Many childhood animated movies from the '90s have become fuzzy in the minds of adults, but they deserve to be revisited and remembered.
Childhood movies become fuzzier as you get older. Sometimes all that's left is a snippet of a long-forgotten catchy tune or a specific animated scene that lives in the depths of your brain.
You'll often wonder, “Where is that from? ” just to realize that the mouse family on a train was an obscure film you saw as a youngster. Many remember the golden years of Disney animation in the '90s, with world-renowned classics like The Lion King and Aladdin. They are a large part of pop culture thanks to Disneyland and Disney streaming services that bring these movies to each new generation of children.
However, many don't remember the hazy collection of animated kid's films from the '90s that are home to some of the most imaginative premises that helped shape a generation. There's no shortage of classic animated movies that can transport viewers back to their childhoods, with many of them almost lost to time.
Many of these forgotten animated movies deserve to be revisited, or at least remembered, by the mature audiences who once enjoyed them as kids. 20 'A Troll in Central Park' While A Troll in Central Park is vaguely remembered by many, the film was a massive box-office failure and is regarded as Don Bluth's worst film. Bluth was the director of various childhood favorites like The Land Before Time, The Secret of NIMH, and Anastasia, so it wasn't his talents that failed to show up.
Despite A Troll in Central Park being panned, it still holds a level of charm that maybe only children can understand. The troll, Stanley, has a magical talent for growing greenery. He ends up in Central Park when he is banished from his kingdom and is befriended by two children who help him adjust to his new surroundings. 19 'The Pebble and the Penguin' The Pebble and the Penguin is a heartwarming animated movie about penguin love.
It is based on penguins' real-life mating rituals, in which they search for the best-looking pebbles to carry to their partners as a gift and acknowledgment of their relationship. It is a fun and fantastically animated movie that puts forth lovely themes of altruism and friendship. The Pebble and the Penguin focuses on the shy, stuttering Hubie, a penguin who wants to impress the beautiful Marina.
He takes on the adventure of a lifetime when he decides to give her a pebble that fell from the sky. He and his friends must keep her away from the evil Drake, who wants Marina for himself. 18 'Rock-a-Doodle' In one of the most ambitious crossovers in '90s animation, Rock-a-Doodle based a rooster character on Elvis Presley and created a one-of-a-kind rockabilly phantasmagoria.
While many critics panned the movie, children and families enjoyed the bright animation and the humorous dialogue. The movie tells the story of a rooster named Chanticleer, who crows every morning to help the sun rise on his farm. He has bigger dreams and looks forward to becoming a rock star after being tricked by the Grand Duke of Owls. Without Chanticleer crowing each morning, the land becomes plagued with non-stop rain and flooding.
It is up to Chanticleer and a young human boy to bring back the sun. 17 'Thumbelina' Like many other animated movies adapted from books, Thumbelina was based on the classic fairy tale story by Hans Christian Andersen. Thumbelina tells the story of a girl born inside a flower who is only two inches tall. She fears she is doomed to a life of loneliness and will never find someone her size to love.
She happens to catch the eye of Prince Cornelius of the Fairies, but before they can fall in love, she is kidnapped by Ms. Toad. Thumbelina was a favorite among young kids of the '90s, with its beautiful animation and touching story about everything whimsical – fairies, princes, and talking animals.
Thumbelina reminded many young viewers of Barbie, and there were plenty of toys that accompanied its release. 16 'The Tigger Movie' Those in the mood for some nostalgic animated movies may want to dive right into The Tigger Movie. Directed by Jun Falkenstein, the Winnie the Pooh film initially portrays Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit working together to create a home for Eeyore.
Tigger's high energy and constant jumping interrupt the group, who soon inspire him to look for others like him. Tigger's search for his relatives turns the mostly light-hearted animated movie into a moving one, especially as the protagonist realizes what it means to have a family.
Watching this unfold as an adult is a totally different experience that may even cause viewers to shed a tear. 15 'Osmosis Jones' Using a brilliant mix of live-action sequences and animation, Osmosis Jones tells the story of the titular character, an anthropomorphic white blood cell, who lives inside a zoo worker who suddenly falls ill. It's up to the protagonist to work with a temperamental cold-cure pill and save his host before it's too late.
