90 Years, An Infinite Legacy: Disney Turns 90 Today

90 years ago today, on 16th October, 1923, Walt and Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. From that day onwards, the landscape of animation changed forever. Alice Comedies, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, all the way through to Toy Story, Tangled and modern greats like that; join us in a look back at the unparalleled legacy of The Walt Disney Company.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #38: Fantasia 2000 (2000)

Make Sure You’ve Read: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Second Dark Era (2000-2005) Introduction

Making a sequel to a sixty year old, revered film wouldn't be the brightest idea but that's exactly what Disney Animation did back in the 2000s. The pet project of Walt's nephew Roy Disney, Fantasia 2000 was envisioned as the culmination of Walt's dream to make a Fantasia film every year (something which didn't happen because of financial troubles) and while it's a charming love letter to the original film, it also hardly breaks new ground and remains on the family-friendly side of things.

Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #26: The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #25: The Black Cauldron (1985)

After the disastrous premiere of The Black Cauldron the previous year, the new Disney management, with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Roy E. Disney at the helm, took it upon themselves to rehabilitate the ailing animation studio. Instead of aiming for a big, ambitious and costly endeavour, they set their goal on a smaller but still entertaining film. Mice have always been a staple for the Disney Studio, so it's not a surprise that this film would feature another one of the studio's most famous animal. Based on the children's book series "Basil of Baker Street" by Eve Titus, the film tells the story of Basil (a mouse version of Sherlock Holmes) a very clever and astute mouse who solves the most difficult and puzzling mysteries. When a toymaker is mysteriously kidnapped, Basil sets his sights on his arch-nemesis Professor Ratigan (a rat version of Professor Moriarty) and, with the help of a veteran mouse, Major Dawson (Watson), they start unravelling a crime which could put the whole British Empire in jeopardy. The Great Mouse Detective may not be a particularly remarkable film, but it features an excellent cast of characters. The film boasts excellent character animation and top-notch vocal performers (Vincent Price is particularly stellar as the villainous Ratigan) and is also an early showcase of the talent of some of the young animators who would become legends in later years by creating some of the most famous Disney films in recent memory. A particular stand-out is Glen Keane's animation of Ratigan which makes him such an interesting personality. This is also the first film directed by the legendary duo of Ron Clements and John Musker who later created iconic films like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. All in all, The Great Mouse Detective may not be a cherished Disney classic (and the fact that is sandwiched between two disappointing films may be one of the reasons for that) but it offers clever entertainment and wonderfully animated characters; it's a showcase of early talent from some of the studio's top animators. Rating: 3.5/5.

Next Week: Animated Classic #27 Review: Oliver and Company (1988)

Classic Cartoons #5 - Steamboat Willie

I'm sure using this short film now will come back to bite me when I do my Bitesized Biography of Walt Disney and am in need of a short film to pair with it, but today's Classic Cartoon is the third Mickey Mouse cartoon, but the one that is often regarded as the mainstream debut of the famed mouse, the cartoon that put Walt Disney on the map - Steamboat Willie.

I'm currently amidst reading the biography of Walt Disney by Neal Gabler and what it stresses heavily, and what comes through when watching this short film, is how important this short film was to the early years of Walt Disney Animation Studios. Released in 1928, Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey cartoon to be distributed, and became a phenomenal success - much needed after a string of knock-backs and failures from the Disney studio; Willie provided them their big break. Steamboat Willie was the first Mickey to be synchronised with sound, and whilst that was surely a contributing factor in its success, another surely is the fantastic characters and timeless storytelling. Though quite the little sadist here, using animals as musical instruments, Mickey was and is a sign of the eternal optimism and childlike joy that Disney himself represented. The story, simple in premise, remains brilliant today, at 7 minutes, the short flies by and remains possibly the truest definition of a Classic Cartoon.

Inducted into the National Film Registry, to be preserved forever, in 1998, the starting sequence of the short is now widely recognisable for its prefacing of Disney animated releases. Steamboat Willie is the epitome of classic Disney storytelling.