Disney Animated Canon

The Disney Animated Canon (sometimes known as the Disney animated features canon) is the name given to the overall body of work that is the Disney theatrical animated feature films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

It is one of the four main Disney branches (of which, at 86 years old as of 2023, it is the longest running); the other three being the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, and Star Wars.

Six of the films are sequels: The Three Caballeros, The Rescuers Down Under, Fantasia 2000, Winnie the Pooh, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Frozen II.

Frozen III, Zootopia 2, and Moana 2 are upcoming films.

The first feature to use the Castle and Walt Disney Pictures logo was The Black Cauldron.

The final feature to use hand-drawn animation to date has been Winnie the Pooh.

The first feature to use the "Walt Disney Animation Studios" logo was Meet the Robinsons.

For advertising purposes, the Walt Disney Company began to affix numbers to each of the films in the late 1980s. Through this method, they could proclaim the film to be "Disney's X full-length animated film". When the numbering system was introduced, the group of films included became collectively known as the "Disney Animation Canon". Many film historians and animation fans refer to them as Disney "classics" or Disney "features". The numbering system remains today, as recent press releases for such products as the 20th anniversary edition of Oliver & Company, as well as the opening and closing logos and marketing materials for Tangled, still refer to the film's number. Some foreign numbering systems of Disney animated features exclude Dinosaur and include The Wild. However, The Wild was not produced by Disney in that matter. In some countries, Winnie the Pooh is not included.

Films in the Disney animated canon

During Walt Disney's lifetime

Snow White and the Seven DwarfsDecember 21, 1937

PinocchioFebruary 7, 1940

FantasiaNovember 13, 1940

DumboOctober 23, 1941

BambiAugust 13, 1942

Saludos AmigosFebruary 6, 1943

The Three CaballerosFebruary 3, 1945

Make Mine MusicApril 20, 1946

Fun and Fancy FreeSeptember 27, 1947

Melody TimeMay 27, 1948

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadOctober 5, 1949

CinderellaFebruary 15, 1950

Alice in WonderlandJuly 28, 1951

Peter PanFebruary 5, 1953

Lady and the TrampJune 22, 1955

Sleeping BeautyJanuary 29, 1959

One Hundred and One DalmatiansJanuary 25, 1961

The Sword in the StoneDecember 25, 1963

After Walt Disney's lifetime

The Jungle BookOctober 18, 1967

The AristocatsDecember 24, 1970

Robin HoodNovember 8, 1973

The Many Adventures of Winnie the PoohMarch 11, 1977

The RescuersJune 22, 1977

The Fox and the HoundJuly 10, 1981

The Black CauldronJuly 24, 1985

The Great Mouse DetectiveJuly 2, 1986

Oliver & CompanyNovember 18, 1988

The Little MermaidNovember 17, 1989

The Rescuers Down UnderNovember 16, 1990

Beauty and the BeastNovember 22, 1991

AladdinNovember 25, 1992

The Lion KingJune 24, 1994

PocahontasJune 23, 1995

The Hunchback of Notre DameJune 21, 1996

HerculesJune 27, 1997

MulanJune 19, 1998

TarzanJune 18, 1999

Fantasia 2000January 1, 2000

DinosaurMay 19, 2000

The Emperor's New GrooveDecember 15, 2000

Atlantis: The Lost EmpireJune 15, 2001

Lilo & StitchJune 21, 2002

Treasure PlanetNovember 27, 2002

Brother BearNovember 1, 2003

Home on the RangeApril 2, 2004

Chicken LittleNovember 4, 2005

Meet the RobinsonsMarch 30, 2007

BoltNovember 21, 2008

The Princess and the FrogDecember 11, 2009

TangledNovember 24, 2010

Winnie the PoohJuly 15, 2011

Wreck-It RalphNovember 2, 2012

FrozenNovember 27, 2013

Big Hero 6November 7, 2014

ZootopiaMarch 4, 2016

MoanaNovember 23, 2016

Ralph Breaks the InternetNovember 21, 2018

Frozen IINovember 22, 2019

Raya and the Last DragonMarch 5, 2021

EncantoNovember 24, 2021

Strange World November 23, 2022

WishNovember 22, 2023

Moana 2November 27, 2024

TBA

Zootopia 2November 26, 2025

TBA

Frozen IIINovember 24, 2027

External links

• Disney Cartoon Canon Index

v - e - d

Walt Disney Animation Studios Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • Dinosaur (2000) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Chicken Little (2005) • Meet the Robinsons (2007) • Bolt (2008) • The Princess and the Frog (2009) • Tangled (2010) • Winnie the Pooh (2011) • Wreck-It Ralph (2012) · Frozen (2013) • Big Hero 6 (2014) • Zootopia (2016) • Moana (2016) • Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) • Frozen II (2019) • Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) • Encanto (2021) • Strange World (2022) • Wish (2023) Upcoming: Moana 2 (2024) • Zootopia 2 (2025) • Frozen III (2027) • Frozen IV (TBA) Pixar Animation Studios Toy Story (1995) • A Bug's Life (1998) • Toy Story 2 (1999) · Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Finding Nemo (2003) • The Incredibles (2004) • Cars (2006) • Ratatouille (2007) • WALL-E (2008) • Up (2009) • Toy Story 3 (2010) • Cars 2 (2011) • Brave (2012) • Monsters University (2013) • Inside Out (2015) • The Good Dinosaur (2015) • Finding Dory (2016) • Cars 3 (2017) • Coco (2017) • Incredibles 2 (2018) • Toy Story 4 (2019) • Onward (2020) • Soul (2020) • Luca (2021) • Turning Red (2022) • Lightyear (2022) • Elemental (2023) • Inside Out 2 (2024) Upcoming: Elio (2025) • Hoppers (2026) • Toy Story 5 (2026) • Incredibles 3 (TBA) Disneytoon Studios DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) • A Goofy Movie (1995) • The Tigger Movie (2000) · Peter Pan: Return to Never Land (2002) • The Jungle Book 2 (2003) • Piglet's Big Movie (2003) • Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) • Planes (2013) • Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014) Disney Television Animation Doug's 1st Movie (1999) • Recess: School's Out (2001) • Teacher's Pet (2004) 20th Century Animation Spies in Disguise (2019) • Ron's Gone Wrong (2021) • The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) Films with Stop Motion Animation The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) • James and the Giant Peach (1996) • Frankenweenie (2012) Other Disney units The Brave Little Toaster (1987) • Valiant (2005) • The Wild (2006) • A Christmas Carol (2009) • Gnomeo & Juliet (2011) • Mars Needs Moms (2011) • Strange Magic (2015) • The Lion King (2019) Upcoming: Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) Live-Action Films with Non-CG Animation The Reluctant Dragon (1941) • Victory Through Air Power (1943) • Song of the South (1946) • So Dear to My Heart (1949) • Mary Poppins (1964) • Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) • Pete's Dragon (1977) • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) • The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003) • Enchanted (2007) • Mary Poppins Returns (2018) • Disenchanted (2022)