Jim On Film
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Quintessential Disney
It has often been said that during the decade after the death of Walt Disney, the studio heads lived under the motto "What would Walt have done?" Perhaps this motto was the best for the studio and in fact, a motto to live by for the studio even today. Unfortunately, in the late 1960s to the early 1980s, the Disney studio interpreted the motto as "What did Walt do?" Consequently, most of the Disney live-action films from this era replicated once popular formulas and situations, and while there were many great films from this era (such as Freaky Friday, Candleshoe, and The North Avenue Irregulars), most seemed to get muddled in watered-down formula (such as Snowball Express and The World’s Greatest Athlete) and lost opportunities (such as Napoleon and Samantha and The Island at the Top of the World). As Michael Eisner and friends arrived in the mid-1980s to take over, things changed drastically. While the Disney division output has varied greatly since then, from awful (Flubber) to great (Mighty Joe Young), the studio has managed to produce a wide range of films that almost seem to have the touch of Walt Disney on them, if not in reality, then in spirit.
Of course, no one can truly speak for Walt Disney in 2002; however, his body of work speaks volumes for him. From his films, we can see what he valued and what he enjoyed, and even more importantly, what he might be proud to have wear his name today. When considering Walt Disney and what he stood for in film-making, four criteria are apparent:
Content: Most of the films Walt Disney made, if released today, would receive a G-rating, and the few others would receive a PG. There is not much to be offended by in any of Disney’s films--perhaps some non-gory action violence and, in two films, mild language but little else.
Themes: Disney’s greatest films often dealt with people and animals surviving adverse circumstances. Whether a princess in love as in The Sword and the Rose, a child faced with a frightening change as in Almost Angels, or kids in need of a father as in Mary Poppins, many of Disney’s films provided the audience hope, the thought that in the end, everyone can have a happy ending.
Entertainment value: Walt Disney once said that he made the films and let others interpret them. This was because his main concern was with entertainment value. The Parent Trap and That Darn Cat! are not deep, serious films, but they make you laugh--and laugh hard. So Dear to My Heart and Old Yeller are not thought-provoking, but they do move your emotions.
Speaks to contemporary audiences: Walt Disney made movies for his time. The quality and vision he created allowed those films to survive for many years after their initial theatrical release. It would be unlikely that Walt Disney would not have changed in some form over the years, and while he probably would not betray his sense of value (either entertainment or moral), if he were alive today, his films would likely have changed with the times (if not changed the times themselves).
Using these criteria, I present to you the nine contemporary Disney theatrical live-action films that best represent the heart and soul of "Uncle" Walt, the Quintessential Disney.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)--If the Baby Boomers have The Absent-Minded Professor and Swiss Family Robinson, Generation X has Wayne Szalinski and his shrinking machine.
On the verge of a divorce, the Szalinski parents learn to love each other when their kids are accidentally shrunken by Wayne’s shrinking machine. Their kids, along with the neighbor kids, must make their way back to the house through a backyard loaded with dangers, including a scorpion, a lawnmower, and a bee.
With eye-popping visual effects (at least to the eyes of this then-youngster) and a perfect mix of humor, adventure, and family, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids would be the most successful live-action film to be released through the Disney division in a great many years and deservedly so. In a time when many marriages ended in divorce, kids could not only relate to the Szalinski kids, but they could find hope in a happy ending for themselves. Plus, there’s death-defying adventure in many creative ways, such as the kids almost getting sucked into the swirling blades of a lawnmower and being defended to the death by a friendly ant. There’s even animated opening titles which surely reminded some of the older Disney fans in the audience of the creative titles sported by some of their favorite Disney films from the 1970s.
Disney fans would later see that Honey, I Shrunk the Kids also hinted at the Disney family films of the future; there are a few comments that seem unnecessary in a family film, but taking the good with the bad, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is worth experimenting with again, especially when the DVD is released this October.