Disney parodying Disney

Dr. Watson · Post by **Dr. Watson** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:08 pm

I just saw this trailer on YouTube for the upcoming Disney feature "Enchanted" and thought i should share it with you (since animation in general seems to be a somewhat recurring topic on this forum). It's part animated, part live-action, and the basic premise is about a princess from the Disney/fairy tale world being transported to modern day New York, resulting in "hilarious" parody of classic Disney films (and, if i know modern family films, more than a couple of fart and kick-in-the-balls jokes, no doubt).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ1e_yPfFD8

You know, with the risk of sounding like a 7-year old pansy, i must admit i miss the days when Disney films actually had an engaging story and were emotionally involving, and did not have any kind of self-awareness. Films like "Pinocchio", "Bambi", "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King" truly are good movies, instead of simply being endless cavalcades of parody and "edgy" adult humor with minimum emotion or drama, like just about all animated films of the last few years seem to be.

Arcade · Post by **Arcade** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:18 pm

HAHAHA

Black Rook · Post by **Black Rook** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:40 pm

I dunno. Seems this isn't so much a parody as is it another formulaic Disney movie with some self-referential jokes. Hell, it even has the requisite Cute Animal Sidekick, which as far as I can tell is still played completely straight (though at least it's not talking).

At this point, I don't know if Disney can go back to making "timeless classics", even if they wanted to. Making a work of art requires the artist to have a soul. Disney rather obvious lost that a long time ago. So rather than come up with an actual good movie, they'll just ape what's popular- like you mentioned, all the post-Shrek "look we're being funny!!LOL!!11111oen" crap. Including Shrek itself.

...Which ironically has become the very thing it was parodying.

Tsuyoshi-kun · Post by **Tsuyoshi-kun** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:34 pm

I still think the first Shrek is a reliatively good movie. The sequels are just cash cows that reference pop culture references for humor, far more than the first movie did.

DackAttac · Post by **DackAttac** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:47 am

It's a shame that for a fresh idea, I still get a vibe off the film that it thinks it's about twice as clever as it really is.

Radrappy · Post by **Radrappy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:28 am

Do you guys consider Aladdin or the Little Mermaid to be much good?

I admit that Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King had nice things going for them, but there are bits of both movies that make me really embarrassed to be watching them. Maybe it's just because those sequences are aimed exclusively towards kids. Then again, plenty of filmmakers manage to make films appealing to children without sacrificing too much dignity (I think Pixar handles this well. Dreamworks, not so much).

Also, the musical bits that came with the Disney films of the 90's are pretty fucking obnoxious.

This movie looks pretty well, obnoxious also. I'm interested in the dragon? James Baxter Animation is handling the 2D animation in the film so I'm sure all 15 minutes of it will be swell.

Senbei · Post by **Senbei** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:34 am

Aladdin is easily my favorite Disney film, if for nothing else than the Genie. I'm also a sucker for showtunes, and I miss movies where the characters actually sing and dance, rather than hearing a cameo by popular folk artist #24.

The weird thing I've noticed is that these movies seem a lot shorter than they did when I was a kid. It makes sense that the film'd want to keep the attention of a child audience, but, as an adult, sometimes quality seems to suffer because everything's so short.

Isuka · Post by **Isuka** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:29 am

Maybe those films had moral contents that really struck the children back then, current movies of any kind point towards real-life "street smarts", about being cool and don't dig ethics anymore, nothing really epic. Maybe that's why the Spider-man and Batman films feel really good, they have some "cheesy" elements to the plot that give insight to the characters, plus fights and special FX.

Black Rook · Post by **Black Rook** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:30 am

Radrappy wrote: I admit that Beauty and the Beast and the Lion King had nice things going for them, but there are bits of both movies that make me really embarrassed to be watching them. Maybe it's just because those sequences are aimed exclusively towards kids. Then again, plenty of filmmakers manage to make films appealing to children without sacrificing too much dignity (I think Pixar handles this well. Dreamworks, not so much).

Also, the musical bits that came with the Disney films of the 90's are pretty fucking obnoxious.

It was pretty much after Lion King that Disney started making movies with a base guideline of the "hero + princess + talking sidekick voiced by moderately-to-well-known comedian + musical number = profit" formula. I think we can pretty much leave out the entire last half of the 90's when discussing "classic" Disney (and as usual, excepting Pixar).

