Has Disney Lost Its Way?

icanhandthemback

Chocolatelovinggran

Modern animation is so good - pixar et al - that Disney films face fierce competition .
The Disney corporation is not famous for inclusivity. There are very few people of colour in the Disney - run town of Celebration: I saw none.

Not sure that is true these days. We've had Pocahontas, Encanto, Coco, Moana, Brave and Mulan to name a few.

So true … I don’t think equating Celebration houses has much relevance to Disney.
Most Disney films - Live action with CGI or plain CGI uitilise the most talented CGI staff, most of whom are International, most being Asian!
As the above poster has said those recent films celebrate peoples of all races and colour.

I just wish those who make films about traditional nursery rhymes, books etc would stay more close to the original story. I thought the point of Snow White was the triumph of good over evil. It also reflects a patriarchal society. I wish they’d used real people with dwarfism. That would demonstrate inclusivity.

I think there is also an undercurrent of hate directed towards the 2 leading actresses because of their home countries. Very sad as they are both immensely talented and the haters have strong political views which are making this personal. It is art, not a platform for hate against Latinos and Israelis.
So much negativity on Facebook that I blocked any relevant threads

Witzend

4allweknow

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

I was taken to see Fantasia at 4, when a trip to the cinema was a very rare event. The evolution (Rite of Spring) sequence made a deep impression on me even then, and I still remember my father explaining how land animals had evolved from fishes.

OTOH I found the Night On Bare Mountain sequence exceedingly scary!

I went to see Fantasia at a cinema when I was in my twenties and there was a lot of wacky baccy being smoked in some parts of the cinema. I love the film but wouldn’t dare show it to my younger grandchildren:some parts are very scary.

Well, children these days, have nothing really to compare it with. Personally, I like the old films but at least they’re still in business. I know my grandchildren love the current ones. Modern kids eh!

The film has failed due to many reasons. The lead, Rachel Zeigler, has given outspoken interviews, mocking the original version and generally making herself unlikeable on social media. Disney curtailed interviews with her and they didn't have the normal premieres these films usually have .

Then Disney originally decided to ditch the dwarfs in order not to offend. However, they found it that the opposite was true and there was an outcry and they were offending the very people they hadn't wanted to offend. They'd already filmed with the normal size magical people or whatever they called them. So then they went CGI.

Rachel has been vocal in support of Palestine however the Ugly Queen, Gal Gadot is an Israeli who has done her military service. So a few rankles there. Also , many will say that the Ugly Queen is far better looking than Snow White. Gal is a model and extremely striking .

The whole thing has been a fiasco. I'm amazed that they showed it after so much negative press but I guess they don't want to lose their 270 million, approximately.

Oh and many are annoyed that Snow White isn't white. Now I don't go along with that. I think she's beautiful. Even with the pudding bowl hair.

The best song from the original, Some Day My Prince Will Come , was excluded. This Snow White wanted to be fearless with no need of a stalker bloke as in the original.

Just a disaster. As I read earlier, Disney, trying not to offend anyone, ended up offending almost everyone.

CGI makes everything look too shiny.

Neither version lives up to the gritty reality of the ultimate source. That polite little spot of blood from the pricked finger symbolises 'the curse'. And the man delivers her from it by something rather more robust than a kiss!

4allweknow

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

I was taken to see Fantasia at 4, when a trip to the cinema was a very rare event. The evolution (Rite of Spring) sequence made a deep impression on me even then, and I still remember my father explaining how land animals had evolved from fishes.

OTOH I found the Night On Bare Mountain sequence exceedingly scary!

Hubby and I went Friday afternoon to see it. We did not enjoy it. The songs were too long and the story was weak. There were a total of 8 people in the cinema so it sounds like the critics panning it has put people off. My hubby fell asleep and I have never seen him do that before.

There was the most damning review in The Times the other day, but it was just one of many the same, I gather.

The Gdcs are going to be away for half term, so not staying with us for the usual few days, and thank goodness no chance of wanting to go and see it!

I adore the old Disneys - Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in particular. I would never want to see any PC makeover of those!

