The Walt Disney Signature Collection

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
User avatar
Escapay
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 12544
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 5:02 pm
Location: Somewhere in Time and Space
Contact:

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Escapay »

Disney Duster wrote:I feel like Aladdin was not really so big a film for people to be considered a great classic worthy of the registry. I just don't think it's as culturally, historically, or aesthetically signifigant as the other Renaissance films
Cultural Impact - aside from being a pop-culture phenomenon at the time (it basically captures the essence of early 90s with a timelessness that makes its anachronistic presence more charming than off-putting), the film hired Robin Williams at the height of his career (a string of highly-successful and enduring films such as Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, The Fisher King - the last of which is in The Criterion Collection). His enduring legacy as a performer is preserved within its 90 minutes, and his continuing popularity even after his death showcases a lasting legacy that few Disney films have. Would anyone make the same kinds of tributes for passed-away performers of such films as The Fox and the Hound or The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Although Aladdin is an ensemble piece, the breakout character and performance has always been Robin Williams, and his own legacy on pop culture carries on with this film.

Historical Impact - Disney's Aladdin has endured as long as it has while most other Hollywood Arabian Fantasies have faded away. The few that maintain a popularity today usually are separated generationally, cinephiles today would probably point to 1924's The Thief of Bagdad, 1958's The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and 1992's Aladdin as the most popular Hollywood iterations of stories from One Thousand and One Nights. And the forgettable fantasies from the 1940s and '50s remain historical curios today, losing their relevance because of their politically-incorrect white casting of the time. Aladdin, too, suffers from this as the entirety of their voice cast (save for Lea Salonga as Jasmine's singing voice) are all white. But at least they have a better mask of animation to hide that. At the time, Aladdin was still one of TWO Disney animated features with a minority lead, the only other being The Jungle Book). And its continued popularity over the past 26 years has resulted in a long-running theme park stage show, a popular Broadway musical, and of course, a live-action remake.

Aesthetic Impact - The design of the film is basically a blend of Disney's house look with the whimsy of Al Hirschfeld, two iconic styles that come together in a beautiful way. Few Disney films ever gave such attention to the curvature of each character, the geometry of each set. Sleeping Beauty and One Hundred and One Dalmatians likewise have a very specific "look" to them that adhered to strict guidelines, and Aladdin also follows suit by presenting artwork and animation that relies on the story that a mere line can tell, how it moves, where it starts versus where it ends. It's got a look to it that no other Renaissance film comes close to imitating, because it's that unique to the era. Ron & John would continue to find new ways to design their animated films with their 1997 film Hercules, which similarly decides to base its aesthetic on the art of Gerald Scarfe.

In conclusion, for me at least, Aladdin meets the cultural, historical, and aesthetic qualifications that keep it in my nomination list every year until it gets inducted.

Albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion? :p

WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
User avatar
Disney's Divinity
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 15767
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:26 am
Gender: Male

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney's Divinity »

The unfortunate part is that they only induct one animated film a year, right? I entered nominations for 2019 last night and selfishly only nominated The Little Mermaid. :oops: :D (It would be neat if it was inducted near its 30th anniversary.) But there are so many animated films that deserve it. They should nom at least 3 animated films a year, but animation in general seems to be disregarded.
Last edited by Disney's Divinity on Fri Dec 14, 2018 8:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image
Listening to most often lately:
Ariana Grande ~ "we can't be friends (wait for your love)"
Ariana Grande ~ "imperfect for you"
Kacey Musgraves ~ "The Architect"
User avatar
pikachufan1336
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by pikachufan1336 »

Escapay wrote:
Disney Duster wrote:
Historical Impact - Disney's Aladdin has endured as long as it has while most other Hollywood Arabian Fantasies have faded away.

