Since the Golden Age of Animation, the Walt Disney Corporation has reigned as one of the undisputed kings of animated films. Their animated films have been praised for their high-quality animation and innovative techniques that pushed the industry into the creative landscape it is today. As of 2024, they have released 62 animated films.
As of 2011, the last Disney film to be animated traditionally wasWinnie the Pooh. This is unfortunate, as while the company’s 3D movies look gorgeous in their own right, there is a charm to 2D movies that can’t be captured on computers. These arethe best hand-drawn animated features in Disney’s canon, ranked from great to greatest.
25’Robin Hood' (1973)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
With King Richard I (Peter Ustinov) fighting in the Third Crusade, his younger brother, Prince John (Peter Ustinov) is free to overtax the people of England to feed his greed. However, he is constantly thwarted in his ambitions by Robin Hood (Brian Bedford), a sly outlaw who returns John’s ill-gotten gains to the poor. He is aided by his trusted friend, Little John (Phil Harris), the kind Friar Tuck (Andy Devine) and his love, Maid Marian (Monica Evans).
Robin Hoodisa bit rough around the edges, especially with how much animation it re-uses from older films, but at its core, it isa solid adventure movie.The characters are simple but fun archetypes, allowing younger audiences to get sucked into their escapades.The climax is also one of Disney’s best in terms of pacing, beginning as a slow, quiet heist, before transitioning into a frantic race for freedom.
Disney’s Robin Hood
Watch on Disney+
24’The Great Mouse Detective' (1986)
Directed by John Musker, Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson and David Michener
After returning home from service in Afghanistan, Dr. David Q. Dawson (Val Bettin) encounters Olivia Flaversham (Susanne Pollatschek), a young girl whose father has been kidnapped by a peg-legged back with a crooked wing. The two bring the case to the greatest mouse detective in London, Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham). He concludes that it is linked to his arch-rival, Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price), who plans to use Olivia’s father to take over the mouse empire.
The Great Mouse Detectiveis the film that convinced Disney executives that their 2D films could still make money, and though it wasoutdone at the box office byDon Bluth’sAn American Tail, it remainsa wonderful adventure film with one of the best hero-villain dynamics in Disney.Basil and Ratigan’s rivalry is a delicious battle of egos: both are determined to prove their intellect is superior, but while Ratigan uses his genius to aid only himself, Basil uses it to help others.The film also contains some impressive early-CGI, which was used to bring to life the gears of Big Ben during the film’s climax.
The Great Mouse Detective
23’The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' (1977)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman and John Lounsbery
Deep in the Hundred-Acre Wood, a boy named Christopher Robin (Bruce Reitherman, Jon WalmsleyandTimothy Turner) plays with his numerous stuffed animal friends. The chief among these is a bear of very little brains named Winnie the Pooh (Sterling Holloway), who loves nothing more than spending time with his friends and eating honey. From getting stuck in front doors to being swept away in a flood, there is no shortage of adventures for Pooh, Christopher, and the other denizens of the woods to partake in.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Poohcombines three Winnie the Pooh shorts released from 1966 to 1974 into a single narrative.Audiences of all ages find themselves returning to this classic thanks to the lovable characters, catchy songs, and how it perfectly captures the nostalgic charm of childhood.The final scene also contains a rather poignant message about the inevitability of change but doesn’t present it as something evil, but an inevitable fact of life that, while scary at times, cannot remove the memories of what came before.
22'101 Dalmatians' (1961)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, Hamilton Luske and Clyde Geronimi
Pongo (Rod Taylor) and Perdita (Cate BauerandLisa Daniels) are two Dalmatians who are excited to raise a family of puppies with their human owners, Roger (Ben Wright) and Anita Radcliffe (Lisa Davis). However, their puppies are stolen on the order of Cruella De Vil (Betty Lou Gerson), who intends to use them alongside eighty-four other puppies to make fur coats. When the humans can’t track them down, Pongo and Perdita enlist the aid of their fellow canines to track them down and bring them home.
101 Dalmatianswas the first Disney movie to be made using xerography, which allowed the animators to easily save time on things like adding spots to the Dalmatians and copying puppies for large crowd shots.The resulting sketchy art style, though of lower quality than Disney’s usual, fits the lower-stakes story and helps give the world a sort of children’s book aesthetic.Among the characters, Cruella is easily the show-stealer, and is one of the greatest creations of animatorMarc Davis, one ofDisney’s Nine Old Men.
101 Dalmatians
The story of a family of Dalmatian puppies who are kidnapped by a terrible woman called Cruella De Vil, who is fascinated by fur coats and is determined to turn them into a coat.
21’The Emperor’s New Groove' (2000)
Directed by Mark Dindal
Kuzco (David Spade) is the young and conceded Emperor of the Incans, who believes he can do whatever he wants, such as demolishing a peasant village to make room for his summer retreat or firing his advisor, Yzma (Eartha Kitt). Enraged, she has her assistant, Kronk (Patrick Warburton) poison him, but he instead uses a potion that turns Kuzco into a llama. When Kronk can’t bring himself to kill Kuzko, he ends up on the cart of Pacha (John Goodman), the chief of the village Kuzco wants to destroy, who will only agree to help him if his village is spared.
After survivinga tumultuous productionthat saw the film switch directors and genres,The Emperor’s New Groovehas developed a comfortable status asone of Disney’s funniest movies.This is due to the humor coming from multiple sources, including 4th wall breaks, fast-paced slapstick, and the hilarious back-and-forth between Kitt and Warburton. The rest of the story is pretty good as well, with Kuzco’s story serving asan effective lesson about humility and putting others before yourself.
