ANIMATION – The Best of Science Fiction Animation.

Science fiction in feature animation is pretty much non existent. Very, very, very few science fiction feature films are made. And even when they are made they’re not necessarily always all that good, so they wouldn’t be worthy of the list.

So instead, I’m doing a list of the best in animated science fiction, animated science fiction as far as the movies that they have made, plus straight to DVD movies, plus TV series, plus straight to DVD series.

There’s a plethora of those types of science fiction animated cartoons, but not necessarily movies. So I’m just going to clump all of it together and I’m going to make my top 10 best in animated science fiction.

Science fiction is one of my favorite genres and I really, really want to watch more science fiction animation.  I would love there to be more science fiction animated feature animation.

You can watch the video below or simply read the transcription, it’s up to you:

Some of the links below are affiliate links, thanks for your support.

So let me begin.

10. Futurama

While you could watch Futurama in a lot of different places, you could watch it on Netflix.  I highly, highly recommend you watch it.

It is a great, funny, fantastic show which makes fun of the genre. Overall, it’s really disappointing that it was cancelled but it is really fantastic.

Please watch Futurama if you love sci-fi.  It’s a satire on all things sci-fi, so I highly recommend it. My number 10 is Futurama.

9. Cowboy Bebop

My number 9 is my first Japanese cartoon on the list, and that’s Cowboy Bebop.

Cowboy Bebop, about two bounty hunters in space and the crew of crazies that end up joining them. It’s got a very deep through line throughout the whole story and it ends really dramatically.

It’s really interesting. You don’t know where these characters are going. It’s great.

Character designs are great. The art is great. The universe that this takes place in is very cool. Spaceships are fantastic; the warping and it’s just cool. So I highly recommend this show – the series Cowboy Bebop.

8. Giant Robo

My number 8, I’ve dedicated an entire video to this series and that is Giant Robo.

Boy, and his robot surrounded by the Experts of Justice. It’s got fighting,  action, adventure and it’s beautifully drawn. Like I said, I did a whole entire post about it.

You could just watch that. It’s ten minutes long; it’s how much I rave about this show.

I highly recommend watching this show, my number 8 best in sci-fi animated cartoon Giant Robo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4idR1x_hxI

7. Akira

My number 7 is a classic, I don’t know many people who haven’t heard about this movie.

Akira is the name of the weird boy that blew up. Yeah, it’s about a boy who blew up Tokyo named Akira, and so they had to rebuild it and called it Neo-Tokyo. It was built around the explosion site.

It turns out that there’s some kind of thing about evolution and experimentation with humans and about energy that can’t be contained. And it’s basically about a motorcycle gang that kind of gets involved in the middle of all these thing. And it’s amazing.

It’s one of the most fully animated anime movies you’ll ever see. It’s one of the rare animated Japanese movies where the dialogue was recorded first and the mouths actually work with the dialogue – the Japanese dialogue – because usually in Japan it’s done the other way around.

They animate it first and then they record the dialogue. In America it’s done the other way. The audio is recorded first and then you animate to the audio.

They did this movie the western way, so it is a little bit more fully animated than most anime you’ll actually see. It’s a beautiful, beautiful movie Akira. It is my number 7.

6. Macross Frontier

I don’t own this one because there is no American distributor of this movie. You’ll have to find it online in the translations sites, and that is Macross Frontier.

This was my number one anime series, I believe or my number two. I talk about in another list but this is basically – they expand the idea of Robotech from the 80’s.

Macross is basically what Robotech actually was in Japan. They took Robotech years into the future.

This takes place in another spaceship with another different types of set of aliens as the villains and it’s also got a love triangle again. It kind of follows the follows the Robotech formula but it veers off of it.

It’s got transforming robot. The fighting is incredible. The story is so much fun. Highly recommend it. Really great sci-fi, my number 6 is Macross Frontier.

Watch macross frontier 1 in Animation | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

5. Tron: Uprising

My number 5 I also don’t own. In fact it’s kind of impossible to own unless you download it from iTunes or from Amazon via digital.There is no DVD copy of this show, and that is Tron: Uprising.

