Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #46: Chicken Little (2005)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #45: Home on the Range (2004)

The early-to-mid 2000s was a difficult time for Disney Animation, one where it tried to stay relevant amongst a fiercely competitive market. Troubled productions, half-baked stories and little revenue were some of the reasons why, in my humble opinion, they made the worst mistake they have ever made in their long and storied history. Instead of trying to tell better stories, executives blamed traditional animation as their main source of box office disappointment, judging it as "old fashioned" and switching completely to CGI like all the other studios. This not only caused Disney Animation to lose its identity, but also to hit rock bottom and release what can only be called their worst animated film of all time: Chicken Little.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #45: Home on the Range (2004)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #44: Brother Bear (2003).

And now, we've arrived at the moment where the word "classic" is really a stretch. Here's a movie that could've been a charming half hour special for the Disney Channel, but instead it's from the same studio that brought you timeless classics like Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. Home on the Range is the worst traditionally animated film from the studio, and now, nine years after its release, it's still hard to fathom why a film with such a generic story, unappealing characters and cheap animation was ever released to theatres.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #44: Brother Bear (2003)

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #43: Treasure Planet (2002)

After departing from the Broadway formula for most of the new decade and striving for a darker approach, and yielding few effective results, the Disney Studio returned to a more 90s formula with Brother Bear. Bearing a striking resemblance to Tarzan in its music style, Brother Bear is not a perfect film, but remains one of the better films of this (mostly) lacklustre era. The main problem with the film is that it doesn't quite know what it wants to achieve, with many serious and powerful moments being hindered by poorly executed humour.

Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #43: Treasure Planet (2002)

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

2002 arrived with a ray of hope for Disney Animation. Lilo & Stitch was released in the summer to great acclaim and box office success, something the studio hadn't achieved since the beginning of the decade, and the second film to be released that year looked to be a promising endeavour. After all, Treasure Planet was directed by two of the top people at the studio, John Musker and Ron Clements, who practically launched the Disney Renaissance a decade earlier with beloved films like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. Also, Treasure Planet was a dream project for the directors, something they'd been wanting to do for a long time. Finally they were granted the chance to adapt Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved novel, Treasure Island, but in a sci-fi setting. Unfortunately, when the film arrived in the Fall of 2002, it bombed at the box office and now remains one of the most obscure films from the canon.

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 - Animated Classic #41: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #40: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000).

Looking back, Atlantis seemed like a sure winner. From the directors of the magnificent Beauty and the Beast (which in my opinion is the finest Disney animated film, a sentiment not shared by my A113 colleagues, but one that seems pretty popular within the Twitter community) and the also very good Hunchback of Notre Dame, the film offered an adventure like no other. Staying away from the "Broadway style" that they employed for their previous two films, directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise - and producer Don Hahn - created a superb looking film that unfortunately suffers from a lack of heart and too many characters, which only serves to make the already contrived plot even more confusing.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #40: The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Last Week’s: Munir’s Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #39: Dinosaur (2000)

The perfect example of a troubled production that, in the end, managed to be turned into something great. The Emperor's New Groove's production history is fascinating, as the film began being life as one thing and ended up as something completely different - in a good way. The film might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it delivers one of the best comedies the Disney studio has ever produced.

Munir's Disney Retrospective - Animated Classic #39: Dinosaur (2000)

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

The second Disney film released in 2000 is also a late inclusion in the official canon; for years, fans debated whether Dinosaur belonged in the canon or not. Disney put that to rest in 2010 when they did that retrospective video to celebrate Tangled as their 50th feature film, including Dinosaur as number 39. Even so, the film remains an odd element among its hand drawn contemporaries making its inclusion more of a marketing campaign rather than an honest acknowledgement of its status in the studio's history.

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 - 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).