The Magic Kingdom Project: Frozen 2 2019

The Renewal of a Phenomenon 

After 2013’s Frozen became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, a genuine cultural phenomenon, the calls for a seemingly inevitable sequel began to grow. Fellow animation studios like Pixar and DreamWorks had been crafting successful follow-ups to their most popular animated films for years, but Disney had long resisted the urge to greenlight theatrical sequels for any of their 21st-century films, namely due to the mistakes of the past.

In the 90s and early 00s, Disney had actually been consistently churning out sequels to their successful animated titles, which were handled by the studio’s straight-to-video department, DisneyToon Studios. Produced inexpensively with less extravagant animation and simplistic narratives, hugely popular films like The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, and Bambi were given subpar sequels released directly to VHS and DVD.

While these releases often performed well, particularly around the holiday retail period, many animators and fans felt their existence ultimately cheapened the legacy of the original films. When Pixar executives Ed Catmull and John Lasseter took creative control of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006, they were concerned the cheap sequels were undercutting the value of the studio’s major releases. As such, Catmull and Lasseter cancelled all DisneyToon projects currently in development, including sequels to Dumbo, Chicken Little, The Aristocats, and Pinocchio, and the studio instead focused on spinoffs projects such as Tinker Bell and Planes.

Despite the unprecedented success of Frozen, Disney was still reluctant to leap into a sequel, with CEO Bob Iger refusing to simply mandate a follow-up and force the filmmakers to craft a story for financial reasons. However, the studio was happy to mine the brand for all it was worth, with a seemingly endless line of merchandise, theme park appearances, a Broadway musical adaptation, and two short animated films, Frozen Fever and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, which were shown in theatres before the live-action remake of Cinderella and Pixar’s Coco respectively.

During the production of Frozen Fever in late 2014, directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee realised how much they had missed the characters and began initial story discussions for a sequel. It was during this preliminary planning stage that Buck and Lee agreed how they wanted the second film to end. They just needed to determine a satisfying journey to reach this intended conclusion. Buck and Lee were keenly aware fans of the original film were left with numerous unanswered questions the sequel must address, namely surrounding the mysterious origins of Elsa’s magical powers and where her parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna were heading when their ship tragically sank. With this intention in mind, the directors crafted an outline that explored Arendelle’s past and how the mistakes made by the town’s ancestors were affecting the future of the kingdom.

THE STORY

King Agnarr of Arendelle tells a story to his young daughters, Elsa and Anna, that their grandfather, King Runeard, had established a treaty with a neighbouring tribe of Northuldra by building a dam in their homeland, the Enchanted Forest. However, a fight occurs, resulting in Runeard's death and enraging the elemental spirits of Earth, Fire Water and Air, of the forest. The spirits disappear and a wall of mist traps everyone in the Enchanted Forest. Young Agnarr barely escapes due to the help of an unknown saviour.

Three years after her coronation, Elsa celebrates autumn in the kingdom with Anna, Olaf the snowman, Kristoff the ice harvester, and Kristoff's reindeer Sven. One night, when Elsa hears a mysterious voice calling out to her, she follows it and unintentionally awakens the elemental spirits, which forces everyone in the kingdom to evacuate. Grand Pabbie and the Rock Troll colony arrive and Pabbie informs them that they must set things right by discovering the truth about the past.

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As expected, Disney enlisted original cast members Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, and Josh Gad to reprise their roles of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf respectively, with each receiving a major boost in their salaries from the first film. Emmy Award-winner Sterling K. Brown was cast as Mattias, while veteran actor Alfred Molina was chosen for the role of King Agnarr. After auditioning several actors, the filmmakers selected Evan Rachel Wood for the role of Queen Iduna after noting her warm, inviting voice echoed the voices of both Menzel and Bell.

MY VERDICT

Frozen 2 does not reach the grand heights of its predecessor, but it still stands as an entirely worthy follow-up that offers everything a sequel should. Frozen II expands on what came before, while still delivering everything that made the original such a success, namely stunning animation, plenty of fun, flashy musical numbers, and a handful of tear-inducing moments. Its narrative plays it all a little too safe, but when the storyline is so utterly entertaining, it’s easily permissible.

By ending the film the way they did, Frozen II succeeds as a necessary sequel by expanding on the origins of its tale and filling in the gaps its predecessor left behind. Even if this sequel was somewhat financially motivated, Lee’s screenplay refused to fall into the trap of just rehashing everything previously seen, delivering a new chapter that never once feels anything but a natural and earnest evolution and continuation.

While Disney remained coy on the budget of Frozen II (it was estimated to be between $150-$175 million), it’s clear from the utterly sensational animation they’ve invested more cash in crafting this sequel. Whether it’s the stunning water rendering or the gorgeous landscapes, the animation reaches new heights for the studio, offering a sumptuous treat that’s visually dazzling and downright beautiful to behold.

With a cavalcade of spectacular visuals, a wildly entertaining narrative, and all the uplifting moments Disney do so well, Frozen II is a terrific follow-up well worth the six - year wait. For all the anticipation and hype, this could have been a total disaster, so kudos has to be given to Lee and Buck for actually making this work. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll love revisiting the majesty of this unstoppable franchise. And just try to leave the cinema without wanting to belt out, “Show yourseeeeeeelf” On the other hand, while being only a little annoying in the first film, Olaf becomes a comedic gunpoint. By which I mean, he becomes filler to make the kids laugh and grind the story to a halt.

Is Frozen II a Disney Classic? This sequel easily could have been a total disaster, but Disney rightly refused to rush into producing a follow-up that existed as nothing more than a cash grab. Frozen II is a natural evolution of its predecessor, which deftly proved a sequel was entirely necessary. It’s been a year since this film was released and it’s still just as popular now as it was then, so I would definitely call this a Disney Classic.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Ralph Breaks the Internet 2018

Disney Doing Self - Deprecation

Sequels are a dime a dozen in the animated genre. From Shrek to Toy Story to The Lego Movie, if an animated feature film performs even remotely well at the box office, a follow-up is all but assured. But in their eight-decade history, Walt Disney Animation Studios had essentially ignored this practice, with 1990’s The Rescuers Down Under oddly standing as the only animated sequel in their canon (I don’t consider Fantasia 2000 and Winnie the Pooh to technically be sequels and neither should you).

When the studio announced in 2017 that Wreck-It Ralph would become only the second Disney film in history to receive a sequel, it seemed like a rather odd move for the studio, given films like Zootopia, Moana, and Big Hero 6 had all performed better at the worldwide box office. Still, the $471 million total Wreck-It Ralph had earned was nothing to sneeze at, and the expansive video game world Ralph, Vanellope and co. called home lent itself perfectly to more adventures.

