Dalton is a freelance writer, novelist, and filmmaker from Orlando Florida. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and pursues writing full-time. He is an avid reader, film buff, and amateur historian who also publishes novels on the side. Dalton graduated from the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Film and he often applies his industry-specific knowledge when writing about film and television. Along with his blog, Dalton's critical essays on film have been published in various places online.
Disney's first 10 animated feature films got the studio off to an auspicious start, but which of the early movies is the very best? After years of delivering quality short-form content, Disney opted to do what many thought was impossible, and produce the first widely-recognized animated feature film. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs changed animation forever in 1937.
The film was an instant triumph, and proved that animation was no longer limited to a few minutes. Following their initial success was also a challenge, especially with the onset of WWII and the impact it had on the movie business. Nevertheless, Disney continued to deliver films year after year, and they honed the craft of feature-length animation.
There is some controversy surrounding Disney's first 10 feature films, and several movies aren't considered part of the official canon. The Reluctant Dragon and Victory Through Air Power have been nixed from the list by the studio, and therefore don't count toward their ever-growing chain of features. With that in mind, there's a clear hierarchy within Disney's earliest films.
10 Make Mine Music (1946)
After making a handful of full-length stories for the big screen, Disney spent the bulk of the 1940s producing so-called "package films." Make Mine Music is the least of those anthology projects, and consists of 10 short segments all set to music. Like all the package films, Make Mine Music is of a widely disparate quality from segment to segment.
Though each short has merits, the whole picture is lacking. There's no cohesion to the films, and they generally fall short of the more memorable segments from other anthology movies. Disney's own reaction to the film is damning enough evidence to put it last, and it is not available in its unedited form on home video or on streaming.
9 Saludos Amigos (1942)
Coming in at only 42 minutes, Saludos Amigos is the shortest film in the official Disney canon and only barely fits the bill as feature length. The package film features four shorts, each exploring a different part of Latin America. It's a mix of animation and travelog, and was designed as a goodwill project between North and South America.
Because the film is so short, Saludos Amigos is far too slight to compete with many of its feature-length contemporaries. While the segments are interesting and energetic, there's very little to make them memorable. It's a hard to find curiosity piece for Disney fanatics, especially because it features real Disney artists, but holds little value for more casual moviegoers.
8 Fun And Fancy Free (1947)
Continuing their string of package films, Disney released Fun and Fancy Free toward the tail-end of the 1940s. The anthology features only two major segments, framed by a wraparound story featuring Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. Though very short by modern standards, the 73-minute movie more than hit the feature-length mark in the late '40s.
One of the shorts is very forgettable, and the other is actually quite magical. While "Bongo" falls flat, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is one of the all-time classics to feature the iconic mouse. The Jiminy Cricket segments are also enjoyable, meaning Fun and Fancy Free is overall a decent experience. However, it still lacks the grandeur of other Disney features.
7 The Three Caballeros (1944)
Immediately following the release of Saludos Amigos, Disney set to work on a second goodwill film aimed at Latin America. The Three Caballeros follows Donald Duck as he celebrates his 10th anniversary and receives gifts that teach him about various parts of South and Central America. Though it is yet another package movie, it feels much more cohesive.
Given more time to explore each subject, The Three Caballeros has a narrative flow. The title trio have real chemistry, and it is made with a bit more of that classic Disney magic. Despite being essentially propaganda to keep Latin America an ally during WWII, The Three Caballeros has stood the test of time better than Disney's other political efforts.
6 Melody Time (1948)
Though there are elements of Melody Time that haven't aged well, Disney is clearly prouder of their last package film than others. The seven-segment movie is a mix of folk tales, surreal musical moments, and more conventional Disney-style shorts. While each piece is somewhat disparate, Melody Time isn't a jumbled mess like other package features.
In early home video releases of the film, the smoking scenes were cut out of "Pecos Bill".
"The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" and "Pecos Bill" are still fondly remembered shorts to this day, and the latter essentially dominates the film at a whopping 20 minutes. Though it pales in comparison to musicals like Fantasia, Melody Time deserves a spot among Disney's most underrated movies. Disney seems to think so too, putting the uncensored version on Disney+.
5 Dumbo (1941)
After breaking the bank making their first few feature films, Disney took the economical approach with Dumbo. The title character is a circus elephant who is bullied for his big ears until they give him the ability to fly. At only 64 minutes, Disney showed they could do a lot with a little.
Though certain moments in Dumbo will live forever in Disney's canon, there's no denying that other parts have aged quite poorly. Ignoring those, Dumbo is a bit weaker in the story department than many of its contemporaries, and feels smaller by design. Nevertheless, its animation and music are triumphs that prove Disney magic doesn't come from money, but from heart.
4 Bambi (1942)
Despite pioneering feature-length animation, there really wasn't much of a learning curve at the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Bambi follows a young deer that is suddenly orphaned and learns lessons about life while growing up in the forest. It was only the studio's fifth feature film, but Bambi represented the peak of traditional animation.
Using real life reference points for many of the movie's characters, Bambi straddled the line between realism and idealism. Certain moments of the film have traumatized generations of viewers, and Bambi established the coming-of-age formula that Disney has used ever since. Despite not being Disney's best, the film is still one of the all-time classics of animation.
3 Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
If it wasn't for the amazing achievement that is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the 1937 film would probably fall somewhere in the middle of Disney's canon. Adapted from the classic fairy tale, the title character is bewitched by an evil queen and must be saved by true love's kiss. It was an immediate smash-hit for good reason.
What's most amazing about the film is how fully formed it is despite being the first of its kind. The ambitious choice to feature a large ensemble of characters shows Disney swinging for the fences right away. Revisiting Snow White all these years later is still rewarding, though not as much as other early Disney films.
2 Pinocchio (1940)
Following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the second-biggest challenge the Walt Disney Animation Studio ever faced, but Pinocchio more than lived up to its predecessor. A living puppet dreams of becoming a real boy, and goes on a harrowing journey of discovery. With better animation and an even richer story, Pinocchio upped the ante.
With its thrills, chills, and laughs, the coming-of-age story has everything that the perfect family film should. Technically speaking, the film is almost flawless, and the character design alone makes it top-tier Disney. It still has the power to entertain more than 80 years on, and it is only topped by one other film from Disney's first 10 features.
1 Fantasia (1940)
Disney's third feature-length animated film is arguably the best they've ever produced, and Fantasia is the pinnacle of the medium in the Western world. Set to recognizable classical music, the film is a series of beautifully rendered animated sequences presented in an anthology format. Revolutionizing movie theater sound in the process, Fantasia took animation to a new level.
More cohesive than any of Disney's package films, Fantasia is an anthology that flows together seamlessly. The Mickey Mouse segment, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", is one of the character's defining appearances, and every other scene has at least one memorable moment. Disney's early days established them as animation giants, and Fantasia proved they deserved the crown.
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