8 Essential Animated Films

Film

‘Bambi’ (1942), directed by David D. Hand

The Disney classic tells a simple story but “never feels like it’s aimed at youngsters,” says Sanders, 64. Among other things, it’s a striking portrayal of what it might feel like to be hunted, and audiences have long been shaken by the gunshot scene. “They allow it to build so you can be just as frightened as Bambi. You hear the gunshot, and then they put a soft filter onto the visuals. It’s almost like you’re looking at the world through tears.”

‘The Three Caballeros’ (1944), directed by Norman Ferguson 

A Disney musical created as part of a U.S. campaign to establish good will with Latin America and counter Nazi influence there, “it’s more of a travelogue,” says Sanders, than a coherent narrative. But the director particularly admires a roughly three-minute song sequence in which a trio of birds fly, jump and prance as instruments magically materialize, guns sing along and rainstorms go as quickly as they came. “It just takes advantage of what animation really is, which is a graphic medium that can break rules and do anything.”

‘The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad’ (1949), directed by James Algar, Clyde Geronimi and Jack Kinney

Sanders still watches the second short — “The Adventures of Ichabod Crane,” based on Washington Irving’s spooky 1820 story — of this Disney anthology film once a year. It’s “so funny and terrifying,” he says, especially the scene of Ichabod in the forest laughing with his horse until the headless figure appears out of nowhere. He calls it “a master class in humor and horror” for the way it coaxes viewers into relaxing just before a terrifying reveal. 

‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ (1965), directed by Bill Melendez

Sanders is always moved by Linus’s speech about the true meaning of the holiday: “I’m not superreligious, but it doesn’t matter. I think [the film] has a certain honesty that makes it effective.”

‘Grave of the Fireflies’ (1988), directed by Isao Takahata

“This is one that I don’t know if I can ever watch again,” says Sanders of Takahata’s film featuring two orphans trying to survive in Japan during World War II. “It’s a tough story.” The Studio Ghibli co-founder’s movie is based on a novella by Akiyuki Nosaka, who wrote it to process the trauma of losing his home and adoptive father to the U.S. firebombing of Kobe in 1945. 

‘Porco Rosso’ (1992), directed by Hayao Miyazaki

In addition to Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), which Sanders calls the perfect blend of fantasy and reality, the director recommends “Porco Rosso,” a lesser-known film by the Japanese master. In it, a military aviator who’s been turned into a pig must rebuild his aircraft. “I’ve never seen it translated, and I’ve never needed it to be translated,” says Sanders. Miyazaki’s attention to detail — like how the character loads bullets — is “so well observed.” 

‘Ninja Scroll’ (1993), directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri 

The film follows a swordsman who confronts a group of killers with the help of a ninja and a cunning spy. Sequences like an epic battle between a hulking monster and the film’s hero remind Sanders of how animation can translate storybook moments into something electrifying and unimaginable. “ ‘Ninja Scroll’ is one of the most violent films I’ve ever seen,” he says, but “it will really teach you what animation can pull off.”

‘Father and Daughter’ (2000), directed by Michael Dudok de Wit

Running only eight minutes, Dudok de Wit’s “Father and Daughter” is a spare film about a little girl who grows up without her father. “It’s pure animation and pure music,” says Sanders, who admires the Dutch film for its unfussy drawings and lack of dialogue. The uncomplicated emotional beats of the story pull you in, so that “when you start watching it, you have to keep watching.”

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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