I’m new to the forum, and what better way to start than rank-ordering all the “canon” Disney films.
By ‘canon’ I mean the 54 animated features from Walt Disney Animation Studios. (So no Disneytoon studios or Pixar). I’ve recently finished watching them all, and here is my list, from best to worst, with brief reasons:
1 – Wreck-It Ralph
I adore this film. I’m somewhat of a gamer so there may be bias, but besides that, this film has a really deep and clever story.
2 – Big Hero 6
I’m not usually into comic-book-esque stuff so this was a surprise, but I think it really delivered. Really likable characters.
3 – Atlantis: The Lost Empire
My favourite of the hand-drawn disneys. Severely underrated. It’s not that deep or anything, but it is highly entertaining. I love adventure-type movies and this could have been an Indiana Jones film.
4 – Tangled
Great story, memorable characters, just great entertainment all-round.
5 – The Rescuers
Another underrated film. As I said I love adventure-type movies, so there may be bias here.
6 – Frozen
It was so popular for a reason. Although I do prefer Tangled.
7 – Bolt
This one took me by surprise. My expectations weren’t that high, but I ended up really liking this one. Simple but effective story and likable characters.
8 – The Emperor’s New Groove
This is definitely the funniest of the bunch. Had me laughing in several places. Great stuff.
9 – The Jungle Book
Huge nostalgia with this. It’s always been one of my favourites. Just an all-round great film, and VERY memorable characters.
10 – Beauty And The Beast
Very moving. Story and characters are very strong, and I can see why it’s so popular.
11 – Hercules
I quite like greek/roman mythology so there’s that bias, but otherwise another moving film. Hades is great.
12 – Dumbo
Dumbo himself is ridiculously cute. And I have huge nostalgia for this film. Short and sweet.
13 – 101 Dalmations
Was a bit slow to start off with, but it got really good as it went along. Cruella Deville is obviously an iconic villain.
14 – Tarzan
Has my favourite soundtrack. Quite a moving film that doesn’t fail to entertain.
15 – Meet The Robinsons
The first half I was thinking it was quite poor, but it improved, and I ended up finding it quite clever.
16 – Treasure Planet
An interesting take on treasure island. It all works well and David Hyde Pierce is a highlight.
17 – Brother Bear
Why is this so unpopular? It has all the elements of a decent and touching film.
18 – Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent is a very strong villain. Good story in this one.
19 – Lilo And Stitch
Was a bit meh at first, but it warmed on me. It’s a unique and effective entry.
20 – Mulan
Good characters and story. Was better than I thought it would be.
21 – The Black Cauldron
So underrated. I can see why it wasn’t a big hit though – it is very different, and rather dark for a Disney film. I liked it though.
22 – The Lion King
And this one is overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it. But not as much as the masses. Not much seemed to happen – maybe I need to rewatch.
23 – Aladdin
Same as what I said for Lion King – overrated. Although it is another good film. Huge nostalgia for the video game so I recognised most of the songs.
24 – Pinocchio
Another one big for my nostalgia. Great for it’s time.
25 – The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh
It’s aimed for small children but I thought this had a real charm. My favourite segment was the blustery day.
26 – The Rescuers Down Under
DVD kept skipping so it effected my enjoyment of the film. But otherwise it seemed ok, although I prefer the original.
27 – Dinosaur
This was just average. Nothing bad, but nothing that memorable either.
28 – The AristoCats
Had some good moments, but overall average.
29 – The Little Mermaid
I can’t see why this one is so popular. I thought it was ok, but nothing much stayed in my memory about it. Ok though.
30 – The Princess And The Frog
I loved the villain. Thought the rest was average.
31 – Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
Very good for it’s time. And a very effective villain. It’s aged well IMO.
32 – Basil, The Great Mouse Detective
Average in every sense.
33 – Oliver And Company
Not bad, but not particularly good either. I found it quite unmemorable. I really like the soundtrack though.
34 – Lady And The Tramp
It’s good and I respect it, but it just didn’t do much for me. But I do recognise it as good.
35 – Peter Pan
Captain Hook is a good villain. I like Tinkerbell. But not so much Peter Pan himself.
36 – Cinderella
I struggle to hear what the mice are saying. Otherwise it’s ok, good for it’s time, but not one of my favourites.
