Photo: Disney’s The Lion King – Walt Disney Pictures
If you look at all the Disney remakes coming out this year, they have one thing in common: they were first made during the Disney Renaissance. One of Disney’s most profitable eras created some of its best films.
Whether you know what the Disney Renaissance is or not, most likely, you’ve seen a movie from that era. Lasting from 1989 though 1999, the decade was marked by back to back successes. Walt Disney Studios made animated film after animated film, and they all made over $25 million.
Most of the films were based on well-known stories, which brought in big audiences. The profit Disney made on these films led to it becoming the giant studio we know today. After all, the company made more money on these films than they had on almost all the films they created in the previous decades.
The Renaissance era also brought the powerful duo of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman together. If you’ve ever loudly sung a Disney song in your car, it was most likely written by these two guys.
The films from this era led to television shows being created as well as way too many sequels. Name a film from this period and most likely, it has at least has one sequel, a TV series, or both.
But as hard as it tried with the sequels and the shows, Disney wasn’t able to recapture the magic of the original movies. Once the 20th century ended, the quality of the films and the popularity plummeted.
The films from the Renaissance became instant classics once it looked like Disney had lost its touch. Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan are still visible in pop culture today.
’90s kids love nothing more than nostalgia, and that has kept the popularity of these films alive and well. The rush to make remakes hasn’t hurt either. With the remake of Beauty in the Beast in 2017 and the soon to be released Aladdin and The Lion King, these films will stay in pop culture for a long time to come.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 films from the Disney Renaissance era.
10. The Rescuers Down Under
Rescuers Down Under is definitely one of Disney’s forgotten films from this period. Released in 1990, it was the least highest-grossing film during the Renaissance, making $27.9 million. It probably didn’t help that it was a sequel from a movie made in the ’70s. The first film, The Rescuers came out in 1977 and was based on the novels of the same name. The long period between when the films came out most likely affected the box office.
The film is about the Rescue Aid Society (RAS), an international mouse organization inside the UN. They help those in need; in this film, they are out to help Cody, a nine-year-old boy who has been abducted by poachers looking for his bird friend, Marahute. A mouse that Cody once freed learns of the abduction and contacts the RAS.
The RAS responds to the call by sending their best agents, Miss Bianca and Bernard. They must go to Australia to rescue the boy. Once they get there, they contact the local RAS agent, Jake the Kangaroo Rat, and together they go on their mission to save Cody, stop the poachers, and keep Marahute from being captured as well.
This is by far one of Disney’s best sequels. It takes the best parts of the original and creates a whole new story for those characters to work with. It probably didn’t hurt that the story was already laid out in the books too.
The Rescuers Down Under starred Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor (in her last film), John Candy, George C. Scott, and Adam Ryan.
9. Tarzan
Tarzan was the last film to be made in this era of Disney, coming out in 1999. But despite it being at the end of what most would call Disney’s most popular time, it made quite a bit of money. At a little over $171 million, it is the fourth highest box office for a Disney film in the period.
The film tells the classic story of Tarzan, a man who grew up in the jungle and was raised by gorillas, only to find and fall in love with Jane, a woman visiting the island he lives on. For most of his life, he has believed he’s a gorilla. How would he think any different? But once he sees humans coming to his home, he realizes that he looks more like them than he does his family.
Jane comes to be in the jungle because she is on an expedition with her father and their guide, Clayton, to study gorillas. When they come upon a nesting site, they can’t believe their luck. They watch the gorillas for awhile, but then the professor and Clayton move on. Jane stays to draw a baby baboon who has come close to her. The baboon who seems to like her drawing takes it from her, but when she takes it back, he begins crying. This leads to his family chasing Jane through the jungle. Luckily, Tarzan comes to her rescue.
Through their interactions, they discover different things about each other’s lives and soon fall in love. After bringing Jane back to her campsite, Tarzan confronts his mother, wondering why she didn’t tell him there were other people like him. She warns him to stay away from the humans but he cannot.
