Best Animation Movies of 1997

This animated adventure spins a more optimistic twist on the long-mythicized story of the "lost daughter" of Russia's last czar. A wicked sorcerer places a curse on the Romanov family, and Anastasia is separated from them during their attempts to escape from a rowdy revolt seizing their palace. Years later, after growing up with amnesia in an orphanage, "Anya" encounters two Russian men seeking a reward offered by the Dowager Empress Marie, for the return of her missing granddaughter. They decide to travel together to visit the Empress in Paris. Will Anya finally be reunited with her remaining family and find a loving home at last?

An aging codger named Geri plays a daylong game of chess in the park against himself. Somehow, he begins losing to his livelier opponent. But just when the game's nearly over, Geri manages to turn the tables.

As the Joker visits Metropolis with a plan to kill Superman for Lex Luthor, Batman pursues the clown to Superman's turf.

Danny, an ambitious singing/dancing cat, goes to Hollywood and overcomes several obstacles to fulfill his dream of becoming a movie star.

Pooh gets confused when Christopher Robin leaves him a note to say that he has gone back to school after the holidays. So Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore and Rabbit go in search of Christopher Robin which leads to a big adventure.

Astonished to find the Beast has a deep-seeded hatred for the Christmas season, Belle endeavors to change his mind on the matter.

Todd McFarlane's Spawn is an animated television series which aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999. It is also released on DVD as a film series. It is based on the Spawn comic series from Image Comics, and was nominated for and won an Emmy in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program (longer than one hour)

Æon Flux is set in a bizarre, dystopian future world. The title character is a tall, leather-clad secret agent from the nation of Monica, skilled in assassination and acrobatics. Her mission is to infiltrate the strongholds of the neighboring country of Bregna, which is led by her sometimes-nemesis and sometimes-lover Trevor Goodchild. Monica represents a dynamic anarchist society, while Bregna embodies a police state[4]—referred to on one occasion as a republic by Goodchild.[5] Although Bregna is shown to be repressive, in the first full-length episode, "Utopia or Deuteranopia?", Clavius, the president deposed by Goodchild, is described by a questioning journalist as having been democratically elected. In the same episode, an upper house of parliament is also mentioned by the character Gildemere.

The young druid Imp y Celyn comes to Ankh-Morpork to become a famous musician, but a new guitar from a mysterious shop possesses him with a new kind of music - the Music with Rocks In. To make matters worse, Death, saddened by the death of his adopted daughter, has gone away to try and forget, and his granddaughter Susan suddenly has the family duty passed on to her.

The first wedding anniversary of Princess Odette and Prince Derek is distracted by field fires set by Knuckles. His master Clavius, wants to conquer the world, and he needs to capture a giant orb to do that. Clavius kidnaps Queen Uberta and Odette with Derek have to save her.

A plague of locusts strikes the Great Valley and decimates the plants . When the adults in the herd begin fighting over the scarce resources, young Littlefoot and his friends Petrie, Cera, Ducky and Spike split off from the main group, becoming stranded on an island after their path was destroyed by a tsunami. As they search for a way off the island, they encounter an old acquaintance who may become friend or foe.

Johnny is a peaceful and forgiving worm until a human steps on him repeatedly. As a result, the worm becomes paranoid and angered at the human race, seeking revenge.

Lily and Jim are interviewed about their disastrous blind date, in Don Hertzfeldt's third student film.

Annabelle - a calf who has a special wish for Christmas - wants to be a reindeer and help Santa Claus drive his sleigh as he delivers his presents! Annabelle's friends tell her not to get her hopes up, but to everyone's surprise, Santa does indeed meet up with Annabelle, and the calf gets to help Santa make the holiday special for one young boy.

Mr. Resistor tries to catch himself a woman.

The Webslinger faces the ultimate challenge when his arch-nemesis discovers his identity and kidnaps his one true love, Mary Jane Watson.

An anthology of original animated shorts in the style and theme of Gary Larson's Far Side comics.

The Discworld, that is, as created by Terry Pratchett in his riotous series of sci-fi/fantasy books. Discworld is populated by a cast of characters straight out of folklore and mythology, only a whole lot funnier. Take the Wyrd Sisters, for instance (they don't like that handle one bit, by the way), whose story is brought to life in this animated series. A motley trio of hardworking witches, they get mixed up in a royal mess when a murdered king's baby son is entrusted to their care. Though they hate meddling, the witches must wrest the kingdom from the loopy duke and his she-devil wife.

