The Wind Rises (2014)

Animation legend Hayao Miyazaki has called –- only to retract the statement -- “The Wind Rises” his final film. Thank goodness. We need Miyazaki. “Wind” is unlike anything in Miyazaki’s past, eschewing pure fantasy, it’s a dream-heavy dramatic take on engineer Jiro Horikoshi (Hideaki Anno) who would design for the prototype fighter jet that would spawn the infamous Zero plane of World War II. Horikoshi -– an innocent whose dreams of piloting are mooted by poor eye sight and haunted by a devastating earthquake –- knows his designs will be used in war. His childhood dreams of flight were marked by scenes of war early on and as he grows older, the darkness only increases until a massive group of glimmering planes become a graveyard of wreckage. He proceeds anyway, despite his desire to build aircraft to improve, not dominate lives. “Wind” stops far short of calling Horikoshi’s work criminal. Could he have refused the work? Miyazaki introduces empirical reality as Horikoshi’s “patriotism” is questioned, and his romantic marriage is put to the side for work. Put aside politics and nationalism, this is great unequaled work of art, of a dreamer by one of our greatest dreamers. The animation here is breathtaking, unparalleled. A

The Lion King (1994)

As Disney’s Pixar continues to dazzle eyeballs with animated CGI fare such as “Incredibles” and “Toy Story” sequels, it’s easy to forget the unbeatable magic of hand-drawn animation, and “The Lion King” is absolutely one of the best of now extinct ink-and-paint glories. This is a jaw-dropping beautiful epic with a capital “E” movie with music catchable, happy, and chilling, and characters straight from Shakespeare. You know plot: Young African lion cub Simba is the apple of his father/king’s eye until the latter is killed, leaving Simba on the run, under the impression that he did in his daddy. It is, of course, the uncle, to blame. In other words, “Hamlet.” The voice cast is perfect, from James Earl Jones as the king/father, and full “Reversal of Fortune” evil Jeremy Irons as Uncle Scar, to Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick as young and adult Simba. But it’s visuals I love -– the exact strokes made by men and women, not computers, of a cub sinking in the grass in fear of dad’s wrath or the same cub trying to awaken his dead father. Breathtaking. Amazing. Art. The 18-year-old “King” has aged like royal wine. Classic. A+