Disney Movies

One of the best things about childhood that comes to my mind is simply the movies Disney managed to produce in the 90's. I was very lucky to be a child around that time and it has shaped the essence of my childhood. Here, we have these movies that appeal to kids first and foremost, but also has the ability to lure in the parents too. This is just plainly and bluntly classical storytelling, something that is unfortunately scarce in Hollywood these days and in the past decade for Disney too (with some exceptions). They aren't taking enough risks but let's face it, kids are smarter than you think and they enjoy movies the same if not more than adults. One of the things I detest about children movies is when they are children movies. There's little to no effort to make it any deeper than what it could be. The only studio around currently that still tries to make it appealing to all is Pixar. These guys really get what a good film is.

I can still remember the first time I went to watch The Lion King with my mom, and how shocked I was when Scar let Mufasa fall to his death. The second time I watched it, I had to cover both mine and my mother's eyes just because it was such a shocking moment (First movie I've seen in a theatre by the way). But of course, leave it to Timon and Pumba to make things ok again for Simba



Storytelling is a combination of high and low moments. There needs to be an emotional connection to the story and characters in order for the film to be appealing. Just because you have a bunch of cute looking characters and colourful animation doesn't mean kids will automatically like it. Beauty and The Beast wouldn't be as fulfilling of a story if the love between Belle and the Beast was simply two characters falling in love at first glance. In one of the more poignant moments of the film, the Beast finally gives Belle the chance to be with her father instead of fulfilling his own desires to be human. He readily sacrificed his life for love. Here we finally see the theme of the film, that love is transformative, both figuratively and literally.




The good news is that Disney is trying to go back to Classic Disney with their new films "The Princess and The Frog" as well as a CG "Rapunzel" movie instead of looking at CG animation as an easy way out. Whether the story is presented in 2d or 3d, there's always one thing that's certain. It took a lot of hard work and energy for Disney to get where it was 10 years ago. Hopefully, they'll get back to this work ethic and give kids movies they would be proud to watch with their future children.



If Enchanted and the first 5 min. of Princess and the Frog was any indication, I'd say they're ready to get back in the game.
And yes, this is just a lame post to keep me at one update a week. But I love me my Disney movies. I'll probably write more in the future.