It is not common for Westerns to be fully animated, but those who dare to venture into the medium typically produce some incredible films. Although the humble Western was once a cornerstone of American cinema, surprisingly few films in the genre experimented with animation. While all of the most classic must-see Westerns may be live-action, animation can offer a welcome break from the typical tropes of the genre.
Although the Western was once a much more powerful force in pop culture than it is today, films set in the American Old West, filled with gunslingers, horses and breathtaking expanses of untamed land, have never gone completely extinct. Many of the best modern Westerns are also animated, taking advantage of the great strides the medium has made since the Western’s heyday in the ’50s and ’60s. Animated Westerns experiment with a variety of tones, subjects, and themes that can be more difficult to access in material. live action.
10
Rank
2011
A masterpiece by Gore Verbinski, best known for Pirates of the Caribbean series, Rank is the gold standard when it comes to animated westerns. Occurring in the American Southwest, Rank stars Johnny Depp as the titular chameleon, a captive pet who imagines himself to be an actor who accidentally gets stranded in the Mojave Desert on a road trip. While crossing the town of Dirt, which is experiencing a severe drought, Rango reinvents himself as a heroic sheriff to save his new friends from a mysterious conspiracy.
Rank is a brilliant film for several reasons, not the least of which is its carefully rendered photorealistic animation that still conveys cartoon character designs. Depp and the other actors acted out each scene while doing voice work to be used as reference for the animation, and the subtle details of this influence are easy to see in the final product. The film is also notable for having one of the coolest villains in Western history, Rattlesnake Jake, a huge rattlesnake with a machine gun for a rattle.
9
City of Daisies
1971
Most animated Westerns have only been created in recent decades, out of a desire to surprise audiences with a new take on the irreverent genre. One of the most glaring exceptions to this rule is the 1971 Margaret City, a rarely seen but woefully undercelebrated Western that marked the first entry in the Lucky Lucas series. The charming ancient story revolves around a small desert town that springs up around a lone daisy growing in the ground, the only plant life for miles.
Here, the emerging criminal influence soon demands a response from Lucky Luke, the shrewd lawmaker, able to draw a gun faster than his own shadow. City of Daisies is a captivating encapsulation of everything that makes Westerns great, with tense duels, dimly lit bars, and dastardly bandits. The eccentric old style of animation is also something of a lost art, and is difficult to find in the modern era of cinema.
8
Spirit: Cimarron Stallion
2002
Spirit: Cimarron Stallion It’s an interesting case of the power of animation in a Western. Taking place in a Wild West setting typical of the genre Spirit: Cimarron Stallion goes against conventional character trends by positing not a human settler as the main character, but a wild, untamed horse who is captured and broken into by cowboys. Spirit: Cimarron Stallion hits its stride as a stunning indictment of encroaching civilization and colonization in the face of the raw, untamed frontier of the American West.
The film certainly isn’t perfect, with a rather shallow narrative and an awkward narration of Spirit’s thoughts by Matt Damon that feels like a painfully obvious last-minute panic decision by the studio, afraid to trust a film with virtually no dialogue. Still, the breathtaking 2D animation is some of the best in the business, representing the last gasp of traditional animation as the economic world of 3D modeling began to overtake cinema. For this reason alone, Spirit: Cimarron Stallion deserves a mention as one of Dreamworks’ best films.
7
Spirit: Indomitable
2021
Although it took almost 20 years to happen, Spirit: Cimarron Stallion finally got a sequel thanks to Spirit: Indomitable. This time, Spirit is not the main star of the show, but a deuteragonist of new character Fortuna “Lucky” Esperanza Navarro-Prescott, a young woman who is sent from her home in New England to live out West with her estranged widower father. for the summer. Here, she meets and forms a bond with the stubborn kiger mustang Spirit, helping him escape his abusive owners.
Spirit: Indomitable is a touching story, even if its story is quite cliché, thanks to many similar films about horse lovers. The greater presence of human characters contributes to a more fluid narrative, relieved by Matt Damon’s narration, giving the film a stronger emotional center compared to its predecessor. The move to 3D animation has also been very smooth for the series, with some truly awe-inspiring driving scenes that are hard to beat.
6
House in the range
2004
Far from Disney missing an animation trend, the company sought to one-up Dreamworks’ animal-centric Western with a similar project of its own, House in the Cordillera. Instead of focusing on horses, House in the Cordillera puts the “cow” in “cowboy” as it follows the adventures of a trio of dairy cows. When a devious cattle rustler puts their idyllic Western community in danger, the three bovine ladies band together to find a way to stop him.
