Martin's Movie Review: Franchise Review- The Disney Renaissance 1989-1999

Thirty years ago today, a redhead mermaid named Ariel revitalized a long-dormant animation studio at the tail-end of the 1980s, laying the groundwork for a slew of titles to achieve blockbuster business and critical acclaim in the decade to come. With the launch of Disney+ making the Mouse House's immortal library more accessible than ever, now is the perfect time to dive into one of it's most prosperous periods ever. While technically not a franchise, the Renassance collected many of the same creative minds and made feature-length cartoons cool again. In retrospect, it was the last stand for all those hand-drawn wizards that would ultimately be replaced by the Pixar juggernaut(that's a whole other article). Join me while I recap

"The Little Mermaid"(1989)
Before we dive under the sea, it's important to understand where Disney animation stood in the mid-'80s. "The Black Cauldron" was rock-bottom, and "The Great Mouse Detective" and "Oliver & Company", while financially successful, were hardly classics. Then came the Michael Eisner/Jeffrey Katzenberg revitalization. The wildly-ambitious Paramount duo made it their mission to restore the quality of the company's projects, and the movement unofficially began with this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1937 fairy tale(the highly-popular "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" also helped in the summer of '88). Jodi Benson has been voicing Ariel and other animated characters since she was plucked from Broadway by lyricist and playwright-producer Howard Ashman(who sadly died in 1991) and is now a 'Disney Legend'.

"Mermaid" overcame early comparisons to "Splash" and a Thanksgiving battle with "Back to the Future Part II" to become one of 1989's biggest hits, with an $84 million domestic gross that easily surpassed all previous Disney animated titles. "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl" were Academy Award winners for composer Alan Menken(get used to the name). The ugly sea-witch Ursula(voiced by Pat Carroll) was their best villain since Cruella de Vil. My sister wore out her VHS copy. A romantic songs-and-sidekicks(what's up, Flounder!) formula had been established by the new Disney brain-trust and the sky was the limit. Not so fast...

"The Rescuers Down Under"(1990)
This sequel to the slight 1977 hit was a holdover from the old regime and felt like a backwards step, after the giant leap forward that was "The Little Mermaid". It seemed like a good idea on paper, considering the pint-sized Bernard and Bianca(again voiced by Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor) were among the company's most marketable characters during the lean years. But this belated revival got ruined by a little movie called "Home Alone", the highest-grossing film of 1990. Talk about bad timing. George C. Scott's villainous voice and John Candy's comical seabird makes "Down Under" an improvement over the original, but this is still second-tier Disney.

"Beauty and the Beast"(1989)
Here we go. All of the promise of "The Little Mermaid" was fully realized two Thankgivings later. An adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's 1756 fairy tale had been in development(on-and-off) for fifty years, with Walt Disney himself deeming the story too challenging. At the insistence of Eisner and Katzenberg, "Beauty" became the first animated film to have a real screenplay(by Linda Woolverton), eschewing the traditional storyboard approach. That's called progress. Belle was voiced by another Broadway standout Paige O'Hara, and former heartthrob Robby Benson lent his vocals to the burly castle-bound prince.

Needless to say, this is a beautiful film. Bill Condon's 2017 live-action version, for all it's billion-dollar box office, can't compete with Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale. Angela Lansbury took a break from "Murder, She Wrote" to voice Mrs. Potts and record the Oscar-winning title track. Oh, speaking of the Oscars, "Beauty" was nominated for six including BEST PICTURE! That will never happen again with the advent of the Best Animated Feature category in 2001. Celine Dion, the Canadian queen of the power ballads, and her delightful voice can be heard over the end credits. It wouldn't be the last time that happened.

"Aladdin"(1992)
The directing duo behind "The Little Mermaid", John Musker and Ron Clements, pitched a comedic treatment of the Middle Eastern folktale to Jeffrey Katzenberg, fueled by the unstoppable music tandem of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken(and new arrival Tim Rice). The result was another instant classic and the highest grossing film of 1992, a year that saw the releases of "Batman Returns", "Home Alone 2", and "Lethal Weapon 3". This film came out the same month that Bill Clinton was elected President. Talk about a whole new world.

Now let's talk about Robin Williams. His scene-stealing Genie literally changed the landscape for voice work in animated movies. Previously the domain of unknown or unheralded actors(like, umm, Scott Weinger of "Full House" semi-fame), Disney and DreamWorks would go on to hire big names for big salaries for the rest of the '90s and 2000s. Robin's verbal gusto is the reason that Tom Hanks does Woody and Mike Myers does Shrek, but he accepted the standard fee of $75,000 and didn't want his presence to factor into the marketing push(yeah, right).

"The Lion King"(1994)
Alright, we've reached the peak of the Disney Renaissance. The highest point, it wouldn't get any bigger or better than Simba, the one true king, with all due respect to the rest of the list. "The Lion King" was a phenomenon that furthered the notion that these aren't just kids' movies. From the opening line of Elton John and Tim Rice's "The Circle of Life"(NANTS INGONYAMA...), I'm settled into the Pride Lands for 88 minutes. 'Bambi in Africa'(the initial '88 pitch) turned into a brilliant mix of talents from many fields- twenty writers made story contributions, 600 artists/animators were employed, and Hans Zimmer's team headed a soaring soundtrack.

James Earl Jones, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Moira Kelly, and Rowan Atkinson made up the most complete voice cast yet. Fun fact- conventional wisdom stated that animation couldn't compete with live action in the summertime before June 1994. "King" was the biggest worldwide hit of the year, and was in a dead heat with "Forrest Gump" for the domestic b.o. title. Everyone involved felt the love that Elton was singing about. Did I mention that "Hakuna Matata" is a wonderful phrase? At least it was the first hundred times. Don't even bother revisiting the "photorealistic" 2019 version.