All 56 Walt Disney Animated Classics: Ranked From Worst To Best

19. Cinderella (1950)

After the Second World War derailed the Disney features train by diverting funds away to propaganda films and leaving us mostly with package films, Cinderella offered definitive proof that the Mouse House was still capable of genius.

Widely held as the last of the first Golden Age Disneys (basically the first five), Cinderella blended techniques used both in the earlier beloved films and the less acclaimed 1950s offerings. And it was a major gamble for Disney that could have backfired so badly that the studio could have died there and then.

Luckily, thanks to a great raft of characters, animation that is both realistic and endearingly cartoonish and some of Disney's best songs, it was a big enough hit to pull Disney back from the brink. And it's still a nostalgic joy to watch.

18. Sleeping Beauty (1959)

It is unthinkable, but Sleeping Beauty was such a critical and commercial flop on its initial release that it steered Disney away from making movies from fairy tales for a full 30 years. Side by side with the earliest Disney's, Sleeping Beauty is just as gorgeous: the rich, deep backgrounds are almost unrivalled and the realistic character designs are just as artistically impressive.

Thankfully, critical reactions turned in its favour later.

It is a grand film, beautifully soundtracked with a magnificent score, and in Maleficent it might well have the greatest ever Disney villain. The film is a true masterpiece, appealing to both adults and younger audience members, which furnishes a familiar old tale with one of Disney's most endearing supporting casts.