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The Sweatbox
Now that the prior leadership regime of Disney Animation has since moved on to
greener and better-fitting pastures, it�s time Disney pulls this documentary
from the safe deposit box and includes it as part of a bonus feature, if not as
its own release.
This was the documentary Sting�s wife Trudie Styler filmed of the production of The Emperor�s New Groove on its journey from Kingdom in the Sun which, reportedly, doesn�t do a whole lot for the folks who were in charge of Walt Disney Feature Animation at the time, since it documents a production out of control and a management unable to correct it.
However, it�s an important historical document of Walt Disney Feature Animation at a crossroads that aids in the study of the art. Just as it�s important to understand the effect of World War II in order to fully appreciate the package films, knowing what happened behind the scenes at this moment in Disney history will be important in appreciating the marvelous films from this era and the choices that would later form Home on the Range, Chicken Little, and Meet the Robinsons.
We�re now a safe distance from the subject so that it�s not going to do any serious damage to the studio or to the people in management positions who were portrayed in an unflattering light. Peter Schneider�s gone. Thomas Schumacher�s gone. All those MBAs are gone. Michael Eisner�s gone. It�s time to let this cat out of the bag.
Kingdom in the Sun
For a film that possesses such a fascinating history, the DVD editions of The
Emperor�s New Groove have been glaringly void of any significant reference
to the ambitions that preceded it. Significant chunks of Kingdom in the Sun
were reportedly completed, including finished, colored animation for Sting�s
songs.
Other than some reported glimpses included for The Sweatbox, very little (if any) of this footage has ever seen the light of day. This is work by animators at the top of their game, and regardless of how the story wasn�t working, it�s a shame that their fine work can�t be seen by Disney fans.
Personally, I want to at least see �Shut Out the Light� and, if animated, �One Day She�ll Love Me.�
Excised footage from
The Black Cauldron
The much talked-about edit to The Black Cauldron, even mentioned by
Jeffery Katzenberg on the Platinum Edition of The Little Mermaid, has
never made it to light. According to John Grant in The Encyclopedia of Walt
Disney�s Animated Characters, the edited footage is that of the Cauldron
Born strangling a man to death, originally included as evidence of the
destructive power borne by the Black Cauldron, helping to illustrate exactly why
it is a force that must be stopped. If you watch the movie, the result of the
editing is that the gruesome Cauldron Born have a sort of �and your point is . .
.� effect. Partially because it was probably the right choice to make, I don�t
think it should be re-cut into the movie, something that wouldn�t likely happen
to the little old Black Cauldron anyway, but it would be nice to get it
included somewhere as a bonus feature to document the history of the film and
the studio at that curious time of transition.
A Disney Animation Studios Retrospective
As the Platinum Editions of the Disney films peter out in bonus features, there
are times when it is unclear if it�s happening because of budget short cuts
(like with Peter Pan) or because there simply is only so much that can be
said about the movie (like with The Jungle Book).
For a feature in the latter category, perhaps a retrospective of the Disney canon would be in order. Not only would this be inexpensive, but it would serve as a reminder to the much-disillusioned movie-going audience (and much-disillusioned is an accurate phrasing) of what Disney Animation Studios was and will soon become again now that John Lasseter is on board.
All that would be needed would be clips from all the Disney Full-Length Animated Features made by the formerly named Walt Disney Feature Animation division, with each film briefly discussed by a Disney animator or historian, perhaps sharing their favorite moments. It would remind people that Disney does know how to make a great animated feature and also highlight some of the lesser-known films, nudging people to buy copies of, say, Melody Time or The Great Mouse Detective for their families.
Disney has done a beautiful job with retrospectives on Mary Blair, the Nine Old Men, and even the history of the Disney studio. A retrospective of this ilk would fit beautifully with the Platinum Editions series, and if timed before the release of a new movie from Disney Animation Studios (perhaps The Princess and the Frog), it�ll do much to erase Chicken Little from the minds of movie-going audiences.
Contemporary Shorts
We are so fortunate to have Leonard Maltin�s Walt Disney�s Treasures series. I
remember as a teenager reading about many of the shorts and features that he has
since included as part of the Treasures series and thinking (with great
frustration) that I would never have the opportunity to see complete cuts of
those politically incorrect shorts, Victory Through Air Power, the WWII
propaganda films, or even a vast majority of the black and white cartoons. The
fact that I can now pop in a DVD and watch them whenever I want is something for
which I will always be grateful.
The focus of the series has rightfully been on the work created under the guidance of Walt Disney and has only extended beyond that in rare cases where the retrospective would be incomplete without it�such as the inclusion of Mickey�s Christmas Carol and Runaway Brain. I do wonder if we�ll ever get the definitive DVD editions of some of the newer and rarely seen short works. Some titles that come to mind are The Small One, John Henry (with its closing credits), Lorenzo, One by One (only available as a bonus feature on a cheapquel), Off His Rockers, Oilspot and Lipstick, Three Little Pigs (1997), and the Oscar-nominated Redux Riding Hood.
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-- Jim Miles
With a love for animation discovered from watching Oliver & Company in 1988, Jim Miles has actively been studying animation and storytelling through animation since the fifth grade. In addition to his column for the Laughing Place, Jim has written two novels, both of which he hopes to revise for publication sometime before he dies. His love for great literature and the theatre has also driven him to write a libretto for a dramatic musical entitled Fire in Berlin as well as to start a musical comedy, City of Dreams. Jim will soon move to Los Angeles to pursue a full-time writing career.
The opinions expressed by Jim, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted March 14, 2008