1. Oliver & Company
   The Lion King
2. The Three Caballeros
   Make Mine Music

"The Lion King" was originally titled "The King of the Jungle," but Disney renamed it when they realized that lions don't live in the jungle. Disney originally wanted Sean Connery to be the voice of Mufasa and wanted the voices of the hyenas to be Cheech and Chong.

1. The Three Caballeros
   Fun & Fancy Free
2. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
   Tangled

"Tangled" was Disney's first animated full-length computer-animated fairy-tale feature. This was also Disney's 50th animated feature. The director of "Tangled" began his career as an in-between artist for Mushu in "Milan."

1. Alice in Wonderland
   Brother Bear
2. The Rescuers Down Under
   Big Hero 6

The Mad Hatter in the story of "Alice in Wonderland" would have never existed if it weren't for the persistence of children. The story was first made into a live movie in 1903, before the animated version began production. Carroll almost called it "Alice's Hour in Elfland."

1. Brother Bear
   The Lion King
2. The Little Mermaid
   Atlantis: The Lost Empire

The Hans Christian Andersen tale of "The Little Mermaid" doesn't have a big role for the sea-witch, Ursula. Her role was so small, in fact, that she didn't even have a name. To animate the shipwreck and Ursula's emergence from the sea, the animators studied the scenes from "Pinocchio" involving Monstro.

1. Dinosaur
   The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
2. The Rescuers Down Under
   Melody Time

The silly old bear of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" was based on a real young one. During World War I, a Canadian soldier bought a black bear cub from a hunter for $20 and named her Winnipeg. She came to London's Zoological Gardens and was admired by a boy named Christopher Robin Milne.

1. Toy Story
   Meet the Robinsons
2. Wreck-It-Ralph
   Big Hero 6

In the film, "Big Hero 6," the city of San Fransokyo is based on a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo. Baymax's movement is based on a penguin's movement. "Big Hero 6" is the first team-up between Marvel and Disney animation for the big screen.

1. Dinosaur
   Pocahontas
2. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
   Lady and the Tramp

In "Lady and the Tramp," the Lady was inspired by a real dog named Lady. Walt came up with the name Tramp for the other dog. Homer, Rags, Bozo, and even Mutt were some of the other options they toyed around with. Animators were worried Tramp was a little too risqué for the time, but Walt got his way anyway.

1. The Rescuers
   Melody Time
2. Oliver & Company
   Frozen

Fifty people worked on the technology of the scene in "Frozen" where Elsa builds her ice palace. One frame of the scene took 30 hours to render. It only takes Elsa about 36 seconds to construct the palace in the movie. The animators held a "Sister Summit" to understand what sister relationships are like.

1. Wreck-It Ralph
   Meet the Robinsons
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
   Toy Story

"Wreck-It Ralph" has 188 unique characters, more than any other Disney movie in history. Usually Disney films have between 40 and 60. This film also has 70 different individual settings, while most Disney films have about 25. In the film, the color acid green is associated with evil.

1. Robin Hood
   The Three Caballeros
2. Fun and Fancy Free
   Aladdin

"Robin Hood" was the result of another movie idea being canned. "Reynard the Fox" was the original movie idea. Animator Ken Anderson ended up blending Reynard into his script for "Robin Hood." The voice of Robin, Brian Bedford, is a classically trained Shakespearean actor.

1. Melody Time
   Aladdin
2. Bambi
   Meet the Robinsons

"Bambi" was adapted from the book "Bambi: A Life in the Woods," written by Australian author Felix Salten. Although "Bambi" is considered a classic today, it bombed at the box office due to being released during World War II. This film ranked third out of ten in American Classic Film Genres.

1. Pocahontas
   Sleeping Beauty
2. Make Mine Music
   The Rescuers

In "Sleeping Beauty," when the fairies are discussing how to help the king and queen early on in the film, Merryweather is making cookies in the shape of Mickey Mouse heads. "Sleeping Beauty" is a classic now, but early in its release critics said it lacked character development and moved too slow.

1. Brother Bear
   Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. The Rescuers
   The Lion King

Walt Disney's wife thought that "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" would completely bomb. In order to achieve the Magic Mirror's "hollow-sounding" voice, actor Moroni Olsen wore a frame covered with drum heads over his head.

