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:''See also [[Modern animation in the United States#The Return of Disney]].''
:''See also [[Modern animation in the United States#The Return of Disney]].''
The '''Disney Renaissance''' (1989 - 1999) was an era when the [[Walt Disney Animation Studios]] returned to making successful animated films based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/articles/quovheadisdisney.html |title=Disney: Notes on the end of the Disney Renaissance| publisher = decentfilms.com |accessdate=2008-08-26}}</ref> These animated films include ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'', ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[Aladdin (1992 film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Lion King]]'', ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', ''[[Mulan (film)|Mulan]]'', and ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]''.
The '''Disney Renaissance''' (1989 - 1999) was an era when the [[Walt Disney Animation Studios]] returned to making successful animated films based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.decentfilms.com/sections/articles/quovheadisdisney.html |title=Disney: Notes on the end of the Disney Renaissance| publisher = decentfilms.com |accessdate=2008-08-26}}</ref> These animated films include ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'', ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'', ''[[Aladdin (1992 film)|Aladdin]]'', ''[[The Lion King]]'', ''[[Pocahontas (1995 film)|Pocahontas]]'', ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', ''[[Hercules (1997 film)|Hercules]]'', ''[[Mulan (film)|Mulan]]'', and ''[[Tarzan (1999 film)|Tarzan]]''.


==History==
==History==
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Disney had been developing ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' since the 1930s. By 1987, Disney decided to make ''The Little Mermaid'' into an animated [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]-like [[musical theatre|musical]]. Lyricist [[Howard Ashman]] and composer [[Alan Menken]], who worked on Broadway years earlier such as ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'', which was later made into a ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|feature]]'' directed by [[Frank Oz]], became involved in the production and wrote and composed the songs and score for the film. The film was released on November 17, 1989 the same weekend as Don Bluth's ''[[All Dogs Go to Heaven]]''. This time, ''Little Mermaid'' defeated ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' and received a higher weekend gross. The animated film went on to out gross ''The Land Before Time'' record and became the highest-grossing animated film at that time. ''Little Mermaid'' was a critical and commercial success and was awarded 2 Academy Awards.
Disney had been developing ''[[The Little Mermaid (1989 film)|The Little Mermaid]]'' since the 1930s. By 1987, Disney decided to make ''The Little Mermaid'' into an animated [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]-like [[musical theatre|musical]]. Lyricist [[Howard Ashman]] and composer [[Alan Menken]], who worked on Broadway years earlier such as ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (musical)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'', which was later made into a ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|feature]]'' directed by [[Frank Oz]], became involved in the production and wrote and composed the songs and score for the film. The film was released on November 17, 1989 the same weekend as Don Bluth's ''[[All Dogs Go to Heaven]]''. This time, ''Little Mermaid'' defeated ''All Dogs Go to Heaven'' and received a higher weekend gross. The animated film went on to out gross ''The Land Before Time'' record and became the highest-grossing animated film at that time. ''Little Mermaid'' was a critical and commercial success and was awarded 2 Academy Awards.

''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]'' was released one year later as the first animated Disney sequel. The film is one of two Disney sequels that are part of the Disney canon and the other film sequel is ''[[Fantasia 2000]]'', as both were produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. ''The Rescuers Down Under'' garnered much positive criticism, but was less successful at the box-office than ''The Little Mermaid''.


''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' was released two years later and was commercially successful. It was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] at the Oscars, something which no other animated feature had done before or since, but it lost to ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]''. However, the film won Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) at the Golden Globe Awards and won two Academy Awards for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]. Howard Ashman was ill during the making of the film and died in [[March 14]], [[1991]]. A dedication was made at the end of the closing credits of the film. Beauty and the Beast is often considered to be the crown jewel of all the Disney animated films. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://films.estefanfilms.com/beautybeast.htm | title=Beauty and the Beast - Film Archives | publisher=The Film Archives.com | accessdate=2009-01-13}}</ref> It also broke box office records for animated films at that time, and ties for the record of animated film with most Academy Award nominations (six) as of 2009 (the other being ''[[WALL-E]]'').
''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' was released two years later and was commercially successful. It was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] at the Oscars, something which no other animated feature had done before or since, but it lost to ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]''. However, the film won Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) at the Golden Globe Awards and won two Academy Awards for [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]. Howard Ashman was ill during the making of the film and died in [[March 14]], [[1991]]. A dedication was made at the end of the closing credits of the film. Beauty and the Beast is often considered to be the crown jewel of all the Disney animated films. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://films.estefanfilms.com/beautybeast.htm | title=Beauty and the Beast - Film Archives | publisher=The Film Archives.com | accessdate=2009-01-13}}</ref> It also broke box office records for animated films at that time, and ties for the record of animated film with most Academy Award nominations (six) as of 2009 (the other being ''[[WALL-E]]'').
Line 37: Line 35:
| 88% (49 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1012450-little_mermaid/ | title=The Little Mermaid | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
| 88% (49 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1012450-little_mermaid/ | title=The Little Mermaid | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
| 86% (7 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1012450-little_mermaid/?critic=creamcrop | title=The Little Mermaid (Cream of the Crop) | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
| 86% (7 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1012450-little_mermaid/?critic=creamcrop | title=The Little Mermaid (Cream of the Crop) | publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2008-10-11}}</ref>
| style="background-color:#D3D3D3;" | &nbsp;
|-
| ''The Rescuers Down Under''
| 77% (50 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rescuers_down_under/ | title= The Rescuers Down Under| publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2009-03-23}}</ref>
| 79% (10 reviews)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rescuers_down_under/ | title= The Rescuers Down Under (Cream of the Crop)| publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | accessdate=2009-03-23}}</ref>
| style="background-color:#D3D3D3;" | &nbsp;
| style="background-color:#D3D3D3;" | &nbsp;
|-
|-
Line 100: Line 93:
| $110,756,521
| $110,756,521
| $222,300,000
| $222,300,000
|-
| ''[[The Rescuers Down Under]]''
| [[November 16]], [[1990]]
| $27,931,461
| $19,500,000
| $47,431,461
|-
|-
| ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
| ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)|Beauty and the Beast]]''
Line 157: Line 144:


