Disney in the 21st Century: A Golden Age Revival?

What if I asked you what you think constitutes a ‘golden age’ in terms of animated film? Pretty simple to define, right? The truth of the matter is that what constitutes a ‘good’ film, to an extent, is subjective. This goes without saying, of course. While one can easily differentiate between a quality product and a dud, one’s overall opinion of the ‘quality’ spectacle in question will more than likely differ from that of the next person. This makes the distinction of a particular era all the more troubling, at least where feature films are concerned. Now, if we’re talking of Disney, there are likely two so-called ‘golden ages’ that arise in the minds of those familiar with the canon: The first collection, comprising Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1943), and what is often referred to as the Renaissance period, consisting of The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rescuers Down Under (1990), Beauty and the Beast (1990), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Hercules (1997), Mulan (1998) and Tarzan (1999). Now that Disney has appeared to reconnect with its inner Mickey and deliver an increasing amount of quality features, the question remains as to whether their most recent films, when viewed in retrospect, together constitute a ‘golden age’.

Firstly, I’m going to discuss Bolt (2008). Now, clearly, a film about a dog who plays the part of a canine superhero with Miley Cyrus providing voiceover is not going to be to everybody’s taste. What’s more, Bolt’s belief that he is a real superhero seems vaguely familiar (Toy Story, anyone?). But the fact of the matter is that this film is a vast improvement on those that preceded it. Ever since their foray into the realms of CGI, with the disappointing Chicken Little in 2005, not to mention their succession of rather flat (but sometimes intriguingly experimental) traditionally animated features of the early noughties, it seems most everybody had lost faith in Disney’s ability to deliver quality. That’s the buzzword. ‘Quality’. Then, Bolt came along: while far from perfect, it nonetheless boasted a refreshingly cohesive and engaging plot, interesting characters that had chemistry, and, most notably, a TV-obsessed talking hamster! Don’t get me wrong, Meet the Robinsons (2007) was good, but its tortuous time travel inconsistencies, excessive cast and occasional ‘twee-ness’ damaged the film’s narrative flow, at least for me. Bolt, meanwhile, got the balance just about right, in that it was humorous and heart-warming, while not being sickly sweet.  Sadly, while far from a masterpiece, this film never got the praise it deserved.

Our next film, set way down in the deep, dark bayous of Louisiana, took us back to the glorious tradition of hand-drawn animation. Disney’s 2009 release The Princess and the Frog, a 1920s-set, jazz-infused musical extravaganza saw the first black Disney princess grace our theatres, a feat that was surprisingly underplayed in the run-up to its release. With an equally dazzling score by composer Randy Newman, this new twist on The Frog Prince had music and artwork reminiscent of the Renaissance era, so much so that it would probably fit right in there. Another interesting thing to note is that the character voices also performed the songs – this marked the first time this had been done since Beauty and the Beast in 1990, and, in my opinion at least, this undoubtedly works in favour of the film in the long run. For me, this film is near-perfection, for a Disney musical at least. Yet this isn’t enough to constitute another ‘golden age’. Instead, one can only conclude that this is a ‘great’ film. So as of yet, we can’t really say we have a ‘golden age’ on our hands. We’re just ‘almost there’.

But subsequently things only seemed to get better. The following year, it appeared Rapunzel’s magic-imbibed hair instilled new life in Disney, as their 50^th animated feature Tangled hit the big screen. Though promoted as a new, alternative, almost Dreamworks-esque take on the traditional Grimm fairy-tale, Disney nonetheless proved to have remained in touch with their roots by delivering a true classic, reminiscent of the Disney fairy-tales we know and love (whether we admit it or not), and for which the House of Mouse are perhaps most renowned for. The film was an extraordinary success, indicating that we might be witnessing the onset of a second Renaissance era. Now, some might argue that, at this point, it’s still too soon to make that assumption. Sure, we’ve had a succession of decent, even exceptional, films. But a ‘golden age’? Who can say?

Disney’s following release was much more low-key, which is surprising considering the film itself, 2011’s Winnie the Pooh, happened to be the very last traditionally animated feature (as of yet) to be released by the company. Based on A.A. Milne’s classic stories, and representing a sequel to the 1977 release The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the new movie ironically conveyed nothing new, but more of the old. This isn’t really a bad thing. In fact, it corroborates my assumption that Disney were trying to ‘recreate’ their former selves, or at least prove to audiences that they still had that Disney ‘magic’ that the previous batch of movies from the early noughties seemed to lack. All the same Winnie the Pooh seemed all too familiar and, as charming as it was, paled in comparison to its 1977 predecessor. Having said that, it was still a decent effort, and it was a shame it seemed to come and go with very little publicity or acknowledgement.

Regardless, as of that point, things looked promising. After several successful films in a row, Disney appeared to be on a bit of a winning streak. But something was missing. It took me a while to put my finger on precisely what it was. And then it came to me: a standout image. Think of The Lion King. Undeniably, this was a monumental success, and still reigns supreme as the largest grossing traditionally animated feature of all time. When we think of it and even when we just hear the title, we see Rafiki the baboon triumphantly presenting baby Simba atop Pride Rock to a congregation of creatures down below. And what about Aladdin? Who can forget Aladdin and Jasmine’s romantic magic carpet ride to ‘A Whole New World’? These films all have memorable scenes, memorable characters and standout musical numbers. And therein lies the issue. Assuming we are currently in the midst of a ‘golden age’, in comparison to the previous golden ages of Disney, we’re lacking an image, a standout film or moment. But their next feature, in this reviewer’s humble opinion, changed that.

That’s right. Disney’s 2012 arcade game-inspired feature Wreck-It Ralph truly came to life as one of their most original films. While it is true that the film received a large amount of media attention (a factor that usually precipitates my disappointment), this appraisal, in retrospect, was deserved. The story focuses on protagonist (or is that antagonist?) Ralph’s efforts to prove that he has what it takes to be a good guy, having played the role of the bad guy his whole life in arcade game ‘Fix-It Felix’. It’s clever, it’s fast-paced and above all, it’s memorable. There may not be any musical numbers, but the characters are well-developed, the plot is engaging and the concept and environments are unique. This overwhelming success was surpassed the following year with the release of Frozen, which has since achieved the title of the highest grossing animated film of all time, in a sense conveying itself as the modern equivalent of The Lion King. Contrary to much of the appraisal the film has received, it is not flawless. But that’s of little importance. The characters are engaging, the music is memorable and its success has been undeniably overwhelming.

But the question remains as to whether this success constitutes a golden age. Again, maybe it’s too soon to say. There’s a chance these films may not have the same lasting appeal as those from the 1990s. Let’s face it – The Princess and the Frog has essentially been forgotten about already, while Winnie the Pooh slipped quietly under the radar without being noticed. All the same, there are those that have had more of an impact, including more recent efforts such as Wreck-It Ralph and especially Frozen. Whether or not their recent success constitutes a golden age or a second Renaissance is open to debate. More importantly, will this success continue? Only time will tell.