Over the years, animated cinema has proved to be the perfect medium for highly imaginative and visually striking stories that can only find their home in the admirably inventive limitlessness of animation. On plenty of delightful occasions, this medium has been the perfect vehicle for tales of sweeping romance, allowing for particularly creative stories with colorful characters that make the love story at their center really come to life.
From beautiful Disney classics that helped define the genre, likeBeauty and the Beast, to much more subversive modern masterpieces like the bizarreAnomalisa, animated romance can often be the best kind. The visual and narrative qualities that only animation can offerallow filmmakers to flesh out characters and celebrate the magic of love, always from angles that live-action can’t reach.
10’The Princess and the Frog' (2009)
Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements
Disney’s last 2D-animated romance film,The Princess and the Frogtells the story of a waitress whose dream to fulfill her dream of owning a restaurant is threatened when, after kissing a frog prince, she becomes a frog herself and must set out on a journey for both of them to go back to normal. Subversive of typical fairy tale romance tropes, while also paying homage to them and very much feeling like typical Disney magic, it’s definitely one of the studio’s best efforts in recent years.
The movie doesn’t do anything particularly groundbreaking for the genre, but with beautiful animation, a moving story, anda group of memorable characters,it delights audiences by going back to the animation giant’s roots. Its long overdue focus on African-American characters was applauded by critics and audiences alike, and even if some people were left wanting a less by-the-numbers narrative,The Princess and the Frogwas enough charm to make anyone swoon.
The Princess and the Frog
Watch on Disney+
9’Tangled' (2010)
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
After the exceptional Golden Ageknown as the Disney Renaissance, the studio started exploring more and more stories outside of the traditional romantic fairy tales that had defined their legacy. WithTangled, they went back to their narrative roots with a comedy musical that puts a twist on the tale of Rapunzel, placing her alongside a runaway thief who gets her out of the tower that she has spent her whole life in, showing her the world for the first time.
The movie finds the perfect balance between endearing screwball comedy and heartwarming romance, throwing in a coming-of-age story of self-discovery for good measure. With some of the most memorable characters in the studio’s library, stunning animation, and a bunch of catchy songs,Tangledproves that the fairy tale genre is far from dead if creative things are done with its tropes.
8’Whisper of the Heart' (1995)
Directed by Yoshifumi Kondō
One of the most unique and endearing outings in Studio Ghibli’s filmography,Whisper of the Heartis a love story between a girl who loves reading books and a boy who has checked out all the library books she has chosen in the past. Mixing all the best elements of a coming-of-age, a romantic drama, and a fantasy adventure, this movie written by Ghibli giantHayao Miyazakiis all that fans of romance anime could ask for.
One of Japan’s most prominent animation studio’shighest-rated films on IMDb,Whisper of the Heartis full of sincere emotion and mature depictions of love and connection, proving thatanimated movies can be family-friendly without ever coming across as condescending or “too kiddie”. Its animation has aged wonderfully, and its story about pursuing one’s dreams never stops being inspiring.
Watch on Max
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7’Your Name.' (2016)
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Contemporary romantic anime isn’t at all uncommon, but a film like that as magical, charming, and deeply moving asYour Name.is something that audiences don’t come across every day. It’s about two teens who share a deep connection that has caused them to swap bodies. Things become all the more complicated when the pair decide that they should meet in person.
The film revolves around the kind of ultra-creative premise the likes of which onlyMakoto Shinkaiseems capable of coming up with in the industry, and it does some really emotionally affecting things with those ideas. As one ofthe best body swap moviesto come out in recent years,Your Name.is a poignant depiction of relationships and the transcendental connection that binds them together, conveyed through a beautiful story that has a pair of compelling characters at its core.
Watch on Criterion
6’Aladdin' (1992)
Released near the beginning of the Disney Renaissance,Aladdinis recognized as one ofthe studio’s greatest movies. Inspired by one of the best-known tales ofThe Thousand and One Nights, it’s a sweeping desert adventure where a kind street urchin in love with a young princess sees his luck changed when he retrieves a wish-granting genie in a lamp, ignorant of the fact that the Sultan’s evil advisor has his own plans for both the young man and the lamp.
