In the world of animated movies, Disney and Pixar are the two big dogs. Theyre like two rival gangs whove set up turf lines and just agreed stay out of one another's profit margins. They have a monopoly over the industry. You only need to look at the Academy Awards over the past few years to see that. Studio Ghibli will get the occasional nomination, so too Aardman or maybe Warner Bros, but dating all the way back of Fantasia; Disney and now Pixar have ruled the roost. But the thing is people really love animation. In a way, people have stronger feelings and emotions towards animated movies than they do for almost any other genre. These feelings are embedded in you from a young age because animated films were basically the only ones your parents would let you watch. The debate goes on, and will continue to go on, over which is the best Disney movie ever made and Which Pixar movie is the greatest? The answer to both of those is Aladdin and WALL-E. But the point is these movies arent just great animated movies; theyre great movies full stop. But much like the rapidly growing indie gaming industry, there is a whole world of animated movies out there, outside of the traditional format, that has been exploding over the past few years. Places like France, India, Ireland, Brazil and, yes of course, Japan have been making films that match, and in most cases better, the industry mega giants. In particular, these 10 stand toe-to-animated-toe with the biggest releases of the last few years.