I Don’t Hate Disney

I’ve started reading a book called Disney’s Art of Aniamtion.  It goes through the very beginnings all the way up to Beauty and Beast.  I find it interesting, the flip I’ve done with regards to Disney.  Back in animation classes, most of us sort of turned our noses up at Disney.  Hate the industry leader because they’re the top of the heap.  Then one day, long before I went to Disney World, another artist asked me “Why do you hate Disney so much”?  …  I couldn’t give him an answer.  I tried to think about what reason I might possibly have to hate them, and I couldn’t do it.  I felt like a fool.  It really made me step back and think about my stance on the topic of Disney.  It was about that time that we started to watch more Disney movies at home.  I really started to study the films and pick out the good points and the bad ones too and really understand what they where trying to do with each one.  I think it was after we did go to Disney World that I made a full turn around on my way of thinking.  I really do respect the art they produce, on all levels and the love and joy they bring to all people.  I trained to be in this industry, but I work in games, and I’d be lying if I said there isn’t a part of me the wishes I was in film animation right now.


5 Responses to “I Don’t Hate Disney”

  • JiveGuru Says:

    I’ve actually been on a Disney kick myself as of late. I recently started grabbing all the animated movies I could get on Blu-ray, to sort of just “have them” just in case.

    I’m rather annoyed actually because Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio are all back in “The Vault” currently so I missed them, unless I want to pay ridiculously for them (which I don’t, I’m not THAT into them) Ah well.

  • Zafo Says:

    My standing on Disney is neutral.
    I do like their animation and art style
    and it might be just mine impression
    but i think they borrow allot form anime/manga style when it comes to female characters.
    What i hate about disney is that went with
    musical in their movies.
    Friend of mine told me once that he dosent want to go and watch new Start Wars movies they are making now becouse he is afraid that they will start dancing and singing in the middle of it.
    And another one actully forbiden his kid to watch hannah montana show or whatever thats called.
    I perosnally rather wach classic Looney Toons
    or Tom and Jerry then show that were made past the 90s.
    Oh yeah, i allways wanted to ask you something but i keep forgeting.
    Can you tell on what games did you work?

    • Joe Randel Says:

      I wish I could. I’d rather not out myself though to my company. I have though made posts about the games I’ve been involved in though over the years. Can you guess which ones they are? ^_^

  • JJ Says:

    I wonder if some of the Disney aversion is due to a style change over the years. I like a lot of old stuff from them, and enjoy many of the musical films from my childhood. However, I just haven’t found myself enjoying anything that they have done since before the Lion King. Granted, I haven’t watched all that much, but none of it seems very interesting, and what I have seen hasn’t really gripped me all that much (excluding some Pixar stuff). This actually seems like a trend that affects more than Disney. The WB cartoons (specifically thinking of Merry Melodies and its offshoots) of my youth and prior were fairly risque, now they are tamed beyond blandness. **(I absolutely hate the rehashed Merry Melodies show that is on Cartoon Network right now)**

    Probably, some of the hate stems from a general rejection of the mainstream. When you make products that appeal to everyone, some people perceive that as an indication of not making good products. There might actually be something to this, but it surely is not the whole story. A good example might be pop music. The vast majority of pop music is formulaic and doesn’t really add anything to the art. Yet, it is widely listened to. That doesn’t mean that from time to time a good or novel piece of music doesn’t arise within the genre, but it is very rare when compared to genres that eschew formulaic composition. Hating pop right-out is just being snobby, but there is good reason for questioning its artistic integrity. Perhaps this is how some people view Disney–they have embraced a formulaic method for producing films/whatnot and have forgone pushing themselves further.

    I don’t know…

  • John M Hanna Says:

    As with anything else, there is stuff I like from Disney and stuff I don’t. When a company like them has been around that long, they are bound to crank out some less than stellar material. I know also that times and tastes change, and some things just don’t hold up over the years. Disney still does put out cartoons that I like, but their live action shows are awful.

Leave a Reply