99 Animated Movies That Are The Essence Of The ’90s

1994 | 1 hour 28 minutes | Directed by Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
 

Voiced by Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones
 

Raise your hand if you've not shed a tear while watching this animated musical drama as a kid. If you haven't, then there's probably something very, very wrong with you. In all seriousness, though, however many controversies follow this animated flick, it's still one of the best Disney movies, hands down. From the catchy tunes in the background and the foreground to loveable and diverse characters, The Lion King has all the ingredients to make it a timeless classic.

1995 | 1 hour 21 minutes | Directed by John Lasseter
 

Voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles
 

We think Toy Story is absolutely worthy of being on top of our list of the best '90s animated movies ever. Not only is it one of the most impactful animated movies, but it's also probably the only film with a cast member that went on a real space mission. Well, okay, not really a cast member, but a figurine of Buzz Lightyear taken on a Space Shuttle mission STS-124 in 2008 that was used for experiments in zero-g. Still quite an impressive achievement, I might say! 

1997 | 1 hour 33 minutes | Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker
 

Voiced by Tate Donovan, Susan Egan, James Woods

Hercules, an animated musical fantasy comedy, is loosely based on the story of the legendary hero Hercules, the son of Zeus in Greek mythology. As we all well know, original Greek myths are most definitely R-rated stories; thus, Hercules, before becoming a kids' animation, had to undergo some treatment. What came out of it is a wonderful, fun, entertaining, and absolutely charming movie!

1991 | 1 hour 24 minutes | Directed by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
 

Voiced by Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jesse Corti
 

Beauty And The Beast, an animated musical romantic fantasy film, as with most Disney movies, is based on an existent fairy tale. In this case, it's the one by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, who wrote this Stockholm syndrome exposé way back in 1756. However, if you do not wish to associate Beauty And The Beast with any syndromes, then let's agree that the story is about a love that conquers all, one that doesn't care about the beauty of the outside but rather the beauty within. And while it isn't such a tear-jerker as The Lion King, Beauty And The Beast, however, is probably one of the most elegant and romantic Disney movies.

1999 | 1 hour 32 minutes | Directed by John Lasseter, Ash Brannon, Lee Unkrich
 

Voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
 

A sequel to the 1995 Toy Story, it opened to wild box office success, and just as its predecessor did, it gained a rare 100% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes. But, if not for Galyn Susman, Toy Story 2 might've perished without us ever seeing it. See, in 1998, two years into making this animated film, one of the animators accidentally deleted all the material created up to date. But thanks to Galyn, who was working from home while taking care of her newborn baby, backup files were kept, and the production moved on.

1993 | 1 hour 16 minutes | Directed by Henry Selick
 

Voiced by Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
 

Once you hear the name Tim Burton, you know what you're about to see. This director's iconic style includes, of course, stop-motion animation, gloomy settings, and thoroughly original (and a bit scary) characters. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, the story revolves around Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, who stumbles upon Christmas Town and gets joyfully obsessed with celebrating this festivity. The movie proved to be very impactful, creating a legacy of table games, video games, books, figurines, and all kinds of collectibles throughout the decades.

1995 | 1 hour 18 minutes | Directed by Kevin Lima
 

Voiced by Bill Farmer, Jason Marsden, Jim Cummings
 

1995's A Goofy Movie star is none other than Goofy himself. And with Goofy as the main man, you just know that the adventures about to unfold will be kooky, wacky, and loads of fun! The movie centers around Goofy and his son Max, who's now in high school. Since Goofy is a good dad wishing to strengthen the father-and-son relationship, he takes Max for a bonding session. It turns out it's a fishing trip he had in mind and one that's very misguided yet hilariously fun for us to watch. 

1992 | 1 hour 30 minutes | Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker
 

Voiced by Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin

Aladdin, an animated musical fantasy comedy, made it into the pages of the history books not only because of its undeniable entertainment value but also by becoming the highest-grossing Disney movie of the time. Based on an Arabic folk tale of the same name from One Thousand And One Nights, the story brings us back to a time when genie-inhabited lamps were a thing and when a street urchin could pretend to be a wealthy prince and marry the beautiful princess in the end. The story is thrilling, the characters are scene-stealing, the music is memorable, and the animation style is impeccable. What's not to love about Aladdin!

1998 | 1 hour 28 minutes | Directed by Tony Bancroft, Barry Cook
 

Voiced by Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, BD Wong
 

Mulan is one of those rare Disney movies that were not based on an existent tale but rather employed an original script. To make it authentic, a number of artistic supervisors visited various places in China where they found their inspiration for the story of Mulan, a misfit tomboy ready to guard her family's honor at whatever cost. The movie's vibrant characters, impeccable voice acting, and the story itself made Mulan into a hugely successful feature that every '90s kid has watched and loved.

1999 | 1 hour 26 minutes | Directed by Brad Bird
 

Voiced by Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston
 

The Iron Giant, an animated science fiction film, is by far one of the most under-appreciated animations of our time. The story is based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man by Ted Hughes and goes like this - a young boy befriends a giant alien robot during the years of the Cold War. The boy, together with a beatnik artist, tries to save the Iron Giant from being found and destroyed by the U.S. military. However, it is not your regular Disney-ish story, so be prepared for a huge heartbreak right at the end. It's truly an animated classic with an original story, interesting characters, and beautiful animation.

