12 Almost Forgotten Animations

Before Disney and Pixar took over the world, we lived in a simpler time. A time when fantasy worlds and wonderous adventures were brought to life through the power of animation and puppetry. Green screens and CGI were bold moves that often failed laughably and computers were big enough to climb inside. Yes, I’m THAT old.

Animated films were carefully crafted over many years by hundreds of artists. They were often dark and sometimes dealt with adult content, but of course, our parents saw pretty cartoons and thought ‘Hey, Watership Down seems like a great film for the kids!’

And thus a whole generation of children was deeply scarred for life (I know you still cry whenever you hear ‘Bright Eyes’, stop lyin’!)

That’s not to say these films were terrible, they often carried strong messages, retold historic events and/or reflected the socio-economic culture of its time. They were gritty and oftentimes difficult to watch, but their strong visuals and spellbinding plots stayed with us well into adulthood.

As an artist, I constantly find myself drawn back to these classic masterpieces (all the puns intended). Here are a few of my favourite lesser-known animated films from years gone by, I challenge you to watch them all!

(Be aware: many of these entries are not at all suited for younger viewers)

Animal Farm (1954)

This cartoon adaption of George Orwell’s book was the first feature-length animation to be released in Britain and was rebooted in CGI in 1999. Even though it was a bit of a financial flop, it became one of the most widely used teaching tools and is still used in classrooms in the UK and USA.

The story is about a group of animals who take over the farm from the humans with the intent of living in happiness and equality. But some animals feel they are more entitled than others and the farm quickly descends into worse chaos than ever before under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon.

The original novella fable reflects the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution, but the film does differ significantly from the book. The reason for this is that the CIA secretly funded the film, which was brought to life by London animators 'Halas and Batchelor'. Even though they were unaware of the CIA's involvement, their anonymous investors had control over the final piece; so the ending of this film differs greatly from the book it was born from and is classified as a propaganda film.

The Fantastic Planet (1973)

Years ago, when I began my quest to discover niche animated films, my best friend told me about this particular gem and described it as being 'so unsettling and disturbing' that she had to 'smoke copious amounts of weed' to try and get through it...and still only managed to get 20 minutes into it! So of course it shot straight to the top of my 'must watch' list.

And my Gods! What a film! This animated adult Sci-Fi was a collaboration between animation studios in Czechoslavakia and France and won an award and the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. It is considered an allegory about racism, human rights, and animal rights.

The story takes place in the distant future, where the human race exists on a weird planet dominated by giant blue humanoid aliens called the Draag. The Draag treat humans as nothing more than animals or insects, keeping them as pets or exterminating them as pests. The film follows the story of an orphaned human boy who discovers the knowledge of the Draag and ensures the future of the human race.

Wizards (1977)

Wizards is an epic, post-apocalyptic science fantasy created by Ralph Bakshi and starring Mark Hamill. This cartoon cult classic follows the tale of two opposing wizards who represent the forces of magic and the forces of industrial technology in an archetypal battle between good and evil.

When the world as we know it ends in a violent Nuclear War, a new Earth is formed - inhabited by Fairies, elves, dwarves, mutants, and a handful of human survivors. This new world is an idillyc land that exists in a peaceful utopia for three millenia.

But when the fairy Queen gives birth to twin Wizards, the future of the land of Montagar is at stake. The evil wizard Blackwolf discovers old footage of Nazi propaganda and soon the good wizard Avatar must prevent a second Holocaust.

Watership Down (1978)

If you’re an older, British millennial like myself, you’ve almost certainly already been scarred by this animated epic based on the Richard Adams novel of the same name, that was recently rebooted in CGI on Netflix.

Watership Down is set in Hampshire, England, and follows the adventures of a small group of anthropomorphised rabbits. The wild rabbits possess their own culture, mythology, language, and proverbs, and the film delves deep into their rich, Lapine world.

When one of the young rabbits has a prophetic vision about the end of his warren, he persuades several of the other rabbits to join him on a quest to search for a new home. There are many obstacles, challenges, and hideously dark events in their path; though the film still managed to get a 'U' rating.

The Plague Dogs (1982)

I put off watching this film for many years because the first five minutes just broke me. I won’t lie, it doesn’t get any easier and you will be crying by the end of this movie.

I think this film hit me particularly hard as it is set in the area in which I live, the Lake District. So not only did all the characters have my accent, but I’ve actually been to all of the places in that film. In fact, I still get teary-eyed whenever I take a train past Ravenglass because I remember the ending of this film.

Plague Dogs is one hell of a tale, bittersweet and emotionally draining. I’ve only ever managed to watch it once and it played with my thoughts for days afterward. It follows the harrowing story of two abused dogs who have escaped a brutal life at an animal testing centre and find themselves struggling to survive in the wild, a task that becomes even harder once the government begins to hunt them down.

