70s Disney Cartoons: Time to ‘Rescue’ Your Memories

If you were a kid looking for big adventure in the era of disco and shag carpet, these 70s Disney cartoons were like an oasis. And if you’re an adult looking for a little shot of nostalgia from the “good old days,” it’s hard to beat these animated classics.

The Aristocats (1970)

The Aristocats is a 1970 animated film about three alley cats, Marie (voiced by Eva Gabor), Berlioz (voiced by Dean Clark) and Toulouse (voiced by Larry Roberts), who are taken to the countryside home of their wealthy owner.

The 20th Disney cartoon released as a feature film, The Aristocats was a long time in the making, with planning getting underway as far back as 1962. With a budget of $12 million, this 70s Disney cartoon took up the reins from The Sword in the Stone as Walt’s final animated film.

The most expensive movie to date for an animated feature at that point in time, it made back its production costs within three days and turned out to be one of Disney’s biggest box-office successes of all time.

The Rescuers (1977)

In a faraway country, there is an orphanage where the beautiful girl Penny and her little brother Bobby are sad because their parents were lost at sea. The sinister Madame Medusa has taken charge of the home and turned it into a child-trafficking center for rich families in need of servants or slaves. One day, two international “Rescuers” show up to capture mice that have escaped from one of Medusa’s factories. When they accidentally free all the other rodents too, including some children trying to escape, Bernard and Bianca recruit them as allies against Medusa who will do anything to keep these kids enslaved forever!

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)

When three children find out that their Great Aunt Eglantine is a witch, they go to live with her in the country for two weeks. They discover many new things about themselves and have exciting adventures while doing household chores like cleaning the fireplace or scrubbing pots and pans.

Robin Hood (1973)

Robin Hood, a nobleman who is loyal to King Richard of England and his old friend Little John, must fight the oppressive Sheriff of Nottingham. An animated take on the classic tale, with a few new twists, this featured the voice acting of Charles Boyer, Phil Harris and Peter Ustinov.

Pete’s Dragon(1977)

This 1977 Disney cartoon tells the story of Pete, an orphaned boy living with his dragon friend Elliott. When they’re attacked on one 70s summer night, Pete escapes into the forest where he befriends some animal friends, learns that there really were dragons, and that this dragon is a friendly one.

Pete’s Dragon has since been turned into a live-action movie, but the original 70s cartoon will always be our favorite!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

The 70s Disney cartoon, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh tells a series of stories about the adventures that happened to our favorite stuffed bear.

Piglet is in trouble when he gets stuck in Rabbit’s door hole and Tigger can’t help him out. It takes all of their friends working together to solve this problem!

Winnie-the-Pooh shares his honey with Eeyore who ends up causing problems for everyone because they’ve forgotten how much honey they have left. Pete saves the day by bringing them more from his bee colony!

The Mouse Factory

Disney is nothing if not innovative in squeezing the nickels from their intellectual property, and The Mouse Factory was a perfect example. Running from 1972 to 1973, The Mouse Factory featured an array of celebrity hosts who introduced clips of classic Disney cartoons, plus a sped-up version of “Whistle While You Work” as the show’s theme song.

This syndicated TV series lasted just 43 episodes, with each checking in at a diminutive 22 minutes, but it also found a home as reruns on the Disney Channel in the 1980s.

(Like 70s Disney Cartoons? Then you might like our article on 90s Disney Cartoons, click here.)

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