Movies Under 90 Minutes Part 5: Animation & Family

 

Part Five

Fun For All Ages: Animated, Stop Motion, and Other Family Films

 

I had no clue when I was a kid how much time, effort, and talent went into creating my favourite animated films, I just sat back and watched them over and over again, entranced by the colours and characters and designs. Sometimes I was also traumatized by the animated adventures of anthropomorphic animals, objects, and creatures, but as I got older, I noticed animation had changed, straying away from hand-drawn traditional methods to modern computer-generated extravaganzas. As I sort through the greatest animated films ever made that are less than 90 minutes long, I’m also going to showcase the best short stop motion films, and some other family films that may have a mix of animation and live-action, because this is the best place to compare them and determine which, if any, are coming to the quarter-finals! 

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Just like with horror in part two, I have a particularly long list to start things off, separate from all the other contenders, because there’s one group of animated films that are going to make this process very difficult. To probably no one’s surprise, Walt Disney is behind some of the greatest animated films of all time that also happen to be shorter than 90 minutes, given that ol’ Walt pretty much invented the theatrically released animated feature film. The very first one, the first ever, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), is only 83 minutes! What other Disney classics worthy of mentioning are that short, or possibly even shorter? Well…

-Pinocchio (1940)

-Dumbo (1941)

-Bambi (1942)

-Cinderella (1950)

-Alice in Wonderland (1951)

-Peter Pan (1953)

-Lady and the Tramp (1955)

-Sleeping Beauty (1959)

-One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

-The Sword in the Stone (1963)

-The Jungle Book (1967)

-The Artistocats (1970)

-Robin Hood (1973)

-The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

-The Rescuers (1977)

-The Fox and the Hound (1981)

-The Little Mermaid (1989)

-Beauty and the Beast (1991)

-The Lion King (1994)

-Mulan (1998)

-Tarzan (1999)

-Lilo & Stitch (2002)

-Brother Bear (2003)

Dear me.

I don’t even know what to do with this!  There are still a few more I could have included but I left them off because they weren’t real contenders for best even just against these ones and there are already too many to deal with. As much as I want to jump right to eliminations, I still have a whole bunch of non-Disney animated films to go through first, so I think I’ll do the eliminations in two halves: Disney and non-Disney.

As for the other animated films competing for a spot, we have the original Pixar feature, Toy Story (1995), which does seem unusually short compared to all other Pixar films (81 minutes), but keep in mind, it was the first-ever feature-length computer animated movie—everything like it that had come before was far, far shorter. Then, there are two very different Studio Ghibli classics: My Neighbor Totoro (1988) and Grave of the Fireflies (1988). There’s the Blue Sky Studios franchise starter Ice Age (2002), and another, older prehistoric franchise starter from a pre-computer-animated age: The Land Before Time (1988). The original Land Before Time director Don Bluth previously gave us An American Tail (1986), which is also worth considering, as is his directorial debut, The Secret of NIMH (1982). Next, with its blend of traditional animation and computer animation, there’s The Iron Giant (1999). Though Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) is not a family film, I would throw it in as a real contender for best animated because it totally took this Predator fan (and many others) by surprise with its lean anthological revitalization of the franchise, but it clocks in at a precise 90, so doesn’t quite qualify. The much-inspired-by-Shrek Hoodwinked! (2005) gets a shout out as one of my favourite underrated animated flicks. Speaking of Shrek, we are sadly without the original Shrek (2001) in competition, because it is also exactly 90 minutes.

I’m still not done, because there’s yet another sub-category: stop motion and live-action/animation hybrids! I was going to mention this next film earlier, but it technically uses real locales in combination with photorealistic computer-generated imagery, so that makes it a blend. Nonetheless, Dinosaur (2000) is an all-time favourite family film, as well as an underrated “animated” Disney flick, and it’s only 82 minutes. Another family favourite, though it’s strictly live-action, is here to make this competition even tougher: Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)! While I recognize that Space Jam (1996) is objectively less good compared to nearly every other family movie I’ve included so far, animated or otherwise, it’s still worth mentioning for being an essential 90’s family flick blending live-action and computer animation by bringing together Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes to play basketball against alien invaders, and doing all of it in just 87 minutes. James and the Giant Peach (1996) gets a nod for some stunning stop motion and unique character designs, with the story bookended by live-action scenes.

