Animation Adaptions! 🎨🎞️
Much like books to movies but solely focused on animated movies/series! Suggestions welcome!
created by rosemary
last updated September, 2026
Comments
I am curious about stop-motion not being animation? I have always heard it referred to as a type of animation and that makes sense to me (as inanimate objects are being manipulated so as to seem animate on film) so I am just curious about your point of view!
Also I recommend Bambi (Felix Salten)! I may come back with more
Edit: — The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster) — Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Judi Barrett) — Dr. Faustus (Christopher Marlowe) — The Hundred and One Dalmatians (Dodie Smith) — The Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame) — Bedknob and Broomstick (Mary Norton) — The Black Cauldron (Lloyd Alexander) — The Brave Little Toaster / Goes to Mars (Thomas M Disch) — The Great Mouse Detective series (Eve Titus) — James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl) — Kiki's Delivery Service (Eiko Kadono) — Lady and the Tramp (Ward Greene) — Mary Poppins (PL Travers) — The Plague Dogs (Richard Adams) — Viy (Nicolai Gogol)
rosemaryOP
Ooh that's a lot, thank you! I'd completely forgotten Kiki's Delivery Service was based on a book and I didn't think to include Mary Poppins because of the mixed media! :)
rosemaryOP
Ah, no I suppose you're right, I made this list a bit late last night lol. That being said, I think when most people think of animation, stop motion isn't the first thing to comes to mind? It's definitely a type of animation, now that I actually think about it, but it's just not as typical compared to other methods I guess!
It's not as typical because it's basically impossible to turn a profit on – very few stop-motion animations even break even, and the only major stop-motion animation studio is currently surviving (despite rarely making its expenses back) because it's being bankrolled by a super rich guy who really loves the medium! (I find this very interesting, and I wish more super rich guys spent their fortunes keeping artists afloat out of a love for the craft, rather than messing with politics and hoarding their wealth lol)
rosemaryOP
Oohh yeah that makes sense, I remember watching a video on how they made Coraline ages ago and it was an insane amount of work for even a second of footage. (So worth it though, I adore Coraline!)
That's really interesting too, I might have to do some research on that guy, could be a fun rabbit hole. Yeah I feel like the world would be a much better and happier place if rich people threw their money at art and artists as opposed to politics, (or even just about anything else to be honest), alas. 🥲
I would like to suggest Fruits Basket, especially as its anime adaptation runs the entire length of the plot instead of ending after the first couple of volumes, making it a complete adaptation and not just effectively advertising for the manga.
If you're trying to veer clear of manga altogether though (which would be understandable, since so many of them get anime adaptations) then my other suggestion is The Animals of Farthing Wood, which saw a cartoon series adaptation that pretty much made up my entire childhood.
Wait, editing to add: The Lord of the Rings also had a (somewhat lesser-known, but very popular with my parents' generation) cartoon adaptation!
rosemaryOP
Yeah I think im going to avoid manga for this list, both because of the quantity and because there already are a few lists for manga adaptions specifically! I'm still on the fence about light novels though.
Thank you! I've added both of them. I hadn't realized LOTR had a cartoon adaption so that was interesting to learn!
Honestly if you're avoiding manga due to how prolific its adaptations are, light novels should probably also be counted out – almost all of the big ones get an anime adaptation (or go through the light novel to manga to anime pipeline). Or if you do want to showcase the medium (since it is still lesser-known than manga, especially in the west) you could maybe set a limit, like "for every 10 novels, 1 light novel" or something, to keep the list from being overrun with a genre that sees animated adaptations at a much higher rate than others? Just kinda rolling ideas around obv, you don't have to listen to me, it's your list 😂
rosemaryOP
Ooh that's a very good idea! Thank you, I'll definitely have to think about if I even want to add light novels to this lists, but if I do this sounds like the perfect solution! :)
You're welcome :) and ofc if you do end up including light novels, you can adjust the specific numbers to your preference to keep the list neatly curated 😌
