The Walt Disney Animation Studios has released more than 60 feature-length films since 1937. The studio has experienced ups and downs throughout its time releasing films. The timeframe between 2000 to 2009 is considered one of the weaker timeframes for Disney. It mostly contains films from Disney’s Experimental Age of Animation but does slightly cross over into the Disney Revival. Let’s rank the films released between 2000 and 2009.

11. HOME ON THE RANGE

This isn’t just the worst film of the Experimental Age of Animation, this is the worst Disney film I’ve ever seen. It may be the worst film I’ve ever seen. The cattle rustling plot had potential, but this film completely wastes the talents of Dame Judi Dench. She tries to make this work, but anything with Roseanne voicing the main character is hard to get behind.

10. DINOSAUR

This is the film where Disney went all out with 3D animation. By the standards of 2000, this film was beautiful. By the standards of 2022, parts of it are still beautiful while other parts have aged badly. While the animation has its bright spots, the plot doesn’t. It’s too thin to distract you from the parts that have aged well, and the animation is not good enough to distract from the poor plot.

9. CHICKEN LITTLE

This is a beautifully animated film, but like the two lower ranking films, it’s thin on plot. “Chicken Little” has a lot more potential than either “Home on the Range” or “Dinosaur,” but it stretches itself too thin by combining the alien invasion plot with the coming of age father-son bonding plot.

8. TREASURE PLANET

This film should be so much better than it is. The animation looks beautiful overall, even though some of it hasn’t aged well. It’s based on one of the best books of all time, “Treasure Island.” It has the potential to be a great futuristic spin on a literary classic, but it falls flat. It’s better than I thought it was when I was 17 and walked out of the theater because I hated it so much then. But, it still leaves a lot to be desired.

7. LILO AND STITCH

Disney combines Polynesian heritage, the story of sisters choosing each other and an alien adventure and gives us a fun film, but still disappointing film. Disney would improve the Polynesian story in “Moana” and the sister story in “Frozen.” This alien adventure is still better than the one offered in “Chicken Little” though.

6. BROTHER BEAR

Now, we are getting into the five films from this era of animation that I enjoy the most. “Brother Bear” takes another great soundtrack from Phil Collins and adds a coming of age story about brothers, love and protecting nature. This film does everything “Chicken Little” tried and failed to do. It is blended perfectly to make a compelling story.

5. MEET THE ROBINSONS

This is a fun romp that doesn’t get enough love, in my opinion. It certainly is fast paced and that can lose some people, but I think it does a great job of blending that fast pace with a likable protagonist and a compelling story. It’s one film from this era that Disney should trot out more often.

4. ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE

This film’s very tagline tells you that you are no longer in the Renaissance. “Fewer songs, more explosions.” This film also delivers with a good story and some great voice acting. This may be Jim Varney’s best performance and it’s a real shame he never got to see it. The film failed to deliver at the box office, but it delivers every time I watch it.

3. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG

The film that kicked off Disney’s Revival rounded out 2009. It’s a great story about the first Black Disney princess as she is a young girl in New Orleans who wants to own her own restaurant before being turned into a frog. Eventually, she marries her prince, who is also a frog, and both become human. It’s a solid, fun story. It’s a nice send-off for traditional 2D animation (although Winnie the Pooh released after it was also 2D, but Disney still billed this as the send-off for 2D).

2. THE EMPEROR’S NEW GROOVE

“KUZCO!!!!” This film delivers on all counts. It has excellent music without really being a musical. It has amazing performances from David Spade, John Goodman, Patrick Warburton and Eartha Kitt. It gave us one of the greatest supporting characters in the Disney canon in Kronk. It may not have been a box office hit, but it’s a cult favorite for a reason.

1. BOLT

This is my favorite film of the Experimental Age of Animation. This is the film where it felt like the Walt Disney Animation Studios would be able to consistently compete with Pixar. “Bolt” tells an excellent story with excellent animation and excellent voice acting. There’s a reason it’s the final film of the Experimental Age. It was the gateway to the Revival.

That’s my ranking. The 2000s had some great movies, but it also had some duds. Let’s toss it over to you. How would you rank the Disney films released between 2000 and 2009?

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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