'Walt Disney (1901-66) 'Steamboat Willy', 1928 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', 1937 Walt Disney's 'Fantasia' starring Mickey Mouse, 1940 Walt Disney's 'Pinocchio', 1940 'Dumbo', 1941 'Bambi', 1942 'Cinderella', 1950 'Alice in Wonderland', 1951

'Lady and the Tramp', 1955 'Mary Poppins' starring Julie Andrews, 1964 'The Jungle Book', 1967 'The Little Mermaid', 1989 'Beauty and the Beast', 1991 'Aladdin', 1992 'The Lion King, 1994 'Toy Story', 1995 'Tarzan', 1999

TLW's Animated Moviescope™ (Animated Movie Historyscope)

By T.L. Winslow (TLW), the Historyscoper™

© Copyright by T.L. Winslow. All Rights Reserved.

Original Pub. Date: May 4, 2017. Last Update: Apr. 21, 2022.


'Shrek', 2001 'Ice Age', 2002 'Finding Nemo', 2003 ''Lilo & Stitch', 2002 'The Incredibles' 2004 'Madagascar' 2005 'Cars', 2006 'Ratatouille', 2007 'Kung Fu Panda', 2008
'Hotel Transylvania', 2012 'Frozen', 2013 'Lava', 2014 'Inside Out', 2015 'Finding Dory', 2016 'The Secret Life of Pets', 2016 'Zootopia', 2016 'The Boss Baby', 2017 'Coco', 2017

Alternate url for this page:
http://tinyurl.com/animatedmoviescope


What Is A Historyscope?


Westerners are not only known as history ignoramuses, but double dumbass history ignoramuses when it comes to animated movie history. Since I'm the one-and-only Historyscoper (tm), let me quickly bring you up to speed before you dive into my Master Historyscope.

'Walt Disney (1901-66)

On Oct. 16, 1923 after moving from Kansas City, Mo. to Hollywood, Calif., Chicago, Ill.-born Walter Elias "Walt" Disney (1901-66) co-founds Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio with his brother Roy O. Disney, changing the name to Walt Disney Studio in Jan. 1926.

In 1928 the Golden Age of Am. Animation begins in the U.S. (ends 1967), seeing the emergence of animated shorts featuring Betty Boop, Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Goofy, Porky Pig, and Woody Woodpecker, and full-length animated films incl. Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Pinocchio", "Fantasia", "Dumbo", and "Bambi".

'Steamboat Willy', 1928

On May 15, 1928 Walt Disney's animated Plane Crazy (B&W) debuts, becoming the film debut of Mickey Mouse (voice of Disney) along with his skirt-wearing girlfriend Minnie Mouse (voice of Marcellite Garner and Thelma Boardman); on Nov. 18 after almost going bankrupt, seeing the success of "The Jazz Singer", and staking everything on it, the 3rd Mickey Mouse cartoon Steamboat Willie (B&W) debuts at the Colony Theater in New York City, with Walt as the voice of Mickey, becoming the first one with sound, making this date Mickey's birthday; next year the first of 75 Silly Symphony cartoons appear (until 1939); as Mickey Mouse becomes a hit, other hit characters incl. Donald Duck are spun-off.

On Apr. 19, 1930 Warner Bros. debuts their B&W animated short Sinkin' in the Bathtub (B&W) by Rudolf Carl "Rudy" Ising (1903-92) and Hugh Harman (1903-82); features Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid, becoming the first in the animated Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series (ends 1969), which launches hit chars. incl. Beans the Cat (1935), Porky Pig (1935), Daffy Duck (1937-), Bugs Bunny (1940), Elmer Fudd (1940), Tweety (1942) and Sylvester (1945), Pepe Le Pew (1945), Yosemite Sam (1945), Foghorn Leghorn (1946), Marvin the Martian (1948), Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1949), Granny (1950), Speedy Gonzales (1953), Witch Hazel (1954), and the Tasmanian Devil (1954); color is introduced in 1942; the name Looney Tunes is inspired by Walt Disney's "Silly Symphonies"; too bad, Harman and Ising leave Warner Bros. in 1933, and they hire new dirs. incl. Tex Avery, Friz Feleng, Bob Clampett, and Chuck Jones; the main voice actor is Mel Blanc; in 1942-64 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are the most popular animated shorts in movie theaters; the last release is "Injun Trouble" (1969); in 1960 they begin to air on TV, starting with "The Bugs Bunny Show" (1960-2000), "The Porky Pig Show" (1964-7),, "The Road Runner Show" (1966-73), "The Merrie Melodies Show" (1972), "Merrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny & Friends" (1990-4), "Tiny Toon Adventures" (1990-5), "Taz-Mania" (1991-5), "The Plucky Duck Show" (1992), "The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries" (1995-2002), "Bugs 'n' Daffy" (1995-8), "Baby Looney Tunes" (2001-5), "Duck Dodgers" (2003-5), "Loonatics Unleashed" (2005-7), "The Looney Tunes Show" (2011-14), and "New Looney Tunes" (2015-).