Tron: Uprising is based on the movie – the prequel to Tron: Legacy. It kind of takes place in between Tron and Tron: Legacy.

It’s called Tron: Uprising, and it’s a story about a guy who becomes Tron’s protégée so that he goes and tries to liberate The Grid from the bad guys who  conquered The Grid.

It’s beautiful. I dedicated an entire post just to Tron: Uprising. Here’s the link:

Thoughts on the Animated Show, Tron: Uprising

I highly recommend it.

4. The Iron Giant

My number 4 is the Iron Giant. The Iron Giant, what could I say.

There’s a giant robot from outer space in a town in Maine. There’s a little boy who finds the giant robot befriends it. Little did he know that the robot is actually not the nice guy it seems but it’s meant to be a weapon.

It’s really interesting. There’s a lot of really, really good things in this movie. Written and directed Brad Bird who also wrote The Incredibles, and directed The Incredibles.

Iron Giant, if you haven’t seen it watch it. It’s one of the best Warner Brothers movies that came out of the Warner Brothers animation studios back in the 90’s. Yeah, I highly recommend it, The Iron Giant.

3. Mobile Suit Gundam

My number 3 is, I’m cheating here it’s an entire series. Just about anything with the name Gundam in it is going to be great sci-fi. The original Gundam, the sequel Zeta Gundam…

Anything with Gundam in it is pretty good. There’s some really, really bad ones out there, but generally as a rule, most of the Gundam series are really pretty good.

What makes Gundam robots unique, it was the very first time that any robot was actually used as what they are, which is, as giant tank. It didn’t have any kind of sapient mind. It didn’t have a soul. It was just a machine.

You get in it, and it’s more about the pilot’s skill. It does have to do with the quality of the machinery in the robot, but a lot more of it has to do with the pilots and the drama around the pilots. And that’s one of the things that they really play up on the Gundam series in the different reboots of the shows.

These robots have “Light Sabers,” they came up with the Light Sabers idea for these Gundams before they had seen Star Wars. Star Wars hadn’t come out yet when they were producing this. So when Star Wars showed up, they were like “Oh man! They’re going to think that we stole the idea from Star Wars.”

But these guys actually came up with the laser sword idea as well around the same time that Star Wars showed up.

Interestingly enough the pilots tend to have a kind of Jedi-ish powers, at least on the original version of Gundam.

So that’s my number 3, Gundam.

2. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

My number 2 is Clone Wars, either one, Genndy or Dave Filoni Star Wars: Clone Wars.

These shows are sci-fi at it’s best. If you love Star Wars, you’ll love these. That’s it. That’s the end. You want to watch these, period. Science fiction, Star Wars enough said. Watch it.

This is the best in science fiction you can possibly get so much so that I dedicated one post just for the Genndy type Star Wars: Clone Wars, and one for the Dave Filoni Star Wars: Clone Wars. And I even compared the two and tell you which one I think is better, or if there is even a fight at all.

So I highly recommend watching any one of these series, Star Wars: Clone Wars.

1. The Incredibles

Okay, my number 1 best in sci-fi animated movies is, The Incredibles.

This is the second one in this list that is actually an American feature animated science fiction movie. Both feature animated science fiction movies that I’ve mentioned in this list come from the same person, Brad Bird.

Written and directed by Brad Bird, same person that wrote and directed Iron Giant. This is science fiction because it’s got superheroes and they’re fighting giant robots and all kinds of different things. And its science fiction from the 50’s, or the 60’s I should say.

It’s great. I love it. Fantastic, this is what American science fiction can be. It really needs to be pushed more in this direction, I think.

Yes, there’s Wall-E, it didn’t make the list because the other stuff I think that I’ve had on my list, I mean seriously I really do think Futurama is better than Wall-E.

The Incredibles, the best in sci-fi, my number 1.

What are your thoughts?

So what do you think of my list. I really do like to hear your opinions on this stuff.

While you’re here, why not subscribe to my newsletter if you haven’t already done so.

If you do, you get a free copy of my book Angel Cowgirl, which is my art of book. If you don’t want a free digital copy of the book, you can get that book on Amazon.

Alright then, thanks for watching and I’ll see all next time, bye.

