Disney Through the Years - The 2010s: The Animated Features
Welcome back to the series of feature articles focused on Disney movies.
For the past year I’ve been going decade-by-decade through the history of Walt Disney Company’s feature films. I will review each film from Walt Disney Animation Studios and rank them.
For details on the perimeters of this series check out this 1980s article that marked the halfway point in the series. But this series does only include movies available on Disney+.
I was also doing an additional feature in the series that focuses on every live action film by Walt Disney Pictures. But I experienced serious burn-out when I attempted the live action ‘90s movies. I got as far as 1993 before having to jump ship. You can find reviews of every live action Walt Disney Pictures movie from the 1950s-1980s on this blog.
So, here I am with only 12 movies left in the animated portion of the project. Things got a lot better in the 2010s. But, even though the bar was set higher than that of the 2000s, there were still some movies that were better than others.
Here are my reviews and rankings of the Disney Animated Studios films of the 2010s. You will find these movies under the Search tab of Disney+ and under Animated Collection.
Tangled (2010)
Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is kept in a tower by her mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) supposedly for Rapunzel’s protection from the dangers of the outside world. But she dreams of going out in the world. One day, an intruder(Zachary Levi) gives her an opportunity to escape.
Tangled is cute, colorful, and fun. It has a fairly well-cast list of voice performers. Mandy Moore blends so well into the lead character that she doesn’t stand out like many celebrities do in animated movies. Donna Murphy probably should have been in more animated projects, because she provides a strong vocal performance for the villain. It is amusing to watch this film now and realize it is Zachary Levi playing the dashing thief Flynn Rider. What’s amusing is at the time of this production, Levi was known as a lovable geek for his role on the TV show Chuck. It wouldn’t be until nearly a decade later that he would become a superhero (Shazam!) or a football star (American Underdog). Tangled foreshadowed the sort of characters he would eventually play.
But it is a step down from 2009’s The Princess & the Frog. There are four songs in the film. Before revisiting this film I didn’t remember there being any. After watching the film I remember there being four, but could only hum the melody to two. Top shelf Disney songbook, this is not. But the songs are mostly enjoyable in the context of the film.
The biggest problem with Tangled is its inability to shake the feeling of familiarity - and paling in comparison to similar Disney films, Sleeping Beauty being the biggest point of comparison. In both films a king and queen birth a daughter who is threatened by a villainous woman. In both the daughter is separated from the king and queen. And in both there is a dashing hero. While Rapunzel may have more spunk than Aurora and Flynn may have more personality than Prince Philip, Mother Gothel has nothing on Maleficent. She is a woman who is really good at hiding and going unnoticed. She is a manipulator of others. But she is far from formidable against any threat, her character design is one step away from the blandness of The Aristocats’ Edgar, and her death is toothless compared to that of villains in the past.
Overall, Tangled doesn’t exactly set Disney Animation Studios back several years, as it is still far superior to most of the studio’s output the decade before. But it does pale in comparison to Disney’s classics and what would come about over the following years.
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Drawing inspiration from three of A. A. Milne’s classic stories, Winnie the Pooh is about the Hundred Acre Wood gang looking for a new tail for Eeyore.
This is the first Winnie the Pooh film by Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1977’s anthology film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Allow me to explain: there were 9 direct-to-video features released between 1997 and 2010. DisneyToon Studios (a subsidiary that produced cheaper animated pictures) released three films in the theater between 2000 and 2005. But this is the first of the franchise since 1977 by the flagship Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is also the studio’s last hand-drawn animated film to date.
The film is adorable, charming, and (at 63 minutes) lean. Jim Cummings is the only established performer of the franchise returning here, having taken over Pooh’s voice from the original Sterling Holloway back in 1988. Around 10 years later, he would also take over the voice of Tigger from original actor Paul Winchell. The rest of the cast is a hodgepodge of mostly unknown voices (Craig Ferguson, the only known name, gives a lively performance of Owl). Some older fans may bristle at small changes to the voices or characterizations. But, mostly, this is a film that honors the source material and lovingly continues the adventures of these iconic characters. Most notable is the creative choice to have characters walk along text in a storybook, hop from one page to another, and, Pooh’s honey dream sequence, the one noticeable use of CGI in the entire film that actually blends well with the look of the film and is quite enjoyable.
Winnie the Pooh is, however, a film for longer attention spans, as it never panders or attempts to hold kids’ attentions with zany gags or quick cuts. It’s simple, gentle, calm, and amusing - not what most kids these days are used to. This makes it refreshing and lovely, but may not be embraced as readily by many.
Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
A video game villain (John C. Reilly) decides to be more than his role in a game and do something to get as much recognition as the heroes of video games, leaving his video game and sneaking into others. He eventually meets an outcast (Sarah Silverman) who has similar desires and enlists his help.
This may be the best film by Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1994’s The Lion King. It abandons the fairy tale template for something that is completely original and creative. In a lot of ways, Wreck-It Ralph doesn’t feel like a Disney movie. It feels more like a top-shelf DreamWorks movie. That’s because this film traffics in familiarity with other properties and has a look, design, and story that is very different for the studio. And it is all executed very well.