Shortly after the release of Wreck-It Ralph in 2012, director Rich Moore was already crowing about the possibility of a sequel, with the filmmaker feeling they had barely scratched the surface of the video game world. After production of Zootopia wrapped in 2016, which Moore co-directed with Byron Howard, Disney officially announced a Wreck-It Ralph sequel had been greenlit, with a preliminary release date of March 2018. Moore had been signed to co-direct with screenwriter Phil Johnston, who had co-written the original film, while original voice actors John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch would all return to reprise their roles.

During the announcement, Moore also teased the plot of the sequel, which would find Ralph leaving the safety of the video game arcade for the chaotic world of the Internet, which, unsurprisingly, he would subsequently wreck. In late 2016, Moore, Johnston, and screenwriter Pamela Ribon began development of the sequel’s script, which was now known as Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2. However, the initial idea for the film’s concept was ultimately wildly different from the final film.

In the original working version of the script, Vanellope became a social media influencer/Internet celebrity, causing the playful princess to become self-absorbed and conceited. After Ralph finds himself stuck in jail for daring to challenge Vanellope’s overzealous fans, he would band together with a search engine entity named Knowsmore to help save Vanellope from the perils of fame. But the team felt the concept cast Vanellope in a negative light and the script was ultimately becoming overly negative and dour.

The entire concept was abandoned in favour of a narrative that focused on the friendship of Ralph and Vanellope, as the pair realise their paths are going in different directions. 

THE STORY

Six years since they first met, Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope von Schweetz have stayed best friends, hanging out after work in Litwak's Arcade. One day, Vanellope expresses how bored she has become of Sugar Rush's tracks, so Ralph sneaks into the game and makes a new track for her. The arcade player fights Vanellope's control, causing the cabinet's steering wheel to pop off. Mr. Litwak attempts to reattach the wheel to the console, but accidentally breaks it in half. As the company that made Sugar Rush is defunct, and the cost of a replacement wheel on eBay is too high, Litwak decides to scrap Sugar Rush, and unplugs the game. With Fix-It Felix and Tamora Jean Calhoun's help, the Surge Protector finds homes for all its citizens as a short term measure as they figure out how to save the game. After talking with Felix, Ralph decides to grab Vanellope and travel to the Internet via Litwak's new Wi-Fi router. Inside the Internet, depicted as a place where websites are geographical locations, users are represented by traveling avatars and programs are people.

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In a major coup for the production, the filmmakers were able to secure all the original voice actresses of the Disney Princesses for the film, except for Adriana Caselotti as Snow White, Ilene Woods as Cinderella, and Mary Costa as Aurora, as Caselotti and Woods had both passed away and Costa had retired from acting in 2000. In their place, Jennifer Hale and Kate Higgins were enlisted for Cinderella and Aurora respectively, as the pair had been voicing the characters in various Disney media for over 15 years. Ribon performed the voice of Snow White for temporary reference recordings, but Moore and Johnston ultimately loved her performance and kept her voice in the final film.

MY VERDICT

Ralph Breaks the Internet is every bit as narratively enjoyable, visually ambitious, and gorgeously animated as its predecessor, proving Disney can (and usually does) make exceptional non-Pixar animated sequels. With a whole host of meta-aware humour and, yes, a stack of cameos from the expansive Disney universe, the film never forgets the key ingredient often lacking from other nostalgic-heavy nonsense – its heart.

As entertaining and joyful as all the Easter eggs of pop culture references may be, they’re only part of the magic of the film. What sets Ralph Breaks the Internet apart is its gorgeous beating heart with a narrative that will surely tug at your heartstrings. As Ralph and Venellope’s friendship is tested, there’s a strong message conveyed of the consequences of trying to control your friends and the dangers of suffocating them when you refuse to accept the fact that change is sometimes inevitable. This leads to a conclusion that’s emotionally powerful, as the best Disney animated films often are. Bring the tissues. You might need them. The film’s biggest highlight (especially for Disney fans) is a visit to the Magic Kingdom of Oh My Disney, where everyone from Dumbo to Eeyore, stormtroopers to the Millennium Falcon, Iron Man to Baby Groot (who holds a hilarious Q&A session with overzealous fans), and every single Disney Princess can be found. Is this a moment of self-aggrandising, where Disney is simply showing off how ridiculously vast their catalogue of pop culture icons has become? Well, of course it is. But A) can you really blame them? And B) what makes this sequence so glorious is how pointedly and sharply Disney is able to poke some good-natured fun at itself. It’s self-deprecation we haven’t seen since the likes of Shrek, though that was more of a cheap, shallow dig from a petty former employee rather than loving homage. The self-awareness of each Princess to acknowledge the flaws found in their narratives (“Do people assume all your problems got solved because a big strong man showed up?”) and cliche characteristics they each share (a commonality of a lack of a mother) creates the film’s brilliant satirical showpiece that proves Disney can indeed let down its hair and not take itself so damn seriously. There’s even a cheeky stab at Merida, aka Pixar’s only Princess, who none of the other characters can understand because “she’s from the other studio.” Given the target audience here is children, Ralph Breaks the Internet sadly fails to stretch too deeply into the truly dark and damaging nature of the internet. Outside of a warning to “never read the comments,” and a finale featuring an out-of-control computer virus that threatens to destroy everything around it, the internet is perhaps presented a little too sanitised and positive. Sure, it’s a kid’s movie that decides to keep things relatively light, and that’s entirely fine. But teaching an audience of children about the dangers of the online world could have been a valuable moment that perhaps a studio like Pixar would have been brave enough to explore. With eye-popping animation, a terrific voice cast, a touching and entertaining narrative, some brilliant self-deprecating humour, and a treasure trove of delightful cameos, Ralph Breaks the Internet is everything a sequel should be and then some. It’s heartwarming and hilarious, dazzling and impressive, and a wonderful piece of cinema for the whole family to enjoy. And be sure to remain for the entirety of the credits for a sublime piece of playful internet trolling that delivers plenty of LOLs.

Is Ralph Breaks the Internet a Disney Classic? While Ralph Breaks the Internet is supremely entertaining surprising moving, and one of the best animated sequels ever produced, we’re not quite in Disney Classic territory just yet. It’s hard to know if a video game-centric film will truly stand the test of time like other Disney Classics, but Ralph and Vanellope certainly make a strong case for their legacy to live on for decades to come. 

The Magic Kingdom Project: Moana 2016

The Breath of Fresh Air

When Walt Disney premiered Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, he also inadvertently (or possibly entirely intentionally) launched one of Disney’s most successful pseudo film franchises and merchandise lines; the Disney Princesses. In more recent decades, the very definition of what constituted a typical Disney princess character had been pushed outside the limited box of Disney’s earlier princess films.

