From Poisoned Apples to Annoying Oranges: An Essay of the Birth and Death of Animation (Page V) (1985-1991)

The Mermaid Sings

During dry periods at the studio ranging from the 1930's through to the late 1950's, Walt Disney planned on making a documentary film cataloging the life and achievements of famous Danish storyteller, Hans Christian Andersen.  The film would use live actors (contracted by Paramount) to portray Andersen's life, while the Disney Animators would tell some of Andersen's stories as shorts.  These fairy tales included The Snow Queen (which we will cover in a few pages), Thumbalina, and arguably his most famous and beloved story, The Little Mermaid.  There is even archival scenes animated by the great illustrator Kay Nielsen, dated back to the early 1940's.  But studio losses and Disney's focus shifting towards Disneyland and television shelved any and all Andersen works well past Walt's lifetime.  

In January of 1985, Disney held what would be the first of many events at the company called "The Gong Show".  In these events, anyone from the company could come in and pitch ideas for animated movies, but bad ideas were thrown away or "gonged".  Director Ron Clements (The Great Mouse Detective), brought in the idea of creating The Little Mermaid, but saw his idea gonged because of the studio's interest in working on a sequel to their modest hit Splash.  However, having read the treatment Clements wrote for it, Jeffery Katzenberg immediately contacted Clements and had him and a few animators put the film into development.  

The Little Mermaid would be the studio's first foray into Fairy Tales since Sleeping Beauty in 1959, and in order to capture a new audience for their work, the animators knew that the animation for this film would have to be far superior to their current work, but they would also have to write a script modern enough and engaging enough for modern movie audiences to take the film seriously and not dismiss them as they had previous films.  Katzenberg initially insisted on hiring a script writer for the film, but Clements and long time friend John Musker wrote their own script for the film and Katzenberg immediately agreed to let them write and direct it.  The script included larger roles for the Sea King and the Sea Witch, while also lightening the ending with allowing the mermaid to survive in the end and get the classic Disney ending.

Soon after, it became abundantly clear what the film would need to modernize the classic Disney Animated film: music.  Music had been key for the studio since it's rise in the 1930's, but had been mostly phased out by the 1980's, with the Sherman Brothers retiring and the studio using multiple other songwriters to write songs on the films post-1967.  Katzenberg's friend, David Geffen, contacted him about a potential master that Disney had to have.  A Baltimore off-broadway songwriter and storyteller, Howard Ashman was not the ideal person to work at such a "family friendly" company like Disney.  But when Katzenberg met him, he knew that he was looking at a potential successor to Walt Disney himself.  Ashman was given the opportunity to work on many projects.  He chose to write one song for Oliver and Company before fully diving into (no pun intended) The Little Mermaid, bringing on board his co-writer and partner Alan Menken to write the film's score.  Both had been longtime Disney fans and were determined to build upon the legacy of the past films.  

A studio of young animators was in absolute awe with the kinds of songs Howard and Alan were writing for the film, some saying that they had never heard songs like them.  The songs in the film ranged from traditional Broadway, to doo-wop, to reggae.  But all kept to the integrity of their story.  Menken's musical underscore was also chilling to listen to, showing just how capable the musical aspect of the film was.  

The momentum for the film was gathering, and by early 1989, a test screening for the film was set up, where the animators and executives could gauge children's reactions to their films.  When one screening in particular did not bode well for one of the film's most important songs, "Part of Your World", Katzenberg considered cutting the song from the film.  Panicked, Glen Keane, the supervising animator of the titular character, insisted on having another chance to fully animate more of the film.  The resulting tranquility of the next screening convinced Katzenberg to keep the song in.  

Animation costs for The Little Mermaid skyrocketed by the end of 1988, prompting in the overall budget of the film being an enormous $40 million.  The film would prove to be the very last film to be fully hand-animated by the animators, as the costs finally outweighed the necessities.  Nevertheless, the film was finally completed and released in November 1989, the same weekend as Don Bluth's next film, All Dogs Go to Heaven.  Despite the usual confidence from both departments, The Little Mermaid dwarfed it's rival in theaters and became the very first animated film to make over $100 million worldwide in it's release.  The critical aspect of the films were also closely observed.  While All Dogs struggled to get the same praise as Don Bluth's previous works, The Little Mermaid was praised with rejuvenating the studio and reawakening the sleeping giant that was the animation industry.  Mermaid also performed well in the awards bracket, clinching multiple awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards (Best Song "Under the Sea", and Best Score) and being nominated for Best Picture in the Golden Globes.  

The stunning and sweeping success of The Little Mermaid prompted a far more stricter eye on the care and development placed into each subsequent Disney animated film.  Many animators would move onto the next two major animated films, The Rescuers Down Under and Beauty and the Beast, while Ashman, Menken, Clements, and Musker would move onto developing another animated film called Aladdin.  With the new success under their belts, the Disney department was assured that the 1990's would be a successful one no matter what.  

