Do you think that Disney films are losing their magic?

[kbehm29]

I have to step in and say, as I normally do in threads debating Chicken Little, that it had TONS of Disney Magic for me.

I greatly anticipated the movie, thoroughly enjoyed it in theaters and left with a good feeling and a smile on my face, and bought the DVD the day it was released.

Chicken Little is definitely a lovable character. Pop culture references or not - this movie is one to cherish as part of the Disney line. We still watch it on a regular basis. You can't compare everything to The Lion King.

[gadgetmobile]

I have to step in and say, as I normally do in threads debating Chicken Little, that it had TONS of Disney Magic for me.

I greatly anticipated the movie, thoroughly enjoyed it in theaters and left with a good feeling and a smile on my face, and bought the DVD the day it was released.

Chicken Little is definitely a lovable character. Pop culture references or not - this movie is one to cherish as part of the Disney line. We still watch it on a regular basis. You can't compare everything to The Lion King.

I agree with everything you said! Chicken Little had tons of Disney Magic for me also. I even bought the Disney Store Chicken Little snowglobe this past weekend. To me, "Disney Magic" is like beauty. We're all going to have different opinions on what it is. My opinion is that "Disney Magic" is alive and well. I generally can find something in a Disney movie that will leave me with a good feeling. Tarzan is one of my least favorite Disney animated classics, but I enjoyed the music in it. "You'll Be in My Heart" is a fabulous song, in my opinion. I know I'm in the minority, but I also liked Atlantis and Treasure Planet. I'll keep going to the movies as long as I keep getting that Disney Magic feeling.

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't necessarily think Disney "magic" revolves around princess films. I think the "magic" mostly revolves around revolutionizing well-known stories. Although Atlantis was a good movie (and it tried out new things), nobody really cares about Atlantis (and the commercials didn't glamorize it much either). I somewhat enjoyed the movie, but I can understand why it wasn't hugely successful.

The same with Home on the Range and Chicken Little. I honestly couldn't care less about a bunch of barnyard animals. I've never considered Disney films as merely comedy in a pretty package. I look for a good movie, and these two weren't advertised any different than bores like Robots or Shark Tale (even if they might've been different once you've actually watched them).

I think they'd do best if they either 1.) Did a better job at advertising or 2.) Tried to rejuvenate stories everyone knows (something along the lines of Rumplestiltskin or Rapunzel).

[slave2moonlight]

I don't necessarily think Disney "magic" revolves around princess films. I think the "magic" mostly revolves around revolutionizing well-known stories. Although Atlantis was a good movie (and it tried out new things), nobody really cares about Atlantis (and the commercials didn't glamorize it much either). I somewhat enjoyed the movie, but I can understand why it wasn't hugely successful.

The same with Home on the Range and Chicken Little. I honestly couldn't care less about a bunch of barnyard animals. I've never considered Disney films as merely comedy in a pretty package. I look for a good movie, and these two weren't advertised any different than bores like Robots or Shark Tale (even if they might've been different once you've actually watched them).

I think they'd do best if they either 1.) Did a better job at advertising or 2.) Tried to rejuvenate stories everyone knows (something along the lines of Rumplestiltskin or Rapunzel).

But it sounds like you are limiting them to fairytales because you feel that's what people "care about" seeing. It's more about taking something and making a good story out of it that most people can relate to and enjoy, and will want to watch over and over again. I have to disagree that past problems have been due to people not caring about barnyard animals and Atlantis. Wait and see, "Charlotte's Web" is going to be a HUGE hit, and there is a reason Atlantis has been heavily considered as the subject of the 4th Indiana Jones film. Lots of people love and care about both those subjects. I haven't seen Home on the Range yet, though I want to badly, but Atlantis simply wasn't well developed on a story level. It played like watching your friend play a videogame and waiting for your turn (that never comes). You couldn't lose yourself in it, you were just watching a very video-game like film. Plus, it could have been promoted better too, though I think some of the other films had more problems with that.

[Disney's Divinity]

I never intended to give the message that they should only be limited to fairy tales. More than half the Platinum titles are either based on novels or are semi-original ideas. I only meant going after stories that everyone's, at least, heard of before (Charlotte's Web being a perfect example) while giving it a Disney flavor.

As for the barnyard animals comment, that's just my personal opinion. Even though everyone knows who Chicken Little is, most probably wouldn't want to sit through an hour and a half retelling of an extremely simple story based on poultry. And I certainly find a hard time relating to one.

[Siren]

Yes, Lilo and Stitch had a lot of Disney Magic. Wasn't one of my tops favs, but still enjoyable.