While the earlier Disney princesses were little more than one-dimensional lovesick damsels in distress like Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, the recent crop of new heroines were crafted as more independent, intelligent, and skilful young women who could inspire the next generation of youngsters to challenge the idea of what’s expected of them. We were even gifted with Disney princesses of non-caucasian descent, courtesy of our first Black, and Native American princesses in Tiana, and Pocahontas respectively.

While 2002’s Lilo & Stitch had presented Hawaiian culture and its people in a Disney animated film for the very first time, the film hadn’t blessed the studio with a Polynesian princess to add to its growing lineup, which had recently expanded to add two new white princesses in Tanged‘s Rapunzel and even its first Pixar princess in Brave‘s Merida. Enter directors Musker and Clements, the men responsible for the creation of one-third of Disney’s 11 princesses and the perfect choice to craft another iconic heroine to join the princess roster.

After completing the Princess and the Frog, Musker and Clements began developing an animated adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s 1987 fantasy novel Mort. After working on concept art and a draft script, the directors ultimately failed to attain the film rights from Pratchett and the project was abandoned in 2011. To avoid further rights issues, the duo pitched three original ideas to Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios John Lasseter, including one centred on Polynesian mythology.

Musker had recently been studying the history of Polynesia and was particularly struck by the heroic exploits of the demigod Māui, a culture hero and a trickster who was famous for his cleverness and brash attitude, and, amongst other achievements, was credited with bringing fire to the world. The director felt the rich culture of Polynesia and the story of Māui would make the perfect subject and setting for an animated feature, with the director writing a story treatment with Clements to pitch to Lasseter.

While Lasseter loved the concept, he felt Musker and Clements should further familiarise themselves with Polynesian culture and commissioned the duo to take research trips to Fiji, Samoa, and Tahiti. Poor boys. In 2012, the directors spent several weeks on the three islands to meet with the locals and learn more about their culture, which spanned back hundreds of years. It was during the research trip that Clements realised it would be best for the film to focus on the young daughter of a chief, with Maui reworked as more of a supporting sidekick character.

During their study of Polynesian history, Musker and Clements became fascinated by the navigational traditions of Polynesia that actually predated those of European explorers, which strangely came to an unexplained abrupt holt around three thousand years ago. While scholars have surmised this may have been the result of shifting ocean currents and wind patterns caused by climate change, the directors felt it would make the perfect narrative setting for their film, with a more mythological cause behind the cessation of ocean exploration.

THE STORY

On the fictional island of Motonui, the people used to be explorers and voyagers, and they worshipped the goddess Te Fiti, who brought life to the ocean using a pounamu stone as her heart and the source of her power. But when shape-shifting demigod Maui attempted to steal the heart, he is attacked by the volcanic demon Te Kā, causing the heart to be lost to the depths of the ocean. Without Te Fiti’s heart to protect the oceans, the people of Motunui refused to journey across the seas and hid their expansive fleet in a secret cave. When we meet Moana centuries later, Te Kā’s darkness is poisoning her island home, leading to Moana bravely setting off on a daring voyage to find Maui and force him to restore the heart of Te Fiti to save Motunui from ruin.

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In a further bid to strengthen the film’s authenticity, Clements and Musker enlisted a cast of voice actors with Polynesian roots, including part Samoan Dwayne Johnson as Maui, part Maori Temeura Morrison as Tui, part Maori Rachel House as Tala, part Hawaiian Nicole Scherzinger as Moana’s mother Sina, and part Maori Jemaine Clement as Tamatoa. After an exhaustive worldwide search for the voice of Moana, where the filmmaker auditioned hundreds of actors, 14-year-old high school student and Hawaiian native Auliʻi Cravalho won the role. At the point of her casting, the character design of Moana was already complete, making Cravalho’s physical resemblance to the character purely coincidental.

MY VERDICT

Ten years after the studio’s first true foray into the computer-animated world, Moana represented the pinnacle of Disney computer animation. It is a beautifully crafted piece of cinema, with some of the most detailed and photorealistic backgrounds ever seen on screen. From the spectacular water designs to the lush tropical backdrops, Moana is an eye-popping display of the stunning capabilities of computer animation and another example of how far Disney had progressed in only a decade.

If Frozen broke the mould on what a female-centric Disney film should be, Moana shatters it even further. Witness a Disney Princess without a love interest, or any desire to find a love interest, for that matter. Moana is not searching for a prince, but rather for herself and her place in her world. And while she may battle coconut pirates, a giant crab, and a lava god, the toughest opponent Moana must overcome is her own self-doubt. What a bold statement that is for any youngster to take in.

And, much like Frozen, Moana also succeeds by playing to Broadway sensibilities, which are provided by the toast of Broadway in Miranda. His compositions are fresh and lively with plenty of raw emotion, echoing the music of Disney’s renaissance period of the 80s and 90s. But it’s ultimately when Maui enters the film that Moana truly comes to life, thanks to a sublime performance by Johnson, who perfectly captures Maui’s cocky, selfish attitude that ultimately evolves into something entirely endearing. Johnson’s banter with Cravalho is a delight and their evolving relationship is the film’s true heart. To say nothing of the fact that Maui has one of the two best songs in the film, which my aunt is still citing as the world’s greatest ear worm.

Sure, Moana features many typical Disney trademarks; the physical and emotional journey of its heroine, the “I Want” song of yearning, the cute animal sidekicks (Pua the pot-belly pig is beyond adorable and Hei Hei the rooster is a fabulously bizarre little creation), the “all hope seems lost” moment. But Moana sets itself apart by delivering a strong, intelligent, independent heroine children can and should truly hold as an aspirational figure. Moana is a new Disney Princess for the ages and the film was like a refreshing cool island breeze that was so lacking from Disney animation.

Is Moana a Disney Classic? With Moana officially added to the Disney Princess line-up in March 2019 and no signs of Disney relenting on tie-in merchandise, the film remains one of the most popular releases of the last decade. It blessed fans with a new inspiring heroine and played on the musical sensibilities that revived Disney in the late 80s. The animation remains as dazzling as it was four years ago, the film is without question a true Disney Classic.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Zootopia 2016

The Tackling of Bigotry in the Era of Trump

One of the cornerstones of the decades of Disney animated films has been crafting adorable talking animal characters that not only capture the hearts of audiences but also lend themselves to an endless stream of profitable merchandise. Whether it was a cute baby circus elephant in Dumbo, a family of jazz-loving felines in The Aristocats, or two dogs forming an unlikely romance in Lady and the Tramp, Disney consistently fell back on its tried and true formula of placing animals at the forefront of its animated narratives.

