Your favorite era of the Disney Animated Canon?

[Michael24]

My Top 3 would be 1) Silver, 2) Golden and 3) Bronze.

Although the Renaissance Era does contain three of my most favorites: The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under and Mulan.

[lancerman]

Just going off the list the ones a consider true Disney classics are

Snow White
Pinocchio
Dumbo
Bambi
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
101 Dalmations
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
Lion King
Mulan

After that there was a weird combination of the line catching up to me and my eventual outgrowing of it. I'd say by Lilo and Stitch I hit the point where Disney became a thing I might watch with my younger cousins and not necessarily for myself. So those 13 are my Disney classics. I do love the Sword and the Stone, Hercules, and the Black Cauldron. But those are more level B to me.

I guess for it's between the Golden Age. The Silver Age. The Renaissance.

My big issue is that I do probably hold Snow White, Pinocchio, and Beauty and the Beast as their 3 all time greatest films. With Snow White being my personal favorite. So 2 Golden and 1 Renaissance for my absolute high point. But when I think Disney I really gravitate a lot more to their Silver Age run. I think I'm just going to go with my gut and say Golden Age because of how much I love the first two they made.

[AstroWolfboy]

Well I grew up with My Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast . So I go with The Renaissance. But Golden Era was good , So was the Silver age. Honestly the last NEW Disney movie I liked was Lilo and Stitch. But the Bronze era probably gets the least love. As was my favorite Disney movie of all time " Lady and the Tramp" and that was Silver Age.

[Mia]

The Renaisance era hands down. Nothing is more beautiful and moving that Beauty and the Beast and Hunchback of Notre Dame, which almost made me cry. Storytelling at it's best.

Let it Go, indeed!

[Kirby101]

As a whole, they're easily the best. There are maybe a few better here and there, Pinocchio, The Fox and the Hound, but that's really about it. As a group of films they're the standout, and his co-directed movie Sleeping Beauty is the best tradicional Disney princess type movie the studio ever produced...it by far the best looking Disney cartoon ever made, probably the best looking cartoon ever made.

He directed movies like Robin Hood and The Jungle Book and The Sword in the Stone. The Xerox animation movies. Are those the movies you are rating as the best?
He neither directed or designed Sleeping Beauty, he was one of the animation directors, like Ollie Johnson.

[simbob4000]

He directed movies like Robin Hood and The Jungle Book and The Sword in the Stone. The Xerox animation movies. Are those the movies you are rating as the best?
He neither directed or designed Sleeping Beauty, he was one of the animation directors, like Ollie Johnson.

I know what he directed. Yes, those are some of Disney's best movies. And those Xerox movie look great, I love how it you can see the lines, the thickness of the line, they look like moving charcoal drawings. The Jungle Book is one of their best animated movies ever, and I don't just mean it's one of their best cartoons, I mean the movement, the animation itself, is some of the best they did.

He directed whole parts of Sleeping Beauty. He isn't the director of it, but he did directed parts of it.

[Güicho]

Not counted in the features canon, but I got to give it up to the Ub Iwerks era?

[Kirby101]

I know what he directed. Yes, those are some of Disney's best movies. And those Xerox movie look great, I love how it you can see the lines, the thickness of the line, they look like moving charcoal drawings. The Jungle Book is one of their best animated movies ever, and I don't just mean it's one of their best cartoons, I mean the movement, the animation itself, is some of the best they did.

He directed whole parts of Sleeping Beauty. He isn't the director of it, but he did directed parts of it.

I wasn't criticising your opinion (it is after all just about what we each like) I was only clarifying which movies you meant, since he worked on so many.

I like many of those, I just think the Golden Age has them beat. My personal taste prefers ink lines.

[AdamFTF]

I'd probably have to say the Renaissance era because that's the one I grew up in.

It's interesting to look at all this and think about what people consider a successful movie or a failed movie. I see some people saying that Lilo and Stitch is the only good movie from the Transition Era but I'm personally a big fan of Treasure Planet. I even have it on DVD. I just loved Jim's coming-of-age story and how it had a troubled, restless kid as the main character. Also, I've just got s soft spot for Treasure Island. Lots of people love Frozen but I thought it was trying a little too hard with the way it lampooned every Disney stereotype. Also, I didn't think any of the jokes were all that funny. Also, Pinocchio is considered an all-time classic but I find it just a little too sappy. This might be because I actually really like the original book, which is really more darkly comic in a way(I know! I know! Almost nobody like's Collodi's book these days). The truth is that what we consider a successful movie may be different than what the Walt Disney Studios considers a successful movie.

[simbob4000]

Wow your the first person I've ever heard bad mouth the renaissance Disney movies. Sure some of the later ones weren't great, but I think the first four were classic. I even liked the hunchback and Mulan.

