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Ranking Disney Golden Age Films

Disney’s Golden Age is a period which covers every production released from their very first film which is Snow White released in 1937 to the last film made when Walt Disney was still alive which is The Jungle Book released in 1967, just before the beginning of their first Dark Age. I am excluding the package films made during and after WWII for obvious reasons and they are going to get their own list. Because this period covers a lot of years, we have no less than thirteen features of which almost all are not just very good, but simply great. This was the beginning and the pinnacle of the studio’s creative, artistic output and they never managed to rival it. Yes, not even the terrific Renaissance comes close to the pure craftsmanship and excellence of this amazing period for not just Disney, but for the overall medium of animation. So without further ado, here is my ranking of all 13 Disney classics.

13. Peter Pan

Peter Pan is an unfortunate product of its time meaning that it’s a good film, pretty good actually, that is riddled with many dated qualities that seriously affected its quality and timelessness factor. It is highly racist toward Native Americans and also incredibly sexist. The main character is quite unlikable and the film is overall uneven in quality and rushed in pacing. However, the animation is strong, the world building is terrific and Captain Hook is such a fun, amusing villain. The action is also great as is the undeniably wonderful ending. It’s flawed, but still it goes to show how strong this period is when this pretty good, 4-star rated flick ended up dead last on the list.

12. The Sword in the Stone

The Sword in the Stone isn’t dated as the above flick, but it’s just as uneven and as problematic. Mostly its structure is troublesome as we never get to see adult Arthur rule while its pacing is also flawed and the animation as well as the soundtrack are some of Disney’s weakest. But quite fun humor, a great charming, adventurous tone to it and a plethora of highly endearing characters more than make up for all those flaws. The characters of Merlin, Madame Mim and Archimedes are particularly memorable . The highlight, though, is that iconic battle sequence between Madame Mim and Merlin where they try to outwit each other with magic. It’s a truly terrific message learning flick for kids.

11. Fantasia

Fantasia is the movie which fluctuated the most out of all the films here when it comes to my opinion of it as it ranged from just okay to solid to now pretty good upon subsequent viewings. It’s the most boring of all Disney films as it mostly has no stories and characters plus it’s highly uneven in the quality of its segments. However, it is an undisputed artistic pinnacle of the studio and probably of all American animation as it mixes gorgeous animation and great classical music almost with ease. The standouts are the classic Sorcerer’s Apprentice as well as Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria with that transcendental, beautiful finale. Chernabog is also a very memorable villain.

10. Lady and the Tramp

It’s definitely baffling how I don’t adore Lady and the Tramp having in mind that I’m a big dog lover. But it pales in comparison to the much better dog picture coming much later down this list. It has more than enough detours to throw its plot off the main path plus the final conflict was simply unnecessary. The animation, though, is gorgeous and highly appealing and the characters are all immensely endearing. The film is at its best when it’s romantic as that Bella Notte sequence exudes with charm and love.  And even though it’s not a great film, it’s a respectable, different than usual, slower and more slice of life Disney offering which is a classic dog film in its own right.

9. Bambi

This is another classic animation which I should love as an animation fanatic, but I frankly do not mainly because I find it too dark and lacking in entertainment value. Its tonal shift is not deft plus the characters are far from the studio’s most memorable creations. Then again, the visuals are some of their best as the forest looks vivid and very much real. The same needs to be said for the realism factor as it follows the life of a deer in all its real life honesty. The death of Bambi’s mother is one truly heartbreaking scene, but another tragic, underrated scene is the death of a bird moment which really affected me personally. Bambi’s not the easiest film to watch, but it needs to be respected for its artistry and impressive, mature realism.

8. Cinderella

Cinderella is another highly flawed, but still classic Disney film and the first movie on this list which I would consider great despite its flaws. Those flaws obviously include the very short runtime, a somewhat weaker soundtrack and way too much emphasis on mice, but those critters still get a couple of classically done, cartoony chases which I loved. A couple of songs are great here and the film’s character development is actually terrific with Cindy herself being quite proactive for an older princess and Lady Tremaine being undoubtedly one of Disney’s most menacing, honestly legendary villains. But it’s above all else a classic, enchanting fairy tale which is pretty timeless in quality.

7. Dumbo

What Dumbo obviously lacks in ambition and running time, it more than compensates with wonderful characters ranging from the endearing protagonist to his great sidekick to, yes, those underrated, memorable crows. The animation isn’t great as the film was unfortunately made on the cheap, but what is great is the film’s huge heart. It has a couple of extremely touching sequences and the fact that such a short, simple film can touch audiences after all these decades speaks volumes to the greatness of this picture. It also features one highly underrated, strong soundtrack filled with classics such as psychedelic Pink Elephants on Parade, tragic Baby Mine and incredibly entertaining When I See an Elephant Fly.

