Most Obvious Animated Copycat Films of Last 20 Years
by typurc | created - 02 Jun 2014 | updated - 03 Jun 2014 | PublicHollywood likes to copy what works and often reuses popular themes and stories. Even major animation studios have been releasing copycat movies to theatres in the same year as each other. I'm not talking about the fake Aladdin you can find at Menards, but real major motion pictures. Here are the ones I've noticed in the order they were released. Sequels don't count.
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1. Antz (1998)
PG | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A rather neurotic ant tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.
Directors: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson | Stars: Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Sylvester Stallone
Votes: 163,938 | Gross: $90.76M
Movie about bugs trying to survive. Main character is an ant.
2. A Bug's Life (1998)
G | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A misfit ant, looking for "warriors" to save his colony from greedy grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn out to be an inept circus troupe.
Directors: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton | Stars: Kevin Spacey, David Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere
Votes: 314,123 | Gross: $162.80M
Movie about bugs trying to survive. Main character is an ant.
3. Titan A.E. (2000)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young man learns that he has to find a hidden Earth ship before an enemy alien species does in order to secure the survival of humanity.
Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | Stars: Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Jim Breuer
Votes: 63,895 | Gross: $22.75M
Young hero is joins a team of misfits on a ship to discover a lost world. Spoiler alert: His team turns on him.
4. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young linguist named Milo Thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Jim Varney, Corey Burton, Claudia Christian
Votes: 133,821 | Gross: $84.05M
Young hero is joins a team of misfits on a ship to discover a lost world. Spoiler alert: His team turns on him.
5. Monsters, Inc. (2001)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think.
Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi
Votes: 977,514 | Gross: $289.92M
Monsters accept their fate as ferocious beasts before a rescue mission opens up their hearts.
6. Shrek (2001)
PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.
Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson | Stars: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow
Votes: 732,973 | Gross: $267.67M
Monster accepts his fate as a ferocious beast before a rescue mission opens up his heart.
7. Ice Age (2002)
PG | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The story revolves around sub-zero heroes: a woolly mammoth, a saber-toothed tiger, a sloth and a prehistoric combination of a squirrel and rat, known as Scrat.
Directors: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha | Stars: Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Ray Romano, Goran Visnjic
Votes: 518,387 | Gross: $176.39M
Band of animals learns about family while trying to survive the beginning of the ice age.
8. Brother Bear (2003)
G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a young Inuit hunter needlessly kills a bear, he is magically changed into a bear himself as punishment with a talkative cub being his only guide to changing back.
Directors: Aaron Blaise, Robert Walker | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Jason Raize
Votes: 123,561 | Gross: $85.34M
Band of animals learns about family while trying to survive at the end of the ice age.
9. Finding Nemo (2003)
G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.
Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe
Votes: 1,111,771 | Gross: $380.84M
A story about fish, sharks, and sea creatures.
10. Shark Tale (2004)
PG | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
When a son of a gangster shark boss is accidentally killed while on the hunt, his would-be prey and his vegetarian brother decide to use the incident to their own advantage.
Directors: Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, Rob Letterman | Stars: Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie
Votes: 198,630 | Gross: $160.86M
A story about fish, sharks, and sea creatures.
11. Hoodwinked! (2005)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Little Red Riding Hood, the Wolf, the Woodsman and Granny all tell the police the events that led up to their encounter.
Directors: Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, Patrick Warburton, Jim Belushi
Votes: 66,219 | Gross: $51.39M
12. Happily N'Ever After (2006)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An alliance of evil-doers, led by Frieda, looks to take over Fairy Tale Land. But when Ella realizes her stepmother is out to ruin her storybook existence, she takes a dramatic turn and blossoms into the leader of the resistance effort.
Directors: Paul Bolger, Yvette Kaplan, Greg Tiernan, Dino Athanassiou | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patrick Warburton, George Carlin
Votes: 11,123 | Gross: $15.59M
13. Madagascar (2005)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A group of animals who have spent all their life in a New York zoo end up in the jungles of Madagascar, and must adjust to living in the wild.
Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath | Stars: Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith
Votes: 436,909 | Gross: $193.60M
A band of zoo animals escape to the Wild.
