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I think the New Disney Animation Renaissance might have topped the previous one

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Jill Sandwich

the turds of Optimus Prime
There's so much focus on the two "eras" of Disney, but I've always been way more interested into why Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch are so damn good despite being surrounded by crap like Chicken Little and Home on the Range.

Lilo & Stitch was lightning in a bottle. It felt so different and fresh, and it was a lot of fun. Not to mention having heart without being hokey.
 
Doesn't matter to me.. We haven't had a truly great Disney villain since Dr. Facilier. The old Renaissance had Scar, Ursula, Jafar and more. This one just has one guy from 2009, that's pathetic.

She isn't as cool as the others but Gothel has a pretty awesome villain song - although my all time favourite is Jafars Prince Ali reprise
 
Na they haven't topped little mermaid, rescuers down under, beauty and the beast, aladdin, lion King as a stretch. The newer movies have been great (except big hero 6), but not that great.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
I'm not sure any of the films from the new Renaissance will go down like some of the all-time greats of the first. That's really what we're talking about here: All-time greats versus a handful of entertaining ones.

Ding ding ding.
 

Creaking

He touched the black heart of a mod
Doesn't matter to me.. We haven't had a truly great Disney villain since Dr. Facilier. The old Renaissance had Scar, Ursula, Jafar and more. This one just has one guy from 2009, that's pathetic.

A lot of the more recent disney movies seem to leave the villain spot unfilled/ambiguous until a twist at the end where the true villain is revealed and thwarted in 5-10 minutes. In the original renaissance, it's pretty clear cut from the beginning who the villain is, and lets the villains become more developed or hammy and fun.
 
Just pick the top 4 of each

Zootopia
Frozen
Big Hero 6
Tangled

Vs

Lion King
Beauty and the Beast
Aladdin
Little Mermaid

Its no contest. The 90s big 4 ingrained themselves in pop culture, and are classic movies. The recent run is fine though, no execs stepping in and ruining it. 90s renaissance ended with Pocahontas' oscar pandering though, so it will certainly be outlasted by the modern stuff.

3 things.

1. This new renaissance started with Tangled and is only just beginning. Not only that, but Disney seems to be getting better and better!

2. Get rid of Big Hero 6 and add in Moana to your list, which by the sounds of things is right alongside movies from the previous renaissance.

3. You need to give this renaissance room to breathe. It's not fair to compare them now. The previous renaissance also has the nostalgia advantage and the fact that you first saw them as a kid.
 

Osahi

Member
I never said it's not animation nor did I say it looks bad. But outright killing an entire medium hinders variety, and that's not something I'll ever get behind as a good thing no matter how good the CG looks. It's also pushed it further into the animation ghetto, leaving us with just Japan if we want any kind of greater variety in mainstream animation.

Okay. I interpreted you wrongfully. But I still don't really agree. There is just as much variety possible with 3D as with 2D, and the fact they settled on 3D doesn't hamper the quality of the films itself. It's like saying the first renaissance wasn't one because they didn't do stop motion.

Again, it is sas they don't do 2d anymore and I do hope they get back to it one day.

Also. Europe makes wondefull 2d films too. It's not just Japan anymore. Check out the work of Tomm Moore
 
The inferior art style of the 3D movies combined with the bad movies like Bolt, Big Hero 6, and Meet the Robinsons (well, I guess that movie's okay), I really can't agree that the second group comes anywhere near the first. Zootopia is the only one even up for discussion as being in the same league as Lion King, Beauty, Hercules, Aladdin as far as I'm concerned.
 

NekoFever

Member
I still think Little Mermaid through Lion King is the best run but Disney's consistency in recent years has been impressive. Just not so many all-time classics as back then.
 

Slaythe

Member
If I separate out the advantage the first Renaissance has because I grew up with them, then the two are fairly close. The first probably has more classic movies, but the second isn't done yet. Moana and Tangled are both phenomenal. Wreck-It Ralph is great. Big Hero 6 and Zootopia are solid. Winnie the Pooh is charming as heck. The second may take it by the time the possible Lin Manuel-Miranda/Byron Howard movie comes out.

Tangled ? Phenomenal ? Is that a joke ?
 

BHK3

Banned
God what mediocre movies they are. Still can't believe BH6 won an Oscar, that movie was aggressively mediocre.

I'll fight you about Meet the Robinsons.

