5 Best Silent Animated Movies

Silent animated movie is an animation style that conveys the story through no dialogue. Moreover, silent animated movies are the fruit of what artists can do in the face of scarcity. By removing speech, it forces creators to tell the story through setting, movement, expression, colour, and music so the audience can feel all the emotions.

So, let’s make haste, and move right into 5 silent animation recommendations.

Recommended Silent Animated Movies

1. Gertie the Dinosaur

• Release date: February 18, 1914

• Genre: Comedy

• Animation Method: Traditional Animation

• Country of Origin: USA

• Director: Winsor McCay

• Rated: Not Rated

Gertie the Dinosaur is one of the earliest animated movies, and the earliest one to feature a dinosaur. It was made in the early 1900s, during the age of silent cinema. Essentially, the silent animated movie follows Gertie and her master McCay. The dynamics of the duo closely resemble one of a circus animal and its trainer, where McCay would nudge her to do simple tricks.

Unique and innovative for its time, Gertie the Dinosaur is an intricate silent animation where breaths are rhythmic, backgrounds relatively detailed, and thick skin folded cohesively. Instead of speech, they used dialogue intertitles—even then, they had to get visually descriptive to make up for the dinosaur’s lack of communication in human languages.

This keyframe silent animated movie was drawn on rice paper and photographed atop cardboard, but more importantly, it has ultimately contributed largely to animation as we know it today.

Read more: The Role of Animation in Video Game Development: Trends and Techniques

2. Fantasia

• Release date: November 13, 1940

• Genre: Fantasy, Musical, Drama

• Animation Method: Traditional Animation

• Country of Origin: USA

• Directors: Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson

• Rated: G

Fantasia is a great piece from Disney’s history. It was considered experimental at the time, with silent animation being comprised of a series of musical sequences. It’s an anthology film that acted as an homage to classical pieces. 

This animated movie features orchestral compositions by Bach, Beethoven and Stravinsky, among others. Segment differed in tale, where each would have storylines that were reliant on the music of the scene. 

The silent animation was fully hand-drawn, since the technology for computer generated films would not be available till decades later. Fantasia was a work of elaborate detail.

Each segment had designated colour schemes according to the themes of a musical piece, and three-dimensional puppets were created for referencing. It’s an outlier of Disney’s movies, very different from the old and modern classics we all love today. 

3. Idiots & Angels

• Release date: January 14, 2009 (France)

• Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Drama

• Animation Method: 2D Animation

• Country of Origin: USA

• Director: Bill Python

• Rated: N/A

Angel is an anti-hero—or at least, he starts off as so. In this silent animation, Angel is a man who is self-servient and abuse, who spends his time reproaching the people in his path.

However, he diverges from his morally discordant behaviours when he wakes up with wings attached to his back. He first tries to remove the wings, but eventually gives in to the good that his newfound appendages provide.

Idiots & Angels is a 2D animated movie, where drawings were scanned and colourised digitally. This silent animation is mostly composed of hues of browns, blacks and sketchy lines. Where there were colours outside of muddied shades, they were muted. Ultimately, this created visuals that were as grimy as Angel’s character. With this and music to match, Idiots & Angels is a solid example of storytelling without dialogue.

4. The Illusionist

• Release date: June 16, 2010

• Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama

• Animation Method: 2D Animation

• Country of Origin: France

• Director: Sylvain Chomet

• Rated: PG

Interestingly, this animated film, The Illusionist, is derived from an unpublished script written by a French mime. It surrounds an illusionist, a master of deceptive showmanship, and his fickle-tempered rabbit. 

The two move out of London, struggling to compete with modern entertainment. The Illusionist hops from small cafes and speakeasies, heartbroken. However, once he meets Alice, a young and naive woman, for better or for worse things change. 

The silent animation method itself was created by an international team, with members and individuals across continents working on this silent animated movie. It’s a 2D hand-drawn piece and comes with the charm of imperfections that computer-generated imagery struggles to fully replicate. 

Even in moments of inactivity, scenes stay captivating because of the human-like nature of rough lines and graphite. This is an intentional decision to deliver the themes of art, love, and social structures.

Also read: Explore 4 Art Movements and Their Influence on Animated Works

5. Shaun the Sheep Movie

• Release date: February 6, 2015

• Genre: Comedy, Adventure

• Animation Method: Claymation

• Country of Origin: USA

• Directors: Mark Burton, Richard Starzak

• Rated: PG

This predominantly silent animated movie is a classic spin-off, of an equally classic television series. Shaun the Sheep is a Claymation about a scheming Shaun, who plots to escape mundanity.

He devises a plan to buy himself a day off on his farm—but this goes awry when his farmer hits his head and becomes an amnesiac. The farmer wanders into a city salon, and his sheep are left to fend for themselves.

The Shaun the Sheep Movie is mainly made of modelling clay and thumbprints—truly leaving a human touch to the fictional movie. The fluidity and freedom that clay brings make up for the lack of dialogue from the main cast.

Facial expressions and movements are exaggerated and elaborate, doubling as a way to deliver messages and as slapstick comedy. Shaun the Sheep has always been a family favourite, and this silent animated movie is no exception.

Conclusion

Silent animated movies represent the origins of the medium, and remarkably, this classic form still endures. Though no longer as widely popular or universal as it once was, it remains timeless rather than outdated. Moreover, some creators are still dedicated to preserving and evolving the art of silent animation even today.

Author Bio

From Malaysia, Leia Emeera is a writer at TESSR and a published author. She has been putting pen to paper ever since she learned how to, and has an anthology to her name, titled 'Ten'. Leia loves music, games and her beloved labrador retriever, George. She aims to further her studies in English Literature and Creative Writing the moment her gap year ends. 'Till then, you will find her sitting behind a desk, writing with TESSR.

Connect with her on LinkedIn: Leia Emeera