Our last five contenders are all heavy hitters in the realm of pure stop motion: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Chicken Run (2000), Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), and Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015). Two last honourable mentions go to sequels from Aardman productions, neither of which I like quite as much as their predecessors and are still too new to be considered classics yet, but A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon (2019) and Wallace & Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) are notable for being nearly as short as the originals—in fact, A Vengeance Most Fowl is even shorter than the first Wallace & Gromit film, at a mere 79 minutes, yet still not lacking an ounce of entertainment value.

 

ELIMINATIONS

A whole 26 Disney flicks are in line for the chopping block. I’ll start with the must-keeps, and let me tell you, the quarter-finals are going to be far more difficult now. At a glance, the top five Disney classics that have to continue on, from newest to oldest, are Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, The Fox and the Hound, The Jungle Book, and Pinocchio. As for the rest, yeah there are way more classics left, but I’ll have to be ruthless in this case. The first ones to go are The Rescuers, Robin Hood, The Aristocats, The Sword in the Stone, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Dumbo. This is probably going to be the most upsetting elimination round so far, partly because I can’t even explain every single reason for my decision-making. Basically, what it comes down to is which of these classics were the most important to me as a kid, and remain important, and would be easiest for me to put on if I was looking for a Disney classic under 90 minutes long to watch today.

Brother Bear, while great, just doesn’t resonate enough with me to keep. I actually really like The Little Mermaid, but compared to others from earlier eras, it doesn’t carry the same kind of emotional weight, for me. Winnie the Pooh is iconic, but he isn’t a character I have carried into my adulthood as a significant remainder, so sadly, he’s out, too. I used to think of One Hundred and One Dalmatians as an all-time favourite from Disney, but as an adult, I actually find it’s really only the second half that is so memorable, therefore I’m eliminating it next. Speaking of Disney dogs, Lady and the Tramp is obviously iconic, too, but beyond those moments we all remember so well, I don’t really connect too strongly with the overall film, so it's gone, too. Alice in Wonderland is a great adaptation of the children’s book, but it’s really the story and the characters that resonate beyond the animation, so even though it’s great, it isn’t a cut above the other finalists.

I’d say Peter Pan is better than Alice in Wonderland, but sort of like Dalmatians, it’s great in scenes, not as great all the way through, so it goes, too. The last ones to go are Mulan and Beauty and the Beast, which again, I just don’t have enough emotional attachment to, so to recap, that leaves these Disney animated classics moving on to the quarter-finals: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937), Bambi (1942), and Tarzan (1999), along with the previous five others I already saved, Lilo & Stitch, The Lion King, The Fox and the Hound, The Jungle Book, and Pinocchio. Even though I know some of these may be surprising, and a few I already can predict are going to be eliminated quickly in the next round, they’re all worth bringing along, and that’s all I can say for now!

Next up, I’ll sort through the computer animated films. Toy Story has to stay, because it goes beyond just being the first of its kind and remains one of the greatest movies of its kind despite being the very first. It’s like the King Kong of computer animated features. I can’t say Ice Age is quite on the same level of originality. Yes, it’s just about as rewatchable, but it lacks that narrative innovation, and plays into some more obvious jokes, so at this point, Ice Age is extinct from the competition.

In terms of traditional animation, none of Don Bluth’s work is beating out the true emotional consistency and satisfying storytelling of The Iron Giant. Land Before Time is remembered as having one of the saddest deaths in any kids’ movie, but beyond that, it isn’t as impactful, and I don’t think it’s even the best overall Land Before Time movie, despite being the most well-produced one. While I remember The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island most fondly and it still qualifies at only 74 minutes, I won’t be taking it to the next round. Secret of NIMH is a good adaptation of the children’s story by Robert C. O’Brien, and American Tail is classic in its own way, but for how great the animation was in all of them at the time, they just weren’t as innovative in terms of story. As for anime, both Studio Ghibli movies are way, way too significant to be eliminated, so I’m taking three non-Disney animated films along with Toy Story into the next round.

Dinosaur, as much as I love it, is in many ways just an updated version of Land Before Time, and it can’t compare to the greatness of Homeward Bound—neither can Space Jam or James and the Giant Peach, for that matter. I’m sad to see all three go, but not surprised. The only remaining films, for me, that rival Homeward Bound with their overall quality, storytelling, and entertainment value, are Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Fantastic Mr. Fox. I recognize the upset of eliminating Nightmare Before Christmas this early, but I have never been a big fan of it, and there’s no way the characters or plot carry the same enduring qualities as Wallace & Gromit or the many woodland animals from the Roald Dahl adaptation. Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep, while both are also delightful and entertaining, simply are not as rewatchable as Wallace & Gromit.