While an array of loveable animal characters had essentially kept the studio afloat in previous eras, Disney hadn’t exactly seen success with animal-centric animated features in the 21st century. After films like Brother Bear, Home on the Range, and Chicken Little left little impact on audiences, Disney began to focus more heavily on human narratives, with The Princess and the Frog and Bolt standing as the final creature features for almost a decade.

When John Lasseter was installed as the new Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006, he keenly understood Disney’s legacy of hugely popular animal stars, particularly given Lasseter considered Dumbo to be the studio’s greatest film. Lasseter consistently pushed the animation department to pitch possible projects involving animals as the stars of the show. As fate would have it, one of those pitches would subsequently become one of the most successful releases in its entire history.

In early 2013, Tangled co-director Byron Howard pitched Lasseter several possible projects involving animal characters, including an animal adaption of The Three Musketeers, a 60s-theme caper about a maniacal doctor who turned children into animals (yikes), and a space adventure starring a bounty-hunter pug. Howard was inspired by Robin Hood, with all three concepts centring on anthropomorphic animals who talked and acted like humans. While workshopping the ideas with Lasseter, Howard cracked the key conceit to his pitch; what if animals lived in a modern world designed by animals for animals?

Lasseter suggested Howard should combine the 60s theme with an animal narrative, which led to the development of Savage Seas, an international spy thriller starring a James Bond-like arctic rabbit named Jack Savage. Working with screenwriter Jared Bush, the project was developed for almost a year before being presented to the wider Disney team for feedback, who felt the film’s strongest element was its opening act, set in a city created by and for animals.

As such, Howard dropped both the 60s setting and the espionage angle and reworked the project as a contemporary police procedural called Zootopia, starring a police duo of Nick Wilde, a cunning fox, and his sidekick Judy Hopps, a wide-eyed bunny. In late 2014, Howard realised the film’s plot worked better with Judy at the helm.

THE STORY

In a world of anthropomorphic mammals, rabbit Judy Hopps from rural Bunnyburrow fulfils her childhood dream of becoming a police officer in urban Zootopia. Despite being the academy valedictorian, Judy is delegated to parking duty by Chief Bogo, who doubts her potential because she is a rabbit. On her first day, she is hustled by a con artist fox duo, Nick Wilde and Finnick. Judy abandons parking duty to arrest Duke Weaselton, a weasel who stole a bag of crocus bulbs known as Midnicampum holicithias. Bogo reprimands her, but an otter, Mrs. Otterton, enters Bogo's office pleading for someone to find her husband Emmitt, one of fourteen predators who are missing. When Judy volunteers and Assistant Mayor Dawn Bellwether praises the assignment, Bogo has no choice but to give Judy the case, stipulating she has 48 hours to find Emmitt Otterton and that she must resign if she fails.

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In May 2015, Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin were cast respectively in the roles of Nick and Judy. Bateman was offered the role without the need for an audition, with the filmmakers confident he would bring his trademark dry wit and wiliness to the character, especially given Bateman had played roles similar to Nick his entire career. Goodwin was put through an exhaustive audition process before being cast in the key role of the naive but brave wannabe cop. Moore felt Goodwin brought centred sweetness and a great sense of humour to the part, with the actor able to perfectly balance Judy’s sweet nature with her blunt determination to succeed.

MY VERDICT

With its daring bid to craft an animated film targeted at children that subtly (and not so subtly) shines a light on topics like racism, bigotry, and sexism, Zootopia may well be the most subversive film Disney has ever released. Very rarely do you get a “children’s film” that dares to tackle issues like racial prejudice, gender inequality and social xenophobia. Zootopia sends a clear message of the resulting pain that comes from prejudging others based on their heritage, which is undoubtedly a message of even greater pertinence four years later. 

Zootopia may feature a cast of animal characters, but its core centres on very human issues. Even small moments like a mother bunny moving her young child closer to her when a perfectly innocuous tiger sits beside them on the subway pack a hefty punch of relevance. The world of Zootopia is indeed a utopian society, with its various species all living in perfect harmony. But Zootopia shows that it only takes a crack in society to cause utter chaos. And the fact that the crack appears by the fault of the city’s police force feels terribly relevant in 2020.

But the true success of Zootopia lies with how the film expertly juggles its important message with boundless entertainment to avoid children being consciously aware they’re actually learning something from an animated film. They’ll be too delighted by the stunning designs, thrilling sequences, and the glorious and instantly-iconic characters, namely due to the enchanting voice-over work throughout.

Lead by the genius pairing of adorable Goodwin and slick Bateman, their evolving friendship is beautiful to behold, and delivers one of the film’s most powerful messages – never judge a book by its cover. Ultimately, this dichotomous reaction to the film is the mark of a truly great animated film; one that works successfully for both young and old alike, for a multitude of different reasons.

On a technical level, Zootopia is another sublime piece of animated cinema, with impressively detailed world-building and spectacular character designs. You could truly watch this film on mute and just enjoy the visual delights the animation team have cooked up. But then you’d miss the supreme laughs and touching emotion of the glorious screenplay, which should have received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Frankly, I could easily make a case the film was snubbed of a Best Picture nod too.

Everything here just works so wonderfully well and the film is ultimately elevated by its brave insistence on offering a children’s film with more substance than practically any other Disney animated film. What a remarkable moment it was to see a piece of Disney animation that actually had something to say about society. Subversive is not a trait we normally see from a studio who rarely wants to rock the boat. But Zootopia definitely rocked it. We needed a film like Zootopia in 2016, but we need it more than ever in 2020.

Is Zootopia a Disney Classic?  With a pertinent message to convey but the intelligence to hide it in animation, Zootopia stood as a perfect blend of entertainment and information. It had all the laughs and thrills to keep your kids happy, but with a subtle yet powerful subtext to hopefully teach the next generation to learn from the mistakes of the past. Zootopia is a masterpiece of animation in both style and substance, easily making the film a modern-day Disney Classic.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Big Hero 6 2014

The Fusion of Disney With Marvel

In 2008, the release of Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe in spectacular fashion. After years of DC Comics heroes like Batman and Superman dominating the cinematic landscape, Marvel was suddenly everywhere you looked and The Walt Disney Company wanted a piece of the action. In late 2009, CEO Bob Iger purchased Marvel Entertainment for a staggering $4 billion and the studio subsequently acquired the distribution rights for future Marvel Studios films. After the acquisition, Iger encouraged the entire company to explore Marvel’s properties for adaptation concepts, particularly more obscure characters unfamiliar to mainstream audiences. While the live-action department began looking at lesser-known properties like Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy, animation director Don Hall stumbled across Big Hero 6, a late-90s Marvel comic created by Steven Seagle and Duncan Rouleau that centred on a young Japanese superhero team.

