It's odd, my tastes change over time.
Lady and the Tramp used to be in my Top 5, but over time,
Chicken Little replaced it for many reasons (one of which being most days I'd prefer a whimsical offbeat comedy to a 75 minute romp in 1900s America with some dogs). But I feel at the moment, this best reflects my idea of my top ten favorite (not top ten best) Animated Classics from Disney.
1.
Aladdin - this film has always had a special place in my heart for many reasons. It was the first film I ever saw in a theatre, and the first film I ever saw multiple times in a theater (five, which is a record that has never been met or broken by any other theatrical outing I've partaken in). It's quite easily the best of the third "Golden Age", and seems to always be horribly overlooked by casual Disney fans. I love the style, the characters, the music, etc. It's a film that doesn't quite fall into any specific genre, but fulfills the needs of most every genre except slasher/horror films (though the "I can't bring people back from the dead" could fit it visually...). Aladdin is the perfect hero, he doesn't suffer from being too great or too proud, he's got the qualities in a person that anyone can relate to. And Abu is a great pet and terrific sidekick, who brings the more fun side out of Aladdin. I still have problems with Iago, I would have loved to have seen the film had it played out originally where Iago was the deadpan voice of reason and Jafar was the over-the-top hysterical one-liner guy. Still, Iago's annoyances are petty, and I can easily overlook them in favor of the rapid-fire dialogue and one-liners from one of the most original characters in Disney animation: Genie. I could probably go on and on as to why I love the film, but I should really start writing about the others as well.
1.
Beauty and the Beast - Unlike
Aladdin, I had not seen this film five times in theatre, though we did watch the VHS ad nauseum when we were younger. It's the perfect romcom, with such rich and intriguing characters, and some of the best animation I've seen from Disney. I will always love the transformation scene, and even the little things, like Belle and Beast's argument after she treats his wounds ("That hurts!" "If you hold still it wouldn't hurt as much!" "Well you shouldn't have run away!" "If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!" "Well, you shouldn't have been in the West Wing!" "Well, you should learn to control your temper!" "..."). I get a bit annoyed at times by the grandiose nature of some of the songs though ("Gaston" is a good song, but never really one of my favorites), and I love how it starts off epic in the prologue, and ends with an "updated" stained glass window. This and
Aladdin are tied as my two favorite Disney films ever. At times, this will have the edge over
Aladdin, and some days,
Aladdin would seem better than
Beauty and the Beast. The two are always interchangeable as #1 for me, mainly because it'd be too much like picking my favorite child of the two.
3.
Peter Pan - it's
Peter Pan. What's not to love? I think what appeals to me the most about this film is that it's just a fun film. It's almost like a dream that you remember time and again, and have fun revisiting. Of course, the more I love the film, the more disappointed I get in its Platinum Edition... Anyway, I really love this film, it's the ultimate adventure for any child, and is always fun to rewatch as you get older. You learn to appreciate and embrace your childhood, because while it may have never been as fun as
Peter Pan's, it's just as memorable.
4.
Robin Hood - Up until a couple years ago, this actually ranked pretty low on my list, mainly because I likely only saw it a couple times. But there were countless days when I'd finish a shift at the Mouse House, go straight to the Learning Center, and borrow the VHS to watch on a TV, just to veg out and be...I dunno, just be a kid. It captures all the energy and fun of a Disney film, and while it gets a bit episodic (going from this story to the next to the next with no real ties together), it's still a lot of enjoyable characters and sequences. I think what I really like about the film is that it's not trying to be too serious, not trying to be too adventurous, not trying to be anything other than a fun time. And it works. The characters are engaging, the music a bit silly but still nice to hear (I absolutely love "Love" and "Oo-De-Lally"), and at the end of the day, you just feel good inside for having this romp in medieval England.
5.
