of the Rainbow	Watch a block of animation featuring LBGTQ+ themes and post your thoughts on why you felt the animation medium was or was not well-suited to tell the story or stories.

Bonus Challenge Leaderboard

Rank	Participant	Count
1	flavo5000	15
2	Traveller	6
2	Bing147	6
4	frbrown	4
5	Knaldskalle	3
5	DudeLanez	3
5	dirty_score	3
8	LoneWolf2003	2

[Traveller]

I’m in - thanks for hosting, flavo! Just for clarification: the two Paddington movies don’t count for the challenge?

[mjf314]

I just updated my top 50 obscure list. It's a top 55 now, but I didn't rename it, so you don't need to change the link.

Here are a few more lists, in case you want to add any of them:

Animated Doubling nominees: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls089692158/? ... =Animation
Golden 100 of Russian Animation: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/gold ... on/mjf314/
They Draw Anime, Don't They? (TV version): https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/they ... on/mjf314/

In the scavenger hunt, I think you have a typo in the Africa row (it says South American instead of African).

[mjf314]

I’m in - thanks for hosting, flavo! Just for clarification: the two Paddington movies don’t count for the challenge?

If I'm not mistaken, there's only 1 animated character, and everything else is live action? If that's correct, I don't think they should count.

[flavo5000]

I’m in - thanks for hosting, flavo! Just for clarification: the two Paddington movies don’t count for the challenge?

If I'm not mistaken, there's only 1 animated character, and everything else is live action? If that's correct, I don't think they should count.

Yea, films that are a hybrid of animation and live action have always been tricky. We have stuff like Avatar and King Kong on the BFI Top 100 Animated Films list, so there's a precedent for allowing things like that to count. I'm generally pretty loose with restrictions on things, so I think I'd be ok with it unless you started including random CGI heavy movies like Avengers or Justice League.

[flavo5000]

I just updated my top 50 obscure list. It's a top 55 now, but I didn't rename it, so you don't need to change the link.

Here are a few more lists, in case you want to add any of them:

Animated Doubling nominees: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls089692158/? ... =Animation
Golden 100 of Russian Animation: https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/gold ... on/mjf314/
They Draw Anime, Don't They? (TV version): https://www.icheckmovies.com/lists/they ... on/mjf314/

In the scavenger hunt, I think you have a typo in the Africa row (it says South American instead of African).

Ok, cool. scavenger hunt fixed and the other lists added (I added a few others as well.

[Knaldskalle]

In. I have no idea for how much or anything like that, but I've been in an anime/animation mood lately, so this challenge comes at just the right moment for me.

[sol]

Last year, I clocked over 30 points in the Animation Challenge while only watching two American films. This year, I'm planning to do the reverse. I have way too many Disney and box office crap checks in my blind, and if I don't make time for them in April this year, I don't know when I ever will...

[dirty_score]

I have a handful of them to watch so this will be a good excuse to clean my backlog. I'm in.

[shugs]

I'm in. The bonus challenge looks great, tho I'm not a fan of the porn one.

[Torgo]

I don't do challenges.

This said, you've got a pretty fun looking challenge with one of my favorite subjects and interesting bonus objectives here, flavo. Cool!

I just updated my top 50 obscure list. It's a top 55 now, but I didn't rename it, so you don't need to change the link.

I just had to fav that list.

[flavo5000]

Actually shugs bringing up the adult one reminds me. Just FYI, any "shocking" screenshots requested in the bonus challenge, please put them in a spoiler tag so as not to offend sensibilities of those who aren't cruising for that kind of thing.

[Traveller]

I’m in - thanks for hosting, flavo! Just for clarification: the two Paddington movies don’t count for the challenge?

If I'm not mistaken, there's only 1 animated character, and everything else is live action? If that's correct, I don't think they should count.

Yea, films that are a hybrid of animation and live action have always been tricky. We have stuff like Avatar and King Kong on the BFI Top 100 Animated Films list, so there's a precedent for allowing things like that to count. I'm generally pretty loose with restrictions on things, so I think I'd be ok with it unless you started including random CGI heavy movies like Avengers or Justice League.

It'll be the only two hybrid ones for me since I planned to watch them on Friday regardless of the challenge. I'll include them, then, but if it gets out of hand or so, they can of course be removed.

[flavo5000]

If I'm not mistaken, there's only 1 animated character, and everything else is live action? If that's correct, I don't think they should count.