In late 2011, Hall pitched the concept to Disney’s Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, who loved the idea of combining Disney animation with a Marvel Comics property, especially one that could be marketed towards a younger audience. In June 2012, Walt Disney Animations officially announced it was adapting Big Hero 6 into an animated feature, with Hall enlisted to co-direct with Bolt director Chris Williams. Lasseter felt Williams was perfect for the project, given Bolt was inherently rooted in the superhero genre. While the film would ultimately keep key characters and elements from the original comic series, Hall and Williams wanted their adaptation to feel entirely fresh and unique. As such, they instructed head of story Paul Briggs to only read a few issues of the comic to get a feel for the overall scope of Seagle and Rouleau’s comics before creating his own original narrative and concept. By the end of the screenplay’s creation, screenwriter Robert Baird would actually admit to never having read a single Big Hero 6 comic. Despite Disney making continual inroads with building the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hall and Williams decided early in production to essentially ignore the broader Marvel world and allow Big Hero 6 to exist as a stand-alone film without any reference or connection to any other Marvel films or characters. To further this film’s distance from its fellow Marvel films, which were generally set in real-life locations like New York or California, Big Hero 6 would be set in the fictional city of San Fransokyo, a futuristic mashup of San Fransisco and Tokyo. The setting of San Fransokyo allowed the animation team to blend Eastern and Western cultures in a style that paid tribute to both traditional Disney animation and the Marvel comics’ Japanese origins. While it was not specifically mentioned in the film, the filmmakers’ created an alternate history for the birth of San Fransokyo, in which the city of San Francisco was largely rebuilt by Japanese immigrants after the devastating 1906 earthquake, with the architecture evolving over time to something more akin to the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo.

THE STORY

Hiro Hamada is a 14-year-old prodigy, a high school graduate, and robotics genius living in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo (a portmanteau of San Francisco and Tokyo). He spends much of his free time participating in illegal robot fights. To redirect Hiro, his older brother Tadashi takes him to the research lab at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, where Hiro meets Tadashi's friends, Go Go, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Baymax, the inflatable healthcare robot that Tadashi created, and Professor Robert Callaghan, the head of the university's robotics program. Amazed, Hiro decides to apply to the university. To enroll, he signs up for the school's showcase and presents his project: microbots, swarms of tiny robots that can link together in any arrangement imaginable using a neurocranial transmitter. At the fair, Hiro declines an offer from Alistair Krei, CEO of Krei Tech, to market the microbots, and Callaghan accepts him into the school. As the Hamada family leaves to celebrate Hiro's success, a massive fire suddenly breaks out in the showcase hall and Tadashi rushes in to save Callaghan, the only person left inside. The building explodes moments later.

Two weeks later, Hiro, mourning Tadashi's death, inadvertently reactivates Baymax. The two find Hiro's only remaining microbot and follow it to an abandoned warehouse. There they discover that someone has been mass-producing the microbots. A man wearing a Kabuki mask attacks them with the microbot swarms. After they escape, Hiro suspects that the fire that claimed his brother may not have been accidental and in fact started by the man in the kabuki mask to cover the theft of the microbots. Seeking vengeance, Hiro equips Baymax with armour and a battle chip containing various karate moves and they track the masked man to the docks. Go Go, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred arrive, responding to a call from Baymax, and the masked man chases the group. The six escape to Fred's mansion, where they decide to form a high-tech superhero team to combat the villain.

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Unlike most animated films of the 21st century, Hall and Williams had little interest in casting A-list celebrities to voice the characters. The process of finding the right actor to voice Hiro was complicated, due to the character often displaying typical snarky and jaded emotions of a teenage boy, which an audience could easily find unlikable. After auditioning dozens of young actors, Hall and Williams found their Hiro in Ryan Potter, who was able to take the edge off the character in a way that made him authentically petulant but somehow still appealing.

Given the total lack of emotional expressions of Baymax, it was key to find the right actor to make an audience feel the robot’s emotions through nothing more than his voice. After television actor Scott Adsit auditioned for the role, Hall and Williams knew he was the perfect choice for the character, with Adsit able to create an endearing voice that still sounded robotic and mechanical. Adsit also brought more humour to the role than originally intended, with the actor ad-libbing through numerous recording sessions, gifting the filmmakers with numerous choices for the final dialogue.

MY VERDICT

This film is equal parts old and new. The design of San Fransokyo is pretty unique, pulling on the best that both cities have to offer. The human characters, while slightly cliched in places, are still really strong. However, the best thing about this whole movie is BAYMAX, the robotic doctor who will attend to your every need, whether physical or mental. Aside from being an ingenious creation that I hope one day might be available to everyone in the real world, he is equal parts hilarious and positively whimsical. Whenever he says a line in that robotic monotone, or, in fact, does anything, I either crack up or feel incredibly warm and comforted.

Is Big Hero 6 a Disney Classic? In the six years since its release, the popularity of Big Hero 6 has barely diminished. Baymax merchandise is still a regular feature of Disney theme parks and toy stores. The film was given a hugely popular spin-off animated series. And many fans have been clamouring for a necessary sequel, which surely must be on the horizon. However, it’s probably a little too early to call this one a Disney Classic. Yet.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Frozen 2013

The Cultural Phenomenon

Let. It. Go. Three little words that will now either make children squee or older people rampage all over where they happen to be at the time screaming ‘SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP! SHUT!! UP!!”, such is the life those three innocuous words have taken on for themselves since 2013.

With box office figures, soundtrack sales, and merchandise revenue not seen since the early 1990s, Frozen was the cultural sensation Disney had been chasing for the better part of two decades. While it inevitably became nauseatingly overexposed, it still stands as one of their finest achievements.

The seeds of what would become Frozen had actually been permeating at the studio since the dawn of feature animation in 1937. After the staggering success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney began searching for further fairy tales adaptations for future animated features. In the early 1940s, Walt began developing a live-action/animation co-production with film producer Samuel Goldwyn to be based on several fairy tales of poet Hans Christian Andersen including The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Little Match Girl, and The Snow Queen.

But when the U.S. joined World War II efforts in 1941, all future Disney animated features were placed on hold including the planned Disney-Goldwyn production. By the end of the war, Walt became intently focused on producing an animated adaptation of another fairy tale in Cinderella, causing the co-production with Goldwyn to fall apart. Goldwyn ultimately went on to produce Hans Christian Andersen as a live-action musical told in song and ballet without Disney’s involvement, which was consequently nominated for six Academy Awards.

