The Ultimate Disney MovieToons Animated Film Guide: 2000-2003
Created | Updated Jan 3, 2020
1990-1999 | 2000-2003 | 2003-2005 | 2006-2009 | 2010-2015
Between 1990 and 2015 the Walt Disney Company had two film studios using the Disney name. The prestigious Walt Disney Animation Studios made films were classed as 'Walt Disney Classics' while the other animation studio, Disney MovieToons, later renamed DisneyToon Studios, had a more modest agenda. A division of Walt Disney Television Animation, it adapted Disney's popular television cartoon series and made sequels to recent Walt Disney Animation Studios films, largely as direct-to-video productions but occasionally their films were released in cinemas. This was because of a change in Walt Disney policy in the 1980s introduced by a new Chairman, Michael Eisner, who had reversed Disney's decision not to make either animation for television or sequels. Disney MovieToons, also releasing their films using the title Disney Video Premieres, had since its foundation been headed by President Sharon Morrill, the most senior woman at Disney.
The key to their ability to vastly increase the amount of animation they were producing was by outsourcing the television animation work to newly-opened animation studios in countries all around the world1. By utilising all these facilities they could churn out low-budget animated films quickly as the first half of a film may be made in one studio, for example Australia, while the second half was made in Japan. By 2000 Disney MovieToons had successfully released two films in the cinema to a modest reception and had an unprecedented success with direct-to-video sequel The Return of Jafar. Their output to date were all inspired either by Disney Classic Animated Films of the 1990s or by their recent animated television series, such as The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1988-1991).
Competitors
Yet by 2000 the animation landscape had completely transformed since 1990. There were now several animation studios, including the prestigious friendly-rival Pixar. Yet in the competitive market there were both winners and losers, including among big named studios. Warner Brothers formed Warner Brothers Feature Animation and released Space Jam (1996), Quest for Camelot (1998), The Iron Giant (1999), Osmosis Jones (2001) and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). All but one of these films flopped; only Space Jam made a profit. Twentieth Century Fox founded Fox Animation Studios which made two films; the successful Anastasia (1997) and the disastrous flop Titan AE (2000). Fox also owned computer animation company Blue Sky Studios, which started releasing CGI films in 2002. The biggest threat to Disney was DreamWorks SKG whose animation department was led by Jeffrey Katzenberg who had been Chairman of Film Production for Walt Disney during the 'Disney Renaissance', the successful period between the release of The Little Mermaid (1989) and Pocahontas (1995). Determined to compete with Disney head on, it made traditional, CGI and stop-motion animated films. It even briefly competed against Disney MovieToons in the direct-to-video market, yet Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) flopped and so plans to make more full-length direct-to-video productions were abandoned.
Disney themselves seemed to have lost direction and were determined to compete by increasing the quantity and decreasing the quality of their animated films, leading to Walt Disney Feature Animation's films flopping or underperforming. Disappointments included Fantasia 2000 (2000), Dinosaur (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), Home on the Range (2004) and Chicken Little (2005). How would the fledgling, low-budget Disney MovieToons fare in a market where their big brother was struggling and Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox had failed? Especially at a time when the traditional cel animation style Disney MovieToons specialised in seemed to be supplanted by computer animation?
The Films
Below is a summary of the films made by Disney MovieToons 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 included2.
12. The Tigger Movie (2000)
| Director | Jun Falkenstein |
|---|---|
| Release | Cinema |
| Plot | Tigger is tired of being the only Tigger and, lonely, wishes to find his family. Though winter is coming to the South of England, Tigger, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore try to find Tigger family members instead of preparing, only for Tigger to sink into depression. After Roo writes a letter supposedly from his family hoping to cheer him up, Tigger is convinced his family are coming to visit. |
| Length | 74 minutes |
| Setting | Hundred Aker Wood, Ashdown Forest, Sussex |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | AA Milne's books Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by the Sherman Brothers, Robert and Richard Sherman:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
This film gave a strong start to the decade. The Disney animators travelled to Sussex to ensure that the film reflected the real places that Christopher Robin knew, yet there are Americanisms such as US mailboxes rather than postboxes. The Hundred Aker Wood is also hit by an avalanche, which is not a phenomenon common to the Sussex countryside. This film marks the first time that the Sherman Brothers returned to Disney since Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), 28 years earlier. John Fiedler is the only actor to have reprised his role from the first animated film.
