The 15 Best Epic Animated Movies, Ranked
Epic films are among the best examples of cinema’s power. These grand movies offer cinematic reinterpretations of the past and make the most of their available technology to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience. Though they usually focus on visual spectacle, many epics also have equally grand characters, stories, and themes.
Animated movies have had their fair share of epic movies as well. Since they aren’t limited or restricted by the physical world, these animated epics can go even further, creating larger-than-life worlds for audiences to get lost in. The best epic movies in animation are awe-inspiring, massive in scale, and thoughtful, using their settings to craft stories that are equally revealing and entertaining. Some use music, others humor, but the greatest animated epic finds the perfect balance between all these elements.
15
‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’ (2002)
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Image via DreamWorks</figure>
Spirit (Matt Damon) is a wild mustang stallion born into 19th-century America as the USA is undergoing a westward expansion. He is captured by US cavalrymen and taken to a fort, where the local Colonel (James Cromwell) hopes to break Spirit and prove that anything can be tamed. However, Spirit proves to have a stronger will than the humans anticipated, and the capture of a Lakota warrior named Little Creek (Daniel Studi) gives him the chance to escape and try to find his way home.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is one of the best examples of the creative landscape of 2000s animated films, where the traditional musical of the ’90s was replaced with more adventurous and ambitious projects. The animators did a phenomenal job making this film feel epic, with plenty of sweeping shots of the American West that capture the majesty of nature. Where they really excelled is in animating the facial and body language of the characters, which allows most of the story to be told through non-verbal acting.
14
‘The Land Before Time’ (1988)
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Image via Universal Pictures</figure>
Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon) is the only child born to a herd of Brontosauruses making their way to the mythical Great Valley. Following a Tyrannosaurus attack and an earthquake, Littlefoot is separated from his family. He joins forces with other orphaned dinosaurs and uses his mother’s stories to guide them to the valley.
The animators in The Land Before Time did a phenomenal job bringing to life this prehistoric world, from the design and movements of the dinosaurs to the ever-changing landscape. Its story is also quite mature for a children’s film, touching on themes of faith, prejudice, and loss. The Land Before Time is among the best dinosaur movies, a poignant exploration of life that succeeds despite its many detours into schmaltzy sentimentalism.
13
‘Atlantis: The Lost Empire’ (2001)
Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox) is a linguist obsessed with discovering the lost city of Atlantis. One night, he is approached by a friend of his grandfather, who has found a journal that leads to the city and agrees to finance an expedition. Milo joins as their linguist and mythology expert, but even his knowledge can’t prepare the team for what they’ll encounter.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire underperformed on release but has gained cult status due to its grand scale and the care put into its world and characters. The idea of the Atlantean civilization is interesting, as the surviving people have forgotten much of their ancient culture despite being surrounded by its ruins. Its art style was inspired by comic artist Mike Mignola, which gives it a more mature and alien look compared to other Disney films. One of Disney’s most underrated movies, Atlantis is a great animated adventure, even if it doesn’t do half as much with its premise as it should’ve.
12
‘Mulan’ (1998)
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Image via Disney</figure>
When a Hun army invades China, the Emperor (Pat Morita) orders one man from every household to be conscripted into the army. Knowing that her father won’t survive the war, Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) takes his place and disguises herself as a man. Aided by a family guardian named Mushu (Eddie Murphy), she does her best to inspire both herself and her fellow soldiers to save their homeland.
Mulan tells a grand story straight out of Chinese legend about courage, triumph against impossible odds, and self-identity. Through stellar landscapes and Jerry Goldsmith‘s score, audiences are transported to ancient China and experience the same levels of hope and despair as the heroes. Mulan herself is one of Disney’s best characters, taking her destiny into her own hands. Mulan does much with its premise while remaining firmly in family-friendly territory, even if it falls short of truly exploring the grandeur of Imperial China.
11
‘Sleeping Beauty’ (1959)
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Image via Walt Disney Pictures</figure>
Enraged that she wasn’t invited to the christening of Princess Aurora (Mary Costa), the evil fairy Maleficent (Eleanor Audley) curses the child to die on her sixteenth birthday. The good fairy, Merryweather (Barbara Luddy), changes her fate to a deathless sleep, then tries to raise the princess with her companions, Flora (Verna Felton) and Fauna (Barbara Jo Allen). Unfortunately, Maleficent is determined to see her curse through.
Sleeping Beauty was Disney’s most expensive film at the time, and it shows through the art style. The film looks like a medieval tapestry brought to life, resulting in colors that pop off the screen and truly atmospheric locations. Its climax is one of Disney’s best, and its depiction of the high Middle Ages is romantic and enveloping. Sleeping Beauty remains a sweeping and unique entry in Disney’s canon, even if its focus on fantasy prevents it from fully exploring its historical setting.
10
‘The Sea Beast’ (2022)
When the royal family of Three Bridges threatens to replace their sea monster Hunters with naval officers, the crew of the Intrepid is given one chance to prove their worth by killing the elusive Red Bluster. They nearly succeed, but the captain’s adopted son, Jacob (Karl Urban), and a stowaway named Maisie (Zaris-Angel Hator) fall overboard. The Bluster takes them to a secluded island, where they learn more about the sea beasts than they anticipated.
