When You Wish Upon a Nightmare - WDAS Collapses in the 80s

[MrCarioca]

Prologue

Original release poster for "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", WDAS's first feature film (1937)​

In 1937, the first full-length cel-animated film was released to theaters. It was Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". The film's success would lay the foundation for a series of animated films throughout the early 1940s, all of which were successes critically despite bombing at the box office. During World War 2, WDAS helped create propaganda films such as "Victory Through Air Power" and "Saludos Amigos", the latter being a government funded project. What followed was 1950's "Cinderella", another huge success that helped recoup the financial losses of the 1940s. This kickstarted a period known as the Disney Silver Age, most if not all of these films would become regarded as Disney's finest. Despite experiencing a Dark Age through the 1970s-80s following Walt Disney's untimely death, the studio would rebound into an animation Renaissance, signalling more lavish films to come...

...is what I would say if things didn't go horribly for the WDAS following 1966. Walt Disney's death meant that the quality of animated films were no longer up to snuff with what they had been producing up to that point. The inferior Xerox style was a huge factor which played into the declining quality of the 1970s films. The last and only true good use of the Xerox style was in 1967's "The Jungle Book", it was also the last film Walt Disney had major involvement in. Following Jungle Book, all of the 1970s films were financial and critical failures. 1973's "Robin Hood" had its flaws lay bare for all the world to see, its ugly Xerox animation mixed with recycled animation from the richer films was a major criticism, even if it's seen as a cult classic today.

Even before Walt Disney's death, Walt had already begun discussions about shuttering the animation department in favour of both television and theme parks. These talks returned once more when the financial upset was made obvious. The only positives that came from the animation studio at that point were the "Winnie the Pooh" featurettes, they were the only media produced by WDAS that received praise. Oddly enough, a full length Pooh feature never came to fruition.

In conclusion, the films released by WDAS up to 1979 had ugly and scratchy Xerox animation, declining quality which couldn't compare to those released prior, and there were talks of shutting down the animation divison for good. WDAS could only hope that their film in production "The Fox and the Hound", slated for a Christmas 1980 release, could perform postively.

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List of films released by Walt Disney Animation Studios up to 1979:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
Dumbo (1941)
Bambi (1942)
Saludos Amigos (1943)
The Three Caballeros (1945)
Make Mine Music (1946)
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
Melody Time (1948)
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949)
Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
The Sword in the Stone (1963)
The Jungle Book (1967)
The Aristocats (1970)
Robin Hood (1973)
The Rescuers (1977)
The Fox and the Hound (upcoming with a 1980 release window)

 

[MrCarioca]

Chapter 1: The Fox and the Hound

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Even though the film rights to the namesake 1967 novel had been purchased since said novel won the Dutton Animal Book Award, production on "The Fox and the Hound" wouldn't actually begin until 1977. If "The Fox and the Hound" was notable for anything, it would be the transition from the old veteran animators like the Nine Old Men to a new generation of animators such as John Musker, Ron Clements and Tim Burton. One of these young upstarting animators was Donald Virgil Bluth, or simply Don Bluth. Bluth and his team constantly butted heads with the veteran animators on how to handle certain scenes, Reitherman himself was claimed by Bluth to be stern and out of touch. It was somewhat expected what happened next, as Bluth along with Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, John Musker and Ron Clements would hand in their resignation papers on Bluth's 42nd birthday. Bluth would go on to form his own animation studio and produce many notable films such as "The Secret of Nimh" and "An American Tail".

Despite the departure of notable talent, the studio head Ron Miller refused to delay the film's release date and instead rushed production. This resulted in the final product being lackluster and having clashing changes in tone, most notably the song "Scoobie Doobie Doobie Doo, Let Your Body Turn to Goo". The song was stated to be the prime example of a jarring tone change, occuring directly after a more emotional scene in the film.

The plotline revolves around Tod the Fox and Copper the Hound Dog meeting and befriending each other as toddlers. As the two grow up, hunter Amos Slade trains Copper to become a hunting dog and teams him up with his pet dog Chief. Tod however is accident prone and causes trouble within Amos' house, prompting Amos and Chief to hunt him down. When the two grow up, Tod sneaks over to visit Copper, who harshly claims that their friendship is long over and Tod should leave before Chief is alerted. That is exactly what happens and after a long chase, Chief is knocked over by a train and suffers from a broken leg. Tod's kind owner Widow Tweed comes to the decision that such an environment was no longer safe for Tod, she ultimately sends Tod away in the forest. The film climxaes into one final battle between Tod and Copper, displaying how bad their relationship has become.

