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Although Disney films are family-friendly adventures made with children in mind, they often include tragic elements that have become synonymous with their films. Bambi (1942), The Lion King (1994), The Fox and the Hound (1981) and Dumbo (1941), for example, show children losing their parents, while sometimes the parents have already died before the narrative even begins.

Similarly, few viewers can watch the first ten minutes of Up (2009) without crying. While these Disney movies have a penchant for tugging on the heartstrings, others contain minimal sad scenes and opt to focus on more comedic or heartwarming elements instead. Though such movies aren't devoid of the sincere themes and messages that are characteristic of Disney, they likely also won't put the audience at risk of shedding tears.

Updated by Lauren Younkin on March 19, 2025: With an extensive catalog covering several decades, Disney has a film for any occasion. Plenty of their movies are readily available...

Even if you've never heard his name, you know Tim Burton's work. The mastermind behind such iconic films as Batman, Beetlejuice, and The Nightmare Before Christmas has done more than just leave his mark on the world of film and animation, he's reinvented entire genres.

Having cut his teeth on Disney films like The Fox and the Hound and The Black Cauldron before directing gothic wonderlands, Tim Burton truly has a magnificent story. Now, director Tara Wood brings us into the mind of a mad genius with a new four-part docuseries celebrating the eccentric filmmaker with an eclectic cast of familiar cast members.

Behind Burton

The announcement from The Hollywood Reporter went out just yesterday, and we're absolutely ecstatic. Especially considering just how many former collaborators are reuniting to celebrate the filmmaker.

Johnny Depp, Danny Elfman, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton are just a few famous faces shown in the trailer above,...

I'm not what people would call a "horror guy". Most of the time when I watch horror films, it's usually behind my couch — the works of Guillermo del Toroand Jordan Peeleare an exception (mainly because of how compelling those two make their films.) But looking back at my childhood, there are a lot of films that had some downright terrifying or traumatic moments. The Pagemasterseemed like a feature-length experiment in trying to scare kids into never reading, and the less said about The Fox and the Hound, the better. But there's one film that gave me recurring nightmares in my childhood: Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Most people see Robert Zemeckis' semi-animated comedy as a masterpiece, and those people are right. I mostly remember it for the terrifying presence of Christopher Lloyd's Judge Doom.

As Disney aficionados can tell you, the 1980s were a rough time for the company's animation department. They had a sizable hit in 1977 with "The Rescuers", but Disney just couldn't recapture the magic. The 1981 film "The Fox and the Hound" cost a hefty $12 million, but brought in only $14.2 million domestically, which was not horrible, but not great. Notoriously, the 1985 fantasy epic "The Black Cauldron" lost a bucket of money, made for $44 million (!), and earning only $21.3 million. "The Black Cauldron" was such a bomb, there was some buzz that Disney might shutter their animation department altogether.

At least Disney racked up a modest hit the following year with "The Great Mouse Detective," a $25 million hit from a $14 million budget. That film was a Sherlock Holmes story, but posited that Holmes' apartment was the home of an anthropomorphic mouse named Basil (Barrie Ingham), a clever creature that, in observing Holmes, became a star detective for mice.

Few animation companies have the longevity and cultural sway as Walt Disney. The studio’s meteoric rise is the quintessential American dream, and its films are as ubiquitous as water. Classics like The Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan have entranced audiences worldwide for decades. Yet, no company is without its issues. Back in the 1980s, Disney was embroiled in its so-called “Dark Era.” Its films had lost their charm, and audiences sought their family-friendly thrills elsewhere. The studio’s beloved storytelling had stalled; its profits stalled. The animation department was especially hard hit, and only two of the period’s films have since joined the company’s pantheon of classics. The Fox and the Hound debuted in 1981; The Great Mouse Detective hit theaters half a decade later.

While there were many reasons for the studio’s brief decline, one of the most prevalent was its unfortunate tendency to bleed talent.

Walt Disney Animation experienced an interesting era between 1970 and 1989 in which the studio began taking more risks with the films that they had released. Following the end of the “classical” era, but before the beginning of the “renaissance,” Disney started to produce slightly edgier, darker films that tackled more adult themes, such as Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, The Sword in the Stone, and The Great Mouse Detective, among others. While The Rescuers is not always considered to be on the same level as Who Framed Roger Rabbit or Oliver & Company, it's a surprisingly entertaining heist adventure that showed Disney’s willingness to make an action-heavy heist adventure. The Rescuers benefited from the gloriously villainous Madame Medusa, who is easily one of the most underrated characters in Disney’s entire canon thanks to the terrific voice work by Geraldine Page.