'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', 1937 Vladimir 'Bill' Tytla (1904-68)

On Dec. 21, 1937 Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature-length cartoon debuts at the Carthay Circle Theatre on San Vicente Blvd. in Hollywood (voice of Adrienne Caselotti); it takes two years and $1.5M to make, and is the first to use Disney's multiplane camera; the dwarfs are Bashful, Doc (the only one whose name is not an adjective), Dopey (only beardless dwarf), Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy; Prince Charming's singing voice is played by Harry Stockwell, father of Dean Stockwell; does $418M box office on a $1.49M budget; next year Walt Disney wins an Honorary Academy Award for it, with Shirley Temple presenting him with one normal Oscar and seven miniature statuettes; features the song Whistle While You Work; Disney goes on to put out "Pinocchio" (1939), "Fantasia" (1940), "Bambi" (1942), "Cinderella" (1950), "Peter Pan" (1953), and "The Lady and the Tramp" (1955) (filled with subliminal messsages and symbols of his weird cryptic philosophy?); too bad, WWII cuts movie revenues in half, causing Disney to break his promises and lay off staff, spurring 300 employees to strike for 2 mo. in 1941, causing top animator Vladimir Peter "Bill" Tytla (1904-68) to get in trouble for siding with the strikers, ending in him being pressured into quitting in 1943, stinking Disney up.

Walt Disney's 'Pinocchio', 1940

On Feb. 7, 1940 Walt Disney's Pinocchio debuts, based on the story by Carlo Collodi (1826-90); it features the song When You Wish Upon a Star, sung by Cliff Edwards (1895-1971) (as Jiminy Cricket), and composed by Ned Washington (1901-76) and Leigh Harline (1907-69).

Walt Disney's 'Fantasia' starring Mickey Mouse, 1940 Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977)

On Nov. 13, 1940 Walt Disney's animated 124-min. $2.28M Fantasia debuts, becoming the first commercial film released in stereo, mixing cartoons, abstract art, and classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977), incl. Paul Dukas' 1897 The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Mickey Mouse (in his comeback after being eclipsed by Donald Duck),

'Tom and Jerry' by Hanna-Barbera, 1940 Bill Hanna (1910-2001) and Joe Barbera (1911-2006)

In 1940 Hanna and Barbera's Puss Gets the Book debuts, first in the animated theatrical short subject cartoon series Tom and Jerry is created by William Denby "Bill" Hanna (1910-2001) and Joseph Roland "Joe" Barbera (1911-2006), and produced by MGM (until 1957) (114 shows), becoming famous for its violent gags, such as Tom the cat trying to kill Jerry the mouse with an axe, and Jerry slicing Tom in half, and going on to seven Academy Awards; a Hollyweird Jewish conspiracy to rehabiliate their "dirty mice" image created by the Nazis?

'Dumbo', 1941

On Oct. 23, 1941 Walt Disney's animated Dumbo debuts, starring Jumbo Jr., who is nicknamed Dumbo for his big ears, which allow him to fly, and whose only friend besides his mother is Timothy Q. Mouse; does $1.3M box office on a $950K budget.

'Bambi', 1942

On Aug. 9, 1942 Walt Disney's animated Bambi , the #1 box office hit of the year, based on the 1923 Felix Salten book is stolen by Thumper and his Thumper Song; Bambi, his babe Faline, his rabbit friend Thumper, striped skunk Flower, Friend Owl, Mr. Mole; Babi is shot by Man, but survives, and after the furry residents survive a forest fire on a riverbank, Faline gives birth to twins, while Bambi becomes the new Great Prince of the Forest; does $267.4M box office on an $848K budget; Bambi is loaned to the govt. for fire prevention programs for one year, after which a new poster featuring a bear is released on Aug. 9, 1944, named after "Smoky" Joe Martin, a New York City Fire Dept. fireman known for a daring 1922 rescue; a real bear model is not found until 1950.

'Saludos Amigos', 1942

On Aug. 24, 1942 Norman Ferguson's, Wilfred Jackson's, Jack Kinney's, Hamilton Luske's, and Bill Roberts' animated Saludos Amigos (Sp. "greetings, friends") (Walt Disney Productions) debuts, becoming the first of six anthology films produced during WWII to save money, which later help finance "Cinderella" (1950); produced to satisfy the U.S. Dept. of State-sponsored Disney goodwill tour of South Am., its live-action documentary sequences showing modern Latin Am. cities helps change U.S. public opinion and cement er, goodwill; does $1.135M box office worldwide.

