The Walt Disney Company has been around for 100 years. Debuting in 1923, the company unveiled several of the most iconic cartoon characters of all time through animated shorts. The most famous of these was the unveiling of Mickey Mouse in the Steamboat Willie in 1928. But, along the way, Walt Disney had a dream to transform animated storytelling from short form to feature-length narratives.
The very first animated feature length film was released in 1937. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs launched the company into the stratosphere and helped usher in what is known as the Golden Age of Animation for the Walt Disney Animation Studios.
5 Dumbo
After the box office failures of Pinocchio and Fantasia, Disney needed a hit. Walt Disney decided to go back to a more simplistic narrative approach. Rather than attempting shorts set to classical music or an episodic tale, Dumbo tackled the story of an elephant whose ears are too big and doesn't fit in at the circus. The Ringmaster keeps trying out new jobs for Dumbo, who was originally called Jumbo Jr. until some mean older elephants renamed him against his mother's wishes. Eventually, with the help of some crows with were drawn questionably, Dumbo learns he can use his ears to fly and becomes the star of the circus.
The Ringmaster isn't a true villain, he's just doing his job. Timothy S. Mouse is a great companion similar to Jiminy Cricket. The older elephants who can't be happy for their fellow elephant and her child, along with the kids who picked on Dumbo causing his mother to attack them, are the real villains of this film. It's a simple tale that's easy for kids to understand. It was a box office success when Disney needed one.
4 Bambi
Bambi is the fifth film released by Walt Disney Animation Studios and the film that immediately follows Dumbo in the lineage. Bambi takes the Dumbo formula and builds on it. The narrative remains simplistic: it's just the life of a deer from birth until he becomes a father. He grows, he learns, he becomes "twitterpated." Bambi meets friends like Thumper, Friend Owl, Flower and Faline. Where Bambi really moves into a different category is its villain.
Instead of a traditional villain that can be seen in the film, Bambi chooses to make man, or the hunter, a villain. The deer are trying to live their lives from birth to death, and man is trying to speed up the death. Man is never shown in the film but is responsible for both the death of Bambi's mother and the fire that destroys the forest endangering the lives of Bambi and his friends. Hunters are not inherently evil, but from the deer's perspective, they are.
3 Fantasia
This is one of Walt Disney's top five riskiest films, if not his riskiest film. Disney was known to love classical music and had the idea to set some of his animated shorts to classical music, a style that has been copied by other art forms. Featuring some of the best classical music of all time, Fantasia introduces audiences to a new form of storytelling. It's one that Disney would revisit a few times over the years but never became the standard.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Marie are two of the most iconic segments from this film. The Sorcerer's Apprentice introduces Sorcerer Mickey, one of the more iconic Mickey Mouse looks. It has inspired attractions at the Disney parks around the world. While Night on Bald Mountain introduces Chernabog, a truly frightening representation of the devil. The other segments may not be as well remembered, but Fantasia as a whole is remembered as a Disney classic.
2 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
The very first feature-length animated film of all time, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is also the most important animated film of all time. This film was dubbed Disney's folly back in the 1930s when he was initially working on it. Going over budget and forcing Walt Disney to mortgage his home, if this film had failed, the Walt Disney Company and animated filmmaking as we know it would both be completely different than they are today. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a rousing success. In 1939, Walt Disney received an honorary Oscar, along with seven miniature Oscar statues, for his creative achievement.
Snow White may look simple compared to some of the more complex narratives of today, but every animation fan has Snow White to thank for whatever films, series and specials they love. The film features memorable characters including naming the dwarfs for the first time. It introduced the first of many Disney princesses. It features one of the most iconic Disney villains in the Wicked Queen. And it introduced some memorable songs with 'Heigh-Ho' and 'Once Upon A Dream'.
1 Pinocchio
Pinocchio was not the box office success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Dumbo. But it took more creative risks with its storytelling that seem to stand the test of time. Pinocchio is more episodic, telling a series of adventures rather than a narrative over time. It could very easily be broken up into episodes of a miniseries.
While Pinocchio may have struggled to bring people to the theater, characters like Pinocchio, Jiminy Crickett, Figaro, Honest John and Gepetto have all become iconic. They have reappeared in several Disney productions in the years since and many have appeared in Disney-themed video games. Pinocchio is one of the best remembered Disney films more than 80 years after its release.