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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
#1 Toy Story vs. #5 Fantastic Mr. Fox

Fantastic Mr. Fox - 4
Toy Story - 3

Winner: #5 Fantastic Mr. Fox
I'm surprised to see Fantastic Mr. Fox win over Toy Story. There's so much to love about Toy Story, plus it's the Pixar movie that started it all.
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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
#2 Ratatouille vs. #3 Princess Mononoke

Ratatouille - 4
Princess Mononoke - 3

Winner: #2 Ratatouille
As I said earlier, I haven't seen Princess Mononoke, but it sounds like a movie that I would like, so I can't vote in this match, but I wouldn't be surprised if I chose Princess Mononoke over Ratatouille.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
#1 Up vs. #5 My Neighbor Totoro

Up - 5
My Neighbor Totoro - 2

Winner: #1 Up
This is another match where I haven't seen one of the movies, but Up is such a great movie that I'm not surprised to see it win this match.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
#2 Monsters, Inc. vs. #6 Mary and Max

Mary and Max - 4
Monsters, Inc. - 3

Winner: #6 Mary and Max
I love Monsters, Inc., and while Mary and Max is a good movie, it's sad to see one of my favorite movies lose this match.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
#1 Spirited Away vs. #5 How to Train Your Dragon

Spirited Away - 5
How to Train Your Dragon - 2

Winner: #1 Spirited Away
It's been a while since I saw Spirited Away, so I don't have a very good memory of it, but from what I remember about it, I think I might have chosen it over How to Train Your Dragon.



I'm surprised to see Fantastic Mr. Fox win over Toy Story. There's so much to love about Toy Story, plus it's the Pixar movie that started it all.
Fantastic Mr. Fox shocked me with how good it was. I too love Toy Story but Mr. Fox just had to take it.
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I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
What did you dislike about it?



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
What did you dislike about it?
It's been a while since I saw it, but as I recall, it had a very dark tone, and it just wasn't my type of humor. I didn't find the characters very likable.

I actually have it on my watchlist to give it another chance someday because I like George Clooney, so it kind of bothered me that I didn't like the movie.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I fell pretty far behind in this thread, so that was a lot to go through all at once, but it made me realize that some of my favorite animated movies aren't even listed here. (I know that some of these probably would have been out in the first round anyway, but it would have been nice if they at least had a chance.)

Anastasia (1997)
Over the Hedge (2006)
Ice Age (2002)
Home (2015)
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Robin Hood (1973)



It's been a while since I saw it, but as I recall, it had a very dark tone, and it just wasn't my type of humor. I didn't find the characters very likable.

I actually have it on my watchlist to give it another chance someday because I like George Clooney, so it kind of bothered me that I didn't like the movie.
Dark tone? That's odd, I've always thought of it as a lighter film.



I fell pretty far behind in this thread, so that was a lot to go through all at once, but it made me realize that some of my favorite animated movies aren't even listed here. (I know that some of these probably would have been out in the first round anyway, but it would have been nice if they at least had a chance.)

Anastasia (1997)
Over the Hedge (2006)
Ice Age (2002)
Home (2015)
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Robin Hood (1973)
Haven't seen any of those (except Ice Age when I was younger). I'll have to check some of them out.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Dark tone? That's odd, I've always thought of it as a lighter film.
Doesn't the farmer shoot off the fox's tail? And isn't the farmer trying to kill the fox throughout the movie? That's pretty dark for an animated movie, isn't it?



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I fell pretty far behind in this thread, so that was a lot to go through all at once, but it made me realize that some of my favorite animated movies aren't even listed here. (I know that some of these probably would have been out in the first round anyway, but it would have been nice if they at least had a chance.)

Anastasia (1997)
Over the Hedge (2006)
Ice Age (2002)
Home (2015)
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Robin Hood (1973)
Haven't seen any of those (except Ice Age when I was younger). I'll have to check some of them out.

If you like comedies, I highly recommend Over the Hedge (2006).
If you like musicals, I highly recommend Anastasia (1997).
Home (2015) and Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) are a bit childish, but I think they're fun movies.



