The Top 10 Worst Disney Animated Films, Roasted and Toasted
Even the biggest studio in the world has a few movies it would rather you forgot. We didn't.
Disney has made some of the greatest animated films ever. This is not a list of those. These are the movies that missed, from the Disney studio itself, from Pixar, and from outside studios whose films Disney released. Each one gets a roast. Each one also gets a toast, because every movie had people who worked hard on it.
10. The Wild (2006)
The roast: Zoo animals escape New York and end up in the wild. If that sounds like Madagascar, which came out the year before, you're not alone.
The toast: The fur animation was impressive for its time.
The lesson: Timing matters. Come out second with the same idea, and you'll always be "the other one."
9. Valiant (2005)
The roast: A movie about carrier pigeons in World War II. Nobody remembers it, including, probably, the pigeons.
The toast: REAL: carrier pigeons really did carry messages in WWII, and some were even given medals for bravery.
8. Planes (2013)
The roast: REAL: it was first planned as a direct-to-video movie, and then it went to theaters anyway. It shows.
The toast: Kids who love planes loved it. That counts.
7. Cars 2 (2011)
The roast: The heartfelt story about slowing down became a spy movie starring Mater. REAL: it's the only Pixar feature with a "rotten" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The toast: The world-building is gorgeous. Tokyo at night looks amazing.
6. Mars Needs Moms (2011)
The roast: REAL: it's one of the biggest box-office losses in movie history. The motion-capture characters fell right into the "uncanny valley," where something looks almost human, but not quite, and it feels off.
The toast: The story about appreciating your mom has real heart.
The lesson: Technology can't replace appeal. If audiences don't connect with a face, they won't connect with the film.
5. The Good Dinosaur (2015)
The roast: The premise is that the asteroid missed. Some viewers kind of wished it hadn't.
The toast: REAL: its landscapes are some of the most realistic ever rendered for an animated film. The rivers look like real footage.
The lesson: Beautiful backgrounds can't save a story that was rewritten too many times. REAL: the film changed directors during production.
4. Strange World (2022)
The roast: A big, colorful adventure that came and went so fast many families never knew it existed. It reportedly lost Disney a large amount of money.
The toast: The creature designs are bold and weird, in the best way.
3. Home on the Range (2004)
The roast: Three cows try to catch a yodeling cattle thief to save their farm.
The toast: The bright, flat art style is lovely.
The lesson: REAL: after this film, Disney stopped making hand-drawn features for five years, until The Princess and the Frog (2009). One weak film got blamed for a whole art form.
2. Chicken Little (2005)
The roast: The story starts as a sweet tale about a kid nobody believes, then turns into an alien invasion movie.
The toast: REAL: it was Disney's first fully computer-animated feature made in-house. That was a big step for the studio. And the father-son moments are touching.
1. The Black Cauldron (1985)
The roast: Too scary for little kids, too silly for older ones. REAL: it earned less at the box office than The Care Bears Movie, released the same year.
The toast: It's beautifully animated, and the Horned King is one of Disney's most frightening villains. Many fans love it today.
The lesson: REAL: The Black Cauldron was Disney's first animated film rated PG. It taught the studio that being dark isn't the same as being deep.
Final thoughts
Every studio misses. The smart ones learn. Disney's misses taught it lessons about timing, appeal and story, and many of the next films were stronger for it.
Which Disney miss do you secretly love? Tell us in the comments.
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