The Tigger Movie enjoyed a highly-successful cinematic release and was the sixth most successful animated film of the year, ahead of bigger budgeted films such as Walt Disney Feature Animation's Fantasia 2000, DreamWorks Animation's The Road to El Dorado and Fox Animation Studio's ambitious Titan AE, behind only Disney's Dinosaur, Aardman's Chicken Run, Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, Pokémon: The Movie 2000 and Nickelodeon's Rugrats in Paris. Not bad for a film originally conceived as a direct-to-video film to be titled Winnie-the-Pooh and the Family Tree.
13. An Extremely Goofy Movie (2000)
| Director | Douglas McCarthy |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Max is off to university, finally able to live outside his father Goofy's shadow. Instead of having Halls of Residence the university has cult-like Frat Houses where the members have strange ceremonies and one, Gamma Mu Mu House, traditionally wins everything and looks down on everyone else. Max and his friends PJ and Bobby challenge Gamma House, competing with them at the college's X Games – events include cycling, skateboarding and rollerblading – which Gamma have always won. Goofy, distraught that he is no longer living with Max, accidentally destroys the factory he works in and is unable to get another job as he does not have a degree. He therefore enrols in university – the same one as Max – much to his son's dismay. Particularly as Goofy uses it as an excuse to relive the 1970s, arousing the affections of the college librarian. The more Goofy tries to get closer to Max, the more Max desperately tries to get away, until Goofy decides to compete in the X Games representing Gamma House. Who will win, father or son? |
| Length | 79 minutes |
| Setting | Fictional town of Spoonerville |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | Goof Troop (1992-3) |
| Characters |
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| Soundtrack |
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
A heart-warming tale of parental relationships, this is one of only two DisneyToon Studios films to be rated as better than the original film it is a sequel to. While it seems unlikely that a backwater college sporting event would be broadcast on a sport channel, ESPN became 80% owned by Disney in 1996 when they purchased Capital Cities Communication/ABC Inc, including their share of ESPN.
14. The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
| Director | Jim Kammerud |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | On the birth of their daughter Melody, Prince Eric and Princess Ariel sail to introduce her to her grandfather King Triton, ruler of the mermaid's city of Atlantica. Yet Morgana, sea-witch sister of Ursula from the first film, gives a vague threat to harm Melody unless she is given Triton's trident, which contains all the power of the ocean. Though Morgana is defeated, Ariel decides to build a giant wall around her castle in order to stop Melody from going to sea. After her 12th birthday Melody, tired of being lied to, flees to the sea and meets the manipulating Morgana. She promises to turn Melody into a mermaid if she agrees to steal Triton's trident. Who will triumph? |
| Length | 72 minutes |
| Setting | Unnamed mediæval coastal kingdom and Atlantica |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | The Little Mermaid (1837) by Hans Christian Anderson |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Michael and Patty Silversher unless stated
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Who would have thought that Ariel would turn out to be an overprotective parent who builds a wall to keep her daughter inside the castle (which already had walls) and then never talks to her? The whole plot of the film revolves around Ariel never mentioning to Melody that there's an evil sea-witch after her and instead she repeatedly denies the existence of mermaids to her daughter even though she used to be one. The characters deserve better than this plot.
Most of the original cast return, and Pat Carroll had previously voiced Ursula. There are some differences, with Christopher Daniel Barnes not returning to play Prince Eric and Jason Marin is replaced by Cam Clarke as Flounder. Ben Wright, the original Grimsby, had died in 1989 and this was the final film for Buddy Hackett who played Scuttle.
15. Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001)
| Directors | Darrell Rooney with Jeannine Roussel |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Tired of oppressive rules, regulations and 4th of July celebrations, Lady and the Tramp's son Scamp wants his own independence and live a life of freedom. He meets a pack of junkyard dogs led by Buster, who set him a series of challenges that will lead to his acceptance into the pack, where each dog must fend for themselves. Also in the pack is Angel, a young female dog he develops feelings for who longs to have a home of her own. Will Lady and the Tramp find Scamp, is Buster the hero that he believes him to be and is freedom really romantic? Will Scamp get damp and/or deny his father three times before dawn? Will Lady have any impact, no matter how microscopic, on the plot whatsoever? |
| Length | 66 minutes |
| Setting | July 1911, New England |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Melissa Manchester and Norman Gimbel |
| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
This was the first time that Disney MovieToons released a film that was not a spin-off of one their television series or a sequel to a recent release. Every other sequel to date had been to a Disney Renaissance film and had primarily involved the original voice cast. Not a single character for Lady of the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure was played by the original cast. Made in Los Angeles and Sidney Australia, the look of this film is directly inspired by the original, with the backgrounds flawlessly recreated. The attention to detail ensures that this is not a bad film, however it remains a superfluous one.
