The Best Animated Disney Movies of All Time

Fourteen years after the first movie, the Incredibles family returned to the big screen for an action-packed sequel. The story picks up right where the last left off and sees the family of superheroes once again having to navigate family life, public opinion, government laws and ever threatening super villainy.

“Tangled” is loosely based on German fairy-tale Rapunzel and features a unique and cutting-edge animation style. The film combined CGI and traditional hand-drawn animation and is one of the most expensive animated films ever created. The story follows the protagonist as she attempts to understand and escape from the tower where she has been locked away for as long as she can remember.

2016’s “The Jungle Book” was an adaptation and combination of the 1967 animated film and original collection of works by Rudyard Kipling. The film combines live action and CGI animation to create the story of Mowgli. Mowgli is an orphaned human boy who becomes friends with talking animals while avoiding the jungle’s most dangerous creatures. The film includes motion capture and voice acting by Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Lupita Nyong’o.

By far the oldest movie on this list, Fantasia is a magical ride of color, imagination and music. The film was inspired by the 18th century poem “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Viewers are transported through 8 wild animated segments, each set to classical music performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Fantasia was ahead of its time in 1940 and is still a wild ride today.

Originally released in Japanese and created by Studio Ghibli, Disney was responsible for the English dub. Studio Ghibli founder and living legend Hayao Miyazaki co-wrote the screenplay but did not direct the movie. “The Secret World of Arrietty” is based on the 1952 novel “The Borrowers” by Mary Norton. The plot revolves around a group of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of a normal sized house and borrow things to survive from the house’s normal-sized occupants.

Released in late February 2020, “Onward” received critical praise but suffered heavily at the box office with the onset of the pandemic. It was made available digitally several weeks after its premiere in theaters. The movie is set in a suburban fantasy world and follows two elf brothers who venture to find a magical artifact that will temporarily bring their dead father back to life.

“The Little Mermaid” is based on the Danish fairytale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The classic movie follows mermaid princess Ariel as she chases her desire to become human and walk on land. Along the way she falls in love with a human and makes a treacherous deal with the villainous witch Ursula in order to achieve her dream.

“Big Hero 6” takes place in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo and its protagonist is a teenage robotics prodigy. 14-year-old Hiro spends much of his time gambling on and participating in underground robot fights. He is quickly thrust into a much bigger conspiracy and teams up with a maintenance robot named Baymax. The movie was based on Marvel comics of the same name and was the first time Disney produced a movie with Marvel characters.

Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Auli’i Cravalho, Moana is inspired by Polynesian mythology. Moana is the daughter of the village chieftain on her island but must leave home to remedy a blight that has thrown the island into crisis. She travels the waves in search of a demigod that can save the island’s crops. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is the second Studio Ghibli movie to make this list. It is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Dianna Wynne Jones. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the movie contains anti-war themes and was a way for Miyazaki to express his strong opposition to the US invasion of Iraq. The fantasy film follows a young woman in a war-torn land seeking to break a curse with the help of Howl and his magic castle.

Have you ever considered that some of the world’s best chefs might just have a rat in their hat that actually deserves all the credit? No? Well, Ratatouille explores this scenario through the charming tale of Remy, a rat from the French countryside who has become obsessed with the culinary arts. Remy doesn’t quite have the looks to become a chef, but he does have the determination and goes to Paris to pursue his dream.

“The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” is a musical anthology that follows Winnie, Christopher Robin, Pigglet, Tigger and the rest of the gang. The film links together three previously released stories that follow the characters as they venture through the Hundred Acre Wood and learn lessons about life and friendship along the way. Winnie the Pooh may appear to be just for young children but it contains plenty of depth for all ages.

One of the four Toy Story movies on this list, “Toy Story 2” adds new characters and brings back old favorites. The story begins with Woody’s theft by an antique toy collector, spurring his friends to set off to rescue him. Along the way Buzz Lightyear learns he’s not actually one of a kind and Woody is forced to make some tough decisions. Originally, the film was set to be a direct-to-video sequel but someone at Disney saw the light before sending the classic-to-be directly to VHS.

