Anyone else here dislike Disney films besides me? (1 Viewer)

[BarryR]

For my part, I was overjoyed when LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST were released because they were the virtually the only type of films around sustaining the musical tradition in movies, which has been sorely in need of rehab the last three decades. Both films have first class scores, and I put BEAUTY especially among Disney's best work in animation. I can't wait for the DVD this autumn.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Rob,

We're already way off course, but before we steer back, "Battle of the Planets" was a bowlderized Americanization of the Japanese series "Gatchaman". They took some, not all, of the episodes, changed the plots and series premise, created the 7-Zark-7 footage because kids liked R2D2, and called it "Battle of the Planets".

Regards,

 

[Michael Dehaven]

Reading this thread it is quite astounding to see the depth of intolerance to anything non-american. Studio Ghibli in Japan has been producing fantastic animated films for many years. The adventurous at HTF know of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, and the recent Spirited Away. This debate about non-americans equalling or surpassing US cinema is infantile and quite frankly very sad. It is 2002 and America has so much to gain by embracing and studying world culture. Disney is an American institution but by no means is it alone in creating the very best in animated films. I would like to add that having children can seriously impact ones' love/appreciation of Disney films. My nine year old daughter and I have watched everything Disney and because of Cartoon Network and other cable kids stations we have seen many Japanese animated TV series and films. My daughter's absolute favorites are Lion King and Sailor Moon, a japanese TV and film series. So, seeing that my daughter has no bias for the country of origin for animation it rankles even more to see adults completely dismiss an entire countries output without having seen what is available. Shame, Shame, Shame.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

What Stone does is actually worse than historical inaccuracies in kids films. Kids are curious and most will ask someone older about the events.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I have missed out on the whole thread to this point, but will respond to the question in the title.

I, for one, respect the mastery and artwork in Disney films, but would rather watch a crappy film with a good plot and story (and no songs) than a beautiful Disney film with a half assed storyline, ripped straight from popular fairy tales (very unoriginal), and themes made so obvious that even babies can figure them out (the movies are made for little kids).

I like anime because it has a universal appeal. Not all anime characters have big eyes and bad dubbing, and some anime shows/movies are aimed at adults, children, teens, anybody! This means that since animation is spread althroughout Japan, it is accepted as a valid artform, not matter what the content. In America, if its animated and not for kids, it usually sucks or is not accepted by the masses (for whatever reason) and Disney is really doing nothing to change that.

So no, I don't like Disney films in general.

 

[Terrell]

Oh well, I'm one baby that loves most of their films.

 

[rob kilbride]

Michael, I hope that comment wasn't aimed at me because I thought I made it abundantly clear that I am not anti-Asian or anti-Japanese. My wife is a Filipino with some Japanese ancestry. My only point is that what Japanese animation I have been exposed to usually has fallen into the poor to average range and seemed to have very similar styles. Why would I feel compelled to dig deeper into a genre which has not impressed me?

Personally I would prefer Disney would not recycle their plots so often, but I would much rather watch their recycled plots with beautiful, eye dazzling animation, great music , and entertaining characters than watch a better plot with poor animation. I don't look for a million twists in animated plots. Complex plots lend themselves better to live action films imho.

I'll admit I don't watch many foreign films but I was impressed with Legend of the Drunken Master, and was surprised to find China, not Japan, appeared to be the next great movie making country.

Finally on the point about historical accuracy ponder this: if a child watched Braveheart and Pocahontas, which falsehood would the child more likely believe: That Pocahintas knew a speaking magic willow tree, or that William Wallace concieved a child with the Princess of Wales? You might also note that Wallace used a completely different strategy to win the Battle of Sterling, and there are many other points that were fictionalized. So if its not a documentary, don't expect movies to be 100% historically accurate live action or animated.

 

[Michael Dehaven]

Rob, I have not mentioned any names in order that I might protect the innocent and the guilty. I have said nothing about historical accuracy, you've confused me with your own arguement. I only mention bias and taking a stance without knowledge of a particular subject nothing more. My daughter has no bias, she watches/reads what resonates in her life. A simple point. We enjoy animated films from Disney, Studio Ghibli, Dreamworks, and many others. We do not find it necessary to elevate one studio or country above all others.

 

[Terrell]

We're only discussing who we think is the best in feature length animation, or at least I was. In my opinion, Disney is the best. They pioneered feature length animation, more than anyone. I think based on their work and their quality, they are the best. I've seen Akira. That's the limit of my experience with anime, other than a few anime shows I've seen on TV. I didn't care for it and didn't think it was good as what Disney does. Just because I don't think it's as good as Disney's work, doesn't mean I'm biased against Japan. I just don't like anime. So sue me.

