25 movies that have disappeared but deserve a rewatch

A Goofy Movie might not have quite the same legacy as many of the other high-profile Disney films of the 1990s (it was released in 1995, the same year as Pocahontas), but it still has as much heart as any of its heavy-hitting contemporaries. As its title suggests, it focuses on Goofy and his contentious relationship with his son, Max, the latter of whom wants independence from his clingy father. Though it has moments of slapstick, this film has a rich emotional core, and it will surely resonate with anyone who has ever had a difficult relationship with their parents (or their children).

While the studio of Rankin/Bass might be most famous for its various holiday specials, one of its oft-forgotten gems is The Last Unicorn. With its melancholic and wistful story about the title character, as she sets out on a perilous journey to discover what happened to the rest of her kind, it is an achingly beautiful animated film rarely seen nowadays. Its animation is gorgeously evocative of Renaissance tapestries, and the voice talent is equally superb, featuring the likes of Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Tammy Grimes, and Alan Arkin. It’s a powerful film showing just how emotionally rich animation can be when it breaks the Disney mold. 

The 1990s was a golden age for the Disney studio, and while the Renaissance films get most of the attention, it’s also worth resurrecting some of the fun live-action films the studio produced in this period. One of the most notable of these was Angels in the Outfield  which, as its title suggests, focuses on a baseball team that gets some miraculous help from the Heavenly Host. It’s quite silly, obviously, but it’s still quite funny and heartfelt, and it is anchored by some capable performances from the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Danny Glover, and Tony Danza. 

Sweet Home Alabama  is one of the early 2000s films that helped solidify Reese Witherspoon’s reputation as a leading lady and a fixture in the romantic comedy genre. In the film, she stars as Melanie, who returns home to Alabama to secure a divorce from her husband so that she can remarry. Once there, she soon finds that the heart is a fickle thing, and she finds herself drawn back into her soon-to-be-ex’s orbit. It’s the perfect romantic comedy, equal parts moving and hilarious, thanks in no small part to the crackling chemistry between Josh Lucas (who plays Melanie’s estranged husband, Jake) and Witherspoon, as well as the dazzling supporting cast, including Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Candice Bergen, and Patrick Dempsey.

Some of Jim Carrey’s films have been elevated into the canon of great comedies but others, such as Fun with Dıck and Jane, have faded into obscurity. Though a remake of a film from 1977, its central story about a couple who decides to become bank robbers due to financial disaster seems prescient, given that the film came out a mere few years before the Great Recession began. Both Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni are perfectly cast in their roles, and the film does a fine job of weaving together its funny and heartfelt moments. 

There’s no question that Charlton Heston was one of the most well-known stars of the classic Hollywood period, and he cemented his legacy with notable appearances in the epic films The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur. Less well-known but no less significant is the epic film El Cid, in which Heston stars as the title character, a Spanish nobleman who becomes involved with the Reconquista. It’s the sort of sweeping epic that was very common in the 1950s and early 1960s, and Heston is perfectly cast as a man of iron will and determination. Filled with high drama and emotions and sweeping historical importance, this epic film is definitely worth a rewatch. 

Some of the best animation doesn’t shy away from the darkness. This is the case with the animated film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland. Based on the comics of the same name, it follows the title character as he goes to the magical land of Slumberland, where he ultimately leads an attack against the malevolent entity known as the Nightmare King. This creature is one of the most terrifying villains to have emerged out of animation, and he is aptly named. While there might be a few bumps here and there to the story, there is still enough joy in Little Nemo to make it worthy of a rewatch in 2023.

By this point, The Wizard of Oz has come to be regarded as one of the best films from classic Hollywood. It has, somewhat surprisingly, engendered a number of (informal) sequels, one of the more remarkable is Journey Back to Oz.  Whereas the original was live-action, this one is almost completely animated, and it follows Dorothy as she is swept back to Oz and has to face off against the malevolent witch Mombi and her horde of green elephants. Though it is a bit more treacly and simplistic than the 1939 film, it has some striking animation and an all-star cast: Liza Minnelli as the voice of Dorothy, Margaret Hamilton as Aunt Em (the only member of the original cast to return), and Ethel Merman as Mombi. 

