Written By: Kamryn Pechatsko
March 10, 2025
Walt Disney Animation Studios has been a longtime staple in the animation industry and has provided countless hours of entertainment for audiences all over the world. Founded on October 16, 1923, Disney has made it through every single change the animation world has gone through from black and white cartoons all the way to the impressive use of realistic Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). The company's journey through animation technology and successes can be categorized into the eight Disney 'eras': The Golden Age (1937-1942), the Wartime Era (1943-1949), the Silver Age (1950-1967), the Bronze Age (1970-1988), the Disney Renaissance (1989-1999), the Post Renaissance Era (1999-2008), the Revival Era (2009-2019), and Present Day (2019-Now). Throughout these eras, Disney experienced highs, lows, countless new technological advancements for the animation industry, and most importantly, they created a multitude of stories that continue to live on and create magic every single day.
Before there was Mickey Mouse, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was the star of Walt Disney's cartoon shorts. Through a contract with Universal, Disney and fellow animator Ub Iwerks produced 26 shorts featuring the character, with his first official appearance being Trolley Troubles in 1927. However, in early 1928, Disney - who thought of himself as Oswald's creator and thus, his owner - discovered that Universal owned all rights and profits to the character, leaving Disney with nothing. Disney and Iwerks finished their contract with Universal before leaving the company.
Despite being the first Mickey cartoon to be released, Steamboat Willie was not the first cartoon featuring the mouse to be made. Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho were created before the iconic steamboat scene, but Disney couldn't get anyone to buy his work. That is, until Disney became the first to release a cartoon with synchronized sound: Steamboat Willie. This would be the first cartoon to be made strictly with sound in mind, instead of only focusing what was happening on screen; Disney wanted every action and reaction of the characters to correspond with a sound effect. Steamboat Willie debuted at the Colony Theater on Broadway on November 18, 1928.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), Bambi (1942)
Walt Disney's first film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, premiered in 1937 as the first full feature animated movie. With Snow White, Disney proved that animation could be a serious medium and used for more than just silly shorts. During this era, Disney invented the multiplane camera, a type of camera that could achieve life-like depth shots in animated form. The "Golden Age" was given its name because the era itself was a major step forward for both the Walt Disney company and animation as a whole. More technical advances from this era come from the movies Pinocchio and Bambi. In Pinocchio, animators used revolving modeling, which means they sculpted models of Pinocchio and the clocks in Geppetto's workshop, and then filmed those models. The realistic animation for Bambi was achieved from the animators studying nature and analyzing the way real deer move. These technical advances would help not just the Walt Disney company, but would also the animation industry as a whole.
Saludos Amigos (1942), The Three Caballeros (1944), Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)
With America's involvement in World War II in full effect, the Walt Disney company began to face some of the consequences of war. The 'Wartime Era' films are noticeably lower quality than those from the Golden Age, though not from a lack of trying; many of the men working for Disney at the time were getting drafted, and the general public did not have the time or money to spend on going to the movies. However, Disney still had projects to work on, as the State Department commissions films from the company as a way to promote their new 'Good Neighbor Policy', which would help dissuade German influence from rising in South America. Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros were the movies that came from this effort. Overall, this era of the Disney company did not see much growth in terms of technological innovation for animation, but the war didn't stop the artists from creating: Make Mine Music is an anthology of smaller shorts created by the company due to the lack of man power, and was the first Disney film released after the war ended in 1945.
Cinderella (1950), Alice in Wonderland (1951), Peter Pan (1953), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), The Sword in the Stone (1963), The Jungle Book (1967)
Also known as the 'Restoration Era', the Silver Age saw a return to feature length animations instead of the multiple 'packaged' shorts turned into films from the Wartime Era. Disney's workforce was back and the company now had the ability to create longer works. The movies from this era are known for their elaborate backgrounds and color themes, as well as focusing more on complicated characters instead of complicated plot lines. This era is said to hold one of Walt Disney's favorite pieces of animation: the ballgown transformation scene in Cinderella. Sadly, the Silver Age also houses the last film Disney worked on before his death in 1966 - The Jungle Book.