16. Return to Never Land (2002)
| Director | Robin Budd |
|---|---|
| Release | Cinema |
| Plot | Wendy has grown up and is married with two young children, but she always believed in Peter Pan. During the London Blitz Wendy's husband has been enlisted in the army and her children are to be evacuated. Seeing the world at war, Jane has stopped believing in magic until she is kidnapped by Captain Hook, who mistakes her for Wendy, and taken to Neverland. There she is rescued by Peter Pan but, longing to go home, agrees to help Hook recover his treasure on the condition he does not hurt a hair on Pan's head in exchange for being returned to London. Yet after Jane tells Tinker Bell that she doesn't believe in fairies, Tinker Bell's light is fading. Will Tinker Bell die? Can Captain Hook wrap Jane around his little finger - erm, hook? Will Jane become the very first Lost Girl? Will Peter Pan tell Wendy's daughter, 'Me Peter Pan, You Jane'? |
| Length | 69 minutes |
| Setting | London 1940 and Neverland |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | Peter Pan, 1904 play and Peter and Wendy 1911 novel, both by JM Barrie |
| Characters |
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| Music |
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Also known as Peter Pan: Return to Neverland, the title Return to Neverland is rather a misnomer as Pan, Hook and Tinker Bell had never left Neverland for long enough for their return to it to be noteworthy, nor had Jane been there before. Tinker Bell is modelling a new, yellow look. The character of Tiger Lilly, central to Peter Pan, has been removed as the first film's stereotypical 'Indian' characters are now considered offensive.
The geography of London seems very distorted, with Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament next to each other. Similarly numerous historical mistakes are made in the opening scene set during the blitz. Within the same day in the film we learn that Jane and her brother are to be evacuated (which took place in September 1939 and September 1940) because of the London blitz (which began in September 1940), yet the blackout has not yet come into effect (these were enforced in law in September 1939) and their father Edward drives an American lorry (the first US troops arrived in Britain in January 1942).
Though a fairly forgettable sequel, the film was the fourth most successful animated film of the year, behind only Blue Sky's Ice Age, Disney's Lilo & Stitch and DreamWorks Animation's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Costing only $20 million, it made more than Disney's Treasure Planet, which was made for $140 million.
17. Cinderella II: Dreams Come True (2002)
| Director | John Kafka |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Three tales set after Cinderella's marriage to Prince Charming sharing the theme of being yourself. |
| Component Parts |
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| Length | 70 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 Randy Rogel unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
A compilation film made up of three tales about Cinderella, set after her marriage. These are tenuously linked by the tale of Cinderella's mice friends wanting to write a book about her married life and choosing stories to go into it. Although the film is titled Dreams Come True there are no dream sequences in the film and it is hard to see how the title actually applies. The person whose wish is granted is Jaq, who quickly regrets it. The potential romance between Anastasia and the Baker is left open-ended. With the exception of any fans of Cinderella who have spent 52 years wondering whether Cinderella prefers prunes or chocolate cake it is hard to see how this release can be anyone's dream come true. This release was surprisingly successful but does not add anything to the story of Cinderella. None of the original film's cast reprise their roles.