I agree with you 99%, but there are more magical films from 1001 Arabian Nights, nothing can beat Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed

...but then again, that's a German silent film so it's pointless bringing it up. But I agree it should be in the Library of Congress.
User avatar
D82
Signature Collection
Posts: 6170
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:07 am
Location: Spain

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by D82 »

farerb wrote:Here's the Target Exclusive. It will be released in 4k as well.

http://target.scene7.com/is/image/Targe ... &fmt=pjpeg
Though it has more flaws than the regular cover, I love it. I'm glad they've put a bit of an effort into the artwork of this release and they haven't just reused the same character poses, as they usually do (at least for Ariel).
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney Duster »

Wow, I really love the Target cover. It's so "Part if Your World".

pikachufan1336, yes, I see what you mean about the A-list and B-list of the golden and silver ages, and I agree, but you wrote this:
pikachufan1336 wrote:Cinderella is one of the greatest films from my favorite decades of movies and even today, Disney Animation's greatest decade (IMO). It deserves it.
Isn't that you saying the silver age is the best age? The silver age is the one Cinderella came from, right?
Sotiris wrote:
Disney Duster wrote:I agree with everything except her arms and the composition. I think it's the best composition we could get with the sideways title. Now if you mean the sideways title is terrible, yes, yes it is.
Her arms are indeed a bit shorter here than they're supposed to be. Check stills from the film or even other clip-art and you'll see. Thankfully, it's not too noticeable. The sideways title certainly contributes to the less than stellar composition. Ariel should have been in the center of the image to make her pose pop out and not have part of her tail cut off. It would have been more pleasing to the eye. There's also the matter of perspective. It's not clear how far Ursula is in relation to Ariel and as Disney's Divinity pointed out Ursula's mouth/teeth look off. But we've had so many horrible covers in the past, I can't complain too much about this one. There's nothing too ergrerious about it. It's decent which is more than we're used to. The most important thing, Ariel's face and features, are drawn adequately (for a clip-art).
Looking at a screencap, her arms should be just a little longer, yes. But other than that and her hair, I actually love the cover. Is the 1998 Japanese cover the one where Ariel is picking the flower?

Escapay, you really explained very well why the film has those impacts. It's just I didn't think it was that remembered by people as much as the other Disney films. But I do not know, so, if you feel, outside of Disney fans, the film has such a huge impact, then perhaps it does. Re-thinking about it, I would say it has the necessary impact. Most people probably do know, and love, it.
Image
User avatar
Sotiris
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 19912
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:06 am
Gender: Male
Location: Fantasyland

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Sotiris »

Disney Duster wrote:Is the 1998 Japanese cover the one where Ariel is picking the flower?
No, that's the Limited Issue DVD/Masterpiece Collection LaserDisc. The Japanese cover I was referring to is this one:

Image
ImageImageImageImageImageImage
User avatar
Escapay
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 12544
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 5:02 pm
Location: Somewhere in Time and Space
Contact:

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Escapay »

Disney Duster wrote:Escapay, you really explained very well why the film has those impacts. It's just I didn't think it was that remembered by people as much as the other Disney films.
The thing is, the National Film Registry's selections of films isn't necessarily based on any popularity criteria or how remembered a film is. Sometimes a film remains in near-obscurity until its induction into the NFR. Among this year's inductees is an 1898 short film that, aside from several film scholars and experts, literally nobody living today would have ever heard of had it not been for its induction.

The way I see it, selecting a film for the registry relies less on its popularity, but more on its continued relevance to the overall "narrative" of what it means to be an American film. Just because a film is still popular now doesn't mean it will get inducted sooner than a film that's lost its popularity to other films over the years. It took Jurassic Park twenty-five years before it got inducted into the Registry. And another inductee this year, The Informer was highly popular back in 1935, still influential to directors today, but relatively unknown to most of the moviegoing public today.

