Disney has produced 52 fully animated features over the span of 75 years. It is the longest running, most loved brands in the medium of film. These movies have ranged in story, audience and style. It is really fascinating to examine.
The Original
Masterpieces (1937-1942)
There is a popular misconception that all Disney animated
features are more or less the same.
This is easily disproved by the studio’s earliest efforts: Snow White (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940),
Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942). In these five movies Disney created a traditional fairy
tale, an episodic morality tale, an experimental concert, a simple children’s
story and a coming of age saga.
The characters are all different, the settings are different and even
the target audiences seem different.
While these are all children’s classics that most everybody grew up with
they do not pull any punches. Snow
White’s scary woods, the transformation of the queen, the dark implications of
Pinocchio’s perils, Dumbo’s separation from his mother and the death of Bambi’s
mom remain some of cinema’s most frightening and emotional. The most remarkable thing about these
movies is that they were created by artists who had no experience in feature
films. These were grand experiments
that were enormous risks that all paid off. Part of the reason why these are still some of the best
animated features of all time is that these were the one’s that Walt was most
passionate about. He put effort
into proving this as a legitimate art form. Once his ambition was halted and redirected he really never
had the same interest or involvement.
In some ways the animated feature never recovered from that.
The Package Features (1942-1949)
These are the least known and least popular films in
Disney’s catalog. Due to a focus
on war efforts, lack of overseas revenues and an expanding company Disney did
not have the time, money or resources to create another Snow White. Package features, movies made up of
several short films, were a necessity.
These do not all work as features, mainly due to lacking the thematic
unity of Fantasia. The first two, Saludos Amigos (1942) and Three Caballeros (1944), were based on
a good neighbor trip Disney animators took to South America and featured
familiar characters such as Donald and Goofy. The highlight of the 42 minute long Saludos Amigos was the
surreal Aquarela do Brasil, which
introduced Donald’s friend, Jose Carioca.
Donald and Jose returned in the even more surreal Three Caballeros,
which does not work as a movie but features inspired animated sequences,
particularly Ward Kimball’s unrestrained animation of the titular song. These two cost-effective features were
followed by Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947) and Melody Time (1948). All of these feature great animated
shorts such as Willie the Operatic Whale,
Mickey and the Beanstalk, Bumble Boogie and Blame it on the Samba.
The final package feature is their best, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, which is composed of two
feature quality shorts. These
movies do not hold up well today, they were a product of their time. However they added some great animation
to Disney’s catalog which they were able to reuse to greater effect on
television and home video.
A Return to Form (1950-1955)
Disney started out returning to full-length feature films
with a guaranteed success, Cinderella (1950). The movie is well told and is the
definitive on screen adaptation of the prolific fairy tale. The movie lacks the ambition of the
original five animated features, but it is full of heart and quality
animation. The next movie, Alice in Wonderland (1951) was not
received as well by critics, audiences, or even Walt himself. Alice is a very flawed film, it is not
well paced and the main character needed work. But despite being considered something of a failure in the
fifties it remains of the most popular Disney films. The memorable, colorful supporting cast has worked their way
into pop culture and people’s hearts.
This was followed with the much more successful Peter Pan (1953) which features the fun side characters and
diversions of Cinderella and Alice, as well as a relatable character arc. Wendy is the best main character since
Bambi and Captain Hook was the first Disney villain to really steal the
show. These three retellings of
familiar fairy tales became iconic, but Lady
and the Tramp (1955) was a modern story that was set in the real world but
from a different perspective. Lady
and the Tramp is vastly different from Disney’s grand fantasies as it is really
a romantic comedy. The movie was
focused on a relationship, which has become one of the best-loved onscreen
romances.
Animation as a
Secondary Priority (1955-1967)
Walt’s ambition never stopped. But as he moved into other ventures such as live-action,
television and Disneyland he was not focused on animation anymore. He was working on newer mediums that he
hadn’t yet perfected. Animated shorts,
which would cease to be produced with regularity in this period, and animated
features were no longer top priority for the studio. This is reflected in their limited, almost sporadic
output. Sleeping Beauty (1959), One
Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Sword
in the Stone (1963), and Jungle Book
(1967) are all well made features found audiences, but it is difficult to
compare them to Disney’s previous efforts. That is not to disparage these movies. There was a lot of ambition behind
Sleeping Beauty which is reflected in its beautiful backgrounds and Sword in
the Stone is still loved by many.
Jungle Book is like Alice in Wonderland, where it is not held in high
regard in the field of animation, but it is one of the most popular and
enduring Disney films among general audiences. The best film of the era was Dalmatians which features the best
characterization, writing and interesting visual styles.
