Top 30 Best & Popular Movies on Disney+ Of All Time

Sally Polly July 28, 2021 | 09:00

Disney, The House of Mouse, is where a lot of classic pieces were made, and cartoon that made our childhood. Let's take a look at top 30 best and popular movies on Disney Plus of all time.

Top 30 Best Movies on Disney+ Of All Time

30 best movies of all time on Disney Plus

Disney Plus has a huge amount of Disney, Star Wars and Marvel movies. That's great, but it's far from all you can find on the streaming service.

Because Disney Plus is stacked with movies, particularly if you have access to Star. Unfortunately subscribers within the US can't access the phenomenal Star back catalogue, but those outside the US do have access. Folks, it's a goldmine.

Whether you're after an intergalactic adventure across the galaxy far, far away with a Star Wars movie, or you're in the mood for a superhero extravaganza from the MCU, Disney Plus has something for you. There's also Pixar movies in abundance, including Monsters, Inc. and Soul, as well as National Geographic documentaries, and classics like Hocus Pocus and Fantasia – and that's without mentioning Disney favorites like Frozen, Lilo & Stitch, and Beauty and the Beast. That's far from everything streaming now, too – so scroll on to check out our picks for the 30 best movies on Disney Plus.

Top 30 best movies on Disney+ of all time

30. Aladdin

29. Beauty and the Beast

28. Frozen

27. Hercules

26. The Lion King

25. Moana

24. Mulan

23. The Incredibles

22. Hamilton

21. Iron Man

20. The Toy Story trilogy

19. Star Wars – original trilogy

18. Hocus Pocus

17. The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy

16. Sister Act

15. Inside Out

14. Up

13. Fantasia

12. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

11. The Emperor’s New Groove

10. 10 Things I Hate About You

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas

8. Lilo & Stitch

7. The Muppet Christmas Carol

6. Monsters, Inc.

5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

4. Sleeping Beauty

3. Star Wars – sequel trilogy

2. Mary Poppins

1. The Sound of Music

Here are th top 30 best movies of all time on Disney Plus in detail

30. Aladdin

Photo: Disney

Aladdin is a 1992 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is the 31st Disney animated feature film and was the fourth produced during the Disney Renaissance. It was produced and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, and is based on the Arabic folktale of the same name from the One Thousand and One Nights. The voice cast features Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, and Douglas Seale. The film follows the titular Aladdin, an Arabian street urchin, who finds a magic lamp containing a genie. He disguises himself as a wealthy prince and tries to impress the Sultan and his daughter.

Lyricist Howard Ashman first pitched the idea, and the screenplay went through three drafts before then-Disney Studios president Jeffrey Katzenberg agreed to its production. The animators based their designs on the work of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and computers were used for both finishing the artwork and creating some animated elements. The musical score was written by Alan Menken and features six songs with lyrics written by both Ashman and Sir Tim Rice, who took over after Ashman's death.

29. Beauty and the Beast

Photo: Disney

Based on an old French fairytale, the “beauty” of the film’s title refers to Belle, whose love of reading has made her an outsider in her own village – probably because they think a vain, arrogant slab of meat like Gaston is the best there is. But when she becomes the prisoner of a monstrous lion/buffalo hybrid, she discovers that she’s developed a very unusual case of Stockholm Syndrome.

Beauty and the Beast is a wonderful example of what Disney does best: it uses modern technology (including computer animation, which was still in its relative infancy) and modern thinking (Belle is a smart, independent princess), but the result is still as sweepingly romantic as the oldest of folktales. That’s thanks partially to the songs, created by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

28. Frozen

Photo: Disney

Frozen is a 2013 American computer-animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.[5] The 53rd Disney animated feature film, it is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen". The film depicts a princess who sets off on a journey alongside an iceman, his reindeer, and a snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped their kingdom in eternal winter.

Frozen underwent several story treatments before being commissioned in 2011 as a screenplay by Jennifer Lee, who co-directed with Chris Buck. The film features the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Santino Fontana. Christophe Beck was hired to compose the film's orchestral score, while Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez wrote the songs. Frozen had its general theatrical release on November 27, 2013. It was praised for its visuals, screenplay, themes, music, and voice acting; some film critics consider Frozen to be Disney's best animated film since the studio's renaissance era. Frozen won a significant number of major awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, and two Grammy Awards.

27. Hercules

Photo: Disney

Hercules is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. The 35th Disney animated feature film and the eighth animated film produced during the Disney Renaissance, the film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. The film is loosely based on the legendary hero Heracles (known in the film by his Roman name, Hercules), the son of Zeus, in Greek mythology.