For comparison, here's a list of all the Academy Award for Best Picture winners that, because that award is basically the biggest popularity contest in Hollywood, still haven't been inducted into the National Film Registry:

The Broadway Melody (1929)
Cimarron (1931)
Grand Hotel (1932)
Cavalcade (1933)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
You Can't Take It With You (1938)
Hamlet (1948) - ineligible as it is a British film
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Tom Jones (1963) - ineligible as it is a British film
A Man for All Seasons (1966) - ineligible as it is a British film
Oliver! (1968) - ineligible as it is a British film
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Chariots of Fire (1981) - ineligible as it is a British film
Gandhi (1982)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Amadeus (1984)
Platoon (1986)
The Last Emperor (1987) - ineligible as it is a British film
Rain Man (1988)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Braveheart (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
American Beauty (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Chicago (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Crash (2005) - the fact that Best Picture nominee Brokeback Mountain got inducted into NFR before Crash speaks volumes to Brokeback's cultural and historical impact versus that of Crash
The Departed (2006)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

So regardless if Aladdin is or isn't remembered by some people on an internet forum, that's just one part of the assessment of the film as a whole, and certainly not the most important part. Cultural, Historical, and Aesthetic significance clearly take precedent, not popularity or remembrance. If the National Film Registry inducted only popular films, then something like Iron Man would have been inducted this year because it reached the 10-year mark and the general public's been wild about Marvel Studios for just as long. Fortunately, the National Film Registry doesn't cater to the whims of Joe Sixpack in a podunk town where the most exciting thing to happen on the street is the opening of a new Olive Garden.

Albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion? :p

WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
User avatar
pikachufan1336
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by pikachufan1336 »

Disney Duster wrote:Wow, I really love the Target cover. It's so "Part if Your World".

pikachufan1336, yes, I see what you mean about the A-list and B-list of the golden and silver ages, and I agree, but you wrote this:
pikachufan1336 wrote:Cinderella is one of the greatest films from my favorite decades of movies and even today, Disney Animation's greatest decade (IMO). It deserves it.
Isn't that you saying the silver age is the best age? The silver age is the one Cinderella came from, right?

OHHH!! That! LOL I meant the decade not the era. If were talking era's the Golden Age is the best, if were're talking decades then I have to include all of the movies of the 40s, after Bambi the following films are the cinematic equivalent to toast.

Sure none of the movies of the 50s reach the level that Fantasia, Dumbo, etc went through. But they're all great. IMO the only decade in which all of the movies from Disney Animation. The rest come in waves (post Lion King 90s) or have hiccups (in the 60s-Sword in the Stone).


But yes the best era for Disney animation was the Golden Age!
Sorry I forgot about that, I can see where you got confused. :lol:
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney Duster »

Escapay, I wasn't saying it is people on one internet forum that don't know Aladdin. I was thinking of how it doesn't seem as known to all the people I have observed from what I can remember. But yes, it is supposed to be culturally and historically relevant and I feel like culturally signifigant means it impacted culture very much. That's why I feel it's films like Brokeback Mountain that got in. People remember the gay cowboy movie over Crash. But if you tell me the culture, as a whole, remembers Aladdin very well, then ok maybe you are right, I just don't know myself. I could believe Aladdin is remembered enough! But if you are talking about it just being signifigant by film people enough...alright I don't know what Aladdin did other than be a really good film as good as the rest of the Renaissance. And actually if you think a movie just being really good means it should get in, I can accept that! But usually it has to be soooo good it's as remembered and iconic as, like, Bambi.

pikachufan1336, what do you mean the rest after the 40's are toast? And you didn't finish your sentence. "IMO the only decade in which all of the movies from Disney Animation"...what?
Image
User avatar
pikachufan1336
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by pikachufan1336 »

Disney Duster wrote:Escapay, I wasn't saying it is people on one internet forum that don't know Aladdin. I was thinking of how it doesn't seem as known to all the people I have observed from what I can remember. But yes, it is supposed to be culturally and historically relevant and I feel like culturally signifigant means it impacted culture very much. That's why I feel it's films like Brokeback Mountain that got in. People remember the gay cowboy movie over Crash. But if you tell me the culture, as a whole, remembers Aladdin very well, then ok maybe you are right, I just don't know myself. I could believe Aladdin is remembered enough! But if you are talking about it just being signifigant by film people enough...alright I don't know what Aladdin did other than be a really good film as good as the rest of the Renaissance. And actually if you think a movie just being really good means it should get in, I can accept that! But usually it has to be soooo good it's as remembered and iconic as, like, Bambi.

pikachufan1336, what do you mean the rest after the 40's are toast? And you didn't finish your sentence. "IMO the only decade in which all of the movies from Disney Animation"...what?
The 1950's was the best decade for Disney Animation

The Golden Age of Disney is the best era of Disney animation.

