
The 100 best animated movies: the best traumatic movies
World-famous animators pick the best animated movies ever, including Disney and Pixar movies, cult movies, kids movies, stop-motion, anime and more
Now we know which are the 100 best animation movies of all time. But which are the best Disney movies and which are the best Pixar or Studio Ghibli films? Which are best for kids and families and which are strictly arty, political or edgy?
We’ve applied 26 handy labels to the 100 great animations in our list. Here you’ll find all the films whose stories come with a side serving of mild trauma.
How many have you seen? Take our poll to find out.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
This unflinching war story proves that, in animation, anything is possible.
See full entryIt’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
A one-man masterpiece.
See full entryUp (2009)
Pixar’s saddest, sweetest, strangest film.
See full entryBambi (1942)
The film that makes little kids (and grown adults) cry.
See full entryPersepolis (2007)
An Iranian expat remembers her tumultuous childhood during the Islamic revolution.
See full entryWatership Down (1978)
Nothing is child’s play in this vivid, gutsy adaptation of Richard Adams’s novel about a colony of rabbits seeking a new warren.
See full entryToy Story 2 (1999)
It’s an emotional reunion as Pixar gets the old gang back together.
See full entryToy Story 3 (2010)
Pixar scored a hat trick – in 3D – with the third film of its signature franchise.
See full entryConsuming Spirits (2012)
A one-man, multidiscipline labour of love.
See full entryWhen the Wind Blows (1986)
An elderly British couple thinks it can survive a nuclear attack with Blitz-era gumption.
See full entry