Disney is best known for its wholesome animal fables and princess stories inspired by fairy tales. Even the most tear-jerking dramas have positive messages, like the importance of family, friendship, and personal freedom. Tropes like the damsel in distress evolve over time as Disney adapts to their audience. Some Disney tropes are just as used today as they were in the beginning, like love at first sight.
Disney fans who enjoy the beautiful, bubbly art style and fairy tale tropes can find plenty of anime films that appeal to those same sensibilities. Anime fairy tale retellings often incorporate several genres, giving the classic tales a modern and creative spin.
10 Ride Your Wave (2019)
Runtime: 1h 36m
Ride Your Wave takes place in a dreamy seaside town centering around a surfer university student named Hinako. Her friendship with Minato, a young firefighter, is so strong that it transcends death.
After Minato perishes rescuing someone from drowning, he appears to Hinako again in the water. The two renew their friendship, but it’s overshadowed by the fact that he is no longer alive. Though the water separated them, it also gave them the gift of as long of a goodbye as they needed. Ride Your Wave is both heartwarming and heartbreaking — perfect for teen and adult Disney fans.
9 Lu Over The Wall (2017)
Runtime: 1h 47m
Lu Over the Wall is a 2017 release similar to Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo and the fairy tale The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. The magic system is refreshingly fun; the ningyo girl Lu can transform her fish’s tail into human legs when Kai plays music.
Between the ocean imagery and a mermaid-themed amusement park, Lu Over the Wall is a great modern fairy tale that young audiences will enjoy watching during their summer break. The plot is light on angst and heavy on whimsy.
8 Josee, The Tiger And The Fish (2020)
Runtime: 1h 38m
Love is the central theme of Josee, The Tiger and the Fish. The sweet romance and coming-of-age style story would appeal to many Disney fans in their late teens and up.
The love story between Josee and Tsuneo starts out rocky (Josee resents Tsuneo). Still, it turns out to be a really healthy relationship where both people support and care deeply for each other. Their adventures together help them realize what they want out of life. Josee wants to be an illustrator, and she uses her gift to encourage Tsuneo on the difficult path toward his own goals.
7 Sea Prince And Fire Child (1981)
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sea Prince and Fire Child features a blend of folktale sensibility and the basic conflict of Romeo and Juliet. Prince Sirius of the Sea Kingdom and Princess Malta of the Fire Kingdom are separated by the feuds of gods, but they transcend the feud to form an unlikely (and precious) romance with each other.
Sea Prince has animation that is very similar to the classic Disney style in Pinocchio. Additionally, it has a central pairing reminiscent of those found in Disney’s princess movies.
6 Weathering With You (2019)
Runtime: 1h 51m
Weathering with You is a fantasy romance about two high schoolers, Hina and Hodaka. Hodaka is trying to establish himself in life, and he starts work doing research for a magazine that covers the paranormal. There is a supernatural element to this story, but it’s more in the style of magical realism than paranormal ghosts and demons.
Weathering with You is a visual banquet of bright colors and ornate scenery. Hodaka can be highly relatable at times, but as there’s imagery around firearms, it’s probably best suited for a PG-13 crowd.
5 Panda! Go, Panda! (1972)
Runtime: 1h 21m
Panda! Go, Panda! is a childhood anime classic that otakus should remember to share with their little ones. The 1972 short film is actually one of Hayao Miyazaki’s earliest pieces; he wrote and designed the project.
When the young orphan Mimiko is left to her own devices, she wanders around and finds a baby panda named Pan-Chan. Eventually, the panda’s papa comes to find his child, and he decides to adopt the human Mimiko, enfolding her into their panda family. Humorous antics between the human and animal worlds ensue.
4 Summer Wars (2009)
Runtime: 1h 54m
The sci-fi Summer Wars is produced by the same company that made The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The film is best known for its sweeping landscapes and detailed visuals. It also is the kind of movie that has fans watching it over and over again.
As with many Disney-like stories, Summer Wars is an adventure tale at its heart, with a bit of family drama sprinkled in. The plot is a tad predictable, but it serves more as a bare-bones scaffolding for the beautiful artwork and complex cast of characters.
3 My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Runtime: 1h 28m
My Neighbor Totoro is about two sisters who move to a new house with their father so they can be closer to their mother, who is in the hospital battling an illness. Though the girls experience a gamut of emotions, the story is blanketed with a soft layer of comfort and whimsy.
Soot sprites greet Satsuki and Mei in their new house, and the girls form a friendship with a local forest spirit, Totoro. Totoro watches out for the sisters when they need him most, giving them hope and the gifts of nature.
2 Belle (2021)
Runtime: 2h 1m
Fans of the Disney classic Beauty and the Beast should give Belle a try. Though they both retell the same fairy tale, the Disney version retains the old French countryside setting, while Belle sets the story in a virtual metaverse.
Just like how the Disney heroine wants to explore the “great, wide somewhere,” Belle’s protagonist Suzu thrives in a world different from the one she’s always lived in. The “Beast” character, the Dragon, is markedly kinder than the Disney Beast. He’s more misunderstood than aggressive and prideful.
1 Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
Runtime: 1h 55m
Maquia: When The Promise Flower Blooms is a fantasy anime with a beautiful, elegant art style full of magic and flying dragons. Like many fantasy protagonists, Maquia is a foundling child who must make her own way in the world.
Maquia does handle some more mature topics, but the best part of the story is how it showcases a mother’s love and willing sacrifice. The overall message is one very common in Disney movies: family isn’t defined by blood but by love.