Frozen (2013)
The Original: Your son/daughter/nephew/niece/cousin's new favourite film.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Too soon? Maybe - but with the focus firmly on the human characters, this one is an obvious choice to redo, especially once it has made the film-to-stage transition currently being mooted.
Perfect Casting Choice: It's about time that Adele Dazeem - sorry, Idina Menzel - got a live-action starring role, so (age permitting) she should be allowed a crack at replicating the role of Elsa.
Spirited Away (2001)
The Original: Studio Ghibli's breakout hit made Hayao Miyazaki an Oscar-winning animation god; a decade on, its original fairytale about a girl adrift in the spirit world already feels timeless.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Cinema needs visionaries, and Miyazaki's world-building is as visionary as they come.
Perfect Casting Choice: The central role of Sen/Chihiro would best go to an unknown, but we're thinking Glenn Close for bathhouse witch Yubaba.
Yellow Submarine (1968)
The Original: Any last lingering doubts that the Beatles were off on the ultimate trip dispersed with George Dunning's psychedelic animated odyssey.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Robert Zemeckis abandoned a mo-cap version a few years ago, but it'd be even trippier to drop live-action actors into the fantastical Pepperland backdrops.
Perfect Casting Choice: Given that he's played him already, Aaron Taylor-Johnson would be a shoo-in as John Lennon. How about Jack O'Connell as Paul McCartney, Andrew Garfield as George Harrison and Jamie Bell as Ringo?
Mary And Max (2009)
The Original: This claymation drama took the darkly humorous tale of a pen-pal friendship between Aussie girl Mary and overweight, depressed New York Max.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It's an intimate epic; had the original been live-action, you'd have bet on Oscar glory.
Perfect Casting Choice: The animated version was voiced to perfection by Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Given the latter's tragic death, a recasting is inevitable: Naomi Watts and Mark Ruffalo?
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993)
The Original: The theatrical spin-off from the 1990s animated series is - whisper it - arguably the finest big-screen version of the Caped Crusader prior to Nolan's trilogy, and possibly even eclipses that.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: With a complex flashback structure that offers an alternative backstory for Bruce Wayne, a doomed romance and a demented Joker, this is ideal reboot fodder.
Perfect Casting Choice: Jon Hamm as Batman/Bruce Wayne, with Michael Fassbender as The Joker.
Perfect Blue (1997)
The Original: Think animation is all about fantasy? Satoshi Kon's psychological thriller about a singer-turned-actress under threat from a stalker mines the spirit of Hitchcock and De Palma.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The uncharitable amongst you might feel this has already been done, since Black Swan shares a lot of similarities. But that film is proof enough of how well Kon's story would translate.
Perfect Casting Choice: Chloe Moretz as Mimi.
Belleville Rendez-vous (2003)
The Original: French animator Sylvain Chomet made his name with his madcap feature debut about a group of elderly women's attempt to rescue a kidnapped cyclist.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The comedy-chase genre could do with a refresh, and Chomet's silly, surreal, pleasantly old-school stylings provide a great framework.
Perfect Casting Choice: Let's go British with the casting, to take advantage of a brilliant generation of actresses: Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave and Charlotte Rampling.
The Incredibles (2004)
The Original: Pixar's first human-focussed story charted the misadventures of a superhero family trying (and failing) to curb their illegal powers.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Sorry, Christopher Nolan - for its combo of thematic depth, characterisation and action, this is still the high point of the 21st century superhero movie. Maybe it'll take a live-action version to bring around the naysayers.
Perfect Casting Choice: Matthew McConaughey as Mr Incredible (once he's bulked up) and Jessica Chastain as Elastogirl.
The Sword In The Stone (1963)
The Original: Disney does Arthurian legend, with the tale of how orphan boy Wart grows up to be King Of The Britons.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The BBC series Merlin has shown the dramatic possibilities of Arthur's youth. A big-budget version would allow Hollywood to harness some of the hallucinatory visual magic of the Disney film, especially the famous shape-shifting duel between Merlin and Madame Mim.
Perfect Casting Choice: Jim Broadbent as Merlin. For the full 'Mike Leigh on acid' vibe, let's also see Imelda Staunton as Madame Mim.
Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005)
The Original: Nick Park's Oscar-winning claymation classic was the feature-length debut of two of British animation's most beloved characters: a bona-fide Northern horror movie for kids.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Park is a self-confessed fanboy of classic British movies. The sensibility here is Ealing meets Hammer, and that's got to be worth trying to achieve with actors.
Perfect Casting Choice: In the absence of the late Pete Postlethwaite, it's got to be fellow Yorkshireman Patrick Stewart (using his native accent, for once). Gromit, of course, should remain animated.
Chico And Rita (2010)
The Original: Oscar-winning Spanish director Fernando Trueba turned to animation for the tale of two Cubans, Chico (a pianist) and Rita (a singer), who become partners on-stage and off.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: When was the last time you saw a screen musical that was actually written for the screen, and not based on something in the theatre?
Perfect Casting Choice: Oscar Isaac as Chico, Eva Mendes as Rita.
Akira (1988)
The Original: This violent, kinetic, enthralling dystopian actioner from Katsuhiro Otomo ranks alongside Blade Runner as one of sci-fi's most influential movies.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Chases, battles, mutants - it's a chaotic, gonzo rush that would make everything else in Hollywood look anaemic. Trouble is, Hollywood's been trying to adapt it for over a decade and still hasn't cracked it.
Perfect Casting Choice: Dane DeHaan would suit the psychokinetic villainy of Tetsuo.
Coraline (2009)
The Original: Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman collaborated on this creepy adaptation of the latter's novel about a girl terrorised by the button-eyed Other Mother.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Like a modern-day Wizard Of Oz , this could benefit from eye-catching production design and cinematography as it moved from monochrome reality into a colourful Other World.
Perfect Casting Choice: Coraline is meant to be 11, so an unknown would be best. As for the Other Mother, it's an obvious role for Helen Bonham-Carter, especially if her other half took the directorial reins.
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009)
The Original: Phil Lord and Chris Miller made their names with this deliriously surreal slapstick about an inventor who turns the sky into a smorgasbord.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The sheer weirdness of seeing actors trying to dodge giant food, aka the trippiest disaster movie ever.
Perfect Casting Choice: Charlie Day looks about right for Flint Lockwood, has form with Lord/Miller humour in The LEGO Movie and has already proved he can play the boffin in Pacific Rim .
The Little Mermaid (1989)
The Original: Disney's adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic become the Mouse House's biggest hit in years, leading to its resurgence during the 1990s.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It'd be a logistical challenge for sure, but marrying actors to undersea backdrops would make for some breathtaking visuals, and a major advance in screen mermaids from Splash .
Perfect Casting Choice: Once Karen Gillan's hair has grown back, she'll be an uncanny likeness for Princess Ariel - above the waist, at least.
Kirikou And The Sorceress (1998)
The Original: Michel Ocelot drew on his childhood in West Africa for his folk tale about a boy who battles the witch Karaba.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It's an enchanting fable quite unlike other Western visions of Africa.
Perfect Casting Choice: Fresh Oscar'd Lupita Nyong'o is the spitting image of the animated Karaba.
Whisper Of The Heart (1995)
The Original: Think Studio Ghibli is all about fantasy? Yoshifumi Kondon's only film is an offbeat coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl inspired to write after befriending the owners of an antique shop.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It is tailor-made as a feel-good, Sundance indie, especially for its iconic musical performance of John Denver's Take Me Home, Country Roads .
Perfect Casting Choice: Abigail Breslin as Shizuku.
Up (2009)
The Original: By 2009, everybody expected another Pixar hit… yet nobody predicted that Pete Docter's film about an elderly man's balloon/house adventure would hit so hard emotionally.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: An unashamed tear-jerker, this has Best Actor written all over it for whoever gets to essay Carl Frederickson's journey from curmudgeon to hero.
Perfect Casting Choice: Seriously, Gene Hackman, it's time to come out of retirement.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
The Original: After a notoriously tortuous development process, Disney's South American tale arrived as a screwball comedy about an emperor transformed into a llama.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: This is the one of the most madcap films Disney ever made, and with only minor adjustments would be a bizarre slacker comedy.
Perfect Casting Choice: A Superbad reunion: Michael Cera as the unfortunate emperor Kuzco, and Jonah Hill as Pacha, the peasant who helps him.
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Original: Brad Bird's feature debut was his Americanised adaptation of Ted Hughes' British classic about the friendship between a boy and a robot.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Bird's film was unfairly ignored on release but now regarded as a classic. A live-action version would be a belated shot at the blockbuster status the original deserved.