Bolt and BH6 were super medicore though. BH6 only got good when
hiro and the big robot went on a small rampage, just that one small scene
. Funny how they used a random marvel property and it didnt feel like any sort of super hero movie at all
 

kess

Member
The first half of the original Rennaissance had some pretty iconic character designs. Ralph, , Feozen, and Zootopia come the closest to me.
 

Not

Banned
God what mediocre movies they are. Still can't believe BH6 won an Oscar, that movie was aggressively mediocre.

That's the best one so far.

BH6 > Frozen > Winnie the Pooh > Zootopia > Wreck-It Ralph > Tangled > Princess and the Frog > Bolt > Meet the Robinsons
 
Rotten Tomatoes isn't reliable for kids movies these days, critics easily give favorable reviews. Every meh movie gains 80% automatically.

Old renaissance is still better in my books. The movies are more epic... Lion King and Mulan give me the chills everytime.
 
I haven't seen Zootopia or Tangled yet, but Big Hero 6 was pretty good, while I hated every single second of Frozen.

One reason why I hold films like Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Emperors New Groove in such high regard has a lot to do with the animation. I just cannot get into these CGI films the way I did with the hand drawn stuff.
 
I'll fight you about Meet the Robinsons.

Bolt and BH6 were super medicore though. BH6 only got good when
hiro and the big robot went on a small rampage, just that one small scene
. Funny how they used a random marvel property and it didnt feel like any sort of super hero movie at all

MtR gets points for being a bit more creative with its story. Who knew bowler hats can be hellish.

That's the best one so far.

BH6 > Frozen > Winnie the Pooh > Zootopia > Wreck-It Ralph > Tangled > Princess and the Frog > Bolt > Meet the Robinsons

Nah, Zootopia is the best of new age Disney animation.
 

.JayZii

Banned
The Rescuers Down Under having a 68% hurts my feelings.

I still prefer the 2D animation style, but they've made some good movies over the past few years, for sure. The newer ones feel more designed by committee than the older ones, though.
 
Compare pre-Disney Pixar to the older batch and it may be close, but I still think the older batch wins. Pre-Disney Pixar is better than post-. No nostalgia here, was an adult for all of it.
 

Garlador

Member
The Rescuers Down Under having a 68% hurts my feelings.

I still prefer the 2D animation style, but they've made some good movies over the past few years, for sure. The newer ones feel more designed by committee than the older ones, though.

I actually think the opposite. The older ones were the ones that had "the formula" that everyone kept trying to copy, giving us so many "Disney-esque" films like "Thumblina" and "Anastasia" and "The Swan Princess" and "Quest for Camelot" by rival animation studios trying to be Disney by following their checklist of cliches.

Disney did do surprising things, but it definite was a predictable and successful routine they honed and perfected.

Counter that, and Disney's newest films feel far more experimental to me. Zootopia's approach to race relations, Wreck-It Ralph's use of video game characters, Big Hero 6 using a nearly unheard of Marvel comic, Frozen absolutely upending several Disney traditions, etc. I think this wave of films could actually be defined by their BREAK from traditional Disney formula.

I mean, Moana is the first real musical they've done since Frozen. Most of their film's don't have those song and dance numbers anymore that you used to set your watch to.
 

GSG Flash

Nobody ruins my family vacation but me...and maybe the boy!
Disagree.

The new movies are great, but the 90s movies are legendary IMO.
 

Tuck

Member
I guess, but I'm still bitter about them dropping 2D animation. An absolute shame.

Counter that, and Disney's newest films feel far more experimental to me. Zootopia's approach to race relations, Wreck-It Ralph's use of video game characters, Big Hero 6 using a nearly unheard of Marvel comic, Frozen absolutely upending several Disney traditions, etc. I think this wave of films could actually be defined by their BREAK from traditional Disney formula.

I mean, Moana is the first real musical they've done since Frozen. Most of their film's don't have those song and dance numbers anymore that you used to set your watch to.
Big hero six is one of the most formulaic movies Disney has ever released
 

farisr

Member
Until they come out with movies better or at the same level of Aladdin and Lion King, that previous renaissance will be hard to top. The rest of the movies in it are quite comparable to the movies in the new renaissance, some inferior some a bit better sure, but those two in particular. Yeah, not yet.
 

Laieon

Member
The first era got worse over the last half

I think Tarzan, Hercules, and Mulan are better than most of the movies on the top of the list (Aladdin and Lion King being the exceptions), so I can't say I agree.



I think Disney is pretty hit and miss these days. I loved Zootopia and Wreck it Ralph, but I thought Frozen was largely forgettable (soundtrack aside of course) and don't really have any desire to run and see Moana. Big Hero 6 was fun, but pretty generic.
 
