AnimatedFilms Tagged Articles at Cinematical

A couple of people have been griping about Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's refusal to admit that his cute little movie about a robot in love actually contains some pretty upfront green politics, but there's a far more polarizing reference in the film than its harmless pro-environment agenda. It's no major plot spoiler to reveal that, about an hour or so into the story, Fred Willard appears in a recorded message as the mysterious president of Earth's corporate government and orders the ship's captain (Jeff Garlin) to "stay the course." Wait, we've heard this one before: It was the go-to statement used by the Bush administration for about three years or so when describing its modus operandi in Iraq (the term was abandoned when staying the course started to sound like a bad idea). In Wall-E, the context is quite different -- it's an order to not do something, rather than take action -- but hard to ignore nonetheless.

Certain critics with (surprise!) conservative slants have taken issue with this. At Dirty Harry's Place, John Nolte expresses his disappointment in the first paragraph of his review: "Have we lost the wonderful studio who brought us The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Bush Derangement Syndrome?" he asks. New York Post critic Kyle Smith picked up the rant and decided to write his own, even though he hadn't seen the film yet: "This kind of crack, lame as it is, also breaks the spell of the movie by hurling you out of the theater and back into reality."

If there was one list I wouldn't even try to make, it's the top 25 animated movies of all time. I'm sure I would drive myself crazy trying to pick between all of them, torn between nostalgia and story, hand-drawn animation and the wonder that's come from computers. And then trying to rank them? No way. However, Moviefone did just that and compiled what they think is the Top 25 Animated Movies -- films that span studios, techniques, and decades.

I'm not sure what to type right now because I'm still in awe that what I consider one of the best animated films of all time, and one that I adore, didn't even make the list. What did make it, for the most part, you can guess: There are toys that can talk, television shows brought to the big screen, a little bit of foreign fare, and of course, lots and lots and lots of Disney -- dogs, beasts, dwarves, mermaids, and more.

But really, how could my movie not be there? It's almost like I've become one of those uber fans who feels shunted, but I'm more surprised because I know that I'm not the only one. Its almost-bankrupting budget, the stylized art, and the Oscar-nominated score have made it a noteworthy gem over the years ... and my face is sort of resembling Woody's over there.

But go look at the list and check it out for yourselves. Are there any animated films that you feel should or shouldn't be there? And, can you figure out which one I'm talking about?