Animation has grown to be one of the most versatile and transformative methods of stylization and storytelling in the entire medium as film. What was once written off as a medium designed and made only to appeal to children has produced countless all-time classics considered some of the best films ever. Animated films will only continue to prosper and redefine themselves again and again as more and more creative voices take their spin on this iconic medium of cinematic storytelling.
Regarding film communities on internet spaces, Letterboxd is one of the newest and most interesting to observe and analyze. As a platform with primarily younger users that have grown up with and around the internet and limitless films from all different cultures at their fingertips, it creates a major difference in taste compared to sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. This is no different regarding the tastes and modern perspectives on what are the greatest animated films of all time.
Updated on October 17, 2023, by Robert Lee:
Since the release of this article, Letterboxd has made vast sweeping updates to their weighted-rating calculations, changing how they calculate the averages of users’ ratings for all movies on the site. On top of this, a number of high-profile animated movies have been released to resounding praise in the months following this article, most notably, the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
10 ‘Akira’ (1988)
Letterboxd Average rating: 4.26/5
Akira is a highly stylized sci-fi anime that takes place in the high-flying futuristic city of Neo Tokyo. However, the entire futuristic city soon becomes at risk of total destruction at the hands of a secret military project that transforms biker gang member Tetsuo into a rampaging psychic psychopath. With Tetsuo out of control and laying waste to the city, it becomes up to his old friends and a group of psychics to put a stop to it once and for all.
Akira‘s overwhelming influence, not only on animation but on sci-fi and filmmaking as a whole, cannot be understated. The far-reaching influence and inspiration from Akira can be found across film, whether it’s the countless homages to the iconic Akira slide or massive modern-day sci-fi blockbusters like The Matrix and Inception.
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9 ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (2004)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.30/5
One of the many great films from Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki, Howl’s Moving Castle follows a young woman named Sophie who is cursed to have the body of an old woman. Sophie soon sets out on an adventure to find the one person who can break the spell, a young wizard who recluses himself inside a giant walking castle. It soon becomes a race against time before it’s too late, and Sophie succumbs to the witch’s curse.
Like many other films in the Ghibli filmography, Howl’s Moving Castle mixes a deep and resonating story with a multitude of breathtaking and jaw-dropping visuals. What sets Howl’s Moving Castle apart from other Ghibli classics is its impressive tackling of the themes of age and being content with the never-ending passage of time.
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8 ‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997)
Average Letterboxd Rating: 4.36/5
Princess Mononoke follows a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, who is cursed by a boar god and is sent on a journey to the West to find a cure to his curse. Along his journey, he meets two notable figures, San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, fighting to destroy the forest. It soon becomes up to Ashitaka to end this conflict and bring peace between the two parties.
Princess Mononoke‘s themes and message about people’s relationship with nature and the overall connection that it can have with humanity have helped it stay both beloved and relevant all these years later. While many other films, both live-action and animated, have attempted to tell and explore these themes, many audiences consider Mononoke to be the pinnacle of putting this theme to the film.
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7 ‘It’s Such a Beautiful Day’ (2012)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.38/5
It’s Such a Beautiful Day is a simple film that follows a man named Bill as he attempts to put together his shattered psyche. The film combines three short films created by Don Hertzfeldt, bringing all three stories together to create a singular cohesive feature film.
Even with its shorter length compared to other animated feature films, clocking in at only 62 minutes, It’s Such A Beautiful Day massively succeeds at leaving a deep impact on its audience. The film uses its incredibly simple visual style and doodle-like designs to portray a heartbreaking and emotionally resonant story that makes for a wholly unique cinematic experience.
6 ‘Perfect Blue’ (1997)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.39/5
The thriller masterpiece from Satoshi Kon, Perfect Blue, follows the story of a retired pop singer-turned-actress whose entire worldview begins to crumble when faced with an obsessed stalker. It’s a dark and disturbing story that takes a psychological-based twist on its story and has influenced several prominent thriller films since its release. More than any other highly-rated film on Letterboxd, Perfect Blue lives and thrives in a realm of abstraction that cannot be replicated by anyone other than a master of animation.
