20. 'The Jungle Book' (1967)

Walt Disney wanted to up the hip quotient on the last animated film he oversaw -- even asking the Beatles to voice four mop-topped orangautans. The Fabs said no, but Louis Prima, among others, said yes, and the result is one of Disney's swinging-est animated musicals. The fabulous story and engaging creatures aside, how can you resist Phil Harris and his 'Bear Necessities'?

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19. 'Princess Mononoke' (1999)

Japanese animation master Hiyao Miyazaki resists digital and insists that his increasingly complex tales, often drawn from Japanese folklore, be drawn by hand. This offering (released in Asia in 1997, in the U.S. in '99) is about more than a heroic princess -- it's an ecological parable in which a forest battles a mining operation. It takes animation into an epic realm that few even thought possible before.

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18. 'Pinocchio' (1940)

Disney's fable introduced us to conscientious cricket Jiminy -- and a people-and-puppet swallowing whale, a cat and goldfish living in tense détente, a con-man fox, a lonely puppet master, and an impossibly good fairy. It's packed not just with incident and visual beauty, but with character -- we haven't even mentioned the title puppet-who-wants-to-be-a-real-boy ... but never met a truth he didn't bend.

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17. 'Toy Story 2' (1999)

Sequels are generally always inferior to originals, if not just crass cash-ins. But this follow-up came from -- as did the original -- Pixar, the computer-animation wizards who would sooner crash all their servers than put out second-rate work. Hence, this second excursion into the realm of Woody, Buzz and their playroom pals was as wondrous and funny as the first.

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16. 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit' (2005)

The eye-rolling dog and his hapless master got their long-awaited feature in this tale of a creature rooting in the gardens of an English village. The duo's rabbit trap makes Elmer Fudd seem barbaric, and the monster is a vegetarian. With dry and subtle Brit humor, this Claymation romp is wickedly funny, and sweetly engaging.

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