The Emperor’s New Groove
20’Alice in Wonderland' (1951)
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske
After spotting a White Rabbit (Bill Thompson) in a waistcoat comes running by screaming that he’s late, Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) follows him down his rabbit hole. She finds herself in Wonderland, a topsy-turvy land where everyone is at least a little mad and the rules change on a whim. Still, Alice’s curiosity is too great to ignore, and she continues to chase after the rabbit while meeting the other crazy residents of Wonderland along the way.
Alice in Wonderlandisby far Disney’s most surreal movie, thanks in no small part to the directors trying to one-up one another behind the scenes and make their segment the most memorable. The result makes Wonderland truly feel like a crazy world, with grand displays of colors and impressive animation techniques, especially since this film was made before CGI technology. The characters are all wonderful, but special mention should go to Alice: Beaumont’s performance is one ofthe best in any Disney movieand makes Alice come alive as the straight man reacting to every new strange experience.
Alice In Wonderland (1951)
Alice stumbles into the world of Wonderland. Will she get home? Not if the Queen of Hearts has her way.
19’The Jungle Book' (1967)
Mowgli (Bruce Reitherman), known as the “man cub” by the animals, lives in the jungles of India with his adopted wolf family. However, when the tiger Shere Khan (George Sanders) returns to the area, it is decided that Mowgli should be taken to the Man Village to keep him safe. The panther, Bagheera (Sebastian Cabot), offers to escort him, but the journey is difficult, thanks in no part to Mowgli’s insistence on remaining in the jungle.
The Jungle Bookwas the last movie to be made with Disney’s direct input, and his unique touch has helped it remain a beloved classic.It is much more light-hearted than the original story byRudyard Kipling, with catchy songs and memorable side-characters like the orangutan King Louie (Louis Prima) and Baloo (Phil Harris), the sloth bear who becomes like a big brother to Mowgli. Still, there are a few dark elements, such as Shere Khan, who manages to be an intimidating villain with a powerful presence despitehaving limitedscreen time.
The Jungle Book
18’Tarzan' (1999)
Directed by Chris Buck and Kevin Lima
After losing her baby to a leopard named Sabor (Frank Welker), the gorilla, Kala (Glenn Close), discovers a human baby whose parents were also killed by the big cat. She adopts him and names him Tarzan (Alex D. LinzandTony Goldwyn), but growing up, the boy has a hard time fitting into gorilla life or earning the approval of his adopted father, Kerchak (Lance Henriksen). During his adult years, Tarzan discovers British explorers who have come to study the gorillas, which causes further rifts with his adopted family as he tries to learn more about who he is.
As the final movie to come out ofThe Disney Renaissance,Tarzanboasts somerevolutionary blending of 2D and 3D animation, which leads to gorgeously choreographed scenes of Tarzan surfing his way through the trees. Its story, while not as good as the films that came before it, is still very strong, with Tarzan’s journey focusing on self-discovery and trying to identify what world he truly belongs in.Phil Collinsalso handled the film’s songs, and each one of them is both memorable and insightful as to what is happening in that portion of the story.
A man raised by gorillas must decide where he really belongs when he discovers he is a human.
17’Peter Pan' (1953)
Directed by Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi and Wilfred Jackson
During her last night in the nursery, Wendy Darling (Kathryn Beaumont) meets Peter Pan (Bobb Driscoll), a flying boy who never grows up due to living in the magical Neverland. After Wendy helps him re-attach his missing shadow, he decides to take Wendy and her brothers, John (Paul Collins) and Michael (Tommy Luske), back to Neverland with him, using pixie dust from his friend Tinker Belle to help them fly. However, Neverland isn’t all fun and games, as Peter’s rival, Captain Hook (Hans Conried), is determined to finally kill Peter for cutting off his hand.
Peter Panwas in development hell for many years, but the final product is one of Disney’s best action-adventure films. The animation is phenomenal even seventy years later, especially in the flying scenes, which manage to make these 2D humans feel like they have proper weight while soaring through the clouds and around buildings.The most memorable part of the film has to be Captain Hook, who remains a beloved Disney villain thanks to his mix of threatening and comedic elements, as well as how he plays off of his sidekick, Mr. Smee (Bill Thompson)
16’Lilo & Stitch' (2002)
Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
The latest creation of intergalactic evil genius, Dr. Jumba Jookiba (David Ogden Stiers), Experiment 626 (Chris Sanders), escapes custody and crash lands on the Hawaiian Islands on Earth. There, he is mistaken for a dog and adopted by Lilo (Daveigh Chase), a little girl being raised by her older sister, Nani (Tia Carrere), who names him Stitch. When Jumba and Agent Pleakley (Kevin McDonald) are dispatched to capture Stitch, he reluctantly agrees to stay with Lilo, and over time, comes to see the importance of family.
Lilo & Stitchwas the largest success in Disney’s experimentalpost-Renaissance periodthanks to its emotional core. The film is about a broken family trying to put the pieces of their life back together and touches on themes of grief and ostracization, while also balancing comedy with the alien plot and Lilo’s eccentricities. Speaking of Lilo, she is one of Disney’s most unique protagonists thanks to her beautiful blend of childish innocence, love ofElvis Presleymusic, and the expressive animation courtesy of the legendaryAndreas Deja.
Lilo & Stitch
A young and parentless girl adopts a ‘dog’ from the local pound, completely unaware that it’s supposedly a dangerous scientific experiment that’s taken refuge on Earth and is now hiding from its creator and those who see it as a menace.
