Top 10 Disney Movies That Were Revolutionary
Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’ll be looking at Disney films that broke new ground (technically and culturally), changing the landscape of cinema.
Transcript
00:00 I want adventure in the great wide somewhere.
00:05 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 Disney movies
00:10 that were revolutionary.
00:11 You think they've never seen a new toy before?
00:13 Well sure, look at him. He's got more gadgets on him than a Swiss army knife.
00:18 For this list, we'll be looking at Disney films that broke new ground,
00:21 technically and culturally, changing the landscape of cinema.
00:25 What Disney movie changed the way you view cinema? Let us know in the comments.
00:29 10. Bambi
00:33 Bambi seems simple on the surface, but there are deeper layers to the story that people
00:37 often take for granted. Something similar can be said about nature,
00:41 which Bambi captures in ways that few other films have.
00:44 While Disney had depicted animals in films like Snow White,
00:55 the studio strove to achieve another level of realism with Bambi.
00:59 The crew not only took research trips to the Los Angeles Zoo, but studied real animals at
01:04 the studio, including two fawns appropriately named Bambi and Feline.
01:08 "That's why the animation is suddenly different. It isn't some artist remembering deer that he saw
01:15 on a farm when he was a kid. It's some artist remembering the deer that he studied yesterday
01:21 with a pad in his hand."
01:23 Perhaps even more impressive than conveying believable animal movements,
01:26 Bambi was a milestone for emotional realism in animation. The film would change how many
01:32 view practices like hunting and shine a spotlight on animal cruelty, amounting to the Bambi effect.
01:37 9. The Princess and the Frog
01:45 Following a five-year hiatus, Disney revisited traditional animation with The Princess and the
01:49 Frog. While the film drew inspiration from the past, it also looked to the future with Disney's
01:55 first Black princess. "So I work real hard each and every day, now things for sure are going my way.
02:02 Just doing what I do. Look out boys, I'm coming through."
02:09 Considering that most Disney fairy tales take place overseas, Tiana is also among the studio's
02:14 few American princesses. The film marked a historic moment for representation, and not
02:19 just at Disney. "And I let up now and I'm so close. I gotta make sure all Daddy's
02:24 hard work means something." Looking over the landscape of U.S. feature animation,
02:29 there had been few mainstream films centered on a primarily Black cast since 1992's Bebe's Kids.
02:35 Interestingly enough, that film's director, Bruce W. Smith, was a supervising animator for
02:40 Dr. Facilier. Although Disney's feature animation has sadly since shied away from hand-drawn
02:45 artistry, the film still signified a turning point for diversity.
02:50 "It's deep and true and you are free."
03:00 Number 8. 101 Dalmatians. After years of emphasizing realism, Disney's animators
03:06 started to experiment with more stylized works like 101 Dalmatians. In addition to showcasing
03:12 a more contemporary look and setting, Dalmatians brought animation into the future with Xerography.
03:17 "They have a plantation. A Dalmatian plantation." "Oh, Rog, that's truly an inspiration."
03:23 Ub Iwerks, Mickey's co-creator, had developed a xerographic process that could transfer drawings
03:29 straight to animation cells. Although this would spell the end of traditional inking and painting,
03:34 xerography would significantly cut down production costs.
03:37 "You have a lens and an electrostatically charged plate, and the lens would take a picture of the
03:42 drawing and transfer it to that plate. The plate would get dipped in toner and then the toner would
03:47 be transferred to a clear cell." After experimenting with the technology in Sleeping Beauty's thorn
03:52 forest sequence and the short Goliath 2, Dalmatians went all in on xerography. Since Dalmatians
03:58 contains over 6 million spots, xerography proved as efficient as it was innovative,
04:04 even if it took Walt a while to come to terms with the film's modern aesthetic.
04:08 "Over the next 50 years, the xerox process didn't go away. It became a very,
04:13 not only cost-effective way to make animated films, but also became more sophisticated."
04:17 Number 7. Tron. The computer proved to be the future of animation and live-action filmmaking,
04:23 although many failed to realize this when Tron arrived in 1982.
04:27 This sci-fi adventure would be among the first features to prominently utilize CGI.
04:32 "Look at that. When do we pay our visit to the old, uh, master control, huh?"
04:38 Featuring roughly 20 minutes of computer animation, the film blended digital imagery,
04:43 backlit animation, and live-action elements to create an electronic world unlike anything
04:49 audiences had ever seen. The film was so groundbreaking that the special effects
04:53 community wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm warning you, you're entering a big error,
04:58 man. I'm gonna have to put you on the gaming grid." "Game? You want games? I'll give you games."
05:03 Shockingly, Tron wasn't nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar,
05:07 with the misconceptions surrounding the computer being its undoing. In time, though, the industry
05:12 would come to recognize the computer's artistic merits and the importance of Tron's breakthroughs.
05:18 "Tron, like, you know, a great wine, has just gotten better with age, and I think, you know,
05:24 what it, what it started in a, in filmmaking from that point on, it's been forever changing it."
05:31 Number 6. Fantasia. Another film that was underappreciated upon release,
05:35 Fantasia remains among Disney's most ambitious experiments. "What you're going to see
05:40 are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations
05:47 of a group of artists." With animation still generally being seen as a lower medium,
05:53 Fantasia demonstrated how the art form can be every bit as invigorating as a great work of
05:58 music like Rite of Spring or the Pastoral Symphony. Fantasia not only overflowed with
06:02 some of Disney's most dazzling imagery, but it revolutionized sound in motion pictures.
06:07 Disney's engineering team and RCA developed a sound reproduction system dubbed Fantasound.
