All 56 Walt Disney Animated Classics: Ranked From Worst To Best
23. Robin Hood (1973)
Far from as critically appreciated as it deserves to be, Robin Hood is without doubt one of the most under-rated of all of Disney's films. it seemingly attracts accusations of banality and boringness, which is just plain ludicrous.
Yes, it is curiously rooted in the 70s, despite being a timeless tale, but there is infinite charm in the animation and in the characters, and some of the songs are brilliantly catchy. There are problems of course, because there's a fundamental lack of magic, but the Robin Hood legend is lovingly recaptured with a tongue-in-cheek rascal spirit.
It's almost universally appealing to the family, doesn't bother to moralise and it feels like an old-style swash-buckler that more modern critics simply don't seem to understand. Luckily, they're wrong.
22. The Princess And The Frog (2009)
Like Mulan, The Princess And The Frog is a perfect homage to its setting: there's something magical about New Orleans that the story channels and the enigmatic spirit of the place is captured lovingly. It's almost like a love letter to the spirit of carnival.
It's a good thing that the film is so pumped full of personality too: this wasn't a time for hand-drawn animation, given the rise and heady successes of Pixar, and again, it was a case of Disney taking a gamble and it paying off. The music is great, the characters well-drawn and entertaining and the story is a mix of classical elements and modern flair. How I wish there were more animations of its type now.
Also, if you didn't absolutely ball your eyes out at the death of Ray, you have a heart made of stone.