The opening sequence you mention in Up which chronicles pretty much Carl's entire life up to that point I feel is just masterful filmmaking; the geniuses at Pixar run you from those first great moments of love to such sadness in mere minutes, like I have seen in few other films.
I feel like Pixar has already solved the question of whether computers can be used for emotional purposes: all of their films are completely computer generated, but, and especially in the case of Toy Story, Wall-E, and Up, they are usually more human and beautiful than movies with actual humans. Pixar has many laudable qualites (flawless comedic timing), but how I am moved more watching their pixels than I am most live-action films is miraculous.

Aw, I'm a bit sad that Mary and Max and The Secret of Kells didn't make the top 10!

Though it ought not to be my focus, I hope "The Princess and the Frog" turns a profit. I think it was a bold step for Disney to go back to its old 2D ways. They returned in fine form, and I hope the audience reflects that they would like this trend to continue. These days, we never see real Disney films anymore, not even from Disney. :P

Also, being a Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman fan, I loved "Coraline", and I loved that Selick wrote, produced, directed, and even did the production design for the film. He seems like one of the few animation auteurs. It's gained the most Annie Award nominations, a healthy number of Golden Globe noms, and it will be interesting to see what it does come Oscar time. What an underdog story!

I also loved Ponyo. It only showed on one screen for one day in my town, and by God did I go see it. It brought such deep smiles to my face. I really must see Sita Sings the Blues and Fantastic Mr. Fox, as well, I regret that I never caught the latter during its theatrical run (no one wanted to see it with me because they thought it looked "crude", the philistines). I also ought to see Secret of Kells, I've heard such interesting things about it.

Sita is the only one I saw and it was an exhilarating blend of the oriental and American, with a human dimension born out of personal experience. I look forward to Christmas Carol and Bashir. But I have to review "plundering". But for that I could not have gone beyond Lean and Spielberg.

I'm surprised there were no honorable mentions for neither "Mary and Max", "Monsters Vs. Aliens" or "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs". This is still a great list though, however I'm not familiar with "Sita Sings the Blues" nor "Waltz With Bashir". I think I may need to check those out now. I look forward to next year's top 10 list of animated films! ;)

And thanks mostly to wide popularity of animation features, I watched all of them in theaters except "The Princess and the Frog", which will be released in South Korean theaters in next month.

"A Christmas Carol"
3D version is ideal, but you can also enjoy 2D version with big screen. I watched it with few audience during cold late autumn night and we had quite a good time. My neck muscle voluntarily moved during those hyperkinetic sequences. I have never thought The Ghost of Christmas Present could be quite creepy like that. I have watched "Mickey's Christmas Carol" when I was young and he seemed to look nice to me.

"Coraline"
Nice use of 3D effect and cheerfully and ominously dark tale for, uh, children. As far as I remember, children in the theater were not scared at all. Like you said, our kids are tougher than we think. They dryly observed that the movie was just scary.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
I had to endure 2 hr bus trip to other city to watch this movie yesterday, but about 80 minutes of this movie is worth this idiotic behavior. Oh, how fantastic fur they have! And my diabolical side was amused by Dahl's story. Also this time, I sat besides children. They laughed with me many times and they walked out the theater with much satisfaction. Years later, I am sure they will realize something dark behind the story.

Sita Sings the Blues
Among 9 animation feature, this is only one I watched in my room. I think I can say I got this one from Internet because Nina Paley won't mind. I put this marvelous animation in my lab's shared computer, but, sadly, no one has watched it yet. Maybe I have to push them harder.

9
Okay, this is a little disappointing in the end, but 9 has a good idea and good looks for compensating weakness in plot. Surely does the movie deserve to be called "Stitch-punk" animation. I do not have much to say about actions in part three, but kids will love it just like they love junk food. They will yearn for something more nutritious later someday, I hope.

Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
I have no idea how Ice age returns(is it seasonal?), but the movie is crowd-pleaser. We will probably meet dear Scratch and other mammals again. And I hope the sequel will give us laugh as much as this while sticking to this bullet-proof formula.

Ponyo
I like this charming movie less than you do, but my admiration has kept growing day by day. And It has the most beautiful opening among those I have seen in 2008. I will stick to my original rating(*** out of four) for now, but does it matter? Too bad I missed the chance to watch it on big screen by one day. Vintage Miyazaki with fantastic Joe Hisaishi's score.

Up
Now only enemy of Pixar is Pixar itself, but it beats itself again and goes up and up and up. Some say that the opening sequence is the highpoint and the rest is going down, but observe how this unforgettable sequence influences whole story. We sense it and we know it and, like Carl, we get the message in the end without being told. And then our spirits go up freely for the next adventure.

Waltz with Bashir
When I watched it in last November, I instantly recognized this is something quite different. With distinctive style and black comedy, this reminded me of "Slaughterhouse Five" and "Catch 22". In the end, every puzzle fits together and the tapestry becomes complete. And then repressed memory is back. Quite a shock, and there is a reason for that. Blessed are the forgetful, but memories are always waiting for us to be revealed.

P.S.

Maybe it is a little late, but Merry Christmas, Mr. Ebert. Christmas is nearly over in here.

Nothing related to 2009, but will you ever consider putting Princess Mononoke among your "Great Films"?

A top 40 this year? I love it. Keep 'em coming.

I had to smile at how many reviewers cite 'Princess and the Frog' as being Disney's first film with a black princess. I can only presume that Disney included this factoid in the press kit precisely so that reviewers could mention it.

I'm old enough to remember something similar happening when 'Atlantis' was released. That film was the first Disney animated film to include a black character, something every review found it necessary to inform us. Old enough? Hell, it was less than a decade ago!

The reason it makes me smile is that I can't help but wonder if at some point it becomes too late to brag about something like that. Doesn't it just invite mockery by calling attention to the fact that you haven't done it before now? It's roughly analagous to some Southern state boasting that they've just taken segregation laws off the books. How progressive!

I would take issue with your classifying 'Waltz With Bashir' as an animated film. It isn't -- it's a live action film in which the live action footage has been heavily processed to mimic the look of an animated film. It's no more animated than 'Sin City' was.

I have to second the disappointment at the lack of Mary and Max, but to be honest, it really has been a great year for animated movies (except for Ice Age 3...)

"Now too many stories end in brain-numbing battles, often starring heroes the age of the younger audience members. Here is no food for growth and for the imagination, just brainless kinetic behavior." - Roger

Oh, the irony.

I just finished watching "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

Someone in another thread asked me what I'd thought of Knightly's character and specifically, in "At World's End". I'd never made past the opening 10 min. Until now that is.

Brain-numbing battles pretty much sums it up; bored to tears, I fast-forwarded through most of it.

"The year saw more animated films intended instead for adults." - Roger

And not a moment too soon! I swear, I was beginning to despair the penny would ever drop for the studios!

Animation is a genre - not an age.

Note: In February, 1914 at the Palace Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, cartoonist Winsor McCay (1869-1934) premiered "Gertie the Dinosaur", (containing 10,000 drawings with backgrounds), in an interactive cartoon where he (in person) seemed to step into his animated cartoon by walking behind the screen at the right time and showing up as part of the animation. Many consider this the first 'successful' animated cartoon (others being considered just novelty acts).

In November, 1914, "Gertie the Dinosaur" was released to theaters around the country, being the first animated film viewed by movie goers at the time. - DigitalDreamDoor.com

But then I'm guessing you knew that? :)

"UP" was my favorite animated film this year and next to The Hurt Locker, I think it's the best movie. And I agree with Miles Massicotte; the poignant opening sequence was masterful. I swear, a grapefruit swelled-up in my throat and I started sniffling - kleenex was required.

But then when we got the jungle, and I was laughing and I was rooting for them! And Dug. :)

Thing is, I didn't see "UP" in 3D and I loved it as much as those who did. Whereas I did see "Coraline" (I hate those glasses by the way, they pinch my head) and while I enjoyed it, what I remember most is the creeping 3D fog effect.

I have to think about the story in order to recollect it; then I see specific moments etc. Whereas I can hear "Alpha's malfunctioning dog collar" even as I type; smile.

True; "UP" was a better movie, that counts.

That said, I loved the darker undercurrent of Coraline. I loved that about Nightmare before Christmas, too.

(I've got toys from that movie!)

Thing is, I never thought animation was just for kids even when I was one. That said, I used to watch Warner Bro's Cartoons, not Mickey Mouse. Clearly, I've been corrupted. My sensibilities were shaped by Chuck Jones growing-up, not Walt Disney; although I loved The Aristocrats, 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty etc.

To date, Pixar is at the forefront of Animation. They're most in sync with the current zeitgeist; people are hungry for sharper writing. And more adult sensibilities.

I haven't seen the princess and the frog yet, but I'm looking forward to it; you praised Disney's step back to traditional animation and that alone, caught my interest!

And don't think I won't be watching every frame of it like a hawk. :)

I agree with Danielle: the wonderful "Mary and Max" belongs on this list. It is serious, sardonic, witty, adult - rare in animation.

See:

http://www.maryandmax.com/

Mr. Ebert you are the best critic ever
I always found the top movies of you fantastic accidently ..
the top five movies of 2009 to me..
1) Ponyo
2) Up
3) A Christmas Carol
4) The Priness and the frog
5) Fantastic Mr. Fox

and Ponyo must get an oscar nomination for both best animated feature and best original score because it was very beautiful..
Do you think (Ponyo) will get the oscar for best animated feature ??

Up is my favourite animated film of the year. It's an emotional rollercoaster, making you laugh and making you cry in the space of seconds and never seeming like it's moving too fast or getting too conscious of its own emotional power. Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai and Christopher Plummer do exceptional voicework, and I dare any audience member's heart not to soar with Carl's house as it glides over the soulless city.

In fact, Up would be my favourite animated film of the year without competition were it not for Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, which I'm sad you didn't have a place for on your list (though I understand you weren't particularly enamoured with it, Roger, something I may never understand). Perhaps it's because it is very similar in comic style to Clone High, a show that played a decent part in my initial education in film and television during high school, but I'd like to think it's mostly because it's a film that's just plain funny. It doesn't rely on pop culture references or treat running gags as a crutch (a fair few of the latter though it may have); it's just a script that knows how to hit the funnybone without trying too hard. On top of that, though, it is probably the most visually striking animated film I saw all year, the character designs and production design running some sort of crazy line between The Muppets, Roland Emmerich and David Lynch, and there is a strong, unforced heart underpinning the whole thing. I think Cloudy's genius, in short, and it deserves to be in every list of this kind.