Timon/Pumbaa Fan>I don't debate my opinions readily. Obviously you won't get it anyways. I simply don't like CL and listed the reasons why already. If you don't like my comparrison, well, that's your problem not mine. I am not obligated to eleborate futher, and simply can't. I don't think saying I like one movie more then another is comparing them anyways. I like Last Unicorn more then Princess Mononoke. And those are my top two animated features. But besides being animated, there is little else to compare for them. I simply know I like one more then the other. I don't psychoanylze everything. I simply go on my own feelings, on what makes me happy. And I don't give a rat's arse what critics say...EVER. Majority of the time the movies they give all the acclaims to, I hate and vice versa. For me, no one else's opinion matters but my own. That is why I never ask for someone's opinion. Unless they are so like me, that I can actually trust their opinion to be similar to my own. And there are few people in this world like that. So I don't care that the critics say something stinks or is great. I don't even read anything critics write with a grain of salt. Because their opinions do not matter. Just as mine doesn't matter to other people and their's don't matter to me. I don't go through life looking for people who share my thoughts and opinions to yes me to death. And I won't waste my time no-ing you to death either.

Back on the subject of Disney Magic.

I deffinetly felt a lot of Disney Magic go with the stop of 2D animation. It wasn't that 3D animation started. It was simply the stop of 2D animation. I love many 3D animated movies, Disney and not. But I am by trade, a traditionalist. Seeing 2D animation be thrown out to me is like buring down all the art museams and telling people to download the Mona Lisa from a DVD. 2D AND 3D are both an art form. I apprieiciate them equally. But Disney's descision to throw out all future 2D ideas was disappointing. Walt Disney was all about innovation. He loved to see the future...but watched the old documentaries of him looking so happy watching an animator draw and paint...I just don't know if he'd feel the same way about 3D exclusivley in the company. I think they should BOTH be done continually. But 2D should come back. 2D was where the magic began. So when they stopped, it was like it took a lot of that magic away.

[Chernabog_Rocks]

I agree with Siren about the 2D animation being the start of the magic. I like all of the older movies because Walt had a hand in making them, and I think because he worked on them it gave them that one thing that none of the new ones have. I didn't really care for ones that are all computer animated since they don't have the 2D quality in them. The hand drawn movies seem more personal to me since the artists had to draw it all by hand, the computer animated ones just don't have that touch. It would be like if the Mona Lisa was created on the computer, it wouldn't have that magical quality to it that draws people in.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Siren, I don't like the critics either, for the exact reasons you mentioned. At least we agree on that.

It's just that whenever I read statements like "Disney Has Lost The Magic" it somewhat irks me as while I'm definitely not going to say everything Disney has done has been great, and that they haven't made bad decisions, but recently, it seems that Disney can't get their share of credit for almost anything.

[Siren]

Disney's getting acclaims, but not so much for their animated movies. Pirates and their Pixar collaborations are getting them acclaim. But the animated movies they do on their own aren't getting as much attention. Most of the blame for that is Disney themself. Their marketing on animated movies is not as good these days. As stated before, Lilo and Stich's marketing was probably their most original and ingenius yet...and perhaps one of their most successful marketing endeavors. Pirates and Pixar movies are marketed well too. But Disney themself ignore marketing on their own animated movies. Besides trailers, they don't do much else. Few toys, posters, clothes, etc. For every one Chicken Little shirt design, there are 20 more POTC shirt designs. Disney simply doesn't market their own animated movies as well as the live action and Pixar. Its like they know they won't do as well. I await to see how they will market Meet The Robinson's, as it has a lot of toy potential, but wonder if it has that Disney magic that seems more and more elusive.

Then again, this is Disney. They are a rollar coaster. From Walt's death up to right before The Little Mermaid, they were in a slump. They certainly still came out with some gems, but nothing caught on big. Then the Disney Renaissance started, but abruptly ended with The Lion King (though movies like Hunchback, Mulan, Lilo, and a few others were still full of Disney Magic, IMO...just were not as box office blockbusters here in the USA). In all liklihood, Disney will keep punching out these good to mediocre animated features and suddenly, they will hit gold for a while and then fall again. And so on.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

There are differing opinions about what's "magic" and what's not, and that's all right - I doubt there's really an "industry standard" for "magic" in existence...

Great things have been done with computers over these past few years. But they don't seem very "magic". I don't really blame anyone. I guess this isn't the time for magic.

What the old guys did with their own hands and inspiration from Walt himself is pretty much the closest we get to animated "magic" in my opinion.