This is the moment when I finally got to meet Mickey Mouse. We had the kids over at EuroDisney last week and we all had a fabulous time.
I have been a huge admirer of the art of Disney animation for many years, but, like many people, I was wary of Disney as a great big multi-national company. The term Disneyfication has become an entirely pejorative term, and there is a kind of "right-on" notion that Disney represents much that is wrong with America.
Perhaps overly influenced by the anti-Disney lobby, I have to say I was expecting EuroDisney to be kind of tacky and horribly commercial. In fact I found the holiday to be a wonderful, magical experience for me and my family. The staging of the park itself and of some of the rides was beautifully done, and very inspiring for me. And it reminded me of the great artistry that lies at the heart of the best Disney movies.
Yes, Disney has changed for the worse through the years and I have a very hard time watching anything they produce these days. Especially, their animated movies. There is nothing like the old animation that was ALL hand drawn and painted. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound...etc. The anatomy was much better and the facial features where much more graceful. How about the music and the voices of the characters, much more beautifully done. Now, all you hear about is the actors / actresses who play the voices and sing the music...well, it's just not like old Disney. Disney was magical and full of wonder and imagination, now it is just about commercialism. I don't think Walt would have done things this way. That's just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteHowever PJ, I am very happy that you and your family had a wonderful time and I can tell from your wonderful work that Disney has been an inspiration to you...but I think it's more the "old school" Disney that is the better inspiration.
Be well my friend,
James
Glad you had a wonderful time! Some of my favorite memories of the Disney parks are the beautiful buildings and how they theme the parks as a whole. Lots of gorgeous design goes into each and every one. :]
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the silliness of using celebrity voice talents, James. Often a great movie actor is not the best voice artist. Some of their voices are quite bland in fact, unlike those great almost unknown actors from the early animated features.
ReplyDeleteThey use them to promote the movie essentially.
I'm not sure I agree about the standard of to-day's animation though.
The medium has changed a lot but i think the quality of the animators and the character and setting designers is pretty amazing.
But I'm not just talking about Disney movies here.
It's a great time to have small kids, because the movies made for them these days are very often awesome...Have you seen "How to train your Dragon"?...WOW!
Glad you loved the Disney parks too Kendra
All the best
PJ