18. The Hunchback of Notre Dame II: The Secret of the Bell (2002)
| Director | Bradley Raymond |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Six years after the events of the first film Esmeralda and Captain Phoebus have a six-year-old son Zephyr, who is Quasimodo's best friend. In the days leading up to Le Jour d'Amour, the Festival of Love, Sarousch's circus arrives in Paris. This coincides with a string of thefts. Sarousch dreams of stealing the biggest bell in Notre Dame, La Fidèle, as it is made of gold and encrusted with giant jewels. He forces his reluctant assistant Madellaine to befriend and distract Quasimodo, the bell ringer, and gain information from him. Yet once Madellaine looks beyond Quasimodo's appearance she discovers that there is more to him than at first appears. Will Madellaine betray Quasimodo and will Sarousch steal the bell or do the fandango? |
| Length | 63 minutes |
| Setting | 15th Century Paris around Le Jour d'Amour |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | Notre-Dame de Paris, better known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (1831) |
| Characters |
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| Music | By Walter Edgar Kennon unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
Made six years after The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the difference in the quality of animation is apparent as this film cannot match the original's dynamism. The story, in which Quasimodo finds a love interest, both rectifies and detracts from the original film's ending. Work on making the film began in 1999 but it took five years for it to be released. Almost the entire original cast returns for this films, although Mary Wickes had died in 1995 while making the first film, with Jane Withers finishing her last lines uncredited. Now she was fully credited as Laverne.
Jennifer Love Hewitt was disappointed that her character, Madellaine, did not have a song when she was offered the role, especially as she was trying to launch a singing career. She therefore wrote a song for her character to sing, which made it into the film.
19. A Very Merry Pooh Year (2002)
| Directors | Jamie Mitchell |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Winnie the Pooh and his friends celebrate Christmas and New Year without Owl. |
| Component Parts |
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| Length | 61 minutes |
| Setting | Hundred Aker Wood, Sussex, between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day |
| Inspiration | AA Milne's books Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Michael and Patty Silversher unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
Another Winnie the Pooh compilation, however this one works better than previous direct-to-video release Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving (1999). Strangely Owl is not present in the film at all, with Kanga and Roo having only very minor roles. This was the first Winnie the Pooh release to have the theme tune sung by Carly Simon, best known for James Bond songThe Spy who Loved Me.
20. 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003)
| Directors | Jim Kammerud & Brian Smith |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | As the Radcliffe family are moving from London to their Dalmatian Plantation in Devon, young Patch is tired of feeling one of 101. Accidentally left behind on moving day, Patch learns that Thunderbolt, the dog star of his favourite television show, is in London where they are holding auditions for dogs to appear on the show. Sidekick Lil' Lightning convinces Thunderbolt that he is being replaced. Thunderbolt, with Patch, heads out into London to find a way to be a real-life hero and get enough publicity to secure his job. Meanwhile Cruella de Vil is out of prison on probation and once again plans to kidnap the puppies. Can Thunderbolt and Patch save the day? |
| Length | 70 minutes |
| Setting | London in the late 1950s |
| Animation Type | Cel, similar in style to the original. |
| Inspiration | One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1956) by Dodie Smith |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
This was not the first 101 Dalmatians sequel, following live-action films 101 Dalmatians (1996) and 102 Dalmatians (2000), which were set in contemporary rather than period (1950s) England. In fact the plot has much more in common with Disney film Bolt (2008), which is about a dog television star called Bolt in the real world who has adventures similar to this film's dog television star Thunderbolt and his adventures in the real world.
The earliest this film can be set is 1955 as that is when ITV, the UK's first commercial television station, launched in London. However on launch, advertising and particularly sponsorship was strongly regulated and the US-style Thunderbolt's Adventure Hour is Sponsored by 'Kanine Krunchies' would not have been permitted under the 1954 Television Act as it would have broken the Independent Television Authority's regulations ensuring adverts and programme content were clearly separate.
21. The Jungle Book 2 (2003)
| Director | Steve Trenbirth |
|---|---|
| Release | Cinema |
| Plot | Mowgli has found an adoptive family in the man village and a close friend in Shanti, but hearing the call of the wild, longs for the freedom of the jungle. Meanwhile Shere Khan the tiger has returned, seeking vengeance on Mowgli. Shanti stops Mowgli showing his village's children the jungle, saying it is not safe, leading to Mowgli's being grounded. Can Baloo adapt to life without Mowgli? Will Mowgli be able to return to the jungle? |
| Length | 69 minutes |
| Setting | A jungle in India, late 19th Century. |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | The Jungle Book (1894) and The Second Jungle Book (1895) by Rudyard Kipling |
| Characters |
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| Music | Composed by Lorraine Feather and Joel McNeely unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
At the start of The Jungle Book 2 Mowgli gives his adopted family and friends a shadow puppet show all about his life in the jungle. His autobiography completely ignores the many years he spent being raised with the wolves and instead Mowgli only seems to remember the couple of days he spent with Baloo. Inexplicably Baloo's fur has all turned blue and animals seen in India now include African hippopotami and American ocelots.
