Poll Time! Best Walt Disney Animation Film

I’ve got a Resort poll going in another thread, but I had an idea and decided to go for it.

I love Disney animated films, from the classics, to the Renaissance, to the modern hits, and everything in between. But which one is the best?

I’m going to divide this into multiple polls by era. Make sure to comment below to give your favorite films due credit, even if you don’t vote for them! Discussion is more than half the fun.

What is the best Walt Disney Animation Studios film?

Poll 1: Walt Disney’s Classics

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  • Pinocchio (1940)
  • Fantasia (1940)
  • Dumbo (1941)
  • Bambi (1942)
  • Saludos Amigos (1943)
  • The Three Caballeros (1945)
  • Make Mine Music (1946)
  • Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
  • Melody Time (1948)
  • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
  • Cinderella (1950)
  • Alice in Wonderland (1951)
  • Peter Pan (1953)
  • Lady and the Tramp (1955)
  • Sleeping Beauty (1959)
  • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)
  • The Jungle Book (1967)

0 voters

Note: The Jungle Book was the last animated film for which Walt Disney was credited as producer. He died December 15, 1966, 10 months before its release.

Poll 2: The Dark Ages and the Renaissance

  • The Aristocats (1970)
  • Robin Hood (1973)
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
  • The Rescuers (1977)
  • The Fox and the Hound (1981)
  • The Black Cauldron (1985)
  • The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
  • Oliver & Company (1988)
  • The Little Mermaid (1989)
  • The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
  • Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  • Aladdin (1992)
  • The Lion King (1994)
  • Pocahontas (1995)
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
  • Hercules (1997)
  • Mulan (1998)
  • Tarzan (1999)
  • Fantasia 2000 (1999)

0 voters

Note: The Disney Renaissance is generally considered to have started with The Little Mermaid. I consider Tarzan to be the last in that string, but Fantasia 2000 is good enough to be lumped in, IMO. Dinosaur was a clear drop-off in quality and resonance.

Poll 3: The Lull

  • Dinosaur (2000)
  • The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
  • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
  • Lilo & Stitch (2002)
  • Treasure Planet (2002)
  • Brother Bear (2003)
  • Home on the Range (2004)
  • Chicken Little (2005)
  • Meet the Robinsons (2007)
  • Bolt (2008)

0 voters

Note: I don’t expect any of the films above to win the grand prize, but I am very curious to hear arguments for each. There are some hidden gems in this category!

Poll 4: The Latest Hits

  • The Princess and the Frog (2009)
  • Tangled (2010)
  • Winnie the Pooh (2011)
  • Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
  • Frozen (2013)
  • Big Hero 6 (2014)
  • Zootopia (2016)
  • Moana (2016)
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
  • Frozen II (2019)
  • Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
  • Encanto (2021)

0 voters

I included all 60 of the official Walt Disney Animation Studios Films, from Snow White to Encanto. Note that there are alternate lists that include or exclude different films, but this is the most widely recognized set. Pixar will have to wait till another day.

Remember to vote in each poll, even if you are not familiar with all the options. Use whatever criteria you see fit.

Jeff's Official Polling Rules for Cynics and Skeptics

In case of a tournament, the following protocols will be followed:

  • All voters are eligible to participate regardless of their familiarity with the various options
  • Voters may cast or change their vote as desired until the poll is closed (generally timed)
  • The first option to receive over 50% in any round upon closing of the poll is deemed the winner
  • The percentage displayed by the forum software will be deemed the official result, regardless of the absolute number of votes cast (i.e., rounding differences may be decisive)
  • If no option receives over 50%, additional rounds will be held
    • All options receiving 15% or more will advance to the next round
    • If all options have received 15% or more, the option receiving the lowest % of the vote will be eliminated
    • In the case of a tie, the option receiving the higher % in the previous round will advance
      • If there is still a tie after following the above rules, the option listed first by the forum software in the results will advance
  • All results are final – no recounts, re-dos, challenges, or complaints will be accepted; however, discussion and debate is welcome.
  • Have a magical day! :rainbow::european_castle::fireworks:
4 Likes

Does Nightmare Before Christmas not count??

