I have made my feelings on 2022 quite clear, this year was full of okay at best releases in the animated part of cinema. That all being said, even the movies that were just "okay" we're still somewhat good, and to be absolutely fair, this year was full of pretty awesome things, sure Disney dropped the ball a couple of times, but Netflix has actually been on a solid winning streak this year, not kidding, I was impressed with Netflix's releases this year, bravo to them for having more than one good movie release on their platform this year. On top of that, it isn't like this year was devoid of quality releases, so let's talk about them.
Again, my rules from the previous list apply, I have not watched everything from 2022, I missed Hotel Transylvania 4, the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie, the new Puss in Boots movie, the new Beavis and Butt-head movie, and I didn't have the time to watch My Father's Dragon. On the same note, movies that had major releases in 2022 qualify for this list, I am not qualifying Sonic the Hedgehog 2 though that movie was entertaining, and this is my personal list. With all of that said, here are my top ten animated movies of 2022... well... nine and a project.
#10. The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Rehydrated
Honestly, I'm mentioning this project, not because I genuinely think it is a great work, but mostly because I am impressed with the amount of passion and love everyone put behind this project. I'm not even really big on reanimated projects, I mean if you're going to do multiple animation and art-styles you can try to transition between them more smoothly, but I'm aware that is not always the easiest thing to do. All in all, the amount of work that everyone put into this project, from the animators to the voice actors who redubbed the entire thing, even if I can't say I fully love this I do have to admonish the effort put into it. It is the kind of project that almost makes me appreciate fandom, as the little details and references snuck in by everyone that could could only be appreciated by a SpongeBob fan really does make this seem like a passion project. It may not be my kind of project, but I can admire it for what was put into it.
#9. Charlotte
Guys, this movie hurt. This is not an easy sit through, as it tells the story of a Jewish artist during the rise and Nazism in Germany, and that is not the only difficult part of her life. This is the kind of movie I really feel people need to watch to get a sense of how powerful animation can be as a medium. It's actually kind of difficult to talk about this movie, but I really recommend it, it has an excellent cast, the animation is really good and the story of this woman is just so fascinating, I think this movie got a very limited release, it was only playing at one theatre in my location, so I don't know if this really counts as a 2022 release, but it did get a theatrical release this year, so, I'm counting it.
#8. The Bob's Burgers Movie
You know, I had no clue what to expect when I went into this movie, I wasn't expecting a murder mystery, I wasn't expecting a musical, I was just kind of expecting a movie where Bob and Linda has to save their restaurant. I guess I did get what I was expecting, and all in all I do think this movie is... fine, it's a fine movie. I guess in the end, if you're expecting an enjoyable story with you favourite characters, this movie will be satisfactory, and that "Lucky Ducks" song was a total bop. I guess out of all the "Okay but not fantastic" movies of the year, I would choose to watch this one again over something like Strange World or Minions 2, not like that is really saying much, but even then I can't say this one was bad, it was an enjoyable time, and if you're going in expecting an enjoyable time, you'll get it.
#7. Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
This movie was a totally different take on the classic Charles Dickens novella. Taking a new approach to certain aspects of the story that I thought really made this version stand out on its own. A lot of the animation is great, and while it does look low budget, the stylization I feel makes up for that, plus some of the songs were total jams. I really liked some of the twists they took with this movie, like the Ghost of Christmas Past having a fun personality, the Ghost of Christmas Present becoming Christmas Yet-to-Come, and while I do wish it was explored deeper, having Scrooge and Cratchit have a history together was an interesting idea. While this movie isn't going to top the big three adaptations of the story, but that is a high bar to reach. If you want a more one of a kind take on the famous story, this might be a movie worth checking out.
#6. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
I can't think of a movie that was more anticipated than this one, which really says a lot about 2022 don't you think? I mean, Guillermo del Toro, Stop Motion animation and The Jim Henson Company? Why isn't this movie straight at number one? Well, I mean it's good, but I am a firm believer that the main point of any form of entertainment media is to entertain, and while I was completely absorbed into the dark story, the smooth as polished glass animation and the talented voice cast, which actually also included Tom Kenny, weird, two Pinocchio movies in one year for that guy. While I was engrossed in this movie, I can't say this was the most entertaining movie of the year. Still a fantastic movie, and definitely one you should check out if you haven't already.
