Walt Disney Animation Studios#Locations

File:Kingswellstudio.JPG

Kansas City, Missouri, natives Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney founded Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Los Angeles in 1923 and got their start producing a series of silent Alice Comedies short films featuring a live-action child actress in an animated world.{{cite web |title=Alice Gets Rolling |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/alice-gets-rolling |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001163437/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/alice-gets-rolling |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 1, 2014}} The Alice Comedies were distributed by Margaret J. Winkler's Winkler Pictures, which later also distributed a second Disney short subject series, the all-animated Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, through Universal Pictures starting in 1927.{{cite web |title=Oswald |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/oswald |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 1, 2014 |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001191612/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/oswald |url-status=dead}} Upon relocating to California, the Disney brothers initially started working in their uncle Robert Disney's garage at 4406 Kingswell Avenue in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, then, in October 1923, formally launched their studio in a small office on the rear side of a real estate agency's office at 4651 Kingswell Avenue. In February 1924, the studio moved next door to office space of its own at 4649 Kingswell Avenue. In 1925, Disney put down a deposit on a new location at 2719 Hyperion Avenue in the nearby Silver Lake neighborhood, which came to be known as the Hyperion Studio to distinguish it from the studio's other locations, and, in January 1926, the studio moved there and took on the name Walt Disney Studio.{{cite web |title=The Wait Disney Studios History |url=http://www.studioservices.go.com/disneystudios/history.html |website=The Wait Disney Studios |access-date=June 1, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627082751/http://studioservices.go.com/disneystudios/history.html |archive-date=June 27, 2014}}

Meanwhile, after the first year's worth of Oswalds, Walt Disney attempted to renew his contract with Winkler Pictures, but Charles Mintz, who had taken over Margaret Winkler's business after marrying her, wanted to force Disney to accept a lower advance payment for each Oswald short. Disney refused and, as Universal owned the rights to Oswald rather than Disney, Mintz set up his own animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons. Most of Disney's staff was hired away by Mintz to move over once Disney's Oswald contract expired in mid-1928.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|p=109}}

File:Mickey Mouse in Plane Crazy (1928).jpg

Working in secret while the rest of the staff finished the remaining Oswalds on contract, Disney and his head animator Ub Iwerks led a small handful of loyal staffers in producing cartoons starring a new character named Mickey Mouse.{{cite web |title=A Famous Train Ride |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/famous-train-ride |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001163814/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/famous-train-ride |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 2, 2014}} The first two Mickey Mouse cartoons, Plane Crazy and The Galloping Gaucho, were previewed in limited engagements during the summer of 1928. For the third Mickey cartoon, however, Disney produced a soundtrack, collaborating with musician Carl Stalling and businessman Pat Powers, who provided Disney with his bootlegged "Cinephone" sound-on-film process. Subsequently, the third Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie, became Disney's first cartoon with synchronized sound and was a major success upon its November 1928 debut at the West 57th Theatre in New York City.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|p=128}} The Mickey Mouse series of sound cartoons, distributed by Powers through Celebrity Productions, quickly became the most popular cartoon series in the United States.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|p=129}}{{cite web |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html |title=The Golden Age of Mickey Mouse |website=Disney |author=Solomon, Charles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301100751/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/mickeymousegoldenage/index.html |archive-date=March 1, 2007}}

File:The Skeleton Dance (1929).webm, the first short in the Silly Symphonies series]]

A second Disney series of sound cartoons, Silly Symphonies, debuted in 1929 with The Skeleton Dance.{{cite web |title=The Skeleton Dance Premieres |url=http://www.waltdisney.org/content/skeleton-dance-premieres |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926141424/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/skeleton-dance-premieres |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 1, 2014}} In total, five different shorts from the Silly Symphonies series were released by the end of 1929. All were scored by Stalling and involved animation by Iwerks.

In 1929, disputes over finances between Disney and Powers led to Disney's animation production company, reincorporated on December 16, 1929, as Walt Disney Productions, signing a new distribution contract with Columbia Pictures.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=330}}

• The Disney Touch, by Ron Grover, 1991.
• Disneyana: Walt Disney Collectibles, by Cecil Munsey, 1974. p. 31.
• The Disney Studio Story, by Richard Holliss & Brian Sibley, 1988.
• Building a Company – Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire, by Bob Thomas, 1998. p. 137.{{cite web |title=WaltandRoy Sign a New Deal |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/walt-and-roy-sign-new-deal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001194803/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/walt-and-roy-sign-new-deal |archive-date=October 1, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 2, 2014}} Powers, in return, signed away Ub Iwerks, who began producing cartoons at his own studio, although he would return to Disney in 1940.{{cite web |title=Ub Iwerks Resigns |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/ub-iwerks-resigns |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926134832/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/ub-iwerks-resigns |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 1, 2014}}

Columbia distributed Disney's shorts for two years before the Disney studio entered a new distribution deal with United Artists in 1932. The same year, Disney signed a two-year exclusive deal with Technicolor to utilize its new 3-strip color film process,{{cite web |title=Color Coming |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/color-coming |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 2, 2014 |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926141541/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/color-coming |url-status=dead}} which allowed for fuller-color reproduction where previous color film processors could not.{{cite AV media |year=2013 |title=FilmmakerIQ: The History and Science of Color Film: From Isaac Newton to the Coen Brothers |medium=Digital video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRheZ_MUYiY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/lRheZ_MUYiY |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |url-status=live |access-date=June 22, 2014 |time=11:40 |publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} The result was the Silly Symphony cartoon Flowers and Trees, the first film commercially released in full Technicolor.{{cite web |title=Flowers and Trees |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/flowers-and-trees-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926140022/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/flowers-and-trees-0 |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |website=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=June 2, 2014}} Flowers and Trees was a major success{{cite web |title=Flowers and Trees Wins an Academy Award® |url=https://www.waltdisney.org/content/flowers-and-trees-wins-academy-award%C2%AE |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027184416/http://www.waltdisney.org/content/flowers-and-trees-wins-academy-award%C2%AE |archive-date=October 27, 2015 |work=Walt Disney Family Museum |access-date=May 10, 2014}} and all Silly Symphonies were subsequently produced in Technicolor.{{cite web |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=https://www.mbam.qc.ca/disney/index_en.html/ |title=Walt Disney at the Museum? |website=Montreal Museum of Fine Arts |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080218072744/http://www.mbam.qc.ca/disney/index_en.html |archive-date=February 18, 2008}}{{cite web |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=http://www.fpsmagazine.com/review/070312onceupon.php |title=Once Upon a Time: Walt Disney: The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios |work=fps magazine |archive-date=July 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714101057/http://www.fpsmagazine.com/review/070312onceupon.php |url-status=dead}}

By the early 1930s, Walt Disney had realized that the success of animated films depended upon telling emotionally gripping stories that would grab the audience and not let go,{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Newton |author2=Krystina Madej |title=Disney Stories: Getting to Digital |date=2012 |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media |location=London |isbn=9781461421016 |pages=55–56}}{{cite book |last1=Krasniewicz |first1=Louise |title=Walt Disney: A Biography |date=2010 |publisher=Greenwood |location=Santa Barbara |isbn=9780313358302 |pages=60–64}} and this realization led him to create a separate "story department" with storyboard artists dedicated to story development.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=181–189}} With well-developed characters and an interesting story, the 1933 Technicolor Silly Symphony cartoon Three Little Pigs became a major box office and pop culture success,{{cite web |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/3_little_pigs/ |title=Huffing and Puffing about Three Little Pigs |website=Senses of Cinema |last1=Danks |first1=Adrian |date=December 2, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829072620/http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/3_little_pigs/ |archive-date=August 29, 2011}} with its theme song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" becoming a popular chart hit.{{cite book |last1=Ehrbar |first1=Greg |title=Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records |date=2006 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |location=Jackson, MS |isbn=1617034339 |page=6 |edition=First |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jGdpWCTdb-IC&q=Disneyland%20Record%20company&pg=PA6 |access-date=March 11, 2015}}

In 1934, Walt Disney gathered several key staff members and announced his plans to make his first animated feature film. Despite derision from most of the film industry, who dubbed the production "Disney's Folly", Disney proceeded undaunted into the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |year=1991 |title=Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast |url=https://archive.org/details/disneysartofanim00thom |url-access=registration |publisher=Hyperion |location=New York. |page=[https://archive.org/details/disneysartofanim00thom/page/66 66] |isbn=1-56282-899-1}} which would become the first animated feature in English and Technicolor. Considerable training and development went into the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the studio greatly expanded, with established animators, artists from other fields and recent college graduates joining the studio to work on the film. The training classes, supervised by head animators such as Les Clark, Norm Ferguson and Art Babbit and taught by Donald W. Graham, an art teacher from the nearby Chouinard Art Institute, had begun at the studio in 1932 and were greatly expanded into orientation training and continuing education classes. In the course of teaching the classes, Graham and the animators created or formalized many of the techniques and processes that became the key tenets and principles of traditional animation. Silly Symphonies such as The Goddess of Spring (1934) and The Old Mill (1937) served as experimentation grounds for new techniques such as the animation of realistic human figures, special effects animation and the use of the multiplane camera,{{cite web |url=http://www.animationschooldaily.com/?p=889 |title=Multiplane Cameras |work=Animationschooldaily.com |date=September 21, 2012 |access-date=July 7, 2013}} an invention that split animation artwork layers into several planes, allowing the camera to appear to move dimensionally through an animated scene.Thomas, Bob. Walt Disney: An American Original. Simon & Schuster, 1976, p. 134.

File:Walt Disney Snow white 1937 trailer screenshot (13).jpg in a scene from the original 1937 Snow White theatrical trailer.]]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs cost Disney a then-expensive sum of $1.4 million to complete (including $100,000 on story development alone) and was an unprecedented success when released in February 1938 by RKO Radio Pictures, which had assumed distribution of Disney product from United Artists in 1937. It was briefly the highest-grossing film of all time before the unprecedented success of Gone with the Wind two years later,{{cite web |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue08/reviews/vanbeuren/ |title=Cartoons that Time Forgot |work=Images Journal}}{{sfn|Barrier|1999|p=229}} grossing over $8 million on its initial release, the equivalent of ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|8000000|1938|r=-1}}}} in 1999 dollars.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|p=229}}

During the production of Snow White, work had continued on the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies series of shorts. Mickey Mouse switched to Technicolor in 1935, by which time the series had added several major supporting characters, among them Mickey's dog, Pluto, and their friends Donald Duck and Goofy. Donald, Goofy, and Pluto would all be appearing in series of their own by 1940, and the Donald Duck cartoons eclipsed the Mickey Mouse series in popularity.{{cite encyclopedia |access-date=May 21, 2008 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Donald-Duck |title=Donald Duck |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}} Silly Symphonies, which garnered seven Academy Awards, ceased in 1939, until the shorts returned to theatres with some re-issues and re-releases.{{cite web |title=Silly Symphonies |url=https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/past_programs/2008/silly_symphonies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320210712/http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/cinematheque/past_programs/2008/silly_symphonies |archive-date=March 20, 2013 |work=Queensland Art Gallery |access-date=May 18, 2014}}

The success of Snow White allowed Disney to build a new, larger studio on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, where the Walt Disney Company remains headquartered to this day. Walt Disney Productions had its initial public offering on April 2, 1940, with Walt Disney as president and Roy Disney as CEO.{{cite web |title=Disney History |url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1940-01-01--1949-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704002255/https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1940-01-01--1949-12-31 |archive-date=July 4, 2015 |work=The Walt Disney Company |access-date=May 21, 2014}}

The studio launched into the production of new animated features, the first of which was Pinocchio, released in February 1940. Pinocchio was not initially a box office success.{{harvnb|Barrier|1999|pp=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr/page/269 269]–273, 602}}. The box office returns from the film's initial release were below both Snow White's unprecedented success and the studio's expectations.{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |year=1994 |title=Walt Disney: An American Original |publisher=Hyperion Books |location=New York |page=161 |isbn=0-7868-6027-8}} Of the film's $2.289 million cost – twice of Snow White – Disney recouped $1 million by late 1940, with studio reports of the film's final original box office take varying between $1.4 million and $1.9 million.{{harvnb|Barrier|1999|pp=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr/page/318 318], 602}}. However, Pinocchio was a critical success, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Best Original Score, making it the first film of the studio to win not only either Oscar, but both at the same time.{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=David |title=British Hit Singles and Albums |date=2006 |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |isbn=978-1-904994-10-7 |page=134 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fZvPwAACAAJ}}

Fantasia, an experimental film produced to an accompanying orchestral arrangement conducted by Leopold Stokowski, was released in November 1940 by Disney itself in a series of limited-seating roadshow engagements. The film cost $2 million to produce and, although the film earned $1.4 million in its roadshow engagements,{{Cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Sheldon |last2=Neale |first2=Stephen |title=Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhvrSwOOsRgC |publisher=Wayne State University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8143-3008-1}} the high cost ($85,000 per theater) of installing Fantasound placed Fantasia at a greater loss than Pinocchio.{{sfn|Barrier|2008|p=162}} RKO assumed distribution of Fantasia in 1941,{{citation |title=RKO Will Distribute Goldwyn Productions and Acquires Rights to 'Fantasia' |first=Douglas W. |last=Churchill |work=The New York Times |date=April 28, 1941}} later reissuing it in severely edited versions over the years.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|p=347}}Disney, Roy E., Levine, James, Canemaker, John, and MacQueen, Scott (2000). DVD audio commentary for Fantasia [DVD]. Walt Disney Home Entertainment Despite its financial failure, Fantasia was the subject of two Academy Honorary Awards on February 26, 1942 – one for the development of the innovative Fantasound system used to create the film's stereoscopic soundtrack, and the other for Stokowski and his contributions to the film.Holden, p. 584. Fantasia was the final Disney animated film to be completed at the Hyperion Studio of the Walt Disney Studios (Walt Disney Productions) in Los Angeles.

Much of the character animation on these productions and all subsequent features until the late 1970s was supervised by a brain-trust of animators Walt Disney dubbed the "Nine Old Men", many of whom also served as directors and later producers on the Disney features: Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Woolie Reitherman, Les Clark, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Milt Kahl, and Marc Davis.{{Cite book |first=Michael |last=Barrier |title=The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney |publisher=University of California Press |year=2008 |pages=273–274 |isbn=978-0-520-25619-4}} Other head animators at Disney during this period included Norm Ferguson, Bill Tytla and Fred Moore. The development of the feature animation department created a caste system at the Disney studio: lesser animators (and feature animators in-between assignments) were assigned to work on the short subjects, while animators higher in status such as the Nine Old Men worked on the features. Concern over Walt Disney accepting credit for the artists' work as well as debates over compensation led to many of the newer and lower-ranked animators seeking to unionize the Disney studio.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=356–370}}

File:Screen Cartoonist's Guild strike at Disney.jpg started on May 29, 1941.]]

A bitter union strike began in May 1941, which was resolved without the angered Walt Disney's involvement in July and August of that year.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=356–370}} As Walt Disney Productions was being set up as a union shop,{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=356–370}} Walt Disney and several studio employees were sent by the U.S. government on a Good Neighbor policy trip to Central and South America.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=371–375}} The Disney strike and its aftermath led to an exodus of several animation professionals from the studio, from top-level animators such as Art Babbitt and Bill Tytla to artists better known for their work outside the Disney studio such as Frank Tashlin, Maurice Noble, Walt Kelly, Bill Melendez, and John Hubley.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=356–370}} Hubley, along with several other Disney strikers, went on to found the United Productions of America studio, Disney's key animation rival in the 1950s.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=356–370}}

Dumbo, in production during the midst of the animators' strike, premiered in October 1941 and proved to be a financial success. The film cost $950,000 to produce, half the cost of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, less than a third of the cost of Pinocchio, and two-fifths of the cost of Fantasia. Dumbo eventually grossed $1.6 million during its original release.{{cite web |title=TCM's Leading Ladies, 'Dumbo' at the El Capitan |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/features/?id=2077&p=.htm |work=boxofficemojo.com |author=Holleran, Scott |date=June 1, 2006 |access-date=March 3, 2010}} Dumbo was the first Disney animated film to be completed at the original Animation Building of the Walt Disney Studios (Walt Disney Productions) in Burbank, California. In August 1942, Bambi was released and, as with Pinocchio and Fantasia, did not perform well at the box office. Out of its $1.7 million budget, it grossed $1.64 million.{{sfn|Barrier|1999|p={{page needed|date=January 2021}}}}

Production of full-length animated features was temporarily suspended after the release of Bambi. Given the financial failures of some of the recent features and World War II cutting off much of the overseas cinema market, the studio's financiers at the Bank of America would only loan the studio working capital if it temporarily restricted itself to shorts production.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=375–377}} Features then in production such as Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Lady and the Tramp were therefore put on hold until after the war. Following the United States' entry into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the studio housed over 500 U.S. Army soldiers who were responsible for protecting nearby aircraft factories from enemy bombers. In addition, several Disney animators were drafted to fight in the war and the studio was contracted on producing wartime content for every branch of the U.S. military, particularly military training, and civilian propaganda films. From 1942 to 1943, 95 percent of the studio's animation output was for the military.{{cite web |last=Monahan |first=Kathy |title=Wartoons |url=http://www.thehistorychannelclub.com/articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/60/wartoons |website=The History Channel Club |access-date=February 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419071549/http://www.thehistorychannelclub.com/articles/articletype/articleview/articleid/60/wartoons |archive-date=April 19, 2013}} During the war, Disney produced the live-action/animated military propaganda feature Victory Through Air Power (1943), and a series of Latin culture-themed shorts resulting from the 1941 Good Neighbor trip were compiled into two features, Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944).{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=394–407}}

Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros set the template for several other 1940s Disney releases of "package films": low-budgeted films composed of animated short subjects with animated or live-action bridging material.Leonard Maltin, Référence:The Disney Films (Leonard Maltin)#3rd Edition The Disney Films: 3rd Edition, {{p.|44}}Robin Allan, Walt Disney and Europe, {{p.|175}}. These films were Make Mine Music (1946), Fun and Fancy Free (1947), Melody Time (1948) and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949). The studio also produced two features, Song of the South (1946) and So Dear to My Heart (1948), which used more expansive live-action stories which still included animated sequences and sequences combining live-action and animated characters. Song of the South, however, would go on to have historical notability due to its now controversial depiction of happy plantation workers. Due to this, the film is not available on Disney+. Shorts production continued during this period as well, with Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto cartoons being the main output accompanied by cartoons starring Mickey Mouse, Figaro and, in the 1950s, Chip 'n' Dale and Humphrey the Bear.{{Harvnb|Maltin|1987|pp=364–367}}

In addition, Disney began reissuing the previous features, beginning with re-releases of Snow White in 1944,{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/georgelucassbloc00alex |url-access=registration |title=George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success |publisher=ItBooks |year=2010 |isbn=9780061778896 |editor-last=Block |editor-first=Alex Ben |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/georgelucassbloc00alex/page/206 206] |language=en |oclc=731249589 |editor-last2=Wilson |editor-first2=Lucy Autrey}} Pinocchio in 1945, and Fantasia in 1946."Re-Release Schedule" feature from The Fantasia Legacy DVD. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2000) This led to a tradition of reissuing the Disney films every seven years, which lasted into the 1990s before being translated into the studio's handling of home video releases.