'Song of the South', 1946 James Baskett (1904-48) Bobby Driscoll (1937-68)

On Nov. 12, 1946 Harve Foster's and Wilfred Jackson's animated Song of the South (Walt Disney Productions) (RKO Radio Pictures) debuts , based on the Joel Chandler Harris Uncle Remus stories is Disney's first film with some live action, and stars James Baskett (1904-48) as Uncle Remus, who is awarded an honorary Oscar; also stars child actor Bobby Driscoll (1937-68) as Johnny; the first African-Am. best actor Oscar winner is Sidney Poitier in 1964; does $65M box office on a $2.125M budget; incl. the (racially degrading?) hit song Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah.

'Fun and Fancy Free', 1947

On Sept. 27, 1947 Jack Kinney's, Bill Roberts', Hamilton Luske's, and William Morgan's animated Fun and Fancy Free (Walt Disney Productions) debuts, consisting of the stories "Bongo", narrated by Dinah Shore, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk", narrated by Edgar Bergen and his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd telling the tale to Jiminy Cricket and child actress Luana Patten at her birthday party; the last film in which Walt Disney voices Mickey Mouse before hiring sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald; does $3.165M box office on a ? budget. animated Fun and Fancy Free (Walt Disney Productions) debuts, consisting of the stories "Bongo", narrated by Dinah Shore, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk", narrated by Edgar Bergen and his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd telling the tale to Jiminy Cricket and child actress Luana Patten at her birthday party; the last film in which Walt Disney voices Mickey Mouse before hiring sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald; does $3.165M box office on a ? budget.

'Cinderella', 1950

On Feb. 15, 1950 Clyde Geronimi's, Hamilton Luske's, and Wilfred Jackson's animated Cinderella (Walt Disney Pictures) (RKO Radio Pictures) (12th Disney animated film), based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault features the voices of Ilene Woods, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Rhoda Williams, James Macdonald, Luis van Rooten et al.; Cinderella's two stepsisters are Anastasia and Drizella; Al Hoffman composes the songs "Cinderella", "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"; does $263.6M box office on a $2.9M budget.

'Alice in Wonderland', 1951

On Juloy 26, 1951 Walt Disney's animated Alice in Wonderland debuts, based on the books by Lewis Carroll, featuring the voices of Kathryn Beaumont as Alice, Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter, Jerry Colonna as the March Hare, and Sterling Holloway as the Cheshire Cat; does $2.4M box office, which is so disappointing that it is shown as one of the first episodes of the TV series "Disneyland" in 1954, after which it is re-released in 1974, doing $3.5M box office.

'Walt Disneys Peter Pan', 1953

On Feb. 5, 1953 Walt Disney's animated Peter Pan debuts, starring the voice of Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan (first real boy in the role usually played by women), Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy Darling, and Hans Conried as Capt. Hook; too bad, Driscoll contracts severe acne, stalling his career and causing him to become a drug addict, after which his prison record keeps him from making a comeback until he is found dead in an East Village tenement in 1968 and buried as a John Doe; does $87.4M box office on a $4M budget; debuts at the Roxy Theatre in New York City - baby boomers always get theirs?

'Lady and the Tramp', 1955

On June 22, 1955 Clyde Geronimi's and Wilfred Jackson's and Hamilton Luske's animated musical romanceLady and the Tramp (produced by Walt Disney), based on the 1945 Cosmopolitanmag. story "Happy Dan: The Cynical Dog" by Ward Greene becomes the first animated film feature using the CinemaScope widescreen process, starring high class Am. Cocker Spaniel Lady and male mutt Tramp, who fall in love over a shared plate of pasta in a Midwestern town (inspired by Disney's home town of Marceline, Mo.) on Christmas eve., 1909; the songs are by Peggy Lee (1920-2002), who ends up suing Disney successfully for royalties in the 1990s; does $187M box office on a $4M budget.

'Sleeping Beauty', 1959

On Jan. 29, 1959 Clyde Geronimi's animated Sleeping Beauty (Walt Disney Productions) debuts, based on the 1697 Charles Perrault fairy tale, featuring the voices of Mary Costa as Princess Aurora (Greek goddess of Dawn), and Bill Shirley as Prince Philip, who awakens her with a kiss to the music of the 1890 Tchaikovsky ballet; also features the voices of Eleanor Audley as Maleficent, Taylor Holmes as King Stefan, Bill Thompson as King Hubert, Verna Felton as Flora, Barbara Jo Allen as Fauna, and Barbara Luddy as Merryweather; does $51.6M box office on a $6M budget.