That's what I meant
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney Duster »

Oh. What, then, defines the Golden Age?

Sotiris, I forgot to say, I am not personally a fan of that 1998 cover. I don't like Ariel's pose for the cover of the movie.
Image
User avatar
Escapay
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 12544
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 5:02 pm
Location: Somewhere in Time and Space
Contact:

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Escapay »

Disney Duster wrote:And actually if you think a movie just being really good means it should get in, I can accept that!
Good lord, no, I would never say just because a film is really good, it should get into the National Film Registry. A movie like Game Night is really good. Offbeat, black comedy with a fun premise, a nail-biting script, and great performances by likable actors. But will it win the (not really) important Academy Awards? Will it be recognized for changing the scope of the moviemaking industry? I doubt it. I'd like to be wrong, but I doubt it. If anything, it's a fun 100 minutes viewing experience best done with friends. But that doesn't make it good enough for the National Film Registry. Who knows, I may change my tune in ten years time. That's why they have that rule, so we can assess the lifespan of a film after its release. Crash may have won Best Picture, but Brokeback Mountain is the one people still talk about, and for good reason. Stunning cinematography, an endearing score, bravura performances, and a melding of script and direction that knows when to let someone speak and when to let a Look tell you all you need to know. Crash looks like an episode of "NYPD Blue" with a story that has all the subtlety of a hand grenade. It's an after-school special all dressed up to play with the big kids in a theatre.

With Aladdin, I feel, as I've stated in my previous posts, that it has made enough of an impact in terms of being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. And that's why I include it on my nomination list, and will keep nominating it until it's inducted.

Albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion? :p

WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
User avatar
Disney's Divinity
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 15767
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:26 am
Gender: Male

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney's Divinity »

Personally, I would call the '50s the most consistent decade, but I don't really consider it better than the '40s or the '90s. The '50s never reach the lows of those other two decades, but it doesn't reach their highs either, imo.

Btw, re-reading my comment at the top of this page, I might've been unclear with the way I wrote that. I didn't mean for it to sound like the only film I nominated for NFR was TLM. What I meant to say is it was the only animated film I nominated among the 50, just for the fact that only 1 animated film is inducted every year. Realistically, I know they don't choose films based on the number of submissions from the public per film, but I guess I thought it might improve TLM's chances a tiny fraction? :lol:
Image
Listening to most often lately:
Ariana Grande ~ "we can't be friends (wait for your love)"
Ariana Grande ~ "imperfect for you"
Kacey Musgraves ~ "The Architect"
User avatar
Farerb
Diamond Edition
Posts: 4675
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 2:09 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Farerb »

Escapay wrote:
Disney Duster wrote:And actually if you think a movie just being really good means it should get in, I can accept that!
Good lord, no, I would never say just because a film is really good, it should get into the National Film Registry. A movie like Game Night is really good. Offbeat, black comedy with a fun premise, a nail-biting script, and great performances by likable actors. But will it win the (not really) important Academy Awards? Will it be recognized for changing the scope of the moviemaking industry? I doubt it. I'd like to be wrong, but I doubt it. If anything, it's a fun 100 minutes viewing experience best done with friends. But that doesn't make it good enough for the National Film Registry. Who knows, I may change my tune in ten years time. That's why they have that rule, so we can assess the lifespan of a film after its release. Crash may have won Best Picture, but Brokeback Mountain is the one people still talk about, and for good reason. Stunning cinematography, an endearing score, bravura performances, and a melding of script and direction that knows when to let someone speak and when to let a Look tell you all you need to know. Crash looks like an episode of "NYPD Blue" with a story that has all the subtlety of a hand grenade. It's an after-school special all dressed up to play with the big kids in a theatre.

