The Disney Decade
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:05 pm
With just a few days till the year ends and the new decade begins, everyone is talking about some of the most significant events of the last decade. Everything from politics to movies are being discussed. I think that Disney is no exception, so I decided to write something about it. I shall post a list about some of the most important events in the Disney universe, raging from movies to trends in the company.
So without further ado, here are some of my picks as the most important Disney events in the last decade...
1. The death and return of hand drawn animation: Without a shadow of a doubt, this has got to be one of the most historic moments in the company. The entire Disney company was created upon the cinematic efforts done with hand drawn animation. So when the company announced that after the release of Home on the Range in 2004 they would abandon hand drawn animation and focus on CG instead it truly was a devastating blow for fans. Their first CG movie after their decision, Chicken Little, was panned by everyone, yet it was one of their biggest hits since Tarzan in 1999.
So two more movies are made, Meet the Robinsons and Bolt, both movies who have suffered through a lot of changes and barely made it to theaters. And both of them didn't perform as well as anyone expected, so fans began to wonder if it was truly the right thing to focus on CG when the market is already cluttered by them.
Their next movie announcement, however, gave hope to many. The next movie, The Princess and the Frog, will be a hand drawn, classic fairy tale musical film akin to the fab four.
So in a way, the decade starts with the end of hand drawn films by Disney, and ends with the return to the format. Time, however, is uncertain, and we don't know if they will actually commit to it. We'll see...
2. The start of a franchise: When Disney announced that they would be making a feature film based on their Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at the Disney theme parks people were beginning to think that they were starting to lose it. But many were surprised to see the name Johnny Depp attached to the project. People then began to approach the film with cautious optimism.
Who would have thought that a concept as far fetched as a movie based on a theme park ride would create a phenomenon that is still felt to this day? The movie delivered on nearly all aspects, from the extraordinary performances by the cast to the action and humor of the storyline.
The release of its sequels further cemented the popularity, even if they weren't as kindly received as the first film.
3. Roy becomes a catalyst for change: Every fan knows Roy Disney as the man that worked hard to make sure his family's tradition was honored, no matter how many CEOs, suits or legal people came to the company. The Disney legacy above all. So when the company began to change towards an unfavorable outlook, Roy began a huge campaign to save the company from itself, to make sure that the Disney magic remained intact no matter what kind of efforts were made to keep the company afloat.
Its kind of sad to think that the decade ends with his recent passing. But his efforts definitely made him a Disney legend.
4. Mickey loses his voice: In what seems to be a terrible year for deaths, the Disney company was one of the many entities that were impacted by them. They lost one of their most cherish performers, Wayne Allwine, AKA, Mickey's voice.
For more than a decade he had provided the voice of the cartoon icon, and its the Mickey Mouse many of us grew up with. His recent passing impacted many of us who had somehow naively expected him to do this till he was very old and gray.
5. Pixar becomes Disney, and Disney becomes Pixar: Easily one of the most controversial decisions of the decade, Disney finally decided to buy Pixar animation studios, turning John Lasseter into one of the most important players in the industry and the company. This was a decision that many embraced while others completely disagreed with.
6. The Disney Channel Tween Phenomenon: When the Disney Channel first launched, it was a channel dedicated to bringing quality family programming, and it featured high quality films, TV specials and animated series. Just as the decade was ending, however, the channel then began to focus more on programming aimed at teenagers, but was still dedicated to overall family programming.
When the decade begins, the channel saw a significant change in its programming, mainly due to the success of Lizzie Macguire. Afterwards, its focus was on cheap, low quality shows featuring charismatic teenaged actors. These shows proved to be highly successful as teens just couldn't get enough of them. By the end of the decade, the channel completely changed, making a lot of older fans upset since the channel was no longer dedicated to overall family equality and looked like it mainly wanted to cater to a successful section.
7. Disney buys Marvel Entertainment: Easily one of the most surprising events in the decade, Disney acquires all of Marvel's assets, which includes a huge list of characters, including Spider-Man, Captain America, the X-Men and many more. As expected, fans didn't know what to think. Should they embrace it, or should they protest it? What about the Marvel films currently in the works by other studios? A lot of questions surfaced from this decision, and only a handful have been answered so far. Disney can't fully use its properties until all other companies, so we might have to wait another decade for us to see how Disney will handle them.