Perfect Casting Choice: Andrew Garfield still sounds youthful enough to voice the boyish hero Hogarth Hughes. And while Vin Diesel is a tough act to beat as the voice of the Iron Giant, we reckon Tom Hardy has the vocal presence to add new subtleties.
Summer Wars (2009)
The Original: Mamoru Hosoda's anime drama tells of a student's battle with a crazed artificial intelligence program.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It's WarGames for the 21st Century, with a geek love story playing out against the backdrop of cyber destruction.
Perfect Casting Choice: Daniel Radcliffe as Kenji.
It's Such A Beautiful Day (2012)
The Original: Cult animator Don Hertzfeldt's feature debut sees a stick man at war with the world and himself.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Hertzfeldt shares kinship with Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze in favouring an offbeat, oddball but sympathetic protagonist.
Perfect Casting Choice: After Frank , Michael Fassbender has the range and appetite for such a sad, unusual role.
Renaissance (2006)
The Original: Christian Volckman's moody, monochrome French animation mixed sci-fi with film noir in its tale of a detective investigating the kidnapping of a scientist.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: There are plenty of chases and double-crosses. Better still, the characters were based on mo-cap performances, so it's halfway to live-action anyway.
Perfect Casting Choice: Daniel Craig voiced the protagonist, Karas, in the English-language dub, so we see no reason not to give him a shot at doing it for 'real'.
Despicable Me (2010)
The Original: The sequel made it one of the most bankable animation franchises, and certainly one of the biggest with a human (anti-)hero, in the shape of supervillain Gru.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Gru's hyperreal take on the 007 genre is an excuse to unleash all kinds of gadgets and weapons… not forgetting all of those minions.
Perfect Casting Choice: Stanley Tucci has the rare ability to be both avuncular and menacing, plus he has the right amount of hair for the role of Gru.
The Lion King (1994)
The Original: Box-office conquering behemoth that saw Disney relocate the story of Hamlet to Africa and enjoy the blissful state of hakuna matata.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: This isn't an obvious choice, given the lack of human characters… but a film based on Julie Taymor's stage musical, with actors in animal costumes, might work.
Perfect Casting Choice: Given the physicality required to act under those costumes, let's stick to the Broadway cast under Taymor's direction.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Original: A bigger hit in Japan than Titanic , Hayao Miyazaki's epic fantasy about a war between humans and animals (and more humans, and more animals) set a new standard for animation.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Sure, there's a risk of it going a bit Narnia, but a strong director could tease out the jaw-dropping mix of Kurosawa-influenced bloody warfare and talking animals.
Perfect Casting Choice: Mia Wasikowska as San, Freddie Highmore as Ashitaka.
When The Wind Blows (1986)
The Original: Jimmy Murakami faithful adaptation of Raymond Briggs' graphic novel was a devastating account of an elderly couple during a nuclear war.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: This is social realism with a twist, and the clash between the everyday and the unthinkable would make for powerful drama.
Perfect Casting Choice: John Hurt as James Bloggs, and Judi Dench as his wife Hilda.
Treasure Planet (2002)
The Original: Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island . But in space.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Disney doing sci-fi always seemed like an odd fit; this merging of old-school adventure and state-of-the-art FX is crying out for the blockbuster treatment.
Perfect Casting Choice: We're thinking Ron Perlman for the cyborg Long John Silver… which leads to the tantalising possibility of Guillermo Del Toro as director.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
The Original: An alcoholic, a drag queen and a runaway girl find an abandoned baby and resolve to track down its parents, in Satoshi Kon's drama.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The film was loosely based on 1948 John Wayne Western 3 Godfathers , so there's clearly mileage in a live-action, urbanised update.
Perfect Casting Choice: Russell Crowe, Richard E. Grant and Ellen Page as the godfathers.
Wizards (1977)
The Original: Before he made Lord Of The Rings , Ralph Bakshi's first foray into animated fantasy was this bloody fable in which elves and dwarves survive in a post-apocalyptic Earth.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Game Of Thrones has raised the bar for adult-themed fantasy, and Bakshi's counter-cultural sensibilities fit the bill perfectly.
Perfect Casting Choice: Peter Dinklage is a dead cert for good wizard Avatar, with Michael Shannon as his evil brother, Blackwolf.
