Ranking Every Disney Film!

Alright! After a month-long endeavor, I have seen every single animated Disney film. So, what better way to celebrate than taking another month to rank all of them? Now, just to be clear, these are just animated Disney films. No weird hybrids like Pete's Dragon, no Pixar, no Blue Sky, and none of the stop motion stuff like Frankenweenie or Nightmare Before Christmas.

This is a cool collage

Another thing I'm ignoring is all of the terrible DisneyToon Studios films - direct-to-DVD sequels, Planes, and the sort. Additionally, live-action/animated hybrids like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Mary Poppins will be eliminated. 

Fun fact about Disney, their films have been characterized by ages:

The Golden Age, 1937-1942: Stuff like Snow White and Bambi, the first few animated films where everyone was revolutionary.

The Wartime Era 1943-1949: These films were extremely short and full of vignettes. Some were paid for by the government to strengthen ties with Mexico, seeing as it was WWII, and others were just... bad.

The Silver Era 1950-1959: The Silver Era is full of all the Disney classics classics that everyone seems to know, like Cinderella or Peter Pan.

The Bronze Age, 1970-1988: After Walt Disney's death, the company was freewheeling. They had no clue what they were doing, and the emergence of cheaper animation resulted in a very scratchy and comparatively low-budget look.

Disney Renaissance, 1989-1999: This era includes all of your favorite Disney flicks, like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. It was a period of artistic and financial growth, the return to form Disney needed.

Post-Renaissance, 2000-2009: This was kicked off by the retirement of Michael Eisner, who was Disney's CEO during the Renaissance. During this age, we had the emergence of CGI, competing studios such as DreamWorks and Pixar, and some of Disney's worst ever movies. 

Revival Era, 2010-Present?: This is continuing on until today, categorized by financial, critical, and artistic success comparable to the Disney Renaissance, as well as the complete replacement of hand-drawn animation. 

So, without any further ado, let's begin. Imma be trying to keep these descriptions short since there are 58 of these things and I don't want to spend a ton of time talking about movies like Dinosaur. These are just my SparkNotes on the film, basically. Mental notes I remember. 

I spent an hour making this for all you visual learners. Appreciate it.

60. Make Mine Music* (1946)

So... I couldn't actually see Make Mine Music. It's not on Disney+ for unspecified reasons.

59. Home on the Range (2004)

Home on the Range has got to be the worst Disney film I have ever seen. It's a comedy about three cows who go on a quest to save their farm from being bought by an evil yodeling cow wrangler. Between the extremely lackluster animation, unfunny jokes, and overall terribleness, this is the film that single-handedly killed hand-drawn animation. It's definitely the only film where I actually wanted that hour and a half back, it was truly awful. 

What a stupid, simple, animation style

58. Melody Time (1948)

Melody Time is my least favorite of the wartime movies, simply because none of the animated segments really click. Perhaps my favorite is the short, Little Toot. Little Toot's my favorite because it's about a tiny boat that accidentally kills millions of people by crashing a giant boat into New York City.

Containing 7 segments of extremely varying length, with the longest being Pecos Bill at nearly 20 minutes long, Melody Time is a mostly bad movie. It was boring, overlong at an hour and sixteen minutes, and the only interesting thing about it is the sheer amount of tobacco they were able to show on screen. 

57. Saludos Amigos (1942)

It was WWII and tensions were high - and the U.S. had a highly successful animation studio. The idea was to make a movie that would strengthen ties with South America to counteract their ties to Nazi Germany. The result? A live-action-animated hybrid, a strange documentary (?) on that culture. In the film, Donald Duck visits Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil and learns about all of their fabulous tourism spots. And that's it. That's all the film is.

Fun fact: It's also the shortest Disney feature, running in at 42 minutes.

This was a weird movie

56. Chicken Little (2005)

Chicken Little is what happened when Pixar got just a bit too good with the CGI gimmick. Disney tried to copy their excellent storytelling and animation without any of the... good stuff, resulting in animation that's subpar to movies that came out before it (Incredibles was a year earlier than this). It was Disney's first completely animated film, and... it's not great. It's robotic, and it's unfunny.

Which is really bad when the movie is trying to be a comedy. I mean, this is the first Disney film to completely rely on pop culture references as the only source of entertainment, and I'm pretty sure most of them were really dated even in 2005. 

This was really bad. 

55. Fantasia 2000

Fantasia 2000 was Disney's attempt to recreate the classic zaniness of the first Fantasia from 1940. While we typically scoff at legacy sequels, this one gets a pass as it beat the legacy sequel trend and featured zero returning cast members. That is, except for Mickey Mouse, because they literally just ctrl c ctrl v'd him in.

Unlike the first Fantasia, none of these sequences go together particularly well. Like, in the first one, it seemed like every new segment was an escalation of the previous one, slowly building up to a finale. The second one? The quality was scattershot, with some segments being surprisingly creative and others routine, each being presented by celebrities doing unfunny bits. I did, however, like the flying whale segment. That was very entertaining.

This flying whale stuff was dope

54. Dinosaur (2000)

Dinosaur was Disney's first attempt at a mostly CGI film. The backgrounds and the nature are completely real, while all the dinosaurs are CGI. The animation is fine for the most part, especially given the time period. 

But Dinosaur's biggest fault is that it is not entertaining. It's not funny or memorable, and I would be completely fine not seeing it again. However, the first 10 minutes where an Iguanadon egg is chased by predators is incredibly fun and makes me think the film would've worked better as a Genndy Tartakovsky-type project with minimal dialogue. 

So bland

53. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

Apparently people like The Rescuers Down Under better than the first Rescuers? What? The only thing that this does better than the first one is the flying scenes. The combination of the CGI and the animated birds flying is just really fun to watch.

But, the film has problems. It's another Disney film where the main character is a stock child. It's a retread of the first one set in Australia. Its characters are all stereotypical Aussies. And, it has, like, a five-minute scene in the middle where these animals try to escape cages that completely throws the pacing off and doesn't do anything for the film moving forward. And it has another five-minute segment where a bird pilot is being fixed by evil doctors or something. It was all rather pointless.

