The Eras of Disney Animation

A little over 12 years ago, back when Disney’s Frozen came out in theaters, I was not only enamored with the movie, but it got me more interested into Disney. For all of 2014, I’ve did research and learned about Disney’s history. It also got me watching a couple of other older movies, as well as purchasing a couple Disney movies. From 2014 to 2018, I purchased all 10 movies of the Disney Renaissance from iTunes (which Frozen wasn’t part of, but The Lion King was). Though I doubt that I was the only one who all of the sudden gained more interested into Disney since the release of Frozen. Probably far from it.

As of today, there are 64 animated features by Walt Disney Animation Studios, which is twice as many as there were back when The Lion King, the turning point of Disney animation, came out in theaters in 1994. Within the last 88 years, more than half of the movies were released within the last 40 years. Throughout this entire period, there were eight eras of Disney Animation, each of them are defined by their successes. They are:

• The Golden Age (1937-1942)
• The Packaged Film Era (1943-1949)
• The Silver Age (1950-1967)
• The Dark Era (1970-1988)
• The Disney Renaissance (1989-1999)
• The Post-Renaissance Era (1999-2008)
• The Revival Era (2009-2016)
• The Post-Revival Era (2018-present)

Each era started with a turning point during the transition. We had Walt Disney’s death (which eventually led to a change in management), the return to musicals (which helped Disney gain back the crowds), and even the #MeToo movement (which ousted one of the most influential animators). Moreover, two of these eras were defined by the trend of what kind of movies they were making (compilations of short cartoons and animated musicals). None of these names are official, not even the Disney Renaissance.

The Golden Age:

The first era of Disney Animation started way back during The Great Depression and World War II. The movie that started it all was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which came out in 1937. That one was a success and has been ingrained as a Disney classic. The other four movies released within this era (Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942)) were also among the best of the Disney Animation Canon. Unfortunately, most of them were box office bombs, not that it was Walt Disney’s fault, but rather because of global problems at the time (World War II). Even the one other movie that succeeded (Dumbo) was made on a limited budget, hence being a shorter film.

Compared to the rest of the classics released during Walt Disney’s lifetime, and not unlike some of the Disney Renaissance films, the movies were a lot darker, given the content and subject matter. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the transformation of the queen was the first time something this magical was shown on screen. Pinocchio, one of the villains tricked several boys into transforming into donkeys, then sold the slavery. Fantasia, the Night on Bald Mountain segment explains it all. Dumbo, the film puts a highlight on abuse of animals in circuses. Bambi, the film was about the death of a mother.

• Best Movie: The most cherished film of the era would have to be Pinocchio (1940). It’s at the point that even its signature song was used as a jingle for the opening logo to Walt Disney Pictures. It also had a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is the first theatrical animated film to win an Oscar in any category.
• Worst Movie: While no movie in this era would be considered a bad movie by many, the medal of dishonor goes to Fantasia (1940). Is it a bad movie? No, it’s part of the league of best movies. But according to many ranked lists, when all five of the Golden Age films make it to the top 20, top 15, or even top 10, Fantasia is usually seen as the lowest-ranked. Unsurprisingly, I would think it was more of a compilation of cartoons synchronized with classical music than a movie with a plot.

The Packaged Film Era:

Disney had their potential at first, but after several failures, they didn’t do too well. At the time, due to a lack of revenue thanks to international markets shutting down, combined with the fact that many of Disney’s animators were drafted to war and Disney asked to make propaganda films, Disney went through a time where they could only make packaged films, which are compilations of animated segments made into a movie. As individual cartoons themselves, a couple of them were pretty good. But by today’s standards, they are disappointments, especially when you compare them to the likes of the Disney Renaissance and the Revival Era.

During this era, they released the movies Saludos Amigos (1943), The Three Callaberos (1945), Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). Some of the animated shorts include Pedro, Peter and the Wolf, Willie the Operatic Whale, Mickey And the Beanstalk, The Legend of Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill. Also around this time, Disney released The Reluctant Dragon (1941), Victory Through Air Power (1943), Song of the South (1946), and So Dear to My Heart (1948), but they were not part of the Animation Canon, as they were hybrids between live action and animation.

• Best Movie: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) would have to be it. Not that I liked the movie, but rather that it helped Disney get back onto its feet and made full-length feature animated films once again. Still, the era as a whole doesn’t even have a single movie that would stand out to be one of the greatest, while worse eras did.
• Worst Movie: Make Mine Music (1946). Although it had some animated shorts that remain to be good up to this day, the movie had to be censored by nixing one of the segments completely. That segment was The Martins and The Coys, for that it had excessive gunplay.

