Animation is a varied and interesting medium that is far too often reduced to being exclusively used on vapid children's media. Both animation and kids' movies are often expected to be silly and disposable, but both can be used to tell complex and interesting stories beyond the boundaries of any genre.

Lore isn't a virtue in itself. Not every story needs to have a million years of backstory, but depth and elements of narrative beyond the main plot can add something interesting to a film. Animated cinema might typically tell more straightforward stories, but some entries can tell stories as deep as any live-action film.

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Titan A.E.

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The great Don Bluth created several excellent animated features, some of which simply didn't succeed at the box office. His 2000 sci-fi film is seen by many as a work of genius that went unappreciated in its time, but its financial failure led to the shuddering of its production studio. The film follows the efforts of a ragtag crew of space-faring heroes who must work together to save humanity. Behind that narrative, however, is the backstory of how the Earth was destroyed. The story of aliens with bodies made of pure energy keeping a close eye on humanity as technology develops is unique and threatening. Once mankind worked its way to the pinnacle of scientific discovery, the extraterrestrial menace destroyed the planet Earth to stamp out competition. This interesting idea and the generations of story present within it are the background elements of this solid sci-fi film.

Spirited Away

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Putting a Studio Ghibli film on this list is basically cheating. There's no greater master of storytelling in the medium of animation than Hayao Miyazaki, and anyone looking for depth in animation will enjoy his entire filmography. As the most successful Japanese film in the world for almost two decades (until Demon Slayer came along and ruined its streak,) most people already know and love Spirited Away. The film takes place at a bathhouse that serves as a liminal space for spirits, allowing the young protagonist to meet beings beyond her wildest dreams. The film is tied intensely into Shinto-Buddhist folklore, basically placing itself in conversation with the world of old Japanese mysticism. Almost every being has a world of ritual and personality behind it, allowing a dedicated viewer to dive deep into the beautiful folklore of the film's native culture. Miyazaki creates a complete world in every project, and there's still so much to learn beyond the brilliant film.

Wizards

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Ralph Bakshi's first fantasy film set the tone for the rest of his bizarre career. Bakshi was, at the time, best known for his unhinged urban animated films like Coonskin and Heavy Traffic. Wizards was sold as an epic fantasy adventure, and it lives up to that weighty claim. It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy World War II riff with faeries, goblins, elves, robots, accurate Nazi Wehrmacht armaments, and, of course, wizards. The film never really feels the need to explain itself. It feels like a child telling a story. It's as if Bakshi thought he'd never get to make another film, so he tried to shove every concept he wanted to see on the screen into one 80-minute package. Wizards struggles under the weight of its mountain of lore. It would be a stronger film overall with less going on. Bakshi, however, was never known for his restraint, so the film is a sprawling epic packed into an unfortunately tiny medium.

The Legend of Hei

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This unique and underrated Chinese film isn't just one of the most visually incredible pieces of animation of the decade, it's also a complex and challenging story. Adapted from a popular webcomic, The Legend of Hei tells the story of a forest spirit in the form of a cat who struggles to belong after deforestation steals his home. A group of fellow spirits finally give him a home, but a stunningly powerful human appears, defeats his new friends, and steals him for a wonderful fantasy journey. The overwhelming majority of viewers who will stumble onto this film will either be drawn in by brief clips that show off the stellar animation or by fawning praise by fans. There is so much unique fantasy stuff going on just beyond the life and times of this charming cat boy and his mystical adventure. The lore isn't the draw, but there sure is a great deal of it.

9

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So there's this scientist who is working on an intelligent robot at the behest of a dictator. He's been convinced that his efforts are purely in the pursuit of knowledge, but his benefactor has alternative plans. He succeeds, creating the B.R.A.I.N., which the dictator immediately uses to create infinite war machines. The machines go on to wipe out mankind, leaving the scientist to fall back on his trump card, alchemy. Using actual magic to bring a handful of rag dolls to life, each carrying a portion of his own immortal soul, the scientist dies upon completing his task. This happens in the first few minutes of Shane Acker's feature-length adaptation of his own short film, which tells a shockingly deep story through the medium of powerful computer animation.

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