Would Disney's movies have been as popular without the formula?

[Calhoun07]

Just curious to see what others here think about this, but would Disney's movies have been as well recieved at the box office even if they didn't have the cheesy five song per movie quota in them and all the talking funny animal sidekicks and what not? I am thinking that Lion King, Mulan, Hunchback of Noterdame, and others would have benefited from not having all the songs and the cutesy crap in it (which really ruined Hunchback for me, tho I love that movie to death, otherwise) and I think Disney could have already been on the cutting edge of making some of the best dramatic animation around. But would it have been as popular? Kinda hard to have kids meals based on them if you made the movies more mature, I guess. Would they have done poor numbers at the box office, as Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis has done? Or perhaps they would have paved a new way for Disney and by now people would have been more receptive to movies like TENG and Atlantis?

[I.R Joey]

I believe that this question really comes down to what the public expects. You see people expect cartoons to be kiddy, so Disney delivers it vey well and boom. Plus when you add in all the other stuff (IE merchandice) it=$$$$. Meeting people where they are has alot to do with it. It is all about perception

So to answer your question, no I don't think they would have hit the mark so much, and consequently that is why I think most "serious toons" don't do that hot stateside (unfortunate.)

[Nightflower]

Originally posted by calhoun07
Just curious to see what others here think about this, but would Disney's movies have been as well recieved at the box office even if they didn't have the cheesy five song per movie quota in them and all the talking funny animal sidekicks and what not? I am thinking that Lion King, Mulan, Hunchback of Noterdame, and others would have benefited from not having all the songs and the cutesy crap in it (which really ruined Hunchback for me, tho I love that movie to death, otherwise) and I think Disney could have already been on the cutting edge of making some of the best dramatic animation around. But would it have been as popular? Kinda hard to have kids meals based on them if you made the movies more mature, I guess. Would they have done poor numbers at the box office, as Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis has done? Or perhaps they would have paved a new way for Disney and by now people would have been more receptive to movies like TENG and Atlantis?

I think now people are expecting the Disney formula, even if they complain about it, and now if they try to do something different, the critics say "Hey. That's not Disney!"

I liked Hunchback of Notre Dame too! I liked the "God help the outcasts" song, but the gargoyles were UTTERLY UTTERLY POINTLESS!!!!!!

[NewMaxFranklin]

It would be easy to place the blame on Disney and say that they pigeonholed themselves by releasing one cutesy, talking-animal, songfest after another. But In the Walt Disney years they were still trying to be innovative. Stuff like Fantasia is evidence of that. But that stuff was never as well recieved as the "Snow White"-like stuff. When "The Fox and the Hound" came alond, the creative team wanted to make it serious and dramatic. And it is, but the formula was still applied with the insistance of "the suits."

Modern Disney has stuck to the formula because the general puplic likes it. Most of the audience are sheep. Parents just want something that's not offensive and children like singing animals. American animation is still considered "kids stuff." As long as disney is turning Lion King sized profits and selling a soundtracks and books and spinning off Broadway shows, I'd say the formula will continue.

To actually answer your question. No, I don't think they would have been as popular. No way. Would some of them have been batter films, if they had been handled more seriously without a bunch of musical numbers and comedy sidekicks? Yes. Certainly, Tarzan and Hunchback would have been. It's a shame america is full of closed minded viewers who'll watch crap like "Tomb Raider," while films like Titan AE and Batman MOTP make peanuts.

[DerekPowers]

geez, i went on a long ***** rant on the "shake up at disney" thread, about exactly this. but no one kept the thread alive after my long rant. if anyone's intereseted, please read it, cause i really felt passionately about what i was writting. but i think the public would accept anything as long as it was done well, but disney would be doing themselves an injustice to stray too much from their formulas. please read my rant cause i really dont have the focus right now to re type it. thanks.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

"Please read my rant,"

LOL.

At least your thread got some action. 7 out of 10 times, my threads get zero responses. Maybe it's because my interests lean toward the more obscure, but that's no excuse, darn it!;)

Anyway, as to the topic in question--no, I believe that Disney would not have reached a peak if they did not follow the basic formula. I do believe, however, that there was a time when people would have eaten ANYTHING the studio fed them. The change now is rather late, as there are already alternate forms of animation other people have latched on to, as well as new competition. I don't think Disney will fall under anytime soon, but the animation industry has become much more diverse and less decentralized, unlike in the early 90s.