The Highest-Grossing Traditionally Animated Movies Of All Time
Traditional animation, also known as hand-drawn animation, is an animation technique in which each frame of a film is drawn by hand. Traditional animation was the dominant form of animated feature filmmaking from the late 1930s until the beginning of the twenty-first century. The new millennium saw the rise of CG animation, which raked in unprecedented profits for studios, ultimately forcing traditional animation into obscurity.
The Lion King and The Simpsons Movie are the only two traditionally animated films that rank among the top 50 highest-grossing animated films of all time. With that being said, many traditionally animated films have still managed to amass significant profits from the worldwide box office. The highest-grossing traditional animated movies cover multiple eras in animation, from its early beginnings in the 1930s to the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s and into the modern era of the twenty-first century. Each of the highest-grossing traditional animated films ranks among the best animated films ever made.
The Jungle Book Is The Final Film Walt Disney Produced (1967)
Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book 1967 in Technicolor
The Jungle Book
Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.
DirectorWolfgang ReithermanRelease DateOctober 18, 1967CastLouis Prima, Sebastian Cabot, Phil Harris, George Sanders, Sterling Holloway, Bruce ReithermanWritersKen Anderson, Vance Gerry, Larry Clemmons, Ralph WrightRatingGRuntime78 minutesMain GenreAnimationGenresComing-of-Age, Comedy, AdventureStudio(s)Walt Disney Animation StudiosDistributor(s)Buena Vista Distribution
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- IMDb Rating: 7.6
The single most important figure in the history of animation, Walt Disney earned a record 59 Academy Award nominations throughout his illustrious career, winning a record 22 Oscars. Disney produced some of the most influential traditionally animated films in history, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia, to name a few. The Jungle Book marked the final film Disney produced, for he passed away during production at the age of 65 from lung cancer. Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 book of the same name, The Jungle Book tells the story of Mowgli, a boy raised in the jungle by Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Panther.
Upon its debut, The Jungle Book was a historic success for Walt Disney Productions. The film grossed nearly $24 million in its initial box office run, making it the most financially successful Disney film then. Subsequent rereleases have brought The Jungle Book’s lifetime gross to $378 million. One reason for The Jungle Book’s enormous success overseas was its box office dominance in Germany, where the film sold a record-breaking 27 million tickets, nearly 10 million more than the next closest movie.
Your Name. Is A Record-Breaking Anime From Makoto Shinkai (2016)
Your Name movie poster with Taki and Mitsuha
Your Name (2016)
Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
DirectorMakoto ShinkaiRelease DateAugust 26, 2016StudioCoMix Wave FilmsCastMone Kamishiraishi, Rynosuke KamikiRatingPG-13Runtime107 minutesMain GenreAnimeGenresDrama, FantasyStreamingCrunchyroll Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime Video
A split image of Genie in Aladdin, Joker in Batman Beyond Return of the Joker, and Donkey in Shrek
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- IMDb Rating: 8.4
While Walt Disney remains the most instrumental figure in the history of animation, Hayao Miyazaki is a close second. In 1985, Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli, Japan’s most prominent anime studio. Recently, several publications have labeled Makoto Shinkai “The New Miyazaki.” Shinkai’s previous three animated feature films, Suzume, Weathering with You, and Your Name. each place among the top 11 highest-grossing Japanese films of all time. Your Name. focuses on high schoolers Mitsuha and Taki, whose lives become chaotic once their bodies begin swapping with one another despite never having met.
Your Name. was a massive commercial success in Japan, achieving box office numbers only previously seen by Miyazaki. The film finished its box office run with a worldwide gross of $382 million, making it the second highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time behind Spirited Away. Currently, Your Name. sits third on the list of Japan’s highest-grossing films, with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train surpassing both Your Name. and Spirited Away. Your Name. spent a total of 12 weeks atop the Japanese box office, including nine consecutive weeks from late August until late October.
Spirited Away Is Hayao Miyazaki’s Highest-Grossing Movie (2001)
Chihiro poses on Miyazaki’s Spirited Away film poster Studio Ghibli
Spirited Away (2001)
During her family’s move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, a world where humans are changed into beasts.
DirectorHayao MiyazakiRelease DateJuly 20, 2001StudioStudio GhibliCastYasuko Sawaguchi, Takashi Nait, Mari Natsuki, Miyu Irino, Rumi HragiRatingPGRuntime125 minutesMain GenreAnimeGenresFamily, Adventure
- IMDb Rating: 8.6
Arguably the greatest of all animation directors, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed some of the best traditionally animated films in history, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. Widely considered his magnum opus, Spirited Away is a fantasy film about Chihiro, a ten-year-old girl who inadvertently enters the world of kami. After a witch turns her parents into pigs, Chihiro must find a way to save her parents and return to the human world.
