A Quick History Lesson: The Disney Eras

Something I’ve always gotten mixed up with over the years are which films are in which Disney era? I knew what was in the beginning, middle, and more recent eras but I wasn’t exactly sure about what the separations were and what made each one so different and crucial to the company. If you didn’t know, Disney animated films are broken up into 7 different periods of time for the company, where major changes happened between each to either progress or regress the company as a whole. Here’s a quick overview of each, explaining what makes it special and what films are included in each:

Era #1: The Golden Age (1937 - 1942)

The Golden age is the very first era, and it includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. It was referred to as “golden” because it marked a major step for the company and for the world, when Snow White was released as the very first full length animated film. It stands out as a trying time for the company, as even though it was a huge deal, a lot of the films like Fantasia and Pinocchio didn’t do very well. There were some controversies too that these films were marketed for children but also had very very dark scenes that were sandwiched in with bright and upbeat ones. All of these films were overseen by Walt intensely and Walt figured that that was going to be his formula - make films based on old children’s tales and have some dark, serious scenes along with bright, happy scenes.

Image from: https://historythings.com/walt-disneys-remarkable-early-career-in-animation/

Image from: https://www.mywaltdisneyquotes.com/2013/08/31/pinocchio-quotes/

Era #2: The Wartime Era (1943 - 1949)

The name for this period speaks for itself, as it was in the midst of World War II. This was a challenging time for the studio as many of its workers had left to go to war, and budgets were cut, so Walt didn’t have very many options. The Disney animators strike had also happened in 1941, so the studio in general was not at its highest point. The films that are included in this era are Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time, and The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad. A lot of them are just compilations of short films as the studio had no time or focus to make one full-length feature like Snow White. Other films that were produced during this time were war propaganda and anti-Nazi films.

The Three Caballeros. Image from: https://www.alternateending.com/2009/11/disney-animation-three-happy-chappies-with-snappy-serapes.html

Fun and Fancy Free. Image from: https://d23.com/this-day/fun-and-fancy-free-premieres/

Era #3: The Silver Age (1950 - 1967)

The Silver Age is also known as the Restoration Era because this was the mark of a huge turnaround for the company. After seeing box office failures at the end of the Golden Age and then having budget cuts for the Wartime Era, the company was able to go back to its original formula that it had in Snow White, with Cinderella. The other films included in this era are Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, and The Jungle Book. You can differentiate these films from the others as they all have an artistic, soft, European-style animation to them. Walt’s goal with films like Sleeping Beauty were to make them look like literal art pieces in motion. This was the last era that Walt was around for, as he passed away while making The Jungle Book.

Era #4: The Bronze Age (1970 - 1988)

The films included in this era are The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver and Company. It is one of the least popular eras as the company once again went downhill with Walt’s passing. They were trying out different formats of animation during this time to speed up processes, and they weren’t exploring many different themes. The most loved movie out of this age is The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and many people believe The Black Cauldron is underrated, but otherwise the other movies didn’t do so well with the public.

Era #5: The Disney Renaissance (1989 - 1999)

This is one of the most popular and most loved era’s, even to this day. The films included in this era are The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan. The company was able to master the type of animation they were working on called xerography, and they once again reverted back to Walt’s original formula which was to have a princess movie, and tell a classic tale in a new way. Each successful era was started by a Disney princess movie. The films in this era did extremely well in the box office and are still popular with children today. This was also the start of bringing Disney films to Broadway stages.

The Little Mermaid. Image from: https://www.amazon.com/Little-Mermaid-POSTER-Movie-Inches/dp/B00KK6KA4K

The Lion King. Image from: https://www.amazon.ca/Lion-King-Movie-Poster-x36in/dp/B004BI17Q8

Era #6: Post-Renaissance Era (2000 - 2009)

Coming from a big high, as you can see there’s a pattern with the company, it means they go to a low. The films in this era were not widely popular or well-liked either. None of them have a cohesive theme like the ones in the Silver Age do, and it was once again the company trying different ways of animation to see what now works best. The films included in this era are Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo and Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt. Lilo and Stitch did the best out of all of them, but it still didn’t measure up to the films in the previous era.

Era #7: The Revival Era (2010 - Present)

And we are back to a high for the company, after much trial and error, they attempted to once again revert back to the original formula and came out with another successful, company-saving Disney princess movie, The Princess and the Frog. Other films in this era are Tangled, Winnie the Pooh, Wreck it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Moana, Ralph Breaks the Internet, and Frozen II. Frozen and Frozen II are among the highest grossing Disney films ever, and many of these films, like Tangled, are so loved. As long as the company stays on the track that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was built upon, they shouldn’t have very many long, low points anymore.