Favorite Animated Films

A wonderful Japanese animated film about a little girl's quest to save her parents from a spell that turned them into pigs. The story is also about friendship and courage in the face of adversity. I saw the American-dubbed version, but I'm sure the subtitled version is just as good. From the director of Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki.

Excellent film. The only real problem I had with it is that it has about four endings. Every time you think they're wrapping things up, it starts up again.

How cool is this movie!?!?! A comic book come to life. A combination of modern-day CGI technology, and 40's film noir. Mickey Rourke should have gotten an Oscar nom for his role as Marv.

I liked this -- A LOT. An animated film by Aardman Studios, the same fine folks who bring us the wonderful Wallace and Gromit films. It's the story of Roddy (voiced by Hugh Jackman), a pampered pet mouse who gets flushed down the toilet and must find his way back. Along the way, he meets Rita (voiced by Kate Winslet), a female mouse who captains a sewer salvage boat, and who has something that a big evil frog (voiced by Ian McKellan) wants. If he gets his way, the sewer city will be no more. It is up to Roddy to save the day. Along the way, Roddy learns there's more to life than a nice cage, nice clothes and driving a remote control car. There's also friends and family. This film's combination of toilet (literally) humor and clever visual and in-jokes struck my fancy just right. Plus I found myself caring what happens to the characters. I particularly liked the singing slugs, who formed a sort of chorus for the events of the film. This film is kid-friendly, but there's enough to keep adults entertained too, including a soundtrack with such artists as Tina Turner, Bobby McFerrin and Tom Jones. Well-done.