#5. The Bad Guys
Honestly, I don't know if this movie was a good time on it's own, or if what made it fun was me and my friends making jokes about how Mr. Wolf character is a total simp for Foxington, not that I really blame him. Still, that being said, this was a very unique movie in DreamWorks' catalogue, being a lot more visually stylish than the rest of the company's filmography. Even if we could tell where the plot was going, it was still a fun flick to put on, shut your brain off and just enjoy, and it may be a fun movie to watch with friends and riff on, and to joke about how Mr. Wolf definitely enjoys... I should stop there in case children are reading.
#4. The Sea Beast
Yeah, I missed this one when it came out. I don't really get a lot of chances to check out releases on Netflix, but it is a darn shame I didn't catch this when it was new because I would have loved to share my thoughts on it. Well, here we are now. At the end of the day, The Sea Beast is not a wholly original story, but it makes up for that by being an exciting adventure. The characters bonding was nice, and the climax was fairly tense all things considered. Plus, I really like these monster designs, while I have seen similar, I still think these are some cool designs, and the blue pudgy thing in this movie, way cuter and more marketable than the blue pudgy thing from Strange World. If you didn't see this movie when it was a new release, like me, you should give it a go.
#3. Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
Another movie I sadly missed when it came out, and I really should have caught it because this movie was fantastic. Easy High Recommendation from me, and for the same reason my next two movies were High Recommendations too, it is just such a different movie. The animation is all rotoscope, which some may consider cheating, but when done right can give a project a unique look and feel, plus they do some creative things with the rotoscoping, so when the characters are watching something on TV, where a regular movie would use footage, this movie rotoscoped over the footage to make it fit in with the style of the rest of the movie. It was a fascinating look at childhood in the sixties during the space age with a bit of alternate history mixed in. A truly fascinating movie and you really should give it a watch. Again, if you were like me and missed it when it came out, well it's on Netflix, so get to it.
#2. Wendell & Wild
If you would have told me that Netflix would take up half of my best list this year, I would have called you crazy. The platform that brought us such gems as Duck Duck Goose and Pets United? Really? They're lucky to distribute one good movie, how are they going to distribute five? Well, easy, they get Henry Sellick and Jordan Peele, have a soundtrack that contains X-ray Spex, have delightful characters and a fantastic voice cast, top it off with some delightfully Henry Sellick imagery and you've got easily my favourite original release of 2022. I do think that stop motion animation is becoming more and more accepted, thanks to the popularity of studios like Laika, and the fact that Netflix released three (The House almost made this list) of these movies this year I think goes to show that. The streak of genuinely good movies from Netflix this year made me really excited for what they can do next year, especially since Nimona is slated to release in 2023, and I am anticipating that movie hard. So, if this is my favourite original release of 2022, why isn't it number one? Well, because my number one really only makes this list because of a technicality.
#1. Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
Yes, this movie had a film festival release in 2021, but it got a major release in 2022 and everyone is going to associate this movie with 2022. So I don't see why this ambitious, unique and somewhat risky movie can't be on my list. This is a mockumentary with stop motion animated characters based on a web video, does this movie sound like a good idea to you? Well, it ended up being phenomenal, such a different kind of movie from everything else released this year, and I can safely say, I am glad it's gotten the attention it has. I saw a Tweet come across my Twitter feed asking what everyone's favourite animated movie of the year was, and said "Excluding Marcel", and a couple other movies, the Letterboxd scores are insane with over 22 thousand five star ratings, 99% Critical score and 91% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9 out of 10 on IMDb, I think it is safe to say that this movie is definitely one that is loved by animation fans, and I can't think of any other movie I liked more than Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.
2022 was not a fantastic year for animated cinema, but we did get some good movies out of it, and to be fair, there were also a couple good movies that weren't animated. You know, maybe later this week I'll share the non-animated movies that I liked. That would be fun.
Honourable Mentions:
Lightyear - I went in expecting a fun sci-fi action flick, and that's what I got.
Turning Red - Not my kind of movie but... oh well. Yay, Canada rep!
The House - So close to making my list, but that second story was... a lot.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Alright fine, I'll put it here.
Strange World - Again, it is paint by numbers to the Nth degree, but it wasn't a bad movie.
Minions: The Rise of Gru - Fair is fair, is Strange World gets an honourable mention, so should this movie, it wasn't bad, just... Minions.
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