1. Melody Time
   Pocahontas
2. Beauty and the Beast
   Fun and Fancy Free

The beast in "Beauty and the Beast" is a mashup of a bunch of different animals. He’s got the mane of a lion, the beard and head of a buffalo, the brow of a gorilla, the eyes of a human, the tusks of a wild boar, the body of a bear, and the legs and tail of a wolf.

1. Pocahontas
   Mulan
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
   Dinosaur

"Mulan" took five years to complete. It took 700 animators, artists and technicians to complete the film. They brewed 1,630 pounds of coffee during production. The directors, Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, make cameo appearances toward the end of the film.

1. Fun and Fancy Free
   The Three Caballeros
2. Dumbo
   Aladdin

Dumbo originally had a different sidekick. In the original book, Timothy Q. Mouse didn't exist; Dumbo's sidekick was a Red Robin. By the end of the book version, Dumbo and Red had signed a film contract and were headed to Hollywood. Dumbo almost landed on the cover of "Time" magazine.

1. The Three Caballeros
   Make Mine Music
2. Pinocchio
   Fun & Fancy Free

Carlo Collodi wrote the original story of "Pinocchio" in an Italian magazine in 1881. It was published as a book two years later. The name "Pinocchio" literally means "little wooden head." Walt Disney tossed 2,300 feet of footage, or five months' work, because he didn't think it had the feel that he was looking for.

1. Oliver & Company
   Fun and Fancy Free
2. Peter Pan
   Brother Bear

Captain Hook was not always in the story of "Peter Pan." The original villain of the story was Peter Pan himself. His role was later expanded because of children’s fascination with pirates. There have been many debates about Peter Pan's age, ranging from 7 days old to 13 years.

1. Make Mine Music
   Fun and Fancy Free
2. Hercules
   The Hunchback of Notre Dame

"Hercules" was the first movie to break away from Disney's favoritism toward fairy tales. The animators spent six to 14 hours rendering a frame of the Hydra, depending on how many heads it had. The Spice Girls were considered for the parts of the Muses.

1. Dinosaur
   Fun and Fancy Free
2. The Three Caballeros
   Tarzan

It took animators three years to come up with the opening sequence for the film "Tarzan." Rosie O'Donnell is the voice for baby Terk. Phil Collins wrote most of "You'll Be in My Heart" while he was at a Christmas party. He was playing the piano at a neighbor's house and wrote down the chords and melody for the song on the back of some wrapping paper, so he wouldn't forget.

1. Big Hero 6
   Cinderella
2. Melody Time
   The Jungle Book

"Cinderella" marked Disney's return to ambitious narrative features. This was both a creative and financial gamble for the studio, the first time in eight years it had made a dicey attempt. If "Cinderella" had failed, it would have bankrupted the Disney company. This film cost $3 million to make.

1. Winnie the Pooh
   Dinosaur
2. The Rescuers Down Under
   Pocahontas

A.A. Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, had a whole gang of toy animals that were the inspiration for the characters in his father’s book. They are now on display at the New York City Library. "Winnie the Pooh" came to life on Christmas Eve in 1925. The original story was published in the "London Evening News."

1. Aladdin
   Atlantis: The Lost Empire
2. Dinosaur
   Brother Bear

In order to get Robin Williams for the Genie, the animators created test sequences of the Genie performing some of William's stand-up routines. "Aladdin" marked the end for Disney voice actors needing to have magnificent singing voices to be cast.

1. Brother Bear
   101 Dalmatians
2. The Rescuers
   Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

In "101 Dalmatians," there are over six million spots throughout the movie! This was the first film to use Xerox technology, where they transferred drawings onto the screen. Cruella de Vil has the same voice as the narrator for "Cinderella." Betty Lou Gerson voiced both characters.

1. Robin Hood
   Oliver & Company
2. Tarzan
   The Jungle Book

The animators originally wanted the Beatles to be the voices for the Vultures in "The Jungle Book." The Sherman brothers wrote the Vultures’ song “That’s What Friends Are For” with the Beatles in mind. However, the Fab Four turned them down. John said, "I don't wanna do an animated film." "Yellow Submarine" was created three years after.

