The Problem With Disney Animation

about 8 months ago I made a video discussing Disney's animation problem the first Major Video I've ever created that was dedicated to my love of Disney that I've shared throughout this entire year and from that point forward I made various other video declaring my love of the past and hatred of the present dedicated on their downfall of creativity expressing my problems with the executives who run the company and what has been invested in it and the main reason for all of that was of course here in 2023 the year that Disney actually turned 100 years old what would have been expected as a grand celebration of what we love growing up and still do to an extent but sadly as we all know now here at the tail end of 2023 that hasn't been the case where most of their film divisions have been failing at the box office with high budget bombs left and right at the time where the previous CEO actually returned to supposedly fix his successor's mistakes all of which actually turned out to be more of his own with what his tenure brought to the company after Michael Eisner left from a campaign led by Roy E Disney the last Disney involved with Disney and because of that I really had to return back to the beginning of where I be began to criticize Disney with the problem that has been going on in their animation Department the studio that began this very big company that we all know for today for the better or worse of course this video is also going to be discussing a little bit of the other Studios failings that I've individually covered but more just centered around Disney and actually Pixar for that matter and the financial failings and the creative storytelling they have had issues with because when you look at the new Disney era that is failing it's very reminiscent of the early 2000s players with eer last years like I said before with those box office bombs and especially the Disney Dark Age covering the period after Walt's death before Eisner actually came in and these two previous eras are very key to show us that this is a very easily solvable Problem by them but more of how Disney keeps refusing to create anything worthwhile for the majority of it if they have that simple dollar sign actually attached to it because as we have seen recently films like Encanto are actually still worth our time and worth watching as animated films but sadly become the exception to the rule of where the focus is going on the focus on safe movies that never change and go go for the basic essence of what their story is without doing anything to actually change that formula keeping the same type of villains they've always had and the same type of Heroes they've always had and the more you see them do it the more people actually get disinterested into it pumping out the same things that they have own without any clear thought down the actual pipeline I mean it's not bad to have those types of stories as they can be enjoyed and there are an abundance of ideals that they could offer but they just aren't offering the true potential that can actually derive from them because if we look back at the first Dark Age in the' 70s and ' 80s that that was kind of the big problem the time where you would have think animation could be serious trouble and the Disney Company eventually failing where Disney could have just shut it down all together and nothing we knew today from the Renaissance and so forth would ever exist at all something that resulted at the tail end of Walt's own life shifting from animation mostly to more real projects like Disneyland Mary Poppins and his original vision for Epcot and the major problem with this was not the animation itself because there are various beautiful Works they have done in that time despite reusing some scenes in their own films but more about this stories that actually resulted from it not really being attention grabbing and mainly just being one note I mean don't get me wrong I do enjoy some of it where most of their animated films up until the Black Cauldron were still box off his fits compared to today's bombs but they aren't as memorable as what we always look back upon in Disney storytelling they weren't as interesting and mostly fell short of what was expected because above all Walt Disney himself was actually a master Storyteller he knew what to look for at the time for the most part in the golden and silver age of Disney animation and it really worked producing every single film up until his death with the Jungle Book coming right after where after that very period it resulted in Executives being more focused on trying to focus on the parks and solving Walt's Epcot Vision rather than the animation with the later years of Walt's N9 old men and the older animators with the new generation that lacked any Focus or goal than what other was being darker in terms of Storytelling hence why it was actually called The Dark Age where most of the films just didn't have that quality in story and songs that they usually associate these movies with and just didn't feel like the classic fairy tale setting that for the most part they just didn't really feel like they should be focusing on this division of the company when the parks was the actual more profitable Venture at the time where some like former CEO Ron Miller tried to do more experimental things at the same time that didn't work well under the guidance of these new corporate Raiders that are threatening to take over the company which is where we have to discuss the Black Cauldron in this conversation as the breaking point here the highest point in the Disney Dark Age that would have almost destroyed Disney Animation or the Disney company as a whole where its production had so many issues it seemed impossible this was going to actually succeed in any way the first point of this was of course they were making something darker than what most Disney films are and something that we can agree with today contrasting with what we remember as the greatest stories they ever had balancing out other tones well this one just remain more inconsistent the film itself just went through so many production changes from its directors adding more and then removing such trying to be dark and also being comedic at the same time than removing it all together before they could finally focus on a single idea how the characters are in ending up like this or that and why the story is going in this direction there is a lot more I could tell you about this film and its issues but the gist of it all was the fact it was a mess and was just released as such while the animation was great the writing and the tone was actually met with negative reception not knowing what the hell it wanted to do and became a financial failure as a result people and kids especially were just confused what the hell this was trying to do but overall with what this actual failure brought us was a learning point of where they should have gone in the first place and of course going back to the actual idea of the stories that made Disney Disney which of course was spearheaded by Walt's own nephew his brother's