GreenTeaHarbor1297
Capri
Thought this would make for a fun discussion topic thread.
How would you personally categorize the Disney Renaissance and Post-Renaissance era, the period of roughly 1989-2010?
Here's my overview and how I would categorize it - Also, please know, this does not in any way reflect my own personal opinions on any of the mentioned movies in terms of quality, but in terms of their box office results and critical reception.
Also, I do not intent this thread for any hearted arguments, but only for friendly intellectual discussion.
1989 with the release of The Little Mermaid is generally universally agreed upon to be the start of the Disney Renaissance. While the seeds of the Disney Renaissance were certainly planted earlier in the mid to late '80s with the releases of The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver & Company, it was certainly The Little Mermaid that brought excitement and interest back to Disney, and it was the first film to be released on home video just months after its theatrical release before going into the vault, while the aforementioned three that came out before had to wait years before coming out on video, and were part of an era when Disney was still relying on re-releasing its older movies for profit.
While the Disney Renaissance is generally agreed to have ended in 1999 with Tarzan, or maybe 2000 with Fantasia 2000 (I know the latter technically came out in 1999, but its IMAX and wider release were in 2000), the honeymoon period of the Disney Renaissance was over by 1995.
1989-1994 were definitely the honeymoon period of the Disney Renaissance. The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are often considered the Big Four of the Disney Renaissance, and all of them were released in the period of 1989-1994 - A period where Disney reached a new high in excitement and interest amongst consumers, and these four movies were at the forefront of it all.
But by 1995, the honeymoon was over. Pocahontas came out that year, and is generally held in much lower regard than the aforementioned four from the earlier part of the Disney Renaissance. But even more noteworthy in 1995 was the release of Toy Story, which kick started the rise of Pixar, who, while independent until 2006, were in a partnership with Disney since 1991. This movie, along with Casper released earlier that year from a separate studio, were the seeds of a CGI revolution, an audience shift from 2D animation towards 3D CGI animation. This was further amplified at the box office, as while Pocahontas still did pretty well and grossed over $140 million by in-year release, Toy Story trounced it by grossing over $190 million by in-year release.
1996 and 1997 did have the favorably considered Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules respectively, and while both of those films are beloved fan favorites, neither of them are in the top 10 for highest grossing films by in-year release for their respective years, despite both those years not having a Pixar release to rival those movies at the box office, and they're also generally not as noteworthy as the Big Four previously mentioned.
1998 and 1999 had Mulan and Tarzan respectively, both also being beloved fan favorites. But more noteworthy in those years were the releases of Pixar's A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2 respectively, both of which trounced their respective Disney counterparts at the box office. 1998 also saw the release of Antz, which planted the seeds for Dreamworks, rather than Disney's own animation studio, becoming Pixar's main box office rival, though this wouldn't formalize until three years later. While 1995 was when the seeds were planted for the audience shift from 2D animation to 3D CGI animation, 1998 was was when the seeds really started growing roots. Also, while Tarzan is generally considered the end of the Disney Renaissance, Mulan was the last traditional musical of the bunch featuring the songs sung by the characters, and was also released right before A Bug's Life later that year, which kick started Pixar's on-going streak of movies being released less than 24 months apart, and almost yearly outside of 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2014, so ending the Disney Renaissance with Mulan in 1998 would coincide with the dawn of a Golden Age for Pixar. On the other hand though, one could also argue for Fantasia 2000 being the end point of the Disney Renaissance. 2000 being the end of the Disney Renaissance would also coincide with 2001 being the start of a new era, which makes sense for the reasons given in the following paragraph.
Now for 2001 - If 1995 was when the seeds were planted for the audience shift from 2D animation to 3D CGI animation and 1998 was when the seeds started growing roots, 2001 is certainly when the flower was now blossoming. The Disney Renaissance was most certainly dead at this point, with both Atlantis: The Lost Empire as well as Emperor's New Groove in the year prior ditching the musical style altogether and performing rather poorly at the box office. In 2001, Monsters Inc came out, and was a huge hit that further solidified Pixar as a box office behemoth - But even noteworthy that year was the release of Shrek from Dreamworks, which solidified Dreamworks instead of Disney's own animation studio being Pixar's main box office rival. This also coincided with the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which Atlantis was not nominated at all for, and both Monster's Inc and Shrek were the top contenders for, with Shrek winning in the end. By 2001, 2D animation was out, and 3D CGI animation was in. 2002 featured Blue Sky entering the CGI ring with Ice Age, which at the box office trounced not only Treasure Planet, but even the moderately successful Lilo & Stitch - While Lilo & Stitch was definitely a box office improvement for Disney, it wasn't a box office smash hit, and much of the franchise's success came later when the movie was on DVD, and also with the TV series and two tie-in movies from 2003-2006, plus merchandise sales with Stitch having a Pokemon-like marketability.