Popular film character King Louie does not appear as the character did not appear in Kipling's novel but was created for The Jungle Book. In the 1960s Walt Disney had originally hoped that Louis Armstrong would play the role, just as he had hoped the Beatles would play the vultures, however when it was realised that having a black man playing an ape might be interpreted as racial stereotyping, Louis Prima was cast instead. After Prima's death his widow Gia Prima, sued Disney for lack of royalties following the home media release of The Jungle Book and the use of the character in television series TaleSpin, claiming that Jim Cummings was impersonating her husband's voice without permission. Disney settled out of court and agreed not to use impersonations of Louis Prima's voice, which is why King Louie does not appear in Jungle Book 2.
The Jungle Book 2 was the third most successful animated film of the year, behind only Pixar's Finding Nemo and Walt Disney Feature Animation's Brother Bear.
22. Piglet's BIG Movie (2003)
| Director | Francis Glebas |
|---|---|
| Release | Cinema |
| Plot | Piglet feels unappreciated when his friends say he is too small to help and goes for a walk by himself. When his friends notice he is missing they look for him at to his house, but find only Piglet's scrapbook containing drawings of his adventures. Worried about Piglet and believing that as the scrapbook contains Piglet's memories it must know where he is, they decide to head to the places drawn in the scrapbook, carrying it with them. As they think about all the events that Piglet has taken part in they soon start to realise how big a role he is played in their lives. |
| Length | 72 minutes |
| Setting | Hundred Aker Wood, Ashdown Forest, Sussex |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Inspiration | AA Milne's books Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) |
| Characters |
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| Music | Songs by Carly Simon unless stated:
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Fail |
This film shows many of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories written by AA Milne in flashback, and also has songs written with his lyrics. Unusually there isn't a narrator. Piglet's BIG Movie was the third Winnie-the-Pooh film released in cinemas following The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Tigger Movie, but the weakest to date. It nevertheless was the sixth most successful animated film of the year, behind Pixar's Finding Nemo, Walt Disney Feature Animation's Brother Bear, DisneyToon Studios The Jungle Book 2, DreamWorks Animations' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and Warner Bros' Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
23. Atlantis: Milo's Return (2003)
| Directors | Victor Cook, Toby Shelton & Tad Stones |
|---|---|
| Release | Direct-to-Video |
| Plot | Queen Kida of Atlantis is using the crystal known as the Heart of Atlantis to restore the city to its former glory, but worries whether this is the right path. She and her husband Milo learn that Atlantean creatures and technology may be rampaging around the Earth and they reunite with Milo's former companions including Whitmore, Audrey, Vinny, Mole to investigate various monsters worldwide. These include the Kraken, dust coyotes, Ice Giants and Lava Creatures. Would these monsters have got away with it if it wasn't for the meddling kids? |
| Length | 77 minutes |
| Setting | Edwardian Atlantis, Norway, Southwestern United States and Iceland |
| Animation Type | Cel |
| Characters |
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| Spin Off Of |
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| Bechdel | Pass |
Disney Television Animation began making a television series spin-off titled Team Atlantis based on Atlantis: The Lost Empire. When that film completed flopped the spin-off series was cancelled, but three episodes had been finished. These episodes were combined and released as a direct-to-video sequel with new bookending and linking material. This just about works weakly, although there is no denying that the whole is episodic in nature as the crew face three monsters in three different locations, suddenly switching from Atlantis to Norway to a desert in America's Southwest and then to Iceland. Michael J Fox was replaced by James Arnold Taylor as Milo and, as Jim Varney had died, Cookie was now played by Steven Barr although he only appears in the middle instalment.
The Future
In 2003 Disney MovieToons transferred from being a division of Walt Disney Television Animation to become a division of Walt Disney Features under the name DisneyToon Studios. Though the standard of some of their output had been below what would be expected of anything associated with the Disney name, by splitting from being a department within Disney Television Animation, the studio now had a chance to develop its own identity, still led by Executive Vice President Sharon Morrill.