Heavy Metal (1981)

Another cult classic that has been hailed, parodied, and praised since its release in the 80's...and yet there's still a huge chunk of people who haven't seen this crazy anthology of animated tales of sex, violence, and heavy metal!

One of the producers of this adult sci-fi was Leonard Mogul, who also the publisher of the Heavy Metal magazine. The film takes a lot of inspiration from the mag, being heavy in nudity, violence, and original stories; and of course, an awesome soundtrack. It received mixed reviews at the time of its release, but it slowly gained a treasured place in pop culture and even got a sequel in 2000.

There are five stories that differ wildly but share a common character: the Loch'nar, a green orb of pure evil that spreads chaos, death, and destruction wherever it goes.

Fire and Ice (1983)

Fire and Ice is another epic fantasy adventure animation from Ralph Bakshi after the success of his first fantasy, Wizards. Fire and Ice is a fast-paced hero adventure with a fantastic soundtrack. Bakshi collaborated with Frank Frazetta to create this film using the rotoscoping process, where everything is filmed in live-action so that the animators could draw over this to create a hyper-realistic effect.

The plot of Fire and Ice starts with the evil Ice Queen and her son destroying parts of the world with giant glaciers and kidnapping the Princess of the Volcano citadel of Firekeep in an attempt to get the King to surrender.

The wily Princess Teegra escapes her captors and comes across a young warrior called Larn whose village was destroyed by the glaciers. The pair are soon separated when they are attacked by a giant squid and Larn set about on an epic quest to rescue the Fire Princess from a forced marriage to the Ice Queen's son.

Rock and Rule (1983)

The 80's were a glorious time for experimental films and clearly animated musicals were popular. Rock and Rule is another amazing addition to this genre, with a soundtrack featuring songs from music legends like Lou Reed, Cheap Trick, Debbie Harry, and Iggy Pop.

This post-apocalyptic fantasy follows a rock star in his quest for power in a futuristic United States populated by mutants and humanoid animals. Mok is a legendary musician who is searching for a special voice with the power to unleash a demonic force from another dimension. He believes the demon can give him immortality and wreak vengeance on the fans who once adored him. The only people with the balls to stop him are a young rock quartet, the only problem is their frontwoman has the voice that Mok seeks.

When the Wind Blows (1986)

What's that? Your soul wasn't destroyed after Plague Dogs? Well here's another heart-wrenching tearjerker for you in the form of a British animated disaster film. When The Wind Blows is based on a graphic novel of the same name by Raymond Briggs and features music by David Bowie. It blends a classic hand-drawn animation style with stop-motion techniques to create a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere.

The story follows Hilda and Jim Bloggs, an adorable elderly couple living in the rural English countryside who learn of an impending nuclear attack and go into the disastrous event woefully underprepared. The married couple doesn't quite understand the dire circumstances of their situation and they react in an archaic manner, which basically means they just continue about their idyllic life as usual.

The film gets steadily darker as the effect of radiation sickness sets in and begins to take its toll on the pair. It gets very graphic when depicting the effects of the radiation and after just a few days the couple are almost entirely bedridden, yet they still hope for rescue right up until the bitter end.

Gandahar (1988)

This French fantasy adventure by René Laloux is set on the Utopian planet of Gandahar, a beautiful paradise that doesn't know of war and poverty. When a race of robots known as the Men of Metal invade and attack the peaceful aliens, a young alien Prince must save the planet. He must discover who the Men of Metal are, what they want, and how he can save his people in this treacherous new era.

Cat Soup (2001)

Cat Soup is a short, experimental anime by Tatsuo Satō that's filled with bizarre images and surreal symbology. Its visual style is heavily inspired by the work of manga artist, Nekojiru.

In this short film, we follow the story of two anthropomorphic cat siblings in the afterlife. There is hardly any real speech in the movie, but its symbolism speaks volumes.

Nyatta is a young kitten who drowns in the bathtub whilst his sister is sick and his parents are preoccupied. Whilst in an out-of-body state, he sees his sister's soul leaving the house with a death God and begins to fight the Spirit for his sister's soul, which rips in half. Nyatta must then travel to the afterlife and back again to seek a flower that will restore his sister's fractured being.

City of Rott (2006)

City of Rott is a film that I feel deserves a special mention just because of its cool art style and original story, and the fact that it was all created by one guy: Frank Sudol.

This film is a 2D zombie horror with black comedy elements and a style similar to that used in the long-running show 'South Park'. It's set in a world where the Earth's water supply has been infected with a parasitic worm that infects the brain and turns people into zombies. The Rot Worm eggs are deposited in the rain, so nowhere is safe from them, but there are special water treatments that have been looted and sought after by survivors.

The plot follows Fred, an old man who is seemingly losing the plot as he spends most of the film talking to his walking aid. He searches the zombie-ridden city trying to find a comfy new pair of loafers, armed only with his trusty walker and the voice inside his head.