DiamondMinerStudios' Top Ten Animated Films

I **LOVE** me a good animated film. These films are ones I like so much that they are in my own personal top ten list, starting from number ten to number one. Here you go, enjoy lol

## Number 10

**Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)**

This film is one that defines my childhood in a nutshell. It's a good mix of comedy and emotional, heartwarming moments. That one scene where Snow White seemingly dies and the dwarves hold a funeral - *timeless*. This is a legendary classic and is my tenth favorite.

## Number 9

**Toy Story 2 (1999)**

Toy Story 2 is the sequel to, well, look at the title lol. This one's a pleasure - a film that has excellent and hilarious comedy, and a simple storyline that anyone can follow. It also has some very touching moments, especially the scene that tells the story of Jessie's original owner. It is also full of references, most notably Star Wars and the Mickey Mouse Club. This movie is just an all-around great film and makes the number nine spot on my list.

## Number 8

**Up (2009)**

This is another great Pixar film, released ten entire years after Toy Story 2, and *hory shito* does it live up to Pixar standards. It has an amazing and touching scene that came close to almost making me saddened, no like seriously mate, and it takes a lot to make me do that. The movie has some nice comedy as well, but it's mostly emotional, with sad scenes and very happy and triumphant scenes, such as the ending scene where Russell is given the makeshift badge, all mixed together to form a fine blend. In the end, this is why Up gets the number eight spot on this countdown.

## Number 7

**The Lego Movie (2014)**

OH MY DEAR GOD THIS MOVIE IS HILARIOUS. No joke here guys. During one scene I remember in particular that made me laugh my ass off, was when Vitruvius (AKA the guy voiced by MOTHER FUCKIN MORGAN FREEMAN) comes back as a ghost after being beheaded, but he's just being dangled and jerked up and downwards to seem like flying, but you can *clearly* see the string that they suspend him with, and Morgan's voice making the ghost sounds just adds to the funnyness (.....is that even a word). This is definitely Warner Brothers' best animated movie, because it's the only one I've seen, so I can't, well, you know, judge it based on the others, but I can with ones made by other studios, so it gets spot number seven.

## Number 6

**How to Train Your Dragon (2010)**

This film is the first of any Dreamworks film to be featured on this list, and rightfully so. This movie is one of Dreamworks' best films from throughout the years. It has a great story with lots of emotion, especially when Toothless is stolen, and Hiccup basically goes through a mental breakdown, the weight of the scene is very clearly felt. Besides the emotion, the comedy is spot on aswell, but besides comedy and emotion, the movie also has a few suspenseful moments, especially the scene where Hiccup shoots down Toothless the day before he met him. Great film, and one of the greatest Dreamworks has ever produced.

## Number 5

**Shrek 2 (2004)**

Ok, this is a big one guys, lol. Shrek 2 is the first time, on this list, that the *Shrek* series makes an appearance, and it is in the form of the second film. This one is notable for one thing - it made the most money any animated film has ever made, and is one of the films that eventually earned Shrek a Hollywood star. But who cares about Hollywood, screw their liberal asses. I'm looking at what *really* makes this film worthy of the fifth spot on this list. What makes Shrek 2 stand out from the rest is that it is mostly focused on *loads* of jokes and references. There are, as in the other Shrek movies, tons of adult jokes, which makes this film all the more likable. At one point, and I never saw this until recently, there is a blue potion bottle in the Fairy Godmother's factory, on a panning shot of the interior of her busy factory. The bottle has a label, and written there, in the papyrus font, is the word "Viagra." See, this is how one word can change the entire meaning of something from being an innocent blue-colored potion, to a prescription drug meant to treat erectile dysfunction, and the film jumps on this opportunity, because any object that contains any unknown object can have any word applied to it, creating a lot of potential for jokes. This is only one of the wide, dizzying array of jokes and references in this film. They add so much to the experience, but you have to be very quick in order to catch them. The plotline *is* an old cliche style of narrative, a "meet the parents" story where the unlikely husband enters conflicts with his girlfriend's parents, but this story is done very well to the point of it not even mattering anymore. The story doesn't have too many emotional scenes, but the comedy makes up for it, making this film number five on the list.

