Disney is perhaps better known for its beloved animated classics than anything else. It might be a media monolith that’s slowly but surely taken over the film and television landscape, but most people still associate the company with its long list of excellent films. From Oscar winners to animation pioneers, these are the movies that have shaped American popular culture in ways that are honestly hard to overstate.
With that said, not all of the movies made by Disney have been winners. From a host of box office flops to some abysmal straight-to-video releases, the company has made its fair share of mistakes. If you’d like to see the less impressive side of Disney, you’ll absolutely want to take a list at these awful animated films.
The Tigger Movie
At a critical rating of sixty-two percent, The Tigger Movie sets the low bar for the rest of the pack. Though liked by more than hated the film, it’s still not worthy of the Disney name.
Recess: School’s Out
This 2001 film was based on the hit animated television show, but audiences stayed away in droves. With only sixty percent of all critics enjoying the film, it manages to have missed the mark both commercially and artistically.
A Goofy Movie
1995’s cult classic shows that that critics and fans aren’t always in accord. Well-loved in retrospect, this movie has held up better for those who feel nostalgia for the film’s excellent soundtrack than it did for critics – only fifty-eight percent of them rated this movie positively.
Pocahontas
The lowest-rated of Disney’s Princess films, Pocahontas only hit the fifty-five percent mark with critics. A movie that largely spelled the end of Disney’s Renaissance era, it proved that the House of Mouse wasn’t flawless.
Robin Hood
Though Robin Hood has become a beloved film by viewers, only fifty-four percent of critics judged the film as a hit. Though it certainly suffers from obviously recycled animation, it’s hard to deny the appeal of the movie’s songs.
Home on the Range
Technically the best critically-received film of Disney’s Animation Dark Age, Home on the Range only managed a fifty-three percent freshness rating. This forgettable film managed to be non-offensive, but didn’t do much for Disney’s reputation.
The Black Cauldron
This is one movie that Disney tries hard to forget. Only fifty-three percent of critics enjoyed it, but most fans don’t even know that it exists.
Oliver and Company
This incredibly 80s film was popular with audiences but only about half of all critics gave it a passing grade. One of Disney’s earliest films to have an all-star cast, it fares better today than it did at the time.
Bambi II
This direct-to-video release was one of the signs that Disney was running out of creative energy. The interquel was praised by about half of all critics but failed to find any purchase with audiences.
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
This 2001 movie was meant to revitalize Disney’s animation department but it was panned both critically and commercially. Recent viewers praise it as ahead of its time, but the damage was already done.
Return to Neverland
This 2002 sequel was another one that fans never seemed to want. Only about forty-six percent of critics had anything good to say about this direct to video film.
Planes: Fire and Rescue
A sequel to the already much-derided Planes, Fire and Rescue scored with only forty-five percent of critics and managed to permanently ground this Cars-franchise spinoff.
Chicken Little
This attempt to compete with Pixar was a failure on all levels, with only thirty-seven percent of critics giving it a passing score.
Brother Bear
Brother Bear was meant to bring Disney back to form after failures like Atlantis, but only managed to put another nail in the animation division’s coffin.
Doug’s First Movie
This movie based on a cartoon originally aired on Nickelodeon pleased just over a quarter of all critics and absolutely none of the series’ fans.
Planes
Yes, the original Planes did even worse than its sequel. This film only managed to get positive ratings from twenty-five percent of critics who sat through the film.
The Jungle Book 2
The low point of Disney’s DTV offerings, 2003’s The Jungle Book 2 only got a positive score from eighteen percent of all critics.
