The Ultimate DisneyToon Studios Animated Film Guide: 2006-2009
Created | Updated Dec 6, 2019
1990-1999 | 2000-2003 | 2003-2005 | 2006-2009 | 2010-2015
Between 1990 and 2015 the Walt Disney Company had two animation studios using the Disney name. The prestigious Walt Disney Animation Studios, the one everyone remembers, makes films classed as 'Walt Disney Classics'. The second, forgotten animation studio, DisneyToon Studios, headed by President Sharon Morrill, the most senior woman at Disney, both adapted Disney's popular television cartoon series and made direct-to-video sequels to recent Walt Disney Animation Studios films. Occasionally their films were released in cinemas.
DisneyToon Studios had launched in 1990 as Disney MovieToons, a division of Disney Television Animation, and despite some successes had also released television compilations and abandoned animation projects that Disney Television Animation had rejected. In 2003 DisneyToon Studios was transferred from being a division of Walt Disney Television Animation to become a division of Walt Disney Features. This decision would mean that only one more of their films would contain material originally made for television and would improve the quality of their output.
Yet in the early 2000s Disney seemed to have lost direction. Many of Walt Disney Feature Animation's films had flopped, including Fantasia 2000 (2000), Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), Home on the Range (2004) and Chicken Little (2005). Rather than making sequels to Disney's recent financial failures, DisneyToon Studios had instead turned increasingly to making adaptations of Disney's earlier, successful films. This had attracted criticism from those who felt that making a sequel 50 or 60 years after the original without any involvement from those who had made the original cheapened, exploited and detracted from the original.
Making a successful animated film is a commercial art form. While the Walt Disney Animation Studios' prime purpose is to make a profit, it has also continuously pushed the boundaries of what is possible in animation. DisneyToon Studios' focus, however, seemed purely commercial to the total exclusion of the art. Particularly as President Sharon Morrill had a business background, not art or animation.
The Films
Below is a summary of the films made by DisneyToon Studios during this period. Recurring characters and actors are shown in Bold as well as whether the films were released in the cinema or went direct-to-video. Please note that Disney use both numbers and Roman numerals interchangeably, so that a film titled 'II' on screen may have '2' on the front cover of home media releases and vice versa. Also mentioned is whether the films pass the The Bechdel Test. This can be summarised as whether the film involves two or more named female characters who have a conversation together that does not include or mention any male characters. The film's European runtime is also included1.
34. Bambi II (2006)
| Director | Brian Pimental |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Immediately after Bambi's mother's death Bambi, a male fawn, spends time with his father, the Great Prince of the Forest. Yet his father is only looking after him until he finds a suitable doe to raise Bambi. |
| Length | 69 minutes |
| Setting | An Austrian forest (albeit one with porcupine, skunks and groundhogs) in the 20th Century, opening on Groundhog Day, the day after Bambi's mother was shot. |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | Felix Salten's novel Bambi, Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde (Bambi, A Life in the Woods) (1923) |
| Characters |
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| Music | Music by Frank Churchill, Lyrics by Larry Morey unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
Also known as Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest, this is a sequel to Disney's third flop. The film is not based on Bambis Kinder: Eine Familie im Walde (Bambi's Children: The Story of a Forest Family), author Felix Salten's 1939 sequel.
The original Bambi was rush-released during a financial crisis at Disney. Approximately ten minutes' worth of story was never completed and in the scenes that were rush-finished several characters including Thumper's sisters and Faline have their eye and skin colour change from scene to scene and even during scenes. This makes Bambi II one of the few DisneyToon sequels to be technically superior to the original film. Many of the cut scenes were included in this film, which is technically a midquel to the original, and some of the original oil-painting backgrounds were scanned into a computer and re-used.
Despite the original story's setting in Austria, Disney have populated the forest with animals more familiar to American audiences, with Bambi shown as a white-tailed deer rather than a roe deer. Although Patrick Stewart steals every scene he is in, one cannot help but wonder how the film would be had it starred a genuine Austrian actor instead, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. On release it had the record for the sequel to be released the longest after the original, made 64 years after Bambi. Patrick Stewart was the only actor in this film to be alive when the first film was released. It has the distinction of being both the last Disney film and the last animated film to have a VHS release.
This film is particularly suitable for very little children but is unlikely to entertain older children for long.