In the 1950s, the studio again approached the idea of an adaptation of The Snow Queen, but couldn’t quite determine how to make the titular character relatable to modern audiences, nor did they have the funds to authentically produce an animated film set in a land of snow and ice. As such, the project was shelved indefinitely and wasn’t touched again until the late 1990s when veteran animator Glen Keane attempted to bring the project to life.

After working on story ideas for over a year, Keane ultimately quit the project in 2003 to work on his passion project Rapunzel Unbraided, which eventually became 2010’s Tangled. Over the next five years, numerous animators and screenwriters attempted to salvage the languishing project including Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi, Dick Zondag, Dave Goetz, and even Mulan voice actor Harvey Fierstein, but none were able to truly make the concept work.

During Disney’s contract renegotiations with Pixar in 2004, then-CEO Michael Eisner suggested Pixar director John Lasseter would be perfect to tackle the project when the new deal was finalised. But, as we know, the deal fell through and Eisner soon departed the Disney studio. When Lasseter was installed as the new chief creative officer of Walt Disney Feature Animation in 2006, he decided the project still had potential as a future animated production and set about finding the right director for the task.

In 2008, Lasseter convinced his close friend animator/director, Chris Buck to return to Disney from Sony Pictures Animation to potentially direct The Snow Queen. After working as a key animator at Disney since 1978, Buck had departed the studio in 2005 to direct Surf’s Up for Sony Pictures, but was keen to return to Disney after Lasseter took control of the studio. Under the working title Anna and the Snow Queen, Buck’s initial adaptation closely mirrored Andersen’s original fairy tale and was planned to be traditionally animated, but, yet again, it fell apart, and the project was shelved in March 2010.

After the tremendous success of Tangled in November 2011, Lasseter dusted off The Snow Queen project once again, but went a step further by officially announcing a new title for the film, Frozen, on December 22, and confirming its release date as November 27, 2013. Due to the box office disappointments of The Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh, Lasseter also confirmed Frozen would now be fully computer-animated. This was also due to the complexities of its intended animated sequences, which would not be logistically possible with traditional animation.

With less than two years to complete the production, Buck was now under pressure to find a way to adapt The Snow Queen into something more palatable for modern audiences. At this point, the Snow Queen was still the villain of the piece, as she is in Andersen’s original tale, who kidnapped Anna from her wedding and intentionally froze her heart in a bid to usurp Anna from the throne.  Yet there was still something lacking from the narrative that Buck couldn’t quite crack. In desperate need of assistance, Buck enlisted Wreck-It Ralph co-writer Jennifer Lee in March 2012, who provided the breakthrough the film needed.

THE STORY

In the Scandinavian kingdom of Arendelle, Princess Elsa possesses magical powers that allow her to control and create ice and snow, often using them to play with her younger sister, Anna. After Elsa accidentally injures Anna with her magic, their parents, the King and Queen, take both siblings to a colony of trolls led by Grand Pabbie. He heals Anna, but alters her memories so that she forgets about Elsa's magic. Grand Pabbie warns Elsa that she must learn to control her powers, and that fear will be her greatest enemy. The King and Queen isolate both sisters within the castle, closing the castle gates to their subjects. In an effort to protect her sister from her increasingly unpredictable powers, Elsa ceases all contact with Anna, creating a rift between them.

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For the key role of Elsa, Buck and Lee turned to Broadway veteran Idina Menzel to bring the character to life. Menzel had unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Rapunzel in Tangled, with her original audition performance passed on to the Frozen team by the casting director of Tanged, Jamie Sparer Roberts. For the role of Anna, the filmmakers considered television actress Kristen Bell, but wanted to test her chemistry with Menzel before officially casting either actor. The pair were invited to a table read of the screenplay at the studio, where they performed the entire script before singing a duet of Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings,” as none of the film’s music had yet been composed. The performance left the entire production team in tears, with Menzel and Bell perfectly creating a sisterly bond, despite never having met before the audition. For the remainder of the cast, Buck and Lee enlisted several noted Broadway performers including Jonathan Groff as Kristoff, Santino Fontana as Prince Hans, and Josh Gad as Olaf.

MY VERDICT

If you were the parent of a youngster in 2013, you probably shudder at the memory of Frozen mania. The film was likely all your child ever talked about. You were probably labelled the world’s worst mum or dad when you couldn’t find any of the sold-out Elsa or Olaf merchandise. “Let It Go” was possibly the only song allowed to be played in your car for weeks on end. I get it. Life was hell for parents post-Frozen. The phenomenon surrounding this film was unlike anything Disney had experienced in decades. And you bore the brunt of it. You have my sympathies.

But there’s a very simple reason Frozen became such a pop culture sensation; it’s a bloody great film. It’s easy to forget how dazzling this film was, since it was also tremendously overexposed. Disney cashed in on this film like few others, and that likely means most have forgotten what a remarkable piece of animation Frozen actually is. By drawing on the spirit of the Renaissance and infusing the film with brilliantly designed Broadway sensibilities, the entire production team crafted a film that truly recaptured the Disney magic. Essentially, Frozen is an animated musical, in the same style as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. By enlisting two composers intimately familiar with the Broadway stage and casting actors with musical theatre backgrounds, Disney played to the strengths of what makes Broadway musicals so wonderfully entertaining and emotionally resonant. While we all eventually became sick of hearing the songs, they are (mostly) brilliant pieces of music composition, and, yes, I include “Let It Go” in that summation. Just think back to the first time you heard and saw that song performed and remember how utterly breathtaking that moment was. Outside of Lilo & Stitch, Frozen is the only Disney animated film to present a narrative centred on the complicated relationship of two sisters, which proved to be the best thing about adapting Andersen’s original fairy tale. After years of animated films with gushy love stories, it was so decidedly refreshing to see something like Frozen present the notion of true love being that of two siblings and the love to thaw a frozen heart did not come from a romantic connection but a familial one. It was a sharp detour from a studio that rarely sought to offer insight into love being anything other than something elicited through romance. Once again, we find Disney presenting a tale where a hero or heroine longs to be “normal” like everyone else and fearfully attempt to suppress who they truly are. It’s only when Elsa embraces who she is that she realises the very powers she was hiding are actually her true strength. That’s why “Let It Go” is such a spectacular moment. It’s the culmination of years of suppression finally being unleashed and Elsa’s breakthrough realisation of how foolish she’s been to hide from her identity. Is it any wonder many have used this song as a metaphor for members of the LGBTQ+ community coming out of the closet? And, as a small add on, let’s face it, it’s a far better song than Hakuna Matata.