Ponyo's great too, I might add. In a year I spent rebooting my journey down the road of Ghibli, it was the second Miyazaki I saw, and while I didn't fall in love with it like I did Spirited Away (I haven't done that with the other two Miyazakis I've seen since, either - Porco Rosso and Nausicaa), it is an enchanting film, and Ponyo and Sasuke make for great heroes. I just thought it was a little bit rushed at the end, is all.

Aaaaaand I just realised I misused the word 'eponymous' in that post. Ah well. It sounded right at the time.

No Mary and Max or Avatar :(

Roger, Have you seen "Mary and Max"?

Ebert: No, for some reason I didn't.

I couldn't agree more on the movies listed here that I've seen. This year I was able to see a Miyazaki film in the theater for the first time. Perhaps I can give the Disney corporation some measure of respect for helping to expose more people to "the Walt Disney of Japan".

Persepolis was also a great animated movie from this decade. I agree with your choice of Waltz with Bashir..the dramatic story-telling and the illustrations of David Polonsky were truly remarkable in that film.

I'm guessing you haven't seen Mary and Max yet, Roger?

"Mary and Max" and "The Secret of Kells" are released in the US next year. So they will probably make next year's list.

Ebert: You have gone a long way toward explaining why they aren't on my list. Did all of the comments here come from people who were at Sundance 2009?

Just another routine year for animation. We had the usual mainstreamers like Ice Age 3, A Christmas Carol and the Princess and the Frog. We had the standout: Up. We had the less noticed but brilliant work of Hayao Miyazaki. We had the occassional suprise i.e Fantast Mr Fox and Coraline.
Yea...pretty much another ordinary year for animated films.
Merry Christmas Roger!

"Classic animated features were models of three-act stories"

This reminded me of a thread I saw on the MySpace Filmmaker's Forum, before I realized there's little more good discourse there than on any other blog forum(present company excluded).

As I recall, the thread started with somebody voicing their opinion that any film which hopes to achieve greatness or immortality(whatever they call it these days) must fit into the three-act structure, and that any movie which violated the structure was, on general principle, garbage.

It seems that more and more screenwriting buffs are making a game out of taking the most difficult films and finding ways of wedging them into formulas. On the aforementioned forum, I offered a dissenting view on the subject and gave 2001 and Apocalypse Now as examples. One of the responses I got was a patient, page-long breaking-down of each of 2001's three acts, turning points, transitions, etc. This was followed by the clarification that Apocalypse Now is a classic example of the Hero's Journey structure. I am neither a stranger to the Hero's Journey, nor a stranger to the fact that Apocalypse Now "violates" it by ending on Point 3 of the structure's classical five-point sequence. Now, if Willard had returned to civilian life, couldn't adjust and killed himself at the end...

But now I'm starting to sound like one of the MySpace posters, Roger. Hopefully, as we adapt to new ways of filmmaking and self-distribution becomes the norm, we'll see more personal and experimental films like in the 60's in Europe, the 70's in America, and the early 90's at Miramax. True, those eras of freedom generated a lot of refuse, but it's worth it to see the gems.

Merry Christmas to you and Chas,
Russell

I agree that 9 had a very stunning visual style but there was just not enough substance in the story line. The characters did not develop at all during the movie and the 79 minute running time didn't help things either.

Outside of the magical four-minute sequence near the beginning of the film, I argue "Up" ranks among Pixar's worst efforts. Any criticism is tempered considering the studio's standards. I view "Cars" as its lone relative misstep.

But Pixar falling back to the field a bit paved the way for a slew of other animated pictures to receive their due. I had hoped, Roger, you would have revisited "Coraline" further while making this list. I thought it the most visually inventive and striking animated movies of the year, including "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "Ponyo."

This is somewhat on topic; why isn't there an animation short before the main feature for most movies? I know that they do it for Pixar, but wouldn't studios want to test new and upcoming animators skills? And if people like the new animators, maybe then those new animators could have a shot at a feature. I'm not saying that movies like the Hurt Locker should have a short, but have a short for movies like Avatar.

Can't wait to see "Ponyo." I only recently discovered Hayao Miyazaki, having previously been reluctant to check out anime. I watched "Spirited Away," and it was one of the greatest, most imaginative fantasy films I've ever seen, so I've been anxious to check out more.

"Sita Sings the Blues" also looks terrific, and I've been meaning to see "Waltz with Bashir" for a while now. The rest of the films on the list don't hold quite the same interest for me, but I'm sure I'll see them at some point, anyways.

By the way, it's Christmas morning. My dad is screaming at one of the dogs to stop eating the cat litter; the youngest cat is supposedly trying to "play" with the older ones, but in reality he's executing a campaign of terror; my mom is upstairs, still getting ready because she overslept, and thus we're already an hour late to where we're supposed to be going (as per Christmas custom). We'll get home sometime in the evening, and soon after order our traditional Chinese food dinner, of which I will only eat the fortune cookies. After that we'll open presents, my mom will fall asleep on the couch in the living room, my sister will go see "It's Complicated," even though I told her to see "Avatar," my dad will retire to his room to play with whatever new gadgets he got, and me and my brother will have to find something else to do (probably watch a movie). All in all, a pretty typical Christmas at my house.

Merry Christmas, Roger, to you and Chaz, and to everyone else on this blog! Hope everyone has a good holiday.

Would have loved to see The Secret of Kells get some much needed exposure here, but I suppose it's a 2010 release in the US? So maybe next year then! I predict Mary and Max to be a school example of the depressing fact that the Oscars jury seem to look more on the advertising campaigns than the actual films.

Why no Secret of Kells, Roger?

Just watched UP last night with my wife. We just had our 5th anniversary and the opening sequence that showed the years of marriage and happiness between Carl and Elie just made us so happy and sad at the same time.

When he opened her "adventure book" near the end of the film, we could only hold each other's hand and tear up.

I loved UP. It may have illustrated love over time better than any film I've seen.

We loved the kid, too.

Carl: Let's play "who can stay silent for the longest.

Russell: Hey! My mom loves that game!

:)

Speaking of animated films, by the way, have any of you seen any of the films of Satoshi Kon, another Japanese animator who is making interesting films?

I suggest Paprika, an amazing animated film that was released in 2006. Netflix has it and it's quite amazing.

You can read about him here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Kon

Brian

"The year's 10 best were all good films, but not in all cases deserving four or even three and a half stars. Still, tradition enforces a list of ten, and these were the ten:"

When I read this I couldn't help but think of a film critic by the name of Mike Mayo who often has 'top ten' lists that have anywhere from as few as 7 or 8 films and as many as 15. He often will refer to these lists as being his "insert the number top ten films of...".

Shane Acker was actually nominated for the Oscar for Best Short Animation in 2006 but lost out to The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation.

Great list, though. Sita Sings the Blues is my favorite animated film of the year, followed by Up and Ponyo. :)

I'm' a connesuier of the animated arts. I've seen most every animated feature this year and it has been a banner year. However, no film captured my imagination like "Sita Sings the Blues", combining cultures, fairy tales, folk tales, a modern tale of heartbreak and triumph and some of the best unsung jazz tunes that I've ever heard. This, for me, is not just the best film of the year but one of the best films of the decade.

Someone has to mention the fantastic japanese anime films unlikely to ever get a screening in north america.
My favorite animated film of the year is "Summer Wars." It's a big-hearted family epic combined with a Second Life-like virtual reality and the 80s film "Wargames."

I'm surprised there were no honorable mentions for neither "Mary and Max", "Monsters Vs. Aliens" or "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs". This is still a great list though, however I'm not familiar with "Sita Sings the Blues" nor "Waltz With Bashir". I think I may need to check those out now. I look forward to next year's top 10 list of animated films! ;)

I was actually rather disappointed with Ponyo. Having seen films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, I expected much more magic out of a Studio Ghibli film.

Instead I was treated to a bunch of showoff animated sequences.

Unlike this year's avatar which demonstrated a lot of beauty while also giving us characters we cared about, I felt that Ponyo's story was just a template to move the story alone. It was just so free on conflict.

Perhaps I'm spoiled on films with plots that provide twists and climactic moments, but I find it very hard to believe that any adult could really be interested in what was happening in that film.

Yet another four-star review for yet another enchanting Miyazaki effort. Great stuff. But given that three of animator's last four films have garnered "masterpiece" overtures from you, is there any tinge of regret or suspicion towards your "thumbs down" for Howl's Moving Castle? Such a generous study of old age and the degenerative effects of war-time compromises of the self and the society -- it just doesn't seem right to (even sorrowfully) brush it off as a failure.

The English dub track might leave much to be desired, but the original Japanese language track reveals the real heart and soul hiding behind the seemingly convoluted narrative. It's another keeper (as well as a favourite) and I've often wondered at the lukewarm response it received on its North American release. How can such a buoyant, if melancholy, magical movie be received with such tepid reservation?

i agree with Danielle.
Mary & Max is an amazing film, and i hope Roger you see it.
I've loved the animation of 2009.
Alot of great films on that list, but must admit, i was dissapointed with Ponyo.

I finally understand why you choose to do unranked top 10 llists. I'm sort of an amateur film critic (can't be proffessional at 15) and I do a ranked top 10 every year, but this year it's impossible. I know what my favorite movie of the year is. "Up in the Air" is solidly the best and nothing even comes close, but it's very tedious and difficult to rank the other 9. I can't decide between "Inglourious Basterds" and "Moon" and "The Informant!" It's a coin toss between "Up" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox."

So for 2009 I'm going to name the top 9 alphabetically and than just name "Up in the Air" as the best. You're right. It's pointless to rank.

Not too proud to say it but everytime I see less and less animated movies. For starters the prospect of sharing a theater with many a noisy kid isn't that appealing but they also dubbed just about each and everyone of them down here which very often diminishes their appeal.
I did like A CHHRISTMAS CAROL though I think it's very far from a 4 star movie and UP is obviously great. I wonder if we'll ever get a mediocre film from Pixar, even Disney wound up doing films like the ROBIN HOOD one with animals and that sort of thingI really hope I'm not jinxing them since I'm obviously looking forward to TOY STORY 3 like everybody else).

@Waltz with Bashir The perspective in the course of the film shifts from the third to first person, unreality to reality, and the footage that concludes the film gives you a real jolt.

Thanks for this super awesome list. I wanted to see Ponyo so badly, but no one would take me. They'd always say "isnt that that chinese movie?" Spirited Away made me cry with hapiness so, I'm looking foward to finally seeing Ponyo.

