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Aug 2021
When flipping through channels on TV I caught a quiz. One of the candidates was apparently a huge Disney fan visiting Disneyland (in Paris) once a month. When the quizmaster asked him if there were Disney movies he didn't like, he replied there were a few he didn't like that much. When asked for an example, I would have expected him to say the (IMO) unwatchable Song of the South, but no. He mentioned 'The Black Cauldron'. Maybe not that surprising that he picked it, seems like die hard Disney fans and the company itself do their best to keep movie as obscure as possible. Yeah ok the movie has really some pacing and continuity problems. In my opinion that is not due to bad writing but censorship. And as usual there is the obligatory sidekick (but the level of annoyance is tolerable) Despite this it still delivers a solid dark story atypical for the Disney company.
Fits in the sword and sorcery I guess, Box

The 80s brought a few other darker animations which I love to revisit when I'm getting tired of these zippy da do dah happy stuff blown in my face:

Fire & Ice: another one that fits the sword & sorcery bill well I think, no nudity but Teegra's outfit leaves little to the imagination, Darkwolf is an awesome character too

The Last Unicorn: maybe not the most developed story and characters but one of the first animations that always stuck with me since I saw it as a child on TV (in German actually), that scene with the tree was pretty disturbing though

Secret of NIMH: One of the first animations I saw on VHS, when we didn't have a VCR yet and had to rent that as well, silliness is kept to minimum. Not as dark as Watership Down but nice dark atmosphere from Don Bluth

The Great Mouse Detective: like NIMH starring mice and rats this one I actually saw in theatre before I saw the aforementioned. Based on Basil of Baker Street, it has this dark Victorian style I love. A rather gruesome scene where a cat eats a mouse (only seen in the shadow but shocking nevertheless)

The Dark Crystal: not really animation but it's hard to call this live action either. Also seen as rental first. Has some really creepy scenes with essence sucked from poor peaceful beings, an emperor that literally falls apart

Not 80s:

The Rescuers: Yeah the alligators are hilarious while they should be scary but the swamp delivers the dark atmosphere and Medusa is one of the creepiest female villains IMO

Coraline: unlike Monster House and The Corpse Bride which focuses more on weirdness and silliness, this modern digital animation delivers a dark atmosphere and story, the idea of sewing buttons on replacing one's eyes, sounds really cruel, Coraline's other mother she really is scary

Any others that should be added to the list?


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Tromafreak says:
#1

Aug 2021
Ralph Bakshi's Time Masters (1982) might be a good fit. Ringing Bell (1978) is also pretty amazing. Definitely the darker of the two.


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Johan_WoW says:
#7, Reply to #1

Aug 2021
Been searching for Time Masters as I didn't find it under the filmography of Bakshi. From Bakshi I liked obviously Fire & Ice but Cool World was not bad either. Wizards however I found pretty bad.
Time Masters is apparently from a French director: Renรฉ Laloux. Perhaps Bakshi was involved in another way?
Ringing Bell sounds like the more interesting one of the 2 to me as well.


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Tromafreak says:
#8, Reply to #7

Aug 2021
I don't know why I thought that was a Bakshi film. Was thinking of the guy who made Fantastic Planet. I had high hopes for WIzards. Looked really cool when they were giving the backstory, but once it got started, it just seemed like a silly kid's movie. I'd recommend Ringing Bell more than any of these others, by far. That and Time Masters are on the Youtube.


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markus-san says:
#2

Aug 2021
When the Wind Blows (1986) is about as dark and depressing as they come.

There are loads from the world of Japanese Anime of course, too many to mention. I'm guessing you'd be familiar with some of them.


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Tommix says:
#3, Reply to #2

Aug 2021
Oh, MAN that is a dark one. I last saw that one... probably close to 20 years ago. So depressing and horrifying. Yeesh.


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markus-san says:
#10, Reply to #3

Aug 2021
Yeah I think either Troma or Onyx recommended that one to me a while back. Not an easy to movie to ever forget that's for sure.


