Top 10 Animated Movies Even Grown Ups Will Enjoy!
Last week, the animated movie “The Smurfs” hit the theatres (and soon, Smurf Halloween costumes will be hitting the store shelves.) Kids everywhere went absolutely crazy for the shenanigans of the crazy blue Smurfs as they fell out of their mythical world right into the middle of New York City and had a hilarious as well as Smurfy adventure. Your excitement over “The Smurfs” may not have been quite as high as your kid’s was, however. Perhaps you’ve spent your summer seeing movies that you were less than thrilled with in an effort to keep your kids entertained. If you are looking for an animated film or two that your kids are going to love, that isn’t going to be torture for you at the same time, we’ve compiled a list just for you. Here’s our list of Top 10 animated movies–that grown ups will absolutely love, too.
Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 brings back the beloved cast members of Toy Story, produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures. In the latest sequel, Andy has grown up and doesn’t have much time to play with the toys as he used to. The toys are feeling sad about this, of course and even more so when Andy is packing up and going off to college. Through a series of mishaps, the toys end up getting packed and sent off to the Sunnyside Daycare Center. At first, the toys are excited about being played with again, but soon it becomes apparent that they are being held prisoner by the head toy, Lotsa Bear and are also being mistreated. Woody hatches a plan to help the toys escape and the toys set out on an adventure of their own as they try to make it back home.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown. His job, along with all the residents of Halloweentown, has been to scare humans on Halloween. Jack is very good at his job, but it’s gotten a bit passé and is starting to feel boring to him. One day while wandering about in the forest, he accidentally falls into a holiday doorway that lands him smack in the middle of Christmas. Jack is appalled and horrified by the happiness and joy that he sees all around him. Feeling as if he must put an immediate stop to this joyfulness, Jack goes back to Halloweentown to convince some of his co-horts to kidnap Santa and then do Christmas in true Halloweentown style.
Shrek
Shrek was a peace-loving ogre, living a contented existence in the swamp. One day his quiet life was suddenly disrupted by the arrival of a barrage of various fairy tale characters. Pinocchio, The Donkey, The Three Little Pigs and many others have suddenly invaded his swamp! Lord Farquaad dislikes all fairy tale creatures, and has banished all of them into the depths of the swampland. Shrek, desperate to regain his previous existence, seeks help from Lord Farquaad himself. Shrek finds himself sent to rescue Princess Fiona and has a life changing adventure of his very own.
The Incredibles
Two former super heroes are now married living a contented suburban life, hidden away from all the excitement of their former superhero lives by the witness protection program. Bob Parr (once known as Mr. Incredible) and his wife, Helen, (once known as Elasti-girl) have settled into a peaceful life of retirement from all acts of supreme heroism. Their 3 kids, Violet, Dash and Jack Jack all have secret inherited superpowers of their own. One day, Bob is offered a clandestine assignment, which would allow him to use his super power status again. The mission becomes irresistible to him even when his wife is reluctant to get back into the superhero business. Sadly, the secret assignment turns out to be nothing but a trap concocted by an old enemy. The only way out (and to save the world, of course) is for this family of superheroes to unite their unique powers as a family, and pull together to save the world from catastrophic destruction.
Up
Carl Fredrickson, a kind of shy guy, falls in love with a feisty, adventurous girl named Ellie. They are madly in love and share their passion of adventure. Carl and Ellie eventually marry, and although they never have children, they both share a dream together of going to the Lost Land in South America. Sadly, before the couple can realize this dream, Ellie dies of old age. Carl is so sad, and becomes very despondent as well as grumpy as he tries to forge ahead in life, alone. One day, as they are trying to force Carl to move to a retirement facility, Carl remembers the promise he made to Ellie and using balloons, elevates his house out of the neighborhood in search of the Lost Land. Carl discovers that Russell, a scout that has been hanging around trying to earn his “assisting the elderly” merit badge is stowed away as the house departs on it’s journey. A heartwarming and unforgettable adventure ensues as Carl tries to fulfill his promise to Ellie and keep Russell alive and well in the process.