Disney veteran Joe Hale, who helped bring to life a variety of beloved animated films, has passed away. He was 99 years old.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Hale died of natural causes at his home in Atascadero, California, on Jan. 29. His passing was confirmed by Beverly Hale, his wife of almost 60 years.

Joe Hale passed away at the age of 99 due natural causes. Famous producer from Walt Disney Animation Studios he worked in movies like Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians and more.We thank him for his contributions to our favorite movies may he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/lIDo7qhd0i— Dtva News (@DTVANews) February 6, 2025

Hale worked for 35 years as an animator, layout artist, and producer for Disney. He was nominated for an Oscar for his work on the effects for 1979's The Black Hole. He'd previously started his work at Disney as an inbetweener on 1951's Alice in Wonderland.

Joe Hale, who spent 35 years as an animator, layout artist and producer at Disney and received an Oscar nomination for his effects work on the 1979 film The Black Hole, has died. He was 99.

Hale died Jan. 29 of natural causes at his home in Atascadero, California, his wife of nearly 60 years, Beverly Hale, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hale started out as an inbetweener on Alice in Wonderland (1951) and worked on such other classics as Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), The Fox and the Hound (1981), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and Pete’s Dragon (1977).

In 1980, Hale was named a first-time producer on The Black Cauldron (1985), a project that had been languishing at Disney for about seven years, and he oversaw a staff of 300 artists — including a young Tim Burton — and a big budget of $44 million.

When some children found scenes in the...

Isaiah Saxon makes his feature-length directorial debut with The Legend of Ochi. The handmade tale is a throwback to Amblin's heyday, infused with the loving puppeteering of Jim Henson's finest creations. Most importantly, it's the rare film for both kids and adults that mostly avoids the trappings of other films seeking favor with a general audience. No, this isn't Bambi, nor is it The Fox and the Hound, wherein the cruel hand of the storytellers is much too willing to kill and torture their characters. No gratuitous kills will be presented in an effort to garner sympathy; mindful parents can rest comfortably knowing that the threshold of trauma — overstepped by so many child-centric features — will not be crossed. Instead, what Saxon presents us with is a genuinely warm film that has far more in common with Planet Earth or flipping through the pages of National Geographic and stumbling upon...

Quick Links Disney’s The Fox and the Hound Made Many Major Changes From Book to Film Production Challenges on Disney’s The Fox and the Hound Caused a Mass Exodus of Animators Critics Called Disney’s The Fox and the Hound Too Old-Fashioned

The Disney Dark Ages of the 1970s and 1980s was a transitional time for the animation division of the studio. Without Walt Disney's direction, animators started to rely maybe too much on older methods that were becoming tired and overdone. And audiences were beginning to pass over Disney films at the box office. Younger talent in animation was bucking against Walt's "Nine Old Men" in a conflict between an older generation of artists and the newer. One Disney movie of the 1980s represented these boiling tensions possibly more than any other at the time.

Based on a 1967 novel, The Fox and the Hound was beset by development and production issues.

Ever since Walt Disney Studios released its first full-length feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, the studio has become a household name for creating beautifully magical animated movies. Over the years, millions of fans have put on their mouse ears and fallen in love with fairy tale stories like Tangled, The Little Mermaid, The Princess & the Frog, and Cinderella. Disney has made the audience cry with sad movies like Bambi and The Fox and the Hound and brought viewers along on grand adventures in Hercules and Aladdin.

Disney's momentum in creating high-quality animated movies hasn't rested for nearly 100 years now. Case in point, recent titles like Frozen, Moana, and Encanto have also been received favorably, and that's not even counting the powerhouse that is Pixar.

Unfortunately, Disney's star could only burn bright for so long. Lately, the House of Mouse has received a lot of negative attention surrounding its content,...

The Disney villains ranked include a mix of purely evil individuals and some misunderstood antagonists who were mostly guilty of making poor decisions. From the time that Disney started making animated releases with Steamboat Willy and Mickey Mouse, there have been villains opposing them. However, thanks to the feature films, starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the villains were sometimes more colorful and entertaining than the heroes. It was the villains that could do really dramatic things and made most of the animated movies worth rewatching over and over again.

Disney's animated catalog is available to stream on Disney+.

The best Disney villains include hunters and poachers, witches and sorcerers, and gods and monsters. However, they also include neglected toys, grieving parents, and spurned lovers who want revenge against those who rejected them. There are many different types of villains in Disney animated movies, but Disney always surprises...

