The Fall and Rise of Disney Animation!

In the 70’s, Disney Animation was coasting, it had The Rescuers (1977), the film was nice.  Then, there was Pete’s Dragon (1977) which still has a presence in the Electric Parade.  Don Bluth broke away and formed a competing studio.  The Fox and the Hound (1981) was released, another nice, but not too memorable movie, I only remember the dog going,”I’m a hound dog!”  The problem was the animators trying to recapture the Disney magic instead of making their own.  Then, there was The Black Cauldron (1985) a joyless cartoon, but one of my favorite fantasy stories. I remember that the promotions were “the most expensive movie ever made”, of the sort, and it failed.  The villain, the Horned King, showed up at Tokyo Disneyland’s Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour, but most likely out of context.   

The 80’s had hints of what was to come, there was a clock tower computer animation scene in The Great Mouse Detective (1986), but it was basically The Rescuers.  It was bested by Bluth’s An American Tail (1989).  It was really The Little Mermaid that changed things, the fun of the Alan Menken and Howard Ashman music, it wasn’t like Walt, the film was it’s own kind of fun.  There were hints of the past, the comic sidekicks, the songs, Disney-fying the fairy tale, it was fresh and modern.  The 90’s, The Rescuers Down Under (1990) was again the old past trying to peek out.  It was really Beauty and the Beast (1991) that set Disney Animation.  I like the animation, but the story is terrible, fixed by the live action film in 2017.  There was a Broadway musical in 1994, but the fresh take in Lion King was gone by then.  Aladdin (1992) was another sensation.  I was impressed by the themes of freedom that ran through the different characters.  I reviewed the musical that hit Broadway in 2014.  This is the animated film that is closest to me, the first time I went to El Capitan, I worked at the restaurant at Disneyland reworked into Aladdins’ Oasis.  

Then, we had Lion King in 1994, which is a sensation in itself.  The Julie Taylor Broadway musical in 1997 won a number of awards.  It is still one of the best musical I’ve seen.  There was an attraction The Legend of the Lion King that ended in 2002 and there is a still running Festival of the Lion King in Animal Kingdom.  Strangely, there is no Pride Lands section of Animal Kingdom, but I think that would jeopardize the seriousness of the park’s zoo image. The live action Jon Favreau film is set for release in 2019. We had a number of direct to video sequels of Disney films.  It was really Toy Story in 1995 from Pixar that the we had the next revolution.  Jeffrey Katzenberg broke away to produce The Prince of Egypt (1998) which I really like, but Dreamworks fizzled out over time.  Pocahontas opened in 1995, it had some really good songs and beautiful animation, but lost part of the fun. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) was really a departure into more mature fare with a song about hellfire.  Then, there was Hercules (1997) which young Disney fans love, but I couldn’t get past the opening song.  It’s song is in the “Happily Ever After” show. 

Mulan (1998) was a nice film, I like the songs and characters, it strays from the historical story of course, but plans are underway for a live action film directed by Niki Caro pushed back to 2020.  Then, there was Tarzan (1999) which Disney-fied the Edgar Rice Burroughs tale, it resulted in Tarzan’s Treehouse in Disneyland.  A new computer animated film, Dinosaur (2000) led the 2000s, but it didn’t work for audiences and it failed at the box ffice.  Strangely, the year before I rode the Countdown to Extinction ride which had the same characters as Alodar, but before the movie it didn’t make sense.  Fantasia 2000 was ambitious, beautiful animation, but another failure. Then, there was a new direction for Disney Animation, no songs, just action sci fi or goofy films like The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), never saw it.  Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) really showed the wane of Disney animation.  Treasure Planet (2002) was another animated film that tried to spark the earlier modern vibe, but was a mixed bag.  Then, there was Home on the Range (2004), I’m not certain why this was released in theaters, never saw it.  

Then, there was Lilo & Stitch (2002) which was chaotic fun, and has some appearances in the parks with Stitch’s Great Escape, but it is basically closed.  Brother Bear opened in 2003, a fun adventure, Kenai and Koda are at Disney’s California Adventure.  Disney released the computer animated Chicken Little in 2005, but it failed.  There was Meet the Robinsons in 2007 and Bolt in 2008, but these films do not have lasting impact. One last gasp of traditional, 2D animation was The Princess and the Frog (2009). Tiana still has a presence in the parks as part of the princess line. Disney Animation found a new direction with Tangled (2010) which renewed the Disney animated film.  There was a strong story, fun animation, and a focus on princesses. Winnie the Pooh came out in 2011, hand drawn animation, with the song writing talents of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, it failed with audiences.  Probably, why Disney underestimated the appeal of Christopher Robin.   

In 2012, we had the release of Wreck-It Ralph which explored the inside world of video games and solidified Disney Animation as again back.  Of course, this year is the sequel, Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.  Then, we had Frozen in 2013 and a generation of girls grew up wanting to be Elsa.  This was the moment for Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.  Unfortunately, the Broadway musical fizzled.  We had Frozen shorts in front of other films and Frozen 2 is set for release in 2019. Big Hero 6 (2014) combined Marvel Comics superheroes, anime, and Disney animation.  It is one of my favorite animated films and led to the animated series on Disney XD.  Next, we had Zootopia (2016) which a fully developed animal world, powerful themes, and incredible animation. Disney Animation was a match for Pixar now.  Lastly, we had Moana (2016) which had incredible singing, the contribution of Lin-Manuel Miranda on the music, and another Disney princess added to the roster.  New and old Disney will meet in Wreck-It Ralph 2 and it is promising what will be next for Disney Animation.    

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