Without Walt (1967-1984)
When Walt died the whole company suffered. Animation in particular, which was
reaching its lows as a medium, played it extremely safe. The
Artistocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973),
The Rescuers (1977), and Fox and the Hound (1981) are among the
weakest animated features Disney has produced. They utilize an
overreliance on celebrity personalities and cheap animation tricks. However these all found huge audiences
and have maintained sizable followings ever since. Part of this may have been the lack of animated features in
the seventies. Part of it may be
our culture’s nostalgia towards memories of childhood. But most of the continued success for
these movies is due to animation being fairly critic-proof. Emotion outweighs reason when dealing
with animation. Audiences root for
the likable Duchess and the kittens, Robin Hood is a rousing adventure, Bernard
and Bianca are fun and Todd and Copper have a great friendship. It says a lot that these movies, which
are derided by some, are so memorable and well liked. The best animated feature of this period was Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977),
which is a package feature containing three previously released shorts and new
transitional sequences. Disney’s
Pooh is clever, features terrific characterization and is just lovable. This was the start of one of Disney’s
most successful franchises and one of the best outings for the character.
Transition Period (1984-1988)
Disney had been severely faltering as a company since Walt
died. Their fortunes looked more
and more dire. There was a mass
exodus of animators lead by future competitor Don Bluth in 1979 and a plan to
buy the company out in 1984.
Animation wise the only product of note was Mickey’s Christmas Carol in
1983. Things changed when Michael
Eisner, Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg took over and Roy E. Disney returned
to his uncle’s empire.
This is chronicled well in the excellent documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty (available for
purchase on iTunes, a must for fans of Disney). The new regime inherited The Black Cauldron (1985).
It started out as a passion project for a new batch of animators but
proved to be troublesome. The film
cost a lot of time and money and became something of a shame to the
studio. There is certainly
ambition behind The Black Cauldron and it is admirable that they are trying
something darker that was fairly relevant. However the movie is one of Disney’s worst, it fails to do
much interesting. This was
followed with The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
and Oliver and Company (1988). Both of these were immense improvements
and helped pioneer the way for computer animation. However these efforts were both beat out at the box-office
by former animator Don Bluth’ An American
Tail and Land Before Time. Serious competition for a Disney
animated feature was almost unheard of at the time.
Renaissance (1989-1994)
Animation as a medium had been experiencing a gradual
renaissance since the early to mid-eighties, by 1989 things had gotten into
full swing and really changed for the better. Disney had entered the renaissance in television and 1988’s
Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but their home studio would not have a hit until Little Mermaid (1989). This movie unexpectedly changed
Disney’s fates for the better. It
introduced animation to Broadway style musicals, created marketable characters
and had the biggest audiences for an animated feature up until that point. This was followed by Rescuers Down Under (1990), which was
something of a commercial failure and is easily forgotten against the mammoth
renaissance hits. However the
Rescuers sequel is a great adventure with some beautiful flying sequences and
featured important advancements in computer animation. The Disney animated musical became the
studio’s bread and butter, further solidified by Beauty and the Beast (1991) which connected with both kids and
adults and was even nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Aladdin
(1992) was an even bigger financial success, which was followed by Lion King (1994). This was the peak of the animation
renaissance. Disney and the field
of animation had never experienced a critical and commercial success that huge. This was the one that people loved and
kept coming back to. Its success
set an almost unreachable bar and unfair comparison for Disney’s future
features.
Post-Renaissance (1995-1999)
Disney would never again reach the success of The Lion King
or be the undisputed number one animation studio. They had proved that animated features was a business to get
into and studios such as Pixar and Dreamworks would create competition, that
would later mean trouble for the Mouse House. Throughout the rest of the nineties Disney still had a firm
grasp on the animated box-office, but it was obviously not at the same level of
the early nineties. Pocahontas (1995), Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998)
and Tarzan (1999) all continued the
musical format and all featured great new songs. These movies also expanded into mature themes, the problem
is that the maturity was offset by a desire to keep these movies targeted to
children and marketable. Having
adult themes in the same movie as intrusive funny animal characters that were not
involved in the story greatly affected the movie. Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion
King were all accessible to young audiences and enthralling to adults while
creating marketable characters and songs that advanced the stories. These newer movies lacked that. That is not to disparage these movies,
they ought to be commending for trying to move the animated feature in new
directions. These movies must also
be credited for their awe-inspiring visuals. The nature in Pocahontas, scale of Hunchback, stylized
design of Hercules, action sequences in Mulan and movement in Tarzan all make
use of their unique settings. Also
new in this period was an increased focus on racial diversity and stronger
female characters. This had
however backfired in some ways and brought scrutiny to the company.
