IndieWire's Best Animated Films of the 21st Century

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IndieWire wrote:

Pixar and Studio Ghibli tend to spring to mind first when discussing great animation, but there’s a world beyond those two giants. Animated films have grown ever more artful and affecting as more and more folks realize that it’s never just been a medium for kids, with studios and indies alike creating stop-motion marvels, hand-drawn standouts, and CGI spectacles.

The genre has grown so much since we entered the current century, in fact, that it can be easy to forget the Academy Awards didn’t even recognize animation until 2001. As few as three movies were nominated per year until 2010, but since then animation’s increased prominence has been reflected in the race’s competitiveness. Not every worthy movie could make the cut on either the awards circuit or this list, sadly, but rest assured that “How to Train Your Dragon,” “The Secret of Kells,” “The Breadwinner,” and “Loving Vincent,” to name just a few, are very honorable mentions.

IndieWire first launched a shorter version of this list in November 2017. Given the extraordinary number of great animated films released since then and ongoing reappraisal of films previously released, now is the time for an update.