As denizens of Blockbuster Video will be able to attest, the mid-1990s to early 2000s saw a massive glut of animated straight-to-video sequels and prequels to many of Disney's known animated features. There were sequels to "The Fox and the Hound," "Bambi," "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "The Lion King," "Lady and the Tramp," "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," "The Emperor's New Groove," "Mulan," "Pocahontas," "Tarzan," "The Jungle Book," and even "Brother Bear." The sequels all came when there was a change of leadership at Disney, and the studio tripled-down on the mandate to make as much money as possible. 

The only people who watched these movies were nostalgic Disney-obsessed adults who viewed them as a scientific curiosity, and sought to use them as talking points in long-form online articles. Very occasionally, the films were rented from Blockbuster by anyone who happened to be seven years old when the sequel in question was released.

The Black Cauldron is arguably one of the most divisive animated Disney movies, a film released in 1985 that almost bankrupted the animation department of the studio. Yet, while critics were harsh at the time of the film's release, The Black Cauldron has since gained a large cult following. Based on The Chronicles of Prydain book series, this movie was the first Disney animated movie to receive a PG rating. The film deals with darker themes of death and violence that no other Disney animated movie had done at the time, giving The Black Cauldron the title of one of Disney's darkest animated movies.

The villain in The Black Cauldron is also one of Disney's best and darkest villains. The Horned King is the main antagonist in The Black Cauldron, who is looking for the titular cauldron to create an invincible army of the undead. The Black Cauldron follows Taran as...

Disney+ offers a plethora of autumn-themed movies for cozy fall nights - from family-friendly animations to heartwarming musicals & spooky tales. Tim Burton's Frankenweenie is a charming Halloween treat for all ages - a goofy take on Frankenstein with heartwarming and comedic elements. Autumn vibes are aplenty in Disney classics like The Fox and the Hound, Coco, and The Nightmare Before Christmas - perfect for the season.

October is a wonderful time to be a Disney fan, especially with so many autumn Disney movies that set the perfect cozy mood. From Halloween-specific movies like Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas, to general 'spooky season' treats with ghosts and ghouls, there are plenty for people who love the darker side of the season. And for those who are bigger fans of Autumn than Halloween, specifically, there are those movies that conjure up the feeling of brightly colored leaves swirling through the crisp fall air.

Quick Links Brad Bird Got His Start As an Animator at Walt Disney Studios Brad Bird Directed the Warner Bros. Box Office Flop: The Iron Giant Brad Bird Has Written and Directed Three Major Pixar Films Brad Bird was offered a job by Walt Disney Animation Studios during the Disney Dark Ages. The Iron Giant was was based on a book that Brad Bird reworked into an animated film for Warner Bros. The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007) are two of Brad Bird's biggest hits with Pixar animation studios.

Brad Bird is a well-known name among the Pixar greats. And for anyone who doesn't recognize him by name only, he's had his hand in some of Pixar's most enduring films and franchises, like The Incredibles (2004) and Ratatouille (2007). But Bird didn't always have a clear direction when he was trying to break into the animation industry. He came into it during a time...

Quick Links How Prehistoric Beast Evolved Into Disney's Dinosaur What Happened to Phil Tippett's Dinosaur? Is Dinosaur's Legacy Doomed to Extinction? Disney's Dinosaur began life as a very different film. Utilizing the talents of Phil Tippett a classic documentary gives audiences insights into the Disney movie he had in mind. Now more than ever Dinosaur's legacy is being called into question as the franchise faces extinction.

While dinosaurs may have taken over 65 million years to make their Hollywood debut, an underrated Disney movie took 16 years to come to life. Disney's classics about the animal kingdom, whether Bambi, The Lion King, or The Fox and the Hound, these movies remain among their best, showcasing innovation in animation and storytelling. However, one of Disney's most ambitious titles doesn't get the recognition it deserves or its entire story told. Disney's Dinosaur started life as a very different movie, beginning a journey as...

Quick Links Don Bluth Was Once an Animator at Walt Disney Studios Don Bluth's Early Films in the 1980s Showed He Was Not Afraid to Tackle Heavier Topics By the 1990s, Don Bluth's Animated Films Started to Look More Like Disney's Don Bluth was a former Disney animator who left the studio in 1979. Don Bluth's animated films in the 1980s had much darker themes and direction, overall, than Disney's. The last widely successful film produced by Don Bluth was Anastasia in 1997.

Artist Don Bluth's animated tear-jerker All Dogs Go to Heaven premiered in 1989, the same day as Disney's The Little Mermaid. The movies share little in common. And The Little Mermaid certainly beat its competitor in box office sales. However, the greatest difference might be how the two studios approached heavier topics. Disney took a fairly dark and tragic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and made it more palatable for family audiences,...

