Not the best of years at the movies. Not the worst either, despite what choosing a cartoon as my favorite film of 2016 may imply. There was a lot of good work with sociopolitical resonance, appropriate for this craziest of election years. Surprisingly, some smart stuff about spiritual awareness made it into a few as well.

1. “Zootopia”

Who knew a Disney cartoon about a talking animal planet could make such nuanced and profound arguments against prejudice, at a time when it’s been unleashed again in our land? Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush’s colorful entertainment was also a blast, witty and wacky with a suspenseful, steel-trap constructed script. The film’s visual ingenuity exploited animation’s unique possibilities as only the best of the medium does. But really, the message that all us animals better cut out the hate made “Zootopia” a movie that can never be forgotten.

2. “Paterson”

I can’t think of a sweeter way for a film to close out this year than to offer us Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani’s humble and supportive working-class artists, along with their awful bulldog. Great poetry has long come out of Paterson, New Jersey — Lou Costello, Allen Ginsberg and William Carlos Williams among the lyric practitioners — and Jim Jarmusch’s offbeat ode to the city is a prime example. It also showcases the happiest movie marriage since Nick and Nora Charles’.

3. “Silence”

Martin Scorsese doesn’t question faith so much as he inquires into it, and he’s never done so more deeply than he has with “Silence.” A gorgeous and horrifying recreation of Japan’s 17th century Christian persecutions, this one’s both achingly personal and cannily cosmopolitan in its concerns. Neither religion nor culture emerges unstained, and Scorsese’s unafraid to confront those eternal truths.

4. “Embrace of the Serpent”

This angry, time-hopping and ultimately cosmic critique of colonialism is as formally audacious as the Amazon River is long. Ciro Guerra’s unbelievably fact-based Colombian odyssey lets neither natives nor their myriad exploiters off the hook, and its central argument is only strengthened by that. Plus, it’s the trippiest movie this side of “Doctor Strange.”

5. “Captain America: Civil War” / “Doctor Strange”

When you want to say state-of-the-art these days, you may as well just say Marvel. Big studio entertainment didn’t come any better executed than these two character-rich superhero movies. And they respectively brought sharp political insight and spiritual wisdom to the action.

6. “American Honey” / “The Fits” / “Moonlight”

Three films that artfully and poetically honor marginalized youth. Directors Andrea Arnold, Anna Rose Holmer and Barry Jenkins each found loving ways to tell their stories, about disadvantaged kids that couldn’t be richer in their individualism. They make the future of this country look good.

7. “A Monster Calls”

Who says kids movies can’t be intellectually and structurally complex? Not J.A. Bayona, who was also able to give this tale about a storytelling tree great visual flair, mythic dimension and the most powerful emotional wallop of any film this year.

8. Neruda: Pablo Larrain’s surreal yet potent look at Chile’s famous poet politician uses a mix of genres to get us under the great man’s skin, not to mention into the psyches of his countrymen regarding all he represents to them. The biopic at its most imaginative, which Larrain’s “Jackie” was in subtle ways too.

9. “City of Gold” / “Weiner”

Loud New York politicians are just the worst, as the incredibly access-driven documentary about sexting sociopath Anthony Weiner makes all too in-our-faces clear. Such a soothing contrast, then, to watch “City of Gold’s” subject, L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold, appreciatively savor our town’s delicious diversity in the most gentlemanly and inclusively erudite way. Two extraordinarily intimate nonfiction films that made me prouder to be an Angeleno than ever.

10. Readers choice

I liked these seven movies about the same, so you pick your favorite and consider yourself a valued member of my Top 10 (well, Top 20) committee. Comedy lovers can choose between the enchantingly wry buddies-on-the-lam stylings of “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” or the sophisticated Jane Austen delights of “Love & Friendship.” For keen, gritty takes on the American character, you can go with the Brit’s snatched-from-the-Heartland-headlines “Hell or High Water” or the guy who grew up in Australia’s heroic and holy harrowing “Hacksaw Ridge.” And if you must bite Oscar bait, dazzling musical “La La Land,” behaviorally sound and expertly scripted male weepie “Manchester by the Sea” and the marvel of a civil rights docudrama “Loving” are the ones with some actual aesthetic integrity.