Development of Hercules began in 1992 following a pitch adaptation of the Heracles mythological stories by animator Joe Haidar. Meanwhile, Clements and Musker re-developed their idea for Treasure Planet following the critical and commercial success of Aladdin. Their project was removed from development in 1993, and Musker and Clements joined Hercules later that same year. Following an unused treatment by Haidar, Clements and Musker studied multiple interpretations of Greek mythology before abandoning Zeus's adulterous affair with Alcmene. The project underwent multiple story treatments and a first script draft was inspired by the screwball comedy films of the classic Hollywood era and popular culture of the 1990s. Donald McEnery, Bob Shaw, and Irene Mecchi were brought on board to revise the script. British cartoonist Gerald Scarfe was recruited as production designer and produced over seven hundred visualization designs of the characters. Research trips to Greece and Turkey provided inspiration for the background designs. Animation for the film was done in California and Paris. Computer animation was used in several scenes, predominantly in the Hydra battle sequence.

26. The Lion King

Photo: Disney

The Lion King is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd Disney animated feature film, and the fifth animated film produced during a period known as the Disney Renaissance. The Lion King was directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and has a screenplay credited to Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Its original songs were written by composer Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, with a score by Hans Zimmer. The film features an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair (in her last film role), Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings. The story takes place in a kingdom of lions in Africa and was influenced by the Biblical stories of Joseph and Moses, and William Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Lion King tells the story of Simba (Swahili for lion), a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. After growing up in the company of the carefree outcasts Timon and Pumbaa, Simba receives valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.

25. Moana

An inspiring cartoon for kids. Photo: Disney

Moana (also known as Vaiana or Oceania, in some markets) is a 2016 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 56th Disney animated feature film, the film is directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, and co-directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, the film introduces Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana and features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, and Alan Tudyk. The film features songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina, and an orchestral score also composed by Mancina. The plot is original, but takes inspiration from Polynesian myths.

24. Mulan

Photo: Disney

Mulan is a 1998 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was Disney's 36th animated feature and the ninth animated film produced and released during the Disney Renaissance. It was directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, Miguel Ferrer and BD Wong star in the English version, while Jackie Chan provided the voice of Captain Li Shang for the Chinese dubs of the film. The film's plot takes place in China during the Han dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion.

Produced and released during the Disney Renaissance, Mulan was the first of three features produced primarily at the Disney animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios) in Bay Lake, Florida. Development for the film began in 1994, when a number of artistic supervisors were sent to China to receive artistic and cultural inspiration. Mulan was well received by critics and the public who praised the animation, plot, characters (particularly the eponymous character), and musical score, and grossed over $304 million. It earned a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination and won several Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. It was then followed by Mulan II in 2004, a direct-to-video sequel. A live-action adaptation directed by Niki Caro was released on September 4, 2020.

23. The Incredibles

Photo: Disney

Pixar spin on the Avengers before the Avengers ever reached cinema screens, The Incredibles keeps it a strictly family affair. In the movie, public opinion has turned against superheroes. They’ve been accused of leaving behind too much collateral damage. And so, the Parrs have done their best to keep quiet and hide their powers, having settled down in an idyllic American suburb. But Bob, otherwise known as Mr. Incredible, is struggling to let go of the “glory days”. His actions end up dragging the entire family into a deadly confrontation with an embittered former fan.

The Incredibles is a flawless blend of comic book movie stylings and earnest family comedy. For all the whizz-bang action, which easily rivals most live-action attempts at the genre, the film’s also rich with themes - it touches on bureaucracy, the family unit, and what it means to be exceptional. Less deep, but equally exciting is Edna Mode’s catchphrase, “No capes!”

22. Hamilton

Photo: Disney

We’re sure you don’t need us to remind you of the Hamilton hype – after all, it broke records with 16 Tony nominations (11 of which it won), a Grammy win, and a Pulitzer Prize. Lin Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical won hearts all over the globe with its Broadway debut in 2015, and the cast was even invited to the White House to perform for Barack Obama.

Thanks to widespread lockdown, the theatre industry has been exploring how to make shows more accessible, and Disney Plus have given us the best of the best with a professionally recorded movie of the original Broadway production. Turn off the house lights and make sure all your phones are on silent please, audience members, the show is about to begin.

21. Iron Man

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by Jon Favreau from a screenplay by the writing teams of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man alongside Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, and Gwyneth Paltrow. In the film, following his escape from captivity by a terrorist group, world famous industrialist and master engineer Tony Stark builds a mechanized suit of armor and becomes the superhero Iron Man.