2003 featured Disney's animation studio hitting not only commercial, but also critical lows with Brother Bear, which also coincided with the gargantuan success of Pixar's Finding Nemo, which became the highest grossing animated film, as well as the best selling DVD of all time, and easily won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature that year. 2004 featured another critical and commercial low for Disney's animation studio with Home on the Range, while Pixar continued their success with The Incredibles, which duked it out with Shrek 2 at both the box office and for the academy award. 2005 had no Pixar release, but did feature Disney jumping on the 3D CGI bandwagon with Chicken Little, though with poor critical and commercial results, especially up against Dreamworks's Madagascar. 2006 for Pixar specifically can be considered a start of a new era, with Disney formally acquiring the company and with the release of Cars, which while a big commercial success, was divisive amongst fans - But my counter argument to that is that Disney and Pixar were already close partners since 1991 and Pixar was already releasing its films under Disney's brand right from their start in 1995 - and also that Cars was more kid-oriented in general due to merchandise marketability of toy cars, and because Pixar quickly rekindled their classic critical appeal with a four-year streak of Ratatouille in 2007, Wall-E in 2008, Up in 2009, and Toy Story 3 in 2010, which were all critically very favorable, and all easily won their academy awards for their respective years.
For Disney's own animation studio specifically, 2009 is often considered the start of the Revival Era with Princess & the Frog. Some may even argue it started in 2008 with Bolt. However, I would argue the real start was in late 2010 with Tangled. It was with Tangled that Disney found a successful formula of 3D CGI-animated fairy tales, a formula that continued with Frozen and Moana in later years. Also, Tangled was released right after Toy Story 3, which is generally considered by critics to be the last movie of Pixar's Golden or Silver Age, and right before Cars 2, which is generally considered to be the start of Pixar's Dark Age, so Disney's Revival Era starting with Tangled would also coincide with the end of Pixar's heyday. It would also mark the Post-Renaissance period as Pixar's Golden Age or heyday, and considering Pixar's close relationship with Disney even before the formal acquisition in 2006, and with Pixar's films being released under the Disney brand since the beginning in 1995, I think a "Pixar era" for Disney spanning roughly 2001-2010, or 1998-2010 if you're okay with the period overlapping with the tail end of the Disney Renaissance, would be appropriate.
So, if I were to categorize the Disney Renaissance and Post-Renaissance period;
1989-1994 = Honeymoon Renaissance
1995-1997 = Post-Honeymoon Renaissance
1998-2000 = End of the Renaissance
2001-2006 = Golden Age of Pixar
2007-2010 = Platinum Age of Pixar
Late 2010+ = Disney Revival Era
As for the end of the Revival Era, and beginning of the current era, I won't get into that for the sake of wanting to condense this thread to just the topic of just the two eras mentioned in the title of the thread.
But anyways, that's my overview. What is yours? Let me know in the comments below.
How would you personally categorize the Disney Renaissance and Post-Renaissance era, the period of roughly 1989-2010?
Here's my overview and how I would categorize it - Also, please know, this does not in any way reflect my own personal opinions on any of the mentioned movies in terms of quality, but in terms of their box office results and critical reception.
Also, I do not intent this thread for any hearted arguments, but only for friendly intellectual discussion.
1989 with the release of The Little Mermaid is generally universally agreed upon to be the start of the Disney Renaissance. While the seeds of the Disney Renaissance were certainly planted earlier in the mid to late '80s with the releases of The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, and Oliver & Company, it was certainly The Little Mermaid that brought excitement and interest back to Disney, and it was the first film to be released on home video just months after its theatrical release before going into the vault, while the aforementioned three that came out before had to wait years before coming out on video, and were part of an era when Disney was still relying on re-releasing its older movies for profit.
While the Disney Renaissance is generally agreed to have ended in 1999 with Tarzan, or maybe 2000 with Fantasia 2000 (I know the latter technically came out in 1999, but its IMAX and wider release were in 2000), the honeymoon period of the Disney Renaissance was over by 1995.
1989-1994 were definitely the honeymoon period of the Disney Renaissance. The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are often considered the Big Four of the Disney Renaissance, and all of them were released in the period of 1989-1994 - A period where Disney reached a new high in excitement and interest amongst consumers, and these four movies were at the forefront of it all.
But by 1995, the honeymoon was over. Pocahontas came out that year, and is generally held in much lower regard than the aforementioned four from the earlier part of the Disney Renaissance. But even more noteworthy in 1995 was the release of Toy Story, which kick started the rise of Pixar, who, while independent until 2006, were in a partnership with Disney since 1991. This movie, along with Casper released earlier that year from a separate studio, were the seeds of a CGI revolution, an audience shift from 2D animation towards 3D CGI animation. This was further amplified at the box office, as while Pocahontas still did pretty well and grossed over $140 million by in-year release, Toy Story trounced it by grossing over $190 million by in-year release.
1996 and 1997 did have the favorably considered Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules respectively, and while both of those films are beloved fan favorites, neither of them are in the top 10 for highest grossing films by in-year release for their respective years, despite both those years not having a Pixar release to rival those movies at the box office, and they're also generally not as noteworthy as the Big Four previously mentioned.
