MULAN

1998

Mulan is Disney's 36th animated feature, and the first one to be made entirely at Disney's Florida Studio which had been used for developing segments of each feature length film since Little Mermaid and would continue to produce work for future films until Lilo & Stitch in 2002 when it closed.

Since the movie was based on the Chinese poem of the same name, a group of artists from Disney travelled to China for inspiration and cultural and artistic references for the film. But even with all the references gathered from this trip, finding the perfect style for Mulan was very difficult. Some artists even worked on the film for 5 years. Since there wasn't a specific style that artists wanted to follow (like Gustaf Tenggren in Pinocchio or Gerald Scarfe in Hercules) the team tried a lot of different things before settling on the final style.

HERCULES

1997

Hercules is Disney's 35th animated feature and the forth one directed by superduo Ron Clements and John Musker, who had previously directed Great Mouse Detective, Little Mermaid and Aladdin.

Loosely based on the adventures of Hercules, the film goes though spectacular backgrounds to amazing sequences and strong characters created again at both Disney studios in California and for the second time in Paris as well.

HUNCHBACK OF NOTREDAME

1996

Hunchback of Notre Dame is Disney's 34th animated feature and the first film produced in three different studios: Burbank, Orlando and Paris.

The studio in Paris had previously worked on some short films, but this was the first time that the team would be contributing animation to a feature film, which made sense since it had a more direct relation to the culture and environment of the film's setting.

In total, the Paris section worked on 10 minutes of the final piece.

POCAHONTAS

1995

Pocahontas is Disney's 33rd animated feature film and the first film based on a real historical figure, even if this tale from 1607 is greatly modified as a Disney Romance.

The film started production a little after Lion King, as Disney's project of releasing one animated feature per year. While working on these two movies, a lot of people at Disney preferred working on what was referred as the A team, meaning Pocahontas, instead of working on Lion King which not many people thought would be a hit.

As a result, we've got all the big names working on this movie, and that means amazing characters and animation, great music and a brilliant cast of voices (even though it wouldn't top the Lion King).

LION KING

1994

The Lion King is Disney's ThirtySecond animated feature and, in my opinion, its best. Often compared to Bambi or even Hamlet, Lion king has the perfect combination of humor, drama, an amazing score/music and incredible characters.

A group of Disney artists travelled to Africa to study the animals' behavior and the scenery, just like they would do in the days of the World War when Walt would take some artists to study the latinamerican culture. With all their references, the studio went through a lot of different styles before settling on the epic landscapes in which this beautiful movie takes place.

ALADDIN

1992

Aladdin is Disney's 31st feature film, and the third movie directed by superduo John Musker and Ron Clements, who had previously directed Great Mouse Detective and Little Mermaid.

Loosely based on the 1001 Nights tales, the project was originally suggested by the great songwriting duo Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, who had worked on the songs for Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Although originally rejected, the film moved on after Howard Ashman presented a first draft of the script to the directors.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

1991

Beauty and the Beast is Disney's 30th animated feature and one of the studio's biggest masterpieces done to date. Based on the story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont published in 1756, the idea for the animated adaptation began in the 1930's, but as many other projects initiated by Walt Disney, it was put on hold due to its complexity.

With amazing animation by the team that by now had made everyone start believing in Disney again, and some incredible songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, the movie was a great success. For the first time, an animated feature would be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

This day is th Disney's Challenge 1st year anniversary, so I decided to ask some friends to help me create some illustrations to celebrate!