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Top Ten Sony Animation Films

Sony Animation is usually responsible for those family animated films or so-called standard kid’s flicks. Though that is the case for most of their movies, some of them are admittedly quite different and more mature. Though far from the greatness of Disney or Pixar, this studio is usually harshly judged when in actuality a lot of their movies are so much fun, especially for the whole family. Here are my top ten picks with three honorable mentions.

10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

The characters here are positively quirky and amusing, the concept is very unique and the animation is admittedly colorful and so much fun. However, while the first half was so good, the second half was so bombastic and loud to the point of becoming obnoxious in some spots. But it’s infinitely better than its very mediocre sequel.

9. Hotel Transylvania

Everything I said for the above movie also applies here. The second half ruined it for me, but the first half is so good, and the film’s very memorable roster of characters and beautiful animation made it a very fun, underrated flick. It started off this franchise on a solid, but admittedly weakest note as the sequels would eventually trump it in terms of quality.

8. Hotel Transylvania 3

This is the middle chapter in terms of quality for this franchise with a very annoying third act, and an unfortunately low emphasis on the supporting characters. However, the newly introduced Ericka is great, the romantic comedy elements are uniformly excellent and the film as a whole is another breezy, fun installment for the series.

7. Hotel Transylvania 2

The second entry is the best one for me as it has more on its mind with a clichéd, but undeniably well executed message. The entire film has a very annoying soundtrack, and it is overly modern at times, but still it is a whole lot of fun with very solid humor and reliably strong animation.

6. The Pirates! Band of Misfits

This flick is one of the projects on which Aardman and Sony Animation collaborated on. While it isn’t one of the best such efforts owing to excessive action in it, the characters are quite solid and the animation is simply terrific, especially in character designs and imagery. It’s a flawed, but very sweet, wonderfully old-fashioned flick.

5. Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit again has overly contemporary soundtrack and so-so humor, but it is mostly a good mix between old-fashioned and modern. The humans took too much screen time from the rabbits, but all the characters are refreshingly in grey areas, the romance is sweet and both the live-action and animation look terrific and are almost seamlessly mixed. It’s so underrated.

4. Goosebumps

Yes, Sony Animation also got a few live-action outputs in its roster with this being the best one. Though again ruined in its action-heavy, messy second half with Jack Black not being all that great, everything before it was great with terrific monsters, fun action and superb VFX. It’s also intriguingly plotted and very easy to get lost in this charming world.

3. Surf’s Up

Surf’s Up is the opposite from many others on this list – it starts off in a very annoying, even downright mediocre manner, but it becomes so much greater later on, eventually leading to that amazing third act with such a bold, different than usual ending for this type of film. Its mockumentary format also gave it a lot of needed authenticity.

2. Arthur Christmas

While not just the action, but also an incredibly frenetic, downright ludicrous pace hurt this film a lot, there is no denying the charm in Arthur Christmas, and just how well it mixes the old and the new. I also really respected some of its interesting themes, stupendous animation and many heartwarming moments in it. It could have been amazing, though, but the pace ruined it.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I actually do not find Spider-Verse to be all that amazing as many others did. The supporting characters were simply a giant waste, and the film’s crowded way too much. Still though, the animation is absolutely astonishing in its mix of modern polish and old-fashioned comic-book touches. The characterization of the main characters is also terrific, and the action is frequently quite cool. It just might be the best Spider-Man movie so far, and also the winner for this list.

Honorable Mentions:

Smurfs: The Lost Village – While the story is clichéd, the characters here are improved, the adventure is spirited and the animation’s traditional. It’s a major improvement upon its two predecessor misfires.

The Angry Birds Movie 2 – Though aggressively feminist in approach, this sequel is an improvement upon the original with better animation, action and characterization.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween – Though much weaker than its much better predecessor, this is still a solid, very fun sequel that looks good and is overall solidly made.