Listmania!
Animation!
The Adventures Of Prince Achmed [1926] [DVD]The Adventures Of Prince Achmed [1926] [DVD]
Buy new: £12.88
'Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed' 1926. Famous for being one of the first feature-length animations, but what matters is that it's still one of the best. Also available are her short films B001EJW0UY
Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey In Living Colour [DVD] [1935]Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey In Living Colour [DVD] [1935]
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £3.91
Because sometimes, you need to know your roots. See also B0000DZRFA, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, B00005U1XY and Mulan.
The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka [DVD] [1951] [US Import]The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka [DVD] [1951] [US Import]
Buy used from: £513.00
1949–1965. Trnka is perhaps to stop-motion what Tezuka is to manga. This disc is all regions, so will work on UK players, as will the earlier B0006L0LG6 & essential B000QJ6E6E
Clangers - Series 1 - Complete [DVD]Clangers - Series 1 - Complete [DVD]
Buy new: £3.97 / Used from: £2.99
1969–1974. They're made of pink wool, they eat blue string pudding and communicate through nuclear magnetic resonance! Soundtrack is B00005S0QV
Little Norse Prince [DVD]Little Norse Prince [DVD]
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £4.48
'Taiyô no Ôji: Horusu no Daibôken' 1968. Darker than you might expect and a darkness which is only enhanced by the songs and stylised characters.
Fantastic Planet - Masters of Cinema series [DVD]Fantastic Planet - Masters of Cinema series [DVD]
Buy new: £13.88 / Used from: £10.99
'La Planète sauvage' 1973. A masterpiece, if a someone dated one; not only shockingly imaginative but moving in the points it makes. B000ULTCQ2 is also good, B000UM1GCE less so.
The Moomins [DVD] [1977]The Moomins [DVD] [1977]
Buy new: £56.19 / Used from: £48.94
'Die Mumins' 1977–1982. The later Japanese series B0007ZEN2O is the one that I remember, but this Polish/German version is more true to the books.
Das letzte EinhornDas letzte Einhorn
1982. Magical, mysterious, elegiac… But the UK DVD is terrible; get B000KJU128 if you can play region 1, or the German 'Das letzte Einhorn' if you cannot.
Masters of Russian Animation, Vol. 1 [DVD] [1962] [US Import] [NTSC]Masters of Russian Animation, Vol. 1 [DVD] [1962] [US Import] [NTSC]
Buy used from: £45.95
It looks like only the first of these is free from region encoding.
Jan Svankmajer - The Complete Short Films [DVD] [1964]Jan Svankmajer - The Complete Short Films [DVD] [1964]
Buy new: £24.17
1964–1992. Probably the most influential of all 'inde' animators. Also see the feature films 6305779635 & 6305739889.
Tenchi [DVD]Tenchi [DVD] by Tenchi Muyo!
Buy new: £34.98
'Tenchi Muyô!' 1992–1994. I love the early 90s OVA style of this & B000H5V9IK – higher quality than TV, but with a physicality which movies often lack. Also see the (proper) sequel B000RF9Z1I
The Nightmare Before Christmas (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1993]The Nightmare Before Christmas (2 Disc Collector's Edition) [DVD] [1993]
Buy new: £5.98 / Used from: £4.99
1993. Now also on Blu-ray Disc, this remains a spectacular example of what stop-motion can do. See also the same director's 'James and the Giant Peach,' with the visual style of illustrator Lane SMITH
Whisper Of The Heart [DVD]Whisper Of The Heart [DVD]
Buy new: £6.48 / Used from: £4.40
'Mimi o Sumaseba' 1995. Stunning, STUNNING film, both in subject and technique, about the magic there is there is to be found if one only thinks to look for it.
Memories [DVD] [1996]Memories [DVD] [1996]
Buy used from: £6.29
1995. A varied trio of shorts, all based on stories by ÔTOMO Katsuhiro but differing widely in their interpretation by different staff.
Kirikou And The Sorceress [2002] [DVD]Kirikou And The Sorceress [2002] [DVD]
Buy new: £13.88 / Used from: £13.99
'Kirikou et la sorcière' 1998. Too much animation tries to imitate live-action, when as Michel Ocelot's films demonstrate, its essence is closer to theatre & painting. B0015B04GI is another of his.
Phil Mulloy - Extreme Animation [1999] [DVD]Phil Mulloy - Extreme Animation [1999] [DVD] by Phil Mulloy
Buy new: £12.98 / Used from: £9.99
1991–2001 by Phil MULLOY. If you thought South Park was an amusingly puerile comment on the modern world, you ain't seen nothing when compared to this.
Fruits Basket - Vol.1-4 [2003] [DVD]Fruits Basket - Vol.1-4 [2003] [DVD] by Fruits Basket
Buy new: £40.38
2001. Episodes can be similar to each other but are varied within themselves & filled with creative use of limited animation. For more craziness see B000ZN640M & the more avant-garde B0015B04RM
Haibane Renmei - Series 1 [2003] [DVD]Haibane Renmei - Series 1 [2003] [DVD]
2002. As near-perfect a work of art as I have ever come across; simultaneously relaxing & exhilarating. Similar series are B0002XOZDI, B000H1QQIM & B000W2FIC6
The Quay Brothers - The Short Films 1979-2003 (Two Discs) [DVD]The Quay Brothers - The Short Films 1979-2003 (Two Discs) [DVD]
Buy new: £15.88
1979–2003. Spiritual successors to Švankmajer's shorts (B00064X6XS being more like his later feature films).
The Work Of Director Michel Gondry [DVD]The Work Of Director Michel Gondry [DVD]
Buy new: £12.88 / Used from: £6.49
198?–2003. Some with deep meaning, others purely visual, but all inspiringly creative. As with Švankmajer, it's not all animation, but always informed by it to some extent.
Tokyo Godfathers [DVD] [2003]Tokyo Godfathers [DVD] [2003]
Buy new: £3.98 / Used from: £2.50
2003. The #1 film I would recommend to anyone, no matter what they're into – plenty to entertain anyone, but more substance than the films it pays homage to.
Shakespeare: The Animated Tales [DVD] [1992]Shakespeare: The Animated Tales [DVD] [1992]
First of 3 similar collaborations between British and Russian animators, the others being B00070G73M and B0007URSTE. All varied in both and style in quality, but with numerous gems among them.
The Shinkai Collection [2002] [DVD]The Shinkai Collection [2002] [DVD]
Buy new: £8.98 / Used from: £8.68
Contains 'Kanojo to Kanojo no Neko' 1999; 'Hoshi no Koe' 2003; 'Kumo no Mukô, Yakusoku no Basho' 2004. See these before he gets any more famous.
Mirrormask / Labyrinth / Dark Crystal [DVD]Mirrormask / Labyrinth / Dark Crystal [DVD]
Buy new: £8.88 / Used from: £8.95
1982–2005. Animatronics used to bring an alien world to life, and a great example of originality brought about by a low budget.
Peter & The Wolf - Sergei Prokofiev [DVD] [2006]Peter & The Wolf - Sergei Prokofiev [DVD] [2006]
Buy used from: £12.95
2006. Chilling and affecting, only half an hour long but with worthwhile extras.