06:22 This would be the earliest example of what's now known as surround sound. While Fantasia received
06:28 an honorary Oscar for its use of sound, it wasn't until the film turned a profit decades later that
06:33 people truly realized how ahead of the curve Disney was. "Let's design it left, center, right. Then
06:39 they said, let's put a surround track and it'll give you an acoustical feeling of a concert hall.
06:44 That's today's philosophy. We're doing nothing different. These people started from scratch,
06:48 and what they did is unbelievable." Number five, who framed Roger Rabbit?
06:54 Combining live action and animated characters was nothing new in 1988.
07:05 Disney had been experimenting with hybrids as far back as the first Alice comedy 65 years earlier.
07:11 However, there had never been an endeavor quite like Roger Rabbit, blurring the line between
07:16 ink and paint and flesh and blood. Director Robert Zemeckis achieved such authenticity in a master
07:22 stroke of staging, lighting, cinematography, and of course animation, which the late Richard
07:27 Williams oversaw. "What a genius! Ouch! We're supposed to be hiding. What's wrong with you?
07:37 What's wrong with you? You're the only person in this theater that isn't laughing. Is there nothing?"
07:43 Technology aside, Roger Rabbit was a watershed moment for animation fans, uniting characters
07:49 from Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Fleischer Studios, and others. At a time when many feared
07:55 that feature animation was on the brink of extinction, Roger Rabbit was something of a
07:59 ceasefire with animation rivals joining forces to save a medium. "I want your smile. You know
08:07 there's no world here that's great for an afterglow." Number four, Beauty and the Beast. Three years
08:14 after Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast continued to push animation to unprecedented territory.
08:19 "You like it? It's wonderful. Then it's yours." The film continued to break new technical ground
08:26 with its iconic ballroom sequence. In terms of storytelling, Beauty and the Beast delivered the
08:31 studio's most active heroine and fleshed out romance yet, with Alan Menken and the late Howard
08:36 Ashman returning to write the songs, Broadway solidified its presence in animated musicals.
08:41 The studio knew that they had something special, so much so that Gary Kalkin, a Disney marketing
09:00 executive, suggested debuting an unfinished version at the New York Film Festival. Following
09:05 a 10-minute standing ovation, Beauty and the Beast went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Picture
09:10 Musical or Comedy and became the first animated feature to be nominated for the Oscars top prize.
09:16 "I knew it would work. Why? What works? It's very encouraging. Isn't this exciting?" Number three,
09:25 Mary Poppins. While Walt Disney won 22 competitive Oscars, Mary Poppins marked the only time that he
09:31 found himself up for Best Picture. Despite not winning that award, Julie Andrews would be honored
09:37 for her magical performance. "As I expected, Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way."
09:43 The effects team didn't go unrecognized either, a technical highlight being the jolly holiday into
09:48 an animated world. Blue screen might have been the norm, but Mary Poppins utilized the sodium
09:54 vapor process, or yellow screen as some call it. "Have you ever seen the Grosso Green or a bluer
10:03 sky?" The yellow in question stemmed from the hue of sodium vapor lights. This technique delivered
10:09 cleaner results, allowing the filmmakers to convincingly isolate actors, as well as elements
10:14 like Andrews's veil, from the backdrops. Although this technology had been touched upon in films
10:19 like The Parent Trap, its presence here redefined the game. "You! Never! Never!"
10:30 Number two, Toy Story. "I tell you, I could fly around this room with my eyes closed."
10:36 "Okay then, Mr. Lightbeer, prove it." "All right, then I will. Stand back, everyone."
10:41 After years of being seen as a technological threat, the computer confirmed that it was here
10:46 to stay with Toy Story. Slowly but surely, CG animation would become the new normal for
10:52 mainstream features in the US. "Look, we're all very impressed with Andy's new toy." "Toy?" "T-O-Y,
10:59 toy." "Excuse me, I think the word you're searching for is Space Ranger." "The word I'm
11:04 searching for, I can't say because there's preschool toys present." While Pixar's debut
11:09 feature was praised for its technology, receiving an honorary Oscar, it wouldn't have left as much
11:15 of a cultural impact had the story not been on par with the visuals. Becoming the first animated
11:20 film to receive an Oscar nomination for its screenplay, the witty dialogue, high concept,
11:25 and heartfelt character dynamics provided a blueprint that many rival studios would try
11:30 to replicate. The most successful ones, though, have built upon the innovations first laid out
11:35 in Toy Story. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. The Black Cauldron.
11:47 Despite bombing financially, it was Disney's first animated feature to use CG. "My beloved
11:54 warriors have come to life. All the dead of centuries past. Never has anyone created an army
12:04 like this." Tarzan. Deep canvas allowed the vine swinger to surf through a 3D jungle with a
12:10 traditional touch. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. A master class of art direction and special effects.
12:33 Sleeping Beauty. An epic worthy of Super Technorama 70 widescreen. "Thus, on this great
12:39 and joyous day, did all the kingdoms celebrate the long-awaited royal birth." The Little Mermaid. The
12:46 birth of the Disney Renaissance. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
13:05 and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for
13:11 occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
13:16 and switch on notifications. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although it was predated by a few
13:29 other animated features, Snow White delivered no shortage of firsts. It was the first cell animated
13:35 feature, as well as the first to be made in English and presented in Technicolor. Most notably, it was
13:40 the first time that many audiences realized that animation could resonate on an emotional level.
13:45 Up until this point, animation was generally seen as a means to make people smile for seven minutes.
14:02 Few believed that the medium could be sustained for 83 minutes, let alone make people cry. Despite
14:08 being prematurely labeled Disney's folly, Snow White had viewers tearing up at its premiere,
14:13 broke box office records, and earned Walt an honorary Oscar. Even beyond animation,
14:19 the film's innovation is still felt today. Do you agree with our picks? Check out this
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