Disney’s Bronze Era – Part 2

So… thoughts so far…?
Apart from the obvious cheating of sticking three previously released shorts together to make one feature film (WTP), The Aristoccats, Robin Hood and The Rescuers are brilliant films. There is a lack of sin-a-long songs and a great soundtrack, but they are great stories. The Rescuers being my favourite of the three.
Anyway… shall we continue? Okay then…
So next we have The Fox and the Hound, released in 1981. During it’s production, the studio lost 17% of their animators, which put strain on making the film. It received criticism from fans in particular, because of the changes from the original story. It has, however gained more praise and fans over the years since it’s original release.

Personally, I love the story. And I love the colours and watercolour effect used for the scenery and backgrounds. Reminds me on Bambi.

Now we have reached the “Bad Egg”. The Black Cauldron, released in 1985, is known for being the one film Disney is shamed of. It failed so badly, and yet, the author of the original series of books, actually enjoyed the film.
The Black Cauldron is a favourite of mine, I love fantasy stories and I am also a huge fan of The Lord of The Rings. I watched the video a lot when I was a kid. But I don’t think I knew it was a Disney film when I was a kid. But being a fan of the film, it has always been dissapointing to here the criticism. And despite the film turning 30 last year, Disney ignored it. There was nothing released for the anniversary, and its still unavailable on Blu-Ray, which bothers me the most. I actually signed a patition for the blu-ray to be released, but the young man who started the campaign, was told the company had no plans for it’s blu-ray released in the near future. BUMMER!

One thing we can certainly thank The Black Cauldron for, is the releasing of Disney animated films. The studio changed their scheduling from 3-4 years to every year (which began with Oliver & Company).
Basil The Great Mouse Detective, released in 1986, and another of my favs.
Loosely based on Sherlock Holmes, Basil was a hit for Disney. It gave the studio confidence again, and started the beginning of production on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and so on. Again, another one that didn’t have a soundtrack, or any sing-a-long songs, which could be the reason it’s not a popular favourite.

Lastly, and probably my favourite of the decade and era, Oliver & Company. For me, this film should have been the beginning of The Renaissance era, because it has so many classic Disney ingredients to it. A classic human tale, that’s played by animals, ingredient 1. A cool hero and a nasty villain, ingredient 2. A great group of side-kicks, ingredient 3. And most importantly, a fantastic soundtrack with sing-a-long songs, the final ingredient.

Can you tell I like this era? Yes I know it’s not the most popular, hence it’s title, but it’s my childhood. These were the videos I had first, and would play the most, until I started completing the collection.
So what are your thoughts? Please let me know what you think, and which film was your fav from this era.

Jamie