The Top 25 Walt Disney Animation Studios Films
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Walt Disney Animation Studios is now one hundred years old. For a century, the animation titan has churned out classic after classic, be these examples that all adore or select favourites that those nostalgic for their youth yearn for. These films shaped our childhoods and the industry’s understanding of where animation can go. Granted, the name “Disney” is a little different with all of the owned IPs under its belt and its affinity for monopolization, but we’re not reflecting on all that today. Instead, I want to take us on a trip down memory lane by revisiting some of the formative films that solidify Disney as one of the greats of its medium.
Before I begin, I want to preface that I will not include any Pixar films (I will make a separate list for these one day). I want to focus primarily on the animated feature films (so no shorts) that Disney’s studios created over the years. Obviously, this also means no live-action films will be included, but this additionally means no live-action and animated blended films will make it on here either. Finally, if Pixar isn’t included, that means all other subsidiaries as well unless they are specifically linked to the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Now that all of this is out of the way, let’s turn back the clock. We’ll travel back a couple of years. We’ll warp speed up to almost ninety years into the past. Where will we wind up? It’s time to find out. If your personal favourite Disney animated feature isn’t here, I do apologize in advance for what will surely feel like a sacrilegious kick to the gut: I sincerely do not mean to personally offend you or your upbringing. In my opinion, here are the top twenty-five Walt Disney Animation Studios Films of all time.
25. Wreck-It Ralph
A strong bridge that connects nostalgic adults with their tech-savvy children, Wreck-It Ralph unites all viewers through the powers of video games and the mutual understanding of existentialism. Where do we belong? Are we good enough? Wreck-It Ralph understands that we are all special in its own vibrant, electric way.
24. Tarzan
Right at the tail end of the millennium came an animation studio that was trying to find new ways to keep its Renaissance going. Enter Tarzan: the film that sublimely combined hand-drawn animation with CGI environments. This would, of course, only further the opening of Pandora’s box some years before Disney would decide to only explore 3D animation, but the two worlds combined in this adaptation of the classic novel work well as a send-off to the old ways of animation; if only it didn’t help mark the start of the end of 2D.
23. Lady and the Tramp
Life imitates art sometimes. Lady and the Tramp was cast aside when it was first released, but like the central canines in this feature, they found their way into peoples’ hearts as time went on. No matter which dog you identify with, chances are you see yourself in this classic either en route on your quest to feel accepted and loved or if you’re already at your destination. Either way, love is in the air with this fable of hope amidst despair.
22. Tangled
While Disney would work almost solely within 3D animation from here on out, Tangled was still a breath of fresh air when it was released. Despite its CGI nature, it still felt like a bit of an extension of what Disney was accomplishing via hand-drawn art, and maybe the fairy tale source material helped with this transition. If Tangled seemed like a splash upon its release, it has only aged gracefully with its heart warming staying power.
21. A Goofy Movie
Goof Troop was off-the-walls bonkers much to the chagrin of parents everywhere. A Goofy Movie seems like a red flag of a title, but the film is much more toned down and sentimental in comparison. Instead of the titular father coming off as a doofus, he’s a dad trying to connect with his son while the latter is trying to discover himself in this coming-of-age film that has warmed millions of hearts since its release.
20. The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog was meant to be a comeback to classic form for Disney, but it instead acted as the final sendoff for traditional, hand-drawn animation for the studios. They sure went out on a bang, with inspired animation, tender storytelling, and a celebration of art that still feels gorgeous. If only we knew what The Princess and the Frog really represented when it came out. I think it would have been even more beloved if we understood this was the last hurrah of hand-drawn Disney.
19. Frozen
Try to ignore the songs that have been played to death or the plethora of merchandise that still pops up everywhere, and it’s hard to ignore that Frozen is actually a Disney classic through and through. With the best animation creativity of Disney’s 3D era and some impactful storytelling that both honours the traditional ways of Disney whilst carving its own path, Frozen is undeniably rich. It may not be the greatest Disney film ever like its popularity may lead you to believe, but it at least has to be a part of the conversation.
18. The Great Mouse Detective
I think The Great Mouse Detective doesn’t get the respect it deserves because it is lumped in with what is arguably Disney’s lousiest period. With its mature-enough storytelling (hinged entirely upon making a Sherlock Holmes that will entertain kids and adults alike) and fascinating art direction (particularly the darker moments of the film where the animation goes full throttle), this is a curious, captivating feature from Disney at its lowest which was the sign of what was to come; The Great Mouse Detective walked so The Little Mermaid and the rest of the Disney Renaissance films could run.
