I want to go ahead and preemptively apologize for what I’m about to write as it’s something that I’m normally against when I read another author’s blog, mainly food bloggers posting their delicious recipes. You know the one I’m talking about: those blogs where you’re looking up a recipe online for a party that you might be throwing for your friends; cooking something for yourself or a loved one; or looking to start cooking more in general so you look up some of the basics. When you find that recipe, the blogger usually tells some long, drawn out story about what this particular dish means to them before actually giving you the recipe. I’m about to do that same thing here so I will not be offended if you, dear reader, want to skip down over the next few paragraphs to get to the heart of this post. But if you want the added context, keep on reading.
Like most kids growing up, I used to watch cartoons and animated films all the time. Who here doesn’t remember the good ol’ days of Saturday morning cartoons? Or watching your favorite Disney film over and over again until the VHS tape completely wore out? That was definitely me and it’s what inspired me to start drawing as a kid.
I used to draw all the time in my younger years. I loved it. It was therapeutic even if I didn’t realize it at the time. When I hit high school, I took several art classes and one animation course in my first two years. However, I was also getting into theatre and eventually, all my energy went into that and I left the world of art and drawing by the wayside. I always used to tell myself during that time that I wasn’t very good (I really wasn’t) but I realize now, years later, that I could have been good if I had kept practicing and took more classes. Who knows where I would be today if I kept at it? Certainly not writing this post.
Regardless of the trajectory that my life took, that period of time holds a special place in my heart as it has given me a greater appreciation for art and animation. Even as an adult, I continue to watch animated movies and TV shows as they’re not just made for kids anymore. A lot of titles coming out nowadays are more mature, targeting an adult audience that deal with more adult situations. On top of that, we’re starting to see a lot more animation styles reminiscent of the cartoons and movies we saw in the past. When Toy Story came out, it became the first fully computer generated animated film, and we would continue to experience this same art style for several years before we started seeing more diversity. And not just in the style in which its drawn but also in the quality of the writing, directing, and the performances of the voice actors.
This diversity has led to a renaissance in high quality animated projects over the last several years. I’ve chosen five of my personal favorites that represent some of the best animation has to offer. **Possible spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen the TV shows and movies in this list.**
1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Out of all the excellent movies that came out last year, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was hands down my favorite. I’m a little biased because Spider-Man has always been my favorite superhero ever since I was a kid. This movie was the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and managed to actually be better than the first film. It was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back good. It’s a rarity when the sequel is better. Oftentimes, they fall flat. This was different. The final twenty minutes of the film alone is some of the best storytelling to come out of Hollywood in a long time.
What makes this movie so good? As I’ve already mentioned, the writing and storytelling is excellent. It builds upon the foundation laid by the first film and expands upon it in very meaningful ways. It’s not just a new movie with a new adventure for the main characters. The events in the first movie directly affect the plot for the second one. And subsequently, the third one when it releases. And the movie ends on a major cliffhanger, similar to that of the aforementioned Star Wars movie.
One of the biggest draws of this film franchise is the animation and art style. It looks and feels as if you’re watching a comic book come to life on screen. Across the Spider-Verse takes it a step further and even animates the different Spider-People from other universes in very cool, stylistic ways that is unique to the version of their world. It fits perfectly in a movie that deals with the concept of a multiverse. This movie was made by long time comic book fans and it shows in the film’s DNA.
2. Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch follows Clone Force 99, a squadron of clone troopers with genetic mutations, as they manage to survive Order 66 and become fugitives of the newly established Galactic Empire. This show acts as a sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, picking up where that series concluded. As a long time Star Wars fan, it was great seeing the rise of the Empire and its effects on the galaxy in its early days of galactic control.
I included this TV series on this list because I’m a huge Star Wars fan but also because it’s probably one of the best Star Wars projects to come out in the last several years. In fact, all of the animated Star Wars TV shows are excellent. However, I want to focus on this one in particular because as much as it’s still a show aimed towards a younger audience, the subject matter and tone is not what you would expect in animation, much less a Star Wars show.
The animation style is similar to the other animated Star Wars shows but the storytelling is vastly different than what we’ve seen before. The Bad Batch ran for three seasons and although it has its lighter, carefree moments, the tone becomes darker and more serious as the series plays out. Definitely not what you would expect from a kid’s show. The creators and writers do an amazing job at making this show for everyone, especially long time Star Wars fans such as myself.
If you’re a fan, I cannot recommend this show enough. I get that a lot of people are upset with LucasFilm for not producing top quality content that we saw with the original trilogy, and also that most adults just don’t watch animation. Maybe it’s just not their thing. But what I like about these animated projects is it allows the creators to explore different parts of the galaxy that maybe we haven’t seen before or create epic scenes that you can’t always do with live action.
3. X-Men ’97
When I was a kid, I loved watching the X-Men cartoon and I watched it every week as it aired. It’s one of my favorite shows growing up so you can imagine my excitement that Marvel announced they were reviving the show and continuing on from the original series. And even though it’s been nearly thirty years, X-Men ’97 would incorporate the same animation style we saw way back in the ’90s, with a 21st century glow-up.
It did not disappoint when it aired back in March 2024. The animation, the music, the voice actors, etc. was all done in the same style as the original show. You could tell the folks working on this series were also big fans of the original and it shows how much care they took with each episode. It has a very nostalgic feeling yet it still feels fresh and new. Though the show appeals to a younger audience, it felt to me like this show was made for the audience who grew up watching it in the ’90s, especially since a lot of the episodes deal with very adult oriented themes. The story-lines were always serious before but this time it’s been taken to a whole new level.
Without getting too spoiler-y, the whole Genosha story arc is one of the most heart-wrenching moments I’ve ever seen in X-Men. It’s also a perfect example of why it’s easier to do that story-line in animation rather than live-action. If that episode had been made live-action, it probably would have cost as much, if not more, than the epic final battle in Avengers: Endgame. It probably would have also taken weeks to shoot. That’s not to say that it didn’t take the animators weeks to work on it but at least you have a team of people working on multiple episodes and scenes at a time. Either way, X-Men ’97 is one of the best pieces of content Marvel has produced in a very long time.
4. Attack on Titan
Growing up, I was never really into anime. I watched Pokémon from time to time and I was an avid watcher of Dragon Ball Z but only really watched maybe the first three seasons. Once I reached adulthood, I started venturing more and more into that world as I realized that it has such a distinct animation style. And even within the world of anime, each movie or TV show can still look different from one another. One thing I appreciate is that there is a lot of attention to detail, especially in wider or background shots. That level of detail really helps bring the world to life.
Which brings me to Attack on Titan. This is perhaps one of the best anime TV shows I’ve ever seen. A lot of anime has some pretty outlandish and insane stories to tell but they are also some of the most original and creative. Attack on Titan is no different. It’s about a nation of people living in a massive city surrounded by hundred foot walls to keep the titans from destroying the city and eating all its citizens. As the show goes on, you learn more and more about the titans and the rest of the world in which they deal with such a threat. The story is wild. There were so many surprises throughout the series that kept me watching. The writing is impeccable and the characters are very well thought out.
One major factor that stands out with this show is the animation itself. Anime is still typically done in the traditional 2D style and animating action sequences is usually a bit more difficult when it’s not in a 3D space. But this show cleverly blends 2D and 3D to create some of the best action sequences I’ve ever seen in any animation. It is truly remarkable to watch.
5. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Technically, there’s nothing really special about The Super Mario Bros. Movie but it does represent a recent positive trend not seen in Hollywood for quite some time. Video game adaptations. If you recall the original live action film that came out in the early ’90s, then you understand what I’m talking about. As much as I loved that movie as a kid, it’s not a good movie. And video game adaptations over the next thirty years will continue to disappoint. It wasn’t until recently with HBO’s highly successful adaptation of The Last of Us, that we’re finally seeing good quality movies and TV shows based on video games. This most recent animated version of our favorite plumber brothers is certainly part of that trend.
While the animation itself is not anything groundbreaking, the designs of all the characters in the movie certainly feels like it’s been pulled directly out of the most recent Mario games. More importantly, the movie isn’t based on any specific game in the franchise. Instead, we are treated to a completely original story which captures the tone of the franchise. Mario games are wacky and silly as they tend to be marketed more towards children and the movie really embraced that. I think that’s part of what made it so successful. It felt like a Mario game with all its silly antics and shenanigans.
Personally, I think that’s the way to go to create a successful video game adaptation. As long as you can portray the overall tone and feel of the game, mixed with an engaging, original story, then I don’t see why we can’t experience higher quality adaptations. Arcane, which is based off the hit League of Legends video game, is another prime example of this. They took some of the characters from the game and spun an emotionally charged story and it was very successful, earning itself an Emmy win. Personally, I would like to see more games adapted into animation rather than live action. Some games just don’t translate well to live action but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.
There are so many more examples I could have added to this list. There’s really a lot of great animation out there and there’s a lot more to come this year alone: the second and final season of Arcane premieres on Netflix later this year; The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim anime comes to cinemas in December; and the popular animated Dungeons and Dragons series on Amazon, The Legend of Vox Machina, is releasing its third season soon as well. And I encourage everyone who reads this who may not be as big of a fan as I am to give them a shot. You may be surprised to find something that you might connect with on a deeper level.
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