Many Disney fans and cinematic scholars look at the package film era as one of historical relevance, but not with an urge of rewatchability. Much of the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ output in the 1940s was upended by World War II and a need for financial stability. Thus, Disney’s risk taking was pushed into the next decade while these package films began to line the studios’ release schedule.
Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros are most known for their direct connection to World War II, acting as a continuation of Disney’s trip to Latin America in the hopes to persuade the countries to join our war efforts. These films had little to no continuing story, and instead, were a variety of Latin America-based shorts. From there, the package film continued with Make Mine Music, Melody Time, and more. These films, in a way, took a page out of Fantasia’s book; the intent was to tell multiple stories and showcase a variety of animation techniques. For once, the short took center stage.
The idea of a package film lived and died in the 1940s. Package films are the product of a bygone era. Sans Fantasia 2000’s release, Disney has yet to return to the idea of bringing together multiple shorts into a single runtime. However, in the age of streaming, I think there’s a place for this idea to return.
Disney+ has now become a home for original animated shorts. While nearly the entire catalog of Walt Disney Animation shorts now call the streamer home, Pixar’s SparkShorts program has also been ravenous in highlighting new voices and animation styles for the studio. Both animation studios now have a wonderful access point for a form of storytelling that has been often inaccessible for years, outside of the rare home video release.
Maybe creating a greater theme, like Melody Time’s highlighting of popular musical artists or Saludos Amigos’ look at South American culture, and asking animators to create around that topic would be a way to bring life into the long dead format. For example, Pixar’s OUT could’ve been one of many shorts for a Pride-themed package film. Maybe Once Upon A Studio could’ve opened a film dedicated to smaller stories about characters throughout the years. Even Fantasia 2025 could bring the long lauded films back with an all-new series of instrumental animated wonders.
For multiple generations now, the industry doesn’t really know what will “stick” when it comes to art. Whether that be film, television, music, or otherwise, there is no more reliability or consistency. Marvel is dead yesterday, but alive with Deadpool & Wolverine tomorrow. Family films are desperately needed in theaters, but not Wish. It continues to be a conundrum. Yet, what executives tend to all agree on is attention spans are shorter. We scroll and scroll to the point of losing our ability to focus. Personally, that manifests in my commitment to movie theaters, as it forces me to pay attention. For others, that means shorter-form content.
Why not create a film that is just a book of short stories. While a limited-theatrical release would be wonderful (a la Young Woman and the Sea), its ability to thrive on streaming would know no bounds. Artistic and digestible? Maybe the package film is actually deserving of a renaissance.