With each passing year, animated feature cinema gets closer and closer to turning 90 years old. Despite being a relatively young medium, though, some of the greatest works of art in modern human history are animated films. While many of them are original ideas, others are based on or inspired by other great works of art: books.
Some of the best animated movies ever made are based on books, whether it’s a Disney movie based on aBrothers Grimmfolktale or a modern masterwork based on a more recent children’s book. Whichever kind of story they’re based on, these ten films show that animation is the perfect medium to allow filmmakers to let their imagination fly when adapting a pre-existing work for the big screen.
10’The Iron Giant' (1999)
Based on: ‘The Iron Man’ (1968) by Ted Hughes
One of the highest-rated animated films on IMDb and Letterboxd,The Iron Giantis easily one of the best non-Disney and non-DreamWorks animated movies of modern times. This beloved sci-fi movie is based onThe Iron Man: A Children’s Story in Five Nights,a modern British fairytale and Cold War fable that’s not quite as good as the movie, but still packs enough sci-fi wonder to charm the little ones.
Brad Birdtook this good-but-not-great book and turned it into one ofthe best animated adventure movies of all time. Greatly expanding on the themes of grief and Cold War-related analogies of the source material, Bird placed beautiful animation and some deeply endearing characters as the cherry on top. Few animated movie endings are as emotional asThe Iron Giant’s, and it’s only because the rest of it is so compelling that it has so much emotional punch.
The Iron Giant
9’Howl’s Moving Castle' (2004)
Based on: ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (1986) by Diana Wynne Jones
Master of anime filmmaking and the poster boy of Studio Ghibli,Hayao Miyazakiis by far one of the best Japanese filmmakers of all time. As prolific in the 21st century as he was in the 20th, he has made some of his best movies over the past 25 years, includingHowl’s Moving Castle. It’s based on a fantasy novel by Welsh authorDiana Wynne Jones, which kicked off a successful trilogy.
Howl’sis one ofthe best anime movies of the 2000s,perfectly capturing the magic and romance of Jones’s novel, while also adding some thought-provoking anti-war commentary product of Miyazaki’s strong opposition to the United States' invasion of Iraq. It’s a gorgeously animated, epic in scope and tone, deeply endearing gem that should enamor kids and grown-ups alike.
Howl’s Moving Castle
8’Pinocchio' (1940)
Based on: ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ (1883) by Carlo Collodi
Disney was still an up-and-coming company by the time 1940 rolled around. Their second-ever feature was the acclaimedPinocchio, one of the fewmovies with a perfect score of 100%critic approval on Rotten Tomatoes. It was based on the international bestsellerThe Adventures of Pinocchioby Italian authorCarlo Collodi, originally published as a serial in a weekly children’s magazine.
By the timeWalt Disneytook on the story and turned it into a movie, it was already a massively acclaimed, canonical piece of children’s fiction, translated to hundreds upon hundreds of languages. It’s then no coincidence thatDisney’sPinocchio, too, is considered a seminal work in its genre. The songs are great, the animation is stunning even today, the story is a delight that goes from adventurous to funny to scary in rapid succession, and the narrative’s messages are timeless.
7’Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009)
Based on: ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ (1970) by Roald Dahl
The greatWes Andersonis, of course, best known for his live-action comedy movies, but he has also directed a couple of animated features. The first one wasFantastic Mr. Fox, a delightful adaptation of theRoald Dahlnovel of the same name. It’s a fun, surprisingly mature children’s book, which Anderson successfully turned into a fun, surprisingly mature children’s movie.
Mr. Foxhas incredible voice performances by the likes ofGeorge ClooneyandMeryl Streep, some unbelievably good stop-motion animation, and some of the most vibrant characters of any animated film of the 2000s. Almost a couple of decades later, it’s still considered a groundbreaking animated masterpiece and one ofthe best animated comedies ever, proving just how timeless it is.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
6’Shrek' (2001)
Based on: ‘Shrek!’ (1990) by William Steig
The winner of the first-ever Best Animated Feature Oscar,Shrekwas the movie that cemented DreamWorks Animation as one of the best animation studios in Hollywood. Its satirical and parodical take on the fairytale stories that a certain mouse-related animation studio had made popular greatly resonated with audiences. Today,all memes aside,Shrekis still remembered as one of the most influential animated films ever.
