Sunday, December 07, 2003
Sunday, December 07, 2003
| |Rearranging The World: After Happily Ever After |
| |The Trouble with Disney. |
| |[pic] |
| |Today's rant: Disney movies. This is a topic I'm well versed in. I can sing a dozen Disney songs perfectly in pitch with no |
| |waffling over words. I can sing the entire Lion King set list and can even sing back up vocals for them. I'm fluent in talking dog,|
| |cat, mouse and talking farm animals and beavers. I can regale you with the escapades of anthropomorphism and when I have a child, |
| |will probably plagiarize Disney stories for bedtime tales. I'm bad. |
| |So what's the problem then? Let us look at the recent economic downturn of the Disney Corporation. Has anyone else noticed this? |
| |You would if you were a stock-holder. I'm not. If I was, I would have bailed the minute Pocahontas 2 came out. That's where it |
| |began I think. Actually, if the economic downturn of Disney followed a standard negative parabola, Pocahontas 2 would be at the |
| |point (1, -1). (see, math isn't all bad!) If you really wanted the vertex, I'd be inclined to tell you it was when Pocahontas 1 |
| |came out. Oh yes. We'll start there. |
| |With the release of Pocahontas, the American masses were introduced to the reality behind Disney. Very few of their stories are |
| |original. Finding Nemo is original. The Lion King, while based upon Hamlet . . . still fairly original. ok, the Rescuers and the |
| |Rescuers 2. Lady and the Tramp? Possibly original, but not by much. Pretty much all others with a few varying exceptions are taken|
| |from other places. With Pocahontas though, the public was forced to see what had been in front of them for so long: the Disney Co. |
| |taking stories from other places. Now for the most part, it wasn't a problem because Americans are too caught up in their own |
| |suffering to read and if you ask the average 12 year old, they're not going to know that Cinderella came from the Grimm Brothers, and|
| |chances are, Snow White was *invented* by Disney, not the other way around. But every child learns about Pocahontas in school. And |
| |most who saw it in theaters probably recognized that the story wasn't quite the same that they learned in school, but still |
| |technically all fairly recognizable. So here was an example of Disney taking a story idea from actual past events! And then people |
| |could no longer deny it. Because suddenly, Hercules was coming out. And Mulan. And the Hunchback of Notre Dame was a much more |
| |prominent figure in the literary classics than the Little Mermaid ever was (I don't care what you say, Victor Hugo overshadows Disney|
| |at every turn). I'm not saying Pocahontas wasn't a great movie. It was. And Mulan is one of my favorites. I'm also a big fan of |
| |Hercules (if my dad let me watch cartoons and animated movies at home, I'd probably own it). But I'm just saying that this was the |
| |big sign: the beginning of the end. This was the high point before the downfall of Disney, the corporate giant. |
| |Only recently, they came out with a great hit that was a fresh new look and a new story; The Emperor's New Groove. Fabulous movie. |
| |Eye-catching color scheme, great humor, and a drawing style just a little unique from the others. But then, that was it. And we're |
| |heading into Category number 2. Which is? Number 2. Or. The Sequel. |
| |I'd rather stab myself with a dull pencil than describe this gory and cruel turn from the norm. It hurts so much to even recognize |
| |that this has happened. If we look at The Lion King as the height and beauty of the glory days of Disney, then we can certainly draw|
| |a connection between Lion King 2 and slow, drawn-out decay and death of all that is new and beautiful within Disney. No one will |
| |ever accuse George Lucas for his use of sequels. At least his are epic and worth the film they're run on. Disney though? No go. |
| |It's a pretty obvious thing to see when movies are airing on the Disney Channel before their predecessors ever even make it to the |
| |small-screen. That's certainly what triggered today's rant. Yesterday evening, Lady and the Tramp 2 was on the Disney Channel. I |
| |vaguely remember The Little Mermaid 2 being there 2 months ago. It's awful that Disney is so out of creative ideas or places to get |
| |stories that they're reverting to sequelization of EVERYTHING. The Rescuers was quite possibly the first Disney movie that had a |
| |sequel. That was fine. The Rescuers Down Under was breathtaking in its imagery and plot, and was a fresh outlook on the situation |
| |of poaching. Then came Aladdin, who had not 1, but 2 sequels. And a TV Series. I guess that's really where it began, but most |
| |people didn't recognize it for the earth-shattering event that it was until number 3 came out. Probably because the Little Mermaid |
| |and Alice in Wonderland had TV series first (even though AinW was live-action). But truly, I suppose in all fairness, Aladdin 3 was |
| |the beginning of the end for Disney. Oh yes, like teetering on the top of a dangerous roller-coaster, about to go over the edge, not|
| |quite ready for the plunge. And then the sequel flood hit. Disney was big on sequels before even the summer of '03. There were 2 |
| |sequels for the Beauty and the Beast, a sequel for 101 Dalmatians, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle |
| |Book, Peter Pan, the Aristocats, The Lion King, Atlantis, and countless others. And pretty much every sequel listed here was a |
