Best Animation Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   Grave of the Fireflies 1988

   Directed by Isao Takahata · Streaming on Netflix
   8.4

   8.5 · 6.9K votes
2. 2
   My Neighbor Totoro 1988

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   8.1

   8.1 · 9.2K votes
3. 3
   Castle in the Sky 1986

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   8.0 · 4.9K votes
4. 4
   Akira 1988

   Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo · Streaming on Crunchyroll
   7.9

   7.9 · 5.1K votes
5. 5
   Warriors of the Wind 1984

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   7.9 · 4.3K votes
6. 6
   Kiki's Delivery Service 1989

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.8

   7.8 · 4.8K votes
7. 7
   Vincent 1982

   Directed by Tim Burton
   7.7

   7.8 · 951 votes
8. 8
   Mickey's Christmas Carol 1983

   Directed by Burny Mattinson · Streaming on Disney Plus
   7.5

   7.7 · 1K votes
9. 9
   Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988

   Directed by Robert Zemeckis · Streaming on Disney Plus
   7.5

   7.5 · 6.4K votes
10. 10
    Angel's Egg 1985

    Directed by Mamoru Oshii · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.5

    7.7 · 627 votes
11. 11
    The King and the Mockingbird 1980

    Directed by Paul Grimault
    7.5

    7.8 · 429 votes
12. 12
    The Plague Dogs 1982

    Directed by Martin Rosen · Streaming on Philo, Kanopy, Fandor
    7.4

    7.8 · 312 votes
13. 13
    Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.4

    7.9 · 257 votes
14. 14
    The Man Who Planted Trees 1987

    Directed by Frédéric Back
    7.4

    8.0 · 186 votes
15. 15
    Scooby-Doo's A Nutcracker Scoob 1984

    Directed by Charles August Nichols
    7.4

    9.0 · 68 votes
16. 16
    Once Upon a Time, There Lived a Dog 1982

    Directed by Eduard Nazarov
    7.4

    8.0 · 169 votes
17. 17
    The Little Mermaid 1989

    Directed by Ron Clements · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.3

    7.4 · 8.6K votes
18. 18
    The Secret of NIMH 1982

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Xumo Play, Tubi TV
    7.3

    7.4 · 994 votes
19. 19
    The Snowman 1982

    Directed by Dianne Jackson · Streaming on Fandango at Home Free, Amebatv
    7.3

    7.6 · 373 votes
20. 20
    Barefoot Gen 1983

    Directed by Mori Masaki · Streaming on Philo, Kanopy, Retrocrush
    7.3

    7.6 · 275 votes
21. 21
    Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.3

    7.7 · 223 votes
22. 22
    When the Wind Blows 1986

    Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Fandango at Home Free
    7.2

    7.5 · 358 votes
23. 23
    Alice 1988

    Directed by Jan Švankmajer · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, OVID
    7.2

    7.4 · 372 votes
24. 24
    The Fox and the Hound 1981

    Directed by Ted Berman · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.2

    7.2 · 3.6K votes
25. 25
    The Land Before Time 1988

    Directed by Don Bluth · Streaming on Wonder Project
    7.2

    7.2 · 2.9K votes
26. 26
    Hanna-Barbera's 50th 1989

    Directed by Marshall Flaum
    7.2

    9.1 · 48 votes
27. 27
    The Last Unicorn 1982

    Directed by Jules Bass · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Fandango at Home Free
    7.2

    7.3 · 628 votes
28. 28
    Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School 1988

    Directed by Charles August Nichols
    7.1

    7.4 · 344 votes
29. 29
    Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf 1988

    Directed by Ray Patterson
    7.1

    7.4 · 352 votes
30. 30
    Dimensions of Dialogue 1983

    Directed by Jan Švankmajer
    7.1

    7.6 · 176 votes
31. 31
    Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle 1989

