<p>There are many outstanding motion pictures out there that didn&#39;t get enough marketing and haven&#39;t been seen by most folks for this reason. Here are my Top 5 picks, based on rarity as well as quality. Please note that there are no affiliate links in this article, or any links for that matter, as my aim here is not to try and make a buck. To buy any of these movies, head on to Googsie and do your own research.</p><h2><u>1. Killer Bean Forever</u></h2><p>I didn&#39;t realize this while watching it, but this is essentially a one-man job. I had an inkling it might be an indie effort, rather than a full studio-backed production, but was rather shocked when I found out that the whole thing was produced by basically one guy with a bunch of his friends. If you want to buy the movie, you have to go to the website of the guy who made it, and <a href="http://www.killerbeanforever.com/order.html">buy Killer Bean Forever</a>&nbsp;directly from him. His name is Jeff Lew, and he wrote the script and did all the animation. He also does a fine job voicing one of the characters.</p><p>There is a lot of violence in this movie. Fatal shootings and summary executions, that sort of thing. But no blood, because beans don&#39;t bleed. All the characters in the movie are coffee beans, which somehow makes the violence seem less... violent. If you think about it, Tom and Jerry cartoons involve immense brutality and cruelty, but nobody worries about it because they&#39;re not in human form.</p><p>I found it funny, exciting, and enjoyable. Killer Bean Forever is essentially a parody of modern guy-oriented action flicks. There are some thin minutes &mdash; but there are thin minutes in every movie. Some of the sequences feel a little like watching a computer game in demo mode, but then again computer games have become ultra-realistic and high-budget in recent years. The action choreography makes up for any shortcomings &mdash; precise, creative, and dynamic, it&#39;s a treat to watch. Perhaps not surprisingly, it turns out that Jeff Lew, the creator, worked as lead animator on one of the Matrix films. Overall, I give this picture 9 stars out of 10. Find Jeff&#39;s site, and buy it. And no, I don&#39;t know him.</p><h2><u>2. Donkey Xote</u></h2><p>Despite being nominated for Spain&#39;s prestigious Goya Award, this movie doesn&#39;t even have it&#39;s own Wikipedia article yet (as of August, 2011). It was made in 2007, and it&#39;s a children&#39;s adaptation of the famous Don Quixote story. I bear with great shame the fact that I haven&#39;t read this book by Cervantes, which has been called the world&#39;s first novel, but apparently it features an insane protagonist.</p><p>This animated movie retells the story from a different perspective, and it does it extremely well. I suppose it helps to have read the original story, but the fact that I loved it means that the original isn&#39;t required reading.</p><p>This digimation flick was made in Spain, so clearly the folks were qualified to handle the subject matter. The dubbed dialog seems a little quirky and stilted at times, as is the case with most foreign-language films dubbed into English, but the quality of the animation makes up for it. There is some raw beauty &mdash; I have never seen such superb rendering of scenery in a Disney flick &mdash; and plenty of wittiness to keep the kids regaled.</p><h2><strong><u>3. Igor</u></strong></h2><p>Like Killer Bean Forever, this movie parodies other movies &mdash; specifically, movies which involve mad scientists with assistants called Igor. In this movie, the Igor plays the lead role.</p><p>Igor features the voice talents of a number of highly talented and respected actors. There&#39;s Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Christian Slater, Eddie Izzard, and &mdash; wait for it &mdash; you won&#39;t believe it &mdash; Arsenio Hall. Yes, THAT Arsenio Hall, fingers and all.</p><p>The plot is imaginative and like all the best kids&#39; <a href="http://citynext.com/arts-entertainment/movies-articles">movies</a>, it creates its own universe and language. Tension keeps mounting and there&#39;s enough action to make it thrilling. There&#39;s even a wee bit of sex thrown in, though young viewers won&#39;t recognize it as such. (Phew.)</p><p>This is a far less violent movie than Killer Bean Forever &mdash; there isn&#39;t a gun in sight &mdash; but very young viewers may find this movie to be a little scary, because of a Frankenstein&#39;s monster-like character &mdash; even though she is actually a dainty damsel who wouldn&#39;t hurt a fly. Perhaps that why it didn&#39;t do well at the box office. Or the whole concept is just a little too weird to wrap one&#39;s head around.</p><h2><strong><u>4. The Secret of Kells</u></strong></h2><p>The Book of Kells is one of those medieval illuminated books made by monks, and it&#39;s the national treasure of Ireland. No need to be embarrassed, I didn&#39;t know this either.</p><p>The Secret of Kells is an animated Irish-European animated movie that tells a story from the perspective of a young Irish monk in the 7th century, when the book was made.</p><p>I have to confess I haven&#39;t actually seen this movie but my two young sons assure me that it was a good movie. Plus it has won a truckload of awards. It even got nominated for an Academy Award in the United States of America, in the category of <i>Best Animated Feature Film</i>, which is a real Oscar, right? Plus, it has Vikings in it. I have no idea why a movie about 7th century Ireland would have Vikings in it. Perhaps some sort of cultural exchange.</p><h2><u><strong>5. Green Lantern: First Flight</strong></u></h2><p>Yes, this is a Green Lantern movie. No, it isn&#39;t that Green Lantern movie. This is an animated version made back in 2009, way before the 2011 &quot;Green Lantern&quot; film starring Ryan Reynolds. It made a pittance at the box office, but, as awesome as the live action version was, I dare say I prefer the animated version.</p><p>The storyline is much the same. Human Hal Jordan, gutsy test pilot, becomes a protector of the universe and does a splendid job of it, despite having quit once early on. But the storytelling is a little better, the length is just right, and it somehow comes together better than the big budget Hollywood production. And Sinestro is the bad guy.</p><p>Mind you, there are some awesome innovations in the 2011 version &mdash; not just the special effects but also the clever notion that green energy is powered by Will and yellow energy fed by fear. That wasn&#39;t in the animated version.</p><p>I&#39;m not sure how viewers will react seeing the animated characters after the drop-dead gorgeous visuals of the live action production. For example, the Guardians of the animated version look a little Smurf-like in retrospect. My Green Lantern experience was tainted by First Flight &mdash; Green Lantern could simply never measure up, or improve upon what was already nigh perfect. People who have seen Green Lantern in 2011 may find the 2009 version a little crude, but enjoyable nonetheless.</p><p>And there you have it folks, this concludes my list of awesome animated movies you haven&#39;t seen. Change that. Go see them now.</p><p>---------------------------------------------</p><p>About The Author: &nbsp;<a href="http://www.seobidz.com/">http://www.seobidz.com/</a><br /> <br /> <i>I advise business on web strategies and help them develop <a href="http://www.locustswarm.com/">custom web apps</a>. Feel free to get in touch if you need a consultant for lifting your business to the next level. &nbsp;&nbsp;</i></p><p><br /> &nbsp;</p><p><strong>About the Author</strong></p><p>(CityNext.Content #85)</p><p>Article Source: <a href="http://citynext.com/">http://citynext.com/</a> - <a href="http://citynext.com/arts-entertainment/movies-articles/five-awesome-kids-movies-you-havent-seen">Five Awesome Kids&#039; Movies You Haven&#039;t Seen</a></p>