File:Oldanimationbuilding.JPG in Burbank, California, the headquarters of the animation department from 1940 to 1985.]]

In 1948, Disney returned to the production of full-length features with Cinderella, a feature film based on the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. At a cost of nearly $3 million, the future of the studio depended upon the success of this film.{{cite web |url=https://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/cinderellamain/index.html |title=Cinderella |access-date=January 24, 2009 |website=The Walt Disney Family Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119235053/http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/cinderellamain/index.html |archive-date=November 19, 2008}} Upon its release in 1950, Cinderella proved to be a box-office success, with the profits from the film's release allowing Disney to carry on producing animated features throughout the 1950s.{{sfn|Gabler|2006|pp=476–478}} Following its success, production on the in-limbo features Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Lady and the Tramp was resumed. In addition, an ambitious new project, an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty" set to Tchaikovsky's classic score, was begun but took much of the rest of the decade to complete.

Alice in Wonderland, released in 1951, met with a lukewarm response at the box office and was a sharp critical disappointment in its initial release.{{cite magazine |title=Top Grossers of 1951 |url=https://archive.org/stream/variety185-1952-01#page/n69/mode/2up/ |magazine=Variety |page=70 |date=January 2, 1952 |via=Internet Archive}} Peter Pan, released in 1953, on the other hand, was a commercial success and the fifth highest-grossing film of the year. In 1955, Lady and the Tramp was released to higher box office success than any other Disney animated feature since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,{{cite book |title=Television: The Critical View |last=Newcomb |first=Horace |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-511927-4 |page=27}} earning an estimated $6.5 million in rentals at the North American box office in 1955.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/variety201-1956-01/page/n673 |title=1955's Top Film Grossers |page=1 |magazine=Variety |date=January 25, 1956 |via=Internet Archive}} Lady and the Tramp is significant as Disney's first widescreen animated feature, produced in the CinemaScope process, and was the first Disney animated feature to be released by Disney's own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=518–520}}

File:Cinderella (1950 Disney character).png{{'}}s box office success saved the studio from going out of business.]]

By the mid-1950s, with Walt Disney's attention primarily set on new endeavours such as live-action films, television and the Disneyland theme park, production of the animated films was left primarily in the hands of the "Nine Old Men" trust of head animators and directors. This led to several delays in approvals during the production of Sleeping Beauty, which was finally released in 1959. At $6 million, it was Disney's most expensive film to date, produced in a heavily stylised art style devised by artist Eyvind Earle and presented in large-format Super Technirama 70 with six-track stereophonic sound.{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Bob |title=Walt Disney: An American Original |date=1994 |publisher=Hyperion Press |location=New York |isbn=0-7868-6027-8 |pages=294–295 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLdgngEACAAJ&q=Walt+Disney:+An+American+Original}} However, despite being the studio's highest-grossing animated feature since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film's large production costs and the box office underperformance of Disney's other 1959 output resulted in the studio posting its first annual loss in a decade for fiscal year 1960,{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Bob |year=1976 |edition=1994 |title=Walt Disney: An American Original |location=New York |publisher=Hyperion Press |pages=294–295 |isbn=0-7868-6027-8}} leading to massive layoffs throughout the studio.{{cite web |last=Norman |first=Floyd |author-link=Floyd Norman |url=https://jimhillmedia.com/toon-tuesday-heres-to-the-real-survivors/ |title=Toon Tuesday: Here's to the real survivors |website=Jim Hill Media |date=August 18, 2008 |access-date=February 13, 2010 |archive-date=July 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716015907/http://jimhillmedia.com/columnists1/b/floyd_norman/archive/2008/08/19/toon-tuesday-here-s-to-the-real-survivors.aspx%23.UAN1X6go9Rw |url-status=dead}}

By the end of the decade, the Disney short subjects were no longer being produced on a regular basis, with many of the shorts divisions' personnel either leaving the company or being reassigned to work on Disney television programs such as The Mickey Mouse Club and Disneyland. While the Silly Symphonies shorts had dominated the Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) during the 1930s, the studio's reign over the most awards had been ended by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio's Tom and Jerry cartoons, Warner Bros. Cartoons' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, and the works of United Productions of America (UPA), whose flat art style and stylized animation techniques were lauded as more modern alternatives to the older Disney style.{{harvnb|Barrier|1999|pp=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr/page/526 526]–532}}. During the 1950s, only one Disney short, the stylized Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, won the Best Short Subject (Cartoons) Oscar.Lehman, Christopher. (2009) The Colored Cartoon: Black Representation in American Animated Short Films, 1907–1954. Amherst, MA: Univ. of Massachusetts Press. p. 117.

The Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Goofy shorts had all ceased regular production by 1953, with Donald Duck and Humphrey continuing and converting to widescreen CinemaScope before the shorts division was shut down in 1956. After that, all future shorts were produced by the feature films division until 1969. The last Disney short of the golden age of American animation was It's Tough to Be a Bird. Disney shorts would only be produced on a sporadic basis from this point on, with notable later shorts including{{cite web |last1=Hulett |first1=Steve |title='Mouse in Transition': The Disney Animation Story Crew (Chapter 3) |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/untold-tales/mouse-in-transition-the-disney-animation-story-crew-chapter-3-100144.html |website=Cartoon Brew |access-date=July 15, 2014 |date=June 4, 2014}} Runaway Brain (1995, starring Mickey Mouse){{cite web |title=One-foot Runaway Brain Mickey Toy |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/one-foot-runaway-brain-mickey-toy-11649.html |website=Cartoon Brew |date=February 26, 2009 |access-date=July 15, 2014}} and Paperman (2012).{{cite news |last=Connelly |first=Brendon |title=What Is Disney's Paperman? And When Will We See It? |url=https://bleedingcool.com/path.php?psg=/disneys-paperman/ |access-date=February 9, 2012 |newspaper=Bleeding Cool |date=February 8, 2012}}

Despite the 1959 layoffs and competition for Walt Disney's attention from the company's expanded live-action film, TV and theme park departments, production continued on feature animation productions at a reduced level.Shostak, Stu (03-28-2012). "[https://www.stusshow.com/archives.php Interview with Floyd Norman]". Stu's Show. Retrieved June 22, 2014.

In 1961, the studio released One Hundred and One Dalmatians, an animated feature that popularized the use of xerography during the process of inking and painting traditional animation cels.{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|p=620}} Using xerography, animation drawings could be photochemically transferred rather than traced from paper drawings to the clear acetate sheets ("cels") used in final animation production. The resulting art style – a scratchier line which revealed the construction lines in the animators' drawings – typified Disney films into the 1980s. The film was a success, being the tenth highest-grossing film of 1961 with rentals of $6.4 million.Gebert, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Movie Awards (listing of "Box Office (Domestic Rentals)" for 1961, taken from Variety magazine), St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996. {{ISBN|0-668-05308-9}}. "Rentals" refers to the distributor/studio's share of the box office gross, which, according to Gebert, is roughly half of the money generated by ticket sales.

The Disney animation training program started at the studio in 1932 before the development of Snow White eventually led to Walt Disney helping found the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).{{Harvnb|Gabler|2006|pp=591–593}} This university formed via the merger of Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. It included a Disney-developed animation program of study among its degree offerings. CalArts became the alma mater of many of the animators who would work at Disney and other animation studios from the 1970s to the present.

The Sword in the Stone was released in 1963 and was the sixth highest-grossing film of the year in North America with estimated rentals of $4.75 million."Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, January 6, 1965, p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross. A featurette adaptation of one of A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh stories, Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, was released in 1966,{{cite news |title=Pooh Stories Enchant Several Generations of Children |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20000512&id=hFg1AAAAIBAJ&pg=2052,6068178 |access-date=June 22, 2014 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=May 12, 2000}} to be followed by several other Pooh featurettes over the years and a full-length compilation feature, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, which was released in 1977.

Walt Disney died in December 1966, ten months before the studio's next film The Jungle Book, was completed and released.Maltin, Leonard: "Chapter 2," section: "The Jungle Book", pages 253–256. The Disney Films, 2000 The film was a success,Thomas, Bob: "Chapter 7: The Post-War Films," section: "Walt Disney's Last Films", pages 106–107. Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules, 1997 finishing 1967 as the fourth highest-grossing film of the year.{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Krämer |year=2005 |title=The New Hollywood: from Bonnie and Clyde to Star Wars |publisher=Wallflower Press |isbn=978-1-904764-58-8 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=B5PjuAbEPooC&pg=PA56 56]}}

Following Walt Disney's death, Wolfgang Reitherman continued as both producer and director of the studio's feature films. It was Reitherman who was responsible for a noticeable softening of the Disney villains. Over the next two decades, nearly all Disney villains were more comical or pitiful rather than scary.{{cite journal |last1=Keck |first1=William|title=Drawing the Line: Directing at Disney, the new book by Pete Docter and Don Peri, sheds light on Walt Disney and his complicated relationships with the largely unknown directors of classic Disney Animation |journal=Disney Twenty-three |date=Fall 2024 |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=42–47 |publisher=Walt Disney Company |location=Burbank |issn=2162-5492 |oclc=698366817}} Reitherman's main priority was ensuring that the studio would continue to turn a profit and towards that end, he stressed the importance of making family-friendly films. According to Andreas Deja, Reitherman said that "if we lose the kids, we lose everything".{{cite book |last1=Deja |first1=Andreas |title=The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney's Great Animators |date=2016 |publisher=CRC Press |location=Boca Raton |isbn=9781135015862 |page=51 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bs2PCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA51}}{{cite book |last1=Peri |first1=Don |last2=Docter |first2=Pete |author2-link=Pete Docter |title=Directing at Disney: The Original Directors of Walt's Animated Films |date=2024 |publisher=Disney Editions |location=Los Angeles |isbn=9781484755747 |page=245 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ovdZEQAAQBAJ&pg=PA245#v=onepage&q&f=false}}

The studio began the 1970s with the release of The Aristocats, the last film project to be approved by Walt Disney. In 1971, Roy O. Disney, the studio co-founder, died and Walt Disney Productions was left in the hands of Donn Tatum and Card Walker, who alternated as chairman and CEO in overlapping terms until 1978. The next feature, Robin Hood (1973), was produced with a significantly reduced budget and animation repurposed from previous features.{{cite book |title=Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |year=1987 |publisher=New American Library |isbn=0-452-25993-2 |pages=75–80}} Both The Aristocats and Robin Hood were minor box office and critical successes.

The Rescuers, released in 1977, was a success exceeding the achievements of the previous two Disney features.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/disneysartofanim00thom |url-access=registration |quote=bob thomas disney art of animation. |title=Disney's Art of animation: from Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast |publisher=Hyperion |author=Thomas, Bob |author-link=Bob Thomas (reporter) |year=1991 |isbn=9781562829971}} Receiving positive reviews, high commercial returns, and an Academy Award nomination, it ended up being the third highest-grossing film of the year and the most successful and best reviewed Disney animated film since The Jungle Book. The film was reissued in 1983, accompanied by a new Disney featurette, Mickey's Christmas Carol.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19831216&id=oQZZAAAAIBAJ&pg=5904,174100 |title=A real Christmas present from Disney |work=The Evening Independent |date=December 16, 1983 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Moorhead, Jim}}

The production of The Rescuers signaled the beginning of a changing of the guard process in the personnel at the Disney animation studio, as veterans such as Milt Kahl and Les Clark retired; they were gradually replaced by new talents such as Don Bluth, Ron Clements, John Musker and Glen Keane. The new animators, selected from the animation program at CalArts and trained by Eric Larson, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston and Woolie Reitherman, got their first chance to prove themselves as a group with the animated sequences in Disney's live-action/animated hybrid feature Pete's Dragon (1977),{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19770718&id=gIIuAAAAIBAJ&pg=1391,673192 |title=New blood warms Walt's factory |work=Montreal Gazette |date=July 18, 1977 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Buck, Jerry}} the animation for which was directed by Bluth. In September 1979, dissatisfied with what they felt was a stagnation in the development of the art of animation at Disney,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1243&dat=19820806&id=DZxTAAAAIBAJ&pg=5306,5438526 |title=Cartoons in trouble? |work=The Bulletin |date=August 6, 1982 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Scott, Vernon}} Bluth and several of the other new guard animators quit to start their own studio, Don Bluth Productions, which became Disney's chief competitor in the animation field during the 1980s.

Delayed half a year by the defection of the Bluth group, The Fox and the Hound was released in 1981 after four years in production. The film was considered a financial success by the studio, and development continued on The Black Cauldron, a long-gestating adaptation of the Chronicles of Prydain series of novels by Lloyd Alexander produced in Super Technirama 70.{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Mike |title=New on Video |id={{ProQuest|408783175}} |work=USA Today |date=7 August 1998 |quote=Like Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty, this pricey flop was filmed in Super Technirama 70, the wide-screen process used in Spartacus and El Cid.}}

The Black Cauldron was intended to expand the appeal of Disney animated films to older audiences and to showcase the talents of the new generation of Disney animators from CalArts. Besides Keane, Musker and Clements, this new group of artists included other promising animators such as Andreas Deja, Mike Gabriel, John Lasseter, Brad Bird and Tim Burton. Lasseter was fired from Disney in 1983 for pushing the studio to explore computer animation production,{{cite news |last=Pond |first=Steve |title=Why Disney Fired John Lasseter – And How He Came Back to Heal the Studio |url=https://www.thewrap.com/john-lasseter-disney-fired-frozen-healed-studio-oscarwrap-down-wire |access-date=May 11, 2014 |newspaper=The Wrap |date=February 21, 2014}}{{cite news |last=Schlender |first=Brent |title=Pixar's magic man |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/05/15/magazines/fortune/pixar_futureof_fortune_052906/index.htm |access-date=April 20, 2012 |newspaper=CNN Money |date=May 17, 2006}} but went on to become the creative head of Pixar, a pioneering computer animation studio that would begin a close association with Disney in the late 1980s.{{cite book |last=Paik |first=Karen |title=To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios |year=2007 |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-0-8118-5012-4}}{{cite book |last=Price |first=David A. |title=The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company |year=2009 |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-27829-6}} Similarly, Burton was fired in 1984 after producing a live-action short shelved by the studio, Frankenweenie, then went on to become a high-profile producer and director of live-action and stop-motion features for Disney and other studios. Some of Burton's high-profile projects for Disney would include the stop-motion The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), a live-action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (2010), and a stop-motion feature remake of Frankenweenie (2012).{{cite news |last=DeKinder |first=Mathew |title=Burton resurrects boy and his dog story in 'Frankenweenie' |url=https://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/illinois/life/matdekinder/burton-resurrects-boy-and-his-dog-story-in-frankenweenie/article_cfc0611d-6480-5b0e-9e8a-82a27c5ef74b.html |access-date=May 11, 2014 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=October 5, 2012}}{{cite news |last=Vincent |first=Mal |title=Disney embraces Tim Burton's taste for dark and quirky |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2012/10/disney-embraces-tim-burtons-taste-dark-and-quirky |access-date=May 11, 2014 |newspaper=The Virginian-Pilot |date=October 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215306/http://hamptonroads.com/2012/10/disney-embraces-tim-burtons-taste-dark-and-quirky |archive-date=May 12, 2014}} Bird was also fired after a few years working at the company for criticizing Disney's upper management as he felt that they were playing it safe and not taking risks on animation. He subsequently became an animation director at other studios, including Warner Bros. Animation and Pixar.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/how-incredibles-2-director-brad-bird-got-his-start-at-disney.html |title=How 'Incredibles 2' director Brad Bird got his start at Disney |last=Huddleston |first=Tom Jr. |date=June 15, 2018 |website=CNBC}}

Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son-in-law, became president of Walt Disney Productions in 1980 and CEO in 1983. That year, he expanded the company's film and television production divisions, creating the Walt Disney Pictures banner under which future films from the feature animation department would be released.{{cite book |last=Kunz |first=William M. |title=Culture Conglomerates: Consolidation in the Motion Picture and Television Industries |year=2007 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=978-0-742-54066-8 |pages=41–42}}

File:RoyEDisney07.jpg (chairman, 1985–2003), nephew of Walt Disney, was a key figure in restructuring the animation department following the reorganization of the Disney company in 1984.]]