A film featuring the character was in development at Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema at various times since 1990, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. Marvel put the project in production as its first self-financed film, with Paramount Pictures distributing. Favreau signed on as director in April 2006, and faced opposition from Marvel when trying to cast Downey in the title role; the actor was signed in September. Filming took place from March to June 2007, primarily in California to differentiate the film from numerous other superhero stories that are set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue because pre-production was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armor, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character.

20. The Toy Story trilogy

Photo: Pixar

Pixar immediately branded itself as the studio obsessed with ambitious concepts. Their first-ever movie, Toy Story, puts forward the idea back that all your toys are alive and run around your room when you’re not looking. Instead of giving kids nightmares, it was somehow endearing. So the studio kept pushing and pushing until we got to Toy Story 3, which has Woody and Buzz Lightyear come to terms with their own mortality after they are thrown into a garbage incinerator. There are some twisted geniuses at work here.

Toy Story really did, right out of the gate, establish the trademarks that have made Pixar a powerhouse animation studio. Its unusual premise has philosophical and moral underpinnings that adults can pore over and analyse to death. Meanwhile, the kids in the audience are kept entertained by bright colours, lively characters, and funny jokes. Toy Story 4 acts as a nice epilogue to the trilogy but doesn't quite compare to the first three movies.

19. Star Wars – original trilogy

Photo: LucasFilm

A princess, a scoundrel, and a farm boy: it’s this simple trio of characters that sparked one of the biggest cultural phenomena of all time. Each of them found their own way to save the day. Sometimes that involves taking up Jedi training and discovering your dad is the last person you’d want them to be, at other times it means choking a giant slug kingpin with your bare hands. Occasionally it means getting frozen into a man-sized ice cube so you can finally pay your debts.

These movies have crafted a fictional universe so rich and deep, there’s the constant threat that once you fall in you might never come out. Next thing you know, you’re three hours deep into researching the true origins of chindinkalu flute player Droopy McCool. Star Wars is the kind of world you yearn to live in, because it’s a place where the most insignificant person can become the greatest hero and where there’s always hope that good can triumph over evil, no matter how bleak it might seem.

18. Hocus Pocus

Photo: Disney

It’s sometimes a little too easy to forget that the Sanderson sisters are meant to be child-murdering villains in Hocus Pocus. After being accidentally resurrected in modern-day Salem by young Max, the trio start to cause havoc in the local town. If they’re not stopped, they’ll suck the soul out of every child for miles in order to maintain their vitality and youth.

While it wasn’t much of a hit at the time (especially with critics), Hocus Pocus has slowly grown in reputation and become a seasonal tradition. It was part of a refreshing wave of Halloween-themed movies that weren’t actually horrors, alongside The Addams Family and Caspar the Friendly Ghost. It’s a perfect film for people who want to celebrate the holiday but are also complete scaredy cats.

17. The Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy

The best trilogy of all time. Photo: Disney

The franchise is concerned chiefly with the adventures of scallywag pirate Jack Sparrow, as he crosses paths with his mutinous former first mate Barbossa, the fiercely independent Elizabeth Swann, and her bland, but altogether quite sweet, love interest Will Turner. Add to that, there are curses, krakens, maelstroms, British imperialism, and a tentacle-faced Davy Jones to keep things lively.

People tend to disagree a little with how good Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End are in comparison to the first film (come on, though, how can you resist a giant Naomie Harris exploding into a thousand little crabs… it’s so weird it’s good). But there’s something to be said for the ingenuity of this franchise, which cranked out old-fashioned romanticism and colourful characters from what was a 15-minute Disneyland ride. Let’s just never speak of the fourth and fifth films ever again…

16. Sister Act

Photo: Disney

Sister Act is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard), with musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman. It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. It also features Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy, Wendy Makkena, Mary Wickes, and Harvey Keitel.

Sister Act was one of the more financially successful comedies of the early 1990s, grossing $231 million worldwide. The film spawned a franchise, which consists of the 1993 sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit and a musical adaptation, which premiered in 2006. A remake of Sister Act is in the works. On December 7, 2018, it was confirmed that Regina Y. Hicks and Karin Gist were hired to write the script to Sister Act 3 to be released on Disney+.

15. Inside Out

Photo: Pixar

Inside Out is a 2015 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Ronnie del Carmen, with a screenplay written by Docter, Meg LeFauve, and Josh Cooley, adapted from a story by Docter and del Carmen, it stars the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Lewis Black, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan. The film is set in the mind of a young girl named Riley, where five personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—try to lead her through life as she and her parents adjust to their new surroundings after moving from Minnesota to San Francisco.

