The Laputa Animation Film Festival: Part I

 The Laputa Animation Film Festival (named after the famous film by animator Hayao Miyazaki) was held during 2003 in Japan. 140 animators worldwide were asked to name their personal favorite 20 animated works (features, shorts, TV series). Based on this information 150 were chosen as the best cartoons from around the world.

This is a great list because it exposes Western audiences to a wide variety of films that they may have never seen or let alone heard of. It is very diverse and not limited to just listing popular anime, Disney movies, or Pixar films. So without further ado, here are the first 25 Best Animated Works:

  1. Hedgehog in the Fog

(Yuri Norstein, RUSSIA /USSR, 1975)

2. Tale of Tales

(Yuri Norstein, RUSSIA /USSR, 1979)

3. Fantasia 

(9 Disney directors, USA, 1940)

4. The Man Who Planted Trees  

(Frédéric Back, CANADA, 1987)

5. The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep 

 (Paul Grimault, FRANCE, 1953)

6. Future Boy Conan 

(Hayao Miyazaki, JAPAN, 1978, 26 eps.)

7. My Neighbour Totoro 

( Hayao Miyazaki, JAPAN, 1988)

8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 

(David Hand/Disney, USA, 1937)

9. Yellow Submarine 

(George Dunning, UK, 1968)

10. The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon 

(Yugo Serikawa JAPAN, 1963)

11. Horus: Prince of the Sun 

 (Isao Takahata, JAPAN, 1968)

12. Crac! 

(Frédéric Back, CANADA, 1981)

13. Mr. Bug Goes to Town 

(Dave Fleischer, USA, 1941)

14. Wallace and Gromit in The Wrong Trousers 

(Nick Park, UK, 1993)

15. The Spider and the Tulip 

(Kenzo Masaoka, JAPAN, 1943)

16. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 

(Hayao Miyazaki, JAPAN, 1984)

17. The Snow Queen 

(Lev Atamanov, RUSSIA/USSR, 1957)

18. Blinkity Blank 

(Norman McLaren,CANADA, 1955)

19. Laputa: Castle in the Sky 

(Hayao Miyazaki, JAPAN, 1986)

20. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro 

(Hayao Miyazaki, JAPAN, 1979)

21. Dimensions of Dialogue 

(Jan Svankmajer, CZECHOSLAVAKIA/USSR, 1982)

22. The Hand 

(Jiri Trnka, CZECHOSLOVAKIA/USSR, 1965)

23. A Midsummer Night’s Dream 

(Alexander Alexeieff & Claire Parker, CZECHOSLOVAKIA/USSR, 1959)

                                                     24. Night on Bald Mountain 

(Alexander Aléxeieff /Claire Parker, FRANCE, 1933)

25. Dojoji Temple  

(Kihachiro Kawamoto, JAPAN, 1976)