The Fascinating World of Time Travel in Animated Movies

The Fascinating World of Time Travel in Animated Movies

Exploring the captivating use of time travel in animated movies and how it adds depth to storytelling and character development.

Diverse Time Travel Tales

A live-action/animated sci-fi Western, Quantum Cowboys is a unique mix of live-action and animation. The constant stylistic switches can make it difficult to understand, but once the plot gets moving and the idea of reality is thrown out of the window, the movie becomes engaging and philosophical. The ambition behind Quantum Cowboys is what makes it such a good time travel movie. As a lot of time travel movies focus on action, it's refreshing to see a time travel film take a more philosophical route.

Kiowa Gordon, John Way, and Lily Gladstone as Frank, Bruno, and Linde in Quantum Cowboys

Kiowa Gordon, John Way, and Lily Gladstone as Frank, Bruno, and Linde in Quantum Cowboys

After a Godzilla attack nearly makes humans extinct, the survivors are forced to flee Earth with two alien races on the ship Aratrum. 20 years later, Captain Haruo Sakaki convinces everyone to take the Aratrum back to Earth after finding Godzilla's weakness. When the Aratrum returns, 20,000 years have passed on Earth, and the planet has been drastically altered by Godzilla's presence. Like the best Godzilla franchise movies, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters has incredible visuals and engaging action scenes. Although the characters are not fleshed out well, the beauty of the film overshadows that. The visuals, especially those of Godzilla, are magnificent and capture the essence of the kaiju genre wonderfully.

Scene from Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Scene from Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

In Mirai, 6-year-old Kun is distraught by the arrival of his baby sister, Mirai, as he is jealous of the attention she gets. Throughout the movie, Kun goes into the garden and travels through time. Every time he does so, Kun meets various people, and each one turns out to be a member of Kun's family, including a version of Mirai from the future and Kun's great-grandfather. Like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Mirai 's imagery and plot make it feel like a Studio Ghibli film. It's interesting to see time traveling affect the present in such an intimate way. The biggest change to come from Kun's time traveling in Mirai is within Kun himself as he learns to be more understanding of his family.

Mirai and Kun in Mirai

Mirai and Kun in Mirai