14. Up

Photo: Pixar

Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film centers on an elderly widower named Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) and an earnest boy named Russell (Jordan Nagai); by tying thousands of balloons to his house, Carl sets out to fulfill his dream to see the wilds of South America and complete a promise made to his late wife, Ellie. The film was directed by Pete Docter and co-directed by Bob Peterson, who also wrote the film's screenplay with Docter, as well as the story with Tom McCarthy. The music was composed by Michael Giacchino, who had also composed music for The Incredibles and Ratatouille.

Docter began working on the story in 2004 called Heliums, which was based on fantasies of escaping from life when it becomes too irritating. He and eleven other Pixar artists spent three days in Venezuela gathering research and inspiration. The designs of the characters were caricatured and stylized considerably, and animators were challenged with creating realistic cloth. It was Pixar's first film to be presented in Disney Digital 3-D.

13. Fantasia

Photo: Disney

Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released by RKO Radio Pictures, with story direction by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer and production supervision by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen. The third Disney animated feature film, it consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Music critic and composer Deems Taylor acts as the film's Master of Ceremonies who introduces each segment in live action.

Disney settled on the film's concept in 1938 as work neared completion on The Sorcerer's Apprentice, originally an elaborate Silly Symphony cartoon designed as a comeback role for Mickey Mouse, who had declined in popularity. As production costs surpassed what the short could earn, Disney decided to include it in a feature-length film of multiple segments set to classical pieces with Stokowski and Taylor as collaborators. The soundtrack was recorded using multiple audio channels and reproduced with Fantasound, a pioneering sound system developed by Disney and RCA that made Fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereo and a precursor to surround sound.

12. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Photo: Disney

Adapted from the famous Jules Verne novel, it follows a trio of men (including Kirk Douglas’ temperamental harpooner) who have been sent out to investigate reports of a mysterious sea monster. What they discover is one Captain Nemo, the owner of the submarine Nautilus and a sort of steampunk pirate.

Disney has done its best to revive their live-action adventures (the Pirates movies succeeded for a while). But it’s hard to top 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, a large-scale spectacle that possesses enough imagination to make transport you instantly to another world, one which is intricately constructed and packed with all the thrills of underwater exploration.

11. The Emperor’s New Groove

Photo: Disney

The Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American animated buddy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 40th animated film produced by the studio, it was directed by Mark Dindal, from a screenplay by David Reynolds and a story by Chris Williams and Dindal. The voice cast features David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, and Wendie Malick. Set in an Incan empire, The Emperor's New Groove follows young and self-centered Emperor Kuzco, who is transformed into a llama by his ex-advisor, Yzma. For the emperor to change back into a human, he trusts a village leader, Pacha, who escorts him back to the palace.

9. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Photo: Disney

After being plunged into the stop-motion imaginarium of Tim Burton (although the film, in truth, was actually directed by Henry Selick), we follow Jack Skellington, otherwise known as the Pumpkin King and the most heralded resident of Halloween Town. One day, he stumbles into the portal to “Christmas Town” and becomes fixated on the holiday, recruiting his ghoulish friends to help him become the new “Sandy Claws“ and deliver toys to the world.

The Nightmare Before Christmas serves double duty as a holiday classic, since it works for both Halloween and Christmas – meaning it can be enjoyed at any point between September and January. It’s also one of the finest examples of Burton’s trademark blend of Gothic styling and fairytale sensibility, where the strange and unusual are not only celebrated but represent the new norm.

8. Lilo & Stitch

Top 30 Best & Popular Movies on Disney+ Of All Time

"Ohana means family". Photo: Disney

Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures.[2] The 42nd Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois in their directorial debuts. It features Daveigh Chase and Sanders as the voices of the title characters, and also features the voices of Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Jason Scott Lee, and Kevin Michael Richardson. It was also the second of three Disney animated feature films (the first being Mulan, and followed by Brother Bear) that were produced primarily at the Florida animation studio in Disney's Hollywood Studios (then named "Disney-MGM Studios" during its production) at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida. It was officially released on June 21, 2002, to positive reviews and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards.

7. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Photo: Disney

The story here is pretty much the same as Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, you just need to swap out most of the humans for felt puppets. On Christmas Eve, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is given a brutal lesson in human compassion, as he’s visited upon by three ghosts; the Ghost of Christmas Past (creepy), the Ghost of Christmas Present (jolly), and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come (not here to mess around), We all know how it ends.

Although Muppet Treasure Island will always have its fans, The Muppet Christmas Carol is considered by many to be not only as the best Muppets movie, but one of the greatest holiday movies ever made. It captures the touching, inward-looking sentiment of the original book, while still throwing in plenty of irreverent humour to keep things feeling festive.

