disney animation movie marathon Archives

Disney Hand Drawn Animation Ultra-Marathon

When I was putting together my movie marathon schedules for the Disney animation studios movies, I was struck by the sheer volume of movies you could see in these movies, since they were so short.

I usually insert break times between movies in my movie marathons, since they are social events as much as movie-watching experiences. However, if you cut them out entirely, you then have two to three extra hours to play with. So in exchange for conversation and bathroom breaks, how many movies could you watch in one movie marathon? The answer is: eighteen!

I figure only hardcore Disney fanatics would participate in such madness so for this movie ultramarathon, I stuck to just the hand drawn Disney films. It seemed like something fanatics would do. If anyone out there is crazy enough to do this, you have to let me know how it turned out!

Disney Hand-Drawn Movies

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

My take: A wicked queen attempts to murder Snow White several times because Snow is prettier than the queen. Wouldn’t it have been less of a hassle for the Queen to use one of her appearance-altering potions to make herself prettier? That seems like a more direct route to achieve her goal.

Pinocchio

My take: Pinocchio the puppet comes alive, but to become a real boy, he must prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish. Man, the standards for boys made the old-fashioned way sure are low.

Dumbo

My take: Dumbo the elephant has big ears and is a little awkward, so he is mercilessly teased and exploited by members of the circus. Then he learns how to fly, and is no longer teased. The exploitation continues, but in a good way. The end.

Bambi

My take: A coming of age story of Bambi: the Great Prince of the Forest. His name and title aren’t quite as impressive as Simba: The Lion King, but I suppose even forests need kings too.

Cinderella

My take: Cinderella is emotionally abused by her step-mother and step-sisters. But, because she is pretty, she is saved from her crummy life by some standard-issue prince she knows nothing about. Second-wave feminism this a’int.

Alice in Wonderland

My take: The ultimate “and it was all a dream” story.

Peter Pan

My take: Peter Pan brings Wendy Darling (and her brothers) to Never Never land, where where a pixie, mermaids, and a pirate captain promptly attempt to murder her. A whimsical classic!

Lady and the Tramp

My take: “And they called it….puppy love.” – a little Paul Anka for you there. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sleeping Beauty

My take: A titanic struggle between Maleficent, the evil fairy / dragon / hellbeast and three good fairies. Other characters like Sleeping Beauty exist too, but they are pretty much puppets manipulated by the real power-holders in this kingdom.

101 Dalmations

My take: Cruella De Vil really, really wants a Dalmatian fur coat. I wonder if her psychological problems started with her parents, who gave her an anti-virtue name. Maybe if she was named “Charity De Vil” she would have started an animal shelter.

The Jungle Book

My take: A kid is raised by wolves and has lots of animal friends. He instantly forgets all that the second he sees a pretty girls. Men! So predictable!

The Little Mermaid

My take: A mermaid falls in love with the first human she sees, then gives up her entire life to marry him. A family movie classic!

Beauty and the Beast

My take: A typical love-triangle story of a French inventor’s daughter, a muscular yet evil hunk, and a hideous man-beast with a heart of gold. You’ve seen one of these stories, you’ve seen them all.

Aladdin

My take: Robin Williams plays a crack-addicted genie who bestows near-infinite powers on any dope who gets his hands on a magic lamp. Hilarious disruptions of the space-time continuum follow.

The Lion King

My take: Lion kings battle each other in a vicious fight for ultimate supremacy. Its all part of the beautiful circle of life.

Mulan

My take: Mulan pretends to be a boy so she can almost single-handedly defeat the Hun invasion and save the emperor from assassination. She gets a nice thank-you from everyone involved. The end.

Tarzan

My take: A boy is raised by apes, later gets the chance to live with humans, but decides to stick with the apes. His human girlfriend Jane also agrees that apes are the way to go. Can you blame them?

The Princess and the Frog

My take: A two-minute children’s story is extended to an hour and a half by the introduction of a trumpet-playing alligator, among other things (how does he purse his lips?).

Disney Hand-Drawn Movie Schedule

So now you know all about the movies, but how do they fit into a 24-hour movie marathon schedule? Lucky for you, I have pre-packaged the 24-hour disney movie marathon schedule for you below. Do you think you can relive your childhood in 18 movies in 24 hours? There is only one way to find out!

