The different eras in feature animation

[Angeldude98]

Hey singerguy04, thanks for that warm welcome!

I like the way you break it down. I was trying to think of better names for different "ages" and had to think about it for a while. Hahaha! And I love the "The Depression" title! Couldn't have said it better!

[Big Disney Fan]

I like all your ideas, but I also think that the groupings can be put up as they did in David Koenig's book "Mouse Under Glass", as metaphoric food terms. Bear in mind, however, that this book is only up until "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", so ideas after that movie is all me (and if you don't agree with them, don't be afraid to explain). Also, this list has some different films than what is featured (this is only about animated features; none of the hybrid films like "Song of the South" or "Mary Poppins", which are featured in the book , is included here). Anyway, here's the list, and again, post-"Hunchback" metaphoric food terms is my idea; it did not come from the book:

Salad Days (1937 - 1942)
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Fantasia
4. Dumbo
5. Bambi

Potluck (1943 - 1949)
6. Saludos Amigos
7. The Three Caballeros
8. Make Mine Music
9. Fun and Fancy Free
10. Melody Time
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Classic Cuisine (1950 - 1959)
12. Cinderella
13. Alice In Wonderland
14. Peter Pan
15. Lady and the Tramp
16. Sleeping Beauty

Microwave Magic (1960 - 1967)
17. 101 Dalmatians
18. The Sword In the Stone
19. The Jungle Book

Reheated Leftovers (1968 - 1984)
20. The Aristocats
21. Robin Hood
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
23. The Rescuers
24. The Fox and the Hound

Cleansing the Palette (1985 - 1988)
25. The Black Cauldron
26. The Great Mouse Detective
27. Oliver and Company

Icing On the Cake (1989 - 1994)
28. The Little Mermaid
29. The Rescuers Down Under
30. Beauty and the Beast
31. Aladdin
32. The Lion King

Chef's Surprise (1995 - 2000)
33. Pocahontas
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
35. Hercules
36. Mulan
37. Tarzan
38. Fantasia 2000
39. Dinosaur
40. The Emperor's New Groove

After "Hunchback" is when my own original ideas start taking over.

In a Stew (2001 - 2008)
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Lilo and Stitch
43. Treasure Planet
44. Brother Bear
45. Home On the Range
46. Chicken Little
47. Meet the Robinsons
48. Bolt

Saved Bacon (2009 - )
49. The Princess and the Frog
50. Tangled
51. Winnie the Pooh
52. Wreck-It Ralph
53. Frozen

Sorry if those last two I thought of were bad. I had to actually research on food idioms to find some good terms for up there. Well, what do you think?

[jpanimation]

For some reason I thought this was official, apparently not, but here's what I always thought it was:

The Golden Age
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Fantasia
4. Dumbo
5. Bambi

The Anthology Age
6. Saludos Amigos
7. The Three Caballeros
8. Make Mine Music
9. Fun and Fancy Free
10. Melody Time
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

The Silver Age
12. Cinderella
13. Alice in Wonderland
14. Peter Pan
15. Lady and the Tramp
16. Sleeping Beauty
17. 101 Dalmatians
18. The Sword in the Stone
19. The Jungle Book

The Dark Age
20. The Aristocats
21. Robin Hood
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
23. The Rescuers
24. The Fox and the Hound
25. The Black Cauldron
26. The Great Mouse Detective
27. Oliver and Company

The Renaissance
28. The Little Mermaid
29. The Rescuers Down Under
30. Beauty and the Beast
31. Aladdin
32. The Lion King
33. Pocahontas
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
35. Hercules
36. Mulan
37. Tarzan

Post-Renaissance
38. Fantasia 2000
39. Dinosaur
40. The Emperor's New Groove
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Lilo and Stitch
43. Treasure Planet
44. Brother Bear
45. Home on the Range
46. Chicken Little
47. Meet The Robinsons
48. Bolt
49. The Princess and The Frog
50. Tangled
51. Winnie The Pooh

