Every year without fail, Hollywood and other foreign markets bring unforgettable cinematic experiences to the masses, feeding our senses with creativity, imagination, and in rare instances, the impossible. In many cases, we’re spoiled when it comes to live-action offerings, but what about animation? Today, we’re looking back on the year 2000, the year Y2K became a humorous footnote of paranoia, Deftones’ “White Pony” defied expectations, and Jessica Simpson declared tuna the “Chicken of the Sea.”
Looking back, there are any number of wild pop culture milestones to mark the turn of the century, but today, we’re setting our sights on the greatest animated films of 2000, with a Top 5 list that’s sure to make you feel nostalgic and appreciative of the leaps we’ve made in the cinematic art form since then. Let us begin!
5) Blood the Last Vampire
Blood: The Last Vampire is often my go-to recommendation for anyone curious about watching anime. I don’t want to overwhelm this person with a 100+ episode series, and a feature too complex could scare them away from exploring all anime has to offer. With a runtime of 48 minutes, Hiroyuki Kitakubo’s Blood: The Last Vampire is an essential “get in, get ’em hooked,” experience.
The story revolves around Saya, a Japanese vampire slayer, whose next mission takes place in a high school on a US military base in the 1960s. The animation is exquisite, beautifully lit, and meticulously executed in style. The soundtrack drips with hot, sweaty jazz, thunderous orchestral pieces, darkwave, industrial constructs, and lo-fi beats to chill to. The vampiric events emerge on Halloween, adding an inherent spookiness to the Gothic themes, drama, and slice ‘n dice action. It’s a tradition in my house to watch Hiroyuki Kitakubo’s Blood: The Last Vampire once a year around Halloween season. It’s a ritual I’ve kept for 24 years and I plan to make it 25 soon. While The Last Vampire didn’t break the bank, it’s a cult favorite among Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Kizumonogatari fans.
4) Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
Before Netflix’s Castlevania stunned audiences with its Gothic tale of forbidden love, charismatic undead, and unrivaled monster hunters, Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust took the classic story of the rogue vampire hunter to new heights for an anime so gorgeous, visceral, and moody that it’s still one of the best of the best twenty-five years later.
In Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, a legendary dhampir competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to return a young woman who has been seemingly abducted by a vampire to her family. The result is a display of beauty, brutality, and ungodly sights that only the boldest artists in anime could conjure. Dripping with eerie grotesque charm, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is a visual feast from beginning to end with memorable characters and unsightly monstrosities.
3) The Emperor’s New Groove
Pull the lever, Kronk! If you need a classic Disney animated feature as endlessly quotable as movies like Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, look no further than The Emperor’s New Groove. Inspired by Mark Twain’s classic novel The Prince and the Pauper, as well as Incan architecture and mythology,The Emperor’s New Groove stars David Spade as Kuzco—a self-centered emperor in desperate need of an attitude adjustment—who meets Pacha—a humble llama herdsman voiced by John Goodman. Together they embark on a soul-searching journey through the wilderness while being chased by the emperor’s evil advisor Yzma—voiced by Ertha Kitt—and her hunky dolt of a boyfriend Kronk—voiced enthusiastically by Seinfeld’s Patrick Warburton.
There are many reasons The Emperor’s New Groove appears on so many best-of lists. It’s a blend of dry wit with slapstick rarely seen in Disney animated classics; its reflective narrative prompts audiences to look inward while encouraging them to examine how they treat those around them—especially the less fortunate. Whether you’re tuning in to watch Kuzco learn a vital lesson in humanity or clutch your sides at Yzma and Kronk’s comedic stylings or delighting in a cautionary tale filled with humor and heart,The Emperor’s New Groove has something for everyone.
2) Titan A.E.
After Don Bluth’s Dragon’s Lair and Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element asserted their place in pop culture history,Titan A.E., directed by Bluth and Gary Goldman took flight as their most ambitious feature yet. Set in the 31st century,Titan A.E. follows Cale Tucker—a young man striving to save humanity by protecting a massive ship capable of creating a new planet. With the Drej—a hostile alien species—hot on his trail,Cale partners with a ragtag crew of misfits to follow a genetically encoded map that could lead to humanity’s salvation.
While some naysayers might argue that the film’s look is outdated,many animation enthusiasts contend thatTitan A.E.‘s use of CGI is timeless and helped set the pace for generations to come. The stacked cast includes Matt Damon,Drew Barrymore,Janeane Garofalo,Nathan Lane,and John Leguizamo among others. The adventure spans solar systems as Cale and his crew race against time to establish a new Earth while sending back the Drej to whatever intergalactic hell they came from. In 2000,Titan A.E. was an exhilarating rollercoaster ride filled with effects imagination,and inspired storytelling. As your attorney,I advise you to find this aspiring film and take the ride.
1) Chicken Run
Popping into first place is Aardman Animation‘s Chicken Run. Inspired by the film The Great Escape, this stop-motion animated marvel blends humor with endless creativity against a grim backdrop. In this movie,a dreadful machine that effortlessly turns chickens into delicious pies becomes fully operational. With death looming just days away,the chickens of Mrs. Tweedy’s Farm must hatch an escape plan that grants them safe passage away from their inevitable demise.
Chicken Run is not only my favorite Aardman film but also one of my all-time favorite animated films. It brilliantly executes uproarious slapstick comedy while its characters become trapped in an oppressive setting where death looms constantly. It also carries emotional weight where lies from savior characters threaten undoing efforts made by those who’ve suffered under Mrs.Tweedy’s watchful eye. Yet it isn’t all doom; amidst darker themes lies fun inspired comedy and hope. Once you recognize parallels drawn between chickens’ desire never to give up against their incarceration mirroring humankind’s cruel practices,this film achieves depth not found in most blockbuster animated presentations.
There you have it folks! What do you think about our Top Animated Films of 2000 list? Are your favorite films represented here? Are there any grievous omissions? Leave us a comment and let us know what your Top Animated Films of 2000 are! Until next time.Cheers!
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