The Best Animated Movies of 2020
A list of the best animated feature films of 2020, art house, box office, indie and documentaries. Some great series are included as well, suggestions are always welcome
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- 33 titles
- DirectorMariusz WilczynskiStarsKrystyna JandaAndrzej ChyraMaja OstaszewskaFleeing from despair after losing those dearest to him, the hero hides in a safe land of memories, where time stands still and all those dear to him are alive.
- DirectorDalibor BaricStarsRakan RushaidatAna VilenicaFrano MaskovicMartin is on the run because he tried to fight the system. Sara is a conceptual artist. Together they join a revolutionary commune in the countryside, with the police on their trail.Proj 53 -> 7
- DirectorsTomm MooreRoss StewartStarsHonor KneafseyEva WhittakerSean BeanA young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.
- DirectorAndrey KhrzhanovskiyA cheerful grim look at the follies of the twentieth century, anchored in Gogol's proto-surrealist novella 'The Nose' and Shostakovich's opera of the same name.A great surprise, extremely funny and smart, it goes way beyond the ‘I respect it but am bored’ that is sometimes a bit of a fear with this animation style.
Just to be clear, there are moments of incredible animation as well, with fantastic lighting. It also ties in a lot of Russian paintings. One of those projects where creativity, vision and indie limitations come together perfectly.
Proj 47 -> 1 - DirectorKenji IwaisawaStarsShintarô SakamotoRen KomaiTomoya MaenoA trio of delinquent schoolkids form a music band.Proj 19 ->
- DirectorsOskar LehemaaMikk MägiStarsMikk MägiOskar LehemaaJan UuspõldAn outrageous road movie about The Old Man and his grand-kids in a 24 hour race against time to stop a milky madman hell bent on killing his prized cow to save the world.Proj 29 ->
- DirectorMtjjStarsXin ShanYuntu CaoKhoi DaoWhen his forest is destroyed, the wood sprite Xiaohei takes the form of a cat and goes to live in the city, where the hybrid Fengxi (Stormend) befriends him. However, there are enemies on their trail.(Officially 2019 but available in EU/US 2020)
Unashamed about cute char design, it compensates by powerful and fluent char motion. There is zero shame about the commercial appeal as well.
The background animation is strong at times, compositionally well thought out landscape stills and during fast motion, using the liberty of animation to set up wild track shots and the like. A bit cheap looking at times in the past Flash context but making use of the limitations, this film has some great anonymous artists behind it.
It makes for a magnetic world, a pleasant surprise. Bucolic like oldskool Heidi, but with extra badass character traits for the cat.
Proj 38 -> 23 - DirectorIlze Burkovska JacobsenA personal, animated documentary about the director's life growing up in Latvia during the Soviet era 1970-1990, where Sovjet used WW2 as an ideological weapon to suppress and scare the population.Together with Rocks in My Pockets this seems to imply a Latvian style of pastiche animation that still keeps a real strain of identity throughout and deals with the political/social past through autobiography with defiantly optimistic views. More engaging than didactic and a recommendation.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsKan'ichi KuritaKiyoshi KobayashiDaisuke NamikawaLupin III goes on a grand adventure to uncover the secrets of the Bresson Diary, which is tied to the legacy of his famous grandfather.CGI conversion is always going to cause hatred, some things are done really well here. Others are too on the nose, like starting out with a car chase.
A lot of potential and a great conversion by 2d to cgi standards, but too many scenes are stuck in the budget/time-limitation where they are ok'd at a 7/10 rate. When they do decide to shine, it looks quite great.
The char motion is good (and really important to give the Lupin feel), bony spasmic digital motion is hard to nail.
The respect for the original by artists is apparent.
Proj 35 -> 28 - DirectorsJun'ichi SatôTomotaka ShibayamaStarsMirai ShidaNatsuki HanaeMinako KotobukiMiyo Sasaki is in love with her classmate Kento Hinode and tries repeatedly to get Kento's attention by transforming into a cat, but at some point, the boundary between herself and the cat becomes ambiguous.
- DirectorDan ScanlonStarsTom HollandChris PrattJulia Louis-DreyfusTeenage elf brothers Ian and Barley embark on a magical quest to spend one more day with their late father. Like any good adventure, their journey is filled with cryptic maps, impossible obstacles and unimaginable discoveries.
- DirectorMalik NejerStarsShahad AlahmariYousef AldakheelLama AlfardA child with a knack for AI decided to change the world by creating crime-fighting heroes out of her unlikely friends.