ANIMATION – Top 10 Fantasy Animated Movies

Fantasy is one of my favorite genres. Basically, animation is just full of fantasy. It is pretty much the genre for animation currently, much more so than science fiction.

Today, I am going to give you my top ten fantasy animated movies.

You can either watch the video below or read the transcription.

You will also find trailers for each movie embedded below:

Let’s begin with my top ten.

10. Ponyo

My number ten I don’t own. I don’t have it with me, but I’ll eventually get it.

It’s Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo, which is a really cute little feature animated movie about a little fish that falls in love with a little boy.

It’s basically a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but there’s something about it, the pacing and the way it’s done and the beauty of the movie, it’s just really, really, really sweet.

On the other hand, it’s also very, very strange. And, in a lot of ways, you’re trying to figure out what exactly do these characters and things represent, and is the antagonist really the antagonist, and why is he doing what he’s doing?

It’s a very interesting movie. But, overall, the visualization and the way that it’s done and the animation of the characters, there’s something about it that kind of really pulls at you.

So, I really, really enjoyed my number ten, Ponyo.

9. Princess Mononoke

My number nine I do own a copy of. It’s Princess Mononoke.

As far as fantasy goes, this is a rated PG kind of a fantasy movie about a young man, actually, who gets cursed and has to try to find a cure, and goes off to the world to, I guess, die.

Gets shunned by his village because after he beat this demon that came into his village, the demon cursed him by giving him this kind of almost like a demon hand, and it kind of polluted him.

He had to leave his town and find out where the source of this demon, this creature that got possessed with hatred so much so that it physically manifested out of it. He had to find the source of this hatred, and maybe find a cure for his arm there.

Throughout the adventure, he finds everything he needs to find. It’s pretty intense.

It’s a great, great fantasy movie, talking animals and things like that, spirit of the forests, beautiful, beautiful landscapes, very deep themes, very adult matters, and by adult I mean mature not necessarily, you know, pornographic or anything.

I highly recommend watching Princess Mononoke. Beautiful, fantastic movie.

8. Howl’s Moving Castle

My number eight, yet another Miyazaki movie. This time it is Howl’s Moving Castle.

Howl’s Moving Castle is about a, well, a castle that moves around on legs, kind of chicken legs. Very reminiscent of Baba Yaga. And, a young woman who kind of gets caught up in it after she gets cursed.

She has low self-esteem and then gets cursed, she becomes an old lady. And, by becoming an old lady, she discovers who she really is and stops being so concerned about outer appearances  and who people think that she is, and starts growing and maturing as a person.

At the same time, she has to take care of this magical being in this moving castle, who is a wizard of immense power.

So, I highly recommend this movie, Howl’s Moving Castle. And, that is my number eight.

7. Rise of the Guardians

My number seven I don’t actually own the movie, and that is Rise of the Guardians.

As far as fantasy movies go, this is well—the Easter Bunny, Sandman, Santa Claus, Jack Frost, the Boogeyman, the Tooth Fairy, so it’s really fantastic in that vein.

It’s the unique take that they pull off with these characters that is fantastic. I really, really enjoyed the movie.

I liked the story a lot, I liked the story about Jack and how he discovers who he is and what he brings to the world.  I think it’s got a good message in that everybody needs to find their thing, you know?  Sometimes it’s not very easy to do.

So, I really liked the point of the movie. My number seven is Rise of the Guardians.

6. Coraline

Okay, my number six is one of my favorite, I guess I should say, fairy tale movies that has come out recently, and that’s Coraline.

I’ve done my videos just on Coraline because I liked it so much. It is so good. I don’t know what else I can say about it.

The models are great, the story is fantastic, I must admit, also, it’s kind of creepy.

It really does feel like a fairy tale, much more so than a lot of what Disney has came out with since Snow White. Snow White feels like a fairy tale, Pinocchio would feel like a fairy tale, but this, this feels really like a fairy tale to me.

It’s a little bit more dark, but it works, it works.

5. Spirited Away

My number five is on the same lines as Coraline, it’s basically the same. Almost the same story, or the same kind of motif, and that is Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

Again, it’s about a young girl who goes into a fantasy world, just like in Coraline, and she learns to become a lot more mature, like in Coraline.

