General Discussion

Walking Life has more replay value and less Keanu Reeves, so it gets my vote. I think it's one of the best animated movies ever, while A Scanner Darkly, not so much. The lack of structured story in Walking Life is what makes the animation style acceptable. Otherwise, I'd find it lacking artistic value and half-hearted perhaps because I've seen it in too many commercials. This is the wonderful paradox that makes Walking Life so mesmerizing. The animation on its own is distracting while the series of conversations if presented live would have befuddled me. Together, however the form the perfect mix that draws my attention then keeps it by continuously challenging me to follow the ideas.

Waking Life is a chore to watch. Maybe it strikes with more profundity if you agree with the philosophies but for me it felt like a parade of pretentious windbags with an interesting art aesthetic. As a former addict, though, I really appreciated A Scanner Darkly and felt like the rotoscoping actually added to the film.

I would say A Scanner Darkly because:

a) I've seen it.

b) I've never even heard of Waking life.

@Sgtpierceface said:

I would say A Scanner Darkly because:

a) I've seen it.

b) I've never even heard of Waking life.

Pretty much the same for me.

For those who have never seen Waking Life: You should see Waking Life.

I chose it because I thought it the hallucinatory feel of the rotoscoping was an integral part of the experience, whereas A Scanner Darkly could probably have been made as a live-action movie.

Sure, Waking Life is less of a movie and more of a visual essay on lucid dreaming and existentialism and all that, but the animation makes it compelling all the way through (for me, at least).