[MutantEnemy]

Golden Age
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Fantasia
4. Dumbo
5. Bambi

War-Time Era
6. Saludos Amigos
7. The Three Caballeros
8. Make Mine Music
9. Fun and Fancy Free
10. Melody Time
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Golden Age II
12. Cinderella
13. Alice in Wonderland
14. Peter Pan
15. Lady and the Tramp
16. Sleeping Beauty
17. 101 Dalmatians
18. The Sword in the Stone
19. The Jungle Book

Dark Age
20. The Aristocats
21. Robin Hood
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh
23. The Rescuers
24. The Fox and the Hound
25. The Black Cauldron
26. The Great Mouse Detective
27. Oliver and Company

Golden Age III
28. The Little Mermaid
29. The Rescuers Down Under
30. Beauty and the Beast
31. Aladdin
32. The Lion King
33. Pocahontas
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
35. Hercules
36. Mulan
37. Tarzan

Erratic Era
38. Fantasia 2000
39. Dinosaur
40. The Emperor's New Groove
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Lilo and Stitch
43. Treasure Planet
44. Brother Bear
45. Home on the Range
46. Chicken Little

Reconstruction Era
47. Meet The Robinsons
48. Bolt
49. The Princess and The Frog
50. Tangled
51. Winnie The Pooh

[MJW]

I agree with singerguy04 and MutantEnemy that the most recent "upswing" at the studio started with Meet the Robinsons and has continued through Winnie the Pooh.

[Victurtle]

I don't agree post 2000 is another dark age.

Lilo & Stitch, Chicken Little, Emperor's New Groove. If anything I think its the 'comedic years'.

[MutantEnemy]

I don't agree post 2000 is another dark age.

Lilo & Stitch, Chicken Little, Emperor's New Groove. If anything I think its the 'comedic years'.

I agree with you. I changed my post to relect what I think it really was.

[DisneyDude2010]

I don't agree post 2000 is another dark age.

Lilo & Stitch, Chicken Little, Emperor's New Groove. If anything I think its the 'comedic years'.

I agree with you. I changed my post to relect what I think it really was.

I completely agree I really enjoyed ENG and Bolt and I don't think they should be labled as dark age

[singerguy04]

It's my opinion that 1, 2, or 3 films that did well out of 9 or 10 that performed not so well make up for that era not being a strong one. I love ENG and L&S, but this whole time period was full of erratic ideas and projects that all had nuke-warm receptions from audiences (for the most part). It was not a stable time for the studio, and because of that unstability the heads of the company convinced themselves is was hand-drawn animations fault and tried to kill it off completely. If that is not a Dark Age or Depression of some kind, I cannot see what would be.

[Prince Edward]

jpanimation, it's my impression that your list reflects what Disney officially thinks, have read something a la this in a couple of books from Disney about the company's history.

[Semaj]

Mouse Under Glass had the best description of each era. While The Great Mouse Detective isn't officially part of the Renaissance period, it doesn't really belong in the Dark Age column.

It should also be known that the Silver Age is often meshed into the Golden Age, since the 1930's thru 1960's is considered the Golden Age for the animation industry in general.

[FigmentJedi]

I'm in agreement with Great Mouse Detective being more of the Renaissance start then a Dark Age one as well as Robinsons being the start of the current reconstruction.

[Will Barks]

@Big Disney Fan, that's the best list so far.

I found it just so silly that the author of the Art of Princess and the Frog Book introduced us into an anthology of an everlasting following of Golden Ages. How in-your-face uncritical can you get.

[Angeldude98]

I agree with singerguy04's position on the Depression era. It really was as the studio seemed to be trying one idea after another that didn't really work. And in doing so nearly killed traditional animation forever!