My favorite animated film was, hands down, Astro Boy. Surprised the heck out of me, but I loved it. It tugged on the heart-strings most effectively - moreso than Up, even - had beautiful animation, some stellar voices, especially Freddie Highmore as Astro, a solid story, an excellent soundtrack by John Ottoman, and its main character is an endearing and refreshing original in a cartoon world full of imitation Bart Simpsons. And in my opinion, the movie was more entertaining than Up, Ponyo, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, et al...it had no dull or "oh please" moments, it hit all the right emotional notes deftly and left you with a great happy feeling afterward. It's a neglected instant classic, much like "The Iron Giant" (which also had poor box office). It's a film I'd definitely see again, even minus the kids. An enthusiastic thumbs-up from me and my family.

Ooh! Ooh! Marie! Winsor McKay! I don't think he's yet been matched. There are some great samples of his work on YouTube.

Awhile ago Roger posted a URL for Pogo, and I went digging around. I found Grim Natwick, an animation hero just about nobody knows about. Us cartoon lovers need to know about Grim Natwick.

http://www.cartoonhalloffame.org/index.html

Grim died at 100. He consulted the people getting into CGI. So CGI owes something to Grim too.

I enjoyed "Sita Sings the Blues" so much I watched it again just 'cuz Roger mentioned it.
What Nina Paley's doing may be a direction lots of people need to go... and as usual, the cream rises to the top.

Concurred with "Fantastic Mr. Fox," too.

XOXOX

Wouldn't "Avatar" count as an animated film?

But why even create individual lists for documentaries and animated films? Surely, "Up" is at least as good as most of the movies in both of your "Ten Best" lists. By creating a separate list it's as if you're already putting animation down. "9" is an OK film, but it certainly wasn't one of the best of the year. Neither was "Ice Age 3".

My suggestion would be to make your top films of the year lists as long as you want them to be, and cram it up with everything from regular films to animated films to documentaries. That way, instead of getting filler entries like "9".

Still, it's always gratifying seeing you champion small films like "Sita Sings The Blues."

2009 was a great year for animation. It's great to see a resurgence in claymation, stop-motion and traditional cel/hand-drawn animation. "Mary and Max" is, irrespective of genre, one of the year's best films.

It will fill me with joy to see "Mary and Max" snag one of the 5 slots for best animated feature at the Oscars.

I have yet to see "Sita Sings the Blues" and will make this a priority.

On a side note, I revisted "Avatar" but this time in 3D. It is the first time I have seen a feature in 3D and was astonished by how clear and pristine the picture was compared to my 2D experience. I noticed above all else the film's wonderful use of colour.

Which other films are worthy 3D experiences?

This has been a great year for animation, I saw from the comments that you haven't seen Mary and Max. I'm sure if you saw it that it most certainly would be a contender for this list. This movie just isn't getting the talk that it deserves. On Rotten Tomatoes, it's sitting at a 92% right now. I really wish it was getting more talk though because I thought it was a much better movie than some of the other films that are in talks of being nominated for best animated film for the Oscars.

I think it's available on some on demand cable networks if you want to check it out.

Ebert: It hasn't opened yet.

@ Tom Dark wrote:

"Ooh! Ooh! Marie! Winsor McKay! I don't think he's yet been matched. There are some great samples of his work on YouTube..."

Yup! And thank God for You Tube; which reflects the society using it and clearly, there's more to humanity than just mindless crap. :)

"...I found Grim Natwick, an animation hero just about nobody knows about. Us cartoon lovers need to know about Grim Natwick."

Thick and thin. It's his line work, Tom. That's what breathes life into animation and gives it verve. And why cartoons feel different when a line's got some weight to it.

It helps to sell the stretch & squash; the backbone of animation and what gives movement weight and solidity. Like turning a corner fast in a car, you can feel the torque - right? The slight G force pulling at it. Bodies and objects work the same way, visually.

The trouble with CGI is that the closer you get to replicating reality, the more of you actually need to get right. Otherwise, your eye will notice everything you didn't. And why Avatar has issues (I caught stuff and I wasn't even watching it the way Roger did.)

But "UP" is flawless! Like when Russell is "smeared" against the glass window - laugh!

You can FEEL his face streeeeetching on it. :)

As for Mary and Max, what a beautiful website by the way...

http://www.maryandmax.com/

And I love how "Wallace and Grommit" go dark, it feels.

I very much liked the first part of Up, but not the rest.

Monsters vs. Aliens was a fun film, but in no way among the best of the year.

I didn't care for Ice Age 3. Sorry.

Coraline was the best of the year for me.

It should be available through this for those who want to watch it that have cable.

BRIGHT HOUSE: Movies on Demand > IFC In Theaters
CABLEVISION: Movies On Demand > Independent Films > Sundance Selects
COMCAST: Channel 1>Movies & Events > Same Day as Theaters > Sundance Selects
COX: Channel 1 > Movies On Demand > Sundance Selects
TIME WARNER: Movies On Demand> IFC In Theaters

"Here is no food for growth and for the imagination, just brainless kinetic behavior"

Mr. Ebert, I hold what you say in high regard, and often I think that it is of value, but when I see this statement, it throws all of my conceived notions of your intentions completely out the window. How can you possibly act so smug and demeaning to films that are generally intended for a younger audience, when you give Avatar, a glorified, pretentious cartoon that markets to all age, four stars? I'm not saying that animation is not what it's used to, but it is a trend that is universal. I would never give Avatar four stars, or Sherlock Holmes three.

Roger, thank you for the link to "Sita Sings the Blues!" Since reading your 4-star review, I've been very eager to view it.

For me, "Up" is my favorite movie of the year. Not only did it fill me with every emotion, but it also strengthened the love I have for my wife. My grandma passed away recently and I had the chance to see it with my grandpa. Our experience was nothing short of extraordinary. While I'm sure seeing the film made him miss her even moreso, I can see it also allowed him to cherish the 43 years having spent with my grandma on a whole different level. I hope to have such a blessing.

Merry Christmas Roger

P.S. Dug reminded me of my relationship with all the dogs I've had as pets, past and present. Life is not complete without a loving companion.

Thank you for your Great Film review of M. Hulot's Holiday.

Though this might seem improbable, it was the first film I saw in a theatre, when I was six years old, with just my Dad. I remember very little about it, but the feeling of "nostalgia for past happiness" built into the film as you say carries into my memory.

He also took me to see Run Run Shaw action films, Kagemusha, 2001, Star Wars, Herbie the Love Bug, Black Stallion and Conan the Barbarian, all before I was 12, but it's that first film, the gentle comedy of it, that sticks.

Perhaps I only remember the nighttime sequence with the fireworks, perhaps my mind has fabricated this as a visual treasure for my memory—I don't know since I haven't seen it in full since.

Such a film works for any audience, I would think.

Joyeux Noël, de Montréal

What about "A Town Called Panic"? It is brilliant and original!

Ebert:

WINNERS of the Last Annual Great Limerick Contest, their winning entries, and their prizes:

http://j.mp/7Rcq8n

now, after you chose not to pick one film as the "the best of the year" like you do from 1967-2007, and instead give us list after list, i'm waiting for "the ten best foreign films of 2009", mainstream and indie if possible.

"Harry Truman was dreaming. The buck never stops."...review of Bashir

There is responsibility assumed and responsibility imposed. Responsibility of a crime is imposed by a judge. Human nature is to search for scapegoats and alibi. Truman's statement, as one asserting his personal total sense of responsibility is to be admired, other things apart.
Responsibility is something a person assumes of his volition. It can't be percentage wise. It is subjective and total, or not there. Wallowing in guilt compounding the crime rather than a cleansing process.

Loved Mary and Max. Saw it on VOD. I think it has been released. Thanks for the list, Roger!! Merry Christmas. Hope you can check out Mary and Max. It'll shoot to the top of your list!

I have only seen 9, Up, and Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. I would like to see Ponyo.

I very much disliked 9 and found its visuals depressing, bland, dreary, and uninteresting. It was a shallow experience.

Up is good, but not the best. I liked its visuals, and found it sweet and moving at times. But I thought the story got boring and dull in some places. I wouldn't protest if it won an Oscar as it does deserve it. Its animation is truly great.

I would put Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs alongside The Empire Strikes Back, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Citizen Kane as one of the great visual treats of the cinema. Cloudy is an absolute joy to look at. I can't wait for its DVD to be released. It will be awesome to watch on my flat screen tv.

Reasons UP is not one of Pixar's best:
- Ed Asner's voice never fit the character
- the dogs & bird shenanigans were occasionally amusing, but ultimately a weak gimmick that didn't really fit the central themes
- it never really manages to top itself after the first 15 bravura minutes

I said in another post that I thought it felt like a dusted-off script from the Ducktales TV show. It's a slight film with a great beginning.

Pixar's best: Ratatouille. It's their boldest, smartest and best looking film.

I have heard of people avoiding "A Christmas Carol" due to it being a "Jim Carrey movie." I am not the greatest fan of Jim Carrey, but I think he did an Oscar worthy job in the film. "Coraline" was my favorite animated film this year until I saw "A Christmas Carol."

Ebert: Carrey is a gifted actor who, like many gifted actors, doesn't inevitably make geat movies.

Note: a wee word about Mary and Max...

The film was released on DVD in Australia on Oct 21st 2009. And consequently, why a perfect copy has been "floating on the internet" now for 2 months.

However, the DVD release date here in Canada is Jan 26, 2010. NO theatrical release; save for Montreal back in November.

Meaning you can buy it on Amazon.ca in one month. Region 1 disk.

And because I knew that, why I haven't grabbed it. I'll just rent it! :)

... and also "the ten best short films of 2009," "the ten best directors of 2009," "the ten best actors of 2009," and so on... just like oscar.

I hadn't noticed at the time, but yeah, it has been a good year for animated films. My young daughter got to see three of the films on this list-- Up, Ponyo, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox. I hope the coming few years are able to keep up the trend; if she is able to look back at her childhood as a time when animated movies were ~good~, that would be nice.

I was with her for Up and Mr. Fox, and loved both of them. I also saw Sita Sings the Blues, which I thought was great. I am thankful to the animators for making these movies, and I am thankful to Mr. Ebert for telling me about them.

Ebert: You have gone a long way toward explaining why they aren't on my list. Did all of the comments here come from people who were at Sundance 2009?

Well, my first thought upon reading the list was "Where's Kells?" because of facts like it being nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Annie Awards: http://www.annieawards.org/consideration.html#1

It was also at numerous festivals, plus a limited one week run at the AMC in Burbank Dec. 4-10, making it eligible for Oscars etc.

A movie not released this year but which has gone almost unmentioned is "Princess", the Scandinavian animation/live-action mix that's the closest thing to "Taxi Driver" as done by Ralph Bakshi. After a few minutes you realize it's animated as a way to make some deeply unpalatable material halfway watchable. Tartan Palisades has it on video in the U.S., which rather surprised me: I wondered if a movie this raw would ever get released here at all.

