The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion

1997

Directed by Hideako Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki

The End of Evangelion is a mecha anime film that serves as an alternate ending to the Neon Genesis Evangelion television series. The film’s narrative is somewhat hard to follow even if one has seen the TV show, but understanding the story is peripheral to enjoying the film’s manic energy. The End of Evangelion is an ecstatic cacophony of religious symbolism, gnostic themes, Jungian theory, philosophy, and meditations on art and depression that pushes the boundaries of animation as an expressive medium.

Would see.

My Neighbor Totoro

My Neighbor Totoro

1988

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

My Neighbor Totoro is an animated fantasy. My Neighbor Totoro is an almost indescribably beautiful and charming film. The unhurried pacing, meticulous animation, and carefully controlled tone make Totoro a masterpiece of children’s art.

Must see.

Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

Directed by Isao Takahata

Grave of the Fireflies, based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, is an animated film set in Japan during the Second World War. The film is achingly sad, abstracting grief and suffering to its most elemental forms.

Would see.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

2018

Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, based on the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales (one of the characters known as Spider-Man), is a movie about Spider-Man (and Spider-People). The film cleverly situates itself as a meta-commentary—of a kind—on the ever-growing genre of superhero movies; the animation, incorporating multiple styles, is as impressive as anything else recently made with computers; and the central idea, deftly combining a sci-fi premise with a coming-of-age story, works well, but the film loses track of its own thematic premise part-way through, weighted down by plot mechanics and one-off jokes that outwear their welcome. The film, nonetheless, is an achievement.

Would see.

Millennium Actress

Millennium Actress

2001

Directed by Satoshi Kon

Millennium Actress is a slightly surreal animated drama about the life of a retired actor. The film has interesting storytelling devices, but not much story to tell with them—in the end, it is storytelling all the way down.

Would not see.

Isle of Dogs

Isle of Dogs

2018

Directed by Wes Anderson

Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animated comedy about dogs banished to Trash Island by an evil mayor and a boy who flies to the island to find his dog. The animation is meticulous. The dogs’ communication is rendered in English. Most of the people speak in unsubtitled Japanese. Isle of Dogs fulfills the promise of the title; it is a love letter to dogs. The plot is slight, but the film is charming.

Would see.

The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises

2013

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

The Wind Rises is an animated historical drama based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi and Tatsuo Hori’s 1937 novel, The Wind Has Risen. The Wind Rises is an exceptionally great film. The animation is stunning, the music is delightful, and the story is thoughtful and affecting. The film is devastatingly beautiful.

Must see.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

1984

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, adapted from Miyazaki’s manga of the same name, is an animated epic fantasy film. Nausicaä has only a shadow of the impossibly beautiful animation of Miyazaki’s later and better financed films, and it wears its obvious narrative shortcomings on its sleeves, but none of its flaws distract from its immense charm, energy, depth, and urgency.

Would see.

Moana

Moana

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker

2016

Moana is a computer-animated musical about the eponymous daughter of a Polynesian chief and Maui, the Polynesian mythological figure. Everything about Moana – the music, the plot, the animation – is slick and polished, but while the song lyrics, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina, are sometimes clever, the story is rote and the animation sports a sheen of dead-eyed flawlessness. The movie is depressingly watchable.

Would not see.

Your Name

Your Name

Directed by Makoto Shinkai

2016

Your Name is a Japanese-language animated film about a boy and a girl who swap bodies. The stakes of the movie are too uneven, and the plot becomes increasingly disconnected from the theme as the film drags on. Your Name is often entertaining but ultimately frustrating and easily forgotten.

Would see.