Though Disney was the undeniable animation machine during the 1990s and into the early 2000s, DreamWorks was also a heavy competitor. One of their more extraordinary, if often underrated, efforts was The Road to El Dorado,  which features a pair of Spanish conmen who inadvertently find themselves transported to the new world, where they subsequently find themselves in the mystical and undiscovered city of El Dorado. Featuring songs from Elton John and Tim Rice and the studio’s unique animation style — as well as the voice talents of Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh — it might not hit the same operatic heights as its predecessor, The Prince of Egypt, but it is still a fun little animated adventure that deserves more love and attention. 

Along with The Black Stallion, Black Beauty is one of the most famous horses in literature. In the 1990s, this heartbreaking and beautiful novel got the big-screen treatment, and, like the original novel, the movie focuses on the horse of the title as he encounters the vicissitudes of animal life in the 19th century. Also, like the novel, the film is at times difficult to watch, particularly during the more difficult and brutal times in the horse’s life. Nevertheless, the happy ending makes it a pleasure to watch.

The Brave Little Toaster is one of those little animated gems from the 1980s that has largely been forgotten due to the dominance of Disney in the years immediately following its release in 1987. Like the later Toy Story, this film focuses on seemingly inanimate household appliances, including the toaster of the title, who try to find their owner, a little boy named Rob (who has now grown up). It’s the perfect combination of stellar animation, quirky characters (they are appliances, after all), and a remarkably heartfelt story that, thankfully, never loses control of the story or slides into the silly or hackneyed. 

Pleasantville is one of those films that has a truly unique premise, focusing on a pair of siblings, David and Jennifer, who find themselves mysteriously transported into the fictional small town of Pleasantville. Their arrival sets in motion a chain of events that radically reshapes the town, transforming it from a traditional 1950s sitcom locale to a far more modern location. Both Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon are at the top of their games, and the transformation of the fictional world from black-and-white to color is a dazzling thing to behold (and also thematically important, as it is linked to the rise of sexual desire in the previously chase town). 

The novels of Michael Crichton have often been made into films. While some, such as Jurassic Park, have become true modern-day classics, others, such as The 13th Warrior,  have fallen into obscurity. This is a shame, as the film offers a rather unique take on the legend of Beowulf. Antonio Banderas appears as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, who encounters a group of Norsemen and joins their efforts to aid a king whose land is attacked by a powerful evil. The film features several remarkable set pieces, and, with its more historically-grounded approach to Beowulf (here known as Buliwyf), this is one film worth a rewatch and a reappraisal.

Dragonheart might rely on several fantasy cliches, but before The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter made big-budget fantasy spectacle a norm of Hollywood, this was one of the most exciting things out there. Focusing on the unusual partnership that emerges between Dennis Quaid’s Sir Bowen and the dragon Draco (voiced by Sean Connery), it’s a fun piece of fantasy filmmaking that also happens to have a rich emotional core. While the special effects might seem a bit dated to the cynical present viewer, there is still enough magic left in this 1990s gem to warrant a reexamination and reappraisal. 

Long before superheroes became central to Hollywood output, there was a film called Mystery Men.  These days, it is mostly regarded as something of a curiosity. Still, it’s a remarkably funny film, focusing on a group of lackluster superheroes who nevertheless find themselves recruited to save the world from a maniacal evil genius. Aside from everything else, it includes some truly fantastic comedic talents, including Hank Azaria, Ben Stiller, and Eddie Izzard. It’s a bit hit-and-miss and goes on a bit long, but there is still more than enough entertainment in the film to merit a rewatch. 

The 1980s was a very good decade to be a kid, at least judging from the types of movies that came out during this period. One of the more underrated adventure films of this period was Flight of the Navigator, and there’s a unique magic to its story about a boy who finds a spaceship and then ends up being transported forward in time. Joey Cramer is undeniably charming as the main character David, and the film is also notable for its extensive use of CGI (becoming one of the first movies to make ample use of them). It’s a sweet little film that could only have emerged in the 1980s.