1. Aladdin
   The Sword in the Stone
2. Make Mine Music
   The Lion King

Although Walt Disney never knew it, he inspired designer Bill Peet's model for Merlin in "The Sword in the Stone." Peet saw them both as argumentative and cantankerous, but playful and very intelligent. This was the last film that Disney fully produced, since he died during the production of "The Jungle Book." This was the first Disney animated feature made under a single director.

1. Lilo & Stitch
   Pocahontas
2. The Rescuers Down Under
   Meet the Robinsons

The original story of "Lilo & Stitch" was about an alien living in a forest on his own, trying to overcome his isolation and find out where he came from. Lilo didn't become part of the film until much later in the story's development. The filmmakers were originally going to have the story take place in rural Kentucky or Kansas, before they agreed on Hawaii. Stitch was originally not able to talk, but the filmmakers realized it was important for him to be able to express himself intelligibly.

1. Pocahontas
   The Rescuers Down Under
2. Bolt
   Meet the Robinsons

In "Bolt," Mittens the alley cat was originally called Mr. Mittens because her owners never took the time to figure out if she was a boy or a girl. The creative journey for "Bolt" started with a desire to evoke the painterly style of classic Disney animated features and American painters such as Edward Hopper. The production team actually had a pet hamster named Doink. Rhino, the hamster, was originally supposed to be a rat.

1. Melody Time
   Dinosaur
2. The Princess and the Frog
   Oliver & Company

Directors Ron Clements and John Musker pitched the film "The Princess and the Frog" to Oprah while they were on a trip to Disneyland. She loved the idea and wanted to be part of it. The women who fawn over Prince Naveen were based on women who worked at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Anika Noni Rose requested that Tiana should be left-handed, like her, and also that she should have dimples.

1. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
   Fun and Fancy Free
2. Dinosaur
   Brother Bear

The leader of the bears in the salmon run is a caricature of voice actor Michael Clarke Duncan in "Brother Bear." An idea to do a television animated series for the Rutt and Tuke characters was scrapped by Disney. Most of the characters are named after actual places in Alaska, where the story takes place. Kenai, for example, was named after the Kenai Peninsula.

1. Winnie the Pooh
   The Little Mermaid
2. Pocahontas
   Brown Bear

It took five years to finish the film "Pocahontas." Pocahontas herself required 55 animators. There was a rivalry between the animators of "Pocahontas" and "The Lion King." "The Lion King" won, going on to amass $987 million worldwide. The film was released right around Pocahontas' real birthday. It is thought that she was born on June 23, 1595, making her 400 at the time of the film's distribution.

1. Dinosaur
   The Three Caballeros
2. Alice in Wonderland
   Aladdin

"The Three Caballeros," along with "Saludos Amigos," was created by Disney to improve the United States of America's relations with South American countries during World War II. Its world premiere was held in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. This was the last Disney film released during World War II. The song "You Belong to My Heart" was used in a Disney short called "Pluto's Blue Note" and was eventually recorded by Bing Crosby.

1. Oliver & Company
   Meet the Robinsons
2. Fun and Fancy Free
   Lilo & Stitch

A picture of Walt Disney is seen in the orphanage. The part of Lewis and Wilbur had to be recast when the original actor's voice broke. The science fair that Wilbur goes to is at Joyce Williams Elementary School, to acknowledge the original author of the story, William Joyce. "Meet the Robinsons" is based on a book called "A Day with Wilbur Robinson." This film actually started as a live-action film before being moved to animation.

1. The Rescuers Down Under
   The Lion King
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
   The Aristocats

"The Aristocats" was originally intended to be a live-action film. This was the first Disney film to be produced after Walt's death. Six of Disney's original "nine old men" worked on the film. They included producer Wolfgang Reitherman, character animator Eric Larson, and directing animators John Lounsbery, Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas and Milt Kahl. Louis Armstrong was the intended voice actor for the Scat Cat.

