Tim Burton started his career making stop motion movies finding breakthrough after directing short feature film Frankenweenie. Even after becoming famous for his dark color palette and spooky strange world. He regularly returned and directed stop motion animated movies often with Jonny Depp. Therefore no list of stop motion movies is complete without his mention.

Stop motion is a very difficult technique it which involve recording physical objects in single individual frame while they are physically manipulating. When individual frames are played together they seem to be showing some movement. It’s a very painstaking technique yet so many upcoming movies depend on this technique. Recently we have got few stop motion masterpieces like Anomalisa, Isle of the dogs, Missing links. And on the top of this Laika Productions which mostly produces stop motion animated movies continued it’s steady growth amidst complete sweep by Disney in the box office.

Here is our list of the best stop motion animated movies ever

9. Boxtrolls 2014

Directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi

Based on the 2005 novel Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow. It is produced by Laika. Accepted by critics as a heartwarming spooky family movie, another visually charming flick from Laikaa. It’s lauded as a good feature but not the best of the stop motion. But we really enjoyed the setting contemporary to Charles Dickens, dig at the hierarchical nature of the society. At the core it’s a mature kid movie with an industrial age young Tarzan, a funny and refreshing take at the interaction with unknown.

The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright). When the town’s villain, Archibald Snatcher (Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, “into the light,” where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnifred (Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs’ family.

8. Corpse Bride 2005

Directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton

This movie seem to represent the dominant theme of this list which is dark, innovative and fanciful. It was produced by Laika known for their visually stunning animation. Many critics penned down it as a controlled effort by Tim Burton which seems like a mashup with a weak plot. But it’s impressive design and interesting character designs and a strong voice cast led by Johnny Depp makes it a entertaining less substance and more stylish flick.

7. Mary and Max 2009

Directed and written by Adam Elliott

An Australian stop motion animated comedy-drama film. Two unlikely pen pal a lonely eight year old girl from Melbourne and a Jewish man with asperger’s syndrome living in the New York, these two tortured and lonely souls gets united across 2 continents and for 20 years and a tale blossoms as they journey through ages from childhood to adulthood and from middle age to old age. It managed to impress the critics and established itself as a cult classic revered for its timely, humorous and poignant take at the cruel reality which was marvelously delivered by a strong voice cast and slick and weird clay animation.

6. PanaNorman 2012

Directed by Chris Butler, Sam Fell

This is our another pick coming from the Laika production, a must watch stop motion animated movies. Arguably the best movie of decade but it’s the best horror animated movie with a strong claim. It is beautifully animated and has a strongly written plot. It has a creepiness which can frighten you but chances are few when you are a adult, but you will surely get the creepy jokes of dead.

The plot follows a boy who can see the dead, a freak amongst the children meets his deranged uncle. A mystery of a centuries old curse unfolds and he must try and save the towns against the zombies, witch, and the adults of the town

5. Frankenweenie 2012

Directed by Tim burton

A stop motion-animated supernatural horror comedy film directed and written by Tim Burton and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Victor a wierd kid(which is peculiar because as compared to the grotesque neighborhood he seems perfectly normal) unexpectedly looses his pet and young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life-with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous elements.

It has all the elements of a Tim burton movie and coupled with a black and white animation, and weird and spooky characters design makes it little scary for the young audience and a silly weird movie for the adults.

4. The nightmare before the Christmas 1993

Directed by Henry Selick

An American stop-motion animated musical Halloween-Christmas dark fantasy film written by Tim Burton. This movie almost marked a era into a visually pleasing and innovative world of stop motion animated movies. A ghoulish fairytale in a world that you can feel frame to frame Jack Skellington, aka the Pumpkin King, is bored with his job and feels that life in Halloweenland lacks meaning. Then he stumbles upon Christmastown and promptly decides to make the Yuletide his own. A child movie that doesn’t shy away from being scary.

3. Fantastic Mr. Fox 2009

Directed by Wes Andersen

An Animated comedy film directed by Wes Anderson, based on Roald Dahl’s 1970 children’s novel of the same name. The film is about a fox who can’t resist his instincts and goes on stealing food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. They are fed up with Mr Fox and try to kill him, so they dig their way into the foxes’ home, but the animals are able to outwit the farmers and live underground.

It is helmed for its perfect casting and marvelously crafted visuals which makes it a smart witty movie for adult and an entertaining adventure movie for children which can only be realized by the imagination of a animator.

2. Kubo and the two strings

Directed by Travis Knight

Kubo, a young boy, along with Monkey and Beetle, must find and wear his father’s legendary suit of armour in order to defeat an evil spirit.

With every movie Lykaa production proved it’s existence and growth in the Disney Pixar dominated world but with this movie it broke the ground with visually stunning animation drawn to visualize stunning action scenes and beautiful Japanese origami packed with an amazing plotline of a Japanese folklore. It was a landmark for the stop motion animated movies and ended setting up a higher benchmark in the industry.

1. Coraline 2009

Directed and written for the screen by Henry Selick

Based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman. With so many movies from this genre another dark fantasy horror film sits at the top.An adventurous girl walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers a strangely idealized button version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets. This movie found huge praise for it’s world creation screenplay and bit darker visuals. Evertime Coraline enters the door it successfully pulls a eerie suspense among the audience. A classic horror film with all the elements depicted with high creative risk that went in the right direction.

Please comment which movies would have been the best honorable mentions in this list as I tried to make this list more contemporary I might have missed some classics.

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