When Tarzan visits Jane again, he sees that more men have arrived and that there is a ship there. Jane tells him that they are to head home soon and she wants him to come with her. He declines, not wanting to leave his family forever. But ever the smarmy villain, Clayton comes up with a plan. He tells Tarzan that if he shows them where the gorillas are, Jane will want to stay longer. Tarzan agrees.
This results in one of the gorillas attacking Clayton and Tarzan having to hold them off so they won’t kill the humans. It all goes wrong! But it does lead to the truth coming out about Tarzan’s past. With this new discovery, he decides to leave with Jane on the ship.
Once on board, Clayton forces his thugs on Jane and Tarzan and throws them into the hull of the ship. Clayton’s real goal is to capture all the gorillas and sell them for a profit. Extremely pissed off, Tarzan lets out a yell that reaches his family who rescue them from the guards.
But Clayton isn’t done yet. He ends up capturing the gorillas. Little does he know that Tarzan and every other animal in the jungle has joined together to come after him. The film ends with Tarzan, Jane, and his (and now her) family all together in the jungle.
Tarzan is unique from the other films of this time because all of the songs in the movie were performed by Phil Collins and the songs are played over the movie, not sung by the characters themselves. Collins also worked with composer Mark Mancina to come up with instrumental music for the film as well.
8. Hercules
Loosely based on the myth, Disney’s version of Hercules released in 1997 and starred Tate Donovan, Danny DeVito, Jame Woods, Susan Egan, and Rip Torn. In this version of the tale, Hercules has his immortality taken away from him and is sent to Earth. But what he doesn’t have in immortality, he makes up for in strength. He doesn’t know anything about his actual upbringing until he is much older. Zeus speaks to him through a statue and tells him of his origins and that he must return to Mount Olympus, but first, he has to become a true hero.
What does that mean exactly? Hercules has to figure that out for himself. Luckily, he has the help of his “trainer,” Phil and his winged horse, Pegasus. He fights monsters and saves his city, but his ultimate self-sacrifice is what ultimately makes him into a true hero.
While training, he meets a girl named Meg. Meg’s initial task is to make Hercules fall in love with her and then ruin him by telling Hades his greatest weakness. What she doesn’t plan on is actually falling in love with Hercules herself. She refuses to tell Hades anything, and he captures her, telling Hercules that he will only let her go if her gives up his strength for 24 hours.
Hercules agrees as long as no harm comes to Meg. Drained of his strength, Hercules then has to fight a cyclops that Hades sets on his city. With the help of Phil, they do end up killing the cyclops — but in the process, Meg is injured and ends up dying.
Not willing to give up, Hercules returns to the Underworld and dives into the River of Death to pull Meg out and back to the world of the living. By doing so, he is made a god again and is able to save her.
This movie includes some amazing songs, including the opening where the Muses sing and Meg’s song, “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love).” Hercules may be somewhat of a classic Disney movie now, but it wasn’t too popular when it came out. It earned a little under $100 million, making it the ninth highest earner during this period, only ahead of the Rescuers Down Under.
7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Possibly one of the most underrated Disney films of this period, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was released in 1996 and tells the story of Quasimodo, a man who lives in the bell towers of Notre Dame and is abused by the man he calls his father, Frollo.
One day, during the Festival of Fools, Quasimodo escapes the tower for a day of fun, only to be made a fool of by the people of Paris. But one woman, Esmeralda, sees him for the kind man that he is and whisks him away from the crowd to safety.
The tables end up turning though when Esmeralda tries to defend Quasimodo and herself against Frollo. He sends a guard named Phoebus after her. Little does he know that Phoebus sympathizes with the woman and is attracted to her. He ends up going against his orders and joins Esmeralda and Quasimodo as they hide from Frollo throughout Paris.
Together, they must defend each other and the Court of Miracles, a place Esmeralda calls home. The film ends with Esmeralda and Phoebus happy together and Quasimodo accepted by the people of Paris.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame features one of Disney’s strongest female characters. Esmeralda fights for justice, her people, and anyone she sees who needs a hand. She is an activist. There aren’t too many other women in Disney films like her.
Perhaps because it is so underrated and one of the last in this Renaissance era, there hasn’t been a remake of the film. But never say never!
