What Happened to Disney? - by Blake Holl

What happened to Disney?

Maybe it’s not the best title, but you’ll see where I’m coming from in moments. I’ve been listening to a lot of Disney songs recently, compliments of Fiore’s list. Whatever happened to all of the Disney classics we grew up with? Classics like The Lion King, Hercules, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians and so on. Why has society moved away from these timeless wonders?

Little do you find these days, an animated movie that can be put in the same sentence as any old classic by that crazy guy Walt Disney. I’ve watched tons of movies, but animated movies are a personal favorite of mine. As much as I enjoy some of the new movies, I personally think others are pure garbage. It’s ridiculous.

Look at some of the animated movies over the past few years. When all is said and done, their main purpose is to make the audience laugh. They are animated comedies. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I need to get something off my chest. Some of these movies are just pathetic. Barnyard, Open Season, Over the Hedge, Madagascar? Come on now. Especially Ice Age 2 – what a let down compared to Ice Age 1’s greatness. Their main purpose was comedy to the younger audiences and to the family as a whole. Objective failed, mission lost, killed in action, all those sayings apply here.

I can sit down at anytime and watch movies like Prince of Egypt, Fox and Hound, and Bambi, just to name a few. I’ll laugh, love, and absolutely enjoy them. I mean, if there’s a newer animated movie on (such as Barnyard, Open Season), I’ll probably watch it reluctantly. I, however, will not go into my room, look for the DVD (which I don’t even have) and decide to spend my time watching it.

Movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, The Lion King, etc. (I’m sure you can fill in the rest seeing as we’re hopefully on the same brain wave) were movies whose purpose was to bring you, the kid, excitement, fantasy, and a world unlike any other. They were the foundation for what Disney was, playing to all your childhood dreams. This is why they are still so good now, and maybe even better as we got older. We can understand these movies now on a whole different level. As a kid, you don't really absorb the movie for what it is, and what it stands for. When your older, you have the ability to look at something and see it as it truly is. These movies have such deep meaning, and countless life lessons, not to mention they make you laugh. What more can you ask for?

Some of the recent animated movies have done a great job of trying to emulate the lost Disney quality. Such movies are: Finding Nemo and Ice Age (both about a journey in search of one’s family), Shrek, Monsters Inc., Antz, The Incredibles, and Brother Bear. Obviously, there are more out there. I’m not saying that every movie should be similar to Pocahontas and other classic Disney films. I’m just saying they should not become extinct.

As I see this movement towards comedic animated films, I’m scared for the industry. The next movie to come out of Disney-Pixar is Wall-E, which comes out June 27. It’s really tough to say what this movie can bring. Based on what Pixar has produced in the past, I feel it has the potential to be a great movie. It's also hard to say what the dialogue will be. The preview shows a few things, but not a lot. The animations/graphics look like they're going to be really cool and spectacular. You’ll probably catch yourself saying wow a few times during the movie.

Will this movie be the savior for Disney? Or will it just be another disappointment? We’ll just have to wait and find out.




here is the response video to "I'm Fucking Matt Damon" by Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/25/jimmy-kimmel-im-fkin_n_88240.html
thanks to cuse for the video