Many iconicanimated filmscame out in the 1990s, and not just from Disney. While some of these films weren’t too successful when they came out, often being box office bombs, many found a second life on television or on home releases, allowing them to become cult classics for children of the decade and beyond.
A few of these films had a complicated relationship with Disney. Sometimes, Disney was technically involved with the distribution. Sometimes, these films even got to air on the Disney Channel. There are even a few animated films that, at one point, were going to be Disney animated films, only for another studio to go forward with the projects. With all of Disney’s mergers, a few of these films retroactively became Disney properties. At the very least, a few of these films have been mistaken for Disney films.
Balto (1995)
Baltostarts with a grandmother telling her granddaughter a story in Central Park. It is of Balto, a hybrid wolfdog, who is rejected by other dogs as well as humans. Balto even has a rival in his town’s top sled dog, Steele. However, Balto does have a friend in a female husky named Jenna.
When the children of the town, including Jenna’s owner, are in need of medicine, a dog race is held to build the team needed to transport it. Balto wins, but is disqualified when Steele exposes his hybrid heritage. However, when the team is stranded on their way back, Balto takes charge and saves the day. In the end, the grandmother reveals that she was Jenna’s owner, Rosy, who was saved by Balto’s actions. The film is loosely based on real events, although some aspects, like Balto’s wolf heritage, were made up for the film.
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story (1993)
We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Storyis a British-American animated film that starts with a bluebird who meets a living, talking dinosaur, who explains his story. Captain Neweyes, a kindly scientist, brings dinosaurs to the present from the Mesozoic era, making sure to give them human levels of sentience. While in New York, and on their way to a museum, the dinosaurs befriend two children: a runaway named Louie and a lonely girl named Cecilia. Meanwhile, Professor Screweyes, the Captain’s evil brother, schemes to get the dinosaurs for his circus. To make matters worse, Screweyes wants the dinosaurs to be scary and is willing to threaten the children to get what he wants.
Over the years, the film has become notable for its voice cast.Lisa Simpson herself, Yeardley Smith,voices Cecilia. Julia Child and Walter Cronkite also appear, making rare film appearances.
Thumbelina (1994)
Thumbelinais Don Bluth’s animated adaptation of the fairy tale of the same name. A lonely woman is magically gifted a daughter no bigger than her thumb, whom she names Thumbelina. Growing up wishing to find other people her size, Thumbelina’s wish is granted when she meets the prince of the fairies. Unfortunately, Thumbelina is soon kidnapped by a toad to marry her son. That’s just the start, as Thumbelina finds herself antagonized by other animals, including a beetle and a mole. With the help of a friendly swallow, Jaquimo, Thumbelina manages to reunite with her prince and even earn her own set of wings.
The film was sometimes seen as an answer to Disney’sThe Little Mermaid. Not only are both films based on Hans Christian Andersen stories, but actress Jodi Benson voices the heroine in both films. Infamously, the producers found the film did better with audiences when a Walt Disney Pictures logo was played at the start.
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The Swan Princess (1994)
The Swan Princessis an animated adaptation of theSwan Lakeballet. Princess Odette and Prince Derek are betrothed to each other as children. Unfortunately, their marriage plans don’t go as planned. If it wasn’t enough that Derek offends Odette at the last second, an evil magician, Rothbart, kidnaps Odette and kills her father. Odette is cursed to remain a swan by day, only regaining her human form in the moonlight. With the help of some new animal friends, Odette learns a vow of everlasting love can break the spell. Unfortunately, Rothbart schemes to get the prince to proclaim his love to another woman.
Before the decade was over, two more animated sequels were made:The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle MountainandThe Swan Princess III: The Mystery of the Enchanted Treasure. Starting in the 2010s, the franchise was revived with a series of CGI animated films.
