50. Death Note (Shusuke Kaneko, 2006)
Excellent, unnerving adaptation of the smash hit Manga and Anime of the same name. A young boy finds a mysterious book that seems to fall from the sky. Taking the book home he soon finds out it gives the owner the power to kill anyone they want, all they have to do is write the victims name in the book. Being a nice guy the boy decides to start killing the worlds criminals but is soon top of the most wanted list himself entering into a cat and mouse game with the one person who knows what hes up to. Such a complex piece of Manga shouldnt have worked so well as this, and utilising CGI to recreate the demon Ryuuk works excellently - sure he doesnt look real but he is an exact replica of the original drawing which is important to the core audience of fans. Several sequels and a US remake followed. Death Note is an excellent Japanese adaptation that is a must see for comic book fans worldwide.
49. Planet Hulk (Sam Liu, 2010)
After the Avengers deem Hulk too dangerous to stay on Earth they shoot him off into space where he crash lands on an alien planet, ruled by a vicious tyrant. Amazingly captured and kept as a prisoner Hulk begins a life as a Gladiator, forced to fight his fellow prisoners to entertain his captors. But as we all know, Hulk doesnt like being made to do anything he doesnt want to and is soon leading a revolt against them. Fantastic animated yarn based on the comic books by Greg Pak. Its a shame though that the story of an aging Banner trying to kill himself to end the Hulk threat didnt make it into the movie as its already too dark for younger audiences, complete with exploding eyes, but Planet Hulk is a fine adaptation of an iconic Hulk story arc none the less. Several Marvel stories were turned into animated movies but this is by far the best.
48. Flash Gordon (Mike Hodges, 1980)
Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed and Sam J. Jones star in this British-American fantasy rock opera based on the original comic strip by Alex Raymond. An intergalactic tyrant by the name of Ming decides one day that hes going to destroy the Earth. After a string of bizarre events American Football star Flash Gordon and a sexy young travel journalist are blasted off into outer space and land on the planet Mongo, which just so happens to be the home of Ming. Convenient, hu? At first Ming underestimates young Flash (how foolish) but he soon becomes the thorn in Mings merciless side, especially when the journalist is kidnapped and forced into a marriage against her will. Can Flash save the day and the woman? Can Brian Blessed play anyone except himself? Flash Gordon flopped at the box office in the US but was a massive hit over here in the UK, thanks in no small part to the soundtrack by Queen. A Mars based sequel was planned but never happened. Horrendously outdated but every bit as fun as it was 30 years ago, Flash Gordon is a must have for anyone interested in comic book movies and if the soundtrack isnt set to play in your car this very minute then you shoukld hang your head in shame! All together now; Flash! Ahaaaaaaaah!
47. Heavy Metal (Gerald Potterton, 1981)
This Canadian fantasy anthology has become quite the cult phenomenon over the years, mainly amongst those of us that never left our bedrooms as teenagers, and didnt speak to any girl that wasnt our mum for the first 25 years of our lives ... um, anyway ... Adapted from the Heavy Metal magazine the film is made up of several animated stories and contains enough graphic violence, sex and nudity to keep the geeks happy. Standout stories include Harry Canyon and So Beautiful and So Dangerous, both of which focus on buxom women in powerful roles. Several other films came out that tried to have the same impact but Heavy Metal remains the trendsetter for its time. An unofficial sequel/homage was released in 2000 but failed to garner the same reaction with an audience much more used to nudity and violence in animation.
46. Fritz The Cat (Ralph Bakshi, 1972)
I can still remember the first time I ever saw Fritz the Cat. I knew it was considered an adult animation but I had no idea just how adult it was actually going to be. Since that day I have immersed myself in the work of Robert Crumb but at the time I could not believe my eyes. Theres very little to say about the plot other than its a film about an oversexed cat in 1970s New York City. Do you really need to know any more than that? Fritz the Cat was responsible for starting an X-Rated animated revolution of sorts but the craze died out as quickly as it started, at least for the most part. Youll never see anything like this again, so treat yourself the next time its on TV at daft oclock in the morning.