Walt Disney Pictures has been the leading name in animated filmmaking since the 1930s, but the studio's crown was looking more than a little tarnished in the 1980s after a series of expensive commercial and critical disappointments such as The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective. At that time, a handful of Disney executives were questioning the wisdom of continuing to make animated films, as the company was making more money in live-action movies, theme parks, and television. That changed when Roy Disney -- Walt's nephew and the last figure from the studio's Golden Age management team still on board -- teamed up with newly hired studio executives Michael D. Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg to restore their reputation for both quality and commercial appeal. With the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, the team sparked a new interest in animation on the big screen, and a string of smash hits that began with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast launched a new era of both acclaim and box-office success for the company.Ok, I LOVE The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective. All three are in my DVD collection and they are NOT collecting dust. In fact, I don't even own a copy of Who Framed Roger Rabbit because I found it to be (albeit good) one of those movies you need only watch once and you're done. It's worth watching, don't get me wrong, but it has no re-watch value to me. It's original enough that you can remember pretty much everything in it. It's not, however, a movie that makes me crave to watch it.
I'll admit, I own the soundtrack to the Little Mermaid - I have since I was teeny, tiny. In my opinion, this movie is very much designed for children. When I volunteered at Head Start at my church as a highschooler, it was the first thing I thought of for movie time. Disney is, overall, very good at making FAMILY movies, but The Little Mermaid is very kiddy to me. But why name the success of a musical when they were talking about non-musical animated films? They are a completely different plain!
Beauty and the Beast.... scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. Of course now I love the idea of a haunted/possessed estate - dinnerware included - but there's too much terror in that film. Kill the Beast! Yeah, mobs with torches at night? Nice. Gaston loving Belle for her looks? Nice. Cursing an entire line of servants because of the master? Cruel! Why couldn't the witch have left the prince all alone like he deserved? I don't get it. I own it, and I'm proud to. It's the only movie out of the listed "successes" I own. I didn't buy it - my dad bought it for me years ago. I enjoy it, but I don't think it's very good for young children (like, under the age of nine). This wouldn't stop me from showing it to a six-year-old, but I don't especially like the idea. I'm probably biased because it takes place in France, but the only one with a french accent is the candlestick holder. Lumière, or whatever. WHY? And the clock is English. Talk about stereotypes! The "butler" all proper and such. Hmm... who has class? The Brits! Anyway, I'm gettin goff-track, but I'm good at that. Beauty and the Beast is a good musical - for it's content and flow. But the details could use a little tweaking. ::clears throat::... like values and such.
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