How to Think About the 100 Greatest Animated Movies Ever Made
A major new ranking brings together perspectives from Oscar-winning filmmakers, studio executives and celebrated voice actors to examine what makes animated cinema endure.
Few movie debates are as inviting, or as personal, as the question of which animated film deserves to be called the greatest of all time. A favorite may be a childhood companion, a technical landmark, a brilliantly constructed comedy or a movie whose emotional power becomes clearer with age. The new ranking of the 100 best animated movies ever approaches that debate through a broad range of professional perspectives, asking Oscar-winning filmmakers, studio executives and iconic voice actors to weigh in on the medium’s most memorable achievements.
The result is not simply a guide to what viewers should watch next. It is also an invitation to think about why animation matters. Unlike live-action filmmaking, animation does not ask a camera to capture the world exactly as it appears. It builds every movement, setting and expression from the ground up. That freedom allows animated movies to move between the ordinary and the impossible with unusual ease, creating stories that can be intimate one moment and spectacular the next.
A ranking of this kind inevitably reflects different definitions of greatness. Some voters may be drawn to films with extraordinary visual invention. Others may value writing, music, character design, voice performances or the ability to connect with audiences across generations. A movie can succeed in one of those areas while taking a completely different approach in another. That variety is part of the reason animated cinema resists a single definition.
The list is shaped by people who understand the craft from the inside. The participation of filmmakers, executives and voice actors gives the project a perspective that extends beyond ordinary popularity. These contributors know how much work is hidden inside an animated production: the repeated revisions, careful timing, expressive movement and collaboration required to make an imaginary world feel convincing.
That professional experience can also change the way audiences watch an animated movie. A character’s small gesture may seem effortless on screen, but it often reflects a long process of artistic decision-making. The rhythm of a joke, the pause before a line, the shape of a silhouette and the movement of a crowd can all influence how a scene feels. Animation rewards viewers who notice those choices, even when the film remains accessible to people who simply want to be entertained.
The presence of iconic voice actors is especially meaningful. Voice work is sometimes treated as though it were separate from the rest of a performance, but animated characters depend on sound to establish personality, emotion and rhythm. A voice can make a character playful, anxious, commanding or vulnerable before the audience knows anything else about them. In many animated movies, the vocal performance becomes inseparable from the character’s identity.
At the same time, the best animated films do not rely on one element alone. A memorable voice cannot rescue a story without direction, just as beautiful imagery cannot carry a film that lacks emotional purpose. The strongest works tend to bring their parts into harmony. Design supports character. Music supports mood. Comedy reveals personality. Fantasy gives shape to ideas that might be difficult to express directly.
That combination helps explain why animated movies appeal to viewers of different ages. Children may respond first to color, movement, humor and clear emotional stakes. Adults may notice the construction of the story, the subtlety of the performances or the questions beneath the adventure. A film can offer an immediate experience while leaving room for later interpretations. Returning to it years afterward may reveal details that were invisible during the first viewing.
Animation also has a special relationship with memory. For many viewers, an animated movie is tied to a particular period of life, a family tradition or a first encounter with a larger world of storytelling. That personal connection can make ranking difficult. A technically daring film may be widely admired, while another movie may feel more important because it was present during a formative moment. Neither response is wrong. Greatness in art can be measured through influence and craft, but it can also be measured through permanence in the viewer’s imagination.
The new collection recognizes that animated cinema is larger than any single visual style. The medium can be bright and playful, quiet and contemplative, surreal, musical, frightening or deeply realistic in its emotional detail. It can create worlds that look nothing like everyday life, or it can use simplified forms to express experiences that feel entirely familiar. The word “animated” describes a method of making images move, not a single genre or mood.
That distinction is important because animated movies are often grouped together as though they were all designed for the same audience. In reality, the form can support comedy, drama, adventure, romance, fantasy and many other kinds of storytelling. A list that brings together 100 major films can therefore be read as a portrait of the medium’s range. Its value lies not only in deciding which title stands above another, but also in showing how many different paths animation can take.
Rankings nevertheless create a useful kind of conversation. They give audiences a starting point, encourage discoveries and make familiar favorites feel newly worth discussing. The exact position of a film may provoke disagreement, but that disagreement can lead viewers to examine their own criteria. Is the most important movie the one that changed the medium? Is it the one with the most enduring characters? Should emotional impact outweigh innovation? Can a film be considered great if it reaches a narrow audience but achieves extraordinary artistic control?
There are no universal answers to those questions. A ranking is best understood as a curated argument rather than a final verdict. The order offers one way of seeing the field, shaped by the opinions gathered for the project. Readers can accept some choices, challenge others and still use the list as a map through animated film history and culture.
The list’s professional contributors also highlight the collaborative nature of animation. Viewers often associate an animated movie with a director, a studio or a handful of recognizable performers. Behind those names is a large creative effort involving artists, designers, writers, editors, musicians and technical specialists. Every frame reflects choices made by people working toward a shared tone and vision. The finished movie may feel seamless, but that apparent simplicity is one of the medium’s hardest achievements.
For a general audience, the most useful way to approach the ranking may be to treat it as both a celebration and a viewing challenge. Rather than concentrating only on whether a beloved film appears near the top, readers can look for qualities they have not previously considered. A movie may earn attention because of its visual language, its unusual approach to character, its influence on later storytelling or its ability to communicate without relying on realism.
Watching with those ideas in mind can make even familiar movies feel different. A scene that once seemed like a simple joke may reveal careful control of timing. A fantastical setting may turn out to be a visual expression of a character’s inner life. A seemingly straightforward adventure may be using its imaginary world to explore fear, belonging, ambition or loss. Animation often communicates through exaggeration, and that exaggeration can make emotional truths easier to see.
The ranking also reflects the lasting power of rewatchability. Animated movies are frequently built with layers that reveal themselves gradually. A first viewing may be driven by suspense or laughter; subsequent viewings can bring attention to background details, visual parallels and small performance choices. When a film continues to offer something new, its place in a broader conversation becomes easier to understand.
Still, no collection of 100 movies can represent every viewer’s experience. Personal taste, cultural background and access to different traditions all shape what audiences consider essential. One person may look for bold experimentation, while another prefers warmth and familiarity. Some viewers connect most strongly with hand-drawn imagery, others with computer-generated worlds or more unusual forms of visual storytelling. A wide-ranging ranking can open the door to those differences, but it cannot erase them.
That limitation is not a weakness. It is part of what makes the subject so lively. The best animated movies do not end when the credits roll; they continue through conversations, recommendations and memories. A list such as this one gives those conversations a shared reference point, while leaving plenty of room for additions from individual viewers.
For anyone beginning to explore the collection, the most rewarding strategy may be to avoid treating the ranking as homework. Start with the films that sound unfamiliar, revisit a title remembered from childhood or choose a movie praised for a quality that normally falls outside your preferences. The point is not to agree with every judgment. The point is to encounter the possibilities of the form.
Ultimately, the appeal of the 100 best animated movies conversation lies in its refusal to separate artistry from accessibility. The films that endure often invite viewers in through humor, beauty, adventure or recognizable emotion before revealing greater complexity underneath. They can be ambitious without becoming distant and entertaining without being shallow.
The new ranking gathers expert opinions around that enduring idea: animation is not a lesser version of live-action cinema, nor is it limited to one age group. It is a flexible language capable of translating imagination into movement and turning invisible feelings into vivid images. Whether readers agree with every placement or simply use the collection to find their next favorite, the list offers a reminder that animated movies remain among the most versatile and durable forms of popular storytelling.