1. Brother Bear
   The Fox and the Hound
2. Oliver & Company
   Lady and the Tramp

As the producer of every animated feature since the death of Walt Disney, Woolie Reitherman saw his role as keeping Disney animation not only aloft, but also soaring to new heights of artistry. He took special care in making this happen in "The Fox and the Hound" because he had a personal attachment to the film.

1. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
   The Little Mermaid
2. Atlantis
   Make Mine Music

In "Make Mine Music," the vocals for the song "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" — including the bass up through soprano, and the chorus — were sung by Nelson Eddy. By messing with his home recording equipment, Eddy was able to sing and record sextets with himself for the soundtrack. This was the first Disney animated feature film to be released after the end of World War II.

1. The Rescuers Down Under
   Hercules
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
   The Emperor's New Groove

Originally "The Emperor's New Groove" was going to be called "The Empire of the Sun." It was about an Incan emperor, Manco (not Kuzco, but still voiced by David Spade), switching places with an identical Pacha (a peasant voiced by Owen Wilson, not the fat one voiced by John Goodman).

1. Melody Time
   Make Mine Music
2. Fantasia
   Oliver & Company

"Fantasia" was the first movie to be screened in stereo. Disney sound engineers created an elaborate sound system called "Fantasound" for the film, recording the orchestra on a then-unprecedented nine-track polyphonic master. They then mixed that down to three tracks.

1. Oliver & Company
   Melody Time
2. The Great Mouse Detective
   Brother Bear

"The Great Mouse Detective" is rooted in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. The creators purposefully used no human characters in this animated film. They wanted to take the viewers into a world that they could never go to, to experience things in miniature. This creates the perfect environment and reason for an animated film. Anthropomorphic mice solving crimes are the best, aren't they?

1. Dinosaur
   Frozen
2. The Good Dinosaur
   Bolt

The realism in the animated feature film "Dinosaur" is amazing. This was inspired by a research trip Peter John and producer Denise Ream took to the Rockies. The development of Arlo's family was created around a ranching family Sohn and Ream met in Oregon, named McKay. The family consisted of both parents and their five adopted Haitian kids. The family's uniqueness was perfect to feature in "Dinosaur."

1. Melody Time
   The Three Caballeros
2. The Rescuers Down Under
   The Great Mouse Detective

The popularity of "The Rescuers" almost led producers to make a spinoff series in 1989. Penny freezes every time she looks into Maiden Medusa's eyes because, in Greek mythology, anyone who looked into Medusa's eyes turned into stone. This was the first Walt Disney animated feature that inspired a sequel. Rufus the cat is a caricature of animator Ollie Johnston.

1. Lady and the Tramp
   Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
2. The Three Caballeros
   Oliver & Company

In "Oliver & Company," Marlon Brando was offered the role of Sykes by the head of the Walt Disney Company, Michael Eisner. Brando turned it down, fearing that the movie would bomb. This is the first Disney film to have its own department set up solely for the purpose of generating computer animation. Dodger's appearance in the film was inspired by Billy Joel. The dogs' dances were based on choreography by Bob Fosse.

1. Big Hero 6
   Fun and Fancy Free
2. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
   Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

"Fun and Fancy Free" is the last example of Walt Disney doing the voice of Mickey Mouse. Much of it was recorded in the spring and summer of 1941. Bongo was inspired by a story written by Sinclair Lewis that was featured in a 1930 issue of "Cosmopolitan." The song "Fun and Fancy Free," as sung by Jiminy Cricket, was supposed to be used for the film "Pinocchio," but it was later dropped.

1. Melody Time
   Saludos Amigos
2. The Jungle Book
   Tarzan

"Melody Time" is the 10th animated movie in the Disney animated features canon. It was first released by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. "Melody Time" was first released on home video on June 2, 1998. Its last release was on DVD in June of 2000. Roy Rogers, the narrator, plays himself in this animated film.

1. Melody Time
   Make Mine Music
2. The Three Caballeros
   Fantasia 2000

Originally, Disney animators made nine sequences for the film "Fantasia 2000," including one set to Debussy's "Clair de Lune," featuring birds flying across a moonlit sky over the Florida Everglades. This segment was eventually cut for length, but then it appeared in a later musical film, "Make Mine Music."