Princess Mononoke (1997)

Princess Mononoke (1997) delivers the most morally complex animation ever crafted, featuring 1,440 hand-drawn cels and a layered environmental narrative. Its refusal to paint simple heroes or villains sets a standard that outperforms #6 Toy Story's clear-cut redemption arc. Studio Ghibli spent 15% of the budget on live-action animal studies, lending nature a gritty realism that surpasses the typical fantasy film's anthropomorphism. The protagonist Ashitaka’s curse-propelled journey weaves Shinto themes into a battle for balance, earning a 93% Rotten Tomatoes score—higher than the average animated epic's 82%. This epic upends conventions by letting the forest gods' wrath feel justified, a bold storytelling choice that Grave of the Fireflies (#7) later echoes in its own tragic ambiguity.