 

[Michael Dehaven]

Terrell

The thread topic is..anybody else hate Disney?

We are not discussing your topic "I think Disneys the best."

I will not sue, or seek damages.

Rent Kiki's Delivery service (VHS only, ask your beloved Disney why?)

Rent Princess Mononoke on dvd.

By the way Terrell, if any studio is doing fantastic animated movies it is Studio Ghibli in Japan and guess who owns the rights to their distribution? Yep Disney!!!!!

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

The thread topic is..anybody else hate Disney?

We are not discussing your topic "I think Disneys the best."

...he is responding to the topic negatively. If he was just supposed to say yes or no, than this topic should be in the polls section. The thread topic does not specifically mention anime either, but I certainly don't think it is out of bounds to discuss it in the context of liking or disliking it compared to Disney animation.

Regards,

 

[Jay E]

he is responding to the topic negatively. If he was just supposed to say yes or no, than this topic should be in the polls section.

If I was trying to get both sides of people's opinions on Disney, I would have made the topic header "What is your opinion of Disney" or "Disney - Love them or Hate them". Like I said before, I was seeking forum members who might feel the same way I feel which is why I worded the topic header the way I did.

That being said, although the topic has strayed, I don't mind any discussion on the merits of Anime compared to Disney. Personally, I prefer Anime as the storylines are much more mature & sophisticated and less cloying & repetitive.

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I do definitely not hate Disney...

I could be considered a Disney-phile and I'm certainly a Disney collector. I've got most of what I've been able to find of Disney animation on laserdisc and DVD.

I consider the 1930s and 40s the golden age of Disney animation (both features and shorts), but I guess it's an advantage to be into film history in general and animation history in particular to enjoy this material 100% since it's frequently a bit less in sync with today's tastes...

Because of my collector mentality and general level of admiration when it comes to Disney, I've got quite a bit of material that I would not consider all that great on its own merits. 60s and 70s stuff is simpler in technique and repetitive in story while Disney features of the 90s in general are technically superior but even less innovative storywise. I'm suggesting here that I can easily see reasons to dislike Disney, even though I'm still buying it (in more ways than one).

WB's classic shorts certainly have a much higher "fun factor" than Disney's and WB's probably give me more laughs. But to me that's not the only thing that counts. I enjoy and admire both Disney's and WB's cartoon shorts, but in different ways, for different reasons.

 

[Terrell]

I assume you mean Looney Tunes. Of course they're funnier. They're cartoons. The best ever created in my opinion. Animated shorts if you will. I love them. But that's far different than feature length animation. I guess I'm talking about one thing, and everyone else is talking about something else.

ask your beloved Disney why?

Aw how nice. Micahel must have a problem with me liking Disney. Yes, if you want to call it my beloved Disney, fine.:rolleyes
As for the topic, I'll bow out and say hell no I don't hate Disney.

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Quote:

"I assume you mean Looney Tunes. Of course they're funnier. They're cartoons. The best ever created in my opinion. Animated shorts if you will. I love them. But that's far different than feature length animation. I guess I'm talking about one thing, and everyone else is talking about something else."

Yes, I mean Looney Tunes. When I compare those to anything Disney, I compare them to Disney's shorts, not their features.

 

[Terrell]

I'm not sure I've seen many Disney shorts. Can't remember any. But Looney Tunes ROCK!!!

 

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Disney shorts would be older films with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy. Not very familiar to you?

I certainly agree about the Looney Tunes, which at their best have great qualities - qualities very different from those of the somewhat "artistic" and comparatively slow Disney shorts.

In both cases I'm talking about films from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

 

[Terrell]

Sort of like Steamboat Willie? I've seen that, but other than that, I've seen none. Even at 30 I still watch Looney Tunes. They kill me with laughter.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

We are starting to compare the quality of the animation to the visuals. Yes, Disney can make it look great, but the content, originality, and depth is not there.

And if you want to compare overall quality of the animation, what about pretty much every single 70s cartoon TV show? How about the 80s as well?

Anime, most of the time, has better stories, deeper characters, and more overall quality content than most American animation. Granted, it might not always look as smooth as Disney, but I could easily show some things in anime that Disney would never consider doing because it would show that they can do something other than bad children's movies.

When animation becomes accepted as more than kids stuff and TV shows in America (if it achieves the status as a real form of storytelling for stories aimed at people older than 8) then maybe the quality will improve, but until then, it will just suck.

 

[Terrell]

Disney classics are based on fairy tales. And animation is not supposed to be very deep or meaninful. But many of Disney's animted films are wholly original. As for anime, again, I'm not into it. I saw Akira, and I keep saying that because it's all I've seen other than anime TV shows, and I did not care for it at all.