As an animator it is vital for you to study not only the world around you and how things move, but also the great works that were created by the animators who have gone before you.  Would-be painters study the work of renowned artists like Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Picasso.  Would-be sculptors study the works of master sculptors Michelangelo, Donatello, and Rodin. So it is that animators should study the works of Chuck Jones, Ward Kimball, and Marc Davis as well as many other amazing animators whose work you may have enjoyed over the years, but whose names may not be familiar to you.

I have broken up the list below into two categories, one for feature films and one for shorts.  This is not meant to be a complete list of all animated films.  It is simply a guide to those classics that as an animator you owe it to yourself to see.  Some films made the list for their historical significance, others for their technological or artistic achievements.  And some films are listed for the profound impact they had upon animation biz or the film industry in general.  I have kept the films listed mostly to American releases because such films are more readily available for research study.

(It is considered a given that you should see all the Disney animated features and all the Warner Bros. shorts that you can, so I have not listed all of them here.)