The Dark Age of American Animation For close to a century now, Disney has been synonymous with American animation at large. If you go back and watch a Disney animated feature from the 1940s or ‘50s, you’ll notice just how fluid and lushly drawn the animation itself often is and how it manages to hold up to the test of time. Even a more modest production from that period proved magnificent, like ‘Lady and the Tramp’, which was so lavishly produced that it was shot in ultra-wide CinemaScope. Contrast the Disney output of this period, basically up to the time of Walt Disney’s death in 1966, with the animated Disney ventures that came afterward. While movies like ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘The Rescuers’ are not exactly bad per se, the jump from hand-drawn animation to computer animation is noticeable. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel,...

One of Tim Burton's first professional gigs after his stint at the California Institute of Arts was working as an animator, storyboard artist, and graphic designer at Disney. Burton was born and raised in Burbank, California, which is where Disney's offices are located, so he more or less grew up in the company's shadow. He worked at the Mouse House for a few years in the early '80s, working on films like "The Fox and the Hound," "Tron," and "The Black Cauldron." It should be noted that this was a notoriously bad time for Disney, and the financial failure of the ultra-ambitious and very expensive "Cauldron" (it cost $44 million) led to an open conversation about Disney shutting down its animation department. 

Of course, while Disney was floundering financially, they were freer to experiment artistically. I maintain that Disney's most interesting movies came at a time when their kiddie-flick successes didn't define them.

Disney+ offers a wide range of family-friendly content, including classic Disney movies and original series like Marvel and Star Wars spinoffs. Shows like The Secret Score and Iwj bring unique stories and cultural perspectives to the platform, appealing to a diverse audience. X-Men '97 and Star Wars: Tales of the Empire provide exciting continuations of beloved animated series, keeping fans engaged with new adventures.

With over 7,000 television episodes to choose from, Disney+ is a giant among streamers. The House of Mouse has long been known as the go-to place for family-friendly programming, including classic Disney movies in the Disney Vault, such as The Little Mermaid, The Fox and the Hound, and The Lion King. Disney+ also offers a wide range of television shows, including everything it broadcasts on the Disney Channel, popular TV shows such as The Simpsons, and original programming aimed at all age groups, while Disney+ Star offers...

With breakout hits like “Big City Greens,” “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” and “Phineas and Ferb,” Disney Television Animation has been setting the gold standard in kids’ animation for

40 years.

Dtva was formed on the heels of challenging outcomes with features “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron.” Initially, Dtva was restricted from using established Disney legacy characters, but nevertheless had huge successes with new shows like “The Wuzzles” and “Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” both of which became popular in syndication.

As time went on, Dtva was able to use its limited rights to create shows like “DuckTales” and “Tale Spin,” which featured Disney characters. Today, the slate has evolved to include shows that travel across Disney’s streaming, linear and digital platforms, including Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Xd, Disney Junior and Disney Channel YouTube. Short-form programs like “Chibi Tiny Tales,” which re-creates a selection of...

The Fox and the Hound explores the hardships in long-lasting friendships, something that is quite relevant today. The Disney film follows a bittersweet story that still offers a ray of hope after the most heartbreaking moments. The Fox and the Hound also tackles the nature vs. nurture debate through Copper's character development in a thought-provoking manner.

The Fox and the Hound is, for many, one of Disney's darkest animated films. A classic story about unlikely friends, The Fox and the Hound was released on July 10, 1981, and follows a young red fox named Tod and a hound puppy named Copper, who form an unexpected friendship. But as they grow, they realize that they aren't meant to be friends, and instead, the Copper will soon have to hunt Tod because that is his duty and what he was brought in for.

The Fox and the Hound explores themes of loss, friendship,...

The late '70s were a dark time for Disney. Following the death of Walt Disney, the studio went through much experimentation (not all of which was successful), and the departure of animator Don Bluth and several other animators led to a mini-crisis at the studio. Still, this was a very interesting time for Disney, which released many movies unlike anything they'd made before or since, from the sci-fi adventure "The Black Hole" to the criminally underrated "The Black Cauldron."

Loosely based on the first two books in Lloyd Alexander's "The Chronicles of Prydain" series, the film follows a bard and a princess who try to destroy a powerful and ancient magical cauldron before the wicked Horned King uses it to rule the world. This is by far the darkest animated movie Disney has made, one that starts with an explanation that the Black Cauldron's power comes from an...

