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Two More Disney Movies Added To The National Film Registry: See What Made The Cut For 2016

By Jeffrey Totey
Published on: 06:22 PST, Dec 14, 2016

Disney’s The Lion King (1994) and Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) are among this year’s 25 new film entries for the National Film Registry of the Library on Congress, which now features 700 total films, reports MSN. Other high profile films that made the list this year include Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963), The Breakfast Club (1985), Thelma & Louise (1991), and The Princess Bride (1987).

Congress created the film registry as part of the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, which requires the Library of Congress to designate and preserve films that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.

“Motion pictures document our history and culture and serve as a mirror of our collective experiences,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in announcing the new film entrees. “The National Film Registry embraces the richness and diversity of film as an art form and celebrates the people who create the magic of cinema.”

If you include the three Pixar films (Luxo Jr., Tin Toy, and Toy Story), Disney has 15 films represented in the film registry. Mickey Mouse’s first talking picture, Steamboat Willie (1928), was inducted in 1998, but the film that the cartoon short is based upon, Steamboat Bill, Jr. (also 1928) a Buster Keaton film, was just inducted this year.

Released on June 15, 1994, Walt Disney Picture’s The Lion King was the highest-grossing film of that year. It received two Academy Awards for the movie’s music and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The film has been adapted for the stage, had two direct-to-video sequels (The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and The Lion King 1-1/2) and two TV series based on the property. The voice talents in the film include James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Rowan Atkinson, Cheech Marin, and Jim Cummings, among others.

Disney’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released on June 22, 1988. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy. Voice actors included Kathleen Turner, Mae Questel (who reprised her role of Betty Boop), and Mel Blanc, iconic for voicing many of Warner Bros. cartoon characters, voiced many for this movie including Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. It was his last recording work before he passed away. The film is credited for bringing a renewed interest in the “golden age” of early American animation.

Other film inducted this year include the following

  • Atomic Cafe (1982)
  • Ball of Fire (1941)
  • The Beau Brummels (1928)
  • Blackboard Jungle (1955)
  • The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
  • East of Eden (1955)
  • Funny Girl (1968)
  • Lost Horizon (1937)
  • Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
  • Paris Is Burning (1990)
  • Point Blank (1967)
  • Putney Swope (1969)
  • Rushmore (1998)
  • Solomon Sir Jones films (1924-28)
  • Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)
  • Time and Dreams (1976)
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
  • A Walk in the Sun (1945)

The full list of Disney/Pixar films that have been added into the National Film Registry include the following.

  • Bambi (1942)
  • Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  • Fantasia (1940)
  • The Living Desert (1953)
  • Luxo Jr.* (1986)
  • Mary Poppins (1964)
  • The Lion King (1994)
  • The Old Mill (1937)
  • Pinocchio (1940)
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  • Steamboat Willie (1928)
  • Three Little Pigs (1933)
  • Tin Toy* (1988)
  • Toy Story* (1995)
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

(*=Pixar)

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One film included in the registry, Disneyland Dream (1956), sounds like an official Walt Disney Pictures film, but it isn’t. It is a 30-minute long home movie made by the Barstow family on their visit to the newly opened Disneyland theme park. It was shot with a 16mm handheld camera. Steve Martin, who worked in the magic shop in the park at the time, appears briefly in the film just walking by.

[Featured Image by Chris Pizzello/AP Images]

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