'One Hundred and One Dalmatians', 1961

On Jan. 25, 1961 Clyde Geronimi's and Hamilton Luske's and Wolfgang Reitherman's animated One Hundred and One Dalmatians (Walt Disney Productions), based on the 1956 Dodie Smith novel is about a litter of Dalmatian puppies who are abducted by Cruella De Vil (voiced by Betty Lou Gerson) to make them into fur; #10 grossing film of 1961 ($303M box office on a $3.6M budget); the live-action version "101 Dalmations" is released in 1996, starring Glenn Close as Cruella.

'Mary Poppins' starring Julie Andrews, 1964

On Aug. 27, 1964 Robert Stevenson's Mary Poppins , based on the P.L. Travers books is a Disney musical about a magical English nanny (Julie Andrews) who takes care of the Banks children, and features Dick Van Dyke as Bert the chimney sweep, who dances with animated penguins, and Ed Wynn as Uncle Albert; Andrews got the role after being passed over by Jack Warner for Eliza Dolittle in "My Fair Lady"; the film becomes Disney's #1 moneymaker (until ?), and the first and only of his films to get a best picture Oscar nomination during Disney's lifetime; does $103.1M box office on a $6M budget; features the songs Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, A Spoonful of Sugar, Chim Chim Cheree.

'The Jungle Book', 1967

On Oct. 18, 1967 Walt Disney's The Jungle Book , based on the 1984 Rudyard Kipling book and dir. by Wolfgang Reitheman debuts, becoming the last Disney feature overseen by Walt Disney (1901-66), and incl. the songs "Trust in Me" and "I Wanna Be Like You"; features the voices of Bruce Reitherman as orphan boy Mowgli ("the man-cub"), Phil Harris as Baloo the sloth bear, Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera the black panther, Louis Prima as King Louie the orangutan, Sterling Hollowy as Kaa the Indian python, and George Sanders as Shere Khan the man-hating Bental tiger; Clint Howard, brother of Ron Howard plays the voice of an elephant; #1 grossing film of 1967 ($141.8M U.S. and $378M worldwide box office on a $4M budget); refilmed in 2016 by Jon Favreau.

'The Aristocats', 1970

On Dec. 21, 1970 Wolfgang Reitherman's animated The Aristocats (Walt Disney Productions) debuts, about a family of aristocratic cats who are kidnapped by the butler to blackmail his mistress into giving him the family fortune instead of them; features the voices of Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway, Phil Harris, Hermione Baddeley, and Catman Crothers; a Disney animated flick; #5 grossing film of 1970 ($55.6M U.S. and $191M worldwide box office on a $4M budget).

'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?', 1988

On June 22, 1988 Robert Zemeckis' Who Framed Roger Rabbit Touchstone Pictures) (Amblin Entertainment) (Buena Vista Pictures) ("It's the story of a man, a woman and a rabbit in a triangle of trouble") debuts, adapted from "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" by Gary K. Wold; combines live stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd et al. with "toons" in a film noir; the answer is Judge Doom; Roger is a crazed bug-eyed stuttering toon married to sultry, voluptuous lounge singer Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner) in 1940s Los Angeles; "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way"; "Listen, my philosophy is this: If you don't have a good sense of humor, you're better off dead"; does $329.8M box office on a $50.6M budget.

In 1989 the Disney Renaissance begins (ends 1999), seeing Walt Disney Animation Studios return to blockbuster musical animated films incl. "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), and "Tarzan" (1999).

'The Little Mermaid', 1989

On Nov. 17, 1989 Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid debuts, based on the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen tale about trading your voice for legs; features Sebastian the Crab stealing the show with his number Under the Sea; does $235M box office on a $40M budget; the title char. is really Mary Magdalene AKA the Sacred Feminine?

'Beauty and the Beast', 1991

On Sept. 29, 1991 Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast debuts, based on the fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont; stars the voices of Robby Benson as the Beast, and Paige O'Hara as Belle; does $440.1M box office on a $25M budget; first animated film to be nominated for a best picture Oscar;

'Aladdin', 1992

On Nov. 25, 1992 Ron Clements' and John Musker's Aladdin (Buena Vista Pictures) debuts, an animated Disney flick about Aladdin (voice of Scott Weinger) and Princess Jasmine (Linda Larkin); Robin Williams voices the Genie for $75K; #1 movie of 1992 ($217M U.S. and $504.1M worldwide box office on a $28M budget).

