time...

[Tk2]

It seems that time is a big issue with a lot of members when it comes to future Disney movies. Many people are irritated that some films we keep hearing tiny bits about are taking a long time in production or are being rush releases, some are even seriously worried about Disney's future regarding this! Rapunzel, Frog Princess, American Dog, tons of DVD/ Blue Ray releases... I thought I'd share my thoughts on this:

1. We're at the age of speed and technology, where any tiny blip becomes a headline, so if somebody at Disney only thinks of animating something, it gets its own fan pages, forum posts and even articles comparing the story with similar movie and all that. Knowing of a certain movie doesn't mean in any way that is in post/pre production or close to being released.

2. We don't know how long a project has truly and properly been worked on. We've been hearing of ______ (fill in the blank) since years, but maybe when we first heard of it it was still a newly approved pitch, so logically it will take time for it to develop into a final movie. We've all watched the extras of every Disney movie, and we know how long and detailed the whole process is, and how things can change and get rewritten and slow down the creative process.

3. Again back to the age of speed thing, from what we've been witnessing for the last decade, it's getting more and more difficult coming up with original concepts, so the moment a studio does, it actually makes a point in announcing it (even sometimes goes further by presenting logos, sketches or sample animations) so that it will be known amongst all competitors, the media and the public. It's very obvious that it's the strategy that was sorely missed with 'The Wild' but is now being used to promote all future Disney/Pixar movies. It even happens with DVD & DTV releases, where Cinderella, Mermaid & Peter Pan all have special segments that preview their sequels.

in a nutshell, what I'm saying is that any news is good news in regards to future Disney movies (as long as they're not horrible remakes or yet another sequel or prequal!) and that the guys at the house of mouse have been doing this since years and everybody has their share of highs and lows, successes and failures, and no better than Disney to learn from past mistakes and build on creating better future releases!

be excited about them! I know I am! Can't wait for any of the new features we've heard of. Even if I end up not liking it (you just can't love everything Disney creates) I'll still wait for the next one, as it's usually completely different! [/i]

[blackcauldron85]

Tk2, that was well-written! I think part of the reason some Disney fans are concerned about time is that things can change. For example, let's go back to a few years ago. "The Snow Queen", "Don Quixote", "Fraidy Cat", "Gnomeo & Juliet", "Angel and Her No Good Sister"/"Once Upon a Blue Moon" etc. had been announced (either officially or unofficially). We all were excited about these films. But, with time came the cancelation of these films. "American Dog" recently got retooled. Maybe there was even talk of shelving the film. We want to see these films come out, but sometimes we get disappointed when they don't. Or, what about a film such as "The Emperor's New Groove"? When we first heard about the film, it was an Incan epic called "Kingdom of (in) the Sun". That never saw the light of day. Personally, I'm very interested in "the Disney that never was". We don't want production on movies to be so rushed that they're craptastic, but, at the same time, we want them to come out sometime.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Quite a lot of projects or concepts must be cancelled or seriously reworked - that's a necessary part of the creative process. They probably should have done it a lot more - if the main focus was on quality instead of quantity...

[UncleEd]

"We don't want production on movies to be so rushed that they're craptastic"


Have you ever noticed that the best and most beloved and most successful Disney films were almost exclusively produced under presure or a time crunch? Snow White and Cinderella were made under pressure. So was Little Mermaid. Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin were made in 2 years each. It seems when they get more than 2 years or no pressure at all the films either fail or stink. My theory is that they over think things and it becomes so watered down from the time to tinker that the film sucks. When you're under a time crunch there isn't time to tinker. Just my thought.


Kingdom of (in) the Sun was only cancelled because animated epics were seen to be a problem. It had nothing to do with how good or bad the story might be. They only banged out New Groove to justify the money that was spent on this in the first place.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I think Snow White took about three and a half years - practically with Walt's and the studio's undivided attention. They were doing it for the first time then, of course. And there was pressure - money was running out towards the end. Pressure can no doubt be a good thing - as long as it makes one focus on what's most important.