Jim On Film
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Theme Parks
There is nothing to deny that the Disney theme parks are amazing. Each one is a special world of its own. It’s a place to go where everyone is happy, everyone has fun, and everyone leaves with a smile. In the early days, it was a place to go see what Walt Disney had envisioned; it was an amazing world like no other. Today, when there are so many theme and amusement parks all over the world, Disney is still the most popular because Disney does it best.

Live-Action Films
There are people who are big fans of the works of Stanley Kubrick. The name Stephen Spielberg over a title tells the audience something. The mention of the Coen brothers brings to mind images of a certain film style. The love of the works of Walt Disney has the same effect for Disney fans.

As with these filmmakers, there is a certain flavor to the films Walt Disney made. Each genre has its own feel to it, but you generally know what to expect; therefore, if you like this style, you’re obviously going to be seeing many of the films of Walt Disney. It’s no different for Disney fans than it is for people who love the films of others directors and producers (though Disney never directed his own features). The big difference is that Walt Disney was genius enough to created a studio where he could create his own films. There’s a reason why people generally have no idea what film company made Citizen Kane, Casablanca, or Speed, but they know who made Old Yeller, Swiss Family Robinson, and Mary Poppins. Today, long after Walt Disney has been gone, the portion of his studio that still creates films in his name still attempts to follow the style started by its founder.

In the world of live-action Disney films, there’s also something about the view we are given. While some of the contemporary Disney films contain highly questionable family content, the ones that are family friendly melt into an almost singular worldview. It is a world where right succeeds and wrong fails. Where fantasy thrives and reality seems brighter. Where life can be tough but humans can be tougher.

But there’s still more to the why of Disney live-action films. While they may not force us to question deep concepts or present us with deeply complex characters (such as Smoke Signals or A Streetcar Named Desire), many Disney films are very entertaining. I defy someone to watch The Princess Diaries and not laugh, to watch Old Yeller and not be moved, to see Swiss Family Robinson and not have fun. There’s a reason why even the most obscure of Disney films are still watched today. Chances are, some people reading this have seen The Sword and the Rose, A Tiger Walks, and Almost Angels even though they are not usually considered among Disney’s greatest. If one were to take a look at all the obscure films released by any other Hollywood studio, chances are, very few people would know them, let alone remember them.

Even today, when most die-hard Disney fans would probably agree that Disney films can really be hit (Iron Will, The Princess Diaries) or miss (Heavyweights, Inspector Gadget), the good ones share the same qualities that made Walt Disney’s films so memorable.

Animated Films
At the surface, the animated films of Disney are entertaining romps through amazing animated worlds. To the child, it’s a place of color and wonder. For adults, it’s a place of music and laughter. But to the dedicated Disney fanatic, these forty special films are much more.

As a child, I didn’t see many Disney films. I saw Pinocchio, Cinderella, Peter Pan, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone and The Jungle Book. Six. That was it. Not surprisingly, as I grew older, I had vivid memories of seeing these films, though they were by no means a significant part of my childhood. I remembered the haunting sight of former children braying in the shape of a donkey; I remembered the bravery of Tiger Lilly; I remembered Cruella deVil’s mad race.

At the same time, while I had not seen them, I was aware of the existence of films such as Bambi, Alice in Wonderland, and The Fox and the Hound. On television, one of my favorite things to watch was The Art of Skiing which was always paired with Mickey’s Christmas Carol. Often, though, I remember seeing behind the scenes looks that aired with such programs. There was something about the knowledge of the amazing process of animation that drew me to it. It was in 1988, when I opened the Sears Christmas catalog and saw an advertisement for Oliver & Company that there was finally a spark. There I was, in sixth grade, looking at an advertisement which proclaimed the coming of Disney’s 27th animated feature, and it hit me that I was going to be of the first generation to see this new film. And I knew I had to see this film. I did, and I loved it. And once I saw it, I then had to read about how it was made, and the cycle began.

What hooked me in sixth grade is still what keeps me hooked now. It’s the art of these amazing films. It is the knowledge of the stories of how these films were created. It’s in knowing how Disney gave his artists money for dinner one night in 1934, and when they returned to the studio, he pitched the concept of an amazing animated film that intertwined adventure, romance, music, humor, and sorrow wrapped together with breathtaking animation and lovable characters. It’s knowing the arduous process of love that created this film. It’s in knowing the challenge of animation and how it is achieved for this film and each one after it.

There is an art to it from step one to the final film. Besides the art of concept drawing, the animation technique, and the use of colors (and other things I am not qualified to do more than say they amaze me), it is in the ingenious use of music and the quality of the music, the careful development of the characters, the thoughtful and detailed construction of the plot. It is in looking at the images of Peter Pan and friends flying over London and saying to yourself, "My gosh, that is so beautiful."

But it’s more than just a complex and interesting process of filmmaking. It’s that through this process of creation, we have been given some of the greatest moments in film ever. If it was not for this process, we would not have the memories of kittens playing the piano (this one always makes me smile), lovers forever parted because of racism (I still remember the emotions I felt the first time), or the enchantment of seeing Cinderella dance with the prince (you gotta love it). By the time a Disney film has been released, every inch of film has been scrutinized and re-scrutinized until it is as close to perfection as possible. It is no wonder even the least-enjoyable of the works of Walt Disney Feature Animation last longer than most of the live-action films released the same year.