But, these flying scenes were pretty dope

52. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was one of the best War Time era films Disney made, mostly because instead of having 8-ish tiny plots it has two big plots, so you get proper time to understand and begin to like the characters.

The better of the two is definitely Mr. Toad, a celebrity who runs a town into bankruptcy and must face the consequences. It's a nice little diddy, neither a waste of time nor particularly bad. The Adventures of Ichabod, however, fell flat for me. I liked the Headless Horseman stuff and not much else. 

This is a cool shot, I'll give it that

51. Oliver & Company (1988)

Oliver & Company is a simple film with simple goals, namely making Oliver Twist star dogs. But, the film isn't that... good. All the stuff with Oliver and the little kid is fun, but the movie really derails in its side characters. The human adult in the film is so scummy it made it hard to root for any of his dogs.

There are so many unlikable characters and archetypes that the entire movie comes off as generic, definitely more in line with a direct-to-DVD movie from a rival studio. However, the "Why Should I Worry" song was an absolute bop and I stand by that segment. 

Even with this many characters, every single one of them fails to be memorable

50. Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Fun and Fancy Free is a package film from the 40s and probably the most famous, mostly thanks to the film's second half. But, first plots first. The first plot of the film is about a bear trying to get with this other bear. It goes on for a while and has a relatively fine song (Say It With A Slap), but there's a reason you've never seen it. 

But the second part is actually kinda classic. It's the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk but with Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. Funny enough, it's the only one of these Disney flicks to have Goofy in it. Donald's in a few and Mickey's in Fantasia, but this one holds all the Goofy cards.

My biggest gripe with the film is that there are some live-action scenes involving a little girl's birthday party, and for some reason, a ventriloquist was invited and he brings the creepiest doll that would ever graze the big screen. It didn't need a frame story but it has one. 

Regardless, it's nice to have all these characters in a movie

49. The Three Caballeros (1944)

The Three Caballeros is the best of the Wartime films. I mean, that doesn't make it great, but it's fine. It's fine. It introduced some fun characters, and it had some good visuals, but.... it was weird. It was really weird. It's mostly about Donald Duck trying to get with some girl he meets on vacation, so that was odd. The ending of the film is also Disney's most absolute bonkers ending ever, featuring portraits and fourth wall breaks and I don't even know what. 

The best thing about this was the DuckTales episode it would later inspire

48. The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Percy Jackson prototype for how not to adapt a book, The Black Cauldron is vastly different than its source material, The Book of Three. The author of the original book said that as well, but he also said that as its own thing it was rather enjoyable. Which I half agree with. Parts of the Black Cauldron are enjoyable. Stuff with Gurgi, stuff with the Horned King, all of the dark stuff, that was cool.

But other than that stuff, The Black Cauldron is extremely generic. It's plain bread. It's the middlest of middles, with basic characters, bland designs, and very boring pacing and action, as well as a nonsensical plot and kid's movie stereotypes that are constantly at odds with the film's otherwise dark themes. Out of all the movies that Disney actually needs to remake, The Black Cauldron is up there because the source material is actually quite fantastic. 

This was strangely off-kilter for Disney

47. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

A lot of people say Atlantis: The Lost Empire is "Underrated" - a "Diamond in the Rough," if you will. Honestly, there's a reason that this wasn't a big movie or particularly liked. It's just one of those movies that you either know a lot about because it was big when you were a kid or you've never heard of it.  

Atlantis is lacking in several aspects. There are way too many characters, awful CGI mixed with unique hand-drawn animation, and a general lack of anything interesting going on or stakes. But it has Michael J. Fox in it, so it's got that going for it.

Cool concept, bad execution

46. Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Meet the Robinsons is, in theory, a good movie. It has a surprisingly heartfelt and potentially powerful story, a complex villain, and it has some of the darkest themes a Disney movie has ever done, and yet it just doesn't work.

So, where did it go wrong? Well, simply, the characters and animation. While CGI may fit the techno story, the CGI at the time, at least in Disney's case, was not up to the task. Plus there are way too many characters in the movie to the point where you can't connect or get to know any of them. When you go to the future and meet the magical family, so many characters are introduced and none of them make an impression.

I really want to like it. They have gold here, a great story with a ton of emotional weight behind it, but it's smothered by bland CGI and an overabundance of characters. Again, a movie that could actually use a live-action remake. 

If your movie has this many characters, you need to get rid of some

45. Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas is another Disney film with problems. While the music, songs, and cast are all terrific, the actual story is lacking. That and the numerous historical inaccuracies, as well as the landmarks... guys, the James River doesn't have waterfalls. I live in Virginia, I know. The James River is a mucky mess of a big river. I'm not asking for The New World, but a semblance of reality would be nice.

But Pocahontas is... kind of bad? Too much of the film is devoted to the characters Meeko and the Prissy Pug. And the film's ultimate message of acceptance and peace between one another, compared to what actually happened, is hilariously out of sync. It's so anti-history that it's almost infuriating to watch. 

Don't let the gorgeous visuals catch you off guard - she was 14 when they first met

44. The Sword in the Stone (1963)

The Sword in the Stone is... getting a remake for Disney+, and it could use one. A lot of the film is spent on the teaching of simple life lessons to Arthur as opposed to his far cooler and more epic quest to unite the kingdom, found the round table, and his confrontations with Morgan le Fay. And when he finally does the one remotely King Arthur-y thing he does (Draw the sword from the stone), it hasn't been built up to or even mentioned for the past hour.

So other than a complete disregard for the source material, which Disney has a problem with, what's left is an hour and ten minutes of Merlin teaching Arthur about flying and swimming, as well as a surprisingly sensual scene where a squirrel is trying to mate with a 12-year-old? Is that okay? Did anyone else think that was... weird?