This is what I have so far. This is very rough and informal so my apologies. Feel free to elaborate on these events as well as add more to the list, since I know many, many, MANY things happened at Disney during the last ten years.
So without further ado, here are some of my picks as the most important Disney events in the last decade...
1. The death and return of hand drawn animation: Without a shadow of a doubt, this has got to be one of the most historic moments in the company. The entire Disney company was created upon the cinematic efforts done with hand drawn animation. So when the company announced that after the release of Home on the Range in 2004 they would abandon hand drawn animation and focus on CG instead it truly was a devastating blow for fans. Their first CG movie after their decision, Chicken Little, was panned by everyone, yet it was one of their biggest hits since Tarzan in 1999.
So two more movies are made, Meet the Robinsons and Bolt, both movies who have suffered through a lot of changes and barely made it to theaters. And both of them didn't perform as well as anyone expected, so fans began to wonder if it was truly the right thing to focus on CG when the market is already cluttered by them.
Their next movie announcement, however, gave hope to many. The next movie, The Princess and the Frog, will be a hand drawn, classic fairy tale musical film akin to the fab four.
So in a way, the decade starts with the end of hand drawn films by Disney, and ends with the return to the format. Time, however, is uncertain, and we don't know if they will actually commit to it. We'll see...
2. The start of a franchise: When Disney announced that they would be making a feature film based on their Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at the Disney theme parks people were beginning to think that they were starting to lose it. But many were surprised to see the name Johnny Depp attached to the project. People then began to approach the film with cautious optimism.
Who would have thought that a concept as far fetched as a movie based on a theme park ride would create a phenomenon that is still felt to this day? The movie delivered on nearly all aspects, from the extraordinary performances by the cast to the action and humor of the storyline.
The release of its sequels further cemented the popularity, even if they weren't as kindly received as the first film.
3. Roy becomes a catalyst for change: Every fan knows Roy Disney as the man that worked hard to make sure his family's tradition was honored, no matter how many CEOs, suits or legal people came to the company. The Disney legacy above all. So when the company began to change towards an unfavorable outlook, Roy began a huge campaign to save the company from itself, to make sure that the Disney magic remained intact no matter what kind of efforts were made to keep the company afloat.
Its kind of sad to think that the decade ends with his recent passing. But his efforts definitely made him a Disney legend.
4. Mickey loses his voice: In what seems to be a terrible year for deaths, the Disney company was one of the many entities that were impacted by them. They lost one of their most cherish performers, Wayne Allwine, AKA, Mickey's voice.
For more than a decade he had provided the voice of the cartoon icon, and its the Mickey Mouse many of us grew up with. His recent passing impacted many of us who had somehow naively expected him to do this till he was very old and gray.
5. Pixar becomes Disney, and Disney becomes Pixar: Easily one of the most controversial decisions of the decade, Disney finally decided to buy Pixar animation studios, turning John Lasseter into one of the most important players in the industry and the company. This was a decision that many embraced while others completely disagreed with.
6. The Disney Channel Tween Phenomenon: When the Disney Channel first launched, it was a channel dedicated to bringing quality family programming, and it featured high quality films, TV specials and animated series. Just as the decade was ending, however, the channel then began to focus more on programming aimed at teenagers, but was still dedicated to overall family programming.
When the decade begins, the channel saw a significant change in its programming, mainly due to the success of Lizzie Macguire. Afterwards, its focus was on cheap, low quality shows featuring charismatic teenaged actors. These shows proved to be highly successful as teens just couldn't get enough of them. By the end of the decade, the channel completely changed, making a lot of older fans upset since the channel was no longer dedicated to overall family equality and looked like it mainly wanted to cater to a successful section.
7. Disney buys Marvel Entertainment: Easily one of the most surprising events in the decade, Disney acquires all of Marvel's assets, which includes a huge list of characters, including Spider-Man, Captain America, the X-Men and many more. As expected, fans didn't know what to think. Should they embrace it, or should they protest it? What about the Marvel films currently in the works by other studios? A lot of questions surfaced from this decision, and only a handful have been answered so far. Disney can't fully use its properties until all other companies, so we might have to wait another decade for us to see how Disney will handle them.
This is what I have so far. This is very rough and informal so my apologies. Feel free to elaborate on these events as well as add more to the list, since I know many, many, MANY things happened at Disney during the last ten years.