Top 10 Disney Movies

Founded 90 years ago, the Walt Disney Company has grown into a huge entertainment industry but its wonderful movies remain its biggest asset.

Disney today turns over billions, rather than millions, of pounds and in fact their revenue and assets are larger than many countries.

Though much of that huge turnover is down to the many slick merchandising schemes they use today, and to their modern films, the basis for it all began many years ago.

Many of Disney’s greatest movies of all time date back to the 1960s and even further than that.

And, for all the special effects and computer wizardry at their disposal today, it’s the older Disney flicks that continue to charm each new generation, and if anything, they look more magical as the years go past.

It was 1923’s Alice’s Wonderland that brought Walt Disney to the public eye for the first time, a clever little film that managed to have child actress Virginia Davis starring alongside animated characters.

You can imagine it looks positively prehistoric today, but animations, often mixed with real humans, have continued to bring Disney success.

Here, for this very special anniversary, we present you with our choice for the 10 best Disney movies from that first 90 years.

10 Pinocchio (1940)

You’ll know if we’re lying by watching our noses this was a real cracker of a film. The little puppet, made by wood-carver Geppetto, spends the film trying to become a real boy, which he’s been told is possible if he’s good and never, ever lies. In cinemas around the planet, rapt kids took it all in and made their silent little vows to always tell the truth!

It all started because a Disney animator left a book, translated from Italian, lying around, and Walt Disney absent-mindedly picked it up for a look. It grabbed his attention from the first sentence, and they said he was instantly bursting with ideas on how to turn it into a big-screen feature.

Jiminy Cricket’s When You Wish Upon A Star became a hit, to the extent that it would go on to virtually become the company’s theme tune. But the real star is still that little puppet, and the nose that keeps him in check.

9 Toy Story (1995)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=gsusakRf7T8

We could easily have filled our Top 10 with golden oldies, but we must hand it to the young ones, the animating geniuses who’ve kept Disney’s dreams alive.

And this marvellous movie, voted one of the Greatest All-Time Animated Films, deserves its place here.

Actually, “animated” is a bit of a strange word, even though the Hollywood experts are happy with it, because it’s the first completely computer-generated full-length movie. Like the fabulous Disney in general, it will take you into another world for an hour or two.

8 Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

Johnny Depp, as Captain Jack Sparrow, would admit even he was taken aback with the stunningly-good reviews this film earned on release. He would also hint that he’d based his character partly on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards!

There isn’t too much trickery, although the ships were built on basic models, with some computer stuff added to round off the effect.

The critics had smugly predicted that Men In Black II, out at the same time, would trounce it and Depp’s career would be smashed.

As has often happened with shock Disney classics . . . wrong!

7 Mary Poppins (1964)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=i5IW9wK_HNg

Disney had humans and animations together in his very first film, but it’s debatable if it ever worked as well as in this one.

Julie Andrews is fantastic as every child’s dream nanny, and would win Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Dick Van Dyke was the perfect foil for her, and the kids, of course, are just perfect.

Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber were fated to remain best-known for their roles here, although Karen’s sister, Michele, would star as Betty, long-suffering wife of Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. Tragically, Matthew, who’d co-star with Karen in three Disney films, caught hepatitis and died at just 21.

Van Dyke’s Cockney accent is so woeful it’s hilarious, but now just adds to the enchanting feel of the film. When you use words like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, after all, it’s best not to take the way it’s said too seriously!

6 Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Who on Earth would believe a cartoon story of two dogs falling madly in love? Just about everyone on Earth, actually!

There were queues right round the block to see this at the cinema, from Tottenham to Timbuktu.

The coy cocker spaniel and the rough ’n’ ready schnauzer mutt seemed to be just what the world wanted at that moment in time, and its very Christmassy feel only adds to the charm.

Believe it or not, Disney disliked what is now the most famous scene, where the pooches tuck into spaghetti and make a romantic mess. One animator went off and created it, anyway, without any help, and Walt was so impressed that he included it, luckily for him!

5 Bambi (1942)

This film was 19 years old when I was born, but as a tiny tot, it was my favourite in the early 1960s and my mum tells me I never stopped talking about it.

The little white-tailed fawn still makes me swoon Bambi really was a cutie, although the original tale starred a roe deer.

Because it was released during the Second World War, it originally failed to make back what it had cost, as most European audiences couldn’t get to see it.

In the USA, many sportsmen and hunters complained about it because the storyline seemed to suggest that the poor deer’s worst enemy was men.

Sir Paul McCartney would later say he also loved the film, and in fact first became interested in vegetarianism because Bambi’s mother was shot.

I also recall being heartbroken by that and I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten over it!

4 Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Nobody does fairy tales quite like Disney, and this is one of the best examples. Partly based on a tale from the Brothers Grimm, it would rake in almost 10 times what it cost to make, and you can still see why.

That’s not to suggest they just churned it out Sleeping Beauty took almost a decade to make from start to finish, and Disney was a real perfectionist.

He knew, rather than hoped, that his films would still be enjoyed so many years later, and he made darn sure they were just perfect. That’s why he hired a whole cast of real actors, to fly through the air and perform all the movements his animated characters would do.

The creators were then better able to do their drawings accurately, which is the kind of attention to detail that made Disney the huge name he became.

3 The Jungle Book (1967)

Mowgli, the wild child from Rudyard Kipling’s book, has inspired many artists over the years, and the notion of a feral human existing among the animals enchants us.

The early attempts at making this film left Walt Disney disappointed, as he felt his staff had made something too dark and sombre. When he replaced them, he got the fun classic we all love!

The Sherman Brothers were brought in to do five songs for the film, The Bear Necessities being the unforgettable stand-out.

2 The Lion King (1994)

The folks at Disney themselves reckon this is one of their all-time greatest movies.

Jeremy Irons and Matthew Broderick are among the stars adding their voices to this wonderful tale, brilliantly made and a massive hit since the day it came out.

It all happens, with a stunning musical soundtrack, in Africa, with lots of Biblical references to Joseph and Moses, though many reckon the whole thing was based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet!

Simba is the young lion set to succeed his father as King, but he flees his own land after being tricked into thinking he’s killed his dad.

1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=IxpXqcfz_R0

Yes, 76 years old and still capable of leaving children awestruck with its beauty. This wonderful piece of work has brought in over 200 times what they spent making it, the first-ever full-length animation film drawn completely by hand.

It took eight artists to do it, and many years later was named the Greatest American Animated Film Of All Time.

Tell the grandchildren about the work that went into this amazing film, and how Disney’s brother and wife told him he was crazy to attempt it. The film studios called it Disney’s Folly, and they’ve been eating humble pie ever since.

Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich were among the audience who stood en masse at the premiere’s end, applauding wildly as Mr Disney doubtless had a little satisfied smile to himself.