How Walt Disney Was Different Then Modern Disney

[@HalfEatenMedia]

The Disney films under Walt were very diverse. Some were more silly than others, while some were more serious in tone. The problem with Disney now is that they are only silly at the expense of the serious elements. Walt made sure that serious moments had room to breath so the audience and kids can really absorb it. The ending of ‘Snow White’ is where he broke new grounds with his theory. Walt wanted animation to be looked at as a serious art form.

[@moviemadness2536]

Exactly. That sums up everything I said very nicely.

[@katieschlenker3686]

i firmly believe that the original Disney is so much better than the live action remakes

[@moviemadness2536]

Amen.

[@0deadx21]

Except _Cinderella_ , _The Jungle Book_ , and _Pete's Dragon_ Those are agreed to be better than their original counterparts. It's not like it's expected to find the likes of Don Bluth's _Anastasia_ in the mid-20th century. Making a true live-action fairytale movie is not easy, as it has to very well execute being live-action, being a fairytale, and being a movie, and "Cinderella" seemed to have won the fairytale jackpot - 19th century France or a similar location, cottagecore and historical realism visuals, only two major locations which are a big château and a palace, the latter of which has a grand ball, the story being about kindness and karma. It's a good thing they waited until the early-to-mid 2010s to make a live-action "Cinderella" movie.

[@moviemadness2536]

@@0deadx21 You will never convince me that any of the live-action remakes were better than the original. Not even Cinderella. You don't have to agree with that, but that's how I personally feel.

[@0deadx21]

​@@moviemadness2536 If the 1950 film was live-action, it'd be one of the laziest _Cinderella_ adaptations in existence. So many shortcuts, and man was that ball lackluster. There's a difference between just showing stuff, and having what's happening on screen be meaningful. If the 2015 live-action film was animated, now that would have been one hell of an adaptation. They obviously couldn't have done such a thing back then, even if they wanted to. The consensus from people who watched both the 1950 and 2015 films for the first time is that the 2015 film is better. The 2015 film is also made for kids, and it looks great. It's easy to convince someone to show it to kindergarten kids.

[@vetarlittorf1807]

@@0deadx21 The Jungle Book remake? Better than the original? That has got to be the joke of the year. That movie made Mowgli a Mary Sue burdened by horrible acting, the characters had no chemistry with each other, the tone is all over the place, the movie can't decide what it wants to be, the changes they make are pathetically superficial (like pulling a Tim Burton's Batman and connect Shere Khan with Mowgli's origin, which adds nothing to either characters or the story. The movie quickly stops treating it as a big deal anyway) and they treated Mowgli staying in the jungle as a good thing even though both the original AND the book made it clear that the jungle can never accommodate Mowgli's human needs. Even the remake hardly tries to justify it other than "because he can be with his mommy." The ending is basically saying that Mowgli never has to grow up or overcome painful changes. The Jungle Book remake is a generic CGI-bloated trash.

[@CharcoalRabbit]

I kinda agree with your points. The difference between Disney's writing then and now is night and day. But the emotionally complex stories of the modern period and Pixar aren't inherently bad, I enjoy Inside Out, Luca, Toy Story, Wall-E, and other modern Disney films minus certain modern films. I developed an idea that since they made so many films with children in mind, they want to raise the bar for their maturity if by a little bit. I think they want their older movies to be seen by children again and again to be used as like a gateway drug to get into more modern Disney projects. The company feels as though they made enough fun films for everyone that they think they can just recycle them and keep rereleasing them rather than create new stuff in that same niche forever. This is just a theory though, don't quote me on this.

[@moviemadness2536]

No, emotional complexity is not inherently a bad thing, I most definitely agree with you on that. I just think that it's all become too much for children, and that that's a problem.

[@davidemaroldi9755]

I partly echo your sentiments, but to me it's more on the angle of "animated movies don't take advantage of the fact that they're animated". It feels like you could work into a live action and you wouldn't need to change that much, while their more iconic movies really take advantage of their medium, which is the main reason the live action remakes suck hard. It's like they're not confident enough in this art form, so they try to mimic "mature" cinema in hopes of being taken more seriously (I don't think this is actually what goes in the mind of directors, at least at Pixar, but it sometimes can feel like this). I don't think it necessarily has to do with tone, Walt mostly wanted to make movies fun first, so he and his team used animation to emphasise that aspect; meanwhile Disney renaissance movies used animation to give a sense of scale (the entirety of lion king) or to make scenes hit heavier (one of my favourite example is the scene in Aladdin where Jafar-disguised-as-old-man takes the lamp from him, you could never make a scene as heavy hitting as that in live action). Essentially it has more to do with using the strengths of animation as a medium to reinforce the focus you want to give your movie, wether it leans on fun or maturity. Ironically, if you look at Disney's main competitor, Dreamworks, they manage to do this even in their more recent movies, like the HTTYD trilogy and Puss in Boots 2. And if you go further back to Prince of Egypt, it masterfully uses animation to reinforce its drama and emotion, to the point where I consider it one of the most heartwrenching movies in recent years. As the "for the children" aspect, while I do agree that children deserve good stories and they're smarter and more capable of handling complexity than we usually give them credit for, it's not to the extent as we adults are. Simplicity presented in a smart and subtle-ish way is really the best way to go for this; children can understand simple messages like "don't run way after one mistake you've done" or "don't take your friends and family for granted", and it's helpful to them, but if you spell things out and don't allow them to pick them up on their own you're insulting their intelligence. And this isn't even getting into how children of not-so-distant ages have different levels of complexity they can handle: a 10 y/o digests things better than a 7 y/o, unlike adults where a 3 year difference doesn't make much of a difference. Overall, great video, you discuss very interesting points.

