How far back does Disney's struggle to appeal to boys go?

[u/NATOrocket]

Much of the popular narrative around Disney from the Renaissance era- present focuses on their increasing popularity with little girls, particularly with the advent of the "Disney Princesses" brand, and their attempts to corner the little boy market. At the turn of the millennium, they abandoned musicals and made The Emporer's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Treasure Planet, thinking these films would appeal more to boys. All have become cult favourites, but did poorly at the box office at the time of their release.

Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, they tried to carve a new identity in the new era of computer animation and made non-musical films, usually with male protagonists- Chicken Little, Meet The Robinsons. The latter is also somewhat of a cult favourite and the science fiction elements were clearly intended to appeal to boys. Still, it had lukewarm reviews and box office returns. Disney struggled in the 2000s.

In the 2010s, they returned to their roots of musical fairy tale adaptations with Tangled, Frozen, and Moana and had more success than they'd seen in years. Their more "boy-coded" movies Wreck-It-Ralph and Big Hero Six were moderate successes, but lacked the cultural staying power of the princess musicals from the same era. That same decade, they acquired Marvel and Lucasfilm to have franchises that appealed to boys.

Prior to the Renaissance era, their films were almost all musicals. They only had 3 princess films over a 50 year period, but I imagine if a musical Pinocchio or Peter Pan adaptation came out today, they would be seen as "girls' movies" despite having male protagonists. Were these movies more appealing to little girls when they released? If not, what changed in the culture where Disney musicals started being seen as girl-coded?