Studio Ghibli 

While Japanese animes and shows such as Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon were starting to grow audiences in America, it would take a much longer time for full length films animated overseas to capture eyes.  The first film released stateside was Little Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland, a film that struggled to get an audience despite often beautiful animation and many (and I mean MANY) famous storytellers taking part in it's inception.  Many included George Lucas, a few modern Disney Animators, alongside some of the Nine Old Men, including Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas.  One animator who had worked on the film was named Hayao Miyazaki, who had despised and loathed his time on the project.  Miyazaki had previously worked at Toei Animation (the group mostly responsible for helping animate Dragon Ball), but began his own work in the 1980's.  While I will keep from getting too in depth with Miyazaki's films for now (he has a HUGE impact on the art form in the 2000's), I can say a bit about his first few films that were released in Japan.

Two of his most famous works (which I have seen) that were released in this period of time included My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, all of which were delayed initial releases into the US.  There are several differences in Miyazaki's work in comparison to his contemporaries.  Miyazaki was heavily influenced by more progressive art styles and themes, including environmentalism and feminism, many things that Disney often ignored or even regressed past.  While Disney's new leading ladies in their renaissance were being praised for their modern takes on life and not falling into stereotypes like their 1950's incarnations did, films like the ones I've mentioned alongside Princess Mononoke had extremely powerful and capable female leads that even Disney had yet to reach at the time.  Miyazaki is considered by many to be the true successor to Walt Disney in the medium and in essence, I would have to agree.  While there have been many great animators to come and go, no one has pushed the medium forward the way he has.  And it would only continue as the years would go.  But still, it would take time for America to recognize his work for what it was.

A Town called Springfield 

The end of the 1980's saw the establishment of the Modern Age of Animation.  Don Bluth's early work, alongside the booming success of films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and the revival of interest in television shows such as The Flintstones prompted studios to consider bringing another animated show into the prime time.  Though many spoke loudly but didn't have much to back up their gusto, James Brooks saw potential in a comic strip writer named Matt Groening and asked him to create an animated segment for The Tracey Ullman Show.  Not wanting to lose his rights to his own strip, Groening developed a modern American family with many flaws.  The segments followed the daily lives of the Simpsons, a family just like yours only worse.  The segments were so popular, Fox signed on to have the segments turned into a cartoon series on par with The Flintstones.

The resulting show would go on to become the longest running animated show in American History, rapidly approaching it's 27th season of work.  The Simpsons follows the daily and often fanciful lives of Homer, a drunken reprobate who often endangers his family with his chaotic escapades, his wife Marge, a kind yet stubborn mother who tries her hardest to keep the family together, their son Bart, a derelict who relishes in causing physical and emotional harm to others with childish pranks, their daughter Lisa, a misunderstood yet overachieving bookworm, and their infant daughter Maggie who only communicates with her pacifier.  The show had numerous running gags (from the prank calls to Moes tavern and their acclaimed "Treehouse of Horror" episodes) and has become the sources for some of the most influential animators in modern times.

Pixar and the CAPS System



The subsequent successes of their animated films and booming business in every other industry in the company left the Walt Disney Company rolling in money.  Animation Department heads Peter Schneider and Roy Disney insisted the money be put back into the system, resulting in the binding $10 million agreement between Walt Disney Pictures and a small animation company based in California that used computers to animate.  Pixar and Disney's relationship was intially meant purely for business, while animators at Pixar would clean up and digitally paint each frame of animation for their films.  The first to obtain this treatment was the sequel to the surprisingly successful The Rescuers, which would be based in Australia and have a much more adventurous appeal to it.

Pixar had originally been the property of George Lucas, who used their computers to digitally edit his films and help enhance his films.  He eventually sold the computers to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who would broker the agreement between Disney and Pixar to use their computers to digitally animate their films, which would not only keep costs down, but would also help complete their films more quickly and look far more like the older Disney films in the 1950's.

The computer system that worked on The Rescuers Down Under was called the Computer Aided Post-production System, which would be at work with all traditionally animated Disney Films into 2004 and would be essential in the studio's continuing rise back to prominence.  However, despite the beautiful scenes and stunning animation, The Rescuers Down Under performed poorly at the box office and was quickly shoveled out of the limelight.  Down Under is often forgotten by casual Disney fans and should be recognized as part of the resurgence of the company, as it's animation styles and great use of the CAPS system would be vital to future animated films.

A Tale as Old as Time...