The film did alright financially but received mixed receptions. Many praised the film's emotional core and the message about the importance of friendship, and yet the jarring tone shifts, lackluster plot and the tone-killing song "Scoobie Doobie Doobie Doo, Let Your Body Turn to Goo" was so bad that it became the film's major criticism. Other criticisms included the film not bringing much new to the table and its old-school story. "The Fox and the Hound" would premiere on Home Video by 1982. It seemed like smooth sailing from here on out for WDAS, and yet the road to disaster had already been paved. The next film wouldn't make matters better for WDAS.

Release Date: December 18th 1980

Cast: Same as OTL

 

[MrCarioca]

Chapter 2: The Great Mouse Detective

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The idea of a "Sherlock Holmes" adaptation with mice was first discussed during production on "The Rescuers", another mouse movie. Layout artist Joe Hale suggested adapting the children's book series "Basil of Baker Street" by Eve Titus, which in turn was based of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Ron Miller had his doubts however, the preliminary script was too similar to what "the Rescuers" had been. Instead the main focus at the studio was a more amibitous and grand film: "The Black Cauldron". "The Black Cauldron" had been in production since the late 1970s, and since it was a way more amibitous project which most staff had more confidence in, "The Great Mouse Detective" was considered the B-Picture.

One could argue that production on "The Great Mouse Detective" was troubled. While John Musker and Ron Clements were slated to direct the film, they were removed from the project due to creative differences on both this film and “The Fox and the Hound”. Both men left the studio not long after to join Don Bluth and “The Secret of NIMH”. Meanwhile, directorial duties were transferred to Art Stevens. Stevens had previously directed “The Rescuers” alongside Wolfgang Reitherman and John Lounsbery, so on paper he seemed like a good fit. The problem however was the main plotline. Originally the character Olivia was supposed to become a potential love interest for Basil, Miller went against this and in his own words “A little girl is somebody the audience would feel sorry for”. And yet the new plot shared too many similarities with “The Rescuers”. Even the main title garnered criticism. The title "The Great Mouse Detective" was seen as too generic and spawned an inside joke within the studio, where films were joking re-named: "Seven Little Men Help a Girl" or "The Wonderful Flying Children". There was a lot to sort out and re-work before the final release.

For voice casting, Barrie Ingham was notably set to voice Basil himself. While Miller was satisfied with Ingham’s voice acting, Stevens instead opted for John Cleese, another English actor who co-founded the British comedy troupe Monty Python. One could argue that Cleese's more comedic side dragged Basil's character down. For the main villain Ratigan, Vincent Price was first considered before Robert Loggia was ultimately chosen. Once again, Stevens felt that Price's voice was too energetic and grand for Ratigan, much like how Barrie Ingham was dropped. Henry Mancini was brought in to score the film's music. While there weren't much songs, two most remembered songs were "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" and "Goodbye So Soon", both sung by Ratigan and/or his henchmen.

The plot follows Doctor David Q. Dawson discovering a young girl named Olivia Flaversham as he returns home from service in Afganistan. Olivia's toy making father had been kidnapped by a peg-legged bat and Olivia believes that the great detective Basil of Baker Street is the only one who could help her. When the two find Basil, Basil dismisses the two before he realises that the bat was actually his sworn nemesis Ratigan's second in-command Fidget. Basil agrees to help out Olivia and they manage to track down clues to Ratigan's underground lair. Unbeknowst to Basil, this was all an elaborate ploy by Ratigan to humiliate Basil and trap him once and for all. Basil manages to escape but leaves Olivia behind. Needing to rescue Olivia, Basil deduces that Ratigan's plan was to overthrow the Queen of Mousedom and install himself as leader. Basil and Dawson manage to reach Buckingham Palace and rescue Olivia and her father, culminating in a final battle on Big Ben.

