Disney Renaissance Month - The Impact of the Disney Renaissance

        Hey guys, Chuck here, and now that we've discussed the ten films of the Disney Renaissance, I would also like to discuss the overall impact that the Disney Renaissance had both at the studio and at other movie studios. Now, obviously, the success of the Renaissance saw great things for Disney CEO Michael Eisner. But, unfortunately, after the tragic death of Frank Wells in 1994, and the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg due to some ongoing and unresolvable conflicts between Katzenberg and Roy E. Disney, Eisner's tenure as CEO was starting to dwindle, until Roy E. Disney relaunched his "Save Disney" campaign in 2004 to get the shareholders to vote against the reappointment of Eisner, and Eisner would eventually resign from his position in 2005. His successor, Bob Iger, would make various moves and investments that would see Disney succeed throughout the 2010's.

        However, the success of the Disney Renaissance was felt by other studios as well, and a majority of them opened their own animation departments, and would begin producing animated films to compete with Disney. Unfortunately, most of them were very forgettable, and a lot of them just straight up sucked. One studio that did make a successful animated film was DreamWorks, a studio created by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. Yep, the same Katzenberg that once oversaw Disney's success was now aiming to compete with Disney, releasing such films as Antz, a computer animated movie about bugs starring Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, and Sharon Stone, and The Prince of Egypt, a hand-drawn animated film based on the Biblical story of Moses. 20th Century Fox would also dabble in animation with FernGully in 1992, which would also feature Robin Williams, and Anastasia, a musical fairy tale based on the legend of the Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova. The latter film, oddly enough, was directed by Don Bluth, who struggled to keep up in the early part of the 90's, with films like Rock A Doodle, The Pebble and the Penguin, Thumbelina, and A Troll in Central Park not being particularly successful with critics or at the box office. Paramount Pictures would also release two animated films aimed at much more adult audiences: Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, based on the MTV cartoon Beavis and Butt-Head by Mike Judge, and South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, based on Comedy Central's South Park by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. We'll get back to them later. Two other films that were ultimately the biggest failures of the bunch were The Swan Princess, a musical fairy tale based on the story of Swan Lake, and Quest for Camelot, based on the myth of King Arthur and the Round Table.

      Disney's success with the Renaissance would also be felt by the Academy, who would award several Oscars to films released during the Disney Renaissance. Predominantly in the categories of music, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Pocahontas would win both Best Original Song and Best Original Score. "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan would win Best Original Song, and Beauty and the Beast would get a nomination for Best Picture. Speaking of "You'll Be in My Heart," another song up for the same award that year was "Blame Canada" from South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Needless to say, Matt and Trey weren't too thrilled about losing the Oscar, and retaliated by mocking Phil Collins on an episode of South Park. But, with all of the success Disney was having at the Oscars just based on Music, in addition to the increase in animation studios producing animated movies, the Academy decided to create a brand new category, Best Animated Feature, and it was officially added as a category in 2002, with Pixar's Finding Nemo being the first Disney production to win the award in 2004. 

       So, over the years, many successful animation studios have opened up, all with popular animated film franchises that entertain audiences today. Illumination, DreamWorks, Warner Animation, Sony Animation, and so forth have proven to make animated films that can be just as successful and entertaining as Disney. But, had the Disney Renaissance not proven that animation can be a very lucrative market for entertainment not just for children and families, but for everyone, we probably wouldn't have this new boom era of animation we're currently in. Heck, even Disney and Pixar have made numerous hit animated films that harken back to the classics from the Renaissance Era. 

         Overall, the Disney Renaissance was the real kick in the pants that feature animation needed in order to prove it's still a viable market for cinema. Even with Disney remaking their Renaissance Era animated films, audiences will always have the originals to look back on and remember fondly. That is how truly impactful the Disney Renaissance is. Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back on Tuesday to wrap up Disney Renaissance Month.