- In the Parks
- Yes
Personally, I think the dark age was a wonderful part of Disney animation history. If I remember anything about my feelings as I was going through the Disney animated canon, it would have to be the unexpected quality I found in the films that came during the so called "dark age."
For those who don't know, the dark age was an era of Disney animation that lasted from 1970 to 1988 (or, The Aristocats to Oliver & Company). The era saw a lot of changes both within the studio and the company as a whole. The last of Disney's "Nine Old Men" retired and the animators that made the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s possible got their starts. John Lasseter also worked for the studio for a short time during this era. The dark age is known for producing some of the most obscure films in Disney animation next to some of the package films of the 1940s.
Many people tend to write off most of the films from this era as forgettable, bad, and really any negative adjective one can think. I look at this era differently, however, and there's not one film from it that I dislike. I think of the dark age as a period of experimentation and risk taking similar to the 2000s post-renaissance period. The first half of the period, however, contains mostly traditional style Disney animation; the experimentation did not really begin until the 80s.
1970's The Aristocats was the last film to be green-lit by Walt Disney himself, and is probably one of the more well known films from the era. Aristocats is memorable as it features the song Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat and the kitten Marie, who has seen a recent surge in popularity. Marie's popularity may explain why the film is more well known than the rest of the era.
In 1973 came Robin Hood, based on the classic English legend. Robin Hood is unique as it was the first Disney movie starring a cast of anthropomorphic animals. It even had one song, "Love," nominated for an Oscar. It is probably the most 'fun' film from the dark age. Robin Hood has recently seen a surge in popularity as it was cited by Byron Howard as one of Zootopia's biggest inspirations.
1977 brought both The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers. Winnie the Pooh is the second most popular Disney franchise behind Mickey & friends and is definitely the most well known film of the dark age. The movie is actually a combination of three previous Pooh shorts with extra animation to connect them together. The Rescuers, based on the books by Margery Sharp, is notable for being Disney's biggest box office success at the time. It's also the first movie in the animated canon to receive a sequel (1990's The Rescuers Down Under). The Rescuers was originally going to feature Cruella de Vil as its villain, but this was changed to Madame Medusa.
1981 brought one of my top 3 favorite Disney movies ever, The Fox and the Hound. It is based on a 1967 novel of the same name written by Daniel P. Mannix, however the story is HEAVILY changed from what could be considered a very mature book. Despite the many changes, the movie is still much more mature than previous Disney movies. The Fox and the Hound is notable for two reasons. The first is that it is one of the movies that is infamous for making people cry with the protagonist, Tod, being orphaned, befriended by a hunting dog, and then subsequently left in the forest when his life is threatened. All of this combined with a rather bittersweet ending. The second reason is that it is the last movie in the canon to feature any of the Nine Old Men animators; Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, and Wolfgang Reitherman all retired after the film was released. Tod and Vixey are also one of my favorite Disney couples as you may be able to tell from my avatar.
1985's The Black Cauldron is perhaps Disney's most infamous animated feature. It was the first to receive a PG rating and features a VERY frightening villain in The Horned King. Based on the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, The Black Cauldron is one of Disney's biggest box office bombs and nearly killed of the animation studio. I'm unsure why it was such a failure, however, as it features a cool fantasy adventure plot and a great musical score.
In 1986, Disney animation was saved by The Great Mouse Detective, based on Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus. The film did well enough at the box office to give executives confidence that animation was still viable. I would consider this to be a precursor to the Disney renaissance. It features multiple songs, a flamboyant villain, comedic sidekicks for both the protagonist and villain, and a climax that sees the protagonist nearly killed.
Finally, the last film of the dark age is 1988's Oliver & Company, inspired by Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. If The Great Mouse Detective was a renaissance precursor, Oliver & Company is an even bigger one. It helped to usher in the era of celebrity voice acting by featuring Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Cheech Marin. In my opinion the movie also has one of the catchiest soundtracks in the whole canon; all five songs are hits rather than misses.
Well, this post has gone on for way too long. I hope you'll be inspired to check out some of the dark age films if you haven't already. What do you think about the dark age films?
For those who don't know, the dark age was an era of Disney animation that lasted from 1970 to 1988 (or, The Aristocats to Oliver & Company). The era saw a lot of changes both within the studio and the company as a whole. The last of Disney's "Nine Old Men" retired and the animators that made the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s possible got their starts. John Lasseter also worked for the studio for a short time during this era. The dark age is known for producing some of the most obscure films in Disney animation next to some of the package films of the 1940s.