After a series of corporate takeover attempts in 1984, Roy E. Disney, son of Roy O. and nephew of Walt, resigned from the company's board of directors and launched a campaign called "SaveDisney", successfully convincing the board to fire Miller. Roy E. Disney brought in Michael Eisner as Disney's new CEO and Frank Wells as president.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=19–55}}{{cite book |author=Stewart, James |title=DisneyWar |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |year=2005 |isbn=0-684-80993-1 |title-link=DisneyWar}} Eisner in turn named Jeffrey Katzenberg chairman of the film division, The Walt Disney Studios.{{cite video |people=Hahn, Don |title=Waking Sleeping Beauty |medium=Documentary film |publisher=Stone Circle Pictures/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |location=Burbank, California |date=2009}} Near completion when the Eisner regime took over Disney, The Black Cauldron (1985) came to represent what would later be referred to as the "rock bottom" point for Disney animation. The studio's most expensive feature to that point at $44 million, The Black Cauldron was a critical and commercial failure. The film's $21 million box office gross led to a loss for the studio, putting the future of the animation department in jeopardy.

Between the 1950s and 1980s, the significance of animation to Disney's bottom line was significantly reduced as the company expanded into further live-action production, television and theme parks. As new CEO, Michael Eisner strongly considered shuttering the feature animation studio and outsourcing future animation. Roy E. Disney intervened, offering to head the feature animation division and turn its fortunes around, while Eisner established the Walt Disney Pictures Television Animation Group to produce lower-cost animation for television. Named Chairman of feature animation by Eisner, Roy E. Disney appointed Peter Schneider president of animation to run the day-to-day operations in 1985.{{cite news |last1=Singer |first1=Barry |title=THEATER; Just Two Animated Characters, Indeed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/theater/theater-just-two-animated-characters-indeed.html?ref=topics&pagewanted=1 |access-date=August 2, 2015 |work=The New York Times |date=October 4, 1998}}

On February 1, 1985, Disney executives began to move the animation department from the Disney studio lot in Burbank to a variety of warehouses, hangars and trailers located about {{convert|2|mi|abbr=on}} east at 1420 Flower Street in nearby Glendale, California.{{cite news |last1=Farley |first1=Ellen |title=Being Moved From Longtime Home, New Series to Be Done Overseas : Disney Animators Fear for Future |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-07-fi-5397-story.html |access-date=January 5, 2025 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 7, 1985}}{{cite book |last1=Finch |first1=Christopher |title=The Art of Walt Disney |date=2004 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |location=New York |isbn=9780810949645 |page=271 |edition=Revised and expanded}} About a year later, the growing computer graphics (CG) group would move there too.

The animation department's first feature animation at its new location was The Great Mouse Detective (1986), begun by John Musker and Ron Clements as Basil of Baker Street after both left production of The Black Cauldron.{{cite book |last=Shaffer |first=Joshua C. |title=Discovering the Magic Kingdom: An Unofficial Disneyland Vacation Guide |date=September 22, 2010 |publisher=Author House |page=67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H9FfbBUMAH0C&q=Toon+Disney+blocks&pg=PA73 |isbn=9781452063133}} The film was enough of a critical and commercial success to instill executive confidence in the animation studio. Later the same year, however, Universal Pictures and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment released Don Bluth's An American Tail, which outgrossed The Great Mouse Detective at the box office and became the highest-grossing first-issue animated film to that point.{{cite web |url=http://www.cataroo.com/DBbio.html |title=Don Bluth Biography |access-date=September 13, 2009}}

Katzenberg, Schneider, and Roy Disney set about changing the culture of the studio, increasing staffing and production so that a new animated feature would be released every year instead of every two to four. The first of the releases on the accelerated production schedule was Oliver & Company (1988), which featured an all-star cast including Billy Joel and Bette Midler and an emphasis on a modern pop soundtrack. Oliver & Company opened in the theaters on the same day as another Bluth/Amblin/Universal animated film, The Land Before Time. Oliver & Company outgrossed The Land Before Time in the U.S. and went on to become the most successful animated feature in the U.S. to that date, though the latter's worldwide box office gross was higher than the former.

File:1400flowerstreet.jpg

File:1400airway.JPG

At the same time in 1988, Disney started entering into Australia's long-standing animation industry by purchasing Hanna-Barbera's Australian studio to start Disney Animation Australia.{{cite news |title=Disney to axe Sydney studio |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/disney-to-axe-sydney-studio/2005/07/26/1122143838088.html |access-date=March 12, 2013 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald. |date=July 26, 2005}}

While Oliver & Company and the next feature The Little Mermaid were in production, Disney collaborated with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and master animator Richard Williams to produce Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a groundbreaking live-action/animation hybrid directed by Robert Zemeckis, which featured licensed animated characters from other studios (such as Warner Bros., MGM, and Universal).Robert Zemeckis, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, Ken Ralston, Frank Marshall, Steve Starkey, DVD audio commentary, 2003, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment{{cite book |author=Norman Kagan |title=The Cinema of Robert Zemeckis |date=May 2003 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Maryland |chapter=Who Framed Roger Rabbit |pages=93–117 |isbn=0-87833-293-6}} Disney set up a new animation studio under Williams' supervision in London to create the cartoon characters for Roger Rabbit, with many of the artists from the California studio traveling to England to work on the film.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=86–89}} A significant critical and commercial success, Roger Rabbit won three Academy Awards for technical achievements.{{cite web |title=The 72nd Academy Awards (2000) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989 |website=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110502162653/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/61st-winners.html |archive-date=May 2, 2011}} The film won for Best Editing, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing, and was key in renewing mainstream interest in American animation. Other than the film itself, the studio also produced three Roger Rabbit shorts during the late 1980s and early 1990s.{{Cite news |last=Richardson |first=John |title=Young Animator makes First Disney Short in 23 Years |work=Los Angeles Daily News |date=July 9, 1989 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=19890709&id=W5EzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6874,2316509 |access-date=June 22, 2014}}{{cite book |last=Telotte |first=J.P. |title=Animating Space: From Mickey to WALL-E |url=https://archive.org/details/animatingspacefr00telo |url-access=limited |year=2010 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=978-0813133713 |page=[https://archive.org/details/animatingspacefr00telo/page/n304 296]}}

{{main|Disney Renaissance}}

A second satellite studio, Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, opened in 1989 with 40 employees. Its offices were located within the Disney/MGM Studios Theme Park theme park at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, and visitors were allowed to tour the studio and observe animators at work.{{cite web |last=Drees |first=Rich |title=Disney Closes Florida Animation Studio |url=http://www.filmbuffonline.com/News/2003-2004/DisneyClosesStudio.htm |work=filmbuffonline.com |access-date=December 6, 2012}} That same year, the studio released The Little Mermaid, which became a keystone achievement in Disney's history as its largest critical and commercial success in decades. Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements, who had been co-directors on The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid earned $84 million at the North American box office, a record for the studio. The film was built around a score from Broadway songwriters Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who was also a co-producer and story consultant on the film. The Little Mermaid won two Academy Awards, for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.{{cite web |title=The 62nd Academy Awards (1990) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011}}

The Little Mermaid vigorously relaunched a profound new interest in the animation and musical film genres.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=102–104}} The film was also the first to feature the use of Disney's Computer Animation Production System (CAPS). Developed for Disney by Pixar, which had grown into a commercial computer animation and technology development company, CAPS/ink-and-paint would become significant in allowing future Disney films to more seamlessly integrate computer-generated imagery and achieve higher production values with digital ink and paint and compositing techniques. The Little Mermaid was the first of a series of blockbusters that would be released over the next decade by Walt Disney Feature Animation, a period later designated by the term Disney Renaissance.{{cite web |url=https://popcrush.com/disney-renaissance-frozen-animated-films/ |title=Disney Renaissance: Why 'Frozen' Is Reviving the Company's Golden Era of Animated Films Read More: Disney Renaissance: Why 'Frozen' Is Reviving the Golden Era |work=PopCrush |date=April 14, 2014 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Malach, Maggie}} The Renaissance era also saw the studio return to making films with darker themes and scarier villains, similar to the films it had made when Walt Disney was still alive.

Accompanied in theaters by the Mickey Mouse featurette The Prince and the Pauper, The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was Disney's first animated feature sequel and the studio's first film to be fully colored and composited via computer using the CAPS/ink-and-paint system. However, the film did not duplicate the success of The Little Mermaid. The next Disney animated feature, Beauty and the Beast, had begun production in London but was moved back to Burbank after Disney decided to shutter the London satellite office and retool the film into a musical-comedy format similar to The Little Mermaid. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were retained to write the songs and score, though Ashman died before production was completed.

Debuting first in a work-in-progress version at the 1991 New York Film Festival before its November 1991 wide release, Beauty and the Beast, directed by Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, was an unprecedented critical and commercial success and would later be regarded as one of the studio's best films.{{cite web |url=http://films.estefanfilms.com/beautybeast.htm |title=Beauty and the Beast – Film Archives |publisher=The Film Archives.com |access-date=January 13, 2009}} The film earned six Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture, a first for an animated work, winning for Best Song and Best Original Score.{{cite web |title=The 64th Academy Awards (1992) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1992 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011}} Its $145 million box office gross set new records, and merchandising for the film, including toys, cross-promotions, and soundtrack sales, was also lucrative.

The successes of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast established the template for future Disney releases during the 1990s: a musical-comedy format with Broadway-styled songs and tentpole action sequences, buoyed by cross-promotional marketing and merchandising, all designed to bring audiences of all ages and types into theaters. In addition to John Musker, Ron Clements, Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale, the new guard of Disney artists creating these films included story artists/directors Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, Chris Sanders and Brenda Chapman, and lead animators Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg, Nik Ranieri, Will Finn and many others.{{cite video |people=Lund, Dan |title=Dream On Silly Dreamer |medium=Documentary film |publisher=WestLund Productions |location=Orlando, Florida |date=2005}}

Aladdin, released in November 1992, continued the upward trend in Disney's animation success, earning $504 million worldwide at the box office,{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4148200961/weekend/ |title=Aladdin box office info |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=March 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215092824/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=aladdin.htm |archive-date=February 15, 2009 |url-status=live}} and two more Oscars for Best Song and Best Score.{{cite web |title=The 65th Academy Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1993 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011}} Featuring songs by Menken, Ashman and Tim Rice (who replaced Ashman after his death){{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=123, 152}} and starring the voice of Robin Williams, Aladdin also established the trend of hiring celebrity actors and actresses to provide the voices of Disney characters, which had been explored to some degree with The Jungle Book and Oliver & Company, but now became standard practice.{{cite news |last=Butler |first=Robert |title=High profile names help market animated films |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=20060730&id=ZI0_AAAAIBAJ&pg=1973,399075 |access-date=June 22, 2014 |newspaper=The Victoria Advocate/McClatchy Newspapers |date=July 30, 2006}}

In June 1994, Disney released The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff. An all-animal story set in Africa, The Lion King featured an all-star voice cast which included James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick and Jeremy Irons, with songs written by Tim Rice and pop star Elton John. The Lion King earned $768 million at the worldwide box office,{{cite web |title=The Lion King |work=The Numbers |publisher=Nash Information Services |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1994/0LNKN.php |access-date=November 20, 2011 |quote=North American gross after first run: $312,825,889; Overseas gross prior to re-release:$455,800,000}} to this date a record for a traditionally-animated film,{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=animation.htm |title=Highest-grossing animated films |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=December 24, 2009}} earning millions more in merchandising, promotions and record sales for its soundtrack.

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Aladdin and The Lion King had been the highest-grossing films worldwide in each of their respective release years.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1992/ |title=1992 Yearly Box Office Results |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=January 8, 2010}}{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1994/ |title=1994 Yearly Box Office Results |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=January 8, 2010}} Between these in-house productions, Disney diversified in animation methods and produced The Nightmare Before Christmas with former Disney animator Tim Burton; Walt Disney Feature Animation contributed by providing the film's second-layering traditional animation.{{cite news |last=Mendelson |first=Scott |title='Nightmare Before Christmas' Turns 20: From Shameful Spawn To Disney's Pride |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2013/10/15/how-the-nightmare-before-christmas-went-in-20-years-from-shameful-offspring-to-disneys-favorite-son/ |access-date=December 14, 2013 |newspaper=Forbes |date=October 15, 2013}} With animation becoming again an increasingly important and lucrative part of Disney's business, the company began to expand its operations. The flagship California studio was split into two units and expanded, and ground was broken on a new Disney Feature Animation building adjacent to the main Disney lot in Burbank, which was dedicated in 1995. also one of Disney's television animation studios in the Paris, France suburb of Montreuil – the former Brizzi Brothers studio – became Walt Disney Feature Animation Paris, where A Goofy Movie (1995) and significant parts of later Disney films were produced. Disney also began producing lower cost direct-to-video sequels and prequels for its successful animated films using the services of its television animation studios under the name Disney MovieToons. The Return of Jafar (1994), a sequel to Aladdin and a pilot for the Aladdin television show spin-off, was the first of these productions.{{cite news |last=Breznican |first=Anthony |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=20020217&id=PockAAAAIBAJ&pg=1102,2300694 |title=The Boy Who Never Grew Up Makes Comeback in Disney's 'Peter Pan' Sequel |date=February 17, 2002 |access-date=June 22, 2014}} Walt Disney Feature Animation was also heavily involved in the adaptations of both Beauty and the Beast in 1994 and The Lion King in 1997 into Broadway musicals.

Jeffrey Katzenberg and the Disney story team were heavily involved in the development and production of Toy Story,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=153, 241–243}} the first fully computer-animated feature ever produced. Toy Story was produced for Disney by Pixar and directed by former Disney animator John Lasseter, whom Peter Schneider had unsuccessfully tried to hire back after his success with Pixar shorts such as Tin Toy (1988). Released in 1995, Toy Story opened to critical acclaim{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/toy-story |title=Toy Story Reviews |work=Metacritic |access-date=March 11, 2009}}{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story/ |title=Toy Story (1995) |work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=March 11, 2009}} and commercial success,{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1400342017/ |title=Toy Story |work=Box Office Mojo |access-date=February 18, 2010}} leading to Pixar signing a five-film deal with Disney, which bore critically and financially successful computer animated films such as A Bug's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters, Inc. (2001),{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|p=9}} Finding Nemo (2003), and The Incredibles (2004).