Is Frozen a Disney Classic? It’s hard to ponder another Disney animated film as outrageously popular as Frozen. We’d never quite seen anything capture pop culture quite like the phenomenon which followed the film’s release. With merchandise out the wazoo, a Broadway musical, theme park rides, several spin-off short films, and an equally successful sequel, it’s a film that simply refused to die. The legacy of Frozen is solid as ice, making it a true Disney Classic in every conceivable way.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Wreck - It - Ralph 2012

 The Combination of Disney and Pixar 

When Pixar animator/director John Lasseter became the Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2006, he went searching for new projects to push the studio into new territory outside their traditional princess fairy tale fare. In his hunt for something unlike anything Disney had previously produced, he stumbled across a promising project that had been stuck in development hell for over 15 years.

In the late 1980s, Disney began developing an animated action-adventure set inside the chaotic world of video games, with the film intended to focus on a video game hero who longed for something more from his monotonous, repetitive life. The project was redeveloped and unsuccessfully workshopped several times for the better part of a decade. While the film was initially developed under the working title High Score, it became known as Joe Jump in the late 1990s, and then Reboot Ralph in the mid-2000s.

Despite several earnest attempts to bring the project to life, the pitch was consistently rejected by Disney’s executive team, who felt the central character was missing something special to allow audiences to truly warm to a video game hero. When Lasseter uncovered the project in 2008, he immediately approached veteran television director Rich Moore and invited him to try and crack the right idea to bring the film to life.

Moore had graduated from California Institute of the Arts (the feeding ground for the next generation of Disney and Pixar animators and directors) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1987, where his fellow classmates included future Oscar-winning Pixar directors Andrew Stanton and Brenda Chapman. Three years later, Moore was one of the original three directors of The Simpsons, directing 17 episodes throughout the show’s first five seasons. In 1999, Moore oversaw the creative development of Futurama and went on to direct five episodes, including the iconic “Roswell That Ends Well” episode.

After Lasseter offered Moore the opportunity to join Disney to write and direct the video game project, the director was initially hesitant to accept the proposal. Moore felt his style wouldn’t exactly fit with Disney’s legacy of animated princess fairy tales and cutesy animal capers, nor was he convinced the video game world would lend itself to an animated feature. Moore felt video game characters were little more than pre-programmed robots who do exactly what they’re designed to do, which didn’t exactly sound like an entertaining idea for a film.

But Lasseter was quick to put Moore’s mind at ease, promising the director he was free to develop any style of film he felt fit the project and from his own point of view. While pondering the idea of a video game character stuck in an endless loop of performing the same tasks over and over again, Moore had a breakthrough; what if a video game character made the drastic decision not to follow his programming anymore? In March 2009, Moore pitched the concept to Lasseter, who immediately approved the new direction for the project.

From here, Moore was joined by Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon, and Jennifer Lee to assist with fleshing out the story further. Reardon was Moore’s CalArts classmate and one of the two other directors on the early seasons of The Simpsons. Johnston was an up-and-coming director and screenwriter, who suggested his former Columbia University classmate Lee for the project. Lee was initially hired for a temporary eight-week contract, but was eventually asked to stay on to co-write the full screenplay with Moore.

The quartet began work on the project, which focused on a frustrated video game character named Fix-It Felix Junior, who had no interest in interesting his father’s mantle as the star of an 8-bit arcade game, Fix-It Felix. After standing up to his shocked father, Felix would leave the safe confines of his game to explore other virtual game worlds in search of a place of his own, all while being hunted by Fix-It Felix‘s resident bad guy, Wreck-It Ralph.

But Moore soon realised Ralph was far more interesting and entertaining than Felix himself, leading to a total reimagining of the project to build the film around Ralph instead.

THE STORY

In the fictional arcade game, Fix - It - Felix Jr, the antagonist, Wreck - It - Ralph, has grown tired of his role as a “bad guy”, and longs for recognition and respect. So he plans to “go Turbo”, leave his game, steal a medal from another game called Hero’s Duty, and hopefully return to his own game as a hero.

MY VERDICT

This film is a Disney film wrapped in Pixar clothing. Since their debut in 1995 with Toy Story, Pixar has been crafting things that often delve into worlds beyond the human realm and showcase the very human attributes of inanimate objects like toys and racing cars or sentient animals like tropical fish, rats, and insects. By taking us inside a video game to examine the complex emotional psyche of a computer-generated bad guy, Wreck-It Ralph deftly follows the Pixar formula to success. The premise sounds absurd, but its strength proves to be the surprising level of depth with which the protagonist is blessed. On his surface, Ralph is nothing more than your typical jughead villain, but, almost immediately, we are invited inside his complicated mind that longs to change his programmed trajectory in life. Bad guys are rarely gifted with thoughts outside of villainy, but Ralph never asked to be crafted in such fashion and surely he’s right to question his place in the world. Ralph’s heart is consistently displayed on his sleeve, creating an endearing level of sympathy from an audience from the moment we meet him. At its heart, Wreck-It Ralph is a film that highlights the complicated progress of attempting to change characteristics fundamental to our very being. Ralph is a bad guy. Vanellope is a glitch. Their bond ultimately forms over their mutual desire to evolve beyond who they truly are. But only when they embrace these attributes do they find their hidden inner strength. It’s a sharp and refreshing revelation that’s often so lacking in Disney animated films of the past.

It’s the emotional core of Wreck-It Ralph that truly plays to the best of Pixar’s canon of animated masterpieces. Blessed with the charming voiceover performance of John C. Reilly, Ralph is so infectiously warm and beautifully relatable that it’s hard not to feel for the poor guy throughout his difficult journey to inner enlightenment. Likewise with Vanelloppe, surprisingly voiced by Sarah Silverman who I often find insufferable, who just wants to be like all the other racers, which undoubtedly hits hard with any of us who have ever equally desired to be “normal.” Their unlikely friendship ultimately creates one of the greatest duos in Disney history and is a reminder of the power that can occur when two “outsiders” find strength in numbers.

Finally, you could not ask for a more PERFECT funny villain voice than Alan Tudyk as King Candy. His voice sounds like Ed Wynn as the Mad Hatter, which he uses to be equal parts hilarious and menacing.

On a visual scale, Wreck-It Ralph is one of the most dazzling pieces of animation the Disney studio has ever crafted. The intricate and expansive world designs of both Sugar Rush and Hero’s Duty are simply stunning, particularly the candy wonderland found in the game Vanellope calls home. Some may sneer at the subtle (and not-so-subtle) product placement found in Sugar Rush, but it adds a level of necessary authenticity to the video game and most of these references are played for laughs anyhow.