1998 and 1999 had Mulan and Tarzan respectively, both also being beloved fan favorites. But more noteworthy in those years were the releases of Pixar's A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2 respectively, both of which trounced their respective Disney counterparts at the box office. 1998 also saw the release of Antz, which planted the seeds for Dreamworks, rather than Disney's own animation studio, becoming Pixar's main box office rival, though this wouldn't formalize until three years later. While 1995 was when the seeds were planted for the audience shift from 2D animation to 3D CGI animation, 1998 was was when the seeds really started growing roots. Also, while Tarzan is generally considered the end of the Disney Renaissance, Mulan was the last traditional musical of the bunch featuring the songs sung by the characters, and was also released right before A Bug's Life later that year, which kick started Pixar's on-going streak of movies being released less than 24 months apart, and almost yearly outside of 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2014, so ending the Disney Renaissance with Mulan in 1998 would coincide with the dawn of a Golden Age for Pixar. On the other hand though, one could also argue for Fantasia 2000 being the end point of the Disney Renaissance. 2000 being the end of the Disney Renaissance would also coincide with 2001 being the start of a new era, which makes sense for the reasons given in the following paragraph.
Now for 2001 - If 1995 was when the seeds were planted for the audience shift from 2D animation to 3D CGI animation and 1998 was when the seeds started growing roots, 2001 is certainly when the flower was now blossoming. The Disney Renaissance was most certainly dead at this point, with both Atlantis: The Lost Empire as well as Emperor's New Groove in the year prior ditching the musical style altogether and performing rather poorly at the box office. In 2001, Monsters Inc came out, and was a huge hit that further solidified Pixar as a box office behemoth - But even noteworthy that year was the release of Shrek from Dreamworks, which solidified Dreamworks instead of Disney's own animation studio being Pixar's main box office rival. This also coincided with the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, which Atlantis was not nominated at all for, and both Monster's Inc and Shrek were the top contenders for, with Shrek winning in the end. By 2001, 2D animation was out, and 3D CGI animation was in. 2002 featured Blue Sky entering the CGI ring with Ice Age, which at the box office trounced not only Treasure Planet, but even the moderately successful Lilo & Stitch - While Lilo & Stitch was definitely a box office improvement for Disney, it wasn't a box office smash hit, and much of the franchise's success came later when the movie was on DVD, and also with the TV series and two tie-in movies from 2003-2006, plus merchandise sales with Stitch having a Pokemon-like marketability.
2003 featured Disney's animation studio hitting not only commercial, but also critical lows with Brother Bear, which also coincided with the gargantuan success of Pixar's Finding Nemo, which became the highest grossing animated film, as well as the best selling DVD of all time, and easily won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature that year. 2004 featured another critical and commercial low for Disney's animation studio with Home on the Range, while Pixar continued their success with The Incredibles, which duked it out with Shrek 2 at both the box office and for the academy award. 2005 had no Pixar release, but did feature Disney jumping on the 3D CGI bandwagon with Chicken Little, though with poor critical and commercial results, especially up against Dreamworks's Madagascar. 2006 for Pixar specifically can be considered a start of a new era, with Disney formally acquiring the company and with the release of Cars, which while a big commercial success, was divisive amongst fans - But my counter argument to that is that Disney and Pixar were already close partners since 1991 and Pixar was already releasing its films under Disney's brand right from their start in 1995 - and also that Cars was more kid-oriented in general due to merchandise marketability of toy cars, and because Pixar quickly rekindled their classic critical appeal with a four-year streak of Ratatouille in 2007, Wall-E in 2008, Up in 2009, and Toy Story 3 in 2010, which were all critically very favorable, and all easily won their academy awards for their respective years.
For Disney's own animation studio specifically, 2009 is often considered the start of the Revival Era with Princess & the Frog. Some may even argue it started in 2008 with Bolt. However, I would argue the real start was in late 2010 with Tangled. It was with Tangled that Disney found a successful formula of 3D CGI-animated fairy tales, a formula that continued with Frozen and Moana in later years. Also, Tangled was released right after Toy Story 3, which is generally considered by critics to be the last movie of Pixar's Golden or Silver Age, and right before Cars 2, which is generally considered to be the start of Pixar's Dark Age, so Disney's Revival Era starting with Tangled would also coincide with the end of Pixar's heyday. It would also mark the Post-Renaissance period as Pixar's Golden Age or heyday, and considering Pixar's close relationship with Disney even before the formal acquisition in 2006, and with Pixar's films being released under the Disney brand since the beginning in 1995, I think a "Pixar era" for Disney spanning roughly 2001-2010, or 1998-2010 if you're okay with the period overlapping with the tail end of the Disney Renaissance, would be appropriate.
So, if I were to categorize the Disney Renaissance and Post-Renaissance period;
1989-1994 = Honeymoon Renaissance
1995-1997 = Post-Honeymoon Renaissance
1998-2000 = End of the Renaissance
2001-2006 = Golden Age of Pixar
2007-2010 = Platinum Age of Pixar
Late 2010+ = Disney Revival Era
As for the end of the Revival Era, and beginning of the current era, I won't get into that for the sake of wanting to condense this thread to just the topic of just the two eras mentioned in the title of the thread.
But anyways, that's my overview. What is yours? Let me know in the comments below.