For a movie titled "The Sword in the Stone," the actual scene is barely built up to

43. The Fox and the Hound (1981)

I really liked the Fox and the Hound, but... it was trying too hard to be a kid's film. At its core, The Fox and the Hound is a really cool and inspiring story about two friends born on opposite ends of the spectrum; Hunter and prey, the bond they forge, and what they overcome due to their powerful friendship.

But I have nitpicks with the film I can't get over. For starters, this antagonist dog Chief is hit by a train and survives. A TRAIN. One does not get hit by a train and live to tell the tale. Plus Chief's death would have given the fox and the hound's friendship rift a far greater impact. Plus the film is halfheartedly trying to be a musical. There's one song that's sung, but other than that? Nothing, just a "this is a kids' movie, they need to sing a song." 

42. Fantasia (1940)

Fantasia was a giant mishmash of stuff. The good news is that a lot of the segments work. The bad news is that some of them didn't work. Mostly the hippo ballerinas, which, while iconic, was extremely strange. But the ones that stuck around were classics of the utmost order. Mickey chopping up some broomsticks was classic. A bunch of demons swirling around a mountain was terrifying. Some dinosaurs killing each other was fairly graphic, and there were some really weird bits with centaurs.

But, every sequence seems to go in order. They build on each other, creating an extremely grand and dark finale that culminated on Bald Mountain. 

This is all anyone remembers for good reason.

41. Treasure Planet (2002)

A lot of people say Treasure Planet is underrated. But it's also a given that if a Disney film is not deemed an "instant classic," it immediately becomes "underrated," because somehow everyone grew up with at least some Disney film they hold unconditional love for, no matter the quality.

Not to say that Treasure Planet is bad. It's honestly just okay. What stands out to me is how easily the Treasure Island material translated into a big space adventure. It looks effortless in the film and makes an extremely old story more relatable and cooler for the modern audience.

I like most of the characters (Except for the cat lady, just for the design) and the film contains some of the most stunning visuals ever in a Disney film. But at the end of the day, it's not that good. The main character is unlikable, there's too much going on, and there are so many backstabbings it's hard to keep track of who's on who's side. Looks great, though.

Cool visuals do not a movie make

40. Winnie the Pooh (2011)

The first Winnie the Pooh movie, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, is one of my favorite movies of all time, so when I first signed up for Disney+, this hour and ten-minute film was one of the first things I watched. And I was, honestly, disappointed.

I'm not a big fan of movies or television shows that wholly rely on simple misunderstandings. It's one of the reasons I stopped watching the Arrowverse shows - So imagine my dismay when the entire plot of this film relies on the Pooh characters thinking a note left by Christopher Robin indicated that he was captured by a Backson. But it's something I could see the characters doing, because, after all, Winnie the Pooh is a bear of very little brain. But the only reason this film is above films like Treasure Planet and Fantasia is that it's short, so it's not like a huge obligation to watch or anything. It also has one of cinema's most hilarious moments.

Short and sweet, just like the actual Winnie the Pooh.

39. Frozen II (2019)

Frozen II is a lesser movie than the first one and in general. It's half-baked in its mythology, the "Bending" is just Avatar lite, there are too many unmemorable songs, and the film's ending is... disappointing.

There was no reason for Elsa to leave Arendelle. At the end of the first movie, she had finally found herself and was ruling Arendelle for happily ever after. So to have a sudden change where she feels isolated... again... and then decides to go live in the woods was just "meh." Plus I hate that Kristoff was sidelined for, like, the entire movie.

I also disliked that they cut out the movie's best song ("Gotta Get This Right") and the songs that remain aren't particularly memorable. They don't flow together well and their placement in the film feels random as if they said "We need an album's worth of songs and we have Broadway singers. Have at it." Actually, it's not just the songs that are unmemorable. It's the entire movie. No one talks about it, at least not like the first Frozen, which was still culturally relevant all the way up until this movie came out. In fact, I would say that this movie killed the Frozen hype. It's fun to talk about with younger cousins and not much else. 

When did animation get this good? Holy crap, that's good.

38. Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Ralph Breaks the Internet is the last and best Disney sequel that they've made (So far). When I first saw the film, it was a pretty big "Meh" for me. It wasn't bad... it just wasn't particularly great either. If you could take out all of the outdated Internet trends, I bet the film would be a lot better. Like, you can make a movie that references dated things while still making it fun for future audiences (Back to the Future), and this just isn't it.

However, the reason we're all here is to watch the Oh My Disney sequence, which is not only a great scene in general but also a legendary moment in the Disney pantheon. While the climax is jarringly creepy and bloated, I would say the biggest problem with the film is the sidelining of fan-favorite characters from the first one: Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sergeant Calhoun.

Who cares about the plot when it leads to this brilliant scene?

37. Brother Bear (2003)

Brother Bear was one of the best films of the lot I had never seen, but it was not without its faults. A lot of the stuff in the movie is good, but it just barely fails to reach greatness. All of the stuff, in the beginning, was cool, but it was a bit long, using up nearly 1/3 of the film. The aspect ratio change was very cool, and the emotional journey that the film should have carried was potent. Should have.

You see, this film, like Tarzan, does not have songs sung by the characters, but instead has songs sung by Phil Collins. But while Tarzan's songs didn't intrude on the film and fit well in the setting, the Phil Collins songs in the film set 10,000 years ago didn't work. It's fine with montage sequences, like the opening of Tarzan, but here, the emotional climax of the film - where it turns out the main character killed the supporting character's mom - isn't heard, but rather montage'd with a Phil Collins song. 

This is a good, gorgeous movie with surprisingly likable moose.

36. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

The Great Mouse Detective was another interesting find. Sherlock Holmes with mice. Honestly, this film's biggest problem is that it feels strangely off-brand for Disney, like Oliver & Company or The Black Cauldron, a direct-to-DVD flick with a comparatively uninspired twist. But while those two were more or less trash, this was a surprisingly good find.