How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
The Original: The moment Dreamworks came of age, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois' medieval saga pitted man vs dragon to exhilarating, entertaining effect.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Live-action dragon movies over the years have been, shall we say, variable. If a HTTYD adaptation could harness the original's strong characterisation and enviable flying sequences, it'd easily rule the roost.
Perfect Casting Choice: Actually, the original voice-of-Hiccup, Jay Baruchel, deserves a shot at a live-action hit. (Playing himself in This Is The End doesn't count.)
Castle In The Sky (1986)
The Original: Floating cities! Robots! Pirates! The first Studio Ghibli film remains one of its most purely exciting.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: As if the above wasn't enough, this is a primarily human affair, so ideally suited for actors.
Perfect Casting Choice: Let's see real-life couple Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence as Pazu and Princess Sheeta.
Titan A.E. (2000)
The Original: Joss Whedon had a hand in the screenplay for this sci-fi action thriller about the efforts of humanity to survive in space after the destruction of Earth.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Poor marketing failed to sell the film's virtues as an animated blockbuster. Live action would remove that ambiguity; this has the potential to be another Serenity .
Perfect Casting Choice: Matt Damon voiced hero Cale Tucker but, after Elysium , he doesn't need to go back into space. The door is open for Josh Hutcherson once he's finished his Hunger Games duties.
Beauty And The Beast (1991)
The Original: Disney's take on the famous legend became the first animated film to secure an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Just look at Jean Cocteau's surreal 1946 version, La Belle Et la Bete - a key influence on the Disney film. In this case, though, we're thinking of keeping the Oscar-winning musical score and songs.
Perfect Casting Choice: Hugh Jackman as the Beast, Emma Stone as Belle.
Waltz With Bashir (2008)
The Original: Israeli director Ari Folman married animation with documentary in his surreal memoir about being a soldier during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The central narrative, as Folman discusses his memories with friends, would provide a compelling story even if done as a conventional documentary.
Perfect Casting Choice: Folman, of course.
Only Yesterday (1991)
The Original: Isao Takahata's drama flips between past and present as a trip to the countryside triggers twentysomething Taeko's memories of childhood. A Studio Ghibli film, believe it or not.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Just about every review praises this for using animation to tell a story that would usually be done with actors - aptly, because it has a Bergman-esque sense of memory and psychology.
Perfect Casting Choice: Anne Hathaway as Taeko.
Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! (2012)
The Original: Aardman's sea-faring foray saw Hugh Grant's Pirate Captain tussle with Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin in a stop-motion slapstick adventure.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Gideon Defoe's Pythonesque stories have the verbal and visual wit to become a treasured comedy franchise… Treasured? See what we did there?
Perfect Casting Choice: While there's an argument to keep Grant in the main role, let's replace him in this version with Stephen Mangan and have the rest of the cast fleshed out by his old Green Wing colleagues.
The Black Cauldron (1985)
The Original: Disney's first PG-rated animation was a Welsh-tinged fairytale about a young pig-keeper's efforts to stop the Horned King from ruling the world.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The disconnect between the dark material and the studio's trademark jollity jarred with audiences and critics. In today's post-Tolkien landscape, this could easily be the next big hit once Bilbo Baggins gets home.
Perfect Casting Choice: Let's take a leaf from Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and have Gary Oldman replace John Hurt, who voiced the Horned King in the Disney version.
Millennium Actress (2001)
The Original: A routine TV interview turns into a head-spinning odyssey through an actress' life in Satoshi Kon's offbeat drama.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: The late Kon pushed the boundaries of what constitutes anime with piercing character-based dramas… but this would still be challenging enough in live-action.
Perfect Casting Choice: This needs three stars to play Chiyoko, the actress at the centre of events. Uncannily, three generations of the same family are the right ages to play her at different stages of her life - Vanessa Redgrave, daughter Joely Richardson and granddaughter Daisy Bevan.
The Illusionist (2010)
The Original: Sylvain Chomet's follow-up to Belleville Rendezvous was this sad, soulful tragicomedy about a failing magician who strikes up a friendship with a little girl.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Chomet based his film on an unproduced screenplay by the great French comedian Jacques Tati, who had originally planned to play the central role.
