My kids (ages 5 and 3) love Goodnight Moon and Other Sleepytime Tales. We also like Milo and Otis, and Benji (and you can probably get that one in the $5 bin at WalMart).
But isn’t that she still finds things frightening a sign she isn’t yet ready?
For what it’s worth, my then-4-year-old was devastated at the ending of Mary Poppins. If your daughter hasn’t been getting enough Mommy time, beware.
My daughter is not as sensitive to peril as it sounds like yours is, but she still can’t deal with Finding Nemo, which is pretty much nothing but peril from start to finish. I have a friend whose daughter is very sensitive to danger in movies, though, and she finds that her best choices are lightweight movies for adults. How about something like Top Hat, or another classic dance film? She might have fun with the dancing and music, even if she doesn’t understand the plot, and I don’t remember any peril at all.
Do you actually have anything constructive to add to the discussion? The OP is looking for suggestions for non-frightening films for kids, not your uninformed analysis of her child. All kids are going to find some things frightening - sometimes things you would never suspect would be scary. You can’t raise your kid in a bubble.
I second (or third) the Cars suggestion. Toy Story 2 is also pretty tame, but the original Toy Story could scare sensitive kids a bit with the mean neighbour kid and his mutant toy collection.
I never really realized until I started watching some Disney movies with my kids how often the mothers get the short end of the stick. There seem to be a disproportionate number of dead/absent/evil mothers or stepmothers in Disney movies. Bambi - dead. Snow White - dead mother and evil stepmother. Cinderella, likewise. Ice Age - dead. Jungle Book - absent. Dumbo - imprisoned. I think good old Walt and his cohorts had some mommy issues.
I second Milo and Otis - my 3 year old enjoys that one too. She also can handle Cinderella and The Fox and the Hound. I’m excited to try her on Mary Poppins! Has anyone seen the new Princess & the Frog? Is it scary?
Slightly off-topic, I have to stick up for poor Ruby a bit here. Yes, I agree she can be overbearing at times but man, Max can be a real brat sometimes too and poor Ruby is just a kid, y’all! Sometimes she just wants to do her Bunny Scout project without her bratty little brother spilling paint on it or nagging her for juice.
I don’t think it’s Disney’s fault. These stories are based off fairy tales, and in those tales, moms often bite the big one. It does make sense–if these characters had responsible mothers, they probably wouldn’t be off having adventures. Lack of a parent lets them get into these situations that normally kids are sheltered from.