This is actually a very difficult question for me. Cause as absurd as IMDB’s ratings can be for movies or series, I’m surprisingly in agreement with its ratings of most of the animated movies I’ve seen. Sometimes it’s slightly overrated or underrated but just slightly. The 3 major exceptions I can think of are these:
- Treasure Planet (2002) [IMDB 7.1] Should be 7.8–8.0
The legendary "loot of a thousand worlds" inspires an intergalactic treasure hunt when 15-year-old Jim Hawkins stumbles upon a map to the greatest pirate trove in the universe in Walt Disney Pictures' thrilling animated space adventure, "Treasure Planet." Based on one of the greatest adventure stories ever told - Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" - this film follows Jim's fantastic journey across a parallel universe as a cabin boy aboard a glittering space galleon.
Source for plot: Treasure Planet
- Over the Hedge (2006) [IMDB 6.7] Should at least be 7.5
When Verne (Garry Shandling) and fellow woodland friends awake from winter's hibernation, they find they have some new neighbors: humans, and RJ (Bruce Willis), an opportunistic raccoon who shows the others how to exploit the suburban bounty laid out before them.
Source for plot: Over the Hedge
Okay, honestly those two are underrated, but they’re not must-watch. I can’t think of any must-watch and underrated (like in rank/rating) animation movies, but I can tell you one anime (which is still technically an animated movie) that is underrated and a must watch:
- Colorful (2010) [IMDB 7.5] Should at least be 8.0 (I should mention that it is indeed rated 8.0 on MyAnimeList, which I think is the more proper/relevant platform/rating system for anime)
A soul wakes up in the body of suicide victim Makoto and must find a way to fit into his existence. The soul must unravel two mysteries -- the secret of the great sin it committed in its previous life and why Makoto committed suicide.
Source for plot: Colorful 2010
The rest that I can mention are under-appreciated or under-recognized animated movies or anime. So most of the famous animated movies like Inside Out (2015) or Up (2009) have around 100,000 - 700,000 user ratings on IMDB, so I think it’s fair to consider movies with under 50,000 ratings as “lesser known” relatively.
- The Little Prince (2015) [IMDB 7.8 by 44,184 user ratings]
The Aviator introduces a girl to a world where she rediscovers her childhood and learns that it's human connections that matter most, and that it is only with heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Source for plot: The Little Prince
- Song of the Sea (2014) [IMDB 8.1 by 37,252 user ratings]
An Irish youth (David Rawle) discovers that his mute sister is a selkie who must find her voice and free supernatural creatures from the spell of a Celtic goddess (Fionnula Flanagan).
Source for plot: Song of the Sea
- The Illusionist (2010) [IMDB 7.5 by 30,466 user ratings]
Magic tricks can't compete with rock 'n' roll in the 1950s, so a French illusionist (Jean-Claude Donda) finds himself touring Scotland's shabby pubs and run-down restaurants. But things brighten for him when he meets Alice (Eilidh Rankin), a girl who believes his powers are real. Together they travel to Edinburgh for a performance, but he doesn't have the heart to reveal that his feats are merely tricks, and risks financial ruin by giving her gifts supplied by his "magic."
Source for plot: The Illusionist
- The Last Unicorn (1982) [IMDB 7.5 by 20,021 user ratings]
In this animated musical, the villainous King Haggard (Christopher Lee) plots to destroy all the world's unicorns. When a young unicorn (Mia Farrow) learns that she's in danger and that she may soon be the last of her kind, she leaves the safety of her protected forest and enlists the help of Schmendrick (Alan Arkin), a gentle, albeit clumsy, sorcerer. Together, they embark on a long and dangerous journey with one goal: to defeat Haggard and save the unicorns from extinction.
Source for plot: The Last Unicorn
These are all of the best yet lesser known animated movies I can think of. The rest are anime films which are truly great if you’re into anime. Since almost any anime on IMDB, other than Studio Ghibli’s, are rated by under 50,000 users, I’ll be using MyAnimeList to determine how popular an anime is. Popular animes like Spirited Away (2001) or Your Name (2016) (both truly fantastic films, best of the legendary Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli and Shinkai Makoto for CoMix Wave Films, respectively) also have around 100,000 - 500,000 user ratings, so I’ll also be mentioning animes with under 50,000 user ratings.
- When Marnie Was There (2014) [MyAnimeList 8.29 by 45,757 user ratings]
A tomboy (Hailee Steinfeld) explores a long-abandoned villa and meets a mysterious blonde girl only she can see.
Source for plot: When Marnie Was There
- Millennium Actress (2002) [MyAnimeList 8.32 by 37,046 user ratings]
In this animated movie, filmmaker Genya Tachibana begins work on a documentary about famed Japanese actress Chiyoko Fujiwara. Now well into old age, Chiyoko has become reclusive and shy about any publicity, but she eventually warms up to Tachibana and starts to relate her life story. As the decades pass, Chiyoko is transformed from a teen with big dreams into a full-blown celebrity, while her cinematic characters span various eras, from ancient Japan to the distant future.
Source for plot: Millennium Actress
- A Letter to Momo (2011) [MyAnimeList 7.73 by 18,119 user ratings]
Momo is recovering from her father's death and her mother's decision to move their family from Tokyo to a remote island when she discovers a message from her father that causes strange events to occur.
Source for plot: A Letter to Momo
- Mind Game (2004) [MyAnimeList 7.85 by 16,281 user ratings]
Cult classic Mind Game is an explosion of unconstrained expression - gloriously colorful mages ricochet in rapid fire associations, like Masaaki Yuasa's brain splattered onto the screen in all its goopy glory. Audiences will begin to grasp what they are in for early on as loser Nishi, too wimpy to try to save his childhood sweetheart from gangsters, is shot in the butt by a soccer-playing psychopath, projecting Nishi into the afterlife. In this limbo, God - shown as a series of rapidly changing characters - tells him to walk toward the light. But Nishi runs like hell in the other direction and returns to Earth a changed man, driven to live each moment to the fullest.
Source for plot: Mind Game
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