So, to conclude, a further seven films are joining the eight Disney survivors: the greatest number of films to survive the first genre elimination round so far! It’s only going to make it that much tougher in the quarter-finals…and in part six, a whole bunch of different genres are going to collide, as I sort through the final lot of films vying for a chance to win the title of best film under 90 minutes! 

Movies Under 90 Minutes Part 4: Comedies

 

Part Four

Brevity = Soul of Wit: The Comedy Genre

 

There are over a dozen movies in competition for best comedy under 90 minutes, which might seem like a lot, but actually, I’m surprised how few there are. Comedy is a genre that, for much of cinematic history, has been quite consistent at being on the conservative side for runtimes. There will be some unexpected absentees here because they just didn’t quite qualify. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is considered one of the funniest films ever made, but guess how long it is? One hour thirty-two minutes! 120 seconds disqualifies it from this competition, even though the back of the DVD case I have incorrectly states the runtime is 89 minutes (maybe if you don’t count the credits, but we do). Many other classics, like The Big Lebowski, Ghostbusters, and Dumb and Dumber aren’t even close to qualifying, in terms of runtimes.

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Unlike horror, I feel as though comedy tends to age quicker and become more obsolete as it gets older. Black-and-white horror movies are probably still appreciated by more genre fans today than black-and-white comedies. What audiences find funny now is not all the same as what used to make people laugh, but as time has gone by and film has evolved, humour on screen has evolved, too, and become far less restrained. So, when I look back at something like Duck Soup (1933) and hold it up against something like The Naked Gun (1988), then yeah, it’s a bit like comparing apples to oranges. Duck Soup is, for the record, the oldest comedy in the running here, but let’s look at the rest of the short comedies before we get to the eliminations, grouped by type of comedy. There are an additional three spoof movies competing against the original Naked Gun, two of which are from the same creators. Airplane! (1980) and Top Secret! (1984) complete the trifecta of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker 80’s spoof productions, and some of those guys went on to work on sequels to the fourth and final spoof in the running here: the original Scary Movie (2000), at 88 minutes.

Adjacent to the spoofs are the satires. There’s the first entry in the Austin Powers franchise, International Man of Mystery (1997), as well as Zoolander (2001) and two from writer/director Mike Judge: Office Space (1999) and Idiocracy (2006). Following from there are the mockumentaries. There’s the classic This is Spinal Tap (1984), the less classic but still important Borat (2006), and the New Zealand-produced What We Do in the Shadows (2014). I better also mention that the legacy sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025), is only two minutes longer than the original, at 84 minutes. The next movie is not quite a mockumentary or a satire. It’s kind of hard to define Jackass: The Movie (2002), but it’s a comedy film, it’s 85 minutes, and it’s in the competition. Finally, we have two stoner comedies to compete against all these others: Up in Smoke (1978) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). I’ll have to give an honourable nod to Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), which is hilarious, and exactly 90 minutes, but not less, so it doesn’t count. 

 

ELIMINATIONS

To keep this a fair elimination process, I think it’s worth noting that several of these comedies pack in a number of great jokes for how short their runtimes are, so I will not base the winner (or winners) on the number of jokes alone. I will work backwards, starting with the two stoner comedies. Up in Smoke is an all-time classic stoner comedy that introduced the world to the duo of Cheech and Chong, also providing a template for future stoner comedy duos, which would include Harold and Kumar. There are some similarities between the two debut movies, but if I’m being honest, I think I’ve laughed at White Castle more upon a rewatch than Up in Smoke, despite both being among the best comedies of their kind. Though the premise of White Castle is even more straightforward than Up in Smoke, there’s a bit more variety to the humour, and the main characters are a bit more endearing and better balanced against one another. Between the two, I’m keeping Harold & Kumar around for the moment.

Jackass is a revolting, depraved, ridiculous concept for a film, and it’s kind of genius in its stupid simplicity. The first movie was so successful it led to several more films, but even as someone who would call them a collective guilty pleasure for how hard I have laughed at certain segments and stunts, my hardest laughs have not been from the first movie. The first Jackass is almost quaint to look back on compared to what they got away with in later movies and how their ambitions for stupidity kept growing, but I don’t think Jackass: The Movie, for all its funniest parts, has a real shot at being the best comedy film that’s less than 90 minutes. Three movies that do have a real shot are the mockumentaries.

