All 11 Movies From Disney's Experimental Era, Ranked

Published Jul 26, 2026, 10:40 AM EDT Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this. Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime. Disney's experimental era was a mixed bag for the popular studio, and resulted in a slate of films that were sometimes beloved, and sometimes barely liked at all. Following the long line of the best Disney movies, the animated studio moved toward a lesser reliance on stories of princesses and royalty, hoping to appeal to an even wider audience. Disney has had a number of eras through the decades. Many of Disney's most beloved classics emerged from what has been referred to as Disney's Renaissance Era, a popular phase for the studio which began in 1989 with The Little Mermaid, and ended ten years later with the release of Fantasia 2000. Still, the studio has seen many changes and evolutions throughout its different phases. 2D animation mostly came to an end for Disney in 2011, and yet the studio has continued to try all kinds of different techniques, styles, and forms of storytelling in the years since. This has resulted in a slew of successful films alongside unsuccessful ones. Disney's Experimental Era, also often referred to as the Post-Renaissance Era, is one of the most interesting periods for the enormous studio. Running roughly from 1999 to 2008, the period saw the release of several unexpectedly charming offerings from the studio, which helped to show an additional level of craft and versatility from the famed brand. 11 Home On The Range Disney's Home on the Range was a massive miscalculation about what audiences wanted from the studio. The yodelling-packed animated movie with voices including Roseanne Barr and Dame Judi Dench failed to connect financially or critically. For a time, this put an end to 2D animation for the studio, until they would later try again with the underrated The Princess and the Frog. While Home on the Range is not awful, and some of the comedy works, it feels immediately out of place in the Disney canon. The visuals were weaker than usual, and the story failed to connect with most audiences, making Home on the Range the weakest offering in this era. 10 Chicken Little Chicken Little failed to connect with audiences when it released in 2005. The film told the beats of the old fairy tale, with the titular character lamenting that the sky is falling, but then pivoted to a muddled story about sports and an alien invasion. The film's story was mixed in its effectiveness, and its humor felt out of time. A disjointed tale, the computer animation has also since become quite dated, making the film even less effective than upon release. Still, the film was an unusual story for Disney, and parts of it work. The voice cast, led by Zach Braff, was effective, and some of the film's emotion remains surprisingly strong. 9 Dinosaur Dinosaur should have been a stunning achievement in Disney's animated catalog, but the film's generic storytelling and confusing visuals failed to connect deeply with audiences. It was a box office hit, but has since become mostly forgotten. Some moments in the film, including the meteor sequence, are strong. Dinosaur worked to blend computer animation with real-life backgrounds, crafting a unique visual design for the story. In the end, though, the resulting movie felt mostly flat and generic. Dinosaur may not have been a disaster, but it remains disappointingly forgettable in Disney's extended catalog. 8 Brother Bear Brother Bear is a film that certainly has a mixed legacy in Disney's history. Some believe it to be one of Disney's most underrated films, while others see it as a bland and forgettable offering from the studio. The reality is a little bit of each. Brother Bear tells a decent story in Alaska, with spiritual elements and a young man being transformed into a bear and embarking on a memorable journey. The film's emotional grounding is strong, and the Phil Collins soundtrack is excellent. Unfortunately, Brother Bear's tone is confused and meanders between showing strong character depth and descending into abject slapstick. The balance feels unnatural, and makes the film's complex protagonist even harder to connect to. 7 Meet the Robinsons Disney's 2007 animated film, Meet the Robinsons, is decent. While the pacing is sometimes stiff, and the animation has grown somewhat dated, the film does a great job in tackling some complex themes about family and looking toward the future. The film's time-travel narrative, seeing Lewis brought to the future to defeat a twisted villain, is creative. The many characters that populate the scenes work to imbue the story with great emotion, and much of it is effective. With a powerful ending, including a strong twist, the film is a satisfying entry in Disney's Experimental Era, and deserves to be remembered with great fondness. 6 Treasure Planet Treasure Planet is one of Disney's forgotten movies that has aged incredibly well. Taking the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island, the film updates it with an incredible science fiction setting, including some steampunk influence. The world, the soundtrack, and the relationship between the two main characters of Jim Hawkins and John Silver are incredibly effective. Unfortunately, the film did not connect with audiences upon its 2002 release. Treasure Planet failed to earn back even its $140 million budget, becoming one of Disney's biggest failures of the era. Still, the film is much stronger than its performance suggests, and remains one of the stronger Disney offerings of the 2000s. 5 Bolt Disney's 2008 film Bolt is a very fun offering from the studio. It tells the story of the titular hero, a dog who stars in a science fiction television show, who believes himself to have superpowers. When a cliffhanger episode concludes with his owner's kidnapping, Bolt believes that it is really up to him to save her. He escapes from the studio lot where he lives, and sets out on a wild adventure alongside several other colorful characters, including a hamster named Rhino. Bolt was critically acclaimed and a decent hit, and helped to reinvigorate the animation studio. With a great voice cast that includes John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, it is one of Disney's best offerings of its era. 4 Fantasia 2000 Disney's Fantasia offerings are among the most interesting and unique efforts in the studio's history. The original film was intended to be a changing work of art as it screened, with segments routinely swapped out for others. This experimental idea did not happen upon release, but the film did finally receive a satisfying follow-up in 1999, which once again included "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". The new segments, including a fantastic scene set to George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue", were excellent, and made for a strong new experience. Unfortunately, while artistically strong, the combination of classical music and animation failed to attract an audience. Despite being among Disney's most satisfying projects, the limited appeal of Fantasia 2000 was to its detriment. 3 Atlantis: The Lost Empire An incredible science fiction adventure that saw a team of explorers investigating the mythic underwater city, Disney's 2001 film Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an excellent offering from the studio, and told a fantastically gripping story with creative animation and innovative designs. Unfortunately, the Disney film faced significant box office competition, and despite strong reviews, it wound up being a mild disappointment commercially for the studio. Plans for a theatrical sequel were canceled as a result. A straight-to-video sequel was eventually released, and the film's legacy has only grown with time. Hopefully, that adoration can one day result in a live-action remake from Disney. 2 The Emperor’s New Groove The Emperor's New Groove might be Disney's funniest movie. Following a tumultuous period of production that saw the film's shape changing multiple times, Disney was eventually able to cobble together a fantastic and hilarious story for this 2000 release. Examining empathy and friendship, this silly story about a selfish emperor being turned into a llama was absurd, but found an incredibly strong emotional core. The film's voice cast, including David Spade and John Goodman, only added to its effectiveness. Fast-paced, clever, and grounded in character, the film is among the best of Disney's Experimental Era offerings, and remains a must-see to this day.