son Roy E Disney who I mentioned earlier and a lot in the downfall video as well how he brought in eer and Wells after removing his cousin-in-law as the CEO really caring about Disney Animation wanting a reset with those like kenberg coming in and trying to help that he wanted to help Disney Animation get back to what his uncle did and that's what actually happened when films like The Little Mermaid came into play getting the talents of those like Howard Ashman and and Ellen manin alongside musker and Clemens directing the film all of which was making a Broadwell style musical for a Disney film just like what most of the Original Stories Snow White and Cinderella sort of did that this year gave animation a proper boost combining both great storytelling and music together knowing what musical theater could actually provide with such films where as much as we enjoyed this previous dark era of Disney in some aspects of its film The renat truly brought it upon itself to fully flesh out the world and characters together that most people associate these movies with and this of course actually includes other films in this era like Hunchback that also went into the darker aspects of Disney storytelling that the Black Cauldron tried to provide but now actually had a decent and actual story to tell alongside with it with aspects that Disney is known for in its music and its story every story in this era of Disney whether it be Beauty and the Beast Aladdin and Lion King centered itself around the main character and the main idea that relates around them and then why people actually accepted them back then as who they are compared to that very era that preceded it but then again after that era came the newer problem that we discussed in Pixar's rise with films like Toy Story and then DreamWorks as well coming out in 3D animation because the 2000s brought in a new change when Disney went back to Other Stories without having music in them the underrated Classics we all love today with others that are straight up Classics with films like Emperor New Groove Atlantis Lulu and Stitch and Treasure Planet coming out where for the most part except Lilo and Emperor success on DVD they were box office disappointments yet again the films just never really connected with audiences at the time when other major Studios releasing these 3D films like Shrek that was more of a parody of Disney or what not what they found emotional in stories like Toy Story monsters Finding Nemo and so forth I mean for Disney at least they did have a relationship with Pixar at the time but then again company heads like ecer during that same time would have actually destroyed it considering what the focus was for the company in terms of saving money and other big budget things not until ier later on actually bought Pixar straight out where in some way with the way they were releasing these movies in such busy times or in the same year as each other like Treasure Planet and so forth they just cared less and less overall about it again how they didn't care about 2D as much because there is a new form of Animation that people are being told that is explosive box office excess where they would St and try to find a way to preserve their status as being a big wig resulting in more complete messes Like Home on the Range and Chicken Little to enter this new era themselves films that were once again varying in quality and only modest box of the success and were just not big enough to be successes for the time going back and forth between 3D and 2D until Tang could actually change things I mean yes wi need the Pooh is still their last 2D film but they still just made so many where it becomes the point that princess in the frog is the real last 2D original animated film done by the studio because Tangled yet again restarted Disney like the Renaissance did in the idea that The Little Mermaid did that wasn't quite a big head but still big enough to change the way that Disney moved in animation having a great story with characters that develop alongside its journey and of course having the classical songs that was headed by Alan manin yet again but of course it wasn't just these musical movies that actually kickstarted it but also great new stories like record Ralph that took us in the world of gaming or whatever they could actually find that fleshed itself out that provided a good time most of us actually loved and then having Frozen go back again focusing on the fairy tale with two main sisters becoming one of the biggest animated hits of all time with over a billion dollars where other films like zootopia would also follow suit with such popularity that nowadays with this new type of Storytelling Disney just reached their greatest High Point they could ever do when films left and right could make that amount of money added with newer properties each year like Marvel Star Wars and their newer live action remakes a time where they found a formula that they could stick to and succeed regardless because they have that power of Storytelling and people who are passionate enough to tell it but the more they actually did that the more they actually hurt themselves instead because for the most part these stories Wen very bad and are still memorable to such high degrees but started to blend itself into being more generic or safe as you could ever be they weren't differing from each other that you would usually expect like the Renaissance did in other previous Disney movies where there can only be a certain amount of time before the well starts to dry and doing the same thing over over and over again compared to the era we just mentioned before where Disney wasn't even remotely a big company at all like they are now with these various properties they just never wanted to experiment at all and stay within the same storytelling confines they actually love to do such as twist villains and quirky characters and sequels that just do completely nothing with the story at all all of which were finally combined with the launch of Disney Plus at the tail end of 2019 during the greatest box office year yet where you would see billion dollar hint after billion dollar hint launching the legacy of what would have been Bob iker's last year at the company for the better but then again soon turned on its head with what happened after that was still under his and Chex watch with the properties they owned and Co actually destroying the world into what it is today an era where streaming services themselves become oversaturated and our expectations for movies certainly change with the films they wanted back in public in this year of 2023 included films like Little Mermaid barely breaking even only getting half a billion compared to previous liveaction films Pixar with elemental only being saved by Word of Mouth Indiana Jones bombing and Marvel's Ant-Man and the Marvel's also ending up in the same position in total failure where finally with that Legacy wish is actually joining that big failure with how slow their box office has been in that very regard I mean granted compared to the numerous channels that only cover the opening