"The Great Mouse Detective" premiered on December 16th 1983, with the Mickey Mouse featurette "Mickey's Christmas Carol" shown before it. Like "The Fox and the Hound", the film performed in the middle of the road financially. Reception was mixed but leaned towards the positive spectrum. There weren't any sudden tone shifts and tone killing songs this time around, which alone earned a lot more praise compared to "The Fox and the Hound". However the film wasn't without its faults. John Cleese and Robert Loggia both weren't the right fits for Basil and Ratigan, and Basil despite being the main protagonist was far too unlikeable and didn't gain any character development. Generally the film is seen as an alright movie, and it looked like Disney was heading towards the bright path, but nothing could've prepared anybody for the disaster that was to come.

Release Date: December 16th 1983

Cast:
John Cleese (Basil)
Paul Winchell (Doctor Dawson)
Robert Loggia (Professor Ratigan)
TBD (Olivia Flaversham)
Alan Young (Mr Flaversham)
Candy Candido (Fidget)
Lucille Bliss (Mouse Queen)

 

[MrCarioca]

Chapter 3: The Black Cauldron

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There was no doubt that the quality of animated films released after Walt's death had declined significantly. Not only were the films not up to snuff with what had came before them, but these films lacked any of the charm found in "Snow White", "Pinocchio" and "Peter Pan". "The Black Cauldron" sought to remove the negative stigma Disney films was currently having. Loosely based off the Chronicles of Prydain novels, it was Ollie Johnston who first suggested adapting the novels and in his own words "The film would've been as good as Snow White if we did it correctly". The film was conceptualised in the early 1970s but didn't enter full production until a decade later, by then it was slated to be the studio's big A-Picture, their next "Snow White".

During the early stages, production on "The Black Cauldron" was troubled and messy. For one, the release date was pushed from 1980, to Christmas 1984, then again to 1985. Storyboard Artist Vance Gerry outlined the basic plot, characters and action. Having the three main characters established, the main hurdle was the Horned King who went through multiple re-designs before settling on the final product. John Musker was the initial director, however Miller didn't like the comedic direction he was going. In Musker's own words : "The older people I was working with didn't like any of my ideas". It was highly possible that this played a key role of Musker's departure and him jumping ship to Don Bluth not long after. Meanwhile, directorial duites were transfered to Ted Burman.

Animation and voice work took quite some time compared to the previous two films. While both “Fox and the Hound” and “The Great Mouse Detective” allowed cheaper animation, “The Black Cauldron” had none of that, instead it used the much more expensive animation photo transfer process (APR). “The Black Culdron” was also the only other animated film to use the Technirama 70 format next to “Sleeping Beauty”, another ambitious project that almost tanked the studio. However, "The Black Cauldron" was different and would most certainly usher in an animation Renaissance, at least according to Miller and Burman. Regarding voice casting, Grant Bardsley was given the role of Taran and John Hurt was cast as the Horned King. It became a bit more complicated for Princess Elionwy, as both Hayley Mills and Susan Sheridan were considered for the role. Ultimately it was Mills who snatched the role away from Sheridan. Designwise, both Taran and Elionwy were designed to resemble "Sleeping Beauty", the Horned King became a thin skeletal figure with a hood and had his role expanded.

Another understated event which had happened during the production of "The Black Cauldron" was the change in administration. Disney shareholders Sid Bass and Roy E. Disney replaced Ron Miller with an arguably more competent businessman: Michael Eisner. Eisner had worked for ABC as senior vice president and later the president of Paramount's movie studio. Eisner wasn't alone however, he had brought president of production Jeffrey Katzenburg with him. Compared with Miller, Eisner was a far better CEO in every way. Eisner gave more creative freedom towards the new animators and directors, allowing for their greater judgement and direction. This decision would prove to be controversial as we'll later see, but the animators weren't complaining much. Under the new administration, "The Black Cauldron" would finally release to theaters in July 1985.

When a vision generated by the oracular powered pig Hen Wen depicting the feared Horned King leading an army of the dead, teenage pig-keeper Taran must get Hen Wen to safety. However Hen Wen is captured by the Horned King's goons, prompting Taran to rescue it and meet the badger-like creature (and comic relief although he is neither comic nor a relief to see) Gurgi. Taran successfully rescues Hen Wen but is thrown into the dungeon by the Horned King. There, another captive Princess Elionwy frees him alongside Fflewddur Fflam. The trio plus Gurgi now must embark on a quest to find the Black Cauldron and destroy it before the Horned King gets to it first.

