Welcome to Anime-Forums.com - Piercing the heavens, GIGA-A4-BRREKKAH

Valvrave the Liberator Season 2

The second season of laser space vampire high schoolers piloting suicidal mechs against space-nazis and space-USA.

Kill la Kill

Ryuko is searching for her father's murderer, her only clue half of a pair of giant scissors. She transfers into Honnoji Academy, a dystopian high school ruled by the student council who possess Goku Uniforms; uniforms imbued with super powers.

Pokemon Origin

A reboot/retelling of the original Pokemon game, featuring Red and Green as the protagonist and rival. Much grittier and truer to the Pokemon manga Adventures in tone and direction.

Kyoukai no Kanata

A pair of high schoolers, a half youmu boy and a girl who can wield blood magic, wind up involved in super natural events occurring in their town.

Hajime no Ippo Rising

Long awaited new season of the well-known anime and manga, about a young boxer named Ippo rising up through Japan's ranks, as he aims for a match against his rival, Miyata.

Space Dandy

The Dandiest Man in Space, Dandy, is an alien hunter searching for undiscovered species with his robot assistant QT and a cat alien named Meow.

Samurai Flamenco

An eccentric male model decides to become a super hero in order to become a hero of justice, despite having no super powers.

Anime-Forums is a web based community that hosts discussions on the topic of Japanese Animations with the primary focus of having content that is driven by the community. As a member, you're able to:

  • Join Social Groups
  • Create a Personal Blog
  • Participate in Seasonal Banner Creations
  • Write Articles that appear on the main spotlight!

Dont have an account? Register

View RSS Feed

Wolff's Haunt

The Curse of Disney

Rate this Entry
10 Comments
by
JohnWolff
, 01-19-15 at 12:49 PM (1152 Views)
  

I used to love Disney movies as a kid - and really, which kid didn't? My favorite Disney movie back then was Mulan. My favorite Disney song was Phil Collin's Strangers Like Me from Tarzan. But over the years, I slowly picked up upon the flaws of those beloved movies... as well as the uncomfortable undertones. Damsels in distress, whitewashing, taking advantage of sleeping beauties and marrying them; ah yes, Disney movies sure have some great lessons in them, especially The Little Mermaid, where little girls are taught to sell themselves for men they like, because hey, "body language".

Then came along something a little more humble, something a little more intelligent.

I think I was too young to have watched the first Toy Story in theater. Pixar never really left an impression on me till Toy Story 2 came along and blow my mind. I didn't even regard it as one of the best movie sequels ever made at the time; I merely regarded it as a really fun and emotional movie.

Then came the other stuff, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. I've actually never been that impressed by A Bug's Life, even today. Nevertheless, it's undeniable, especially after Ratatouille, that Pixar bears a trademark that distinctly separates itself from the tyranny of Disney - its maturity.

Let's face it, Walt Disney, the man himself, was a man-child. He was arrogant, selfish, quick-tempered, and not really that amazing of a storyteller compared to the likes of William Shakespeare, Hayao Miyazaki, Stanley Kubrick, David Fincher, and hell, even Christopher Nolan. Whereas with Pixar, the company feels like Disney grown up, a young adult in his prime who shows potential to be a great man.

Unfortunately, that great man is burdened by the sins of his father, in this case, the affiliation of "Disney".

While responsible for preventing Pixar's first feature from being too cynical (Google search "Toy Story Black Friday"), Walt Disney Studio has, over the years, began to show its true colors as a corporate maniac bent on cashing in on Pixar's talent. After Toy Story 2 was released, Disney wanted to go ahead and create the third film, but Pixar claimed that they didn't have a proper story yet, and their policy was to not do a movie without a good story (contrary to Disney's countless direct to DVD titles). Disney was unhappy, and they decided to buy out the movie rights and do the third Toy Story anyway - with or without Pixar. Naturally, Pixar prefers to be involved rather than not. Thank. Fking. God.

Around the same time Toy Story 3 was being considered, Cars was released, a 'pet project' of John Lasseter. Even though I wasn't impressed, I still had fun and respected John's wishes. But then came the inevitable sequel which totally slapped their respected policy in the face, not to mention the equally inferior prequel to Monsters, Inc. By the time Brave came along, I knew something was off. This was the same company that made Up around the time Monsters, University and Cars 2 were in production. I refuse to believe that it was their true colors showing, as Toy Story 3 totally proved that Pixar can deliver with both intelligence and sentimentality, unlike a certain mouse company.

That's where my concern comes in - Pixar is still attached to the Disney company. When I mentioned Pixar, quite a number of people would tell me that they hate Disney movies. Pixar movies are NOT Disney movies. And as long as that terrible company continues to be affiliated with Pixar, I fear that all the potential in the world would be eventually snuffed out, by money no less.

And before you say anything, Frozen was mediocre. Not terrible, but the ending was such a cop-out, with the standardized "true love solves everything" Disney message shoe-honed in at the end. Elsa could have been Disney's very first controversial anti-heroine whose pragmatic attitude regarding Disney marriage was much more intelligent than any prior Disney Princesses' daft behaviors. What a fking waste.

