Every year without fail, Hollywood and other foreign markets bring unforgettable cinematic experiences to the masses, feeding our senses with creativity, imagination, and in rare instances, the impossible. In many cases, we’re spoiled when it comes to live-action offerings, but what about animation? Today, we’re looking back on 2013, the year Flappy Bird became so addictive that its creator pulled it from app stores a year later, the Scottish synth-pop band CHVRCHES made their stunning debut with the album “The Bones of What You Believe,” and Brooklyn Nine-Nine introduced audiences to the funniest bullpen since the Police Academy movies went off patrol.
Looking back, there are several wild pop culture milestones to mark the year of “The Red Wedding.” Still, today, we’re setting our sights on the greatest animated films of 2013, with a Top 5 list that’s sure to make you feel nostalgic and appreciative of the leaps we’ve made in the cinematic art form since then.
5) The Wind Rises
- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Genre: Historical Drama, Romance, Animation
Runtime: 126 minutes
Those who know about Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki‘s passion for aviation were not surprised when the Godfather of Anime released The Wind Rises, an animated historical drama serving as a fictionalized biographical portrait of Jiro Horikoshi, the aeronautical engineer who designed the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane used by Japan during World War II. Based on Tatsuo Hori’s 1937 novel The Wind Has Risen, Miyazaki’s intimate look at Horikoshi’s creative endeavors is a breathtaking portrait of the struggle to live a dream while others intend to use your art as a tool for destruction.
Nestled in Miyazaki’s interpretation of Hori’s novel is the portrayal of Jiro and Naoko Satomi’s blossoming courtship. Naoko is suffering from the effects of tuberculosis, but chooses to live as if every moment with Jiro is a gift. Their love anchors the film in a bittersweet romance as Jiro contemplates the militaristic regime’s use of his creations. The Wind Rises is a relatively quiet film that still soars thanks to its powerful displays of emotion and insistence on finding peace in a world hellbent on tearing itself apart.
4) Monsters University
- Director: Dan Scanlon
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Runtime: 104 minutes
College-related comedies were all the rage from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s, then had a massive revival from the late 1990s to the mid-2000s. After so many hilarious hijinks, stolen mascots, and campus-closing catastrophies, the college comedy took a much-needed sabatical. Then, for its fourteenth feature film, and only prequel to date, Pixar unleashed Monsters University. This movie explores the origins of the iconic duo Mike Wazowski and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan, detailing the animated Odd Couple’s first encounter and sharing the valuable lessons that helped make them the model scarers they are today.
It’s not as if I haven’t heard dissenting opinions about Monsters University, but it’s also one of Pixar‘s most underrated projects. The student body expands the cast by hundreds, the “Scare Games” are a blast, and the underdog fraternity, Oozma Kappa, introduces a lovable band of misfits that harken back to the Tri-Lambs of Revenge of the Nerds fame. While I’d still welcome a proper sequel that reunites Mike and Sulley with Boo, Monsters University is a fun Pixar rarity that serves as a playful homage to some of the most scandalous comedies of a bygone era.
3) Despicable Me 2
- Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
Studio: Illumination Entertainment
Genre: Comedy, Family, Adventure, Animation
Runtime: 98 minutes
After introducing Gru, his girls, and the Minions in 2010’s Despicable Me, Illumination took the franchise to another level with this bigger, broader, and funnier sequel. Alright, so maybe I have a cartoon crush on Lucy Wilde, but Despicable Me 2 offers more than just introducing the franchise’s best character or capitalizing on the Minions’ skyrocketing popularity.
The sequel finds Gru retiring from villainy to raise Margo, Edith, and Agnes, while operating a jam-and-jelly manufacturing business. Still, just when he thought he was out of the crime game, it pulls him back in. After getting recruited by the spirited secret agent Lucy Wilde on behalf of the Anti-Villain League (AVL), the duo goes undercover to investigate the Mexican restaurant owner Eduardo Pérez, who might be the notorious villain El Macho.
Despicable Me 2 elevates every character in the franchise, with Gru and Lucy’s courtship being the beating heart of this stealthy, high-stakes adventure. Watching Gru stumble his way through the next phase of fatherhood while battling his villainous instincts and trying his best to be a smooth operator in front of Lucy is nothing short of hysterical, and the interstitial antics of the Minions are some of their best moments. The Despicable Me franchise has managed to charm me throughout the years, though this gem of a sequel might be my favorite of the bunch.
2) Frozen
- Directors: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Genre: Musical, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Runtime: 102 minutes
Despite becoming the bane of car rides worldwide, as children sing like cats in heat to “Let It Go” on repeat, there’s no denying that Disney’s Frozen is an all-timer. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fairytale The Snow Queen, Frozen tells the enchanting story of Princess Elsa and her sister Anna, who, alongside their traveling companions Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and the sentient snowman Olaf, turn the “act of true love” trope on its head through endearing character dynamics, sacrifice, and steadfast camaraderie.
After raking in $1.28 billion at the global box office, Frozen became a glittering gem in Disney’s ornate crown of animated classics. The film didn’t just entertain audiences; it had a lasting cultural impact on generations of Disney fans and beyond. When people experience Elsa’s story, most identify with her “outsider” identity and her desire to flee her kingdom for fear of being judged or of hurting someone. Frozen serves as a beautiful reminder that no one is perfect, and that abandoning your support system can lead to disaster, both literally and metaphorically.
Frozen also gets points in my book for breaking convention with an ending that turns fairytales on their heads, while also rewriting the power and necessity of a “true love’s kiss.” It speaks volumes about the story that, ultimately, it’s Elsa and Anna’s love for one another that breaks the curse, rather than some white knight in polished armor with a silver spoon up his ass. I’ll take the strengthening of familial bonds over that tired trope any day. Long live the princesses of Arendelle!
1) The Tale of Princess Kaguya
- Director: Isao Takahata
Studio: Studio Ghibli
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Animation
Runtime: 137 minutes
One of Studio Ghibli’s most unsung features is also one of its best. Directed by the Japanese animation house’s co-founder, Isao Takahata, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a visually arresting adaptation of Japan’s oldest recorded prose narrative—the 10th-century Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.
In this potent retelling of treasured folklore, an aging bamboo cutter discovers a tiny, glowing girl inside a stalk of bamboo. While he and his wife raise her alongside their own, the girl quickly grows into a curious young woman before joining the thorny, suffocating world of high society. While turning away one suitor after the next, Princess Kaguya yearns to be free of the chains that bind her to a life of simplicity, tradition, and servitude to men who don’t deserve her company. Instead of surrendering to the whims of men, the princess refuses their gifts and prays to the moon to take her away from a life she wants no part of.
Instead of following in the footsteps of other cel-animated films, Takahata utilized watercolor washes and eloquent, sketchy charcoal lines that mimic classic Japanese scroll paintings to create a look that resembles a storybook come to life. The sweeping, fluid art pairs incredibly well with Princess Kaguya’s heightened emotional state, and Joe Hisaishi’s score is as awe-inspiring as the film’s messages about autonomy and never settling for less than you deserve.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is an epic that every young person should see, as it teaches about the trappings of well-meaning love, the dangers of societal expectations, and how some traditions are not meant for everyone. It will force you to take a step back and look at the pressures we put upon the young to live up to expectations they do not have, and how that’s never how love is supposed to work.
There you have it, folks. What do you think about our Top 5 Animated Films of 2013 list? Are your favorite films represented here? Are there any grievous omissions? Leave us a comment and let us know what your Top 5 Animated Films of 2013 are! Until next time. Cheers!
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