(Disney was also conscripted by the government to make wartime propaganda.) Fantasia inadvertently signaled the creative strategy of these efforts, known as “package” films: packages of short films that were shown together to achieve feature length. The combination of middling box-office returns for Pinocchio and Fantasia with the onslaught of World War II meant Walt Disney Studios had to scale back its production in the 1940s. Eighty years later, Fantasia is distinctive and remarkable, showcasing truly jaw-dropping animation. Dubbed Fantasound, it was stereo sound decades before the world was ready for it. One reason it took so long to make a profit was that Walt Disney wanted a sound system installed in all theaters that was too expensive at the time. ( Fantasia isn’t free of controversy: A group of Black female centaurs was removed from the original cut in the 1960s because they were depicted as servile.) But Fantasia failed to hit big initially. Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite inspired the dancing flowers and mushrooms in the segment with that soundtrack, while The Rite of Spring describes nothing less than the evolution of life on Earth. Fantasia may seem daunting, but it’s well worth the effort (and if you’re streaming it, you can watch the film’s eight sections in as many chunks as you like).Įach short in Fantasia allowed animators to flex their creative muscles. There’s no overall story, almost no dialogue, and few named characters. Fantasia is unlike basically anything else Disney has ever done. Fantasia (1940)ĭisney’s third animated feature, released just a few years after Snow White, was ambitious on a level rarely seen at any mainstream studio. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs isn’t the gold standard of the Disney fairy tale, but you can’t understand the studio without seeing how it all started. Multiple animation cels (or images) were set up for each complex shot, making Snow White look as much like a movie as the live-action fare of the era did. This film’s technological breakthrough was the multiplane camera, a massive device that allowed the camera to “move” through images of a forest or the forbidding castle where the Evil Queen plots the eponymous maiden’s murder. But what makes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs still groundbreaking 83 years later is the artistry on display. A terrifying villain hell-bent on gaining power? Check. A winsome protagonist looking for her happily ever after? Check. This movie served as a template for so many other animated films from both Disney and its rivals. There’s no better place to start than with Disney’s first animated feature. The quintessential classics that helped define a studio - and an entire medium of storytelling - make up the golden age of Disney Animation. Which films are most important to watch first? Let’s take a crash course in the films of Walt Disney Animation Studios so you’ll know where to begin.ĭon’t have Disney+ yet? You can sign up here. Although Disney+ has made headlines with its newest titles, the vast expanse of Disney Animation’s feature-film canon awaits the young and the young at heart. You finished The Crown, and you’re done with The Mandalorian’s second season: Now that we’ve entered a new year, it’s a fine time to tackle something for the whole family. With this now year-old streamer, you can find all but one of the linchpin studio’s titles waiting to become your latest binge project. Disney’s current era is a far cry from its early days of animation, now that it’s the home of Darth Vader, theme parks, and what feels like half of the streaming services you subscribe to. Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Photos by Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney ProductionsĪside from its more dubious accomplishments, 2020 marked the 80th anniversary of two of the greatest animated films of all time: Pinocchio and Fantasia, both of which represented creative highs for the once-humble animation studio that turned into an intellectual-property-gobbling behemoth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |