Gorgeous art styles and imaginative use of the creative freedom afforded by the medium elevate the viewing experience ofanimationfilms. They often invite viewers to incredible worlds characterized by unbelievably hypnotic and breathtaking visuals. However, the correlation between great filmmaking and brilliantly aesthetic visuals isn’t strong, as many average animated movies also feature remarkable animation. Yet, quality animation continues to dominate the box office and win over critics yearly. For instance, while Disney hasn’t had much luck with its unimaginative live-action remakes of its animated classics, the Disney animated movies canon, with itsunforgettable funniest moments, keeps growing.
Some of thebest animated movies from the past decadeare characterized by the synergy between an energetic and beautiful visual design and a compelling and character-driven dramatic narrative. The evolution of animation styles allows directors and animators to explore new ways of visually telling stories that suit the screenplay they’re working with. The development of new methods, combined by the revitalization of classic animation styles, with some of thebest stop-motion animated movies released in recentyears, makes the so-called “genre” an exciting area of cinema to dive into. Highly unique films with aesthetic animation are particularly cherished.
Coraline
Cast
Based on Neil Gaiman’s novella, Coraline follows Coraline Jones, a lonely young girl who, after moving to a new house with her inattentive parents, discovers a portal to another, more sinister alternate reality behind one of the house’s many doors. Written and directed by Henry Selick, the film uses stop-motion animation and stars Dakota Fanning as Coraline.
While CGI animation was at its peak during the late 2000s, Henry Selick and his team of animators at Laika Studios chose to use pure frame-by-frame stop-motion filmmaking forCoraline, with glorious results! With28 puppets made to represent Coraline in various stages of her lifeduring the course of the film, it features some of the most gorgeous frames in stop-motion history.
The gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing appearance ofCoralineis a mixture of goofiness and horror. More than tonal shifts from one to the other, the film provides both tones the space to coexist because of its whimsical design. The vibrant color palette is unusual for a horror film, but as a child-friendly introduction to the genre, the film is ideal because of its playfulness. The unique story will also resonate with many viewers, as the premise of finding an idyllic existence is forever compelling.
The Breadwinner
The Breadwinner is an animated film directed by Nora Twomey. Set in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, the story follows Parvana, an 11-year-old girl who disguises herself as a boy to support her family after her father is unjustly imprisoned. The film is adapted from the best-selling novel by Deborah Ellis and explores themes of resilience and courage in a tumultuous socio-political landscape.
Cartoon Saloon has emerged as one of the most promising animation studios over the past decade, with remarkable releases that tell personal stories buoyed by aesthetic animation. Nora Twomey’sThe Breadwinner, based on Deborah Ellis' bestselling novel, follows a girl in Taliban-occupied Afghanistan who loves folktales. She tells her infant brother stories to distract herself from her horrible reality and to calm him to sleep.
The Breadwinnerwas nominated in the Best Animated Picture category at the Academy Awards in 2018.
The gorgeous 2-D animation ofThe Breadwinnerhas two distinct styles to differentiate between the present world and the world of folktales. The folktales, while having elements of horror too,have a fantastic and expansive aesthetic with a nearly fluid texturewhere everything blends into everything. Outside of that, while the frames are painted to look breathtaking, the lack of color, save for the girl’s appearance and a few sequences, reflects the lifelessness of the subjugated people.
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Among the most influential anime movies of all time is Katsuhiro Otomo’sAkira, a cyberpunk film set in the futuristic city of Neo-Tokyo, where a member of a biker gang turns homicidal. The visuals are characterized bybright splashes of color against the dark backdrop of the night, which is when most of the action unfolds. The vibrancy adds to the energy of the action sequences, introducing even more thrills for audiences.
The futurism in the movie is rendered even more gorgeous because the night allows the colorful elements of the film, including the breakneck pace of its chase sequences, to shine brightly. Moreover,Akirafeatures some gory and bloody scenes that challenge the perception of animation as a kids' genre. It also makes perfect use of body horror to explore the post-apocalyptic world where a man turns murderous after accidentally gaining telekinetic powers. The animation is so essential to the story that anAkiralive-action movie would be difficult to make.
