History Recap / DisneyAnimatedCanon

# ''Disney/OliverAndCompany'' (November 18, 1988) -- ''Literature/OliverTwist'' in 1980s [[BigApplesauce New York City]] with {{talking animal}}s. A unwanted ginger kitten gets taken in by a petty thief and his gang of street-wise dogs, including a dog Creator/BillyJoel. They deal with a {{loan shark}} and his two Doberman Pinschers, and a LonelyRichKid would later adopt the kitten.

# ''Disney/MelodyTime'' (May 27, 1948)[=*=] -- Another package film with a musical focus. Among its seven shorts include an adaptation of the legend of UsefulNotes/JohnnyAppleseed, a story of the Aracuan bird (from ''The Three Caballeros'') pepping up Donald Duck and José Carioca with samba, and an adaptation of the legendary cowboy PecosBill.

# ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' (July 28, 1951) -- [[DisneyAcidSequence Trippy as hell]] adaptation of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. A young girl follows a [[WhiteBunny white rabbit]] DownTheRabbitHole and ends up in a curious world filled with nonsense.

* ''Franchise/DisneyFairies'' (est. 2005) -- A SpinOff of ''Disney/PeterPan'' that focuses on Tinker Bell. It's primarily handled by DisneyToonStudios, who used to do DirectToVideo sequels to DAC films until [[Creator/PixarRegulars John Lasseter]] forbade them.

# ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' (November 21, 2008) -- A dog who is a {{superhero}} on {{television}} -- and believes he is one in reality -- ends up separated by his owner [[ThisIsReality in the world outside the stage where he doesn't have powers]]. He travels cross-country with an alley cat and a superfan hamster in hopes of reuniting with them. The first entry distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures after Buena Vista was reorganized into that label. It's debated whether this film is the end of the "Post-Renaissance"/Experimental Era, or the beginning of the Disney Revival.

!![[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation The Golden Age]]

!!The Package Age

!!The Silver Age

!!The Bronze Age/UsefulNotes/{{The Dark Age|OfAnimation}}

!!The [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney Renaissance]]

!!Disney's "Post-Renaissance" Era/Disney's Experimental Era

!!The [[UsefulNotes/TheMillenniumAgeOfAnimation Disney Revival]]

[[folder:Franchises based on films in the Canon]]

Films that, for one reason or another, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen never came to be:]]

Over the years, Disney's own live-action studio Creator/WaltDisneyPictures has produced [[LiveActionAdaptation remakes of]] [[SelfAdaptation the animated films.]]

# ''[[Disney/WinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]]'' (July 15, 2011) -- [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Pooh Bear and his friends]] misunderstand a letter sent by their good friend Christopher Robin and go out to save him from a monster. Disney's last traditionally-animated film to date, and not part of the Canon in the UnitedKingdom, of all places.

# ''Disney/PeterPan'' (February 5, 1953) -- Based on James M. Barrie's [[Literature/PeterPan famous stage play (and its 1904 book adaptation)]], three kids meet a boy who [[NeverGrewUp never grows up]] and, with the help of a fairy's pixie dust, fly off to a land filled with pirates, lost boys, mermaids, Indians, and a ticking crocodile. The last film to have ''all nine'' of Creator/DisneysNineOldMen working together and the last entry to be distributed by [[Creator/RKOPictures RKO Radio Pictures]].

# ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' (July 26, 1951) -- [[DisneyAcidSequence Trippy as hell]] adaptation of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. A young girl follows a [[WhiteBunny white rabbit]] DownTheRabbitHole and ends up in a curious world filled with nonsense.

# ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone'' (December 25, 1963) -- Disney's take on KingArthur where a young orphan boy meets [[Myth/{{Merlin}} a wizard]] who would end helping him become King of England. Lots of shapeshifting ensue. The final animated film released before Walt died in 1966.

[numlist:48]
# ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' (November 21, 2008) -- A dog who is a {{superhero}} on {{television}} -- and believes he is one in reality -- ends up separated by his owner [[ThisIsReality in the world outside the stage where he doesn't have powers]]. He travels cross-country with an alley cat and a superfan hamster in hopes of reuniting with them. The first entry distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures after Buena Vista was reorganized into that label. It's debated whether this film is the end of the "Post-Renaissance"/Experimental Era, or the beginning of the Disney Revival.

