All 52 Walt Disney Animated Classics: Ranked From Worst To Best
25. Robin Hood (1973)
Robin Hood will not go down as Disney's greatest achievement ever, but it's a sold effort nonetheless. The tale of the fox that steals from the rich and gives to the poor is a fun, animate retelling of the classic legend, and remains entertaining to this day. It does not possess a particularly memorable soundtrack, and it lacks those magical elements which Peter Pan and Cinderella have in droves, but it does contain enough innocent gags and thrilling scenes to warrant multiple viewings.
There are many adaptations of the character of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, of course, and Disney's version still manages to stand out amongst them all.
24. The Fox and the Hound (1981)
This feel-good, buddy story has a natural sense of timelessness to it. Not to mention it really knows how to get you right in the heart strings. The story concerns Todd and Copper, a fox and a hound, who create a friendship but due to expectations and norms are not allowed to be near one another. I'm shedding a tear just thinking about their forced separation (they just want to be friends!) But I digress: this film does have the emotion and story that we know as Disney.
Today, The Fox and The Hound still delights - a timeless story if ever there was one.
23. Fantasia (1940)
This is another film that bounced around the list a few times. However, it finally stopped at number 23, about midway. Fantasia was an ambitious project to say the least. It was a personal goal of Walt Disney to have this created despite those telling him it would never work. Walt wanted to mix the art of classical music with the mainstream presentation of animation and bring these two cultures to the masses.
After Snow White and Pinocchio, this was a very big risk and it seemed those who said it would not work won out. It was not very successful in theatres, possibly because it was a rather different sort of film, even for the animation genre. But the quality is still top notch and it has eventually been considered one of the great works of Disney due to its many memorable characters and sequences that define the Disney company.
22. 101 Dalmatians (1961)
Who doesn't love-hate Cruella de Vil, who is often considered to be one of the most despicable Disney villains imaginable. She wanted to make a coat out of puppies, after all: that is one sick chick. Still, it's okay because a pair of the best Disney parents ever are on the hunt to save their litter and more... a whole lot more.
101 Dalmatians is another under the list of certified Disney classics with expressive characters and a proper mixture of thrills and drama that culminates in a surprisingly display of peril coming from a film about dogs. The animation, as many films at this point, is clean and descriptive, which goes without saying. It's one of the most attractive and enduring stories Disney has ever told, and a bonafide classic of the era.
21. The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
If there ever was a Disney film to have a massive cult following, it is this one right here. Critics may not consider this film in the likes of The Lion King, but when you have a plot and cast that delivers such hilarious performances that sits with a generation in such an everlasting manner, then it deserves to be this high up on the list.
The story of Kuzco, a spoiled emperor turned into a Llama to learn the errors of his ways, has one of the highest re-watchability levels of any Disney film. While this may not be your grandmother's favorite, there is a whole generation of twenty-somethings who will defend this film as a fun piece that brings much needed laughs and fun without getting stupid or low-brow. And it has a great moral, too. Not given the respect it deserves, New Groove is certainly one of Disney's best side-splitters and all-round hilarious movies.