6. The Jungle Book

By far the most purely underappreciated entry on this list along with the fourth placement, The Jungle Book most definitely features a cheaper visual look and a somewhat forgettable protagonist, but Shere Khan is an amazing villain and Baloo is one of Disney’s most impressive sidekicks. He’s so incredibly fun, so sweet with a big heart and very funny, thus serving as a perfect companion to Mowgli. The soundtrack is incredible with a lot of fun, catchy numbers and it most definitely is a big improvement upon its source material when it comes to storytelling. Above anything else, this breezy flick is by far one of the most purely entertaining and funny films in the studio’s filmography.

5. 101 Dalmatians

This was the most difficult choice on my list as The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians are pretty much on par when it comes to their quality and how much I enjoy them which is a lot. But eventually I went with 101 Dalmatians as the fifth spot because its animation is a bit better, more artistic and because it’s a perfect film for dog lovers with an impressive attention to detail in recreating their behavior. The action is overwhelming, but perfectly executed and even suspenseful at times while the characters and the overall tone are undeniably charming. The standout is definitely Cruella de Ville who just might be the sickest, most vile and most fun, creative and iconic of all Disney villains which says a lot. She’s a blast to watch.

4. Alice in Wonderland

And now we come to the fourth spot which is reserved to one of Disney’s most shamefully underappreciated, disappointingly underrated films which is a major improvement over its source material despite what most purists would say. Yes, Alice in Wonderland is amazing. It’s the studio’s most atypical work as it’s very psychedelic, weird and simply crazy fueled by some of the best humor to ever come from Disney. It features a plethora of unforgettable characters from crazy Mad Hatter to hilarious Cheshire Cat to a lunatic villain Queen of Hearts. It looks stunning to behold thanks to creative animation, it sounds great thanks to catchy music and it’s just a lot of weird, authentic and otherworldly fun.

3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The first of Disney’s three masterpieces is an almost perfect picture that started it all – the glorious Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The pacing can be off at times, but pretty much everything else here is perfect despite what innumerable, feeble minded today’s audiences would say. The animation here is simply stunning and how they manage to create such a timeless looking movie on the first try is baffling to me. It is a film that gets better and better upon each subsequent viewing as you can always find new details in its impressive imagery to admire. It’s the closest that any film had come to feeling like a true fairy tale come to life on the big screen. The villain is great, the dwarfs are all endearing and such wonderful souls, the ending is majestic and the soundtrack is one of the studio’s best with all-time classics Someday My Prince Will Come, Heigh-Ho and Whistle While You Work immediately springing to mind.

2. Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty isn’t as fun as the above entry, but it’s the more artistic achievement which goes to show how inspired it truly is. The mixing of Tchaikovsky’s music and painting-like animation led to an audio-visual marvel to behold. Once Upon a Dream is one of the best Disney songs of all time as this iconic, beautiful and perfect ballad that is going to be great for eternity. The fairies are such lovable characters and naturally Maleficent is one of Disney’s greatest and most purely powerful, scary villains. It’s an accomplished film on all fronts with the highlights also being its charming humor, admirably darker and more mature tone and great action in the third act. And just the fact that they managed to make a successful film out of an unfilmable fairy tale where the protagonist spends almost all of the story in a dream is admirable. Its dreamlike quality is one of its greatest defining factors.

1. Pinocchio

This is it. The pinnacle. The masterpiece. The perfection of not just Disney, but of the animation medium, period. Pinocchio is an amazing, incredibly dark tale which teaches children the importance of being a good man through a variety of incredibly dark, scary sequences with the standout being the donkey scene which scares me as an adult how horrible it is. Yes, this is a very serious, dramatic, emotional movie which is frequently overwhelmingly tragic and palpably hopeless while still being a lot of fun, especially in its first act which is so charming, childlike and sweet. The titular protagonist is great as is Jiminy Cricket who’s the most important of all Disney sidekicks, but it is the villains that make this film truly stand out among the animated crowd. They are all very menacing, realistic in actions and the fact that they never get punished for their crimes led to the film’s very dark, grounded in reality quality. The score is also terrific and the animation is amazingly polished. It easily tops this list despite incredibly stiff competition. Pinocchio remains the best animated film ever made which also comfortably sits in my top ten films of all time list.

Pinocchio most definitely is one of my favorite films of all time, it right now sits in my personal top ten. You can get Pinocchio on Amazon with excellent bonus features. There are other classic Golden Age movies to be found on the website as well.