7 Animated Movies That You Should Stream
1. Princess Mononoke - HBO MAX - 97/100 - This is my second favorite Studio G movie and for good reason. It is an awesome story about a young man trying to protect his village from an evil, corrupting spirit while getting embroiled in this giant conflict of literal war, and a separate war of industrialization. It is beautifully animated, has a stellar voice cast (Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Keith David and more) and such a good soundtrack.
2. The Tale of Princess Kaguya - HBO MAX - 96/100 - One of my next favorite studio G movies, I love the animation in this. It's a combo of watercolors and charcoal was an exhausting process that paid off in a huge way, because it is legit like watching moving art in a away I hadn't seen before.
3. Coco - Disney+ - 95/100 - Speaking of beautifully animated movies, I still can't believe how well Coco came together. Its so colorful and immersive, which really helps someone with NO idea about the Day of the Dead get a hold of what is going on. Beyond that, it is a great story with such good music. Easily one of the best animated movies of the past 5 years.
4. Akira - Hulu - 95/100 - This movie is considered one of the best animes ever made by anyone with a brain and for good reason. It is incredibly made and really enthralling. It also has a fairly large influence on American pop culture as one of the first major Cyberpunk genre movies:
- It's one of Kanye's favorite movies and the direct inspiration for his 'Stronger' music video. It also is shown in the Michael Jackson 'Scream' video
- The Matrix, one of the biggest scifi movies ever made, is inspired almost to the point of ripping off both Akira and another anime, 'Ghost in the Shell'.
- Stranger Things took a lot of inspiration from Akira, specifically the character of Eleven in the show vs Tetsuo in the movie.
5. Zootopia - Disney+ - 88/100 - I LOVE this movie for a few reasons. I think it plays very well for kids, but also INCREDIBLY well for adults. That blend makes it the perfect family night movie with plenty of rewatch value. There is just something about Bateman that is just so damn charming.
6. The Croods - Netflix - 79/100 - On LCB, we talk about our love for this movie a lot and I think people get the impression that it is a bit because of the Nic Cage factor. However, it is legitimately very entertaining and, like Zootopia, fun for both kids and adults.
7. Wish Dragon - Netflix - 75/100 - I watched this movie a few weeks ago on a whim, and I feel weirdly about it. It's almost a beat-for-beat ripoff of Aladdin, except with a dragon instead of a genie and it takes place in modern-day Shanghai instead of Agrabah. BUT, it is actually very entertaining? And I was cognizant of the ripoff element but didn't care because i was so entertained. It has some heart and some good laughs for everyone.