It's tough to compare This is Spinal Tap and What We Do in the Shadows and Borat because they couldn’t be more different from one another despite all sharing the same idea of presenting fictional stories as if they are real stories taking place in our real world. Starting with the oldest of the three (and the shortest, at 82 minutes), Spinal Tap is a movie that just gets funnier the more times I rewatch it. In contrast, I would say Borat was probably the funniest the second or third time I saw it, just because of its shock value and the unpredictable nature of the character as he searches for Pamela Anderson. That being said, some of the lines from Sacha Baron Cohen and the absurd political incorrectness still remain uniquely hilarious. It’s not one I can rewatch as easily, but it’s still a distinctive contender in this genre. What We Do in the Shadows is a difficult one to beat for me, though, as I unabashedly love Taika Waititi’s take on vampires in the real world and all the incredibly creative jokes that come from the premise. Of these three movies, it’s the one I’ve watched the most times over, but is it the best?

Let me consider the Mike Judge double feature before I decide which mockumentaries to keep. Office Space is an essential late 90’s comedy, not just for anyone who has worked in an office (but especially those people), and in many ways, it’s a precursor to The Office TV show with its cast of recognizably quirky characters and relatable workplace frustrations. I really, really enjoy that film, but I also just know it’s not going to win here. It isn’t hilarious enough through and through, as much as I adore watching that copier get the crap beat out of it in slow motion. Idiocracy is an interesting one because it’s probably one of the most ambitious under-90 comedies ever made, encapsulating a significant amount of progression through a great premise: stupid people overpopulate the earth and make the human race dumber than early hominids despite technological advancements, and a dimwitted modern-day dude unwittingly becomes the smartest person in the world who needs to save them all. It’s a problematic premise in many ways, but in some ways, it’s even funnier than Office Space. While messier narratively, it’s also less predictable and more outrageous. Neither one, though, are as consistently funny as Harold and Kumar.

Zoolander is like Spinal Tap, to me, in one key way: I appreciate it more now than I did the first time I saw it, but I’m pretty sure I liked Spinal Tap more even after only seeing each one just once, so Zoolander is eliminated. Austin Powers is, believe it or not, another easy elimination, because while I do like International Man of Mystery, with its many memorable gags and the joyous comedic masterwork of Mike Meyers in now-iconic dual roles, I prefer the second Austin Powers over the first, but it’s longer than 90 minutes. Of the spoof movies, Scary Movie is the easiest one to dispose of, because like Austin Powers, it is not the funniest entry in its franchise. Top Secret! is underrated compared to Airplane! but I’m eliminating both, because neither are as consistently funny as The Naked Gun.

It's down to Harold & Kumar, This is Spinal Tap (sequel lumped in), Borat, What We Do in the Shadows, and The Naked Gun. They’re all eliminated because the winner is Duck Soup!

Just kidding. I thought I would try one of those things you sometimes find in a comedy called a “joke”, and I apologize. Duck Soup, to circle back around and be real, was actually much funnier than I expected given its age. I would say at least 75 % of the jokes still hit as intended, but it’s eliminated because it just isn’t as timelessly funny as the other five films in consideration, nor do all the best jokes connect to the other elements of the film, such as story and character. Borat is also not going to win this elimination round because while it has some high highs and is unlike any other comedy I can think of (despite its mockumentary status), it just doesn’t have the adequate laugh-to-length ratio, and the types of laughs it goes for are sometimes a bit too cringey or off-putting. Harold & Kumar has to go, too, for a similar reason: it’s funny, but not that funny. Even This is Spinal Tap is gone, despite its greatness, and it pains me to say farewell.

There are only two I’m bringing along to the next round from comedy: one spoof and one mockumentary. What We Do in the Shadows is one of those golden comedies with so many jokes it demands to be rewatched just to hear all the funny lines, never mind seeing the visual gags or the occasional combo of the two. Even beyond having so many jokes crammed into such a short runtime, The Naked Gun outshines all the others for so many more reasons, but it’s worth noting that for all those jokes, it doesn’t come off as overstuffed or unwieldy. It’s a perfect comedy premise with a perfect cast that maximizes its 85-minute runtime for the greatest sustained heights of hilarity, and for that, it is the frontrunner between the two.    

Next time, we branch over into another stacked category and give some appreciation to a form of storytelling as old as cinema itself: animation!