Did you grow up watching Disney movies? With fantastic stories, evergreen characters, and 80 years of experimentation, Disney has created some marvelous movies for us. It has brought many timeless characters like Dumbo, Bambi, Simba, and more. So far, the studio has created 60 movies starting from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), out of which I have ranked the newer computer-animated movies for you. You can get a Disney+ plan to watch the majority of the movies. Whereas others are available to buy on YouTube. So, if you’re ready to explore the musical world of Disney movies, let’s begin.
Disney has experimented with a lot of films bringing timeless characters into existence. Whether it be Simba from The Lion King or Elsa from Frozen, these characters have created a cult following among children. Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, Marvel, and other big production houses has added many new movies to the list. However, we will only look at the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ original movies in this article. So, here are the best Disney animated movies from 1990 to 2022.
- The Lion King (1994)Aladdin (1992)Beauty and the Beast (1991)Zootopia (2016)Tangled (2010)Big Hero 6 (2014)Wreck-It Ralph (2012)Moana (I) (2016)Mulan (1998)The Little Mermaid (1989)Frozen (I) (2013)The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)Encanto (2021)Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)Lilo & Stitch (2002)Tarzan (1999)Treasure Planet (2002)Winnie the Pooh (2011)The Princess and the Frog (2009)Fantasia 2000 (1999)Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)Bolt (2008)Frozen II (2019)Meet the Robinsons (2007)Brother Bear (2003)The Rescuers Down Under (1990)Pocahontas (I) (1995)Dinosaur (2000)
1. The Lion King (1994)
IMDb: 8.5/10
Directors: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers
Watch trailer here
IMDb: 8.1/10
Cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin
3. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Release date: 22 November 1991
IMDb: 8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 98%
Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes
IMDb: 7.8/10
Metacritic: 71%
Tangled is a story of a young princess inspired by a German fairy tale of Rapunzel and her magic hair. The story begins as the queen is about to die in childbirth, but the royal guards bring a magic flower to rescue her. The flower was used by Mother Gothel for centuries to stay young. The queen births a baby princess with golden hair. When Mother Gothel discovers the princess is carrying the magic in her hair, she kidnaps her and names her Rapunzel. Locked in a tower for years, Rapunzel is curious about the flying lights in the sky which appear each year on her birthday.
Metacritic: 74%
Big Hero 6 is my favorite Disney animated movie, without any doubt. We follow the life of Hiro Hamada, a robotics prodigy who has already completed school at the age of 13. The movie begins by showing off his robotics skill in an illegal gambling robot fight pit. His brother, Tadashi Hamada, asks him to use his abilities for a better cause instead of running behind money. Tadashi takes him to his college, where all his friends work on cutting-edge technology and almost sci-fi-looking concepts. Impressed by the college, Hiro creates a project to impress the judges at a science fair and enter the college. However, things go south, and after an accident at the fair, Hiro loses his will to do more. He then discovers his brother’s college project, Baymax. Trying to find what happened to his microbots, Hiro discovers some brutal truths and decides to solve the mystery behind the accident. The whole movie is a lot of fun to watch, and I bet you will fall in love with Baymax. The movie is followed by a sequel series titled Big Hero 6: The Series and a spin-off named Baymax!
IMDb: 7.7/10
Directors: Rich Moore
IMDb: 7.6/10
Cast: Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House
9. Mulan (1998)
Release date: 19 June 1998
IMDb: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes
IMDb: 7.5/10
Metacritic: 75%
Princess Elsa from the Kingdom of Arendelle poses magic to create ice and snow. She uses magic to play with her sister, Anna. However, she accidentally injures her one day. Concerned by the act, Elsa’s parents go to trolls who save Anna and make her forget her sister’s powers. After that, Elsa keeps her distance from Anna to protect her from the unpredictable powers. One day the King and Queen die in a storm leaving the kingdom to Elsa. She is afraid of people knowing about her magic and labeling her as a monster. On the coronation day, dignitaries from nearby kingdoms come to visit; one of them is prince Hans. Anna quickly falls in love with him and seeks Elsa’s approval for marriage. However, Elsa disapproves and freezes Arendelle in the act. Scared by the incident, she goes off to the north mountain to live a hermit life. However, she freezes the whole kingdom in an attempt to create an ice castle for herself. Anna goes to find Elsa and bring her back to make everything right. Elsa from Frozen is one of the most popular characters among kids and has garnered critical praise.
IMDb: 7.4/10
Directors: Mark Dindal
IMDb: 7.3/10
Cast: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo
14. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)
Release date: 5 March 2021
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Runtime: 1 hour 25 minutes
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Runtime: 1 hour 28 minutes
IMDb: 7.2/10
Metacritic: 60%
This movie is Disney’s futuristic attempt on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. We follow a restless teen Jim Hawkins abandoned by his father and left with his lone mother. They run an inn together to survive, but it doesn’t satisfy Jim. One day he meets a dying captain who provides him with a holographic map of a treasure planet. Excited about the treasure hoping to use it to repair their inn, Jim embarks on the space adventure with a majestic crew. Jim grows close with the ship’s cook and forms a father-son relationship with him. The alien crew fights dangerous battles like a supernova, a black hole, and a ferocious space storm. When Jim thinks he is having the time of his life, he realizes that the crew members are pirates planning on a mutiny. The rest of the story shows a fantastic character arc, some breathtaking twists, and great animation.
Directors: Stephen John Anderson, Don Hall
IMDb: 7.1/10
Cast: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Oprah Winfrey
20. Fantasia 2000 (1999)
Release date: 16 June 2000
IMDb: 7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 88%
Runtime: 1 hour 52 minutes
IMDb: 7/10
Based on the 1831 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame explores the life of Quasimodo, a hunchback living an isolated life. His master and Minister of Justice, Claude Frollo, has assigned him the task of ringing the bells of Notre Dame cathedral and won’t allow him to go out. However, one day he sneaks out to go to a festival in the town where he meets an enchanting gypsy, Esmeralda. She develops a soft spot for Quasimodo and rescues him from the soldiers making fun of him. However, the incident makes her an enemy of Frollo. Similar to Esmeralda, the captain of the soldiers, Phoebus, also presents a helping hand. It is one of the darkest additions to Disney’s movie. The animated film has cut off some darker aspects of the novel. Still, it shed light on taboo topics for kids’ movies like infanticide, lust, antiziganism, damnation, genocide, and sin. The movie is followed by a direct-to-video sequel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II (2002.)
IMDb: 6.9/10
Directors: Kirk Wise, Gary Trousdale
Cast: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman
25. Frozen II (2019)
IMDb: 6.8/10
Release date: 22 November 2019
IMDb: 6.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
IMDb: 6.7/10
Metacritic: 48%
Brother Bear takes place in a distant past. The story begins with three brothers as the EarthEarth emerges from the Ice Age. The tribal people believe everyone should fulfill an achievement to call themselves men. As their journey begins, we follow Kenai, the youngest brother turned into a bear in another body. Denahi, the middle brother, thinks a bear has killed Kenai. So, he vows revenge to kill the bear and unknowingly follows Kenai. Now, Kenai’s only hope for survival is befriending a grizzly cub named Koda. Kenai feels reluctant as he always had hatred towards bears. He finds love as Koda shows Kenai the real meaning of brotherhood. Thus, fulfilling his achievement. The story is beautifully written with great character arcs. The film is followed by a direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2 (2006).
Directors: Mike Gabriel
Cast: Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale
30. Dinosaur (2000)
IMDb: 6.4/10
Release date: 19 May 2000