I'd like to add to the hordes of readers asking about your decade's best list? And to say that since you did your 90's list in 1999, it stands to reason the best of the current decade would come at the end of 2009...no? I just put together my favorite film of the decade followed by an alphabetical top 20 - basically, each year I pick my favorite film and one tie for first/first-runner-up and those are the honorable mentions that come in behind my very favorite ... which was SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (so far - unless I see something life-changing in the next week or so...)

I am curious about Adam Elliot's film Mary and Max. I think it was released this year but certainly without fanfare. I have not seen it but his 2003 Oscar winner Harvie Krumpet is as fine an animated effort as I have seen.

I checked and it does not seem to have been reviewed by you. I hope you do see it and have seen Harvie Krumpet.

Ebert: Inspired by many, many comments, I now have a screener of "Mary and Max," am viewing it, and loving it.

Judging by IMDb, it has NOT been released in the U.S. Who has better information?

Dear Mr. Ebert,

I am a South African filmmaker who single-handedly put together a stop-motion feature over a ten year period, entitled 'Tengers'.

I met Nina Paley last year when the film competed at the Durban film festival alongside 'Sita Sings the Blues'.

Due to your championing of her film, and my respect for your film writing in general, I would love to send you a DVD copy of 'Tengers' for comment.

I would appreciate it if you could supply me with a suitable postal address.

Kind regards,

Mike Rix

Hi Roger,

Harry Thomas (on December 25, 2009 5:31 AM), in your Avatar blog, wrote that he and his father "were both interested in the literary references, intended or surmised," present in James Cameron's film. I'm not at all adept in making connections to literary references, but at least in the domain of films, I thought certain movies this year carried messages that were as green as Avatar's. In the category of animated films, Ponyo and 9 would certainly fit the bill.

I agree with many critics that Ponyo is not the best of Miyazaki's works. I'm sorry to say this, but If you knew my stance on the 'loop-around' plot where the hero(ine) is almost guilt-free of the disaster that he/she caused, then that is my problem, albeit small, with Ponyo. I say 'small' because I realise that Miyazaki was making a metaphor in which man's abuse of his environment actually leads to his environment fighting back. In the case of Ponyo, it was the flood. (I understand, too, that Miyazaki may be making reference to a Chinese tale wherein a demoness got careless and caused a great flood that killed many people.)

Of course, as with Avatar, this issue of the 'loop-around' plot is a matter of personal opinion. For me, too many movies have fallen into this kind of plot device. Take for example Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Every story has an inherent lesson, but I find that Jane Austen's stories have more uplifting value, the value which you speak of at the beginning of this blog, because most all her principal characters (along with Mrs. Gaskell's Molly Gibson and Margaret Hale, as well as Dickens' Amy Dorrit) already know how to act in propriety from the very beginning. Their subsequent failings do not seem to detract from their virtues at all because they are not founded on feet of clay.

Anyhow, back to Ponyo, just look at the spur of Miyazaki's imagination! Almost all of his works have the underlying theme of young love. At the end of the film, when Ponyo kisses Sosuke, with her in mid-air!, I thought it sealed Miyazaki's conviction of young love, which in his other works were only just suggestive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Btw, today I saw the DVD of Waltz with Bashir at a local bookstore, selling for $598 our money. Was about to get it when my eye caught another DVD which I really could not resist: Frank Capra's Lost Horizon. Its power has stayed with me throughout the years. Both films have anti-war messages; but since I'm on a budget, it was a case of this one or the other. I can only say that that which was lost, I found again. I will be re-viewing the movie again, after many years, after I finish this entry.

As for Sherlock Holmes, which a friend and I saw today, there is definitely something afoot between the two principal characters. :) This led me to wonder, however, what the effect would have been like without the 'gay' overtones. It's clear that director Ritchie was going for the Snigger Factor. To be honest, I'm having difficulty making up my mind whether it was a cheap swipe or a masterstroke on his part.

Ebert: Whew. You sound from this as if you're very much back in playing shape.

Ebert wrote: "Inspired by many, many comments, I now have a screener of "Mary and Max," am viewing it, and loving it.

Judging by IMDb, it has NOT been released in the U.S. Who has better information?"

From Melodrama Pictures:

Mary and Max - USA release

Posted by Melanie on 18/08/2009

19 August 2009 - For immediate release:

Melodrama Pictures is delighted to announce that Mary and Max, the animated feature film from Adam Elliot, the Academy Award ® winning writer/director of Harvie Krumpet, is being released in the USA.

The attached Press Release from the new Sundance Selects on-demand platform of the highly prestigious Sundance Channel announces the release alongside Sundance favourites including Spike Lee’s “Passing Strange, the Movie”. Sundance Selects titles will be available on the on-demand platform of major US cable operators, including Comcast, Cox and Cablevision.

Mary and Max will be released on Sundance Selects on October 14. In addition the film will also have a Academy Award qualifying theatrical release in Los Angeles, making it eligible for this year’s Academy Awards.

For further details see attached release or contact

Melodrama Pictures
info@melodramapictures.com
-------

So, there you go!

They obviously decided to take a different approach to distribution.

Does this mean you can review it now..? As you've seen the screener.

I'm glad to hear you're loving Mary and Max! From what I've read online, it had a small run in L.A. for one weekend so that it would be eligible for the Oscars. Besides that, it's only been available for those who attended Sundance and VOD through some cable services.

I *have* seen "Mary and Max", and I have to say, I consider that this one tops them all for 2009--even the superb "Up". It is emotional, intensely poignant, and yet filled with tons of inventive comic bits throughout. It recalled to my mind the amazing "Grave of the Fireflies" and "Voices of a Distant Star" in its emotional power and intellectual level (though funnier than either). It's not really a film for kids. At least not very young ones.

For those who don't know what it is about, it's an Australian stop-motion film written and directed by Adam Elliot, has won a number of film awards, and is a deeply heartfelt tale of a pen pal friendship between a lonely little girl in Australia and an older man with Asperger's (a type of autism) in New York City. It is warm, it is sad, it is funny, it is very touching to watch. I consider it a masterpiece of film making.

I have a friend with Asperger's so I can attest to the accuracy of this film's depiction of that disorder. Handled with great sensitivity here.

In my humble opinion Roger needs to put up a review of this movie and promote it as heavily as he has movies such as "Sita Sings the Blues".

One place where the Japanese have American culture beat is the realization that any story can be told in animation, not just kids' stories. True, they produce an awful lot of lousy animated films, but so does the US, and we make fewer. I suspect the percentages of good and bad are about the same. However, in the US, there is this belief that "animated"="for kids," because apparently, parents don't bother looking at content before taking their kids to see movies. In some cases, they don't even bother considering if their kids are capable of sitting still through, say, Ponyo; the woman sitting behind us when we saw it clearly hadn't.

I'm glad about the love for Coraline; Gaiman tells stories better suited to animation than live action. It gives me hope that someone will realize that so does his one-time collaborator, Terry Pratchett, and do a decent animated version instead of the not-very-good animated series and the two good-but-not-great live action miniseries. Viva la animators!

p.s.
Much more info on Mary and Max can be found on the official website, www.maryandmax.com including cast and crew, behind the scenes tidbits, and release dates. It can be viewed in the us via cable on demand.

p.p.s.
No, I have no affiliation with any of the people who made that film. I'm just a fan. :)

I'd like to suggest the latest--last?--"Futurama" movie, "Into the Wild Green Yonder." Even this weaker offering makes for a clever satire of both the environmental movement and their greed-driven nemeses.

THE SECRET OF KELLS, while planned for general release in 2010, was quietly snuck into Burbank theatres for a week in early December to qualify for this year's Academy Awards. I would question the logic of this move since probably few of the voters for the animation category even knew about the playdate.

Roger: Whew. You sound from this as if you're very much back in playing shape.

Now, now, Roger, I hope you're not being snarky again. :) Though I have to say that unfortunately for me, in all aspects I'm out of shape most of the time. And you know what? I recently discovered that I am currently undergoing through midlife crisis. However did you manage to go through this, Roger (if ever you did go through such a phase in life)?

Ebert: Currently doing so.

All of these films are interesting, but problematic. Chief among them is "UP," but even that seems to have a lack of internal consistency in lieu of moving its plot forward. That whole thing where Carl is at first an old man who has to rely on a walker and a motorized chair to get around his house, and then without provocation he's suddenly a spry, energetic adventurer who can - hold up an entire house all by himself? What is this? And, so on - back and forth and back again. What I did like was the little bits of the real world that filtered into the film, every so often -the stubble on Carl's chin, and things like that. You don't often see that kind of thing in Pixar's highly-caricatured films, so that was interesting.

"9" has a great visual sense, but as everybody seems to have realized, is little more than a collection of these action sequences nonsensically strung together. If what you're going for is dynamic formalism and all of that kind of thing, then you don't need a complex narrative - as "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "The Road Warrior" will testify - but, there does need to be something there for everything else to orbit around. I mean, right?

"A Christmas Carol" has one central problem, and that is Zemackis' continued use of motion capture where the faces of his actors are concerned. Luckily, what he's going for is a more caricatured approach here, but what he wants is to capture the elasticity of Carrey's face, and what doesn't carry over all that well are the eyes. And, they never have. They all look like resurrected corpses, as I heard another armchair film critic put it a while back. They did in "The Polar Express" and in "Beowulf," and they do here, as well.

"Ice Age 3" is an "Ice Age" movie. Ray Romano. Let's move on.

"Ponyo," "Coraline," "Waltz With Bashir" and "The Princess and The Frog" are all great, though - although, that last one certainly isn't going to help Disney's reputation among college students, none.

Myself, I think 2011 looks like a great year for animation. You've got Pixar's "The Bear and The Bow," which sounds really interesting. "Guardians of Ga'hoole," from schlock-meister Zach Snyder which looks to be "300" but with owls, so it should be fun. And, "Happy Feet 2 In 3d," which will hopefully continue George Miller's tradition of taking his sequels into entirely unexpected directions and territories. And, considering the first film (which - hey hey, I wrote about for that 'best of the decade project' that I keep trying to shill on here, for anyone who might be interested, up at the site), this one should be a real doozy. Although, I have to wonder how it will progress, now - with the death of Brittany Murphy.

Roger, will you be writing a top 10 of the decade for the years 2000-2009? I see myself and several others would love to read it.

