Best Animated Movies of the 21st Century

Well, IndieWire is going all out and clearly defining what the greatest animated movies of the whole 21st century is and we aren’t even close to the end of the century. Sure it is nice to look back and recommend some films from the past years but call it the best films of the past decade or something like that. There are several films that you’d expect to be on the list but there are a couple that I’ve never heard of.  Sure several films deserve to be on the list but others seem like a weird choice to be on the list. It hits several winners of the Animated Feature Oscar, from one of the first, Spirited Away to Toy Story 3. Then there are others which never heard of like Paprika, Sita Sings the Blues and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. It was nice to see that about eight were not made in America and only four were from the Disney/Pixar brand. However there are some film that should have been on this list like Kubo and the Two Strings and others that shouldn’t have been on the list Finding Nemo or The Lego Movie sure they are good films but are overrated films. Sure this list come two year after IndieWire published a list of the 25 Best Animated Films of the 21st Century, and several of the films on this list aren’t on this newer list. By and large across the board it seems like everyone agrees that Studio Ghibli’s film Spirited Away is the best of all the animated films so far.

Year end lists

It’s that time of year when everyone come out with the 10 most influential people, best shows on television, best movies of the year. I think that all these list mean nothing but people gobble them up. For instance Barbara Walter did her annual list of most influential people last week, it is a unique list and at the top of the list this year is someone that nobody could have guessed.

So on Walter’s list there Scarlett Johansson, the actress, who one could argue had a pretty big year.

Chelsea Handler, a comedian, is also on the list and she is taking a late night talk show to Netflix after Letterman announced his plans to retire Handler was someone who many people could see taking over as it would be a female hosting a late night talk show on the regular channels (NBC, CBS< FOX, ABC). As it would turn out Colbert would be announced as taking over for Letterman  and Handler got a deal with Netflix.

Host with the most Neil Patrick Harris, made the list since he was announced as the host of the Oscars, and everyone seems to like him.

The Koch Brothers made the list as well, at least David Koch, as did Oprah.

Elon Musk founder of SpaceX was on the list as well with snagging another NASA contract this time with the Commercial Crew missions is a big get for this tiny company.

Michael Strahan who joined Kelly Ripa as a co-host of Live with Kelly and Michael or whatever it’s officially called now.

George RR Martin the author of the Song of Fire and Ice books which Game of Thrones come from is in the news as well since the show is getting closer and closer to the book he is writing.

Taylor Swift (singer) Swift is the singer of the year basically her new album is a cross over smash for her and has done well to invogotate the slumping CD sales

Amal Clooney (wife of actor George Clooney): this is the biggest surprise of the whole list and she is the most interesting individual of the year for the simple fact that she married George Clooney. Many people on the internet erupted saying that she really isn’t that interesting or influential at all she was just lucky and married some the world famous bachelor although Brad Pitt got married as well and no one is talking about that.

Amazon 100

Recently Amazon released a list of the 100 books to read in a lifetime and over on Goodreads they have the Reader’s Picks. it is a wide variety of books in the list. The editors at Amazon Books created the list which they call the Bucket list of Books to create a well-read life. At first glance it covers the gambit of genres from 1984 to The Autobiography of Malcolm X to most of the major YA books series and spans generations from 1813 to 2013.

The one drawback that many people have pointed out is the lack of many of the classic novels as it seems like it was a book per author. I was shocked that there wasn’t anything by Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky on the list as they seem to pop up in just about ever list ever compiled. I also find the lack of play on the list a bit disturbing as on other must read lists they’ve included plays and there are many plays to see/read before you die. Then again Amazon could be working on a list of like 50 must read/see plays or something.

The list hits the major young adult/teen market most of all as the list includes the first book of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Golden Compass, Percy Jackson, and Lemony Snicket series  by extension we should also include the other books in the series as well. Another big hit is The Fault of the Stars by John Green which will soon make the transition to the movie screens. There is also a smattering of children’s books as well. Clearly this is a guide to help more people get interested in reading. It would be nice if they did like a top ten for all the different genres and book series as well as it seems many of the YA books are a part of a series.

This is a nice first attempt at a list but it would be nice if it covered more than two centuries. Of the 100 books on the list I’ve only read about 22 of them but, this is pretty good considering I’ve read only 10 on the Modern Library top 100 (Best English novels of the 20th century). The Amazon list will be added to my other lists of books to read it currently sits at well over 500.  Will I ever make a dent in the book pile. It’s not like my movie list where I can visually see progress as I inch closer to seeing all the films on the AFI lists and all the Best Pictures ever.

