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Exploring the vaults, libraries, and digital collections of Disney films can reveal a horde of obscure titles many haven't heard of. While classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and even cult hits like Tron have established Disney's reputation as one of the most influential storytellers of the past century, there are countless productions that time has forgotten. Not every Disney movie is destined for greatness, but that doesn't mean they aren't worth a second look. Whether good, bad or simply forgettable, each Disney film offers insight into the eras, cultures, and creative minds that shaped them.

Founded by Walt Disney over a century ago, The Walt Disney Company was, in Walt's words, "started by a mouse." Known for its quality animation, storytelling and constant innovation, Disney quickly became a multimedia giant that continually raised the entertainment bar. With the groundbreaking success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs...

British-born director known for Anne of the Thousand Days and Mary, Queen of Scots

The film and television director Charles Jarrott, who has died of cancer aged 83, began his career during a golden period of British TV drama, working on Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play in the 1960s alongside writers and directors such as Ken Loach, Dennis Potter and David Mercer. Both series were presided over by the Canadian producer Sydney Newman, who encouraged original work – what he called "agitational contemporaneity" – and had an astonishing impact. But in 1969 Jarrott's career took a different turn when he left for Hollywood, thereby increasing his income a hundredfold, while having to contend with far less adventurous material. His best films were his first, two Elizabethan costume dramas, Anne of the Thousand Days and Mary, Queen of Scots, enlivened by the Oscar-nominated performances of Richard Burton (Henry VIII), Geneviève Bujold (Anne Boleyn) and...

Bill Shepard, a casting director who worked for Walt Disney Studios and director Mel Brooks, died Sept. 20 of a heart attack at Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center. He was 79.

Shepard spent 17 years casting films and TV shows at Disney, then went on to work in a similar capacity on "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and such Brooks' comedies as "Spaceballs" (1987), "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993) and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995).

Shepard was responsible for giving Michael J. Fox his first feature film role when he cast the young Canadian to star in Disney's 1980 film "Midnight Madness."

"Bill not only found stars and big players that helped make the pictures successful," Brooks said, "but he also was a genius at finding the right featured players and smaller character roles that gave my movies depth and reality. I could always rely on him to do a great job."

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