During that time they strayed from the Renaissance formula of animated musicals and fairtytales to try bold new ideas that didn't click neither with Disney fans, or the general public. Most of those got lukewarm ho-hum responses, with the exception of that era being Lilo and Stich, which is arguably the best thing the studio put out at that time. And though Brother Bear was not a bad movie, it seemed in a way a re-telling of the Lion King, made in a style similar to Tarzan, and by that time the damage was done and people didn't go see it because they just assumed it was gonna be as dull as its predecessors.

As for the Dark Age and the assertion that The Great Mouse Detective shouldn't belong there, I disagree. The Dark Age wasn't necessary a bad one, but it is called that because just as singerguy04 said in his first post, it reflects the lack of Walt's guidance at the studio after his death, leaving them (metaphoriacally) in the dark. Most of those films are actually very good. Some of my favorites from that time are The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron (which could've done a lot better had they not made it so dark and had they used music), The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver and Company.

And though the current trend can't be called a new Reinassance just yet, it's fitting to call it rebirth or redemption, as the recent output is certainly much better than before. I wonder how this revived interest in The Lion King is gonna affect the studio's creativity and desicion making?

[MJW]

I wonder how this revived interest in The Lion King is gonna affect the studio's creativity and desicion making?

I thought about that too. Hopefully, if there are any hand drawn projects on the horizon, this would give Disney more faith in green-lighting them. However, I wonder if they now think that traditional animation will *ONLY* be successful if it's presented in 3D.

[Angeldude98]

I think that the success that the re-release of "The Lion King" has had, has proven that traditional animation and animated musicals both are very much alive today and that people miss it. Hopefully, a new, brigthter era, a new renaissance is not that far off!

[disneyhv996]

[u]Golden Age[/u] - The glorious beginning
1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Fantasia
4. Dumbo
5. Bambi

[u]Anthology Era[/u] - WWII Budget Cuts and Package Films
6. Saludos Amigos
7. The Three Caballeros
8. Make Mine Music
9. Fun and Fancy Free
10, Melody Time
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

[u]The Second Golden Age [/u] - Somewhat of a rebirth, saved the company
12. Cinderella
13. Alice in Wonderland
14. Peter Pan
15. Lady and the Tramp
16. Sleeping Beauty

[u]The 60s [/u] - A Time when Animated films weren't as plentiful, 2 classics and a misfire
17. One Hundred and One Dalmatians
18. The Sword in the Stone
19. The Jungle Book

[u]The Dark Age[/u] - Walt is gone, there are some successes
20. The Aristocats
21. Robin Hood
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
23. The Rescuers
24. The Fox and the Hound
25. The Black Cauldron
26. The Great Mouse Detective
27. Oliver and Company

[u]The Renaissance[/u] - A rebirth of the company
28. The Little Mermaid
29. The Rescuers Down Under
30. Beauty and the Beast
31. Aladdin
32. The Lion King
33. Pocahontas
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
35. Hercules
36. Mulan
37. Tarzan

[u]The Second Dark Age[/u] - The Renaissance has ended, not a lot of sucess here.
38. Fantasia 2000
39. Dinosaur
40. The Emperor's New Groove
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Lilo and Stitch
43. Treasure Planet
44. Brother Bear
45. Home on the Range
46. Chicken Little
47. Meet the Robinsons
48. Bolt

[u]Back on Track[/u] - Back to 2D animation and classic Disney
49. The Princess and the Frog
50. Tangled
51. Winnie the Pooh (the best since number 34! )

[Angeldude98]

Ok, so I’m revising my list. Here’s the new one. Do you agree with it? Which era or period is your favorite, and why? My personal film favorites from each period are marked with a My best favorites are marked with a

A) The Golden Age
This period reflects Walt’s beginnings in the animated feature film genre, and the studio’s most creative and ambitious time. The films in this period boast a level of meticulous detailing unseen before or since then.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Fantasia
4. Dumbo
5. Bambi

B) The War-Package Years
This period started when the war took a heavy toll on the studio by not only drafting many of the employees and animators, but by also cutting off the European market for the films, and by having the studio do films to support the war effort. In order to cut costs and still cover the demand for the animated features, Walt decided to combine multiple short films to create full features. However, even though the war ended in 1945, the film style continued until 1949.

