We’re in the midst of an animation renaissance of sorts, with new and electrifying creative visions bursting into the mainstream. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the latest groundbreaking phenomenon to hit the zeitgeist; the sequel expands on stunning success of the previous movie, which redefined the rules of animated storytelling and captured the hearts of mainstream audiences all at once.

For folks who grew up in the ’90s and the preceding decades, Disney tended to dominate the scene when it came to animated films. That’s not to cast aspersions on the House of Mouse, but in my experience, many of those Disney kids didn’t continue loving animation into adulthood, which means they’re missing out on some truly great art and storytelling. I’ve written twice before about this very topic, so this is a loosely related third installment in my animation saga, which began by questioning seemingly negative attitudes toward the medium, then continued with a deep dive into three specific test  cases.

Now, to complete the trilogy, I thought I’d simply discuss five of my favorite animated works not made by Disney. I’m also leaving Studio Ghibli out of the mix, since their work is already widely popular, though consider this sentence a blanket recommendation for pretty much any and every Ghibli movie…

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