Satoshi Kon, will you marry me?! Brian F., I know you won't be offended since you're already taken. Seriously, though, I believe Kon to be one of the most gifted filmmakers on the planet, and the trajectory of his mind is unlimited because he uses animation. There is tremendous richness and depth in his plots, his techniques (both in animation and in storytelling), gorgeosity (yes, I made that up) of color and line---and, not the least, in the psychological depth of his characters but also canny analyses of our era. They're entertaining, yet stand firmly alongside the works of Jung and Roland Barthes. The bonus materials are priceless. Animation takes us where recreated sets and situations cannot, and he is quite aware of the possibilities in this terrain. I don't know of a filmmaker whose facility with facial expressions is more adept. WALTZ WITH BASHIR took us into deeply personal moral territory rooted in the past; Kon's MILLENIUM ACTRESS zaps us all over time and frees us from its constraints.

Chiming in on the Japan side of things: I saw two terrific new anime features there this year. One was the second movie in Hideaki Anno's 4-part...remake? re-imagining? stealth sequel? of "Neon Genesis Evangelion." It was a great ride for fans of the original TV series (or at least of the previous movie), though I doubt it would make any sense at all to anyone else.

The other, much more accessible film was Mamoru Hosoda's family feature "Summer Wars," which features a shy math genius, a pretty girl, a huge ensemble of her relatives, an AI gone wild, and summer vacation Japanese-style.

I think that as the years go by, we're going to be hearing Mamoru Hosoda's name a lot. He was originally supposed to direct "Howl's Moving Castle" for Studio Ghibli, but left after some kind of falling-out, and Hayao Miyazaki took over the film. Later (at another studio), Hosoda made a gentle coming-of-age/SF drama called "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time"...and I came out of the theater wishing for an alternate reality where I could run out and rent a Hosoda-directed version of "Howl's".

Both "Evangelion" and "Summer Wars" will surely come to the US, but it's doubtful either will get much in the way of theatrical distribution. I hope you at least get to see the latter.

Living in Australia I simply rented "Mary and Max", probably because of the involvement of Philip Seymour Hoffman. His voice-over work as Max is impressive, almost unrecognisable under the accent. Since "Capote" I've known him to be an actor to watch and he has delivered one fine performance after another.

Credit also goes to Barry Humphries (who plays Dame Edna and is well known in Australia) as the narrator, and Toni Collette as Mary.

Have you perchance heard about the French film A Town Called Panic? It's on the short list for Best Animated Film at the Oscars and has been creating quite a stir amongst those who have seen it. There are quite a few clips available on Youtube, all of which are intriguing, but none of which make it at all clear what the movie is actually about.

My personal top 3 animated films of the year.

1: Ponyo
2: Up
3: The Princess and the Frog

To me, these films were not only the best animated films of the year, but the best films of the year. Period.

Yes, I know there are plenty of people who would have a thing or two to say to me for that, but honestly, these three films represent everything you say about great animated films. They should not be for a particular age, they shouldn't be dumbed down, they should tell stories, and tell them in a way that live-action cannot.

To me, Ponyo is one of my favorite Miyazaki films, residing alongside My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Ponyo was a film that brought a smile to my face through the entire film, it had me wide-eyed (rarely blinking) at its visuals while at the same time I fell in love with the story and characters.

Admittedly, I'm not particularly fond of Avatar, not that I think it's bad but I think it was just okay. I felt Avatar had something of cardboard characterization (it couldn't be more obvious who the bad guys were, and I never felt that the fact that the hero was disabled was never given the attention it deserved). I also felt Avatar to be a bit too preachy for my taste, but I found Ponyo's environmental themes to be subtle, yet powerful. I didn't feel I was being preached to so much as I saw it as a moral message (as it should be). But the childlike whimsy of the whole thing was something truly special. The last time a movie made me feel like a kid again the same way Ponyo did was probably....Spirited Away. Which I think says something great about Miyazaki's unique take on filmmaking.

Up, I felt, was one of Pixar's greatest works. I rarely cry in a film, but Pixar sure knew how to get it out of me. And apparently they also knew how to make me crack up as well. Throw those wild contradictories into one great story and you have one of my favorite films of the decade.

And Princess and the Frog, well, to call this a return to form for Disney I would think is an understatement. I feel it was on par with the best films of the "Disney renaissance" era. It made the classic Disney formula feel new again, and it did it wonderfully.

Again, these were not only my favorite animated films of the year, but my favorite films of 2009. They are films that show animation is for all ages, not just kids (Monsters vs. Aliens)or young adults (like 9, which thought it was better than it was). They were also prime examples of filmmaking, each one with its own, unique reasons.

And if a film can both inspire and entertain in such a way while at the same time bringing warmth to my heart, I see no reason why these three animated films shouldn't be my favorite films this year.

And with all this talk of Ponyo I thought I would just ask: Any chances of another Miyazaki film becoming one of your great movies anytime soon?

I did not get to see "Ponyo" because in my town it was here one week, gone the next. The local movie critc gave it only one star.

Wow, I was blown away by the previews of Brendan and the Secret of Kells! This one definitely looks like a keeper. And listen to Aisling's Song, a lullaby and song of supplication: "Pangur Ban, you must go where I can not." Attention, cat lovers!

http://www.thesecretofkells.com/

The only DVD release which I can find is in French.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mary and Max is just plain hilarious. Follow the link provided by Solomon Wakeling, guys, and give the character roster a looking. Very funny. This one looks so emo it would be at home in the sketchbook of Sarah Woodruff. Amelie was also brought to mind. Definitely looks like another keeper.

It seems that there is much more than meets the eye in the beauty of Brendan and the Secret of the Kells. I am not familiar with the Irish culture and traditions, but it seems there is much more to learn in this acclaimed work of animation than what appears on the surface. Take these, for example:

http://www.sky-net.org.uk/canals/pangurban/name/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangur_B%C3%A1n

http://www.fisheaters.com/pangurban.html

Hmmm, so dogs are not the only best friends of man.

I live in Montreal and watched Mary and Max at the theater last month. Based on what Mary Haws wrote, I guess that makes me one of the lucky few in North America who were able to see it on the silver screen...

This. Was. A. Masterpiece. The story moved me deeply, and I was constantly impressed by the quality of the animation!

And, without spoiling anything, the scene near the end where the camera turns around Mary and the audience discovers that [ta ta! no spoiler!!], stroke me as one of the most beautiful animated scenes I ever saw.

I'm a little sad for all the others moviegoers who will only be able to enjoy it via cable VOD...

Call me old-fashioned, but despite being equiped with a 50" plasma TV and a blu-ray player, I still think that seeing a movie at the theater is the best way to enjoy it (well, assuming there isn't a bunch of teenagers next to you jabbering on their cellphone!). There is just no other way that the emotions grab me that deeply.

And yes, I shed tears at the end of Mary and Max, but those were not tears of sadness. I think they were tears of joys at having seen such a beautiful story. I cannot wait to read Roger's review! :)

As someone mentioned, "9" the short lost the animated short to "The Moon and the Sun: An Imagined Conversation." The latter is an animated hit job on the animator's father, and is a film I absolutely hate. The best of the five that year was "One Man Band" (can't give it to Pixar every year) although "The Mysterious Geographical Explorations of Jasper Morello" and "9" would have been worthy winners. The fifth nominee, "Badger" is good but slight in comparison.

I include animated films and documentaries in my regular top 10, and "Sita Sings the Blues,", "Fantastic Me Fox" and "Up" are firmly entrenched, and "Coraline" and "Avatar" are fighting for a spot. Great year for animation--in many ways, better than for live action.

I was lucky enough to see Waltz With Bashir when it played for a week at a local theater back in March (sadly, there were only 5 other people in the theater with me at that showing). I was immediately struck by the animation - So haunting and powerful. And the last few moments of the film just blew me away. Great film, I'd recommend it to anyone who has yet to see it.

I know you must have already explained it to someone. But why not have all these titles on one list like you did last year? You usually don't even have a "best of animated feature films" list.

Sure it would have been a bigger list, but it would serve to contain all the worthy titles in one area.

Ebert: If I'd had them all on one list, would you have written in suggesting I break them up into smaller lists by categories?

I "discovered" Sita Sings the Blues years ago as it was being developed by Nina Paley.

Thank you, Nina, for introducing me to Annette Hanshaw. I have all her CD's I could find and the one video she made in the 30's.

I have shown and discussed the Sita series with my Hindu friends who are delighted and appreciate how Nina captured the sensitivity of the story and adapted it to Annette's recordings. Nina is an inspired artist and the world is a better place for her work.

That's all.

@ Robert of Taoyuan City, Taiwan wrote:

"As for Sherlock Holmes, which a friend and I saw today, there is definitely something afoot between the two principal characters. :) This led me to wonder, however, what the effect would have been like without the 'gay' overtones. It's clear that director Ritchie was going for the Snigger Factor. To be honest, I'm having difficulty making up my mind whether it was a cheap swipe or a masterstroke on his part."

I've been musing over this ever since I read your post, Robert.

Richie was married to Madonna, whose attitudes regarding sexuality are well known; she's not an uptight conservative. Quite the opposite. Nor is she one to be led around by the nose - I can't see her marrying a homophobic Englishman.

All of which serves to inform my understanding of Guy Richie and where he stands. Indeed, if you look at his films, you'll see he often addresses homophobia indirectly by commenting on what traditionally makes men uncomfortable.

In "RocknRolla" for example, actor Tom Hardy plays Handsome Bob, a member of The Wild Bunch who has a secret crush on One Two (Gerard Butler.)

There's also a scene where Gerard's character finds himself in a rather precarious situation involving "half-naked crazy thugs in black leather" ahem.

There's also this...

Sherlock Holmes has always had a Gay following. The nature of the character and his friendship with Watson allowed for it, for being something of a canvas onto which gay or bisexual men could project.

And lastly, such themes are more openly explored in the U.K. than here in North America, which lags behind when it comes to pushing boundaries. "Doctor Who" for example and "Torchwood" were doing it years before this new Sherlock Holmes movie etc.

And so what I'm curious about isn't the sex - as right or wrong, I assumed Richie was taking a bisexual approach if nothing else - but rather, whether or not the action sequences were going to be lame, or work within the context of the story?

I found the trailer boring, in other words. Like it's all art direction and stylized violence and winking at the audience.

I was encouraged when Roger reported he'd enjoyed it. It gave me renewed interest in seeing it.

Mind you, he screwed-up badly on Harold & Maude and so one must take such things with a grain of salt. :)

Ebert: Gosh, Marie, I had almost forgotten about Harold & Maude since your previous post.

Michael Caine once told me: "It is a great help in understanding the upper classes to know that until recently they were taken from their parents at the age of six and spent the next ten years being beaten by bachelors."