These two movies are basically like sister movies. They both star a girl—they both go into a fairy tale land, and they both have to develop and mature based on what occurs within the fairy tale land, dealing with the master of that world and finding ways to outsmart or out-class or outperform or out-think these characters, and dealing with the creatures and the magic within these worlds.

They’re basically neck and neck, I just happen to like Spirited Away just a touch more than Coraline, but Coraline is just a close second.

These two movies are just fantastic. I highly recommend Spirited Away.

4. Beauty and the Beast

My number four, it’s a beautiful movie, what can I say? You’ve probably seen it, Beauty and the Beast.

Classic, it’s very romantic, it still holds up as a really great movie. It’s got great music, it’s a great story, very romantic, and it does have action-adventure elements, it’s got very scary elements in it, it’s very deep and fun and light and dark, and then it’s got like—it’s a little bit of everything.

Very great, fantastic fantasy movie, Beauty and the Beast.

3. Castle in the Sky

My number three is yet another Miyazaki movie. Notice that there’s a little bit of Disney movies and a lot more Miyazaki movies, just because Miyazaki tends to do movies that are more my taste.

This movie is definitely the more to my taste. It’s kind of Indiana Jones with magical rocks.

It’s very fantastic. There is no magic in it per-say— well no, that’s not true. There is a spell that one of the characters does in this movie that does flow from the plot.

This movie is great. I love it. Action-adventure, the main character’s seeking a long lost island. My number three is Island in the Sky.

2. Peter Pan

My number two is Peter Pan.

I’ve had Peter Pan in many of my lists. This is J.N. Barrie’s story. It’s a great, fantasy story about a boy who’s fighting pirates and not growing up, and about these kids who end up being put into Nevernever Land, which is like a fairy island.

It is just exciting, fantastic, incredibly well animated. One of Disney’s best films and something that, you know, you’ve got a great bad guy in Captain Hook.

I highly recommend if you haven’t watched this, watch it again and again. It’s just a great movie. My number two: Peter Pan.

1. Sleeping Beauty

My number one is actually Sleeping Beauty.

Sleeping Beauty, it’s got dragons in it, it’s got, basically, fairies, dragons. It’s kind of the archetype of fantasy, or at least, a fairy tale.

Beautiful girl, prince in disguise, I really do like the prince in this movie, castle, dragon, fairies, goblins, great, you know? It’s fantastic.

I really, really enjoyed this movie. I like the look, I like the art direction. I love the villain, Maleficent is just great.

My number one is Sleeping Beauty.

What’s Your Verdit

So, what do you think? What’s your favorite fantasy animated movies? I’d like to hear it.

I’ve been getting a lot of people responding to these lists with their lists, and it’s just really interesting.

And, while you’re at it, why not join my newsletter?

If you join my newsletter and put in your email to my newsletter, you’ll get a free digital copy of my book, Angle Cowgirl, which is my art of book.

If you don’t want a free digital copy, you could always go to Amazon and pick up a print copy because while you’ll be supporting me if you do that. But, if you just want the digital copy, go right ahead, sign up, and you’ll get on as part of the sign-in process.

ANIMATION – 8 Reasons Why AVENGERS: EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES Animated Cartoon is the Funnest, Easiest Way to Learn About the Marvel Universe.

Have you watched all the live action Marvel superhero movies? Has it made you interested in the Marvel Universe? Do you want to get to know it better but don’t want to slog through 60 years of comics?

The animated cartoons is the way to go.  There’s a few animated shows out there for you to try.  If you want to watch one of the shows that comes closest to the actual comic book universe, I recommend: The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The show is on Netflix streaming and available on DVD.

Here are eight reasons why you should check this show out:

1. It Introduces you to the Avengers

The first season (out of two) does a great job of introducing each of the main characters in the Avengers.  You get a quick synopsis of some of their origins.  These versions are a lot closer to the comic book version than the live action movies.

The Avengers roster in this show includes: Ironman, Captain America, Thor, Hawk Eye, The Wasp, Black Panther, Hulk, and Ant Man. It later goes on to include other characters like Miss Marvel and The Vision, among others characters, which I’ll talk about in the “New Avengers” section below.