Start Time	Title
12:00 PM	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
01:23 PM	Pinocchio
02:51 PM	Dumbo
03:55 PM	Bambi
05:05 PM	Cinderella
06:19 PM	Alice in Wonderland
07:34 PM	Peter Pan
08:51 PM	Lady and the Tramp
10:07 PM	Sleeping Beauty
11:22 PM	101 Dalmations
12:41 AM	The Jungle Book
01:59 AM	The Little Mermaid
03:22 AM	Beauty and the Beast
04:46 AM	Aladdin
06:16 AM	The Lion King
07:45 AM	Mulan
09:13 AM	Tarzan
10:41 AM	The Princess and the Frog
12:18 PM	Finish

Disney Animation Movie Marathon – Post-Renaissance Era

The Disney Animation Studios post-renaissance era started in 1988¹. This era was kicked off by the release of The Little Mermaid, ended a streak of low-performing, not-so-memorable films, and started a streak of smash hits. Most people would consider the films of this era Disney’s “modern classics” (If you’d like a little more info on Disney eras, check out my earlier post on the subject)

So what better way to catch up on popular culture than a 24-hour Disney animation movie marathon? And what a marathon it is! Any movie marathon containing Disney animation films will be dense, as the movies are short compared to other feature films. This movie marathon has an impressive 15 movies. I was able to get 16 in the pre-renaissance era marathon, but 15 movies is a lot if movies to watch in one sitting by any standard!

So here is a 24-hour movie marathon schedule for the best Disney films this era has to offer. Enjoy!

Disney Post-Renaissance Era Movies

The Little Mermaid

My take: A mermaid falls in love with the first human she sees, then gives up her entire life to marry him. A family movie classic!

Beauty and the Beast

Aladdin

My take: Robin Williams plays a crack-addicted genie who bestows near-infinite powers on any dope who gets his hands on a magic lamp. Hilarious disruptions of the space-time continuum follow.

The Lion King

My take: Lion kings battle each other in a vicious fight for ultimate supremacy. Its all part of the beautiful circle of life.

Hercules

My take: Zeus and Hera have a son named Hercules…wait. This film is already not faithful to the source material – which clearly states that Zeus had an illegitimate child by the mortal Alcmene by pretending to be her husband. Oh Disney – when will you stop re-writing pseudo-history?

Mulan

My take: Mulan pretends to be a boy so she can almost single-handedly defeat the Hun invasion and save the emperor from assassination. She gets a nice thank-you from everyone involved. The end.

Tarzan

Fantasia 2000

My take: Fantasia, rebooted. This probably started the trend of other famous movie reboots, such as Batman Begins, Star Trek, and The Amazing Spider-Man.

The Emperor’s New Groove

My take: A cocky, uncaring emperor learns humility when he is transformed into a Llama. Later, he learns to sing after being transformed into a macaw. Don’t ask what he learns when he is transformed into a Tapir.

Lilo and Stitch

My take: Ugh. Another movie from Disney about a horrible genetic experiment from space being adopted by a young girl as a pet and training him as an Elvis impersonator. C’mon Disney! Where is your imagination?

Meet the Robinsons

My take: Back to the Future with singing gangster frogs, etc.

Bolt

My take: Bolt the dog discovers his Hollywood life is a lie. Has he seen Hollywood? I could have told him that! What a dump!

The Princess and the Frog

My take: A two-minute children’s story is extended to an hour and a half by the introduction of a trumpet-playing alligator, among other things (how does he purse his lips?).

Tangled

My take: Rapunzel’s mom isn’t really her mom, and her innocent-sounding house rules are really an evil plot to control and suppress her. This story is a confirmation of every teenage girl’s current thoughts on life.

Frozen

My take: Heh – boy – that Elsa is a real ice princess. No. Really. She is. Oh never mind.

Disney Pre-Renaissance Era Movie Marathon Schedule

So now you know all about the movies, but how do they fit into a 24-hour movie marathon schedule? Lucky for you, I have pre-packaged the 24-hour disney movie marathon schedule for you below. Do you think you can relive your childhood in 15 movies in 24 hours? There is only one way to find out!

Start Time	Title
12:00 PM	The Little Mermaid
01:45 PM	Beauty and the Beast
03:15 PM	Aladdin
04:45 PM	The Lion King
06:15 PM	Hercules
08:00 PM	Mulan
09:30 PM	Tarzan
11:00 PM	Fantasia 2000
12:15 AM	The Emperor’s New Groove
01:45 AM	Lilo and Stitch
03:15 AM	Meet the Robinsons
05:00 AM	Bolt
06:45 AM	The Princess and the Frog
08:30 AM	Tangled
10:15 AM	Frozen
12:00 PM	Finish

Disney Animation Movie Marathon – Pre-Renaissance Era

The Disney Animation Studios pre-renaissance era stretched from 1937 until 1988. This era produced many of the classics we remember, and some that we do not. If you’d like a little more info on Disney eras, check out my earlier post on the subject.

Picking the best movies out from this era results in an astounding 16-movie 24-hour Disney animation movie marathon. A typical 24-hour movie marathon has eleven, maybe twelve movies in it. This movie marathon wins the “most feature films in one 24 hour movie marathon” award. The schedule even includes copious breaktimes!

