Spider-Man, Mario, Miyazaki, Disney or Suzume: what was the best animated film of 2023?

It’s been an exceptional year for animated films. And the upcoming awards season promises to be particularly tight in the category.

It’s a booming genre. Often relegated to children’s films, animated cinema is now a cinema in its own right, with its masterpieces. And the year 2023 will have been particularly rich, with big successes, both critical and popular. Very smart who can say who will walk away with the Oscar for Best Animated Film on March 11th.

Until then, the preliminary ceremonies already allow us to realize the level: The Boy and the Heron, Elementary, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Super Mario Bros, Suzume And wish will be in the running at the Golden Globes, while the Critics Choice Awards have also selected Nimona And Ninja Turtles: Teenage Years. So who will stand out from the crowd?

The big favorite: The Boy and the Heron

He didn’t wait for anime to become fashionable among Hollywood studios to create masterpieces. And Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film is another, questioning the future of the planet, wondering if it is possible to re-enchant the world and questioning his own destiny in the process. At 82, the Japanese master, already crowned at the Oscars for Spirited away, has perhaps signed one of his last (the last?) films, and establishes himself a little more as an absolute reference in animation. How to ignore it?

The other favorite: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The first part, Into the Spider-Verse, had captivated the entire world, causing a small revolution in the world of animation, inspiring all creators of the genre for five years. He also won the Oscar in 2018, under the nose of Disney. This sequel, although less surprising, is still based on a prodigious work of ingenuity, which pays homage to comics, manga and comics in general, like no other film before it.

The essential hit: Super Mario Bros.

On paper, he is the big winner of 2023. With $1.3 billion in global revenue, Nintendo’s plumber becomes the 2nd biggest animated success of all time. And if barbie will be favorite of all future ceremonies, why not him? Without a doubt, its global success (the 2nd biggest of the year) weighs in the balance when taking stock. But if the shape was cool and pleasing, the bottom was a little too flat. Super Mario Bros. is an advertising film for Nintendo, which piles on references, without poetry or subtlety. This is probably what will make the difference against the competition.

Favorite: Suzume

We talk about him as the new Miyazaki and this is not usurped. At 50, Makoto Shinkai has already signed three major animated films. In a totally different style from the Japanese master, of course, but with the same emotion deep within the body, the same desire to tell the story of Japanese culture in a fantastic and poetic way. It was shocking in Your Name. It is still striking in Suzumeanimated by total splendor and impressive creative force.

The outsider : Ninja Turtles: Teenage Years

Completely influenced by the style Into the Spider-Versethis modern and delightful rereading of Ninja Turtles was one of the very good surprises of the year 2023. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the geniuses behind The Boys, have been able to bring the scale knights up to date. A facelift and a breath of fresh air for Leonardo and his gang, in a nervous film full of delightful visual discoveries. Cowabunga!

The Disneys in the background: Elementary And wish

The centenary year was not the most successful of all for the studio, like its two animated films. The first, from Pixar studios, did not completely convince, despite a pretty inventive fable on immigration, certainly too wise in an industry that wants to dynamite animation. Same observation and same consequence for the too classic wishdoped with Disney references, which will remain as the biggest flop of a film from the Disney Animation studio released in cinemas (barely 100 million worldwide receipts).

The streaming film: Nimona

The directors of Incognitos sign a clever allegory on transidentity and an ode to misfits, full of humor, with Chloë Moretz in great form (in original). Certainly the only animated platform film to have received attention this year, while the Pinocchio by Del Toro won the statuette last year.

The forgotten Frenchman: Linda wants chicken!

Absent from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Wards nomination lists, will Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s feature film manage to find a place at the Oscars? Acclaimed by world critics, this lunar tale about mourning stands out with its unique style, which won it the grand prize at the Annecy Festival last summer. A success which salutes the good form of French animation in general, also marked this year by the excellent Mars Express.