17. Lilo & Stitch
It seems like Disney was trying to pull off another Renaissance period and stave off the impending lull that was to come when they released Lilo & Stitch: an edgier, self-aware, almost antithetical film by Disney’s standards (it’s as if the film itself is the Stitch of Disney’s filmography). Without going too far with its chaotic side or its sentimentality, Lilo & Stitch stands out as a unique attempt by a studio that was concerned with its own downfall that felt perfect at the start of the new millennium; it has withstood almost all of its Disney peers almost effortlessly.
16. One Hundred and One Dalmatians
When Disney was trying to search for new ideas and creations after many fairy tale adaptations, it tossed out the delightfully satirical end result known as One Hundred and One Dalmatians (the breed of dog picked so they could Xerox frames over and over to get in as many puppies into each sequence as possible: a clever tactic). With people looking like newspaper caricatures and the plot playing out like a screwball comedy, One Hundred and One Dalmatians stands alone as a Disney film unlike any other (outside of the many follow-ups to this film, of course).
15. Zootopia
While parts of Zootopia are typical for twenty-first-century CGI animation (some obvious references, and the affinity for featuring Shakira and her song “Try Everything” quite prominently to justify her hard work on the promotional single), the rest feels quite special. Here is a neo-noir fit for all ages that tackles sociopolitical topics, nature versus nurture, the disparity of authority, and more. What could have been a one-note joke about a society of anthropomorphic animals becomes a fully fledged lesson, resulting in one of Disney’s finer releases in recent memory.
14. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Disney was trying to figure out where to take its Renaissance to next, and it maybe went what felt too dark with The Hunchback of Notre Dame (especially Frollo’s storyline through and through). This film was completely misunderstood and misrepresented upon its release, but it has its cult fans that keep its legacy alive; we know the worth of the artistic design and the sombre storytelling that refuse to be erased by the test of time. If you haven’t watched this one lately, I highly recommend revisiting this underrated Disney cut.
13. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Disney struck gold with A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh time and time again, but its greatest success is with the feature-length release The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: an anthological recollection of stories which functions better as an eventful afternoon with beloved plush friends than as a parade of vignettes (this is the compilation of three featurettes, to be fair, but they blend together perfectly). The Poohniverse would never be the same with countless beloved properties to follow this sterling example.
12. The Emperor’s New Groove
This release started out as a neglected release, only to become one of the numerous cult favourites in Disney’s canon. Now, I feel like it is safe to say that The Emperor’s New Groove is a flat-out great film that was well ahead of its time as it picked up on meme culture, self-referential storytelling that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and other eccentric tropes that make this not a typical Disney release; however, it is for sure one of Disney’s best features of the twenty-first century precisely because it dances to the beat of its own drum.
11. Aladdin
The Disney Renaissance was now underway, and perhaps the weakest film of the near-perfect, four-film run (excluding The Rescuers Down Under, which is a nice enough film) is Aladdin. It is still a bonafide classic with pretty animation, a gripping rag-to-riches story tethered to the repercussions of karma and ill will, and hit song after hit song after hit song. With one of the earliest examples of an A-list celebrity lending their voice to an animated film (Robin Williams obviously stealing the show as The Genie), Aladdin was prepared to take animation to a whole new world.
10. Mulan
It doesn’t get the same respect as other Disney films of the nineties, but I think it should. Mulan has some of Disney’s most breathtaking animation amidst a world of war, political turmoil, and shifting family dynamics. Despite being quite fun at times, Mulan is also one of Disney’s darkest exports in some cases, truly driving home the severity of what is at stake at the core of this epic feature. Equal parts inspirational and exciting, Mulan is a Disney release I will always champion.
9. Cinderella
And thus began the next wave of Disney releases. After the studio’s most artistic period — combined with some more casual releases like The Three Caballeros and Fun and Fancy Free — Cinderella was dropped. Only the second feature film to have a Disney princess after Snow White (but the first of many more to come right afterward), Cinderella was aiming to reinvigorate the concept of a fairy tale for a new age of cinema: one where Technicolor was already on the rise and animation had to keep up with the scale of Hollywood’s latest chapter. Considering that Cinderella won a Golden Bear from the Berlin International Film Festival (an exceptionally rare feat for an animated film), consider this mission accomplished.