| |flop. Most went straight to video. That should tell you something. Perhaps the thinking behind this was that if they produced |
| |enough movies with a 2 added onto the end, they could make the same revenue as if they produced 1 or 2 blockbusters, and that |
| |sequels would be far easier because everyone knew the original story, so less marketing. Uh-huh. ok. |
| |I don't watch Disney Sequels unless I happen to catch it on TV or someone else is showing it. I don't own any Disney Sequels with |
| |the exception of The Rescuers Down Under and Fantasia 2000 (also extremely worthy of praise). This is how I managed to actually see |
| |Lady and the Tramp 2 and The Little Mermaid 2. If it weren't for the Disney Channel’s frantic efforts to reassert their claim of the|
| |younger crowd, I would never be telling you any of this. I'd be ranting about shampoo or chap stick. Isn't it funny how life works |
| |out? |
| |But there are more coming, didn't you know? Mulan is one of those exceptional movies that gets 2 sequels. By 2006, There will be a |
| |Mulan 2 and a Mulan 3. How does that make you feel? By the end of 2004, The Lion King will also have 2 sequels ( The Lion King 1.5,|
| |and the Lion King 2 which has already come out). Also by 2006, there will be a third Rescuer's Movie out (I'm not at all as thrilled|
| |as I would be), Oliver and Company 2, Hercules 2, and a new installment of Fantasia (Fantasia 2006, which I'm a bit more thrilled |
| |about). Also coming possibly in 2012 0r 2013, The Lady of the Lake which seems could very possibly be a sequel to the old Classic |
| |"The Sword and the Stone". I know, I know, 2013?!?! That's like flying cars future and stuff. ok, maybe not flying cars, but |
| |hopefully electric cars. |
| |The important question is whether any of these sequels is worth your time. No. None of these are worth your precious time. Ok, |
| |except for Fantasia 2006, and possibly Rescuers 3, (but be careful with the latter, because I'm doubting it severely). My father |
| |would argue that once you pass the age of 12, you shouldn't watch animated movies at all. I disagree, but I have to say that Disney |
| |can't handle Sequels for their life, and you can't expect the ones in the futures to be any exception. My father would also argue |
| |that few companies can pull off sequels. He's one to point out that George Lucas is getting sappy and sloppy in his old age and that|
| |Star Wars 1 and 2 (the real 1 and 2, not 4 and 5) absolutely sucked in the worst way possible (to put it lightly and succinctly). He|
| |liked X2 (how could you not?!?). And he likes every James Bond movie to ever come out, but pretty much everything else is spared the|
| |accepting opinion. Even one of my favorite sequels, Jewel of the Nile gets a head shake. I have to agree there. It's pretty darn |
| |cheesy, but still . . . it's not on the same level as Disney sequels. That's a good thing. So he pretty much doesn't like animated |
| |movies, and he doesn't like sequels, which means his views on the recent Disney turnouts are probably way harsher than my own (if you|
| |can believe it). His belief is that there is no way an animated sequel can be enjoyed in anyway. There's just no way to do it, no |
| |way to produce them and make them bearable. That's where we diverge. |
| |I've already expressed my fascinated horror with Disney's ineptitude for sequels, but this doesn't mean it can't be done. Far from |
| |it, one people has mastered it. The Japanese. The idea behind sequels is not to go overboard with them and not to spout off a whole|
| |bunch of the same thing. Wait until you have a story to tell and then give a sequel. Don't look at it as "darn, we're not making |
| |enough money. We need a quick and easy way to generate a few million that won't take too long. Screw coming up with new characters |
| |and sets!" The Japanese extended sequels to TV series! No, Americans don't do that. Don't argue. Americans do spin-offs. |
| |Japanese do sequels. Look at Tenchi! They've got what, 4, 5 series? Every season was like an alternate universe! It's not a |
| |spin-off. The characters and their traits are all there, but they meet each other in different ways, they're different ages, they |
| |have different jobs, and have different love interests. That's how you mix it up, Disney. Use your sequels sparingly please. |
| |I'm going to take a moment to point out the obvious. Bear with me. Disney movies are all fairly similar. Girl/boy is oppressed by |
| |society or family. Girl/boy longs for a way out. Girl/boy sees unattainable boy/girl. By some ironic twist of fate/magic girl/boy |
| |comes to marry and live happily ever after with boy/girl and all evil forces that stood in the way to perfect happiness have been |
| |dissolved/destroyed. |
| |Very few Disney stories don't follow this format. The Jungle Book doesn't. The Sword in the Stone doesn't. Atlantis doesn't (well,|
| |not exactly) The Rescuers has the first part and the happily ever after, but there's not exactly romance in child abuse. But in |
| |general, the format works. You know what I'm talking about, right? |
| |So we can plainly see that The Aristocats and the Lady and the Tramp, and Tarzan, and Cinderella, and Hercules, and the Lion King, |
| |and Lady and the Tramp 2, and The Little Mermaid, and Snow White, and all the others . . . well they're all the same. The Aristocats|
| |is the Lady and the Tramp exactly, except in cat form. That and the female love interest already has kids (who don't have a |
| |father!?!? Disney! My gods, what messages we're sending to young children! A cat with bastard children!?!? Never!). Otherwise, the|
