Jim On Film
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When You Wish
Since 1940, Disney has been pushing its star-wishing philosophy to every new generation. Wishes can come in any shape or form, and as a Disney fan, I have a good number of wishes that seem about as unlikely to ever occur as a wooden boy becoming real.
If I really believed in wishing upon a star (which I probably should, but I don’t), I would find the biggest and brightest star in the sky and wish for Disney to do the following things.
Provide unedited versions of all their animated classics--There’s nothing like watching the beautifully restored edition of Melody Time, only to be distracted by obvious cuts in Pecos Bill. As written in a previous column, I really wish Disney would pay respects to its adult collectors and its history by providing us with unedited copies of its great animated films.
Re-release their animated features back onto the big screen--No matter how clear the DVD or great the home sound system, nothing can truly replicate the theatrical feel of seeing a great film on a great screen. This was really brought to light recently when I was able to see Singin’ in the Rain on the big screen. In addition to the sheer size, the great sound, and seeing the film how it was meant to be seen, audience dynamics changes your own reaction to the film. Lines that didn’t seem so funny on video are a good laugh when seen on a big screen with an audience.
Since releasing their titles to video, Disney has chosen not to reissue most of their films back on the big screen. Disney tried releasing Pinocchio to theaters after its first video release, but it was too premature and didn’t fare well. As a result, Disney has only reissued one of its films back to regular theaters, which was The Little Mermaid in 1998. If video releases were spaced out a little more, these films would be ripe to be respectfully successful at the theaters.
Part of this problem is that Disney does not trust its own films. For example, it had been a great many years since its last theatrical release when The AristoCats was first released on video. While animation fans may not regard the film highly, family audiences do. In fact, in a blurb review in Entertainment Weekly, Snoop Dog even praised the film, a sign of the film’s wide audience appeal. A theatrical release would allow for more merchandising and could gross a respectful amount even if it is not as high as a new release. Money is money, and an extra twenty million on a title that is thirty years old is a good amount.
Release CD soundtracks to their neglected films--I was completely taken aback by the CD release of the soundtracks to The Happiest Millionaire, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Pete’s Dragon. Now we can only hope to see soundtracks for other of the studio’s "lesser" films, such as The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band; The Sword in the Stone; Babes in Toyland; and the package films of the 1940s. Oddly enough, one can easily find soundtracks to some of the most obscure and panned films--but not Disney’s known ones!
Make an Aida film--Aida is, to my way of thinking, the best of the Disney theatrical musicals. It has passion, great pop music, great characters, and a great story. It’s like MTV on stage. Disney needs to make a film version of this with the original leads, namely Heather Headley, Adam Pascal, Sherie René Scott, John Hickock, Damian Perkins, and Shele Williams. Waiting until the end of the theatrical run could push the potential of such a project back five or ten years when the stellar original cast might be pushing age barriers for their roles. It would be a shame to pass up on the box office potential of a well-done version of this film with these amazing and talented performers.
Have Leonard Maltin update his book The Disney Films yet again--Now published by Disney Editions, Maltin’s excellent chronology of Disney’s theatrical films is a must-have for any devoted Disney fan. Maltin provides summaries of each film, interesting information on the making of the films, analysis of the films themselves, as well as critical and box office summaries. Unfortunately, for the films made since Walt Disney’s death, we get a survey that only touches upon many great Disney films. Of course, there’s always his yearly movie guide, but it would be great to get his in-depth thoughts on Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Journey of Natty Gann, and Everlasting Tuck, among many others. I’m wishing that Disney would persuade Leonard Maltin to provide the ultimate edition of his book, including in-depth discussion of all theatrical films released under the Disney banner.
Make all their live-action DVD releases available in widescreen--This has been widely discussed elsewhere, but it still deserves mentioning. Considering that most of the titles being released on DVD have already been released on video, it might make sense to release them in widescreen editions, encouraging current video owners to purchase new copies on DVD to get what they do not have--the widescreen presentation. Even then, it’s the thing to do to pay respects to these beloved films, and it’s no more than most other studios are doing.
Make Too Funny for Words available again--Since forming its publishing arm, Disney has published Ollie Johnston’s and Frank Thomas’ wonderful book The Disney Villains as well as reprinted their classic The Illusion of Life. Within the past decade, copies of their book on the making of Bambi has been available; however, their book Too Funny For Words hasn’t been seen in stores for years. It might be a good time to put it back in print in a Hyperion edition.
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-- Jim Miles
Jim On Film is published every other Thursday.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, 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 January 23, 2003
Copyright Jim Miles. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.