Jim on Film
Page 2 of 3
The Root
The root of the problem is what Michael Eisner and friends fail to understand.
The Disney name is profitable because of what it stands for, not because of the
letters that form the name, the castle on the title screen, or three black
circles that form a mouse’s head. Parents take their families to Disney films
expecting high quality and acceptable family content. With many recent films,
Disney has been able to reach to teens and adults with quality-films like
Holes, The Rookie, and Remember the Titans. Some look at the
Disney name as a taboo to teenagers, who are the primary movie-going audience.
While this is probably true for a number of Disney films, the strong success of
many of their films of recent years shows that Disney can make films that appeal
to the whole family without betraying the Disney name.
The Disney name is also something that will change over time. For me, childhood connections to Disney were television airings of Swiss Family Robinson and Old Yeller, watching Pinocchio on video at a friend’s house, and seeing Cheetah and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids in the theaters.
What set Disney apart for me was that they were actually producing and promoting these films when other studios weren’t. A clear childhood memory was of seeing commercials on television for The Journey of Natty Gann, understanding that it was a Disney movie. Even at this very young age and as a child whose parents rarely took their children to movies, I was aware of what this meant, that Disney was something special.
But children who grew up during this previous decade and who are growing up now will have an entirely different view of Disney.
Cheapquels: An Example
Much has been written about the sequels of Disney’s greatest works. While it’s
something I believe strongly in re-visiting, it’s more important here in
considering that these films are now part of the Disney legacy. While I grew up
being surrounded with the Disney name on Cinderella, The Sword in the
Stone, and The Jungle Book, children today are growing up with
remembrances of The Return of Jafar, Cinderella 2, and Return
to Neverland. While these films may be delighting the youngest generations,
chances are, when they grow older, they’ll see these films for what they are.
The general Disney trend goes something like this. As children, people love Disney. As they grow into their teens, they shy away from it because it is an element of the childhood they are trying to shed. Then, as adults, they sit down to watch, say, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and realize, “This really is a good film, and I ‘get’ it now more than I ever did as a kid.�? These adults then no longer run from the Disney name but embrace it, if not for themselves, then for their families.
But the youth of today will likely experience what I call my Heidi’s Song experience. I saw that film on television when I was in about the third grade, and all throughout my childhood, teenage years, through college, and into my adult life, I wanted to see that movie again. I remembered loving the great music, feeling for poor Heidi, and laughing at the evil Fraulein Rottenmeier. Finally, after reading the wonderful Joanna Spyri novel, I decided to hunt down a copy of the movie last year.
What a wretched mess. I actually brought it to a friend’s house to watch, and it was horrible. The characters broke out into pointless songs that weren’t very good. The animation was awful. There was even a Pink Elephants on Parade-esque nightmare sequence that was poorly animated, poorly directed, and pointless.
Even now, the kids who grew up with the early sequels are seeing them for what they are. As a teacher, kids love to talk with me about Disney movies. This past year, my juniors and seniors were adamant that “those sequels are awful. They ruin the originals.�? Low quality feature animation is becoming a part of the Disney legacy.
What does Disney mean today that it didn’t mean a decade ago? And how will that affect the image, the success, and the output of the studio in the future?
A Slippery Slope
In the past, Disney has had difficulty holding its own line. A few examples:
The most important part of this is to remember that, while tastes are changing as well as social norms, there is something to be said for starting a trend rather than following. There is also something to be said for holding up quality standards and (in addition to understanding future ramifications of decisions) making oodles of money without breaking them. There is something to be said for pursuing fresh ideas rather than hacking at classic ones.