Yea, films that are a hybrid of animation and live action have always been tricky. We have stuff like Avatar and King Kong on the BFI Top 100 Animated Films list, so there's a precedent for allowing things like that to count. I'm generally pretty loose with restrictions on things, so I think I'd be ok with it unless you started including random CGI heavy movies like Avengers or Justice League.

It'll be the only two hybrid ones for me since I planned to watch them on Friday regardless of the challenge. I'll include them, then, but if it gets out of hand or so, they can of course be removed.

Both Paddington movies back to back? Prepare for a supreme heart-warming.

[Torgo]

The Paddington movies score 100 and 97 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. They're pinnacle teddy bear films, no question about it.

[mjf314]

The Paddington movies score 100 and 97 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. They're pinnacle teddy bear films, no question about it.

I haven't seen it, so I might be mistaken, but isn't the character supposed to be a real bear?

The only teddy bear character I can think of is Winnie the Pooh. I'm not sure if Vinni pukh counts as a teddy bear, but the character in the original story is definitely a teddy bear.

[Torgo]

.. this is really awkward, man.
I never meant to be condescending towards Paddington - he's a real, fine bear.

Maybe my mind just wants to lump in bear-entertainment for children with huggy small teddy bears - so we don't have to think about Grizzly Man or The Revenant when speaking of "the best films with bears". Of course, Ted would also be the definition of a teddy bear, but I don't want to see this anywhere near our animation challenge, or any other poll, frankly.

Note that in the Wikipedia article on Teddy bears, Paddington is cited as an example.

[3eyes]

I aim to watch a few.

[Traveller]

Yea, films that are a hybrid of animation and live action have always been tricky. We have stuff like Avatar and King Kong on the BFI Top 100 Animated Films list, so there's a precedent for allowing things like that to count. I'm generally pretty loose with restrictions on things, so I think I'd be ok with it unless you started including random CGI heavy movies like Avengers or Justice League.

It'll be the only two hybrid ones for me since I planned to watch them on Friday regardless of the challenge. I'll include them, then, but if it gets out of hand or so, they can of course be removed.

Both Paddington movies back to back? Prepare for a supreme heart-warming.

I prepared all my life for these by being a heartless asshole. It's me or you, bear.

[mjf314]

I watched it too early to count it for the challenge, but I just watched I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018).

[VincentPrice]

Sure

[Onderhond]

Woohoo, I beat the Australians!



01. 2.5* - When the Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami

A little cult favorite. It's easy to see where this film got its reputation from, but it didn't entirely work for me. While the film has a pretty powerful message and the execution is interesting (to say the least), it relies a little too much on plain repetition to warrant its 80+ minute runtime. We follow an older couple living in the British countryside. When news breaks that the UK is on the verge of war once again, the man start to prepare for nuclear warfare, while his wife goes on with everyday life. Their bickering seems a little futile, until the day a nuclear bomb actually drops nearby. The mix of animation and live action is interesting, but the animation itself is pretty outdated and the art style isn't all that appealing. The bigger problem is that even though the world for these two people changes from peaceful retirement to dire nuclear warfare in the blink of an eye, the characters themselves are very much stuck in their ways. Whatever happens around them, their reaction is always the same. Though the film has some poignant scenes, it's just not enough to make a big impression.

[sol]

Woohoo, I beat the Australians!

I still came first in the other two.

[Onderhond]

Woohoo, I beat the Australians!

I still came first in the other two.

Myeah. Came up with at least 10 funny retorts, but not a single one of them is very appropriate
You win!

[Traveller]

01. Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016) - 6/10
A decent ending to an overall surprisingly fun trilogy.

[Bing147]

1. Cars 3 (2017)

[Bing147]

2. Chicken Little (2005)

[mjf314]

1. A Whisker Away (2020)

[Onderhond]

02. 2.0* - The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985) by Will Vinton

I'm always in for a bit of stop-motion animation, so I was quite interested to see what The Adventures of Mark Twain was all about. I'd never really heard about the film before, but similar experiences (I was probably thinking about Tom Thumb) had led to surprising discoveries before. No such luck with this one. The story is promising enough, as we see famed writer Mark Twain board an airship that is destined for the Halley Comet. He is joined by Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher and Huck Finn, who try to convince Twain that his presence on Earth is needed and he cannot simply leave everyone behind. The animation isn't terrible, but the character models are pretty ugly and the voice acting is just atrocious. The story is all over the place too. Some bits are interesting, others less so, which makes it harder than needed to keep focused. There surely is potential here, but overall the film is way too uneven to turn it into an enjoyable experience.

blank canvases

01. 2.5* - When the Wind Blows (1986) by Jimmy T. Murakami

[Knaldskalle]

1. A Silent Voice (Yamada, 2016). Eh... The animation is very beautiful (the same realistic style that's been in vogue for the last decade or so), but the story is a bit slow and while it has some neat visual ideas (the X's covering select faces for instance) the story loses me a couple of times with the plodding narrative. It's still a sweet story, it just needs to be "tightened" up a bit.