==Academy Awards==
==Academy Awards==
9 of The 10 films in the Disney Renaissance were nominated for Academy Awards:
All the films in the Disney Renaissance were nominated for Academy Awards:
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Title !! Oscar nominations !! Oscar win
! Year !! Title !! Oscar nominations !! Oscar win

Revision as of 00:30, 31 March 2009

See also Modern animation in the United States#The Return of Disney.

The Disney Renaissance (1989 - 1999) was an era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films based on fairy tales, recreating a public and critical interest in the Disney studio.[1] These animated films include The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan.

History

During production of The Fox and the Hound, a long-time Disney animator, Don Bluth, pitched The Secret of NIMH to the Disney board members. The board rejected the film idea, judging the film to be too dark for children. Bluth, along with other Disney employees, left the studio in 1979 and founded Don Bluth Productions, releasing The Secret of NIMH in 1982. The studio eventually became Disney's main competitor in the animation industry during the 1980s and early '90s.

In 1986, the Disney Studios and Don Bluth Productions released The Great Mouse Detective and An American Tail, respectively. However, An American Tail defeated The Great Mouse Detective and at that time became the highest-grossing animated film. Two years later, in 1988, Disney and Don Bluth Studios released Oliver & Company and The Land Before Time on the same weekend. However, The Land Before Time broke the record for the highest-grossing animated film on its opening weekend. The film out grossed An American Tail and became the highest-grossing animated film at that time.

Animation and film fans alike were all taken by surprise when the long-awaited renaissance of animation began with the most ancient, conservative, and mainstream animation studio: the Disney Studios. The company underwent a major shakeup in the 1980s. Michael Eisner became the CEO of Disney in 1984. Chairman Roy E. Disney got the company back on its feet by returning it to its roots and revitalizing the movie studio. Producer Jeffrey Katzenberg became the studio's chairman in 1985. In 1988, the studio collaborated with Steven Spielberg, a long-time animation fan, to produce Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which featured many classic animated characters from the Golden Age of Hollywood. The film was a gigantic critical and commercial success, demonstrating that quality animation could once again be seen on movie screens. Roger Rabbit won 3 Academy Awards.

Disney had been developing The Little Mermaid since the 1930s. By 1987, Disney decided to make The Little Mermaid into an animated Broadway-like musical. Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, who worked on Broadway years earlier such as Little Shop of Horrors, which was later made into a feature directed by Frank Oz, became involved in the production and wrote and composed the songs and score for the film. The film was released on November 17, 1989 the same weekend as Don Bluth's All Dogs Go to Heaven. This time, Little Mermaid defeated All Dogs Go to Heaven and received a higher weekend gross. The animated film went on to out gross The Land Before Time record and became the highest-grossing animated film at that time. Little Mermaid was a critical and commercial success and was awarded 2 Academy Awards.

Beauty and the Beast was released two years later and was commercially successful. It was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, something which no other animated feature had done before or since, but it lost to The Silence of the Lambs. However, the film won Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) at the Golden Globe Awards and won two Academy Awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score. Howard Ashman was ill during the making of the film and died in March 14, 1991. A dedication was made at the end of the closing credits of the film. Beauty and the Beast is often considered to be the crown jewel of all the Disney animated films. [2] It also broke box office records for animated films at that time, and ties for the record of animated film with most Academy Award nominations (six) as of 2009 (the other being WALL-E).

Aladdin and The Lion King were again big hits and won Academy Awards in the Music Category. Howard Ashman wrote several songs for Aladdin before his death. Only 3 songs were used in the film. Tim Rice came on the project and wrote others songs with Alan Menken in the film. Tim Rice later collaborated with British singer Elton John on The Lion King. The film was a hit and became the highest-grossing animated film at the time and still holds the record as the highest grossing traditionally animated film of all time. The Lion King is also twenty-fourth highest-grossing feature film. It won the Best Picture at the Golden Globes and two Academy Awards in the footsteps of Beauty and the Beast. The Lion King garned very positive reviews and is considered to be the most successful animated movie Disney has ever released.