The AristoCats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), The Rescuers (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), The Black Cauldron (1985), The Great Mouse Detective (1986), Oliver & Company (1988)
This era is also known as the 'Dark Ages' for a variety of reasons. With Walt Disney's passing in 1966, and many of the original animators retiring as well, the Disney company was forced to find its new voice. All of Walt Disney's original projects had been finished, and the new generation of animators were left to conjure up fresh stories on their own. While a few of the films from this time are now regarded as Disney classics, the public at the time did not see them so, regarding these movies as money grabs due to the noticeable drop in quality and the lack of Walt Disney's imagination. These films also have darker stories and themes than those from the Silver Age, perhaps a reflection of the emotions of those who remained at the company after Walt's death. Despite the darkness of the era, it didn't go without any light: The Great Mouse Detective showcased immense promise in the usage of new CGI technology in conjunction with animation.
The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998), Tarzan (1999)
Perhaps the most popular and well-loved era of the Disney company is the Disney Renaissance. This period saw the rise of what Disney is most well known for today: the Broadway style soundtracks and storytelling. Finally finding their footing, the company reached new creative heights in both animation and storytelling, regaining the public's attention that had somewhat been lost during the Bronze Age. The Renaissance used new airbrushing and backlighting techniques in their films, as well as using celebrity voice acting to draw in audiences starting with Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdin. Beauty and the Beast also became the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for best picture in 1992 for its stunning use of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) in the iconic ballroom dance sequence.
Fantasia 2000 (1999), Dinosaur (2000), The Emperor's New Groove (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Treasure Planet (2002), Brother Bear (2003), Home on the Range (2004), Chicken Little (2005), Meet the Robinsons (2007), Bolt (2008)
Also known as the 'Experimental Era', this period of Disney movies focused on innovation and using new technology to tell new stories. During this time, the company began moving away from the song-driven stories and shifted from fairytales to instead explore otherworldly scenes using a lot of new CGI technology; Atlantis: The Lost Empire would be the first Disney movie to fall into the science fiction genre with a lot of other movies from this era following suit. Leaning away from what had made the Disney Renaissance so popular didn't come without consequences, unfortunately. Despite its remarkable use of CGI and animation, Treasure Planet was the first Disney film to lose the company money since 1980 when it failed at the box office, only bringing in $16.7 million on a budget of $140 million.
The Princess and the Frog (2009), Tangled (2010), Winnie the Pooh (2011), Wreck-it Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), Big Hero 6 (2014), Moana (2016), Zootopia (2016), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), Frozen II (2019)
With Winnie the Pooh being the last 2D animated Disney film in 2011, the company completely embraced CGI animation in this period. Learning from their mistakes of the Post Renaissance Era, the Broadway-style musical stories returned and in turn, brought back a large majority of audiences. Similar features of the movies of this era include self motivated stories instead of romance tales, as well as the now infamous Disney 'twist villain' storylines. During this era, Disney really stepped up their CGI game; for Tangled they hired Kelly Ward, who has a PHD in animating human hair, to get the look for Rapunzel's long locks of hair just right. The outfits for Frozen II were the most detailed CGI outfits that Disney animators had tackled yet, and they used a program called Marvelous Designer for costuming to simulate different fabrics in different scenarios. Walt Disney had been toying with the idea of a Disney adaptation of "The Snow Queen" since the company began, and it has finally happened all these years later - as the stand out movie of the Revival Era nonetheless.
Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Encanto (2021), Strange World (2022), Wish (2023), Moana 2 (2024)
While Disney has been putting more of its efforts towards producing live action versions of beloved classics such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin, and more, animated movies are still being produced frequently. They have all stuck with the same CGI look as those from the Revival Era, with Encanto standing out from the rest due to its well received soundtrack that took the world by storm in 2021. The others, however, have not seemed to meet audience standards. Strange World absolutely flopped at the box office, earning only $73.6 million worldwide on a budget of an estimated $120 million. Wish did fairly well in theaters, though it didn't seem to sit well with audiences, with some calling it "an uninspiring mess of bland brand management" while Rotten Tomatoes criticizes the movie's use of Disney nostalgia: "Nostalgia's no substitute for genuine storytelling magic." The future of Disney animated movies is unclear, though with upcoming releases such as Zootopia 2 and Frozen III on the way, only time will tell if Disney will make a dramatic turn back into audience favor like it has done time and time again.