10 Best Disney Movies of the 80s

Everyone loves Disney films, even adults. They’re known for telling the best stories while including humor for both kids and adults, regardless of their age. While the first Disney movie ever released was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on December 21, 1937, Disney has released some amazing films since it took off. Check out the following list and see if you recognize any.

1. The Little Mermaid (1989)

It’s hard for 90’s babies to believe The Little Mermaid film was released in 1989, but it’s the truth. Directed by Ron Clements John Musker and produced by John Musker and Howard Ashman, the 28th Disney animated feature film was loosely based on the 1837 Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen.

The storyline involves a young mermaid teen who falls in love with a human prince named Eric. To change her into a human, she makes a deal with a wretched sea witch, only to find out the agreement was not set up in her favor. This movie also marked the era known as the Disney Renaissance, winning two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“Under the Sea”).

2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

This 1988 live-action animated comedy-mystery film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts. Who Framed Roger Rabbit was loosely based on the novel Who Sensored Roger Rabbit?

The movie took place in a 1947 version of Hollywood where cartoon characters co-exist with people, following Eddie Valiant, a private investigator hired to absolve Roger Rabbit, a rabbit cartoon who was accused of murdering a wealthy businessman, Marvin Acme, the creator of Acme Cartoons.

After grossing $329.8 million worldwide, one of the highest grossing films of the year, it became a renewed interest in the Golden Age of American animation. It also won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects as well as a Special Achievement Academy Award for its animation direction by Williams.

3. The Fox and the Hound (1981)

Not many can forget this memorable 1981 film, The Fox and The Hound, directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich and Arts Stevens and produced by Ron Miller, Wolfgang Reitherman and Art Stevens.

The film was loosely based on a 1967 novel of the same name and features the story of two young animal friends, a Fox named Todd and a hound dog named Copper. With Copper’s owner being a hunter whose focus includes foxes, the two friends fight to preserve their friendship despite their social pressures and internal instincts.

The film was a huge success, becoming the 14th highest-grossing film of the year in 1981, despite its expensive cost of $12 million to produce, the most expensive animated film produced to date. Nonetheless, it’s still reasonable to say the film was certainly worth it for the production team and fans.

4. Oliver and Company (1988)

Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on November 18th, 1988, this film was based on the classic 1838 Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The storyline features a homeless kitten who joins a group of stray dogs to survive in the streets.

While it was released on the same day as The Land Before Time, a Universal Pictures competitor, the film was still a box office success. The film won a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing, and it was re-released in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom on March 29, 1996, followed by its release on home video later in the year, and again in 2002 and 2009 on DVD.

5. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Produced by Penney Finkelman Cox and directed by Joe Johnston, this 1989 comic science fiction film story involves an inventor who shrinks his own kids as well as the next door neighbor’s down to a quarter of an inch with his electromagnetic shrinking machine. He then unknowingly throws them out with the trash where they must navigate their backyard to return home while fending off insects and other challenges.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids was a major success in the box office, grossing $222 million and became the highest-grossing live-action Disney film ever for five years. This movie won an ASCAP Award for Top Box office Films and the Special Effects Crew won a BAFTA Award for Best Special visual Effects.

6. Tron (1982)

Produced by Donald Kushner and directed by Steven Lisberger, this science fiction action-adventure film features a computer programmer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with programs while trying to escape.

Tron was originally intended to be an animated movie, but Lisberger decided to include live-action elements with both backlit and computer animation for the actual feature-length film. Only Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute Tron, where it was combined with computer animation and live action.

While it had positive reviews from critics, it was only a moderate success at the box office. But it still had received nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Sound at the 55th Academy Awards and received the Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 1996. After gaining much popularity, a sequel was released on December 17th, 2010 called Tron: Legacy, followed by the animated series, Tron: Uprising.

7. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Produced by Burny Mattinson and directed by Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener and John Musker, this animated mystery movie takes place in London on June 1987, where a young mouse girl’s toymaker father is abducted by a peglegged bat. So she calls on the help of Basil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, to investigate and also discovers a connection to his archenemy, Profession Ratigan.

Included as one of the hit films to set the stage for the Disney Renaissance, The Great Mouse Detective won a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing. It was also re-released in theaters in 1992 under the name The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective and Basil the Great Mouse Detective in some other countries.

8. The Secret of Nimh (1986)

Produced by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy and directed by Don Bluth, this animated dark fantasy adventure film was based on a 1971 children’s novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.

The Secrets of Nimh tells the story of Mrs. Brisby (changed for trademark concerns with Frisbee discs) who must move her children out of their home into a field before a local farmer starts plowing. But she’s unable to leave the home because her son is sick, so she finds the help of nearby rats with heightened intelligence after being used for scientific experiments. They give her a gift and soon she’s left in a conflict between the rats and her mission to save her family.

The film later had a sequel, called The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue but didn’t involve Bluth as the director.

9. Splash (1984)

Produced by Brian Grazer and directed by Ron Howard, this fantasy rom-com starred the famous Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah in which a young man falls in love with a woman who is secretly a mermaid.

Splash was famous for being the first film released by Touchstone Pictures, a label created by Walt Disney Studios in an effort to release films for adult audiences. As it is a rom-com, this movie does feature a hint of nudity and brief profanity, although it is rated PG. The film had won the Saturn Award for Best Actress and NSFC Award for best Screenplay.

10. Return to Oz (1985)

Produced by Paul Maslansky and directed by Walter Murch, this British-American dark fantasy film was made as an unofficial sequel to the major award winner The Wizard of Oz and was based on L. Frank Baum’s early 20th century Oz novels. The story is about the young girl Dorothy who returns to Oz but find it’s been taken over by the evil Nome King as they work to restore it with her new friends Jack Pumpkinhead, Tik-Tok and Princess Ozma.

In 1954, Walt Disney Productions bought the rights to the film to use in the television series Disneyland as well as paid a huge fee to use the ruby slippers in the Return to Oz movie. While it performed poorly at the box office, only grossing $11.1 million, it did perform well outside the U.S. and received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

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