The Original Disney Animated Film Timeline

Something that I’ve always found so fascinating when reading about the production of my favorite films is when they were originally brought to the table at the Walt Disney Animation Studios. Being that Disney produced the very first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, they progressed quite quickly with their animation styles. Walt was eager to keep the success of the company going after Snow White was released in 1937. This timeline of films I put together is what the release dates for these films would have been if they were not shelved to be released years later.

Cinderella (1933)
Walt had created a version of Cinderella at his first studio, Laugh-O-gram studios. He cherished the fairy tale and wanted to bring it to life once again in 1933, making it into a Silly Symphony short film. This was put to the side for the full-feature length movie to be released in 1950.
The Little Mermaid (1930s)
Disney had a package film proposal to make films about Hans Christian Anderson tales in the 1930s. The Little Mermaid was a part of that package, and storyboards started to be made but were eventually shelved after the package project didn’t go through. In the 1980s, animators found Kay Nielson’s original visual art for the film, and used it as a guide to The Little Mermaid we see today, released in 1989.
Beauty & the Beast (1930s)
Several attempts were made in the 1930s and later in the 1950s to bring the story of Belle and Beast to the big screen. Walt personally was interested in the story, but never got to see it fully realized as the story had many challenges surrounding it. The film would be released in 1990.
Alice in Wonderland (1933)
Walt had been working with the character of Alice since his early days, and his whole company would not exist without her. He had been working on the Alice Comedies and wanted to bring it to the big screen as a live-action film, but it didn’t end up happening due to Paramount releasing their version in 1933. The story reel was completed in 1935, but ended up being scrapped and revisited in 1945. Alice in Wonderland was released in 1951.
Peter Pan (1935)
Walt had considered making Peter Pan his second film following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Much like Alice in Wonderland, Paramount owned the rights to Peter Pan and was not willing to sell them to Disney. Eventually in 1939, he outbid Fleischer Studios for the rights and began writing the story. Peter Pan was released in 1953.
Bambi (1937)
In 1937, Walt obtained the rights to Bambi from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer director Sydney Franklin. When they began to work on it, Walt decided the story was too depressing for kids. They started to tweak the story and it ended up being released in 1942.
Robin Hood (1937)
Walt was interested in the European fable Reynard the Fox. He ended up scrapping the idea due to the deceptive nature of the main character, and didn’t feel it was right for his current child audience. The idea of a fox film came back up after The Aristocats. Hence, Robin Hood was released in 1973.
Lady and the Tramp (1937)
Originally, Lady and the Tramp was meant to be just “Lady”. This idea came up in 1937 from Joe Grant, a Disney writer and artist. He showed Walt a picture of Lady and explained the story, which is very similar to the story we know today. It was more simple though with just the one main character, so Walt put the idea on the shelf and revisited the script later on. The film was released in 1955.
Sword in the Stone (1939)
In 1939, the rights to the Sword in the Stone were purchased. Walt was ready to work on this movie right away, but production was paused due to the war. The story wasn’t revisited until the 1950s and early 1960s, to be released in 1963.
Fantasia 2000 (1940s)
A sequel to Fantasia was meant to begin as soon as it was released in 1940. Walt wanted the movie to be everchanging, with new sequences each time it was released. Though, the release was a box office failure and the studio didn’t have the means to continue building upon it until Walt’s nephew Roy E. Disney brought it to the studio’s attention in the mid-1980s. The film was released in 1999.
The Aristocats (1960s)
The production for The Aristocats began before the Jungle Book in 1962. After the success of 101 Dalmatians and failure of Sword in the Stone, Walt decided to progress further with the Jungle Book. The Aristocats was shelved for a bit, but approved by Walt before he passed. It was released in 1970.
The Rescuers (1966)
Walt Disney considered doing The Rescuers in 1966, but halted the project due to its mentions of government and politics. It was then worked on and released in 1977.
Winnie the Pooh (1966)
Walt always intended for Winnie the Pooh to make it to the big screen as he fell in love with the characters in A.A Milne’s book, and he considered making the animated short Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree into a full-blown animated feature film to be released in 1966. The studio later decided to play this featurette into the film The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977.