End of Disney animated films?

[Emma]

I have just discovered your website, which I think is amazing. However I was very distressed to read in some of your film reviews that:
"Home on the Range's release was declared as Disney Feature Animation's last 2-D animation production" - WHAT???!!!! I cannot believe that this is true! So all future Disney animated features are going to be computer animated? Is this a final decision by Disney?

What do other Ultimate Disney members think about this matter? (I am sure you have all already discussed this but I couldn't find any other posts on this subject when I looked...)

[Disney-Fan]

My opinion: It's all because of Eisner.
Maybe Iger can be pursuaded by the animators that it's the story that counts, not the medium!

[Mr. Toad]

It is not the fault of Eisner. It is not the fault of Iger.

It is the fault of people who buy the movie tickets and DVDs.

[Disney-Fan]

It is not the fault of Eisner. It is not the fault of Iger.

It is the fault of people who buy the movie tickets and DVDs.

If that's the case we'd still be seeing 2D animation. Lilo and Stitch, and Brother Bear were both successful at the box office, yet people choose to ignore that...

[AwallaceUNC]

It is not the fault of Eisner. It is not the fault of Iger.

It is the fault of people who buy the movie tickets and DVDs.

If that's the case we'd still be seeing 2D animation. Lilo and Stitch, and Brother Bear were both successful at the box office, yet people choose to ignore that...

Not to mention that Eisner can be largely blamed for why people didn't buy tickets.

-Aaron

[Disney-Fan]

Remember the DTV idea everyone claims is harmless? Why do you think audiences stayed at home? Because they knew Disney would release a similar movie straight to DVD. How convinient... No need to pay so much for movie tickets!

EDIT:

Brother Bear - Worldwide profit: $250,397,277
Lilo and Stitch - Worldwide profit: $273,144,151

Compare this to, say, The Little Mermaid:
Worldwide profit: $211,343,479

Not bad now is it?

[Mr. Toad]

1) Little Mermaid paled in comparison to Aladdin, Lion King and Beauty and the Beast
2) In inflation adjusted dollars Little Mermaid is higher
3) Those are not profits, those are grosses. There is a huge difference, especially as the price for 2D skyrocketted.
4) Nemo, Monsters, Incredibles, Ice Age, Shrek. Shrek 2 and even Shark's Tale whipped Brother Bear and Lilo and Stitch at the box office. You have to look at the abysmal failures too - Atlantis, Home on the Range, Emporer's New Groove and Treasure Planet all lost money. Fantasia 2000 lost money as well, although it was felt it would when it was green lighted so that does not really count.
5) If you want to blame someone - how about Roy Disney - the big failures were onese he championed.

[Disney-Fan]

5) If you want to blame someone - how about Roy Disney - the big failures were onese he championed.

I'm sorry, but I truely believe that if the market wasn't flooded with competition and DTVs profits for these movies would be much higher. Disney should've stuck with 2D a bit longer, now that individuals and DreamWorks have moved on to CGI.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

It's a shame animated movies are leaving! However as much as I hate Eisner I wouldn't blame him for this because since computor animated movies are doing well, and hand-drawn isn't the most obvious decision it to turn all animated movies to CG movies!

[yankees]

I Find It Sad Disney Does Not Make Any More Animated Films

That was what made Disney so great. There animation was incredible and im sure walt disney himself would not want it like this. I mean it is okay for disney to do CGI films but they shuld so more hand drwan.

Disney is making terrible ideas like no more pixar and this.

My opinion Leave The CGI films Up To Pixar and Dream works.. Let Disney Do Some But Pleaase let them do more hand drwan films. I mean look at Disney World That is what there. I hope They Dont make A Chicken Little Thing There.
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[Mr. Toad]

5) If you want to blame someone - how about Roy Disney - the big failures were onese he championed.

I'm sorry, but I truely believe that if the market wasn't flooded with competition and DTVs profits for these movies would be much higher. Disney should've stuck with 2D a bit longer, now that individuals and DreamWorks have moved on to CGI.

The DTV movies do not explain the success of CGI though. Thats the reason. Even bad CGI movies were kicking the pants off of very good 2D movies. The only 2D movie that was way into production had huge story problems. If there was a point to pull the plug, they picked the right place. I really think Walt would have made the same decision. He was all about the innovation and keeping ahead of the competition.

[Zoltack]

It's a shame animated movies are leaving! However as much as I hate Eisner I wouldn't blame him for this because since computor animated movies are doing well, and hand-drawn isn't the most obvious decision it to turn all animated movies to CG movies!

Well, not only that but it's easier and faster to animate using computers. And in some cases computer animation looks better than hand drawn animation. If you ever watch South Park, like the very first episodes, the characters were made using constuction paper which, had different shapes and sizes. It looked pretty crappy. Now they use computers in the new episodes and they look a whole lot better than they did before. But they make sure it still looks like the same when they used constuction paper.
However, all of the magic from Disney films (especially the classics) is that they were hand drawn. I mean you can't get the same effect of CGI animaition than you get with hand drawn animation.

