For over a hundred years, Disney has been the most recognized animation company in the world. Founded by brothersWalt DisneyandRoy O. Disneyafter losing control ofWalt andUb Iwerks’character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney rose to prominence in the golden age of animation thanks to their innovative shorts, which pushed the bounds of what animation could do at the time. In 1937, they released the firstfull-length animated film,Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
With the release ofWishin 2023, Disney has sixty-two animated features in their Disney Animated Canon. While many of these films are considered some of the greatest animated films ever made, a few often slip under the radar, either due to poor release times or an inability to capture the interests of modern audiences.
10’Saludos Amigos' (1942)
Directed by Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, and Bill Roberts
As part of the Good Neighbor Policy, the United States government commissioned Disney to make films that promote goodwill towards Latin America by highlighting their various cultures. Their first film,Saludos Amigos, is made of four shorts that focus on South America. The plots include Donald Duck (Clarence Nash) trying to visit Lake Titicaca, Goofy (Pinto Colvig) trying his hand at being a gaucho in Argentina, and a mail plane named Pedro attempting to cross the Andes mountains.
Saludos Amigosis Disney’s shortest film at forty-two minutes and kicked off Disney’smost forgotten period. While very light on content, what is there is fine: the shorts are still well-animated and peppered with funny gags, especially in Goofy’s segment. The film’s longest-lasting impact is in its final segment, where it introduces audiences to José Carioca (José do Patrocínio Oliveira), a suave Brazilian parrot who quickly befriends Donald and has featured in numerous Disney films and television shows.
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9’The Three Caballeros' (1945)
Directed by Norman Ferguson, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, and Harold Young
For his birthday, Donald Duck opens three presents that take him on a fun journey through Latin American culture. The first is a documentary about birds, including a penguin trying to escape the cold and the crazy Aracuan Bird (Pinto Colvig). The other two contain José Carioca, who takes Donald to Bahia, and Panchito Pistoles (Joaquin Garay), a Mexican rooster who educates Donald about the piñata before taking him on a tour through Mexico City.
The Three Caballerosis a wild ride from beginning to end, forgoing a traditional story for various creative and educational segments. The film boasts some impressive technological innovations for the time, especially during the segments that combine animation with live-action footage. The interactions between Donald, José, and Panchito are the highlights: their personalities bounce off one another very well and inject some much-needed comedy between the cultural segments.
The Three Caballeros
8’Make Mine Music' (1946)
Directed by Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Joshua Meador, and Robert Cormack
Disney’s most ambitious film isFantasia, a blending of gorgeous Disney animation with classical music. Unfortunately, the film didn’t make enough money back, so Walt scrapped ideas for a sequel but still wanted to experiment with music and animation. The Wartime Era gave him a chance to combine eight different ideas into one film, some of which were told like traditional narratives, while others were more abstract and musically focused.
Make Mine Musicin no way reaches the same heights of creativity and artistic expression asFantasia, but the segments are still a lot of fun. In fact, many of them were released individually on television, where they fared better than they ever did as a complete film. The two most famous segments have to be “Peter and the Wolf,” narrated byDisney legendSterling Holloway, and “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met,” which is entirely performed by famous baritone singerNelson Eddyand contains one of Disney’s darkest endings.
Make Mine Music
7’Melody Time' (1948)
Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, and Jack Kinney
Once World War II was over, Walt was eager to get back to producing traditionally animated films but released two more package films to make a profit while his team developedCinderella. The first of these films,Melody Time, is a spiritual sequel toMake Mine Musicand the last time Donald Duck and José Carioca appeared in a Disney movie untilWho Framed Roger Rabbit. It reduced the number of shorts from ten to seven, thus allowing each one more time dedicated to their stories and animation.
Make Mine Musicmakes the most of this additional time and effort to create unforgettable shorts. Highlights include “Bumble Boogy,” thanks to its surreal imagery and catchy music; “Blame It on the Samba,” which sees Donald and José lifted out of a blue funk by the Aracuan Bird; and “Pecos Bill,” a narrative segment about the legendary folk hero brought to life byWard KimbellofDisney’s Nine Old Men. Yet the most remembered segment has to be “The Legend of Johnny Appleseed,” which contains catchy music and truly gorgeous imagery, such as apple blossoms transforming into clouds.
Melody Time
6’Fun and Fancy Free' (1947)
Directed by Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Hamilton Luske, and William Morgan
While exploring a large house, Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) stumbles upon a sad doll and stuffed bear, and decides to perk them up using a record. Narrated byDiana Shore,the record tells the story of a circus bear named Bongo (Jimmy MacDonald), who attempts to live in the wild and attract the attention of a female bear. Afterward, Jiminy heads next door, where puppeteerEdger BergenentertainsLuana Pattenand his puppets, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Mickey (Walt Disney), Donald, and Goofy.
Fun and Fancy Free’stwo segments were initially produced as stand-alone films but were merged to save on time and cost. Compared toMake Mine MusicandMelody Time, the segments are given more room to breathe, which makes the stories and characters feel more complete. The film is also noteworthy as being the last time Walt Disney would regularly voice Mickey Mouse, with MacDonald taking over in 1948.
