With 2024 coming to a close, the year has seen a noteworthy amount of new animated movie releases that are kid friendly. From sequels such as Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 to remakes including Transformers One and The Garfield Movie, to original concepts like The Wild Robotanimated flicks have hit theaters almost every month. Not only that, but let’s not forget the catalog of films available on streaming services. Netflix released the fantasy adventure Orion in the Dark while Peacock came out with the thrilling book based The Tiger’s Apprentice, amongst many others. Child friendly animated films may have a target audience, but that’s not to say that animation cannot be enjoyed by all ages.

The real question is, what exactly makes an animated movie a “hit”? Why do some become classics while others fade away? When thinking about classic and timeless animated films, usually The Lion King (1994), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Toy Story (1995), and The Little Mermaid (1989) are the films which come to mind. Not to mention other ongoing franchises like Kung Fu Panda (2008), Shrek (2001), Despicable Me (2010), and How to Train Your Dragon (2010). The list of animated movies that hold a special place in our hearts goes on and on. With the relentless streak of animated after animated movie, some significant films simply get forgotten in the past. It’s time to look back at the neglected animated films that deserve a second chance.

Oliver & Company (1988)

Survival can be rough in The Big Apple, but not if you have the right connections. A gut-wrenching opening scene shows a group of kittens in a soggy box left out in the rain. As each kitten gets hugged and taken to their new cozy homes, an orange tabby named Oliver never gets picked. Oliver learns the hard way that New York City can be unforgiven, as he starves being on his own. Cue Dodger, a Jack Russell Terrier and a ruthless con-dog, who knows his way around the city like the back of his hand. Dodger recruits Oliver to steal some food, but then kicks Oliver to the curb. Oliver has no choice but to follow Dodger and be with the only animal that looked at him twice. Dodger reluctantly allows Oliver to join his pack of stray, thieving dogs.

Loosely based on Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, the film features a soundtrack of the singing New York streets. The catchy “Why Should I Worry?” by Billy Joel features Dodger running through the city like it’s his personal playground. In “Streets of Gold”, the female dog of the gang, Rita, shows Oliver the ropes in New York City such as when it’s safe to cross through traffic, always staying with your pack, and always being alert. Contrast these songs with the sweet lullaby “Good Company”, where Oliver’s new owner Jenny expresses her love for Oliver and their lifelong bond. She reveals to Oliver the gentler side of the city, like playing fetch in Central Park and sitting in a horse-drawn carriage. The soundtrack is certainly one to remember.

Oliver & Company souvenirs at Disneyworld are few and far between. If anything, you might be able to find a pin if you comb through the entire park. However, The Aristocats (1970), another Disney cat-dog film, still has plenty of merchandise available. So, what happened? The film was technically a box office success, grossing $121 million on a $31 million budget. However, critics had mixed reactions, and the film currently has a rotten 53% on Rotten Tomatoes. The explored concepts of the film are rather dark at times, depicting homelessness, kidnapping, thievery, desperation, starvation, death, amongst others. But that’s the reality of any big city, is it not? Regardless, the film is still rightful of a second look.

Balto (1995)

Nome, Alaska 1925 is where this inspiring true story took place. An outbreak of diphtheria struck the children of Nome and the closest city with the anti-toxin, Anchorage, was over 500 miles away. With deadly winter storms, it was impossible for the city of Nome to receive their supplies. The only way to transport the anti-toxin was by dog sled. Cue Balto, a three-year-old inexperienced pup who helped retrieve the medicine in the “Great Race of Mercy”, a relay race of over 20 dog mushers. Due to the strength and fortitude of the dogs and their leaders, the serum was delivered in time to help the sick children of Nome. In 1995, Steven Spielberg and Universal teamed up to deliver a reimagination of this story.

Balto, although based on a true story, it has its own cinematic flair. Voiced by Kevin Bacon, the character of Balto is half-dog, half-wolf, who can’t seem to find his place in the world. The real Balto was a purebred Siberian Husky. He’s also much older in the film than the three-year-old pup from the original story. Still, he yearns to be on a sled team, but keeps on being sabotaged by the egotistical Steele, the leader of the best dog sled team. Balto’s companions, which of course are not derived from the original story, are two polar bears who can’t swim and a Russian goose. It has that lighthearted animated appeal, until the story takes a dramatic turn.

