There's no single "most" underrated Disney movie, as it's subjective, but popular choices often include The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet, and The Great Mouse Detective for their stunning visuals, unique stories, and strong characters, despite being box office disappointments or overlooked gems. Other contenders often mentioned are Meet the Robinsons, Oliver & Company, and the classic live-action Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
Most Underrated Disney Movies
Based on Rotten Tomatoes ratings, at least, the worst animated Disney movie is Jungle Book 2 with a horrendous critics score of 18%.
The "number 1" Disney movie depends on the metric, but Avengers: Endgame (2019) is Disney's highest-grossing film ever at the worldwide box office, while critically acclaimed animated films like Zootopia, The Lion King, and Frozen are often ranked highly by fans and critics. For streaming, TRON: Ares was trending #1 on Disney+ in early 2026.
16 Disney/Pixar Animated Movies That Have Flopped Over the Years
The movie that almost ruined Disney was The Black Cauldron (1985), a dark fantasy animated film that was a massive box office bomb, nearly leading to the closure of Disney's animation division due to its huge budget, disappointing returns, and challenging themes that were too intense for its family audience. Its failure prompted major restructuring, eventually paving the way for the Disney Renaissance led by films like The Little Mermaid.
Strange World, which was released on November 23, 2022, features Ethan Clade, who is the first gay lead character in a Disney animated film.
The movie that took 48 years to make is The Other Side of the Wind, Orson Welles' final, unfinished film that began shooting in the 1970s and was finally completed and released by Netflix in 2018, long after Welles' death. The project was famously trapped in legal issues and distribution nightmares, with production spanning years and the editing process continuing posthumously until its eventual release, making it one of the longest-produced films ever.
There's no single "top 10," but consistently acclaimed kids' movies include Pixar's Toy Story, WALL-E, and Ratatouille, Disney classics like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, plus family favorites like How to Train Your Dragon, The Princess Bride, and School of Rock, offering adventure, humor, and heartwarming stories for various ages.
In December 2023, Disney announced that, “Building on its legacy of workplace inclusion and support for the broader LGBTQIA+ community, The Walt Disney Company received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's 2023-24 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and ...
So when you "successfully" get a 0% rating it is the worst that you can get. But instead of a pat on the back, you get a slap in the face. If you make a film don't get a 0%, it looks bad on you record, and reputation. Here are the films unfortunate enough to get the lowest possible score from Rotten Tomatoes.
While Disney had background LGBTQ+ characters earlier (like the cyclops cop in Pixar's Onward, 2020), Strange World (2022) features the first openly gay lead character in a Disney animated movie, Ethan Clade, a biracial teen with a male crush. Earlier live-action efforts included Jack Whitehall's character in Jungle Cruise (2021), who hinted at being gay, and a brief same-sex kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) within the Disney-owned Lucasfilm, but Strange World was a major step for Disney Animation.
The 65th Episode Rule was a controversial rule that applied to all Disney television shows, particularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s stating that no show can go beyond 65 episodes (2 or 3 seasons).
We'll share some of our favorite underrated Disney characters who you may have forgotten, and why they're fantastic!
18+ movies to watch
Logistics, or Logistics Art Project, is a 2012 Swedish experimental film conceived and created by Erika Magnusson and Daniel Andersson. At 51,420 minutes (857 hours or 35 days and 17 hours), it is the longest film ever made.
A 2015 film titled 100 Years was completed but locked away to be released exactly a century later, on November 18, 2115. Starring John Malkovich and directed by Robert Rodriguez, the movie is sealed inside a high-tech safe programmed to open after 100 years.
Yes, Bluey introduced its first LGBTQ+ representation in the Season 3 finale, "The Sign," when the character Pretzel casually mentioned having "mums" (two mothers), confirming a lesbian couple as his parents, though the mums are not seen. This brief, subtle inclusion was praised by many fans for reflecting diverse family structures, though it also sparked some controversy among certain adult viewers.
Filmmakers consulted the Oceanic Story Trust to help create respectful and accurate cultural portrayals. Lead actor Auli'i Cravalho, who voices Moana, is bisexual, but there isn't LGBTQ+ representation within the movie itself.
“Luca” tells the story of two male sea monsters who have a friendship so intimate that many critics interpreted it as a gay allegory. The film's creative team has acknowledged that they discussed such themes, but refuse to explicitly say if the characters have a romantic relationship.
A Z-grade movie is an extremely low-budget film, even worse than a B-movie, characterized by terrible production quality, bad acting, poor scripts, and obvious mistakes (like crew members in shot). These films often lack professionalism, sometimes making unintentional comedy that gives them cult status, appealing to audiences who enjoy "so bad it's good" cinema.
Beyond their thematic depth and emotional pull, classic movies frequently achieve their revered status through significant cultural and artistic significance, often representing pivotal milestones or turning points in the ongoing evolution of cinema as an art form and a cultural force.
Rated G: Suggested for general audiences. Rated M: Suggested for mature audiences – Parental discretion advised. Rated R: Restricted – Persons under 16 not admitted, unless accompanied by parent or adult guardian. Rated X: Persons under 16 not admitted.