Pixar's films are more Disney than Disney

Published on February 28, 2004 By J D In

There's an interesting article, at SaveDisney that talks about how Pixar's films have become more Disney's than Disneys, exceprt:

Colorful characters with unique abilities. Indelible personalities with unusual perspectives and expressive attitudes. Inventive visual comedy. Unreal and exaggerated situations made accessible and recognizable. A simple, visual plot hook. Caricature. A sense of humor and heart. A childlike discovery of wonder. Timeless truths of humanity and myth. The innocent drama of desire, determination, and choice. Romance. Terrors tamed, demons conquered. A lighthearted outlook on life and living. The love of laughter and music. A sincere suspension of disbelief. The common man triumphs. A cartoonist's observation of a crazy world's details. The ultimate eye candy. The odd notions of an artist's imagination. The whimsical, fanciful and dreamlike brought to an illusion of life. An impossible perspective made real.

Continue reading: http://www.savedisney.com/vision/editorials/mj022604.1.asp

Comments

mittens

on Feb 28, 2004

It's so true too. Finding Nemo, for example, has been better than a lot of Disney's recent attempts at movies (Lilo and Stitch and the Emperor's New Groove have been the only exceptions in recent years). Disney's movies have just been too predictable, uninspired, etc.

bakerstreet

on Feb 28, 2004

I think Pixar has it a bit over Disney. I get tired of Disney's
template movies. Witty bad guy, funny animal sidekick, etc., etc. I
don't think you can compare Toy Story to something like The Little Mermaid or
Hercules, which are just the same movies they have been making for 40 years with
different characters.

No offense to Disney, but I don't think they are trying. When they
started creating artificial scarcity by withholding DVDs that people really
want, I was done with them.

Ben Belden

on Feb 28, 2004

I think it's kind of unfair to say that Pixar's films are more Disney than Disney. Up until The Lion king, Disney had never even come up with an original idea for an animated film. They were simply adaptations of existing works, sometimes though they changed so much of them that if they didn't have the same name, you wouldn't be able to tell where they had come from. Then there's the whole debate on whether The Lion King was stolen itself from the Japanese 'White Lion' or whatever it was called. But it seems to me Disney realized that these films were becoming obsolete a little too late. I mean, their first 30 odd films followed an identical formula or songs and talking animals. When these kinds of films starting failing after the second coming started by The Little Mermaid. Disney panicked. They started making some of their best films (Lilo and Stitch, Emperor's New Groove) that were both original and non-musical while at the same time churning out adaptations (Treasure Planet) that no one wanted to see. Pixar on the other hand, has been original from their very first film. I think the secret to their success is that they have brillantly simple ideas that even a child could come up with but appeal to everyone. Disney was taking adult ideas (Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, Tarzan) and trying to make them something that kids would enjoy. And I think it's a shame too, because like I said, Disney had just started to figure out that they could make funny original animated movies when they decided to abandon hand-drawn animation altogether so they could move on to computer-animated adaptations (Chicken Little). It just seems to me, if Pixar hadn't initially distributed their films through Disney, Disney either would have died a much quicker death or made a change much more quickly. But because people were equating Pixar with Disney, they coasted on it a little too long and now that Pixar's gone, they are done for.

crimson

on Feb 28, 2004

I lean in favor to Pixar. As a parent, there is just so much that I can take, coming from Disney. The images they present are something I don't really want my kid to see. (Every girl is a princess, waiting for her prince. Yeah, they might start out spunky, but they end up in a pretty subservient situation.) I'm really hoping that Pixar keeps up the good work. Their brand of humor is funny for adults and the stuff that is risque flies over kids' heads anyway... speaking of which, one of the best movies released for kids, imo, is Shrek. Dreamworks scored big with this one. At first, I would have wanted the princess, in her 'pretty' mode, end up with Shrek as is, but, in retrospect, the princess ended up being satisfied with herself and with Shrek just the way they were... not a bad thing to teach kids.

J D

on Feb 28, 2004

It seems to me that most of you are sick of the whole, formula that Disney still has going. How the prince always rescues the princess. I'd like to see a story where the princess saves the world. I think strong female characters are great, speaking as a male myself.
And you are right to say that Pixar is the most original, Disney just takes stories and modifies them. Lilo and Stitch and the Emperor's New Groove are great movies, Emperor's to me has the quickness that the WB created with Looney Tunes with the Disney art. The same goes to Lilo and Stitch, I was just blown away by the art, most noteably the watercolour backgrounds.... just to die for

Dan Kaschel

on Feb 29, 2004

I liked Mulan. I love pixar too, but I liked Mulan. Just wanted ot throw that out there.

~Dan

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!