Even though it’s not exactly Disney’s best animated film, House in the Cordillera relentlessly taps into the spirit of the West with a serviceable story that functions mostly as an excuse to display a thrilling backdrop of the Western landscape. House in the Cordillera holds a special place as Disney’s last hand-drawn animated feature film, giving it a significant place in the company’s history, even if it isn’t the most celebrated film in its direction. The family adventure also quietly holds Disney’s best original country music, courtesy of music guru Alan Menken.
5
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
1991
While An American tail was a bold romp through early 1900s New York City through the lens of immigrant rats, the sequel made a bold effort to switch genres, becoming a Western for the sequel. In An American Tail: Fievel Goes Westreturning protagonist Fievel finds himself once again stranded alone, this time out west in a sparse border town. Basking in the last gasps of the Western Frontier, Fievel is tasked with finding a way home while subverting the evil whims of a business-minded cat mogul.
Under the constant supervision of visionary director Stephen Spielberg as producer, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West it almost manages to surpass the original in scope and spectacle. The dizzying Western adventure almost moves too quickly, but it doesn’t lose sight of the same heart that drove the original An American tail. The celebrity voice cast, innovative “camera” techniques, and delicately hand-drawn animation that follows Don Bluth’s original concepts make for a thrilling animated Western.
4
Calamity, a Childhood by Martha Jane Cannary
2020
Many live-action Westerns have focused on real-life people, from infamous outlaws to unbelievable bounty hunters. Even though animation seems better suited to more fantastical activities, Calamity, a Childhood by Martha Jane Cannary pulls off a similar trick as a fictional account of the childhood of Calamity Jane, a real frontierswoman and sharpshooter who actually existed. Despite being a French-Dutch collaborative production, the film clearly has a very real love and fascination for the famous period in American history.
The narrative places a heavy and deserved emphasis on Martha Jane Cannary’s breaking of typical gender norms of the time, fiercely following in her father’s footsteps as the lead driver of a caravan on the Oregon Trail. Jane proves her mettle when she sets out alone to retrieve precious supplies stolen by a rebel soldier, a riveting and intense story that is colored by beautifully unique animation. By avoiding traditional contours and focusing on color, Calamity, a Childhood by Martha Jane Cannary proves to be a unique animated film overall, let alone a Western.
3
Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s confrontation
2017
At this point, there have been so many Scooby-Doo movies that a Western-themed adventure was essentially inevitable. In Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s confrontationHanna-Barbera’s famous mystery-solving team heads west to investigate the ranch of Shaggy’s distant cousin, who claims to be haunted by the ghost of their common ancestor, Dapper Jack Rogers. From then on, the typical formula for a Scooby-Doo! The episode unfolds against the backdrop of a unique Western setting.
In fact, the entire Scooby-Doo! Shaggy’s confrontation It’s worth watching the bursts of courage Shaggy gets from his newfound cowboy ancestry, allowing him to single-handedly take on an entire bar full of bikers in one long fight scene. Furthermore, the film is also quite creative in that it is a standard Scooby-Doo story, with an impressively complex villain scheme that presents some genuine shocks. It’s also one of the few times in Scooby-Doo history that the gang encounters something genuinely paranormal, as evidenced by the open-ended final scene.
2
Borrowed time
2015
Even if it’s just a short film, Borrowed time is impossible not to talk about when it comes to the greatest animated films that delve into the American West. Directed by Pixar veterans Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj, the brief tale revolves around a father and son duo driving a caravan who are struck by tragedy when a terrible accident befalls them. After the event, the son must struggle with the intense emotional consequences of his memories revolving around the beloved pocket watch his father gave him as a gift.
Borrowed time It won a number of awards in the years following its release and it’s easy to see why. At just 7 minutes long, the film is able to tell a more exciting story than most animated films or other westerns. Even though it’s dark, the bittersweet ending weaponizes classic Western tropes and images to potent effect.
1
DC Showcase: Jonah Hex
2010
Another western animated short film, DC Showcase: Jonah Hex weaves a gripping story with the titular Wild West gunslinger of DC Comics fame. Although a live-action film adapting the same material starring Josh Brolin was released the same year, the animated incarnation of Jonah Hex ends up being far superior to the forgettable live-action one. In this short, the scarred bounty hunter finds himself in a confrontation with a deadly femme fatale after discovering that she had already defeated him with the punch of her latest prey.
Although it has a very simple story, DC Showcase: Jonah Hex features some inventive action that puts other films in the DC animated universe to shame. The moody art style and dark, violent themes provide a refreshingly adult take on an animated Western film, with excellent voice acting to boot. By far the superior Jonah Hex product when compared to the live-action film DC Showcase: Jonah Hex incorporates exciting Western shootings via animation.