#6. Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi grew up in Iran, first under the Shah, then in the more repressive shadow of the Ayatollah. She moved to Paris and sketched her early life into a graphic-novel memoir. Now, with co-director Vincent Paronnaud (known in comics circles as Winshluss), Satrapi has created something unusual: an autobiographical animated feature. The visual style is simple, almost monochromatic. But Persepolis is a legitimate descendant of the Disney classics: a coming-of-age tale, that manages to be both harrowing and exuberant.