The best Disney movies

of all time

There is a serious case of Frozen fever here in the editorial office. Regularly, the office bursts into a big sing-a-long where Let It Go and Do You Want To Build A Snowman are enthusiastically belted out. But yesterday during the sing-along hour, there was one intern who remained painfully silent. After some probing, it turned out that the poor child has never seen Frozen. And not only that, The Lion King has completely passed her by. Beauty and the Beast? Nope. Aristocats? Never heard of it. How. Is. That. Possible?!

Josselin and I attribute it to age. We grew up with those Disney classics and apart from Frozen, it's mainly nostalgia that still makes us enjoy those films so much. The Lion King is from ’94, the intern in question is from ’96. Many of the Disney classics are much older than that but were re-released time and again. So we can forgive her. A little. But that doesn't change the fact that it's of course a huge loss for her and that we are going to make her delve into Disney's heritage, because that's just fun for everyone. If you are someone like that or know someone like that, show them the list below for a quick crash course in Disney movies.

Aristocats (1970)

The film is about an aristocratic cat family in Paris. The mistress of the cats is fabulously wealthy and has stated in her will that everything is to be left to the cats. Something that the butler can appreciate less, so he decides to kidnap the cats. Then follows a thrilling adventure story (...) about how and whether the cats will return. You understand, as a cat lover, I am crazy about this film.

Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella is an old folk tale that was made even more famous by Disney in 1950 than it already was. After the death of her father, Cinderella is tormented by her wicked stepmother and nasty stepsisters, who make her do nothing but clean and scrub. Until the prince of the land goes looking for a wife and organizes a ball for that purpose. With the help of the mice and a good fairy, Cinderella can go to the ball, and of course, the prince falls head over heels for her. Well, this story is so well-known you know how it goes, but gosh, watch that film. Bibbidi bobbidi boo. 

Bambi (1942)

I have rarely cried as hard at a movie as I did at Bambi. Steven Spielberg also, by the way, he calls Bambi “the biggest crying movie of all time.” At the beginning of the story, Bambi's mother is shot by hunters and then Bambi has to learn to survive. There are more heartbreaking confrontations with hunters and life in the forest is certainly not a bed of roses. Coincidentally, I saw this film about a month ago and even though I am now 26 years old, the tears were streaming down my face.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

I saw Bambi with my best friend during an afternoon of watching Disney movies and then we did Beauty and the Beast. We could still sing along to all the songs and at the time of writing I have Come Join Us playing and Josselin is also immediately glowing again. The story is about the fact that true beauty lies within and that appearances say nothing about a person's goodness. A great life lesson for young children but also still very relevant now.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Yes, again something with animals so I am a fan again. For a change, in this film, no deceased parents (most Disney films start with a horrific family drama) but two dogs from different backgrounds and that is of course a huge problem. What I always found very nice about this film is that the people do not come into the picture. Oh, and of course, I cried my eyes out at the scene in the dog shelter.

The Lion King (1994)

Hakuna Matata! Where would we be without this life lesson! Nowhere, that's what I tell you. I still remember going to the cinema when this film came out and that was a highlight in life. Later I also saw the musical (in New York and once in the Netherlands) and even that never got boring. I am crazy about The Lion King.

And god yes, we are still far from done. Snow White, The Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, Dumbo, Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan – it just doesn't stop. God, I’m going to park myself on the couch for a week soon and watch them all again.