## Number 4

**Toy Story (1995)**

Ah, Pixar's first feature film. This movie is a great example of the classic Pixar form - amazing, hilarious comedy mixed together with emotional moments. I remember one scene, a classic scene that still sticks to me to this day, specifically, one line spoken by Woody to Buzz - "YOU ARE A TOY!" It represents someone receiving the harsh, unforgiving truth after emerging from comforting lies. Once they realize this truth, then the person may embrace it and move on to become a better person. This film also succeeds on the comedic level, with scenes that made me laugh my ass off. To end it on a high note, quite literally, the ending song - "You got a friend in me." This song occasionally gets stuck in my head from its sing-along factor and simple, calming melody. At the end of the day, this Pixar classic deserves the number four spot.

## Number 3

**Monsters, Inc. (2001)**

What better way to start off my top three favorite animated films than....

ANOTHER PIXAR CLASSIC!

No but seriously, this movie holds great significance in my childhood, just like the Toy Story and Shrek franchises, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Monsters, Inc. is packed to the brim with jokes that made me laugh. Especially when Mike and Sully get into an argument on how to get rid of the child, and Mike suggests they "build a tunnel under the city and release it into the wild," It gets me every time. Another scene I remember is the "Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me" scene, where Mike lies to his co-workers about yelling the aforementioned phrase,that it was for the "new company musical" that holds the same name of what he said. Then, they begin to sing it and dance in a hilarious manner, making it one of the few Pixar films where the characters sing any type of song. This is also referenced in the end credit outtakes, where Mike and Sully actually made it a reality, which solidifies that joke, that a lie ironically became an actual thing. Great film, deserves spot number three.

## Number 2

**Shrek (2001)**

This is the big one for Dreamworks. Before 2016, this was my favorite animated film ever made. However, this film is in the second spot because the one in the number one spot is, in my opinion, even better than this Dreamworks classic. It features, well, Shrek obviously. It was his film debut, and Dreamworks' first true success. It follows a green, sarcastic, but friendly ogre Shrek as he is seen living a normal life in his swamp. The infamous song "All Star" by Smash Mouth is featured in the opening scene, which is one of the best opening scenes to an animated film as it is *balls hilarious*. It does feature flatulence jokes, but they are overshadowed by the large amount of adult jokes and cultural references. Shrek meets Donkey the next day, which he is an amicable, fast-talking, cheerful donkey who has the ability to speak. Shrek is annoyed, but out of acquiescence, allows Donkey to stay for one night at his house in order to avoid persecution. That night, Shrek's swamp gets filled with fairy-tale creatures, who when he asks how they got there, they say Lord Farquaad sent them. Shrek and Donkey confront Farquaad, with many adult jokes abound. Farquaad makes a deal with Shrek, that if he rescues Princess Fiona from a dragon-guarded castle, he will clear Shrek's swamp out. Shrek agrees, thus starting their joke-filled, quirky misadventures. Besides the hilarious jokes and references, Shrek has emotion and drama mixed in, forming a near-perfect consistency of a humorous tone and a mildly somber one. One more final point, the voices were also great in this film, especially Mike Myers as Shrek and Eddie Murphy as Donkey. Overall, Shrek is a classic that is worth watching, and makes its way to the number two spot on my list.

