Jim On Film
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Most films made while Walt Disney was alive are heavy on character development and story
while remaining short on theme. Usually the emphasis is one of good vs. evil. Of course,
there are films that diverge from this--Dumbo, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp,
The Sword in the Stone, and parts of the package films--but this is more the
exception than the rule.
As the Disney films progressed in the early nineties, theme came to play a stronger role. With every single-story film from Beauty and the Beast on, the audience receives a strong message and/or the character experiences a strong transformation. Some have taken this as a formula.
It hardly seems a fault that Disney incorporates a theme into their films. It might even be suggested that because the theme varies so strongly from film to film that this element is far from a formula ingredient. It would be very easy to follow the good vs. evil tradition, but instead, Beauty and the Beast becomes a story about looking beyond appearances, Hercules becomes a story about what makes a true hero, and Tarzan becomes a story about what makes a family. Most serious live-action films have driving themes and ideas; it is not wrong for Disney to do the same.
Similarly, in most pieces of literature, main characters experience a transformation, and by the end of the story, the main character has changed. In Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, for example, Carrie begins the novel as an innocent country girl in the big city and ends the novel as an experienced woman and popular actress with the world at her beckon call. This is a typical character arc for all kinds of literature, and it would seem natural for the same to follow in the Disney films. It is not surprising, then, that as Quasimodo begins his story, he is a gullible child in seclusion, but in the end, he is a courageous man accepted by his community.
Critics of the arts should focus on voicing comments to make a change and not for the sake of insulting. At a time when traditional animation is at its most vulnerable state, undeserved criticism only plants seeds of unwarranted discontent. To inaccurately suggest that Disney films are simply formulaic ingredients thrown together does a severe injustice to some of the best films of the era. Just as it would be for Shakespeare, to reduce the art of Disney animation to lists not only belittles the art but also prevents the critic from enjoying these masterful and unforgettable films.
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-- Jim Miles (Copyright Jim Miles)
On Film does not have a regular schedule.
The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted March 7, 2002