Anyway, as obnoxious as some of these films seem, at least they felt like they were telling a story, as opposed to just slapping something together to make a profit. That's what I liked about those older movies, and what I still like about Pixar (not counting Cars, which screamed "we're running out of ideas").

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:25 am

That's what I liked about those older movies, and what I still like about Pixar (not counting Cars, which screamed "we're running out of ideas").

I sort of suspected Cars was a half-assed attempt as a last "Fuck you" to Disney intended to be shown back when they were splitting.

Dr. Watson · Post by **Dr. Watson** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:01 pm

I consider the the very earliest Disney films to be the very best, those from the so called "golden age" of the 30's and 40's. Although just as cutsey and often cheesy as the Disney films of the 90's (if not more so), they seem less pretentious and overblown. And what i really like about them is that, unlike later Disney films, they each have their own unique style and "feel" to them.

Snow white was, of course, the first of Disneys many romantic princess-tales, so even though it might seem cliche now, one must remember that it was the first of its kind. Pinocchio however is still the only Disney film of its kind, since instead of taking place in an overall friendly dreamworld like other Disney flicks, it rather appears to take place in a surreal nightmare, where almost every single character is out to kidnap, enslave or kill Pinocchio and the other few good guys. And then of there is Bambi, which is unique among its peers due to its outstanding naturalism, and for not having a clearly defined narrative, but rather showing various unrelated bits of the protagonists adolescence. And then of course there is Fantasia, which is actually just as pretentious as later films, but, with its avant garde qualities, is nevertheless a film that looks and feels like no other mainstream Hollywood film whatsoever.

Double-S- · Post by **Double-S-** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:05 pm

I'll say one thing about this movie, and that's that the animated parts looked very nice.

Neo Yi · Post by **Neo Yi** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:09 pm

Anyway, as obnoxious as some of these films seem, at least they felt like they were telling a story, as opposed to just slapping something together to make a profit. That's what I liked about those older movies, and what I still like about Pixar (not counting Cars, which screamed "we're running out of ideas").

Eh, I didn't think Cars was necessary bad. Definitly not the usual Pixar caliber, especially having come after the wonderful The Incredibles (I honestly think it'll be tough to outdo that movie for a long time), it just lacked "oomph", is all. Though I can understand where you're coming from, the execution in general were terribly cliche.

Cuckooguy · Post by **Cuckooguy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:32 pm

I thought The Little Mermaid to The Lion King (barring maybe the Rescuers Down Under, I'd have to watch that again if that was any good) were wonderful films where everything falls into place quite nicely without awkward forced messages to be found. One thing I thought really made them was the music and the musicals. Just watch a clip of something like Poor Unfortunate Souls and figure out how much it does for the scene; to have Ursula come up with a standard speech convincing Ariel to become a human within that same timeframe would've been dull and boring.

I really wish some company would make a great animated musical again because I've been itching for one, and I fear all this parodizing of people breaking out into song have suppressed the notion of a musical coming out soon.

Concerning Pixar, I haven't watched Cars, but I definitely think they shouldn't bother trying to outdo The Incredibles for a while, so I expected movies that looked somewhat underwhelming like Cars or Ratatouille to come out, which I assume are probably good, but probably not as good as their greater stuff.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:33 pm

Oh boy, another wacky self-aware metaplot involving princesses and cliches. Where have I seen this formula again? Oh yeah, Shrek fucking sucks.

This looks like crap and I'm disappointed it's Disney's first traditionally animated feature since the whole CG fiasco.

Cuckooguy wrote:Concerning Pixar, I haven't watched Cars, but I definitely think they shouldn't bother trying to outdo The Incredibles for a while, so I expected movies that looked somewhat underwhelming like Cars or Ratatouille to come out, which I assume are probably good, but probably not as good as their greater stuff.

From what I hear, a lot of people are saying Ratatouille is even better than The Incredibles.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:54 pm

Wait, so am I the only one who thinks Cars isn't Pixar's worse film? I mean, I didn't think it was great as The Incredibles, Monster's Inc., or the Toy Story films, but I would rather watch Cars than A Bug's Life--which I still think is Pixar's weakest film.

As for this movie trailer, the animation is nice and I admit, I giggled at a few parts in the trailers, but this isn't something I wouldn't spend $7 to see. Maybe when it comes to any of the movie channels or Disney Channel and when I'm bored...

