We only looked at animated films (no sequels) and based our ranking on five categories: The 10 Most Medieval Disney Animated Films While Disney’s vision of the Middle Ages spans continents and features compelling characters including Mulan, Merida, Moana, and Jasmine, the company has rightly been called out for cultural stereotyping.Īs we plunged through Disney+, we wanted to look at a selection of films that present a global Middle Ages, a chronologically flexible period from 500–1500 that encompasses sites and stories from England to China and from an anachronistic “Arabia” to the temporally ambiguous world of the Pacific islands. However, as curators, we work to nuance and deepen audiences’ understanding and appreciation of the breadth of medieval art in a global context. If you happened to catch Onward earlier this year, you’ll notice the classic Disney combination of magic and fantasy with a touch of historical accuracy.
These “Once upon a time” stories adopt “medieval” European characters, creatures, and the overall aesthetic: princesses wearing flowing gowns, knights in shining armor, castles that dominate idyllic landscapes, dragons and fairies, witches and wizards, forbidden forests, and all the rest. Disney’s Middle Ages takes on tales and events set roughly between 5, and remixes them for today’s audiences.ĭisney’s Middle Ages is also deeply tied to the tradition of 19th-century fairy tales, most notably those of the Brothers Grimm (first published in 1812). We recently went deep into Disney+ to revisit some childhood favorites, as well as a few others, to figure out which movies are the most “medieval.”īeginning in the 1920s with Silly Symphony and Mickey Mouse shorts, Disney has been deeply interested in exploring the European Middle Ages in all its permutations. These introductions included jeweled covers called treasure bindings, ornate calligraphy, and vibrant miniatures with lavish borders. In the opening credits of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty, we saw our first illuminated manuscripts (albeit imaginary and animated).
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