From Steamboat Willie to live-action movies: why Disney changed
Where did the old Disney go? It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves for a while. Gone are the days of The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Aladdin… At least in their cartoon forms. Instead, we are left with new live-actions remakes of these classics with CGI and actors recreating our favourite movie scenes. So why did this change come about? Have they all just run out of ideas?
The rise of ‘animatic filming’
When Disney was founded in 1923, it began using what it called ‘animatic filming’. Artists would draw a series of cartoons which would be put together on a reel accompanied to music. This resulted in the hand-drawn feel of its movies in the 20th century, bringing life to a plethora of films, which would grace our screens decades after their release. However, this was also incredibly time-consuming. Running at 24 frames per second, the amount of manual labour was a huge burden for Disney. While Steamboat Willie, Disney’s first animated movie, only lasted for 7 minutes, the films which followed were longer, and far more tedious. Despite their carefree exterior, Disney was struggling.
Disney surpassed all its competitors in terms of animation, taking in a huge 1.4 billion dollars, with Universal Studios following behind it at 1.2 billion
Box Office mojo 2019
How this changed
In 1995, Pixar brought out the first ever computer animated movie Toy Story. Not only was it a fantastic film, but the techniques it used were revolutionary. After other huge hits, like A Bug’s Life and Monster’s Inc.. Disney joined with Pixar. Together, Disney’s cartoons took on a whole new level of depth, which, while it shifted away from the old drawings, allowed them to make films without the financial difficulties they had incurred before. Other film companies like Dreamworks started to work with this format. Madagascar, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and other beloved movies came to box offices, totally transforming the industry. But Disney had the upper hand. With Pixar, its original founder, at the helm, they had so much more technique than other companies. According to Box Office Mojo, in 2019 Disney surpassed all its competitors in terms of animation, taking in a huge 1.4 billion dollars, with Universal Studios following behind it at 1.2 billion.
Live-action in action
However, even with this change, Disney found that there were still other avenues to explore with their industry. The advent of the first Disney live-action movie came with The Jungle Book in 1994, and then 101 Dalmations in 1996. While these were not totally unsuccessful, they did not get the same reception as when Disney released Alice in Wonderland in 2010. Despite their initial hesitance to produce the film, after their attempts in the 90’s, it garnered 1 billion dollars in the box office, and a positive critical reception. This success brought about a flux of live-action movies. Economically, they worked out favourably for Disney. As their audience already knew the classic movies, they were more inclined to go and see them, as opposed to investing in a film they did not know much about.
What’s next?
Today, there is a steady stream of live-action releases. The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp and Mulan are all set to go out to cinemas, or TVs, depending on the Covid situation. Of course, this is only one phase in Disney’s history of filmmaking. Who knows what’s to come…
Recently, we did an interview with Christopher M. Anthony who worked on Disney’s live action movie of The Jungle Book. You can find it here