With wholly unique world-building that delves into science, health, and the human body, Osmosis Jones is one of the hidden gems of the early 2000s. Its gross-out humor won't be for everyone, but those who enjoyed it as kids will likely find it's a totally new experience upon a second viewing today. 14 'The Swan Princess' The Swan Princess is based on the classic ballet Swan Lake.
Unfortunately, the movie was up against a re-release of The Lion King in theaters and bombed at the box office. Despite this, The Swan Princess gained success through home video releases and spawned many sequels and spin-offs. The beautiful princess, Odette, falls in love with the handsome prince Derek in The Swan Princess. An exiled dark magician conjures up a spell to turn her into a swan, though, and keep her all to himself.
The prince and princess are helped by charming creatures during their journey to release Odette from the binding spell. 13 'Once Upon a Forest' In this overlooked Hanna-Barbera production, a toxic spill from a construction site threatens the life of a badger. Three woodland creatures set out to save their friend and brave a harrowing journey to find a cure.
The three animals race against time as the humans loom closer and present a larger danger to their friends and family. Once Upon a Forest was a hit because of its vivid animation style, adorable anthropomorphic animals, and its important message about the environment and human destruction of the earth.
The animals go by “Furlings” to appeal to children, and the movie stands as an underrated classic for many people who grew up in the '90s. 12 'FernGully: The Last Rainforest' Often considered one of the best old animated movies, FernGully: The Last Rainforest takes place in the titular location, where a fairy called Crysta accidentally shrinks a human boy named Zak. Once working for the logging company that's tearing down the forest, Zak embarks on a dangerous quest to help Crysta and her friends end the needless destruction of their home.
While the film achieved moderate box office success, it never reached the heights of other animated classics during its time. The underrated movie is worth watching again today, as mature audiences will be able to better appreciate the animated movie's powerful message about the environment. 11 'An American Tail: Fievel Goes West' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a sequel to 1986's An American Tail, from Steven Spielberg's short-lived studio, Amblimation.
It was the only Amblimation film that used cel animation and was the last of its kind ever to be released in theaters. It found massive success in home video releases and became a phenomenon among children. It has made numerous best-of lists and is an essential film about Jewish immigrants. In Fievel Goes West, the Mousekewitz family finds themselves still having trouble with cats hunting them.
They decide to move to a new place out west, where they are promised a life of peace. COLLIDER. Collider · Quiz Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt Five legends.
Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn't work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back. 🎖️Rambo 🍸James Bond 🏺Indiana Jones 🔧John McClane 🎭Ethan Hunt FIND YOUR PARTNER → QUESTION 1 / 10THE MISSION 01 You're dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner?
The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you. ASomeone who already has three contingency plans running and is calmly working through all of them. BSomeone who reads the terrain instinctively and knows exactly how to use it against the enemy. CSomeone who keeps their nerve and their sense of humour when everything is falling apart.
DSomeone who knows the history of wherever we are and what we're walking into. ESomeone with the right contact, the right cover identity, and the right exit already arranged.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 2 / 10TRAVEL STYLE 02 You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission. AOn foot through terrain no one else would attempt — I move where vehicles can't follow.
BOn a motorcycle, a cargo plane, or anything else that gets me there before I think too hard about it. CIn something that belongs to someone else — borrowed, stolen, or improvised under fire. DFirst class, with a cover identity and a gadget that does something I won't explain until it's needed. EBy whatever means are available — I've driven, flown, and once arrived by camel.
The destination matters, not the method. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 3 / 10UNDER FIRE 03 You're pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
ADisappears into the environment, flanks them silently, and ends it before I've reloaded. BCracks a one-liner, grabs a fire extinguisher or a chair, and improvises something that somehow works. CProduces a gadget specifically designed for this exact scenario and uses it with infuriating precision. DPulls out a whip, a pistol, and an archaeological insight that somehow gets us out alive.
ENeutralises the threat with maximum efficiency and minimum words — they were already three moves ahead. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 4 / 10DOWNTIME 04 The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest?
Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are. AA bar with terrible lighting, cold beer, and absolutely no questions about feelings. BThe finest restaurant in the city, a bottle of something expensive, and a conversation that is equal parts brilliant and exhausting. CA local dig site, a museum after hours, or a long story about why that particular artefact matters to human civilisation.
DPizza. Bad TV. Falling asleep halfway through a movie neither of you were watching anyway. EA debrief that turns into three hours of contingency planning that somehow becomes the most fun you've had all week.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 5 / 10COMMUNICATION 05 How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability. APrecise and minimal — tell me what I need to know and nothing else. Every word has a cost.
BDeadpan and dry — keeping it light keeps me sharp, even when everything is on fire. CEnthusiastic and slightly chaotic — but always with useful information buried somewhere in the noise. DCalm and controlled through an earpiece, with a plan that covers every variable I haven't thought of yet. EBarely at all — silence is a language and they speak it fluently.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 6 / 10THE VILLAIN 06 Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership. AInfiltrate their inner circle, learn everything, and dismantle them from inside out before they know we're there.
BStudy the historical pattern — every villain of this type has a weakness written somewhere in the past. CGet them talking. The more they monologue, the more time I have to figure out how to beat them. DGo through them.
Directly. With as much force as the terrain allows. EFind the one thing they haven't accounted for — there's always one thing — and make sure we're holding it.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 7 / 10LOYALTY 07 Things go badly wrong and you're captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters. ACome in alone, quietly, and get me out before anyone knows they were there.
BHave already been working on the extraction since the moment I disappeared — the plan is already running. CCome in loud, come in fast, and worry about the collateral damage later — I'd do the same for them. DUse every resource, every contact, and bend every rule until I'm out — they don't leave people behind. ECharm their way in somehow, bluff through the hard part, and still manage to look good doing it.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 8 / 10TOOLKIT 08 What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn't replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn't know you had. ATechnology that shouldn't exist yet and the training to use it under any conditions. BSurvival instinct so refined it borders on supernatural — and the scars to prove it's been tested.
CKnowledge of history, language, and culture that makes them invaluable in places where force is useless. DThe ability to walk into any room in the world and immediately become the most trusted person in it. EStubbornness that refuses to accept a situation is hopeless — and the improvisational skill to back it up.
NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 9 / 10THE COST 09 Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
AA partner who never fully switches off — always watching exits, always calculating threats, even at dinner. BA partner who gets the job done brilliantly but has the emotional availability of a locked filing cabinet. CA partner who makes everything ten times more complicated than it needs to be — but who always comes through. DA partner who gets personally attached to every relic, ruin, and artefact we encounter, which slows everything down.
EA partner who was not built for this and knows it — but shows up anyway, every time, without being asked. NEXT QUESTION → QUESTION 10 / 10THE LAST STAND 10 It's the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now?
The last question is the most honest one. AOne line. Absolutely dry. Delivered like the world isn't ending.
Then we move. BNothing said at all — just a look that means we both already know what has to happen. CA plan I don't fully understand that somehow accounts for everything, delivered in thirty seconds flat. DA piece of historical context that reframes the entire situation and tells us exactly what to do next.
ESomeone who steps forward instead of back — because that's who they've always been. REVEAL MY PARTNER → Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is… Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
YOUR PARTNER Rambo Your partner doesn't talk much, doesn't need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you've finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home.
What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You'll never need to ask if he has your back. You'll just know. YOUR PARTNER James Bond Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it'll take you a moment to remember what's actually true.
James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You'll never be bored. You'll occasionally be furious.
But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
YOUR PARTNER Indiana Jones Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside.
He approaches every situation with a scholar's eye and a brawler's instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn't matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you'll have together will be the kind people write books about.
Assuming you survive them. YOUR PARTNER John McClane Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks.
John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren't so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts.
Yippee-ki-yay. YOUR PARTNER Ethan Hunt Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you've finished reading the briefing, and the plan he's settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn't exist.
He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
Childhood Memories Forgotten Animated Movies Nostalgia 90S Animation Disney
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