The Silver Age:

The Silver Age is divided into two different sub-eras. The Neoclassical Era (1950-1959), and the Xerox Era (1961-1967). When Disney returned to making full-length feature movies, they made a couple of classics that had staying power today. The five Neoclassical Era films were Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), and Sleeping Beauty (1959). Interestingly enough, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty would eventually be classified as “Disney Princess films”, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan essentially had the same plot (with the protagonist having the same voice actor), and Lady and the Tramp was released the same year Disneyland opened to the public. While some of these movies remain to be controversial and had a few other things that don’t sit well with today’s audiences (like how Peter Pan was more of a jerk than Captain Hook was, or how Aurora only got 18 minutes of screen time, most of it was while she was asleep), they are cherished classics.

The Xerox Era had these three movies: 101 Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), and The Jungle Book (1967). It was like if the good times would never run out. Sadly, Walt Disney died in 1966, beginning a new age in animation.

• Best Movie: Although I like Alice in Wonderland the most (mostly because of the Tulgey Wood scene), the winner of the era is Sleeping Beauty (1959). Unlike the other movies at the time, the movie was more focused on the villain, Maleficent. She was the most memorable of all of the Disney villains.
• Worst Movie: Nearly every movie released during this time was highly cherished and was given more love by Disney. However, there was only one movie that didn’t get this treatment, and that is The Sword and the Stone (1963). It’s still a solid classic, just not as well-appreciated as the others.

The Dark Era:

The Dark Era is divided into two different sub-eras. The Bronze Age (1970-1981), and the Transitional Era (1985-1988). The name, which was inspired by The Black Cauldron (1985), describes the quality of the era. This was when Disney wasn’t doing too well. Although Walt Disney died before The Jungle Book came out, it wasn’t until The Aristocats (1970) when the 19 years of darkness began. For 19 years, the media giant was asleep. For 19 years, there was a drought, just like if a lush forest turned into a desolate wasteland with no water. For 19 years, there was a change in management, and the movies released during this time didn’t do as well as the earlier films.

The Bronze Age had The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), The Rescuers (1977), and The Fox and the Hound (1981). The Transitional Era had The Black Cauldron (1985), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), and Oliver & Company (1988). The movies weren’t just unpopular at the time. They didn’t fare as well among today’s audiences. Although there’s a class of people who think almost any Disney movie (including every movie from this era) is a good movie due to their high standards, they are frequently ranked towards the bottom compared to the other movies.

The division between the Bronze Age and Transitional Era is based on when the Nine Old Men were working on Disney’s animated features. The Fox and the Hound was the last Disney Animated Feature to involve any of the Nine Old Men, thus ending a long era of movies with involvement from Walt Disney, Roy O. Disney, and the Nine Old Men.

• Best Movie: While I don’t like it as much as the sequel, The Rescuers (1977) would be the best of this era. Part of the reason why is because it’s the most successful. Coincidentally, while it has nothing to do with Disney, it was released the same year the film industry was at its best.
• Worst Movie: Almost nobody would disagree that The Black Cauldron (1985) would be the worst. Not just of this era, but also of the entire 20^th century. The movie was badly rushed, and the story didn’t make sense since it started with the second book of the source material. What’s even worse was that this movie was not just a big box office bomb (the deficit even exceeded the gross), but it was so bad that it nearly obliterated Disney’s animation branch. Disney was even reluctant to giving it a home release until later.

The Disney Renaissance:

After 19 years of darkness, Disney came out of nowhere, doing much better than ever. After the release of The Little Mermaid (1989), a new era of Disney animation has started, where the focus was on stage musical adaptations of classic stories. The first half of the Disney Renaissance had the four big hits (The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994)), as well as the underperforming The Rescuers Down Under (1990). The second half had Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), and Tarzan (1999). While Disney started going downhill again after the release of Pocahontas, the second half had their share of successes.

Of the nine animated musicals, five of them were Disney princess films, while the four that weren’t, had a similar plot structure. The main character was a male character that began as a baby and grew up during the movie. At some point in the time, the main character was treated like an outcast (or in Simba’s case, became an outcast), but eventually earned love and respect and got a happy ending, after several challenges.

