Disney animated films have received quite the focus here on Plot and Theme, but I have never actually had the opportunity to review one while it was in theatres. Fortunately, Zootopia has provided just such an opportunity. Even better: it might be the best Disney film since The Lion King. The film is structured as a kind of film noir with anthropomorphic mammals living in a metropolis designed to cater to their specific environmental needs. In this world, we learn not only the importance of determination, ability, and friendship – but also the seductive evils of prejudice and the proper response to it. Zootopia excels by balancing these complex themes and allowing them to play out in an imaginative world, a feat which would stymie most any film.
Animation
“Anomalisa”: A Bittersweet Dramatization of Haunting Loneliness and Depression
The films of Charlie Kaufman often deal with isolation, loneliness, and depression – and his latest film Anomalisa is no exception. Directed by Kaufman and Duke Johnson and based on the stage play written by Kaufman, this stop-motion animated film brilliantly takes advantage of the medium with inspired stylistic choices and the peculiarities that we are accustomed to from Kaufman. The result is a heartbreaking story about a man desperately seeking an escape from the mundanity of his life, and not really succeeding. Along the way, Anomalisa contains moments of profound beauty, as these stop-motion puppets struggle with emotions and problems which are startlingly human.
The Animation of Don Bluth, Part IV: A Last Hurrah and a Look Forward (1997-Present)
Previous Parts
The Seven Ages of Disney Animation
After an abysmal series of failures in the early 1990s, Bluth and Goldman were able to rebound from the terrible offerings and produce Anastasia (1997) and Titan A.E (2000) with Fox Animation Studios. These would be the last feature films to be produced by Bluth, as much of the time since then has been spent providing the animation for various videogames. However, there are plans from the team to continue producing animated features, but funding remains an issue to this day. Regardless, this period should be viewed not as a petered-out ending, but as a brief return-to-form for Bluth’s particular style of animation.
The Animation of Don Bluth – Part III: Don Bluth Entertainment Struggles (1992-1995)
Previous Parts
Competing against the Disney Renaissance would be a challenge for any production company, animation or otherwise. While Disney was creating consecutive masterpieces, the films coming from Bluth and his newly created studio Don Bluth Entertainment steadily declined in quality until Bluth actually disowned a film because he despised the finished product. For fans of Bluth, this is a hard period upon which to reminisce. There are isolated moments where the magic of Bluth’s skill is still apparent, but by and large this period is a straight downward spiral. We start with a story featuring a rooster Elvis Presley with amnesia. Seriously.
The Animation of Don Bluth – Part II: Sullivan Bluth Studios and Commercial Success (1986-1989)
Previous Parts
In 1985, Don Bluth, John Pomeroy and Gary Goldman joined with Morris Sullivan and formed Sullivan Bluth Studios. The studio was initial founded in Van Nuys, California, but moved to Dublin, Ireland to take advantage of various financial incentives and escape union pressures. Their first two projects were collaborations with Steven Spielberg, but they eventually pursued independent projects as well. For this short period of time in the late ‘80s, Don Bluth animation reached its pinnacle of commercial and artistic success with three spectacular films: An American Tale, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven.
The Animation of Don Bluth – Part I: Leaving Disney and Early Independence (1979 – 1984)
On September 13th, 1979 Disney animator Don Bluth turned 42 years old. He had worked as an animator on Disney feature films for the previous eight years, and was dissatisfied with the cost-cutting measures being employed there. Also, he felt that Disney had abandoned their roots of character-driven storytelling and meticulous animation in favor of churning out banal crowd-pleasers. This led Bluth, along with Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy and nine fellow Disney animators to abandon Disney and form Don Bluth Productions, their very own animation studio. Through financial struggles, ever-changing partnerships, and industry-wide strikes, Bluth and his collaborators were able to produce their own animated masterpieces which continue to delight.
Back on the Big Screen: “Back to the Future Part II” (1989) and “The Iron Giant”(1999)
I am trying something new here on Plot and Theme: “Back on the Big Screen” will be a series of posts focused around familiar films that I had the opportunity to see screened in a theatre. Sometimes I will focus on a single film, but like today I will also use it as a way to comment on multiple films without delving into a full-on review. The first official Back on the Big Screen will showcase two films recently shown in theatres in the last month as a special occasion: The Iron Giant and Back to the Future Part II.
The First Official Trailer for Jon Favreau’s “The Jungle Book” Keeps a Familiar Story Mysterious
One of the biggest surprises of Disney’s D23 convention was the trailer for Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book. Finally, we get to see the official trailer for this film, which is essentially what everyone at D23 already saw (though the trailer shown there was slightly different, based on descriptions from people who saw it at D23). Pay close attention to the tone of this trailer, and especially the multiple fades to black, as it makes the film look far darker than the familiar animated feature from the late ‘60s:
The Ages of Disney Animation – Part VII: The Computer Age Renaissance
Previous Parts
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI
In Part VII of The Seven Ages of Disney Animation, we finally reach the end of our (original*) journey: the age we currently exist in, The Computer Age Renaissance. Disney was finally able to utilize computer animation to create powerful stories and gorgeous sequences, but there are still some hand-drawn gems in this age, as well.
The Ages of Disney Animation – Part VI: The Second Age of Inconsistency
Previous Parts
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
In Part VI of The Seven Ages of Disney Animation, we fall from the heights of the Five-Year Renaissance and into another age of inconsistency. While most Disney historians continue the Renaissance period for a few more years, I believe that the drop in quality from those films to the first few of these is sufficient to usher in a new age: The Second Age of Inconsistency.