Has Disney Redeemed Themselves?

[beaker]

For many years, the mere mention of Disney would make a lot of fanboys(of any stripe) cringe.

But I don't know...between Tron 2 coming up and their hype around that, bringing forth Pixar's most astonishing films to date(like the recent Up), bringing back beautiful 2d(Princess and the Frog),
buying Marvel, and of course their 110% major push to bring the Muppets back to the spotlight...

have they redeemed themselves as "cool" again in your eye?

 

[JJandJanice]

Well I've always been a pretty big Disney fan, myself.

And to be totally honest, a lot of people who talk about how their so "anti-Disney" are some of the most annoying people I've ever met. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I agree with everything Disney has ever done, both in terms of their movies (some are awful) and the way they do bussiness. But I choose to look at the positives more than the negatives, .

 

[dwmckim]

Disney has done a lot to redeem themselves. I think the last year or so has been a big year for them getting back on track.

Make no mistake - in many ways Disney as a corporate entity is a notoriously ruthless shark (and they will never fully be "redeemed" or "cool" in my mind until they can allow things like Emmett Otter or Christmas Toy to have dvd release uncut with Kermit included) and they release a lot of product that can only really be defined as fluff (when i was in high school 20 years ago "Disney" was a slang term my circle of friends used for anything overly sacharine). But still when they're at their best, they do family friendly entertainment well and also are one of the few outfits out there that's still capable of consistently doing good old fashioned slapstick.

I've never really been into Disney animation - when you compare the Mickey Mouse gang to stuff like Loony Tunes, they always seemed too bland to me though i do have more of an appreciation now to the older classics than i did as a kid. And Phineas and Ferb is one of the best cartoon shows to have come out in awhile that i can actually say i love watching.

I think ABC and ABC Family have some really strong shows (most of the network shows i watch are on ABC - One Life to Live, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, The Middle, Cougartown) and even though i make fun of them a lot, Disney Channel (which has become my default station to be turned to when nothing else is on due to the remote possibility of a Muppet sighting) isn't THAT bad...though a fair share of it does deserve the lambasting.

Overall i think Disney does a good job in several entertainment mediums - but music is their weak area. A lot of their music stars are either horrible, severely overrated (Jonas Brothers CAN'T act - their inability to do so is what actually makes their new sitcom funny and the lead singer needs SERIOUS vocal training/coaching), or at best very talented but doomed to be dismissed as serious artists due to the Disney taint (i'd put Demi Lovato in this category - she's really quite extraordinary and is one of those Disney brands that's excellent at the various things she does; acting, singing, and writing)

 

[frogboy4]

I've never really been into Disney animation - when you compare the Mickey Mouse gang to stuff like Loony Tunes, they always seemed too bland to me though i do have more of an appreciation now to the older classics than i did as a kid. And Phineas and Ferb is one of the best cartoon shows to have come out in awhile that i can actually say i love watching.

There's Disney's traditional feature animation, short subject animation and television animation (not to mention Pixar and their other computer animation projects). Disney's feature animation is unmatched and shouldn't be lumped in with the rest. As for the short-subject animation - classic Warner Brothers will always be king!

Disney is on the road of redemtion concerning their treatment of the Muppet property. They've put a Kermit in every home via the US Mail stamp cancellation. That's a huge froggy footprint. We'll see how they back that up in 2010.

 

[dwmckim]

They've put a Kermit in every home via the US Mail stamp cancellation. That's a huge froggy footprint. We'll see how they back that up in 2010.

Well, maybe not every home...i hear that Kermit's likeness is banned from appearing on any mail in the Waterville/Frogtown Hollow area...

 

[Baby Gonzo]

I am a lifelong Disney fan. I've always loved Disney. However, it is a big company and it would be impossible for me to agree with everything they are doing. I think they are on the right track.

