Disney is a company that has shaped all of our childhoods be it from there wonderful short films or there fantastic animated feature films. They've always been there for us when we really needed them the most and while yes the company has fallen on stony ground as of late that really doesn't excuse the fact that when they are at there best they really can knock it out of the park and so then join me as I tell you what some of my favorite Disney Renaissance films are all from worst to best.
Pocahontas
To be frank this film really isn't all that bad but at the same time it's not all that good either with it's biggest sin being the fact that it's just straight up boring. With nothing really happening for the vast majority of the films running time and when you add in the fact that Disney in all honesty thought that this film was going to do better then The Lion King it makes you wonder why they didn't put alot more effort into crafting a film that really could have been better then The Lion King as the film had all of the potential to be one of the greatest Disney films ever made and yet it just wasn't all that good of a film and this is not including the fact that the romance between John and Pocahontas just felt incredibly forced as the two of them barely spend any time together to make there romance seem believable and while yes this is also true for alot of the classic Disney films those films were still trying to figure out how to be a good Disney film where as by this point they should have really nailed it home on how to make a good Disney film.
As was just stated this film had all of the potential to be one of the greatest Disney films ever made purely based of off the fact that unlike alot of the films made around this same tie period this one is actually based of off a real person. Yet even so they managed to get so much about her life wrong alot of which is fairly understood as alot of it just really wouldn't work all that well in a Disney film but when you commit to making a film about a person's life you owe it to that person to be as really faithful to their life story as you can be and as a result when you mess that up as this film did you going to make alot of people who really knew what this person's life both was before , during and after the events of this film really mad as they've actually done the research to find out what this person's life was actually like.
Hercules
Unlike the previous film in this post this film whilst still being a fairly bad film for this time period is at the very least an entertaining film. As the film does have alot of performances that are so iconic that people are actively asking Disney to cast the same actors for the upcoming live action remake and heck alot of what makes this films performances work is the fact that the characters are perfectly well cast which is also true for the previous film as well with the standout performer in this film being the great James Woods who just nails it as Hades so much so that he actively said that will be willing to come back if they ever need him to voice the character in anything ever again as he just loves playing the character that much and it's not that hard to see why as he really is an entertaining character that can be painfully funny at times and yet also be really scary and downright creepy at other times and sometimes even in the exact same scene which is always hard to do.
However just like with the previous film this film does suffer quite a few issues the first of which is the fact that for a musical there aren't that many actual songs in the film which granted is a small issue but it's still an issue none the less. Another issue but one that's fairly major is the fact that the film openly ignores parts of Zeus's character that we know from various history books like the fact that he wasn't that good of a father or the fact that he openly cheated on his wife which was something that she knew about and speaking of his wife due to Zeus cheating on her she was known to be a bit of diva often going into fits of rage whenever she didn't get her way and these aspects of both of those two characters shouldn't be ignored as it's something that could also serve as warning to Hercules of who he could've become like if he was taken from his father as baby boy.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
This film is undoubtedly the darkest film to come out of Disney during the Disney Renaissance era as the film touches upon themes that other films never even touched. Like for example child abuse , racism and to a lesser degree sexism all of which are themes and subjects that would never be touched upon in other Disney films and yet not only do this film touch upon each and every one of those subjects it tackles them all in way that is both family friendly enough to be in a Disney film but also dark enough to be considered mature and adult with the film being a very loose adaptation of the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo the film dares to be something that other Disney films both before and since haven't been and that's thought provoking as this film makes you think about what it's talking about.
While this film does have some very minor issues like the annoying side comic relief characters who are there just to add bad comedy to the film and the fact that the romance between Esmeralda and Captain Phoebus does seem a little rushed you could also argue that that's the point as well as they are dealing with more serious issues as well. With the true standout for the film being the animation which is truly breathtaking to look at as it's something that not only looked great all the way back in 1996 but it's something that still holds up all of these years later with the visuals really being one of the best parts of the film next to the films songs of course but with the animation to bring alot of those songs to life alot of them just wouldn't hit home the same way that they do know as that's just how good the animation in this film and it makes you wonder why how managed to screw up the animation of the sequel film so badly as the animation in this film is just that good.
The Little Mermaid
The film that really did get this truly iconic era of Disney films going it's easy to forget just what big of an impact that this film had on Disney and indeed still does have on them today. As without this film being as good as at was the Disney Renaissance as we know it to be today might not have ever happened as Disney Animation was loosing quite alot of money and it's the kind of pressure that led them to going to back to what worked in the first place and that's fairy tails and telling universal stories and that's exactly what the plot of this film is as it's story is one that anyone can relate to in some shape or form and when you add in the fact that the film has animation whilst it does look dated today in some eras easily looks alot better then the animation that we're getting from the same studio today as alot more care and attention went into the animation of this film then what alot of the time goes into the animation in films being made today.