New EW Best lists

Yes, I know there is some big and important Catholic news but I’ll talk about the encyclical after I’ve read it and the John XXIII/JPII sainthood thing i mentioned it on like Tuesday so it was something that we should have expected.

Entertainment Weekly just did another list of the 100 best movies/music/books/shows of the past 100 years, since the one thing we really needed was another list of movies to see and books to read. If you want to see the complete lists go pick up an issue or wait till it makes it to the internet.

The Top Ten of each will follow with my remarks on all of them

Movies
10.Gone with the Wind (1939)- is the great Civil War epic that everyone sees at least one in their lifetime. With 1939 in film it is hard to go wrong as so many great films came out this year.

9. Nashville (1875)- I have never seen this but I guess it is about Country music and takes place in Nashville. This is already on my list of movies to see.

8. The Gold Rush (1925)- A classic Chaplin film but I really liked Modern Times and The Circus a whole lot more, but this is a well deserved place for a silent film. A genre of film that continues to influence movie makers today.

7. Mean Streets (1973)- I have not seen this one either but of all of Martin Scorsese movies in the world this one is the best, not Goodfellas or Raging Bull or Taxi Driver? Supposedly it has influenced the films and television of a generation.

6. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)- This really isn’t the best of all times it is only popular nowadays because when Cable TV was invented it was not under copy protection and it was aired for cheap. It’s the one Christmas movie that everyone sees at least once in their lifetime. It is all in all a solid movie but there are other Frank Capra movies that are leagues better like It Happened One Night.

5. Psycho (1960)- A nice spot for a Hitchcock classic that everyone knows and references

4. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)- Really?! this is the third best movie ever? in all the movie lists I ever seen this is the highest for this movie sure it’s had an impact on movies since but I don’t think it deserves to be ranked so high.

and the top three are the standard top three in most best movie lists
3. Casablanca (1942)         2. The Godfather (1972)             1. Citizen Kane (1941)
It would have been nice if The Searchers (1956), the classic John Wayne Western was in the top 10 as it is one of the most influential movies that has ever been released. The Searchers is one movie that everyone should go and see.

Television
10. Your Show of Shows (1950-54- Supposedly one of best show ever with the likes of  Mel Brooks, Neil Simon,  and Carl Reiner as writers I bet that I would have loved the show.

9. Mad Men (2007-now) The show about ad-men in the 1960s and everyone loves the 60s. It is absurdly historically accurate and has legions of fans and unfortunately the next season will be its last.

8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer(1997-03) The show that introduced us to the wonderful Joss Whedon and brought strong female characters as leads of television shows.

7. The Andy Griffith Show (1960-8) Andy Griffith brought little Ron Howard into all our living rooms and hearts. The story of a widowed sherrif in Mayberry, NC trying to raise his young boy.

6. All in the Family (1971-9) Carol O’Connor as the loveable bigot Archie Bunker It is such an influential show as it talked openly about real problems like racism, homosexuality, women’s liberation, abortion, breast cancer and other. Often considers the most influential television program for injecting real life into sitcoms.

5. The Sopranos (1999=07) The first of the HBO shows in the top 10 this is considered by many to be the best show ever and the Writer’s guild says it’s the best written show ever. I have not seen the whole series yet but it is the story of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) trying to balance running a crime family and his own family.

4. Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77) Still a great show after 40 some years the first to feature a single working woman as the central character. It was miles away from anything seen on television at the time as Mary wasn’t looking for a man but wanted to be a success at work.

3. Seinfeld (1989-98) The show about nothing that lasted almost a decade and was watched and quoted by everyone.  A worthy placement on the list.

2. The Simpsons (1989-now) The longest running American sitcom and animated program. Turned cartoons into something fun for the whole family to watch and has significantly influenced the English language and is another oft quoted show.

1. The Wire (2002-08) I have never seen this but it is something that I really want to see The show is about life in a city and how we all live together and how institutions have a drastic effect on all of us.

Music
I agree with most of these but Kayne West at 8 in a list covering the past 100 years?

10. Nirvana- Nevermind
9. Beach Boys- Pet Sounds
8. Kayne West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
7. Aretha Franklin- Lady Soul
6. Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks
5. The Clash- London Calling
4  Michael Jackson- Thriller
3. Rolling Stones- Exile on Main Street
2. Prince- Purple Rain
1. Beatles- Revolver

Books
No big complaints here with most of the top 10 but I though this list was of the past 100 years not 200 so three of the top five should not even be on the list as they are from more than 100 years ago. I did like that series of book were consolidated into one listing.

10. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
9.  Beloved by Toni Morrison
8.  Rabbit Quartet by John Updike
7.  Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
6.  My Antonia by Willa Cather
5.  100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4.  Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (1861)
3.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
2.  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (1878)