Those fun-loving eletrical appliances from the acclaimed animated hit 'The Brave Little Toaster' are back in an action-packed adventure with four all-new songs. This heartfelt and humorous full-length feature reunites Toaster, Blanky, Lampy, Radio and Kirby the vacuum cleaner--the beloved household gadgets of college student Rob. When Toaster and the gang spark freindships with the playful animals at the veterinary hospital, they soon discover their new pals are about to be sent to a testing laboratory. Through teamwork (and combined voltage), they embark on a hilarious rescue to save all the animals, including Sebastion, a wise monkey, and Maisie, the doting mother cat with kittens.Treat your entire family to 'The Brave Little Toaster To The Rescue', an imaginative film bursting with colorful animation, high-energy music and characters that'll warm your heart at the push of a button!

In every VeggieTales video, Larry the Cucumber sings one of his special "Silly Songs with Larry". This video contains many of the most popular Silly Songs, hosted by The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (who debut a Silly Song of their own).

Hailed as the "rightful heir" to "The Wind in the Willows", William Horwood's critically acclaimed sequel comes to magical life in this beautifully animated feature-length classic. Join four of the best-loved characters in children's literature for their heart-warming and hilarious new adventure along the Riverbank, narrated by Academy Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave.

Years after failing to catch Little Red Riding Hood, the obsessed Wolf tries again.

ANIMALAND consists of nine (9) animal stories, which might be compared to the characterizations and style of "Bambi". Lost for nearly fifty years, this collection contains nine animated short stories produced and directed by David Hand, one of the creative talents behind such legendary Disney features as "Snow White" and "Fantasia." Available for the first time in the U.S., and filled with lovable animated characters, this historic video collection features such endearing titles as: "The Ostrich," "Ginger Nutt's Forest Dragon" and "The Lion."

Beavis and Butt-Head celebrate the Thanksgiving Day parade in Times Square with Kurt Loder and discuss the meaning of Thanksgiving, Beavis and Butt-Head's final episode, and music videos.

The adults decide to bring the babies and Angelica to Las Vegas on vacation. Tommy convinces the babies to help him find the tigers. Angelica hopes to sing while in Las Vegas.

Wicket remembers four memorable adventures from his youth: how he fixed up his great grandfather's battle wagon, the occasion when Latara ran away from the Ewok village to join the traveling Jindas, the time his father Deej fell terrible ill and the story of Kneesa's long lost sister, Asha.

Winnie the Pooh and friends teach us to help others.

Equal parts horror and hilarity, it's a mission impossible to forget when a giant naked alien woman battles a giant alien phallus with the fate of the world in the balance! A monstrous alien appendage lands on earth and immediately begins invading every woman it encounters. The army figures out that it's attracted to female hormones and gathers the largest force of prostitutes it can muster to lure the beast to its doom, but that many hookers and that many soldiers ensures some "privates" engaging in some unorthodox military maneuvers. All looks hopeless as the monster shaft engorges itself to titanic proportions, until an equally big, bare alien bounty hunter babe shows up to fight the beast. Win or lose, you can be sure that everyone's going to experience a night they'll never forget!

Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen gets his own story. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy meets boy!

Join Timon and Pumbaa, your favourite friends from The Lion King, for outrageous laughs and high-spirited, globe-trotting adventures. Set sail for France in 'French Fried' as the evil chef, Quint, tries to turn their snail friend into a tasty entree of escargot. It's on with the show and the dance tights when Pumba has to perform with the 'Boarshoi' ballet in 'Russia Hour'. Then, it's off 'To Killimanjaro Bird' where the feathers fly when Timon and Pumbaa baby-sit a little eagle. Last stop, the U.S.A. in 'Rocky Mountain Lie'. Pumbaa makes friends with a stinkbug... that is, until Timon mistakes it for a grub and eats it!

A lesson in obedience, it's the Bible story of Joshua and the Walls of Jericho as told by our beloved Veggies. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the children of Israel finally get to go to the Promised Land! Only one little thing they've overlooked ... the city of Jericho and its massive wall! Josh will have to decide whether it's better to do things his way or God's way!

Morag the Tulga Witch seeks revenge on her old enemy Logray, shaman of the Ewoks, who holds the magic Sunstar while she possesses it's darker half, the Shadowstone.

