Ranking the Major Animated Films of 2022

Today I will be discussing six animated films that came out in 2022 which have been receiving award recognition including all of the Oscar nominees. I will begin in order from my least favourite up to the one I enjoyed the most. Each year when I try to catch all of the major animation award nominees I find that these films in particular are quite diverse in that they often cover several different genres from comedic films geared toward a younger audience and others which discuss more mature topics. One of my favourites in the latter category was the French film I Lost My Body that came out in 2019 which I highly recommend. Without any further ado lets get into the animated films from 2022.

6.) Turing Red:

Pixar’s Turning Red is a coming of age story about a young girl named Meilin who must deal with a sudden change in her life when she abruptly starts turning into giant red panda whenever she encounters certain emotions. Turning Red inspired a larger conversation about how the film attempted to use Meilin’s physical transformations in the movie as a metaphor for normalizing the discussion around female puberty, though I am not sure the film succeeded in these endeavours. The animation in this movie is decent enough but not outstanding aside from a few instances where the film takes a more surreal tone such as when Meilin becomes infatuated with a boy she knows and tries to hide her doodles of him from her mom in one the movie’s better sequences. Though Meilin at first deals with her emotional and physical changes in an interesting way, such as trying to learn how to be in control of her inner red panda so as not to draw the attention and concern of her friends, family and in particular her mother who later shares that she too underwent this same process, the film later devolves from these mature discussions interlaced with appropriate comedy into a bombastic mess of conflicting messages and troubling subject matter. Demonstrating this is the point in the film where Meilin decides to utilize her transformation into a red panda as a means of earning money from her friends who want to see and take pictures with her in this new form which if it is a metaphor for puberty seems very troubling to me as a viewer. I think this confusion is a result of the movie never fully committing to using the red panda as a metaphor for puberty or simply representing those pieces of themselves people try to hide from others which resulted in the message being lost in translation. In my opinion Turning Red fails to stand out from the bunch due to its underwhelming soundtrack, generic animation style, uninteresting characters and convoluted plot which take a unique concept and turn it into a run of the mill animated film which has little lasting impact on the viewer. One last comment I have about the film is that Canadian viewers may get more out of it than others especially those that grew up in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s as the film is set in this time period and has everything from tamagotchi’s, to daisy mart’s and even includes boy bands. Ultimately I gave this film a 4/10 and do not recommend it.

5.) Strange World:

Strange World is a generic action and adventure film not unlike many other animated films people have surely seen before including How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, Raya and the Last Dragon, etc. This lack of originality is not helped by the fact that the main character bares a striking resemblance to the main characters from other animated films including Alfredo in Ratatouille, Flint in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the list goes on and on. Jake Gyllenhaal, who is one of my favourite actors, does the film no favours with a lacklustre performance which failed to give life to a character whose generic plot badly needed a compelling voice to make interesting. Jake Gyllenhaal voices Searcher Clade, the son of a famed explorer, on his quest to try and save the town from impending doom while struggling with the loss of his father. As stated above the film’s plot is horribly cliched, aside from a late plot twist, to the point that it is hard to watch without being reminded of films that have been there and done that better including the sequence where Jake Gyllenhaal’s character reconnects with his father not long after he is lost at the start of the film. A similar sequence occurred in the animated film Onward that came out in 2020 where two brothers go on a journey to try and see their deceased father one last time through the use of magic but there the moment was given added emotional weight due to the characters being more nuanced such that we understand the significance of this event rather than the two dimensional characters here which can be simplified into either being pro explorer or not. While I have many complaints about this movie I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable mostly due to story moving along at a good pace with a good mix of family friendly action and comedy. The movie did a good job bringing a diverse cast of characters to life even including a three legged dog which reminded me of one of my favourite differently abled animals in film that being Flealick, the dog with wheels, in Babe 2 Pig in the City. While the animators did a good job populating the film with ample diversity the film suffered from a lack of creativity regarding the titled “Strange World” which felt more like a Playstation 2 game than a science fiction underworld meant to be seen on the big screen. There is not much more that can be said about this film, it is a generic animation film which is safe viewing for your kids and is entertaining enough but there are far better options out there even in this genre including the above mentioned How to Train Your Dragon and another film that came out this year Sea Beast which I will discuss later in this post. One last note, I did enjoy seeing the reunion of Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal who again play father and son as they did in one of my personal favourite movies Day After Tomorrow even if Jake is not great here while Dennis puts forward a strong performance as the rugged explorer Jaeger Clade. I gave this film a 6/10 and recommend it to you if you have kids who are in need of entertainment though I do not imagine this film will form a lasting place in their memory.