Pocahontas - Of all the Animated Classics,
Pocahontas definitely is the most mature of them, and it deals with such serious topics and presents them in such a vivid and metaphoric story, that historical accuracy be damned. I can never get enough of the songs or the visuals. The characters can be a bit cookie-cutter at times, but they are wonderful archetypes of good and evil, mixed amongst each other that you're entirely unsure what good and evil really is. And the ultimate message that everyone is part of the gray area in between is strengthened by the conflicts between two otherwise-civil parties who feel the other is savage. Plus, this film has THE most romantic song of all the Disney canon, "If I Never Knew You".
6.
Chicken Little 
- If you have to ask, it doesn't matter anymore. So there.
7.
Dumbo - There's just something so innocent and safe about the film that makes me love it more than I probably should. I think it's the simplicity of the story and the characters, that they're around for an hour to give the audience advice about appearances and finding your strength within yourself. The fact that Dumbo says nearly nothing (beyond young elephant squeaks) makes him such an adorable character, that you just want to hug him and tell him things will be all right. The film also gets bonus points for allowing the story to get crazy, as it gives us a spectacular (drunken) fantasy in "Pink Elephants on Parade". I know a lot of people like to say stuff like "What were they smoking?" when the sequence was made, but I feel it fits perfectly into the film, as it's a four minute sequence of absolutely wacky and irreverent animation that reminds the viewers that there's more to the otherwise simple story.
8.
Sleeping Beauty - This film is such a strikingly visual masterpiece that you tend to overlook little things like lack of character development. The visuals and the music are married together in such a way that you feel you're not watching a story, but you're experiencing art through animation. It's quite a surreal experience, and while it may be an acquired taste for film fans, it's still a very impressive 75 minutes of animation. Films like
Sleeping Beauty rely too much on the visual splendor that characters and story (one-track as they are) almost seem secondary, and forgivable when they don't seem to make sense. It's a film that I often find myself loving and hating, as I love the sheer majesty of the artwork, but I can't really stand the slightly weak story and characters. I can understand their motivations and reasonings behind what they do, but it seems they all are only given one purpose, and once they fulfill it, what else is there for them?
9.
Fantasia - It's an indulgence of animation and music that presents itself in such a classy but still fun way. Like most people, I do get a bit antsy during the interstitials, but it's not out of boredom, just out of the fact that Deems Taylor does go on and on a bit. Still, he's not the weakest part of the film (that would have to be the second part of Pastoral Symphony, when the lady centaurs are putting on a show for the men), but he could perk his voice up a bit. Of the animated segments, I always loved Rites of Spring, even more so than The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Probably because it's such a large undertaking for the film, to show creation as well as destruction and have it blend seamlessly with the music. Still, Sorcerer's Apprentice is probably the strongest piece in the two hour "concert", and obviously the most memorable.
10.
The Black Cauldron - The two best words to describe this film is "missed opportunity". Well, either that or "misunderstood failure". Either way, the film is severely and harsly criticized by Disney fans and non-fans alike for simply being NOT Disney, in the sense that it's not what people expected Disney to be. But even beyond the plot holes and the clunkiness of the story and the somewhat bratty characters like Eilonwy and to an extent Taran, it's another visual film that I equate to
Sleeping Beauty at times. The visuals of the film are the strongest aspect, with music a close second. But the characters and the story are too convoluted (as opposed to
Sleeping Beauty where it's too one-track), that it hurts the film and is a major factor in people disliking it. But I still love it, if only because of the potential the film has, and the sheer adventure that the film contains. It's probably in my top ten over superior films like
The Hunchback of Notre Dame,
Alice in Wonderland, and
Tarzan because I feel that the film is a much more immersive experience than most others, when it is viewed with the right mindset and the right expectations. I mean, I do love the other 35 films, but there's something about
The Black Cauldron that just makes me really love it even more. Probably the adventure aspect that I mentioned before. It's like
Robin Hood and
Peter Pan, in that it's a fantasy and adventure epic that you watch to have fun with, not to dissect and analyze all the nuances of.
Escapay
Snow White could be up there but I haven't seen that movie since I was a child and am trying hard to find a good priced DVD.