With Aladdin, I feel, as I've stated in my previous posts, that it has made enough of an impact in terms of being culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant. And that's why I include it on my nomination list, and will keep nominating it until it's inducted.

Albert
Is there an animated film post Lion King/Toy Story that you think deserves to be on the NFR?
User avatar
pikachufan1336
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by pikachufan1336 »

Disney's Divinity wrote:Personally, I would call the '50s the most consistent decade, but I don't really consider it better than the '40s or the '90s. The '50s never reach the lows of those other two decades, but it doesn't reach their highs either, imo.

Exactly. All of the Disney films from the 1950s are consistantly good, not perfect, not groundbreaking but good.

When I thought of other decades I had to take the entire decade into account. like the 90's had a good start but.............well can we name some of the movies that came right after the Lion King: RENAISSANCE!?! Talk about a load of sh-
User avatar
JeanGreyForever
Signature Collection
Posts: 5335
Joined: Sun Sep 15, 2013 5:29 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by JeanGreyForever »

pikachufan1336 wrote: Exactly. All of the Disney films from the 1950s are consistantly good, not perfect, not groundbreaking but good.

When I thought of other decades I had to take the entire decade into account. like the 90's had a good start but.............well can we name some of the movies that came right after the Lion King: RENAISSANCE!?! Talk about a load of sh-
I mean, Tarzan was a pretty big hit at the time. And I'd say that for most of the 2000s, it was still relatively popular and well-remembered. It's only been in the last decade or so that it's been forgotten.
ImageImage
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one.
"I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren
"I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney Duster »

pikachufan1336, so you mean the 50's was the best decade because it was the most consistently good, but the Golden Age was the best era because it is the best Disney's ever done?

Escapay, I love what you said about Brokeback Mountain vs. Crash. I think Crash is a good movie but even by the very little I saw of Brokeback I thought Brokeback was better. Of course I wished it would win Best Picture in part because I am gay, but this National Registry thing and your comments confirm for me it was better. I think you really want Aladdin in because it ties with Beauty and the Beast as your favorite film. But I would be ok with it getting in the registry because it's really good. I mean lots of films have great performances and most of Disney's films before Walt's death have their own great looks to them. I am unaware of tributes paid to Robin Williams soley because of Aladdin. And Tarzan got a Broadway musical and Mulan is getting the live-action treatment.
Image
User avatar
pikachufan1336
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 117
Joined: Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:22 pm

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by pikachufan1336 »

Disney Duster wrote:pikachufan1336, so you mean the 50's was the best decade because it was the most consistently good, but the Golden Age was the best era because it is the best Disney's ever done?
yep
User avatar
Disney Duster
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 13334
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 6:02 am
Gender: Male
Location: America

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Disney Duster »

Ok, thanks for explaining.
Image
User avatar
Escapay
Ultimate Collector's Edition
Posts: 12544
Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2004 5:02 pm
Location: Somewhere in Time and Space
Contact:

Re: The Walt Disney Signature Collection

Post by Escapay »

farerb wrote:Is there an animated film post Lion King/Toy Story that you think deserves to be on the NFR?
In the past, I've nominated Toy Story 2, Lilo & Stitch, and The Incredibles. Need to wait a few years before I can nominate Frozen.
Disney Duster wrote:I think you really want Aladdin in because it ties with Beauty and the Beast as your favorite film.
I want it in the Registry because it is culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant.

Albert
WIST #60:
AwallaceUNC: Would you prefer Substi-Blu-tiary Locomotion? :p

WIST #61:
TheSequelOfDisney: Damn, did Lin-Manuel Miranda go and murder all your families?
Post Reply