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All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s 

Clay Keller
Updated June 14, 2019 16.2k votes 2.1k voters 25k views 19 items

List Rules Vote up the animated films that don't need the Magic Kingdom.

Though Disney animated films dominated the '90s box office, the best non-Disney films from that era reveal a renaissance for animated content. Nearly every studio in Hollywood cashed in on the public's renewed interest in animated fare. Several invested in the Don Bluth business; the Land Before Time auteur directed four films in the decade, including Thumbelina for Warner Bros., and the well-received Anastasia for Fox. Meanwhile, An American Tail: An American Tail: Fivel Goes West, produced by Steven Spielberg, marked the first entry from Spielberg's Amblimation studio, a short-lived company responsible for We're Back: A Dinosaur's Story and Balto; it eventually folded into DreamWorks Animation by the end of the decade. DreamWorks Animation, founded in 1997, is the only non-Disney success story of the '90s, releasing hits Antz and The Prince of Egypt in 1998, and laying the foundation for their reputation as the cheekier alternative to Disney's Pixar juggernaut.

The most revered non-Disney animated feature of the '90s, Warner Bros.' exciting and heartbreaking The Iron Giant, served as a cautionary tale that explains the entire decade in non-Disney animated films. Despite unanimous critical praise, without the Disney branding The Iron Giant flopped at the box office. A massive failure that, along with the failures of Osmosis Jones and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, stopped Warner Bros. Animation from making another movie for over a decade. Though they never matching the box office success, and rarely the critical success, of their Disney counterparts, animated films from the '90s not by Disney now hold a legacy of their own, and paved the way for films like Despicable Me, Kung Fu Panda, and Happy Feet.

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1
Anastasia is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Music

Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Meg Ryan, Kelsey Grammer, Lacey Chabert, Christopher Lloyd, + more

Released: 1997

Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Susan Beak, Geoff Beak

Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical fantasy drama film produced by Fox Animation Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Directed by former Disney animation directors Don Bluth ...more

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2
FernGully: The Last Rain... is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Thriller

Actors: Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Christian Slater, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, + more

Released: 1992

Directed by: Bill Kroyer

FernGully: The Last Rainforest is a 1992 Australian-American animated fantasy environmental film directed by Bill Kroyer. It was produced by Peter Faiman and Wayne Young, with the screenplay ...more

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3
The Iron Giant is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Crime Fiction, Science Fiction

Actors: Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, Cloris Leachman, Harry Connick, Jr., + more

Released: 1999

Directed by: Brad Bird

The Iron Giant is a 1999 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film using both traditional animation and computer animation, produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and based on the 1968 ...more

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4
The Prince of Egypt is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Musical Drama, Musical

Actors: Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Val Kilmer, Helen Mirren, Ralph Fiennes, + more

Released: 1998

Directed by: Brenda Chapman, Simon Wells, Steve Hickner

The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated epic musical biblical film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The film is an adaptation of ...more

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5
The Swan Princess is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Romance Film, Animation

Actors: John Cleese, Jack Palance, Frank Welker, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, + more

Released: 1994

Directed by: Richard Rich

The Swan Princess is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy film based on the ballet "Swan Lake". Starring the voice talents of Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, and Sandy ...more

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#141 of 568 The Best Animated Films Ever #101 of 194 Musical Movies With the Best Songs #200 of 373 The Funniest '90s Movies

6
An American Tail: Fievel... is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Western, Music

Actors: James Stewart, John Cleese, Jon Lovitz, Dom DeLuise, Amy Irving, + more

Released: 1991

Directed by: Simon Wells, Phil Nibbelink

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated western film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An ...more

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7
Balto is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Family, Adventure Film

Actors: Kevin Bacon, Phil Collins, Bridget Fonda, Bob Hoskins, Jim Cummings, + more

Released: 1995

Directed by: Simon Wells

Balto is a 1995 American live-action/animated historical adventure drama film directed by Simon Wells, produced by Amblin Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. The film is loosely ...more

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#110 of 568 The Best Animated Films Ever #1,355 of 1,646 The Most Rewatchable Movies #36 of 88 Animated Movies That Make You Cry the Most

8
Thumbelina is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Romance Film, Animation

Actors: John Hurt, Gilbert Gottfried, Carol Channing, Charo, Kenneth Mars, + more

Released: 1994

Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

Thumbelina is a 1994 American animated film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman from a screenplay by Bluth based on Hans Christian Andersen's "Thumbelina". The film was produced by ...more

