Top 5 Least Known Disney Animated Features
Most people assume they are perfectly familiar with the Disney canon.
From the early days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through 101 Dalmatians up to The Emperor's New Groove, they are all children's classics.
But with a 70-year history, it's not entirely surprising that there are a few that have dropped out of common knowledge, slipped between the cinematic cracks into relative obscurity.
They might not be as classic as Sleep Beauty, or as sharp as contemporary, HD, computer-animated features, but they are definitely worth discovering or rediscovering.
There are more unknowns than you might expect, especially from the early days, so we have mined the dusty heaps of film reels and come out with the best of these forgotten gems.
The Disney channel on satellite TV might occasionally show some of these, though for others you will likely need to search your local video store.
Dumbo: While this is not exactly a forgotten film, it is a lot weirder than you probably remember, and definitely merits re-watching.
It is one of Disney's shortest ever feature films, at just 64 minutes, and also one of the strangest.
On the surface it's a simple tale of an adorable, out-cast baby elephant.
But scenes like the one where Dumbo mistakenly gets drunk off champagne and slips into a hallucinatory dream of pink elephants on parade are guaranteed to entertain those who have long forgotten about this 1941 film.
The Six Package Films of the 40s: The most obscure of the Disney films are so very obscure that we've lumped them together here, as they were originally lumped as a package deal made during and after World War II.
These are a far cry from the tidy, well-produced, high definition animations of today, but are worth a glance, if only as a historical portrait of a different era in film making.
The six titles are (and we bet you don't recognize any of these names): Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.
Toad.
The Sword in the Stone: From 1963, this was the last film released while Walt Disney was still alive.
Although it has the tropes of an adventure story, with a young hero and talking animal sidekicks, this classic seems to be forgotten all too frequently.
The Black Cauldron: This film is somewhat more recent, only dating back to 1985, yet is probably the most forgotten modern Disney animated feature.
It came at a time just before new animation techniques would storm the scene, with CGI and HD effects, and it has a decidedly antiquated feel to the plot, characters, and artwork.
It may not be Disney's finest moment, but if you are lucky enough to catch it playing on satellite TV you won't be sorry.
The Rescuers Down Under: This movie is plenty well known, but most folks may not realize that it is an official part of the canon.
Made in 1990 as a follow up to The Rescuers 13 years earlier, it is the only sequel to be part of the official animated features.
Disney has had a monumental influence on the genre of animation and children's movies as a whole.
Get out the popcorn, tune up the satellite TV, and discover the sometimes bizarre and overlooked twists of Disney's development over the past 70 years.
From the early days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through 101 Dalmatians up to The Emperor's New Groove, they are all children's classics.
But with a 70-year history, it's not entirely surprising that there are a few that have dropped out of common knowledge, slipped between the cinematic cracks into relative obscurity.
They might not be as classic as Sleep Beauty, or as sharp as contemporary, HD, computer-animated features, but they are definitely worth discovering or rediscovering.
There are more unknowns than you might expect, especially from the early days, so we have mined the dusty heaps of film reels and come out with the best of these forgotten gems.
The Disney channel on satellite TV might occasionally show some of these, though for others you will likely need to search your local video store.
Dumbo: While this is not exactly a forgotten film, it is a lot weirder than you probably remember, and definitely merits re-watching.
It is one of Disney's shortest ever feature films, at just 64 minutes, and also one of the strangest.
On the surface it's a simple tale of an adorable, out-cast baby elephant.
But scenes like the one where Dumbo mistakenly gets drunk off champagne and slips into a hallucinatory dream of pink elephants on parade are guaranteed to entertain those who have long forgotten about this 1941 film.
The Six Package Films of the 40s: The most obscure of the Disney films are so very obscure that we've lumped them together here, as they were originally lumped as a package deal made during and after World War II.
These are a far cry from the tidy, well-produced, high definition animations of today, but are worth a glance, if only as a historical portrait of a different era in film making.
The six titles are (and we bet you don't recognize any of these names): Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.
Toad.
The Sword in the Stone: From 1963, this was the last film released while Walt Disney was still alive.
Although it has the tropes of an adventure story, with a young hero and talking animal sidekicks, this classic seems to be forgotten all too frequently.
The Black Cauldron: This film is somewhat more recent, only dating back to 1985, yet is probably the most forgotten modern Disney animated feature.
It came at a time just before new animation techniques would storm the scene, with CGI and HD effects, and it has a decidedly antiquated feel to the plot, characters, and artwork.
It may not be Disney's finest moment, but if you are lucky enough to catch it playing on satellite TV you won't be sorry.
The Rescuers Down Under: This movie is plenty well known, but most folks may not realize that it is an official part of the canon.
Made in 1990 as a follow up to The Rescuers 13 years earlier, it is the only sequel to be part of the official animated features.
Disney has had a monumental influence on the genre of animation and children's movies as a whole.
Get out the popcorn, tune up the satellite TV, and discover the sometimes bizarre and overlooked twists of Disney's development over the past 70 years.
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