Jenna, a Siberian Husky and Balto’s love interest, slowly realizes that her owner is dying. Her owner, a sweet and playful girl named Rosy, is one of the many children with diphtheria. The city’s only doctor has run out of anti-toxin and the children are slowly dying under his care. However, the closest anti-toxin is over 500 miles away. Steele’s sled team heads out to recover the toxin, but hope dissipates as the team gets lost on their journey. The most gut-wrenching scene in this film is when Balto comes across a carpenter building something out of wood. It is soon revealed that the carpenter is constructing child-sized coffins, and has several completed ones lined up in a row. The gravity of the situation finally hits Balto, as well as the rest of the audience.

To make this story child-friendly while also providing an accurate interpretation is quite difficult. There is the occasional slap-stick comedy with comic relief characters to give the audience a break from the reality of the situation. The film adds the half-wolf, half-dog detail to the character to display Balto’s determination to help others in need, regardless of how the world treats him. Throughout the film, Balto gets snow thrown at him, stepped on, called “rabid”, bullied, and dismissed due to his wolf-like nature. Despite all of this, Balto is not deterred from lending a hand to those who want nothing to do with him. At the end, he fully embraces who he is and uses his wolf-like instincts to guide his way back to the city through the storm.

The heroic act of the real dog Balto led to a statue of him in Central Park with a plaque recognizing him for his bravery. The film was nominated for four Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. However, Balto currently has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. Why didn’t it resonate with audiences? This could be due to the wildly successful first installment of Toy Story (1995) released one month prior. Balto’s sequel films went straight to home video, as opposed to Toy Story. Balto was never going to live up to the audience's expectations due to the significance of the story it's based on. It’s not an easy feat to create a child-friendly film that also depicts dying children. Balto should be embraced simply for the film that it is, a tear-jerking inspirational story.

Brother Bear (2003)

SPOILERS AHEAD A loving story of empathy, compassion, and forgiveness, Brother Bear has been overlooked for far too long. The film takes place in post-ice age Alaska and centers around an Inuit tribe. This tribe holds their faith in the Great Spirits who guide them throughout life. At a certain age, a tribe member will receive an animal totem along with a characteristic which guides them through life. Three Inuit brothers, Sitka, Denahi, and Kenai prepare for the youngest brother, Kenai’s, ceremony to become a man and receive his totem. Much to Kenai’s disappointment, he receives “the bear of love” as his totem. After his mistake that costs the village their food, Kenai goes after the bear he deems responsible and sadly loses his brother Denahi in the confrontation.

Kenai’s stubbornness and determination leads him to kill the bear he had his eyes on, and the spirit of his brother turns Kenai into a bear as punishment for his violence. Through the eyes of a bear, Kenai develops compassion and understanding. When Kenai journeys with Koda, a young cub looking for his mother, to get to the Great Spirit aurora, they come across stone etchings depicting man versus bear. Koda remarks how scary the humans look with their sticks, which shows Kenai the opposite perspective. The true knife to the heart is the twist-ending where Kenai finally realizes that the bear he killed as a human was Koda’s mother. It’s a deeply impactful and emotional film, depicting the consequences of revenge and the significance of compassion.

If the emotional impact wasn’t enough, the film’s powerful soundtrack includes original songs by Phil Collins, recognized for his work in the acclaimed Tarzan (1999). The gut-wrenching “No Way Out” plays as Kenai realizes the consequences of his actions and the awful truth he must reveal to Koda. “Welcome” demonstrates the brotherhood and community of the bears as they come together for the annual salmon run. “Look Through My Eyes” shows the life-altering changes of seeing the world from another perspective. And who can forget, “On My Way”, as Koda and Kenai happily ride wooly mammoths to their destination. Although not as popular as the Tarzan soundtrack, the Brother Bear soundtrack is equally as deserving.

Brother Bear received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature in 2004. It had a production budget of $46 million and cashed in over $250 million at the box office. However, the film currently has a rotten 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. With a film involving impactful themes, a wonderful soundtrack, beautiful animation, a sprinkle of comedy, and the voice of Academy Award winner Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, what went wrong? Were the suboptimal reviews based on comparison to Finding Nemo (2003) which was released the same year and won over Brother Bear for the Best Animated Feature? Whatever the case may be, grab a tissue box and give this film the second chance it deserves.