11 Disney villains have their demise by falling to their deaths in animated movies, providing a form of karma and punishment. This technique makes the villains face justice for their wicked crimes, while also reflecting on their darkest desires always being out of reach. Disney uses falling deaths for villains to ensure kid-friendly yet satisfying justice and happy endings for the main characters.

Disney has a reputation for creating memorable and exciting villains, who conduct wicked schemes and eventually pay the price. Since the 1930s, Disney has released multiple successful animated movies based on famous fairy tales and stories; characters such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Peter Pan have become some of the most popular Disney characters in history. These characters have had to overcome different challenges and defeat the bad guys to get their happy ending.

Disney villains have proven to be just as popular as their hero counterparts, thanks to their colorful personalities,...

Steven Spielberg requested some scenes from Don Bluth's The Land Before Time be removal for being too scary for children. Many classic children's movies, including Disney's The Black Cauldron and Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, have included dark and scary elements to balance out the fun. Don Bluth believes that a good children's story should have a good villain and a scare moment.

Don Bluth is an icon in the world of animated feature films of the 1980s and beyond. From The Secret of Nimh and An American Tail to Anastasia and Titan Ae, the filmmaker and animator has been instrumental in Hollywood across his career – even if that sometimes meant him going against the grain. One of those occasions led to Steven Spielberg stepping in to remove some scenes from the classic movie The Land Before Time, which were subsequently destroyed for being “too scary for children.

Tim Burton worked on the concept of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but his ideas clashed with Disney's typical style. He made small but significant contributions to Disney films like The Fox and the Hound, The Muppet Movie, and Tron. Burton directed short films like "Vincent" and "Frankenweenie," which got him fired from Disney, but later returned to produce James and the Giant Peach.

Before he was an acclaimed director of many spooky yet mesmerizing movies, Tim Burton was an often uncredited animator in the animation department at Walt Disney Studios. During his time in the two-year young animator's program at Disney, Burton, Henry Selick and Rick Heinrichs first worked on the concept of The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, according to Kathleen Gavin, the co-producer of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Burton's "sensibilities didn't match up with the people who were running the studio" (The Movies that Made Us). And so, Burton moved on to other things.

Millennials of the '80s and '90s can be nostalgic for many of the children's movies they grew up with. Disney ruled classic children's films back then as well, but there is another name that some fans might not realize actually created their favorite kid's movie. Originally working with Walt Disney, Don Bluth was an animator for films like Sleeping Beauty, The Fox and the Hound, Robin Hood, and The Rescuers. In 1983, he started his own company, which began animating video games and moved into film. Now an '80s icon, Dragon's Lair was Bluth's first video game.

Thirty years later, Bluth is set to direct a live-action film version of Dragon's Lair with Ryan Reynolds attached as the main character, and Netflix is in talks for its release. The game's popularity has come back thanks to the help of '80s nostalgia and shows like Stranger Things featuring it,...

Key Takeaways: Tim Burton has a distinct style and tone that are key to his works, making each of his films feel unique. Not all of Tim Burton's Disney films have been hits, as some vary in quality from bad to good on a scale. The Nightmare Before Christmas, produced by Tim Burton, is ironically his best collaboration with Disney and has become a Christmas staple and classic film.

Throughout the decades of his collaborations with Disney, Tim Burton has directed and produced 10 movies, and here are all of them ranked worst to best. Tim Burton's filmography has ranged a variety of studios and genres, with each of his films feeling distinct all while maintaining the signature design and tone that are key to Burton's works. Tim Burton has worked on some legendary projects with Disney, which is why he has rightfully earned the legacy he currently has. However,...

Henry Selick is one of the greatest directors of stop-motion films. He began working at Disney in the 1970s as an in-betweener on films such as Pete's Dragon, The Small One, and The Fox and the Hound, before leaving the company to work as a freelance animator and storyboard artist on commercials and films such as Return to Oz. His career took off when he teamed up with fellow Disney alumni, Tim Burton, to direct The Nightmare Before Christmas.

With this year being the 100 year anniversary of The Walt Disney Company and the release of their latest animated title, Wish, we wanted to know what animated Disney film has been your favorite over the years? We stuck to films specifically released by Disney, so no Pixar titles are included. What struck me while compiling the list is the progression of their films. From the innocence of their early work to what many consider their heyday in the early 90’s to the emergence of the CGI era. For many of us, Disney films defined our youth, but which is the one that has remained with you all these years? As always, if you don’t see your favorite listed, please click “Other” and let us know what it is in the comments section as well as any fond memories you have of these timeless classics.

What is your favorite Disney Animated Film?...