Spirited Away set the Japanese box office on fire, beating Princess Mononoke’s opening weekend record. After spending 16 total weeks in first place at the Japanese box office, Spirited Away became the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time. Spirited Away also set Japan’s theatrical attendance record, surpassing a mark set a few years prior by Titanic. For 19 years, Spirited Away remained the highest-grossing Japanese film ever made until Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train claimed the top spot. Due to political tensions, Spirited Away did not receive a theatrical release in China until 2019, giving the film an additional $70 million towards its box office total. Currently, Spirited Away’s box office total stands at $395 million.
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Is The Highest-Grossing Animated Film Of All Time When Adjusting For Inflation (1937)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie poster
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.
DirectorDavid Hand, Wilfred Jackson, William CottrellRelease DateDecember 21, 1937CastAdriana CaselottiWritersJacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Ted SearsRatingApprovedRuntime1 hour 23 minutesMain GenreAnimationGenresAnimation, Musical, Adventure, FantasyProduction CompanyWalt Disney Animation Studios
- IMDb Rating: 7.6
Before 1937, animated movies existed in short film form only. That all changed with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length traditionally animated film in history. Based on the 1812 Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Snow White,” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs centers on Snow White, a beautiful princess who takes refuge in the forest to hide from her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen. The stepmother is jealous of Snow White’s beauty, which prevents the Wicked Queen from being the “fairest in the land.”
Although many studio executives worried about audiences rejecting a feature-length animated film, the exact opposite turned out to be true. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a landmark success, reigning as cinema’s highest-grossing sound film for two years until the release of Gone with the Wind. The ever-growing popularity of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs led to the film having at least one theatrical re-release every decade from the 1940s until the 1990s. This has resulted in a lifetime gross of $418 million. When adjusting for inflation, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the highest-grossing animated film ever made and the tenth highest-grossing movie overall.
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Beauty And The Beast Is The Greatest Film Of The Disney Renaissance (1991)
The Beast and Belle on the Beauty and the Beast 1991 poster
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman’s love.
DirectorKirk Wise, Gary TrousdaleRelease DateNovember 21, 1991CastJerry Orbach, Bradley Pierce, Jesse Corti, Richard White, Robby Benson, David Ogden Stiers, Paige O’Hara, Angela LansburyRatingGRuntime1 hour 24 minutesGenresFamily, Animation, Musical, Fantasy Stream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusBuy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoRent on Prime Video
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- IMDb Rating: 8.0
Between the 1930s and the 1960s, Walt Disney Animation Studios was the clear-cut worldwide leader in animation. However, the 1970s and 1980s saw a drastic decline in both box office numbers and critical acclaim for Disney animated films. Starting with the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989, Disney returned to its former glory, and for the next decade, Disney reclaimed its position as the most successful animation studio in the world. This period, known as the Disney Renaissance, produced classic films such as Beauty and the Beast, a romantic fairy tale about the blossoming love between Belle, an adventurous young woman, and the Beast, a prince transformed into a beast due to his past indiscretions.
Beauty and the Beast was a smashing success, both commercially and critically. The movie became the first animated film to gross over $100 million at the domestic box office in its original theatrical run. Combining its initial release with subsequent re-releases, Beauty and the Beast has a lifetime gross of $438 million. At the 64th Academy Awards, Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to receive a nomination for Best Picture. In 2014, Time ranked Beauty and the Beast number one on their list of the best Disney Renaissance movies.
Tarzan Ends The Disney Renaissance On A High Note (1999)
Tarzan Disney Poster
Tarzan (1999)
A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human.
DirectorChris Buck, Kevin LimaRelease DateJune 18, 1999CastAlex D. Linz, Nigel Hawthorne, Wayne Knight, Lance Henriksen, Glenn Close, Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed, Tony Goldwyn, Rosie O’DonnellWritersNoni White, Bob Tzudiker, Tab MurphyRatingGRuntime88 MinutesMain GenreAnimationGenresAnimation, Comedy, Adventure Stream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusBuy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+
- IMDb Rating: 7.3
In 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the novel, Tarzan of the Apes. Throughout the twentieth century, Burroughs’ novel spawned dozens of film and television show adaptations. Finally, at the end of the Disney Renaissance, Walt Disney Feature Animation decided to produce the first animated version of Tarzan. In the last film of the Disney Renaissance, Tarzan follows a man raised by gorillas who must decide where he truly belongs, in the jungle or the civilized world of humans.
At the time of its initial release, Tarzan was the most expensive traditionally animated film ever produced, a record that has since been broken by Treasure Planet. The gamble paid off, as Tarzan went on to become a huge financial success. Led by world-renowned animation and a killer soundtrack by Phil Collins, Tarzan grossed nearly $450 million at the worldwide box office. An important work in cinema’s gravitation toward digital technology, Tarzan was the first ever all-digital major feature release, meaning Tarzan was the first movie produced, mastered, and projected digitally.
Aladdin Was One Of The Most Successful And Controversial Films Of The Disney Renaissance (1992)
The Cast on the Aladdin 1992 Poster
Aladdin (1992)
A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.