On the surface, the film has several remarkable cameos by various video game characters (the rights alone was challenging). It even has blink-and-you’ll-miss references to a handful of games. But the film works so well, because there’s more beyond the retro gamer knowledge. There’s a solid story about self-acceptance and not letting others hold you back from your desires. The characterizations of Ralph, Vanelope, and Fix-It Felix (Ralph’s good guy nemesis, played by Jack McBrayer) are so fully formed that we actually care about them more than the video game characters we’ve been familiar with since childhood.
That’s another impressive bit that most movies about video games usually fail to accomplish: the fictional video games in this film actually look like games we’d want to play! Fix-It Felix Jr., Tapper, and Sugar Rush all have their own era-specific feel to them and feel like games that would actually be successful in their own right.
Add in some interesting twists and developments with a villain that works within the rules and world built within the film and you have one of Disney’s best films in almost 20 years. It also fails to get credit as such and is one of the most underrated in Disney canon.
Frozen (2013)
Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen, two sisters grow up in their castle after their royal parents perish in the sea. They are separated and unable to see each other since the oldest, Elsa (Idina Menzel), inexplicably has the ability to create ice and freeze objects and people around her. During Elsa’s coronation, an accident leads her to exile herself and accidentally cast a never-ending winter in her kingdom. It’s up to her sister, Anna (Kristen Bell), and a man (Jonathan Goff) and his reindeer to help her.
Now here’s a movie that is NOT underrated. Disney went back to the fairy tale princess template for what would become one of its most successful films ever. The songbook in Frozen is pretty great - the best since 1997’s Hercules - (although ‘Fixer Upper’ feels like one of those unnecessary deleted songs that you discover in the DVD extras, but that actually wasn’t deleted). Even though the hit ‘Let It Go’ is about self-exile from society, it is easy to see why it’s a hit.
The animation is gorgeous and among the studio’s best CG animation with jaw-dropping ice locations, effective ice effects, and an ice monster whose design walks the line between fearsome and friendly.
Alas, an unnecessary song isn’t this film’s only issue. Josh Gad’s Olaf is borderline Jar-Jar at times with his incessant need to force comic relief in nearly every scene. But, most importantly, the finale feels too pat with a resolution that washes the characters of any real sacrifices and largely makes little sense. There’s also a villainous twist in the third act that would be interesting if it didn’t come out of left field.
Sometimes popularity and financial success does not equal greatness. But Frozen comes close for most of its runtime.
Big Hero 6 (2014)
A budding science whiz loses his brother in an accident, but begins to suspect his brother’s death was foul play and creates a team of super scientists to hold whomever is to blame responsible.
This was the first Disney/Marvel project after Disney bought Marvel Entertainment at the end of 2009. Walt Disney Animation Studios decided to take a fairly obscure Marvel comic and adapt it for the big screen. The result was impressive, to say the least. At the heart of the movie is a tragedy. We’ve seen stories where a single parent raises the main character or where one or both parents die, but it’s rare to see a sibling die (Brother Bear may be the only example, but nobody really cared about that). The death of Tadashi is about as dramatically potent as the death of Mufasa. And this film depicts the loss of a loved one honestly, which makes this film even more notable.
Now, there is also a ton of fun to be had in this film. There is an excellent cast of supporting characters, each with their own personalities and science experiments that get turned into a super power. Overall, this is an incredibly refreshing take on the superhero genre and one that has a solid script, excellent voice work, clever humor, and thrilling animation. Creatively speaking, Big Hero 6 put Disney Animation Studios back firmly on the level of their greatest work 20 years before.
Zootopia (2016)
A bunny makes her dreams to be Zootopia’s first bunny cop a reality and stumbles upon a case that may undo the city’s balance and harmony.
It is rare when the studio makes a film that is topical and deals with any of the world’s issues. Zootopia is notable for doing just that. In a decade full of racial prejudices leading to social injustices, Disney decided to create a story about one group of characters fearing another group of characters based on preconceived notions rather than any lived experiences - and those in power who aim to exploit the fear of the many for their own gain. It is incendiary as far as American animation goes, particularly from a family friendly institution.
Now, to quote Ms. Poppins, “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” and this film accomplishes just that with a cast of lovable and amusing characters (who doesn’t love the scene with Flash?) and two leads (played by Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman) who have completely different backgrounds and life experiences and yet have a few things in common. Also, the world-building is thought-through with such details that range from a burrough for rodents and ways for a juice bar to serve the small and tall.
The only issue I have with the film is a minor one: Shakira sings the theme song, ‘Try Everything’, a solid pop song. However, the song’s theme of being open to trying new things seems a bit incongruous with the film’s larger theme of prejudice. It’s a bit broad and an odd fit for this film.
Zootopia is one of the studio’s most creative films in its history, as well as meaningful. It may be more suited to older kids than toddlers, but not every American animated film has to be appropriate for everyone. It’s about time the American institution that is Disney understood that.
Moana (2016)
A Polynesian teen being groomed to take over her tribe as chief sets off on a quest to save her people by finding a demigod and restoring an ancient relic to its rightful place.
