AFI described animated films as "a genre in which the film's images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors. A skillful combination of caricature and artistry, animation amplifies reality, offering stories that are visually stylized, but emotionally truthful. Whether it's a minimalist black squiggle or a full-blown tour-de-force of color and movement, animation allows imaginary characters and inanimate objects to spring vividly to life."
(Winners marked with this icon and
ranking number)
- ALADDIN, Disney, 1992
- ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Disney, 1951
- AMERICAN POP, TriStar, 1981
- AN AMERICAN TAIL, Universal, 1986
- ANTZ, DreamWorks, 1998
- THE ARISTOCATS, Disney, 1970
- BAMBI, Disney, 1942 (#
3)
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Disney, 1991 (#
7)
- A BUG'S LIFE, Disney/Pixar, 1998
- CARS, Disney/Pixar, 2006
- CHARLOTTE'S WEB, Paramount, 1973
- CINDERELLA, Disney, 1950 (#
9)
- CORPSE BRIDE, Warner Bros., 2005
- DUMBO, Disney, 1941
- FANTASIA,
Disney, 1940 (#
5)
- FINDING NEMO, Disney/Pixar, 2003 (#
10)
- HAPPY FEET, Warner Bros., 2006
- THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, Disney, 1996
- ICE AGE, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2002
- THE INCREDIBLES, Disney/Pixar, 2004
- THE IRON GIANT, Warner Bros., 1999
- THE JUNGLE BOOK, Disney, 1967
- LADY AND THE TRAMP, Disney, 1955
- THE LION KING, Disney, 1994 (#
4)
- THE LITTLE MERMAID, Disney, 1989
- MADAGASCAR, DreamWorks, 2005
- THE MANY ADVENTURES OF WINNIE THE POOH, Disney,
1977
- MONSTER HOUSE, Columbia, 2006
- MONSTERS, INC., Disney/Pixar, 2001
- MULAN, Disney, 1998
- THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Touchstone, 1993
- 101 DALMATIANS, Disney, 1961
- PETER PAN, Disney, 1953
- PINOCCHIO, Disney, 1940 (#
2)
- POCAHONTAS, Disney, 1995
- THE POLAR EXPRESS, Warner Bros., 2003
- THE RESCUERS, Disney, 1977
- ROBIN HOOD, Disney, 1973
- ROBOTS, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2005
- THE SECRET OF NIMH, MGM, 1982
- SHREK, DreamWorks, 2001 (#
8)
- SHREK 2, DreamWorks, 2004
- SLEEPING BEAUTY, Disney, 1959
- SNOW
WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, Disney, 1937 (#
1)
- SOUTH PARK: BIGGER LONGER & UNCUT, Paramount,
1999
- THE SWORD IN THE STONE, Disney, 1963
- TARZAN, Disney, 1999
- TOY STORY, Disney/Pixar, 1995 (#
6)
- TOY STORY 2, Disney/Pixar, 1999
- WAKING LIFE, Fox Searchlight, 2001
Nominees: 32 of the 50 films on the ballot were made by the Walt Disney Company; 13 were produced by Walt Disney himself. 17 of the 50 films are computer animated.
Winners:
- Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs ( 1937)
- Pinocchio (1940)
- Bambi (1942)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Fantasia (1940)
- Toy Story (1995)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Shrek (2001)
- Cinderella (1950)
- Finding Nemo (2003)
Comments: Disney films ruled the winning top 10, taking the top 5 positions. Shrek (2001) was the only non-Disney/Pixar in the top 10. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) deserved a top 10 spot. The Simpsons Movie (2007) should have been a top 50 nominee.