Best Animation Movies of 1996

Jokes fly as the Tune Squad takes on the Nerdlucks in a hardcourt game to decide if the Looney Tunes remain here... or become attractions at a far-off galactic off-ramp called Moron Mountain. The Nerdlucks have a monstrous secret weapon: they've stolen the skills of top NBA stars like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing and become Monstars. But that's not all, folks. The Tune Squad’s secret weapon just happens to be the finest player in this or any other universe. He's outta this world. So's the fun.

When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strange lands.

Legendary secrets are revealed as Aladdin and his friends—Jasmine, Abu, Carpet and, of course, the always entertaining Genie—face all sorts of terrifying threats and make some exciting last-minute escapes pursuing the King Of Thieves and his villainous crew.

Mike Judge's slacker duo, Beavis and Butt-Head, wake to discover their TV has been stolen. Their search for a new one takes them on a clueless adventure across America where they manage to accidentally become America's most wanted.

Clark Kent, the last survivor of the dead planet Krypton, uses his amazing powers to defend people of his adopted world, Earth, and become Superman.

In Don Hertzfeldt's second student film, a hapless cartoon character is dragged through a spectrum of cinematic situations by his frustrated animator.

Littlefoot and his dinosaur pals go in search of a medicinal flower that will cure his ailing grandfather.

Charlie and Itchy return to Earth to find Gabriel's Horn, but along the way meet up with a young boy named David, who ran away from home.

This wordless animated film follows a tall, solitary adult as he walks from the video store, where he's rented the heavily-advertised "Killing Heinz," to his flat. Our pedestrian has close call after close call without noticing the narrow margins by which he avoids injury or death: from falling objects, a Bungee jumper, cars and trains, birds, a faulty balcony, and muggers. He arrives home, safe and sound, grabs a beer, and sits down to watch the movie. What could go wrong now?

While shopping at an old costume shop, the gang wins a trip to a creepy old castle.

The story of the Jewish holiday Chanukah through the eyes of the Rugrats, who imagine themselves as the main characters. Meanwhile, Grandpa Boris and his long-time rival, Shlomo, feud over who will play the lead in the local synagogue's Chanukah play.

A different theory on Dinosaur extinction.

One of puppet-maker Geppetto's creations comes magically to life. This puppet, Pinocchio, has one major desire and that is to become a real boy someday. In order to accomplish this goal he has to learn to act responsibly. This film shows you the adventures on which he learns valuable lessons.

After a magic spell in 10th century Scotland turns them to stone, a group of gargoyles that turn to flesh and blood when the sun goes down are resurrected by an opportunistic billionaire with sinister intentions.

An elderly couple's dog must defend them from a malicious space chicken, bent on conquest by infecting them with mutagenic eggs. First this quiet farm in the middle of nowhere, next, the world!

Black and white drawings blended with photographic images depict an old man, with various tiny gadgets, trying to find the anatomy of the wings of an angel.

A record commercial featuring the greatest musical group of all time, the Meatles. You'll see rare interviews with The Fab Foreskin, as well as never before seen clips that have never been seen before

Offbeat animation.

Frogs, birds, lizards, a snake, alligators, and a lot of insects inhabit a pond; everyone's ready to eat. Two tenacious lizards catch the same fly, inciting a protracted tug-of-war.

Set in the middle ages, this is the wonderful, poignant story of a deaf hunchback, "Quasimodo", and his undying but unrequited love for the beautiful Gypsy girl, "Esmeralda", with whom, it seems, everyone falls in love. Follow their escape from the besotted Captain of the Royal Guards, Frollo. A classic tale that is retold in a lighter fashion in superb animation to delight the children of the world.

Maze has gained incredible powers traveling through time and space, but she has also acquired one rather large problem: every night she turns into a really horny man. Unfortunately, Maze must rescue an equally lascivious princess from a mysterious warrior cult. Still, the male version of Maze would rather be chasing tail than rescuing willing princesses.

On Halloween night, Pooh and the gang are ready for Halloween, but Piglet is too scared to join in.

A hole can be interpreted in many ways, and so can these 4 ways of covering it

Interpretation of the classical composition "Dance Macabre" by Saint-Saens, starring by skeletons dancing a waltz in a cemetery.

This animated twist on Halloween memories involves the traumatic theft of a candy bag on Halloween night.

When Hibio's adventurer mother sets off to research a mysterious tribe, she hits a wall. Frotunately for her, the beautiful young Nima sees a family portrait and decides that she wants her son for her husband and she gets a chance to further her research. She agrees to the arrangement. Of course, she doesn't consult him about his future bride. When Nima shows up in Tokyo to be with her new husband, hilarity and chaos ensues as Hibio and his modern Tokyo background meets Nima's magical heritage.

Wonderfully strange and interesting animation from the very talented animator Igor Kovalyov while he was working at Klascy Csupo Studio in 1996.

As springtime rolls around, Charlie Brown's team is performing the usual hopeless task of getting in shape for the new season. To improve the team's morale, Charlie Brown manages to find a potential team sponsor who agrees to provide uniforms, provided that the team wins the first game of the season. However, considering the usual competence of the team, including new members like Leland who is too young to even tie his shoes, the challenge seems impossible.

In a Medieval castle, a marauder tries to kidnap the twin infant sons of the lord. He makes off with only one, whom he drops about a mile away. A pig rescues this baby, so one brother grows up high on the hog, the other down with the swine; one is lazy, his lost brother is industrious. Years later, when a neighboring prince declares war, the brother in the castle is too soft to fight. Through happenstance, the twins are united just before the final battle. Will the upper-class brother let his humble sibling lead the troops to certain defeat and death?

