Despite my mastery of exaggeration in everyday conversation, I try not to be hyperbolic in my writing. That being said, I want to acknowledge off the top here that no matter how hyperbolic it may sound, I mean it when I say: 2022 was the best year for animated movies in over a decade. Not since 2010, when audiences were graced with eight(!) fantastic animated pictures, has a year been so strong in the genre.

Unfortunately, the majority of audiences still consider animation to be child’s play. It is the genre (most often) thrown away upon a child’s graduation from Intro to Cinema. Well, in 2022, animation roared back to show all those who counted it out that there’s still magic in the movies - even once you’re a hollowed out, jaded adult. Take it from me, it’s possible to be dejected and delighted simultaneously. Thus, rejoice (not reject) my five favorite animated features of 2022.

5. Turning Red

Pixar is in a strange place. Five of the studio’s last ten films have been based on some sort of pre-existing intellectual property (i.e. Lightyear and Finding Dory), these get the bulk of Disney’s advertising; while the other films have largely been straight-to-streaming releases with little to no fanfare (i.e. Onward and Luca). It’s the films in the latter category that are better in almost every regard, and it’s where Turning Red has firmly planted its flag at the top of the heap.

Set in Toronto, Turning Red traces the arc of a young girl going through changes and reconciling those changes with her family culture. These changes are, of course, what you’re thinking of - and also that she turns into a giant red panda everytime she feels strong emotions. Naturally, as red pandas are the best animal, Turning Red is adorable. It’s also, like the best Pixar films, extremely heartfelt. Disney may have kicked it to the curb, thinking it unimportant, but I’d be remiss to do the same.

4. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

I mean, what’re we doing here? It’s a stop-motion Pinocchio made by one of the greatest working genre masters. This would be like if Steven Spielberg remade, I don’t know, West Side Story. Of course it’d be a masterpiece. Need I say more?

3. Mad God

If there’s one movie on this list that’s really not for kids, this is it. Mad God is an eighty-four minute, dialogue-less, stop-motion descent through Hell. It’s the long gestating brainchild of Phil Tippett, Hollywood’s King of Visual Effects. I couldn’t really tell you much more about the plot of the film, as it’s a rather meandering and (I mean this lovingly) meaningless story. Mad God isn’t on this list for its plot. It’s here because it is simply the most badass piece of animation I’ve seen in years. Tippett is characteristically a maestro behind the scenes, but the horror he evokes from simple stop-motion animation reaches a career-high in this film. Academy Awards aside, Mad God is his magnum opus.

2. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

I’m gonna do everything in my power not to let this entire list get derailed by Puss in Boot: The Last Wish, or as it should be known: The Biggest Surprise of 2022. I never expected, well into the 2020s, that I’d be returning so passionately to the Shrek cinematic universe. But I’m thrilled that I did. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a visual masterpiece, a stunning achievement for DreamWorks - a studio that’s never quite garnered acclaim for its visual storytelling.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is unlike anything to come out of DreamWorks though. It’s a classic storyline with good heroes, funny sidekicks, and evil villains, sure (that’s normal), but it excels on the screen, rather than simply on paper. You could mute this movie and still be entranced by it. Don’t get me wrong, the on-paper stuff is pretty stellar too. This film features a villain, Death, so perfectly terrifying that even Phil Tippett would appreciate his hallowed grandeur. Excuse the melodrama I write with, but please believe this enthusiastic recommendation. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish isn’t just one of the best animated movies of the year, it’s one of the best films period.

Honorable Mentions

I could’ve easily expanded this list out to be a top ten, at which point my editor would’ve recommended I make it a top five and save my enthusiastic hyperboles for the longer list of narrative features. Alas, we’re stuck with a top five. But I won’t sign off without a few honorable mentions of some other films that helped make this one of the strongest recent years in animation. The Bad Guys was another fantastic DreamWorks film, although a tad too childish for my top five. Netflix had a pair of decent releases with The House and The Sea Beast. I particularly enjoyed the latter, actually. Then, there are a couple more drawn up films for adults, Entergalactic and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, that left me comforted. Again, to reiterate, 2022 was a fantastic year for animation. You can’t go wrong with any of these titles!

1. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Listen, you wanna know my secret? Deep down, I’m just a baby. If it makes me giggle, clap my hands, laugh, cry, show it off to all my friends and family, then yeah, I’m going to love it. There are few films in recent memory that have reverted me from Todd to toddler more effortlessly than Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.

Dean Fleischer Camp’s stop-motion mockumentary about a one-eyed shell wearing shoes is the most delightful gem of a film. The kids I watched it with in theaters loved it, my stoned grandmother watching it at home loved it, I - someone emotionally in the middle of those two target audiences - also loved it. This beautiful observation on life, loss, and laughing through the pain is for everybody, regardless of age, and everybody will be better for having seen it. Marcel is a wonder.

BEST OF 2022 | Todd's Top Five Animated Films