Mouse Hunt has to be one of the most peculiar films to have come out of the 1990s. Its central plot is a rather absurd one, with a focus on a pair of brothers who have to contend with a surprisingly intelligent mouse as they try to take custody of a house that has been left to them by their father. Despite the silliness of the plot, however, both Nathan Lane and Lee Evans give great performances. While the slapstick can be a little over-the-top, that’s precisely what makes the film such a fascinating and entertaining rewatch. 

Stories about young British children who are sent to live in a strange country house with mysteries of its own abound in children’s literature, and one of the most notable examples of the genre is The Secret Garden. When Mary Lennox is sent to live with her uncle, she soon uncovers a long disused garden and forms a close bond with two other children. In combination with the seemingly magical space of the garden, they manage to bring new life to the family and the mansion as a whole. The Secret Garden is a faithful and heartfelt adaptation of its source material, and the presence of Maggie Smith is simply the icing on the cake. 

Long before she appeared as Sookie Stackhouse in HBO’s True Blood,  Anna Paquin showed that she was one of the most talented child actors of her generation. In Fly Away Home, she plays a girl named Amy, who, along with her father, adopts a group of orphaned Canada geese and slowly teaches them how to fly and migrate. The film hits all the right notes one would expect of a 1990s family film about goslings learning to fly, but it never leans too far into the saccharine and the simplistic. It’s the perfect type of movie to watch on a rainy afternoon.

The murder mystery has always been one of the most popular cinematic genres, thanks in part to the influence of such bestselling authors as Agatha Christie (many of whose books have been adapted for the screen). Murder by Death is a delightful and hilarious send-up of the whodunit genre, and it is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, which includes such luminaries as Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, Peter Falk, and Alec Guinness. To make the satire even more hilarious, it also includes send-ups of such classic detectives as Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and Sam Spade.

The Phantom Tollbooth, like so many of the other 1970s animated children’s films, has largely fallen through the cracks. This is a shame. Despite its shortcomings — among other things, it introduces a somewhat bewildering number of characters — it still has a great deal of charm, focusing on a boy who finds himself drawn into a magical dimension by the tollbooth of the title. It features some gorgeous animation from Chuck Jones (famous for creating many of the most beloved Looney Tunes shorts) and features the voices of such great voice actors as Mel Blanc and Hans Conried.

The 1990s was something of a golden age for animation. Though Disney often receives the lion’s share of attention in this regard, there are a number of other animated gems from the period that deserve a second look. One of these is FernGully: The Last Rainforest, which focuses on a forest fairy and the human she accidentally shrinks to her size and their attempts to preserve her forest home. It is a lushly animated fable about the importance of saving the environment, with some delightful voice work. Tim Curry is especially outstanding as Hexxus, the embodiment of pollution and its danger to the natural world. 

There’s something innately exhilarating about the central story of The Black Stallion. After all, the movie, like the novel on which it’s based, focuses on the extraordinary bond between a boy named Alec and a black stallion (known for much of the film as simply “The Black) after they are shipwrecked and left on an island. However, the race they both enter after being rescued really elevates the film. It’s an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, and the story is also anchored by some great performances, including from the likes of Teri Garr, Mickey Rooney, and young Kelly Reno (who plays Alec).

In the early part of the 1990s, there were few child actors with more clout and name recognition than Macaulay Culkin, thanks in large part to his appearances in Home Alone and Home Alone 2. In 1994, he starred in a largely forgotten film called The Pagemaster, in which he plays a shy boy who learns about bravery through reading. Though it might not hit the heights of its contemporaries, such as those produced by Disney, there’s still something magical about how the film uses a blend of animation and live-action to tell its story. It’s also an always-relevant reminder of the true power and magic of reading. 

The Indian in the Cupboard, like so many of the popular movies of the 1990s, is based on a book of the same name. In this case, written by Lynne Reid Banks. As with the book, it focuses on a boy named Omri who comes into possession of a magical cupboard that brings toys to life. In the hands of the capable director Frank Oz, it strikes the right balance between staying true to the novel and doing something unique. What’s more, it is also a solid piece of family filmmaking that manages to teach some valuable lessons about the value of cooperation and working across differences.