Best Modern Animation Studio

[United Gordonopia]

Animation is one of the preeminent forms of film, despite the fact that it is often dismissed as kid's fair. Regardless of how many see it, animation provides the template for many of the most dynamic pieces of cinema both today and in years past. Animation studios have come and gone, but I would like to ask NS what they believe is the best studio operating today. Although many great studios have created masterpieces in the past, I would like you to only consider works since 2000.

The poll options are those that are commonly cited as being great studios, though some are perhaps past their prime. Feel free, though, to put in your own nominee and explain why below.

Studio Ghibli - Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Howl's Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, From up on Poppy Hill

Pixar - Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2

Disney - Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stich, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh

Dreamworks - The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run, Shrek, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Ware-Rabbit, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, Shrek the Third, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Monsters vs Aliens, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Megamind, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots

Blue Sky Studios - Ice Age, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio

[Forsher]

Animation is one of the preeminent forms of film, despite the fact that it is often dismissed as kid's fair. Regardless of how many see it, animation provides the template for many of the most dynamic pieces of cinema both today and in years past. Animation studios have come and gone, but I would like to ask NS what they believe is the best studio operating today. Although many great studios have created masterpieces in the past, I would like you to only consider works since 2000.

The poll options are those that are commonly cited as being great studios, though some are perhaps past their prime. Feel free, though, to put in your own nominee and explain why below.

Studio Ghibli - Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Howl's Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, From up on Poppy Hill

Pixar - Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Cars 2

Disney - Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stich, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Winnie the Pooh

Dreamworks - The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run, Shrek, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Shrek 2, Shark Tale, Madagascar, Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the Ware-Rabbit, Over the Hedge, Flushed Away, Shrek the Third, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Monsters vs Aliens, How to Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Megamind, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots

Blue Sky Studios - Ice Age, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Horton Hears a Who!, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio

I went with Pixar. I have at least seen most of theirs, although I have seen all of the Blue Sky Studios ones, and liked all the ones I have seen (except for Wall-E which was pretty boring). This is also despite Flushed Away being one of the better films in this list.

ON another note. Would you include partially animated films/tv series like The Wot Wots?

[United Gordonopia]

ON another note. Would you include partially animated films/tv series like The Wot Wots?

Feel free to include whatever you think of. I didn't think of tv though I'm not sure about partially animated, as one could even make a case for something like Avatar (not last airbender) to fall into that category.

[Cameroi]

i'm not that much of a fallower of big name studios. not against them. not saying they're no ok.
what i love to see though, is nonprofessionals doing creative things with inexpensive, or free, animation software, like blender and some of the others.
i'd rather watch this stuff, then most of what ends up on tv or in the movies.
again not to dis, that there's some pretty good that shows up there too.

maybe i'm just a cheap bastard. i'm sure that's part of it. but professionalism too frequently demands trading origeonality for polishedness.
and while polishedness might be a reasonable goal for even the lowlyest of rank beginners, it just isn't as important or worth it to me, as what i actually find interest in.

dreamworks and gibli both do wonderful work. i'm sure the rest of them do at least some, if not most, of the time, as well.
so i really can't give you a favorite there.
only that the unheard of is almost always my more favored then the most popular.

sheep in the island, and pigeon impossible are a couple of examples of the kind of work i'm talking about.
and of course the blender project movies of elephant's dream, big buck bunny, and sintel.

[Forsher]

ON another note. Would you include partially animated films/tv series like The Wot Wots?

Feel free to include whatever you think of. I didn't think of tv though I'm not sure about partially animated, as one could even make a case for something like Avatar (not last airbender) to fall into that category.

Okay. Based purely on the quality of Dotty-Wot and Spoitty-Wot I say Weta did a pretty good job. But I wouldn't call them a studio, so I'll stick with Pixar.

[West Failure]

Studio Ghibli then Pixar.

[United Gordonopia]

Personally, I prefer Ghibli for a number of reasons. Their films seem to be so much deeper than any other major animated movies, and even the majority of independent films. Their attention to detail is just astounding, and their creativity is unparalleled. Also, when watching movies from studios like Pixar, there always seems to be that hidden thought in the movie of 'how can we merchandise this?' That's evidenced by movies like Cars 2 (the sequel to the least critically acclaimed, but most lucrative merchandised, Pixar movie), and the fact that a lot of Pixar movies seem to be 'what can we put a mouth on next'. Of course, there are several exceptions, like UP or WALL-E, but watching Ghibli films I never get that impression.

[Saurisisia]

I'd have to say Pixar, considering how great most of their movies are and all.

[JuNii]

Studio Deen
or
Sunrise. can't make up my mind.

[Trollgaard]

Probably Disney, as many of there films weren't ugly cgi films, and used actual animation.

[Arumdaum]

Studio Ghibli hands down. I always feel a sense of enlightenment and inspiration whenever I watch one of their movies.

[United Gordonopia]

Probably Disney, as many of there films weren't ugly cgi films, and used actual animation.

Modern Disney films are CGI though. All of their films for years have used computer animation, and recent ones have become more and more CGI-ish. Ghibli is the only major animated studio that still hand-draws, with their recent 2008 film Ponyo having a Miyazaki record 170,000 hand-drawn images.

[Forsher]

While I have and don't really feel like watching a Ghibli film I am not surprised that it is winning.

[Cyprum Xecuii]

forgot about "The Secret World of Arrietty" which is pretty darn new as well, although the states just got the movie rights even though japan made it two years ago....and I'd rather watch it with English subtitles with the actual Japanese dialogue"

[Free foundation]

1.Studio Ghibli movies have best storyline and their animation work is also very good. Who can forget "grave of the fireflies". I just couldn't stop myself from crying.
2. Pixar studio has revolutionized cgi animation movies. Their stories aren't bad either.

[The Anglo-Saxon Empire]

Dreamworks - Shrek, Shrek 2, Shrek the Third, Shrek Forever After, Puss in Boots

Well they milked that for all it was worth. Honestly I haven't seen a series dragged on that long outside of video games, and perhaps James Bond films.