Belle's father, Maurice, from Disney's Beauty and the Beast is reimagined as a hardcore raver in a creative video edit shared on Instagram. The video edits a scene from the original film in which Gaston pays Monsieur D'Arque to detain Maurice so that he won't object to his planned marriage to Belle. While the 1950s and '60s are often considered Disney's "Golden Era," 1991's Beauty and the Beast came during a time when the company was churning out some underrated movies, including The Fox and the Hound and The Great Mouse Detective.

A scene from Disney's Beauty and the Beast gets totally reimagined in a new video, putting Belle's father into the middle of a rave. Released in 1991, Beauty and the Beast remains one of Disney's most beloved and acclaimed animated movies. The story follows a prince cursed to live out the rest of his days as a hideous...

Wish is the 62nd film from Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is also notably the 100th-anniversary film for the studio, one that is designed to celebrate the rich history of the company. Bringing the film to life are directors Chris Buck and Prasansook Fawn Veerasunthorn. Buck is an icon at Disney, while Veerasunthorn is an exciting new voice at the company.

Chris Buck is a Disney legend. He studied at CalArts, and his first credit on a Disney film was as an animator on The Fox and the Hound. After years of working with Disney, he got his first directorial credit co-directing Disney's 1999 film Tarzan with Chris Lima. Appropriately, Tarzan was the end of the Disney Renaissance, and Bucks' next Disney film would be one of the most successful animated films of all time: Frozen. In 2013, Buck co-directed the groundbreaking feature with Jennifer Lee, and it reinvented Disney animation, cementing...

When Henry Selick's animated fantasy "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was first released in October of 1993, it wasn't an overwhelming hit. Made for a budget of $20 million, the film only opened to about $191,000 in its first weekend. It would eventually crawl its way to a respectable but not mind-blowing $50 million overall. Disney, the film's distributor, clearly had little faith in the project and released it under its Touchstone label, feeling it was too weird for little kids. Only a small segment of passionate teenage Tim Burton fans latched onto it (Burton designed the film and wrote the poem on which the script is based), and it was the weirdos and Goths who bought it on VHS and committed the film to memory. For a few brief, sweet years, "Nightmare" was little more than a legitimate cult phenomenon.

Something happened by the late 1990s, however, as Disney slowly discovered that marketing...

Disney's Once Upon a Studio featured a nod to 100 years of their feature-length movies. Many notable faces were present like Snow White and Stitch, but the short also nodded to characters from Dinosaur. While darker than most Disney movies, Dinosaur was far ahead of its time and showed that the studio could tackle darker themes with a hint of hope.

Among a cavalcade of cameos, Disney’s Once Upon a Studio called back to a movie far ahead of its time. Celebrating 100 years of Disney, it’s no surprise the studio would reflect on how far it has come, what it accomplished, and the characters that changed animation forever. Dinosaur may have faded into obscurity, but like the incredible animals that inspired it, it left behind a legacy that time didn't fully appreciate until long after its heyday.

Premiering in 2023, Once Upon a Studio came as part of the Disney100 celebration,...

There’s nothing like lying in bed after a long day of work, doing your best to turn off your churning, tired thoughts, and suddenly having a traumatic childhood memory shoot into your brain. Bonus, it’s not anything bad. It’s a glimpse of some shockingly dark kids’ movie you watched when you were nine, and it still haunts you at the worst times.

The only thing that sucks more is sitting down with a kid’s movie as an adult, hoping to chill with your microwaved nuggets and some comfortable nostalgia, only to get punched in the face by a bag of emotions you did not ask for. Sometimes the movie does it on purpose, like Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, which understands that kids are built differently when it comes to spooky stuff. But most of the time it’s a thwack out of nowhere, an assault from some charming,...

The Black Cauldron was a dark Disney movie with a frightening villain. Live-action Disney movies like Maleficient and Cruella have embraced their darker side. The Black Cauldron could find success by embracing Disney's darkness and connecting with a new generation.

In 1985, Disney released its 25th feature-length animated film, The Black Cauldron. The film was based on the book series The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander and featured a dark tone reminiscent of the Night on Bald Mountain sequence in Fantasia (1941) decades earlier. The fantasy epic was rife with production struggles, and Disney released a number of other films during its development, such as The Rescuers and The Fox and the Hound. Overall, it took over ten years for the film to be produced. But the animators working on it believed so much in its potential success it remained on the docket despite the continual delays. Even when production stalled...

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Disney fans and physical media collectors, rejoice! This November will see the release of a gargantuan 100-film Blu-ray collection called the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection. The catch? It’ll cost you $1,499.96.

The boxed set officially releases on Nov. 14, but preorders are currently available exclusively at Walmart’s website.

Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection $1,499.96 Buy Now

The collection is packaged as a three-volume set, featuring animated films from Disney, Walt Disney Animation and Pixar. But unlike other behemoth boxed sets, this one isn’t filled with lame direct-to video snoozers but beloved titles that includes classics and recent favorites. For example, the long-running list includes all the “Toy Story” movies, both of “The Incredibles,” “The Black Cauldron,” “Frankenweenie” and “Robin Hood.” It even includes films as recent as this...

At 5’2, Mickey Rooney may have been small in stature, but he had a huge personality and was one of the biggest stars in the heyday of the Golden Era of Hollywood. He had one of the longest careers of any entertainer, with a body of work that spans nine decades in the industry, including vaudeville, films, television, radio and the stage.

Rooney was born Joe Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. At 17 months old, he made his stage debut in his parent’s vaudeville act, and made his motion picture debut in 1926. In 1927, he starred in the first of several short films in the “Mickey Maguire” series, and adopted the stage name “Mickey Rooney.” He made 78 of these comedies, and also received great notices in films such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935). Then in 1937, he made the film that would establish his star status. “A Family Affair” was...

The D100 Edition of Disney Lorcana introduces six alt art cards, including Mickey Mouse, Elsa, and Genie, featuring illustrations from talented artists who have worked for Disney. Mickey Mouse: Friendly Face is a powerful questing card with 3 lore generation and ink cost reduction ability, despite its low strength. The artwork is by Mark Henn, a veteran Disney animator. Elsa: Gloves Off is a questing-focused card with decent stats and Challenger ability. The artwork is by Brittney Lee, a visual development artist for Disney who worked on Frozen.

The Disney100, or D100, Edition of Disney Lorcana adds six alt art cards to the game, arriving alongside the newly announced Rise of the Floodborn expansion. As a fresh addition to the collectible trading card game market, Disney Lorcana is moving full steam ahead in spite of some serious supply issues plaguing its recent launch. Following a similar approach to the Gift Set...

If you’re a Disney fan who wants each and every animated movie they’ve ever made in one place, then you’re in luck. The Walt Disney Company announced the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, which features 100 animated movies from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Pixar on Blu-ray. Everything from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Elemental is included, encompassing nearly one hundred years of storytelling.

Related Disney and Pixar’s Elemental comes to Disney+ on September 13th

The Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection is a self-standing, three-volume set that will be available for pre-order on September 19th, but only on Walmart.com. There will be a limited amount of sets available, so each will include a numbered certificate of authenticity. The set will also feature digital codes for each title, along with a collectible lithograph from Disney Animation’s all-new musical comedy Wish, and a collectible...

The Walt Disney Company is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a hefty new Blu-ray box set containing 100 of its best animated films.

Officially titled the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, the box set comes with three volumes that open up to feature the original theatrical artwork for each film. Additionally, the package offers digital codes to all 100 movies, a certificate of authenticity, a lithograph from the upcoming feature Wish, and a collectible set of crystal Mickey Mouse ears engraved with “Disney 100.”

Drawing films from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, and the now-closed DisneyToon Studios, the collection offers a pretty comprehensive timeline of the company, founded in 1923. The box set features early classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan, 1990s renaissance films like Aladdin, The Lion King, and Toy Story, and more modern offerings — many of which got the direct-to-Disney+ treatment thanks to Covid — including Soul,...

Since the Writers Guild of American and Screen Actors Guild are both still on strike, this year's Destination D23 convention down in Orlando, Florida didn't really have much of anything to showcase. Sure, the studio showed some footage from Disney's upcoming animated movie "Wish," and they announced that "Haunted Mansion" would be hitting Disney+ in October. But there was one other announcement that might be intriguing for anyone who is both a Disney fan and a physical media collector.

This fall, the House of Mouse will be releasing the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, which collects 100 animated films from both Disney and Pixar, reaching as far back as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and up through this summer's "Elemental" from Pixar. All of the movies come in a big three-volume set that unfolds in collectible storybooks. The Disney100 Blu-ray box set also includes the original theatrical poster art for every movie within the storybook,...

Disney is releasing a limited edition box set of 100 animated movies to celebrate their 100th anniversary, priced at $1,500. The box set includes classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, as well as newer films like Encanto and Turning Red. While the price may seem steep, the box set comes with bonus collectibles and is a comprehensive collection that would be difficult and costly to build on one's own.