In addition, the successes of Aladdin and The Lion King spurred a significant increase in the number of American-produced animated features throughout the rest of the decade, with the major film studios establishing new animation divisions such as Fox Animation Studios, Sullivan Bluth Studios (both founded by Don Bluth), Amblimation, Rich Animation Studios, Turner Feature Animation, and Warner Bros. Feature Animation being formed to produce films in a Disney-esque musical-comedy format such as We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Thumbelina (1994), The Swan Princess (1994), A Troll in Central Park (1994), The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), Cats Don't Dance (1997), Anastasia (1997), Quest for Camelot (1998), and The King and I (1999).{{cite news |last1=Horn |first1=John |title=Can Anyone Dethrone Disney? |id={{ProQuest|421218600}} |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=1 June 1997 |location=Los Angeles CA}} Anastasia, Quest for Camelot and The King and I are mentioned as upcoming titles.{{cite news |last1=Graser |first1=Marc |title='Tooning up or 'tooning out? |id={{ProQuest|236296971}} |work=Variety |date=2 June 2003 |location=Los Angeles CA}} Out of these non-Disney animated features, only Anastasia was a box office success, and it later ended up being acquired by Disney through the company's acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.{{cite book |last=Koenig |first=David |title=Mouse Under Glass: Secrets of Disney Animation & Theme Parks |edition=2nd edition, Kindle |date=2011 |publisher=Bonaventure Press |chapter=8}}

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Concerns arose internally at the Disney studio, particularly from Roy E. Disney, about studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg taking too much credit for the success of Disney's early 1990s releases. Disney Company president Frank Wells was killed in a helicopter accident in 1994, and Katzenberg lobbied CEO Michael Eisner for the vacant president position. Instead, tensions between Katzenberg, Eisner and Disney resulted in Katzenberg being forced to resign from the company on August 24 of that year,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=160–186}} with Joe Roth taking his place. On October 12, 1994, Katzenberg went on to become one of the founders of DreamWorks SKG, whose animation division became Disney's key rival in feature animation,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=192–197, 233–234, 288}} with both computer animated films such as Antz (1998) and traditionally-animated films such as The Prince of Egypt (1998). In December 1994, the Animation Building in Burbank was completed for the animation division.{{cite news |last1=Betsky |first1=Aaron |title=DREAM FACTORIES : Cartoon Character |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-18-tm-10440-story.html |access-date=September 25, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 18, 1994}}

In contrast to the early 1990s productions, not all the films in the second half of the renaissance were successful. Pocahontas, released in the summer of 1995, was the first film of the renaissance to receive mixed reviews from critics. It was still popular with audiences and commercially successful, earning $346 million worldwide.{{cite web |title=Pocahontas |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl762021377/weekend/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}} The film won two Academy Awards for its music by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.{{cite web |title=The 68th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1996 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011}}. Pocahontas won two 1996 Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

The next film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) was partially produced at the Paris studio.{{cite news |last=Swarden |first=Anne |date=July 1, 1997 |title=Parisian Moviegoers Flock To See Hunchback |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1957&dat=19970101&id=tFhGAAAAIBAJ&pg=5979,121705 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=June 22, 2014}} Although it is considered Disney's darkest film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame performed better critically than Pocahontas and grossed $325 million worldwide.{{cite web |title=The Hunchback of Notre Dame |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4250437121/weekend/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}}

The following summer, Hercules (1997) did well at the box office, grossing $252 million worldwide, but underperformed in comparison to Disney's previous films.{{cite web |title=Hercules |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl240748033/weekend/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}} It received positive reviews for its acting but the animation and music were mixed.{{cite web |title=Hercules (1997) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1078028-hercules/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 14, 2015}} Hercules was responsible for beginning the decline of traditionally-animated films. The declining box office success became doubly concerning inside the studio as wage competition from DreamWorks had significantly increased the studio's overhead, with production costs increasing from $79 million in total costs (production, marketing, and overhead) for The Lion King in 1994 to $179 million for Hercules three years later. Moreover, Disney depended upon the popularity of its new features in order to develop merchandising, theme park attractions, direct-to-video sequels and television programming in its other divisions. The production schedule was scaled back and a larger number of creative executives were hired to more closely supervise production, a move that was not popular among the animation staff.{{cite web |title=Letter of Support to Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold from the Animation Community |url=http://www.savedisney.com/letters/animators_letter.asp |website=Save Disney |access-date=August 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040206014843/http://www.savedisney.com/letters/animators_letter.asp |archive-date=February 6, 2004 |date=December 2, 2003}}

Mulan (1998), the first film produced primarily at the Florida studio,{{cite news |date=May 29, 1994 |title=Animated Films Fuel Disney Success |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19940529&id=P1VIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1856,5707243&hl=en |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |access-date=June 22, 2014}} opened to positive reviews from audiences and critics and earned a successful $305 million at the worldwide box office, restoring both the critical and commercial success of the studio. The next film, Tarzan (1999), directed by Kevin Lima and Chris Buck, had a high production cost of $130 million, again received positive reviews and earned $448 million at the box office.{{cite web |title=Tarzan |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=tarzan.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}} The Tarzan soundtrack by pop star Phil Collins resulted in significant record sales and an Academy Award for Best Song.{{cite web |title=The 72nd Academy Awards (2000) Nominees and Winners |url=https://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/72nd-winners.html |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=September 28, 2011}}

Fantasia 2000, a sequel to the 1940 film that had been a pet project of Roy E. Disney's since 1990,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=105–106, 288, 346–347, 481}} premiered on December 17, 1999, at Carnegie Hall in New York City as part of a concert tour that also visited London, Paris, Tokyo and Pasadena, California. The film was then released in 75 IMAX theaters worldwide from January 1 to April 30, 2000, making it the first animated feature-length film to be released in the format; a standard theatrical release followed on June 16, 2000. Produced in pieces when artists were available between productions,{{Cite news |last=Brennan |first=Judyr |title=Coming, Sooner or Later |work=Los Angeles Times |date=August 19, 1997 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-aug-19-ca-28270-story.html |access-date=May 6, 2011}} Fantasia 2000 was the first animated feature produced for and released in IMAX format.{{cite book |last1=Zager |first1=Michael |title=Music Production: For Producers, Composers, Arrangers, and Students |date=November 11, 2011 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-810-88202-7 |page=xxv |edition=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WY6yRDqRAoC&q=%22Fantasia+2000%22&pg=PR25}} The film's $90 million worldwide box office total against its $90 million production cost resulted in it losing $100 million for the studio.{{Cite video |title=Interview with Michael Eisner |medium=Digital |publisher=Archive of American Television |date=2006 |url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/michael-eisner}}

Peter Schneider left his post as president of Walt Disney Feature Animation in 1999 to become president of The Walt Disney Studios under Joe Roth. Thomas Schumacher, who had been Schneider's vice president of animation for several years, became the new president of Walt Disney Feature Animation.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|p=314}} By this time, competition from other studios had driven animators' incomes to all-time highs, making traditionally-animated features even more costly to produce. Schumacher was tasked with cutting costs, and massive layoffs began to cut salaries and bring the studio's staff – which peaked at 2,200 people in 1999 – down to approximately 1,200 employees.{{cite news |last=Holson |first=Laura |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/business/disney-is-cutting-250-jobs-at-animation-unit.html |title=Disney Is Cutting 250 Jobs at Animation Unit |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 19, 2002 |access-date=June 22, 2014}}

In October 1999, Dream Quest Images, a special effects studio previously purchased by the Walt Disney Company in April 1996 to replace Buena Vista Visual Effects,{{cite news |title=Studio Shakeups |url=http://www.vfxhq.com/spotlight96/9604.html#studio |access-date=February 23, 2013 |newspaper=VFX HQ Spotlight |date=April 1996}} was merged with the computer-graphics operation of Walt Disney Feature Animation to form a division called The Secret Lab.{{cite news |last=McNary |first=Dave |title=DISNEY, DQI TO FORM THE SECRET LAB |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/DISNEY%2c+DQI+TO+FORM+THE+SECRET+LAB+%3a+NEW+ENTITY+FOR+VISUAL+EFFECTS...-a083626916 |access-date=February 23, 2013 |newspaper=Daily News |date=October 28, 1999 |location=Los Angeles, CA |archive-date=March 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329070146/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/DISNEY%2c+DQI+TO+FORM+THE+SECRET+LAB+%3a+NEW+ENTITY+FOR+VISUAL+EFFECTS...-a083626916 |url-status=dead}} The Secret Lab produced one feature film, Dinosaur, which was released in May 2000{{cite web |title=Dinosaur (2000) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2605680129/weekend/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=November 25, 2016}} and featured CGI prehistoric creatures against filmed live-action backgrounds. The $128 million production earned $349 million worldwide, below studio expectations,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|p=356}} and The Secret Lab was closed in 2001.{{Cite news |date=October 23, 2001 |url=https://variety.com/2001/biz/news/disney-can-t-keep-secret-1117854767/ |title=Disney can't keep Secret |first=Marc |last=Graser |work=Variety |access-date=August 23, 2012}}

In December 2000, The Emperor's New Groove was released. It had been a musical epic called Kingdom of the Sun before being revised mid-production into a smaller comedy.{{cite news |last=Loinas |first=Alexis |title=The Emperor's New Groove: A Disappointing Disney Movie the Mouse House Can't Save |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20010106&id=L342AAAAIBAJ&pg=2057,30448726 |access-date=June 22, 2014 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |date=January 6, 2001}}Jim Hill, "The Long Story Behind the Emperor's New Groove". Part 1, page 3. [http://www.laughingplace.com/News-PID115140-115142.asp] The film earned $169 million worldwide on release,{{cite web |title=The Emperor's New Groove (2000) |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=emperorsnewgroove.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}} though it was well-reviewed and performed better on video;{{cite web |title=The Emperor's New Groove (2000) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/emperors_new_groove/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 3, 2014}}{{cite magazine |date=January 12, 2002 |title=The Year in Video 2001: The Year in Charts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Q8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA67 |magazine=Billboard |volume=114 |issue=2 |page=67}} The Emperor's New Groove was the top-selling video release of 2001. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), an attempt to break the Disney formula by moving into action-adventure, received mixed reviews and earned $186 million worldwide against production costs of $120 million.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=20020619&id=49NOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6228,5540846 |title=Disney Revamps Cartoon Department |work=Lakeland Ledger, syndicated from The Wall Street Journal |date=June 19, 2002 |access-date=June 27, 2014 |author=Orwall, Bruce}}{{cite web |title=Atlantis: The Lost Empire |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3628238337/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 3, 2014}}{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|p=363}}

By 2001 and early 2002, the notable successes of Pixar's computer-animated films (thanks to its distribution deal with Disney), along with DreamWorks' Shrek and Blue Sky Studios' Ice Age, respectively, against Disney's lesser returns for The Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis: The Lost Empire led to the speculation that hand-drawn animation was becoming obsolete. Disney laid off most of the employees at the Feature Animation studio in Burbank, downsizing it to one unit and beginning plans to move into fully computer-animated films.Lund, Dan (2005). "The 'Meeting' Sequence: Super Sized". Bonus features for Dream On Silly Dreamer (Documentary film) DVD release. Orlando, Florida: WestLund Productions. Extended interviews with former Disney Feature Animation artists about the WDFA staff meetings during the week of March 19–25, 2002 with Feature Animation president Thomas Schumacher and producer Alice Dewey where the layoffs and move of the Burbank studio to CGI are discussed at length. A handful of employees were offered positions doing computer animation. Morale plunged to a low not seen since the start of the studio's ten-year exile to Glendale in 1985.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=415–416}} The Paris studio was also closed in 2003.{{cite news |last=Verrier |first=Richard |title=Disney Pushed Toward Digital |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-sep-29-2-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023180040/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/sep/29/business/fi-bear29/2 |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=March 23, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=September 29, 2003 |author2=Claudia Eller}}

The Burbank studio's remaining hand-drawn productions, Treasure Planet and Home on the Range, continued production. Treasure Planet, a futuristic outer space retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, was a pet project of writer-directors Ron Clements and John Musker. It received an IMAX release and generally positive reviews but was financially unsuccessful upon its November 2002 release, resulting in a $74 million write-down for the Walt Disney Company in fiscal year 2003.{{cite web |title=Treasure Planet (2002) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2759296513/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=November 25, 2016}}

The Burbank studio's 2D departments closed at the end of 2002, following the completion of Home on the Range,{{cite web |url=http://www.jakefriedman.net/writings/062006-Dreamer_print.html |title=Dream on Silly Dreamer |work=FPS Magazine |date=June 2006 |access-date=July 7, 2014 |author=Friedman, Jake |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714214157/http://www.jakefriedman.net/writings/062006-Dreamer_print.html |archive-date=July 14, 2014}} a long-in-production feature that had previously been known as Sweating Bullets.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/11/29/disney-wrangles-cuba-dame-judi-for-sweating-bullets |last=Linder |first=Brian |title=Disney Wrangles Cuba, Dame Judi Dench for Sweating Bullets |website=IGN |date=November 29, 2000 |access-date=March 4, 2016}} Meanwhile, hand-drawn feature animation production continued at the Feature Animation Florida studio, where the films could be produced at lower costs. Lilo & Stitch, an offbeat comedy-drama written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=20020619&id=utUpAAAAIBAJ&pg=6765,1277541 |title=Lilo's Creators: Orlando animators bring back watercolors for Lilo & Stitch |newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner |date=June 19, 2002 |access-date=June 27, 2014 |author=Lloyd, Christopher}} became the studio's first bonafide hit since Tarzan upon its summer 2002 release,{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=402, 473, 509}} earning $273 million worldwide against an $80 million production budget.{{cite web |title=Lilo and Stitch (2002) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3898508801/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 4, 2014}}

By this time, most of the Disney features from the 1990s had been spun off into direct-to-video sequels, television series, or both, produced by the Disney Television Animation unit. Beginning with the February 2002 release of Return to Never Land, a sequel to Peter Pan (1953), Disney began releasing lower-budgeted sequels to earlier films. These films had been intended for video premieres, but they were released in theaters. The process was derided by some of the Disney animation staff and the fans of the Disney films.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=502–506, 526, 555–567}}

In 2003, Tom Schumacher was appointed president of Buena Vista Theatrical Group, Disney's stageplay and musical theater arm, and David Stainton, then president of Walt Disney Television Animation, was appointed as his replacement. Stainton continued to oversee Disney's direct-to-video division, Disneytoon Studios, which had been part of the television animation department,{{cite news |last=Godfrey |first=Leigh |title=David Stainton Named President, Disney Feature Animation |url=https://www.awn.com/news/david-stainton-named-president-disney-feature-animation |access-date=February 27, 2013 |newspaper=AWN News |date=January 3, 2003}} though transferred at this time to Walt Disney Feature Animation management.{{cite news |last=Baisley |first=Sarah |title=DisneyToon Studios Builds Slate Under New Name and Homes for Needy |url=https://www.awn.com/news/disneytoon-studios-builds-slate-under-new-name-and-homes-needy |access-date=February 26, 2013 |newspaper=Animation World Network |date=June 16, 2003}}

Under Stainton, the Florida studio completed Brother Bear, which did not perform as well as Lilo & Stitch critically or financially. Disney closed the Florida studio on January 12, 2004, with the then in-progress feature My Peoples left unfinished when the studio closed two months later.Lund, Dan (2005). "The 'Story Department' Sequence: Super Sized". Bonus features for Dream On Silly Dreamer (Documentary film) DVD release. Orlando, Florida: WestLund Productions. Extended interviews with several former Disney Feature Animation employees discussing changes to the studio's story development processes between 1999 and 2004. Mulan and My Peoples (also known as A Few Good Ghosts) are discussed at length by director Barry Cook.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=20040113&id=SQAOAAAAIBAJ&pg=2699,3028189 |title=Disney pulls its animators from Orlando |work=St. Petersberg Times |agency=Associated Press |date=January 13, 2004 |access-date=June 27, 2014}} Home on the Range, released in April 2004, was also not as critically or commercially successful as Lilo & Stitch.{{cite news |last=Verrier |first=Richard |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-apr-06-fi-range6-story.html |title='Range' Is Not Looking Idyllic |work=Los Angeles Times |date=April 6, 2004 |access-date=March 4, 2016}} Disney officially announced its conversion of Walt Disney Feature Animation into a fully CGI studio – a process begun two years prior – now with a staff of 600 people. Disney also began selling off all of its traditional animation equipment.

Just after Brother Bear{{'}}s November 2003 release, Feature Animation chairman Roy E. Disney had resigned from the Walt Disney Company. Roy Disney and his business partner Stanley Gold launched a second external "SaveDisney" campaign, similar to the one that had forced Ron Miller out in 1984. This time they were attempting to force out Michael Eisner. Two of their arguing points against Eisner included his handling of Feature Animation and the souring of the studio's relationship with Pixar. The same year, the studio collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering on the 4D Disney Parks film Mickey's PhilharMagic. One of the studio's first attempts at CG animation, several animators returned to work on the film; such as Glen Keane animating Ariel and Nik Ranieri animating Lumière.[https://www.undercovertourist.com/blog/secret-history-mickeys-philharmagic/ The Secret History of Disney Rides: Mickey's PhilharMagic]

Talks between Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs over renewal terms for the highly lucrative Pixar-Disney distribution deal broke down in January 2004.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=20040131&id=5xEhAAAAIBAJ&pg=3417,3996403 |title=Disney-Pixar split heightens pressure for new hits |work=The Hour |agency=Associated Press |date=January 30, 2004 |access-date=June 27, 2014}}{{Cite magazine |last=Iger |first=Robert |date=September 18, 2019 |title='We Could Say Anything to Each Other': Bob Iger Remembers Steve Jobs |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/09/bob-iger-remembers-steve-jobs?te=1&nl=dealbook&emc=edit_dk_20190919?campaign_id=4&instance_id=12489&segment_id=17151&user_id=337d393aaa73fc32d3fe2afbe5b1047d®i_id=1317820190919 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en}} Jobs, in particular, disagreed with Eisner's insistence that sequels such as the then in-development Toy Story 3 (2010) would not count against the number of films required in the studio's new deal. To that end, Disney announced the launching of Circle 7 Animation, a division of Feature Animation which would have produced sequels to the Pixar films, while Pixar began shopping for a new distribution deal.{{Harvnb|Stewart|2005|pp=319, 479–480}}

In 2005, Disney released its first fully computer-animated feature, Chicken Little. The film was a success at the box office, earning $315 million worldwide,{{cite web |title=Chicken Little (2005) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1615562241/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=August 4, 2014}} but was met with critically mixed-to-negative reviews.{{cite web |title=Chicken Little (2005) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chicken_little/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 4, 2014}} Earlier that year, after two years of Roy E. Disney's "SaveDisney" campaign, Eisner announced that he would resign and named Bob Iger, then president of the Walt Disney Company, his successor as chairman and CEO.

File:VES Awards 89.jpg (Chief Creative Officer, 2006–18, left) and Edwin Catmull (President, 2006–18, right) came to Disney following its acquisition of Pixar and dedicated themselves to revitalizing Walt Disney Animation Studios after the studio's unsuccessful early 2000s period.]]