## Number 1

**Inside Out (2015)**

Here we go. The moment you have all been waiting for - my number one favorite animated film of all time. What else would this title go to besides what I believe is Pixar's Magnum Opus, Inside Out? Like I said earlier, before 2016, Shrek would have been in this spot. It's time for a little story - about how this film became my favorite. In late 2014 and early to mid 2015, I rarely watched television and more so stuck to Youtube videos for entertainment besides movies. One day (I don't remember the exact date), I was watching videos, and before one video, I saw a trailer for a new animated Disney-Pixar film, titled "Inside Out." Now, from the looks of it, it seemed to be an average movie with lots of comedy, but what the theme was is that you get to see familiar territory, but something not fully understood - what happens in our minds as we go about living our days. It featured five personified emotions - Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. I liked the character designs, especially the character of Joy, with her blue hair and eyes, and greenish-lime dress. Just look on the background of this wiki and you'll see Joy featured there next to Mickey Mouse. Back to the story, the film was labeled as "a major emotion picture," a pun I found to be very clever. Now, I neglected to see the film on its release date, June 19, 2015. It took until early 2016 when my parents discovered it, and suggested me and my brother watch it. So, one morning, me and him decided "Why not watch the movie?," and we put it on the television in a bedroom and sat in there watching it until the end. After this experience in that room, let's just say my view on animated films was changed forever. What I had previously viewed as children's entertainment had become something a *million times* more meaningful. That brings us to today, with the film holding multiple awards and rave reviews, but at the end of the day, none of that matters. *NONE OF IT*. The thing that truly matters is what this film represents. It brings us back to the days of our most joy experienced - *childhood*. After childhood though, the film teaches that even though our childhood is gone, we can still look back on it and let it shape how we mature into fully grown men and women, and how it is *perfectly fine* if we let our sadness get the best of us, and we cry. Apart from the outstanding lessons this film teaches, the movie itself is stunning and spectacular on its own. The animation is beautiful, colorful, fluent, and realistic in its motion. The music is inspiring and soothing, and adds to the emotional weight of the scenes. The voices are great, with the characters of Joy and Sadness being played to perfection by Amy Poehler and Phyllis Smith, respectively. The story is gripping, exciting, and suspenseful. But the thing that truly makes this film stand out - its vibrant emotion. Some scenes are joyful and funny, with great jokes, but at other times the scenes are suspenseful, especially when Joy is about to do the most daring thing in her entire life, which is the trampoline jump that will propel her and Sadness back to headquarters. However, the strongest mood in this film? The tear-jerking scenes. The strongest, most powerful scene in the entire film is the memory dump scene, where Joy literally almost fades away for eternity. Riley's imaginary friend, Bing Bong, falls in with her. Joy then sees a discarded memory from when she and Sadness got accidentally ejected in the first place, and walks over to it. She picks it up, looks at it, and collapses to her knees. She goes on to softly and sadly say the great times she had with Riley in her childhood, and how all she wanted was for her to be happy. That's it. She then breaks down into tears, showing that even the most cheerful, optimistic, and joyful people can be overcome with sadness. However, after a realization, Joy has a change of heart, that Sadness is much more significant than she had previously believed. She remembers Bing Bong's rocket is down there, and starts to sing his theme song, to which the rocket is heard in the distance. They run for it, and get in on a cliff of memories. They begin the struggle to escape the dump, to no avail. Bing Bong realizes something, and says to Joy, "Come on Joy, one more time. I got a feeling in this one." They sing and the rocket begins to fire its rainbow trail. Bing Bong encourages Joy to sing even louder and stronger, to which she keeps singing louder, extremely determined in her escape from the dump. Bing Bong then does the ultimate good deed that anyone can do - he jumps out of the rocket, laying down his life for his best friend, Joy. Joy makes it out, under the illusion that Bing Bong made it with her. With the rocket in pieces and Joy tightly hugging her bag of precious core memories, she lets out a loud, joyful yell, incredibly joyfully exclaiming, "Bing Bong! We did it!!," but very shortly after, she comes to the realization that her friend is not with her, and the smile runs away from her face. She quickly runs over to the edge of the dump, and sees Bing Bong down at the bottom of the dump, happily jumping and exclaiming that Joy escaped. She looks down very sadly, and watches as Bing Bong fades away along with Riley's childhood. His last words are, as he is in tears, "Take her to the moon for me. Ok?" He then disappears forever. Joy looks on, the only witness, and begins to cry. She says, "I'll try, Bing Bong. I promise....." After this she soldiers on, tracking down Sadness and getting back to headquarters with her. This scene still sticks to me, even almost two years after watching the film. It is *very, VERY* sad, and nearly made me cry. It was the closest I ever came to crying during an animated film, which is right on the verge of tears. One more small push, I would have broken down into intense tears. The scene is that powerful. With all of its powerful emotion, brilliant animation, inspiring filmscore, lovable characters, and its amazing plotline, Inside Out is, without question, my favorite animated film ever made, and will be for many years to come.

## Closing

In conclusion, this is just my opinion, and do not believe it should reflect what yours is. If you make this your opinion because you have no ways of making choices, I swear a Jontron with Donald Trump's face will rape you in your sleep and you will go to hell for j-walking. No, I'm only joking. I really don't give a shit what your opinions are, as long as you can respect mine. KEEP THOSE DAMN COMMENTS RESPECTFUL. GRAIN OF SALT, PEOPLE! GRAIN OF IODINE, SODIUM, CHLORINE MIXED TOGETHER TO FORM A CHEMICAL BOND WITH ONE CATION AND ONE ANION WITH A MOLAR MASS OF 58.44 G/MOL, PEOPLE! ok all joking aside keep the comments respectful