It has some truly great characters, most notably Professor Ratigan, who has a totally dope villain song out of nowhere and dies a classically gruesome Disney death. I liked this one's interpretation of Watson, the Sherlock was likable (Something a lot of Sherlock Holmes adaptations have struggled with), and, yes, there is a stock Disney child in it. It wouldn't be a Disney film from the 80s without a forgettable child character.

Good movie.
Points off for having the unoriginal decision to have generic mice as the characters, like every other kid's movie from the 80s.

35.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Why exactly is this consistently ranked as one of the greatest animated films ever made? Like, it would make a serious case for one of the most important films ever made (Along with The Birth of a Nation and Toy Story), but best? No. Snow White has a lot of problems. The 20 minutes of washing hands and singing with each other found just past the hour mark make the film feel far too long (1h 30 mins) and throws the pacing off.

I like the first half of the film! It moves quickly, has great songs, introduces a scary villain, has terrific animation and designs, and has some iconic imagery. I like the finale of the film, a suitably dark ending for a dark climactic chase scene followed by a random dude kissing a 14-year-old's corpse. 

But the film struggles. After being so fast-paced and entertaining, we suddenly take such a deep and slow dive into forgettable territory via the dwarfs and their numerous melody times. Plus the film's message is... outdated... look pretty, clean the house, cook dinner, and earn your stay. It's a very pre-suffrage message.

This scene goes on for soooooo long

34. Bolt (2008)

Bolt was...surprisingly good. For some reason, I always balked at the idea of Bolt. I just never wanted to watch it. But, as it came up in the schedule, I watched it. And dang. It was actually pretty great, but not without faults. The biggest problem is that for an hour and a half film, the first 15 minutes are spent on a fake action sequence. The first five would've sufficed, but it went on for a while. Which was fine, I liked that stuff. It was equal parts Truman Show and an action movie. That was cool and fun, and an idea we don't see often.

The second half of the film? Eh... I'm not a big road trip movie guy. So many stereotypes, so many of the same scenes from film to film, the same emotional beats... once you've seen one you've seen 'em all. And the climax was forgettable. Like, I can't remember it... at all.

This is good. The animation just wasn't there.

33. The Rescuers (1977)

The Rescuers was a film I had never seen. And I liked it! Surprisingly! And I liked it more than the sequel, which is apparently an unpopular opinion? But this film was pretty unique. A secret underground group of mice going on missions to save children. I really liked the janitor mouse as an unwitting protagonist and his relationship with the competent foreign mouse. 

But the thing that made this movie worth it for me was a scene where this little orphan girl Penny, who's only six or seven, is crying because she wasn't adopted. A pair of potential parents took a little red-haired girl over her, and now Penny is devastated because she doesn't think she's pretty enough to be loved. That broke me. I just - ergh. 

That scene alone was enough to make up for whatever faults the movie had. Plus the villain and her alligators were scary, but the climax lost me. It became too long and boring and I zoned out until they got flushed down a giant whirlpool.

This is an... okay concept

32. Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Ah. Lady and the Tramp. Mostly known for the "Kissing through spaghetti" scene that played in literally every trailer on a DVD in the early 2000s, the film has also gathered notoriety for it possibly "Containing outdated cultural depictions" via Siamese cats with an annoyingly catchy song. 

But, forgetting that, Lady and the Tramp is a fun film. The animation is great, the story is good, the characters are likable (Especially the Tramp), and a wide cast of supporting characters helps bolster the film.

What would romance be like without spaghetti?

31. The Aristocats (1970)

To be honest, a lot of people seem to not like The Aristocats, calling it a middling effort from Disney. Me? No, I won't disagree. This one coasts by on pure nostalgia from watching it all the time as a kid. It's a fun tale about some kittens who go on adventures after a butler understandably goes insane following his employer's request to leave the kittens all of her money upon her death.

It has some jazzy songs, some great-looking animated food, and an almost underrated romance story, but The Aristocats ultimately amounts to "okay, I guess." 

Note the "Scratchy" animation - made by not erasing lines.
This is especially apparent when characters move

30. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

There's nothing wrong with Raya and the Last Dragon. I liked it way more than I expected to, honestly. But when you're facing off against straight-up classics, some of the best movies ever made, you're going to need more than "Better than expected." Luckily, Raya packs enough of a unique punch, be it worldbuilding, characters, scale, musical score, or surprisingly dark premise, to make it an upper-tier Disney flick. 

I did have a few problems with the movie - I felt as if the Last Dragon, Sisu, was trying too hard to be the funny fourth-wall-breaking character every post-Aladdin Disney movie has been required to have, and the very obvious 2010s humor doesn't fit in the film's ancient and mythic setting. I also dislike cloud-based villains, they give me flashbacks to The Rise of the Silver Surfer and Green Lantern.

29. Bambi (1942)

Bambi is only an hour and ten minutes long. That's not a long movie, but dang, does it feel long. Soooooo long. You probably remember Bambi because of the iconic "Hunter shoots Bambi's mom" scene, but that happens 40 minutes into the film. That's a long time to watch Bambi make friends with the local wildlife and fall on ice, and the number of times that happens makes the film feel repetitive.

After Bambi's Mom dies the movie does a light reset with Bambi now as an adult doing a whole mating ritual with the girl Bambi, Faline. And, as common for animated features at the time, a lot of the movements in the film, like rain falling, coordinate with the soundtrack, which is always satisfying.

Bambi is full of beautiful colors and likable characters

28. Pinocchio (1940)

Pinocchio is not only one of my most misspelled words but also a fairly entertaining and mildly disturbing feature. Full of memorable moments, gorgeous and revolutionary animation, a giant whale, cruel and sadistic bosses who abuse their workers, and children being turned into donkeys and then being taken as slaves. If Pinocchio wasn't animated, it would be extremely depressing.