What a great year for animation. Too bad when I talk to other "grown-ups" and recommend an animated film marketed to children, they think I'm ridiculous. Great animation is just . . . great storytelling. Thank you for taking it seriously.

Ebert wrote: Gosh, Marie, I had almost forgotten about Harold & Maude since your previous post.

I know, and I'm sorry for that; as I'd planned to mention it far more frequently and clearly forgot to. :)

Note: all I want is for you to watch it again. Then tell me "Okay, I've seen it again." You don't have to say whether or not you wound up changing your mind. You can keep it a secret.

I just want you to watch it again. (Smile.)

Michael Caine once told me: "It is a great help in understanding the upper classes to know that until recently they were taken from their parents at the age of six and spent the next ten years being beaten by bachelors." - Roger

Hmm. Google...

"Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the 2nd of two children born to Amber Parkinson a former Model and Captain John Vivian Ritchie, a TV Commercials Director and later advertising executive. A dyslexic, Guy Richie was expelled from Stanbridge Earls, a prominent school specializing in dyslexia in the UK, when he was 15 yrs. He has stated that drug use was the reason for being expelled; his father however, said that it was because his son was caught "cutting class and entertaining a girl in his room."

"In addition to his older sister Tabitha, a dance instructor, Ritchie has a half-brother, Kevin Bayton, born to Amber Parkinson when she was a teenager and given up for adoption. From 1973 until 1980 when they divorced, Ritchie's mother was married to Sir Michael Leighton, 11th baronet. As a divorcée, she is correctly styled as Amber, Lady Leighton." - WIKI

So that's what went into the making of Guy Richie then; a bit of everything.

It's made for an interesting mix, when you look at his films and the stories he tends to tell and the choices he makes as a director. I find I'm never ambivalent about a Richie film.

And by all accounts what he's done with Holmes, is to make it darkly funny, macabre and gritty.

Just my cup of tea. :)

P.S. as a survivor of the Private Catholic School system, I can report that although the Nuns never lifted a hand to me save for once when mine was smacked with a ruler for being Left, there tends to be "two responses" to that sort of thing - you either repress a lot of anger or find ingenious way of expressing your dissident in plain sight where no one can see it until you're safely away from the scene of your crimes.

Smile.

Though I am happy to see you honoring more films from this year than is limited, is it too much to hope that when you finally compile a Best 10 of the Decade list, you aren't going to list the films alphabetically but will instead actually rank the films? I know that you have a notorious disliking for all "lists", but I do sort of miss the days when you actually declared the films that you believed to be the BEST of the decade ("Taxi Driver" in the 1970's, "Raging Bull" in the 80's, "Hoop Dreams" in the 90's). I always thought those were fun.

So this decade, will you please pick top favorites? What's it gonna be, eh? Spielberg's "Minority Report"? Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby"? Lynch's "Mulholland Drive"? Of course there are more options, but be a good neighbor to us and CHOOSE something!!!!

Roger said: "Michael Caine once told me: "It is a great help in understanding the upper classes to know that until recently they were taken from their parents at the age of six and spent the next ten years being beaten by bachelors.""

Wise man is Sir Caine, Rog.

I've watched four of the above -

"Waltz With Bashir" was good.

"Coraline" was a treat to watch.

"Up" is a beautiful fantasy, but I had trouble with its execution.

The "Ice Age" franchise is wearing thin on me, the film was alright..I guess..

I won't go into how adult audiences are being infantilised, else I'll be accused of having no "inner child" and what an insult that would be to a grown up..

Hopefully I get around to watching the others soon, I'm quite excited about "Sita.." and "Ponyo" thanks for those Roger.

Indian Idiot (H.W.)

Dear Roger, you wrote:

Michael Caine once told me: "It is a great help in understanding the upper classes to know that until recently they were taken from their parents at the age of six and spent the next ten years being beaten by bachelors."

May I ask when Sir Michael told you that? Because I'm going to sue to two of you.

I pray that other critics will join your rejection of top ten lists. Lining films up one after another is just pointless. It's true that some years you just know that there's one film that reaches into your very essence more than any other ("Synecdoche, NY" in 2008), but it is impossible to line great films up from one to ten. Maybe readers just want to know which films are the VERY best, in the exact order, as it is only human nature to categorize things, but if you're like me and try to see all of the films praised by you, it is nice to see a list of them all (how's that for a run-on sentence?). I wish you hadn't forced yourself to list exactly ten movies for the animated films and documentaries, and instead used the approach you listed the foreign films with, putting which ones are deserving. For example, judging by your writing, I find that you would not place "9" or "The Princess and the Frog" in the same category as "Up" or "Sita Sings the Blues." Or "Anvil" in the same category as "Beaches of Agnes" (although I personally thought Anvil was better and deeper than you gave it credit for). Why conform for these lists but not for foreign or all around best?

Hi Marie, thanks for your insightful exposé. I knew that Jeremy Brett had a somewhat turbulent past, but never thought that it spilled to that character he was most noted for. :) To my shame, I'm not at all familiar with Guy Ritchie's films, save for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

I went to see Sherlock Holmes because 1.) British mystery stories on film are always a lark, and 2.) we had two remaining free passes that needed to be used by the years' end. At first, I wasn't even concerned that it would have "gay" written over it. I thought the critics were making too much of a joke about the matter. Some critics do tend to make mountains out of molehills. Not Roger, of course. Like you said, a critic's opinion ought to be taken with a grain of salt. (What happens when you go to a site like Rotten Tomatoes? Hell, that's a lot of salt!)

But now, after seeing the film, the issue becomes whether or not homosexuality has been made the butt of the joke (the Snigger Factor); or if it has been made the sacrificial lamb on the altar of commercial success. Both, I fear, seems to be true. Of course Ritchie had it all toned down, which may mean that he meant well. But the innuendoes are unmistakable: such as Holmes noticing shoes (the Prada scene from Legally Blonde), and also the fight scene to maybe prove his manliness (probably harking from Victor/Victoria), among others.

Bring Sita home with a DVD of
SITA SINGS THE BLUES

Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B002G50002
Rent on Netflix: http://tinyurl.com/ybbqd7b

Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told."

Need another reason why? Check out Roger Eberts Review! http://tinyurl.com/ebert-on-sita

"Audiences, having grown up with animation, no longer make the mistake of thinking of it as a medium for children."

My mother refuses to watch animated films; at first I thought it was because she assumed the content was always childish, but after exposing her to works like Waltz with Bashir, I'm not sure what's the reason for her dislike.

Am going to sit "Sherlock Holmes" out. Just not in the mood for a sexay, sexay, sexay Holmes with stuff blowing up real good.

My pal Nyles knows Kim Peek real well. Kim sort of doesn't remember him, but can tell him what day he'd have been born on if his birthday was in 3128 B.C. I thought he looked like Garrison Keillor the moment I first saw the video.

@ Robert of Taoyuan City, Taiwan wrote:

"Hi Marie, thanks for your insightful exposé. I knew that Jeremy Brett had a somewhat turbulent past, but never thought that it spilled to that character he was most noted for. :) To my shame, I'm not at all familiar with Guy Ritchie's films, save for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels."

I was and continue to be a HUGE Jeremy Brett fan.

For most of his life, Jeremy Brett was actually an undiagnosed manic depressive. It wasn't until the death of his second wife, the much beloved PBS producer Joan Sullivan from cancer in 1984, that things came to a head in the wake of a nervous breakdown. Brett spent time in a mental hospital and was prescribed Lithium which he continued to take upon his release. He returned to work on Sherlock Holmes for Granada, but his health was never the same and you could see his steady decline on the series. He ultimately died of heart failure 1995.

The thing about Brett, is that he was not the character he played. He was the exact opposite and why it took a lot of him to play Sherlock; a level of skill and dedication to his craft that I respect to this day.

Side note: PBS is re-airing a wonderful piece about the life of Louisa May Alcott, who wrote "Little Women."

"Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, is an almost universally recognized name. Her reputation as a morally upstanding New England spinster, reflecting the conventional propriety of mid-19th century Concord, is firmly established. Raised among reformers, iconoclasts and Transcendentalists, the intellectual protégé of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Alcott was actually a free thinker, with democratic ideals and progressive values about women – a worldly careerist of sorts. Most surprising is that Alcott led, anonymously and under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard, a literary double life not discovered until the 1940s. As Barnard, Alcott penned some thirty pulp fiction thrillers, with characters running the gamut from murderers and revolutionaries to cross-dressers and opium addicts – a far cry from her better-known works featuring fatherly mentors, courageous mothers and impish children." - PBS

I mention this to underscore that sometimes things are not what they seem - and also to give the program some good word of mouth. I suspect most people think Jeremy Brett was the character he played and probably Gay, moreover. And likely what Guy Richie was tapping into, etc.

Nope.

As for Guy Richie...

Have you seen "RocknRolla"..?

It's one of my favorite films because the plot partly revolves around a mysterious painting that we NEVER get to see - gasp! :)

Seriously; to this day I think about that f'ing painting.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping Mary and Max will get a DVD release date in the U.S. so you guys can rent it too. However if not, you can always "navigate around the obstacle" - cough.

"The dumbing-down of stories out of preference for meaningless nonstop action."
Yes, this is the curse of most children's movies, animated or live-action. I rate such movies by the percentage of screen time spent in chase scenes.
By this measure, for example, "Ratatouille" is the best Pixar movie (one brief chase after the opening old lady vs rat scene). "Up," while charming, falls too far into chase mode, much like "The Incredibles" (another children's movie with a distinctively grown-up heart)

Roger, I never heard of Sita Sings the Blues, but will look for it. I have loved Nina Paley's comics for years; and this movie sounds amazing. As ever, thanks for telling us about movies we ought to see. (and, of course, warning us about the others--will there be a 10 worst list this year?)

Waltz with Bashir is certainly not a 2009 movie. It came out in NY and LA at the very end of 2008, and was the last film Sony Pictures Classics released last year. (December 26th, according to IMDb, which is the same release date as Revolutionary Road.

Other than that, all of these films are quite wonderful, although I did not see Ice Age.

I'd add A Town Called Panic, which came out here in NY just last week, and its a film I really truly loved. As well as Mary and Max, which someone in the comments mentioned. It was really a great year for animation.

Ebert: Please allow me to repeat that for me it is a 2009 movie if it opened in Chicago in 2009.

There was definitely a wealth of animated films this past year. I have a particular soft spot for Henry Selick's Coraline, which may well be the best film of 2009...period.
Last year I chose Wall-E as the best film of the year, and I find it odd that two years in a row my favorite movie and the best movie I saw are animated films. I think that there is truly a rise in the quality of animated films over the past few years. I think that many animators are now realizing what Walt Disney realized many many decades ago...Make the animation intelligent enough for the parents, and keep the children entertained and you will have a home run.
Great list Roger, I am looking forward to viewing many that I missed this past year.

