Entertainment & Arts

10 of my most obscure animated finds

@DizzyDesii actually inspired me with her animated movie post. I was going to try to do a multipart because she had so many movies she had listed but I decided to do obscure animated ones instead. These are just a handful as I am sure I can think up more.

1. Sports cartoons (1985)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

Think of this as a classic slapstick gag where the cat cheats and gets ahead while the hippo is honest and ends up winning because karma catches up to the cat. That is basically every small video of this and this video posted sums that up nicely.

2. Teeny Tiny and the Witch Woman (1980)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

This is a simple yet spooky tale about kids that run away from home get lost in the forest and seek shelter in a witches house, teeny tiny is the only one smart enough to get out while there is still a chance but he has to use some pretty interesting methods to escape

3. The bear who slept through Christmas (1973)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

The YouTube link is to pay for the animated short but you can simply watch the trailer that comes with the video. What makes this special is that it is made by one of the looney tunes animators, Friz Freleng. So it has a strange yet familiar style but it is very unique. The thing that makes it stick out the most is the number of grown up situations like losing a job, adult vacations and publicity effecting a business. Kind of grown up concepts for a kids cartoon but it is really fun to watch for sure.

4. Phantom of the Opera (1987)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

This is such a simple cartoon but the backdrops are amazing. A lot of work was put into making this a very setting rich animation. But even the voices are quite interesting. As a kid I was just in a trance watching this movie and I still am. Again it is simple, maybe much simpler than today's animation but it has a very interesting tone and style of animation that sets it apart. The story is very much the same but does not hold back on the darkness of the story for young viewers. It feels like reading an Edgar Allen Poe story.

5. The Phantom Tollbooth (1970)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

This next one is done by chuck jones another looney tunes animator. It is a wacky movie based on a classic children's book. About a boy that is bored with nothing to do. He happens to find a box in his house and that animates him and sends him into an animated world where he learns some valuable life lessons and teaches them to his animated friends. Overall, a very fun journey to take with milo

6. Puff the Magic Dragon (1978)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

To some this may well be a very well known animation but for most, they might not have ever heard of it. It is a story based off of the peter paul and mary song of the same name. It is about a boy that is dealing with growing up and puff helping him to rediscover who he is again. It is an emotionally driven short and it helps to show that sometimes in life we just need a friend to help us find ourselves again.

7. The Black Cauldron (1985)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

So this is Disney right? Well yes and no. I have a feeling many may not have heard of this movie. It is a not very well known Disney Gem. But it is dark. It is dark forces much like sleeping beauty but the language and origin to my knowledge go a little deeper and darker. Basically it is about a boy that has to protect a pig from an evil force that seeks to destroy the world. It is basically summed up by the posters but it is quite possibly one of the darkest Disney films i have yet to see. But so much fun to watch.

8. Watership Down (1978)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

I'll start by quoting a meme that said "mommy, why are the bunnies bleeding" That is the kind of movie this is. It is pretty adult, very deep and real. This is not something to show the kids, at least not at first. Adult themes about social order and territory are mainly what this movie is about. If I remember correctly. Kind of like a rabbit mobster movie. Art Garfunkel has one song in the movie, bright eyes which is funny enough put on the radio in Wallace and Gromit's curse of the were rabbit. "The first line of the chorus is briefly heard in the 2005 animated comedy Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, during a scene when Gromit is waiting for the Were-Rabbit to appear. Gromit turns on the radio, only to turn it off in horror when "Bright Eyes" plays."

9. The Last Unicorn (1982)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

There is quite a lot going on with this animation. This again, I feel not many would know about. Let me try to unpack this, the 70's band America does a cover song for the movie with the voices of Christopher lee, Jeff bridges and Angela Lansbury to name a few. The animation is also related to Rankin/Bass, the one's who did the stop motion animated Christmas shows. So a lot is going on here. But overall, this is very much an adult movie. This is less explicit themes as much as it is very dramatic with mature adult themes. It is in a nutshell about a final unicorn that wonders where all the rest of the unicorns are. She goes on a journey to find them only to encounter magic and a red bull that seeks to destroy her. To protect her she is turned human only to feel like she is no longer herself. Like the life has been drained out of her. That journey that she has is very real and powerful. It can make me think of a lot of adult situations where that loss of self can be applied. Overall, a very interesting movie for sure.

10. Ferngully: The last Rainforest (1992)

10 of my most obscure animated finds
10 of my most obscure animated finds

I am really taking a risk here because this might actually be a well known movie. But since we are past the whole animation movie place and more CGI animation now, I feel like many of the gems from the early 90's get forgotten. Desii might even have mentioned this in hers. But what is funny is this is exactly what Avatar is. Not perfectly but a theme of a human becoming a forest world creature that works with the forest creatures to save their forest and the environment. But this is also a robin williams movie too.

That's it for mytakes tonight :) have a good Saturday, JJ over and out

10 of my most obscure animated finds
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