Disney Is Not Just For Kids
“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”
— C.S. Lewis
It irritates me to no end when people think Disney is just for kids. Walt himself intended for his movies to be for both adults and kids alike. It’s why he invested so much quality and effort into his movies because he knew he had to please the adults, not just produce cheap entertainment to temporarily satisfy the kids. He wanted his movies to be timeless. Keep in mind that his movies are appropriate enough for kids to watch (family movies). It’s just that they’re not meant exclusively for kids.
A lot of people think that in order for a “kids” movie to be adult enough, it has to have a deep, adult message. Well I can’t tell you how many live-action, “adult” movies I’ve seen that have no deep message whatsoever but are deemed mature just because they have lots of guns and/or sex and are not animated. It also depends what you mean by a deep message. Many think that Zootopia has a deep message but that doesn’t make it an “adult” movie. If anything, I find Zootopia to be preachy, which only makes Zootopia more like a kids movie talking down to its audience. The message in Zootopia isn't deep at all. It focuses on a very specific, modern, social issue, which wouldn’t be as relevant in the past or future. The whole script reads like a bad buzzfeed article. Watching the movie without sound is actually better because the actions say it all. The cheesy dialogue (and the really bad music) on top is just overkill. If anything, the message in Zootopia is faux deep in a cheap way.
To me, a deep message would be timeless. Walt Disney said, “I want my entertainment to educate, not my education to entertain.” Movies like Zootopia and Mean Girls are exactly education that tries to entertain, which is why I find them overrated. Meanwhile, Walt Disney’s movies add education, the lessons of life, to ENHANCE the artistic quality of his entertainment, not the other way around. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it’s good in light of darkness. Sleeping Beauty, true love conquers all. In Peter Pan, it’s balancing growing up with your inner child. These messages are simple, but deep. They can be applied to any time period. Instead of being shoved in your face, they are shown subtly through the action and the overall story, which is enough. The overall theme of Walt’s company and all of his movies combined is imagination and believing that dreams come true. After all, he focused on the fantasy genre.
Deepness doesn’t mean that a story has to be morose. Just because a movie is overall optimistic doesn’t make it fluffy or lack depth. There are many sad, sad movies that are shallow and there are many happy movies that are deep. I hate how people dismiss Disney movies just because they’re too happy. These people should watch Snow White, Bambi, Pinnochio and Fantasia before brushing off Disney as some sort of happy-go-lucky company. Some of Walt’s earliest works were actually pretty dark. Sometimes deep messages can be better executed in fantasy than reality. Both Beauty and the Beast (fantasy) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (which is more realistic) focus on inner beauty, but Beauty and the Beast delivers the message better, in a way that’s more fantasy-like, more powerful, more entertaining and less depressing. Hunchback is overrated and doesn’t really fit in with the Disney company as a whole.
I can’t tell you how often I hear, “No I don’t wanna see that cause it’s animated!” Back then, animation wasn’t seen as something that was only for kids. Snow White was seen as an adult film. In fact, many kids peed their seats in theaters because it was too scary for them. Somehow, people associate fantasy and animation with being juvenile when really, fairytales and animation are seriously underrated and you can learn so much from them. I blame it on the marketing. Even Disney itself is partially guilty. I don’t mind the amusement parks or merchandise. I actually love them because they extend and enhance the experience of the movies through a 3-D world that would have been limited on screen. But making shitty sequels ruins the earlier, classic works at the expense of the cash cow. Now people think animation is just kids’ cartoons. Walt made his animated movies high quality, which is why they earned respect from adults. But ever since animation started to be viewed as merely child’s play, animation companies have decreased their quality and the cycle continues. Thankfully though, animation seems to be slowly gaining respect again (or maybe that’s just me) but not so much.
So what if the movies are G-rated? I remember everyone wanting to grow up so they could watch R-rated movies. Well, I’d happily go back and watch a good G-rated movie than a trashy R-rated one. The best movies are G-rated because they actually have to tell a story, not produce porn and violence. I grew up only to find that R-rated movies actually suck and that I prefer G-rated movies anyway. We waited for nothing.