Like, it's so messed up. But, not as messed up as the book, in which Pinocchio kills Jiminy Cricket and watches his donkey friend die of exhaustion at the hands of his owner. But still messed up. But for the movie, Pinocchio is a sweet and cautionary adventure, with a lot of stuff to like or be flat-out terrified of. The characters are fun, the atmosphere is fun, the movie's iconic, and there's an absolutely adorable cat, and yet, with all early Disney films, the pacing is a bit off. Oh, and it's the origin of the Disney fanfare. Bet you didn't know that.

As Jiminy Cricket shows Pinocchio his umbrella, Pinocchio contemplates his murder

27. Sleeping Beauty (1951)

Sleeping Beauty is another good example of a bland female protagonist. Princess Aurora, a doe-eyed teen who falls in love with a stranger in the woods and later is sidelined in her own movie and rescued by the prince, is, surprisingly, not the most interesting character in her own movie.

Other than the actual Sleeping Beauty? Really good. The film keeps it short at an hour and ten minutes, Prince Phillip is a surprisingly well-developed character when compared to Prince Charming, Maleficent was cool, Dragon Maleficent was cool, the song production was on point (Hail to the Princess Aurora and Once Upon A Dream come to mind), and it has a wide supporting cast of likable characters.

And again, kissing sleeping teenagers. To put it in modern-day equivalents, Aurora would be a sophomore in High School. I get that it was the norm to be married young back then (Shorter life spans), but... dang. It's still kind of weird.

Who cares about age gaps when your animation looks this good?
Also, she doesn't look remotely like a 16-year-old.

26. Robin Hood (1973)

Robin Hood is my court-appointed "Underrated classic." It wasn't Atlantis but rather the fun fantasy adventure with swashbuckling action and one incredible theme that's been stuck in my head forever that caught my eye as a child. However, the animation is in that "Scratchy" style which admittedly looks far worse than their previous efforts. 

I also have to nitpick the choice to make them animals. There's no plot-driven reason that any of these characters should be animals other than to make the film more marketable to children and provide for balloon-snake hijinks. 

The characters were animals for the sake of being animals. Otherwise, why would he be a fox?

25. The Princess and the Frog (2009)

The Princess and the Frog gets a lot of creativity points for taking the Princess and the Frog story and setting it in 1920s New Orleans, which leads to a fantastic atmosphere and an appropriate "Work hard enough and your dreams will come true" message as well as a great emphasis on soul food, which ends up looking ridiculously tasty in the film. 

But as the movie is a Disney flick through and through, do we have a villain song? Check. "I want" song? Check. Duet song? Check. Funny song sung by the comedic character? Double check. It checks all of the right boxes for a fun, if formulaic, animated feature. It's great but not as great as some of the other classics on the list. 

Those beignets do look really good. Can I... have... some?

24. The Little Mermaid (1989)

Everyone loves The Little Mermaid. It's a classic tale full of bravery, courage, strength, heart, and love. But I have a couple issues with this one. First off, Ariel's really ungrateful. She lives in a palace, with servants, a caring father, like, 7 sisters, and everyone thinks she's the bees knees. But what does she want? More. She sings a whole song about it and everything.

Second off, Ariel doesn't even know Prince Eric. She stalked him on his boat and then sang to his unconscious body. That's not true love by any definition but it's enough for Ariel, so she goes and becomes mute to meet this one guy she stalked. So... just a terrible role model. 

But, the film is gorgeously animated. The songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are all brilliant as usual. Ursula is a big, bad, bombastic, and memorable villain with a killer song. Prince Eric is unusually fleshed out and likable for a Disney movie love interest. Just a real solid movie.

Fun fact: 16-year-olds do not look like this. But whatever, I guess it's a fantasy world with mermaids.

23. The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book was definitely the best surprise find. Yeah, The Jungle Book is a classic, but honestly? I had never really cared much for it, having never seen it and never having a real desire to see it. But, alas, I saw it. And, surprisingly, I liked it! It had a bunch of great characters, songs that I sing to this day, and a fantastic finale involving lots of fire. Also, "I Wanna Be Like You" straight-up slaps. Like, that song is bloody fantastic. 

Most surprisingly though, the remake is an improvement, more tonally even and with better visuals.
 

22. Peter Pan (1953)

Peter Pan is a classic, albeit a racist one. But before we get to that, let's just talk about my theory about musical cues. I noticed that one of the biggest things that the worse Disney films were lacking was a good musical score. Not the sung music, but the actual musical score. Try to hum the theme of Atlantis or Chicken Little. You can't. But most of the more iconic Disney flicks have iconic scores as well. When you think of Peter Pan, you probably think of the sly whistle sound. 

The Peter Pan character is a classic trickster and Hook randomly kills people, which was enjoyably needlessly violent. Nearly every other character suffers, though. Michael and John are barely developed, Wendy is the submissive housewife 50s stereotype, and the Native Americans... uhhhh... the less said about the Native American characters the better. Let's just say that while "What Makes the Red Man Red" song is super catchy, it should not be sung aloud by a white dude like me. 

Never forget that this interaction goes, "Girls talk too much," "Yes de-," "Get on with it girl!"

21. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Alice in Wonderland is a strange movie. Really, really strange. Weird. Capital W weird. Just a very, very strange and different movie. But it's nice! First of all, the film is like one of the LSD-infused dreams of the 60s that came out in the early 50s. It's Disney's Yellow Submarine, with a slow, weird, epic plot, brilliant and zany animation, and a surprisingly heartfelt story.

But despite all of the strange visuals and insanity plotting, the film is likable through its characters and story. The story of Alice is a fairly simple one, and the film consequently spends time developing a completely unnecessary and weird tale about a walrus who eats babies. That segment really messed me up.

I was surprised to find myself moved to tears by the film, specifically the segment "Very Good Advice," which is gut-wrenching to watch when you remember that Alice is 7. She's just a kid who wants to go home! She didn't ask for this. She just doesn't want to be in a strange life-threatening land and wishes she had never come.

Just look at how cute that cat is!