That would be my number 1 choice without question, but now I’m going to have to think about it :thinking:

Any maybe watch a movie or fifty… :film_strip::film_strip::laughing::laughing:

3 Likes

Looking forward to that one!! :blue_heart::yellow_heart::heart:

1 Like

Nope, sorry. The Nightmare Before Christmas was released by Disney through its Touchstone Pictures arm. Also it was produced by Tim Burton’s Skellington Productions and is claymation, not traditional animation.

4 Likes

Some of these made me feel like I was being asked to choose my favorite child! Very difficult.

22 Likes

All true, but it’s also my favourite Disney movie, so :woman_shrugging:t4:

Back to the drawing board… :laughing:

1 Like

One of my favorites is Mary Poppins, but it doesn’t count either since it’s mostly live action!

6 Likes

I refuse to choose from the Renaissance bc that’s like choosing your favorite child. Can. Not. Choose. That’s cruel to even make me try.

10 Likes

This was hard. I base favorite on rewatching.

I consider Aristocat’s more of the Classics than Dark Ages and Renaissance. But you have to make the cut off somewhere.

The Lull really hurt me to choose between Bolt and Emperor’s New Groove.

I’m still not sure about the last category. I do think Encanto will be my favorite long term, but it is still too soon to tell. Tangled and Big Hero 6 are just so special to me. But I think it will be Encanto that I pick 5 years from now.

7 Likes

That is definitely the hardest category for me! So many good ones that played a huge role in my childhood. Especially The LIttle Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King, which came out right in my most formative years. Pocahontas, Hunchback, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan rounded out my middle / high school years.

I also love The Rescuers Down Under, which I watched this past weekend with my kids, and consider it to be one of the most underrated Disney films ever! And of course, who can forget Winnie the Pooh.

7 Likes

It’s like I’m hearing that’s a bad thing…?

10 Likes

:rofl:

2 Likes

Ditto all the comments about how hard this is. Plus, also, Jeff, I know there are going to be some folks who argue semantics here - “best” doesn’t necessarily mean “favorite.” For example, in “The Dark Ages & The Renaissance,” Beauty & the Beast was legitimately nominated for Best Picture by the MPAA. And I agree, it’s probably the “best” film. But is it my favorite? No. Nostalgia factors big on some of these.

8 Likes

I need 2 or 3 choices in each category.

I see @OBNurseNH voted for Meet the Robinsons. I almost voted for this one. The adoption theme speaks to me heavily and was just what we needed (DD22 and I) when it was released. Keep Moving Forward … was basically my mantra to her. You can stay in the pain of this horrible thing that happened to you or you can move forward and have an amazing life. Choose happiness! So this movie is really special to me. But I voted for Lilo and Stitch. It also has themes that speak to adoption and attachment, but what pushed it over the top is DD19’s love for it.

7 Likes

And you decided to be the one, didn’t you?!? :rofl::rofl::rofl:

8 Likes

I’m not sure how people are having a hard time with the Renaissance.

What is it that you don’t understand about the comedic genius of Robin Williams as the Genie???

6 Likes

I think I’m between that and Emperor for that category.

4 Likes

I think those early 1970s movies need to be in their own little slot before things kicked back in with Mermaid etc.

There was a sort of “how can we keep this story Walt-like” for Robin Hood, Aristocats, Rescuers etc. They had little successes within the movies but lots of misses - and weren’t yet the Broadway sensibility that renewed the studio with the 80s movies.

Out of those I have to pick Robin Hood mainly because I was exactly the right age for it when that was released (7) - AND they had those characters walking around MK on my first visit in 1976. :slight_smile:

I remember being super excited for the Black Cauldron - and being disappointed in the theater. I would love to see a documentary on the effects and creation of that one, but the story was pretty flat.

On the Lulls - I only watched Lilo and New Groove in the last few years, just never got around to them! I liked Lilo much more than I though I would and think New Groove is excellent. Meet the Robinsons is also very underrated. I think I’ve seen Bolt eleventy-six times since my now DD15 was hooked on it - and it still is fun to watch for me, which is something.

Looking at the Latest Hits - pretty amazing how consistently strong those are. (except Raya: meh.)

8 Likes

Exactly! But I also really love Robin Hood and have seen it a lot too. I even have a RH loungefly.

6 Likes

But all the Little Mermaid songs are so much better ear worms.

6 Likes