[@moviemadness2536]

Thank you, I'm happy you enjoyed the video. That was a great analysis yourself. You're right, animation is limited only by the imagination of the person using it, and it would appear most don't have much imagination anymore.

[@danielboone3770]

I agree the original Disney is WAY better than the live action remakes. The man himself was just amazing so thanks to him, I would like to bring that original Walt Disney stuff back, but modernized!

[@moviemadness2536]

I couldn't agree more with you.

[@davivman6009]

I agree that many of the modern Disney movies have stories that are too complex for children. However many do not. Frozen, Tangled, and Moana have very basic stories that are no more complex than Cinderella, Snow White, or Pinocchio.

[@moviemadness2536]

No, modern Disney doesn't always get it wrong, but they've been doing it more often than not.

[@emcvideoproductions500]

While I do agree with some of your points and do think that a lot of what makes some of the newer animated Disney films is their lack of genuine fun and empathy towards their audiences, I feel that that regardless of the era, there’s more to break down in the Disney features besides the entertainment value, content and visuals. Nobody can ever say exactly what Walt had in mind beyond how they interpreted him and the work he was apart of, and the company nowadays isn’t helping. Everyone’s going to view these movies differently, some will understand them just fine and others won’t. My best friend legit feels that Lion King’s message isn’t appropriate for children despite my personal disagreements, but that means Disney needs to go back to its roots and actually make engaging content for everyone. They can’t go one way or the other without pissing anyone off anymore.

[@moviemadness2536]

I'd say you just about nailed it there.

[@harrygardner7257]

Disney was in it’s prime through out the 1930’s 40’s 50’s and 60’s through the good times and the bad times

[@moviemadness2536]

True, though they were also great in the 90s, as well as parts of the 2010s. Gotta give credit where it's due.

[@MrGabeanator]

It’s funny after Walts death in 1966 a lot of people at the studio made decisions by asking what would Walt do and it wasn’t until 1984 when Michael Eisner Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg came in that that changed for the most part but I do wonder if there are still some people working there who ask that question

[@AndrewsMagicandMore]

I'm beginning to doubt whether or not people at Disney ever really did ask that question; even though secondhand accounts such as those who write on Disney art books and such say that employees have asked what Walt would do, but I've never seen or heard any accounts of such straight from the horse's mouth. No interviews from animators that I've seen or read ever mention the "What would Walt do?" debate.

[@MrGabeanator]

@@AndrewsMagicandMore well Peter Schinder said he heard it over and over again

[@moviemadness2536]

You'd like to hope so, but at this point, I doubt it.

[@MrGabeanator]

@@moviemadness2536 how can I prove it too you

[@AndrewsMagicandMore]

@@moviemadness2536 Of course what I meant was that I don't recall any of the "Nine Old Men" themselves ever bringing up the whole "What would Walt do?" thing when most of them were still amongst the living. For instance, Frank Thomas & Ollie Johnston never discussed the infamous question in their 1995 documentary film; nor did they or any of the other animators at the time ever brought it up in the 1981 Wonderful World of Disney episode "The Illusion of Life" loosely based on Frank & Ollie's book of the same name.

[@icecreamhero2375]

I disagree with you about the emotionally complex part. What about Encanto. Kids love that movie everyone can relate to that kind of pressure.

[@moviemadness2536]

Maybe. But, to use a modern expression, it didn't have to go THAT hard to make it's point.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@@moviemadness2536 I disagree. While there is room for more light hearted easygoing movies and deeper more emotional stories. More mature children's stories have always existed and many Disney films are toned down versions of darker stories. If anything Disney films got a little bit softer. I don't think they could get away with making Peter Pan today. Tinkerbell is such a jerk and I love it. Pinocchio was drinking.

