Is Disney Facing a Kicking?
Now, however, its peak appears to have been reached, and is approaching what seems to be an all time low. Apart from Lilo and Stitch, with a rather unconventional alien and Elvis at its core the late nineties has seen a litany of otherwise uniform, sentimental and generally unremerkable . Scheduled for November 1st the latest offering, Brother Bear, appears to be no different. It features an American Indian youngster who has been transformed into a bear by the northern lights. Judging by the trailers, this allows allows Disney to create its usual menagerie of apparently endearing anthropomorphised characters, while delivering its usual messages on the meaning of family unity, the journey of life, and all things adorable and fluffy. Phil Collins also seems to be involved in the score, there personally to ensure nothing as catchy as the Bare Necessties is ever written under his watchful eye. Joy.
Fortunately, new animators and animation companies are filling the creative void left by Disney.
The most notable company is Pixar. Although attached to Disney, it could not be any more different in its approach. When you watch something like Toy Story, you can actually notice the artists having fun. Watching a modern Disney film I personally get an unnerving sense that directors are trying to make a film palatable to a certain section of the public, not to amuse it. Pixar films, conversely, are beautifully made, contain actual wit in the dialogue and characters, and moreover, have a sense of humour. Disney are yet to realise that making a film according to market research just isn’t funny.
Further afield, computer animation isn’t the only aspect of the animating world that is sensing a change in the way feature length films are made. Despite the immense impact of Spirited Away, the French animation, Belleville Rendezvous, is is also exxeptional. Involving virtually no dialogue and a characteristically French sense of slapstick, nothing could be further away from the contrived morality and sentimentality that has been present in Disney’s ethos for years.
Hence, the diversity of the filmmaking world is making an immense impact upon Disney’s monopoly on animation. Now, the innovative minds of a generation of animators are doing what they do best- enjoying their craft, so that we, the cinema going public can vicariously enjoy their efforts.
May Disney continue to fall.
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