The 1990s were a special and much needed decade for the Walt Disney Animation Studio. After the deaths of the Disney brothers Walt and Roy O, and the departure of lead animator Don Bluth, the Studio saw itself fall in the late 1970s. Only in the mid-1980s when new leadership arrived, the Studio saw a gradual change. Even though they had to face the failure of its first PG-rated animated film, "Black Cauldron" and being moved from the main Burbank studio to warehouses and trailers as temporary offices, the Disney animation team stayed resilient. With hits like "The Great Mouse Detective" in 1986 and the collaboration with Steven Spielberg on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" in 1988, they were poised to mount a comeback. This comeback is known today as the "Disney Renaissance", and has produced countless amounts of our favorite Disney movies.The first movie that kicked off the decade was 'The Little Mermaid". Inspired by the success of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", the Studio chose to make the movie into an animated musical. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, people who had worked in many Broadway shows, were brought in and took the creative liberties to create characters like Sebastian the Jamaican crab which influenced the musical aspects of the movie's songs like “Under the Sea” and “Kiss the Girl.” Growing from its successful box office and receiving awards like the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, Disney continued to crack out Disney hits. "Beauty and the Beast" was released in 1991, to which it was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. "Aladdin" became the number 1 movie in 1992 and the highest-grossing animated film at the time, but was quickly surpassed two years later by "The Lion King". It introduced the idea of non-human characters while drawing in talented musicians like Elton John and Hans Zimmer to write and compose its music. From that year on, they were let back into the main studio in Burbank and released a new movie every year. "Pocahontas" (1995), “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996), Hercules” (1997), “Mulan” (1998), and “Tarzan” (1999). Although not as successful as its predecessors, these movies still produced triple digits in the box offices. Today, we see that decade was one of the most important periods for the Walt Disney company. It sparked a new side for its brand and hasn't looked back since.
https://insidethemagic.net/2018/11/disney-renaissance/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance#Background
I really enjoyed reading your post because I have loved watching all these movies growing up and even watching them today. I thought it was interesting how you explained that Disney was struggling after the deaths of the Disney brothers, but they persevered and were able to start making great hits once again. In addition to the "Great Mouse Detective," "An American Tail" was also a great success and even outperformed the "Great Mouse Detective."
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance
The Disney Renaissance was also very influential for Disney because it is, without doubt, part of the reason why Disney is so successful today. Disney now owns ABC, ESPN, Marvel, Pixar, FOX, and a lot more. These acquisitions helped Disney have a $10 billion increase in revenue in 2019 alone. And with the addition of the Disney+ streaming service, Disney is raking in more and more profits. Acquisitions and takeovers of other companies has been a very common part of US history. Although they often cause lots of conflict between companies, Disney's acquisitions have been mostly peaceful, partly due to the huge sums of money paid to the acquired companies. Because of the Disney Renaissance in the 1990s, Disney has been able to grow into one of the largest media conglomerates today.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/06/bob-iger-forever-changed-disney-with-4-key-acquisitions.html