My 10 Best Films of 2009
1. Coraline
2. Inglourious Basterds
3. A Single Man
4. Precious
5. Up in the Air
6. Up
7. District 9
8. Avatar
9. The Hurt Locker
10. The Road

Have a wonderful New Year.

Hello Mr. Ebert,

I cannot access your blog entry concerning 'Sita Sings the Blues'. When I follow the link, it informs me that the requested URL was not found. Hopefully this technical problem can be easily solved.

Best wishes,
Lyndon

PS What film do you predict will win Best Animated Picture?

Ebert: This should work:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/12/having_wonderful_time_wish_you.html

Seems like "Up" is the front runner.

'Mary and Max' opened the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It can now be seen on the Sundance channel as a pay-per-view movie for 9.99 (I believe) on Comcast.

I was at the opening screening and it is a delightful movie. Fantastic claymation, and wonderful voice acting by Hoffman and Collette.

I sure hoped this would receive a wide release, but such is life. After seeing it, I felt the emotion behind it, but couldn't see how it could really be marketed to a wider audience. If some studio would just try though, I'm sure they wouldn't be disappointed.

I'm guessing it stays at its pay-per-view status though, and never finds its way into a wide theater release.

I just watched "Sita Sings the Blues" online. I had been procrastinating. I loved the commentary of the shadow puppets and the usage of three different styles in order to keep three different realities separate.

I have seen "A Town Named Panic" but did not like it that much. I'd prefer seeing Gumby and Pokey again.

I did see a Japanese animation called "Sky Crawlers" but it seems it only made an American DVD debut and was not out in theaters. "Sky Crawlers" is an animation with deep philosophical questions about war. I could see how it might not be popular in the U.S.

I hadn't seen Ponyo yet because it was playing here with English dubbing and I prefer to watch it in Japanese.

I enjoyed "Up" very much, particularly Dug. That character pretty much explains why I prefer collies to Golden Retrievers though. I liked that Pixar didn't feel the need to overexplain things (i.e. what was the deal with the boy's father and the boy's ethnicity). It was worth getting the DVD just to hear the additional commentary.

Now I'd like to see "Mary and Max" as well as this "Secret of the Kells."

I do appreciate that you have a separate animation list because now I know what animation to look out for and what I might have missed.

wasn't waltz with bashzir nominated for an academy award last year???

Hi Marie,

About Louisa May Alcott having double literary lives, this is quite a revelation. Though looking at it in retrospect, it does make Little Women whole. You will recall that in the novel, Jo, who many say is the alter ego of the author, did write such works inside the novel. And as I recall, she faced the disapproval of her future husband because of this. Afterwards, she became remorseful, not wholly because she was slowly realising that she loved her critic, but because, as her critic had pointed out, it was an easy way out for her.

Looking at this from another angle, innately good people can also write dark novels. Why not? Dickens, who learned the hard way, and whose literary characters range from scoundrels to angels, is a perfect example of this. You know, I was about to throw my voluminous Little Women out of the window when this thought came to me. (Just kidding ^_^ )

~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~ ~o~

To Roger, Marie, and everyone else, I greet you peeps A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVk7O12rOZg

Btw, Marie, I'll be sure to check out Rock n' Rolla. Thanks.

Thank you for posting that link to Sita Sings the Blues. Loved it.

I would not count Waltz with Bashir as a 2009 film.

Despite the many animated films of the year, most were not that good. I loved Up, Ponyo, and Coraline. I enjoyed Princess and Frog and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I liked Cloudy w/ A Chance of Meatballs (where is it?) and 9 was bearable. Ice Age 3 and Christmas Carol...uck, no.

Happy New Year!

Mr. Ebert

My name is Profesor Felix Hernandez I'm a Drama elementary school teacher in Puerto Rico. Your film reviews are allways a enlighting experience for all people who just loves movies like myself. Your list of the best animated films of 2009 I agree entirely. Could you make a list of the best latin american films of the 20th century?

Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!

In your opening paragraph, you cite The Lion King as an example of the lost art of animated storytelling. Yet to me this is a turning point when animation started to lose some of its artistry. It's a visual feast, and is rightly honored for the quality of its animation. However it has one of the worst stories of any movie in any format. It is exactly what you deplore in modern animation: the protagonist has the character depth of a toddler from start to finish, and everything goes his way anyway. The moral is clear: selfishness is rewarded, and greater selfishness yields greater rewards. It's easy to see why it's such a favorite of small children, but I am continually puzzled why adults prize it equally.

This really has been an incredible year for animation, especially traditional and stop-motion. It's possibly the most neglected way of making movies, but the number of excellent animated films this year, including many non-CGI, is encouraging because it portends that more like them will get made in coming years. The montage sequence in Up should be shown in every film school as a most perfect example of how to do it right.

Just curious about one thing, Roger. Your latest series of top ten lists reminded me of something you wrote in an Answer Man column from 2005:

"My enthusiasm for Best 10 lists remains muted. I absolutely refuse all invitations to compile additional lists of the Best 10 Horror Films, Best 10 Date Movies, Best 10 Movies to Watch on TV, Best 10 this and Best 10 that."

I guess there's no rule against inviting yourself. It's perfectly fine if you changed your mind on this issue, and was just wondering what led you to apparently reconsider. Oh, and thanks for introducing me to Sita Sings the Blues

Maybe I'm just going crazy here, but I seem to remember Waltz with Bashir coming out last year. I don't know; I didn't see it.
Anyway, I mostly agree with your list. Up was not only my favorite animated movie this year, but probably my favorite movie, period. 9 was also very good; I found the story more palatable than most viewers, just somewhat on the weak side. Other than that, not a lot stuck out. Coraline was pretty good, especially visually, but I disliked that long stretch in the middle where virtually nothing happens. Ice Age 3 wasn't awful as make-money sequels go, but it wasn't great. A Christmas Carol did indeed have some wonderful images, though otherwise, it was just another Christmas Carol movie.
The others on your list, I haven't seen. I have a high degree of interest in Fantastic Mr. Fox, though.

I just heard a commentator on CNN's recap of the movies of 2009 say that this was a great year for children in animation or "adults with very low I.Q's." Obviously that commentator was the one with the deficient I.Q, or is a part of the stereotype that defines an animated picture as being childish and incapable of teaching an adult human and non-human compassion, mourning, delight, and youth.

When I watch the sequence in "UP" where the character's life is in montage and age progression is somehow more pronounced and meaningful in and against the colors of fantasy and pronunciation, it becomes more meaningful because our human reaction is akin to that of a human reacting to the distress of an animal. Perhaps animation allows us to revert to an innate emotional state that is not infantile, but more sensitive in fluctuation and movement, color and reverberation, light and over-exaggerated facial expressions; or enhanced, emboldened eye mouth variations.

I would take issue with your classifying 'Waltz With Bashir' as an animated film. It isn't -- it's a live action film in which the live action footage has been heavily processed to mimic the look of an animated film.

That is untrue. First of all, if the film were rotoscoped, like Waking Life or American Pop, that would be considered animation. Second, Waltz with Bashir was not rotoscoped. They made a big point of this in the accompanying featurette. For some sequences they had actual filmed footage, but they only used it as inspiration and suggestions for their animation; they didn't use it as a template.

The amazing thing about Waltz with Bashir is that it's a documentary. Some scenes were re-staged with actors and such, but the story is true. The filmmaker had a block on his memories of the war, and by meeting with the people who were there with him he really did unlock those memories.

As for Pixar's Up, I have some real problems that have marred my enjoyment of this film. I sent them to Ebert at one point, but I'd like to reproduce them here.

I just saw Up, a movie that critics and the public alike are celebrating for its animation and storytelling, and for its brand name. And now I'm feeling angry at Pixar. Angry that their stories stop at being merely good, and that the writers do stupid things that keep them from being better. After they set up characters we care about, develop them, give them fully realized personalities, sidestep the snarky jokes other studios would insist on because Pixar's writers aren't afraid to love their characters, then they sabotage the whole thing with formula garbage. "This movie needs to have a one-dimensional villain to create a conflict between good and evil, and this character needs to have a redemptive arc, and the story needs to hit obligatory plot points here, here, and here, no matter how forced or wrong it feels." And it makes me even angrier that Pixar gets all the praise anyway. It gets held up before the world as the paragon of animated filmmaking. Yes, Pixar's animation is first rate. And certain aspects of the storytelling are excellent. This doesn't mean they can afford to poison their stories with haggard, third-rate clichés! This doesn't mean they can get away with sub-par scriptwriting! As an animation enthusiast, I feel betrayed.

They say that a large part of good musicianship is the notes the musician doesn't play. Now I understand. For Pixar, even though their films fall on the right side of good, hitting the wrong notes makes the difference between leaving the theater elated or disappointed.

Where's $9.99?

"Ponyo" was one of my great movie experiences this year. My hometown had a sidewalk fair down the main strip, right in front of our two theater cinema. Lots of small kids, so the parents decided to shuffle them into the movie, probably hoping to be able to sit them down for an hour or so, thus the afternoon 'Ponyo'showing was packed. I expected the worst with a hundred under 10 year olds in the audience, however they were all mesmerized by the film! You heard nary a sound, however during the gag scences, like where Ponyo expressed her love of ham, the squeals of laughter were delightful! Between the parents and the kids laughing and oohing and aahing in unison, and the burst of applause from everyone at the end, I can only agree, it was a magical experience.

Roger

Mary and Max was not only the best animated film for me, but maybe the best film of the year.

It's a deliciously adult movie that shows what animation can be in the hands of a director who loves clay, a good story and wonderful characterization.

Please see it, as many of us would love to hear your thoughts.

And happy new year to you and Chaz.
Rob

Sita Sings The Blues - it's not surprising to me that a Flash animated film did so well critically.

If I were to advise anyone to look for another Flash animator's work to eventually be released in theaters, I would advise that they look for a South Korean animator named Amalloc.

He has already released two outstanding short Flash films (Google There She Is! and Cake Dance), and three fairly good ones.

As for the greatest of all animators, whilst I agree with you that Miyazaki is one of the greatest animators of all time (as his Howl's Moving Castle amply demonstrates), he is hardly alone in the pantheon of great animators that come immediately to my mind, from both past and present.

Past: Winsor McCay, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, many of the Walt Disney animators whose names one must dig through IMDB to find (Walt Disney's role as producer outweighed his role as animator, in my opinion), Tex Avery, Robert Clampett...