Perfect Casting Choice: After Holy Motors , Denis Lavant has proved he has the versatility (and the Gallic sang-froid) to honour Tati and Chomet's visions.
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)
The Original: The spin-off from the Nickelodeon shorts (which would itself inspire a TV series) revolved around the adventures of the titular science whizzkid.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Despite an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, this has been largely forgotten, making it perfect for a live-action makeover.
Perfect Casting Choice: It's amazing that Kodi Smit-McPhee hasn't yet been given a big Hollywood franchise. Here's his chance.
Brave (2012)
The Original: Anything Disney can do, Pixar can do better as the kings of animation headed to Scotland for its folk tale about a princess who accidentally curses her mother.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: A relatively low-key affair for Pixar, there's nothing (barring the bears) that couldn't be achieved for real. Indeed, with plenty of iron, stone and mud, it's practically a family-friendly Game Of Thrones .
Perfect Casting Choice: Merida = Scottish + redhead. Calling Karen Gillan….
The Castle Of Cagliostro (1979)
The Original: Hayao Miyazaki's feature debut is an caper about gentleman thief Lupin's battle with the evil Count Cagliostro.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Part swashbuckler, part 007 movie, this could mark the return of the kind of old-school adventure movie that Hollywood hasn't really made for years.
Perfect Casting Choice: Joseph Gordon-Levitt looks uncannily like Miyazaki's Lupin.
Frankenweenie (2012)
The Original: A labour of love for Tim Burton, this adaptation of his short about Victor Frankenstein's efforts to resurrect his dead dog was unfairly trounced at the box office by fellow horror-toons Hotel Transylvania and ParaNorman .
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Burton's monochrome stylings, lovingly based on classic Universal horror movies of the 1930s, would look amazing if shot for real.
Perfect Casting Choice: Having already proved his credentials as an on-screen oddball, it's got to be Ezra Miller.
Aladdin (1992)
The Original: The joker in the pack of Disney's 1990s renaissance, Ron Clements and John Musker's slapstick-tinged fable married old-school craft to solid laughs.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: With its swordfights, flying carpets and 'genie in a bottle' anarchy, this has huge blockbuster potential. Just don't mention Prince Of Persia .
Perfect Casting Choice: Robin Williams' are big boots to fill as the Genie, but for charisma, comic timing and that sense of irreverence, how about Robert Downey, Jr?
South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut (1999)
The Original: The profane but Oscar-nominated spin-off to Trey Parker and Matt Stone's lo-fi TV hit. Still a major contender for the best small-to-big-screen makeover.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Frankly, we just want to see how the hell they'd do it.
Perfect Casting Choice: YouTube auditions to find suitably bad-behaving kids for the main foursome, and surely Samuel L. Jackson has to replace the late Isaac Hayes as Chef?
Persepolis (2007)
The Original: Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical account of her childhood in Iran was the first animated film to win a major prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: It's a great story, and potentially a break-out hit for Iranian cinema - much-loved by art-house crowds, but seldom translating to more mainstream tastes.
Perfect Casting Choice: A Separation 's Leila Hatami would suit the adult Marjane… and while we're at it, let's get her director Asghar Farhadi behind the camera.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
The Original: While Hayao Miyazaki was not originally planning to direct this tale of a teenage witch turned entrepreneur, the story takes flight in his capable hands.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: This is the ideal fix for Harry Potter fans missing their broomstick action, and the climactic airship crash would be a thing of wonder in live-action.
Perfect Casting Choice: Elle Fanning - but cast her quickly or she'll be too old!
Meet The Robinsons (2007)
The Original: A significant chance of pace from Disney, this timey-wimey adventure sees a boy whisked away by his future son.
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Looper highlighted the possibilities for the time-travel genre in the 21st Century. A kid-friendly version of that has to be worth a look at.
Perfect Casting Choice: While the leads would suit as-yet unknown child actors, a moustachioed Adrien Brody would look the part as the villainous Bowler Hat Guy.
Ghost In The Shell (1995)
The Original: The inevitable virtual reality anime, Mamoru Oshii's sci-fi thriller about the search for shadowy hacker the Puppet Master was an obvious influence on The Matrix .
Why It'd Dazzle In Live Action: Oshii updated his own film, George Lucas-style, with new digital animation in 2008 - proof of the concept's longevity.
Perfect Casting Choice: Charlize Theron as the Puppet Master.
