Movies cost a lot of money to make, everyone knows this. And yet, movie budgets vary greatly from film to film, studio to studio, and day to day. While some films are able to make millions on small budgets, others have million-dollar budgets and barely make a profit.
The Walt Disney Animation Studio is no different. With nearly 60 animated feature films that span 83 years, the budgets vary greatly from film to film. In fact, there is a $259,142,000 gap between the most expensive and cheapest Disney animated film. From Disney Animation Studio, which movies were the least and most expensive?
Expensive: Tangled - $260 Million
In 2010 Walt Disney Animation Studios released its most expensive animated film to date: Tangled. The film centers on Rapunzel, a young girl who goes on an adventure with a wanted criminal where she discovers that she is the lost princess.
Tangled made history by being the most expensive animated film ever made and even makes the list of the most expensive films ever made in general. the $260 million budget was necessary giving the fact that the film spent six years in production and utilized a mixture of computer-generated imagery and non-photorealistic renderings.
Cheapest: Bambi - $858,000
Bambi was Walt Disney Animation Studio's fifth animated feature film that was released in 1942. Unlike some of the films that came before it, Bambi had a measly budget of only $858,000 making it the studio's cheapest film ever made to date.
The film was inspired by the 1923 book of a similar name and centers on the life of a young deer whose befriends the other forest creatures after his mother's death. Part of the reason for Bambi's inexpensive budget was due to the financial strain the studio was under due to various issues, including World War II.
Expensive: Ralph Breaks The Internet - $175 Million
Ralph Breaks the Internet is Walt Disney Animation Studio's second most expensive film with an estimated budget of $175 million. Released in 2018, the 3D computer-animated film was the sequel to the animated film Wreck-it Ralph. This time around, the film follows Ralph and Vanellope venture into the internet in the hopes of saving Vanellope's arcade game.
The sequel saw an increase of $10 million in its budget from its predecessor. While the specifics of why the film had a bigger budget aren't publicly known, the backgrounds in the film are widely colorful and detailed. In addition, the film features several animated cameos from other Disney classics films which certainly added to budget costs.
Cheapest: Dumbo - $950,000
Coming in as the second-cheapest Disney animated feature film is the 1941 Disney classic Dumbo. The film was Disney's fourth animated feature film and was made on a budget of $950,000, that's $100,000 more than what it cost the studio to make Bambi.
While crafting the timeless tale, animators were instructed to keep production cost inexpensive, a task that was fairly simple given that Dumbo didn't require special effects in the way that some of the other Disney films before it had. In addition, background and character designs took on a minimalistic approach which also kept costs down.
Expensive: Big Hero 6 - $175 Million
Like Ralph Breaks the Internet, Big Hero 6 was created with an estimated budget of $175 million making it tied for the second most expensive animated film from Disney. Inspired by a Marvel Comic of the same name, the film centers on a group of young people who form a superhero team to take down a masked villain.
One of the reasons the massive budget for Big Hero 6 was due to the fact that the Animation Studio had to create brand new technology and software to create the animation style of the film.
Cheapest: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs - $1.49 Million
Without Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, there would have been no Disney animation studio and there definitely would not have been a Disney company. Walt Disney and the animation studio took a massive risk in 1937 when they released the first-ever animated feature film.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' $1.49 budget was massive for the studio and for animation considering up until then all animation had been down on short cartoons which kept costs down. Part of the reason for the massive budget was that everything had to be drawn, animated, and colored by hand which became a painstaking experience for the artists involved.
Expensive: Moana - $150 - $175 Million
Disney's twelve official princesses and the corresponding movie have landed themselves as Disney Animation Studio's third most expensive film with a budget estimated to be between $150 and $175 million. Released in 2016, Moana follows the journey of a young Polynesian girl who ventures out into the ocean in order to save her village from starvation.
While Tangled had mixed computer-generated animation with other forms, Moana was completely animated using computers. The choice, which surely impacted the budget, was made because of the need to animate the ocean so that it would appear as a character in its own right.
Cheapest: Pinocchio - $2.6 Million
Landing itself as the fourth-cheapest Disney animated film is the 1940 classic Pinocchio. The film was based on an Italian children's book of the same name and centers on the life of a wooden puppet who is magically brought to life.
Pinocchio was Disney animation studio's second animated feature film released and after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the studio was able to increase Pinocchio's budget tremendously. Part of the reason for the production increase was due to the need for special effects -- namely the water effects used during the Monstro chase scene.
Expensive: Bolt - $150 Million
The 2008 film Bolt might be underrated when it comes to Disney animated films but that didn't stop the studio from shelling out an estimated $150 million to create the film. The Disney film is named after its main character, a white dog who has spent his entire life being a television star on a superhero type show. Bolt doesn't know what's real and what's not so when he thinks his owner Penny has gone missing he sets out to find her.
Bolt was the first Disney animated film to use non-photorealistic rendering technology, which was later used for Tangled. In addition, the animators created new technology that allowed them to create the 3D looking backgrounds.
Cheapest: Cinderella - $2.9 Million
Rounding out the top five of the cheapest animated Disney films is the 1950 Disney classic Princess film Cinderella. Created on a $2.9 million budget, Cinderella spent two years in production before being released where she went on to become the studio's biggest commercial hit since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The film was animated by the legendary "Nine Old Men." Like many of the other Disney animated classics that featured humans, animators brought in real people to use as inspiration for animating Cinderella and the other humans. They, however, did not study animals while animating the various animal characters found in Cinderella.