Le Roi Et L'Oiseau (The King And The Mockingbird) By Paul Grimault.

Anomalisa by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson.

Based on Kaufman's 2005 audio play of the same name.

An epic, moving, meticulous, and miraculous feat of filmmaking.

One of my favorite types of animated films are of the independent variety. Films like Hoodwinked!, Persepolis, Mary and Max, and the works of Ralph Bakshi are among my personal recommendations.

Flesh and Blood (stylized as Flesh+Blood) by Paul Verhoeven.

Verhoeven's first English-language film.

15th century brutality, superstition and politics, Verhoeven style.

This film wasn't a smash hit, probably owing to it being outrageously dirty (and its immensely depressing depiction of 15th century life), but it was critically acclaimed.

Inspired Berserk creator Kentaro Miura.

Fun Fact:

Zeus was even more popular than you realized.

There's actually a temple in Egypt that was dedicated to Zeus. I'm not making a word of that up. It's not dedicated Osiris, not Set, not even Horus. A temple dedicated to Zeus.

Apparently, the site was originally found in the early 1900s when French Egyptologist Jean Clédat found ancient Greek inscriptions referring to a temple to "Zeus Kasios". Kasios being the local Syrian Mountain where Zeus was worshiped at one point, but the temple wasn't excavated until recently. They've also found inscriptions in the area that tell of the Roman Emperor Hadrian renovating the temple as recently as the second century. The team of archaeologists are continuing to explore the site and personally, I can't wait to learn more about what they dig up.

Dreamchild by Gavin Millar.

Ian Holm is amazing as Lewis Carroll. But like Return to Oz, so are the Lyle Conway/Jim Henson Creature Shop characters.

Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Created by a Greek god, Talos was a metallic giant that guarded the island of Crete. Greek myths say that this beast broke huge chunks of rock off the cliffs to throw at approaching ships and burned men on his blazing bronze skin, which was nearly as hot as the sun. The giant's brute strength could wipe out an invading army.

Talos was said to be a metallic giant made entirely out of bronze, and stood about 30 feet tall. This beast was crafted atop Mt. Olympus by Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, and sent by Zeus to guard the shores of the island of Crete.

This legendary giant was given life by a fluid called ichor, which was the blood of the gods. Ichor ran through a single vein that stretched from Talos' neck to his heel. A nail was used as a plug in the giant's foot to keep the fluid from running out.

His name comes from the Latin word "talus," which means "enduring".

Plus, fun fact, Hephaestus, the god that created Talos, also made metallic dancing women and fire-breathing bulls.

"They’re my friends. I made them."

- J.F. Sebastian, Blade Runner

The official movie poster for "Fire and Ice" (1983 film directed by Ralph Bakshi) by fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.

Fun Fact:

Humans have been astral planing a LOT longer than we thought.

Researchers analyzed hair strands from a burial site in Menorca and detected scopolamine, ephedrine and atropine. Atropine and scopolamine are naturally occurring substances in the nightshade plant family that cause hallucinations and altered sensory perception, while ephedrine is a stimulant taken from certain shrubs and pines that boosts excitement and physical activity. Before this discovery, we'd only found indirect evidence of psychedelic use in ancient cultures. The cave that the analyzed hair strands were taken from was first occupied around 1600 BCE and featured a chamber that was used as a funeral space until around 800 BCE. It's estimated that 210 individuals were laid to rest here, but only certain people had their hair dyed red, placed in containers and sealed in a chamber further back in the cave. We don't know what made these individuals so special that their hair had to be preserved but we are certain that a major psychedelic discovery was just made in Spain.

In my opinion, this show is one of the most well-realized and exciting/compelling cartoons around.

Pyewacket by Adam MacDonald.

A really interesting indie horror film.