Pippi is a little girl who lives alone in her house, while her father is sailing the seas. With Pippi we meet her horse, her monkey and her two friends Tommy and Anika. Together they go on many journeys through the neighborhood.

In eight minutes, animator Bill Plympton gives us 24 vignettes: seven are clearly about sex, 10 about violence, and seven others deal with human frailties, particularly the body as it ages. There are three stories of persons with confused priorities (including a guy tying his shoe while parachuting); the world's first phone sex; and a clever, if dangerous, way to find a lost key. Except for the titles of each sketch and a couple of jokes that turn on noise, these are visual trips into the psyche of men, women, God, animals, and Time (the enemy of us all).

A vaudevillian's act involving the juggling of dogs is no longer a hit. He and his partner must face a brutal villain and assorted obstacles in order to secure their future.

Artoo, Threepio and a broken down android are traded into the hands of young miner Jann Tosh. The android turns out to be an alien with amnesia and a price on his head. It is in fact Mon Julpa, prince of Tammuz-an, who has been put in this predicament by the power hungry vizier Zatec-Cha. Jann, the droids, and a female freight pilot named Jessica Meade help Julpa claim his throne, battle the Pirates of Tarnoonga and settle a dispute with Tammuz-an clan leader Lord Toda. Written by Il Tesoro

Illustrations of the thoughts children's have about death.

The film begins with a little kid making a splashy red picture and licking and puking on it. Then, oddly, people behave as if the picture is amazingly important. Later, it seems that this childish scrawl is somehow a map of the mythical city of El Dorado and people are willing to kill to get it. Eventually, a group of colonists use it to dig and dig for this treasure--only to end up blowing themselves up. Then, the natives all celebrate and live happily ever after.

Join Timon and Pumbaa, your favourite friends from The Lion King, for outrageous laughs and high-spirited, globe-trotting adventures. First destination - Africa. In 'Kenya Be My Friend', Timon and Pumbaa forget how to be friends when Timon forgets 'Bestest Best Friend Day'. In 'South Sea Sick', Timon plays doctor when Pumbaa eats a bad bug - but the cure may kill first. Then in 'Uganda Be An Elephant', Pumbaa learns he's happy just being himself after he tries to be one of the more popular animals in the jungle. Then, it's off to Central America in 'How To Beat The High Costa Rica'. A crook and his money are soon parted when Timon and Pumbaa try to recover stolen money from the evil bank robber, Quint.

Young Russian Princess Anastasia is the cherished daughter of the mighty Czar Nicholas. Anastasia’s perfect world changes forever when the evil monk Rasputin topples the Czar from power. Anastasia falls in love with the dashing young soldier, Alexander, who helps the young princess flee for her life.

This computer-animated mini-movie follows the adventures of an advanced alien race called the Phleig, who are searching for a mythical planet which they believe holds the key to the mysteries of the universe. Along the way, the Phleig, aboard their flagship Infinity's Child, encounter many beautiful and diverse worlds.

The Greatest is Least is the story of how a man named Blastus tries to improve his standing with King Herod Agrippa by arranging a celebration with the neighboring lands of Tyre and Sidon. Blastus is shocked to find out Agrippa is already determined he must become the supreme ruler and has decided to invade these countries.

Journey back in time to an age of ancient mysteries, superhuman deeds and breathtaking, mythical adventures in this thrillingly animated story of the most powerful hero to walk the earth!

With his dad's bowling plate in pieces, Junior Asparagus has to think fast. But when his new friend encourages him to tell a little white lie, he finds that making a lie bigger and bigger can get you stuck in it.

It's excitement all round when a wedding invitation arrives and the Pingu family make their way to the gathering. However things do not go quite as planned with an absentee groom, a new arrival and the havoc wreaked by a damaged gift.

Melvin is an alienated loser until he meets Malcom, a trumpeter cockroach who has a huge talent.

The Ugly Duckling teams up with friend Scruffy, and the lovable misfits embark on a journey that helps them realize that their differences are what make them special.

Can there be such a thing as too much Christmas? Find out... when a magical Christmas wish is granted and Elmo gets to see what the world would be like if every day were Christmas! You'll enjoy lots of songs and holiday cheer with Elmo and his new friend Lightning, the reindeer, and discover for yourself why Christmas is best kept to one day a year!

Melvin's saga continues as his partnership with Malcom is compromised by an urban superhero's intrusion. Meanwhile, Melvin's mother aids a criminal after being unable to meet with her son.