Something Fishy
Disney recaptured the magic of its animated classics in 1989 with “The Little Mermaid,” a fanciful, bright, witty, tuneful, upbeat update on the Hans Christian Andersen original story. Ariel (Jodi Benton) gets more than she wished for when she asks for legs from the evil Sea Witch (Ursula) to spite her mer-father, King Triton (Kenneth Mars), and pursue a human love interest. A slew of seaside friends, including a daffy seagull (Buddy Hackett) and a calypso crab (Samuel E. Wright) make sure everything lands happily ever after.
“The Little Mermaid” sent shockwaves throughout the industry: Disney animation was back in a *huge* way, and the phenomenon was pulling in audiences from every demographic. Moviegoers loved spunky Ariel, and the Broadway-style presentation of the story had them literally applauding in the aisles.
Milking the concept, the Studio released a DTV sequel “The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea” in 2000. Luckily, most of the vocal cast is intact, but the muddy plot turns the original inside-out. Ariel and Eric have married and produced a daughter, but she wishes she were a mer-kid rather than a human. It doesn’t take long for Ursula the Sea Witch to happen by and grant the request.
The animation is passable and the performances are adequate, but among the missing puzzle pieces in the sequel is a memorable score. The Menken/Ashman brilliance in the original has been replaced by five (count ’em) other tunesmiths, none of whom contribute much that is worthwhile.
Ringing Belles
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“Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle.” So begins the narrator in “Beauty and the Beast” (1991), the only animated feature ever to be nominated (rightfully) for Best Picture. The plot is familiar but has been contemporized slightly: Belle (Paige O’Hara) is a headstrong bookworm. In escaping the man she’s *supposed* to marry — the lout Gaston (Richard White) — she finds the Beast (Robbie Benson), a tortured creature living out a cursed existence. She falls in love with the unlikely suitor, to the delight of the rest of the household, namely a teapot (Angela Lansbury), a candelabra (Jerry Orbach), and a mantle clock (David Ogden Stiers), who are also living the curse.
“BATB: The Enchanted Christmas” came on the DTV market in 1997. It was the first “mid-quel,” meaning neither a sequel nor a prequel, covering details merely glossed over in the original film. We see Belle’s winter at the Beast’s castle, specifically the Christmas they spent together. There’s the usual blather about learning the “True Meaning of Christmas,” but Tim Curry provides some fun as the Beast’s evil pipe organ.
An animated series was considered for Belle/Beast, but when plans were scotched, the DTV market got three episodes strung together clumsily in “BATB: Belle’s Magical World” (1998). The special edition DVD added one more story to pad the running time to 92 minutes, but the powers that be at Disney may well have not even bothered.
Three Wishes
Another outta-the-park box office giant was released in 1992 with “Aladdin.” Here, the computer imagery was stunning and extensive — not only producing such eye-popping backgrounds such as those used in the escape from the Cave of Wonders (which plays like a thrilling theme-park ride) but also the characters themselves, notably the magic carpet. Also pulling in audiences by the aisle-ful was Robin Williams as the manic Genie of the Lamp. His ad libs were fast and furious (and more than a little anachronistic and dated), and only the quick pens of the Disney animators could keep up with them.
“Return of Jafar” went direct-to-video in 1994, filling in further chapters in the story of Al and Jasmine. They are about to be married, but the vexed Jafar, captive in his lamp from the original film, is released and bent on revenge.
The biggest asset in the first film — Robin Williams — becomes the biggest liability in the second, because he chose not to participate, owing to a contract dispute. Who, then to replace him? The Studio went for Dan Castellaneta, of “The Simpson’s” fame. Castellaneta tries hard, but he’s a far comparison for the rapid-fire stream of consciousness of Williams. The trimmed budget is also reflected in the look and feel of the film, which is flat and listless. Regardless, on the strength of the original movie alone, “Return of Jafar” sold 10.5 million copies, becoming the best-selling DTV release ever at that time. Around the same time, “Aladdin” was brought to the Disney Channel as a series.
“Aladdin and the King of Thieves” hit the home vid market in 1996. Back was the rapid-fire comedy of Robin Williams. The plot brings Jasmine and Al closer to their actual wedding, interrupts the nuptials with an appearance by the 40 Thieves, and introduces Al’s pop, Cassim. Although the animation remains of lower quality, the storyline takes a slight jump in quality from “Jafar.”