Experimental Phase (1999-2002)
After animating so many musicals and fairy tales the
animators tried new things. Fantasia 2000 (1999) was a sequel to
Fantasia. It is shorter than the
original, features almost all narrative shorts and has gags with celebrity
hosts. The shorts are varied but
all maintain quality and ambition.
The highlight being the Eric Goldberg segment of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, styled after Al
Hirschfield. Dinosaur (2000) lacks a quality narrative, but the computer
animation juxtaposed in front of real life backgrounds is beautiful. Emperor’s
New Groove (2000) is a buddy comedy with modern day gags that still hold up
as hilarious after a decade. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) has
problems in its story, but it is an attempt to expand the Disney animated
feature into a new genre for a different audience. The designs are unique and at times full of wonder. Then there is Lilo & Stitch (2002), which is an odd juxtaposition of sci-fi
tropes, Hawaiian culture, modern day family dynamics, funny animals, the story
of the ugly duckling and the songs of Elvis that absolutely work. Stitch’s funny antics got audiences to
the theatre, but the family relationships between Lilo and her sister and the
struggle of the naturally chaotic Stitch won them over. However despite Disney’s efforts to
experiment with different types of animated features these were not successful. Fantasia 2000 was quickly forgotten and
New Groove and Atlantis were box-office bombs. Dinosaur was a hit, but not big enough and that put an end
to Disney’s in house computer animated efforts. Lilo & Stitch was the biggest success the studio had in
a long time, but that success was overshadowed by those experienced by Pixar
and Dreamworks. Disney was not
rewarded for their risk-taking efforts, they were penalized for it.
Falling Out of Favor (2002-2005)
Disney was no longer the only studio producing quality
theatrical animation. Their
competition kept increasing.
Audiences were no longer getting excited for Disney’s animated
efforts. After several critical
and commercial misfires they became secondary to Pixar and Dreamworks. Treasure
Planet (2002) was another diversion from the traditional Disney feature and
a quality effort at that. But
despite all of its strengths it had a costly budget that it did not make
back. This, along with Disney’s
other recent failures and the success of other CG movies lead Disney to calling
it quits on traditional 2D animation.
Their final two traditional movies, which were already in production
were Brother Bear (2003) and Home on the Range (2004). These were two of the studio’s most
forgettable films. Brother Bear
had a gorgeous nature backdrop and was able to hit similar heartstrings to Lilo
and Stitch, but the movie was quickly forgotten. Home on the Range made even less of an impact. The premise would work as a short film,
but there was not enough in this simple story to justify its feature
length. The first CGI movie they
came out with was Chicken Little. It did much better box-office than
Disney’s other recent movies but it did not measure up the numbers its
competition was bringing in. It
was also a critical failure.
Chicken Little was just another movie in a line of Shrek knock-offs and
it had no heart or creative visuals to distinguish itself from the other
rip-offs.
Following Pixar (2005-present)
Chicken Little had made money, but Disney animation still
needed some help getting back in the public favor. That started to change when Disney bought out Pixar, whose
contract with the Mouse was up and there was fear of losing them to another
distributor. John Lasseter, now in
charge of both Pixar and Disney animation, reworked or cancelled movies already
in production. A Day with Wilbur
Robinson became Meet the Robinsons (2007)
and American Dog became Bolt (2008). These films were improvements over
Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons earned its way to the heartstrings and Bolt
has some great action set pieces and comedic moments. But these were easily overlooked when compared to
Ratatouille or WALL-E, both of which performed vastly better with critics and
audiences. Disney did have finally
had a critical and commercial success that felt like a Disney movie with Princess and the Frog (2009). This was Disney’s return to traditional
animation. However while making
money it was still outperformed by the many competing animated films. Tangled
(2010) was the most successful Disney movie since The Lion King and it got
people recognizing the studio for the first time in a long time. Even though Disney is no longer the
highest regarded animation studio their output is improving. The quality animation continued with Winnie the Pooh (2011), another
installment of the Pooh franchise which utilizes the style and characterization
of Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh while telling its own self-contained
story. However this responsibly
budgeted movie, which did break even, was released with little fanfare from the
studio who buried it by releasing it on the same day as the final Harry
Potter. They put much more careful
marketing behind Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
which managed to please audiences of all ages and backgrounds with its relevant
setting and clever premise. Disney
is still making the best animated features after 75 years in the business and
they show no signs of stopping. Frozen (2013) has yet to be
released. But Disney seems to hold
little clout anymore and are definitely seen by the public as being in the
shadows of other animated movies.
Nevertheless the longevity of this magical studio continues to amaze and
delight.