8. Dumbo
Ignoring the parts that haven’t aged well, Dumbo is a Disney staple for its ability to dial down the then-current state of animation with the roots of where film came from. While going the distance with its visuals (particularly the “elephants on parade” sequence full of hallucinogenic terrors), Dumbo reflects on film as the medium that was once saved for touring circuses and side shows whilst spotlighting those that society neglects. It is full of wonder, helping us feel hope in the film’s heartbreaking moments (of which there are quite a few). Even though it saves itself at the last second (quite literally in ways), Dumbo sticks its landing as a fable of perseverance.
7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
The first animated feature of them all: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves still holds up as an artistic, technical achievement that would send the film industry into territories that once seemed impossible. Animation was a tactic for shorter stories, not for an hour and a half. Disney pulled off a miracle with this lush feature that never cuts corners with what it is trying to achieve, hence the film’s staying power. Any film that lasted long enough could have been the first animated feature, but Disney — back then anyway — wanted to make art with a legacy, so there was effort plugged into each and every frame. Film, animation, and Disney would never be the same.
6. Pinocchio
While Pinocchio is heavily reliant on fantasy occurrences for fantasy’s sake (thus rendering any explanation as unnecessary), it is still a masterwork of animation that uses these exploits as a means of pushing the medium further and further. This coming-of-age feature is stuffed with nightmarish lessons and sublime visuals that cover all of the grey areas of this interesting experience we call “life”. No matter where this story takes you (from school to the belly of a gigantic whale), Pinocchio will leave you spellbound even decades after its release.
5. The Little Mermaid
The film that single-handedly saved Disney is The Little Mermaid: an animated release that felt like it came from another universe upon its arrival. The animation was crisp and precise, the story was powerful and fascinating, and it felt like we were entering a new wave of animation altogether. This feels like an impossibility after the majority of Disney’s output years before this release, but now The Little Mermaid feels like the gold standard for animation. Still, a couple of Disney Renaissance films were now on their way now that The Little Mermaid opened the door for them, including…
4. Beauty and the Beast
The first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards (and rightfully so), Beauty and the Beast is a modern retelling of a fairy tale unlike any other. With an unorthodox villain (Gaston: who would often be framed as the hero in these animated films), exquisite art direction and musical accompaniment, and some of the weightiest tension in all of Disney, Beauty and the Beast is a fully-fledged film that transcends animation altogether: it is simply a terrific film of any calibre.
3. The Lion King
Pocahontas was slated to be the next big Disney film, while the studio’s secondary team worked on some animal-based adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The rest is history. The Lion King wasn’t meant to amount to much, and it wound up being one of the most adored animated films ever released. With the scale of a major blockbuster film, the themes of life and death within a crumbling society, and the imagination of a hundred lifetimes, The Lion King is the best film of Disney’s Renaissance that still feels like an impossible order to ever match note-for-note.
2. Fantasia
There was a time when Disney’s animation was all about art more than anything else, and Fantasia was an early experiment that saw the studios exploring this objective more than ever before or since (Fantasia 2000 was a noble but weaker attempt at this very concept). Classical compositional masterpieces are paired up with interpretational animation with every single vignette functioning as its own short story, and all “numbers” work as well as possible (my personal favourite being the grim outro Night on Bald Mountain that possesses some of the best animation concepts I’ve ever seen). Fun fact: this is, oddly enough, the only film on my list to feature Disney staple Mickey Mouse.
1. Bambi
After Fantasia, Disney was still trying to make cinematic art more than anything. This adaptation of Bambi, a Life in the Woods takes the story’s concepts of life and death and sets them to the four seasons as we see the titular fawn grow up and face major challenges in his life. Each season is transcendently depicted, and the forest and its inhabitants grow along with Bambi; winter comes during the darkest chapter of his life; the forest burns down as he is an adult and facing the possibility of death himself; spring arrives when life is being created and youths are blossoming. Bambi is a painstakingly beautiful film and not only the greatest Walt Disney Animation Studios feature film release but one of the greatest animated films of all time: a masterpiece of visual splendour, poetic narrative, and unparalleled artistry.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.