There is something inAladdinfor everyone to enjoy. Inventive fantasy elements, exciting action, hilarious comedycourtesy of Robin Williams in what many praised as the best voice performance in any movie ever made, and a touching romancebetween two fun characters, which celebrates the courage of being oneself and living with honesty.
5’Howl’s Moving Castle' (2004)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki is not only the best-known director of anime films, but even one of the best-known Japanese filmmakers of all time. This is for good reason: His movies are enchanting, mature, and absolutely enthralling,Howl’s Moving Castlebeing no exception. In it, an insecure young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, and has to recur to the help of an arrogant wizard and his companions to break the spell.
Howl’sMoving Castle’s most prominent features, at least on the surface, are the kind of thrilling action, enrapturing world-building, and creative concepts that you might find in an adventure epic.At heart, however, this is a beautiful love storyabout two characters who, in learning how to love each other, learn also to accept themselves and their flaws. It’sone of Miyazaki’s best efforts, and that’s saying a lot.
Howl’s Moving Castle
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4’Anomalisa' (2015)
Directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
Charlie Kaufmanis one of the most brilliant creatives in the film industry today, writing some of the most profound and hilariously bizarre scripts, and directing some of the most attention-grabbing spectacles of existentialist cinema.Anomalisa, his seventh film as a screenwriter but only his second as a director (in collaboration with stop-motion expertDuke Johnson), is a stop-motion romance dramedy about a man crippled by the mundanity of his life and incapable of interacting deeply with others, whose life is turned upside down when he meets an extraordinary stranger.
Anomalisais the kind oflife-changing existentialist masterpiecethat only Kaufman could have possibly made, a bittersweet depiction of loneliness, connections, and the unbearable weight of being. With two incredible voice performances byDavid ThewlisandJennifer Jason Leigh,the relationship at the core of the story feels brutally genuine and heart-achingly real.
Watch on Kanopy
3’Beauty and the Beast' (1991)
Directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
In 1992,Beauty and the Beastmade history by becoming the first-ever animated film to be nominated for the highly coveted Best Picture Oscar. It was a tremendous honor, and a decision that has aged like fine wine. This is still considered one of the most beautiful animated romances ever, where a prince cursed to spend his life as a monster sees his humanity revived by a young woman’s love.
There are plenty of things that have madeBeauty and the Beastendure in audiences' hearts for so long. Perhaps it’s its beautiful and colorful animation, or its catchy songs (some ofthe best in Disney’s whole library),or the layered and thought-provoking romantic story that it focuses on. Likely, it’s all those things at once—And then some.
Beauty and the Beast
2’The Tale of the Princess Kaguya' (2013)
Directed by Isao Takahata
No one can deny that Miyazaki is a master of his craft, but he’snot the only exceptional Japanese filmmakerin town—Or in Ghibli, for that matter.Isao Takahatais the studio’s other most notable name, and he has made some of their most iconic masterpieces.The Tale of the Princess Kaguyain particular might be his best work, a fantasy drama based on Japanese folklore where an old bamboo cutter and his wife find a young girl inside a bamboo stalk, raising her as their own. Coveted by five nobles but not wanting to marry a stranger she doesn’t love, Kaguya sends her suitors on impossible tasks.
Kaguyais a riveting story of femininity, gender roles, and societal expectations of love and marriage. With a complex depiction of Japanese history and some ofthe best uses of low fantasy in a movie,Takahata created a wonderful story that layers history, magic, and romance in the most perfect ways. Its watercolor animation is gorgeous, and its title character is one of the most engaging in any Ghibli picture.
1’Shrek 2' (2004)
What happens after happily ever after? This is the question thatShrek 2, one of the best, funniest, and most original animated sequels of all time asks. Its story sees Shrek and Fiona travel to the Kingdom of Far Far Away to meet the princess’s parents, but when they arrive, they find that they aren’t as welcome as they thought they would be.
While the originalShrekwas about the titular character learning to allow himself to be loved by others,Shrek 2has him learn how to love himself exactly as he is. It has more of what made the first film so charming: fun characters, hilarious jokes, and an endearing love story, while also adding some creative world-building and thoughtful themes to make itself stand out as one of the fewsequels that were able to top the original.