Looking at the animated parts makes me excited for the next full-length animated feature--assuming it is on par with The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Lilo and Stitch and not Home on the Range.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:12 pm

Bugs Life and Cars tie for Pixar's weakest films. They're just very generic fare.

From what I hear, a lot of people are saying Ratatouille is even better than The Incredibles.

The trailer for Ratatouille looked very, very lame.

Post by **Segaholic2** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:23 pm

ALL of Pixar's original teasers look rather lame. The Incredibles wasn't an exception.

gr4yJ4Y · Post by **gr4yJ4Y** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:27 pm

Shrek 1 is still a good movie, but the sequels...

I've been meaning to go back and watch some old Disney movies for a while now. I really do miss hand-drawn animation on the big screen.

This movie probably would've been good a few years ago. If it works as an appology letter from Disney for releasing sequels to everything they've ever made, I might like it.

Radrappy · Post by **Radrappy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:32 pm

Cars was unremarkable because John Lasseter made it for himself and for other car fans. I think most kids IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve talked to hated it. Or were just plain bored.

A funny thing about Pixar movies, whether you like them or not is that they basically make the stories up as they go(inside scoop!). If any of the film's stories ever felt disjointed to you here's the reason. The only film so far that didn't fall victim to this was Brad Bird's Incredibles. He came to Pixar with a complete script and vision for what he wanted the end product to be rather than bumble around, inserting cheap jokes and trying to tie it all up with some circular theme at the end.

I still think Finding Nemo is one of the most boring animated films I've ever seen.

Also, I would never judge their films based on the trailers seeing as they're just fed to the teeth with Pixar jokes. Believe me, the last thing I go to their movies for is to laugh.

Also as I mentioned before, Enchanted is only animated for 15 minutes and Disney is not doing it. The first full length animated Disney film in quite a while will be The Frog and the Princess (they keep changing the title) starring the first African American Disney princess. If you missed those musical numbers you're in for a jazzy treat. It's also being directed by the two geniuses that brought you The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Treasure Planet.

What did you guys think of Lilo and Stitch?

Cuckooguy · Post by **Cuckooguy** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:38 pm

I remember watching Lilo & Stitch in the movie theaters and being quite bored with it. I watched it a second time on a television set and for some reason I enjoyed it.

I'm not sure why.

Concerning The Princess and the Frog, after seeing all these changes taking place in the film because of an oversensitive public, I find it hard to want to watch this movie if the makers of this movie are going to be swayed so easily to change aspects of the script just because a couple of names and an occupation sounds racist only to the people who are looking for something to get riled up about.

Well, I can only hope that it turns out any good, which is unfortunately fairly unlikely considering Disney's track record so far.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:55 pm

I liked Cars. It wasn't the studio's best - certainly no big surprises, it's one of the most by-the-numbers films they've ever done - but the stock elements were pieced together with panache and it's still a cut above any of the CG schlock being churned out by any other studio.

Ratatouille looks awesome.

Post by **Esrever** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:24 pm

I absolutely can not wait for Ratatouille. The character animation looks amazing, and I love how the concept is so completely charming and utterly devoid of edge.

I'm amazed Disney ever agreed to let them make such an uncommercial film, though. I mean seriously! Are they planning on selling a lot of Chef action figures? Are kids going to be lining up for the Rat Happy Meal?

Ritz · Post by **Ritz** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:09 pm

So, I just spent about half an hour glancing over trailers and podcasts for Ratatouille on Youtube, and I must say, this is the first time in years that I've ever been so compelled to see a movie. Hell, it's probably the first time I've ever truly been excited over a movie, period (My mom usually just drags me along with her). I've never seen anything so absolutely charming.

Esrever wrote:I'm amazed Disney ever agreed to let them make such an uncommercial film, though. I mean seriously! Are they planning on selling a lot of Chef action figures? Are kids going to be lining up for the Rat Happy Meal?

Seeing as how Pixar is Disney's only remaining subsidiary with so much as a hint of talent left, I'd imagine they have a fair bit of clout when it comes to this sort of thing. I'd so totally buy a wind-up backflipping RÃƒÂ©my figurine, though.

Post by **Esrever** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:33 pm

Well now John Lasseter is the head of all animated Disney films, not just Pixar. Since he stepped in, he's reopened Disney's 2D feature animation department, and effectively shut down their direct-to-video sequel operations.

Of course, he also kicked Chris Sanders off of American Dog, so it's been kind of a mixed blessing! :/