- DirectorJoann SfarStarsCamille CottinLouise LacosteJean-Paul RouveA friendship forms between a never-aging 10-year-old vampire and an orphan schoolboy, but a moon headed monster throws obstacles in their paths.Proj 25 ->
- DirectorRémi ChayéStarsSalomé BoulvenAlexandra LamyAlexis Tomassian1863, a convoy in the American West, Martha Jane needs to learn how to take care of horses to drive the family wagon. Except she ends up wearing pants and cutting her hair. The scandal that its stark character provokes will force to face all the dangers in a gigantic and wild world where everything is possible.Proj 50 ->
- DirectorGerman AcuñaStarsConsuelo PizarroMarcelo LiapizMuriel BenavidesNahuel is a curious boy who has a fear of the sea. One day, he come across a mysterious book that seems to be the solution of his trouble. What he doesn't know is the book is really magical and Kalku, an ambitious warlock, is after it.Proj 48 ->
- DirectorBashir El DeekStarsAiemzyMohamed El DafrawyLekaa El KhamisyAn unwavering young warrior's determination to save women and children abducted by pirates, leads him to his sweetheart and to confront a brutal tyrant and his devious sorcerer.Proj 50 ->
- DirectorAyar BlascoStarsPaco AmorosoAyar BlascoJustina BustosDeborah makes a living by drawing the skin of her clients. One night, her housemate invites her boyfriend and friend to their house. Sitting in the armchair, they consume the series of the moment, Gain of Clones, until, suddenly, the signal is cut off and the screen is dyed red while subliminal images float. No one remembers what happened the last two minutes. The answer will be in the enigmatic presence of giant cats that will later invade the city. As in El sol (2010), the second feature of the animator Ayar Blasco outlines apocalyptic situations where chaos and paranoia is the best excuse to meet surrealist creatures and scenes. Blasco understands that animation is a language with resources that live action does not possess, and exploits those tools as a child who became an adult just to give himself permission to play forever.Proj 50 ->
- CreatorsMike McMahanJustin RoilandStarsThomas MiddleditchSean GiambroneMary MackA family of aliens move to middle America, where they debate whether life is better there or on their home planet.
- DirectorKonstantin ShchekinStarsYuri AskarovSeán BehanGráinne BleasdaleA poor Potter finds an old magic Flint, which brings the Potter money, but at the same time makes him cruel. The evil Queen, in order to take possession of the artifact, decides to deal with the Potter, but his faithful friend the restless and resourceful girl Ogonyok rushes to the rescue, confronts the evil and tries to disenchant the Flint.Better than expected, avoids 2D digital pitfalls. Easy kids movie and a bit of a relief from modern Disney cgi fluff rather than just trying to be Disney. To be fair, it’s probably trying to be 90s Disney quite a bit but a generic 2D fairytale is not a bad thing.
Has good color composition and lighting, mature mor-animators, but story-wise a very generic fairy tale with too much slapstick. With the twist of a tomboy as heroine but she still requires lots of saving, and a villain servant with a good heart and great intellect but still the butt of every joke, Russian compromises.
Proj 60 - 60 - DirectorJae-hoon AhnStarsNya SoKim Da-hyunJang Won-yeongMohwa, a shaman, lives with her mute daughter Nang-Yi and her husband, and has practiced shamanism her entire life. One day her son Wook-Yi returns home after several years away, as a converted Christian. This sparks a conflict and drives the family into tragedy.Painful budget limitations break the film, too much is being attempted. It’s really too bad because the stills and attention to cultural detail show great talent and knowledge of the subject.
Suffers from the audio break that makes every line sound like they’re on a podcast no matter the acoustics of a scene.
Hopefully artists from this project gain enough exposure to be picked up in the future under more money and more vision.
Proj 33 - 70 - CreatorDavid BessStarNicol ZanzarellaAn animated soundscape experience of short films that pays tribute to the visual and sound artists of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
- DirectorsKris PearnCory EvansRob LodermeierStarsWill ForteMaya RudolphAlessia CaraConvinced they'd be better off raising themselves, the Willoughby children hatch a sneaky plan to send their selfish parents on vacation. The siblings then embark on their own high-flying adventure to find the true meaning of family.
- DirectorCho Kyung-hunStarMoon Nam-sookYe-ji comes across mysterious water that enables her to lose weight and reshape her appearance. She finds her life is more in danger the more she desires to be beautiful.Proj 70 ->
- DirectorTim HillStarsTim HillClancy BrownBill FagerbakkeAfter SpongeBob's beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to the Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home.
- DirectorEthan SpauldingStarsJennifer CarpenterJoel McHaleIke AmadiHanzo Hasashi loses his family during an attack by a rival clan the Lin Kuei. He is given the chance to compete in an inter-dimensional tournament to save his loved ones while other fighters try to save the Earth realm from annihilation.