If you are looking for something different, this is one of the best Anime films to come out in years. Its hand-drawn animation is stunningly beautiful, the main characters don’t feel like caricatures and the story is both funny and moving. This movie really felt like a breath of fresh air, and I can’t recommend it enough. Try and track it down, it is well worth it!
The Princess and the Frog
This has been on hard rotation in our house recently, and is becoming a real favourite of mine. Not very successful at the time, it is fair to say that it has now been reassessed and is widely credited as the turning point in Disney’s renaissance. With a strong independent female lead, great music, amazing Louisiana accents, I urge you to go and watch it!
Team America: World Police
If you’ve ever seen an episode of South Park, you already know Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s brand of humour, and this movie doesn’t disappoint. With more (hilariously) nasty jokes, rude caricatures, catchy tunes and puppet sex than you can shake a weapon of mass destruction at, it will make your cheeks hurt from so much laughing.
Perfect Blue
Careful, this is most definitely not a movie for kids, in spite of the very cartoonish look. The medium however enables Satoshi Kon to take this highly effective thriller into places he couldn’t have gone to otherwise. Taut, intense, surreal in parts, it somehow reminds me of Blue Velvet. I also remember watching a few very interesting Japanese animated movies that summer, maybe one day I should also talk about Jin Roh…