heavymetalmage asks: What are your top ten animations of all-time?

In no particular order (except that which I think of them...)

1. Ratatouille - My favourite Pixar movie, which is NOT a phrase I use lightly. There are others I love more for their action (Incredibles), emotional resonance (Up) or insane self-imposed challenge (Finding Nemo and Wall-E) but Ratatouille is the one I find the most beautiful and can just pop in and enjoy anytime. I also dig the oddball structure of the movie, very much in keeping with the setting and subject matter, and it's about rats. Rats are cool.

2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Holy shit. Did you know the animation in this movie was all traditional cel overlay? As in, they filmed the live-action, and then the animators were given photographs of the frames of the film, which they used to do the rough animation, and then it was all painted onto cels and composited back onto the film without the use of computers? Richard Williams is a goddamned madman, but the movie will hold up forever as a technical feat of the pre-digital era.

3. The Cat Returns - Why? I don't know. Not the prettiest, most well-written or best-directed Ghibli film, but every time I see a snippet of it, I feel compelled to watch the whole thing. I guess it's doing something right.

4. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro - Lupin III and Miyazaki together (Miyazaki's directorial debut, in fact). A fun adventure, a more mature interpretation of the Lupin III characters, and some great music and action. It pales in comparison to later Ghibli films... but I love Lupin III.

5. Most of the Disney Goofy shorts (the "How To" and "Everyman" series) from the 40s through the 60s

6. Animaniacs - What a fantastic tribute to the old, great Warner Bros cartoons - back when the animation was expressive and full, they had as many jokes for adults as for kids, and they gleefully defied and mocked censorship and authority every chance they got. We're cycling back to being a little more liberal with the content of children's cartoons again, but it can still be surprising to see what anarchic humour Animaniacs and other WB/Amblin shows got away with. ("I Got Yer Can" springs to mind, but maybe just because I love Slappy so much.)

7. The Simpsons (earlier seasons, of course) - I don't have the knowledge of television to prove it... but if you ask me, The Simpsons DEFINED modern comedy in the early-to-mid 90s and beyond, not just for cartoons but TV in general. Made huge strides for animation being accepted as a medium for adults as well as kids in the west, and you know what? We're not crazy, the earlier seasons WERE that much funnier than the later ones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_QCiAAUvHI

8. Futurama (seasons 1 to 3 and some episodes of 4) - Not even going to bother expanding on this one.

9. Pretty much any WW2 propaganda cartoon from either side, but especially this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y00ygpgALi0&feature=related

10. Ghost in the Shell (1995) - Stunning, atmospheric, cool, and has one of my all-time favourite musical scores of any movie.

You may notice I didn't mention any Disney features... this is because I couldn't pick a favourite if you put a gun to my head. But I can narrow it down to... either Fantasia, The Great Mouse Detective, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules, Mulan, or Lilo and Stitch.