The Best Cartoons You've Never Seen

I'm going to try something a little different this month. Instead of a biography or a crit-anal,
I'm going to give you fabulous Den-izens a mission.
Okay, we all grew up on the Superfriends and Schoolhouse Rock, right? But there's a whole world of fabulous feature-length animation out there that alot of us have probably overlooked. I'm not talking about the rat from Florida either, I mean the real thing. Cool stories by some of the best animators out there. So consider this page a checklist. If you haven't seen these, hit the video store! And if you feel I left some out -- lemme know! Maybe I can make this a regular feature. . .

	Fantastic Planet - An allegory on class struggles, this remarkable piece of animation takes place in a futuristic society where tiny humanoids must fight for equality under the rule of a race of giants.  [IMDB Page] **
Wizards - One of two films on this list from acclaimed cult animator Ralph Bakshi, it is a good vs. evil fable where rival sons of the Queen of the Faeries compete for power on a post-apocalyptic Earth.  Nazi overtones make this a pretty eye-opening look at our own history.  [IMDB Page] **
	Watership Down - Not for the kiddies!  A shockingly violent tale of a warren of rabbits and their struggle for freedom from human tyrrany.  Extremely violent; sailors will cringe.  Definitely an adult feature.  [IMDB Page] **
Lord of the Rings - Required reading for the D&D set, the 1978 animated release goes about halfway through Tolkein's Rings trilogy.  A multi-racial group joins forces to overthrow an evil ruler with help from the power of an ancient ring.  Another offering from the brilliant Ralph Bakshi.  The Rankin-Bass sequel "Return of the King", is even less-known. . .and for very, very good reasons.  (Namely, it stunk.)  [IMDB Page] **
	The Phantom Tollbooth - This animated/live action classic tells the story of Milo (voice of Butch Patrick, aka Eddie Munster) who drives his toy car through a mysterious tollbooth that appears in his room. . .and end up in a world where the numbers are battling with the letters.  Great for toddlers as well as the older kids (who probably read the book in 3rd grade like I did)  [IMDB Page] **
Fist of the North Star - What cult cartoon list is complete without some anime?  This 1986 feature uses the signature anime plot (we both want to control the world, so lets kill each other)  but adds things like character development and subplots that you just don't get in Speed Racer.  If you can get past the typically graphic anime violence, it's really a great story.  The IMDB link below takes you to info on the Japanese TV series.  Also, check out the live-action version that was released in 1996.  [IMDB Page] **