When the Wind Blows (1986) [BANNED IN THE USA]

Reason For Ban: No Comprimising on content or the ending.

An elderly British couple prepares for nuclear war with the same cheerful attitude they had during World War II, not understanding the difference between conventional bombing and atomic fallout.

This devastatingly powerful animated film from Raymond Briggs got theatrical releases across Europe, but was effectively suppressed in Reagan era America.

Its anti-nuclear message came at
a time when Cold War tensions made such viewpoints politically dangerous. (...) in the United States, distributors
buried it.

Cold War tensions made its unflinching look at nuclear annihilation too controversial for mainstream American theaters. It received minimal distribution and quickly disappeared ("Shadow Banned" to "total ban").

Director Jimmy Murakami recalled:

"American distributors said it was too
depressing, too political. They wanted a
happy ending to Nuclear War."

It remained virtually unseen in America.

The animation combined traditional cell
techniques with Briggs distinctive
pastel art style, creating a warm,
nostalgic look that made its devastating
conclusion even more powerful.

Director Jimmy Murakami later revealed
that American distributors demanded
changes to make the film less politically charged, changes he refused to make.

They wanted the couple to
survive somehow, which completely
undermined the point. The result: a film
celebrated as animation's most powerful
anti-nuclear statement received fewer
than 50 theatrical screenings in the
entire United States.

British film critic Mark Kermode called it:

"Possibly the most important animated film ever
made, noting its unflinching portrayal of nuclear wars reality without
spectacle or heroics."

The film's matter-of-fact approach to radiation poisoning proved too much for American distributors who preferred
their Cold War narratives to include clear heroes, villains, and American triumph. ("Jingoism")

Similar to Grave Of The Fireflies for its unflinching, uncensored lok at war and it's consequences.