'The Lion King, 1994

On June 15, 1994 Walt Disney Pictures' animated The Lion King debuts, a loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" with lions and music; stars the voices of Matthew Broderick as Lion King Simba, James Earl Jones as his father Mufasa, Jeremy Irons as his scheming uncle Scar, Moira Kelly as his babe Nala, Nathan Lane as wisecracking meerkat Timon, Ernie Sabella as flatulent warthog Pumbaa, and Rowan Atkinson as Samba's majordodo hornbill Zazu; grosses $313M in the U.S. and $986.5M worldwide on a $45M budget, extending Disney's winning streak of 1992's Aladdin, 1991's Beauty and the Beast, and 1989's The Little Mermaid; features the songs Hakuna Matata, Circle of Life.

'Pocahontas', 1995

On June 10, 1995 Mike Gabriel's and Eric Goldberg's animated Pocahontas (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, featuring the voices of Irene Bedard as (Pocahontas) (sung by Judy Kuhn), Mel Gibson as Capt. John Smith, and Russell Means as Chief Powhatan; does $346.1M box office on a $55M budget; features the song Colors of the Wind.

'Toy Story', 1995

On Nov. 19, 1995 John Lasseter's Toy Story (Pixar/Walt Disney) debuts, becoming the first feature length 100% computer animated film; stars cowboy Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) as favorite toy, who has to deal with new toy Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen); incl. Don Rickles berating a hockey puck; #1 movie of 1995 ($192M U.S. and $373M worldwide box office on a $30M budget); "The toys are back in town"; "That wasn't flying. That was... falling with style" (Woody).

'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', 1996

On June 19, 1996 Gary Trousdale's and Kirk Wise's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, based on the 1831 Victor Hugo novel, featuring the voices of Tom Hulce as Quasimodo, Demi Moore as Esmeralda, Tony Jay as Frollo, Kevin Kline as Capt. Phoebus, and David Ogden Stiers as the archdeacon; does $325.3M box office on a $70M budget.

'Mulan', 1998

On June 19, 1998 Barry Cook's and Tony Bancroft's animated musical adventure film Mulan (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, about a Hun invasion of imperial Han China and the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, starring Ming-Na Wen as Fu Mulan, Eddie Mursphy as Mushu, BD Wong as Capt. Li Shang, and Miguel Ferrer as Shan Yu; does $304.3M box office on a $90M budget; features the song I'll Make a Man Out of You.

'The Prince of Egypt', 1998

On Dec. 16, 1998 Brenda Chapman's, Steve Hickner's, and Simon Wells' animated The Prince of Egypt (Dreamworks Pictures) debuts, retelling the story in the Bible Book of Exodus about Moses (voiced by Val Kilmer) and Pharaoh Ramses (voiced by Ralph Fiennes); features the voices of Michelle Pfeiffer as Moses' wife Tzipporah, Sandra Bullock as Moses' sister Miriam, Jeff Goldblum as Moses' brother Aaron, Danny Glover as Tzipporah's father Jethro, Patrick Stewart as Ramses' father Pharaoh Seti, Helen Mirren as Seti's wife Queen Tuya, Steve Martin as high priest Hotep, Martin Short as high priest Huy, and Ofra Haza as Moses' mother Yocheved; does $218.6M box office on a $70M budget.

'Tarzan', 1999

On June 12, 1999 Disney's animated Tarzan (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, based on the 1912 Edgar Rice Burroughs story, featuring the voices of Tony Goldwyn as Tarzan, Minnie Driver as Jane Porter, Glenn Close as Tarzan's adoptive gorilla mother Kala, Lance Henriksen as Kala's mate Kerchak, Nigel Hawthorne as Jane's father Prof. Archimedes Q, Rose O'Donnell as Tarzan's best friend gorilla Terk, and Wayne Knight as Tarzan's elephant friend Tantor; features Phil Collins singing the Oscar winning song You'll Be in My Heart; #6 movie of 1999 ($171M U.S. and $448.2M worldwide box office on a $130M budget); followed by direct-to-video "Tarzan & Jane" (2002), "Tarzan II" (2005).

'Shrek', 2001

On Apr. 22, 2001 Andrew Adamson's and Vicky Jenson's computer-animated comedy Shrek (DreamWorks Pictures), based on the 1990 fairy tale picture book by William Steig is a giant er, hit, starring the voice of Mike Myers as big green ogre Shrek, Eddie Murphy as Donkey, Cameron Diaz as Princes Fiona, and John Lithgow as evil Lord Farquaad; #3 movie of 2001 ($268M domestic and $487.9M worldwide box office on a $60M budget); sequels incl. Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), Shrek Forever After (2010).

