The Top 10 Most Successful Non-Disney Animated Films – A Love Letter and a Roast
Disney isn’t the only game in town when it comes to animation, even though they’d like you to believe they invented moving pictures. While they were out here monopolizing childhoods and devouring animation studios like a media-hungry kaiju, other studios were quietly dropping some of the most iconic, successful, and occasionally unhinged animated films in history.
So today, we’re celebrating the non-Disney animated films that made bank, won hearts, and absolutely refused to let the Mouse run the whole show. But because I have no self-control and a strong desire to roast everything I love, we’re giving them the brutal, affectionate roast they deserve.
Let’s do this.
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10. Anastasia (1997) – AKA “The Movie That Lied to an Entire Generation”
Why It’s Amazing: This movie made us believe it was Disney before we realized it was made by Fox. And honestly? It’s still one of the most gorgeous hand-drawn films ever. Meg Ryan as Anastasia? Inspired. John Cusack as Dimitri? Beautiful. Christopher Lloyd as Rasputin? Deeply unsettling but in the best way.
Roast: First of all, this movie lied to everyone. If you watched this as a kid, you probably thought Anastasia escaped the Russian Revolution and lived happily ever after.
NOPE. Real-life Anastasia? Did not make it. The Romanovs? Not so lucky. This movie took a literal historical tragedy and said, “But what if she just forgot everything and had a fun road trip?”
Also, Rasputin was a real dude who got poisoned, stabbed, shot, drowned, and still wouldn’t die. But in this movie? He just kind of falls apart like a bad Halloween decoration.
Self-Deprecation: I once sang “Journey to the Past” so dramatically in my room that I knocked over a lamp.
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9. The Lego Movie (2014) – AKA “The Two-Hour Toy Commercial That Shouldn’t Have Worked”
Why It’s Amazing: This movie had zero right to be as good as it was. It should’ve been a cheap cash grab. Instead, it turned out to be one of the funniest, smartest, and most original animated films of all time. It even gave us one of the greatest existential crisis songs ever—“Everything is Awesome.”
Roast: This film was so successful it created a Lego Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, only one of the sequels was good, and now the franchise is gathering dust like an abandoned Lego set missing its pieces.
Also, why is this movie so emotional? Why did I go in expecting goofy Lego jokes and come out rethinking my entire childhood? I just wanted to watch plastic bricks move, not have an existential meltdown about my relationship with creativity.
Self-Deprecation: I tried to build something impressive with Legos after watching this movie. I ended up with a slightly wobbly square.
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8. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) – AKA “DreamWorks’ Peak Before They Forgot What They Were Doing”
Why It’s Amazing: This movie went unnecessarily hard. The animation? Beautiful. The music? Pure cinematic magic. The dragon designs? So good they made every other dragon in pop culture look like garbage.
Roast: The Viking dad, Stoick? Built like an entire brick wall and somehow related to Hiccup, who looks like a sentient breadstick. Also, Toothless was way too adorable. He could’ve committed war crimes and we’d still love him.
Self-Deprecation: I tried to do the Hiccup “arm out” move to befriend my cat. She immediately bit me.
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7. Kung Fu Panda (2008) – AKA “The Greatest Martial Arts Film Starring a Bear”
Why It’s Amazing: This movie somehow blended martial arts philosophy, comedy, and absolute bangers of fight scenes into one perfect package. Also, Jack Black was born to voice Po.
Roast: Po somehow went from a noodle-slinging couch potato to a kung fu master in like, a week. Meanwhile, I’ve been going to the gym for a year and still get winded walking up stairs.
Self-Deprecation: I once tried to do a cool martial arts spin move after watching this. I tripped over my own foot and landed in the trash can.
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6. Shrek 2 (2004) – AKA “Better Than Most Sequels Have Any Right to Be”
Why It’s Amazing: This movie did what 99% of sequels fail to do—improve on the original. It gave us Puss in Boots, an even funnier script, and THAT “I Need a Hero” scene.
Roast: Let’s be real, Shrek basically peaked here. After this, we got the third movie (bad) and the fourth movie (somehow worse). Also, why was the Fairy Godmother such a banger of a villain? She had more style than half of Disney’s entire villain lineup.
Self-Deprecation: I tried to sing “I Need a Hero” dramatically in the car. I hit a pothole and almost yeeted myself into another dimension.
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5. Ice Age (2002) – AKA “The Franchise That Wouldn’t Die”
Why It’s Amazing: The original Ice Age was a heartfelt, hilarious road trip movie with great characters.
Roast: And then they made five sequels, each one worse than the last. By the time we got to “Ice Age: Collision Course,” the franchise was so bad it made dinosaurs look like the sensible choice.
Self-Deprecation: I tried to do Sid’s lisp voice as a kid and bit my own tongue.
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4. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) – AKA “The Movie That Made Every Other Superhero Film Look Lazy”
Why It’s Amazing: The animation? Revolutionary. The story? Perfection. The soundtrack? Unreasonably good.
Roast: This movie was so good, every animation studio immediately tried to copy its style and failed miserably. Also, why did Prowler’s theme sound like an anxiety attack?
Self-Deprecation: I tried to swing like Spider-Man off my couch. I did not stick the landing.
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3-1: Speed Round of Success
• 3. Despicable Me (2010) – A fun movie that unfortunately spawned Minions, who are now legally more powerful than most world governments.
• 2. Madagascar (2005) – The movie that made “I Like to Move It” inescapable. Also, the penguins are the real main characters.
• 1. The Secret Life of Pets (2016) – A movie that somehow made over $800 million despite just being “Toy Story, but with animals.”
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Final Thoughts: Non-Disney Animation Deserves More Love
Yes, Disney dominates the animation world, but these movies proved that other studios can not only compete but sometimes surpass them.
Now, argue with me in the comments. What non-Disney movie deserves more respect? Which one was overrated? And most importantly, should we have let the Minions take over society?
And if you love cartoons and chaotic opinions, check out my YouTube channel for more animation breakdowns, original cartoons, and bad life choices.
Got it! You weren’t a kid when Ice Age came out—so instead of childhood nostalgia, you probably just watched it thinking, “Huh, why is this sloth talking like that?” before getting distracted by Scrat’s ongoing mental breakdown over an acorn.
