Though 1989-1999 is often known as the Disney Renaissance (check out our ranking of those films here), one of the reasons Disney had to innovate and step it up was because one of their animators, Don Bluth, left the company to create a competing animation studio. While Disney films certainly get way more hype than Bluth’s films, many of them were just as much a staple of ’90s childhoods, and often were a bit darker than Disney.
So today, we’re going to rank the 10 Don Bluth animated movies that he directed and produced from 1982-2000, both from his own animation studio, and from Fox Animation Studios, which he helped set up.
10. A Troll in Central Park (1994)
It should come as no surprise that A Troll in Central Park is at the bottom of this list — many regard it as Bluth’s worst film. It was barely released in theaters, and grossed just $71,368 in North America. That was probably for the best, though, as it would have likely lost money if it was released more widely. The film was about a troll named Stanley who was banished from his home, the Kingdom of Trolls, and ended up in Central Park, where he befriends two young children.
9. The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
Now, if Bluth and his directorial partner Gary Goldman had been able to finish The Pebble and the Penguin the way that they had intended, perhaps it would be higher up on this list. As it stands, toward the end of production, MGM significantly changed the movie, and Bluth and Goldman both left the film and demanded to have their names removed from it. If you remember this movie, it was based on the mating rituals of the Adélie penguins in Antarctica, and featured a timid, stuttering penguin named Hubie as the hero of the story trying to woo a beautiful female penguin named Marina.
8. Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
One of the rare animated films to feature some live-action sequences, Rock-a-Doodle is another dud. The film features the story of the rooster Chanticleer, whose morning crows are responsible for bringing up the sun. After the evil Duke convinces him his crow doesn’t actually wake up the sun, he runs off to be a rock star instead. A young human boy who the Duke guy turns into a kitten works with other barnyard animals to find Chanticleer and bring him back to crow again. If that sounds kinda confusing, well, you’re not wrong. The story’s a bit of a mess, and any film featuring a human being turned into something else always gave me the heebie jeebies as a kid, so no thanks.
7. Thumbelina (1994)
All the elements for success were there with Thumbelina — it was based on a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, it had a love story, and it even featured Jodi Benson (Ariel from The Little Mermaid) as the voice actor for Thumbelina. But honestly? It’s not good. The only reason it ranks higher than the other movies on this list is because I actually remember this one, and occasionally get one of the songs stuck in my head even though I truly did not like this movie as a child.
6. Titan A.E. (2000)
The last feature-length film that Bluth directed was the final film produced by Fox Animation Studios. Honestly, Titan A.E. is pretty underrated. It’s definitely got more of an adult feel than most of the films on this list, being more heavily action and scifi oriented than any of Bluth’s previous movies. The plot follows an apathetic young man who must help find a hidden ship from Earth in order to save the species from extinction. Matt Damon voices the lead character along with Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, and John Leguizamo rounding out the voice cast. The film is full of action and humor, and does a great job of blending traditional hand-drawn animation with computer animation.
5. The Land Before Time (1988)
Produced by both Amblin Entertainment and Lucasfilm, The Land Before Time became a big hit, grossing $48 million in North America, which would be about $106 million in 2021 dollars. The film was set in prehistoric times, and told the story of Littlefoot, an orphaned Apatosaurus who ventures to find the Green Valley, a utopia-like place, with a group of other young dinosaurs, all while avoiding the nasty T-Rex who is out to get them, and is responsible for killing Littlefoot’s mother. The movie explores prejudices between different species and how they must overcome their differences and work together to succeed.
4. All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989)
Probably one of the darker films on this list, All Dogs Go to Heaven was nonetheless a staple for kids born in the ‘80s. A canine angel, Charlie, decides to leave his place in heaven to go back down to Earth to get revenge on the dog that killed him (see, we told you it was dark). He ends up befriending a young orphan girl along the way, though, and learns some lessons about friendship, kindness, love, and sacrifice. The film does a great job of creating a ticking time element with a literal clock that represents Charlie’s life, and features a great friendship with the orphan Anne-Marie.
