Jim on Film
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Disney’s Live-Action Report Card
Part 1 of 2

With all the chaos centered on Michael Eisner and the management of the Walt Disney Company and amongst concerns about what is happening to the Disney name, the conditions of the parks, and the state of feature animation, there is at least one shining beacon in the darkness. The studio’s Disney live-action releases as of late have not only been good but among the best in the studio’s history. And it is also nice to see that not only is the studio consistently turning out high-quality live-action releases, they are also reaching back and reflecting some of the studio’s traditions. With this step up, it’s time to reflect upon the studio’s live-action report card.

Maturity A+
I’ve written before about the studio’s need to broaden its audience appeal by creating movies that are more mature (as opposed to movies that are more adult). The success of Miracle, The Rookie, Disney’s The Kid, and particularly Remember the Titans has shown that there is an audience for films that are appropriate for the whole family but are more likely to appeal to older audiences. In fact, I would even suggest that The Rookie is a film that is far less likely to appeal to younger audiences and, to a lesser extent, so is Miracle. Had these films stretched themselves to appeal to younger audiences, not only would the soul of each film have been lost, but they would not have been as enjoyable.

Similarly, Tuck Everlasting was a fresh of breath air. A quiet film with a youthful feel, Tuck Everlasting presented complex ideas in an entertaining way, making it one of those rare film experiences where one leaves the theatre discussing something other than special effects or problems with the sound. Even Holes, which bears the mark of a film for younger audiences, was one that forced the audience to really think about what was happening and challenged the viewer to do something other than simply experience the story.

The more the studio stays away from fodder such as Max Keeble’s Big Move and Inspector Gadget, the more they will expand their audience base. If the Disney name can truly mean “family�? rather than “kids’�? movies, the studio will increase its chances of drawing more teens and adults to its films.

Purity A-
There was a time in the previous decade where some of the films released by the studio that provides the world with family entertainment were not appropriate for the entire family. Blank Check, Heavyweights, Man of the House, and I’ll Be Home for Christmas, besides being bad movies anyway, contained sexual elements hardly necessary in a film targeted towards families. Walt Disney himself never shied away from the topic, such as with the tension between Mitch and Vicki in the original The Parent Trap over Maggie’s stay at the house (as well as when the priest stumbles into the living room as Maggie is looking at Mitch’s eye) or Mrs. MacDougall’s insinuations in the original That Darn Cat. The difference is the level of ambiguity between the films (smaller kids would never fully understand the implications in the earlier movies), the level of class involved (low class: Ben Stiller’s sit-ups in Heavyweights), and the quality (the ambiguous content in The Parent Trap and That Darn Cat is hilarious, while little in the four other films is remotely close to funny). It was frustrating to see even good movies like The Santa Clause and Operation Dumbo Drop include dialogue that was unnecessary considering the target audience of the films. After all, parents shouldn’t have to “look past�? such things to consider the quality of the film overall.

But in the recent films from the Disney arm of the studio, there has been a noticeable and appealing decrease in those words parents don’t like their kids saying or those concepts parents would rather not have to explain to their children at the age of eight. While Pirates of the Caribbean garnered a surprising PG-13 rating, one which I have gone on record as standing against despite the artistic and box office success of the film, the studio has increased its release of G-rated entertainment. Not only was The Princess Diaries hilarious and touching by anyone’s standards, the film was not damaged by its squeaky clean (and intelligent) script. As a romantic comedy, it was far funnier and far more romantic (and better written and directed) than Jennifer Lopez’s Maid in Manhattan, Sandra Bullock’s Two Week’s Notice, or Kate Hudson’s How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. It didn’t matter that it was rated G. Furthermore, in PG-rated films, potentially offensive, awkward, and/or unnecessary content has decreased considerably—Tuck Everlasting, and The Lizzie McGuire Movie, for example, were both very family friendly. And while Freaky Friday and Miracle both had elements out of place in a family movie (both dealing with a woman’s undergarments), the majority of the studio’s output since 2000 has been both smart and completely appropriate for families.