# ''Disney/TheLionKing'' (June 24, 1994) -- ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' [[TheBardOnBoard in]] {{Africa}}. A lion cub who is the heir to the African savannah is tricked by his jealous uncle into believing that he killed his father. The cub leaves in shame, but after he grows up, he learns of his uncle's tyranny and decides to face him in order to reclaim his rightful place as king. The most successful traditionally animated film of all time and the third-highest grossing movie in the canon.

# ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' (November 21, 2008) -- A dog who is a {{superhero}} on {{television}} -- and believes he is one in reality -- ends up separated by his owner [[ThisIsReality in the world outside the stage where he doesn't have powers]]. He travels cross-country with an alley cat and a superfan hamster in hopes of reuniting with them. The first entry distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures after Buena Vista was reorganized into that label. It's debated whether this film is the end of the "Post-Renaissance"/Experimental Era, or the beginning of the Disney Revival.

[numlist:49]

* ''Film/{{Mulan|2018}}'' (2018)

# ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}'' (May 19, 2000) -- A live-action-CGI hybrid about an ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanodon_bernissartensis Iguanodon]]'' who was found and adopted by lemurs. Their island home gets destroyed by meteors and they join a herd of other displaced animals to make their way to literally greener pastures. It's not considered part of the Canon in {{Europe}}, where ''WesternAnimation/TheWild'' (2006) takes its place.

# ''Disney/SaludosAmigos'' (August 24, 1942 in Brazil/February 19, 1943 in the U.S.)[=*=] -- Disney makes four shorts about SouthAmerica as part of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Neighbor_policy Good Neighbor policy.]] The debut of Brazilian parrot José Carioca. The shortest film in the canon at only 42 minutes, just long enough to count as a feature film.

The films are listed in chronological order of release. Note that this list is divided into "eras", which revolve around various aspects--usually the critical and commercial successes of these films of the time, but some also revolve around specific themes. One's personal opinions of the quality of these films do not play a role in these "eras". Also, asterisks (*) in this list mean that these films consists of several short films released as one feature.

From humble beginnings, these are the first five feature-length animated films made by Walt Disney Productions. These films are considered to be all-time classics by Disney and animation enthusiasts.

# ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' (February 4, 1938[[note]]Screened in select places on December 21, 1937.[[/note]]) -- Holds the honor of being the first full-length animated feature film in the English-speaking world. Also became the highest grossing film of all time for a few years. We don't need to go over the plot since [[ItWasHisSled everyone knows what it is about]].
# ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'' (February 7, 1940) -- A wooden puppet is brought to life by a fairy dressed in blue. With the help of a cricket, he must learn how to be a real boy. This is one of the only films in the canon to have a perfect 100% on Website/RottenTomatoes.
# ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'' (November 13, 1940)[=*=] -- An AnimatedAnthology film where various pieces of classical music are told through animated stories or conceptual pieces. [[TheOneWith The one where]] WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse brings a broom to life.

# ''Disney/SaludosAmigos'' (August 24, 1942 in Brazil/February 19, 1943 in the U.S.)[=*=] -- Disney makes four shorts about South America as part of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Neighbor_policy Good Neighbor policy.]] The debut of Brazilian parrot José Carioca. The shortest film in the canon at only 42 minutes, just long enough to count as a feature film.

# ''Disney/MelodyTime'' (May 27, 1948)[=*=] -- Another package film with a musical focus. Among its seven shorts include an adaptation of the legend of UsefulNotes/JohnnyAppleseed, a story of the Aracuan bird (from ''The Three Caballeros'') pepping up Donald Duck and José Carioca with samba, and an adaptation of the legendary cowboy Pecos Bill.

# ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'' (February 15, 1950) -- Based on the classic FairyTale [[Literature/{{Cinderella}} of the same name]]. A beautiful young woman who is abused by her evil stepmother and stepsisters meets a FairyGodmother who helps her attend a royal ball and meet a charming prince. Oh, and there's this GlassSlipper...
# ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' (July 26, 1951) -- [[DisneyAcidSequence Trippy as hell]] adaptation of Creator/LewisCarroll's ''AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''. A young girl follows a white rabbit down a rabbit hole and ends up in a curious world filled with nonsense.
# ''Disney/PeterPan'' (February 5, 1953) -- Based on James M. Barrie's [[Literature/PeterPan famous stage play (and its 1904 book adaptation)]], three kids meet a boy who never grows up and, with the help of a fairy's pixie dust, fly off to a land filled with pirates, lost boys, mermaids, Indians, and a ticking crocodile. The last film to have ''all nine'' of Creator/DisneysNineOldMen working together and the last entry to be distributed by [[Creator/RKOPictures RKO Radio Pictures]].

# ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' (January 29, 1959) -- Based loosely on the Creator/CharlesPerrault version of [[Literature/SleepingBeauty the classic fairy tale]], three good fairies try to protect a princess put under a curse by an evil fairy. When they fail, they help a prince defeat the evil fairy and break the curse with a TrueLovesKiss.
# ''Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians'' (January 25, 1961) -- Based on [[Literature/TheHundredAndOneDalmatians a children's novel by Dodie Smith]], two dalmatians (and [[ThisIsMyHuman their humans]]) meet, fall in love, and have fifteen puppies. A socialite wants to skin the puppies for their soft spotted fur and has them kidnapped. The dalmatian couple not only have to save their pups, but 84 other dalmatian puppies as well.
# ''Disney/TheSwordInTheStone'' (December 25, 1963) -- Disney's take on KingArthur where a young orphan boy meets a wizard who would end helping him become King of England. Lots of shapeshifting ensue. The final animated film released before Walt died in 1966.

# ''Disney/TheAristocats'' (December 24, 1970) -- A wealthy retired opera singer plans to leave her entire fortune to her cats, but her greedy butler drugs them and leaves them in the French countryside. The cats decide to head back home with the help of a streetwise, jazz-loving alley cat. The final film Walt personally green-lit, as well as the final film released during the life of Walt's brother Roy O. Disney, co-founder and first CEO of the company.

# ''Disney/OliverAndCompany'' (November 18, 1988) -- ''Literature/OliverTwist'' in 1980s [[BigApplesauce New York City]] with {{talking animal}}s. A unwanted ginger kitten gets taken in by a petty thief and his gang of street-wise dogs, including a dog Creator/BillyJoel. They deal with a loan shark and his two Doberman Pinschers, and a LonelyRichKid would later adopt the kitten.

# ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder'' (November 16, 1990) -- Disney's first direct animated sequel, the two mice from ''The Rescuers'' head [[LandDownUnder down under]] to the Australian Outback to rescue a young boy from a sinister poacher who is looking for a giant eagle. The first ''completely'' digital film ever produced, although this movie underperformed in comparison to the other films of this era.
# ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' (November 22, 1991) -- [[Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast The most beautiful love story ever told]] gets adapted into this incredible animated musical, where a beautiful and intelligent French woman finds her inventor father trapped in a hidden palace by a hulking monster, who is really [[BalefulPolymorph a cursed human prince]]. Offering herself as prisoner in her father's place, the woman and the monster see that beauty lies from within and fall in love with each other. So far, this is the only movie of the canon, and the only traditionally animated film ever, to be nominated for the UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Picture.

# ''Disney/TheLionKing'' (June 24, 1994) -- ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' [[RecycledInSpace in Africa.]] A lion cub who is the heir to the African savannah is tricked by his jealous uncle into believing that he killed his father. The cub leaves in shame, but after he grows up, he learns of his uncle's tyranny and decides to face him in order to reclaim his rightful place as king. The most successful traditionally animated film of all time and the third-highest grossing movie in the canon.

# ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' (June 21, 1996) -- Creator/VictorHugo's [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame famous novel]] gets animated here. In medieval Paris, a sinister judge kills a Gypsy woman, and is forced to raise her deformed child as his own. The child (who has grown to become the bell ringer of Notre Dame cathedral) longs for freedom, and during a festival he becomes friends with a Gypsy dancer, who the judge develops a [[LoveMakesYouEvil disturbing]] [[VillainousCrush lust]] for, and the bell ringer and the Gypsy must team up with a knight to save Paris from the judge's wrath.

# ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}'' (May 19, 2000) -- A live-action-CGI hybrid about an ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanodon_bernissartensis Iguanodon]]'' who was found and adopted by lemurs. Their island home gets destroyed by meteors and they join a herd of other displaced animals to make their way to literally greener pastures. It's not considered part of the Canon in Europe, where ''WesternAnimation/TheWild'' (2006) takes its place.

# ''Disney/ChickenLittle'' (November 11, 2005) -- [[Literature/ChickenLittle A chicken who falsely claimed one time that the sky was falling]] later finds the sky to be actually falling, except that it turns out to be the start of an alien invasion. Disney's first ''true'' CGI movie done without Creator/{{Pixar}} and the last movie with a variation of the original Walt Disney Pictures logo.
# ''Disney/MeetTheRobinsons'' (March 30, 2007) -- Loosely based on a Creator/WilliamJoyce picture book, a young orphan inventor heads thirty years into the future where he meets a bizarre family. Meanwhile, a crazed ManChild and his robotic bowler hat chase him down in hopes of taking credit for his inventions. The last entry to be distributed by Buena Vista, and the first to include a VanityPlate for Walt Disney Animation Studios alongside the opening and closing Disney logos.
# ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'' (November 21, 2008) -- A dog who is a superhero on television--and believes he is one in reality--ends up separated by his owner [[ThisIsReality in the world outside the stage where he doesn't have powers]]. He travels cross-country with an alley cat and a superfan hamster in hopes of reuniting with them. The first entry distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures after Buena Vista was reorganized into that label. It's debated whether this film is the end of the "Post-Renaissance"/Experimental Era, or the beginning of the Disney Revival.

# ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' (December 11, 2009) -- Inspired by Creator/EDBaker's ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheFrogPrincess The Frog Princess]]'' (itself inspired by "Literature/TheFrogPrince"), a hard-working woman in 1920s UsefulNotes/NewOrleans hopes to buy her own restaurant, but she then meets a jazz-loving prince turned into a frog by a voodoo man. She gets affected by the curse as well, and the two humans-turned-frog journey through the Louisiana bayou in hopes of lifting their spell. This was the first traditionally-animated film after 2004, and is usually considered the beginning of the Disney Revival. This is also the final film released during the life of Walt's nephew Roy E. Disney, who served various positions for the company over the years, finally becoming a Director Emeritus from 2005-2009.
# ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'' (November 24, 2010) -- [[Literature/{{Rapunzel}} A girl with incredibly long hair stuck in a tower]] meets a (supposedly) LoveableRogue who brings her to the outside world, where she learns that she's the long-missing princess of a kingdom. Disney released a rather nifty [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqg3-5srs4 video]] to [[MilestoneCelebration celebrate its milestone as the fifty mark]].
# ''[[Disney/WinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]]'' (July 15, 2011) -- [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Pooh Bear and his friends]] misunderstand a letter sent by their good friend Christopher Robin and go out to save him from a monster. Disney's last traditionally-animated film to date, and not part of the Canon in the United Kingdom, of all places.
# ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' (November 2, 2012) -- A video game villain does not want to be the villain any more and goes across various other games in his arcade to become a good guy. [[AvertedTrope A nice aversion to]] VideoGameMoviesSuck.
# ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' (November 27, 2013) -- A twist on Hans Christian Andersen's ''Literature/TheSnowQueen'' where a queen with [[PowerIncontinence uncontrollable]] [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] runs off when her powers are revealed to her people, unintentionally starting an EndlessWinter on her kingdom. Her younger sister goes out to find her in hopes of redeeming her. The first canon film to win an UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestAnimatedFeature and currently the most financially successful animated film of all time, becoming the first film in the canon to gross a billion dollars worldwide.
# ''Disney/BigHero6'' (November 7, 2014) -- Based on Creator/{{Man of Action|Studios}}'s Creator/MarvelComics series, a young prodigy boy who lives InAWorld where East and West culture is blended together loses his older brother to a fire. When a city is under the threat of a mysterious mask-wearing criminal, the prodigy forms a superhero team consisting of himself, a robot his brother was working on, and the late older brother's four best friends to save their city. The second canon film to have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

* ''Franchise/DisneyPrincess'' (est. 2000) -- A SpinOff focusing on the royal ladies of Disney animation (and [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} in one particular instance]], Creator/{{Pixar}}).