Moana is the studio’s crown jewel of the decade. It finally got the studio back on the same level as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and The Lion King over 20 years before. Moana uses the studio’s established musical template (the I Wish song, a sidekick, a villain song, etc.) and subverts it. There is a villain song, but the villain who sings said song is not the villain of the story. There are animal sidekicks, but it is only the useless, brainless one, a chicken, who joins the heroine and only by accident. There is a climactic showdown with an antagonist, but that character is not a threat to overcome, rather a sacred figure who has been wronged. The entire film serves as a refreshing presentation of what audiences have loved for over three generations.
The songs are also the best songs in the studio’s catalogue since The Lion King, surpassing Frozen. Rather than relying on writers of the past like Alan Menken, a fresh new voice was hired, Lin-Manuel Miranda. This proved to be a crucial choice and led to such instant classics as ‘You’re Welcome’, ‘Shiny’, and ‘How Far I’ll Go’. Also, having the involvement of Opetaia Foa’i added significant cultural contributions to the songbook.
The characters, especially Moana and Maui, are well-rounded and written well enough to go toe-to-toe with any of the classic Disney characters. After everything the 2000s offered, having something like Moana come along is a huge relief.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
Vanelope’s video game, Sugar Crush, is broken and the required replacement part is only available online. Ralph and Vanelope sneak into the internet to find the part to prevent her game from being unplugged.
So, immediately upon finishing the first Wreck-It Ralph director Rich Moore believed the film just scratched the surface of video games and thought there was a lot more to explore in that world. A sequel was immediately hammered out and released 6 years later. Moore was right that there is certainly more to video games than what we saw in the original. And the concepts of exploring the online world is an exciting one that gets anthropomorphized as well as emotions were in Inside Out, albeit with far less an emotional impact. In addition to that the film explores a theme never before represented in any American animated movie: co-dependency in friendships. This toxic and immature element is incredibly relatable and important for young people and is a huge strength of the film.
However, even at 98 minutes before credits, the film does tend to feel long. There is a sequence in the film that allows Vanelope to interact with all of Disney’s past princesses (and even brings back the original voices for many of them). This is the high point of the film; it just suddenly comes to life. The scene and its climactic pay-off have a spark to them that the rest of the film never matches or maintains consistently.
Ultimately, this sequel has its strengths, but fails to improve upon the original in execution and is quite the step down after Moana.
Frozen II (2019)
Elsa and Anna must venture into the Enchanted Forest to unlock mysteries of the past and save Arendelle.
This is, by far, the most flawed film by the studio in the 2010s. It mostly comes down to the writing with characters being introduced and largely abandoned, Olaf having a half-baked arc, Anna having a half-baked arc, scenes that require 30 seconds of getting a character from Point A to Point B and instead having unnecessary songs (‘When I Am Older’ and ‘The Next Right Thing’), and more than a couple logistical issues. The entire first act is practically Frozen II: Platitudes with characters - especially Olaf - speaking such on-the-nose dialogue like “This is why we don’t play with fire” or, when referencing life changes “You just take it a day at a time”.
The songbook is also riddled with issues. There is a stand-out sequence featuring Kristoff that is essentially an ‘80s power ballad music video. It is, in a way, brilliant and hilarious. But it is so incongruous with the rest of the film, operating in a completely different tone that makes it feel out of place. Majority of the songbook is either gratuitous (‘When I Am Older’ and ‘The Next Right Thing’) or forgettable or both. ‘Into the Unknown’ is the only stand-out, an obvious attempt at recapturing ‘Let It Go’ that failed to catch on the same way. The original film had it’s issues, but it at least had ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’, ‘For the First Time in Forever’, ‘Love is an Open Door', and ‘In the Summer’ in addition to the chart-topping hit. The sequel’s songbook feels milquetoast by comparison.
It is, however, still more watchable and enjoyable than most of the 2000s output. The depiction of the relationship between sisters and a male love interest being in service of a female protagonist are all important and valuable. And it does have some gorgeous imagery. While not exactly going for photo realism, the facial expressions and body language is quite underrated and really impressive. Also, how ‘Into the Unknown’ didn’t become a bigger hit, I don’t know.
Ultimately, Frozen II combined with Ralph Breaks the Internet make for an underwhelming end to one of the studio’s best decades.
The 2010s were a huge relief after the painful dumpster fire that was the 2000s. While narrowly avoiding releasing a single forgettable or poor film (Frozen II being the closest), the decade featured a run of 5 solid films in a row that mostly cleared the high standard the studio had established in the past. That run from 2012 to 2016 and the absence of any giant missteps makes the 2010s one of the best decades in studio history.
The Ranking
Moana
Zootopia
Big Hero 6
Wreck-It Ralph
Frozen
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Winnie the Pooh
Tangled
Frozen II
What do you think?
What is your pick for the best Disney animated film of the ‘10s? Comment below.
Next on Disney Through the Years, we finish up the project with reviews of this decade’s two films and a break-down of the best in Disney canon. Look for it soon!