Disney was magic since 1937’s “Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs”, amazing as it is, the magic on screen is still
there almost 80 years later with Disney’s latest “Frozen”. With its sing-song numbers and memorable
characters that rivals one of the studio’s best 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” “Frozen”
is a great addition to the wide range of classics that have come down through the
decades with a modern take.
The most interesting
thing to me is that in all that time, Disney sticks, either intentionally or
unintentionally to its formula: Success, followed by years of failure, followed
by tremendous success that rivals the previous achievements, then back again.
Case in
point: after Show White, Pinocchio, Dumbo and Bambi came out in a 5-year span,
there was a 7 year slump before Cinderella, Alice, Peter Pan, Lady and her Tramp graced the screen from 1950
to 1955. Then another 4 years until we
saw “Sleeping Beauty” in 1959. Then all
was dormant on the animated front for the titan of toons for 30 years, the
longest time Disney went without an explosive animated feature hit. From the early 60’s to the late 80’s it was
all Kurt Russell, Shaggy Dogs, Parent Traps, Flubber, Darn Cats, Don Knotts,
Witch Mountains and Black Holes. Most of
which all but engulfed the animated features.
During that time we did get some later classics like “Robin Hood”, “The
Sword in the Stone”, and “The Rescuers”.
As well as my childhood favorite "The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh".
The next renaissance
of Disney films came in 1989, when we went under the sea with Ariel and her
friends. This (no pun intended) opened
the flood gates on the animation front for the 90’s boom of classics like “Beauty
and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Lion King”, and “Pocahontas”. Yet there were still more Darn Cats, Flubbers,
Parent Traps, and Witch Mountains. All
remakes and all terrible.
Everything transformed
in 1995 when John Lassiter and his outlires at Pixar gave us the game-changing “Toy
Story”. Suddenly everything was digital,
like video-cassette to DVD, it was a whole new world three short years after Aladdin
and Jasmine sang about it.
By the end
of the century there were three more Pixar films as they ruled the 2000’s. Animated or live-action, there was nothing
that Disney could put on the screen that could out-do its little brother
Pixar. Whether in animation and storytelling
they had it all. Disney still gave us
some gems like “The Emperor’s New Groove”, and “Lilo and Stitch” and grew up on
the live action end and struck gold with “National Treasure” and ignited the
seas with the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
But Pixar had Monsters, the best fish story ever, superhero families, talking
cars, and rats that could cook, and the awesome one-two punch of “Wall-E” and “Up”,
followed by a knock out with the tremendous “Toy Story 3”.
It was in
2008’s “Bolt” where I saw a change coming though.
Produced by John Lassiter who brought his Pixar sensibilities to this
favorite of mine about a TV super dog that doesn’t know he’s not really super. Then just two years later Disney went back to
the well in the way of re-imaging the tale of Princess Rapunzel. “Tangled” showed new life in big brother
Disney. While Pixar made less-than
sequels to “Monster’s Inc.” the undeserving “Cars”, and a so-so showing in “Brave”,
Disney released the fantastic “Wreck-it-Ralph” and this year’s certain-to-be-a-classic
“Frozen”.
For those of
you who were put off by my whole, big brother-little brother analogy, and wondered
why not big sister-little sister? Then Disney’s
latest “Fozen” is for you. Old is the
Hans Christen Anderson story, new and fresh is the animated version of this
tale of two sisters separated by magic and brought together through love and
friendship. You can’t get more Disney
than that. There is no damsel here, and
not much in the way of villainy, just two girls trying to find their path in life and
knowing that they are strong enough to walk it.
Even more so is the songs and music that casts its own kind of spell,
being a geek and knowing the early works of Joss Whedon in the “Buffy the
Vampire Slayer” musical episode and “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”, there is
a similar quality to the musical moments in “Frozen”. When the singing informs the audience and entertains
as it develops the characters that are slightly aware that they are speaking in
song. The snowman, Olaf's musical number is one of the best. It’s all pretty great, and they still
find those gags that adults can enjoy as was done so expertly by Pixar.
Who’s to say
what’s to happen in the years to come between the two animation giants. On the toon town horizon for Pixar looking to
reclaim the seat at the big kids table, have “Inside Out” a film about the voices in the head of a young
girl, which sounds creepier than it actually is, “The Good Dinosaur” which seems
like what it is, and a sequel in “Finding Dory” in 2016. Disney looking to stay on top again while
capitalizing on the recently acquired and extremely popular Marvel has a film
coming called “Big Hero 6”.
Though it is
possible that both will get overshadowed by the live action films like in the 60's and 70's in the way of
Marvel films and in 2015 with the most anticipated sequel of all-time, “Star Wars
Episode VII”. Whatever happens, we shall
see, and see we will, on both the big screens and small. And whatever you may feel about Walt Disney,
and his vision of his company and what it has become through the years, one thing
can never be denied. Disney films will live in our minds and our
hearts forever.
By Robert L.
Castillo
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