Blu-Ray Review: Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection

When I was a kid, I kept my Disney VHS collection in a chest that I called my “Disney Vault.” I was obsessive enough that I had my movies in chronological order, based on Dave Smith’s official list, with index cards for “classics” I didn’t have yet. In other words, ever since studios began releasing large multi-film box sets, I’ve been hoping Disney would do something like this. And so when the Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection was announced at Destination D23, I was pretty excited about the news. While the set isn’t exactly what I’d hoped for and comes with a monumental price tag ($1,499.96!!!), sentimentality won its battle over my conscience. After lengthy delays (release date November 14th, received November 28th), I can finally crack open the WalMart exclusive set and give my honest review (note: It appears to be sold out, as the listing is no longer available).

Themed to Disney’s 100th anniversary, a legacy that began with the Walt Disney Animation Studios, the box set includes all 61 animated features by that entity, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs through Strange World. It also includes all 27 films from Pixar Animation Studios, ranging from Toy Story through Elemental. That’s 94 films, so to bring the total to 100, the theatrically released Disney Toon Studios projects were thrown in, starting with A Goofy Movie and excluding any big-screen outings of animated series like DuckTales, Recess, Doug, and Teacher’s Pet. With those stipulations, the set was still at 99 titles, so the first Tinker Bell film was added, which had an international theatrical release (but so, too, did many other DisneyToon Studios titles that were direct-to-video domestically).

100 advertised films, but 116 discs when you account for the bonus discs included with 16 Pixar films. Most of the discs are clones of their most recent releases, so long as that release predates this sets announcement. For example, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not the 2023 4K restoration on a Blu-Ray disc (shown for size comparison in the first image), but a clone of the 2016 Signature Collection disc. Cinderella, on the other hand, contains the most recent restoration used on its 4K re-release. Those hoping for a new pressing of The Sword in the Stone will be disappointed to hear that this disc is the same from 2013 (trailers and all) and not the improved restoration streaming on Disney+.

Discs that are newly authored tend to be for titles that were previously released with multiple films on the same disc. The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under each have a new disc just for that film, as do Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros (the transfers themselves are the same, with Saludos Amigos remaining uncensored). Direct-to-video sequels (by DisneyToon Studios) have been removed from The Fox and the Hound, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Emperor’s New Groove, and Brother Bear. All of these films have a new static menus set to score, with minor animated effects added in. In most cases, bonus features were included, although Hunchback lost all of them, most notably its commentary and making-of featurette (they aren’t on the digital copy, either). Atlantis loses its filmmaker commentary. In the case of Pocahontas and Lilo & Stitch, the discs included are previously released standalone versions, without the sequels. This means that the version of Lilo & Stitch in this set is the UK censored “pizza box” version that is also streaming on Disney+.

In addition to the discs, the set includes collectible crystal mouse ears, provided by Arribas Bros., who has shops in Disney Parks around the world. The ears are engraved with the Disney100 logo and come in their own box, stored separately from the box set.

Packaging & Design

The Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection was shipped in a generic white box, the interior of which features icons from the films included in the set. The heavy box was enveloped by foam shippers, one of which has space for the boxed crystal ears.

Being a heavy box set, our shipment was dented in one corner, which impacted the set itself.

The boxset itself was shrink-wrapped. A sheet on the back of the package contained details only for the Pixar films in the set. It was attached to the box by three sticky dots.

The backside of this sheet included information about the set’s contents.

The box set has a satin matte finish, with gold embossed outlines and fireworks that refract light. The castle features subtle inner details.

The outer box uses a magnetic clasp to secure it shut. The three books inside hold all of the discs. Additional foam padding was included for safe transport.

The binding of each book pops out when opened, becoming a stand for the set.

Each book features a quote by Walt Disney, along with a table of contents.

The last page of each book contains a key to all of the icons within that volume’s artwork.

Discs have been given a uniform white and gold design. Discs are housed in a scratch-prone sleeve on the edge of the cardboard pages. A character or icon has been assigned to each film (note: Hyacinth Hippo was assigned to Fantasia 2000 despite only appearing in the first Fantasia).

The last page of the third volume contains an envelope of paper ephemera.

It holds an individually numbered certificate of authenticity, produced on translucent paper.

A small “exclusive” lithograph from Disney’s Wish has the box set’s logo embossed in the corner (a larger print of this same image has been given away at other Disney events).

And this space also holds an envelope full of digital copy codes. There’s a unique code for each film, redeemable through Movies Anywhere, which limits users to 5 code entries per day.

Bonus Features

Note: Bonus features with an asterisk are only included with the digital copy. They can’t be found on a disc included with the set.

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Pinocchio (1940)

Fantasia (1940)

Dumbo (1941)

Bambi (1942)

Saludos Amigos (1943)

The Three Caballeros (1945)

Make Mine Music (1946)

Fun And Fancy Free (1947)

Melody Time (1948)

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Cinderella (1950)

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Peter Pan (1953)

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

The Jungle Book (1967)

The Aristocats (1970)

Robin Hood (1973)

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The Rescuers (1977)

The Fox and The Hound (1981)

The Black Cauldron (1985)

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Oliver & Company (1988)

The Little Mermaid (1989)

The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Aladdin (1992)

Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The Lion King (1994)

A Goofy Movie (1995)

Pocahontas (1995)

Toy Story (1995)

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Hercules (1997)

Mulan (1998)

A Bug’s Life (1998)

Tarzan (1999)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Fantasia/2000 (2000)

The Tigger Movie (2000)

Dinosaur (2000)

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Monsters, Inc. (2001) – 2 Discs

Return to Never Land (2002)

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Treasure Planet (2002)

The Jungle Book 2 (2003)

Piglet’s Big Movie (2003)

Finding Nemo (2003) – 2 Discs

Brother Bear (2003)

Home on the Range (2004)

The Incredibles (2004) – 2 Discs

Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005)

Chicken Little (2005)

Cars (2006)

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Ratatouille (2007)

Wall•E (2008) – 2 Discs

Tinker Bell (2008)

Bolt (2008)

Up (2009) – 2 Discs

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Tangled (2010)

Cars 2 (2011) – 2 Discs

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Brave (2012) – 2 Discs

Frankenweenie (2012)

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Monsters University (2013) – 2 Discs

Planes (2013)

Frozen (2013)

Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Inside Out (2015) – 2 Discs

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Zootopia (2016)

Finding Dory (2016) – 2 Discs

Moana (2016)

Cars 3 (2017) – 2 Discs

Coco (2017) – 2 Discs

Incredibles 2 (2018) – 2 Discs

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)

Toy Story 4 (2019) – 2 Discs

Frozen 2 (2019)

Onward (2020) – 2 Discs

Soul (2020) – 2 Discs

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

Luca (2021)

Encanto (2021)

Turning Red (2022)

Lightyear (2022)

Strange World (2022)

Elemental (2023)

Final Thoughts

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has produced an attractive box set with The Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection. The unique book packaging, with the transforming stand, makes for a cool experience. However, the lack of exclusive discs (save for Pooh’s Heffalump Movie) doesn’t add much incentive for diehard collectors to pick this up. But as the set (limited to 1,100 copies) appears to have sold out already, it appears Disney had a good understanding of the market and price point for this release. However, if they were to revisit this concept again in the future, I’d be much more interested in a chronological Walt Disney Animation Studios set that includes many shorts and actually spans 100 years’s worth of content rather than cramming in titles just to hit that milestone number.