I think it's sad to say, but if I were growing up today, I don't know if I would be such a big Disney fan. When I was young, they always showed plenty of cartoons and shows with puppets that I always just had to watch on the Disney Channel. These must watch shows only solidified the love that I had for the animated films and the brand in general. I have never been a fan of teenybopper entertainment and the Disney Channel's live action sitcoms have literally never appealed to me. I have always been more of a cartoons person. Outside of Playhouse Disney, Phineas and Ferb, and the occasional animated movie they play, they just don't seem to show cartoons anymore! I would have been miserable growing up if all I had to watch was Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers. The Disney Channel has become a very niche market. Perhaps that is its saving grace and what makes it popular, but what about people over the age of fourteen? They hardly show anything that appeals to adults as well as kids.

I think part of the beauty of Disney is how it can appeal to so many people: young and old. I think the company has lost sight of this and are using current teenybopper stars as a crutch. Though by putting the Muppets into the public eye and creating more films that have the whole family in mind, they are on the right track. They just have a long way to go.

 

[Drtooth]

Overall i think Disney does a good job in several entertainment mediums - but music is their weak area. A lot of their music stars are either horrible, severely overrated (Jonas Brothers CAN'T act - their inability to do so is what actually makes their new sitcom funny and the lead singer needs SERIOUS vocal training/coaching), or at best very talented but doomed to be dismissed as serious artists due to the Disney taint (i'd put Demi Lovato in this category - she's really quite extraordinary and is one of those Disney brands that's excellent at the various things she does; acting, singing, and writing)

That's the problem I've had with Disney for the longest time. For me it wasn't so much abandoning 2D animation, or making the horrible DTV sequels... but it was the endless parade of Tween Pop and ONLY tween pop coming out of the company assembly line. And I think these shows, however lame, idiotic, and clearly made by out of touch 50 year olds trying to be hip and talk down to kids, they have a right to be popular. They DON'T have the right to be the only thing the company was about.

I think Disney has been making steady progress as of late. Sure, I still am a little annoyed that they couldn't finish a single one of their Disney Afternoon box set volumes. But we're seeing a lot more Disney in Disney and a lot less MTV for 12 year old mooks. Walking in a Disney store, you actually see Mickey and Donald stuff for the first time since... well, even the late 90's, when they obsessively shoved Pooh in everyone's faces (and in 2001, those dalmatians for that totally useless 102 live action sequel).

I think Disney is slowly redeeming itself, but it still needs a ways to go (keep in mind, I'm talking about them generally, not about their ownership of the Muppets... the web videos alone prove themselves worthy in that area).

What they've done:

• Releasing the first 2D movie since Home on the Range/ Releasing the first 2D animated movie people actually WANT to see since Lilo and Stitch
• slowly reintroduced classic Disney characters back in the gerneal public's eye. Especially Donald and Goofy.
• Their partnership with Boom is a Boon, I say, Not just for the Muppet comics, but those wonderful Pixar movie sequels and their translation of Italian Donald Duck comics... really... check them out. They're brilliant
• Actually aknowledging older fans of Disney products, and not just blankly releasing DVD's on rotation. The entire D23 spelled out their plans.

What they need to do:

• Make a deal with the animation department to make original 2D movies based off of Disney characters... no... not cheapquels. I'm talking about more Mickey Donald and Goofy stuff like Three Musketeers.
• On that subject, can't they think of a better Mickey/Donald/Goofy vehicle than a Dora clone? We need another House of Mouse or Mouseworks, if you ask me!
• Make another dang TV cartoon series. I'm sure Phineas and Ferb is great and all, but I really think Disney animation NEEDS to make another Ducktales or Gargoyles... something action/adventurey. They were MAD to pass up a Pirates of the Carribean cartoon.
• Release all the rest of everything they started to release on DVD. Even if it's MOD, or online exclusive... leaving people hanging is NO fun.

 

[beaker]

I've never really been into Disney animation

Im not a fan of racist Dumbo, or most the 90's princess formula stuff...but I mean, Fantasia 2000 and Emperor's New Groove...Amazing!

Cool to know there's good stuff on ABC. I don't watch tv much or have cable. I do love Big Bang Theory on CBS and The Office on NBC tho!

