Disney is famous for its animated films, but they have quite a few animated series under their belt as well, including a ton of animated TV spin-offs.
When it comes to Disney, more often than not, an animated film not getting an animated spin-off does not come from a lack of trying. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers, for example, is believed to have originated from a failed attempt to give The Rescuers a television show. In fact, many of the direct-to-home-release sequels Disney developed throughout the 2000s contain suspected remnants of failed spin-off pilots.
10 Legend Of The Three Caballeros: Even A 1940s Propaganda Film Can Get Its Own Cartoon
Showing that Disney won't forget even their older properties, this cartoon spun off from the 1944 film, The Three Caballeros. After decades, Donald Duck reunites with his friends José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles.
Rather famously, the series found a compromise to having the live-action humans present in the original film. Humanoid gods frequently appear in the series, notably the goddess Xandra. The series is also notable for giving Daisy's nieces, April, May, and June, prominent roles.
9 Big Hero 6: The Series: The Show Also Has A Surprising Connection To Another Famous Disney Cartoon
Big Hero 6: The Series is a television spin-off from Big Hero 6, itself based on earlier Marvel Comics characters, taking place after the events of the original movie.
Interestingly, the series also has quite a few connections to another popular Disney animated series: Kim Possible. Various crewmembers, like Mark McCorkle, Bob Schooley, and Nicholas Filippi, worked on both shows; many voice actors from the earlier series, Christy Carlson Romano, Will Friedle, John DiMaggio, and Nicole Sullivan also appeared as characters. Even Sean Giambrone, an actor from the live-action Kim Possible series, has appeared as a Big Hero 6 character.
8 101 Dalmatian Street: The 1960s Movie Keeps Getting Reimaginings
Disney's 101 Dalmatians has become known for its various spin-offs over the years, notably the live-action films, including one with Cruella as a focus character.
101 Dalmatian Street is an international co-production, featuring American, Canadian, and British talents, that takes place 60 years after the original film. It revolves around the descendants of Pongo and Perdita. Despite the time skip, Cruella is still alive and serves as the show's mysterious villain.
7 The Lion Guard: Characters From The Sequels Even Played A Part
The Lion Guard is an animated spin-off of The Lion King animated franchise, focusing on Simba's son, Kion, and his friends, who serve as members of the "Lion Guard."
While initially revolving around a new character, the series would eventually incorporate characters from the animated sequels. Simba's daughter, Kiara, from the first sequel, appears as Kion's older sister, with her love interest Kovu eventually showing up as well.
6 Hercules: The Animated Series Saw Hercules Go To School
The Hercules cartoon series featured the Greek hero as a teenager attending school, meeting other various mythological characters, including Icarus and Cassandra, both of whom are reimagined as his classmates
The show tried to marry the film's story with the original mythology, like restoring Zeus and Hades' relationship as brothers and poking fun at some differences between the film and its mythological roots, like how the main character's name should be "Heracles" in Greece. The series drops one of the film's most infamous plot holes, Hades somehow thinking Hercules is dead despite the fact he's in charge of the Underworld, is dropped entirely, with Hades regularly plotting against his nephew.
5 Aladdin: The Street Rat Prince Got To Meet Up With Hercules
The Aladdin cartoon served as a sequel of sorts for the original movie, showing Aladdin's adventures after befriending the Genie and falling in love with Princess Jasmine. It also powered down the genie considerably, even compared to the direct-to-video sequels, but did a nice job incorporating the full team, including Iago, into its stories.
The series also had a notable crossover with the animated Hercules series, which involves Jafar's ghost joining forces with Hades. According to a throwaway line, the crossover story takes place after Jasmine and Aladdin's marriage.
4 The Little Mermaid: There Was Also Going To Be A Puppet Show At One Point
This animated prequel series based on Disney's The Little Mermaid features Ariel's life under the sea before she married Prince Eric. Before the animated series, a live-action series using puppets, Little Mermaid's Island, had been proposed.
It's generally agreed that the series was partially written as a prequel to justify its title, as it keeps Ariel as a mermaid. Prince Eric does appear in a few stories but never gets to meet Ariel face-to-face. One famous episode also has Ariel encounter her creator, Hans Christian Andersen.
3 Timon & Pumbaa: Timon & Pumbaa Have Adventures In (& Outside) The African Savannah
The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of The Lion King franchise, Timon and Pumbaa, had their own animated series in the 1990s, revolving around the various misadventures of the titular meerkat and warthog.
The series generally didn't take itself as seriously as the movies did, often featuring supernatural elements and even having the characters interact with humans. In early episodes, some of the side characters, like Rafiki and the hyenas, even had their own segments.
2 The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Pooh Returned To Animation After Experimenting With Animatronics
Winnie the Pooh and his friends and have had quite a few television adaptations, especially through Disney. Ironically, one of the reasons the late 1980s series, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, was popular among fans is that it was probably the least ambitious of Disney's animated spin-offs. It was a more-or-less straightforward take on Pooh's adventures, although the series, and Christopher Robin, were somewhat Americanized.
This wasn't Disney's first attempt at a Winnie The Pooh series. It had previously released Welcome to Pooh Corner on the Disney Channel, where the characters were portrayed via animatronic costumes.
1 Lilo & Stitch: The Series Was So Popular It Got A Japanese & A Chinese Spin-Off
The Lilo & Stitch animated film spun off an animated series with the titular pair living in Hawaii. In every episode, Stitch encountered Jumbaa's other creations, dubbed his "cousins," each of whom had strange powers. Stitch and his extended family were even pursued by Gantu, the Galactic Federation captain who menaced Stitch and company in the first film.
Stitch turned out to be so popular he ended up getting a Japanese and a Chinese animated series, teaming up with a different young female co-star in each series.