6. Pocahontas
Pocahontas is one of Disney’s most controversial films mainly due to the fact that it’s based on a real person, yet completely changes most of the facts of her life. The storytellers at Disney took one part of Pocahontas’s life, where she saved John Smith, and made it into the whole movie. Even making them fall in love when that was not the case.
Changing history is nothing new for works of fiction, but because it was done to a Native American woman, a group of people who have been tortured and killed at the hands of the settlers, it looks incredibly offensive. It is!
The film follows Pocahontas, the Chief’s daughter. When we first met her, she is restless and looking for any kind of adventure. But her father wants her to marry and to a man she does not have feelings for. What they both don’t know is that people are coming to their land and will change their lives forever.
While walking through the forest, Pocahontas comes across John Smith. He is suspicious of her at first, but once they start speaking, they realize they have more in common than they once thought. The problem is that John’s shipmates and Pocahontas’s tribe do not share their open-mindedness.
They fight against each other, one of John’s friends kills one of Pocahontas’s tribe, and things get heated. When John is captured by her people, Pocahontas saves him from being killed, stepping in the way before her father can hurt him.
The film ends with John Smith getting hurt and leaving to go back to Europe, and Pocahontas staying with her people. Disney has not made a remake of this film, and it doesn’t look like it plans to anytime soon. Considering how wrong it went the first time, it’s probably for the best.
5. The Little Mermaid
This 1989 film is about a mermaid named Ariel who wants nothing more than to see what it’s like on land. She does get her wish but at an extreme cost to her. When she meets the sea witch, Ursula, the woman offers to give her a pair of legs, but she must give her something in return: her voice.
Ariel agrees and is sent to land where she meets a man that is all too familiar. Earlier in the story, she saved a man from drowning. That same man finds her on the beach and that begins their love story…despite the fact that she can’t speak a word. But, if Ariel can get Eric to kiss her, she will remain a human permanently. Unfortunately, she has no such luck.
But Ursula is not finished with Ariel. She wants more than her voice;. she want to ruin her dreams completely. So, she turns herself into a girl named Vanessa and heads to shore, doing her best to steal Eric’s heart. And it works. Eric plans on marrying Vanessa after he hears Ariel’s voice coming out of her mouth.
Desperate to stop the match, Ariel with the help of her animal friends break the shell containing Ariel’s voice from Vanessa’s neck and Ariel’s voice is restored. Eric realizes his mistake and kisses Ariel,l but he’s too late. Ariel turns back into a mermaid and is kidnapped by Ursula.Luckily, Ursula is no match for true love and is ultimately defeated.
The Little Mermaid might have the most fun songs out of any Disney film from this era. Who hasn’t sung “Part of Your World” or “Kiss the Girl” at the top of their lungs? They were created by the classic duo of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.
There hasn’t been a Disney-sanctioned remake of this film, but there have been plenty of retellings including a 2016 film that starred Rosie Mac, Matt Martin, and Amber Borzotra.
4. Beauty & the Beast
This film originally came out in 1991, stole audience’s hearts, and became the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. It won for Best Original Score and Best Song. It does have absolutely brilliant songs.
The film tells the story of Belle, a village girl who is looking for more than what’s being offered to her. She ends up getting her wish but not the way she expected. When she goes looking for her father who’s gone missing, she ends up a prisoner of the Beast.
But the longer she stays and gets to know the Beast (and his household of talking furniture), she comes to care for him and see the man underneath the curse that was put on him many years ago.
To break the curse, someone must truly fall in love with the Beast, but with time running out, it doesn’t look good for him and his friends. So when Belle comes along, she looks like the One ™. With her love, she transforms him back into the man he was, just with a whole lot more humility!
This film also has one of the most intense battle scenes ever. The Beast and everyone’s favorite dudebro, Gaston fight in the rain outside the castle. But just when we think the Beast has been defeated, Belle comes in to save the day and his life. And Gaston falls to his death…but whatever.
Beauty and the Beast is one of the few films that was remade and is just as good as the original. The remake came out in 2017 and starred Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Emma Thompson, and Stanley Tucci.