Submit "The Curse of Disney" to Digg Submit "The Curse of Disney" to del.icio.us Submit "The Curse of Disney" to StumbleUpon Submit "The Curse of Disney" to Google Submit "The Curse of Disney" to Facebook Submit "The Curse of Disney" to Twitter

Updated 01-19-15 at 11:06 PM by JohnWolff

Categories
Musings

Comments

  1. wesleyv1's Avatar
    Bottom line is. Disney owns pixar that's just how it is. Now I'm not saying disney are saints ( i mean look at dumbo) but they aren't as bad as they used to be and not all dtv movies are bad (Pocahontas and mulan 2 are some of my favorites) also frozens ending while can be seen as a copout can also be seen as different because of the definition of "true love" was changed
  2. JohnWolff's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by wesleyv1
    Now I'm not saying disney are saints ( i mean look at dumbo) but they aren't as bad as they used to be and not all dtv movies are bad (Pocahontas and mulan 2 are some of my favorites)
    I know, Disney isn't completely incompetent on its own. It can't, since it has to make money somehow. It can't be completely inferior; it has to have some quality.

    But what I'm saying is that... it's dragging Pixar down with its money-minded mentality. Let's not kid ourselves, Disney is selling itself out. Look at how they bought out Marvel and Star Wars. Pixar is all about storytelling, and while Disney might not be all about money, its greediness might not make its partnership with Pixar a very healthy relationship.
  3. JohnWolff's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by wesleyv1
    and not all dtv movies are bad
    And you know, it isn't just the dtv movies; have you seen their multitude of "Disney Channel Original Movies"? They are largely horrible titles like Minutemen, Now You See It..., You Wish!, Jump In! (what's with Disney Channel and their strange OCD to add a punctuation suffix in their movie titles?), Camp Rock, and of course, the High School Musical franchise. Worst of all, one of the main reasons they were made is to give amateur teenagers career opportunities, not to create art, not to create the so-called "Disney Magic".

    Sure, it helps the kids to earn money, but artistically speaking, it's a lazy effort of quick cash-grabs (cash-grabs like Cars 2, Planes, and, ugh, Super Buddies). I guess it's a hell lot better than what Walt Disney did to his employees back in the day though.
    Updated 01-20-15 at 04:28 AM by JohnWolff
  4. wesleyv1's Avatar
    Atleast they're adding to the job market
  5. JohnWolff's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by wesleyv1
    Atleast they're adding to the job market
    Yeah, maybe, but like I said, artistically speaking, Disney is just getting in Pixar's way. It's like having Hitchcock working with a washout like Spielberg. Pixar can make money and offer jobs with or without Disney's help. Heck, they'd probably make money without the help. I'll bet Disney wouldn't have thought making an old man the protagonist would be such a good idea in Up.

    In fact, 8 out of 10 times the term "Disneyfied" is used, it's usually not a good thing. Disneyfied female characters, Disneyfied pirates who don't act like real pirates, Disneyfied love that has little that is true about real love, Disneyfied planes that are actually just a rip-off of Cars, without the heart. I don't want that kind of company working their money-grubbing hands on Pixar's mechanism. Go work with Marvel on their mediocre Hollywood blockbusters and let true artists work their magic.
    Updated 01-20-15 at 05:03 PM by JohnWolff
  6. JohnWolff's Avatar
    For further emphasis:


    I realize that what I've said so far sounds a little naive, and maybe a little too idealistic rather than practical. I mean, Disney was responsible in marketing Pixar's movies... but you know what, I think that doesn't change a thing. Profitable or not, a good piece of art is a good piece of art - whether or not it earns money. Even if a movie wasn't sold well enough, if it's inherently a good movie, like Fight Club (which was also incidentally not sold well by the studio), people will see it for what it is years down the road as a memorable good movie that will lasts through the ages.
  7. wesleyv1's Avatar
    Oh you mean like john carter, kill bill, pirites, and the marvel films?
  8. JohnWolff's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by wesleyv1
    Oh you mean like john carter, kill bill, pirites, and the marvel films?
    It's funny that you lunked Kill Bill of all movies with those garbage.

    Anyway, what's your point? Aside from Kill Bill, those other movies are forgettable not because of their marketing, but because they were s***ty movies. Yes, even the Marvel films. Because let's face it, only the first Iron Man and Winter Soldier were essentially the good movies. The Avengers was a brainless popcorn movie with a generic plot, both Thor movies were blend and boring, while Guardians of the Galaxy had one of the laziest things I've ever seen - humanoid aliens. Really? In this day and age, you're still having aliens that look like humans with cheap make-up?

    And don't get me started on the "friendship is magic" theme of the movie.
    Updated 01-20-15 at 06:24 PM by JohnWolff
  9. wesleyv1's Avatar
    Remember when you said you were being naive and idealistic? You're doing it again
  10. JohnWolff's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by wesleyv1
    Remember when you said you were being naive and idealistic? You're doing it again
    Yes, well, it would really be terrific if we could all change the world with our blog posts, but for now, I think I'll just stick to ranting for the sake of ranting because I feel like it; naive or not. Freedom of speech FTW.

    And besides, even if it's a naive view, I think it's the right view. I think I've stated more than enough reasons why Pixar is better off without Disney. Passionate visionaries in the past have pushed and challenged the machinations of corporate executives to create great art, and I feel that Pixar should too. If they all had quit having these ideals just because they are 'naive', then stuff like Miyazaki movies wouldn't have been created, David Fincher would have keeled over and given up because he was too 'naive' to believe he could do better, and John Lasseter would have given up Toy Story 3's movie rights to Disney like the mouse company wanted.

    If only Bioware's Casey Hudson has enough balls like John Lasseter to influence EA and stop being the one who's being influenced. Look at Tangled, Wreck-It-Ralph, and even Frozen; John was largely involved in the script one way or another, fixing Disney's mistakes. Bioware has great potential, but it's constantly taking it up in the a** by letting EA do what they want.

    Anyway, I'm kinda tired of arguing about this. I've said my piece, so believe what you want. It's all our opinions anyway.
    Updated 01-20-15 at 09:35 PM by JohnWolff