'Ice Age', 2002

On Mar. 15, 2002 Chris Wedge's and Carlos Aldanha's Ice Age (Blue Sky Studios) (20th Cent. Fox) debuts, an animated flick about a sabertooth tiger, sloth, and woolly mammoth who try to return a lost human infant to his tribe; "The Coolest Event in 16,000 Years"; #9 movie of 2002 ($176M U.S. and $383.2M worldwide box office on a $59M budget); "Sub-Zero Heroes"; sequels incl. "Ice Age: The Meltdown" (2006), "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (2009), "Ice Age: Continental Drift" (2012), "Ice Age: Collision Course" (2016).

''Lilo & Stitch', 2002

On June 16, 2002 Chris Sanders' and Dean DeBlois' animated Lilo & Stitch (June 16) (Walter Disney Pictures) debuts, about young Kaua'i Hawaiian girl Lilo Pelekai (voice of Davleigh Chase) and her blue koala-like ET pet "dog" Experiment 626 AKA Stitch (voiced by Sanders), who are chased by an intergalactic federation; Stitch was genetically-engineered by mad scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba to cause chaos and destruction, but gets tamed by her using the Hawaiian concept of ohana (extended family); does $273.1M box office on an $80M budget; spawns three direct-to-video sequels, and three TV series.

'Treasure Planet', 2002

On Nov. 27, 2002 John Musker's and Ron Clements' animated Treasure Planet (Walt Disney Pictures) is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel "Treasure Island", the 1982 film, and the 19887 Italian miniseries "Treasure Island in Space", becoming the first film to be released simultaneously in regular and IMAX theaters; too bad, it bombs, doing only $38M in the U.S. and $110M worldwide on a $140M budget (most expensive traditionally animated film to date), causing Disney to not try two major animated feature films in the same year again until 2016 ("Moana", "Zootopia").

'Finding Nemo', 2003

On May 30, 2003 Disney/Pixar's animated Finding Nemo debuts, dir. by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich; about Marlin the clownfish, who loses his pregnant wife Coral to a barracuda, and saves one egg, which he names you know what; "If this is some kind of practical joke, it's not funny, and I know funny, I'm a clownfish"; "the ultimate fish-out-of-water story" (Time mag.); #2 movie of 2003 ($340M U.S. and $940.3M worldwide box office on a $94M budget); followed by "Finding Dory" (2016).

'Brother Bear', 2003

On Nov. 1, 2003 Aaron Blaise's and Robert Walker's animated Brother Bear (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, featuring Joaquin Phoenix as the voice of Kenai, who kills a bear and is turned into one as punishment; the only cure is to travel to a mountain where the Northern lights touch the Earth; does $250.4M box office on a $46M budget.

'The Incredibles' 2004

On Oct. 24, 2004 Brad Bird's computer-animated The Incredibles debuts, about a family of undercover superheroes, starring the voices of Craig T. Nelson as Mr. Incredible, Holly Hunter as Elastigirl, Samuel L. Jackson as Brozone, and Jason Lee as Syndrome; #4 movie of 2004 ($261M U.S. and $631.6M worldwide box office on a $145M budget); followed by "Incredibles 2" (2018).

'Madagascar' 2005

On May 27, 2005 Eric Darnell's and Tom McGrath's computer-animated comedy adventure film Madagascar (DreamWorks Pictures) debuts, about four animals who escape from the New York Central Zoo to you know where, and discover how spoiled they had been; stars the voices of Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe, and Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo; #9 movie of 2005 ($193M U.S. and $556.6M worldwide box office on a $75M budget); followed by "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (2008), "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted".

'Cars', 2006

On May 28, 2006 John Lasseter's and Joe Ranft's computer-animated sports comedy film Cars (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, about vehicles with eyes on their windshields in Radiator Springs, featuring the voices of Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, Paul Newman as Doc Hudson, Bonnie Hunt as Sally Carrera, Larry the Cable Guy as Mater, Tony Shalhoub as Luigi, and Cheech Marini as Ramone; ;#3 movie of 2006 ($244M U.S. and $462M worldwide box office on a $120M budget); followed by "Cars 2" (2011).

'Meet the Robinsons', 2007

On Mar. 23, 2007 Stephen Anderson's animated Meet the Robinsons (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, about 12-y.-o. inventor Lewis (voiced by Jordan Fry and Tom Selleck), who is desperate to be adopted, and his 13-y.-o. time-traveler friend Wilbur Robinson (voiced by Wesley Singerman) , who is trying to prevent the Bowler Hat Guy (voiced by Anderson) from changing his timeline; does $169.3M box office on a $150M budget.

'Ratatouille', 2007

On June 22, 2007 Brad Bird's computer-animated comedy Ratatouille (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studies) debuts, about Remy the chef rat (Patton Oswalt) , who takes off from Granny Farmer's and heads to Paris, where he works at Gusteau's with human chefs Skinner (Ian Holm) and Linguini (Lou Romano), proving his delicate nose; #11 movie of 2007 ($206M U.S. and $623.7M worldwide box office on a $150M budget).