Rise of the Guardians (2017)

As the evil Boogeyman Pitch Black threatens the beliefs and imagination of children around the world, folkloric and legendary figures of childhood unite to protect the innocence of children before the Boogeyman corrupts them all. However, these important figures of our childhood are not quite the same as imagined. Santa Claus is tattooed, big and buff, and speaks with a Russian accent. The Easter Bunny is a tall Australian rabbit with a set of boomerangs and a touchy attitude. The Tooth Fairy resembles a hummingbird, complete with blue, green, and yellow scales with fluttering wings. The Sandman is rather small with spiky hair and can only communicate by using his golden sand. These are the four legendary Guardians, until we meet Jack Frost.

“Jack Frost is nipping at your nose.” That’s about all that remains of the legend of Jack Frost, both in modern times and in this film. In Rise of the Guardians, Jack Frost is a teenage trickster with a staff who loves a good Snow Day. Regardless of the amount of fun he brings, like throwing snowballs and sledding down a hill, none of the children think he is real. Jack Frost represents the consequences of no one believing in you. That inescapable feeling of hopelessness and loneliness. That is why Pitch Black, the representation of our greatest fears, demonstrates why he has so much in common with Jack. Because when no one believes in us, we turn to the darkness. Throughout the film, Jack tries to find his purpose in life, what is at his center. It’s a common dilemma that anyone can relate to.

Rise of the Guardians was nominated at the 2013 Golden Globes for Best Animated Feature Film. It currently is certified fresh with 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. So where did the film go wrong? Although making more than its original budget, the film had poor domestic box office numbers which inevitably caused an unfortunate financial loss to the studio. Not only that, but it led to numerous firings of workers under DreamWorks Animation as a result of the supposed $87 million loss. On top of that, released earlier that same month was the nostalgic and playful Wreck-it-Ralph (2012). Whatever the case may be, we have somehow forgotten Jack Frost and the rest of the Guardians once again, and they deserve to be remembered.

Elemental (2023)

Although a rather recent release, Pixar Animation’s Elemental was never given the chance to succeed, and for that reason, it deserves a second look. The film takes place in Element City where all four elements, fire, water, air, and earth, live together harmoniously. It’s a city of brilliant colors, and the animation is purely stunning. Ember, a fire element, works for her father’s business and will hopefully one day take over his store, The Fireplace. Although a very skilled worker, Ember suffers from anxiety and poor emotional control. She puts the family business at risk when her inability to control her anger leads to a broken water pipe. But the story is so much more than that.

Ember’s parents are immigrants who left their home country to Element City to pursue their version of “the American dream”. Upon arrival, the couple are met with xenophobia and racism. The immigration officer cannot speak their language and cannot pronounce their names, so he gives them the easier-to- pronounce names of Bernie and Cinder. On the subway, the other elements look at Bernie and Cinder with disgust. Real estate agents reject them from every home with a simple look and slam of a door. Elemental director and co-writer Peter Sohn, a second-generation Korean American, was inspired by his own parents who immigrated to New York from Korea. The film still reflects the current treatment of immigrants to this day.

Elemental received mostly favorable reviews and sits at Rotten Tomatoes with a certified fresh 73%. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards. Elemental had one of the lowest opening weekends in Pixar history, going against a $200 million budget. However, it had some stiff competition, releasing the same weekend as the long-awaited The Flash movie as well as battling other big blockbusters at the time. Despite this, Elemental made a phenomenal return. Upon its release on Disney plus, it became the most-watched premiere of the year on the platform, elbowing out the competition. The film grossed almost $500 million worldwide. Elemental fought for an audience and got the second look it deserved.

In summary…

Although the future of animation is bright, let’s not leave the forgotten films animators, writers, and directors, who worked so hard to create, in the dark. We can appreciate the past while also being optimistic about the future. The films mentioned above are by no means the only films that are deserving of more recognition. There are plenty more animated films that could still use some more love. It’s up to us to give them that second chance they deserve.