The 15 Greatest Disney Traditionally-Animated Films of All-Time

This year, Disney is returning back to its roots by returning to traditional animation with the release of The Princess and the Frog. Being directed by the madmen that helmed the classics Little Mermaid, Hercules, and Aladdin, this is sure to bring Disney back into the 2-D spotlight and remove some attention from Pixar. However, traditional Disney animation has suffered relentlessly this decade, thanks to films like Treasure Planet, Atlantis, and Home on the Range. Perhaps we will be brought back to another Disney Animation Renaissance, which last time ran from 1989 to 1999.

In the meantime, I’ve compiled a list of the 15 best traditionally-animated Disney films, 15 films that animation fans must watch. Fantasia is not on the list simply because its more an experimentation and an experience (Advertised in the 60s as a trippy one) rather than one with a fleshed out storyline and list of characters, conflicts, and the whatnot.

Here, we, go, the 15 best 2-D Disney flicks.




#15: The Lion King (1994)

Financially as the peak of the Disney renaissance, The Lion King rises from the competitive 1994 box office and emerges as one of the biggest animated hits in the history of the United States. Beautiful scenery, grand cast of characters, strong sequences of emotional value, and a delightful ending to top it all off, The Lion King is the best-selling VHS tape of all-time because of its ability to appeal to kids of all ages and to adults of all ages. And who could forget the introduction?



#14: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Sometimes, simple is enough to become a classic. Lady and the Tramp offers nothing astounding, nothing major, or epic. Instead, we have an extremely charming animated tale about two dogs in love. Meshed in with a nice cast of characters, good music, and the best kiss in cinema, this often overlooked gem deserves more attention.



#13: Mulan (1998)

The damsel in distress tale ain’t happening here. Mulan reverses the usual Disney formula by offering a strong female character that helps the men. This nice little twist is a great change of pace from the typical Hollywood garble that involves hapless females and epic men with smiles wayyyy too white coming in to save the day. While there was a strong female lead in Hercules, she wasn’t as utilized as Mulan. Unlike the others that used their beauty to enter the list of Disney princesses, this one worked and fought her way in. P.S.: the skinny-dipping scene is easily the best part of the film.



#12: Hercules (1997)

If you don’t know much about Greek mythology, then you have no idea why this movie is on the list. If you have good general knowledge about mythology, you are in for a fantastic ride here. The constant references, jabs, and allusions to Greek history and mythology support the fact that this is one of the smartest and best-written of the Disney films. While the characters themselves fail to propel the movie to top 10 heights (Although James Woods as Hades is just absolutely hysterical) Hercules is still worthy of watching because of the villain, the musical numbers, the sassy Disney princess, and cool references to The Karate Kid.



#11: 101 Dalmatians (1961)

Lady and the Tramp started the whole talking-animals-in-a-modern-setting; 101 perfected it. The art design in this film was quite different, but was very effective. The plot was a bit modern for the usual Disney fare, but worked well as well. The villain was unlike anything one would have ever imagined, and worked like a charm. Everything about this movie was unique, unexpected, and on the whole rather modern. Nonetheless, thanks to stellar casting, great writing, and plenty of suspense, this movie barked its way into box office fame and classic status.



#10: The Little Mermaid (1989)

If I had neglected to include this in the list, I probably would have been beheaded by some rabid fanbase. This is the one that SAVED Disney animation and started its march towards classic after classic after classic. What happened here was that the animators and writers went back to its roots: they relied on a lovable cast, great villain, adorable princess, catchy music, and fluent animation. The Little Mermaid also marks the first time the prince actually has a name and actually has a personality.



#9: Fox and the Hound (1981)

Grab the antidepressants. Easily the most depressing of all the animated films on this list, Fox and the Hound dodges the cutesy Disney fluff we are used to be delivering a powerful tale about friendship and how prejudice can poison them. Even the ending wasn’t the usual Disney fare, as it avoids happiness and instead goes for a more realistic ending. Watching this as a child, I was traumatized at just how sad it all was---especially the scene where the fox had to be let go. Actually, thinking about it now is making me a bit gloomy. Let’s stop discussing this movie now….*grabs tissue*



#8: Aladdin

Taking everything that made Little Mermaid and improving upon it, Aladdin rises past criticism and controversy to deliver an epic tale about an orphan bum that rises to become a prince by capturing the love of the princess and going to amazing lengths to be with her. Deep down it’s a love tale, but embedded in it is a great story full of action and humor; and then three of among the best supporting characters in Disney history, which is the hilarious Genie (perfectly, perfectly voiced by Robin Williams), the sinful Jafar (He made Jasmine a sex slave for crying out loud) and Iago (perfectly cast by Gilbert Gottfried). Let’s not forget the Academy Award-winning music, which starts perfectly and ends perfectly.



#7: Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Visually the best-animated film of all-time perhaps , Sleeping Beauty’s strongest portions come with what Fantasia was experimenting: the blending of images and music. If you want more evidence of this; the princess and prince do not speak in the 2nd half of the movie. If you want more evidence, just look at the beautiful dance scene with Princess Aurora and the prince. Then, let’s not forget the adorable fairies and the sinister and quite scary Maleficent. The movie flows like a beautiful fairy tale.