An Avalanche from Pride Rock
“Hamlet,” with a heavy dose of “Bambi” thrown in was how “The Lion King” (1994) was perceived. Regardless of the inspiration, the Disney Studios hit another home run with its African Lion. Again, the supporting characters, Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) and Timon (Nathan Lane) were standouts. And a fantastic score helped bound box office returns north of $300 million when all was said and done. Is it any wonder the decision to tell us more about Pride Rock was made?
In 1995, Timon and Pumbaa got their own TV series. Ernie Sabella returned for the role of the porky one, but Nathan Lane was replaced.
1998’s “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride” at least dealt with Simba (somewhat) rather than the sidekicks. In this direct-to-video sequel, Kiara (Neve Campbell) meets the Pride Outcasts and befriends Kovu (Jason Marsden), unbeknownst to her that he and his mother, Zira (Suzanne Pleshette) have been plotting revenge for years. One question for the makers of this re-do: Who casts the gentle Mrs. Bob Hartley as a villain?
One more sequel was born in 2004, the interesting and experimental “The Lion King 1½.” The makers decided to retell Simba’s story from the perspective of Timon (Nathan Lane again) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella again), but this time, turn the legend on its tawny, tufted ear. Full of metahumor and irreverence, “LK v.1.5” was a breath of fresh air in a sea of Disney sequels that were blandly forgettable and wholly unnecessary.
Colors of the Rewind
The look and feel of Pocahontas (1995) is more ‘West Side Story” than historical drama, but the movie benefited from some terrific animation and an Oscar-winning main tune. Once more, it was the comic relief of the secondary characters (Flit, Percy, Meeko) who kept the youngsters in the audience from getting too antsy. $141 million in ticket sales meant a sequel was almost a certainty from the start.
Direct-to-video “Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World” (1998) takes the Indian princess to England, where, clearly, she does not fit in. Flit, Meeko, and Percy are along for the ride, but the flat quality to the animation and the tired theme of Poc-as-ambassador make this a DTV must-have for only the most ardent fans.
Toys to the World
Fast, funny, bright, innovative, evocative, and striking universal chords among the younger set and their boomer parents, Toy Story (1995), was a deserved box office smash. Pixar studios had finally reached a level where their computers and animation programs could handle a full-length feature, and what resulted was both eye-popping and well-scripted and -acted. The last act has a sequence that is downright disturbing, like something from Tod Browning’s “Freaks,” but audiences adored it, and Walt would surely have approved.
“Toy Story 2” popped out of its (toy) box in 1999, a true rarity: a sequel that works. It was intended to go DTV, but when early scenes worked so well, the big-screen treatment was okayed. By shifting the focus from Buzz (Tim Allen) to Woody (Tom Hanks) and layering on familiar touch points like the eBay craze of buying and collecting vintage toys, “TS2” stands tall next to its original. The sequel also tugged at our heartstrings, with Sarah McLaughlan’s ode “When She Loved Me” as a Kleenex-necessary highlight.
Hyucks!
“A Goofy Movie” (1995) deals with the TV show suburban-Goofy (Bill Farmer), not the cinematic sportsman-Goofy of the shorts of the 1940s and 50s. The Goof’s son, Max (Jason Marsden), makes a last-day-of-school promise to his girlfriend, Roxanne (Kellie Martin). Max gets swept away in a cross-country road trip with his dear ol’ bumbling Dad, but they eventually cross paths with a disco-dancing Bigfoot and the mega-group PowerLine, where Max finally has a chance to make good — if Goofy can stay out of the way long enough.
Inside jabs with “AGM” make it more entertaining than expected, especially a funny roasting of the Disney Theme parks’ Country Bear Jamboree audio-animatronics.
“An Extremely Goofy Movie” looks and feels DTV but saw a theatrical release in 2000. It plays like Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School,” without the raunch (this *is* Disney, after all). Max and Goof sharing a dorm room at college, where they prep for some Olympic-style games and Goofy finds a soul-mate.
Hunches in Bunches
The Tin Pan Alley approach to Disney animated features continued as the 1990s wore on, but source material was beginning to become a problem. New ideas, apparently, were scant; therefore the decision to revisit known properties — begun with the historically themed “Pocahontas” — continued with the literary-inspired “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1996). To make the story “more palatable” to children (or avoid poking a stick at the beehive of religious institutions, some of whom were already in an angry buzz over WDC), Archdeacon Frollo is changed to Judge Frollo. Most of the Victor Hugo story stays relatively intact, except for his tragic ending… oh, and three talking gargoyle sidekicks.
The artistry — for whatever its role in making the original “HOND” memorable — was completely gone in the DTV sequel in 2002. The plot was a rehash, the animation was clunky and ugly, and the songs insufferable.