Fantastic Planet
Fantastic Planet is a 1973 animated science fiction film directed by René Laloux. The story is set on the planet Ygam, where human-like creatures called Oms are enslaved by giant blue alien beings known as Draags. The narrative focuses on the struggle for freedom and coexistence between these species. The film features surreal and visually distinct animation that explores themes of oppression and rebellion.
Paper cutout animation was already popular by the timeFantastic Planetcame out in the ’70s, but it further popularized the art style by showing how well it can be used tocomplement other animation techniques like stop-motion filmmaking. The blend of paper cutout animation and stop-motion animation gives us a mesmerizing world with some of the best psychedelic animation in the genre’s history.
Fantastic Planetprovides commentary on servitude and the social order.
Set in a world where humans are pets to large psychic blue aliens,Fantastic Planetprovides commentary on servitude and the social order. The allegorical film is accompanied by a soundtrack that perfectly complements the psychedelic sequences where the aliens use their psychic abilities. The visual experience is further enhanced by the surrealism of the characters' movement, which isn’t smooth due to the frame-by-frame cutout filmmaking.
A Scanner Darkly
A Scanner Darkly, directed by Richard Linklater, depicts a dystopian future plagued by drug addiction, where an undercover cop, played by Keanu Reeves, grapples with the effects of a powerful drug that alters his reality. The film uses rotoscope animation to capture its dreamlike narrative, featuring performances by Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Winona Ryder. It explores themes of identity, surveillance, and the psychological toll of substance abuse.
Screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006,A Scanner Darklyimproved on the implementation of animation in an older Linklater film,Waking Life. It features a stellar cast, including Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder, working together for the third time, afterBram Stoker’s Dracula, which isa horror movie with an incredible ensemble cast, andDestinationWedding. Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson round out the primary cast.
The film, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1977 novel of the same name, follows an undercover cop as he comes in contact with a new drug that’s taking over the streets in California. Filmed on location and thenanimated using an interpolated rotoscope,A Scanner Darklyunveils a dystopian world where the war on drugs was never won. The gorgeous animation brings to life an aesthetically pleasing and dark California, which can give viewers a rush from watching it.
Princess Mononoke
In this epic animated fantasy by Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke explores the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans who consume its resources. The story follows Ashitaka, a young warrior inflicted with a deadly curse, as he navigates a battle that pits the industrialized human society against the gods of the forest, alongside San, a fierce girl raised by wolves.
Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have perhaps changed animation more than anyone or any studio ever. His style has a mass appeal due to the whimsical fairy tale appearance he gives his stories, but each film has a distinct approach, and is deeply personal. Most of his fantasy creatures are inspired by folklore, andhe adopts a style that beautifies them while still highlighting their terrifying features.
Now, there is a forever-ongoing debate about what Miyazaki’s most influential film is, but it’s undeniable thatPrincess Mononokeis one of Studio Ghibliand Hayao Miyazaki’s most imaginative works, which has influenced many animators in the years since its release. It pits humanity and nature in a battle for survival as the former wants to establish control via industrialization and the latter retaliates through the titular princess, a fierce warrior raised by wolves. The nature vs nurture debate is beautifully brought to life with the energetic and aesthetic animation.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Miles Morales returns in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. With his identity still safe but “grounded” by his parents, Miles Morales is visited by his friend from another dimension, Gwen Stacy. Inviting him on a new adventure, Miles jumps at the opportunity but is seemingly accosted by an unknown assailant on his journey. Miles and Gwen will unite with new and old Spider-Heroes to face a villain of immeasurable power.