    Directed by Masayuki Akehi
    7.1

    7.4 · 266 votes
32. 32
    Scooby-Doo! Meets the Boo Brothers 1987

    Directed by Paul Sommer
    7.1

    7.4 · 277 votes
33. 33
    Mickey's Safety Club: Street Safe, Street Smart 1989

    Directed by Gino Ricotta
    7.1

    9.2 · 39 votes
34. 34
    The Transformers: The Movie 1986

    Directed by Nelson Shin
    7.0

    7.2 · 654 votes
35. 35
    The Great Mouse Detective 1986

    Directed by Ron Clements · Streaming on Disney Plus
    7.0

    7.0 · 1.9K votes
36. 36
    Balance 1989

    Directed by Christoph Lauenstein · Streaming on Night Flight Plus
    7.0

    7.5 · 151 votes
37. 37
    Cat City 1986

    Directed by Béla Ternovszky · Streaming on Philo, Kanopy, Hoopla
    7.0

    7.7 · 108 votes
38. 38
    Time Masters 1982

    Directed by René Laloux
    6.9

    7.3 · 204 votes
39. 39
    Luxo Jr. 1986

    Directed by John Lasseter · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 689 votes
40. 40
    The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie 1981

    Directed by Friz Freleng
    6.9

    7.3 · 166 votes
41. 41
    Winter in Prostokvashino 1984

    Directed by Vladimir Popov
    6.9

    7.6 · 101 votes
42. 42
    Son of the White Mare 1981

    Directed by Marcell Jankovics · Streaming on Kanopy, Night Flight Plus, Plex
    6.9

    7.6 · 100 votes
43. 43
    Knick Knack 1989

    Directed by John Lasseter · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.9

    7.0 · 637 votes
44. 44
    The Secret of the Third Planet 1981

    Directed by Roman Kachanov · Streaming on Eternal Family
    6.9

    7.4 · 130 votes
45. 45
    Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales 1982

    Directed by Chuck Jones
    6.9

    7.2 · 201 votes
46. 46
    Vacations in Prostokvashino 1980

    Directed by Vladimir Popov
    6.9

    7.5 · 104 votes
47. 47
    Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris 1987

    Directed by Kozo Morishita
    6.8

    7.1 · 258 votes
48. 48
    Tango 1985

    Directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński
    6.8

    7.4 · 116 votes
49. 49
    The Brave Little Toaster 1987

    Directed by Jerry Rees · Streaming on Disney Plus
    6.8

    6.9 · 500 votes
50. 50
    Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone 1989

    Directed by Daisuke Nishio · Streaming on Crunchyroll
    6.8

    6.9 · 642 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Tomorrow's Joe The Movie 1980

   Directed by Yoichiro Fukuda
   6.4

   8.4 · 16 votes
2. 2
   Katy Caterpillar 1984

   Directed by José Luis Moro
   6.5

   8.0 · 25 votes
3. 3
   G.I. Joe: Arise, Serpentor, Arise! 1986

   Directed by Ray Lee
   6.3

   8.5 · 12 votes
4. 4
   Treasure Island: Part I – Captain Flint's Map 1987

   Directed by Davyd Cherkaskyi · Streaming on Pluto TV, Plex, Plex Channel
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
5. 5
   Robotech: The Movie 1986

   Directed by Noboru Ishiguro
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
6. 6
   Robotech II: The Sentinels 1988

   Directed by Carl Macek · Streaming on Crunchyroll
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
7. 7
   The Treasure of Swamp Castle 1985

   Directed by Attila Dargay · Streaming on Eternal Family
   6.4

   7.7 · 25 votes
8. 8
   Ico, the Brave Horse 1983

   Directed by Manuel García Ferré
   6.4

   7.8 · 20 votes
9. 9
   Tomorrow's Joe 2: The Movie 1981

   Directed by Osamu Dezaki
   6.4

   7.7 · 21 votes
10. 10
    Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked 1982

    Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
    6.3

    7.9 · 16 votes