A first date movie needs to do several things at once: be engaging enough to talk about, not so intense it kills the mood, and ideally leave you both with something to say when the credits roll.
The 80s and 90s remain a goldmine. Films that were commercially dismissed on release and now considered essential. use the freedom of their medium to tell stories with a rawness and beauty that's uniquely their own.
Animation isn't a genre — it's a medium. And in the right hands, it reaches emotional places live-action simply cannot.
Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his home equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway along for the ride.
In the distant future a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather.
The animated films that last are the ones that never condescend. They trust their audience — child or adult — to handle complexity, loss, and wonder in equal measure.
Two strangers find themselves linked in a bizarre way. When a connection forms, will distance be the only thing to keep them apart?
A cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's room.
When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard.
A family of undercover superheroes, while trying to live the quiet suburban life, are forced into action to save the world.
A devastating story of a young boy and his little sister struggling to survive in Japan during World War II.
A twist only works if the film has earned it. These films plant their revelations early, play fair, and still manage to blindside you.
A great animated film reminds you that the most universal emotions don't need to be rendered in flesh and blood to feel completely real.