Although animated shorts were produced a decade and a half before the first Disney production, Walt Disney is universally recognized as the pioneer of classic American animation. Disney began creating animated characters as early as 1923, however his first Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts were not created until 1928. These shorts, ‘Plane Crazy’ and ‘Gallopin’ Gaucho’, were silent and filmed in black and white. The first sound cartoon starring Mickey Mouse, ‘Steamboat Willie’, followed later in 1928.
Talent, ingenuity, and hard work allowed Disney and his lengendary team to develop techniques which would define the future of animation. Within a span of just twelve years, audiences were introduced to a fun-spirited black and white talking Mickey Mouse, enchanted by the first full length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and dazzled by Fantasia’s vibrant synthesis of animation, exquisite choreography and classical music.
Disney’s revolutionary animation accomplishment, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was recognized at the Academy Awards ceremony in 1937 when Shirley Temple presented Disney with a special Oscar: one large statuette flanked by seven smaller ones. Snow White serves as an animation milestone, marking the beginning of the Golden Age of animation.
For five decades, Disney continued to create new levels of animation achievements by introducing new techniques to the art of animation. The most notable innovations of this period include the use of live action and animated characters in the same scene, the advent of stereophonic sound, and the development of the xerographic line inking process which advanced the studios ability to produce complex films in less time. Many of Walt’s contributions to the field of animation are still used today – more than twenty years after his death – a fact which underscores both his pervasive influence and his tremendous ingenuity.
During his lifetime, Disney remained personally involved with the conception and direction of all feature-length animated films. Released, in 1967, one year after his death, The Jungle Book, was Disney’s last personally supervised animated feature. Walt’s legacy and dreams continue to thrive to this day: With the release of feature length animated films such as Toy Story, Pocahontas, and James and The Giant Peach, Walt Disney Studios continues to pioneer and develop ground-breaking animation techniques utilizing the latest in technology.
Chronology of Disney’s Animated Feature Films
- 1937 Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
1940 Pinocchio - 1940 Fantasia
- 1941 The Reluctant Dragon
- 1941 Dumbo
- 1942 Bambi
- 1943 Saludos Amigos
- 1943 Victory Through Air Power
- 1945 The Three Caballeros
- 1946 Make Mine Music
- 1946 Song of the South
- 1947 Fun and Fancy Free
- 1948 Melody Time
- 1949 So Dear To My Heart
- 1949 The Adventures of Ichabod And Mr. Toad
- 1950 Cinderella
- 1951 Alice in Wonderland
- 1952 Peter Pan
- 1955 Lady and the Tramp
- 1959 Sleeping Beauty
- 1961 101 Dalmations
- 1963 The Sword in the Stone
- 1964 Mary Poppins
- 1967 Jungle Book
- 1970 Aristocats
- 1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- 1973 Robin Hood
- 1977 The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
- 1977 The Rescuers
- 1977 Pete’s Dragon
- 1981 The Fox and The Hound
- 1985 The Black Cauldron
- 1986 The Great Mouse Detective
- 1988 Oliver and Company
- 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- 1989 The Little Mermaid
- 1990 Ducktales: The Movie, Treasure of The Lost Lamp
- 1990 The Rescuers Down Under
- 1991 Beauty and the Beast
- 1992 Aladdin and his Magic Lamp
- 1993 Nightmare Before Christmas
- 1994 The Lion King
- 1995 Pocahontas
- 1995 Toy Story
- 1996 James and the Giant Peach
- 1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- 1997 Hercules
- 1998 Mulan
- 1999 Tarzan
- 1999 Toy Story 2
- 2000 Fantasia 2000
- 2000 Dinosaur