Pat Azzarello Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Has anyone out there analyzed the Disney formula for movies? Im thinking specifically about animated movies, but I think it applies to almost all of the live action kids movies as well. What's common across these movies? One of the more interesting ones for me is the lack of a full set of parents. I was trying to recall an animated Disney film where both parents are present. Even when the move starts with both parents, one gets killed off pretty early (Lion King). Other examples: Toy Story (you never see or hear the Andys dad) Little Mermaid (wheres Ariels mom?) Bambi (deer hunting season)? Cinderella (The wicked stepmother is around, but you never see or hear from dad) Nemo Mom gets killed off (along with all the siblings) early on. You could argue that Peter Pan has both parents (Wendys at least), but youve got a whole troop of Lost Boys whose parents are missing. Anyone else know of other Disney Conventions? Pat http://www.patazzarello.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 They always manage to have at least a couple catchy tunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 The villians tend to be really evil, crazy, or mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Lots of merchandise to buy to help defray the cost of the film. No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleen Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Originally posted by steadyb: The villians tend to be really evil, crazy, or mean.And many times are women! Whassup wid dat? Cruella DeVille, the Wicked Stepmother, the Badass Queen, the Little Mermaid Medusa-head thingfish lady, etc. recording/mix guy don gunn.com myspace.com/dongunnmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Irok Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Well...yeah. Like in the Loony Tunes cartoons, it's always hunter against hunted. ALWAYS. Well almost always. Check out my band's site at: The Key Components! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Originally posted by PatAzz: One of the more interesting ones for me is the lack of a full set of parents. I was trying to recall an animated Disney film where both parents are present.101 Dalmations (Pongo and Perdida, and their owners) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llarion Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Others; Female heroines are always plucky and assertive There is always a pair or trio of comic relief sidekicks that are introduced for the protagonist after the first major tension point (Timon & Puumba, the Gargoyles, Flounder/Sebastian/Scuttle, Lumiere/Cogsworth, Meeko & Flit, and so on) The villains are almost always intelligent... Cheers! Phil "Llarion: The Jazzinator" Traynor www.llarion.com Smooth Jazz - QUESTION AUTHORITY. Go ahead, ask me anything. http://www.llarion.com/images/dichotomybanner.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Felix_dup1 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Interesting point. In Lilo & Stitch, Lilo lives with her sister, because her parents died in a car accident (I think). And in Atlantis, Milo continues his deceased father's search for Atlantis. Monsters, Inc. - you never see Boo's parents. And it's not just Disney - in Ice Age, the baby's Mom dies early in the movie (while saving the baby from the sabre-toothed tigers), and she isn't reunited with her Dad until the end. Another recent trend is that the single released is sung by a big name artist - not usually the same person who sings the song in the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dementia13 Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 One of the more interesting ones for me is the lack of a full set of parents. That's pretty interesting. Some researcher a couple of years back was criticizing slasher films because they always portray teens in danger with no parental help anywhere to be found. I thought it was kind of an absurd, too-much-time-on-their-hands point, but maybe they could just as well have aimed that at Disney movies. And women villains? My wife likes to watch the murder movies on Lifetime, and she's fond of saying how truly chilling an evil woman can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 The "magic" angle is big almost to the point of new age religion. "Magic" is often the solution to the plot's problem. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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