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9
The Rugrats Movie is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Family, Adventure Film

Actors: Whoopi Goldberg, Tim Curry, Lenny Kravitz, Patti Smith, David Spade, + more

Released: 1998

Directed by: Norton Virgien, Igor Kovalyov

The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated adventure-comedy film, produced by Paramount Pictures Corporation, and co-produced with Nickelodeon Movies and Klasky Csupo. The film was ...more

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10
Quest for Camelot is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Music

Actors: Pierce Brosnan, Celine Dion, Gary Oldman, Jane Seymour, Don Rickles, + more

Released: 1998

Directed by: Frederik Du Chau

Quest for Camelot is a 1998 American animated musical fantasy film from Warner Bros. Animation, based on the novel The King's Damosel by Vera Chapman, it stars Jessalyn Gilsig, Cary Elwes, Jane ...more

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#292 of 568 The Best Animated Films Ever #316 of 373 The Funniest '90s Movies #39 of 113 The Absolute Worst Animated Movies

11
Once Upon a Forest is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Family

Actors: Elisabeth Moss, Michael Crawford, Ben Vereen, Charlie Adler, Will Estes, + more

Released: 1993

Directed by: David Michener, Charles Grosvenor

Once Upon a Forest is a 1993 animated film based on the Furlings characters created by Rae Lambert. A Hanna-Barbera/HTV Cymru/Wales production released by 20th Century Fox, the film was directed ...more

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12
We're Back! A Dinosaur's... is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Family

Actors: John Goodman, Jay Leno, Martin Short, Larry King, Julia Child, + more

Released: 1993

Directed by: Ralph Zondag, Don Bluth, Simon Wells, Phil Nibbelink, Dick Zondag

We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story is a 1993 American animated science fiction adventure film, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio, distributed by Universal Pictures, and ...more

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13
Rock-a-Doodle is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Music

Actors: Christopher Plummer, Glen Campbell, Charles Nelson Reilly, Sandy Duncan, Ellen Greene, + more

Released: 1992

Directed by: Don Bluth

Rock-a-Doodle is a 1991 British live-action animated musical comedy fantasy film loosely based on Edmond Rostand's comedy Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest ...more

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14
Cats Don't Dance is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Music

Actors: Natalie Cole, Don Knotts, George Kennedy, Kathy Najimy, Frank Welker, + more

Released: 1997

Directed by: Mark Dindal

Cats Don't Dance is a 1997 American animated musical comedy film, distributed by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment and notable as the only fully animated feature produced by Turner Feature ...more

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#166 of 568 The Best Animated Films Ever #135 of 194 Musical Movies With the Best Songs #356 of 373 The Funniest '90s Movies

15
Batman: Mask of the Phan... is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Thriller, Action Film

Actors: Mark Hamill, Dana Delany, Marilu Henner, Abe Vigoda, Stacy Keach, + more

Released: 1993

Directed by: Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is a 1993 American animated superhero mystery film featuring the DC Comics character Batman, and is based on the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series. Produced by ...more

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16
Pokémon: The Firs... is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Anime, Science Fiction

Actors: Megumi Hayashibara, Mayumi Iizuka, Shin-ichiro Miki, Kōichi Yamadera, Hirotaka Suzuoki, + more

Released: 1998

Directed by: Michael Haigney, Kunihiko Yuyama

Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, commonly referred to as Pokémon: The First Movie, originally released as Pocket Monsters the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back!, is a 1998 ...more

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17
Antz is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Family

Actors: Jennifer Lopez, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Woody Allen, Christopher Walken, + more

Released: 1998

Directed by: Tim Johnson, Eric Darnell

Antz is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. It features the voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, ...more

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18
The Pebble and the Pengu... is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Animation, Music, Musical

Actors: Tim Curry, Martin Short, Jim Belushi, Hamilton Camp, B. J. Ward, + more

Released: 1995

Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

The Pebble and the Penguin is a 1995 animated musical comedy film, based on the true life mating rituals of the Adelie penguins in Antarctica, produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary ...more

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19
A Troll in Central Park ... is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list All Of Your Favorite Non-Disney Movies From The '90s
Fantasy, Animation, Family

Actors: Cloris Leachman, Dom DeLuise, Hayley Mills, Jonathan Pryce, Charles Nelson Reilly, + more

Released: 1994

Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

A Troll in Central Park is a 1994 American animated musical fantasy-comedy film directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, creators of Thumbelina, The Land Before Time, All Dogs Go to Heaven, The ...more

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