From: dan@spiff.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Dan Parmenter)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.animation
Subject: Re: Shallowness in TLM, BATB (Was Re: Cheap Animation)
Date: 27 Dec 92 17:48:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: spiff.DAN.92Dec27124857
Organization: /home/fsg/dan/.organization

The Beast's turning into a "handsome" prince (those lips! Eww!)
irritated the heck out of me, even though I knew it was going to
happen.  Since the "Beast" isn't really any particular species of
creature (Bison?), it would hardly constitute bestiality if they
married one another without breaking the curse.  In fact, the
absolutely dreadful BATB comic strip does just that: Belle and The
Beast seem to be more or less hitched.  

BATB and TLM seemed to be more or less the stories of how attractive
young white people meet and marry.  For my money, Rescuers Down Under
conveyed the idea that surfaces are unimportant a lot better than BATB
did, with Bianca being temporarily impressed by the antics of the
charming and resourceful wallabie, but never once questioning her love
for the scruffy Bernard.  Indeed, the rivalry was a subplot among the
"good guys" who were still on the same side, rather than the rivalry
being more or less the central story, as in BATB.  I dunno, I can't
shake the notion that RDU's character dynamics were much subtler and
"adult" than TLM or BATB.  Maybe that's why it didn't do as well -
kids couldn't really relate to it.  This is partially in response to
some of your previous comments on RDU, but I really do believe that
it's my favorite of the last 3 Disney pictures I've seen (haven't seen
Aladdin yet, but I have little evidence that it will shake my
assertion of RDU's superiority).  No songs (yeah!), a gentleness and
subtlety not present in the others, lovely use of color (part of what
scares me about Aladdin is that everything looks like it *glows*), a
subtly-stated environmental theme, terrific character and voice work
and even some neat music.

Sometimes I feel like the one-eyed man when dealing with modern
animation enthusiasts.  Even the most staid dyed-in-the-wool oldtime
nine-old-men-worshiping (I always got a kick out of the fact that
after Disney stopped treating its artists like anonymous drones, they
immediately switched to treating them like aging celebrities)
hardliners who hated everything after Lady and the Tramp, seems to
love TLM, BATB and Aladdin.  People fall all over themselves to talk
about them as if they were stone tablets from god, the latest offering
from the great and powerful Disney organization.  Disney inspires
company loyalty like no other corporation I've ever encountered.
Disney Zombies are ten times worse than Marvel Zombies.  But it's not
just the oldtimers, even some of my nihilist,
anti-everything-mainstream friends have jumped on the Disney
bandwagon, and they stiffen up and look at me looking aghast and
genuinely horrified that anyone could find fault with something as
sweet and lovely as TLM or BATB.  It's almost as heretical as
admitting you don't much care for Ren and Stimpy, or The Golden Age of
Loony Tunes boxed set, or some other animation sacred cow.  

- Dan
--
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| Dan Parmenter       |"I'm waiting for a time, when I can do without these  |
| dan@gnu.ai.mit.edu  | things that make me feel this way all of the time"   |
|                     |                            - Spiritualized           |
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Newsgroups: rec.arts.animation