Iger later said, "I didn't yet have a complete sense of just how broken Disney Animation was." He described its history since the early 1990s as "dotted by a slew of expensive failures" like Hercules and Chicken Little; the "modest successes" like Mulan and Lilo & Stitch were still critically and commercially unsuccessful compared to the earlier films of the Disney Renaissance.{{r|iger20190918}}

After Iger became CEO, Jobs resumed negotiations for Pixar with Disney. On January 24, 2006, Disney announced that it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal,{{cite web |url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/2784/0001193125-06-012082.pdf |title=Walt Disney Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jan 26, 2006 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=May 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513223623/http://pdf.secdatabase.com/2784/0001193125-06-012082.pdf |archive-date=May 13, 2018 |url-status=live}} with the deal closing that May.{{cite news |last=Eller |first=Claudia |title=Deal Ends Quarrel Over Pixar Sequels |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-26-fi-pixarent26-story.html |access-date=February 21, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=January 26, 2006}}{{cite news |title=Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11003466 |access-date=February 28, 2013 |newspaper=NBC News |date=January 1, 2006 |agency=AP}} Consequently, the Circle 7 studio launched to produce Toy Story 3 was shut down.{{cite news |last=Daly |first=Steve |title=Woody: The Untold Story |url=https://ew.com/article/2006/06/16/toy-story-movie-youll-never-see/ |access-date=February 21, 2013 |newspaper=Entertainment Weekly Magazine |date=June 16, 2006}}{{cite news |last=Eller |first=Claudia |title=Disney Plans Life After Pixar With Sequel Unit |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-16-fi-animate16-story.html |access-date=February 21, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=March 16, 2005 |author2=Richard Verrier |quote=Disney animation chief David Stainton, to whom the sequels unit reports, declined to comment on its plans.}} Most of that studio's employees returned to Feature Animation and Toy Story 3 returned to Pixar's control.{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-21-fi-pixarent21-story.html |title=Disney Closes Unit Devoted to Pixar Sequels |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 21, 2006 |access-date=October 30, 2011}} Iger later said that it was "a deal I wanted badly, and [Disney] needed badly." He believed that Disney Animation needed new leadership{{r|iger20190918}} and, as part of the acquisition, Edwin Catmull and John Lasseter were named president and Chief Creative Officer, respectively, of Feature Animation as well as Pixar.{{cite web |url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1392/119312506103659/filing-main.htm |title=Walt Disney Company, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 8, 2006 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=May 12, 2018}}

While Disney executives had discussed closing Feature Animation as redundant, Catmull and Lasseter refused and instead resolved to try to turn things around at the studio.{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |title=At Disney, a Celebration That Was a Long Time Coming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/business/media/at-disney-a-celebration-that-was-a-long-time-coming.html |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=New York Times |date=March 4, 2014}} Lasseter said, "We weren't going to let that [closure] happen on our watch. We were determined to save the legacy of Walt Disney's amazing studio and bring it back up to the creative level it had to be. Saving this heritage was squarely on our shoulders."{{cite news |last=Wloszczyna |first=Susan |title='Wreck-It Ralph' is a Disney animation game-changer |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/10/31/wreckitralph-disney-movie-animation/1667373/ |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=USA Today |date=October 31, 2012}} Lasseter and Catmull set about rebuilding the morale of the Feature Animation staff,{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Christopher |title='The world is a better place with Disney animation in it': John Lasseter tells the Telegraph how he saved Disney Animation Studios from the doldrums |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/10733005/The-world-is-a-better-place-with-Disney-animation-in-it.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/10733005/The-world-is-a-better-place-with-Disney-animation-in-it.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=March 31, 2014}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Chris |title=Pixar uneasy atop its pedestal: For the first time in nearly 10 years the animation studio won't be releasing a film this year |url=https://calgaryherald.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Pixar+uneasy+atop+pedestal/9775781/story.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140509044908/http://www.calgaryherald.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Pixar+uneasy+atop+pedestal/9775781/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 9, 2014 |access-date=May 9, 2014 |newspaper=Calgary Herald |date=April 25, 2014}} and rehired a number of its 1980s "new guard" generation of star animators who had left the studio, including Ron Clements, John Musker, Eric Goldberg, Mark Henn, Andreas Deja, Bruce W. Smith and Chris Buck.{{cite book |last=Solomon |first=Charles |title=The Art of Frozen |year=2013 |publisher=Chronicle Books |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-1-4521-1716-4}}

To maintain the separation of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Pixar despite their now common ownership and management, Catmull and Lasseter "drew a hard line" that each studio was solely responsible for its own projects and would not be allowed to borrow personnel from or lend tasks out to the other. Catmull said that he and Lasseter would "make sure the studios are quite distinct from each other. We don't want them to merge; that would definitely be the wrong approach. Each should have its own personality."{{cite news |last=Bell |first=Chris |title=Pixar's Ed Catmull: interview |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/pixar/10719241/Pixars-Ed-Catmull-interview.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/pixar/10719241/Pixars-Ed-Catmull-interview.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=April 5, 2014}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |last=Zahed |first=Ramin |title=An Interview with Disney/Pixar President Dr. Ed Catmull |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2012/04/an-interview-with-disneypixar-president-dr-ed-catmull/ |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=Animation Magazine |date=April 2, 2012}}

Catmull and Lasseter also brought to Disney Feature Animation the Pixar model of a "filmmaker-driven studio" as opposed to an "executive-driven studio"; they abolished Disney's prior system of requiring directors to respond to "mandatory" notes from development executives ranking above the producers in favor of a system roughly analogous to peer review, in which non-mandatory notes come primarily from fellow producers, directors and writers.{{cite news |last=Pond |first=Steve |title=Why Disney Fired John Lasseter – And How He Came Back to Heal the Studio |url=https://www.thewrap.com/john-lasseter-disney-fired-frozen-healed-studio-oscarwrap-down-wire |access-date=April 5, 2014 |newspaper=The Wrap |date=February 21, 2014}} Most of the layers of "gatekeepers" (midlevel executives) were stripped away, and Lasseter established a routine of personally meeting weekly with filmmakers on all projects in the last year of production and delivering feedback on the spot.{{cite news |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |title=Disney is reanimated with 'Frozen,' 'Big Hero 6' |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-disney-big-hero-6-frozen-20130508-dto,0,4722556.htmlstory |access-date=April 21, 2014 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=May 9, 2013}}

The studio's then-current team of top creatives who worked together closely on the development of its films became known as the Disney Story Trust. It was somewhat similar to the Pixar Braintrust,{{cite news |last1=Debruge |first1=Peter |title=Disney's Pixar Acquisition: Bob Iger's Bold Move That Reanimated a Studio |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/features/disney-pixar-acquisition-bob-iger-john-lasseter-1201923719 |access-date=November 24, 2016 |work=Variety |date=November 23, 2016}}{{cite journal |last1=Lark |first1=Max |last2=Draskovic |first2=Marina |last3=Solomon |first3=Charles |title=It's a Matter of Trust: At Walt Disney Animation Studios, The 'Story Trust,' A Peer-to-Peer Feedback System, Has Taken Storytelling—And Disney Animation—To New Creative Heights |journal=Disney Twenty-three |date=Spring 2016 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=18–21 |publisher=Walt Disney Company |location=Burbank |issn=2162-5492 |oclc=698366817}} but its meetings were reportedly "more polite" than those of its Pixar counterpart.{{cite news |last=Kilday |first=Gregg |title=Pixar vs. Disney Animation: John Lasseter's Tricky Tug-of-War |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-disney-animation-john-lasseters-661752 |access-date=December 4, 2013 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |date=December 4, 2013}}

In 2007, Lasseter changed the name of Walt Disney Feature Animation to Walt Disney Animation Studios,{{cite web |last=Armstrong |first=Josh |url=https://animatedviews.com/2013/from-snow-queen-to-pinocchio-ii-robert-reeces-animated-adventures-in-screenwriting/ |title=From Snow Queen to Pinocchio II: Robert Reece's animated adventures in screenwriting • Animated Views |work=Animatedviews.com |date=April 22, 2013 |access-date=July 7, 2013}} and re-positioned the studio as an animation house that produced both traditional and computer-animated projects. In order to keep costs down on hand-drawn productions, animation, design and layout were done in-house at Disney while clean-up animation and digital ink-and-paint were farmed out to vendors and freelancers.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3YmdyNAmh8YC&q=disbanded |title=Walt's People: Talking Disney With the Artists Who Knew Him (Google eBook) |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |year=2011 |page=605 |isbn=9781465368416 |editor1-last=Ghez |editor1-first=Didier |chapter=Ed Catmull by Didier Ghez |quote=So we picked a middle ground where the animation, some of the clean-up, layout and design work would be done here. The cel painting and the inbetweening would be done elsewhere under contract.}}

The studio released Meet the Robinsons in 2007, its second all-CGI film, earning $169.3 million worldwide.{{cite web |title=Meet the Robinsons (2007) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=meettherobinsons.htm |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=March 29, 2016}} That same year, Disneytoon Studios was also restructured and began to operate as a separate unit under Lasseter and Catmull's control.{{cite web |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases-test/disneytoon-studios-to-be-restructured-and-will-operate-as-a-separate-unit-within-walt-disney-animation-studios-58278982.html |title=DisneyToon Studios to be Restructured and Will Operate as a Separate Unit/ BURBANK, Calif., June 22 |publisher=PRNewswire |access-date=July 7, 2013}} Lasseter's direct intervention with the studio's next film, American Dog, resulted in the departure of director Chris Sanders,{{cite news |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/bolt-teaser-poster-a-look-back-at-american-dog/ |title=Bolt Teaser Poster; A Look Back at American Dog |work=Slashfilm |date=June 20, 2008 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Sciretta, Peter}} who went on to become a director at DreamWorks Animation.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/siggraph-chris-sanders-talks-croods-590389 |title=Siggraph: Chris Sanders Talks 'Croods 2,' 'Dragon 2' and Why He Loves Animated Sequels |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=July 22, 2013 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Giardina, Carolyn}} The film was retooled by new directors Byron Howard and Chris Williams as Bolt. It was released in 2008 and had the best critical reception of any Disney animated feature since Lilo & Stitch.{{cite web |title=Bolt |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bolt/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=August 4, 2014}} The film also became a moderate financial success, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Film.

The Princess and the Frog was the studio's first hand-drawn animated film in five years. It was loosely based on the fairy tale The Frog Prince and the 2002 novel The Frog Princess. The film was directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. A return to the musical-comedy format of the 1990s with songs by Randy Newman,{{cite web |url=https://movieweb.com/news/john-lasseter-returns-to-hand-drawn-animation-with-the-princess-and-the-frog/ |title=John Lasseter Returns to Hand Drawn Animation with The Princess and the Frog |work=movieweb |author=Orange, B. Alan |date=March 13, 2010 |access-date=January 8, 2011 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714175653/http://www.movieweb.com/news/john-lasseter-returns-to-hand-drawn-animation-with-the-princess-and-the-frog |url-status=dead}} the film was released in 2009 to a positive critical reception. It was also nominated for three Academy Awards, including two for Best Song.{{cite web |title="The Hurt Locker" Takes Top Honors at 82nd Academy Awards |url=https://playbill.com/news/article/the-hurt-locker-takes-top-honors-at-82nd-academy-awards-166552 |work=playbill.com |date=March 8, 2010 |publisher=Playbill |access-date=February 23, 2015}}

The box office performance of The Princess and the Frog – a total of $267 million earned worldwide against a $105 million production budget – was seen as an underperformance due to competition with Avatar.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/business/media/at-disney-a-celebration-that-was-a-long-time-coming.html |title=At Disney, a Celebration That Was a Long Time Coming |work=New York Times |date=March 4, 2014 |access-date=June 28, 2014}} The film's underperformance was also attributed to the word "Princess" in the title. The future Disney films then in production which were about princesses were given gender-neutral, symbolic titles: Rapunzel became Tangled and The Snow Queen became Frozen.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-09-la-fi-ct-disney9-2010mar09-story.html |title=Disney restyles 'Rapunzel' to appeal to boys |author1=Dawn C. Chmielewski |author2=Claudia Eller |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 9, 2010 |access-date=January 20, 2014}}{{cite news |last=Sciretta |first=Peter |title=Walt Disney Animation Gives 'The Snow Queen' New Life, Retitled 'Frozen' – But Will It Be Hand Drawn? |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/walt-disney-animation-the-snow-queen-life-retitled-frozen-hand-drawn/ |access-date=January 20, 2014 |newspaper=SlashFilm |date=December 22, 2011}}{{cite magazine |url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/11/24/tangled-rapunzel-nathan-greno-byron-howard |title=How did Rapunzel become 'Tangled'? Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard set the record straight |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=January 1, 2014}} In 2014, former Disney animator Tom Sito compared the box office performance of The Princess and the Frog to that of The Great Mouse Detective (1986), which was a step-up from the theatrical run of the 1985 film The Black Cauldron.{{cite web |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/disney-seeks-crown-revival-39-frozen-39-oscar-161943670.html |title=Disney seeks to crown revival with 'Frozen' Oscar gold |publisher=Yahoo News |date=February 24, 2014 |access-date=August 29, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829210910/https://sg.news.yahoo.com/disney-seeks-crown-revival-39-frozen-39-oscar-161943670.html |archive-date=August 29, 2021}}

In 2009, the studio also produced the computer-animated Prep & Landing holiday special for the ABC television network.{{cite web |url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/12/09/debut-of-disney-holiday-special-prep-landing-scores-big-for-abc/35753/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102142325/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2009/12/09/debut-of-disney-holiday-special-prep-landing-scores-big-for-abc/35753/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 2, 2013 |title=Debut of Disney Holiday Special "Prep & Landing" Scores Big for ABC |work=TVByTheNumbers |date=December 9, 2009 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Seldman, Robert}}

After The Princess and the Frog, the studio released Tangled in 2010, a CGI adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel" with songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. In development since 2002 under Glen Keane,{{cite web |last=Graham |first=Bill |title=Animation Director Glen Keane Exclusive Interview TANGLED |url=https://collider.com/glen-keane-interview-tangled/ |work=Collider.com |publisher=Collider.com, LLC |access-date=May 11, 2014 |date=November 27, 2010}} Tangled, directed by Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, became a significant critical and commercial success{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tangled |title=Tangled Movie Reviews |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Flixster |access-date=November 19, 2010}}{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/company-town-blog/story/2010-11-28/box-office-tangled-feasts-as-burlesque-faster-love-other-drugs-fight-for-leftovers |title=Box office: 'Tangled' feasts as 'Burlesque', 'Faster', 'Love & Other Drugs' fight for leftovers |last=Fritz |first=Ben |work=Los Angeles Times |date=November 28, 2010 |access-date=February 16, 2011}} nominated for several accolades. The film earned $592 million in worldwide box office revenue, becoming the studio's third most successful release to date.{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/ |title=WORLDWIDE GROSSES |work=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 25, 2011}}The hand-drawn feature Winnie the Pooh, a new feature film based on the eponymous stories by A. A. Milne, followed in 2011 to positive reviews; it remains the studio's most recent hand-drawn feature. The film was released in theaters alongside the hand-drawn short The Ballad of Nessie.{{cite web |last=Han |first=Angie |title=First Look and Early Buzz: Disney's Hand-drawn Short 'The Ballad of Nessie' |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/early-buzz-disneys-ballad-nessie/ |publisher=Slashfilm |access-date=June 17, 2018 |date=March 14, 2011}}

Wreck-It Ralph, directed by Rich Moore, was released in 2012 to critical acclaim and commercial success. The film follows a video-game villain who redeems himself as a hero. It won numerous awards, including the Annie, Critics' Choice and Kids' Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature Film, and received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |title=At Disney, a Celebration That Was a Long Time Coming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/business/media/at-disney-a-celebration-that-was-a-long-time-coming.html?_r=0 |access-date=March 5, 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 4, 2014}} The film earned $471 million in worldwide box office revenue.{{cite news |last=King |first=Susan |title=40th Annie Award nominees and winners list |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-40th-annie-award-nominations-winners-list-20130202,0,6277333.story |access-date=February 3, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=February 2, 2013}}{{cite news |last=Globe |first=Golden |title=Golden Globes 2013: full list of nominations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/dec/13/golden-globes-2013-nominations-list |access-date=January 3, 2013 |newspaper=guardian.co.uk |date=December 13, 2012 }}{{cite web |title='2013 Oscar Nominees |url=http://oscar.go.com/nominees |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=February 3, 2013 |date=January 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130110203809/http://oscar.go.com/nominees |archive-date=January 10, 2013}}

In addition, the studio won its first Academy Award for a short film in forty-four years with Paperman, which was released in theaters with Wreck-It Ralph.{{cite web |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=Disney Sweeps Animation Oscars with "Paperman" and "Brave"; VFX Oscar Goes to "Life of Pi" |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/awards/paperman-wins-oscar-for-best-animated-short-78367.html |work=Cartoon Brew |date=February 25, 2013 |publisher=Cartoon Brew LLC |access-date=June 25, 2013}} Directed by John Kahrs, Paperman utilized new software developed in-house at the studio called Meander, which merges hand-drawn and computer animation techniques within the same character to create a unique "hybrid". According to Producer Kristina Reed, the studio was at the time continuing to develop the technique for future projects,{{cite magazine |last=MacQuarrie |first=Jim |title=Disney's Paperman Is a Perfect Short Film |url=https://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/11/paperman/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=June 25, 2013 |date=November 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605022126/http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/11/paperman |archive-date=June 5, 2013}} including an animated feature.{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Drew |title=Disney CEO Bob Iger Says There Are No Current Plans For Hand Drawn Animation – But What Does He Really Mean? |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/disney-ceo-bob-iger-says-there-are-no-current-plans-for-hand-drawn-animation-but-what-does-he-really-mean-101024/ |work=IndieWire |access-date=March 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315001545/http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/disney-ceo-bob-iger-says-there-are-no-current-plans-for-hand-drawn-animation-but-what-does-he-really-mean-20130307 |archive-date=March 15, 2013 |url-status=dead}}