Walt never did underestimate the power of a simple story, beautiful animation and elegant music. He hired the best animators (the nine old men) plus Mary Blair to make every movie of his literally look like a moving painting. He searched for the best voice actors and wasn’t satisfied with any one of them until he found the one. He knew that excellence was in the details, and excellence did come. Even his writing is well done. That’s why I continue to love Disney (even as an adult) and have so much respect for him as a movie-maker. In fact, I think many filmmakers would do well to study his craft. Honestly, schools should start teaching Disney classes, and it would be no different than studying Shakespeare. Don't laugh. If you want to dismiss Disney as babyish entertainment, you’re missing out big time on one of the greatest cultural contributors of our time, someone who I’d put next to Shakespeare, Dickens, etc. Not all art appreciation has to be in the past. It’s right in front of you. If people back then had known how important they’d become, they’d probably have read more Hemingway or attended more Shakespeare plays, so what better way to celebrate the culture and art in our MODERN era than Disney? And yes, Disney was unpretentious, but that only makes it all the better. The fact that he could make such great art that also appealed to the masses is an accomplishment worthy of itself and how do we say — magic. Simplicity does not equal lack of sophistication and complexity does not equal intellect.
All this ridicule is even causing Disney to harm itself, starting with the snide remarks in its newer movies, in vain attempt to seem hip or cool to modern audiences. “You can’t marry a man you just met” in Frozen, making fun of believing in dreams (the very PREMISE of Disney) in The Princess and The Frog and Zootopia, and the princess bashing in Moana. Disney dumping on itself only hurts the image of the company as a whole, making its cherished traditions seem foolish and disrespects its earlier works, which are indeed great and undervalued.
I know this sounds like I’m nostalgic for the “old” Disney and critical of the “new” Disney. After all, Walt did say that Disney would continue to grow as long there was imagination left in the world. He was optimistic that Disney would be alright. Not everything is going to be exactly the same. And yes, Disney did bring us awesome new stuff after his death. It’s just that I’m not a fan of some of its later decisions.
Movies More For Adults
Sleeping Beauty
The animation is artistically eccentric and superb. The music is classical Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty sung by the amazing, operatic, angelic voice of Mary Costa. The writing is excellent. It’s the epitome of a classic fairytale, written for adults. Yet the story is ahead of its time. You have four strong female characters — the three good fairies and a villain, as well as a brave prince and an elegant princess. A damsel in distress she may be, Aurora is much more interesting than given credit for. Her characterization is rich, well-rounded and subtle. As a kid, I thought this was the most boring princess movie but now I can appreciate its sophisticated quality.
Pocahontas
I find that adults tend to like this movie more than kids. I myself was thoroughly impressed when I first watched it as an adult. It’s a beautiful movie that's beautifully done with beautiful animation, beautiful music, beautiful story. Everything about is just…beautiful. Adults who don’t like fluffiness will appreciate the bittersweet ending.
Fantasia
It’s an artsy-farty person’s orgasm. Classical symphony combined with thoughtful animation done by equally artsy-fartsy people, and no dialogue.
Tangled
Yes I put Tangled on here. Don’t be fooled by the comedy and the bouncy characters. It's actually quite dark, like the villain herself. On the outside she appears harmless and likable, but on the inside, she’s dark and insidious. Likewise, the movie looks like a bubbly fairytale on the outside but it deals with the dark topic of abuse, especially insidious abuse.
Movies For Both Kids And Adults Equally
Mary Poppins
Grown up, I see how Mary Poppins actually has a lot of sneaky, dark (and possibly disturbing) things, like the banker laughing at the end and Mary Poppins (possibly drugging the kids??). Nonetheless, it’s still jolly enough for the kids to enjoy. Not to mention that the combined live action and animation within a scene was groundbreaking for its time.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Kids will love singing heigh ho and fun songs along with the dwarves while adults will appreciate the historical significance of this cinematic masterpiece. As Walt’s very first full-length animated feature film, each frame is hand drawn with tender, loving care and is like a water colored painting.
Movies More For Kids
Emperor's New Groove
Sorry, but this is just from my personal experience. I found this movie very funny as a kid but now I’m like meh.
Don’t forget the easter eggs snuck in to keep the adults entertained!
Walt had RESPECT for kids and adults, which shows through in his movies. In his time, there wasn't much respect for kids but Walt Disney turned that around.
“You're dead if you only aim for kids. Adults are just kids grown up anyways. Adults are interested if you don’t play down to the little 2 or 3 year olds or talk down. I don’t believe in talking down to children. I don’t believe in talking down to any certain segment. I like to kind of just talk in a general way to the audience. Children are always reaching.”
-Walt Disney
So the next time you find yourself fanning over a Disney movie, remember to not feel any guilt in your guilty pleasure cause Disney actually wants you to like them. That just means he did his job well.
That is all.
The Blogger