2. It Introduces you to the Hulk Universe Characters

Most of the Marvel characters have mini universes within the macro Marvel universe.  The Hulk is no exception.

There are episodes in this animated series that highlight Hulk’s universe and introduces you to all the Gamma monsters that revolve around the him.

They even go so far as to introduce the Red Hulk, in a cool mysterious way similar to the comic version.

3. It Introduces you to S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D.

There are other teams in the Marvel Universe besides the Avengers. S.H.I.E.L.D is one of them, S.W.O.R.D. is another.  Want to know what they’re all about.  Watch the show and you’ll find out.

Among the characters that show up on these teams are : Black Widow, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Mockingbird, Falcon and Miss Marvel.

4. It Introduces you to Tons of Marvel Villains Including HYDRA

Once some of the character are introduced and the season is set up, the plot really takes off in episode 6 and 7 called Breakout.  Every locked up super villain in the Marvel Universe brakes out of jail and all hell breaks loose.

It’s a perfect introduction to the many villains of the Marvel Universe.

Although before that happens, the show introduces you to villainous group HYDRA, and other villains like: Red Skull, Loki, The Enchantress, and Kang the Conqueror.

Eventually villains like Doctor Doom,  Ultron, and let’s not forget The Skrulls make an appearance too.

The villains in this show are far too many to count.  Let’s just say you’re in for a treat. There’s plenty of bad guys for our heroes to fight.

5. It Introduces you to Marvel Cosmic Characters

Not only do we get introduced to the earth bound heroes but we get introduced to a few Cosmic Marvel Heroes.

Heroes like Captain Mar-vel, Beta Ray Bill and, yes, The Guardians of the Galaxy.

6. It Introduces you to Some Exotic Marvel Locations

The Marvel characters are not the only things that are interesting in the Marvel Universe.  There are plenty of exotic locations to see there.

This show takes us there.

From Wakanda to the Negative zone, from Asgard to The Savage Land.  The show takes us to all kinds of iconic places in the Marvel Universe.

7. It Introduces you to The New Avengers and Cameos by Other Non-Avenger Marvel Characters

Not every superhero can be an Avenger, but some of the unlikely characters that end up on the team as The New Avengers are: Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Wolverine, War Machine, and The Thing.

And there’s plenty of cameos from other superheroes in this show, such as: The Fantastic Four, The Winter Soldier, and Yellowjacket.  I may have missed some but you get the point.

The only people that really don’t show up on this show are the X-Men.  But I’m sure if the show had got on for another season, they would have showed up.

8. It Introduces you to Variations of Marvel Comic Book Stories

Many of the best story arcs, episodes, and story lines in this show are taken straight off of the comic books.

They’re modified version of the stories in the comics but they definitely have the comics as their jumping off point.

Secret Invasion, Winter Soldier, Red Hulk and New Avengers are a few that come to mind.

As a fan it’s great to see some of these stories come to life, even if it’s in a different way than they were in the comics.

Don’t be Fooled

The art direction of for this show is very simple and cartoony. Much more so than Marvel’s most recent, more naturalistic looking animated cartoons.

Yet, even though the style is more designed and simplified, the writing for this show is for 13 and up.  The stories can get quite intense and serious sometimes.

If you’ve ever seen the Justice League or Justice League Unlimited animated cartoons, you’ll know what I mean.  If you haven’t seen those series, I’ll be writing about them in the near future.

In any case, I highly recommend watching The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes animated cartoon if you want to get to know the Marvel Universe better.

Speaking of Avengers…

If you want to own a book that has drawings of Spider-Man and Ironman drawn by me you can’t go wrong with a purchase of Angel Cowgirl: The Art of Luis Escobar.  Simply click on the link to go buy it at the amazon store.

If you’d rather get the digital version for free, subscribe to my newsletter. You’ll also get some behind the scenes Simpsons info if you do.

If, on the other hand, you’d like to learn to DRAW the Avengers, you can check out this Adam Hughes DVD (Click on the link) or check out my Drawing Website where I teach you how to draw.  There you can buy my Beginners Drawing Deluxe bundle or get a free drawing book.

Go check those out.