* ''Franchise/DisneyFairies'' (est. 2005) -- A SpinOff of ''Disney/PeterPan'' that focuses on Tinker Bell. It's primarily handled by [=DisneyToon=] Studios, who used to do DirectToVideo sequels to DAC films until [[Creator/PixarRegulars John Lasseter]] forbade them.
* ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'' (est. 2013) -- After ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' was a SleeperHit, particularly in terms of toys, it quickly grew into multiple media.

* ''[[Film/Cinderella2015 Cinderella]]'' (2015)
* ''[[Film/TheJungleBook2016 The Jungle Book]]'' (2016)
* ''[[Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017 Beauty and the Beast]]'' (2017)
* ''[[Film/Mulan2018 Mulan]]'' (2018)
* ''[[Film/TheLionKing2019 The Lion King]]'' (2019)

Thanks to many of Disney's animators being drafted to serve in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Disney made a number of films consisting of several shorts bundled together for a few years.

# ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'' (November 27, 2002) -- ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]] and a personal pet project for Renaissance-era directors John Musker and Ron Clements, who spent 16 years trying to get it make. That's all you need to know, really.

# ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' (June 19, 1998) -- Inspired by an [[ImperialChina Ancient Chinese]] {{folk|Hero}} [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Mulan legend,]] the daughter of an aging war veteran [[SweetPollyOliver disguises herself as a man]] to take his place in an impending war, but would soon find herself to be the saviour of China.

# ''Disney/TreasurePlanet'' (November 27, 2002) -- ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' [[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]] That's all you need to know, really.

Thanks to many of Disney's animators being drafted to serve in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Disney made a number of film consisting of several shorts bundled together for a few years.

** ''Cruella'', (TBA, expected 2018), a spinoff movie [[VillainEpisode focusing]] [[VillainProtagonist on the]] criminal enterprises of Cruella De Vill.

** ''Cruella'', (TBA, expected 2018), a spinoff movie [[VillainEpisode focusing]] [[VillainProtagonist on the]] criminal enterprises of Cruella De Vill,

# ''Disney/{{Pinocchio}}'' (February 7, 1940) -- A wooden puppet is brought to life by a fairy dressed in blue. With the help of a cricket, he must learn how to be a real boy. This is the sole canon film to have a perfect 100% on Website/RottenTomatoes.

# ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' (January 29, 1959) -- Based loosely on the Creator/BrothersGrimm's version of [[Literature/SleepingBeauty the classic fairy tale]], three good fairies try to protect a princess put under a curse by an evil fairy. When they fail, they help a prince defeat the evil fairy and break the curse with a TrueLovesKiss.

# ''Disney/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' (December 15, 2000) -- Incredibly loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's short story ''Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes'', a spoiled Incan emperor gets turned into a llama by his elderly-beyond-belief advisor and gets dumped in the jungle. He and a [[GentleGiant hefty, but kind]] peasant must make their ways through the South American jungle in the most humorous ways possible so the emperor can become human, reclaim his throne, and hopefully gain some humility along the way. This movie's TroubledProduction was [[Film/TheSweatbox well documented]].

# ''Disney/{{Moana}}'' (November 23, 2016) -- An Polynesian chief's daughter ventures out into the great ocean to save her island from an impending darkness that threatens her tribe's livelihood, getting the help of a demigod in order to do.

!![[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation The Bronze Age]]

# ''[[Disney/WinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]]'' July 15, 2011 -- [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh Pooh Bear and his friends]] misunderstand a letter sent by their good friend Christopher Robin and go out to save him from a monster. Disney's last traditionally-animated film to date, and not part of the Canon in the United Kingdom, of all places.

Thanks to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Disney made a number of consisting of several shorts bundled together for a number of years.

From humble beginnings, these are the first five feature-length animated films made by Walt Disney Productions. There films are all-time classics by Disney and animation enthusiasts.