'The Simpsons Movie', 2007

On July 21, 2007 David Silverman's animated The Simpsons Movie (20th Cent. Fox) (Gracie Films), based on the TV sitcom stars the voice of Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson, who pollutes the lake in his hometown of Springfield so bad that the EPA encloses the town in a giant glass dome; features the voices of Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson, Nancy Cartwright as Bart Simpson, Hank Azaria as Moe Szyslak, and Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers; #12 movie of 2007 ($183M U.S. and $536.4M worldwide box office on a $75M budget).

'Kung Fu Panda', 2008

On May 15, 2008 John Stevenson's and Mark Osborne's computer-animated action comedy film Kung Fu Panda (DreamWorks Animation) debuts, featuring the voices of Jack Black as Po, Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, Angelina Jolie as Master Tigress, Seth Rogen as Master Mantis, Lucy Liu as Master Viper, David Cross as Master Crane, Jackie Chan as Master Monkey, and Ian McShane as Tai Lung; does $631.7M box office on a $130M budget; sequels incl. "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011), "Kung Fu Panda 3" (2016).

'Wall-E', 2008

On June 23, 2008 Andrew Stanton's computer-animated Wall-E (WALL-E) (Walt Disney Studios) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, about cute lovable sanitation bot Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class (last robot on Earth) (voiced by Ben Burtt of R2D2 fame), who falls in love with and follows his robot babe EVE into space; does $521.3M box office on a $180M budget.

'Up', 2009

On May 13, 2009 Pete Docter's computer-animated Up (May 13) (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, featuring the voice of Ed Asner as elderly widower Carl Fredericksen, who flies to South Am. in a floating house suspended on helium balloons with young Wilderness Explorer stowaway Russell (Jordan Nagai), meeting talking golden retriever Dug (Bob Peterson) and airship explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer), who is chasing a giant colorful flightless bird named Kevin; grosses $277M in the U.S.(#5) and $735.1M worldwide.

'The Princess and the Frog', 2009

On Nov. 25, 2009 John Musker's and Ron Clements' animated The Princess and the Frog (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, based on the 2002 novel "The Frog Princess" by E.D. Baker, which is based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "The Frog Prince" is about waitress Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) in Jazz Age New Orleans, who dreams of opening her own restaurant before she kisses Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), a prince who had been turned into a frog by evil witch doctor Dr. Facilier (Keith David), turning into a frog herself; Oprah Winfrey voices Tiana's mother Eudora; features Disney's first black princes, Tiana; a "symbolic reparation" for the 1946 animation-plus-live-action hit "Song of the South"; too bad, having the word princess in the title cuts down the box office in competition with "Avatar"; does $271M box office on a $105M budget.

'How to Train Your Dragon', 2010

On Mar. 21, 2010 Chris Sanders' and Dean DeBlois' computer-animated How to Train Your Dragon (Mar. 21) (Paramount Pictures) (DreamWorks) is about a 15-y.-o. Viking teenager named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, son of chieftain Stoick the Vast, who decides to become a dragon slayer in the Viking village of Berk and instead falls in love with them; does $494.9M box office on a $165M budget; followed by "How to Train Your Dragon 2" (2014), "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" (2019).

'Despicable Me', 2010

On June 19, 2010 Pierre Coffin's and Chris Renaud's computer-animated Despicable Me (Universal Pictures) (Illumination Entertainment) debuts, about three orphan girls (Margo, Edith, Agnes) who cause the despicable Gru (Steve Carell) to rethink his plan to steal the Moon using his army of Minions; Jason Segel voices Vector; Russell Brand voices Dr. Nefario; does $543.2M box office on a $69M budget; followed by "Despicable Me 2" (2013), "Minions" (2015), "Despicable Me 3" (2017), "Minions: The Rise of Gru" (2022), "Depicable Me 4" (2024).

'Tangled', 2010

On Nov. 14, 2010 Nathan Greno's and Byron Howard's computer-animated Tangled (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, based on the Brothers Grimm Rapunzel fairy tale; features the voice of Mandy Moore; Greno's dir. debut; the title is changed for Disney's new woke mgt. for gender-neutrality; does $592.4M box office on a $260M budget (most expensive animated film to date?).

'Hotel Transylvania', 2012

On Sept. 8, 2012 Genndy Tartakovsky's computer-animated monster comedy film Hotel Transylvania (Columbia Pictures) debuts, about Count Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler), owner of Hotel Transylvania, a haven for monsters from human, who invites the most famous monsters to celebrate the 118th birthday of his daughter Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez), and has to cope with unexpected 21-y.-o. human hunk visitor Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran (voiced by Andy Samberg) to keep her from falling in love with him before the monster guests find out about him; does $358.4M box office on an $85M budget; followed by "Hotel Transylvania 2" (2015), "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" (2018), "Hotel Transylvania: Transformania" (2022).