6. Monsters, Inc.

Photo: Pixar

Monsters, Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Mary Gibbs and Jennifer Tilly, the film was directed by Pete Docter in his directorial debut, and executive produced by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. The film centers on two monsters—James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski—employed at the titular energy-producing factory Monsters, Inc, which generates power by scaring human children. However, the monster world believes that the children are toxic, and when one sneaks into the factory, Sulley and Mike must return her home before it is too late.

Docter began developing the film in 1996, and wrote the story with Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon and Ralph Eggleston. Stanton wrote the screenplay with screenwriter Daniel Gerson. The characters went through many incarnations over the film's five-year production process. The technical team and animators found new ways to simulate fur and cloth realistically for the film. Randy Newman, who composed the music for Pixar's three prior films, returned to compose for its fourth.

5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Photo: Disney

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. Loosely based on the 1981 novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf, the film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy. Set in a 1947 version of Hollywood where cartoon characters (commonly referred as "toons") and people co-exist, the film follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator who must exonerate Roger Rabbit, a toon who has been accused of murdering a wealthy businessman.

Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights for the film's story in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis was brought on to direct the film while Canadian animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget began to rapidly expand and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected.

4. Sleeping Beauty

Photo: Disney

Sleeping Beauty is a 1959 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney based on Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault. The 16th Disney animated feature film, it was released to theaters on January 29, 1959, by Buena Vista Distribution. It features the voices of Mary Costa, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen, Bill Shirley, Taylor Holmes, and Bill Thompson.

The film was directed by Les Clark, Eric Larson, and Wolfgang Reitherman, under the supervision of Clyde Geronimi, with additional story work by Joe Rinaldi, Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Ted Sears, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta. The film's musical score and songs, featuring the work of the Graunke Symphony Orchestra under the direction of George Bruns, are arrangements or adaptations of numbers from the 1890 Sleeping Beauty ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

3. Star Wars – sequel trilogy

Photo: Disney

The Force Awakens had a lot riding on it. It needed to kick off the revived franchise and soothe everyone’s memories of the prequels. It introduced us to a new trio of heroes: Rey, a scavenger whose mysterious origins are still hotly debated today, Finn, the stormtrooper-turned-rebel hero, and Poe, the hotshot pilot. Their journeys all intersect as the Resistance stands firm against the rising threat of the First Order. The Last Jedi continues the battle again the new enemy and The Rise of Skywalker brings the entire Skywalker saga to an end.

As much as director J.J. Abrams may have played it safe by replicating the familiar beats of the original trilogy (yes, there’s another Death Star) with The Force Awakens, he also revived many of the elements that were crucial to those movies attaining their classic status. Episode 7 has that same childish sense of excitement that sweeps you up and takes you on a journey across the stars, meeting all kinds of fascinating and bizarre individuals, revisiting old friends, and settling back into the eternal fight of good vs evil. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker follow and are both divisive for their own reasons. But stick through the trilogy and be rewarded to a grand finale to this astonishing series.

2. Mary Poppins

A classic piece. Photo: Disney

Although this adaptation of the P.L. Travers book series had its troubles (see Saving Mr Banks), the film was still much more warmly regarded than its source material. The Mary Poppins in question is a magical nanny who flies in to help troubled families, including the Bankses, who live on Cherry Tree Lane. The patriarch of the clan, you see, has become far too obsessed with his job at the bank and has lost sight of how much his children need him.

It’s a fairly simple celebration of the joys of imagination and playtime, but the whole affair is wrapped up in an irresistible, whimsical bow. We get to jump into chalk paintings, float up to the ceiling, or tidy rooms with a single snap of a finger. Mary Poppins captured how limitless and full of potential the world felt as a child – which makes it as soothing for adults as it is for the little ones. And what a practically perfect presence Julie Andrews is, making Mary as stern and correct as she is secretly mischievous. Everyone needs a Mary Poppins in their life.

1. The Sound of Music

Photo: Disney

This classic musical is actually based (although it’s no winner when it comes to historical accuracy) on the real-life Maria Von Trapp. She was a nun who married the Austrian naval commander Georg von Trapp and became the stepmother to his seven children. They performed concerts together under the growing shadow of Nazi rule, before packing their bags and moving to the United States. In reality, they just took a train to Italy, although the film creates a much more dramatic escape.

It’s the unwavering sense of optimism that makes this musical sing, as best exemplified by “My Favourite Things”. When the dog bites, when the bee stings, or when evil is encroaching from all sides, sometimes it’s the smallest and most fragile of joys that can get us through the darkest of times.