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I've been thinking and thinking and thinking on LSPE's question.
One of the first bits of animation I really, honestly and truly appreciated would have to have been some of the early Fleischer's, the Betty Boops and some fo the early Popeye cartoons. Although I'm not a Popeye fan, some of their b/w animation was lovely and the whole moving background process Fleischer invented is still a visual image I look back on with fondness. Pre-multiplane, it gave a depth that I still remember as remarkable for its time.
I think one of the most influential pieces for me creatively is a film by Saul Bass, Why Man Creates. It had everything in it, simple line drawing and great ping pong animation! Educational film it may have been, but I still loved it.
For sheer beauty of animation, I am drawn back to Disney 1940 for Fantasia. Not only did this film introduce me to classical music, it remains one of my favorite Disney features. The animation was superb and it allowed much wondeful creativity by the animators who worked on it, stylistically different in each episode. Harbinger of Steophonic Sound, this film was a ground breaker, too. If I had to pick only one section, jeez that would be tough, but I think the Nutcracker Suite is just fabulous in the use of multiplane and music and character (out of objects which had no character in real life). I can watch this over and over and it is ever fresh to me.
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