Ali Plumb's Top Five 21st Century Disney Movies

I wrote my 'Top Five 21st Century Pixar Films' list and managed to escape relatively unscathed, but after thrillers, Westerns, heists, comedies, feel-good films and more, it's time to tackle the most contentious film topic of them all:

(Thunder sound effect) What's the best animated Disney film? (Sound of lightning) You know, released in the past two decades. Not of all time, oh no, no, no, that would be madness.

I'm only slightly kidding. The fierce debate continues across Disney-obsessed households worldwide, and I'm about to put my head right into the animated, suit-wearing lion's mouth. Pray for me.

Oh, and while an 'Honourable Mentions' list doesn't quite work here, I feel I ought to at least flag up which movies I feel guiltiest about not including, which are:

Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), Big Hero 6 (2014), Bolt (2008), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Lilo & Stitch (2002), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Treasure Planet (2002).

As for Brother Bear (2003), Home On The Range (2004), Chicken Little (2005), Meet The Robinsons (2007) and Winnie the Pooh (2011), well... you know. They're fine-ish. I liked the tagline to Home On The Range, I'll say that (it's 'Bust A Moo', in case you were wondering).

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Regular readers of my Top 5 lists will know I see pick number five as my chance to go as leftfield as possible before digging into the 'serious' rankings later on. This entry is no exception.

The Emperor's New Groove is such a bizarre little oddity in the Disney back catalogue it's a genuine miracle it exists at all. If you're curious in any way about how animated movies are commissioned, produced and written, the story of Emperor Kuzco (David Spade) and Pacha's (John Goodman) journey to the big screen is fascinating, a series of mistakes, blunders, accidents and eventual good fortune that resulted in Disney's best answer to a "modern cult classic" as it'll ever get. Head to Wikipedia and look it all up when you get the chance, go on.

But back to the film itself: here is a funny, weird, properly off-the-wall road trip odd-couple comedy, dressed up in Incan clothing, sassy llamas and scouting squirrels. It's just so pleasingly bananas, so winning, so silly I absolutely insist you give it a shot if you haven't seen it before, if only to meet Eartha Kitt's nefarious Yzma and Patrick Warburton's loveable lunkhead Kronk, a character so endearing he's the star of the direct-to-DVD sequel Kronk's New Groove. Speaking of DVDs, a fact you may not know about TENG (as I promise you no-one calls it): it was the highest-selling home entertainment release of 2001. Now you know. It's that good.

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Right, let's get this over with. Tangled: better film. Frozen: better songs. They are both great. I enjoy both movies very much, and will happily watch them no questions asked. But... if you ask me, hand on heart, which do I prefer? It's Tangled.

I could give a silly reason like 'Maximus is cute' - and maybe come Tangled's turn on this list, I'll do just that - but a big part of it is just how "overplayed" Frozen has become. 'Let It Go' is undeniably an absolute belter, a window-shaking masterwork, and the characters of Olaf, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and the all-important Sven (in my eyes, anyway) are delightful.

I like the trolls, the ice-cutting opening sequence and even Marshmallow the massive snow monster. I love Oaken, owner and manager of Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna - "Yoo hoo! Big summer blowout!" - and again, the songs are amazing (The lyric "Don't know if I'm elated or gassy, but I'm somewhere in that zone!" from 'The First Time In Forever' is godlike), but perhaps because I've seen it all so many times, some of the shine has worn off a bit for me, something only made worse by the backstory-heavy sequel.

Both Frozens are very good - so, so, so, much better than anything released in Disney's uncomfortably "bleh" mid-'00s period of Chicken Little (2005) et al., but after becoming the most watched animated movies one after another, I think I need a break. And before you say it, I know, I need to let it go, ho ho ho. Also, a quick shout-out to the Olaf 'recap' sequence from the second film, that slayed in the cinemas, there's no denying it.

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Maximus is cute. There, I've said it. Twice now. Seriously though, Tangled being overshadowed by its bigger, louder, more merchandised sister Frozen is an unfortunate turn of events, if only because it was the movie that did the whole 'Past participle as the movie title' thing first. Oh, you want a properly real reason? Well, there's just so much heart and so much love in Tangled, a big, huggable princessy throwback with a polished 21st century makeover. The hair animation alone! Gorgeous.

Pascal is adorable, but then again so is Zachary Levi's Flynn Rider, a charming, smarmy, smizing rascal that beguiles you every time you press play. And yes, if you're struggling to place him, that's the same Zachary Levi you know as Fandral from the Thor movies and Shazam! in, um, Shazam! But anyway, I'm dancing around Mandy Moore's Rapunzel of course, whose brilliant charm lights up the whole film, whose voice puts that final diamond-like shine on such underappreciated songs as 'When Will My Life Begin?' (a very timely song for right now, might I say) and the duet 'I See The Light'. My personal favourite song will always be 'Mother Knows Best', if only for Glenn Slater's clever lyrics, perfectly bouncing off Alan Menken's musical theatre-esque manipulative ballad, though I understand why there are so many 'I've Got a Dream' fans out there. Oh, and before I fall over my own feet dishing out the praise here, can we take a moment to appreciate the visual artistry of the lanterns? Stunning, honestly.

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I have a thousand compliments for Moana. I'll start with praising the music, because honestly it's exceptional. A huge round of applause for Opetaia Foa'i, Mark Mancina and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who worked together to create such impossibly brilliant songs as 'How Far I'll Go', 'Where You Are' and 'We Know The Way', not forgetting crustacean Bowie ballad 'Shiny' and The Rock's magnus opus 'You're Welcome'. I get these songs swirling around my head every other day, and that's a good thing. I am actively grateful when 'I am Mooooooooaaaaaana!' pops into my noggin.

Aside from the songs and the score, there's also the animation - especially the incredible water work - the character design, the empowering lead, the upturned 'princess' angle and much more. Yes, its hero's journey is a tale as old as time, but there are enough twists, talking tattoos and coconut-covered Kakamora to keep things fresh. Culturally, this is an important movie if only because it placed polynesian culture on the world stage like nothing else, telling myths most people would never have even heard of otherwise. Oh, and can we give the film some credit for not having a crowbarred-in love story? More of that please.

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Zootopia in the US, Zootropolis in the UK, Zoomania in Germany... whatever you call this beautiful, family-friendly, inclusive film, it's a true delight and up there with Disney's very best. Currently sitting happily at the very top of the RottenTomatoes tree - or should that be bush? - with a 98% approval rating, this was the animated movie to beat in 2016, a year with some very stiff competition in the form of Moana and Laika's stunning Kubo And The Two Strings, eventually winning the Golden Globe, Oscar and Annie Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

So much care and attention is paid to every last detail in this film, from the intricate design of hundreds of individual animals living together in this complex metropolis to the genuinely impressive noirish mystery story at its core. Subtle and subversive whilst somehow also broad and people-pleasing, Zootopia is a masterful magic trick of entertainment and education, a fuzzy hug of a movie that's also not afraid to tell a few home truths.

As well as being clever and thought-provoking, it's also flat-out funny, for both the kids and the adults in the audience, and not just because of the seemingly never-ending animal puns, such as these animal artists from Judy Hopps' (Ginnifer Goodwin) music playlist: Fleetwood Yak, Fur Fighters and Guns N' Rodents.

I should confess I had a hard time deciding my number one spot between Zootropolis and Moana, and maybe tomorrow it'll be the other way around. But for now I'm sticking with the cute critters, if only for the gazelle version of Shakira and her underappreciated song 'Try Everything'. Side note: Shakira wore a very similar outfit to her Zootopia character at the 2020 Superbowl halftime show. Coincidence? Probably, yeah.