| |same. Lady and the Tramp just waited for kids until after the guy was on a leash, Aristocats ended up as a stepfather (I suppose) |
| |who adopted the kids as his own. Sometimes the story is accelerated and all the action happens after happily ever after (yeah, |
| |huh?). That's where 101 Dalmations comes from. The bachelors have both been happily married, and there's not a cloud on the horizon,|
| |and suddenly everyone's world is shattered. We still manage somehow to get to that house in the country and happily ever after. How|
| |does that happen? Is real life at all like that? Mostly, no. It's too bad, really, I could live in a world like that. Unless, you|
| |know, I was one of the townspeople in one of those quaint little French countryside villages. There are a lot of those in Disney |
| |movies. |
| |Now we take a different turn. Where are all these awful ideas coming from? |
| |Urgh. I don't want to answer that. But I will. Let's see. The same people who drew the Little Mermaid, drew the sequel a decade |
| |later. "What's the problem?" you say, "They had a hit before, same people, you get a hit again!" But that's not how it works, hon. |
| |You need fresh people with fresh ideas. This is why Fantasia 2000 was so gosh darn appealing. Their team of animators changes for |
| |every sequence, so you get a large variety of visual styles and concepts. But where's the root of the problem? Someone decided to |
| |keep all the people from the original classics. You'd probably be willing to say Roy Disney, Walt's nephew, named in the will after |
| |his death for the company to be passed on to. But that's where you'd be wrong. Few people are aware that just this week, there was |
| |a massive shift in power in the Disney Corporation, in name, if not in actual fact. I know you're trying to shoot me weird looks |
| |over the computer. It doesn't work like that. Roy Disney gave up his titles and roles and relinquished control of Disney just this |
| |week. Michael Eisner, who was supposed to be Disney's 2nd in command has actually had control for a long time and was making a lot |
| |of the executive decisions. Disney apparently grew tired of having Eisner holding the reins and left Disney, saying that the company|
| |was in the process of atrophy and that its tired ideas wouldn't last much longer. Disney recognized that Eisner was just using him |
| |as a figurehead and Eisner was making all the important decisions anyway. Disney is no longer owned by a Disney. How does that make|
| |you feel? I'm not warm and fuzzy, are you? This borders on funny to me. This is so against everything that Disney stands for in |
| |the movies. Disney movies are about getting along, teamwork and recognizing individuals. Disney is about the good-guys winning. |
| |Eisner is the power-hungry Scar of the Lion King. This is the Alternate Universe sequel, in which Simba leaves and never comes back.|
| |The pride is run out by the hyenas (20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Dreamworks, and the crazy Hyena, Ed/Nickelodeon {who'd never |
| |survive if it weren't for the other Hyenas}), and all the Lions die, leaving a myth in their place; the mega-corporation who had |
| |5-year-olds eating out of their hands. How the mighty have fallen. |
| |Will Disney Co.'s name be changed to Eisner? Probably not. People won't recognize the name, which is where Roy gets a little bit of|
| |revenge, possibly. And yet, still, it all seems so unfair. I long for the days of Disney PS (pre-sequel). I will end this |
| |extensively long rant with a list of animated movies and whose ideas they were originally (ie: where the heck they came from or were |
| |based off of). PS forever! |
| |1)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - The Brothers Grimm "Little Snow White" |
| |2)Pinocchio (1940) - Carlo Collodi (1826-1890) |
| |3)Cinderella (1950) - The Brothers Grimm |
| |4)Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Lewis Carrol "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" |
| |5)Peter Pan (1953) - J. M. Barrie The Adventures of Peter Pan |
| |6)Sleeping Beauty (1959) - Charles Perrault "The Sleeping Beauty" (1697), Perceforest (1528) |
| |7)The Sword in the Stone (1963) - Mythology/Actual fact. King Arthur of England. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. |
| |Mabinogion |
| |8)The Jungle Book (1967) - Rudyard Kipling |
| |9)The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh (1977) - A.A. Milne "The Tales and Stories of Winnie-the-Pooh" |
| |10)Robin Hood (1973) - mythology/history (1170 - 1247) |
| |11)The Black Cauldron (1985) - Lloyd Alexander, mythology. Mabinogion |
| |12)The Great Mouse Detective (1986) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927) |
| |13)Oliver and Company (1988) - Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist |
| |14)The Little Mermaid (1989) - Hans Christian Anderson (1836) |
| |15)Beauty and the Beast (1991) - The Nights of Straparola (1550), Tales of Mother Goose (1697) < Charles Perrault |
| |16)Aladin (1992) - Tales of Shaherazod. Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights |
| |17)The Lion King (1994) - Shakespeare. Hamlet |
| |18)Pocahontas (1995) - American History |
| |19)The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) - Victor Hugo |
| |20)James and the Giant Peach (1996) - Roald Dahl |
| |21)Hercules (1997) - Greek Mythology |
| |22)Mulan (1998) - Chinese Mythology |
| |23)Atlantis: the Lost Empire (2001) - World Mythology |
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