The film kicked off one of thehighest-grossing animated movie franchises ever, and many would argue that its sequel is even better, but the one where it all started has its own inimitable charm. Perhaps a lot of that charm comes from its adaptation of cartoonistWilliam Steig’sShrek!, an exquisitely funny comedy picture book with an important message for kids. The book is only 30 pages long, making it even more admirable that it provided enough material for such a beloved movie franchise.
5’Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' (1937)
Based on: ‘Snow White’ (1812) by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
Contrary to popular belief, Disney Animation’s first featurewasn’t quite the first animated feature ever(that honor would fall upon the German adventure movieThe Adventures of Prince Achmed), but it’s generally accepted that it was the second — and it was most certainly the first cel-animated feature.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfstook a fairy tale byJacobandWilhelm Grimmand turned it into a groundbreaking animated movie that changed the film industry forever.
It’s very fair to callSnow Whitethe singlemost important animated movie in history;who knows whether the medium as we know it today would exist without it. Its musical numbers are magical, its animation is gorgeous considering that it was the very first of its kind, and its story and characters are a perfect translation of the magic of the Grimms' tale.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
4’Perfect Blue' (1997)
Based on: ‘Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis’ (1991) by Yoshikazu Takeuchi
Yet another one of the greatest anime features ever made,Perfect Blueis probably the best movie by legendary anime auteurSatoshi Kon. A cult classic, it has long been acclaimed for its terrifying surrealism andthe way it blends fantasy and reality. It was somewhat inspired by the light novelPerfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis, and though it improved on it greatly, the source material is still very much worth reading.
The movie is a flawless portrait of artistic obsession and star culture, blending thriller elements and even some bits of horror (without actually being a horror movie) in ways that are constantly surprising. The mystery at the core of the narrative never stops being engrossing, and it invites multiple rewatches; the protagonist is a complex, nuanced, fascinating protagonist; and the high quality of the enrapturing tone captured by Kon cannot be overstated.
Perfect Blue
3’The Wild Robot' (2024)
Based on: ‘The Wild Robot’ (2016) by Peter Brown
Based on the eponymous first installment ofPeter Brown’s beloved trilogy of sci-fi children’s books,The Wild Robotsurprised everyone last year by proving to benot justone of the greatest animated movies of the 2020s, not just of modern times, but perhaps of all time. Whether that’s an exaggeration or not, what’s undeniable is that the movie proved to be just as enchanting and profound as the book it was based on.
The animation is jaw-dropping, the story is a blast, the themes of motherhood and nature are meaningful and deeply moving, and Roz is simply one ofthe best movie heroes of 2024. It’s only once every few years that an animated film as acclaimed and beloved asThe Wild Robotcomes along, so it’s no shocker to see just how much it resonated with viewers the world over.
The Wild Robot
2’Beauty and the Beast' (1991)
Based on: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1740) by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
It’s probably no surprise that Disney was the studio that achieved the feat of the first animated movie nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.It’s probably also no surprise that the movie that received such an honor wasBeauty and the Beast, one of the studio’s most enchanting pictures. It’s based on an 18th-century fairytale by French novelistGabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, which has been adapted multiple times throughout history in all sorts of media.
One can make the argument that this is the best adaptation, though, which is no small achievement. It’s one ofthe best romantic fantasy movies ever made, flawlessly capturing the timelessness of the source material while still adding plenty of Disney’s signature spice. Belle and the Beast are a delightful pair of lead characters, the music is wonderful, the animation is a real treat, and the overarching narrative can never age a day.
Beauty and the Beast
1’How to Train Your Dragon' (2010)
Based on: ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ (2003) by Cressida Cowell
How to Train Your Dragonis what many would call the best DreamWorks Animation feature film ever, and no one would blame them. It is, after all, one of the most wonderful fantasy movies of the 21st century, and the beginning of one of the fewmovie trilogies that are perfect from beginning to end. It was based on the successful series of children’s books byCressida Cowell, changing several details but keeping the style and soul of the books very much intact.
How to Train Your Dragonis a masterpiece, there’s no getting around it.As entertaining for children as it is magical for adults, it’s a heartfelt love letter to forbidden friendship and one of the most imaginative films in its genre. The characters and their dynamics are great, the animation has aged phenomenally well, andJohn Powell’s score is a masterwork in and of itself. There are very few animated movies more irresistibly enrapturing than this one — certainly none that are based on a book.