Cold

Hmmm - I think the most recent thing I have seen from Disney was Rivals (the bonkbuster by Jilly Cooper) - not really family entertainment

I didn't get beyond the heaving bare buttocks in the aeroplane loo. Not that I am prudish or anything. I wonder what Mary Poppins would have thought of it!

Grandma70s

I’ve always disliked Disney, ever since childhood. I just don’t like the style, so to me there is not much to lose.

I must be old school too Grandma70s!
I distrust Disney. Too perfect in the main.
Not a patch on Wallace & Gromit imo!
Just as vinyl is better than downloads, and Cadbury's after being taken over, AAI bores me.
We can spot artificiality and, as good as it superficially looks, it rarely, really hits the spot.
I feel for children being brought up on it.

I saw the first SnowWhite film when I was 4 years old. Apparently, I cried for a large part of the film and those in the audience around us tried so hard to get me to stop being so upset offering bribes of anything they thought I'd like and showing me their children weren't upset about the wicked witch. Apparently a stick of barley sugar did the trick!

Prince kissing snow white shows lack of consent? Really? Perhaps they should have had him giving the kiss of life and CPR..an educational film for children. What nonsense.

Some modernizations of traditional fairy tales have been well done - I really enjoyed Tangled (Rapunzel) where they made her strong and capable rather than a placid, demure woman waiting for a prince.

Hmmm - I think the most recent thing I have seen from Disney was Rivals (the bonkbuster by Jilly Cooper) - not really family entertainment

Disney has lost absolutely nothing rather they cater to their largest market when creating new films and they do it well. Where a film is disliked I expect that is not the market they prefer to cater for for profit. Perhaps it is far smaller. The wonderful news is that everyone's favourites are still available so Disney wins regardless.

I love Encanto! My favourite Disney cartoon. Very witty.
And I loved that Frozen’s central love theme was the closeness between two sisters.

I was told one of the reasons they are remake these films is also to do with maintaining the copyright?

GrannyGravy13

Dwarf actors are complaining about the use of CGI dwarves as opposed to employing dwarf actors.

They raised a good point that this is one film along with the Christmas pantomimes of Snow White where they can get work.

There are also numerous reports that the actor playing Snow White thinks the original plot is misogynistic and verging on stalking of Snow White by the Prince.

It really is like going through the Looking Glass nowadays trying to adhere to ^new ideas and rules^

I had a friend whose daughter was achondroplasic. She hated the it when any town did a Snow White pantomime because the amount of abuse that sufferers endured when it happened would go through the roof ( and it was bad enough at other times).

I’ve watched many of the newer Disney films with grandchildren. They’re great, good triumphs over evil and the female protagonists are much more reflective of modern life than those from the 1940’s or 50’s

‘Woke to the point of idiocy, what does that mean?

I can see why the Snow White actor sees the original plot as misogynistic and stalking like behaviour from the Prince.

Well done those small actors - they need the work.

Beauty and the Beast - feminist critics had plenty to say about that in the 70’s. For obvious reasons

Chocolatelovinggran

Modern animation is so good - pixar et al - that Disney films face fierce competition .
The Disney corporation is not famous for inclusivity. There are very few people of colour in the Disney - run town of Celebration: I saw none.

Not sure that is true these days. We've had Pocahontas, Encanto, Coco, Moana, Brave and Mulan to name a few.

Modern animation is so good - pixar et al - that Disney films face fierce competition .
The Disney corporation is not famous for inclusivity. There are very few people of colour in the Disney - run town of Celebration: I saw none.

It's fiction, let's not get too caught up in bashing it. Things change with the times. If a man crept up on a sleeping woman (or one in a coma) and kissed her, no matter how chastely, in real life, there would be an outcry. As this is a children's film maybe we need to take that into account as we want children to learn from a young age that "consent" is extremely important. I'm not sure whether we can pick and choose when we role model versus when we don't when it comes to children.
The old animated version was lovely for its time and can certainly be used as a discussion about the old ways and new when kids are old enough to understand.