Tim Burton’s live-action creation is truly something special. The zany characters, wacky world, out of the box story and mesmerizing visuals make for quite a unique experience. Jack Skellington is the leader of Halloween Town, a magical realm filled with odd creatures responsible for making the holiday happen. One day Jack is wandering in the woods and stumbles through a sort of portal and into Christmas Town. Jack is immediately fascinated and mystified by this new world. He decides that the inhabitants of Halloween Town will take over and do Christmas for a change. Things do not go as planned.

Perhaps, the most quoted movie on this list, “Finding Nemo” is a story about how far a father will go to find his missing son. However, both are clown fish and they’re traveling through the massive Pacific Ocean. The aquatic adventure takes our hero through all sorts of wild environments and dangers while introducing him to a quirky array of characters voiced by big names like Ellen DeGeneres and Willem Dafoe.

In “Monsters, Inc.” the monsters under the bed aren’t scaring children out of malice but rather because their world is powered by the screams of children. Of course, this means they need professional scarers working in a corporate environment to extract enough screams to keep the lights turned on. But is all this trauma really necessary? A collection of very interesting and creative monsters explores this question as they venture between the monster and human worlds.

Nine years after “Toy Story 3,” everyone’s favorite group of toys returns for another adventure. The plot in “Toy Story 4” picks up where the third left off and Woody, Buzz and co. go on a road trip with their new owner Bonnie. They meet new and old friends along the way, adapting to a world that continues to change without them.

“Inside Out” takes complicated psychological concepts and portrays them in a fun and easy to understand story. The movie is aimed at helping children understand their emotions but can certainly teach everyone a thing or two. Emotions are transformed into living creatures and they must go on an adventure to help adolescent protagonist Riley cope with the trauma of moving far from home to a new and strange place.

“WALL-E” begins with planet Earth completely ravaged by corporate greed, consumerism and environmental neglect. Humans have abandoned the planet and now exist in space, using hover chairs that have caused them to devolve into barely functioning blobs. Meanwhile, in the home world, only one robot, WALL-E, remains. WALL-E is autonomously trying to repair and rejuvenate the desolate land when a new robot lands on the planet.

An anthropomorphic tale about Judy the rabbit. Judy moves to the big city of Zootopia to follow her dream of being a big city cop. Things don’t quite go as planned at first, but Judy quickly finds herself leading an investigation into the disappearance of several animals. The story follows Judy through the exciting world of a bustling metropolis except everyone is an animal.

“Up” starts off with a heart wrenching mini story in the first 10 minutes. Then it transforms into a magical adventure of childhood joy and healing. An old man attaches enough balloons to his house to float off and leave behind the oppression of city life while fulfilling an old promise. However, a boy scout accidentally stows away as the house sets sail and they both end up on a heartwarming and magical adventure to parts unknown.

Turns out we’re not the only ones that aged as Andy, Woody and Buzz’s owner, is headed off to college. “Toy Story 3” was released nearly 11 years after “Toy Story 2” and was still a massive success. The movie adds new characters and brings back the old while keeping the story refreshing and drawing in audiences of all ages.

Toy Story movies have dominated this list and the original is still seen as the best of them all. In 1995 audiences were introduced to a world where toys are actually alive but pretend to not be in the presence of humans. However, not all of these toys understand that they are toys themselves. Toy Story created iconic characters and a franchise of movies that can be rewatched and enjoyed by all ages.

Inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, “Coco” follows a young boy named Miguel who wants to become a musician even though his family forbids it. After stealing a magical guitar from his family’s mausoleum, he realizes he is invisible but has gained the ability to see and interact with his dead relatives who are visiting for the holiday. Miguel must navigate the mystical social world of the dead to return to the living before the holiday is over.

“Spirited Away” is one of the most critically praised movies of all time animated or otherwise and anyone who has not seen it should do so. This movie is another product of Studio Ghibli and was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Chirio, a 10-year-old girl, suddenly finds herself trapped in the spirit world where her parents have been transformed into pigs. She must navigate the haunting and beautiful world to try and return her parents to their normal form and return to their world. The film was originally made in Japanese and dubbed by Disney.