Most people that talk about that era were probably kids that grew up with those as their Disney movies. And I grew up with, and watched all those movies too. But I also watched all the Disney movies before those, and besides maybe Cinderella, I like all their old cartoons better. The Renaissance musicals are trying to recapture what the old movies did, but they ain't anywhere near as good as those old movies musicals, and they aren't half as interesting.


Beauty and the Beast is about the only great thing that whole era produced. Beside some CGI that even at the time looked out of place, Beauty and the Beast is about perfect. Aladdin and Lion King are just ok, at best. I can't stand The Little Mermaid. True story, the daycare I went to when I was little actually would make use watch it as punishment. I hated it before that, but I really hated it after being forced to watch it I don't know how many times. Hunchback and Pocahontas are sad pathetic attempts at Disney's animation wing trying to get a Best Picture nod again. Mulan isn't terrible, but it's nothing special, as far as Disney cartoons went up to that time, it was more on the below average side of things; but in the years since it's release it's been built up way beyond what it is because: OMG it's a Disney Princess that fights. As far as comedies go, I'll take Hercules and The Emperor's New Groove over Aladdin and Lion King. I might even take the Aladdin tv show and the third movie over the first one. Most of these were musicals that just aren't actually very good musicals. In the early '90s, cartoon movie wise, me and my friends were more about '80s Don Blunt, and The Rescuers Down Under than the three big new Disney musicals. We also watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit all the time, but that's not wholly a cartoon.

The funny thing about the Disney Renaissance Era is, two of the best things their animation department works on during that time are Who Framed Roger Rabbit and A Nightmare Before Christmas. But these end up being Disney movies that don't get to care the Disney name. And they really have no effect on what kinds of things they produce, beside James and the Giant Peach being a Disney movie.

[Vinsanity]

The Renaissance Era easily. Still drawn and also I grew up with those movies + can't go wrong with a Goofy Movie.

[Vinsanity]

There's stuff I love in every era, and stuff I'm meh on. Sleeping Beauty still looks so so so damn good. There's so much WW2-era experimentation shared between the first two eras listed, that make a braver period than Disney, pretty much, will ever get back.

By far the best looking Disney movie or best looking animated movie ever. In my honest opinion

[riddler123]

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[Midvillian1322]

The Renaissance Era easily. Still drawn and also I grew up with those movies + can't go wrong with a Goofy Movie.

Glad to know im not the only one who loved A Goofy movie.

[Midvillian1322]

Most people that talk about that era were probably kids that grew up with those as their Disney movies. And I grew up with, and watched all those movies too. But I also watched all the Disney movies before those, and besides maybe Cinderella, I like all their old cartoons better. The Renaissance musicals are trying to recapture what the old movies did, but they ain't anywhere near as good as those old movies musicals, and they aren't half as interesting.


Beauty and the Beast is about the only great thing that whole era produced. Beside some CGI that even at the time looked out of place, Beauty and the Beast is about perfect. Aladdin and Lion King are just ok, at best. I can't stand The Little Mermaid. True story, the daycare I went to when I was little actually would make use watch it as punishment. I hated it before that, but I really hated it after being forced to watch it I don't know how many times. Hunchback and Pocahontas are sad pathetic attempts at Disney's animation wing trying to get a Best Picture nod again. Mulan isn't terrible, but it's nothing special, as far as Disney cartoons went up to that time, it was more on the below average side of things; but in the years since it's release it's been built up way beyond what it is because: OMG it's a Disney Princess that fights. As far as comedies go, I'll take Hercules and The Emperor's New Groove over Aladdin and Lion King. I might even take the Aladdin tv show and the third movie over the first one. Most of these were musicals that just aren't actually very good musicals. In the early '90s, cartoon movie wise, me and my friends were more about '80s Don Blunt, and The Rescuers Down Under than the three big new Disney musicals. We also watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit all the time, but that's not wholly a cartoon.

The funny thing about the Disney Renaissance Era is, two of the best things their animation department works on during that time are Who Framed Roger Rabbit and A Nightmare Before Christmas. But these end up being Disney movies that don't get to care the Disney name. And they really have no effect on what kinds of things they produce, beside James and the Giant Peach being a Disney movie.

Hunchback is probaly one of the Darkest Disney films. Frollo and Scar are easily two of the best disney villians, When I was a kid watching hunchback I I never thought twice bout some of the stuff. The worst being Frollos Choose me or the fire solo, top 5 darkest dinsey moments imo. Also as an adult you realize Esmeralda was a PG Stripper pretty much(actually a stripper with a heart of gold).

Also Lion King being just ok is not popular opinion. Great Cast, great Hamlet esque undertones, songs people almost universally know. Beautiful animation imo. Mufasa's Death is an iconic scene.

Edit: agree with little mermaid being torture.