The name that made love and friendship come to life like we, as young children, had never known before. The name that literally introduced us to the idea of a fairytale, Disney was where it was at. Walt Disney’s feature films were the best thing that happened to us during our growing years and that’s something nobody can deny.
Here are 14 of the loveliest Disney films we all grew up on. Because there’s never a bad time to throwback to the most magical tales we ever experienced.
1. The Lion King (1994)
Simba’s heart-wrenching story of love, loss and revenge was the official emotional coming of age for many of us and there’s no denying it. And let’s not forget just how much we loved Timon and Pumba and their problem-freeeeeeee philosophyyyyyyy!
2. The Jungle Book (1967)
Our love for Mowgli, the man-cub, and his adventures in the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera extended to the series as well, but the movie was where it all began. His unforgettable battle with the menacing and vengeful Shere Khan had us on the edge of our seats every single time.
3. Beauty And The Beast (1991)
It was an unlikely, and thoroughly enchanting romance that swept us off our feet. Belle, the Beast and all of the magical residents of the castle were as delightful as they were memorable and easily make it on most people’s list of throwback happy films.
4. Aladdin (1992)
The charming young ‘street urchin’ this movie was named after didn’t just cause havoc in Agrabah, he did in most young girls’ hearts as well. His epic friendship with Genie and true love for Jasmine gave us life goals and his courage against Jafar’s chilling plans really made this magic carpet ride of a story one that we will never forget.
5. The Little Mermaid (1989)
The curious teenage mermaid princess and her trusty friends Flounder and Sebastian took us on an adventure of a lifetime. Ariel was not only the first Disney princess we saw not as the damsel in distress, but as the girl that saves the life of the man she loves and finds herself a happy ending against all odds.
6. Cinderella (1950)
The tale of a besotted prince looking for the most magnificent beauty he’d ever seen, with a lone glass slipper in his hands and love in his heart. We all remember rooting for young Cinderella throughout the film and the vileness of her step-mother and step-sisters made her happy ending that much sweeter.
7. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
This magical story of the beautiful princess put to unending sleep by Maleficent’s wretched curse lest her beloved can rescue her with true love’s first kiss, made us all gasp and sigh as children. And one wouldn’t expect any less from the film that changed what the first kiss meant to us all.
8. Bambi (1942)
We all felt Bambi’s pain when his mother fell victim to the hunter, and chuckled with him and his buddies, Flower and Thumper, as they scoffed at the idea of romance. Bambi was a classic coming of age film that stayed with us long after end credits.
9. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The evil queen muttered , “Mirror, mirror on the wall…” and we all shook. The dwarfs’ idiosyncrasies made us all LOL. We all yelled “Don’t!” at the screen as Snow leaned in to bite into the poisoned apple. And we all sighed and swooned when the prince’s loving kiss brings her back to life. What part of this tale we love the most? Hard to say.
10. One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)
One hundred and one irresistibly cuddly puppies being rescued from the villainous clutches of literally the most cruel of them all, Cruella De Vil. Pongo and Perdita were heroes to us all, not to mention they were the cutest dogs we had ever seen – apart from our own that we watched this film multiple times with, of course!
11. Alice In Wonderland (1951)
The fascinating journey of Alice into a world of fantasy and whimsy made us explore the very limits of our imagination and we loved Disney for it. Be it the Chershire Cat, the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts, this story brought us characters that we held close to us – ’cause thanks to them we realised we weren’t the only weird ones around!
12. Pocahontas (1995)
The brave Captain Smith and free-spirited and beautiful Pocahontas had a romance that, against all odds, united two clashing worlds. And it wasn’t just a film that gave us a love story for the ages, but also grand visuals of the vast and spectacular wild that we were not going to forget any time soon.
13. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1996)
This story of a lovable misfit who stands up against the evil Frollo and ends up bringing together two lovers was as heart-warming then as it is now. Quasimodo was the hero disguised as a nobody and that filled the nobodies in all of us with love and hope for years to come.
14. Toy Story (1995)
No memorable Disney films list is complete without Toy Story. This one made us feel feelings for adorable little toys, we didn’t know we could feel for humans. Whether you admit it or not, Andy’s toys coming to life and getting into the trouble they did made us all fantasise about our own little plastic friends frolicking about in the real world – and it was simply the best!
15. Duck Tales
The never-ending adventures and hijinks of Huey, Dewey and Louie along with their ever-so-rich and ever-so-miserly Uncle Scrooge made for some seriously fun viewings after school for most of us. I bet you’re already humming the opening credits tune in your head!
16. TaleSpin
Yet another after-school favourite, most kids back then simply could not get enough of. Spun off from The Jungle Book, the adorable bear Baloo returned with an air delivery service that he ran with his friends and he managed every single time to find himself in hilarious trouble.
17. Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers
The two nifty pint-sized chipmunk detectives Chip and Dale spent several episodes of this absolutely adored TV show to find themselves up against one or the other of their arch-nemisis Fat Cat or Norton Nimnum. Accompanied by their friends Gadget, Monterey Jack and Zipper, they really were the team to watch out for. And we sure did.
Go on, rewatch one of these films and shows. Pick any one! It’s Disney. You can hardly ever go wrong.