The Little Mermaid
Ariel, the youngest daughter of King Triton, is a red-haired mermaid living under the sea. Ariel is bored with being a mermaid, however, and longs for a life as a human being, living on the land with legs. This becomes quite a sore subject for Ariel and her father, and they find themselves arguing over this quite a bit. Eventually, Ariel becomes desperate enough in her desire to become human that she visits Ursula, the evil Sea Witch who has been banished by King Triton. Ariel strikes a deal with Ursula but what she doesn’t realize is that Ursula has an evil plan of her own to harm Ariel in order to seek revenge upon King Triton for her banishment.
Beauty and The Beast
Belle is a pretty girl who loves books and reading. She has become very bored with her stale existence in a small French provincial town and the constant attention given to her by the town buffoon, Gaston. One day, Belle’s father, Maurice takes a wrong turn in the woods and finds himself being held captive by the Beast in his castle. Unbeknown to Maurice, the Beast is actually Prince Adam who long ago had been turned into a beast as a severe punishment by an Enchantress. This curse was put on him because he was unable to love another. In order for the spell on the Beast to be broken, the Beast would have to fall in love with someone and have that love returned to him before his 21st birthday. The Beast was so angry and bitter—who could ever fall in love with him as he was? And now, Maurice was being held prisoner by this beastly monster. Eventually, Belle goes looking for her father and when she finds him, is extremely worried about how her dad will survive such circumstances as the Beast’s unwilling captive. She strikes a deal with the Beast to trade places with her father, and become the Beasts captor herself. At first their mutual bitterness is apparent and Belle’s distaste for the Beast’s malevolent behavior is obvious. Over time, however, Belle begins to see a softer side of the Beast that perhaps went unnoticed at first and eventually something truly magical begins to happen between them.
The Lion King
When a young Lion prince (Simba) is born, the evil uncle Scar becomes the second in line to the throne. Seeking to get rid of King Mufasa and the young Simba, Scar comes up with an evil plot to kill King Mufasa, leaving poor Simba to blame himself for his father’s death. Simba leaves his village and is filled with agonizing shame. Eventually Simba learns the truth and is convinced to return to his village, to overcome the villainous Scar and reclaim his reign as The Lion King.
A Bug’s Life
Every year the Ants are forced to make an offering to the Grasshoppers. The Grasshoppers come to the Anthill to eat the offering and the Ants make sure it’s ready for them, as they know this is the plight of their existence to do so. One year as the Grasshopper’s make their way to the Anthill to partake of the goods, it is discovered that by mistake, Flik has dropped the seeds that were for the Grasshoppers feasting, right into the river! The Grasshoppers order the Ants to gather a new offering and Flik, feeling responsible takes charge of the situation. Instead of collecting a new offering, however, Flik decides to try and find some bugs that will help him to fight off the oppressive Grasshoppers. Just when he thinks he has found the ultimate bug warriors, Flik then discovers that his fearless bug warriors are actually Circus Bugs!
Monsters, Inc.
Sully, a big blue furry monster and his sidekick Mike are best friends and workers for a utility company in Monstropolis. The utility company manufactures power that is generated by of all things, the sound of children’s screams. In order to make the children scream, the monsters are hired to scare the children in their sleep at which time the screams are processed and turned into power.
One night by accident, Sully mistakenly allows a two-year old kid into Monstropolis. Instant mayhem ensues because the monsters have become programmed to believe that children are toxic to them and have deadly diseases. The monsters name the child “Boo” and eventually discover that in reality, she is quite harmless. Sully decides that Boo must be returned to her home.
Through a series of battles and a twist of events, the monsters eventually must fight to protect the kids that they used to want to try and scare.
There’s still plenty of time left this summer to see some really good movies. Spend some quality time with your kids seeing films that everyone is going to cherish as well as enjoy.
