羅科·湯普森 孫力
When Walt Disney virtually invented the feature-length animated film with 1937s Snow White, he changed moviemaking forever.? What was once called “Walts Folly” became a box-office winner, elevating animation to the level of serious art. Though the studio has held the majority of the publics interest for going on one-hundred years, there are countless other animation houses who have (and continue to) produce incredible work that goes underseen or underappreciated. Below, we list ten of the best non-Disney animated films that youve likely never experienced, but absolutely must!
10. Fantastic Planet (1973)
This much-emulated, spoofed and referenced Science Fiction masterwork from René Laloux has proven so influential to film and popular culture, most people arent even aware of its existence. An imaginative and often surreal epic that comments on human/animal rights and racism, the film was virtually the first to break the Disney mold and show that animation could strike out into bizarre and serious new horizons.
9. Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
Director Eiichi Yamamoto largely pans across still paintings to tell this story of a woman raped and accused of witchcraft, taking inspiration from Gustav Klimt and tarot card decks. Though the narrative is a little too loose to be memorable, the delicate swirl of sight and sound makes Belladonna of Sadness a head trip worth taking.
8. Watership Down (1978)
The movie that launched a million and one night terrors, Martin Rosens adaptation of Richard Adams classic British novel about a colony of rabbits seeking a new home brought the novel to almost-too-effective life for children who were scarred by it in the theater.
With gentle, at times unrefined animation befitting the wildness of its setting, Watership Down captures the spirit of Adams novel all-too-well, something the CGI four-parter that debuted on Netflix? should have realized.
7. Heavy Metal (1981)
A grubby, sexist, ridiculous animation that could only have come out of the 80s, Heavy Metal is still a notable cultural fixture and a strangely compelling oddity despite (or maybe because of) its rough style which was created by outsourcing the work to several different animation houses. Love it or hate it, Heavy Metal is a crude, rude, rockin and rollin time-capsule unlike any other animated film of all time... for better and worse.
6. The Secret of Nimh (1982)
Disney deserter Don Bluths The Land Before Time (1988) and An American Tail (1986) get all the love, but his earlier effort, The Secret of Nimh (1982) is an animation treasure in its own right.
A dark fantasy adventure about a family of Mice desperately seeking to move their home before its destroyed, Bluth found inspiration in Robert C. OBriens novel, “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH” for his directorial debut. A masterpiece of classicly detailed animation that doesnt blunt its sharper thematic edges for younger viewers, The Secret of Nimh is the type of complex and haunting fable Bluth could never have made had he not turned his back on the “house of mouse.”
5. Flight of Dragons (1982)
Based on a “speculative natural history” book of the same name, Rankin/Bass Flight of Dragons may not be as well-loved or memorable as their holiday films or even their 1977 rendition of J.R. Tolkiens The Hobbit, but its a beautifully old-fashioned adventure film with a dated sort of charm. With a fantastic voice cast, dialogue and visuals sure to inspire young minds, and an unforgettable title song, Flight of Dragons is a humble—though essential—Rankin/Bass B-side.
4. The Thief and the Cobbler (1993)
When a lowly cobbler named Tack incurs the wrath of a villainous Grand Vizier named ZigZag? hes rescued from execution by the beautiful Princess YumYum. The two set out to save the kingdom and stop ZigZags hostile takeover after the palaces protective orbs are pinched by a hapless thief.
This British-America-Canadian fantasy (directed, written, and produced by animator Richard Williams) is famous for a long, tumultuous release history due to the difficulties of independent funding and its ambitious and complex animation. With a halting production schedule unfolding over thirty years, its a miracle that the film turned out as lovely and watchable as it is while still being considered notoriously “unfinished.”
3. Pom Poko (1994)
Studio Ghibli is synonymous with Hayo Miyazaki, but the storied Japanese animation house has produced many artists worth their salt. Case in point: Isao Takahata, whose tremendously entertaining Pom Poko is simultaneously the most culturally specific and environmentally conscious films the studio has ever produced.
In telling the story of a clan of shapeshifting Tanuki (Japanese Raccoon Dogs) who try to beat back the humans encroaching upon their environment, Takahata created a profound plea for respecting the natural world, and a wildly entertaining romp to boot.
