Could Disney's Return To Hand-Drawn Animation Be The Refresh The Company Needs?
Image Source: Plot and Theme
After Snow White’s underperformance at the box office, many Disney fans were speculating that the company may pivot back to 2D animation. But the recent box office success of Lilo & Stitch may have encouraged them to stay the course. The last Disney film to use the traditional animation they’re known for was 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. The last Disney Princess film to use that style of animation was 2009’s The Princess and the Frog.
With Disney’s focus on live-action remakes and sequels, some have criticized the entertainment genre as unoriginal. Meanwhile, other animated films like Across the Spider-Verse and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are making waves in a medium that Disney has largely abandoned. One of Disney’s original films this year was Mufasa. The film promised a compelling backstory, and while the CGI was better than 2019’s Lion King remake, the story suffered from the realism. In its original and renaissance eras, the company made a name for itself with bright colors and patterns. Walt Disney’s idea to set animation to scores of classical music in Fantasia was a historic achievement.
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Image Source: Entertainment Tonight
Now, it seems that everything new is old. As audiences, we are returning to the same stories, sometimes frame-for-frame. There have been some exceptions with the live-action remakes where they took liberties and told the story from a different perspective, like Maleficent, but by and large, the company has been retelling their same stories.
Most of Disney’s films aren’t completely original. They’re inspired by various fairy tales. But the world has scarcely run out of fairy tales, and as diversity increases in the writers’ room, the company can explore perspectives that have never crossed their minds before. There are also multiple works of literature left to explore. Despite their near complete abandonment of it, Disney is still known for their classic animation style, and a return to it may feel fresh after over a decade of live-action remakes and 3D animated styles.
The older animation style would stand out more in trailers instead of looking like most other movies. This would give Disney a marketing edge and help the trailer stick in audiences’ minds. It’s worth noting that 2D animation is not necessarily hand-drawn animation. Technology has come a long way in the past fourteen years, and there are plenty of tools available to help the process. However, it requires more work and more resources, meaning that the film has to earn more to make a profit.
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This is a conundrum with no clear answer. On the one hand, the return to traditional animation could lead to more job opportunities for animators. But on the other hand, this will stretch the budget, and the films will have to be twice as successful. Throughout its history, Disney has been no stranger to taking risks. Walt himself went bankrupt while setting up the company. There were plenty of warnings before the original Snow White that no one wanted to see a feature-length animation. Walt pressed ahead and changed the entire entertainment industry.
Now, things have gone stale, but it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Disney still produces live-action and animated properties. They could also take a third option and produce a combined film in the style of Mary Poppins or The Pagemaster. They could still hold onto the live-action format and introduce animation along with it. Walt did some early experiments with this in an attempt to produce a film inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Anytime CGI is used in live-action movies, it is also a means of merging animation with live-action, so they’re already half way there. What the company is really missing in modern times is whimsy. Perhaps, they can look to the past to chart the way to a brighter and more colorful future.
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Source(s): Collider, Disney Avenue
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