3. An American Tail (1986)
Produced in conjunction with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, An American Tail was about a family of Russian mice emigrating to the United States. The son, Fievel, gets separated from his parents, and goes through many adventures trying to reunite with them. The movie features one of the most memorable songs in “Somewhere Out There,” which was nominated for multiple awards. Like many of Bluth’s films, the tone was much more somber than the Disney movies of the time. Though this movie got mixed reviews, it was a box office success — it was the highest-grossing non-Disney animated film at the time, making $47.4 million in North America, which would amount to about $114 million in 2021 dollars.
2. The Secret of Nimh (1982)
The Secret of Nimh is Don Bluth’s feature-length directorial debut, and the first feature-length movie he produced under his Don Bluth Productions studio. The film is based on the book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, and it was actually pitched to Disney to acquire the rights and produce, but they turned it down. The name of the lead character was changed to Mrs. Brisby in the film version (so as not to be confused with Frisbees), and was about a widowed mouse who must get the help of some field rats to save her sick son. It’s one of the only films on this list that isn’t a musical, and was reportedly Don Bluth’s favorite movie that he directed.
1. Anastasia (1997)
Now, some of you may be crying heresy that we did not put The Secret of Nimh as the top movie on this list. But the film that we find the most enjoyable and rewatchable is Anastasia. Featuring the voice talents of Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Christopher Lloyd, Angela Lansbury and Kelsey Grammer, this film is lovely. It features the story of the lost princess of Russia, Anastasia, and the con men who just want to get some money out of the grandmother that is still searching for her. The animation is top notch, it has great and catchy songs, and the characters are all super memorable.
Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite Don Bluth film? Let us know in the comments!
- As you may remember, An American Tail got a feature-length sequel in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. So why isn’t it on this list? Bluth had a falling out with Spielberg, which caused Spielberg to create his own animated studio, Amblimation, which was the studio that produced the sequel. It didn’t perform as well as the original at the box office, partly due to it being released the same day as Beauty and the Beast.
- All Dogs Go to Heaven was released on the same date as The Little Mermaid, and while it didn’t perform that amazingly at the box office, it did much better in home video sales, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. It also spawned a feature-length sequel, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, but again Bluth was not involved, and much of the original voice cast was also missing. The sequel had the worst opening weekend for an animated film playing in over 2,000 theaters until Delgo in 2008.
- The Land Before Time spawned a ridiculous number of direct-to-video sequels — 13 in total, with the most recent being released in 2016. However, none of the original creators were involved in any of these films. There was also a TV series in 2007 as well as 14 different video games released from 1997 to 2006.
- Judith Barsi, who voiced the orphan girl Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven and Ducky in The Land Before Time, and had been featured in many TV show guest roles, was murdered by her father prior to the release of All Dogs Go to Heaven, which was why the sequel did not feature her character.
- Don Bluth and Gary Goldman directed a direct-to-video spin-off prequel to Anastasia called Bartok the Magnificent about Bartok, Rasputin’s albino bat sidekick. While many of the other films had spin-offs, this is the only one Bluth was involved with.
- As you may remember, An American Tail got a feature-length sequel in An American Tail: Fievel Goes West. So why isn’t it on this list? Bluth had a falling out with Spielberg, which caused Spielberg to create his own animated studio, Amblimation, which was the studio that produced the sequel. It didn’t perform as well as the original at the box office, partly due to it being released the same day as Beauty and the Beast.
- All Dogs Go to Heaven was released on the same date as The Little Mermaid, and while it didn’t perform that amazingly at the box office, it did much better in home video sales, becoming one of the biggest-selling VHS releases ever. It also spawned a feature-length sequel, All Dogs Go to Heaven 2, but again Bluth was not involved, and much of the original voice cast was also missing. The sequel had the worst opening weekend for an animated film playing in over 2,000 theaters until Delgo in 2008.
- The Land Before Time spawned a ridiculous number of direct-to-video sequels — 13 in total, with the most recent being released in 2016. However, none of the original creators were involved in any of these films. There was also a TV series in 2007 as well as 14 different video games released from 1997 to 2006.
- Judith Barsi, who voiced the orphan girl Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven and Ducky in The Land Before Time, and had been featured in many TV show guest roles, was murdered by her father prior to the release of All Dogs Go to Heaven, which was why the sequel did not feature her character.
- Don Bluth and Gary Goldman directed a direct-to-video spin-off prequel to Anastasia called Bartok the Magnificent about Bartok, Rasputin’s albino bat sidekick. While many of the other films had spin-offs, this is the only one Bluth was involved with.
