My Top 10 Favorite Non-Anime Movies

Greetings, ladies and gentlemen!  It’s Thursday once again, and that means it’s time to wrap up the last of my Autism Awareness Month event with my final non-anime countdown!  And for this week, I’ll be talking about my favorite non-anime movies.  Like I said last week, I don’t watch anime all the time and in fact enjoy some other films and shows.  And although I gave Robin Baker-Cotter credit for the idea, doing a list of my favorite non-anime movies was kind of my idea to begin with (her list pertained to non-anime TV shows).  So let’s not beat around the bush anymore and talk about my top ten favorite non-anime movies.

#10: The Rocketeer/Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Starting off the list is two totally different live-action Disney movies with some pretty similar themes.  From late middle school till I graduated high school, I had a fascination with the World War II era.  It wasn’t the war itself that was the interest, but the time period itself.  There was something about the culture, music, and attitudes of the time that seemed so fascinating.  Heck, at times I could almost imagine living in that era.  So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that these films quickly became favorites, especially considering how different they were.

The Rocketeer is set in the late 30’s as tensions between the US and Nazi Germany were rising.  A pilot named Cliff Secord and his friend Peevy stumble upon a jet pack which is part of a top secret government project run by the famous Howard Hughes.  After this discovery, Cliff becomes the target of a gang led by an undercover Nazi spy who are out to find the device, all while donning the superhero persona of the Rocketeer.  Though a family film, it’s an action film through and through, unlike Bedknobs and Broomsticks.  The latter is set in the midst of World War II England.  Three children who have been evacuated from London amidst the Blitz are arranged to live with a local lady named Eglantine Price, played by Angela Lansburry.  The children quickly learn that Miss Price is a witch in training who plans to use her powers to contribute to the war effort.  This film was probably more family friendly than The Rocketeer, but I think that’s what it was going for.  To quote from the Nostalgia Critic (even after the #changethechannel scandal), this film is what the Harry Potter franchise would look like if it didn’t take itself too seriously.  So all in all, it’s a fun little movie.  The same can be said of The Rocketeer as well.  Just add the fact they were set in a time that appeared to have such a stoic charm to it.  Overall, these two movies were two flicks that indulged in a fantasy that made me wish the forties were this much fun.

#9: The Lego Batman Movie

If I were to talk about a movie that runs on the nonsensical and slapstick sense of humor I have, chances are this is one of the first films to come to mind.  Now I’ll admit, it was hard choosing between this and The Lego Movie as they’re both pretty similar in humor and animation and enjoyed pretty equally.  But let’s face it, Batman for me was the best character form The Lego Movie, and more often than not, I’m apt to choose this one more.  But I did include The Lego Movie as an honorable mention. 

If I could summarize this movie in one word, it’s childish, and I mean that in the best possible way.  It has such a childish approach to its story and humor that it’s pretty entertaining and engaging.  Now granted, part of what makes this is the fact that it’s very well set in the mind of a child.  Well, if you took the idea that The Lego Movie had and applied it hear, it makes a lot of sense.  And I’ll admit, I was a little disappointed that this movie didn’t include the same plot twist that was used in the first one.  But still, you have Batman, so there’s really no reason to complain because much like the first film, he was the best character.  I also enjoyed a lot of the pop culture references and jokes there as well, like a group of orphans singing “Man in the Mirror” complete with Michael Jackson’s famous “shamon” and these hilariously spats between Batman and Joker as if they were in a relationship (not to mention they use the word “ship”).  You could say it’s the humor, Batman, the references, or Batman (did I forget to mention Batman?). But The Lego Batman Movie is a film that satisfies the little kid in me.

#8: Ghostbusters

“If there’s something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?...” Nobody cause I’ll be watching this movie.  There’s a handful of 80s movies that I traditionally watched whenever they came on TV.  I can’t say why exactly this became such a tradition outside of going with a broadcasting schedule, it’s just something I’ve always done.   This, along with it’s sequel, is one of those movies.  And that’s not to say I think this movie is terrible; on the contrary, it’s really good.  In fact, of those I watch religiously whenever they came on TV, this was by far my favorite.  The idea is fun and original and the comedy is great at catering to adults and kids.  And I think that’s what really gets me with this one, the very concept and the comedy.  Think about it, it’s a group of scientists that fight off ghosts.  As cheesy as that sounds, it still looks pretty cool!  Plus the lines are pretty memorable too.  I can almost recite the entire Gozer scene word for word.  And let’s face it, the 2016 reboot could never outdo this one.  I’ll admit that I liked the idea of having an entire female group of Ghostbusters, but the movie itself didn’t have the charm or fun the original had.  So if there’s something strange going on, chances are, it’s coming from this movie.  Oh, and fun fact: Dan Aykroyd, who plays Ray and co-wrote the screenplay, is one of the handful of celebrities that has Asperger’s Syndrome.  Yeah, who knew?