The price tag for Disney's new DVD collection set that contains 100 animated movies has been set at a hefty $1,500. With Disney's 100th anniversary set on October 16, the renowned company has been celebrating the milestone all through the year. The Disney theme parks began the official celebration by kicking off Disney 100 in January, a series of special events taking place in parks across the globe all year long. However, Disney will soon offer a way to bring part of the celebration into audiences' own homes.

Disney has unveiled the ultimate bundle of animated content, featuring 100 films from Disney and Pixar going from 1937 to 2023.

At the Destination D23 Walt Disney Studio Showcase event, Disney announced on Sunday that they would soon release what's called the "Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection." The massive Blu-ray set contains a hundred films from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Pixar. The set will be releasing officially on Nov. 14, 2023, though a limited number will be made available to pre-order through Walmart.com starting on Sept. 18, 2023. Each of these sets will include a numbered certificate of authenticity. Of course, the set isn't exactly cheap given the content included, as it will be priced at $1,500.

Related: Top 10 Pixar Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes

The discs will come in a unique, self-standing three-volume set that unfolds like a storybook. Along with a plethora of Blu-ray discs for 100 animated movies, the collection also includes digital codes for each title.

Disney just announced the release of the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, featuring 100 animated films from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. It’s packaged together as a three-volume set that unfolds into your own storybook.

The set is festooned with original poster designs and comes with digital codes for every movie, alongside a lithograph from Disney’s upcoming feature “Wish,” a certificate of authenticity and crystal Mickey Mouse ears engraved with the “Disney 100” logo. The limited-edition collection will be available on Nov. 14, with pre-orders beginning on Walmart.com on Sept. 18. It has a retail price of $1,500.

What’s fascinating about the set is that it includes a wide array of classic Walt Disney Animation Studios features, along with beloved Pixar favorites and a smattering of films (many of them direct-to-video sequels to earlier masterworks) created by the since-shuttered DisneyToon Studios. That includes “Tinker Bell,” “Return to Neverland,” “The...

The Land Before Time established itself as the saddest animated film of the '80s, with the death of Littlefoot's mother being one of the most heartbreaking scenes. Despite its sad moments, The Land Before Time became a popular franchise by delivering a compelling narrative focused on lovable dinosaur characters and themes of friendship and life. The saddest scene in The Land Before Time may be difficult to watch, but it serves a purpose by showcasing the cycle of life and inspiring audience members, especially children, to persevere through tough times.

The most heart-wrenching moment of any '80s animated movie can be found in a 3-minute-long scene in Don Bluth's The Land Before Time. Almost every decade, an animated children's classic comes along that is driven by an incredibly heartbreaking moment cleverly set in place for the animation's protagonist(s) to persevere through. These instances serve as...

Pinocchio (1940) introduced groundbreaking animation techniques and imparts timeless wisdom on courage, truth, and selflessness that still resonates today. The Fox and the Hound (1981) delivers a powerful message against blind conflict and prejudice, showcasing the enduring lessons of kindness and tolerance in friendship. 101 Dalmatians (1961) revolutionized animation with the Xerox process and tells a heartwarming tale of teamwork, courage, and the importance of family, making it a timeless delight.

Disney has been around for 100 years and has made almost 500 films, however; only some of its timeless classics have aged well. Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney signed a contract with M. J. Winkler on Oct. 16, 1923, giving birth to The Walt Disney Studios, initially named the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. As time has passed, the cinematic landscape has evolved, progressing towards greater inclusivity and open-mindedness. With this change, several of Disney's cherished classics have aged poorly with contemporary social norms.

Animated movies that star relatable but extraordinary humans, such as Disney's Frozen and The Incredibles, are some of the best in animation. However, many animated films feature surprisingly relatable animal protagonists, using these characters to create a vivid and captivating story.

Films like The Lion King and Kung Fu Panda are the most beloved movies with animal characters, enticing viewers with an emotional and fun plot. There are also hidden gems, such as The Rescuers and Oliver & Company, that have exceptional animal heroes. These animated movies have been hits for audiences old and young, enticing with characters that are both visually animalist and characteristically entertaining.

Related: 8 Animated Movies Getting Live Action Adaptations in 2023 & 2024

Madagascar (2005)

Madagascar is about a group of zoo animals trained to perform for a crowd. When Marty the zebra becomes curious about the wild, he gets himself and his pals into trouble when they crash-land in the jungle of Madagascar.

Donald Virgil Bluth is a self-taught animator who worked at Disney while producing films like Sleeping Beauty, Pete's Dragon, and The Fox and the Hound. Frustrated by Disney's leadership at the time, he led a mass exodus of animators and formed his own animation studio. For a moment, he was able to out-compete Disney at the box office, which helped kickstart their Renaissance of the 90s.