Advertisement
10 of the best animated films set in the afterlife, from Grave of the Fireflies to Soul
If you liked Another World, you will love these 10 afterlife animations, with subjects from rabbits and dogs to a pianist and a corpse bride
Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
A visually ravishing journey into the afterlife is proving a hit in Hong Kong this week, as the animated feature Another World, an adaptation of Naka Saijo’s novel Sennenki: Thousand-Year Journey of an Oni, is generating plenty of discussion about its unusual subject matter.
The film tells the dark, absorbing story of a deceased young girl (voiced by Christy Choi Hiu-tung) who is escorted through the afterlife by the spirit guide Gudo (Chung Suet-ying) as she searches for her little brother. Its dazzling imagery marks a new benchmark in animation for Hong Kong cinema.
Alongside Another World, perilous journeys through the underworld seem to be having something of a renaissance in international animation filmmaking of late.
That can be seen, for example, in the box office behemoth Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, which unfolds entirely within a constantly revolving netherworld fortress, and Mamoru Hosoda’s coming Scarlet, a fantastical gender-flipped reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Advertisement
In light of this returning trend, we look back at 10 of the best animated films of all time that venture into the afterlife.
1. Watership Down (1978)
The relative simplicity of the animation in Martin Rosen’s adaptation of Richard Adams’ beloved childhood novel should not be underestimated.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x