Disneytoon Studios was founded on April 1, 1990, in Glendale, CA. It gifted Disney fans with 47 feature-length movies and eight short films. On June 28, 2018, Disneytoon Studios closed its doors for good.
Disneytoon took many of Disney’s original animated movies and turned out several sequels, which helped add to the popularity and fame of many characters and hit movie series.
DisneyToon Movies Checklist ✔
Some of the most popular Disney toon movies are the Tinker Bell series, A Goofy Movie, Lion King sequels, and Aladdin sequels, which feature iconic heroes and fan-favorite Disney sidekicks.
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Disneytoon Studios Movies List
- Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast
- Planes: Fire & Rescue
- The Pirate Fairy
- Planes
- Secret of the Wings
- Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
- Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
- Tinker Bell
- The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning
- Disney Princess Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams
- Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time
- The Fox and the Hound 2
- Brother Bear 2
- Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest
- Kronk’s New Groove
- Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie
- Lilo & Stitch 2: Stich Has a Glitch
- Tarzan 2: The Legend Begins
- Pooh’s Heffalump Movie
- Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas
- Mulan II
- Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
- The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata
- Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo
- Atlantis: Milo’s Return
- Piglet’s Big Movie
- The Jungle Book 2
- Winnie the Pooh: A Very Merry Pooh Year
- 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch’s London Adventure
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2: The Secret of the Bell
- Peter Pan 2: Return of Never Land
- Cinderella 2: Dreams Come True
- Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp’s Adventure
- The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea
- An Extremely Goofy Movie
- The Tigger Movie
- Winnie the Pooh: Seasons of Giving
- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas
- The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride
- Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World
- Belle’s Magical World
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas
- Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin
- Aladdin and the King of Thieves
- A Goofy Movie
- Aladdin and the Return of Jafar
- DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp
Disneytoon Studios short film list
- Vitaminamulch: Air Spectacular
- Pixie Hollow Bake Off
- Pixie Hollow Games
- Legend of the Chihuahua
- The Cat That Looked at a King
- The Three Little Pigs
- Redux Riding Hood
- Timon & Pumbaa in Stand by Me
DisneyToon Movies Checklist Infographic
Disneytoon Studios History
Disneytoon Studios was a subsidiary of the renowned Walt Disney Animation Studios. When it began, it was called Disney MovieToons. The company was formed in 1990 to diversify its movie and animation range.
The parent company is Walt Disney, which has existed since 1923, when two brothers founded it. It is one of the largest companies in the world.
Start of Operations
In 1990, the company produced its first feature production, Treasure of the Lost Lamp. The production was done in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation of France. The movie was a theatrical release paired with the 1951 Donald Duck.
The movie sales were good, and they exceeded the budget, although the company had expected more. However, the sales did not meet the expected numbers because of other movie releases at that time, such as The Problem Child, which had better ratings.
In 1994 the company released a sequel called The Return of Jafar’’. Its release and success caused a major change in the company because it started producing direct-to-video movies, a new area in the industry. This release served as the pilot of the animated Aladdin series.
The release was very successful, grossing more than 4.6 million copies in less than a week. In the year it was released, it was one of the top 15-selling videos of all time. This success made companies appreciate the value of direct-to-video productions, which had previously been given bad ratings.
Change of Operations Structure
In the same year, the company’s operations structure changed. The chairman of Walt Disney Studios, the parent company, departed. His departure resulted in a split in the company’s entertainment business, and Disney toon studios were moved to a newly created Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications.
In 1997, the company’s structure changed again. The Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications group was split into Walt Disney Television(WDT) and Walt Disney Television Network(WDNT), with the two units reporting directly to the group chairman. Disney Movietoons was on the side of Walt Disney Television Animation.
The same year, the Walt Disney Television Network(WDNT) released Redux Riding Hood, a 15-minute animation movie that received an Oscar nomination in the short film category. In the same year, they released Beauty and the Beast, which sold over 7 million copies in its first year of release. The movie has gone on to win 2 awards from 8 nominations.
The following year in 1998, the company produced Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World whose storyline is about Pocahontas’s journey with John Rolfe to England. The same year, they released The Lion King 2, an animation about lion pride in Africa. The Lion King was a major success for the company because it grossed more than $ 465 million in all-time sales. In the first week of its release, it sold over 3 million copies. The company had expected this success due to the popularity of the Lion King series.
Change of Name to Disneytoon Studios
In 2003, Disney reorganized, and Disney MovieToons was moved to Walt Disney Feature Animation, a new creation. After the move, it was renamed Disneytoon Studios.
In 2004, under this new name, the company released three productions, including “The Jungle Book 2,” which was released by its Australian office. Despite the initial negative release, it went on to sell way beyond its budget amount, which was $20 Million. Its sales were more than $130 Million. The Japanese office also produced “Piglets Big Movie” in the same year and “Atlantis: Milo’s Return,” which was also a success.
In 2004, Disney Animation Japan was closed which had been one of the 2 remaining overseas studios that the company used to work with. In the same year, the company released animations with Lion King 1 being the most popular release that year.
In 2005, Disney Toons Studios in Australia was announced to be closed, and this happened the following year. It had been in existence for 17 years.
In 2007, the then-chief executive officer ordered for cancellation of all future films in production and development at the company. Several projects were canceled, and those that were about to be released were put on hold.
Following several pronouncements regarding the company’s future, it was finally announced on June 28, 2018, that the company would close its doors. This resulted in a layoff of about 75 staff, including animators. At the time, the company had already ventured into outer space films, but the parent company removed this from the scheduled release dates of films.
Possible Future Outlook
Although the complete closure of Disneytoon studios may have surprised many, it is not uncommon in the animation industry. Several other companies have reported closures, but they are more often reorganizations.
The animation industry is undergoing a shift due to technological changes. Home videos and DVD markets are long gone, and those in the industry have to adapt to these changes and the realities in the market.
It is sad to see the company close down, but the outlook for the industry is still very good. The larger company is still in existence and creating animations to keep up with the demand since it already has a client base that it entertains with its productions.
To continue to succeed in this industry, the company should keep the animators in its stable and give them the freedom to work and express themselves while providing the infrastructure for them to work in.
The industry has changed considerably, and it is paramount that the company does the same. The battle is now on talent to produce content, hence the need to have the Disney family’s most creative and talented animators.
Although Disneytoon Studios has gone away, several Disney Princesses are still represented in the sequel films. See more about the Tinker Bell fairies, the 12 Disney Princess lineup, and Disney Princes.
Also, check out Pixar Animation Studios.