2. It's Such A Beautiful Day
Don Hertzfeldt's It's Such A Beautiful Day is a rare kind of bold and brave filmmaking which strips away the typically showy style found in most animated features and reduce everything to deceptively crude stick people, making the occasional visual flourishes all the more effective. Stick man Bill is hospitalized and reflects on his past as his memory begins to fail, absurd visions intruding on his mind as the end of his life approaches. It might sound like a miserable proposition, but Hertzfeldt underpins it all with a thick strain of deadpan humour and philosophical musings, creating one of the most sublime and original animated features of all time. It's Such A Beautiful Day is the kind of film you really need to see twice to fully grasp the rich and textured layers of ideas which compliment the droll humour. By turns uplifting and sad, thoughtful and hilarious, it's deservedly recognised by many as a masterpiece of animation.