Introduction
Hello once again, fellow adventurers! Blaziker has retuned to conclude the Worst to Best Animated Movies of 2023! If you want to see the following parts before moving on to the final part, click on the following:
- Part 1 (45th to 31st): Click here
- Part 2 (30th to 16th): Click here
With that said, let’s wrap things up with the final part of my 2023 list, celebrating my top 15 animated movies of 2023. Without further ado, here we go!
15. Migration
If you guys told me that Migration would be Illumination’s best movie at the beginning of the year, I would be laughing at you. Alas, Benjamin Renner puts his foot down and delivered not only Illumination’s best movie but also one of the biggest surprises of 2023. Cute, charming and flawlessly animated, Migration is very different from Illumination’s previous movies in perhaps the best way possible.
14. Chang An
Chang An is not only Light Chaser’s best movie they had ever worked on, but also one of the most unique in terms of concept. Turning poems from legendary Chinese poet Li Bai and other well-known Chinese poets and adapting them into an ambitious story about Li Bai and Gao Shi is why Chinese animation in the 2020s is such a fantastic contrast to their less desirable animated movies of most of the 2010s.
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem is a colourful, hilarious and faithful adaptation of the TMNT franchise, complete with near-perfect stylised CG animated from two animation studios that has yet to produce a great animated movie until now. Worth seeing in theatres if you get the chance someday.
12. Deep Sea
Perhaps the best photorealistic CG and foreign CG animated movie by some margin in 2023, Tian Xiaopeng’s magnus opus is whimsical, weird and moving animated movie even amidst the confusing story during the first half of the movie. Worth seeing this on the biggest screen possible for the animation alone with some of the most creative and groundbreaking visuals of the year.
11. Mars Express
Leave it to France to produce another stunning and mature animated movie for the animation fanatics. A well-realised story with great comedy and characters and gorgeous animation, Mars Express is a fantastic indie animated movie if you need a palette cleanser from watching too many similar animated movies.
10. Little Nicholas: Happy As Can Be
Speaking of France, Litte Nicholas: Happy As Can Be pays tribute to the creators of the beloved French comic series in a loving fashion while also sharing hard truths about life itself. It is a very cute movie, but one that has weight and messaging to enhance this cute little gem’s impact too.
9. Unicorn Wars
Now, we are beginning to highlight the very best of the best, as the top 9 movies have the “Straight Up Fire!” certification from me. For me, Unicorn Wars is one of the most brutal and earth-shattering animated movies of the year, filled with a well-realised story, brutal violence and animation and shocking twists that made this nearly trope-less movie one of a kind. Alberto Vazquez, take a bow.
8. Blue Giant
Blue Giant highlights the joys and pains of mastering an art form, complete with great animation, a flawless jazz score and twists and turns from start to finish Without a question, Blue Giant is a delight to watch.
7. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Yet another unique animated movie, Marcel showcases the beauty in simplicity of a talking shell trying to reunite with his family. A24’s animated movie debut is not only as great as their masterpieces such as Everything Everywhere All At Once and Past Lives, but also better than the best from some of the smaller animated movies combined.
6. Elemental
Elemental also turned out to be a box office success, but for a very different reason. This is a story paying tribute to immigrant families in the most love tendering manner, complete with fun and exciting abstract animation, Elemental is the shot in the arm Pixar needs to continue innovating their craft and is perhaps Disney’s best shot in the awards season.
5. Inu-Oh
Masaaki Yuasa delivers a powerful animated movie with interesting visuals, mature writing and one of the best soundtracks of any animated movie this year. It goes to show how much anime movies can evolve over the years and the more we see great animated movies from this country, the better.
4. Nimona
And now, we have approached the summit as the top 4 animated movies are in a league of their own, starting with Blue Sky Studios’ swansong animated movie. It is fresh, exciting and emotional, complete with the best LGBTQ representation of any mainstream animated movie for the past few years. It is not only the best Netflix animated movie of the year, but one of the most important in terms of taking stories to the next level.
3. Suzume
Speaking of movies with great stories, how about the final movie in the Makoto Shinkai trilogy? As emotional as his other movies and with original and stunning visuals, Suzume is a mastery of art from Shinkai himself. It is definitely worth seeing this movie for yourself, but be warned, expect a lot of emotions towards the end.
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
While stories of writers and animators being under pressure to complete this movie cannot be ignored, what resulted was an evolution of what Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivered, with even more vibrant and exciting action sequences, characters with so much heart and development and yet another fantastic score, this is Sony Pictures Animation teaching the mainstream studios how an animated movie should be done. Again.
1. The Boy and the Heron
When I think about legendary studios and directors, I think Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, and there it was, Miyazaki’s showstopping movie inspired by his life is breathtaking to look at, and with an equally powerful story to match the visuals. Not only is this the return of an icon, but also one that is important when the theatrical animation industry is at a crossroads. It is rare for movies to be this inspiring, and The Boy and the Heron does that with ease and that is why it is my best animated movie of 2023.
With that said, between this and Across the Spider-Verse is so, so tight I could easily pick either of those movies as the best of 2023 any day of the week. These two movies bring animation to the next level and are worth celebrating for.
Conclusion
So yeah, here is my ranking of the 45 animated movies I get to cover this year. Hopefully, we get to see more equally great animated movies in 2024. Tune in to this Blog as I review more animated movies from across the world.
Until next time, see you on the next adventure!