4.) Pinocchio:

Pinocchio is seen by many as the favourite to win the Oscar this year and is a great re imagining of a classic story brought forward through the unique vision of Guillermo del Toro who in recent years has become one of my favourite directors specifically after I watched his films The Shape of Water and Crimson Peak which have become two of my favourites. There has been a gluttony of Pinocchio adaptations as of late and this is not the only one to receive an Oscar nomination in the last few years with the 2019 Matteo Garrone film, which I enjoyed to a degree with its strange style similar to Where the Wild Things Are, garnering two nominations. The first thing I noticed when watching the Del Toro version was that the score sounded quite similar to the soundtrack from The Shape of Water which is not surprising given that both films are composed beautifully by Alexandre Desplat. The music throughout this film is amazing bouncing between angelic songs and score composed strictly with wooden instruments reflective of the film’s subject matter. As noted in the behind the scenes documentary the music comes about organically as a means to help move the plot forward rather than stunting the progression of the story as is often the case in other movies. The stop motion animation is mostly great aside from some clunky moments in the second half during the big action sequences. I encourage anyone who watches this movie to watch the behind the scenes documentary to gain an appreciation of the labour intensive job that goes into bringing stop motion animation to life and the creative process behind crafting the distinctive characters in this film. Pinocchio suffers from many of the same things other stop motion films do such as Missing Link, a recent film made by the prominent stop motion animation studio Laika, which was visually creative but lacked a comparatively interesting story. While Pinocchio is a good film, with a better story than most other stop motion films, it is not the most entertaining one and suffers from a long runtime unlike some of my favourite stop motion movies including Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas which have a tighter script and shorter runtime which I think benefit their entertainment value. I think the film would have been better off trimming down some of the carnival sequences, which seemed eerily reminiscent of del Toro’s recent movie Nightmare Alley, which were quite a slog to get through in comparison to the rest of the film which I enjoyed a lot more. While I have noted several problems I had with this film that is not to say it is bad, in fact I really did enjoy it and I cannot recommend it enough since this movie boasts one of the better conclusions I have seen in an animated motion picture much like the one in Mary and Max. I think the conclusion works so well since it utilized del Toro’s best quality as a filmmaker which is his ability to translate honesty to the screen which turned the finality of the film’s conclusion, where several character pass on to the afterlife, into one of the most heartfelt and beautiful moments captured in a movie this year. Specifically, the image of Pinocchio carrying one his best friends in his heart after they pass away is one of the best things I have seen in a movie this past year. This moment was given more emotional heft due to the character that had passed being voiced by Ewan McGregor who is fantastic here to the point that his Cricket character was changed from a sidekick to the one del Toro decided should be the narrator due to his great performance. The rest of the cast is also quite good though I must make the comment that David Bradley, who is a great actor and does an awesome job at voicing Geppetto, reminded me of Peter’s dad in Family Guy. This is a really good movie that I highly recommend though you should be warned that it discusses death a fair bit but does so in a wholesome and heartfelt way which is reflected in how the afterlife sequences show a chorus of bunnies transporting people into the great beyond and then playing poker with the recently departed which I enjoyed a lot both aesthetically and from a plot perspective. One last complaint I must note, and it it is a common theme that runs across many films, was the unnecessary animal cruelty that occurred in the film specifically when a seagull landed on a mine and dies in a sequence that did not fit with the theme of the rest of the movie. I gave this film a 7/10.

3.) The Sea Beast:

The Sea Beast is a nautical adventure film about a young girl who wishes to join a batch of hunters aboard a ship in search of one such creature which they have thus far failed to capture. The Sea Beast is not shy about borrowing ideas from several other films such as The Great Wall’s battle sequences and several elements from Pirates of the Caribbean series including a character fighting a beast with many teeth similar to the Kraken fight with Jack Sparrow at the end of the second film, a main character being found adrift in the sea reminiscent of Will Turner in the first Pirates movie, etc. While the film is not unique it was really enjoyable with great animation and fun characters with great voice acting aside from Jared Harris who does not work at all as main the captain of the hunting vessel. The beasts themselves are much more lively and well crafted as compared to the bland creature designs in the film Strange World especially in regards to the fun sidekick character adopted by the main character Maisie who is very lovable and cute as compared to the one Ethan (the main character’s son in Strange World) befriends. The movie also has a fitting soundtrack for its ocean bound story though it is not the most unique score and does not have the same level of creativity as does the animation which was amazing. Karl Urban does a great job voicing Jacob Holland who transforms from a menacing hunter into a protector of the sea beasts. Zaris-Angel Hator is similarily excellent here as the main character Maisie and does a great job even when her character is confronted by boding sea hunters wherein she challenges their ways of life. This is a very fun movie with lots of great action sequences and slick animation that culminate to form one great movie which I gave an 8/10.