Disney is on the road of redemtion concerning their treatment of the Muppet property. They've put a Kermit in every home via the US Mail stamp cancellation. That's a huge froggy footprint. We'll see how they back that up in 2010.

I tried reading what that was about, but what is that exactly?(the postal kermit thing they got going)

 

[beaker]

What they need to do:

• Make a deal with the animation department to make original 2D movies based off of Disney characters... no... not cheapquels. I'm talking about more Mickey Donald and Goofy stuff like Three Musketeers.
• On that subject, can't they think of a better Mickey/Donald/Goofy vehicle than a Dora clone? We need another House of Mouse or Mouseworks, if you ask me!
• Make another dang TV cartoon series. I'm sure Phineas and Ferb is great and all, but I really think Disney animation NEEDS to make another Ducktales or Gargoyles... something action/adventurey. They were MAD to pass up a Pirates of the Carribean cartoon.
• Release all the rest of everything they started to release on DVD. Even if it's MOD, or online exclusive... leaving people hanging is NO fun.

Hey what's that one Mickey Mouse cgi kids cartoon? That has the WORST Cg animation possible. There was better cgi animation in the mid 1980's!

I am SO SICK BEYOND BELIEF of people calling Disney "racist".
I want to throw fish at everyone nitpicking princess in the frog.
"Her prince should be black not hispanic!" "why is she a frog for so much of the movie, is disney ashamed of blacks?" "Why is there a magic voodoo theme".
Im a leftist, but a lot of this faux outrage pc stuff is just maddening.

Disney has CONSISTENTLY featured non white leads for MOST
their movies:

1. Aladdin: Arab/Iraqi, at a time when the US was just out of the Iraq war
2. Lion King: African
3. Pochahontas: Native American
4. Mulan: Asian
5. Emperor's New Groove: Hispanic
6. Lilo and Stitch: Pacific Islander/Asian
7. Brother Bear: Native American once again

For people to say Disney doesn't feature non white leads and themes is laughable, when freaking 7 of 11 of their films between
1993 and 2003 featured non white leads/themes!

(I LOVED Tarzan though from 1999)

Sadly, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Atlantis and Treasure Planet are some of the worst pap I've seen and hope those stay in the "Disney Vault" forever

Also, I dont get why Song of the South is considered racist, since its the racist whites in the movie who are made to look retarded.

 

[Drtooth]

Hey what's that one Mickey Mouse cgi kids cartoon? That has the WORST Cg animation possible. There was better cgi animation in the mid 1980's!

Honestly... I give them credit for putting Ludwig VonDrake and Big Bad Pete in the series... but when I actually saw it, CGI aside, I was mortified.

I am SO SICK BEYOND BELIEF of people calling Disney "racist".
I want to throw fish at everyone nitpicking princess in the frog.
"Her prince should be black not hispanic!" "why is she a frog for so much of the movie, is disney ashamed of blacks?" "Why is there a magic voodoo theme".
Im a leftist, but a lot of this faux outrage pc stuff is just maddening.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. People where whining that there wasn't a black princess before (which I'll go into later) and once they had one, they kept getting nitpicky that she just wasn't a white character drawn black and actually had some authentic ethnicity on her. They whined about her name being too African, they whined about her name not being African enough... it's all counter productive, if you ask me. They aren't remaking Coal Black an de Sebben Dwarves here... It's such an annoying fine line... no matter what you do, anything and everything is going to be considered "racist." Then animatiors and writers are too scared to add any actual authenticity, leading people to whine that the non-white characters have no personality, and are token non-whites.

That said, of COURSE the Princesses were mostly white. Hello! Most of the fairy tales they did were from medieval Europe. That's the whitest you can get.

I agree... they did have a great diversity of characters in their movies. Aladdin came out at a time during the first Gulf War (I really want to get political about that, but I'm, not), when it was a bold decision to romanticize a part of the world we were told to hate. And the only controversy was the "Cut off your Ear if they don't like your face" lyric. Really, at the time, that was bold. And given the state of the world today, it's still a beloved classic.