Many of the later releases were less successful in release. Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were departures from the Disney Renaissance. Both films were more mature appealing more towards adults than children. Despite this, both were box-office successes and received general approval and acclaim. Pocahontas won two Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Original Song for 'Colors of the Wind'. Both were successful with songs written by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. Disney continued on with successes Hercules with songs by Alan Menken and David Zippel, Mulan, and Tarzan with songs by Phil Collins.

Post-Renaissance era

By the year 2000, the Disney Renaissance had come to an end. Disney continued to release small successes during the post-Renaissance such as Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Disney also suffered box offices bombs with Treasure Planet and Home on the Range, with only the former a minor critical success. Fantasia 2000, Lilo & Stitch and Brother Bear gamered much positive criticism and were box office successes.

Today, the Disney Studios are creating computer-animated features. In 1995, Pixar released their first computer-animated feature, Toy Story. In 2005, Chicken Little, the Disney Studios first full CGI animated feature, received mixed reviews from critics, though it performed well at the box office.[3] Their second feature, in 2007, Meet the Robinsons, was better received and also fairly successful at the box office.[4] In 2008, their new computer animated feature Bolt was released, earning critical acclaim and modest box office success. Currently, Disney is planning to release a traditionally animated film called The Princess and the Frog, marking their first 2-D animated feature since 2004. Later, Disney has upcoming projects like Rapunzel and King of the Elves.

Critical reaction

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
Overall Cream of the Crop
The Little Mermaid 88% (49 reviews)[5] 86% (7 reviews)[6]  
Beauty and the Beast 93% (54 reviews)[7] 93% (15 reviews)[8]  
Aladdin 91% (47 reviews)[9] 100% (8 reviews)[10]  
The Lion King 92% (61 reviews)[11] 100% (13 reviews)[12] 84% (13 reviews)[13]
Pocahontas 56% (48 reviews)[14] 71% (14 reviews)[15] 58% (23 reviews)[16]
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 73% (48 reviews)[17] 60% (14 reviews)[18]  
Hercules 89% (44 reviews)[19] 90% (10 reviews)[20]  
Mulan 87% (67 reviews)[21] 71% (14 reviews)[22] 71% (24 reviews)[23]
Tarzan 87% (95 reviews)[24] 85% (26 reviews)[25] 79% (37 reviews)[26]

Box office

Film Release date Box office revenue
United States Foreign Worldwide
The Little Mermaid November 17, 1989 $111,543,479 $110,756,521 $222,300,000
Beauty and the Beast November 13, 1991 $171,350,553 $206,000,000 $377,350,553
Aladdin November 25, 1992 $217,350,219 $286,700,000 $504,050,219
The Lion King June 15, 1994 $328,541,776 $455,300,000 $783,841,776
Pocahontas June 23, 1995 $141,579,773 $204,500,000 $346,079,773
The Hunchback of Notre Dame June 21, 1996 $100,138,851 $225,200,000 $325,338,851
Hercules June 27, 1997 $99,112,101 $153,600,000 $252,712,101
Mulan June 19, 1998 $120,620,254 $183,700,000 $304,320,254
Tarzan June 18, 1999 $171,091,819 $277,100,000 $448,191,819

Academy Awards

All the films in the Disney Renaissance were nominated for Academy Awards:

Year Title Oscar nominations Oscar win
1989 The Little Mermaid 3 2
1991 Beauty and the Beast 6 2
1992 Aladdin 5 2
1994 The Lion King 4 2
1995 Pocahontas 2 2
1996 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1 0
1997 Hercules 1 0
1998 Mulan 1 0
1999 Tarzan 1 1

References

  1. ^ "Disney: Notes on the end of the Disney Renaissance". decentfilms.com. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  2. ^ "Beauty and the Beast - Film Archives". The Film Archives.com. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  3. ^ "Chicken Little". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  4. ^ "Meet the Robinsons". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  5. ^ "The Little Mermaid". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  6. ^ "The Little Mermaid (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  7. ^ "Beauty and the Beast". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  8. ^ "Beauty and the Beast (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  9. ^ "Aladdin". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  10. ^ "Aladdin (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  11. ^ "The Lion King". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  12. ^ "The Lion King (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  13. ^ "The Lion King: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  14. ^ "Pocahontas". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  15. ^ "Pocahontas (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  16. ^ "Pocahontas: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  17. ^ hunchback_of_notre_dame/ "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Retrieved 2008-10-11. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  18. ^ "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  19. ^ "Hercules". Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  20. ^ "Hercules (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  21. ^ "Mulan". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  22. ^ "Mulan (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  23. ^ "Mulan: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
  24. ^ "Tarzan". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  25. ^ "Tarzan (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  26. ^ "Tarzan: Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
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