Has Disney become Jaded?

[quiden]

I'm sure we can all here agree that Disney has a fine history of creating heartwarming family entertainment that's been sincere in it's classical storytelling.

I just read a post on this forum that referenced Beauty and the Beast and how great of a movie it was, and it made me wonder what happened to the world? to Disney? to make them unable to make movies like that anymore.

It seems lately any animated family film that comes out has to be full of pop-culture references and slapstick humor. Are we unable to accept a sincere fairy-tale type story? even a musical?

I miss the days where every year or so Disney would release a new "classic". I would accept the immediate term classic because it defined how the content of the story is something that could stay relevant for years to come. But I wouldn't necessarily view movies like Chicken Little as such.

What are your thoughts?

[Elladorine]

Times have changed all over. I feel that Disney has been trying to adapt to a new audience and isn't quite sure of how to go about it.

We all know how big of a success the Shrek movies have been and unfortunately Disney feels they have to lean in that direction.

Here's hoping that a certain frog and princess movie not only does well, but is done well.

[singerguy04]

I have never really been under the impression that the Disney company left the classic films voluntarily. Afterall after the HUGE success in The Lion King things started to go downhill. In 1995 (the year after The Lion King came out) Toy Story and Pocahontas were released. This was the begining of the end. CGI was a new and interesting kind of technology that drew everybody into it, making Toy Story the kind of success it was. After that Disney released Hunchback, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan which are all musicals but couldn't really stand up to the same kind of wide acclaim that they did in the early 90's. Other Companies got a lot of attention in the later 90's. 20th Century Fox released Anastasia in 97, Dreamworks released Antz and Prince of Egypt in 98, and Warner Brothers released The Iron Giant in 99. All of those films seemed to get a lot more attention than the Disney films of that time. The funniest thing to me though is that a lot of people saw these films and assumed they were Disney.

Overall, I don't think Disney became jaded. I think consumers did. Disney tried to hold on, but they didn't stand a chance because the people weren't coming. I think Disney created some of their best work at that time but it's hard to sell when people aren't buying. There's also the role of such things as Power Rangers. They came into full swing at this time. Action, Adventure, and comedy sold really well in the later 90's. It kind of explains why Disney might've released The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch, and Treasure Planet at the begining of the 2000's.

[Coolmanio]

I believe that Disney's last true classic ended with Tarzan. It was the last Disney story that could actually make my heart warm(with the exception of Lilo and Stitch). I agree with Singerguy, Disney tried to hold on for a while but the consumers were fascinated with CGI and so Disney could either try to stay where they were with Traditional Animation, and go with what the public wanted with CGI. As a Buisness, Disney had to do what would help them more in the long run.

For me, when this transition into CGI started, Animation really went downhill for. Even though I am looking forward to Disney's venture back into traditional animated features, I have a sinking feeling that it will not leave us the magical feeling of what we felt like after watching Snow White, Cinderella, Fox and the Hound, and Beauty and the Beast.

[quiden]

I have never really been under the impression that the Disney company left the classic films voluntarily. Afterall after the HUGE success in The Lion King things started to go downhill. In 1995 (the year after The Lion King came out) Toy Story and Pocahontas were released. This was the begining of the end. CGI was a new and interesting kind of technology that drew everybody into it, making Toy Story the kind of success it was. After that Disney released Hunchback, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan which are all musicals but couldn't really stand up to the same kind of wide acclaim that they did in the early 90's. Other Companies got a lot of attention in the later 90's. 20th Century Fox released Anastasia in 97, Dreamworks released Antz and Prince of Egypt in 98, and Warner Brothers released The Iron Giant in 99. All of those films seemed to get a lot more attention than the Disney films of that time. The funniest thing to me though is that a lot of people saw these films and assumed they were Disney.

Overall, I don't think Disney became jaded. I think consumers did. Disney tried to hold on, but they didn't stand a chance because the people weren't coming. I think Disney created some of their best work at that time but it's hard to sell when people aren't buying. There's also the role of such things as Power Rangers. They came into full swing at this time. Action, Adventure, and comedy sold really well in the later 90's. It kind of explains why Disney might've released The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, Lilo & Stitch, and Treasure Planet at the begining of the 2000's.

That's a really good perspective, i hadn't thought of it that way. It did seem like they were ticking away at a laundry list of fairy tales that they could do and when they ran out and started to do things that people weren't as familiar with like Pocahontas and Mulan, that's when people started to stray.

I remember Eisner saying that people would come up to him and say "nice work on Ice Age" and he'd just say, "Thanks!"

[singerguy04]

For me, when this transition into CGI started, Animation really went downhill for. Even though I am looking forward to Disney's venture back into traditional animated features, I have a sinking feeling that it will not leave us the magical feeling of what we felt like after watching Snow White, Cinderella, Fox and the Hound, and Beauty and the Beast.

I think that if you are going to go into The Princess and the Frog anticipating it to be like any other Disney film you are going to be greatly dissapointed. To be frank, and i hope you don't take this personally, I hate when people try to compare a newer film to films created many years before it. First of all, It's an almost entirely new staff. There's no way it will be able to compare with any of the older classics. Second of all it has a different kind of audience to appeal to. The kind of audiences today are different than they were in the 90's so it has to be different to catch attention and buzz. Third, it needs to be unpredictable. If this film is a replica of any other Disney film it will be called out on it and maybe considered cute but boring. It needs to be an example of the Disney company now! Disney needs to create itself anew with this project. Fresh is what sells. It's like trying to sell the original ipod to someone today with a higher price than it was originally. It has to be updated, it has to be fresh, it has to be exciting, and most importantly it needs to change the face of animation. Unless the Disney company doesn't want this film to sell don't expect this to be like anything you've ever seen.

[Coolmanio]

I think that if you are going to go into The Princess and the Frog anticipating it to be like any other Disney film you are going to be greatly dissapointed. To be frank, and i hope you don't take this personally, I hate when people try to compare a newer film to films created many years before it. First of all, It's an almost entirely new staff. There's no way it will be able to compare with any of the older classics. Second of all it has a different kind of audience to appeal to. The kind of audiences today are different than they were in the 90's so it has to be different to catch attention and buzz. Third, it needs to be unpredictable. If this film is a replica of any other Disney film it will be called out on it and maybe considered cute but boring. It needs to be an example of the Disney company now! Disney needs to create itself anew with this project. Fresh is what sells. It's like trying to sell the original ipod to someone today with a higher price than it was originally. It has to be updated, it has to be fresh, it has to be exciting, and most importantly it needs to change the face of animation. Unless the Disney company doesn't want this film to sell don't expect this to be like anything you've ever seen.

No offense taken, and I have no intention of entering the movie expecting it to be as great as the other classics, i do not want it to create a "new" Cinderella, Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty, I would just like it to rekindle the greatness of their previous DAC. And while Disney SHOULD be trying to gain a new audience it should NOT forget the audience that have been right along side of them for 70+ years.