Munir's Disney Retrospective - The Revival Era (2007 - Present) Introduction

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #46: Chicken Little (2005).

After a very difficult early/mid-2000s, Walt Disney Animation Studios could've easily ceased to exist and no one would've cared. Yes, the oldest animation studio was in such a crisis that putting it out of its misery was a very viable and merciful option at the time. Thank goodness for John Lasseter. Yes, I just said that. The man often reviled nowadays, John Lasseter, completely rehauled the studio, giving it back its identity, putting it back on the map and making it a worthy competitor to the other animation studios again. He healed the heart of the Disney Company and released a string of films that, step-by-step, created a stronger studio, a confident studio that not only embraced its rich history but also wasn't afraid of trying new things and delivering fresh stories with wonderful characters and heartfelt messages. Better still, the studio was no longer a DreamWorks or Pixar wannabe, but had its own style to differentiate it from the others. That wasn't an easy feat. Critical reception and box office started to grow slowly but surely, and now, seven years after Lasseter took over, the studio is back where it was always meant to be: at the very top of the pack. Whether it's a musical fairy-tale that pays homage to the Renaissance features while also offering something new and exciting, or a completely fresh story set in the video gaming world or a shiny future, Walt Disney Animation Studios has returned from the dead, risen like the phoenix, and taken the world by storm. We can only hope that this comeback will never subside again, as the studio's recent output has been simply outstanding to say the least. Welcome back Disney Animation, I hope you're here to stay!

Tomorrow: Animated Classic #47 Review: Meet the Robinsons (2007).