In its embrace of both fantasy and realism, this anime is very beautiful, with a story line that explicitly winks toward “Beauty and the Beast.”

This vertigo-inducing animated feature offers proof that 2D provides just as many stomach-turning, vicarious thrills (or fears) as 3-D animation.

Departing from a straightforward biopic, the filmmakers throw in a twist: Anne Frank’s life is told from the perspective of Kitty, Anne’s imaginary friend to whom she wrote diary entries from 1942–44.

An animated film that turns its imaginative eye toward the world of cryptids, hybrid creatures (unicorns, griffins) whose existence is endangered.

Studio Ghibli has been such a grand master of 2D animation that watching it make the jump into 3D almost seems blasphemous.

Expertly paced and among the most suspenseful films in recent memory.

Pixar films have always been existential in some form, but the surreal Soul takes it to its logical extreme.

The main reason to watch this is its stellar animation. Even if there were Disney films out as competition—be they 2-D or 3-D—this movie would still look refreshing by comparison.

The animation is like nothing you’ve probably seen before. It’s like artwork made by a child with blocks, if that child took a boatload of acid.