6. Saludos Amigos
7. The Three Caballeros
8. Make Mine Music
9. Fun and Fancy Free
10. Melody Time
11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

C) The Silver Age
This period marks the return of the studio to single-narrative films. They also show a marked increase in the quality of the music and songs used for the films. The films from this period are among the most cherished by fans and are seen as classic Disney. This period ended soon after Walt’s death. It includes all the films in which Walt was directly involved.

12. Cinderella
13. Alice in Wonderland
14. Peter Pan
15. Lady and the Tramp
16. Sleeping Beauty
17. 101 Dalmatians
18. The Sword in the Stone
19. The Jungle Book

D) The Dark Age
This period is called as such because it reflects the lack of Walt’s guidance at the studio. It was a time when the original animators (the 9 old men) began passing the baton – or the pencil – to a new generation of animators. This period was a time of trial and error, hits and misses, and experimentation into new mediums such as CGI (which was in its infancy) as well as different styles of storytelling.

20. The Aristocats
21. Robin Hood
22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
23. The Rescuers
24. The Fox and the Hound
25. The Black Cauldron
26. The Great Mouse Detective
27. Oliver and Company

E) The Renaissance
This period marks the return of Disney in full force. It is noted for outstanding stories and broadway-style music and storytelling. The films in this period revived interest in Disney, and it can be argued that it was the most successful period for the studio yet.

28. The Little Mermaid
29. The Rescuers Down Under
30. Beauty and the Beast
31. Aladdin
32. The Lion King
33. Pocahontas
34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
35. Hercules
36. Mulan
37. Tarzan
38. Fantasia 2000

F) The Depression
In the same way that the roaring 20’s gave way to the Great Depression, such was the case with Disney. Whether it was overconfidence, lack of new ideas, experimentation… whatever the cause the result was the same. This period is notable in that it reflects the studio’s shift of direction, and the blunt experimentation of new styles and ideas. Due to this, most films in this period (with a few exceptions) performed very poorly, nearly destroying the studio and also almost bringing the end of traditional hand-drawn animation at Disney.

39. Dinosaur
40. The Emperor’s New Groove
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
42. Lilo and Stitch
43. Treasure Planet
44. Brother Bear
45. Home on the Range
46. Chicken Little
47. Meet the Robinsons
48. Bolt

G) The Rebirth
This is the current period at the studio. After the pronounced failures of the previous period, the studio finally realizes that it needs to go back to its roots, and so it goes back to the musical fairytale with the first film of the period, thus successfully restoring interest in Disney. This period combines many elements of past periods (such as the storytelling and music from the renaissance) as well as some of the styles and techniques from the depression (such as comedy and CGI). It is noted for a marked and substantial improvement in the quality of the films. However, experimentation still remains strong at the studio and it is yet to be seen what the outcome of the period will be.

49. The Princess and the Frog
50. Tangled
51. Winnie The Pooh
52. Wreck-It Ralph
53. Frozen

[jade]

Obviously the '' Golden Age'' starts with Snow White, but where does it end?


Is Cinderella the start of ''The Silver Age''? Did that end with The Rescuers?

Was the late 70s-89 '' The Dark Age''


I'd love to hear you guys break down the way you see the eras of the WDAS!

[cms382]

Golden Age: Snow White to Bambi
--War/Post-War Era--
Silver Age: Cinderella to Sleeping Beauty
Sketchy Age: Dalmatians to Pooh
Not-so-Sketchy Age: Rescuers to Oliver
Core Renaissance: Mermaid to Lion King
Extended Renaissance: Pocahontas to Fantasia 2k
Post-Renaissance: Groove to Chicken Little
Lasseter Era: Robinsons-present