In 2013, the studio laid off nine of its hand-drawn animators, including Nik Ranieri and Ruben A. Aquino,{{cite news |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=BREAKING: Disney Just Gutted Their Hand-Drawn Animation Division (UPDATED) |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/breaking-disney-just-gutted-their-hand-drawn-animation-division-81043.html |access-date=June 30, 2013 |newspaper=Cartoon Brew |date=April 11, 2013}} leading to speculation on animation blogs that the studio was abandoning traditional animation, an idea that the studio dismissed.{{cite web |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-disney-big-hero-6-frozen-20130508-dto,0,4722556.htmlstory |title=Disney is reanimated with films such as 'Big Hero 6,' 'Frozen' |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 9, 2013 |access-date=July 7, 2013}} Later that same year, in November, Frozen, a CGI musical film inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen", was released to widespread acclaim and became a blockbuster hit. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee with songs by the Broadway team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, it was the first Disney animated film to earn over $1 billion in worldwide box office revenue.{{cite news |last=Zuckerman |first=Esther |title=Is 'Frozen' a New, Bona Fide Disney Classic? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2013/11/frozen-new-bona-fide-disney-classic/354769/ |access-date=December 20, 2013 |newspaper=The Atlantic Wire |date=November 4, 2013 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105012200/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/11/frozen-new-bona-fide-disney-classic/71243/ |url-status=dead}}{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-milestone-frozen-crosses-684847 |title=Box Office Milestone: 'Frozen' Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide |work=hollywoodreporter.com |access-date=March 2, 2014}} Frozen also became the first film from Walt Disney Animation Studios to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (a category started in 2001), as well as the first feature-length motion picture from the studio to win an Academy Award since Tarzan and the first to win multiple Academy Awards since Pocahontas.{{cite news |last=Richwine |first=Lisa |title=Disney's 'Frozen' wins animated feature Oscar |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oscars-animation-idUSBREA1R0MN20140303 |work=Reuters |access-date=March 3, 2014}} It was released in theaters with Get a Horse!, a new Mickey Mouse cartoon combining black-and-white hand-drawn animation and full-color CGI animation.{{cite news |last=Breznican |first=Anthony |title=Old-school Mickey Mouse gets future shock in Get a Horse! – First Look |url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/08/22/old-school-mickey-mouse-gets-future-shock-in-get-a-horse-first-look/ |access-date=August 22, 2013 |newspaper=Entertainment Weekly |date=August 22, 2013 |archive-date=November 1, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101042014/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/08/22/old-school-mickey-mouse-gets-future-shock-in-get-a-horse-first-look/ |url-status=dead}}

The studio's next feature, Big Hero 6, a comedy-adventure film inspired by the Marvel Comics series of the same name, was released in November 2014.{{cite news |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |title=Exclusive: Disney Animation announces first Marvel movie, 'Big Hero 6′ |url=http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/exclusive-disney-animation-announces-first-marvel-movie-big-hero-6/ |access-date=May 9, 2013 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |date=May 9, 2013}} For the film, the studio developed new light rendering software called Hyperion, which the studio continued to use on all subsequent films.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Daniel |title=Software behind 'Big Hero 6' pushes envelope on computer animation |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-disney-animation-big-hero-6-20150220-story.html |access-date=March 8, 2016 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 20, 2015}} Big Hero 6 received critical acclaim and was the highest-grossing animated film of 2014, also winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/big_hero_6 |title=Big Hero 6 (2014) |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/big-hero-6 |title=Big Hero 6 Reviews |website=Metacritic |access-date=December 16, 2014}}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2015/03/big-hero-6-no-1-animated-movie-worldwide-2014-1201392779/ |title='Big Hero 6′: No. 1 Animated Movie Worldwide 2014 |author=Kinsey Lowe |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=March 13, 2015 |access-date=March 15, 2015}}{{cite magazine |title=Oscars 2015: 'Birdman' wins Best Picture |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/22/oscars-2015-winners-list |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=February 23, 2015 |date=February 22, 2015}} The film was accompanied in theaters by the animated short Feast, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.{{cite magazine |last=Graser |first=Marc |title=Disney Reveals Next Three Animated Shorts |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/frozen-lava-feast-disney-reveals-next-three-animated-shorts-1201296543/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=October 1, 2014 |date=September 2, 2014}}{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Noelene |title=Oscars 2015: 'Feast' wins for animated short |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-oscars-2015-animated-short-film-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=February 22, 2015 |date=February 22, 2015}} In the same month that Big Hero 6 was released, it was announced that General Manager, Andrew Millstein had been promoted as President of Walt Disney Animation Studios.{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2014/11/disney-animation-pixar-andrew-millstein-jim-morris-president-1201288441/ |title=Disney Animation's Andrew Millstein, Pixar's Jim Morris Upped To President |first1=Jen |last1=Yamato |date=November 19, 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Graser |first1=Marc |title=Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Promote Andrew Millstein, Jim Morris to President |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/walt-disney-animation-pixar-promote-andrew-millstein-jim-morris-to-president-1201359728/ |access-date=November 18, 2014 |work=Variety |date=November 18, 2014}}{{cite news |access-date=September 10, 2008 |url=https://variety.com/2008/digital/features/millstein-to-head-disney-animation-1117991985/ |title=Millstein to head Disney Animation |work=Variety |date=September 10, 2008 |first=Marc |last=Graser}}

In March 2016, the studio released Zootopia, a buddy-comedy film set in a modern world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals.{{cite magazine |last=McNary |first=Dave |title=Watch: Disney's 'Zootopia' Trailer Introduces Animal-Run World |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/disneys-zootopia-teaser-trailer-1201517794/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=March 7, 2016 |date=June 11, 2015 |archive-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305051904/http://variety.com/2015/film/news/disneys-zootopia-teaser-trailer-1201517794/ |url-status=dead}} The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zootopia/ |title=Zootopia (2016) |website=Rotten Tomatoes}}{{cite magazine |last=Lang |first=Brent |title='Zootopia' Box Office Success Proof of Disney Animation Renaissance |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/box-office/zootopia-pixar-box-office-disney-1201723810/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=June 30, 2016 |date=March 6, 2016}}{{cite magazine |last=Coggan |first=Devin |title=Zootopia hits $1 billion worldwide |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/06/zootopia-billion-worldwide-box-office |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=June 30, 2016 |date=June 6, 2016}}{{cite magazine |last=McNary |first=Dave |title='Zootopia' Wins Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/zootopia-best-animated-feature-film-oscar-2017-1201995391/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=February 26, 2017 |date=February 26, 2017}}

Moana, a fantasy-adventure film, was released in November 2016.{{cite magazine |last=Khatchatourian |first=Maane |title='Moana': Polynesian Princess Not Impressed by Dwayne Johnson's Maui in First Teaser |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/moana-teaser-trailer-disney-dwayne-johnson-1201794419/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=November 22, 2016 |date=June 13, 2016}} The film was shown in theaters with the animated short, Inner Workings.{{cite magazine |last=Snetiker |first=Marc |title=Go inside the human body in Disney's new short film before Moana — exclusive |url=https://ew.com/article/2016/11/18/disney-inner-workings-short-moana/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=November 22, 2016 |date=November 18, 2016}} Moana was another commercial and critical success for the studio, grossing over $600 million worldwide and receiving two Academy Award nominations.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/moana-worldwide-box-office-disney-milestone-1202010248/ |title=Disney's 'Moana' Sails to $600 Million at Worldwide Box Office |author=Dave McNary |work=Variety |date=March 16, 2017 |access-date=March 16, 2017}}{{cite news |url=http://edit.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/oscar-nominations-2017-complete-list-nominees-960044 |title=Oscars: 'La La Land' Ties Record With 14 Nominations |first=Kimberly |last=Nordyke |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=January 24, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2017}}{{dead link|date=January 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

In November 2017, John Lasseter announced that he was taking a six-month leave of absence after acknowledging what he called "missteps" in his behavior with employees in a memo to staff. According to various news outlets, Lasseter had a history of alleged sexual misconduct towards employees.{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-lasseters-pattern-alleged-misconduct-detailed-by-disney-pixar-insiders-1059594 |title=John Lasseter's Pattern of Alleged Misconduct Detailed by Disney/Pixar Insiders |last=Masters |first=Kim |date=November 21, 2017 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=November 24, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/11/21/disney-animation-guru-john-lasseter-takes-leave-after-sexual-misconduct-allegations/ |title=Disney animation guru John Lasseter takes leave after sexual misconduct allegations |last=Zeitchik |first=Steven |date=November 21, 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=November 21, 2017}}{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/he-who-not-be-named-can-john-lasseter-ever-return-disney-1105297 |title=He Who Must Not Be Named": Can John Lasseter Ever Return to Disney? |last=Masters |first=Kim |date=April 25, 2018 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=May 1, 2018}} On June 8, 2018, it was announced that Lasseter would leave Disney and Pixar at the end of the year after the company decided not to renew his contract. He would instead take on a consulting role until the expiration of the contract.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/business/media/john-lasseter-leaves-disney.html |title=Pixar Co-Founder to Leave Disney After 'Missteps' |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |date=June 8, 2018 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=June 8, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/john-lasseter-reactions-skydance-hire-1203104219/ |title=John Lasseter's Skydance Hire Sends Hollywood Executives, Animation Insiders Reeling |journal=Variety |date=January 9, 2019 |access-date=June 30, 2019 |first=Matt |last=Donnelly}} Jennifer Lee was announced as Lasseter's replacement as chief creative officer of Disney Animation on June 19, 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/pete-docter-jennifer-lee-lead-pixar-disney-animation-1121432 |title=Pete Docter, Jennifer Lee to Lead Pixar, Disney Animation |first=Borys |last=Kit |date=June 19, 2018 |access-date=June 19, 2018 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

On June 28, 2018, the studio's division Disneytoon Studios was shut down, resulting in the layoffs of 75 animators and staff.{{cite news |last1=Desowitz |first1=Bill |title=Disney Shuts Down Disneytoon Studios in Glendale: Exclusive |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/06/disneytoon-studios-shuts-down-disney-glendale-1201979736/ |access-date=June 29, 2018 |work=IndieWire |date=June 28, 2018}} On October 23, 2018, it was announced that Ed Catmull would be retiring at the end of the year, and would stay in an adviser role until July 2019.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-founder-ed-catmull-retire-1154569 |title=Pixar Co-Founder Ed Catmull to Retire |first=Borys |last=Kit |date=October 23, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2018 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}

In November 2018, the studio released a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, titled Ralph Breaks the Internet.{{cite magazine |last=McNary |first=Dave |title=Vanellope Meets Disney Princesses in New 'Wreck-It Ralph 2' Trailer |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/wreck-it-ralph-2-disney-princesses-1202829467/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=November 21, 2018 |date=June 4, 2018}} The film grossed over $529 million worldwide and received nominations for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, both for Best Animated Feature.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2019/02/17/box-office-wandering-earth-how-to-train-your-dragon-lego-taraji-henson-liam-neeson-kevin-hart/#1b794ea07970 |title=Box Office: 'How To Train Your Dragon 3' Tops $170M, 'Wandering Earth' Tops $560M |quote=And Walt Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet has now earned $505m worldwide. So, expectations notwithstanding, it's arguably a hit. |author=Scott Mendelson |work=Forbes |date=February 17, 2019 |access-date=March 3, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2019/03/02/box-office-green-book-scores-in-china-bohemian-rhapsody-tops-solo-a-star-wars-story/#3d3c860332aa |title=Box Office: 'Green Book' Scores In China, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Tops 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' |quote=And Ralph Breaks the Internet was also a Best Animated Feature nominee, so I should note that it crossed $200 million domestic yesterday. The $165m-budgeted Disney sequel has earned $515m worldwide, which is a pretty solid sum. It again shows that a Disney sequel isn't necessarily going to perform even as well as a Disney "original" like Coco or Moana, but that's for another day. |author=Scott Mendelson |work=Forbes |date=March 3, 2019 |access-date=March 3, 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed1818297348/ |title='How to Train Your Dragon 3' Holds off Madea's 'Family Funeral' at Box Office |quote=Lastly, Disney's Ralph Breaks the Internet finally topped $200 million domestically this weekend after having already outperformed the first film, which reached $189.4 million domestically back in 2012. Internationally, the Ralph sequel is now just shy of $320 million for a global cume totaling $520 million. The first film finished with over $471 million globally. |author=Brad Brevet |work=Box Office Mojo |date=March 3, 2019 |access-date=March 3, 2019}}{{Cite news |last=Zahed |first=Ramin |date=January 22, 2019 |title=Nominations Announced for the 91st Academy Awards |url=https://www.animationmagazine.net/2019/01/nominations-announced-for-the-91st-academy-awards/ |work=Animation Magazine |access-date=January 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123121624/http://www.animationmagazine.net/events/nominations-announced-for-the-91st-academy-awards/ |archive-date=January 23, 2019}}

In August 2019, it was announced that Andrew Millstein would be stepping down from his role as president, before moving on to become co-president of Blue Sky Studios alongside Robert Baird, while Clark Spencer was named president of Disney Animation, reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman and working alongside chief creative officer Jennifer Lee.

Frozen 2, a sequel to Frozen, was released in November 2019.{{cite web |last=Rubin |first=Rebecca |title='Frozen 2' Trailer Explores Elsa's Magical Past |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/frozen-2-trailer-disney-elsa-anna-1203239286/ |publisher=Variety |access-date=November 21, 2019 |date=June 11, 2019}} The film grossed over $1 billion worldwide and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.{{Cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2424210945/ |title=Frozen II (2019) |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=April 14, 2020}}{{cite web |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |title=Oscar Nominations 2020: Elton John and Randy Newman Up for Best Original Song, Beyoncé and Thom Yorke Shut Out |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/oscar-nominations-2020-elton-john-and-randy-newman-up-for-best-original-song-beyonce-and-thom-yorke-shut-out/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=April 4, 2020 |date=January 13, 2020}}

From 2020 to 2022, Disney Animation produced a series of experimental shorts called Short Circuit for the Disney+ streaming service. The first pack of shorts was released in January 2020,{{cite tweet |user=disneyplus |title=Welcome to Agrabah, the Pride Lands, and the Proud Family home this month! Here's everything coming to #DisneyPlus in January, including the Original Series,#DiaryOfAFuturePresident What's on your Watchlist? #NowOnDisneyPlus |number=1212842906458845184 |work=Twitter |date=January 2, 2020 |access-date=January 2, 2020}}{{Cite news |url=https://torontosun.com/entertainment/television/whats-new-on-netflix-crave-amazon-disney-apple-tv-and-youtube-in-january |title=What's new on Netflix, Crave, Amazon, Disney+, Apple TV+ and YouTube in January |first=Mark |last=Daniell |date=December 31, 2019 |newspaper=Toronto Sun}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/disney/disney-announces-short-circuit-a-new-program-of-animated-shorts-174236.html |title=Disney Announces Short Circuit, A New Program Of Animated Shorts |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |last=Amidi |date=May 16, 2019 |website=Cartoon Brew}} and a second pack was released in August 2021.{{Cite instagram |user=disneyplus |postid=CPqOi3IMgKC |title=👀☀️ #SummerOfDisneyPlus⁣ Comment what you can't wait to stream! |date=June 3, 2021 |access-date=June 3, 2021}}{{Cite web |url=https://tvline.com/2021/06/16/disney-plus-release-day-wednesdays-schedule-change-loki/ |title=Disney+ Officially Moves Original Series 'Drop Day' From Friday to Wednesday in Wake of Loki{{'}}s Record-Setting Launch |first=Michael |last=Ausiello |work=TVLine |date=June 16, 2021 |access-date=June 16, 2021}} During that period, Disney Animation returned to work on hand-drawn animation once again, having released the hand-drawn "At Home with Olaf" web short "Ice,"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Wgi8BeKGc "Ice" - At Home With Olaf] as well as three hand-drawn animated Goofy shorts for Disney+,[https://d23.com/inside-goofys-hilarious-and-relatable-how-to-stay-at-home-shorts-from-walt-disney-animation-studios/ Inside Goofy's Hilarious and Relatable How to Stay at Home Shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios] and a hand-drawn animated "Short Circuit" titled "Dinosaur Barbarian".[https://www.etonline.com/heres-your-first-look-at-short-circuit-season-2-streaming-on-disney-plus-exclusive-168798?amp Here's Your First Look at 'Short Circuit' Season 2, Streaming on Disney Plus (Exclusive)] In April 2022, Eric Goldberg confirmed plans within the studio to develop hand-drawn animated films and series.Current key staff are Roger Iger CEO, John Nallen COO, Viet Dinh CLO, Steve Tomsic CFO, previously 20th Century Fox (now part of Disney) Stacey Snider CEO, John Gelke VP Global Operations, J Young SVP Growth, Gerard Devan Group Executive APAC, Stephanie Gruber Group Executive Television, Christopher Greavu Vice President of Sales.[https://www.indiewire.com/2022/04/sketchbook-disney-animation-1234717825/ 'Sketchbook': Disney's Return to 2D Animation Reinforced by Documentary Series] That year saw the release of the hand-drawn shorts Mickey in a Minute, released as part of the Disney+ documentary Mickey: The Story of a Mouse, and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, which marked the title character's first animated short produced by Disney Animation since Disney acquired the rights for the character in 2006.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-27 |title=Disney Animator Eric Goldberg Talks the Return of 2D |url=https://www.thewrap.com/disney-sketchbook-eric-goldberg-interview/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |language=en-US}}{{Citation |title="Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" l Walt Disney Animation Studios | date=December 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQqgAUu3Vxo |language=en |access-date=2022-12-01}}