A nephew recalls the sometimes-lonely and often-eccentric life of his beloved uncle.

A dog is adopted by a moron, and is taken to the store to go shopping.

Jay Clay and Blue are wanderers in the wilderness. Blue vanishes and Jay is lost and alone. The anxiety in his mind and soul manifest in the form of the mighty giant, Canhead. Jay must overpower the giant if he is to live on and be reunited with Blue.

Appearing in his own TV commercials, unscrupulous toy maker, Wally P. Nezzer has convinced all of Dinkletown that "Christmas is when you get stuff!" With the town's children begging for more toys, it's sure to be the worst Christmas ever -- until one brave little Buzz-Saw Louie doll decides to take matters into his own hands! The Toy That Saved Christmas reminds children of all ages that "Christmas isn't about getting; it's about giving.

Inside a secret door under the stairs, Claire and her sister Caitlin find an enchanted trunk, a magical locket and an invitation that whisks them away to a magical kingdom.

Computer animation compilation that features a soundtrack by Kerry Livgren and two more vocal tracks, One Dark World (sung by Darren Rogers) and Aspen Moon (sung by Livgren's nephew Jacob)[4]. Odyssey Into The Mind's Eye also features versions of CGI sequences from Johnny Mnemonic and Ecco: The Tides of Time. Released on VHS and DVD by Sony Music.

Join Timon and Pumbaa, your favorite friends from The Lion King, for outrageous laughs and high-spirited, globe-trotting adventures! First stop Boara Boara. Pumbaa gets the royal treatment when island natives think hes their long-lost king! Its a lesson in true friendship when Pumbaa strikes it rich and the evil criminal Quint steals his gold in Yukon Con. Then, Timon & Pumbaa play matchmaker for a couple of lovesick flying squirrels in Saskatchewan Catch. In Brazil Nuts, theres a rumble in the Amazon jungle when Timon & Pumbaa have to outsmart a couple of snakes that want to serve them up for dinner.

Death loses his job, and there is no one on the Discworld to collect the dead. "How life and death depend on each other absolutely." This is a short (7:32 minutes) introduction to the pilot "Reaper Man" which was never filmed. It appears on the DVD for the TV Series "Soul Music" which is an animated adaptation of a Terry Pratchett novel of the same name.

A lighthouse guardian leads a young prince towards an imaginary world, Taxandria, where the boy learns about the power of love and the value of liberty. A totalitarian regime has forbidden time: time watches have been confiscated, photo cameras are illegal as they freeze a point in time. A typical Servais theme: a power is oppressed by a constraint that denies what is best in the individual, and therefore has to be twisted in various ways, to establish an entirely artificial world, that has rules that may question some of the rules of our world at this side of the mirror.

It's Christmas Eve, and Irv the Elf is usually the Santa's helper who helps get the reindeer in the air, but this year, things are a little different. Somehow, Irv's gotten trapped inside a plastic snow globe, and now a couple of kids named Heidi and Alex are going to have to team up with the heroes from their favorite fairy tales like Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Pinocchio, in order to make sure Christmas happens for boys and girls all over the world.

An animated musical that explains how a toymaker named Nicholas Claus (voice of Edward Asner) started the tradition of delivering a toy to every child on Christmas. Other voices: Betty White (Mrs. Claus); Tim Curry (Nostros); Miko Hughes (Clement).

The film is about the birth of the Child

For longtime fans of Saturday Night Live, nothing says "Christmas" like clay, and the hapless hero of Walter Williams's sadistic skits brings it all back in this half-hour 1996 special. Those who can't stand watching the torture of static, crudely sculpted Play-Doh people might not see the humor as Mr. Bill's whole family is subjected to a wide array of holiday abuse--from the festive blendering of the egg dog to the explosive arrival of the sinister Santa Sluggo. Things are livened up by spiritual guest Father Guido Sarducci and his quest to find a real Christmas in sunny L.A., home of many former SNL actors and writers. Mr. Bill also takes a technological leap forward as a reluctant Scrooge in a computer-animated version of Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Humorous ads for some very simple toys also add to the fun and festivity.

Offbeat animation.

The life of composer Alex Balanescu.

A direct-to-video feature film, Mighty Ducks the Movie: The First Face-Off, was released in 1997. It comprises three episodes of the animated series edited into one continuous movie: The First Face-Off parts I and II, and Duck Hard.

The Great Meadow is the home of a beautiful little fairy, named Thumbelina. Tom Thumb is a devoted servant to King Richard. Tom finds out of a plan from the King’s son, Medwin, who wants to build a gigantic castle in the Great Meadow. Tom Thumb and Thumbelina prove that size doesn’t matter and work together to save the Great Meadow.

A buddha-like figure meditating on a high platform is fussily scrutinized by a whirring, clicking, mechanical bureaucrat.

The classic tale of a loveable, outcast hunchback and the gypsy girl he adores is transformed into a musical, warmhearted animated classic in this delightfully updated version of a stirring masterpiece.

Signal, a robot companion built for Nobuhiko, is attacked by Pulse, one the its creator's previous prototypes. Reprogrammed by Dr. Otoi's mysterious rival, Pulse is loaded down with weapons and sent on a mission by Otoi: steal the most recent robot technology, and obliterate anything that gets in his way.