Disney was a huge part of my life. Growing up in Anaheim, in the late 1950s and early 1960s (shortly after Disneyland opened), the Matterhorn was visible from my house, and the Park was an immediate influence. In those days, admission to Disneyland was only $1.60 for adults and 60 cents for children, so we went frequently. Then, several years later, as a college student at UC Irvine in the 1970s, I worked at Disneyland in the evenings and weekends.

Here are my picks for my favorite Disney animated film in each decade, starting with the 1930s. I don’t include Pixar films.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) – This is an easy pick because it was the only animated film released in the 1930s. That said, it’s a brilliant film. It was the world’s first full-length animated movie and a bet-the-company gamble. If you can’t list the names of all seven dwarfs, shame on you.

2. Pinocchio (1940) – This film had absolutely ground-breaking technology. And it was quite scary too, with Monstro the evil whale and Pleasure Island where boys were turned into donkeys. A brilliant achievement. Honorable mentions: “Dumbo” (1941), “Bambi” (1942).

3. Sleeping Beauty (1959) – This film has my favorite art design and the single best female villain of all time: Maleficent. The dragon scene with green fire is a landmark in animation. Honorable mentions: “Cinderella” (1950), “Alice in Wonderland” (1951), “Peter Pan” (1953), “Lady and the Tramp” (1955) — all fantastic. The 1950s is the best decade for Disney animation in the Walt era prior to his death in 1966.

4. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) – A wonderful story, even if the idea of raising Dalmatian puppies for their hides is rather grim. The highlight of this movie is the villainess, Cruella de Vil. Not a strong decade for Disney animation because Walt was focused on the “Mary Poppins” live-action movie and other projects. No honorable mentions for the 1960s.

5. The Rescuers (1977) – It took a while for Disney to regain momentum after the death of Walt in 1966. This movie isn’t highly regarded by many Disney experts but I give it a solid A grade. Mice Bernard and Bianca of the Rescue Aid Society save a young girl from Madame Medusa in the Louisiana swaps. “The Rescuers Down Under” (1990) was also excellent. No honorable mentions for the 1970s.

6. The Great Mouse Detective (1986) – Basil the detective (a Sherlock Holmesian mouse) and his friend Dr. Dawson, help a young mouse Olivia save Olivia’s father from the evil Professor Ratigan in Victorian England. The success of this film saved Disney animation, which was on the verge of bankruptcy after “The Dark Cauldron” (1985), which was a huge financial failure. Honorable mention: “The Little Mermaid” (1989), which most people other than me rate as far better than “Mouse Detective”.

7. Hercules (1997) – This film has a darker feel and more adult themes than many other Disney animated movies. Although this movie was successful, it wasn’t as successful as previous Disney blockbuster animated films of the 1990s: “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), “Aladdin” (1992), “The Lion King” (1994), and to a lesser degree “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996). These four films all get honorable mention for the 1990s. Also highly rated by many people are “Mulan” (1998) and “Tarzan” (1999). An incredible decade for Disney animation.

8. Atlantis the Lost Empire (2001) – The story takes place in 1914 and tells the story of a scientific expedition that discovers Atlantis in spite of the evil mercenary Rourke. The movie only broke even at the box office — a major disappointment for Disney. There are several theories about why the movie wasn’t a success. All of the good animated films of this decade were done by Pixar — “The Incredibles”, “Monsters, Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “Cars”, “WALL-E”. A sad decade for Disney animation.

9. Zootopia (2016) – I avoided watching this movie for a long time because the basic idea sounded kind of lame — in a world of animals, a rookie police officer rabbit (Judy Hopps) and a con artist fox (Nick Wilde) work together to uncover a conspiracy involving the disappearance of predator animals. But when I finally watched, I was really impressed. I’d say this movie exceeds the sum of its parts. Unlike most people, I did not like “Frozen” (2013), or “Moana” (2016).

For the decade of the 2020s, so far (until mid-2026 as I write this post), there are no Disney animated films I rate as even better than so-so, led by the gosh-awful “Strange World” (2022) which lost $200 million, making it one of the biggest box-office bombs of all time. Others:

“Raya and the Last Dragon” (2021) – Not bad, but weak story and forgettable characters. And I didn’t like the animation style. This film lost money for the Studio. Grade = C.

“Encanto” (2021) – Again, not bad, but the story and characters are completely forgettable. Can you name any? This film lost money for the Studio. Grade = C.

“Wish” (2023) – Again, no real story to speak of. “A movie assembled by a focus group”. This film lost over $100 million for the Studio. Grade = C-.

“Moana 2” (2024) – Originally intended as a TV series. Animation outsourced, causing nearly 1,000 lost animator jobs. No good villain, no good songs, no good story. Grade = C.

“Mufasa: The Lion King” (2024) – Boring plot — not everything needs a backstory. Uninspired music. I really disliked the photorealistic animation. Creepy. Grade = C.

“Elio” (2025) – Weird. A giant box office bomb, and rightfully so. Lost about $40 million.

Disney animation has lost its way and has forgotten about producing wonderful stories that entertain, rather than the Studio’s current fixation on producing movies intended to influence social norms and generate merchandising opportunities. Shame on you Disney Studios. Right now you’re a disgrace to the memory of Walt Disney. Please regain your greatness and drop your self-destructive wokeness that alienates your audiences and loses huge amounts of money for your stockholders.