In December 2020, the studio announced that it was expanding into producing television series – a business usually handled by the Disney Television Animation division. Most of the projects in development were for Disney+.{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=December 11, 2020 |title='Baymax!', 'Tiana', 'Moana & 'Zootopia+' Series Set For Disney+ |url=https://deadline.com/2020/12/baymax-tiana-moana-zootopia-series-r-disney-plus-1234654504/ |access-date=December 14, 2020 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}} The CG series produced included Baymax! (a spin-off of Big Hero 6), Zootopia+ (an anthology series set in the Zootopia universe), and Iwájú (an original long-form science fiction anthology series co-produced with British-based Pan-African entertainment company Kugali Media).{{cite news |last1=Salaudeen |first1=Aisha |title=Disney announces 'first-of-its-kind' collaboration with African entertainment company |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/africa/disney-africa-kugali-iwaju-partnership-spc-intl/index.html |access-date=December 14, 2020 |agency=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214150352/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/11/africa/disney-africa-kugali-iwaju-partnership-spc-intl/index.html |archive-date=December 14, 2020 |url-status=live}} In addition, employees from Disney Animation were involved on the Disney Television Animation series Monsters at Work, based on Pixar's Monsters, Inc. franchise.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQj3tAnwqiE&t=395s Disney + "Monsters at Work" Presentation at D23 Expo]

Raya and the Last Dragon, a fantasy-adventure film, was released in March 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was released simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access.{{cite magazine |last=Aquilina |first=Tyler |url=https://ew.com/movies/raya-and-the-last-dragon-disney-plus-release/ |title=Raya and the Last Dragon to debut on Disney+ for premium price and in theaters |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=December 10, 2020 |access-date=March 5, 2021}} The film was accompanied in theaters with the animated short Us Again.{{cite magazine |last=Yang |first=Rachel |url=https://ew.com/movies/us-again-walt-disney-animation-short-first-look/ |title=Here's a first look at Us Again, Walt Disney Animation's first theatrical short in 5 years |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=February 15, 2021 |access-date=June 1, 2021}} Raya and the Last Dragon grossed over $130 million at the box office{{Cite Box Office Mojo |access-date=January 8, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702001030/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt5109280/}} and became a hit on the streaming charts after its Premier Access charge expired on Disney+. The film became the third most streamed film title of 2021.{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=July 1, 2021 |title='Lucifer' Repeats Atop Nielsen U.S. Streaming Chart, Beating Out Disney Feature 'Raya And The Last Dragon' |url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/lucifer-nielsen-streaming-chart-raya-last-dragon-disney-1234784983/ |url-status=live |access-date=July 2, 2021 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702210733/https://deadline.com/2021/07/lucifer-nielsen-streaming-chart-raya-last-dragon-disney-/ |archive-date=July 2, 2021}}{{cite web |last=Welk |first=Brian |date=July 1, 2021 |title='Raya and the Last Dragon' 2nd Most-Watched Streaming Title After Premium Disney+ Run Ends |url=https://www.thewrap.com/raya-and-the-last-dragon-2nd-most-watched-streaming-title-after-premium-disney-run-ends/ |url-status=dead |access-date=July 2, 2021 |website=TheWrap |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701202313/https://www.thewrap.com/raya-and-the-last-dragon-2nd-most-watched-streaming-title-after-premium-disney-run-ends/ |archive-date=July 1, 2021}}{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2022-01-21 |title='Lucifer' Tops 'Squid Game' On Nielsen 2021 Original Series Chart In U.S., 'Luca' Is No. 1 Movie |url=https://deadline.com/2022/01/nielsen-streaming-top-shows-of-2021-lucifer-1234914241/ |access-date=2022-01-23 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=January 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122122819/https://deadline.com/2022/01/nielsen-streaming-top-shows-of-2021-lucifer-1234914241/ |url-status=live}} The film also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.{{Cite news |last=Cohn |first=Gabe |date=2022-02-08 |title=2022 Oscars Nominees List |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/2022-oscars-nominees-list.html |access-date=2022-02-08 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208132358/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/2022-oscars-nominees-list.html |url-status=live}}

In August 2021, it was reported that Disney Animation was opening a new animation studio in Vancouver.{{cite news |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/walt-disney-animation-studios-vancouver-studio-what-if-1234809175/ |title=Walt Disney Animation Amps Up Production With New Vancouver Studio, First Project Is 'Moana' Musical Series |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=August 4, 2021 |access-date=August 4, 2021}} Operations at the Vancouver studio started in 2022, with former Disney Animation finance lead Amir Nasrabadi serving as head for the studio. The Vancouver studio works on the animation for the Disney+-exclusive long-form series and future Disney+ specials, while the short-form series are animated at the Burbank studio. Pre-production and storyboarding for the long-form series and specials also take place at the Burbank studio.

In November 2021, the studio released Encanto, a musical-fantasy film.{{cite news |last=Ferme |first=Antonio |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/encanto-trailer-disney-lin-manuel-miranda-1235014199/ |title='Encanto' Trailer: Disney Evokes the Magic of Colombia With Music by Lin-Manuel Miranda |magazine=Variety |date=November 24, 2021 |access-date=July 8, 2021}} Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was given an exclusive 30-day theatrical run in theaters and was released to Disney+ on December 24, 2021.{{Cite news |last1=Pedersen |first1=Erik |last2=Goldsmith |first2=Jill |date=September 10, 2021 |title=Disney's Eternals, West Side Story, Encanto, Last Duel & More to Hit Theaters Ahead of Streaming Bow |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/disney-release-dates-eternals-encanto-last-duel-west-side-story-kings-manj-last-duel-1234830827/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910212744/https://deadline.com/2021/09/disney-release-dates-eternals-encanto-last-duel-west-side-story-kings-manj-last-duel-1234830827/ |archive-date=September 10, 2021}} It was released in theaters with the 2D/CG hybrid short Far from the Tree.{{cite news |last=Desowitz |first=Bill |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/06/far-from-the-tree-disney-annecy-animation-1234644159/ |title='Far From the Tree': First Look at Disney's Annecy-Bound Raccoon Survival Short — Exclusive |work=IndieWire |date=November 24, 2021 |access-date=June 14, 2021}} Although Encanto was not able to break-even at the box office by grossing $256 million against its $120–150 million budget,{{Cite web |last=Lang |first=Brent |date=November 26, 2021 |title=Box Office: Disney's 'Encanto' Leads Thanksgiving Pack With $5.8 Million, 'House of Gucci' Looking Strong |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disneys-encanto-leads-thanksgiving-box-office-house-of-gucci-lady-gaga-1235120215/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126163340/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disneys-encanto-leads-thanksgiving-box-office-house-of-gucci-lady-gaga-1235120215/ |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2021 |website=Variety}}{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Rebecca |date=November 29, 2021 |title=Why 'Encanto' and 'House of Gucci' Box Office Debuts Are Cause for Celebration... and Concern |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/house-of-gucci-encanto-box-office-takeaways-lady-gaga-1235120764/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129161420/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/house-of-gucchas |archive-date=November 29, 2021 |access-date=November 29, 2021 |website=Variety}}{{Cite Box Office Mojo |id=2953050 |title=Encanto |access-date=June 23, 2022}}{{Cite The Numbers |id=Encanto-(2021) |title=Encanto |access-date=June 23, 2022}}{{Cite web |last=Wisnefsky |first=Zachary |date=November 30, 2021 |title=Box Office Breakdown: Encanto brings its magic to the charts |url=https://dailycampus.com/2021/11/30/box-office-breakdown-encanto-brings-its-magic-to-the-charts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225005437/https://dailycampus.com/2021/11/30/box-office-breakdown-encanto-brings-its-magic-to-the-charts/ |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |access-date=December 25, 2021 |website=The Daily Campus}} it went viral over the 2021 holiday season and achieved wider commercial success after its digital release to Disney+.{{Cite news |last=Collin |first=Robbie |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Disney's Encanto is a huge hit – and that's bad news for Pixar |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2022/01/14/disneys-encanto-huge-hit-bad-news-pixar/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-01-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114215839/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2022/01/14/disneys-encanto-huge-hit-bad-news-pixar/ |archive-date=January 14, 2022 |issn=0307-1235}}{{Cite web |last=Colangelo |first=B. J. |date=January 10, 2022 |title=The Encanto Soundtrack Is Now The Biggest Thing In The World |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/729755/the-encanto-soundtrack-is-now-the-biggest-thing-in-the-world/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113114608/https://www.slashfilm.com/729755/the-encanto-soundtrack-is-now-the-biggest-thing-in-the-world/ |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=2022-01-13 |website=/Film |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Niazi |first=Amil |date=January 14, 2022 |title=Parents are losing their minds. Time to watch 'Encanto.' Again. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/01/14/watching-encanto-again/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114161756/https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/01/14/watching-encanto-again/ |archive-date=January 14, 2022}} The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and received Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.{{cite news |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-encanto-best-animated-feature-1235119158/ |title=Oscars: 'Encanto' Team Celebrates "Beautiful, Diverse Characters" With Best Animated Feature Win |date=March 27, 2022 |access-date=March 29, 2022 |magazine=Hollywood Reporter}}

In November 2022, the studio released the action-adventure film Strange World.{{cite magazine |last=Rubin |first=Rebecca |title=Disney Unveils Animated Movie 'Strange World' With Thanksgiving 2022 Release Date |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disney-strange-world-release-date-1235129812/ |magazine=Variety |access-date=November 23, 2022 |date=December 9, 2021}} Although the film received positive reviews, it was a box-office failure, grossing $73 million worldwide on a budget of $135–180 million, with an estimated loss of $100–147 million.{{cite news |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title='Strange World' To Lose $147M: Why Theatrical Was Best Decision For Doomed Toon –Not Disney+– As Bob Iger Takes Over CEO From Bob Chapek |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/strange-world-bombs-box-office-disney-glass-onion-bob-iger-bob-chapek-1235182222/ |access-date=November 28, 2022 |work=Deadline Hollywood |date=November 27, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Rubin |first=Rebecca |date=November 27, 2022 |title=Thanksgiving Box Office: Disney's 'Strange World' Bombs With $18.6 Million as 'Wakanda Forever' Repeats No. 1 |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/disney-strange-world-box-office-flop-thanksgiving-wakanda-forever-1235442708/ |access-date=November 28, 2022}}

By 2023, the studio had opened a new apprentice program for hand-drawn animators.{{Cite web |last=Motamayor |first=Rafael |date=2023-06-25 |title=Walt Disney Animation Head Jennifer Lee On Setting Up The Next Generation Of Artists [Exclusive Interview] |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1319611/walt-disney-animation-head-jennifer-lee-exclusive-interview/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=/Film |language=en-US}} That same year, the live-action/animated short film Once Upon a Studio was released to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary, which occurred in October 2023.{{cite news|last=Croll|first=Ben|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/festivals/annecy-opening-disney-centenary-short-sirocco-1235640168/|title=Annecy Opens on Note of Artistic Defiance as Disney Premieres Centenary Short 'Once Upon a Studio'|website=variety.com|date=June 11, 2023|access-date=October 21, 2023}} It went on to win the award for Outstanding Animated Short Form Program at the 3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards.{{cite web |author1=Natalie Oganesyan |author2=Erik Pedersen |url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/childrens-family-emmys-2025-winners-list-1236326869/ |date=March 15, 2025 |title=Children's & Family Emmy Winners List: Meryl Streep, 'Percy Jackson' Among Awardees |access-date=March 16, 2025 |publisher=Deadline Hollywood}}

The 2D/CG hybrid musical-fantasy film Wish was released in November 2023. The film's theme is inspired by Disney's 100th anniversary.{{cite news |last=Hodges |first=Jake |url=https://collider.com/disneys-wish-cast-story-release-date/ |title='Disney's Wish': Release Date, Cast, Story, and Everything We Know so Far |website=collider.com |date=April 28, 2023 |access-date=May 28, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Valentine |first1=Rebekah |last2=Kim |first2=Matt |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/disneys-2023-animated-film-is-called-wish |title=Disney's 2023 Animated Film Is Called Wish |website=ign.com |date=September 9, 2022 |access-date=May 28, 2023}} It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed roughly $255 million worldwide against a production budget of $175–200 million, resulting in a loss of an estimated $131 million.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-22 |title=Wish {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wish_2023 |access-date=2024-01-22 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Wish (2023) - Financial Information |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Wish-(2023) |website=The Numbers |access-date=December 17, 2023}}{{cite web |title=Wish (2023) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt11304740/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=December 17, 2023}} The film was nominated for several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.{{Cite web |last=Pedersen |first=Erik |date=2023-12-11 |title=Watch The Golden Globe Nominations Livestream |url=https://deadline.com/2023/12/how-to-watch-golden-globe-nominations-1235658099/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2024-05-03 |title=Disney Detonates Four Bombs In Deadline's 2023 Most Valuable Blockbuster Tournament |url=https://deadline.com/2024/05/biggest-box-office-bombs-2023-lowest-grossing-movies-1235902825/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}

The studio provided both CG and hand-drawn animation of fireflies for the Disney Parks ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which opened in 2024 and is inspired by The Princess and the Frog.{{cite news|last=Graves|first=Sabina|url=https://gizmodo.com/15-facts-about-tiana-s-bayou-adventure-disney-parks-1850511181/slides/12|title=15 Facts You Need to Know About Tiana's Bayou Adventure|website=gizmodo.com|date=June 6, 2023|access-date=April 18, 2025}}

In September 2024, Lee announced that she was stepping down from her position as Disney Animation's chief creative officer to return to full-time filmmaking at the studio—specifically, to direct and write Frozen 3 and also to write and executive produce Frozen 4.{{cite news |last1=McClintock |first1=Pamela |title=Disney Animation Shake-Up: Jennifer Lee Exiting as Chief Creative Officer, Jared Bush Takes Over |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/disney-animation-jennifer-lee-exit-jared-bush-1236006859/ |access-date=September 19, 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=September 19, 2024}} Jared Bush was named as her successor.

The studio released the sequel Moana 2 in November 2024. The project was originally under development as a series for Disney+ before being reworked into a theatrical feature film.{{cite magazine |last=Stephan|first=Katcy|title='Moana 2' Set at Disney With Surprise 2024 Release Date|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/moana-2-disney-2024-release-date-1235901329/|magazine=Variety|access-date=November 26, 2024|date=February 7, 2024}} The film received mixed reviews and was a commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide.{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=Rebecca|url=https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/moana-2-1-billion-global-box-office-1236272527/|title='Moana 2,' Once Destined for Streaming, Crosses $1 Billion at Global Box Office|website=variety.com|date=January 19, 2025|access-date=February 8, 2025}}

{{External media|video1=[https://youtube.com/watch?v=MJkQ-1Jvf0g&si=o4UJcoc0B3Y1NDHk Walt Disney Animation Studios logo]|headerimage=File:Excerpt from Steamboat Willie (1928), used as part of Walt Disney Animation Studios Logo.gif
Excerpt of Mickey Mouse short Steamboat Willie on which the 2007 production logo was based| width = 250px|title=}}

Until 2007, Walt Disney Animation Studios did not use a traditional production logo, using the standard Walt Disney Pictures logo instead. Starting with 2007 film Meet the Robinsons, an on-screen production logo based on Steamboat Willie was added.{{cite news |last1=Whitson |first1=James R. |title=Meet The Robinsons |url=https://animatedviews.com/2007/meet-the-robinsons-film/ |access-date=7 October 2024 |work=Animated Views |date=2 April 2007}} The logo has had variants, such as pixilation for the 2012 film Wreck-It Ralph.{{cite news |last1=Boslaugh |first1=Sarah |title=Hidden Hints, Motifs, and Deep Details in Films from 'The Secret Life of Movies' |id={{ProQuest|2287896047}} |url=https://www.popmatters.com/secret-life-movies-simon-brew-2640265622.html |work=PopMatters |date=10 September 2019 |location=Evanston |quote=Other films have used similar techniques. The Walt Disney Animation Studios logo in Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore, 2012)is pixelated like the images from an old-school video game, which is a nice set-up for the film to come.}}

Steamboat Willie entered the public domain on January 1, 2024, as it was published in 1928. The logo remains in use.{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |date=2022-12-27 |title=Mickey's Copyright Adventure: Early Disney Creation Will Soon Be Public Property |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/business/mickey-mouse-disney-public-domain.html |access-date=2023-11-24 |issn=0362-4331}}

• Jared Bush, Chief Creative Officer (September 2024 – present)
• Clark Spencer, President (August 2019 – present)
• Stacey Snider, chief executive officer
• John Nallen, Chief Operating Officer
• Viet Dinh, Chief Legal Officer
• Steve Tomsic, Chief Financial Officer
• John Gelke, Vice President, Global Operations
• J Young Sr. Vice President, Growth
• Gerard Devan, Group Executive APAC
• Stephanie Gruber, Group Executive Television
• Christopher Greavu, Vice President of Sales

