30 Animated Movies That Are Not for Children

Jimmy T. Murakami’s When the Wind Blows is a rare stand-out effort of British animation from the ‘80s, which tackles some pretty heavy themes and serves as a neat yet devastating anti-atomic warfare film.

Jim and Hilda (voiced by John Mills and Peggy Mills) are a kind, average English couple who live a simple life - working hard, reading the papers, eating dinner together, and taking things slow - but they suddenly find their existence overturned by nuclear conflict between the West and the Soviets. Fallout is in the air, ash blocks the sun, and any sense of British life is a thing of the past.

Faithfully adapted in tone and style from Raymond Briggs’ graphic novel of the same name, the twee, British aesthetic is undercut by the film’s serious subject matter. While today we might not find it as compelling, it nonetheless perfectly captures the mood of the Cold War era, when nuclear warfare and global devastation seemed closer than ever. Add in a soundtrack from big hitters like Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, David Bowie, Genesis, and Squeeze, and it’s a testament to how seriously everyone took the nuclear threat.