14. The Wild (2006)
G | 82 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An adolescent lion is accidentally shipped from the New York Zoo to Africa. Now running free, his zoo pals must put aside their differences to help bring him back.
Director: Steve 'Spaz' Williams | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Jim Belushi, Eddie Izzard, Janeane Garofalo
Votes: 27,628 | Gross: $37.38M
A band of zoo animals escape to the Wild.
15. Over the Hedge (2006)
PG | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating...and learns a lesson about family himself.
Directors: Tim Johnson, Karey Kirkpatrick | Stars: Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Steve Carell, Wanda Sykes
Votes: 189,226 | Gross: $155.02M
16. Open Season (2006)
PG | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Boog, a domesticated 900lb. Grizzly bear, finds himself stranded in the woods 3 days before Open Season. Forced to rely on Elliot, a fast-talking mule deer, the two form an unlikely friendship and must quickly rally other forest animals if they are to form a rag-tag army against the hunters.
Directors: Roger Allers, Jill Culton, Anthony Stacchi | Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Martin Lawrence, Debra Messing, Gary Sinise
Votes: 105,573 | Gross: $85.11M
17. Flushed Away (2006)
PG | 85 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The story of an uptown rat that gets flushed down the toilet from his penthouse apartment, ending in the sewers of London, where he has to learn a whole new and different way of life.
Directors: David Bowers, Sam Fell | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno
Votes: 138,499 | Gross: $64.67M
Rats try to survive in the sophisticated city of London.
18. Ratatouille (2007)
G | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava | Stars: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm
Votes: 822,983 | Gross: $206.45M
Rats try to survive in the sophisticated city of Paris.
19. Happy Feet (2006)
PG | 108 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
Directors: George Miller, Warren Coleman, Judy Morris | Stars: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams
Votes: 199,774 | Gross: $198.00M
A penguin nobody believed in has the unexpected talent of dancing ability.
20. Surf's Up (2007)
PG | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.
Directors: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 90,633 | Gross: $58.87M
A penguin nobody believed in has the unexpected talent of surfing ability.
21. Planet 51 (2009)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An alien civilization is invaded by Astronaut Chuck Baker, who believes that the planet was uninhabited. Wanted by the military, Baker must get back to his ship before it goes into orbit without him.
Directors: Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, Marcos Martínez | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Jessica Biel, Justin Long
Votes: 58,545 | Gross: $42.09M
Roles are reversed when a human astronaut is the alien on planet 51.
22. Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A woman transformed into a giant after she is struck by a meteorite on her wedding day becomes part of a team of monsters sent in by the U.S. government to defeat an alien mastermind trying to take over Earth.
Directors: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Seth Rogen
Votes: 175,854 | Gross: $198.35M
Roles are reversed when a human woman becomes a monster to humans and bonds with other monsters to fight an alien.
23. Despicable Me (2010)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Gru, a criminal mastermind, adopts three orphans as pawns to carry out the biggest heist in history. His life takes an unexpected turn when the little girls see the evildoer as their potential father.
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud | Stars: Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Julie Andrews
Votes: 583,538 | Gross: $251.51M
A super-villain learns how to become a good guy.
24. Megamind (2010)
PG | 95 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Evil genius Megamind finally defeats his do-gooder nemesis, Metro Man, but is left without a purpose in a superhero-free world.
Director: Tom McGrath | Stars: Will Ferrell, Jonah Hill, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey
Votes: 295,192 | Gross: $148.42M
A super-villain learns how to become a good guy.
25. Frankenweenie (2012)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
When a boy's beloved dog passes away suddenly, he attempts to bring the animal back to life through a powerful science experiment.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau
Votes: 116,981 | Gross: $35.29M
A holloweenish story of a boy who brings his dog back from the dead.
26. ParaNorman (2012)
PG | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell | Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tucker Albrizzi
Votes: 109,834 | Gross: $56.00M
A holloweenish story of a boy who sees zombies coming back from the dead.
27. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count's teenaged daughter.
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky | Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez
Votes: 280,549 | Gross: $148.31M
A holloweenish story of a boy who see all sorts of monsters, vampires and undead.
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