#6: The Jungle Book (1967)

There’s a myth that states that Walt Disney threw the Jungle Book story on the table and said “All you have to know is that this story is about a boy that was raised in the jungle and has to be brought back home.” That’s not the exact quote, but more or less that’s what he said. Nonetheless, the writers came up with a magnificent tale that has the best supporting cast of all the movies in this list, which ranges from a hypnotic snake, a crazy orangutan, a jive-talking bear, Beatles-like vultures, mischievous monkeys, and more. Let’s add great music. Check. Let’s add beautiful animation. Check. This would be the final animated movie with Walt Disney’s touch and approval (Aristocats he just approved) and it shows throughout the 70+ minutes. Little known fact: this was the biggest hit of 1967, nearly doubling the numbers of The Graduate.



#5: Pinocchio (1940)

Snow White was the first Disney animated film and was groundbreaking blah blah blah. Pinocchio perfected the formula and set the standard for decades to come. I can’t think of a single dull moment in this gem, it all worked so well. There’s adventure, comedy, action, great music, and even a hintage of horror (That whale scared me, and then there’s the donkey sequence). All this is topped by a beautiful ending that makes you believe in the power of Disney magic. Centuries from now, we’ll most likely still be talking about this movie.



#4: Cinderella (1950)

You know all these rags-to-riches movies and all these movies about a female not getting enough love or respect rising up to become rich, famous, and finding the perfect man seemingly out of nowhere? We have this movie to thank. What few people don’t know is that the Disney version of Cinderella is what started the forever-successful genre of the Cinderella complex, which to this day still exists (The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries, Pretty Women). The difference is, this remains the best version. The music, the animation, the scenery; this is one of the best representations of the way Disney liked his movies and the way he sees the fantasy world. Cinderella to this day remains a lovely inspiration for girls everywhere.




#3: The Emperor’s New Groove (2001)

If you truly knew me, you’d know this film was going to be high on this list. Everything in this movie is so anti-Disney, it works like a charm. Despite its Anti-Disneyesque material, it doesn’t bash the spoofing over your head like the Shrek sequels; instead it relies on fast-paced witty dialogue, fast-paced humor, visual humor that requires multiple viewings to catch, and above all the best voice work in the history of 2-D animation. Eartha Kitt, David Spade, John Goodman, and Patrick Warbuton all are perfectly cast and play off each other flawlessly as we are thrown from one crazy event to the next. Unfortunately it was met with criticism from Disney purists that want the same old true formula. Personally, any movie that combines Looney Tunes with excellent writing is worthy of the utmost praise. Yes, this is the third best traditionally animated Disney movie and I stand by this opinion 100%.





#2: Beauty and the Beast (1991)

If this isn’t the best love story told on film, darn it, it should at least be Top 5. Beauty and the Beast is the first Disney animated movie to truly show off that animation can exist for adults just as well as children. While more edgy animated material has been produced before, they never reached the quality that Beauty and the Beast contains. Layers upon layers of human themes and values are presented here underneath a beautiful story about a bitter and heartless beast that suddenly falls for the most unique gal in the town; one that defies the typical easy-go-lucky female in the area. Pointless trivia: Beast and Belle are the only two characters in the movie to wear blue. This sort of attention to detail doesn’t happen in movies nowadays, and is why this remains the only animated movie to be nominated for Best Picture—which it should have won by the way.

If I have to explain to you why its so high up here, that’s because you have not seen the movie. Just watch the film again, and then probably you’ll understand. There’s the music, the characters, the animation, the meshing of computer animation with traditional, the famous dance scene, the hilarious battle scene, and the final 5 minutes. The final 5 minutes has some of the best music you’ll ever hear in any movie. Belle is the best of the Disney princesses because her personality is the most fleshed-out and the most realistic. Gaston is one of the best villains because he represents all that is wrong with the human species; ranging from his machoism to his self-centered behavior, to his animalistic desire to kill a creature that had never even seen him.

Not only one of the best animated movies, but among the best you’ll ever see. It remains one of the 20 greatest movies I’ve ever seen, and to this day I can watch it and remain mesmerized and moved by the story. It gives any hopeless romantic faith that someday their prince/princess shall come.








#1: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The list we have here is about the best Disney animated movies. What on earth does a better job representing Disney and Walt Dinsey World in general than Winnie the Pooh? Winnie the Pooh is sugar-coasted fluff that appeals to anybody, no matter who you are or what age you are. This movie has no underlying or subliminal messages. This movie has no killing, no deaths, and no violence, nothing of that sort. Instead, we have good, clean, harmless, beautiful animation that flows like a wonderful book you can’t put down.

Following the animation are three adorable stories that in no way copy, mimic, or resemble one another. Following the adorable stories are a memorable cast of characters that each have their special appeal; whether its Pooh’s innocence to Piglet’s fragility to Eeyore’s endless depression. We have beautiful music, lovely songs, visual humor, cute dialogue, a dismantling of the fourth wall, and to finish it off, a beautiful ending that wraps up (albeit temporarily) the Winnie the Pooh story arc. Winnie the Pooh represents the beauty, simplicity, and timeless era of childhood and exiting the 100-acre wood is an approach towards adulthood. If there is a movie that can describe Walt Disney World, this is it. If there is an animated movie that can describe what Walt Disney did for the world, this is it. If there is a movie that can show how the “Disney touch” can enhance a film, this one is most certainly it.

One of the 10 greatest American films of all-time, Walt Disney is known more for his theme parks, but should also be known for being able to perfectly produce and enhance a film. This is my pick for the best traditionally-animated Disney movie in its long history; and I don’t see this one being topped for a very, very, very long time.