20. Big Hero 6 (2014)

Big Hero 6 was a pretty big "Meh" for me when I first saw it. But rewatching it, I have a newfound appreciation for it. The humor in the film is top-notch, with the adorable Baymax being... nearly every joke. But he's adorable! And it shows Disney's improvement pertaining to lots of supporting characters, most of whom make an impact. And as far as superhero films go this one's really good, taking a random Marvel comic and turning it into a respectable Disney property. 

But the film is not without faults, specifically in regard to the villain. Underdeveloped, trying to be a dramatic reveal that makes no sense, forgettable, and not scary for most of the film. And, his main goal is to create a giant blue light beam that shoots up into the sky with rubble surrounding it. How original.

But the film has excellent design, from the architecture in San Fransokyo to the design of the costumes to the design of the characters. Everything is good. My biggest gripe with the film is probably that Tadashi's death isn't as impactful as it could be. He's no Mufasa. But for the most part, it's a really good film with minor problems that keep it from true greatness and put it into the forgettable territory.

Having the characters be color coded and looking different is a good way to make them all unique

19. Frozen (2013)

Frozen by itself is a really good movie. If you can forget all of the over-marketization that happened, forget however many sequels they make, and forget the intense years of "Let It Go" covers by small children, Frozen is a really good movie. First of all, the characters are all very likable. Anna plays the part of "First awkward Disney princess wonderfully," Kristoff is a surprisingly cool and likable guide through the mountain, Olaf is really funny, and Hans, while seeming not at all evil and actually heroic and a really nice guy, has a good turn as a villain. It didn't really make sense, but it was very neat to have a finale where true love's kiss doesn't become a deus ex machina.

And Elsa. I'm not sure why everyone loves Elsa. Emotionally cold, distant, and the main villain for most of the movie. I guess it's nice for her to have character development, but she still comes off as a relatively impassive character for most of the movie. Oh, and the songs are all brilliant. It's not often that nearly every song in a movie hits as memorable, but Frozen did. The only one that doesn't land at all is "Fixer-Upper," which I often find myself skipping when listening to the soundtrack.

If Frozen had been given the same reaction as Tangled or Princess and the Frog, everyone would love it.
Because it's so popular, it's open to more scrutiny. 

18. Tarzan (1999)

The first few minutes of Tarzan are kind of like the first few minutes of Up - Surprisingly sad. I mean, in three minutes you've had a tiger eat a baby and a different baby's parents. That's messed up, and Phil Collins' jazzy "Two Worlds" montage music makes that horrifying story an audio treat. 

But for the rest of the film, the Tarzan character is a lovable man-ape, who, while strange, is humanized in unique and interesting ways, like stealing elephant hair to prove himself to a gorilla (Peer pressure and want of acceptance transcend species). Jane was doing the adorable dork thing years before Anna, and the main villain, Clayton, is a properly scary villain with a surprisingly graphic death. 

Tarzan also serves as an interesting retread of Beauty and the Beast.
Here's a story about a brunette yellow-dressed lady falling in love with a man who needs to learn how to be civil.

17. Encanto (2022) 

Encanto is one of Disney's most recent efforts and a wholly enjoyable film about accepting yourself and coming together as a community in times of tragedy. The film also has some unbearably catchy numbers such as "Surface Pressure," "We Don't Talk About Bruno," and "All of You," all courtesy of Disney's muse Lin-Manuel Miranda. 

The film also smartly avoids the "unmemorable large ensemble" complaint through the aforementioned music numbers. Nearly every character is given time to shine musically and that does wonders for the memorability of the supporting cast. The only things I can really dislike about it are the doll-like CGI every post-Tangled Disney film has used and the lack of a definable villain.

16. The Emperor's New Groove (2000) 

The Emperor's New Groove was Disney's first comedy. Like, full-on, not trying to be a grand romance like Beauty and the Beast, not trying to be a big event like The Lion King, just a small-scale comedy, where the biggest stakes are that the kingdom is taken over by a woman who has 5 years left in her, tops.

And, unlike all of the mid-2000s Disney comedies, this one actually works. Why? Because it's funny. It's not relying on dated pop culture references like Chicken Little, and it's not anti-funny like Home on the Range. This one builds itself up with great vocal performances, hilarious writing, and some excellent visual comedy. And Kronk. Kronk is all three of those qualities combined into one perfect character.

Kronk

15. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

This last of Disney's B-List 70s "Scratchy" classics, maybe this adaptation isn't deserving of being this high on the list, but I think it is. The first thing I should note is that this is the most accurate adaptation of a book Disney has ever made since they literally took the book and animated it. Disney also is the one to thank for removing the hyphens in Winnie-the-Pooh. But as for the film, let's just acknowledge how good all of the voice acting is. These dudes literally saw some sketches and then created some of the most iconic voices to ever exist.

And the sheer amount of characters (9), all having distinct personalities and absolutely iconic voices is kind of an unheard-of achievement. And do you know how many songs are in the film? 10 songs, and for a movie with only 1h 10 minutes, that's pretty darn impressive. And most of the songs, while sounding alike, are all unique and memorable. It's a short and sweet film. I can find no faults with it.

14. Aladdin (1992)

Everyone loves Aladdin, but most of that hype comes from Robin Williams' iconic genie. Aside from that, it's a fairly standard plot starring a lead character who lies about everything. One of my main problems with Aladdin is the title character. He lies about everything and everything turns out fine. He causes nearly every problem in this movie (and especially in the sequels). I really like Jasmine, even if her"I don't want to be a princess!" shtick runs thin after seeing our protagonist scrounge for food. 

While Robin Williams isn't the sole reason people like this film, he certainly earns most of the goodwill. It goes without saying that the Genie is one of the most iconic characters to ever come out of the Mouse House that carries an otherwise pretty great movie. 

Who cares about stereotypes when you have Robin Williams?

13. Dumbo (1941)

Dumbo is barely over an hour long, running in at 1h 4 mins. This is one of Disney's shortest films ever made, leading to some jarring pacing issues. It's about an elephant who can fly, and then he only flies two minutes before the movie abruptly ends. 