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Johan_WoW says:
#5, Reply to #2

Aug 2021 *
Yes I have seen a fair share. I guess Howl's Moving Castle was the darkest I have seen and perhaps spirited Away too. They are more disturbing than dark I would say. Funny enough I prefer the more lighthearted anime like Kiki's Delivery Service and Ponyo. Maybe because it's simpler than a lot of the other animes which I do not really understand. There was another one I saw not too long ago that I found really good. It was about a girl going on holiday at her aunt's place where she befriends a mysterious girl who comes and goes. Apparently this girl is from the past. Let me check the title.

Apparently forgot to check it at letterboxd but with some googling found it: When Marnie Was There


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markus-san says:
#9, Reply to #5

Aug 2021
The darkest, or as you say most disturbing, of all the Studio Ghibli films is probably Grave of the Fireflies. Princess Mononoke is pretty dark too I guess, well for a kid at least. I enjoy some of the more lighthearted ones too, particularly My Neighbour Tortoro. I haven't seen When Marnie Was There but I've wanted to.

The darkest anime movie I've seen is probably Perfect Blue. That should definitely be on the list.

And yeah some anime can get pretty complex, particularly some series. I guess you don't watch series? Pretty sure you might enjoy Attack on Titan or Elfen Lied.


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Johan_WoW says:
#11, Reply to #9

Aug 2021
I have seen Grave of the Fireflies yes indeed pretty disturbing. Good movie even though I was so angry at the boy in the end. Not sure if I have seen Mononoke but I have seen Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, even though I remember very little I found it one of the better animes. Perfect Blue is actually one of the best I must say. It reminded me a bit of Paprika but Perfect Blue is the superior one by far for me. I was surprised they didn't shy away from nudity and made it very stylish not vulgar at all. Thanks for the reminder that one should absolutely be there with the best. I'm going to get that one on DVD as well as Marnie.


What else have I seen:
Steamboy (I don't remember much, felt rather unsatifying)
Wolf Children (it was ok not really memorable)
Castle in the Sky (liked it much more than Howl's, more straightforward and less weird but not something I would re-watch)
Whisper of the Heart (that one I found plain boring, premise of fantasy but that was very limited)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (great premise but not much interesting was done with it, too high school drama for me)
Arrietty (I liked this one sure enough, would have loved some more bounding between Arrietty and the boy, the ending I found rather mediocre though)
Metropolis (has been a long while, had some connections with the silent movie from Fritz Lang, needs a re-watch)
Ghost in the Shell (feels very much like the Matrix, not my thing)
Elfen Lied (sounds Dutch or German) I surely will check out, looks good.


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Tommix says:
#12, Reply to #11

Aug 2021
Has anyone mentioned Hellsing yet? Not Helsing, HELLSING. It was a manga comic, then an anime show. I guess I'd have to call it dark. There are a bunch of videos on Youtube... here's one:

youtube


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markus-san says:
#13, Reply to #11

Aug 2021 *
Paprika and Perfect Blue is by the same director, Satoshi Kon so yeah perhaps stylisitically, it reminded you of it. Not a huge fan of Paprika myself but it sure looks great. A lot of people think of Perfect Blue as an anime in the style of Dario Argento. I can see where they're coming from although Perfect Blue has a lot more psychological depth than any Argento film I've seen.

I like both The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Whisper of the Heart. Yeah, I can see why some people might find the latter a bit boring especially if one enjoys the more fantastical elements of Ghibli but I found it pretty charming.

Yeah, do try and check out Elfen Lied and let me know what you think. It's definitely one of the gorier animes out there too.


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Tommix says:
#4

Aug 2021
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is dark, in a very steampunky way. I am sure that I have mentioned it here before, although (I hope) not for a while. I have to restrain myself, or I would talk about it all the time. I feel almost evangelical about it, I want to spread the word about it... I just think it's a masterpiece. Here it is, it's less than half an hour long.

youtube


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Johan_WoW says:
#6, Reply to #4

Aug 2021
Not a fan unfortunately of steampunk. Tried a few but it doesn't appeal to me at all.


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