[PatrickvD]

5) If you want to blame someone - how about Roy Disney - the big failures were onese he championed.

hold it... if you're gonna pin this down on someone, Roy is not your guy. Eisner is the one who personally started meddling with WDFA during the nineties. He destroyed it all. And wether it was him or not who gave the final word on pulling the plug on traditional animation doesn't matter, since he did nothing to stop it and preserve the legacy and tradition of hand drawn Disney storytelling. And nothing justifies that. Not to mention they were planning on working Roy out of the board (eventhough he resigned before they could do so)

The DTV movies do not explain the success of CGI though. Thats the reason. Even bad CGI movies were kicking the pants off of very good 2D movies. The only 2D movie that was way into production had huge story problems. If there was a point to pull the plug, they picked the right place. I really think Walt would have made the same decision. He was all about the innovation and keeping ahead of the competition.

right, well Chicken Little came five years too late. So much for staying ahead of the competition. Look at Robots, talk about a CG backlash, so much for "from the creators of Ice Age". The CG ship is already sinking. Had Disney really been smart, they would have continued doing what they used to do best. But they give this up for running after the competition. oops. dead end

[Dan05]

I prefer 2D animation. Why are they trying to make animation look so real anyway

[Mr. Toad]

5) If you want to blame someone - how about Roy Disney - the big failures were onese he championed.

hold it... if you're gonna pin this down on someone, Roy is not your guy. Eisner is the one who personally started meddling with WDFA during the nineties. He destroyed it all. And wether it was him or not who gave the final word on pulling the plug on traditional animation doesn't matter, since he did nothing to stop it and preserve the legacy and tradition of hand drawn Disney storytelling. And nothing justifies that. Not to mention they were planning on working Roy out of the board (eventhough he resigned before they could do so)

The DTV movies do not explain the success of CGI though. Thats the reason. Even bad CGI movies were kicking the pants off of very good 2D movies. The only 2D movie that was way into production had huge story problems. If there was a point to pull the plug, they picked the right place. I really think Walt would have made the same decision. He was all about the innovation and keeping ahead of the competition.

right, well Chicken Little came five years too late. So much for staying ahead of the competition. Look at Robots, talk about a CG backlash, so much for "from the creators of Ice Age". The CG ship is already sinking. Had Disney really been smart, they would have continued doing what they used to do best. But they give this up for running after the competition. oops. dead end

Playing a bit of devil's advocate. But Roy was the champion of Atlantis and Treasure Planet. Now, I think Atlantis was just plain a bad movie. We will give Roy a mulligan given all the good ones. As for Treasure Planet, I think it was the marketing campaign aimed at teenage boys(who for the most part will not go see animated movies) that sealed the movies fate. By no means a classic, but it wasnt terrible either.

[Mr. Toad]

I prefer 2D animation. Why are they trying to make animation look so real anyway

Does not matter to me that much. I would prefer to see both. I watch in amazement though at how computer's can do things like Sulley's hair. You just couldnt do that with 2D. I thought Brother Bear looked great too though.

[PatrickvD]

hold it... if you're gonna pin this down on someone, Roy is not your guy. Eisner is the one who personally started meddling with WDFA during the nineties. He destroyed it all. And wether it was him or not who gave the final word on pulling the plug on traditional animation doesn't matter, since he did nothing to stop it and preserve the legacy and tradition of hand drawn Disney storytelling. And nothing justifies that. Not to mention they were planning on working Roy out of the board (eventhough he resigned before they could do so)
right, well Chicken Little came five years too late. So much for staying ahead of the competition. Look at Robots, talk about a CG backlash, so much for "from the creators of Ice Age". The CG ship is already sinking. Had Disney really been smart, they would have continued doing what they used to do best. But they give this up for running after the competition. oops. dead end

Playing a bit of devil's advocate. But Roy was the champion of Atlantis and Treasure Planet. Now, I think Atlantis was just plain a bad movie. We will give Roy a mulligan given all the good ones. As for Treasure Planet, I think it was the marketing campaign aimed at teenage boys(who for the most part will not go see animated movies) that sealed the movies fate. By no means a classic, but it wasnt terrible either.

lol, sorry if I sounded evil. Yes Treasure Planet was Roy's movie and I thought it was a complete wreck, but his intentions were still better than Eisner. Eisner loved the bottom line. the money. wich is fine. but for the love of all that is good, please not let the bottom line take over.

[Mr. Toad]

lol, sorry if I sounded evil. Yes Treasure Planet was Roy's movie and I thought it was a complete wreck, but his intentions were still better than Eisner. Eisner loved the bottom line. the money. wich is fine. but for the love of all that is good, please not let the bottom line take over.

I didn't think it was a wreck. It certainly was not the movie advertised by trailers. It needed a real protagonist. Jim Hawkins needed to be more of a sympathetic character. And both the blob and robot were terrible characters. I guess when you try to make a fairly serious movie and add kiddie characters and then turn the bad guy good at the end without any motivationto do so it does not really work. But some of the animation was really good.

[chaychay102royal]

I'm somewhat saddened by this. I look at what they were making in 2D, though, and they obviously do not care about the quality of story and character development in those movies. The 3D films are more developed in plot and character.

[Luna]

I like 2-D animation better....Don't get me wrong,I do like Pixar's films and both of Dreamworks' Shrek movies,it's just I like the look of the 2-D films better...