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

9. Pinocchio (1940)

Beloved Golden Ager Pinocchio carries the auspicious title of being the only Disney film ever released to have a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. Obviously, that site is not the be-all-and-end-all of quality assessment (since it gets a lot of things to do with Disney entirely wrong), but it's still a nice little bade of honour.

Pinocchio follows the traditional successful Disney model of a central character moving from naive, spirited innocence to awareness through some adversity, but it's so much more than a formula. It ticks further boxes for emotive power, incredible set-pieces and the kind of horror that Disney used to love in the earliest days.

Pinocchio is a charming enough lead, but he's a bit of a dolt, so it's lucky we have Jiminy Cricket to act as conscience, heart and brain of the piece. And it's through his occasionally startled eyes that we watch Pinocchio stumble through what is basically a fantastical puberty allegory. With a whale and some typically great songs.