While this film does have some issues like the fact that the romance between Ariel and Eric wasn't all that good and the fact that the Eric doesn't have much of a personality out side of the fact that he likes to sail and that's really it. What really makes it work in this film as opposed to Pocahontas is the fact that the film is just pure fun to watch and isn't trying to be this deeply dark and serious film like Pocahontas was as this is a film that knows that it's a cheesy romantic and isn't afraid to be nothing more then that and when you add in the fact all of the songs of this film are well and true Disney classic it's really easy to see why this film really is as good as it was with this film being so good that people really were opposed to even just the idea of remaking the film in the first place let alone everything that really came after it and yet those same people still tuned in week after week to see the TV series as they just loved the character of Ariel really all that much.
Mulan
Unlike alot of the films that were released during the Disney Renaissance which were mostly based on either myths or fair tales/ This one is depending on who you ask based of off a real person from Chinese folklore with her story being wonderfully bought to life in this film with this film featuring some very truly stunning animation and voice acting with the film also having some really good dramatic moments none of which are undercut with the films more over the top comedic moments when it very easily could have been as we Eddy Murphy providing the comic relief and yet he's actually very subtle with his comedy playing something straight when it needs to be played straight and going all out over the top when the scene allows for that to be the case and yet even so while the film is indeed based of off a real life person it also doesn't go as far as it really cold have done with that aspect like for example the film doesn't tell us all that much about the Hua Mulan was as a person.
While the film does have some truly wonderful animation to it and some truly wonderful acting within it. The film does also very sadly have some things that let it down like the fact that the films songs aren't that good yes there are some good songs in there like for example "I'll Make A Man Out Of You" and "Reflection" but that's really it with the rest of the films songs being really bland and forgettable and the films whilst something new and different just isn't that good for the most part as while yes there are some interesting parts in the films plot like the fact that Mulan is doing this for her father is an interesting aspect to the films plot but the film does nothing with that aspect of the plot of the film as the father never really gets brought up again and while yes the film does show Mulan struggling to hide the fact that she's really a woman in an all boys army it's not enough to make that part of the plot all that more interesting then what it already is with the film also having a really rather weak romance subplot which felt out of place for this film to have in the first place.
Beauty And The Beast
If the previous film in this post made alot of mistakes when it came to the romance aspect of the film then this film made sure to correct all of those mistakes. As my god this film is perhaps the most romantic Disney film ever made and lot of that does come down to the fact that the romance between Belle and The Beast is really well handled with the characters seen going from people who can't stand to be in the same room as each other , to friends and to eventually more then friends and all of that seems alot more believable then the romance that in other Disney films as here we get to spend quite alot of time with them and we there for get to know them as characters and while yes there is always that ticking time boom of the final flower petal about to bloom it's not something that gets in the way of the romance as if the romance in the film doesn't work then the whole story doesn't work and this is something that the makers of this film really did well and truly understand.
It really does go without does go without saying that one of if not the best parts about the whole film is the animation. As the animation in this film truly fantastic to look at and it's something that helped to advance the field of animation as before this film came out there had never been 2D animation mixed in 3D CGI animation in way that looked good and didn't take away from the scene and actually didn't look like 3D CGI whereas in alot of the films that tried that exact same thing even in Disney films alot of it really just looked like it was 3D animation and that most likely took people out of the film in question whereas here in this film the two really blend together perfectly so much so that if you were kid watching this film in the nineties nine times of ten you really didn't know that what you was seeing wasn't drawn on paper but was instead done in a computer.
The Lion King
Of curse this film had to be the best film released during the Disney Renaissance as this film is frequently cited as one of if not the best animated films released by Disney. Again so much so that people even questioned the need to a "live action" remake as not only is there no way to tell this films story in live action but also because of the fact that this film already told it's story so perfectly the first time that it made the whole point behind doing a remake seem even more pointless and what's all the more shocking is that Disney didn't consider this film a top priority for them when it was being made and as such they assembled what they considered to be there "b team" series of animators to work on this film while every one else worked on Pocahontas and yet all that did was light a fire underneath the people who animated this film as this films animation is truly gorgeous to look at from every single point of view.
Also helping to make this film as good as it is is the fact that every single thing about the film not only works but works well. With all of the songs being catchy songs that are still being played today with this also being helped by the fact that all of the films songs are really well written which is of no surprise as this films songs were written by the great singer and songwriter Sir Elton John and the great songwriter Tim Rice both of whom are really great singer and songwriters with this being helped by the fact that the films all of the songs are all really well sung with alot of them also really adding to either the plot of the film or the characters own personal characters arcs as well all of which make the films song both really good and really memorable as well all of which really make of this films songs some truly classic Disney songs that are still loved to this very day in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very post from the official Disney fandom wiki page and IMP Awards . Com. With my personally preferred website to use to get the images for this very post that I used in this very review being the great and legendary the official Disney fandom wiki page simply just due to the fact that really alot of if not all of the images that are really from this episode and are of course on the official Disney fandom wiki page are really all fairly high in quality and as well as really them all being really fairly freaking high in definition.