Need more musicals.

Frozen had some good songs but the rest of the movie was mediocre.

Zootopia was phenomenal regardless though.
 
You just made an argument for nostalgia ;)

I know! It clearly exists and it's powerful. But then, I ain't saying that CG is soulless and won't be shown in 20 years eh.

Plus CG allows directors to do thing that were impractical to do in 2D. If they want to constrain themselves they can, if they don't want to then they don't have to. That's ideal, imo.
 

CloudWolf

Member
I disagree. The new Renaissance might be better reviewed overall, but it has no absolute classics. None of those films (at least, the ones I've seen) felt like films we will still talk about in ten-twenty years, meanwhile most of the old Renaissance films are still watched by millions yearly.
 
I disagree. The new Renaissance might be better reviewed overall, but it has no absolute classics. None of those films (at least, the ones I've seen) felt like films we will still talk about in ten-twenty years, meanwhile most of the old Renaissance films are still watched by millions yearly.

Whether you like Frozen or not, it's still a new classic and will without question still be talked about in twenty years.
 
I also think the old villains aren't that great. Yeah, they're evil, and that defines them, with entirely 2D motivations. Gaston's a philanderer who wants to bang Belle, Scar wants to be King despite his brother doing nothing wrong (ie it's not that he thought he'd do it better, it's that he wanted to be King full stop). Jafar's just evil. Yeah, they have great animation and great songs, but they aren't great characters.

Dr. Facilier is great because he has the songs and the animation and a more interesting motivation (beyond his initial one of simply wanting money) - that he's basically in debt and is desperate to get in his debtors good books. The "bad guy" in Bolt is a clever one, because for the first half of the film the bag guy is basically in Bolt's imagination and in the second half it's trying to fix the fallout from this mistake. Tangled's one is a mother who has genuinely come to love her "daughter" even though she needs to imprison her in order to keep herself alive. Frozen has a villain who is bullied by his brothers (which Mufasa didn't ever do to Scar) who then has a chip on his shoulder and, being so far down the line of succession, has no recourse but to find another kingdom etc. I'm not saying these are all high art or anything, but the reason you don't have "strong" villains any more is that they don't all pop up in the first act with a song, some nazi dancing and what ammounts to an "I'm really evil" monologue. It's a bit more nuanced than that now and what you lose in merchandisable villains you gain in interesting character.
 

Ratrat

Member
The only stone-cold classic(that will be remembered in 20 years) this era is Frozen. And its not even very good. Hopefully history will favor Zootopia over it.
 
I've never understood why The Emperor's New Groove is not counted among the Disney Renaissance canon.

It was commercially successful ($90 million domestic, $170 million worldwide), received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song ("My Funny Friend and Me"), and was a critical success (holding a score of 85% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes).

If TENG isn't a Renaissance film, then the other post-Lion King movies (i.e. Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame) shouldn't be counted as Renaissance films either, since they were either just as successful or less successful than this movie.
 
Some responses here are hilarious. The 90's movies weren't commercial? "Let it go" is about being irresponsible and "Hakuna Matata" isn't? Hand drawn art is artistic but computer animated lacks soul?

And most of all: Frozen isn't a phenomenon? I mean, have you LOOKED in a toy store recently? Have you seen how every damn kid has a Frozen hat or a Frozen backpack?
 

Ratrat

Member
Some responses here are hilarious. The 90's movies weren't commercial? "Let it go" is about being irresponsible and "Hakuna Matata" isn't? Hand drawn art is artistic but computer animated lacks soul?

And most of all: Frozen isn't a phenomenon? I mean, have you LOOKED in a toy store recently? Have you seen how every damn kid has a Frozen hat or a Frozen backpack?
It is a phenomena, and its the only one from this era that is. Looking at the list, its either forgettable crap like Bolt or Meet the Robinsons, callbacks like Frog, Tangled, Frozen etc, or hip, bandwagoning like Big Hero 6, Wreck it Ralph.

None of these feel fresh or like they are moving the medium forward. The CG ballroom scene in B&B, the incredible animation, music from Lion King, an actual awesome Heroine in Mulan(Asian!), the very dark tone of Hunchback etc are all more memorable. The only thing interesting Disney has done recently is Zootopia.
 

MicH

Member
Lion King is still my all time favorite Disney movie, but I absolutely love Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph and many of the others you listed. At the very least they're on par.

Princess and the Frog being the only 2D Animated movie in the last 10 years is criminal though :(
 
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