Here is a comparison of the scenes I mentioned above which appear strikingly similar. The top image is from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest where Jack Sparrow fights the Kraken and the bottom one is from Sea Beast where Jacob Holland fights a similar monster. While I did enjoy Sea Beast these kinds of things seem to go beyond homage and feel as though they are stealing ideas from other movies.

2.) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish:

Puss in Boots tells the story of everyone’s favourite feline from Shrek and his journey from fearless swashbuckler to meek traveller in search of rebirth. Its always hard for me to watch a movie that has garnered so much praise and not feel the need to go against the grain and say I disagree with the crowd but I cannot do that here as this film deserves all the praise it is being given. When the film first started I was not enjoying it since the animation style felt too much like a ripoff of Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse and too unfaithful to the style of the Shrek films I know and love. Furthermore, the music was not winning me over especially in a musical sequence early in the film performed by Antonio Banderas. However, as the movie progressed the wonderful story, tight editing, and surprisingly enjoyable animation style won me over and I came to really enjoy this movie and I feel anyone who has not already seen it will feel the same way when they watch this movie. This new animation style for the Shrek universe was a great addition in that it helped to make the action sequences pop in a way they had not before through the utilization of a style more reminiscent of a comic book. This movie has everything that made the Shrek films great including their ability to blend fairy tales into a new creative whole filled with lovable characters. The ability to take these classic stories and turn them into something new was utilized best in my opinion with Goldilocks, voiced by the great Florence Pugh, and the three bears and the unexpected transformation they go through until they ultimately become one big happy family. The voice acting in this movie is top notch with Harvey Guillen and John Mulaney being the ones I thought stood out the most to me as Perrito and Jack Horner respectively. The character of Perrito, a dog who wishes to be a therapy animal, is wonderful here as a kind of stand in for a donkey esque character and has a great moment with Puss in Boots where he calms him down when he is having a panic attack which is handled surprisingly well for an animated movie. One thing I must note is that the looming presence of death hanging over Puss in Boots reminded me of the bear in Over the Hedge haunting the main raccoon character both in how it is animated with a surreal flair and how the character is plagued by these visions. Shrek is much remembered for its great use of music to the point that it has become an internet meme and I think Puss in Boots also utilized music well at times especially in one sequence where The Doors song The End is used. While this is a really good movie it truly becomes great at the end when the promise of Puss in Boots being reunited with his friends from the Shrek movies is hinted at both visually and through hearing the familiar score of those wonderful movies. I gave this film an 8/10 and recommend it to anyone especially those that enjoyed the Shrek franchise.

1.) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On:

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is an A24 production and is my favourite animated film that came out in 2022 with a story so unique it has hard to give a synopsis that does it justice since I think it is a film best experienced with as little prior knowledge as possible to give the viewer the ability to enjoy this film without any expectations so I recommend you watch the movie before reading the rest of this review. This movie tells the story of two shells who have become separated from the rest of their family and how they deal with this loss and try to adjust to their new circumstances. I enjoyed this movie the most since I thought it was so different, heartfelt, and perfectly crafted. The melding of animation and real life cinematography was unexpected and worked perfectly through the found footage style which is one of my favourite genres since I feel it helps to make the movie feel more natural as was the case here especially in one sequence where one of the shells unknowingly stands on the keyboard of a laptop while talking on the phone typing out numerous Z’s in the background. Jenny Slate is marvellous here voicing the main shell Marcel with both a naive confidence and honest vulnerability which was endearing to see on screen even if it comes from a tiny snail like creature. The movie deals with heavy subjects including the aging of Marcel’s only relative he lives with that being his grandmother Connie, who is perfectly voiced by Isabella Rossellini, and how she goes from trying to hide her age to encouraging Marcel to live his own life and not use her fragile state as an excuse not to. While dealing with these topics the film never fails to have a sort of chill and heartwarming vibe that is typical of many A24 films even when Connie eventually passes away wherein Marcel ends up giving her a beautiful funeral in the garden she loved. The ending of this film ensures that it does not leave the viewer depressed as Marcel is eventually reunited with his friends and family and they can again enjoy watching 60 Minutes together as a unit. The spider characters form a great background presence in this film and were fun to spot throughout though they reminded me of the mice in the film Babe used to transition between different chapters in the movie. I am surprised how many times I have made reference to the Babe films here today but to add one more I must mention that Jenny Slate’s great voice acting for the male Marcel character reminded me of Christine Cavanaugh’s (R.I.P) great performance as the main pig in the Babe films who similarly had a naive outlook on life and must overcome several challenging circumstances. I gave this film a 10/10 and it reminds me of why I love watching the Oscar nominees each year as it helps me to find movies I otherwise might have skipped or looked past and instead they end up becoming some of my most cherished movies to go and revisit.