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Ten Significant Animated Films NOT by Disney/Pixar July 9, 2010 From the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 until Walt's death in 1966, the Disney Studio dominated feature animation in America. During the '60s and '70s, other studios offered other visions, but Disney reasserted its dominance from the mid-'80s through the mid-'90s with a string of critical and box office hits, from Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid to The Lion King. As the Disney renaissance began to fade, Pixar rose to prominence and became the studio whose name is synonymous with the finest American animated features. Other studios have challenged Pixar with varying degrees of success--DreamWorks, Blue Sky, Sony--and, with the growth of interest in Japanese animation, Ghibli. With the release of Universal's Despicable Me this week, here, in alphabetical order, are 10 of the most interesting and/or significant animated features NOT made by Disney, Pixar (or a Japanese studio),  It's still difficult to find some important films: Jiri Trnka's balletic retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream was only issued on Japanese laser disc, and Marcell Jankovics' brilliant adaptation of a Scythian legend, The Son of the White Mare is out of print in its European DVD release. The Adventures of Prince Achmed The oldest extant animated feature (1926) and for decades the only animated feature directed by a woman. Lotte Reiniger manipulated cut-outs made from cardboard and thin sheets of lead to create an Arabian Nights world of  delicate, filigree backgrounds and intricately jointed figures.   Allegro Non Troppo Although the live action interstitials have not aged gracefully, the animated sequences in Bruno Bozzetto's outrageous spoof of <I>Fantasia</I> retain their appeal. Highlights include an abandoned alley cat's memories of its lost home ("Valse Triste"), a nutty spoof of militarism ("Slavonic Dance #7") and a wonderfully skewed vision of evolution, with lines of lumpy beasts plodding in time to Ravel's "Bolero."   How to Train Your Dragon A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy and friendship, How to Train Your Dragon may well rank as DreamWorks' most satisfying film. The unlikely bond between Viking manqué Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and the baby dragon Toothless offers warm interaction and vertiginous flying sequences. Many DreamWorks films get laughs from sitcom one-liners and topical references, Dragon feels timeless, rather than timely.   The Iron Giant One of the best and best-loved animated films of recent decades, Brad Bird's directorial debut received rave reviews but did poorly at the box office due to bad marketing. The adventures of the very likable Hogarth and a 40-foot robot that falls from outer space remain as compelling and genuinely heartwarming as it did the day it was released. A classic, by any definition.   Kung Fu Panda Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman have an unexpected chemistry as Po, a chunky panda who dreams of becoming a martial arts champion/hero, and Shifu, his wily sensei. Many of the films best sequences are done in mime, revealing the growing skill of the DreamWorks artists. The opening 2D dream sequence is a visual stunner. The Secret of Kells Set in the 8th century, The Secret of Kells recounts how 12-year-old novice Brendan (voice by Evan McGuire) conquers his fears and the monstrous Crom Cruach to become an artist creating illuminated manuscripts--with a little help from silver-haired fairy Aisling and Pangur Ban the cat. Kells reminds viewers how warm, personal, and compelling traditional drawn animation can be.   Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride The technology of puppet animation has advanced considerably since The Nightmare Before Christmas, allowing the artists to get more subtle expressions and nuanced acting from their characters. When Victor, the timorous (voice by Johnny Depp) tries to force a smile, arches his eyebrows and regards the gril from beyond the grave through half-closed eyes, viewers are seeing something genuinely new. An oddly charming, underappreciated film. The Triplets of Belleville In contrast to recent films that feel like bland committee projects, The Triplets of Belleville reflects the quirky imagination of director Sylvain Chomet. When a Tour de France cyclist is kidnapped by the French Mafia, his club-footed Portuguese grandmother goes to his rescue, aided by the title characters, a trio of over-the-hill music hall stars. Delightfully off the wall, and told almost entirely without words.   Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit Four-time Oscar winner Nick Park proves that the usually crude medium of clay animation can be as expressive as the best drawn and CG animation. The addled inventor Wallace and his intelligence canine pal Gromit tackle an infestation of rabbits, a snobby fortune hunter and a supernatural monster in this uproarious send-up of horror movies. Yellow Submarine The Beatles songs and head-trip designs of George Dunning's Yellow Submarine reminded American audiences how exciting animation could be in the gray winter of 1968. The weakness of the storyline has become increasingly apparent over the years, but the film's flamboyant visual imagination has seldom been matched. --Charles Solomon is a critic and historian of animation, who reviews for Amazon.com and has published several books, including The Art of Toy Story 3.

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