As the release date of 1985 approached, heavy advertising campaigns began both on TV and in theaters. The film was advertised as "the next Snow White", its dark tone and mild gore gave the film a PG rating, the only WDAC film to do so. Coincidentally, it was also the last film released in the WDAC. "The Black Cauldron", despite its innovative visuals which could be described as eye candy, ended up being a catastrophical failure. Financially, it ended up making only half of its budget, performing even worse than both "Sleeping Beauty" and "Fantasia". Critically? It was a disaster. Many kids ran out screaming due to the infamous gore scene (1) and the Horned King's demeanor, and adults and casual audiences found the plot too lackluster and easily resolvable. "The Black Cauldron" was envisioned as a cinematic masterpiece that could define animation, instead it ended up as a abysmal and catastrophic production that ultimately caused the end of Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Release Date: July 24th 1985

Cast:
Hayley Mills (Princess Elionwy), others remain the same

(1) The deleted Army of the Dead scene from OTL

 

[MrCarioca]

Chapter 4: Collapse
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Many persisted that Walt Disney Animation Studios would prevail in this crisis and stay afloat, yet others knew that classic Disney films will soon be a thing of the past. After three consecutive failures with "The Black Cauldron" becoming the final nail in the coffin, the collapse of Walt Disney Animation Studios was pretty much inevitable, even if one could argue that the stage had been set since 1980. Studio chairman Roy E. Disney was a huge advocate of keeping the animation studio alive and try to put it back on its feet, Disney believed that if the studio could be restructured correctly, it would survive past the ongoing disaster. Meanwhile Michael Eisner saw the writing on the wall and planned on the animation studio's closure by the end of the year, the damage was done and there was no way it could be repaired in such a short amount of time. In his own words: "This isn't one of those fairytale films we make, this is reality and the damage was done."

Both parties were at odds with each other and needless to say, Disney couldn't figure out a suitable treatment and recovery for WDAS in time, all he could wass delay the inevitable through meetings and negotiation attempts. On July 2nd 1986, Walt Disney Animation Studios closed its doors for good. From this point forward, the only animated works to come out of Walt Disney Productions were distributed films and occasional re-releases. As for ongoing television works such as "The Wuzzles" and "Adventures of the Gummi Bears", production was halted and "Adventures of the Gummi Bears" became lost media for several decades, only "The Wuzzles" ended up seeing the light of day due to its short run on television and it being completed by the time "The Black Cauldron" released. Walt Disney Productions solely focused on theme parks, merchandising and producing live-action films of varying quality.

Administration-wise, Roy Disney was having none of this. Disney sought to launch a similar campaign to remove Eisner as he did with Ron Miller, yet it never went far as many within the company opposed having Eisner fired. At the very least, Eisner showed competence in managing the theme parks. For better or for worse, Eisner was here to stay. Jeffrey Katzenberg however had experienced a fallout with Eisner during the discussions regarding WDAS. Like Disney, Katzenberg was an advocate for keeping animation at Disney alive. After all animated work ended at Disney, Katzenberg left Walt Disney Productions for greener pastures. Katzenberg managed to snatch John Lasseter and a few other animators with him, Katzenberg then formed his own animation studio Dreamworks Animation in late 1986. Dreamworks focused on television commercials before striking gold with 1988's "Oliver and Company", but that's a different story. For now, the animation industry had lost its major and biggest player, and there was a huge void for everybody else to fill. Fortunately, audiences didn't have to wait long for the animation industry to deliver.

 

[MrCarioca]

Chapter 5: An American Tail & the Beginnings of Dreamworks

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The collapse of Walt Disney Animation Studios had left some pretty big shoes to fill by Disney's competitors and rivals. One notable example was 1986's "An American Tail", produced by Don Bluth who had been Disney's biggest rival up to the collapse. Bluth had released "The Secret of NIMH" in 1982, which while performing ok at the box office, was a huge critical success. However the "failure" of NIMH forced Bluth to close his studio. Soon Bluth was met with an oppoturnity: Steven Spielberg approached Bluth to collaborate on an animated project based on a concept by David Kirschner, it was originally conceived as an all-animal world like Disney's "Robin Hood", later it was re-worked to a hidden animal society similar to how "The Great Mouse Detective " and Bluth's own NIMH was.