A richly entertaining, gorgeously crafted, and surprisingly heartwarming piece of animation, Wreck-It Ralph continued Disney’s new renaissance period in terrific style. Loaded with laughs and sight-gags, adult viewers will likely spend an endless amount of time pointing out all the video game cameos and references, but these only seek the compliment the original delights of this remarkable film. While Wreck-It Ralph may echo the Pixar formula, it’s still unique enough to stand on its own two feet.

Is Wreck-It Ralph a Disney Classic? With all of these more recently released Disney animated films, it’s difficult to say if any have yet truly earned the status of a Disney Classic. But the critical and commercial success of Wreck-It Ralph is hard to ignore, as is the fact it’s one of only three Disney animated films to receive a sequel. It’s a film that’s so supremely rewatchable, making it easy to call Wreck-It Ralph a modern-day Disney Classic.

The Magic Kingdom Project: Winnie the Pooh 2011

The Closing of an Era

Throughout its seven decades of animated films and shorts, Walt Disney Animation Studios had created some of the most indelible icons in pop culture history. While it was all started by a mouse named Mickey, Disney’s cavalcade of animated stars had ballooned to dozens upon dozens of adorable animals, brave heroes, and nefarious villains. But if there was one character to challenge Mickey’s status as the face of the studio, it was undoubtedly that chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff, Winnie the Pooh.

Since making his debut in the 1966 short film Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Pooh had quickly become one of Disney’s most beloved characters, with enduring popularity that only seemed to grow stronger with each new generation of young fans. More importantly, Pooh merchandise was a major cash cow for the studio. With a staggering estimated worth of $5.5 billion, Winnie the Pooh was one of the most valuable franchises in the world.

Winnie the Pooh had remained a constant figure at Disney since the early 90s, with several animated television shows and a host of smaller-scale straight-to-DVD and theatrically-released feature films produced by DisneyToon Studios, which had collectively grossed over $200 million at the worldwide box office. After taking creative control of Disney’s animation department in 2006, John Lasseter felt it was wise for the studio to take advantage of Pooh’s perpetual popularity with a feature film produced by Disney’s A-list team of animators, particularly after the traditional animation department was revived and needed new projects to develop.

In November 2008, Lasseter approached animator/director Stephen J. Anderson and screenwriter Don Hall with the idea of producing a new Pooh feature film. Anderson had been with Disney for over a decade as a supervising animator on films like Tarzan, Brother Bear, and The Emperor’s New Groove, while also making his directorial debut with 2007’s Meet the Robinsons. Hall had also been with the studio since the late 90s, significantly contributing to the creations of films likes The Princess and the Frog, Home on the Range, and Chicken Little.

The pair were both hugely enthusiastic at Lasseter’s concept and immediately accepted the project. In early 2009, Anderson, Hall, and Lasseter spent hours viewing every Pooh short film, television series, and feature film to assist with their creation of the new film, which would simply be titled Winnie the Pooh. Later that year, Anderson, Hall, and key members of the production team spent several days in Sussex, England to explore Ashdown Forest, which was the inspiration for the Hundred Acre Wood in A.A. Milne’s original Winnie the Pooh stories. The team took photographs, video footage, and drew sketches of the countryside to provide references for the film’s animation.

Upon their return, Anderson and Hall enlisted legendary veteran Disney animator Burny Mattinson to serve as the lead storyboard artist on Winnie the Pooh. Mattinson had been with the studio since 1953 and worked as a key animator on the 1974 Oscar-nominated short Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too. Mattinson is still a member of the studio to this day and is officially recognised as the longest-serving employee of The Walt Disney Company. With his guidance and personal experience, the team began crafting the narrative of Winnie the Pooh.

THE STORY

While out searching for his beloved “hunny,” Pooh and his friends would embark on an adventure to locate Eeyore’s missing tail. During the hunt, the group believes Christopher Robin has been kidnapped by a mysterious monster called The Backson and set out to rescue their dear friend.

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For the voice cast, the natural choice for Pooh and Tigger was legendary voiceover artist Jim Cummings, who had been voicing both characters since 1988 and 2000 respectively after the retirement of the characters’ original voice actors, Hal Smith and Paul Winchell. This was also the case with Piglet, who would be voiced by Travis Oates. Oates had taken over the role after the death of original voice actor John Fiedler in 2005. For the role of Owl, the filmmakers enlisted comedian and late-night talk show host Craig Ferguson, while Tom Kenny was hired for the role of Rabbit. Apparently, Kenny is best known for voicing the title character in the SpongeBob SquarePants television series and films.

While Peter Cullen had the character of Eeyore since 1988, the actor was currently busy voicing Optimus Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon at the time of production. The filmmakers instead chose veteran Pixar animator Bud Luckey to voice the role. Luckey had been with Pixar since 1990 and had worked as a key animator on films like the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, and Ratatouille. Luckey had also provided the voice of Rick Dicker in The Incredibles and Chuckles the Clown in Toy Story 3. After his death in 2018 at the age of 83, Lasseter dedicated Incredibles 2 in his memory and called him the “one of the true unsung heroes of animation.”

Rounding out the voice cast were Kristen-Anderson Lopez as Kanga, who was also the composer of the film’s original songs with her husband Robert, and child actors Jack Boulter and Wyatt Hall (who is also the son of director Don Hall) as Christopher Robin and Roo respectively. Anderson and Hall enlisted legendary comedian John Cleese to narrate the film, with the filmmakers feeling his native British accent would add a touch of authenticity and sophistication to the film.

MY VERDICT

This film is special for two reasons. Firstly, it is the second shortest animated film in Disney history, beaten only by Dumbo at 62 minutes. Secondly, and more importantly, it is the true final hand drawn animated film in Disney history. Like the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in 1977, it’s a charming, brief little film that is far more than a distraction for the little ones. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual big budget blockbusters that throw all manner of effects and lavish musical numbers at you for an hour and a half. The filmmakers clearly and keenly understand the simplicity of A.A. Milne’s books and the adventures therein and sough to recapture what made him a Disney icon. The story is short and simple and sweet, with no complications for its characters. The animation is nostalgic and luscious, perfectly echoing the gorgeous designs of past shorts. And the voice cast is a perfect substitute for their original counterparts. Hopefully hand - drawn animation will return one day, but the middling box office numbers of Winnie the Pooh proved it was time for Disney to move on. Rest in peace, traditional animation.

Is Winnie the Pooh a Disney Classic? There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking about Winnie the Pooh, it’s always a treat to venture back to the Hundred Acre Wood to revisit the gorgeous cast of characters who have been delighting audiences for over five decades. Winnie the Pooh is undoubtably a Disney Classic in his own right. And, by virtue of being the final hand drawn animated film, as well as other reasons, so is this,