The subject of Disney and their movies is pretty polarizing. Most people either love them fanatically or hate them with a fiery passion borne from a thousand suns. Or however that saying goes. A lot, basically. A lot of hatred for Disney.
As a company, Disney has a lot of money to throw around for movie making. Close to unlimited, if we were to speak honestly. They are the fourth largest film studio with eight divisions under the conglomerate, The Walt Disney Company, and while I don’t have exact figures, they make a shit ton of money. Last year alone, they had three of the top 10 highest grossing films, two of which (Toy Story 3 and Alice In Wonderland) are now on the list of the top 10 highest grossing films of all time. Toy Story 3 is by far the highest grossing animated feature ever made. I wish I had another reason to say “highest grossing” because it’s like saying “most gross” and that would be a fun thing to research.
They’re not doing too bad, is what I’m saying.
They can rake in the dough, but does that mean their movies are better than the rest? Probably sometimes, but what does “better” mean? There’s never a right answer because there will always be someone who disagrees and then we fight and someone’s feelings get hurt when I call them stupid or imply they have horrific taste in movies and are also a little ugly. What we can do is compare what Disney does to what the others do with the same stories and judge for ourselves. Here are just a few:
Robin Hood
Disney’s version of Robin Hood is one of my favorite animated films ever, but I’m partial to talking animals. Especially when they’re not chihuahuas. The songs were catchy and addictive (I’m singing one in my head right now. Oo-de-lally. Guess which one.) and helped to hold my fluttery childhood attention. Also, somehow they made an animated fox sexy. THERE, I SAID IT. Maybe it was the accent or the “rob the rich to feed the poor” attitude of rebellious philanthropy. I don’t know what it is. Either agree with me or forget I said it. Sexy cartoon animals aside, Disney’s Robin Hood rates a “muy buena.”
To be honest, I’m not a Kevin Costner fan. I think his movies are long-winded and self-indulgent. I don’t mind him as an actor, per se, but the movies he chooses (or makes for himself *scowls at Waterworld*) are just too. much. Kevin. I also disagree stongly with mullets. But…I didn’t hate this movie as much as I probably should given all it had going against it (also: Bryan Adams). I tolerated Kevin, I liked Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Maid Marian, and loved Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater and Alan Rickman in their supporting roles. I’d give Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves a solid “not too bad.”
As opposed to Kevin Costner, I happen to be a fan of Russell Crowe. I have, more often than not, enjoyed his movie choices and I’m not ashamed of liking blockbusters like Gladiator and American Gangster. Hey, he’s never thrown a phone at me. But I’m not sure I was 100% behind this version of Robin Hood. I mean, there were points of stellar acting, moments of excitement, but…I fell asleep. It was just a little long and drawn out and slow in too many parts. I should give it another chance and try to watch it again, but for now it’s just “alright.”
Winner: Disney
Cinderella
Disney’s Cinderella is probably the #1 princess movie of all time. Ask any 4 year old to name a princess and you’ll get a squealy, jumpy “CINDEWELLA!!!” Kids love her. I don’t know why. I mean, sure, she’s pretty, I guess, but what else does she have going for her? She has a shitty job, no one but the rodents seem to like her, and she has no ears. Seriously: Look up there. No ears! If the movie didn’t bring so much joy to my daughters, I would not be a fan. I don’t like “love at first sight” scenerios, in general, and Cinderella is the originator. Grade – meh.
I can’t believe I’m talking about a movie with Hilary Duff in a starring roll, but to hell with it. So, on a basic level, this movie is fractionally better than Disney’s version. The prince and princess in this film are just regular high school kids who actually take the time to get to know each other, via Teh Innernets, before falling in love forever and ever, happily ever after. But…yeah. That’s all I’ve got. It was terrible. Grade – no thanks.
Winner: Disney…reluctantly
Alice In Wonderland
I chose to compare Disney’s animated version of Alice In Wonderland, as opposed to last year’s Tim Burton-driven live action film for two reasons. 1) I actually really enjoyed last year’s Alice, and 2) most of you did not. But I’m also a huge fan of the cartoon, so let’s look at that. This has got to be the trippiest movie ever put out by Disney, and I’m including Tim Burton’s go at the story. But that’s Lewis Carroll’s fault. Disney was a little loosey-goosey with the plotline, but it had plenty of redeeming points: good tunes, memorable renditions of the characters, and it was succinct enough to hold the attention of its target audience. Two thumbs up.
On the list of my Top 10 Movies Of All Time, there is one made-for-tv movie, and it’s CBS’s 1985 2-part adaptation of Alice In Wonderland. Chock-full of every celebrity worth its salt at the time, over-flowing with songs I still sing to my kids everyday, and funny. Even as an adult, I enjoy the shit out of this movie. It’s also the version (between these two, and also others I’ve seen) that stuck most closely to the original story. I just flat out love this movie. One million thumbs up.
Winner: CBS
Peter Pan
Oh, Peter Pan. I want to love you. I really do. But seriously, Injuns? I mean, I know times were different in 1953, but…still. I’m too distracted to rate the rest of the movie. Was it good? I don’t remember. I’m too busy figuring out “What Made The Red Man Red?” Verdict – at least we got Tink out of the deal.
Thought I’d talk about Hook, didn’t you? Nope. Too far from the plot. Let’s talk a bit about Peter Pan, the live-action take from 2003. This film is very faithful to the original play and I loved how, in contrast to Hook, this one used fairly unknown actors. It was thrilling and visually beautiful. It’s darker than the Disney version, but it’s a dark story, so why tiptoe? Movies for children don’t always have to be dipped in sugar; they’re not as delicate as we sometimes accuse them of being. Verdict – this is the version I’d like to picture when I read my kids the story.
Winner: Universal Studios
Conclusion: It’s a tie, and as this is such a small sampling of the many, many films that have been remade by Disney and by other studios of Disney movies, I conclude that these findings are inconclusive. Sorry about that.
With the release of Beastly, a re-imagining of Beauty And The Beast based on the novel Beastly, as well as the two upcoming versions of Snow White – Snow and The Seven and Snow White and The Huntsman – there will be plenty more to compare and contrast in the near future. And let’s not forget, even though it’s only been seven years since the latest version was released, there is already a new version of Peter Pan in the works.
What’s your take? Can you think of a couple of like-storied movies to compare where Disney either won or lost? Or do you avoid Disney movies like the plague?
About Jen O.