1998 | 1 hour 35 minutes | Directed by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton
 

Voiced by Kevin Spacey, Dave Foley, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
 

A Bug's Life is a computer-animated comedy film that draws its inspiration from Aesop's fable called The Ant and the Grasshopper. The story goes like this - a misfit ant seeks to protect its colony from greedy grasshoppers. His idea of fulfilling such a quest is to recruit a group of various bugs, which are, as it turns out, a very inept circus troupe. A Bug's Life is a truly thrilling story, loaded with witty dialogue and memorable characters - one to watch for sure.

1992 | 1 hour 16 minutes | Directed by Bill Kroyer
 

Voiced by Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams
 

FernGully: The Last Rainforest is an animated musical fantasy film that's set in an Australian rainforest. And it is not just some rainforest - it's a pristine ecosystem inhabited by fairies! One of them, a fairy named Crysta, accidentally shrinks a young logger named Zak to the size of a fairy. Now Crysta, together with Zak, rallies the inhabitants of the forest to save their precious piece of land from other loggers and a malevolent pollution entity. And although this all might sound like environmentalist preaching, FernGully: The Last Rainforest manages to keep its graces while presenting this pressing issue to kids.

1990 | 1 hour 17 minutes | Directed by Hendel Butoy, Mike Gabriel
 

Voiced by Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, John Candy
 

The Rescuers Down Under is an animated adventure film and a sequel to the 1977 film The Rescuers, which was based on the novels by Margery Sharp. In The Rescuers Down Under, two Rescue Aid Society agents, Bianca and Bernard, travel to the Australian Outback to save a boy named Cody and a rare golden eagle from a murderous poacher. And although the critics thought the story of The Rescuers Down Under to be a bit sub-par, the amazingly beautiful visuals make it all up. It's a dreamy watch with probably the most stunning flight scenes ever.

1995 | 1 hour 21 minutes | Directed by Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg
 

Voiced by Mel Gibson, Linda Hunt, Christian Bale
 

Pocahontas is an animated musical historical drama based on the life of a Powhatan woman Pocahontas and the arrival of English colonial settlers in seventeenth-century Virginia. Of course, this is a heavy romanticization of the real story that occurred way back, but that's the deal with Disney in general, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. And while some might think that Pocahontas lacks in the fun department, it's still one of the most beautifully drawn animations of the time and one of the more thoughtful ones.

1999 | 1 hour 28 minutes | Directed by Chris Buck, Kevin Lima
 

Voiced by Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Brian Blessed

Tarzan is an animated adventure film and is based on the 1912 story Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. We all know how the story goes - Tarzan is a man raised by apes. He used to identify with them but then discovers he is, indeed, a human, and what follows is basically Tarzan trying to solve a dilemma of identity. Okay, so the movie isn't as bland as the description above at all - it is full of adventure, charming characters, a beautiful love story, and all the other things that you could wish for in a Disney movie.

1998 | 1 hour 39 minutes | Directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells
 

Voiced by Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer
 

The Prince Of Egypt is an animated musical drama film that's an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses. At the beginning of the movie, we see Moses as the prince of Egypt with no knowledge of his Hebrew roots. Once that becomes clear to him, he also finds that his destiny is to become the chosen deliverer of his people. The Prince Of Egypt embraces more complex topics than any animations of the time, all the while managing to look stunningly beautiful - real eye candy with a good dose of morals.

1996 | 1 hour 19 minutes | Directed by Henry Selick
 

Voiced by Paul Terry, Joanna Lumley, Pete Postlethwaite

James And The Giant Peach is a musical fantasy film based on a novel of the same name written by the beloved children's book author Roald Dahl. The film, a live-action and stop-motion combination, follows the story of James - a young orphan boy living with his two cruel aunts. Now, a peach tree growing near where James is living grows a humongous fruit inhabited by anthropomorphic bugs. James, of course, befriends them, and the bugs take him on an adventure to New York City inside that ginormous peach. James And The Giant Peach is a truly wonderful film and a great ecranisation of Roald Dahl's whimsical story.

1991 | 1 hour 15 minutes | Directed by Phil Nibbelink, Simon Wells
 

Voiced by James Stewart, John Cleese, Amy Irving
 

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is an animated Western comedy that's a direct sequel to 1986's An American Tail. Same as before, the story centers around the Mousekewitzes, a family of Jewish-Ukrainian mice who emigrate to the Wild West. However, they are unaware that their move is a trap concocted by one smooth-talking cat. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a fast-paced movie that sucks you right into the whirlwind of events experienced by the Mousekewitzes, with an emphasis on the adventures their youngest, Fievel, goes through. 

1998 | 1 hour 19 minutes | Directed by Igor Kovalyov, Norton Virgien
 

Voiced by Elizabeth Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie

The Rugrats Movie is an animated musical comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series called Rugrats. You might remember Tommy Pickles, the bald and adorable protagonist of the series. Well, now he has a baby brother Dylan, and, well, nobody likes him. The toddlers decide to bring Dylan back to where he came from, meaning the hospital, but during their journey, they get lost. Now it's a question of whether they will be able to get back home safely.

1996 | 1 hour 22 minutes | Directed by Larry Leker, Paul Sabella
 

Voiced by Charlie Sheen, Sheena Easton, Dom DeLuise
 

All Dogs Go To Heaven 2 is an animated musical adventure fantasy film, and a sequel to 1989's All Dogs Go To Heaven. Here's how it goes - nearly 60 years after the events depicted in the first movie, Charlie and Itchy go back to Earth to find angel Gabriel's missing horn. Along the way, they meet a sweet young boy named David who ran away from home and now is helping the dogs on their quest. It's a thrilling race against the clock for Charlie to find the missing horn and to keep his angel wings.