35. Brother Bear 2 (2006)
| Directors | Ben Gluck |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Mating season and spring is almost here! Bears Kenai and Koda awake from hibernation, but Kenai used to be human and dreamt of his childhood sweetheart, Nita, to whom he once gave an amulet as a token of his affection. Nita is about to get married but her wedding day is ruined by the spirits. Only if she and Kenai travel to Hokani Falls together, where the amulet was exchanged, and burn it during the Equinox will the spirits let Nita give her heart to another. Will Nita and Kenai succeed in this mission and work together in the goal of breaking apart? Or will Koda become jealous of Kenai and Nita's bond? |
| Length | 74 minutes |
| Setting | Spring, Prehistoric Northwest America |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Melissa Etheridge unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Joaquin Phoenix chose not to return to play Kenai. This is one of only two DisneyToon Studios films in which the sequel has a higher rating than the original on film website Rotten Tomatoes2. Although the standard of animation is much lower than that of Brother Bear, the story is much more engaging. The cast also impressed Disney officials enough for Patrick Dempsey to be cast as the main male in Enchanted in 2007 and Mandy Moore would play Rapunzel in Tangled (2010).
36. The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006)
| Director | Jim Kammerud |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Young hound Copper constantly trips over his ears. Tired of being called a 'bad dog', he travels with his fox friend Tod to visit a travelling fayre. There he hears a group of singing dogs, 'The Singin' Strays', and is enchanted. The two lead singers, Cash and Dixie, argue and Dixie refuses to perform. Copper sings along during the next performance and is invited to replace Dixie in the band. He is told that they are expecting a talent scout from the Grand Ole Opry and will become famous. Dazzled, he stops spending time with Tod. Will Copper become famous and leave his home, and can his friendship with Tod survive? |
| Length | 66 minutes |
| Setting | Early 20th Century America near Nashville |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | The Fox and the Hound (1967) by Daniel P Mannix |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Marcus Hummon unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
This film has quite an impressive soundtrack, which was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee. This was also the last Disney film to use the 'Walt Disney Pictures' stripy castle on a blue background logo first introduced on The Black Cauldron. The Grand Ole Opry is a real Country and Western radio programme in Nashville.
37. Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007)
| Director | Frank Nissen |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | After acquiring the Fairy Godmother's wand after Cinderella had been happily married to Prince Charming a year, Lady Tremaine uses it to travel back in time to the day the slipper fitted. She uses it to make her daughter Anastacia's foot fit the glass slipper and cast a spell on the prince so that he believes it is Anastacia he danced with at the ball. Can true love defeat a magic spell? Will the Handsome Prince marry the wicked stepsister and be the Stepmother's son-in-law? Does the Prince look even more like an Action Man doll than normal, and will he actually do something for once? |
| Length | 71 minutes |
| Setting | An unnamed mediæval kingdom |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | The French fairy tale popularised by Charles Perrault, 1697 |
| Characters |
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| Animated Animals |
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| Music | Composed by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
A strong improvement on the weak Cinderella II: Dreams Come True. The film enjoys the same cast as Cinderella II: Dreams Come True. Prudence who was introduced in Cinderella II appears in this film and the baker that Anastacia is in love with appears as a picture in the end credits, but this film does not appear to be a direct sequel to the second film. This was the last film made at Disney Australia's studio before it closed.
38. Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams (2007)
| Director | David Block |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-video |
| Plot | Two princesses learn the value of perseverance |
| Component Parts |
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| Length | 53 minutes |
| Setting |
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| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration |
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| Characters |
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| Music | Songs by Amy Powers and Russ DeSalvo:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
This was intended to be just the first in a whole series of Disney Princess Enchanted Tales videos, however John Lasseter cancelled them, despite a trailer promoting the next one, showing Belle singing to Chip, being included on the DVD release. From the quality of this film it is not difficult to ascertain why the tales were cancelled, featuring as it does two shorts with the same moral message repeatedly reinforced with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The first half's plot is identical to part of Cinderella II: Dreams Come True in any case.
The Aladdin segment does feature three of the original voice cast; not only the original artists behind Jasmine and Iago return but also Frank Welker who played both Apu and tiger Rajah. Corey Burton, who had briefly appeared as Prince Achmed in Aladdin, now plays Aurora's father King Stefan.
39. The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning (2008)
| Director | Peggy Holmes |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | After seeing his beloved wife Queen Athena killed through being run over by a passing pirate ship, King Triton, heartbroken, bans all music in Atlantica. Ten years later his youngest daughter, Ariel, discovers an underwater club where music-lovers gather in secret, including Sebastian, King Triton's chief advisor. This plays into the hands of ambitious mermaid, Marina, Triton's daughters' governess, who longs to govern the kingdom. |
| Length | 75 minutes |
| Setting | Atlantica, under the sea |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | The Little Mermaid (1837) by Hans Christian Anderson |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Jeanine Tesori unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Known also as both The Little Mermaid III and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, it tells the story of how Ariel restored music to the kingdom of Atlantica and reveals a little about Ariel's mother, who is the spitting image of Ariel herself. Most of the voice cast from the original film returns except that Kenneth Mars, who had pancreatic cancer, was replaced by Jim Cummings as Triton. Ariel's sisters also have a larger role than previous films, with Tara Strong, who had played Ariel's daughter Melody in The Little Mermaid II, playing Ariel's sisters Adella and Andrina while Grey DeLisle is Aquata and Arista.
