Today, as I was browsing movie reviews for varioous flicks, I came across one for Disney Pixar's Wall.e. One sentence in paticular caught my eye:
quote-
"It's kind of a dark concept, don't ya think"
It got me thinking. The whole concept of the film, is a robot, named wall.e, whose been on the planet earth for 700 years by itself, until one day, that all changes.
I started thinking to myself, and came to this. If you want to get technical, doesn't pretty much every disney/ pixar flick have a dark concept?
These are just a few examples:
Finding Nemo: Marlin, a loving father and husband, wakes up after being beaten by a sea creature atleast five times his size, to find that not only his wife, but also all but one of his unborn children have been eaten.
Cinderella: A young girl, who lost her mother at birth, lives with her father, until one day, he dies, and she is left with her evil stepmother, and step sisters, who hater her, and makes friends with mice and a dog.
Snow White: Also a young girl, hated by the queen, wanted dead, runs into the forest and shacks up with seven midgets!
I could go on forever. People that know me, know that I am a Disney FREAK, so yes I get somewhat defensive. However, I can do a good argument, as long as its legit!
Anyone else see where I'm coming from? Or am I just rambling..?
It's kind of a dark concept, don't ya think?
By ficticious.love - Posted on July 12th, 2008
Most of Disney's movies that I've seen, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and a few others, all seem to come from another tale, usually the Grimm Brothers', that are even darker. I could do without all the singing, so I don't watch much of the older Disney movies.
However, a bit of darkness is what makes a tale GOOD, in my opinion.
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Disney movies didn't actually have original ideas until the Lion King--and even that one was questionable. Most of Disney's original movies are loosely based off of stories developed by Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm Brothers. I don't know if you've read the original stories or not but... they aren't exactly happy. Disney did a fairly good job of lightening them up, but to take all the darkness completely out of them would have ruined the stories entirely.
Additionally, the older of the Disney movies (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella) weren't necessarily made for a child audience. They were made to be just another movie in the theatres for entertainment.
Some of the stories go back before the Grimm Brothers. If you'd like to read the original, version of Sleeping Beauty, click here. It's somewhat different, I'll warn you. In the original version of Little Red Riding Hood, there was no heroic Woodsman--Red and Granny both died. And, in the original Snow White, the evil witch is made to wear shoes made of hot iron and dance in them until she died.
Sorry to ramble on; I just wanted you to know where the darkness comes from.
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The Lion King is Hamlet.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Now that would have been a fun way to learn Shakespeare... compare it to the Disney Movie....
~C
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I'm going to make that an essay topic! Thanks for the idea!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Hamlet, among other things. Mostly Hamlet. Chris Vogler said Disney asked him to include ideas from Hamlet to make the story better.
I should have worded that to say "Disney claims The Lion King was its first original idea." ;-)
I want to see Disney bring back 2-D animation and songs, and then try to do Othello. :-) Except they'll probably use the Iago they already have, complete with Gilbert Gottfried. :-/
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Gilbert Godfried is all tied up in Cyberchase on PBS right now. He plays a bird there too...
That's weird.
I would love to know what the story was like before the addition of the Hamlet elements. It would have been pretty dull without the murderous uncle bit.
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HOLY COW! I can't believe I've never noticed that was the same actor. He was also on a roast. I think it was Bob Saget's.
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I should read Hamlet *sigh*. At least then I'd know all the references! As long as it's not as boring as King Lear.
Yes, I think Disney should go back to the old school 2D animation. Maybe get a little original though. All the classic Disney cartoons I can think of are just variations on a previous story. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Little Mermaid, Mulan, etc.
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I've never had a TV in my life, so I grew up reading all the classic tales. Actually, my uncle was reading them to me from a very, very young age. I love how they are not all touchy-feely. I read them to my brother and sister now too. =D
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You can't ignore me, for I'll not lie down quietly.
http://insanitek.net
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Disney does have dark concepts in the plot, but it doesn't seem to bother children much so it mustn't be that bad. Usually adults are the ones who nitpick on political correctness of a damsel in distress or how the true story of Pocohontas is creepy compared to the Disney version.
I must agree with an earlier commenter and say that some darkness is allowable, and even needed to make a goal seem worth achieving in the story.
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Dark concepts seem to have an appeal. Maybe because these all seem to be archetypal stories. They appeal, they tap into, an area of the human psyche which we have all experienced subconsciously: Finding Nemo, because we have all felt lost. Lion King, because of some Freudian law which states that we all want to kill our uncles or something. Cinderella, because true beauty is oppressed in favor of synthetic beauty.
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theres got to be a dark concept in order for good to triumph over evil.
Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
that is a really good quote. i really like it
Square's Final Fantasy VII was one of the first major console role-playing games released for the Sony PlayStation and was Square's largest game at the time. A major critical and commercial success, the game remains arguably the most popular title in the series,[1][2][3][4] and is often credited with allowing console-style RPGs to achieve mainstream success outside Japan.[2] The ongoing popularity of the title led Square Enix to produce a series of sequels and prequels under the collective title "Compilation of Final Fantasy VII". As of September 2004, Final Fantasy VII has sold more than 9.5 million copies worldwide, earning it the position of the best-selling Final Fantasy title.[5]
The game's story centers on a group of adventurers as they battle a powerful megacorporation called Shinra, which is draining the life of the planet to use as an energy source. As the story progresses, conflicts escalate and the world's safety becomes the central concern as new forces, such as rogue scientists, ancient creatures and legendary soldiers emerge to challenge the original group. The main characters in Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, and Last Order are Cloud and Sephiroth, while some sequels and prequels focus on two other major characters from the original game, Vincent and Zack. Each of these characters' story is explored in their own game, other than Sephiroth who is expanded upon in tandem with Cloud. The original Final Fantasy VII game, Cloud had six companions who journeyed with Yuffie and Vincent, who was an optional character in the original game, and these nine are viewed by many as the main characters of the Compilation series. Their roles are however minor outside the original game. Nevertheless, each character has become extremely popular
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terrina