#7: Jurassic Park

Holy you-know-what, it’s a dinosaur!  No seriously, cause it’s Jurassic Park.  Yeah, everyone knows about this movie, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who adores it, but there’s a reason why it’s one of the most beloved films out there.  This film has an almost unlimited amount of imagination despite the violence that goes on; the idea of having a park of dinosaurs is almost something you’d see a little kid doing in the backyard with their toys and stuffed animals.  That’s what really gets me with this film: the imaginiation.  Though the idea itself is not entirely a new idea given that it is based off a book, you can’t really deny that this was so creative and out there.  Not to mention, even after twenty plus years since its release, the dinosaurs still look amazing!  It’s a shame sometimes that many of the effects we see in movies today are more CGI than practical because the Jurassic Park franchise used animatronics as well as some computer generated animation.  Because of that, the film is still praised for how well these effects aged.  From its very concept to the basic effects it used, this film made me wish that dinosaurs were real again!

#6: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey/ The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Ok, I know what you’re thinking just by looking at this entry.  Why didn’t I just say The Hobbit trilogy?  Well, to be honest, I didn’t really like Battle of the Five Armies.  But I’ll talk about that later.  For now, let’s focus on An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug.  When I think of a film series that was so well done in it’s story, The Hobbit is the first one to come to mind.  Granted, I don’t think that this film had that much to worry about given that Peter Jackson, who was the mastermind who directed the successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, was at the helm for this series.  I never felt like I needed to read the original Hobbit book after watching these movies cause I felt like the films were so well done that they gave you everything you needed to know (and I think I just offended ever J.R.R. Tolkien by saying this).  Plus, watching the first two Hobbit films, there’s such a great scale of adventure and danger that it just wraps you in.  This is particularly true with the first one.   It had the perfect beginning to an epic quest, starting off light hearted but then becoming more harrowing as the story progresses to the end with Bilbo and the dwarves halfway to Erebor.  The Desolation of Smaug continues to add to the feeling of suspense and danger as they finally reach Erebor and encounter Smaug.  The film ends with the mother of all cliffhangers as Smaug starts his attack on Lake Town.  I remember watching those final moments at the movie theater and just being on the edge of my seat to only have my jaw drop to the floor when the ending cuts off.  Oh and speaking of which, Smaug is by far the best looking dragon I’ve ever seen in film.  If you wanted the picture perfect dragon, Smaug is the closest you’ll get.  He’s massive, terrifying, and cunning.  Plus he’s played by Benedict Cumberbatch, which is all the more awesome, even though I’m not that avid a fan.  So overall, there was such a great emotional drive to both these movies that I don’t even care that I haven’t read any of Tolkien’s work.  And I think that’s why Battle of the Five Armies is the one movie I skip.  That drive was left out when you realize the last movie is focused on defeating this massive army rather than the dwarves defeating Smaug and reclaiming Eraborn.  Because of that, it was disappointing even though it was probably cannon to the book.  I may not be a Tolkien fan, but An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug are two films from The Hobbit that are the pinochle of an adventure flick.

#5: John Carter/ Van Hellsing

These are notoriously bad movies.  Ok, maybe not that bad, but I consider them B movies at their prime.  So why do I love these so much?  Well, believe or not, just the very concepts of them and, yes, because they are bad.  The majority of the movies on this list are on it because of the concepts that make them up.  Ghostbusters has a group of guys that fights ghosts.  Jurassic Park imagines what it would be like to have a park with real dinosaurs.  And The Rocketeer and Bedknobs and Broomsticks involve extraordinary individuals in a World War II era.  These films weren’t much different.  John Carter focuses on an Army captain who gets teleported to Mars and becomes involved in a world war.  Van Hellsing involves the famous monster hunter who travels to remote Romania to fight off Dracula’s forces.  Granted, both of these movies aren’t necessarily original ideas; both are based off of books and/or fictional characters in literature.  But still, they’re a lot of fun.  Plus, the fact that these are considered bad films almost gives an opportunity to imagine what direction they could have gone to be better.  And I think that’s what really makes these movies favorites.  It’s fun to look at and imagine what they could have been.  So yeah, as bad as these movies may have been, they offered enough to spark a little imagination.