• Andrew Millstein, President (November 2014 – July 2019)
• Edwin Catmull, President (June 2007 – July 2019)
• David Stainton, President (January 2003 – January 2006){{cite web|last=Godfrey|first=Leigh|url=https://www.awn.com/news/david-stainton-named-president-disney-feature-animation|title=David Stainton Named President, Disney Feature Animation|website=Animation World Network|date=January 3, 2003|access-date=April 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321040017/https://www.awn.com/news/david-stainton-named-president-disney-feature-animation|archive-date=March 21, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Disney buying Pixar for $7.4 billion|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11003466|access-date=28 February 2013|newspaper=NBC News|date=1 January 2006|agency=Associated Press}}
• Thomas Schumacher, President (January 1999 – December 2002){{cite news|author-link1=Robert Simonson|last1=Simonson|first1=Robert|title=Thomas Schumacher Promoted to Co-President of Disney Theatricals |url=https://www.playbill.com/news/article/thomas-schumacher-promoted-to-co-president-of-disney-theatricals-79402 |access-date=September 4, 2020 |work=Playbill|date=January 12, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915221818/https://www.playbill.com/news/article/thomas-schumacher-promoted-to-co-president-of-disney-theatricals-79402|archive-date=September 15, 2020|url-status=dead}}
• Peter Schneider, President (1985 – January 1999){{cite news |last=Amidi |first=Amid |author-link=Amid Amidi |title=David Stainton Out! |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/old-brew/david-stainton-out-1551.html |access-date=December 10, 2012 |newspaper=Cartoon Brew |date=January 24, 2006}}
• John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer (January 2006 – June 2018){{cite news |last1=Bennett |first1=Ray |last2=Williams |first2=Chad |title=$7.4 billion seals Disney-Pixar deal |id={{ProQuest|235359153}} |work=Hollywood Reporter |date=31 January 2006 |location=Hollywood CA}}{{cite news |last1=Maddaus |first1=Gene |title=John Lasseter will exit Disney at the end of the year |id={{ProQuest|2053320681}} |work=Chicago Tribune |date=11 June 2008 |location=Chicago IL |quote=In a statement on Friday, the company said that Lasseter will take a consulting role until Dec. 31, when he will leave the company.}}
• Jennifer Lee, Chief Creative Officer (June 2018 – September 2024){{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Brent |title=Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter to Run Disney Animation, Pixar |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/jennifer-lee-pete-docter-head-disney-animation-pixar-1202851411/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Variety |date=19 June 2018}}{{cite news |last1=McClintock |first1=Pamela |title=Disney Animation Shake-Up: Jennifer Lee Exiting as Chief Creative Officer, Jared Bush Takes Over |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/disney-animation-jennifer-lee-exit-jared-bush-1236006859/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=19 September 2024}}
• Roy E. Disney, Chairman (1984 – 2003){{cite news |last1=Tharp |first1=Paul |title=Roy Disney quits, seeks Eisner exit |id={{ProQuest|334104718}} |work=New York Post |date=1 December 2003 |location=New York NY}}

File:Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios_South_Side.jpg

Since 1995, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been headquartered in the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in Burbank, California, across Riverside Drive from the Walt Disney Studios, where the original Animation building (now housing corporate offices) is located. The Disney Animation Building's lobby is capped by a large version of the magic sorcerer hat from the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment of Fantasia (1940), and the building is informally called the "hat building" for that reason.{{cite news |last1=Rea |first1=Steven |title=No-more-pencils animation |url=http://articles.philly.com/2003-07-20/entertainment/25453141_1_traditional-2-d-animation-david-stainton-animation-headquarters |access-date=December 8, 2014 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=July 20, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109214435/http://articles.philly.com/2003-07-20/entertainment/25453141_1_traditional-2-d-animation-david-stainton-animation-headquarters |archive-date=January 9, 2016}}

Until the mid-1990s, Disney Animation previously operated out of the Air Way complex, a cluster of old hangars, office buildings, and trailers in the Grand Central Business Centre, an industrial park on the site of the former Grand Central Airport{{cite news |author= |title=Disney Buys 96 Acres in Glendale |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-06-20-me-5309-story.html |access-date=December 8, 2014 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=June 20, 1997}} about two miles (3.2 km) east in the city of Glendale. The Disneytoon Studios unit was based in Glendale. Disney Animation's archive, formerly known as "the morgue" (based on an analogy to a morgue file) and today known as the Animation Research Library,{{cite web |url=https://ilovelibraries.org/articles/libraryshowcase/disneylibrary |title=Disney Animation Research Library |work=I Love Libraries |access-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-date=September 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924153407/http://www.ilovelibraries.org/articles/libraryshowcase/disneylibrary |url-status=dead}} is also located in Glendale. Unlike the Burbank buildings, the ARL is located in a nondescript office building near Disney's Grand Central Creative Campus. The 12,000-square-foot ARL is home to over 64 million items of animation artwork dating back to 1924; because of its importance to the company, visitors are required to agree not to disclose its exact location within Glendale.{{cite news |last=McLean |first=Craig |title=The Jungle Book: the making of Disney's most troubled film |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10202873/The-Jungle-Book-the-making-of-Disneys-most-troubled-film.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/10202873/The-Jungle-Book-the-making-of-Disneys-most-troubled-film.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=May 11, 2014 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=July 30, 2013}}{{cbignore}}

Previously, feature animation satellite studios were located around the world in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France (a suburb of Paris), and in Bay Lake, Florida (near Orlando, at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park). The Paris studio was shut down in 2002, while the Florida studio was shut down in 2004. The Florida animation building survives as an office building, while the former Magic of Disney Animation section of the building is home to Star Wars Launch Bay.{{cite news |id={{ProQuest|1738484295}} |last1=Bevil |first1=Dewayne |title=Fans embrace Star Wars Launch Bay |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=2 December 2015 |page=A.2 |quote=Launch Bay opened in the former home of the Magic of Disney Animation attraction, which closed in July.}}

In the wake of Roy E. Disney's death in 2009, the Burbank headquarters were re-dedicated the Roy E. Disney Animation Building in May 2010.{{cite web |last1=Ziemba |first1=Christine N. |title=Remembering CalArts Trustee Roy E. Disney |url=https://blog.calarts.edu/2010/01/12/remembering-calarts-trustee-roy-e-disney/ |website=24700 |publisher=California Institute of the Arts |access-date=13 October 2024 |location=Santa Clarita CA |date=12 January 2010 |quote=During the memorial, Disney’s CEO and President Robert Iger made a special announcement that the main animation building in Burbank will be renamed the Roy E. Disney Animation Building.}}{{cite news |last1=Guinigundo |first1=Andy |title=Out of the Loop: Animation building in California dedicated to Roy E. Disney |url=https://attractionsmagazine.com/out-of-the-loop-animation-building-in-california-dedicated-to-roy-e-disney/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=Attractions Magazine |publisher=Attractions Magazine |date=12 May 2010}}

In November 2014, Disney Animation commenced a 16-month upgrade of the Roy E. Disney Animation Building,{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Chris |title=Roy E. Disney Animation Building Getting a Makeover |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/roy-e-disney-animation-building-750508 |access-date=December 8, 2014 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 22, 2014}}{{cite journal |last1=Frye |first1=Jim |title=Remodeling Disney Animation |journal=Disney Twenty-three |date=Spring 2016 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=4–9 |publisher=Walt Disney Company |location=Burbank |issn=2162-5492 |oclc=698366817}} in order to fix what then-studio president Edwin Catmull had called its "dungeon-like" interior.{{cite book |last1=Catmull |first1=Ed |author2=Amy Wallace |title=Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration |url=https://archive.org/details/creativityincove0000catm |url-access=registration |date=2014 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=978-0812993011 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/creativityincove0000catm/page/253 253–254]}} For example, the interior was so cramped that it could not easily accommodate "town hall" meetings with all employees in attendance. Due to the renovation, the studio's employees were temporarily moved from Burbank into the closest available Disney-controlled studio space – the Disneytoon Studios building in the industrial park in Glendale and the old Imagineering warehouse in North Hollywood under the western approach to Bob Hope Airport (the Tujunga Building).{{cite news |last1=Snetiker |first1=Marc |title=Moana directors Ron Clements, John Musker talk four decades Disney movies |url=https://ew.com/article/2016/11/24/moana-disney-ron-clements-john-musker/ |access-date=January 13, 2017 |work=Entertainment Weekly. |date=November 24, 2016 |location=New York}} The renovation was completed in October 2016.

{{Main|List of Walt Disney Animation Studios films}}

{{timeline of release years

|1937=Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

|1940a=Pinocchio

|1940b=Fantasia

|1941=Dumbo

|1942=Bambi

|1943=Saludos Amigos

|1945=The Three Caballeros

|1946=Make Mine Music

|1947=Fun and Fancy Free

|1948=Melody Time

|1949=The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

|1950=Cinderella

|1951=Alice in Wonderland

|1953=Peter Pan

|1955=Lady and the Tramp

|1959=Sleeping Beauty

|1961=One Hundred and One Dalmatians

|1963=The Sword in the Stone

|1967=The Jungle Book

|1970=The Aristocats

|1973=Robin Hood

|1977a=The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

|1977b=The Rescuers

|1981=The Fox and the Hound

|1985=The Black Cauldron

|1986=The Great Mouse Detective

|1988=Oliver & Company

|1989=The Little Mermaid

|1990=The Rescuers Down Under

|1991=Beauty and the Beast

|1992=Aladdin

|1994=The Lion King

|1995=Pocahontas

|1996=The Hunchback of Notre Dame

|1997=Hercules

|1998=Mulan

|1999a=Tarzan

|1999b=Fantasia 2000

|2000a=Dinosaur

|2000b=The Emperor's New Groove

|2001=Atlantis: The Lost Empire

|2002a=Lilo & Stitch

|2002b=Treasure Planet

|2003=Brother Bear

|2004=Home on the Range

|2005=Chicken Little

|2007=Meet the Robinsons

|2008=Bolt

|2009=The Princess and the Frog

|2010=Tangled

|2011=Winnie the Pooh

|2012=Wreck-It Ralph

|2013=Frozen

|2014=Big Hero 6

|2016a=Zootopia

|2016b=Moana

|2018=Ralph Breaks the Internet

|2019=Frozen 2

|2021a=Raya and the Last Dragon

|2021b=Encanto

|2022=Strange World

|2023=Wish

|2024=Moana 2

|2025=Zootopia 2

|2026=TBA

|2027=Frozen 3

|TBA=Frozen 4

}}

Walt Disney Animation Studios has produced animated features in a series of animation techniques, including traditional animation, computer animation, combination of both and animation combined with live-action scenes. The studio's first film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released on December 21, 1937,{{harvnb|Barrier|1999|p=[https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr/page/229 229]}}. and their most recent film, Moana 2, was released on November 27, 2024.

Starting with Chicken Little (2005), most of their films have cost between $150–175 million. Tangled (2010) is the studio's most expensive film, with a budget of $260 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-21-la-et-1121-tangled-20101121-story.html|title=Disney Animation is closing the book on fairy tales|first1=Dawn C.|last1=Chmielewski|first2=Claudia|last2=Eller|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=November 21, 2010|access-date=November 23, 2010|archive-date=February 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211161946/https://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/21/entertainment/la-et-1121-tangled-20101121|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Valverde |first1=Hector |title=How Disney's Tangled Became the Most Expensive Animated Film of All Time |url=https://www.cbr.com/disney-tangled-most-expensive-animated-film/ |access-date=13 October 2024 |work=CBR |publisher=Valnet |date=27 November 2020 |location=Saint-Laurent QC}}{{cite web |title=Most expensive Disney animated film |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/418255-most-expensive-disney-animated-film |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=13 October 2024 |location=London |date=2016}}

The studio's next film will be the sequel Zootopia 2, scheduled to be released on November 26, 2025.{{cite web | url=https://collider.com/zootopia-2-release-date/ | title='Zootopia 2' Sets Fall 2025 Release Date | website=Collider | date=February 7, 2024 }} An unannounced film is scheduled to be released on November 25, 2026,{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/disney-adds-a-ton-of-untitled-disney-movies-including-one-this-year/|title=Disney Adds A Ton of 'Untitled Disney' Movies, Including One This Year|last=Trenholm|first=Richard|date=January 20, 2023|access-date=January 20, 2023|archive-date=January 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120222218/https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/disney-adds-a-ton-of-untitled-disney-movies-including-one-this-year/|url-status=live}} and sequel Frozen 3 is scheduled to be released on November 24, 2027.{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=August 13, 2024 |title=Frozen 3 Gets Official Thanksgiving 2027 Release; Pixar's Hoppers Sets Spring 2026 |url=https://deadline.com/2024/08/frozen-3-release-date-1236039148/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240813174243/https://deadline.com/2024/08/frozen-3-release-date-1236039148/ |archive-date=August 13, 2024 |access-date=August 13, 2024 |website=Deadline Hollywood}}

{{Main|List of Walt Disney Animation Studios short films}}

{{see also|Walt Disney Treasures}}

Since Alice Comedies in the 1920s, Walt Disney Animation Studios has produced a series of prominent short films, including the Mickey Mouse cartoons and the Silly Symphonies series, until the cartoon studio division was closed in 1956. Many of these shorts provided a medium for the studio to experiment with new technologies that they would use in their filmmaking process, such as the synchronization of sound in Steamboat Willie (1928), the integration of the three-strip Technicolor process in Flowers and Trees (1932), the multiplane camera in The Old Mill (1937), the xerography process in Goliath II (1960),{{cite web |url=https://www.awn.com/mag/issue4.10/4.10pages/cohenmilestones4.php3 |title=Milestones of the Animation Industry in the 20th Century |work=Animation World Magazine |date=January 2000 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Cohen, Karl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016042813/http://www.awn.com/mag/issue4.10/4.10pages/cohenmilestones4.php3 |archive-date=October 16, 2014 |url-status=dead}} and the hand-drawn/CGI hybrid animation in Off His Rockers (1992),{{cite web |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/07/15/how-the-disney-film-short-off-his-rockers-made-it-to-the-big-screen-a-little-project-that-blew-up/ |title=How The Disney Film Short 'Off His Rockers' Made It to the Big Screen: A Little Project That 'blew Up.' |work=Orlando Sentinel |date=July 15, 1992 |access-date=June 28, 2014 |author=Hinman, Catherine}} Paperman (2012), Get a Horse! (2013). and Feast (2014).{{cite news|title=Walt Disney Animation Studios' 'Feast' to Premiere at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival|url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/blog/walt-disney-animation-studios-feast-premiere-annecy-international-animated-film-festival|access-date=14 May 2014|newspaper=Disney Post|date=24 April 2014}}

Walt Disney Animation Studios announced its expansion into television programming in 2020 and produced original shows for Disney+.{{cite web |url=https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2020/12/10/disney-animation-disney-plus-tv-shows/ |title=Walt Disney Animation Studios Announces 4 TV Series Coming to Disney+: "Baymax!," "Zootopia+," "Tiana" and "Moana, The Series" |website=Laughing Place |date=December 10, 2020 |access-date=February 3, 2021}} However, on March 3, 2025, the studio announced that all television series in production and development had been shelved as the studio pivoted away from longform content for streaming in favor of focusing on theatrical feature films.{{cite news|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/tiana-disney-series-shelved-1236153297/|title=‘Tiana’ Disney+ Series Shelved as Walt Disney Animation Abandons Longform Streaming Content (Exclusive)|work=Hollywood Reporter|date=March 3, 2025|accessdate=March 3, 2025|url-status=live}}

This list includes film series and/or franchises featuring theatrical films, short films, and television series produced by either Walt Disney Animation Studios or follow-ups of them made by Disney's direct-to-video/television units such as Disney Television Animation or Disneytoon Studios through the years, as well as live-action films.

: {{legend|#b6fcb6|Indicates films playing in theatres in the week commencing {{days before now|{{#switch: {{CURRENTDAYNAME}} |Saturday=1 |Sunday=2 |Monday=3 |Tuesday=4 |Wednesday=5 |Thursday=6 |Friday=0}}}}.|text={{†|alt=film currently playing}}}}

{{Columns-start|num=2}}

{{column}}

{{Columns-end}}

{{portal|Disney|Film|Animation|United States}}

• The Walt Disney Company
• Disney's Nine Old Men
• 12 basic principles of animation
• Walt Disney Home Video (VHS)
• Walt Disney Treasures
• Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life
• Modern animation in the United States: Disney
• Animation studios owned by The Walt Disney Company
• Disneytoon Studios
• Circle Seven Animation
• Pixar
• Pixar Canada
• Fox Animation Studios
• Blue Sky Studios
• 20th Century Animation
• List of Disney theatrical animated feature films
• Disney Television Animation
• List of animation studios

• A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios (1937, short)
• The Reluctant Dragon (1941, a staged "mockumentary")
• Frank and Ollie (1995)
• Dream On Silly Dreamer (2005)
• Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
• Walt & El Grupo (2009)
• Howard (2018)

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Barrier |first=Michael |year=1999 |title=Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198020790 |oclc=436041091 |url=https://archive.org/details/hollywoodcartoon00barr |url-access=registration}}
• {{Citation |last=Gabler |first=Neal |title=Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination |year=2006 |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=0-679-43822-X |author-link=Neal Gabler |url=https://archive.org/details/waltdisneytriump00gabl}}
• {{Citation |last=Stewart |first=James |title=DisneyWar |year=2005 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-80993-1 |author-link=James B. Stewart |title-link=DisneyWar}}

{{Commons category|Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{YouTube|channel=UC_976xMxPgzIa290Hqtk-9g}}

{{Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

{{Disney}}

{{Walt Disney Studios}}

{{Disney theatrical animated features}}

{{John Lasseter}}

{{Film Studio}}

{{Animation industry in the United States}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|34|09|20|N|118|19|23|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walt Disney Animation Studios}}

Category:Disney animation

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Category:Entertainment companies based in California

Category:Mass media companies established in 1923

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Category:Companies based in Burbank, California

Category:Walt Disney Studios (division)

Category:Walt Disney Pictures