37 – Pocahontas
One of the weaker ones IMO. Not much I liked about it except for Grandmother Willow and that raccoon.
38 – Winnie The Pooh
Like I said for the other WTP film, it’s meant for small children. For what it is though, it worked ok, though nothing on TMAOWTP.
39 – The Sword In The Stone
Nothing special. And why does Arthur have 3 different voice actors? I liked the Merlin/Madame Mim showdown.
40 – Robin Hood
The main villain sucks his thumb.
41 – The Fox And The Hound
Not my cup of tea, but for what it is it works.
42 – The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
I wanted to like it, but it just didn’t do much for me.
43 – Fantasia
Hard to rank as it’s a different type of movie. I loved the segment about the birth of the planet, dinosaurs etc. And the sorcerer’s apprentice is obviously strong. For what it is though, it ranks about here.
44 – Chicken Little
Very weak. And the CGI looks very dated. Poor characters and story.
45 – Home On The Range
Judi Dench was the only good thing about this movie.
46 – Make Mine Music
The package films can be hard to rank due to being so different. This is one of the better package films, mainly for the singing whale segment.
47 – The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr Toad
I didn’t like the sleepy hollow section because I prefer straight dialogue rather than narration. But the wind in the willows section was fine.
48 – Fun And Fancy Free
Mickey and the beanstalk section was the better part of the movie, although it was blemished by those stupid live-action puppets.
49 – Melody Time
Basically just a weaker version of MMM.
50 – Fantasia/2000
Basically just a weaker version of Fantasia. And why was the sorcerer’s apprentice included again? I found that lazy.
51 – Bambi
I just didn’t like it and can’t see why it’s so popular. Maybe I’m missing something, but the story just seemed absent.
52 – Alice In Wonderland
I really didn’t like this one. Again, the story was absent, but even worse for this one. And the characters annoyed and frustrated me, but maybe that was the point.
53 – Saludos Amigos
Just no. This, IMO, was absolute crap. How can anyone be entertained by this?
54 – The Three Caballeros
Even worse as it’s longer!
So, what’s your list?
By ‘canon’ I mean the 54 animated features from Walt Disney Animation Studios. (So no Disneytoon studios or Pixar). I’ve recently finished watching them all, and here is my list, from best to worst, with brief reasons:
1 – Wreck-It Ralph
I adore this film. I’m somewhat of a gamer so there may be bias, but besides that, this film has a really deep and clever story.
2 – Big Hero 6
I’m not usually into comic-book-esque stuff so this was a surprise, but I think it really delivered. Really likable characters.
3 – Atlantis: The Lost Empire
My favourite of the hand-drawn disneys. Severely underrated. It’s not that deep or anything, but it is highly entertaining. I love adventure-type movies and this could have been an Indiana Jones film.
4 – Tangled
Great story, memorable characters, just great entertainment all-round.
5 – The Rescuers
Another underrated film. As I said I love adventure-type movies, so there may be bias here.
6 – Frozen
It was so popular for a reason. Although I do prefer Tangled.
7 – Bolt
This one took me by surprise. My expectations weren’t that high, but I ended up really liking this one. Simple but effective story and likable characters.
8 – The Emperor’s New Groove
This is definitely the funniest of the bunch. Had me laughing in several places. Great stuff.
9 – The Jungle Book
Huge nostalgia with this. It’s always been one of my favourites. Just an all-round great film, and VERY memorable characters.
10 – Beauty And The Beast
Very moving. Story and characters are very strong, and I can see why it’s so popular.
11 – Hercules
I quite like greek/roman mythology so there’s that bias, but otherwise another moving film. Hades is great.
12 – Dumbo
Dumbo himself is ridiculously cute. And I have huge nostalgia for this film. Short and sweet.
13 – 101 Dalmations
Was a bit slow to start off with, but it got really good as it went along. Cruella Deville is obviously an iconic villain.
14 – Tarzan
Has my favourite soundtrack. Quite a moving film that doesn’t fail to entertain.
15 – Meet The Robinsons
The first half I was thinking it was quite poor, but it improved, and I ended up finding it quite clever.
16 – Treasure Planet
An interesting take on treasure island. It all works well and David Hyde Pierce is a highlight.