3. Mulan
Based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, Mulan tells the story of a girl who tries to save her father from fighting in the war by pretending to be a boy and joining the Chinese army. While in training, she comes to realize she didn’t exactly know what she was getting into.
She struggles to perform the drills and keep up with the men. But when her captain tells her she isn’t good enough, Mulan uses her courage and strength of character (and a little help from her pet dragon/”great stone warrior,” Mushu) to show them exactly how good she is. She goes on not just to save her captain but to defeat the Huns and save China.
Mulan was released in 1998 and is definitely one of Disney’s more empowering films towards women. No matter the obstacles she faces, Mulan rises to the occasion and shows her country, her family, and herself that she is capable of making a difference. Yes, she had to masquerade as a boy to do it, but in the end, she reveals herself and is still accepted for her achievements.
The music had the trademark Disney touch and was composed by Jerry Goldsmith. The film also features “Reflection” by Christina Aguilera. Who of us has not sung along to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” or cried during the “Reflection” scene?
As seems to be the trend right now, there is also a Mulan remake in the works but it doesn’t seem to resemble the Disney version quite as much as the other films coming out. While the basic storyline is the same, many of the characters are different. The remake is scheduled to release March 27, 2020 and will star Liu Yifei as Mulan and Jet Li as the emperor.
2. Aladdin
Another classic film from this iconic time in Disney history is Aladdin. The film follows young Aladdin as he tries to get by living off the streets of Agrabah with his pet monkey, Abu. But one day, he meets a girl in the market who, after being caught by the palace guards, turns out to be the princess!
Once he’s thrown in the dungeon, Aladdin meets an old man who offers him a deal. He’ll break him out of prison if he helps him acquire a lamp hidden in a mysterious cave. As it turns out, the old man is not who he says he is. He is the sultan’s evil adviser, Jafar. Aladdin gets stuck in the cave but with the help of the genie inside the lamp, he escapes and makes it back to Agrabah.
He goes on to make three wishes, the first being to become a prince so that Princess Jasmine will fall in love with him. But his wishes don’t exactly turn out how he wants. Not to mentin,Jafar has plans of his own when it comes to the princess.
Besides the great story, the music is amazing. Who hasn’t fallen in love with “A Whole New World”? Or sung along with the Genie? This was the final film Alan Menken and Howard Ashman worked on the score together, and Tim Rice wrote the lyrics.
And it looks like some of that same great music will be in the new remake coming out this year. Starring Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Alan Tudyk, Billy Magnussen, Mena Massoud, Marwan Kenzari, and Navid Negahban, the new live-action film releases May 24, 2019.
1. The Lion King
Long live the King! The 1994 classic animated movie has not only one of the best (and most tragic) storylines of all the films created during this time period, but it also has one of the best soundtracks. It doesn’t hurt that Elton John along with Tim Rice created the music for the film.
But while the music is everything, the story is what really grabbed people’s hearts. You immediately connect with Simba’s need to be like his father but also to enjoy being a kid. Unfortunately for Simba (and the audience), his father’s life is cut short.
Being the king of Pride Rock comes with plenty of enemies and one of them is Simba’s uncle, Scar. When a stampede of wildebeest runs through a gorge where Simba is waiting, his father goes to save him only to fall to his death. It turns out this was all set up by Scar.
Simba goes on to think he is responsible for his father’s death and runs away from the life he once knew. Luckily, he comes along a couple of animals that turn into great friends. Timon and Pumbaa might be the comedy relief in the film, but they also teach Simba a lesson. It might be all about “no worries” but you can’t run from your past.
While he was gone, Scar took over Pride Rock and ruined the land which led to many animals starving. His old friend (and possible girlfriend), Nala, tells him that he must take back what is rightfully his and undo Scar’s damage or they will all suffer. He reluctantly agrees.
The Lion King came out 15 years ago. Just in time for the anniversary, a new CGI remake is scheduled to be released July 19, 2019. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Beyoncé, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, Keegan Michael-Key, and John Oliver. Based on the trailer, it’s going to be just as epic as the original.
What’s your top Disney Renaissance film?