Disney has been producing feature-length animated movies since the 1930s, and the studio has gone through some ups and downs over the years. Although the best animated Disney movies are beloved by people of all ages across the globe, there have been some difficult periods in the studio’s history.

When people think of Disney classics, they mostly think of musical hits from the 1990s or pioneering gems from the 1940s or 1950s. Other decades tend to be forgotten about. Just about every decade of Disney’s history has produced something worth watching, but it’s been a roller-coaster, to say the least.

10

1930s

Snow White

Disney only made one feature-length animated movie in the 1930s, but it was the first film of its kind ever made. Snow White represented the culmination of the studio’s artistic and technical innovation up until that point. It’s still heralded as a true animated classic.

Had Disney made any more films before the end of the decade, the 1930s might have ranked higher, but it’s hard to vouch for the strengths of one movie over five or six from another decade, even if Snow White is a landmark of animation, and a heartwarming classic. The middling response to 2025’s Snow White underlines that Disney’s live-action remakes struggle to live up to the quality of the classics.

9

2020s

Encanto, Wish, Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, Moana 2

We’re halfway through the decade now, but Disney has yet to produce a single animated movie in the 2020s that has the potential to go down in history as a true classic. While Encanto and Raya and the Last Dragon received generally positive reviews, they still don’t compete with the best that Disney has to offer.

Disney’s recent animated successes have been balanced out by a couple of duds. Strange World was a notorious flop, and Wish didn’t live up to its billing as a celebration of the studio’s last century. There’s still time for things to change, and Disney’s upcoming movies could see the 2020s rise through the rankings, starting with Zootopia 2 and Frozen 3.

8

1970s

The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers

The 1970s and 1980s are often referred to as Disney’s “dark ages“, as the studio failed to recapture the magic in the years following Walt Disney’s death. Disney produced just three animated movies in the ’70s, none of which typically rank among their greatest hits.

The Aristocats, Robin Hood and The Rescuers all share a charming art style, and one could argue that they’re a little underrated. They feel very much as though they’re caught between two distinct eras of Disney’s ambitions, but there’s a lot to love in these three.

7

1980s

The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Little Mermaid, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver & Company

Disney became a little more prolific in the 1980s, although the decade still didn’t yield many true classics. Movies like The Fox and the Hound and The Great Mouse Detective fared reasonably well with critics, and they’ve become cult classics for people of a certain age.

Disney also produced a few critical flops in the ’80s, such as Oliver and Company and The Black Cauldron. The real saving grace in this mixed bag was The Little Mermaid. It arrived right at the end of the decade, signaling the end of the dark ages and the beginning of a new era.

6

1960s

One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, The Sword in the Stone

Disney only produced three animated movies in the 1960s, with Walt Disney’s death in 1966 throwing the studio into disarray. However, there isn’t a single miss in these three movies. The Sword in the Stone is probably the weakest, but it’s still better than much of what came in the ’70s and ’80s.

The Jungle Book and One Hundred and One Dalmatians deserve their critically acclaimed status. Their cozy art style is rather unique among Disney’s canon, but it gives them endless rewatch value. With great stories and memorable characters to match, they make up for Disney’s scarce production in the ’60s.

5

2000s

The Princess and the Frog, Lilo & Sтιтch, The Emperor’s New Groove, Treasure Planet, Bolt

Disney’s animated movies from the 2000s are a strange mixture of the old and the new. As other studios had already moved on to 3-D computer-generated animation, Disney was still making 2-D hand-drawn feature films. Disney tried to catch up with 2005’s Chicken Little, one of the studio’s most infamous duds.

What’s interesting is that Disney’s best movies of the 2000s are the ones that don’t try to chase the trends in animation. Lilo & Sтιтch and The Emperor’s New Groove both came out at least five years after Toy Story, but they’re hilarious and beautifully rendered. Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost City are interesting artifacts from a brief period between the old style and newer trends, but the late 2000s were stuffed with disappointing 3-D movies.

4

1940s

Dumbo, Bambi, Pinocchio, Fantasia

The early 1940s were the peak of Disney’s first wave of innovation, when the studio was miles ahead of the rest of the world in terms of feature-length animation. Some of the studio’s most enduring classics come from this time, such as Bambi, Pinocchio and Fantasia. These aren’t just Disney classics, they’re also some of the best animated movies ever made.

The Second World War eventually reached into every corner of society in the 1940s, even the world of animation. Disney had to halt its H๏τ streak after Bambi to contribute to the war effort by making propaganda films. It’s interesting to imagine how the studio might have continued without this interruption. It’s possible that the 1940s could have been Disney’s best decade if it weren’t taken over by the war. After the war, Disney focused on musical anthology films for a while. Like any anthology, these have their highs and lows.

3

2010s

Tangled, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana

After a tumultuous period in the 2000s, Disney rebounded in style. It took a little while for Disney to catch up with the likes of Pixar and DreamWorks, but the studio was soon producing 3-D computer-generated movies that were just as good as its rivals.

2010’s Tangled and 2013’s Frozen proved that Disney had found its feet once again, and the decade produced several more big hits in the form of Moana, Zootopia and Big Hero 6. Frozen 2 indicated that Disney’s future would rely more on sequels, although there are still plenty of original movies.

2

1950s

Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella

Disney recovered from a choppy period during and after the Second World War, making the 1950s one of the studio’s best decades. Disney produced five movies in this time, all of them classics. Starting with Cinderella in 1950, the decade is defined by nostalgic Disney magic.

Disney returned to the beautiful style that made the early 1940s so memorable, with hits like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan overflowing with visual wonders to match the fantasy worlds of their stories. The decade ended with the experimental style of Sleeping Beauty, inspired by medieval tapestries and stained-glᴀss windows. Once again, Disney was innovating in animation like nobody else.

1

1990s

The Lion King, Aladdin, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules

After 1989’s The Little Mermaid, the Disney renaissance was in full swing. What followed was the studio’s most productive decade ever, with hit after hit drawing on mythology from all over the world. With The Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules, Beauty and the Beast and more, it’s hard to choose any particular standouts from such a strong period.

Disney’s ’90s movies strike the perfect balance between humor and compelling storytelling. It explains how The Lion King can feature a scene as heartbreaking as Mufasa’s death alongside the side-splitting comic relief of Timon and Pumbaa. The era is also famous for its brilliant music, producing some unforgettable soundtracks.