The Little Mermaid was not the only Fairy Tale that had been shelved by Walt Disney in the 1950's.  Walt had always been intrigued by the story of Beauty and the Beast and had attempted in earnest to make his own version of the film, but could not get himself passed the second half of the film, with issues including the gloominess of the story, inability to design the Beast, and struggling with story structure, resulting in the cancellation of development twice.  In 1989, Jeffery Katzenberg contacted studio producer Don Hahn to begin development on their version of Beauty and the Beast in London, hoping to convince Richard Williams to work on the film.  Williams declined, but recommended his friend Richard Purdum to direct instead.  The first 20 minutes of the film was completed by the time of The Little Mermaid's premiere in theaters and was presented to Jeffery Katzenberg and Roy Disney, both whom rejected the film.  It was deemed too dull and slow paced and lacked the charm and whimsy of the studio's latest animated hit.  And with a recession hitting at the same time as the studio vowed to release one film a year for the next several years, the team was forced to restructure the story in time for a Fall 1991 release date.  Purdum stepped down when the film began to turn away from his vision, prompting Katzenberg to install Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale as directors.

Katzenberg pressured Howard and Alan to again work on this film and managed to convince Ashman to work on the film despite his eagerness to work on Aladdin.  It was at this point that it was discovered that Ashman was slowly dying of AIDS related complications, prompting much of the animation on Disney's 30th animated film to be animated in New York, along with most of the film's recording of both songs and dialogue.  However, instead of settling on whatever the East Coast had to offer, the cast of the film was hired based on success on stage and in the theater.  Broadway veterans Angela Lansbury and Jerry Orbach were selected for the cast, while then current stars Paige O' Hara and Richard White were also cast.


All of the hard work and effort that went into Beauty and the Beast slowly made everyone realize exactly how special the film they were working on was.  The songs were evocative of the best of Broadway, the story (written by Roger Allers and Linda Woolverton) was as solid as possible, and the animation would take the medium to previously unattainable areas.  The most famous scene in the film, the ballroom dance between the Beast and Belle, utilized a computerized camera that conveyed the illusion of three dimensional movement and drastically heightened the raw emotional power of the scene.  The scene was all the more emotionally potent when Ashman finally passed away in March of 1991, never seeing either Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin completed.  Ashman is viewed by many as the heart and soul of not only The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, but the entire resurgence of Disney in general, and the film was ultimately dedicated to him.

In a stunning move, the marketing department took an offer from the New York Film Festival to air the film, but decided to show the film as a Work in Progress cut.  This was meant to remind people of the hard work and dedication each animated film took, but petrified Wise and Trousdale, who feared that no one would buy into the film without it being completed.  The standing ovation the film received following it's completion assured them that this was no ordinary animated film.

Confidence brimming, they had no fears when Beauty and the Beast was finally released in theaters in November 1991.  As expected, the film was greeted with euphoric praise and adoration and was the crown jewel of the holiday season.  The film shattered the records they had set with The Little Mermaid, grossing over $300 million worldwide, including nearly half of it's total earnings in the United States and Canada.  The film also dominated during awards season, winning three Golden Globes, including Best Picture.  As the Academy Awards were announced, Hollywood was in shock when the film was nominated for six Oscars, including an unprecedented three song nominations and becoming the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture.  Though it would not win the award, it's nomination proved that animation was back and this time it was here to stay.

The Copycat Era 

While many in the animation medium found astounding success with working on their own original content, there were some who would rather make cheap cash quickly instead of working out diligently on their own work.  The revival of Disney brought about the rise of many competing companies and brands, some not for the better.  The most infamous company for directly trying to cash in on other studio's success is called GoodTimes Entertainment, which slapped together poorly animated films that more closely followed the original books while desperately trying to swipe profits from Disney.  They would release many titles named closely after Disney films, including The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Beauty and the Beast.  While the films would do very little to harm Disney's profits (mostly grandmothers and out of touch relatives would buy them, figuring they were the Disney Films), one film they would make in particular would actually cause a major lawsuit between Goodtimes and Disney over the similarities of the covers.  The case would be resolved, but GoodTimes would have to place their logo over every one of their releases.



Animation would never be the same after this era.  Miyazaki, GoodTimes, The Simpsons, and Disney would all impact the medium so vastly, that it would move into virtually every aspect of entertainment.  Adults cartoons and childrens cartoons would be forever shaken by this successful era and would make Saturday Morning cartoons and Prime Time cartoons all the more enjoyable.  America would soon get a rich taste of Japanese culture and would never let go.  And Disney was again on top of the animation world looking down on the rest of the world.

But work would need to be done to maintain their stance.  Their opponents would have to be swept away and they would need to recover from losing a genius like Ashman.  Work would begin on five films at the Disney Studio that would have a significant impact on the medium forever: the tale of a peasant boy who discovers a magic lamp, the haunting story of a king of ghosts who discovers Christmas, a sweeping historical romance set in Colonial Virginia, a buddy comedy starring toys, and an epic journey of finding your place in nature's "Circle of Life"...but we'll get to those in another post...