So if you want to see the best classic animated films Disney has to offer, and only have a day to do it – have I got the movie marathon schedule for you!

Disney Pre-Renaissance Era Movies

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Pinocchio

My take: Pinocchio the puppet comes alive, but to become a real boy, he must prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish. Man, the standards for boys made the old-fashioned way sure are low.

Fantasia

My take: A series of short animated stories set to classical music, including Mickey Mouse casting spells to infuse broomsticks with demonic cleaning powers. A kids classic!

Dumbo

Bambi

My take: A coming of age story of Bambi: the Great Prince of the Forest. His name and title aren’t quite as impressive as Simba: The Lion King, but I suppose even forests need kings too.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

My take: Not exactly a feature film, but two short stories packaged together. Hey – everyone was busy for a while with World War II!

Cinderella

Alice in Wonderland

My take: The ultimate “and it was all a dream” story.

Peter Pan

My take: Peter Pan brings Wendy Darling (and her brothers) to Never Never land, where where a pixie, mermaids, and a pirate captain promptly attempt to murder her. A whimsical classic!

Lady and the Tramp

My take: “And they called it….puppy love.” – a little Paul Anka for you there. Hope you enjoyed it.

Sleeping Beauty

101 Dalmatians

The Sword in the Stone

My take: A dramatic enactment of the old moral: leaders are chosen through divine right, not through piffle like democratic elections or talent.

The Jungle Book

My take: A kid is raised by wolves and has lots of animal friends. He instantly forgets all that the second he sees a pretty girl. Men! So predictable!

The Aristocats

My take: Does everybody want to be a cat? The movie’s answer, is an emphatic “Yes!”. In song form!

The Rescuers

My take: This movie follows the adventures of agents of an international mouse organization dedicated to helping abduction victims around the world. Its like Taken, but with mice, and less brutal violence.

Disney Pre-Renaissance Era Movie Marathon Schedule

So now you know all about the movies, but how do they fit into a 24-hour movie marathon schedule? Lucky for you, I have pre-packaged the 24-hour disney movie marathon schedule for you below. Do you think you can relive your childhood in 16 movies in 24 hours? There is only one way to find out!

Start Time	Title
12:00 PM	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
01:45 PM	Pinocchio
03:15 PM	Fantasia
05:30 PM	Dumbo
06:45 PM	Bambi
08:15 PM	The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
09:30 PM	Cinderella
11:00 PM	Alice in Wonderland
12:30 AM	Peter Pan
02:00 AM	Lady and the Tramp
03:16 AM	Sleeping Beauty
04:31 AM	101 Dalmatians
06:00 AM	The Sword in the Stone
07:30 AM	The Jungle Book
09:00 AM	The Aristocats
10:30 AM	The Rescuers
12:00 PM	Finish

How to Plan a Disney Movie Marathon

The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries have published almost 700 feature films. To have a “complete” Disney movie marathon, you would have to do nothing but watch Disney movies, 24/7, for an entire month. That is a lot of homespun, family friendly, quality entertainment.

But let’s be honest. If you are thinking of having a Disney movie marathon, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds concert is probably not what you are thinking of. I also doubt Mars Needs Moms will show up on your must-watch list.

The stuff produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios is what you want. They produced the great animated films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. They have produced 56 animated feature films in all. They’ve been doing it so long (about eighty years) that their films can be classified into multiple major “eras”.

Disney Eras Explained

For an explanation of the Disney eras, watch this helpful YouTube video. Don’t worry – I’ll wait.

56 animated movies is more manageable than 700. But this is still too many movies for a 24-hour movie marathon. In fact, you could can get about four 24-hour movie marathons with that many movies. What’s a movie marathon planner to do?

You need to divide and conquer. Per the video above, you can roughly divide up all of the movies into two major eras – Pre-Renaissance and Post-Renaissance. I like to think of it as:

Pre-Renaissance: “Everything that came before The Little Mermaid“
Post-Renaissance: “Everything that came after The Little Mermaid“

Creating Your Disney Movie Marathon

If you want a Disney movie marathon that does both eras justice, then plan for two movie marathons! Pick the best movies from each era, place them in a movie marathon schedule, and you are good to go!

The key question is how we should pick the “best” disney movies to put in the marathons. Thankfully, half the internet is composed of lists of the best stuff ever. Let’s use Rotten Tomatoes list of best animated Disney movies. They “used a weighted formula that accounts for the Tomatometer, number of reviews, and release year of each Disney animated film.” That sounds like science to me!

Based on this methodology, I have produced sample schedules for your enjoyment.

UPDATE: 30 April 2017 – Some light editing for better readability, etc.