I'm studying animation in college right now, so my films might be widely different than anyone else's choices, but what are your top 10 favorite animated films and what about them do you like?

For me:

1. Akira- considered the "godfather" of modern anime, it's hardly as groundbreaking as a genre film, but as an animated film, it redefined Japanese animation in terms of detail and scale, as well as proving that animation can target adults without a loss of substance.

2. Beauty and the Beast- this was the first, and only, animated film ever to be nominated for "Best Picture" at the Oscars, and it was also a landmark film that combined computer effects seemlessly into traditional animation. The "Beast" remains one of the most remarkable character designs in animation, and its musical score won several awards. But it's also just a great, balanced film with a little bit of everything, from romance to horror to action to comedy. It's got it all.

3. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade- is widely regarded as the "final" entirely traditional cel-shaded animated feature, and also serves as the pinnacle of the style. It's dark content is further enhanced by a chilling musical score, superb visuals, and more food for thought than most philosophy classes.

4. The Secret of NIMH- In an era dominated by talking animals and Disney kid-friendly material, Don Bluth created a film that was surprisingly dark, violent, atmospheric... and decidedly non-Disney-ish. And it was fantastic, appealing beyond children to reach adults with dynamic visuals and a compelling cast of characters and storylines.

5. Toy Story- the first mainstream CG film, and also a pretty darn good one. Pixar, of course, paved the way for CG films and steadily CG films replaced traditional 2D ones. This film was groundbreaking, as well as highly entertaining.

6. Little Nemo- technically an "anime", though created by Americans, this ode to the 1912 McCay characters was incredibly vibrant, fantastical, and inspired. Though it performed poorly in theaters, it was a film with a lot of heart, a great cast, and enough independent artist contributions to make it stand unique among Disney clones.

7. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within- Yes, the film's storyline was awful. It's pacing sucked. It's characters wooden. But the visuals, oh, the visuals. This was the film that inspired rumors that CG characters would replace live actors. While, of course, that never happened, it remains a pivotal moment in film history, with a cast of hyper-realistic cartoon characters at times convincing you they're actual beings. Aki Ross, even today, almost seems tangible at times.

8. The Little Mermaid- The start of the "Disney Renaissance", and for good reason. After years of lackluster films with lackluster plots (does ANYONE remember Oliver and Company?), this film came in and blew them away with high production values, timeless songs, superb animation and voice acting, and a return to the classic formula.

9. Fantasia- When Disney was young, they were much more daring. You couldn't show a film like Pinochio now-a-days (it has death, children smoking, and scary scenes). This film is one of those films, one even more daring, with no true dialogue, sound effects, or even plot, but rather a harmony of music and animation. While scenes of dancing hippos and alligators, and a re-imagined Mickey, were fun for the kids, it was segments like A Night on Bald Mountain, with scenes of demons, hellfire, and Satan himself, that really pushed the envelope and showed that animation was more than just a children's trade.

10. The Lion King- few films are as deep as this, though you don't realize it until later. This broke even Disney's formula, heavily featuring parallels of life and death, responsibility vs. pleasure, and even allusions to Hitler through Scar. It was a mature movie with a great soundtrack and story in the guise of children's entertainment and, like many before it, served to balance all elements of a story into one cohesive whole.