The Top 10 Worst Disney Films

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material - all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

We're almost at the end - I'll soon be posting the top 10 best Disney films, but for now, here are the ones that ranked worst on my list.

10.     The Aristocats – 26/50  

Please don’t hurt me for this one. The Aristocats is cute, fun and has some really great music, but its fluffy storyline is over stuffed with filler, with nothing particularly outstanding to push it up the ratings.

9.   Brother Bear – 26/50

Brother Bear is sweet and has some pretty good animation, but is also incredibly predictable and almost entirely unfunny.  

8.    Atlantis: the Lost Empire – 26/50

I feel like I’m going to get some hate for this one. In my opinion, whilst Atlantis has some stunning animation, that’s about all that’s truly great about it. It’s ok, but the potential character development in the plot is completely wasted and the characters are all pretty forgettable.

7.     Oliver and Company – 25/50  

This movie has a decent score (Why Should I Worry is probably one of the most underrated Disney songs of all time), but other than that it’s pretty unoriginal and most of the characters fall a little flat.   

6.     Melody Time – 25/50

In spite of some creative animation and music, Melody Time is ultimately let down by its generic characters and plotlines. In fact, it’s so forgettable that I had to go back into my blog to remind myself of it!

5. Pocahontas – 25/50

Where do I even begin with this film? Outside of how problematic it is historically, it has some fantastic music and great animation – it’s just a shame that the plot is dull and cliché riddled and that the characters go in the same direction.  

4. The Sword in the Stone – 23/50

You wouldn’t think that Disney adapting King Arthur would result in a film as dull and meandering as this one. In spite of it’s entertaining characters, including its great villain, any potential in the plot is squandered on several episodic scenes, containing very disappointing songs and just not holding any real interest. 

3.     The Black Cauldron – 22/50

Again, this is one that just never lives up to it’s potential. In this case, Disney’s attempt at fantasy is marred by dull, cliched characters and an entirely paint by numbers storyline

2.      Chicken Little – 20/50

Chicken Little has promising concept, but it’s completely let down by the bizarre swerves in its storyline, it’s truly dire animation and just the sad desperation to be hip and cool that runs throughout the whole thing. You could’ve had a really good movie here Disney – but you just had to add in lame humour and aliens, didn’t you?

1.       Home on the Range – 11/50

Probably one of the worst films I’ve ever had to sit through. In general not just when talking about Disney. It’s incredibly loud and obnoxious, whilst also being predictable and dull – no other film could’ve sat at the top of this list. Nothing could ever be worse than Home on the Range.

Moana

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material - all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                                     

There’s just one more movie to add to the list – and how does it stack up to the rest of the films in the canon?

Moana admittedly has a generic storyline, of a young girl who feels she doesn’t belong, who goes on a journey to find herself and save the day. But it makes up for this is spades with some unique twists, genuine emotional sincerity, stunning animation and fantastic music, even outside of Disney finally adding some cultural diversity to their line-up.

The most striking thing about Moana is how incredible the visuals are – the water animation needs to be seen to be believed and the whole film has a lovely colour palette. The two leads are also really fun and the bond they form throughout the film adds the sincerity I mentioned earlier. This is also helped by the twists in the story, which add a tone of originality to what is otherwise a rather unoriginal storyline.

 The music, penned by Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa’I and Lin Manuel Miranda, has all of the latter’s signature flair and quick wit. It’s also incredibly catchy, with Maui’s solo You’re Welcome being a particular highlight.            

Another very enjoyable character is the villainous crab Tamatoa, but I do wish that this character was developed in a bit more detail. As enjoyable as the character is, his scene does end up feeling a bit like an extended cameo!

Other than that, Moana is a really enjoyable film, with great music, an often beautiful (if sometimes formulaic) storyline and some fantastic animation.

Ratings

Good guys: Two great leads with great chemistry mean that the good guys get 7/10

Bad guys: Te Ka’s storyline is beautiful and Tamatoa is really fun, so the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: Some of the best animation in the canon gets 10/10

Music: I wouldn’t expect anything less than a stellar score from these writers, so unsurprisingly the music gets 8/10

Plot: In spite of genuine emotional sincerity and some really good twists, the storyline is pretty generic, so the plot gets 6/10

Overall score: 38/50

Next time: The Top 10 Worst Movies in the Disney Animated Canon (to be closely followed by the best)