Introduction
Hey, fellow adventurers! It’s Blaziker here and today, we are ready to venture into the last part of counting down the worst to best animated movies of 2022! After going through the worst animated movies of 2022 in part 1 and the middle part in part 2, it is now time to get to the top of the list!
Let the countdown for the top 13 animated movies of 2022 begin!
13. Even Mice Belong in Heaven
Story and characters: 4.5/5
Animation: 4.5/5
Special sauce: 4/5
Overall score: 13/15
Rating: Fuego
Sometimes, you get a chance to venture into more obscure territory to find lesser-known animated movies, and this was one of them. Despite being the only person during my screening of this stop-motion flick from the Czech Republic, it has a surprisingly mature message about death and moving on, and of impermanence, themes that would not fit in a typical kids-friendly mainstream animated movie. This movie will leave you crying and asking why it is difficult to find hidden gems like this one.
12. Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood
Story and characters: 4/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 4.5/5
Overall score: 13.5/15
Rating: Fairytale
Apollo 10 ½ is an animated movie that feels very nostalgic, even if I was born in the 1990s, not in the 1970s. Despite having some slightly overblown narration, Apollo 10 ½ is the type of animated movie that looks like it could have been made in the past, because the story looks back into childhood memories to a point even children watching this today might feel the same too.
11. My Father’s Dragon
Story and characters: 4.5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 4/5
Overall score: 13.5/15
Rating: Fairytale
Despite being the weakest animated movie produced by Cartoon Saloon so far, and one that deviates from the Cartoon Saloon formula the most, My Father’s Dragon is still another great animated movie worth looking into. It might have the least complex story for Cartoon Saloon standards, but it is still a well-rounded animated movie with loads of heart. With the Irish studio producing a Puffin Rock movie and a new movie called Julian, the future could not be so bright for one of the biggest bastions of 2D animation.
10. Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie
Story and characters: 4.5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 4.5/5
Overall score: 14/15
Rating: Fairytale
While its story is straightforward, that does not devalue the fun value of this adaptation of the classic cartoon. It has a fun cast of characters, well-executed action and some of the most creative visuals for any animated movie today. Not only is this faithful to the TMNT franchise, this is one people of all ages, whether you are a TMNT fan or not, can enjoy together.
9. Wendell and Wild
Story and characters: 4/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 14/15
Rating: Fairytale
While the story could have been more concise and is less scary compared to Coraline, this Henry Selick comeback still has his scares and frights, while having an anti-capitalist message that hits hard. More importantly, Key and Peele as the titular demons are so much fun, and the animation is top-notch. It is a stop-motion movie that runs like a well-oiled machine.
8. Entergalactic
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 4.5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 14.5/15
Rating: Euphoria
Despite Entergalactic being produced as only a Netflix special, as an animated movie, it is a sight to behold. Not only does it have a heart-warming rom-com story, but the animation and musical accomplishments make it an immersive animation experience. It is something worth checking out, even if you are not a big Kid Cudi fan like me.
7. I Am What I Am
Story and characters: 4.5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 14.5/15
I Am What I Am is, in my opinion, the most overlooked animated movie of 2022 because of its extremely limited distribution. It is such a shame that an animated movie with some of the best photorealistic CG of any animated movie this year, not to mention an impactful story with cohesive writing despite its rushed ending, is getting unnoticed. If you get a chance to see this movie in theatres, it is best to take that chance. Trust me, this movie will amaze you at how far Chinese animation has come since their dark ages of the 2000s to early 2010s.
6. The Sea Beast
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
Not only is this the most viewed Netflix animated movie of 2022 (and even a certain stop-motion movie about a wooden boy wasn’t able to put a stop to it), but this is one of Netflix’s best animated movies of the year. A wildly immersive world-building, with fully realised characters and epic sea battles, The Sea Beast delivers in terms of scale and heart. If this does not convince Netflix to produce more Netflix original animated movies with this quality, I don’t know what will.
5. The Bad Guys
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
2022 marks the year DreamWorks Animation announced their return to the top of the animation game, and one of the reasons has to be this. The Bad Guys is something any animated movie strives to be: a well-written story with some great twists and turns, a cast of fun and memorable characters and some exceptional stylised CG animation. It is so exciting for this established studio to go back to its roots and begin innovating again.
4. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
Speaking of DreamWorks, this long-awaited sequel to an excellent Shrek spin-off movie not only reminds the moviegoers why Puss in Boots is one of the most popular Shrek characters, but why his first solo movie was a blast. Possessing some of the best comedic writing of the year with exhilarating action and another case of DreamWorks mastering the stylised CG animation form, The Last Wish might arguably be one of the best animated movie sequels of recent memory.
3. Turning Red
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
While it has been an overall disappointing year for the House of Mouse, what’s not a disappointment has to be their first movie of the year from Pixar. Turning Red is a movie I felt nostalgic since I grew up in the 2000s, but not only was the concept and the generational trauma storyline one of the better executed storylines, it is also hilarious and a great slice-of-life. There is also no way I will not see a movie without secretly listening to any 4*Town song on my earphones.
2. Flee (2021)
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
With Flee only coming to Singapore in 2022 as part of its Oscars promotional run, Flee is proof that animation is a medium, and can serve as a canvas to showcase important stories to share, such as the life of an Afghan refugee. This movie’s animation and story broke my heart, and at the same time illustrates a refugee’s struggle as he and his family escaped from their homeland torn apart from war. Flee is a gut-wrenching animated movie that animation fans need to see at least once to experience that feeling.
1. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Story and characters: 5/5
Animation: 5/5
Special sauce: 5/5
Overall score: 15/15
Rating: Euphoria
To say that this version of Pinocchio would be worth the hype would be an understatement. Guillermo del Toro is one of the most creative directors in Hollywood and an active supporter of animation, but even by his standards, he somehow exceeded those high standards. Not only did this movie emotionally broke me with a dark but heartfelt adaptation of this classic, but the amount of work put into the stop-motion animation and even the songs makes me feel like GDT and his team produced this movie with as much dedication and purpose as they could, which is how animated movies should be produced. It is breaking ground into showcasing how much animation is not a genre, but a medium that producers can use to tell stories in a way they can, and that is why GDT’s Pinocchio is my best animated movie of 2022.
Conclusion
With that, this is it. We have completed the rundown of the top 38 animated movies of 2022, from the worst to the best. It had been such an exciting year for animation but hopefully, this will not be the last time I get excited about a year of animation. Let’s hope the 2023 animated movies bring in more excitement for the animation industry.
I will see you all on the next animated movie adventure, and until then, k thanks bye!