Few animated movies can boast of needing new technology invented to render their worlds, and one such film isSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Following Miles Morales and his unlikely group of spider friends from various corners of the multiverse, it has one of the most aesthetically pleasing visual designs in recent years. It is ananimated movie that’s much better than expected, and the same can be said of its sequel,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Its prequel may have won the award five years ago, but unfortunately,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseonly received a nomination for the Best Animated Picture Oscar in 2024, and lost to Hayao Miyazaki’sBoy and the Heron, his return to filmmaking after a hiatus, and a deserving winner.
While the gorgeous animation style is retained in the second film as well, as the first part is arguably more influential,Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseis even more unique. Since it depicts different universes in the multiverse, it becomes clear how much thought went into designing each frame, as every scene has a color palette and art stylemeant to reflect its central character’s emotional state. Moreover, you have a punk rock character in Hobie Brown looking like a punk poster come to life.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is a Studio Ghibli animated film directed by Isao Takahata. Released in 2013, the story follows a mysterious young princess discovered inside a bamboo stalk by an elderly couple. As she grows into a beautiful woman, she captivates everyone while facing her destined path.
Alongside Hayao Miyazaki, the other most influential artist and director working for Studio Ghibli is Isao Takahata. His most famous work is obviouslyGrave of the Fireflies, one of thebest animated war moviesof all time, known for its depiction of gritty reality. His style is characterized by a lively and gorgeous use of charcoal drawing that freezes reality in beautiful frames with the artistic value of paintings in a gallery or exhibition.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguyais distinct fromGrave of the Firefliesin its design, as there is a certain understated, whimsical fluidity to the visuals in the former.Frames blend into each other due to the minimalist drawingthat Takahata uses to bring his world to life. It carries the weight of the folklore that inspired the film, butThe Tale of the Princess Kaguyais also lively and energetic, and the young princess, while growing up, enthralls audiences much like the characters she interacts with.
Loving Vincent
Released in 2017, Loving Vincent is an animated drama/biography film by directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman and is the first film to be fully painted via oil canvas. The film follows Armand Roulin as he heads to visit Vincent Van Gogh’s final letter before his apparent suicide to his brother, Theo. Curious about the circumstances, he investigates what happened to the famous painter.
We live in a world whereAI can create lookalikes of anyone’s artistry, as witnessed by the highly popular but problematic trend of people clicking pictures and then turning them into Ghibli Art with AI. However, nearly a decade ago, before such technology was available,Loving Vincentpaid homage to one of the most influential painters of all time, the titular Vincent van Gogh, without using AI.
This is the ultimate love letter to an artist from a group of artists who would do anything to honor their muse and his work.
The incredible achievement of the animation team, who painted each frame to resemble the iconic van Gogh style, can never be exaggerated. This is the ultimate love letter to an artist from a group of artists who would do anything to honor their muse and his work. A biopic of the painter unfolding in the form of paintings he would have possibly drawn is the greatest form of respect one can give an artist, and not only is the film aesthetically pleasing, it’s one of the most unique animated films in the history of the genre.
Directed By Gints Zilbalodis
Flow
Flow (2024) follows a solitary animal named Cat who must find refuge and collaborate with other species on a boat after a great flood devastates their home. As they sail through mystical, overflowed landscapes, the group navigates challenges and dangers while adapting to a transformed world.
The 2025 winner of the Academy Award for the Best Animated Feature is a true achievement in animation. Made in Blender over the course of five tireless years, it follows a cat caught in an apocalyptic flood after it finds refuge on a boat housing a host of other creatures. The mind-blowing animation gives us a world we’d love to get lost in, without ever forgetting the context of the apocalypse that led to its current form.
Without a single word of dialogue, it has a Noah’s Ark kind of storyline that explores the animals' sense of camaraderie.Flow’sanimationhas a realistic quality to it that is still fantastic, as the glint of the sun or the ripple in the water looks exactly like in a photograph, but the location is fictitious, as is the flood. Each animal’s eyes are drawn to be beautifully emotive, reflecting their peril and their concern. So, each time the cat falls off the boat, you may expect to feel your pulse rise.