Doesn't the farmer shoot off the fox's tail? And isn't the farmer trying to kill the fox throughout the movie? That's pretty dark for an animated movie, isn't it?
Fair enough, but you could call Monsters, Inc. or Mary and Max dark for the same type of reason.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Fair enough, but you could call Monsters, Inc. or Mary and Max dark for the same type of reason.

Yes, but both of those movies had other aspects about them that I loved, and I think that's what was lacking for me in Fantastic Mr. Fox.



#3 The Incredibles vs. #10 Kiki's Delivery Service

Originality - The Incredibles
Script/Screenplay - The Incredibles
Animation - Kiki's Delivery Service
Characters - The Incredibles
Music/Sound - The Incredibles
Themes/Values - The Incredibles
Structure/Pacing - The Incredibles

The Incredibles - 6
Kiki's Delivery Service - 1

Winner: #3 The Incredibles



Haven't seen any of those (except Ice Age when I was younger). I'll have to check some of them out.
I thought you included all of the movies from the MoFo Top 100 Animated Films? Anastasia was #90 on the countdown.

The others gbg listed didn't make the cut, though Over the Hedge, Robin Hood, and Ice Age all came very close.




Kiki's Delivery Service
Year: 1989
Director: Hayao Miyazaki

And yet again, Hayao Miyazaki leaves me stunned. His work is so expressive, so beautiful, so profound. No other movie shows his quiet genius better than Kiki's Delivery Service. It is not my favorite Miyazaki movie but I still absolutely love it. I'm of the unpopular opinion that it's better than both Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and My Neighbor Totoro. There's something about its simple wisdom and peaceful tone that makes me love it.

Kiki as a protagonist is exactly what you'd expect from Miyazaki. She is strong-willed and independent, but also has real fears and problems. She may be one of my favorite Miyazaki protagonists actually, right up there with Chihiro and Porco Rosso. Her simple goal yet complex personality make her very easy to love.

Tombo is a great companion for Kiki. He allows her to express her feelings and doubts and also to discuss them. We sense that, although she doesn't like him at first, he is a good kid with good intentions. In the end he is the person who Kiki must regain her flying power for. Her growth throughout the movie make this a fantastic moment, and intense one at that.

We get a typically unusual plot structure from Miyazaki. This is the story of a young witch who must complete a year away from home for her training. She begins a delivery service, and all goes well until she loses her powers. Of course I have simplified the story, but I don't want to spoil it. All I can say is that it is a great premise with a great structure to go along with it. Kiki's Delivery Service is told in segments of plot, without an overarching conflict like in most Disney or Pixar movies. This allows us to explore Kiki's inner problems more deeply. It's a very effective structure.

The themes of this movie are also pretty interesting to analyze. Essentially, this is a movie about art and passion. Creating and finding motivation for joy in life is one of the most important things to do. Kiki loses that passion and thus loses her powers. Only when she finds herself again can she really fly. Interestingly, the film does not exactly say when, why, and how Kiki loses her powers and then gets them back. This is not lazy story telling. It is letting the film breathe, letting Kiki make her own decisions and confirming that we must infer them. That was a great decision by Miyazaki.

Ursula is another important character in Kiki's Delivery Service. She is the woman who Kiki really goes to when she is struggling with life and needs help. In the end, it is Ursula that explains what might be going on to Kiki and motivates her back on her feet. She is an embodiment of the driving force in our lives, the voice in our head that tells us what we are here for.

Kiki's Delivery Service is not a children's story, although children will find it delightful. In Miyazaki's hands, it becomes a powerful message about artistry and passion, and being able to find purpose in life. It is not perfect, and there are segments that bother me that I have not mentioned. But I can overlook that with a film as beautiful and uplifting as this one.




I thought you included all of the movies from the MoFo Top 100 Animated Films? Anastasia was #90 on the countdown.

The others gbg listed didn't make the cut, though Over the Hedge, Robin Hood, and Ice Age all came very close.
I just did the top 64 because that's the highest number I can make a fair single elimination bracket out of (like March Madness). The next highest would be 128, which I obviously couldn't do.