2. Perfect Blue (1997)
The jury may always be out on whether Darren Aronofsky ripped the plot of this psychological thriller by Satoshi Kon for his own, Black Swan (2010), but the source material is an accomplished piece of cinema in its own right. Following a member of a pop group who leaves music to pursue an acting career as she slowly loses her mind, Kons film is considered a masterpiece of modern Japanese animation and storytelling. Concerned as it is with perception, reality, fame, voyeurism and feminist issues, Perfect Blue is a socially aware thriller that bests most films of its type featuring flesh and blood characters not rendered with pencil and ink.
1. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
This Academy Award-nominated charmer tells the story of a plucky old lady who must rescue her Tour de France cyclist grandson from the mafia with the help of her trusty dog and the titular triplets who are music hall singers of the 1930s. This delightfully old-fangled plot is told in a delightfully old-fangled way: with limited dialogue, and through song and pantomime. A celebration of Paris in days gone by, Sylvain Chomets beautifully stylized musical comedy looks to vaudeville and music halls for inspiration to create one of the most achingly nostalgic animated features ever made.
華特·迪士尼在1937年首創(chuàng)了長篇動畫電影《白雪公主》,永久改變了電影制作。被奚落為“華特式愚蠢”的電影一舉成為票房贏家,也將動畫制作提升到嚴(yán)肅藝術(shù)的高度。百年以來,盡管迪士尼動畫工作室吸引了多數(shù)觀眾的興趣,但還有無數(shù)其他的動畫工作室曾經(jīng)(并將繼續(xù))制作出令人驚嘆的作品,只是這些作品未登上大銀幕或未被充分欣賞。下面,我們列出10部非迪士尼制作的最佳動畫電影——很可能你從未領(lǐng)略過這些作品,但它們絕對值得一看!
10. 《原始星球》(1973)
這部勒內(nèi)·拉盧導(dǎo)演的科幻佳作被多次模仿、惡搞和致敬,證明了它在電影和大眾文化方面的巨大影響力,但大多數(shù)人甚至不知道它的存在。這部電影是一部充滿想象、有諸多超現(xiàn)實(shí)情節(jié)的宏大作品,探討了人類/動物的權(quán)利及種族歧視問題;它可謂是第一部突破了迪士尼模式的作品,證明動畫電影可以闖入奇特而嚴(yán)肅的新天地。
9. 《悲傷的貝拉多娜》(1973)
導(dǎo)演山本映一從古斯塔夫·克里木特的繪畫和塔羅牌中汲取靈感,大量運(yùn)用靜態(tài)畫面來講述一個(gè)女人被強(qiáng)奸并被控告使用巫術(shù)的故事。盡管敘事略顯松散,不容易留下深刻印象,但影像和聲音的精巧交織讓這部電影成為一場值得體驗(yàn)的精神享受。
8.《沃特希普荒原》(1978)
這部電影由導(dǎo)演馬丁·羅森改編自理查德·亞當(dāng)斯的經(jīng)典英國小說,講述了一個(gè)兔群尋找新家園的故事,由于將小說“十分逼真”地呈現(xiàn)出來,給在影院觀影的孩子留下了童年陰影。