The Magic Riddle (1991)
The Magic Riddleis an Australian-animated film parodying and combiningclassic fairy tales. Cindy is an orphan living as a servant to a greedy widow with two daughters. Little does Cindy know she is the rightful owner of the manor, but the only clue to proving this lies in the titular magic riddle. The story will eventually have a ball and a lost shoe, but this fractured fairy tale will soon throw seven dwarves, a talking puppet, an ugly duckling, and a mysterious labyrinth into the mix.
It helps that Cindy’s long-lost grandmother is really the one telling the story andmight be making things upas she goes along. In fact, the grandmother knows the secret of the magic riddle, but keeps forgetting how it goes.
The Pagemaster (1994)
The Pagemasteris a hybrid live-action and animated film. Richard Tyler, played by Macaulay Culkin, is a timid, friendless boy who gets stuck in a library during a storm. While trying to find a phone, Richard finds himself magically transported into an animated world based on various literary classics. It is there that Richard encounters the titular Pagemaster, a wizard-like guardian of the books.
In order to get back home, Richard must brave the worlds of three genres: Horror, Adventure and Fantasy. Luckily, three magic books, personifying these three genres, appear to help him. Along the way, they encounter various literary characters, like Mr. Hyde, Captain Ahab, and Long John Silver.
Cats Don’t Dance (1997)
Cats Don’t Dancetakes place in an alternate version of the 1930s, where animals could sing and dance, just not in the movies. Despite this, a young cat with ambitions to be a star travels to Hollywood. When he gets cast in a film featuring child star Darla Dimple, Danny learns the hard way that large roles are reserved for human actors, and animals like him are reserved for the background.
Danny decides to put on a musical performance to convince the studio head into giving animal performers their chance at stardom. Unfortunately, he ends up getting sabotaged by Darla, who isn’t the little angel she appears to be in her films. However, Danny and his friends get the last laugh when they stage another performance at Darla’s big premiere.
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Anastasia (1997)
Anastasiais an animated film loosely based on the 1956 film of the same name. The story takes place in an alternate version of history, where the Grand Duchess Anastasia survived her family’s assassination. Surviving as an orphan, “Anya” gets caught up with a con artist named Dmitri, who plans to bring an Anastasia doppelgänger to her grandmother, the Dowager Empress,in 1920s Parisin exchange for a reward. Little does he know that he has the genuine article or that he will soon fall in love with her.
Unfortunately, Anastasia is also pursued by Rasputin, portrayed in the filmas an undead warlock, who needs to kill her, so he may rest in peace. Over the years,Anastasiahas become infamous for people mistaking it for a Disney film, likely due to the film and its heroine reminding viewers of the Disney Princess films.Anastasiawould later gain a Broadway adaptation, a fate a few Disney films also obtained.
The Iron Giant (1999)
The Iron Giantis an animated film that came out around the end of the decade in 1999, though the story itself is set in the late 1950s. A boy named Hogarth befriends the titular, Iron Giant, a massive metal man, after he falls to Earth. Hogarth is tasked with hiding his new friend from the world, especially as a government agent is searching for him. Meanwhile, the Giant’s true origins are starting to surface. As the story goes on, he may prove to either be a being of great destruction or a metallic “Superman.”
Over the years,The Iron Giantbecame infamous for getting a lot of airplay in the early 2000s. The film was even known to get 24-hour marathons during holidays, such as Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.
The Thief & the Cobbler (1993)
The Thief and the Cobblerhas a complicated history with the 1990s. The film had spent at leastthree decades in development hell, considered one of the longest examples in animation history. However, the film received three different releases in the 1990s, often under different titles. This includes the 1992 workprint, 1993’sThe Princess and the Cobbler, andArabian Knightin 1995.
Though there are differences between the different releases, in the 1992 workprint, the story is set in the Golden City, ruled by King Nod and protected by three golden balls, which will foretell doom if they are ever removed. Thanks to a theif, a cobbler named Tack earns the ire of the royal vizier. Tack is saved from the death sentence by the Princess Yum-Yum and the two fall in love. Meanwhile, a race of cycloptic men, known as the One-Eyes, plan to attack the city just as the magical balls get stolen.
