Reply #75: I miss the 90s 2D renaissance [View All]

[Prism]

From Little Mermaid in 1989 through maybe Hunchback of Notre Dame, I thought Disney might be permanently back to creating classic stories, but then the Pixar fad hit and the writing for 2D went through the floor. I love some Pixar movies, don't get me wrong, but something about 2D animation evokes instinctual human archetypes far better than computerized animation.

The final battle in Sleeping Beauty remains one of the most finely rendered scenes in cinematic history.

I think Hunchback of Notre Dame might be the best movie Disney ever made. It was complicated, dark as hell, and rather than working in metaphors, the writers and animators fearlessly portrayed how hatred of those who are different connects to atrocities like genocide. Here was a movie for children that showed how religion could cater to mankind's darkest impulses or grant him limitless grace. And though the ending is "happy", the hero doesn't get what he wants. Instead, he finds happiness and acceptance in what he has.

That movie still floors me to this day. I can't believe a company like Disney allowed themselves to make it.