...and present: Henry Selick, Brad Bird, Nick Park.

Bird has directed the non-Pixar film Iron Giant, so definitely merits inclusion.

Selick - Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas is enough for inclusion.

Park - the only one of his films nominated for an Academy Award that did not win was, in my opinion, his best - A Grand Day Out - deceptively complex, and easily equalling anything Miyazaki has ever done. (Chicken Run was the only Park film to not receive a nomination for an Academy Award - not a bad feat for someone with feet of (plasticine) clay.)

Honestly, I really consider 2009 a breakout year for animated films. Even the bad ones weren't too bad... Animated movies were just really consistent across the boards, a little bit of greatness here and there, a lot of good movies, and none that were just intolerable. To recap, a bit, Battle for Terra was okay, A Christmas Carol was decent, Coraline was good, Ice Age 3 was tolerable, Monsters vs. Aliens was slightly less so but still tolerable, Up was fantastic, 9 was pretty good... Not to mention we had our return to traditional animation with The Princess and the Frog, and a new Miyazaki feature, Ponyo (regrettably, I've seen neither). It was a great year for animated movies.

@ Paul Serrano

Same here. When I saw Ponyo the theater was packed with families. And they all had the same experience, which made it my best movie going experience of '09.

Roger will you be doing a reveiw of Mary and Max?

"Up" is great but I think "Wall-E" was better. I also really liked the "Kung Fu Panda".

Sorry, I don't agree with you on "Coraline" and "A Christmas Carol". Both were an exercise in sensationalism (which, in case of "A Christmas Carol" didn't really bother me too much) but weren't that deep and got quite boring. If there is a quality of "Coraline" that I appreciate, it is the unusual ability to create an atmosphere that doesn't define itself as reality or dream. It all takes place in a sort of "limbo" state that became quite creepy by the end. The rest of it was packed with carboard characters that failed to keep me in the story. The movie that has a nice balance of character and atmosphere is "A Nightmare Before Christmas". "Coraline had no life to me. It was too hard to connect to it in any meaningful way.
I didn't dislike "A Christmas Carol", but I didn't think it was a masterpiece either. At times it felt like the extravagance was too heavy. There was no other reason to remake it other than to look at it with its new skin. Still...it's a classic story in it's own right and is hard not to like overall.
I was disappointed with "9". Great to look at, boring to watch and experience. I did find a couple of animated movies on your list that have gained my interest. Thanks for bringing them to my attention.

i wish you could travel around the world and see all of the great movies.
i'm sure you could afford it.
and wouldn't it be fun?
who the hell is gonna take your place.
i like manohla darghis a lot.
here's to another 30 years of review though.

I am a big animation fan. And I saw most of these films... discovered "sita" cause of you of course and loved "Waltz."
I refused to see "Ratatouille" for ages because it beat out "Persepolis" at the Oscars for best Animated Feature. I got over it. I mean what was I gonna prove anyway and who cared? Turned out that I enjoyed the Rat movie very much.
I can not wait to see "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." It looks so old school and you are right, the foxes are very fuzzy looking and very appealing.

Always meant to ask. Who was your favorite Looney Tune character?

Ebert: A tie between Daffy and Bugs.

Hi Roger,

I am not usually one to make comments though I do admit that I find the responses to your articles very interesting. More so than just about any other site I frequent there seems to be a sensibility and kinship among your readers that I find comforting. I don't know if it is because, like me, they have been with you for so many years or if your words seem to have more resonance now that it is your primary outlet of communication.

I would make a case for Coraline as the best animated movie of the year. I think, along with UP, that it had the most cohesive and engaging story and did not "dumb down" its story for its audience.

I have a five year old daughter and one of my most treasured activities is to take her to a movie. The look on her face when the lights lower and the screen comes to life is something that I will always remember. I find her to be almost as interesting a critic as you are (I mean that in the most positive of ways). When a movie is nothing more than sugar water she is the first to say so. When she does not like a movie it is usually because it was "too busy" or "too loud". Her favorites this year were Coraline, UP, and Ponyo. She also enjoyed The Princess and a Frog as well.

I also share your irritation with 3-D. I find it to be a distraction rather then adding to the movie going experience. Coraline being a perfect example of a movie better served as a 2D experience.

Be well and best wishes

There has been a modern trend where animated movie are started to become more adult films. One could argue that all of Pixar's recent films are more appreciated by adults rather than children. I think it's wonderful that animation is now a medium for darker, complex and emotional stories. Up, Wall-e, Waltz with Bashir, and Sita Sings the Blues are films that are for adults (yes Up and Wall-e are made for children, but would a child truly appreciate the wonderful montage in the beginning of Up?)

I think some of the best animated films of all time have been released in the past two decades, which gives me hope for its future.

Roger,

You mentioned your favorite looney tunes character was a tie between Daffy and Bugs. The correct answer is: "Daffy". 'Cause he's a delicously wicked poke at the tyranical Leon Schlesinger, who had a lisp. This is based on the book by Chuck Jones: Chuck Amuck. A fantastic read : ) Oh, and by the way... You are a better writer than any other person I've read. I love movies, sure, but you think before you write about them and your balance of wit, honesty and intellegence has put this 42 year old in awe of a brilliant talent. Alright... enough gushing. But Daffy is the way to go.

Daffy & Bugs for sure!
Bugs: "This means war!"
My favorite line!!

RE: Daffy and Bugs

Mildly surprised at your response. Thought you might have a more esoteric choice, say French heart throb, the odoriferous Pepe Le Pew.

Connoisseur of old movies and sometime actor, Johnny Depp, claimed his character, Jack Sparrow,
was modeled primarily on Monsieur Le Pew, with a large dose of Keith Richards thrown in for bad taste. Now that's good enough for me-although I do still hold a warm spot for the legendary Speedy Gonzales.

Despite being largely misunderstood stars and small in stature, both were film giants. If you ever get around to a Great Short Movie collection, I hope you will consider their most seminal works, Speedy for his debut effort in 1955 and Pepe for his 1949 classic, "For Scent-imental Reasons." Both pictures won Oscars-what more can I say.

But gotta admit, you can't ever go wrong watching the shenanigans of old Bugs and Daffy.

I pray that other critics will join your rejection of top ten lists. Lining films up one after another is just pointless. It's true that some years you just know that there's one film that reaches into your very essence more than any other ("Synecdoche, NY" in 2008), but it is impossible to line great films up from one to ten. Maybe readers just want to know which films are the VERY best, in the exact order, as it is only human nature to categorize things, but if you're like me and try to see all of the films praised by you, it is nice to see a list of them all (how's that for a run-on sentence?). I wish you hadn't forced yourself to list exactly ten movies for the animated films and documentaries, and instead used the approach you listed the foreign films with, putting which ones are deserving. For example, judging by your writing, I find that you would not
all star shoesplace "9" or "The Princess and the Frog" in the same category as "Up" or "Sita Sings the Blues." Or "Anvil" in the same category as "Beaches of Agnes" (although I personally thought Anvil was better and deeper than you gave it credit for). Why conform for these lists but not for foreign or all around best?

One Golden Globe animation nomination choice that is ridiculous: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs made their list and Ponyo didn't.

9? Ice Age 3? I guess 2009 was a bad year for animated films if you have to include those movies.

I was wondering where Sita Sings the Blues went when I couldn't find it on your Best Films of the Year List: it's here! Up and Sita were two of my favorite movies this year (click on my name to see the rest of my picks), and while Ponyo didn't grab me like other Miyazaki films have, I keep recommending it to my sister, since her daughters will be turning five in a few months..the same age as the hero of that film. After all, I successfully introduced them to My Neighbor Totoro (well, one of my nieces, at least, though they both know about Totoro and Cat Bus, since I bought them the stuffed animals from the Ghibli Museum during the time that I lived in Japan).

Hi Mr Ebert. I just wanted to thank you. Your writings in the 80s and 90s were very inspirational me. I liked your approach to movies and thought it made them more interesting.

You've inspired me to want to be a film critic. What a dream job!

re: "Evangelion," as mentioned by DHudd, I've always wondered what Roger would think of this series, or of any episodic anime such as Cowboy Bebop, His and Her Circumstances, Fullmetal Alchemist, Kino's Journey, Haibane-Renmei, or any other acclaimed series that have expanded what the medium is capable of.

Who knows if film critics have time to invest themselves in television programs (past or present), but I'd like to see anime get a fair shake from credible and respected critics outside of the Internet.

When "Paprika" was released in 2007 I was really looking forward to reading Roger's take on it but I guess he was only just beginning to write reviews again at the time and so it was passed off to a different staff writer. Miyazaki isn't the only director in Japan making great animated films, but seems to be the only one who's received any attention from American critics. Would like to see Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai, Mamoru Hosoda and others someday get their due here.

Mr.Ebert, I have been recently watching a multitude of animated films from around the world and writing a little something up on them.

I was going to publish a post of links to animated (in every sense) reviews across the internet.

I was wondering boldly and presumptuously, as I have always admired your thoughts on film, what you would call the greatest animated films you have seen and if you would mind sharing them as part of my horizon-widening celebration of an under-discussed and still under-appreciated part of Cinema.

Thank you,

Stephen

Ebert: The most powerful is "Grave of the Fireflies."

Michael Caine once told me: "It is a great help in understanding the upper classes to know that until recently they were taken from their parents at the age of six and spent the next ten years being beaten by bachelors."

I hate to out myself as a bozart, but, in this context, what does he mean by bachelors?

Ebert: Teachers who were not the marrying kind.

It really bewilders me that Wes Anderson (Mr Fox), Henry Selleck (Coraline), Hayao Miyazaki (Ponyo), Pete Doctor (Up) and Robert Zemeckis (Christmas Carol) were all shortlisted for Best Director at the 2010 oscars, but as always the snobby Academy had plans for arrogant live action directors James Cameron, Katheryn Bigelow, Lee Daniels, Jason Rietman and Quentin Tarantino.

All I can say is thank God Zemeckis beat Tarantino back in 95

I read the classic drama The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens when I was in class 9.The miser Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by his partner's ghost and later three ghosts of christmas past,present and the future,which step by step leads to a complete transformation of his heart....I watched the film just few days ago.The animation is really cool,fantastic,sometimes really scary.A must watch for the children and grown ups alike.The movie is entirely based on the play..dialogues taken in original form..AS FAR AS I CAN REMEMBER....

lovelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly movies i love ponyo

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I LOVE UP! My favorite movie of all time:)

gotta tip my hat to tim burton!!! nine was a really deep and enjoyable movie!! the thrill was so engrossing. ^^