Most Underrated Animated Movies Ever

We're starting the list by slightly cheating. After all, 1994's "Pagemaster" isn't entirely animated. Much of it is live action. But when young Richard Tyler (Macaulay Culkin), a neurotic kid who bases his worldview and decisions on statistics and cold facts, discovers books, he gets swept away to a wonderful animated parallel reality. In this world, Tyler is guided by living books that represent the fictional stories he reads. Patrick Stewart voices Adventure, a swashbuckler sporting an eyepatch and a pegleg. Whoopi Goldberg is Fantasy, an overeager book that looks like a fairy, and Frank Weller is Horror, a zombie-green book that resembles Igor from the Frankenstein stories. Tyler spends a little bit of time in each world, encountering classic literary characters like Dr. Jekyll and Captain Ahab. In the end, by the time his parents finally find him, Tyler's learned a thing or two about the importance of imagination and adventure.

Sadly, the movie didn't get much love from critics at the time of its release. Many felt that it was a bit too dreary and intense for the younger audience it was trying to reach. But upon rewatching, we think there's more than enough imagination here to make it worth your time.

1998 was a weird year for movie doubles. "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" were two schlocky asteroid-disaster movies with A-list ensemble casts. "The Thin Red Line" and "Saving Private Ryan" were both WWII epics that also featured a long roster of stars. Then there were "A Bug's Life" and "Antz," two computer-animated movies about oddball ants who want to win the hand of the colony's princess by saving their society from a dangerous bug threat. That's alarmingly similar. Naturally, there were some tensions between Disney/Pixar and DreamWorks over these similarities. But although there was plenty of finger-pointing, it's never been proven that DreamWorks ripped off Disney. And at the end of the day, audiences got two great, watchable classics.

Wearing the Pixar logo as a badge of honor and featuring a more approachable character design, "A Bug's Life" has stood the test of time a little better. But "Antz" is a charmer, too (if you can look past the fact that the lead character, Z, is voiced by accused predator Woody Allen). The animation and music are great, and there's loads of "this one's for the grown-ups" humor to be found in the movie. The rest of the cast is excellent. Gene Hackman shines as General Mandible, who's engaged to Z's love interest Princess Bela (voiced wonderfully by Sharon Stone). Christopher Walken, Jennifer Lopez, and Sylvester Stallone (of all people) round out the cast.

Another little-appreciated gem, 2000's "Titan AE" (After Earth) follows Cale Tucker (Matt Damon) and his search for the Titan project, a massive planet-creating machine made by his long-lost dad that was jettisoned into space after genocidal aliens attacked and destroyed the Earth. Along the way, he meets plenty of friends and foes and visits several sci-fi planets. The movie never got a sequel and honestly doesn't need one: it's got a tidy conclusion that leaves the viewer more than satisfied.

Like many other movies on this list, the movie also boasts a stellar voice cast. Bill Pullman plays Joseph Korso, captain of the spaceship on which Tucker serves for much of the film. There's also John Leguizamo as the ship's neurotic alien scientist, Gune; Nathan Lane as Preed, Korso's alien first mate; Ron Perlman, who voices Cale's father; and Drew Barrymore as Akima, Cale's friend turned love interest. The action scenes are solid. The animation features that half-traditional, half-computerized style that briefly dominated the late '90's and early 2000's before fully 3D computerization took over. It's certainly dated, but still lovely to watch. Like many animated films of its era, "Titan AE" features plenty of licensed generic rock music, but they make it work. A scene where Cale pilots the space vessel through a nebula of angelic space jellyfish is particularly beautiful.

An unfortunate casualty of Disney's post-"Toy Story" move towards 3D animation, 2002's "Treasure Planet" was an intentionally undermarketed box office bomb that's only now getting the love it deserves. Pioneered by Ron Clements and John Musker of "Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" fame, the movie is an animated adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's seminal "Treasure Island" novel, only set in space rather than on the high seas.

If it sounds insane, it is, in all the best ways. The story follows Jim Hawkins, a teenage troublemaker still reeling after being abandoned by his father as a child. After his mother's inn is burned down by pirates, he joins a crew headed for Treasure Planet, seeking adventure and a future for his mom. Onboard, he's mentored by the villainous cyborg Long John Silver, who betrays him and leads a mutiny in hopes of securing the treasure himself. However, Jim's noble spirit inspires him to return to the light before it's too late, setting up a showstopper of a finale. Along the way, we're treated to some incredible music (if "I'm Still Here" doesn't move you, you're dead inside) and some breathtaking visuals.

At the end of the day, "Treasure Planet" was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even if Disney hadn't thrown the kitchen sink at it, it was released in the early 2000s, alongside some of animation history's most beloved classics. But it more than holds its own among them.

The Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus for 2000's "The Road to El Dorado" reads beneath an ugly, green 48% approval rating: "Predictable story and thin characters made the movie flat." Well, we're sorry, critics, but you got this one wrong. It happens. Don't beat yourselves up.

Absolutely nothing about this DreamWorks cartoon falls flat. The plot follows two decidedly substantial characters, Miguel (Kenneth Branagh) and Tulio (Kevin Kline), both unscrupulous 17th-century Spanish conmen who (mis)adventure their way to the mythical golden city of El Dorado. The animation is more than serviceable (although not particularly noteworthy for the era). The songs are as fun as you'd expect from composer Elton John. "The Trail We Blaze" and "It's Tough to Be a God" are particularly catchy standouts.

The movie really shines, though, is in its characters and jokes. In a nutshell, Miguel and Tulio arrive in the city desiring nothing but its bottomless riches, even allowing themselves to be mistaken as gods along the way, and leave having learned a thing or two about what really matters in life: friendship, compassion, and selflessness. It's standard kids' fare, but the journey is so full of heart, lovable characters (including two intimidating baddies: Cortez, who leads an army of ruthless conquistadors, and Tzekel-Kan, a wicked native priest and sorcerer), and riotous humor that we can't be bothered to care. No matter how much time goes by, "The Road to El Dorado" never gets old.

The Biblical story of Moses, the 10 plagues, and God liberating Jewish slaves from Egypt, as seen in the book of Exodus, has been adapted to the screen multiple times. And why wouldn't it be? Religious or not, everyone can learn a thing or two about faith, hope, and the human spirit from the timeless tale. And all due respect to the seminal, award-winning, Charlton Heston-fronted 1956 epic "The Ten Commandments," but the nod for best movie version of the story goes to 1998's "The Prince of Egypt."

It features one of the most impressive ensemble voice casts ever, including Steve Martin, Martin Short, Patrick Stewart, Jeff Goldblum, Sandra Bullock, Ralph Fiennes, and Val Kilmer. It also is an attractive example of the type of mesmerizing half-computerized style characteristic of the late 1990s (where computerized animation is set against more traditional matte backgrounds). The movie is an absolute visual marvel to behold even two and a half decades after its release. The scene where Moses parts the Red Sea is particularly memorable. Then there's the music. "All I Ever Wanted" and "The 10 Plagues" are simply stunning, and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's "When You Believe" is still a tear-jerking banger.

The story is accurate to the Biblical account, too. It emphasizes the brotherly bond shared by Moses and Ramses, whose clash over the enslavement of the Hebrews is the central struggle of the film, more than the Bible does. But other departures are minimal in this epic, breathtaking animated masterpiece. Although it was a critical darling upon its release, it's not celebrated or remembered nearly as often as it should be.