[3eyes]

1. Of stars and men (61)
Animated documentary about the basics of space/time/matter/energy. The animation grabbed me more than the narration. And of course it shows its age.

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)

2. Ride Your Wave (2019)

[Bing147]

3. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

[mjf314]

Spoiler

1. A Whisker Away (2020)
2. Ride Your Wave (2019)

3. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)

Good movie. My favorite of the challenge so far. It was made by the same director as A Silent Voice, so fans of that movie might want to watch this one too (although it's not the same genre).

It's a spin-off from the TV series, Hibike! Euphonium, which I haven't seen. On the MAL forum, there are 4 different threads about whether or not this movie is standalone. About 50% of comments say it's standalone, and about 50% say you should watch the series first. I'm not sure what I missed, but I thought it worked well as a standalone movie.

[Onderhond]

It's a spin-off from the TV series, Hibike! Euphonium, which I haven't seen. On the MAL forum, there are 4 different threads about whether or not this movie is standalone. About 50% of comments say it's standalone, and about 50% say you should watch the series first. I'm not sure what I missed, but I thought it worked well as a standalone movie.

Watched it as a stand-alone and it was easy enough to follow alright. Didn't even realize there was a series connected to it. Then again, it's pretty standard material so if you've seen a few anime dramas you know they're all pretty similar.

[sol]

1. Soul (2020)



The way this deals with death and beyond is a bit weird/uncomfortable with some bizarre mythology regarding souls, plus overly cute-looking characters. Fortunately, the film mostly works a comedy with hilarious 'Family Guy' style comedy cutaways and lots of fun from an unborn soul attempting to walk for the first time and so on. The plot also changes directions so many times that the film is refreshingly unpredictable - if simplistic in the messaging.

And yes, it seemed to only make sense to go with my namesake for this milestone check:

[sol]

Catching up on unwatched Disney and Box Office crap

1. Soul (2020)

2. Coco (2017)



While the race-against-time aspect is formulaic and some of the plot twists and turns are by-the-numbers, the Mexican setting and detailed insight into Mexican culture are great here. The film also looks gorgeous, with vibrant purples and oranges used especially well (see above), plus the music is excellent as one might expect given that music ends up being a pretty pivotal part of the film. The film has many poignant moments towards the end too.

[Traveller]

Great milestone, sol. Fitting choice.

02. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) - 2/10
03. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) - 1/10
04. Paddington (2014) - 2/10
05. Paddington 2 (2017) - 5/10

Just as the first one, I thought that Hotel Transylvania 2 was pretty dull. The third one was even worse. The first Paddington movie was horrible, and only the second showed me the charming side I heard so often about. However, it too, was at best average.

[sol]

Great milestone, sol. Fitting choice.

Thanks... though I kind of regret not choosing Coco instead, because I liked that more. Or my third viewing in this challenge which I absolutely loved...

Catching up on unwatched Disney and Box Office crap

1. Soul (2020)
2. Coco (2017)

3. Cheatin' (2013)



As per his earlier Idiots and Angels and Hair High, this is a magnificent film to look at with Bill Plympton's hand-drawn shots often seeming to melt and blend together with nary a normal scene transition to be found. Plympton also manages to convey lots of tangible emotion without his characters uttering a single line of dialogue. There is also a cool sci-fi/fantasy angle near the end and an incredibly romantic carnival rescue scene near the start is just amazing.

[flavo5000]

1a. Mowgli's Brothers (1975)
1b. The White Seal (1975)
1c. Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)
1d. A Very Merry Cricket (1973) #BONUS Creator Profile: Chuck Jones


2. Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (1996)


3. Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015)


4. Taishizen no makemono Bagi a.k.a. Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature (1984) #BONUS Creator Profile: Osamu Tezuka

Living a Frame At A Time

1a. Mowgli's Brothers (1975)
1b. The White Seal (1975)
1c. Yankee Doodle Cricket (1975)
1d. A Very Merry Cricket (1973) #BONUS Creator Profile: Chuck Jones
2. Jewel BEM Hunter Lime (1996)
3. Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (2015)
4. Taishizen no makemono Bagi a.k.a. Bagi, the Monster of Mighty Nature (1984) #BONUS Creator Profile: Osamu Tezuka