[@wesmcinerny4524]

But the whole "pressure" and "trauma" trope is too overdone now. Oh yeah, and there are no longer any memorable antagonists. In Encanto, it was the grandmother who was the antagonist.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@@wesmcinerny4524 The adult themes don't necessarily have to be pressure and trauma. I agree they should discus other things too.

[@icecreamhero2375]

@@wesmcinerny4524 There are no longer memorable "antagonists". I don't really care it depends on the story. Not every Disney movie needs an over-the-top villain " Not all of them had one look at Bambi.

[@t.v.production3062]

Disney should return to its old ways, even if it can be done on a computer. Hopefully, I could make a difference.

[@moviemadness2536]

Yes, they should. And who knows? Maybe you can. There's always the potential.

[@captaingoosesdisneyadventu4428]

I agree.

[@samfeldstein4498]

I love that you have Baloo in the thumbnail. Thanks for making this video and I think you make some valid points here and at the end of the day it all just comes down to personal preference in terms of what makes a movie good/enjoyable for the viewer. For me personally my preferences align more with Walt's which is probably why I prefer Disney movies like The Jungle Book or Robin Hood over some of their recent films like Frozen II or Raya and the Last Dragon. I just didn't find much entertainment value in the latter two films for instance.

[@moviemadness2536]

Thank you, I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. And yeah, I figured Baloo was perfect for the point I was trying to make. Especially because I go back to The Jungle Book quite frequently.

[@bsharp3281]

The only thing that matters in movies, indeed in all of fiction, are the emotions they generate in us. Everything else, including plot, is a dreamlike supplement. No one knew this like Walt Disney

[@moviemadness2536]

Huh. I've never looked at stories that way, but you might be onto something there.

[@Oscar95451]

The main problem is that it is impossible to find someone like Jeffrey Katzenberg and John Lasseter to be a new head of creative of Disney Animation nowadays

[@moviemadness2536]

Yeah, Disney does seem to have a creativity problem.

[@Oscar95451]

@@moviemadness2536 I know right. I have trusted Jennifer Lee in this.

[@Oscar95451]

@@moviemadness2536 BREAKING NEWS! Breaking News! I don’t know if this is true or not but Jennifer Lee has stepped down as CCO of Disney Animation to focus on her Frozen movies and replaced by Jared Bush.

[@moviemadness2536]

@@Oscar95451 As far as I can tell, it's true.

[@Oscar95451]

@@moviemadness2536 I know right! The new head of Disney Animation is the same guy co-directed Zootopia and being one of the director of Encanto along with Byron Howard. He also wrote Moana. Zootopia and Encanto won Oscars, so maybe we'll give a try on the new head.

[@johnmichael2692]

While there have been good modern Disney animations, but they do need to bring back the special magic feeling classic Walt Disney brought back then for children and families where it was fun and really entertaining, we want Disney projects to have great stories and characters and both genders are in main leads and are equally important to the story like they did in classic Disney, bring back the magic

[@moviemadness2536]

I agree completely. That's what made Once Upon a Studio so special, it's one of the few things from modern Disney to perfectly capture the "Disney Magic".

[@johnmichael2692]

@@moviemadness2536 and that’s what Disney needs to still do for its projects, and have it stay family friendly for everyone to enjoy. I don’t know about you but I would like to hope that with the success of once upon a studio it could lead to them making more great specials with all the Disney animated characters all be part of it and meeting and interacting with each other around disney world and the studio even some characters that we’re missing from the special and maybe if we’re lucky it could lead to a movie, that would be amazing and they keep the characters the same

[@moviemadness2536]

@@johnmichael2692 Maybe. But honestly, I almost think Once Upon a Studio is better off as a one and done deal. I mean, how long could they keep doing it before they would screw it up? I'm just grateful it happened once.

[@johnmichael2692]

@@moviemadness2536 true and your right, I just think if they do it right they could at least make 2 or 3 more specials like that and we get to see all Disney characters even ones that we’re missing all be doing great stuff in the studio and Disney world you know, or have them all be part of a once upon a studio movie which would be cool too if they did that as well because a few months ago someone made a video on KZbin saying that it should have been made into a movie instead

[@moviemadness2536]

@@johnmichael2692 It would be nice, but I don't see it happening, unfortunately.

[@vivianaespinoza5281]

Here’s my thoughts about bolt and wish they’re both like dreamworks but there’s always a sliver lining when you watch bolt always think about the hand drawn Disney movies and when you watch wish always think about 2D Disney movies

[@moviemadness2536]

That's one way to look at it, I guess.

[@gerawallstar3487]

Bolt always felt like a PIXAR film to me than a Walt Disney Animated Movie.

[@vivianaespinoza5281]

@@gerawallstar3487 you’re just saying that because bolt is similar like buzz

[@gerawallstar3487]

@vivianaespinoza5281 funny story: when I saw this film for the first time as a kid, I thought that it was a PIXAR film because it was 3d and it didn't feel like a disney film at all.