Perfect Blue‘s themes and messaging about celebrity culture and parasocial relationships still hit hard and are incredibly relevant all these years later. It’s a film whose story and execution have aged like a fine wine and will only continue to strengthen as time passes and its themes are further proven correct.
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5 ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.43/5
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse follows the story of Miles Morales, a young student who soon is thrust upon the life and obligations of being Spider-Man after the death of Peter Parker. But when Wilson Fisk uses a super collider, multiple other web-crawling superheroes, including another Peter Parker, are forced into Miles’ universe. It soon becomes up to Miles and the Spider-people from other universes to stop Fisk’s plan and save the multiverse from destruction.
With a unique and stylized animation style, Spider-Verse proved itself upon release to be one of the most inspirational and dynamic modern animated films to be released. It’s a film that excels greatly because of its beautiful visual style and animation sequences that help the film feel like it just hopped out of the comic pages and onto the big screen.
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4 ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (1988)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.44/5
Grave of the Fireflies takes place in the final months of World War II and follows a 14-year-old boy and his sister, who were recently made orphans after an air raid. After a falling out with their aunt, the duo move into an abandoned bomb shelter and are left to their own devices and rapidly depleting resources to survive. It’s a film that has gone down as one of the most heart-wrenching and gut-punching films, not just from Studio Ghibli but in animation as a whole.
Grave of the Fireflies holds no stops when it comes to showing the brutality and horrors that come from a wartime setting, bringing the medium of animation to its limits in its portrayal. It’s rare to see an animated film of this prowess tackle the themes of the loss of innocence that comes from a wartime setting, and the film massively excels in its vision and execution.
3 ‘Spirited Away’ (2001)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.45/5
Miyazaki’s magnum opus and greatest cinematic achievement, Spirited Away follows the story of Chihiro, a young girl who soon becomes trapped inside the world of spirits and apparitions. After Chihiro’s parents are transformed into pigs by a witch, she will have to call upon her courage and learn to grow to save her parents and return to the human world.
Not only limited to one of the most critically acclaimed animated films of all time Spirited Away has also unanimously been considered by many to be one of the greatest films, period. Spirited Away’s classic coming-of-age story combined with Studio Ghibli’s style and incredible world-building makes for an experience unlike anything else in the world of film.
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2 ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion’ (1997)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.46/5
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion acts as an alternate ending and finale to the popular Neon Genesis Evangelion series, intending to take the place of the last two episodes. While more alternate versions of the story have since been released, this originally released film acted as what was considered the true final chapter of the Evangelion story. It’s a film that, compared to the original two episodes, can provide many more answers to long-lasting questions and take the series in an allegorical, symbolic direction.
The End of Evangelion almost has as much of a legacy and iconic status as the entirety of Evangelion itself. It makes for a final chapter that, while not nearly as effective for first-time viewers who aren’t familiar with the series, makes for a perfect and unforgettable capstone to the series. It sets itself apart with its storytelling and visual style as a step above what the series could provide in an episodic format.
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1 ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)
Letterboxd Average Rating: 4.50/5
The sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sees Miles Morales reuniting with Gwen Stacy as they are tasked with traveling across the multiverse to take down a new villain. Miles soon has his first encounter with the Spider Society, a group of Spider-people from across the multiverse tasked with keeping the multiverse in order. However, a misunderstanding soon has Miles pitted against all the other spiders as he must set out on his own to protect those he loves the most.
Across the Spider-Verse was tasked with the already incredibly difficult task of following up one of the biggest runway critical hits in recent memory. However, Across the Spider-Verse was able to live up to the hype in ways that even long-time fans couldn’t believe were possible, even further delivering amazing stylistic animation and a powerful story.
