“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things….”
- Walt Disney
After the deaths of Walt and Roy Disney (1966 & 1971) the company was left to three other Disney executives. Donn Tatum, Ron Miller and Card Walker had control of the studio at the most vital time in its history, the Disney Renaissance. Before the renaissance took place there was a key exodus within the company. Long time animator Don Bluth started his own animation company (Don Bluth Productions) taking 11 other Disney employees with him. With 17% of creators gone the Fox and the Hound, the main movie in production took a big hit. The Black Cauldron (one of my favorite underrated Disney movies) was the twenty fifth animated feature film that premiered in 1985 after the exodus of some of its best designers and animators. The film brought in around twenty one million dollars at the box office but cost nearly forty four million dollars to create, it is still seen today as a complete box office fail. However this let down was one that put Disney’s future in jeopardy. With one trick left up Disney's sleeve the company teamed up with director Stephen Spielberg to create Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. The collaboration turned things around for Disney, winning 3 Academy Awards. In the success of this film the company made enough money to set the Disney Renaissance into motion.
The Disney Renaissance was from 1989-1999. During this time Walt Disney Feature Animation was re-named Walt Disney Animation Studios, they would then come out with ten films that put the company on the map. To kick off Disney's creative spark The Little Mermaid was produced as one of Disney's first broadway style musicals, making $84 million dollars in its initial release. Along with being a huge box office success the new princess film won 2 Academy Awards, one for Best Score and another Best Original Song. Disney brought in composer Alan Menkin, the mastermind behind the two awards, stepped in and wrote the tunes that get stuck in our heads today, songs like “Under the Sea” (winner of best original song). The Little Mermaid broke the record of Highest Grossing Animated Film previously held by The Land Before Time. Created by none other than Don Bluth of Don Bluth Productions. **On a side note I personally I love the fact that The Little Mermaid knocked The Land Before Time into next week (although I loved Littlefoot and the movie itself) it showed Don Bluth Productions that Disney is the best and ultimately more awesome!! (Shows him that leaving Disney was probably the worst mistake of his entire life) But I love Disney so I’m completely biased.**
The Little Mermaid was followed by the other nine movies that contributed to making the Disney Renaissance a turning point in the companies history. The Rescuers: Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan were a part of the magical ten (as I like to call them). All together the Disney Renaissance raked in $3,823,472,974 worldwide (to date). Together they have received 24 Academy Award nominations (six of them for Beauty and the Beast alone) and eleven Oscars to take home. Six out of the ten films won and helped shape the future of Disney Animation, the kind we still love today. Though Disney faced many trying times before finding their groove (and no one could throw them off), they kept moving forward.
“I never look back darling! It distracts from the now.” - Edna Mode, The Incredibles
P.S. I really hope you got the groove pun in the last sentence, if not do yourself a favor and watch the Emperors New Groove, you won't regret it!
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