《沃特希普荒原》運(yùn)用溫和、時(shí)而粗獷的動畫手法巧妙展現(xiàn)故事背景的蠻荒,惟妙惟肖地捕捉到亞當(dāng)斯原著的精神,而這正是在奈飛首播的4集電腦特效動畫沒有體現(xiàn)的精髓。
7. 《宇宙奇趣錄》(1981)
《宇宙奇趣錄》這部齷齪、荒謬,帶有性別歧視的動畫電影也就只能產(chǎn)生于1980年代。電影外包給幾家不同的動畫工作室制作,所以風(fēng)格粗糙,盡管如此(或許也正因如此),這部電影仍是一部引人注目的文化經(jīng)典,也是一個(gè)風(fēng)格奇葩的異類。喜歡也好,討厭也罷,《宇宙奇趣錄》以粗陋、粗魯、搖滾的方式概括了這個(gè)時(shí)代,迥異于史上任何一部動畫電影……無關(guān)好壞。
6.《勇敢鼠媽媽》(1982)
離開迪士尼后,唐·布魯斯導(dǎo)演的電影《小腳板走天涯》(1988)和《美國鼠譚》(1986)備受喜愛,但他早先的嘗試《勇敢鼠媽媽》(1982)卻可堪稱動畫電影的瑰寶。
影片講述了一個(gè)老鼠家族在家園被毀之前急切尋找新家的暗黑奇幻歷險(xiǎn)。布魯斯從羅伯特·C.奧布賴恩的小說《尼姆的老鼠》中覓得他這部導(dǎo)演處女作的靈感。這部大師之作的動畫制作經(jīng)典細(xì)膩,而這并未鈍化作品為年輕觀眾提供的犀利主題。如果布魯斯當(dāng)初沒有脫離“米老鼠之家”,他永遠(yuǎn)不可能創(chuàng)造出這樣復(fù)雜而難以忘懷的寓言故事。
5.《飛龍》(1982)
《飛龍》根據(jù)一部“探測自然歷史”的同名作品改編而成。這部電影可能不像小亞瑟·蘭金和約翰·巴斯的節(jié)日電影系列或者他們在1977年演繹的J.R.托爾金的《霍比特人》那樣廣受喜愛、令人難忘,但它是一部優(yōu)美的老式歷險(xiǎn)片,帶著某種舊時(shí)代的魅力。絕妙的配音陣容、臺詞及視覺效果定可激蕩年輕的心智;主題歌也令人難以忘懷。《飛龍》就是這樣一部由蘭金和巴斯打造的既低調(diào)卻又不能忽視的另類影片。
4.《小偷與鞋匠》(1993)
卑微的鞋匠塔克觸怒了邪惡的帝國宰相齊格扎格,他被執(zhí)行死刑時(shí)為美麗的洋洋公主所救。在不走運(yùn)的小偷盜走了王宮的保護(hù)球之后,鞋匠與公主踏上拯救王國之旅,阻止了居心叵測的齊格扎格對王國的接管。
這部英美加三國聯(lián)合制作的奇幻電影由動畫師理查德·威廉姆斯導(dǎo)演、編劇并制片,因?yàn)殡y以獲得獨(dú)立資金支持,加之追求動畫制作的完美和復(fù)雜,導(dǎo)致發(fā)行過程漫長混亂,電影也因此廣為人知。電影斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的制作時(shí)間長達(dá)30多年。雖然影片至今仍被廣泛視作“未完工”,但其最終能夠如此令人喜愛、有觀賞性簡直是個(gè)奇跡 。
3.《百變貍貓》(1994)
吉卜力工作室?guī)缀醯韧趯m崎駿,但這家著名的日本動畫工作室也造就了很多名副其實(shí)的藝術(shù)家。舉個(gè)例證:高畑勛,他導(dǎo)演的《百變貍貓》極具娛樂性,也是這家工作室至今制作的既最具文化特征又最有環(huán)保意識的影片。
通過講述會變身的貍貓(日語對浣熊的稱謂)一族試圖反擊人類侵占它們生存環(huán)境的故事,高畑勛表達(dá)了尊重自然世界的深刻訴求,也創(chuàng)造出一部十分輕松有趣的影片。
2.《未麻的部屋》(1997)
大家也許會一直爭論不休:達(dá)倫·阿羅諾夫斯基是否從今敏的這部心理懸疑片里為自己的《黑天鵝》(2010)摘取了情節(jié)。放下爭論不提,這個(gè)原始資料本身就是一部成就頗高的影片。今敏的這部電影拍攝了一個(gè)偶像團(tuán)體的成員在放棄音樂而投身表演事業(yè)之際漸漸喪失心智的過程,被認(rèn)為是現(xiàn)代日本動畫制作和敘事的杰作?!段绰榈牟课荨飞婕案杏X、現(xiàn)實(shí)、聲譽(yù)、偷窺癖和女權(quán)話題,是一部關(guān)注社會問題的懸疑片,水準(zhǔn)超過絕大多數(shù)同類電影,這類影片中血肉豐滿的人物往往并非靠筆墨呈現(xiàn)。
1. 《瘋狂約會美麗都》(2003)
這部獲得奧斯卡提名的有趣影片講述的故事是:一個(gè)勇敢的老婦人必須從黑手黨手里救出參加環(huán)法自行車賽的孫子,幫助她的是她忠誠的小狗和1930年代在音樂廳當(dāng)歌手的片名中的三姐妹。這個(gè)歡脫老套的劇情以歡脫老套的方式講述:通過歌曲和啞劇表演,輔以有限的對話。西爾萬·喬邁這部美麗的非寫實(shí)音樂喜劇從歌舞雜耍和音樂廳汲取靈感,向舊日的巴黎致敬,創(chuàng)造出有史以來最感人的懷舊動畫長片之一。