Many people tend to write off most of the films from this era as forgettable, bad, and really any negative adjective one can think. I look at this era differently, however, and there's not one film from it that I dislike. I think of the dark age as a period of experimentation and risk taking similar to the 2000s post-renaissance period. The first half of the period, however, contains mostly traditional style Disney animation; the experimentation did not really begin until the 80s.
1970's The Aristocats was the last film to be green-lit by Walt Disney himself, and is probably one of the more well known films from the era. Aristocats is memorable as it features the song Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat and the kitten Marie, who has seen a recent surge in popularity. Marie's popularity may explain why the film is more well known than the rest of the era.
In 1973 came Robin Hood, based on the classic English legend. Robin Hood is unique as it was the first Disney movie starring a cast of anthropomorphic animals. It even had one song, "Love," nominated for an Oscar. It is probably the most 'fun' film from the dark age. Robin Hood has recently seen a surge in popularity as it was cited by Byron Howard as one of Zootopia's biggest inspirations.
1977 brought both The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Rescuers. Winnie the Pooh is the second most popular Disney franchise behind Mickey & friends and is definitely the most well known film of the dark age. The movie is actually a combination of three previous Pooh shorts with extra animation to connect them together. The Rescuers, based on the books by Margery Sharp, is notable for being Disney's biggest box office success at the time. It's also the first movie in the animated canon to receive a sequel (1990's The Rescuers Down Under). The Rescuers was originally going to feature Cruella de Vil as its villain, but this was changed to Madame Medusa.
1981 brought one of my top 3 favorite Disney movies ever, The Fox and the Hound. It is based on a 1967 novel of the same name written by Daniel P. Mannix, however the story is HEAVILY changed from what could be considered a very mature book. Despite the many changes, the movie is still much more mature than previous Disney movies. The Fox and the Hound is notable for two reasons. The first is that it is one of the movies that is infamous for making people cry with the protagonist, Tod, being orphaned, befriended by a hunting dog, and then subsequently left in the forest when his life is threatened. All of this combined with a rather bittersweet ending. The second reason is that it is the last movie in the canon to feature any of the Nine Old Men animators; Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas, and Wolfgang Reitherman all retired after the film was released. Tod and Vixey are also one of my favorite Disney couples as you may be able to tell from my avatar.
1985's The Black Cauldron is perhaps Disney's most infamous animated feature. It was the first to receive a PG rating and features a VERY frightening villain in The Horned King. Based on the Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander, The Black Cauldron is one of Disney's biggest box office bombs and nearly killed of the animation studio. I'm unsure why it was such a failure, however, as it features a cool fantasy adventure plot and a great musical score.
In 1986, Disney animation was saved by The Great Mouse Detective, based on Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus. The film did well enough at the box office to give executives confidence that animation was still viable. I would consider this to be a precursor to the Disney renaissance. It features multiple songs, a flamboyant villain, comedic sidekicks for both the protagonist and villain, and a climax that sees the protagonist nearly killed.
Finally, the last film of the dark age is 1988's Oliver & Company, inspired by Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. If The Great Mouse Detective was a renaissance precursor, Oliver & Company is an even bigger one. It helped to usher in the era of celebrity voice acting by featuring Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Cheech Marin. In my opinion the movie also has one of the catchiest soundtracks in the whole canon; all five songs are hits rather than misses.
Well, this post has gone on for way too long. I hope you'll be inspired to check out some of the dark age films if you haven't already. What do you think about the dark age films?
I think these movies are all pretty solid, with Oliver, being the weakest for me. My favorite, despite my avatar, is definitely Robin Hood! I adore this movie despite it being slow in some places and a bit of a mess with its animation. I obviously have a soft spot for Fox&Hound- it's a beautiful story of friendship despite the stigma placed on us by society but it is def a little slow and it runs into the same problem as movies like Cinderella or Snow White- random sequences and focus on side characters (caterpillar and woodpecker as compared to the mice in sleeping beauty or the washing for dinner scene in Snow White) that seem to distract or just fill time. The Great Mouse detective is another classic! There are very few Disney movies I would ever write off- those being Oliver, Black Cauldron (hot mess of a film only saved by its creepy cool villain) Treasure Planet, and Pixar's The Good Dinosaur....most of these films deserve a second chance.