weekends it still has a lot more time to actually go into theaters and releaseing countries at later dates just like Elemental did that would actually make the number go higher but the numbers itself with a film like this that Disney usually would want for such great success are not doing enough to justify their budgets anymore a time where prices have been steadily increasing more and more and people just aren't able to afford as much because when you look back at films like Encanto that also wasn't a success in theaters needing $300 million to break even and only achieving about 250 million something that is partially attributed to co itself at the time when families and films weren't exactly ready to come back but also again because of Disney plus itself chosing to release films early before it theatrical release or just for the sake of it to protect the general public because again talking about why Pixar was triling at the same time too was the fact that they were releasing their films only on Disney plus right there in the comfort of our own homes as Kobe was still heavily impacting the world at the same time when films like soul and Luca were released and Encanto was still straddled in that same very time where it found greater success on Disney plus and exploded across the internet into the hit everyone loves today still having the great story beats that represents what good Disney storytelling really is but also represented another problem that Disney themselves created in a platform that over saturated the movies that they usually release the films we said succeeded before Disney plus happened were starting to get dumped on here as well from their liveaction films and their TV shows of mar and Star Wars properties to their own animated movies where more and more people just felt comfortable watching it at home instead of what they actually used to do adding more cost than what you would usually expect to that same experience you can get anywhere else that they themselves creating this and releasing films right here and there created this expectation to change differently about how films were actually consumed that most of the generic safe films films or just films they have did not actually require us to see them at all anymore like the event that used to be in theaters which is also a sad thing as well because leaders are still a great place to actually watch friends with but Disney and other companies just made it hard to do so when they never really wanted to change for the most part except for a couple few stories where as a result most people actually changed their habits from before and stopped giving them the benefit of their View and money as long as they were going to do the same stupid crap that we were all tired of meddling in the creative process to become as uncreative as as possible which is what films like wish actually represented because wish is a good representation of where Disney is now and what they are as a company than what they used to be with a messy unfinished story that could have actually worked but wanted to play it safe within the confines of what a Disney film is perceived to be to sell for the 100th anniversary how the villain of this entire film is just Disney themselves getting our wishes and only really granting some of it while taking what they built at all for granted confusing one half to the next because it had to meet one expectation that their modern stories tell and what their past older stories told I mean we don't know much about the production issues that went into it other than what we read here and there when it comes to the film being 2D at first and also the queen being evil and then on but the story of wish itself does gives us clues that the story was there but just was missing overall because they wanted to add other Disney films to celebrate their 100 years with what we already know in love because of the fact they have stories that were already completed just bringing us full circle to the problems odor films like the black quadron had created creating something new for Disney but also ending up doing nothing with no sense of purpose or Direction which makes this even more disappointing when the movie tries to tie itself back into the core ideals of what Disney is and what already worked using music and using story together while also forgetting the reason why they both work together as a film in the first place a problem that also affected other earlier films released after enconto in 2022 being films like Strange World becoming one of the biggest box office bombs ever something which can at least actually surpass and say they made more money at this moment but also showed that people were just not interested in the direction they were taking with films like that because overall it did something in kto already did better with the family Dynamic and the adventure era that other previous films like Atlantis and Treasure Planet already did better from before and already sort of failed at the time financially where what resulted from that story was just completely boring in its overall output it's not a very bad film but it just never had any major Stakes or issues that would have made it compelling especially in the use of a strange World when they focus on something that was already designed better from before in the previous story and decided to forget using a villain as a main source of conflict that would have actually made it an interesting story to tell something they just forgo because they tried to change the reception of how poor the earlier stories were received in the twist Fain era and how again magnifico and wish tried to bridge it back but still refused to change elements that modern Disney already did that we already knew and just like the Dark Age there is a group within Disney that does not want to change their ways than what they already see as the easiest way moving forward they don't want or feel like they don't need to experiment with something new that could tell another interesting story that they were always known for doing like going back into 2D animation as they let that department go or whatever it takes to actually bring those complete stories back most of these failures that they're experiencing are resulting from films that just don't hit the mark at all or just don't make any sense story-wise completely easily forgettable just like that dark age that they themselves are creating this environment that refuses to budge even more than they already should be known for instead thinking sequels are the best way to save themselves where unfortunately in that regard and the reality of the situation for big family franchises is the fact that most sequels actually do work in terms of financially speaking rather than critically that the only way to get people back out is do the same thing they already did with familiar characters whether it be both Pixar or Disney where most of their sequels have increased in box office revenue which is very nice for their perspective and everyone else who knows these and love the stories overall but they still haven't