17 – Brother Bear
Why is this so unpopular? It has all the elements of a decent and touching film.
18 – Sleeping Beauty
Maleficent is a very strong villain. Good story in this one.
19 – Lilo And Stitch
Was a bit meh at first, but it warmed on me. It’s a unique and effective entry.
20 – Mulan
Good characters and story. Was better than I thought it would be.
21 – The Black Cauldron
So underrated. I can see why it wasn’t a big hit though – it is very different, and rather dark for a Disney film. I liked it though.
22 – The Lion King
And this one is overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it. But not as much as the masses. Not much seemed to happen – maybe I need to rewatch.
23 – Aladdin
Same as what I said for Lion King – overrated. Although it is another good film. Huge nostalgia for the video game so I recognised most of the songs.
24 – Pinocchio
Another one big for my nostalgia. Great for it’s time.
25 – The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh
It’s aimed for small children but I thought this had a real charm. My favourite segment was the blustery day.
26 – The Rescuers Down Under
DVD kept skipping so it effected my enjoyment of the film. But otherwise it seemed ok, although I prefer the original.
27 – Dinosaur
This was just average. Nothing bad, but nothing that memorable either.
28 – The AristoCats
Had some good moments, but overall average.
29 – The Little Mermaid
I can’t see why this one is so popular. I thought it was ok, but nothing much stayed in my memory about it. Ok though.
30 – The Princess And The Frog
I loved the villain. Thought the rest was average.
31 – Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
Very good for it’s time. And a very effective villain. It’s aged well IMO.
32 – Basil, The Great Mouse Detective
Average in every sense.
33 – Oliver And Company
Not bad, but not particularly good either. I found it quite unmemorable. I really like the soundtrack though.
34 – Lady And The Tramp
It’s good and I respect it, but it just didn’t do much for me. But I do recognise it as good.
35 – Peter Pan
Captain Hook is a good villain. I like Tinkerbell. But not so much Peter Pan himself.
36 – Cinderella
I struggle to hear what the mice are saying. Otherwise it’s ok, good for it’s time, but not one of my favourites.
37 – Pocahontas
One of the weaker ones IMO. Not much I liked about it except for Grandmother Willow and that raccoon.
38 – Winnie The Pooh
Like I said for the other WTP film, it’s meant for small children. For what it is though, it worked ok, though nothing on TMAOWTP.
39 – The Sword In The Stone
Nothing special. And why does Arthur have 3 different voice actors? I liked the Merlin/Madame Mim showdown.
40 – Robin Hood
The main villain sucks his thumb.
41 – The Fox And The Hound
Not my cup of tea, but for what it is it works.
42 – The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
I wanted to like it, but it just didn’t do much for me.
43 – Fantasia
Hard to rank as it’s a different type of movie. I loved the segment about the birth of the planet, dinosaurs etc. And the sorcerer’s apprentice is obviously strong. For what it is though, it ranks about here.
44 – Chicken Little
Very weak. And the CGI looks very dated. Poor characters and story.
45 – Home On The Range
Judi Dench was the only good thing about this movie.
46 – Make Mine Music
The package films can be hard to rank due to being so different. This is one of the better package films, mainly for the singing whale segment.
47 – The Adventures Of Ichabod And Mr Toad
I didn’t like the sleepy hollow section because I prefer straight dialogue rather than narration. But the wind in the willows section was fine.
48 – Fun And Fancy Free
Mickey and the beanstalk section was the better part of the movie, although it was blemished by those stupid live-action puppets.
49 – Melody Time
Basically just a weaker version of MMM.
50 – Fantasia/2000
Basically just a weaker version of Fantasia. And why was the sorcerer’s apprentice included again? I found that lazy.
51 – Bambi
I just didn’t like it and can’t see why it’s so popular. Maybe I’m missing something, but the story just seemed absent.
52 – Alice In Wonderland
I really didn’t like this one. Again, the story was absent, but even worse for this one. And the characters annoyed and frustrated me, but maybe that was the point.
53 – Saludos Amigos
Just no. This, IMO, was absolute crap. How can anyone be entertained by this?
54 – The Three Caballeros
Even worse as it’s longer!
So, what’s your list?