The Sea Beast has some of the best cinematography of any recent animated film. It does a wonderful job of showing off the size of the ocean and the beasts that inhabit it, especially when the humans find themselves submerged. The Sea Beast‘s story is also equally grand as it explores themes of man vs. nature and how heroes can also be wrong.
9
‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ (2014)
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Image via Paramount Pictures</figure>
Five years after bringing peace between Vikings and dragons, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon, Toothless (Randy Thom), encounter dragon trappers employed by a warlord named Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou). Despite his father’s warnings, Hiccup thinks he can avoid war by speaking to Drago. This leads to him finding his lost mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), and a hidden kingdom of dragons.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 improved on the already impressive cinematography and storytelling of the original How to Train Your Dragon. The new additions include new factions and gargantuan alpha dragons, which make the world feel grander and full of mysteries. How to Train Your Dragon 2 embraces the main tropes associated with the Viking Age, effortlessly blending them with a healthy dose of fantasy.
- The first film not in the English language to win Best Picture, in the Academy’s
92-year history to that point. - It took four Oscars in one night: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay and International
Feature. - It won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019 by a unanimous jury vote, the first Korean film
to do so. - The Park family’s modernist house was not a location. It was built from scratch on an
outdoor lot.
- Seven Oscars, including three acting wins for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee
Curtis. - Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress.
- The visual effects were handled by a team of fewer than ten people, most of them
self-taught. - Ke Huy Quan had all but left acting for two decades before this role brought him back.
- Seven Oscars, including Nolan’s first wins for directing and for Best Picture.
- Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. both took their first Academy Awards for it.
- Kodak engineered a black-and-white 65mm stock that did not previously exist so Nolan could
shoot those sequences on IMAX. - A three-hour, R-rated drama about theoretical physics that passed 950 million dollars
worldwide.
- Four Oscars, among them Best Picture and Best Director for Iñárritu.
- Emmanuel Lubezki’s win here was the middle of three consecutive cinematography Oscars,
after Gravity and before The Revenant. - Antonio Sánchez’s improvised drum score was ruled ineligible for the score category,
which caused a minor uproar. - The long-take illusion was built from a handful of extended shots joined by hidden cuts.
- Four Oscars: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem.
- Adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 novel, with much of his dialogue carried over
intact. - Carter Burwell’s score runs about sixteen minutes and is nearly inaudible by design.
- Roger Deakins was nominated twice that year, for this and The Assassination of Jesse James,
and won for neither.
8
‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (1996)
Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) is a hunchback who works as the bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral. Against the wishes of his master, Judge Frollo (Tony Jay), he attends the Festival of Fools and is publicly humiliated. When the Romani woman Esmerelda (Demi Moore) shows him kindness, she earns the wrath of Frollo, who demands her capture.
Based on the literary classic by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame has perhaps the grandest sense of scale out of all entries in the Disney Renaissance. The animators make Notre Dame feel monumental thanks to creative angles, rich detail, and impressive camera work when Quasimodo is scaling its walls. 15th-century Paris is fully realized, with sequences like the Festival of Fools feeling absorbing, chaotic, and lively. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is an epic reinvention of a beloved tale, and while it’s not faithful to Hugo’s words, it is a phenomenal animated effort from the Mouse House.
7
‘Wall-E’ (2008)
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Image via ©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection</figure>
Wall-E (Ben Burtt) is the last of a legion of robots tasked with cleaning up a polluted Earth after humanity fled 700 years ago. One day, an advanced probe named EVE (Elissa Knight) comes to Earth, and Wall-E instantly falls in love with her. When he tries to impress her with a young plant he discovered, it causes EVE’s return protocol to activate, bringing her and Wall-E to the human ship Axiom, where they can help lead the now obsessed and technologically dependent humans back home.
Wall-E is perhaps the greatest example of Pixar’s phenomenal animation, as they are able to convey so much emotion on robotic characters who don’t have proper faces. They also did a great job of making the world feel epic, from the ominous images of gigantic towers of trash rising atop a silent Earth, to the vast majesty of the cosmos whenever the characters look out or even travel through the vastness of space. Its message is also very poignant and topical, with major themes regarding environmentalism, the dangers of overreliance on technology, and the importance of living rather than just surviving.
6
‘Fantasia’ (1940)
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Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</figure>
In order to push the bounds of animation, Walt Disney paired up with conductor Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He tasked his animators with creating seven shorts that would synchronize with classical music pieces. The result is one of the most surreal and grand spectacles in all animation.
Each segment of Fantasia is epic and grand in its own way. Some tell stories through the use of abstract shapes and colors, while others tell more traditional narratives with recognizable heroes and villains. The most recognizable of all is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” thanks to the inclusion of Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney), and “A Night on Bald Mountain” for its juxtaposition between demonic hellfire and the calming light of dawn.
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