[@domeniqharris6174]

Disney and Pixar used to be rated G but now every animated movie has to be PG. Disney and Pixar are falling victim to the rating.

[@moviemadness2536]

Yes, that is another problem. They shouldn't be ashamed of releasing something that's G rated.

[@austinreed7343]

@@moviemadness2536 At this point it might be the MPAA’s fault more than the studios.

[@moviemadness2536]

@@austinreed7343 Maybe. But they do seem desperate to avoid G ratings regardless.

[@ryonhatcher4561]

I believe that it's a good thing that Disney has learned a lot from Pixar in regards to story telling, because a lot of them have been quite compelling. But, I don't like how Disney is straying too far from what the company's founder and namesake had in mind. I'm the kind of guy who wants to keep what Walt Disney had in mind, but I also want to make the stories more compelling. Wish *TRIED* this method, but the execution was off on so many levels, mainly because the development in both the animation and the writing was rushed and sloppy, as well as using ideas that didn't make it funny and enjoyable (like having Valentino talk in a deep voice for example). The movie wasn't perfect, but that doesn't really mean it's *ALL* bad. There were some redeeming qualities of the movie that were good (key word being "some"), but I also saw some room for improvement. Was Wish the best movie? No, far from it. But I believe it was a good step in the right direction for Disney, they just need to learn from the mistakes that were made if they want future movies be faithful to what Walt had in mind and have the same compelling stories, like what Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King managed to pull off.

[@moviemadness2536]

I'm not saying that Disney couldn't learn anything from Pixar, just that it's too much. Before you know it, Disney will be just another branch of Pixar. And Wish proves that perfectly. It tries to be Disney and Pixar at the same time, and even if it isn't all bad, like you said, it still doesn't work as well as it could've. Disney HAS to be DISNEY, not Pixar 2.0.

[@ryonhatcher4561]

@@moviemadness2536 And I completely agree! Really, I do.

[@moviemadness2536]

@@ryonhatcher4561 Thank you.

[@StefonTV1]

I'm sorry, but i don't agree with this video. A lot of information was wrong and certain comparisons you've made didn't work for your argument. I respect your opinion, but i don't agree with you.

[@TheRealMonkey-g9v]

Why isn't their a rated PG-13 Disney movie why not they make their CGI movies way more mature and serious well their 2D ones will be rated G and still have the magic disney had with walt

[@moviemadness2536]

Because, among other things, they'd have to actually start doing 2D animated movies again. And these days they avoid it like the plague, even though that's what the whole company was FOUNDED on.

[@RichardSeebald]

Ok, look! If they are going to make a live action Disney film and get it right, at least they should understand the real source material!

[@moviemadness2536]

At that point it shouldn't even be a remake, just another retelling of the same story. That way they wouldn't have to disgrace the original in the process.

[@RichardSeebald]

Well, how about making a Disney film with more inspirational elements from the fairy tales they were based off of! More PG-13 references. Like Snow White for example! Make the evil queen try to eat Snow White’s heart. Make the Evil Queen get executed by being put in red hot iron shoes! Or how about Pinocchio; make him accidentally beat Jiminy Cricket with a hammer out of anger or make Pinocchio get hanged by the fox and cat!

[@MaryahTomshort]

cool

[@kryssie1866]

Youre beginning with hook from peter pan make me laugh😂😂 love that movie its so funny it let me think when i was little girl and lauging so hard in my room al alone that i forget my terrible childhood thats what disney movie,s did for me it saved me for a little time and now i dont like this modern disney.

[@moviemadness2536]

Unfortunately, yes, that's exactly what Disney means to a lot of people, and they just don't seem to have it anymore. As I've said, they've gotten way too serious like Pixar. But yeah, the dynamic between Captain Hook and the crocodile is hilarious. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@shelbyswindall9192]

I’m confused at the ‘comedic protagonist’ comment when most of Walt’s WDAS protagonists aren’t comic relief (Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Alice, Lady, Arthur, Mowgli). The only humorous ones are the fairies, Peter Pan, Ichabod, Toad, and kind of Pongo.

[@moviemadness2536]

No, I never said that the main characters themselves were funny. I even pointed out that in a few movies, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the comedic characters actually get more focus than the MAIN characters.

[@christopherreichart9193]

That’s why I am telling you this all along in the frist place some people do not understand comity Disney but I did for many years this word need to stop offended that piss me off remove stupid stories matters Gay woke everybody is i’m tired of it

[@LavenderLydia]

Why are you talking through a tin can 😭

[@moviemadness2536]

Unfortunately, I'm not. I'm sorry, I know I don't have the best microphone, but I also don't have the best budget.

[@rafaelcastro8070]

This was one of the worst videos I've ever watched