Whenever a new animated movie from Pixar or DreamWorks is released, entertainment outlets jump at the chance to rank all of their movies. With the release of “The Emoji Movie” this weekend, Sony Pictures Animation is now up to 17 movies (13 theatrical, 4 direct-to-DVD) – just one fewer than Pixar. So I decided to rank their films (The top two were collaborations with Aardman, and #2 & #3 were both nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar):
1. “ARTHUR CHRISTMAS” (2011)
A brilliant, heartfelt, complex story
2. “THE PIRATES! BAND OF MISFITS” (2012)
One of the funniest animated movies of this century
3. “SURF’S UP” (2007)
Innovative mockumentary with a nice twist
4. “OPEN SEASON” (2006)
Set the stage for a four-movie franchise and some iconic characters
5. “CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS” (2009)
Food, glorious food – and a nice romance
6. “THE SMURFS” (2011)
Sing a happy song – it’s fun
7. “GOOSEBUMPS” (2015)
Jack Black is terrific as R.L. Stine in adaptation of the author’s popular book series
8. “THE SMURFS 2” (2013)
High-energy sequel produces similar results to the original
9. “CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2” (2013)
Another tasty go-around with Flint Lockwood and Sam Sparks
10. “HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA” (2012)
Visually creative, with an admirable father-daughter core
11. “SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE” (2017)
Feels familiar but it features one of the studio’s most effective, emotional scenes to date
12. “SURF’S UP 2: WAVEMANIA” (2017)
WWE superstars grace this engaging sequel
13. “OPEN SEASON 3” (2011)
Boog and Elliot join the circus, and the results are entertaining enough
14. “THE EMOJI MOVIE” (2017)
Some great voice casting, but an underwhelming script
15. “OPEN SEASON: SCARED SILLY” (2016)
Good, though not the finest chapter
16. “OPEN SEASON 2” (2009)
Decent, but it pales in comparison to other installments
17. “HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2” (2015)
Cool look, but doesn’t provide the laughs of its predecessor
On the way: the spiritual “The Star”, about animals at the birth of Christ, this November. “Peter Rabbit”, “Hotel Transylvania 3”, “Goosebumps 2” and an animated “Spider-Man” movie are all in development for next year.