DirectorJohn Musker, Ron ClementsRelease DateNovember 25, 1992CastLea Salonga, Brad Kane, Jonathan Freeman, Linda Larkin, Scott Weinger, Gilbert Gottfried, Robin Williams, Frank WelkerRatingGRuntime1 hour 30 minutesGenresAnimation, Comedy, Adventure, Fantasy Stream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusStream on Disney PlusBuy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Apple TV+Rent on Apple TV+Buy on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoBuy on Prime VideoBuy on Prime Video
- IMDb Rating: 8.0
Based on the folktale “Aladdin” from One Thousand and One Nights, Aladdin is a musical fantasy comedy about a street urchin and an evil Grand Vizier who compete for control of a magical lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true. One of the most controversial films of all time, Aladdin received immense backlash for its depiction of the Arab world and its anglicization of its lead protagonists.
Despite the controversy, Aladdin was a triumphant success that set multiple box office records. At the worldwide box office, Aladdin grossed over $500 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 1992. Aladdin was the first-ever animated film to cross the $500 million mark, resulting in the movie becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time, a record it would hold until the release of The Lion King in 1994. Seventeen years after its premiere, a live-action remake of Aladdin again ruled the box office, grossing over $1 billion, although its critical acclaim paled in comparison to the original animated movie.
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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train Is The Highest-Grossing Japanese Movie Of All Time (2020)
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
After his family was brutally murdered and his sister turned into a demon, Tanjiro Kamado’s journey as a demon slayer began. Tanjiro and his comrades embark on a new mission aboard the Mugen Train, on track to despair.
DirectorHaruo SotozakiRelease DateOctober 16, 2020CastAkari Kit, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Natsuki HanaeWritersUfotableRatingTV-MARuntime1 Hour 57 MinutesMain GenreAnimationGenresAction, AdventureProducerAkifumi Fujio, Masanori Miyake, Yma TakahashiProduction CompanyAniplex, Shueisha, Ufotable
- IMDb Rating: 8.2
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train is a dark fantasy action film based on the manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge. The movie is a direct sequel to the first season of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba television series. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train centers on a group of demon slayers who board the Infinity Train on a mission to defeat a demon.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train proved to be a record-setting film whose financial accomplishments are all the more impressive considering the movie debuted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The film surpassed Spirited Away as both Japan’s highest-grossing movie and the motion picture with the most tickets sold in Japanese history. With a total gross of over $507 million, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train also eclipsed Sausage Party as the highest-grossing R-rated animated film of all time. Again, aided by the COVID-19 pandemic, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train finished 2020 as the year’s highest-grossing film, marking the first time in history that a non-American movie was the top-grossing motion picture at the worldwide box office.
The Simpsons Characters Make The Jump To The Silver Screen In The Simpsons Movie (2007)
The Simpsons Movie Poster
The Simpsons Movie
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- IMDb Rating: 7.3
Attempts to make a feature film adaptation of The Simpsons television series began early on in the show’s history, however, a suitable script evaded the writers for many years. Finally, in the mid-2000s, production began on a movie based on The Simpsons, which sought to be a tribute to the art of hand-drawn animation, as stated by Simpsons creator Matt Groening. The Simpsons Movie follows the Simpsons as they become fugitives after Homer pollutes the town’s water supply.
The Simpsons Movie was an instant success, setting multiple box office records in its opening weekend. The film scored the highest opening weekend ever for a non-CG animated movie, beating The Lion King’s previous record. The Simpsons Movie also surpassed Mission: Impossible 2’s record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film derived from a television series. By the time its theatrical run came to a close, The Simpsons Movie grossed a total of $536.4 million at the worldwide box office.
The Lion King Is The Highest-Grossing Traditionally Animated Movie Of All Time (1994)
Mufasa in the clouds watches over Pride Rock in The Lion King Official Movie Poster
The Lion King
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
DirectorRoger Allers, Rob MinkoffRelease DateJune 15, 1994StudioDisneyCastMatthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl JonesWritersLinda Woolverton, Jonathan Roberts, Irene MecchiRatingGRuntime88 minutesMain GenreAnimationGenresDrama, Animation, Adventure
- IMDb Rating: 8.5
A definitive work of the Disney Renaissance, The Lion King is the highest-grossing traditionally animated movie of all time. Inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young heir apparent whose uncle forces Simba to flee after he violently takes over the throne. Once he grows up, Simba returns to his home to reclaim what is rightfully his.
The Lion King was an unparalleled box office success, ultimately becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever made. The highest-grossing film of 1994, The Lion King ended its initial box office run as the second highest-grossing film in history, second only to Jurassic Park. The Lion King remained the highest-grossing animated film for nine years, eventually surpassed by the CG animated movie Finding Nemo. Subsequent IMAX and 3D theatrical releases of The Lion King have brought its lifetime gross to over $968 million.