been able to tell good stories in that regard for the most part they have elements that do work and that does connect to the most with the audience but over time with what you actually learn they just really don't work to complete stories and because of that it kind of stagnates Disney in a situation to perceive that this is the best way to create content when other things like their original films are failing to capture the audience even with the Disney plus problem that also comes into play I mean things can change like they always had where Little Mermaid didn't actually reach the Remake mark from before but they still can succeed as we've seen from before and by the more successful films that we know of where even with opinions like Frozen have become more mixed they still are a very popular piece of media throughout or something about it just pulls people in and they still watch regardless whether the story is a complete mess and another thing to point out about this is that the fact that they do have some good ideas for sequels like what Pixar can do with Insight out which I'm very hopeful for and know they can succeed with their storytelling record while other films like zootopia 2 for Disney directly can still be promising in that very era but then looking back upon it and what they're also doing with adding pressures of others like Frozen in a Toy Story still feels like they're doing the same thing like wish in the overall feeling of modern Disney Animation playing it safe with what we know and refusing to do something new or experimental never changing from the point of where they began and what made those stories work in the first place this is not the Disney that made the black cauldon clearly where they have enough money to survive still but they somehow still fall into that same similar mistakes that that film had at that time with the company with too many people directing what could be done in the story that could either be this or that and not attempting to explore what could have been either using 3D or 2D both back and forth in all of the ways that could be toed looking back on each film before the complete 3D era which had various different character designs and Aesthetics that buildt the world to be unique and have something compelling alongside it where they should be able to Market it if they actually believe in it I mean yes this year is also unique as well as I haven't included the strikes in that conversation that also prevented actors and other people from being part of the promotion of such films that were used to that contributes to the less attention they get but that still isn't a great great excuse other than the fact that companies like Disney refuse to probably pay the people who work on their films that in every single way they just look for the easiest way to make a profit off of their films rather than putting in the effort on their part to support the stories alongside their releases most people just don't know nowadays about the films anymore because of what Disney plus does to release them eventually where they just don't want to Market it as well enough where films like Elemental never succeeded as it could have had or if it was shown differently then maybe it could have succeeded on its own were they just still badly hurt themselves by pushing something here rather than there because they're not passionate like the people who created these box office failures that they're experiencing left and right are more indicative of who runs Disney rather than who works at Disney that they have talented people who really do care and I'm sure they appreciate some of the work the executives have allowed but those who are actually in charge just don't actually care for such ideas anymore in the world trying to actually play it save that are there in conversation culturally or what is ever relevant in their ignorant Minds that what what they like to do now as a company is turn movies like wish into products that celebrates them and what they could sell as merchandise rather than what all of us could enjoy as actual stories the beauty that Humanity can provide in storytelling that inspires us all I'm sorry if I'm going off into tangents like that or whatever I find to justify this weird period of Disney but I just care too much to actually ignore I believe in these stories and the ideas that the man who made this company inspired Us in the present and I just really hope one day I could be part of that Legacy too to continue the storytelling POS possibilities but sadly just have to deal with a bunch of people who forget or don't even care about what they have anymore in the creative passion of these very stories that they still have something to tell even in films like this that had potential but just chose to go the most generic boring route possible at a time where they have money to experiment even further like looking at the film like Encanto 2 years earlier and a film like wish released right now it's a very night and day difference and accompany of two different ideas when that actually cares about story that they could actually tell and the other one confused to what they actually want and to sell a product to us as consumers that we just don't understand why they seek to actually put this out when we know that even in this day and age and with the resources they have they could create the best pieces of art imaginable but just think and know that they don't want to do it at all but hopefully with what we saw in the past that almost sank the company they will be able to bounce back forth which I know they can not that next year or the next few years after that will be great as the film releases are not going to be good or going to be any better than what this year actually provided but just know in my heart with those two phases of Disney's own failures that they went through that they will actually come back stronger than ever before that people like me or any Disney fan who has passion about the ideas that the company can strive for can and will change things for the better in any voice we have and the day that I hopefully lead Disney myself into the future at the top and for those of you who actually care I apologize if my videos have become very repetitive in nature telling about these problems at Disney constantly instead of doing other things that actually interested me in a positive way where I just again care too much passionately about everything that was Disney and seek to improve that in the very future as that's company's next CEO if that is very possible I will seek to move back into other animated movies and just movies in general that interest me but knowing what we know from the beginning of this year it's just been very clear that I really love Disney and will continue to love it for all time as the state book of this Channel and the world of Storytelling and with that all said I'm all done so goodbye

Channel: Aldone

Views: 55,641

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Id: Xm8_2VrnlF8

Length: 22min 33sec (1353 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 07 2023