Disney Talk – Live It Up

Image copyright Disney/Pixar.

With a Best Picture Oscar nomination under its belt for the first time in eighteen years and an outstanding slate of upcoming projects on the horizon, the Walt Disney Company might just be at an all-time peak.

By Blake

Originally posted February 10, 2010. 



Tuesday, February 2, 2010 wasn’t just another Groundhog Day. Yes, many people across the nation anticipated the little furry mammal to stick his head out of the ground and see his shadow. Ordinarily, so would Dug, the canine star of Pixar’s Up with a collar that allows his thoughts to be vocalized. Dug has a tendency to have particular interest in creatures tinier than him (especially squirrels), but on this particular Groundhog Day his fascination of critters took a backseat—he was far more interested in a certain announcement of nominees for a prestigious cinema awards ceremony.

And with good reason, too. Thankfully Dug was not disappointed in the slightest as his phenomenal film Up was nominated not only for Academy Awards for Best Animated Film, Best Score, and Best Original Screenplay, but also for Best Picture. Yes, you read that correctly.

Read more after the jump.



Up now holds the distinction of being one of two animated films in history to ever be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. The only other movie to have that honor is Disney’s own Beauty and the Beast.

Kevin, Russell, Dug, and Carl have plenty to celebrate as Up heads to the Oscars with a Best Picture nomination.  Image copyright Disney/Pixar. 

Other impressive Disney-related Oscar nods went to The Princess and the Frog, which received a nomination for Best Animated Film, as well as two nominations for Best Song (for “Down in New Orleans” and “Almost There,” both composed by Randy Newman).

The Princess and the Frog received three Oscar nominations.  Image copyright Disney.

These nominations make two years in a row that Walt Disney Animation Studios has received a Best Animated Film nomination (continuing from last year’s Bolt), seven consecutive Pixar films that have received a Best Animated Film nomination (since the category’s inception, every Pixar film to date has been nominated), and the fourth consecutive year that a Disney song has received a Best Song nomination (coming behind “Our Town” from Cars, “Happy Working Song,” “That’s How You Know,” and “So Close” from Enchanted, and “Down to Earth” from Wall-E).

This outstanding news pretty much sets in stone a theory that I’ve had in my head for a while now. I’ve been thinking about the two previous “golden ages”—periods of time when Disney animation was at its best, first in the late 30’s/early 40’s and again in the late 80’s through the 90’s—and, seeing the simply amazing work that’s been cranked out of the company lately, I would go as far to say that we are in the midst of another golden age right now.

When did it begin? If you’re looking at Disney animation as a whole, I would say Enchanted, which was released in November 2007. (I seem to agree with Blue Sky Disney on that point.) Since then, things have gotten better and better in terms of character development, attention to detail, music composition, and overall appeal of films and products.

Enchanted make have kicked off Disney's third "golden age."  Image copyright Disney.

This time, though, the “golden age” is not just limited to one particular animation studio of the several that Disney operates. Walt Disney Animation Studios has another princess musical (Rapunzel) and a new hand-drawn (hooray!) Winnie the Pooh theatrical film to look forward to; Pixar Animation Studios promises more beloved stories with sequels such as Toy Story 3 and Cars 2, as well as new tales like Newt and The Bear and the Bow; ImageMovers Digital had success with Disney’s A Christmas Carol and has more movies lined up to be released; and DisneyToon Studios has scrapped direct-to-DVD sequels in favor of the highly-successful Disney Fairies films, giving Tinker Bell her overdue spotlight with an all-new movie series and—gasp!—a voice.

In 2008, Disney introduced audiences to Pixie Hollow, a never-bever-seen part of Never Land where Tinker Bell and her fairy friends reside.  Image copyright Disney.

Additionally, it seems that this new “golden age” is extending itself beyond just animation. Just about every single area of the company has, after a bit of a rough patch, finally found their niche and know what they need to be doing to create successful, quality family experiences.

Disney Parks has nothing but massive mega-projects coming up, such as Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland Forest and California Adventure’s new additions of Ariel’s Adventure and Cars Land. There’s also the just-announced Summer Nightastic! events (including the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade) to look forward to in a few months at Walt Disney World.

Fantasyland Forest is coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom.  Image copyright Disney.

D23, Disney’s official fan club, originated in March 2009 and has been an immediate hit. Its first-ever expo in September delivered the biggest Disney media event in quite some time and its new Disney twenty-three magazine is eloquently outstanding. The fact that D23’s upcoming after-hours anniversary party inside the Magic Kingdom sold out in just ten minutes should be a clear indication of the club’s instant popularity.

D23 and its corresponding Disney twenty-three magazine were unexpected surprises when they were revealed in 2009.  Image copyright Disney.

As far as Disney Channel is concerned, the network found its place when High School Musical became an overnight hit in 2006. Since then, the channel has hopped on that bandwagon with endeavors such as Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Camp Rock, Sonny with a Chance, and JONAS.

High School Musical was a surpise hit and a mega franchise for Disney.  Image copyright Disney.

After a period of dormancy, the Disney acquisition of the Muppets has picked up speed, re-introducing Jim Henson’s beloved furry friends into the public’s eye in innovative new ways, using the Internet medium to its full potential (Bohemian Rhapsody, anyone?). There are many, many exciting Muppet projects coming soon, so Kermit fans will certainly have their fill of genuine Muppety humor.

Kermit, Miss Piggy, and friends are all ready for a major comeback.  Image copyright Disney/The Muppets Studio.

When looking at animation and live-action films as a whole, in 2010 alone, Walt Disney Pictures is set to release the highly-anticipated Alice in Wonderland project helmed by Tim Burton, a documentary directed by Don Hahn chronicling the making of Disney’s animated masterpieces of the 1990’s called Waking Sleeping Beauty, a second Disneynature film entitled Oceans, two Jerry Bruckheimer thrillers (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), the sure-to-be-marvelous Toy Story 3, the long-awaited Rapunzel, and the high-tech Tron Legacy.

Andy's toys are returning, this time facing their biggest fear yet: their owner growing up.  Image copyright Disney/Pixar.

Beyond this year, other very, VERY exciting films to look forward to in the not-so-distant future are Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made!, as well as a third National Treasure installment and a sequel to Enchanted.

Wait a minute, what was that last part?!? Oh, yeah. Last Friday, February 5, Variety confirmed a sequel to the happily-ever-after tale of a clueless animated princess wandering into reality.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Disney would be very wise to use Enchanted while they can before it slips away into the general public’s subconscious forgetfulness. Whether it be a stage production (which the 2008 Oscars ceremony clearly proved would indeed work), a theme park attraction, or a sequel, they would be missing out on a lot if they let Enchanted remain nothing but a stand-alone entity.

So it seems highly appropriate, in my opinion at least, that the film that started this third “golden age” in the first place get another chance to truly join in the celebration it helped kick off.

Enchanted is set to return for another round of fun with Giselle and company.  Image copyright Disney.

For those reasons, it is quite, quite safe to say that fans of the Walt Disney Company are free to soak up yet another “golden age” of enjoyment. Not only is animation excelling in ways unimaginable before, but virtually the entire organization is striving its hardest to be the best it can be, to retain the integrity that its beloved characters have accumulated throughout the many years they have spent in guests’ lives, and to truly bring joy to audiences through classic storytelling as only Disney can do.

 
By Blake; posted February 10, 2010.  All images copyright Disney.  Up and Toy Story 3 images copyright Disney/Pixar.  The Muppets image copyright Disney/The Muppets Studio.