Instead of picking the best and worst movie, I decided to do a general ranking of the Disney Renaissance based on the public opinion:

• #1-2: The two movies that usually get the top spot are Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994), and they are even creating competition with Pinocchio as the best animated feature at all. The former was the only one of the canon to be nominated for Best Picture in the Academy Awards, while the latter was the highest grossing animated film for a while (9 years as the top-grossing animated film, 19 years as the top-grossing WDAS film, and still the top-grossing traditionally-animated film).
• #3: Aladdin (1992) gets the third spot in terms of best of the Disney Renaissance, given that it had the highest Rotten Tomatoes score.
• #4: The Little Mermaid (1989) would have to be the weakest of the four big hits. While still one of the best Disney movies, some of the content and subject matter didn’t age well over time, while Ariel can be a cringeworthy protagonist.
• #5-7: This is a toss-up between The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), and Mulan (1998). What do they all have in common. A great hero and one of the most evil villains that brought fear across the general populace.
• #8: Tarzan (1999) may not be the worst of the Disney Renaissance, but it was a rather weak finale, given the stronger musical numbers, better plots, and better sidekicks from the earlier movies.
• #9-10: This is more of a toss-up between Pocahontas (1995) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990), the former for being the lowest-rated movie of the era, and the latter for not even following the formula the rest of the era had.

The Post-Renaissance Era:

Of course, the good times may have to come to an end. After a decade of Disney being at their best, it was followed by a decade of Disney at their worst. This is the Post-Renaissance Era, which had several box office bombs to the point that it has proven that traditional animation was no longer feasible. This was also when the CEO that saved Disney became more of a liability than a hero.

The Post-Renaissance Era is divided into two different sub-eras. They are the Late 2D Era (1999-2004), and the Early 3D Era (2005-2008). One thing worth noting is that the movies released at this time were released in consecutive years (except for 2006), showing that Disney was trying to release at least one movie every year. When they abandoned the musical format, they stopped doing well. The end of traditional animation isn’t just to blame on the failures. After the success of Pixar’s Toy Story (1995), and later DreamWorks’ Shrek (2001) and Blue Sky’s Ice Age (2002), 3D Animation has become the mainstream, and Disney eventually followed that suit. Just like how The Fox and The Hound ended the long era of Disney animation where Disney or his loyal animators were involved, Home on the Range ended the long era of traditional animation.

• Best Movie: The winner would go to The Emperor’s New Groove (2000). While many movies of this era have proven that Disney became a shell of its former self, The Emperor’s New Groove was surprisingly popular among the younger audiences and may eventually become a cult classic like Alice in Wonderland, or Dumbo.
• Worst Movie: For 2D Animation, Home on the Range (2004). For 3D Animation, Chicken Little (2005). Both movies were Disney at their worst, and are among the very few movies that were actually considered bad by the standards of animation in general, not just Disney. That’s all I need to say.

The Revival Era:

After Michael Eisner stepped down and Bob Iger became CEO, Disney started improving again on their animation branch. But it wasn’t until the release of The Princess and the Frog in 2009 that really got people taking Disney more seriously again. Although they tried attempting to revive traditional animation, many of their more successful films came from their CGI movies (Tangled (2010), Wreck-It-Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), Big Hero 6 (2014), Zootopia (2016), and Moana (2016)). While they still can’t beat the classics altogether, they were among the best modern films in animation, as the stories were more complex and deeper.

One thing that was more common among each of these movies was that there was a hidden villain or twist villain. There was a common trope where someone good-looking and handsome is a backstabbing traitor and evil on the inside, but what Disney did in these movies was completely a surprise, like we weren’t expecting it.

• Best Movie: Despite the overhype and craze, Frozen (2013) is still the best movie of the era. It also came with some valuable lessons that are related to the story, while deconstructing some popular tropes with classical tales (like making the prince the main antagonist, true love being sibling love rather than relationships, and the real problem with ice powers is fear and stress, not presenting it).
• Worst Movie: It’s hard to pick any of the 3D animated movies since they followed Disney’s high standards. But if a loser had to be picked, it would be Winnie-the-Pooh (2011). Just like how The Rescuers Down Under didn’t fit the formula for the Disney Renaissance, Winnie-the-Pooh would be this to the Revival Era. While it only failed because of competition with Harry Potter and some other movies at the time, this was the final nail in the coffin for traditional animation.

The Post-Revival Era:

After Disney had their potential in the 2010’s decade, they went downhill again. While it’s too early to declare if any of these movies are the best or the worst, they didn’t live up to the expectations of the Revival Era. This era was defined by when they started making sequels to their previous films, showing that originality is over. Even the original films (Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Encanto (2021), Strange World (2022), and Wish (2023)) didn’t live up to the expectations of the previous movies. They’ve also had a noticeable change in how they tell stories in these newer movies. They had less focus on simple good vs evil, and more complex and realistic stories like family conflict and division.

Since the era is still going on, it’s too early to declare what would be the best movie, and what would be the worst movie of the era.