Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #42: Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #41: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001).

When Lilo & Stitch came out in 2002, I was in a phase where I no longer cared for Disney Animation films. After Tarzan, my excitement and interest for Disney films was gone, and replaced by enthusiasm for Pixar's output, which was (and still is) formidable. So, while I was disenchanted by films like Atlantis and Dinosaur, I was utterly thrilled by Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. By the time Lilo & Stitch was released, I was completely devoted to Pixar, so I wasn't excited by this film. When I first saw it, more than ten years ago, I wasn't impressed and quickly discarded it like I did with so many of its contemporaries. As I got older and wiser (hopefully), I've come to realise how good Lilo & Stitch is and how it has stood the test of time to become a true Disney classic.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Second Dark Era (2000-2005) Introduction

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #37: Tarzan (1999)

After a very productive and expansive decade, the Disney studios got lost yet again in the dawn of the new century. No longer the only king of animation, the first half of the 2000s were not kind for the studio or their audience. With heavy competition from other studios like Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky, and with the rapid growth and adoption of CG animation, the studio fell behind both artistically and creatively, making serious missteps that resulted in lacklustre films that were not well received by the public and critics. Even worse, most of the films released in this period were box office bombs that resulted on staff reductions and the complete shift from hand-drawn to CG animation. What the studio executives didn't understand, was the fact that the technique didn't matter if they didn't have good stories to tell and, while there are some bright spots here and there, most of this period is filled with disappointing projects that vary from mediocre to absolute disasters. Never in the history of the studio (not even in the 80s) were they in such crisis, to the extent that almost every other studio was better than them. Fortunately, they now seem to be on the right path again, and let's hope that this dark era will never be repeated again.

Tomorrow - Animated Classic #38 Review: Fantasia 2000 (2000).

Disney Universe Details

Disney Interactive have unveiled a new game, Disney Universe (trailer above). A game in which you don famous Disney and Pixar character costumes, such as Mike Wazowski (Monsters, Inc.) and Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) in a romp through the universe of all of the films involved. The official website offers up the following description:

Disney Universe is an off-the-wall non-stop action adventure where Disney worlds and characters mix up for the first time. Suit up in iconic costumes and face challenges in legendary Disney worlds. Defeat enemies, collect coins and powerups, unlock new costumes and explore with friends as you battle in a mix-up of worlds inspired by numerous Disney and Pixar films.

• Suit-up for action as more than 40 classic and contemporary Disney characters including Alice, Mike, TRON and Stitch.
• Mischief, magic and mayhem reign as players explore 6 different worlds inspired by Disney and Pixar films.
• Team up with up to four friends to solve puzzles or defeat enemies or toss your friend into trouble!

The trailer looks great, the idea sounds great and it looks to bring a brand new type of Disney game to the table. We also get some screenshots of the game, showing some familiar settings and characters (all below):

The screenshots show a familiar setting in the form of Monsters, Inc., showing that this game really will combine the best of Disney and Pixar for the first time ever in the video game world.

The game looks great and will be coming to Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii in Fall 2011.