I’ll Make a Sequel Out of You
Girl-power was the theme of the day with the Disney take on the Chinese legend of a warrior princess who disguises herself as a man to take her ailing father’s place on the Hun battlefield in “Mulan” (1998). Fluid animation (completely from the Florida animation studio, R.I.P.), noteworthy songs, and detailed backgrounds — as well as an anachronistic but humorous dragon sidekick from Eddie Murphy — helped make the movie a hit.
But betting that we’d want, as Paul Harvey puts it, “…the *rest* of the story,” “Mulan II” appeared DTV in 2004. The story’s much thinner (involving the escort of princesses necessary for an alliance), as is the animation budget and the musical score. Murphy, now playing a wisecracking sidekick in the “Shrek” franchise over at Dreamworks, was replaced as Mushu, with middling results. “MII” isn’t as unbearable as some of the other DTV installments, but it’s not exactly a must-own, either.
Hollywood and Vines
More literary inspiration for animation begat “Tarzan” (1999), with song-writing duties handed over to Phil Collins. Technology took the Studio on another leap forward as mere computer-aided backgrounds were fully realized in Deep Canvas depth. They fit the story of Lord Greystoke perfectly, as he swung around, through, and over his lush jungle setting.
In 2001, the ape man and his jungle pals came to the small screen in “The Legend of Tarzan.” Three of these dreary episodes were packaged with some bridging animation in “Tarzan and Jane,” released on video in 2002. None of the original cast from the film was involved, and it showed.
“Tarzan” got yet another DTV treatment in the 2005 mid-quel, neither sequel nor prequel. It tries to fill in some missing details from the original — as if anyone missed them in the first place. We see more of Tar’s growing-up and the issues he faced — wasn’t this all covered in 1999? – and although some of the strong original cast has returned and Phil Collins lends more tunes, it’s all a rather pale imitation.
A Tizzy of Lizzies
In its quest to dominate the middle-school market with Disney Channel programming, the Studio created “Lizzie McGuire” (2001) a *** comedy/soap. The show survived by sticking to mostly inoffensive “safe” themes, by creating a sweet-as-pie central character (played by Hilary Duff), and by inserting animated pop-ups to heighten the comedy and give Lizzy a clever way to engage in her internal monologues. The show became a merchandising workhorse, selling CDs, posters, games, toys, dolls, etc.
The Junior Hi crowd got a big-screen opportunity in “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” (2003), when they all traipsed off to Italy to find adventure and romance. Critics blanched, but the prepubescent set broke into their piggy banks to the tune of $42 million.
Lizzie’s TV antics continue to be repackaged and released on video.
Digging for Gold
Disney sci-fi has been hit/miss in the live action realm (“20,000 Leagues under the Sea”? Hit. “The Island at the Top of the World”? Miss), but the genre had never really gotten an animated feature from the Studio until “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” (2001). Adventurer Milo Thatch (Michael J. Fox) and a scrappy crew set off to find — what else? — the lost city of Atlantis. Along the way, there is treachery and danger and a li’l cross-cultural romance. The style of the film is a departure from Disney of the 1990s, where every feature had a Great White Way feel and a gang of comic side-kicks, but it also was decidedly downbeat and rather hard to follow for the under-10s in the audience.
“Atlantis: Milo’s Return” (2003) was a three-play of Atlantis-related vignettes, strung together for DTV length. With most of the vocal cast gone and none of the budget to recreate the detail of the original, this “Atlantis” sinks pretty quickly.
In Stitches
Another franchise came to light with the original story “Lilo & Stitch” (2002). Set in Hawaii and using an ice cream parlor of soft colors, the movie was a breath of fresh air, turning the “E.T.” story comically on its ear. Lilo, a lonely parentless girl, befriends Stitch, an intergalactic escapee and defends him against a steadfast bounty hunter. The film was bright, fresh, funny, and tuneful, making liberal use of original Elvis songs.
The film was serialized in 2003 on the small screen with “Lilo & Stitch: The Series” (it was kicked off with a DTV release, “Stitch, the Movie”). The genetic experimentation that resulted in Stitch has also produced other weird offspring, and the series followed the continued efforts to reign in these creatures. The episodic structure made for a good television cartoon.
2005 brought the DTV “Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch.” Seems some programming errors have been plaguing Lilo’s pal, and something must be done about it. The movie involves a hula competition for Lilo (now played by Dakota Fanning, taking over for Daveigh Chase) and an almost tragic ending to Experiment 626. But the engaging Elvis soundtrack remains.
Next up: Some final thoughts on Disney and its sequelization/remakifying.