2021 proved to be one of the best years for animation in recent memory, and we run down the very best of the best, from Disney to Netflix.
Photo: Pixar 2021 was, as far as years go, not the best. But it was an exemplary year for animation, an artform that broadened the kind of stories it told and embraced new aesthetic tools to tell those stories.2021 brought us jaw-dropping works in traditional animation, computer animation, and stop-motion animation, and within those formats embraced different styles and contours. The result was a whole bunch of movies, TV shows and shorts that were endlessly surprising and just as inspiring. Here is our list of the very best animation from 2021, works that proved that limitless creativity and powerful new technology can create works of art that we could only have dreamed about a short time ago. Imagine what 2022 will bring. Photo: Disney «Amphibia» For the third season of the Disney Channel series “Amphibia,» the show about a human girl who is transported to a mythical world populated by andromorphic frogs was flipped inside out. After the events of the Season 2 finale, Anne (Brenda Song) was joined by the amphibious Plantars (Justin Felbinger, Amanda Leighton, Bill Farmer) in modern day Los Angeles. As imagined, there are just as many – if not more – hijinks, like an early favorite that involved the frogs going to (and falling in love with) the local mall. Creator Matt Braly’s series is warmhearted and constantly inventive, with a surprisingly vast mythology that only deepens with each passing season. If you haven’t watched “Amphibia” yet, it’s never too late to start – all the episodes to date are currently available on Disney+. Photo: GKids «Belle» Filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda’s latest wonder is a fantastical retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set largely in a virtual world known as U. Suzu is a young girl whose mother died tragically when she was younger and who now retreats into a vast, computer-generated landscape, where she blossoms as a singer named Bell. Of course, soon she encounters a creature known as the Dragon (who is very much “the beast” in this scenario) and her worlds (both virtual and IRL) are upended. Mamoru recruited veteran Disney animators Jim Kim and Michael Camacho to design the characters and hired Irish studio Cartoon Saloon (most recently of “Wolfwalkers” fame) to do background work for the U. But as visually imaginative as “Belle” can get (and it can get pretty wild), the most striking thing about the film is its empathy. This is a movie set in a place where you can be whoever you want, but the story is really about loving who you really are. Photo: Netflix «Centaurworld» Megan Nicole Dong’s Netflix animated series pivots around an ingenious premise: a warhorse (voiced by Kimiko Glenn) is transported from a dangerous, war-ravaged battlefield (with shades of Disney’s animated “Mulan”) to a trippy, sunshine-y world, populated by centaur characters that range from the adorable to the absolutely deranged. The stylistic clash, between gritty action and “My Little Pony”-style comedy, is just one of the joys of “Centaurworld,” which fearlessly balances these tonal shifts in sometimes startling ways. Oh, and before we forget, it’s also a full-blown musical with songs by Toby Chu, who did the music for Pixar’s short film “Bao.” The first season premiered earlier this year with a second season debuting in December. Photo: Netflix «City of Ghosts» One of the most imaginative animated series to debut this year, Netflix’s “City of Ghosts” follows the Ghost Club, a group of little kids who visit various neighborhoods in Los Angeles and communicate with the ghosts of people who lived once there. It’s both a love letter to the city and a gently surreal kids show where ghosts aren’t scary or threatening but merely lost (and occasionally annoying). The animation, produced by TeamTO, is unlike anything you’ve ever seen (or more importantly felt) before, oscillating between faux documentary, daytime kids programming and serious history show with ease. Credit to creator Elizabeth Ito for crafting one of the most special new shows of 2021, animated or otherwise. Photo: Disney•Pixar «Dug Days» This series of animated shorts serve as a pseudo-sequel to Pete Docter’s 2009 Pixar film “Up,” which at the time was only the second animated feature ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. And while it could have been a crass cash-grab, more grist for Disney+’s content mill, «Dug Days» turned out to be something altogether more moving and unique. Written and directed by “Up” co-director (and one of Pixar’s secret weapons) Bob Peterson, the stories of talking dog Dug and his elderly companion Carl (Ed Anser, reprising his “Up” character for one of his final performances) were consistently hilarious and deeply moving. The final episode in particular is deeply resonant, especially considering that Asner passed a few days before the episodes debuted. If you were skeptical or skipped “Dug Days” for some reason, consider this your suggestion to correct that. Photo: Disney «Encanto» Disney’s 60th animated feature is also one of its very best – the tale of a family in Colombia, each of whom is given a magical gift. Well, everyone except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who begins to have unsettling visions of her family and the gifts being lost forever. This creates an even greater rift between her and her family, but instead of giving up, she vows to solve the mystery and keep the family whole. «Encanto» directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard create a warm, lush environment and make each family member distinct and identifiable, and the musical numbers, featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, are wild and imaginative. (Good luck getting “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” out of your head.) Now streaming on Disney+ for all subscribers, “Encanto” feels like a new animated Disney classic. Photo: Disney «Far from the Tree» In addition to two new Disney animated features, there were also a pair of exemplary theatrical animated shorts from the studio this year – “Us Again” and “Far from the Tree.” The latter investigates intergenerational trauma via the story of an adult raccoon and a baby raccoon, who venture out of the forest and onto the waterline for food. Beautifully stylized in a kind of 2D/3D hybrid aesthetic, it is deeply affecting and heralds the emergence of a bold new voice at Disney animation in Natalie Nourigat, whose short “Exchange Student” was a highlight of the initial Short Circuit program at the studio.