#4: Who Framed Rodger Rabbit

I’ve talked about this movie before in my “20 Problems Only Anime Fans Will Understand” reaction post almost three years ago in regards to anime worlds.  I say this because I said that when it comes to living in an anime world, I’d much rather live in a world where all anime characters co-exist with us; this is exactly what happens in Who Framed Rodger Rabbit…minus the anime characters.  Given the fact that the very concept of the film is exactly the kind of world I’d want to live in, I don’t think it’s hard to see why this film is a favorite.  The idea of living in a world where cartoons inhabit it as well may sound scary and annoying for adults, but there are other ways this could be viewed.  Imagine if you could meet the cartoons you grew up watching.  How awesome would that be?  And I think that’s one of the reasons why this film is memorable.  Rather than give us a slew of new cartoon characters (although Rodger and Jessica Rabbit are original characters), they feature classic characters that we all can recognize.  Whether it’s playing at our nostalgia or the idea of bringing that nostalgia to life, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit is a movie that makes me wish that its world were real.

#3: The Last Samurai

Yeah, a movie set in Japan, about Japanese culture, about Japanese history, and more or less about the samurai is bound to catch my attention.  I mean I review and discuss anime, a part of Japanese pop culture!  But it’s not just the references to Japanese history and culture that’s fascinating.  I genuinely love the story.  Yes, it’s nothing new: man gets captured by enemy, man lives among enemy, man gains a greater understanding and respect, and man eventually joins with them.  Films like Dances with Wolves and Avatar have the same concept.  I can’t really pinpoint it, but if I had to, I would say that just the way the film presents itself is what I love about it.  I don’t think there are that many American made films that are set in an Asian country…those of great taste or quality anyway.  So it’s nice to see something like this with what I would wager is close to accurate in representing Japan at the time.  I can’t verify if it is in fact accurate, but I think it comes close.  Heck, I don’t mind that Tom Cruise is in it, not that I have anything against him.  Still, overall, The Last Samurai is probably the closest I’ll ever get to tasting Japanese culture and history.

#2: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Remember what I said earlier about John Carter and Van Hellsing?  Well this is another one of those bad movies that I often imagine what could have been if it were done better.  The difference with this one though is that I like it just a little more and have actually written down ideas on paper.  I’ll touch on that a little later, but let’s take a look at what I like about the movie.  Basically, at the turn of the century, a group of individuals-most of who are famous literary characters-join forces to stop an impending world war.  Again, it was pretty bad in all the wrong places, but just think about the concept of it here: it’s a 20^th Century superhero movie.  Imagine if all the literary characters you read about in your English Literature were crossed with the Avengers (had to throw that in cause of Avengers Infinity War).  Heck, this was based off the comic series by Alan Moore!  I loved the idea of this movie so much I literally started my own list of members to include.  Some were actual literary characters like Quasimodo, Tarzan, and, yes, Van Hellsing.  But what was even more fun was making up new members.  Some examples included a dragon tamer, a husband and wife demon hunter duo, and even an alien with extensive knowledge of various mythologies and spirits!  It’s sad that it ended up being what it was, but The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a film that just sparked the imagination in the right way.  It may have been a bad film, but it was great imagination fuel in a league of its own!

#1: Fantasia

If there were an easy way to describe this movie, it would be this:  this was a movie that I never out-grew.  I kid you not, I loved this film as a baby!  You heard me.  Straight from the accounts of my own mother, I was watching this movie way back.  I don’t know what it is about this movie.  It could be the music.  It could be the animation.  But all I know is that this film combines the two in such a magical way that it’s always stuck with me.  In fact there have been various points throughout my life where I became obsessed with this film.  And growing up, I started to enjoy some of the darker segments more.  As a kid, I loved the “Pastoral Symphony” segment (although I think most kids who saw Fantasia liked this part anyways), but when I got older, I really started to like the “Rite of Spring” segment.  And like many of the films on this list, it was just imagination fuel for me.  There were so many stories and ideas that I came up with as a child that were based off of this movie.  I can’t say it was a movie that shaped my childhood, but it’s definitely stuck with me for a long time.  I don’t know what other wonderful things I could say about this movie!  Whether I’m twenty-six years old or twenty-six weeks old, I love Fantasia, and it’s my number one favorite non-anime movie ever!

And befor I forget, here are some honorable mentions:

• ·         The Hunchback of Notre Dame
• ·         The Princess and the Frog
• ·         The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• ·         The Lego Movie
• ·         Hellboy/Hellboy II: The Golden Army

So that wraps up my final Autism Awareness post!  What are your favorite non-anime movies?  Were any of these on your list?  And who else added members to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?  Anyways, stay tuned this Sunday when I reveal this month’s Character of the Month and make my announcement for this year’s Miyazaki May!

-Hanime on Anime