Jim on Film: Bolt: Beginning of the Beginning
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A scene from Bolt
(c) Disney
While Home on the Range drowns in beautiful animation, creative art direction, and supremely poor storytelling, Chicken Little almost seems intentional in every wrong decision. What works best about the film is director Mark Dindal�s zany heart which so winningly guided The Emperor�s New Groove. In fact, Chicken Little plays relatively okay upon first viewing; it�s the second time that it begins to crumble despite Dindal�s best attempts to keep the movie afloat.
Watching Chicken Little a second time is like seeing a poorly sewn garment for the first time in the light of day. It is Sue Nichols�s description come to life, a paint-by-numbers approach to making big bucks in children�s movies. The recipe is clear�a pointless porcupine who only says �Yo� for no reason but to bust up the kiddies, farting pig jokes to make the parents squirm, a Spice Girls song because you know that�ll be funny, heart-tuggingly contrived conflict between father and son, a bizarre alien plot for the sake of having a bizarre alien plot, a PG-rating because that markets best. And the list could go on.
Chicken Little actually thrived at the box office, though it is pretty much forgotten among audiences. Do you know anyone over six who likes Chicken Little? I don�t. In fact, just last weekend, I saw it playing on a local television station at midnight, a time slot usually reserved for classics like Universal Soldier and Speed 2. You don�t even see under-performing Disney animated titles like Atlantis or Treasure Planet offered to syndication.
Meet the Robinsons was clearly saved by John Lasseter. The big rumors on the Internet before it was released were that John Lasseter had insisted on comprehensive revamping of the second half of the movie. Mid-way through it, you can feel a bold breath of fresh air sweeping through the story. Granted, a great movie is not made by half greatness, but you can see bright spots throughout, particularly in the second half. The film, however, is still clearly marred early on by the atmosphere Sue Nichols describes. The Angela Bassett character, for example, is completely flat, like a character walking out of a live-action movie. Compare her to other minor Disney characters�Carlotta in The Little Mermaid, Rufus in The Rescuers, the little old man in The Emperor�s New Groove, Djali the goat in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She�s completely without animation appeal. Where the movie fails, it fails because it is either too much like a live-action movie or too intentionally created to be full of frosting.
And that�s why Bolt is so exciting. Not only do the trailers for the movie seem fresh and fun, but knowing that John Lasseter was there to oversee it all brings us hope that it�s got a solid recipe. The Disney artists are still the best in the business. I don�t think there is an animated movie in the past ten years that tops The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, or Pocahontas. Now that there is someone there nurturing the process instead of inhibiting it, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been given a chance to grow again, to shock and awe with what they�ve always done best.
So, no, I�m still not a big fan of CGI animation as an art form�and my heart is still waiting for the hand drawn John Musker and Ron Clements musical The Princess and the Frog (remember that other theme from Disney animation history, the princess movie always turns things around)�but right now I�m content to see Bolt on opening weekend and have a great time.
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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 November 20, 2008