Two years ago, I decided I would watch all the theatrical animated films created by Walt Disney Animation Studios in order of release.

Why? Because it was the start of Omicron, and I knew I was in for another long winter in isolation. And also, maybe I was bored? 

But during the pandemic, I got the idea from my brother to rewatch series of films in a particular order. Because, as we all know, having a routine with a goal in sight keeps the mind sane. 

From Pixar to Marvel to Disney (aka Disney)

I started with the Pixar films (my brother’s idea, which I subsequently turned into a competition – he was not amused). Then, I watched all the Marvel films in chronological order (Avengers: Endgame made a lot more sense; I also have no desire to continue with this journey). 

But through my various watches and re-watches, I saw the film industry evolve. I saw culture evolve. I saw more inclusivity. I saw more representation. I mean it took 13 Pixar films before we got a female lead. It took 21 MCU films before we got our first female solo lead and this was after DC Comics’ Wonder Woman (and up until the release of Black Panther, every lead character was white). I’m still waiting on less queer baiting and more LGBTQIA+ representation (also, I’m not straight – a revolutionary idea even as a 30+ adult). 

The first Marvel movie came out in 2008. The first Pixar film came out in 1995. Imagine the changes I witnessed in just those 20 years. So it made me think. What would change of that magnitude look like for the history of film in general? And how much more change do we still need? 

So, I decided to go back to the childhood source (and culprit) of a history of racism and sexism in film representation: Disney.

I had originally decided to watch all the movies leading up to what I deemed the end of my childhood (2000) in order of release. From Snow White to Fantasia 2000. I hadn’t seen every movie on this list. I omitted most films that had live action like Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks with the exception of World War II era films (as animation resources were limited during this decade). 

And thanks to Disney+ I had easy access. So, in November 2021, I started my quest with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

TL;DR: I Learned Some Things

I didn’t expect to take this all that seriously (at least in terms of sharing my findings with the rest of the world). I mainly wanted to watch the world of animation unfold and truly understand the racism and the subsequent evolution of representation at the source of animation.

(Disclaimer: while I tried to educate myself throughout this process, researching and referencing external sources, my viewpoint is still limited, and I apologize in advance for anything I may have overlooked.) 

But as I delved into these films that winter, I found myself taking meticulous notes on everything I watched. I learned so much about animation and storytelling. I learned so much about the negative effects of stereotypes and white washing in representation. And to Disney’s credit, rather than remove some of this shamed history, they added disclaimers to the films that were the worst culprits, for educational value and to continue to have these discussions (though oddly this disclaimer was missing from Pocahontas). 

We must not ignore what’s happened. But we shouldn’t let it continue, either. 

So, within a year (my original goal), I had made it to Fantasia 2000. I decided that I might as well keep going. Fast forward another six months, and I watched 59 Disney films in total (full list below), ending with Strange World (that averages out to 2.5 films per month).

Too Much for One Post

I cried. I laughed. I cringed. I enjoyed. And at the end of this quest, I came out with a much greater appreciation for the art of animation, the value of diverse storytelling, and the importance of supporting all viewpoints (except for the -ism ones, of course). 

“The Little Mermaid is My Favorite Disney Movie, and I Finally Figured Out Why” is hands down my most read blog post ever. Is it still my favorite film? Only future blog posts will say. But it did give me the idea to document my experience. 

I can’t say I am an expert nor do I truly represent all perspectives. I am a non-straight white female adult with a disability and little traumatic history. But I tried to keep an open perspective. And over the course of this blog post series, I will try to recount everything I learned, everything I gained, and my own rating of those Disney animated films (minus the straight to video sequels, of course).  

But for now, I’ll end this blog post with a few notes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a teaser for what’s to come. Enjoy. 

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

• The animation in this film is quite incredible for its time. 
• The music is pretty good, too. 
• Though the princess falling down crying trope gets me every time (and it started from the very first film!). 
• Although why would a princess think to clean? She’s probably never cleaned a day in her life.
• Also, how are the dwarfs not rich? Like enough to have their own houses individually? 
• Grumpy is definitely the conservative republican in that household. 
• They should show the washing scene for Covid hand washing instructions now. 
• Omg the queen in the window. Terrifying. 
• Wait, they only knew Snow White for a day?! And are enamored enough to go after the Queen who they apparently were so terrified of in the beginning?! 🤔
• The vultures! Disney was dark in its early days, but well done visually telling a story without gore. 
• Glass coffin. Seriously, how are these dwarfs not rich?! Or at least capitalizing on their skills? 
• The End. I do kind of miss the days with no end credits.

This post is the first in a series on re-visiting Disney one animated film at a time. 

The Full List of Films*

Title	Original U.S. theatrical release date	Previously Seen
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	December 21, 1937	X
Pinocchio	February 7, 1940	X
Fantasia	November 13, 1940	X
The Reluctant Dragon	June 20, 1941
Dumbo	October 23, 1941	X
Bambi	August 13, 1942	X
Saludos Amigos	August 24, 1942
The Three Caballeros	December 21, 1944
Melody Time	May 27, 1948
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	October 5, 1949
Cinderella	February 15, 1950	X
Alice in Wonderland	July 28, 1951	X
Peter Pan	February 5, 1953	X
Lady and the Tramp	June 22, 1955	X
Sleeping Beauty	January 29, 1959	X
One Hundred and One Dalmatians	January 25, 1961	X
The Sword in the Stone	December 25, 1963
The Jungle Book	October 18, 1967	X
The Aristocats	December 24, 1970	X
Robin Hood	November 8, 1973	X
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh	March 11, 1977	X
The Rescuers	June 22, 1977	X
The Fox and the Hound	July 10, 1981
The Black Cauldron	July 26, 1985
The Great Mouse Detective	July 2, 1986	X
Oliver & Company	November 18, 1988
The Little Mermaid	November 17, 1989	X
The Rescuers Down Under	November 16, 1990	X
Beauty and the Beast	November 22, 1991	X
Aladdin	November 25, 1992	X
The Lion King	June 24, 1994	X
Pocahontas	June 23, 1995
The Hunchback of Notre Dame	June 21, 1996
Hercules	June 27, 1997	X
Mulan	June 19, 1998	X
Tarzan	June 18, 1999
Fantasia 2000	January 1, 2000	X
The Emperor’s New Groove	December 15, 2000	X
Atlantis: The Lost Empire	June 15, 2001	X
Lilo & Stitch	June 21, 2002
Treasure Planet	November 27, 2002
Brother Bear	November 1, 2003
Home on the Range	April 2, 2004
Chicken Little	November 4, 2005
Meet the Robinsons	March 30, 2007	X
Bolt	November 21, 2008
The Princess and the Frog	December 11, 2009	X
Tangled	November 24, 2010	X
Winnie the Pooh	July 15, 2011
Wreck-It Ralph	November 2, 2012
Frozen	November 27, 2013	X
Big Hero 6	November 7, 2014	X
Zootopia	March 4, 2016	X
Moana	November 23, 2016	X
Ralph Breaks the Internet	November 21, 2018
Frozen II	November 22, 2019	X
Raya and the Last Dragon	March 5, 2021
Encanto	November 24, 2021
Strange World	November 23, 2022

*Source: List of Disney theatrical animated feature films on Wikipedia