But, aside from the ending and, like, a seven-minute-long scene where the main child character is wasted, the film is sweet. So sweet. Dumbo is facing all types of discrimination, people who treat him and his mother unfairly, and serious adversity due to something he can't control. And he's only a baby! Shame on them. Plus the "Baby Of Mine" sequence is, no doubt, one of the saddest scenes in any Disney film.

Also, screw these elephants in particular.

12. Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella is a freaking classic. Yeah, like, half of the film's runtime is devoted to mice trying not to be eating by a cat, but when the movie shines, it shines brightly. Despite some thinly developed characters like Prince Charming, who has (at best) three lines of dialogue? And he doesn't remember what Cinderella looks like after spending an entire night dancing with her?

But I really love Cinderella. The songs are all amazing and classics, Cinderella is, while admittedly another doe-eyed Disney female lead, a great protagonist for the movie. She fits the tone of the film perfectly, and the movie wouldn't work if she was any different. Let's also take a moment to appreciate the songs. "A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes" "Sing Sweet Nightingale," and the Oscar-nominated gibberish song, "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." All three of those are classics. 

Lady Tremaine (Evil step mom) is my #1 most hated animated character. Screw her in particular.

11. Zootopia (2016)

Zootopia was a truly great film, due in part to fantastic animation, relevant themes, and likable characters. It's Disney's first buddy-cop detective movie since The Great Mouse Detective and they hit it out of the park. I especially love the two leads of the film, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, an optimistic police officer and a con artist who work together to uncover a mystery leading to a predator/prey rift in society. 

I also love that the film has non-human characters but doesn't do it for marketing reasons. Think of Robin Hood or Sing. Why were they animals? I dunno. Why are the characters in Zootopia animals? Because that's literally the point of the movie. That our differences shouldn't be feared but rather used as a focal point to bring us together.

Judy Hopps, cinema's most likable police officer

10. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is, by no means at all, a perfect film. However, I do have to commend it for being the absolute darkest out of all of Disney's pantheon, starting with murder and attempted infanticide, minorities praying that God will help the outcasts because no one else will, deformed bellringers dreaming of acceptance only to be cruelly mocked, and lustful priests creeping on young females. 

It also some of the all-time best Disney songs such as "Out There," sung with annoyingly perfect vibrato, "God Help the Outcasts," "Heaven's Light," and the greatest villain song ever with "Hellfire." Each one, combined with the splendid animation, provides an atmospheric and thematically potent recipe about discrimination, acceptance, and religion.

However, while it expertly balances those themes, The Hunchback of Notre Dame seems to think kids wouldn't be totally into a story about attempted genocide and thus introduces these gargoyles to provide as comedic relief. The problem is that they absolutely suck and I hate them passionately. Like, it's 1999 and these guys are my Jar Jar Binks. I get their role in the film (Quasimodo needs someone to talk to so the audience knows what's happening), but they suck. And their song, "A Guy Like You," majorly disrupts the pacing and is a weird bright spot in an otherwise dark but palatable film. Like, if the gargoyles weren't here Hunchback would have a strong chance at being #1. #ReleasetheGargoyleCut

Note how they were able to make the physically disfigured Quasimodo and make him handsome.
That's marketing at its finest.

9. Moana (2016)

Moana, make way, make way! Moana has absolutely brilliant animation. I will literally never get over how good we can make water look with CGI today! It looks so... real! Everything in the movie just clicks visually, from the characters and their designs, the water, the architecture, and the particle effects. It all works and looks great.

For his first collaboration with Disney, Lin-Manuel Miranda brings his distinct Broadway-sized numbers and lyrics that make your heart soar. "How Far I'll Go" is already iconic, "You're Welcome" is insanely catchy, and "Shiny" was visually spectacular. The one fault I have with the film is the influence it has from 2010s blockbusters - a bloated runtime at 1h 47 minutes, world-ending stakes, a huge third act, and no real villain. 

It's unfair how real everything looks in Moana.

8. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Wreck-It Ralph is Disney's version of Toy Story - a movie about a group of characters that shouldn't be alive but are, strike up friendships and are loved by children. But while Wreck-It Ralph doesn't have the straight man dynamic Buzz Lightyear has with Woody, it has two sympathetic leads with Ralph himself and Vanellophe von Schweetz, the latter of whom is an excellent subversion of the prototypical Disney child protagonist. 

I also love Fix-It Felix, cast to Jack McBrayer's strength of cheerful to the extreme, and Sergeant Calhoun, a traumatized warrior on one last mission who accidentally finds love. I also love the sheer amount of candy puns they were able to fit in this film. You'd think it would be annoying, but there are so many I'm just impressed. 

Wreck-It Ralph is a testament to what a vibrant color palette can do for a film

7. Tangled (2010)

Tangled may be the most by the books Disney movie of all time. It's the Disney-est Disney movie to ever Disney a Disney. Never before has a film imitated the classics of Disney so well, with a "Daily routine" song, "Evil villain" song, "Thugs are nice" song, and the "Romance duet" song, each one somehow lacking any cultural impact despite all being fairly catchy upon repeat viewing. 

Even if its musical iconicity isn't too strong, Tangled has a lot of slight variations on the classic formula that bolster the film above standard; For one, it's funny. Flynn Rider and co. bring a lot of humor to the film that we don't often get in Disney films. Actually, Flynn Rider in general makes the film. Just a terrific character. If changing the name from Rapunzel to Tangled meant getting more Flynn Rider, so be it. The once-titular heroine is also fantastic, given an artistic streak, bubbly personality, and looks unbelievably gorgeous for most of the film (And yes, I acknowledge the strangeness of that statement directed towards an animated character, but I don’t see you disagreeing). 

Best of all though, the animation for the film is off the chain. There's a reason that this movie cost $260 million (making it one of the most expensive films ever made) and the result pays off. The movie looks amazing. If the fun writing and characters don't draw you in, the vibrant animation is sure to. 

This scene in particular.

6. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

A lot of people are sleeping on how good Lilo & Stitch is. I mean, if this wasn't released after Dinosaur, this would definitely be part of the Disney Renaissance. Instead, it seems to be forgotten aside from Stitch. I mean, Stitch is great. He's adorable and weird and he brings in some of the biggest heartfelt moments in the film, even if he does make life a living hell for Lilo and Nani, with nearly no consequences. I mean, he literally destroys their lives.

But, aside from that and some bad early 2000s CGI, Lilo & Stitch is a really great movie. I really appreciate the use of Lilo's strange deadpan and focus on Elvis music. And that whole, "Earth is a haven for mosquitoes!" bit is so hilarious. But, the film also dishes out some great emotion, with "Ohana means family" now ingrained in the cultural psyche. It's also noteworthy to note the absolutely gorgeous watercolor backgrounds that make the film visually fantabulous. And it includes the absolute icon that is the Ice Cream Man. 

Those watercolor backgrounds are gorgeous.

5. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Disney's take on the Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time, or at least since 1991. Featuring stunning visuals, gorgeous animation, great songs courtesy Ashman and Menken, a great score, memorable characters, and visual extravagance make it a classic for the ages, even if allegations of Stockholm Syndrome put an annoying asterisk on the tale of romance.

One of Beauty and the Beast's greatest strengths is the absolutely lovely animation that always razzles, particularly during the ballroom dance scene. It's fun, whimsical, and romantic. It also features my favorite Disney villain Gaston, who is such a fun distortion of the Prince Charming character that he becomes the egotistical, misogynistic embodiment of hypermasculinity that really likes eggs. 

An absolutely stunning ballroom scene.

4. Hercules (1997)

Ah, yes. Disney adapting Greek culture and myths with an animated version of Hercules! Yeah! Does Hera attempt to murder him, since he's the bastard child of one of Zeus's conquests? Does he kill his family when Hera curses him? And, does he do his 12 Labors? Does his story end with his new wife covering him in centaur blood in a desperate plea to try and save their marriage, unwittingly killing him? No?

Yeah, this isn't exactly an animated documentary. This is something... completely different. But it is so far disconnected that it works as its own thing. In this version, Hercules is a happy-go-lucky optimist who wants to rejoin his divine family, but falls head over heels in love with Megara (His first wife in the myth) and must defeat his uncle Hades, who wants to unleash the Titans to take over Olympus.

But, aside from utter disregard for the source material, this film succeeds due to fast plotting, rapid-fire humor, the iconic Hades, Danny DeVito, and a fantastic gospel-fused soundtrack that features the best Disney love song ever, "I Won't Say I'm In Love." Megara would be the greatest Disney princess if she was given the chance. Make her official, you cowards. 

The best Disney princess?

3. Mulan (1998)

"Oh, well, Disney Princess? Y'know, technically, Mulan didn't marry a Prince, so she's not a Princess." Dude, shut up. Mulan is the best (Official) Disney Princess. She's a strong and independent warrior who overcame adversity and physical disadvantages to basically defeat Attila the Hun and save all of China. That might be the coolest thing any of the Disney Princesses has ever done.

Mulan is cool. Her training montage, set to "Make A Man Outta You" is one of my favorite movie scenes ever. It's inspiring, fantastically edited, and it makes me want to be a man... or, um, become more manly? It makes me want to go on a fitness montage, basically. But aside from that, let's talk about how great the animation and songs are. The animation is outstanding, a technical marvel that still looks gorgeous to this day. The songs, written by white dudes, are beautiful and catchy, even if the amount of stereotypical Chinese sounds may warrant a "May contain outdated cultural depictions." label in the near future. 

But aside from attempts to bring modern political commentary to a kids movie made in '98 in what is a sad attempt to be relevant, the vocal performances are great, the actual instrumental soundtrack is phenomenal, the characters are all memorable, the animation is amazing, the scale is huge, the finale is exciting, it's funny, and the action is intense. One of Disney's best, even if the villain is ultimately unmemorable. 

Zuko Mulan needs to prove her honor

2. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Yeah, this is weird for me too. Growing up, I had always liked One Hundred and One Dalmatians. But when I was watching all of these movies, I was struck by the realization that it was actually pretty fantastic. Like, it's brilliant. Cruella de Vil being a fantastic antagonist is a given, but what surprised me the most is how likable the heroes are. The main human character, Roger, is so likable and ridiculously British that he became one of my favorite characters in the film. His dog Pongo, meanwhile, is second only to Mufasa in terms of Disney fathers. 

The animation is crisp, the dialogue is great, the characters likable, the action exciting, and everything just works. I liked this movie so much I saw it again the next day. It was just that great. And it's at this point that I realize I've had the exact same words of praise for nearly every animated film in the Top 15, which I acknowledge and apologize for. It's a lot easier to talk about why Meet the Robinsons could have been better than compare movies that are all practically perfect. 

I'm not a big fan of dogs or dog movies, but I really related to 101 Dalmatians somehow

1. The Lion King (1994)

SIMBA. Remember who you are. These wise words come from the greatest Disney dad ever and one of the best characters ever created. I will not try to cover up my love for Mufasa. I have memorized his entire "Remember who you are," monologue, I weep openly at his death, and I weep openly at his heavenly return. Mufasa just hits different. 

In fact, the entire Lion King movie hits different. Something about the brilliant music by Elton John, the score by Hans Zimmer, the incredible and vibrant animation, an absolutely amazing voice cast including James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons, some absolutely hilarious comic relief characters by way of Simon, Pumbaa, and Ed, and an absolutely grand and epic story that retreads not only Hamlet but also Kimba, it all works together in glorious harmony that results in an hour and twenty-seven minutes of animated perfection. 

Not sure how, but a dead lion in a cloud is one of the most powerful movie experiences I've ever had.

There it is. That's my ranking. Do you agree? Disagree? Leave your thoughts in the comments, because hearing other people's opinions is always interesting. I've also attached some graphs that I think are neat.

I had fun with the superlatives