This was Peggy Holmes' first full film as a director, although she had directed some of Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas' 'Belles on Ice' segment. She had previously worked with Disney as an actress, dancer and choreographer and had never animated, but her experience as a choreographer was considered invaluable for the numerous dancing sequences. Yet this was DisneyToon Studio's last sequel to a classic film.
40. Tinker Bell (2008)
Only Tinker Bell is an existing character. Characters and actors in Bold would recur in later Tinker Bell films.
| Director | Bradley Raymond |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Fairies are born when a baby first laughs, but live in a highly stratified society based on the individual fairy's talents. Each fairy has a talent that defines what work they shall do for the rest of their lives, much of this work revolving around the changing of the seasons as well as looking after natural world in general. When Bell is born she learns she is a Tinker, someone who makes and fixes things for everyone else, and is particularly capable of repairing 'Lost Things', items from the human world. Other fairies look down on her because she is a tinker and she learns that because of this, unlike other fairies, she won't leave her home of Pixie Hollow in Never Land in order to travel to the Mainland3 to create Spring. Tinker Bell befriends other fairies and desperately tries to be more than a mere tinker, creating havoc and chaos and almost destroying Spring. Can Tinker Bell accept who she is and save not only the day, but the whole season? |
| Length | 78 minutes |
| Setting | Pixie Hollow in Never Land and Victorian London |
| Animation Type | CGI |
| Inspiration | Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by JM Barrie (play 1904, novel 1911) |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Joel McNeely, songs:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Films in Series |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Tinker Bell is an amusing and heart-warming film that attracted a degree of criticism when in production and changed DisneyToon studios forever. Since 1994 the head of DisneyToon Studios had been Sharon Morrill, who had been appointed in order to make successful direct-to-video sequels to existing Disney films. This she had achieved, although though the low-budget films were financially successful they were generally considered to be of little artistic merit. Tinker Bell was to be the first film in a new trilogy that would launch a whole new merchandise range.
Tinker Bell Tinkering
In 2006 Walt Disney purchased Pixar Animation Studios, appointing Pixar's executives John Lasseter and Ed Catmull to head Walt Disney Feature Animation, with DisneyToon Studios theoretically outside their jurisdiction. However Lasseter, an outstanding critic of DisneyToon Studios who felt that their output detracted from the original films, heavily criticised an early version of Tinker Bell in mid-2007. This was reportedly entirely set in modern-day London, with Lasseter declaring the film needed substantial re-write to become watchable. The cost of Tinker Bell had skyrocketed to over $50 million amidst much speculation that the film would be abandoned. After considering Disney's existing vast investment in the Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell series, it was allowed to continue, however it was re-written and the trilogy proceeded.
The expected 2007-release date was pushed back to 2008 and Sharon Morrill removed from her position. The firing of one of the first female presidents of a major animation company attracted criticism and so, after a short period in which the studio was run by Disney Studios President Alan Bergman, Meredith Roberts of Walt Disney Television Animation was appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager of DisneyToon Studios in early 2008.
41. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009)
| Director | Klay Hall |
|---|---|
| Release | Brief cinema run |
| Plot | Autumn is the time of rebirth in Pixie Hollow. Every eight years the Blue Harvest Moon shines through the Moonstone to create blue pixie dust. This rejuvenates the Pixie Dust Tree, which gives the fairies the ability to fly. Tinker Bell is entrusted with making a sceptre to house the Moonstone, yet following an argument with her best friend Terrence when the sceptre she has been making breaks, she accidentally shatters the Moonstone. With time running out before the pixies lose the ability to fly forever, she believes that only a long-lost magic mirror that grants wishes has the power to fix the Moonstone. Will she be able to locate the lost mirror, mend the Moonstone and fix her friendship? |
| Length | 82 minutes |
| Setting | Autumn in Victorian Pixie Hollow, Neverland |
| Inspiration | Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by JM Barrie (play 1904, novel 1911) |
| Animation Type | CGI |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Joel McNeely, songs:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Films in Series |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
This film features Terence as Tinker Bell's best friend, however he will never feature so prominently in any other film in the series. Angela Bartys replaces America Ferrera as Fawn and the Minister of Autumn is now John DiMaggio.
Due to its short cinematic run and being conceived as predominantly a direct-to-video release, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure did not make the top ten most successful films of the year list.
The Future
In these five years DisneyToon Studios had all-but abandoned having cinematic releases but by the end of this time were beginning to find their own identity. John Lasseter made it clear that DisneyToon Studios would no longer make direct-to-video sequels to existing Disney films and cancelled all other sequels that were in various stages of production. DisneyToon Studio's output would be dramatically reduced, but from now on only new series, either the Disney Fairies or Planes series, would be put into production. Instead of undermining and exploiting existing films they would have to establish their own franchises.