'Wreck-It Ralph', 2012

On Oct. 29, 2012 Rich Moore's animated Wreck-It Ralph (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, about an arcade game villain (voiced by John C. Reilly) who tries to become a hero; does $471.2M box office on a $165M budget; followed by "Ralph Breaks the Internet" (2018).

'Monsters University', 2013

On June 5, 2013 Dan Scanlon's computer-animated comedy Monsters University (Walt Disney Studios) (Pixar Animation Studios) is voiced by an all-star cast, featuring Billy Crystal voicing Mike Wazowski, who enrolls in the Scaring program at Monsters U. in Monstropolis, John Goodman voicing James P. "Sulley" Sullivan, and Steve Buscemi voicing Randall "Randy" Boggs; does $743.6M box office on a $200M budget.

'Frozen', 2013

On Nov. 19, 2013 Walt Disney's Frozen (original title "Anna and the Snow Queen") debuts, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", featuring Kristen Bell as the voice of Princess Anna of Arendelle, and Idina Menzel as the voice of Elsa the Snow Queen, her older sister; does $1.28B box office on a $150M budget; features the song Let It Go; followed by "Frozen II" (2019).

'Lava', 2014

On June 14, 2014 James Ford Murphy's computer-animated musical short film Lava (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, a musical love story that takes place over millions of years, inspired by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 1990 hit version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow; features the song Lava.

'Inside Out', 2015

On May 18, 2015 Pete Docter's Inside Out (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, about young girl Riley and her basic emotions of Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger, and her experiences that are stored as colored orbs; does $858.8M box office on a $175M budget.

'Zootopia', 2016

On Feb. 11, 2016 Bryon Howard's and Rich Moore's computer-animated buddy cop film Zootopia (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, about anthropomorphic mammals, starring the voice of Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy Hopps, first rabbit police officer in Zootopia, who hooks up with red fox con artist Nicholas P. "Nick" Wilde (Jason Bateman); does $1.024B box office on a $150M budget.

'Finding Dory', 2016

On June 8, 2016 Andrew Stanton's 3-D animated Finding Dory (Walt Disney Studios), sequel to "Finding Nemo" (2003) features the voices of Ellen DeGeneres as regal blue tang Dory, Albert Brooks as ocellaris clownfish Marlin, Hayden Rolence as his son Nemo, and Ed O'Neill as East pacific red octopus Hank; does $1.029B box office on a $200M budget.

'The Secret Life of Pets', 2016

On June 16, 2016 Chris Renaud's computer-animated comedy The Secret Life of Pets (Illumination Entertainment) (Universal Pictures) debuts, starring the voices of Louis C.K. as Jack Russell Terrier Max, Albert Brooks as red-tailed hawk Tiberius, Eroc Stonestreet as shaggy dog Duke, Kevin Hart as white rabbit Snowball, and Jenny Slate as white Pomeranian Gidget; does $875.5M box office on a $75M budget; followed by "The Secret Life of Pets 2" (2019) starring Patton Oswald as Max.

'Moana', 2016

On Nov. 14, 2016 Ron Clements' and John Musker's computer-animated Moana (Walt Disney Pictures) debuts, starring the voice of newcomer Auli'i Cravalho as a Polynesian princess who is chosen by the ocean to reunite a mystic relic with the goddess Te Fiti by seeking out demigod Maui; does $645M box office on a $175M budget; features the song How Far I'll Go.

'The Boss Baby', 2017

On Mar. 12, 2017 Tom McGrath's The Boss Baby (20th Cent. Fox) (DreamWorks Animation) debuts, about 7-y.-o. Timothy "Tim" Templeton (voiced by Miles Bakshi), who goes nonlinear when he sees his new baby brother Theodore Lindsay "Ted" Templeton Jr. (voiced by Alec Baldson) acting like a grown business mogul whenever adults aren't looking; Jimmy Kimmel voices Ted Templeton Sr., and Lisa Kudrow voices his wife Janice; does $528M box office on a $125M budget.

'Coco', 2017

On Oct. 20, 2017 Lee Unkrich's computer-animated Coco (Oct. 20) (Walt Disney Pictures) (Pixar Animation Studios) debuts, about 12-y.-o. wannabe musician Miguel of Santa Cecilia, Mexico, who travels to the Land of the Dead to get his great-great-grandfather to return and reverse his family's ban on music; does $807.8M box office on a $225M budget.


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Lists of animated films

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