To make the film stand out compared to all the previous mouse films would be a difficult task. To surpass NIMH in terms of quality was already going to be hard, but to surpass Disney's (which at the time still existed) "The Rescuers" and the "Great Mouse Detective" would be extremely headache inducing. The finalised script was way too long for the feature, and many scenes had to be cut. Both Bluth and Spielberg were starting to have doubts regarding the film, which had been named "An American Tail". When the news broke that Walt Disney Productions would shutter their animation department completely in 1986 however, it was a golden oppoturnity to see whetehr Bluth could fill in the void.

Russian-Jewish mouse family Mousekewitzes celebrate hanukkah. Papa Mousekewitz tells the family about the United States, which he describes as a paradise where no cats are to be found. When the celebrations are interrupted by a gag of cats who destroy the Mousekewitz household, the family was left with no choice but to immigrate to the US. On the way there, the youngest son Fievel Mousekewitz gets thrown overboard and is seperated from the rest of his family. Fievel floats to New York in a bottle and must now try to reunite with his family with new allies, all while avoiding dangerous obstacles in this unfamiliar landscape.

"An American Tail" released on November 21st 1986. Financially, not only did it outperform NIMH, it pentupled its initial $9 million budget and became the highest grossing animated film of 1986, and this was merely four months after WDAS shuttered its doors. The film also performed well critically, generally receiving positive reviews regarding its themes and moral lessons, even if some criticisms surrounding the film's depressing tones did arise. Thanks to the success of "An American Tail", Bluth and Spielberg decided to continue their partnership. Together they established their own animation studio: Amblimation.

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Oliver and Company (1988)

Shortly after Walt Disney Animation Studios collapsed in 1986, a disappointed Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney to form his own animation studio: Dreamworks Animation. Among those who followed him were John Lasseter, Mark Dindal and Mike Gabriel, Brad Bird later joined Dreamworks to reunite with longtime friend Lasseter. Some could argue that Dreamworks was founded out of pure spite against Eisner and Disney for shuttering animation. During a meeting in December 1986 dubbed "the gong show", Mark Dindal would come up with the idea of adapting the Charles Dickens novel "Oliver Twist", but with cats and dogs in the place of humans. Katzenberg approved Dindal's idea alongside a few others. Production officially started on Boxing Day 1986 with Dindal and Lasseter becoming directors, the film was set for a 1988 release. While Dreamworks could keep itself afloat with animating television adverts, "Oliver and Company" would be a risky move. For one, Dreamworks was still relatively new, and the budget put into the film wasn't small either.

In 1980s New York, a small orphan tabby named Oliver wanders the streets in search of adoption. Oliver meets Dodger, a laidback street dog who steals to keep himself alive. Oliver follows Dodger and discovers a larger gang of dogs led by the street rat Fagin, who is indebted to nefarious loan shark and criminal Mr Sykes. Oliver earns the respect of the dogs by scratching Sykes' guard dogs and joins their gang, the next day he joins them on a stealing spree, where he winds up in the wealthy Foxworth family and is adopted by their daughter Jenny. Fagin seizes this oppoturnity to hold Oliver for ransom in hopes that he'll receive enough cash to pay back Sykes, but ultimately gives up the plan when Jenny shows up with her piggy bank as ransom money. The film reaches its climax when Sykes kidnaps Jenny and holds her for ransom. Oliver, Dodger and the dogs must save Jenny from Sykes before its too late.

"Oliver and Company" released on November 18th 1988, the same day on what would've been Mickey Mouse's 60th birthday. While the film was a financial success and earned Dreamworks some much needed cash, its critical performance ranged from mixed to negative. Many criticised the film's bland plot and weak animation, Dickens fans tore the film apart for being an off-brand re-telling of Oliver Twist. The most memorable and well received aspect of the film was Billy Joel and "Why Should I Worry?", in a way, the song became more well-known than the film itself. It seemed like Dreamworks would have a long way to go before truly reaching stardom, but fortunately Katzenberg didn't wait long to deliver.

The cast for both films stay the same as OTL.