Fun and Fancy Free
5’Oliver & Company' (1988)
Directed by George Scribner
A kitten named Oliver (Joey Lawrence) is left abandoned on the streets of New York City after his siblings are adopted, and he eventually befriends a dog named Dodger (Billy Joel). Following him home, Oliver meets a colorful assortment of dogs owned by Fagin (Dom DeLuise), a friendly but down-on-his-luck thief trying to repay his debt to a loan shark named Bill Sykes (Robert Loggia). Oliver joins the crew and tries to help them with their schemes, but things become more complicated when he catches the eye of a lonely but wealthy girl named Jenny (Natalie Gregory).
Oliver & Companyis as decent an adaptation ofOliver Twistwith animals as one can imagine. There’s some very good music in the film, with songs sung by both Joel andBette Midler, who plays Jenny’s spoiled and theatrical poodle, Georgette, and the side characters have fun and diverse personalities. It’s held back by being, overall, not very remarkable and having one of Disney’s most forgettable villains.
Oliver & Company
Oliver & Company is an animated film directed by George Scribner. It reimagines Charles Dickens' classic tale with Oliver as an orphaned kitten navigating New York City. He joins a group of dogs led by a criminal and encounters a wealthy girl named Jenny, which alters his life.
4’Dinosaur' (2000)
Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton
After his egg was taken by a pterosaur, Aladar the Iguanodon (D. B. Sweeney) grew up on an island, raised by a community of lemurs. However, during his adult years, a meteor shower destroys the island, and he is forced to swim to the mainland with only a handful of survivors. They meet up with a mixed herd of dinosaurs led by a harsh Iguanodon named Krone (Samuel E. Wright), who is leading them across a hostile desert to reach the Nesting Grounds.
Dinosaurwas the first fully CGI film made by Disney with no involvement from Pixar, and for its time, the models looked great, especially when mixed into the live-action backgrounds. The film also boasts one of Disney’s best scores, courtesy ofJames Newton Howard, and featured vocals directed byLebo M,who also worked onThe Lion King.Unfortunately, all these positives couldn’t save a predictable story, flat characters, and anachronistic jokes that dragged down any attempt at a serious tone.
3’The Rescuers' (1977)
Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman, John Lounsbery, and Art Stevens
When an orphan girl named Penny (Michelle Stacy) sends a message in a bottle, it makes its way to the Rescue Aid Society, an organization of mice from around the world dedicated to helping those in need. Their Hungarian representative, Miss Bianca (Eva Gabor), is chosen to aid the girl, and she chooses American janitor Bernard (Bob Newhart) as her partner. Following Penny’s trail, they eventually find her in the Devil’s Bayou, being used by the evil Madam Medusa (Geraldine Page) to collect a priceless diamond called the Devil’s Eye.
The Rescuersis the most profitable film fromthe Dark Ages of Disney,but nowadays it’s often overlooked due to its underwhelming story and fluctuating quality. The best parts come from the main characters: Bernard and Bianca are one of the best duos from Disney thanks to their contrasting personalities and the strength of the voice actors. Madam Medusa is also a pretty memorable villain, with a single-minded obsession to get her diamond and some of Disney’s most expressive animation from this era, courtesy of legendary animatorMilt Kahl.
The Rescuers
The Rescuers is an animated adventure film from Disney, released in 1977. The film follows two brave mice, Bernard and Miss Bianca, as they embark on a mission to rescue a young orphan named Penny from the clutches of the sinister Madame Medusa. Together, the mice navigate the treacherous swamps to thwart Medusa’s plans and save Penny.
Directed by Ben Sharpsteen, Jack Kinney, Clyde Geronimi, and James Algar
Within a library,Basil RathboneandBing Crosbynarrate class British and American stories for the audience. Rathbone tellsThe Wind in the Willows, which follows the eccentric amphibious T. Thaddeus Toad (Eric Blore) as he gets into trouble with the law regarding a motor car. Crosby, meanwhile, tellsThe Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which sees schoolmaster Ichabod Crane (Bing Crosby) pursue the affection and fortune of Katrina Van Tassel before having a run-in with the Headless Horseman (Billy Bletcher).
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toadis thebest of the Wartime era moviesthanks to coming last, meaning that it got to learn from the mistakes of its predecessors. Both of its segments are fully realized shorts, with unforgettable and well-defined characters, catchy music, and plenty of laughs. Aside from the iconic climax with the Headless Horseman, Ichabod and Toad are the highlights of the film: Toad’s manias and zest for life suck audiences into his every action, while Ichabod shows that Disney is capable of making protagonists who aren’t altogether good through how he exploits the women of the town to get free food and fantasizes over the Van Tassel fortune.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
1’The Rescuers Down Under' (1990)
Directed by Hendel Butoy and Mike Gabriel
Bernard’s attempt to propose to Bianca is thwarted by a new call for help from Australia, where a boy named Cody (Adam Ryen) has been captured by the poacher, McLeach (George C. Scott). He hopes to learn from Cody the location of the great golden eagle, Marahute (Frank Welker), and her eggs, so he can capture the bird and make a fortune. With help from an albatross named Wilbur (John Candy) and a hopping mouse named Jake (Tristan Rogers), Bernard and Bianca cross the Australian Outback as quickly as they can while Cody tries to hold out against McLeach’s threats.
The Rescuers Down Underis the first sequel Disney released in theaters, andthough it was a box office disappointment, the film has aged well thanks to its gorgeous animation and Scott’s performance. It was the first movie to use Pixar’s CAPS system to digitally add colors and create more dynamic shot compositions. The result is some of the most impressive flying scenes in animation.
