DISNEY DECADES CLUB #8:
The 1990s: The New Golden Age of Disney, Setting Sail, Pixar
Class Rules and Expectations
What is the Disney Decades Club?
In 2023, the Walt Disney Company and everything it stands for will celebrate its 100th anniversary, so what better way to celebrate than to learn the whole story in ten decades than with this exciting new class? This class will be taught by Jeff Snyder, Autism/Neurodiversity Self-Advocate and bonafide Disney expert, so get your mouse ears and get ready to dive deep into 100 years of not just a company, but a cultural phenomenon!
Class Schedule
What did we learn in our last class?
A Splashing Success
The overall success of “The Little Mermaid” had taken Disney to the next level and they began the 1990s with several overall accomplishments and founding of company divisions such as Hollywood Records, Hyperion Publishing and joining the Dow Jones Industrial Average on New York’s Wall Street.
First Animated Sequel
In 1990, Walt Disney Feature Animation ventured into new territory with a direct sequel to one of their features, “The Rescuers Down Under.” Prior to this, the only animated sequels were in the short films of the 1930s and 40s.
However, the marketing for the film was abruptly pulled by Jeffrey Katzenberg and as a result, the film did not make a profit at the box office. Still, it laid the foundation for future sequels to Disney films such as the direct-to-video features of the late 90s and early 2000’s.
Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Management
To say that Katzenberg’s management skills were questionable would be an understatement. His decision to pull marketing on “The Rescuers Down Under,” does bring into question whether he was trying to prove himself to Eisner and Wells for a future promotion or whether he wanted to do things his own way.
It’s important to also remember that there plenty of people like Jeffrey Katzenberg in every job in every industry.
“Beauty and the Beast”
However, there is also the possibility that Katzenberg wanted to focus more of the studio’s time on their 30th Animated Feature, “Beauty and the Beast.” Like “The Little Mermaid,” Walt Disney had toyed around with the idea of turning it into an animated feature in the 1930s and 1950s.
Once again, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman were brought into write the songs for the film and the cast included Broadway and Film Veterans like Paige O’Hara, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers and Angela Lansbury.
Howard Ashman’s Secret
But little did anyone know that Howard Ashman was suffering from AIDS at the time of writing the songs for “The Little Mermaid,” and after winning best song and score for the film, Howard disclosed to Alan that he was sick and dying from the disease.
Because of this, Howard threw himself into the production of the film to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, he got to a point where he couldn’t travel to California and as a result, part of the production was moved to Howard’s home in New York State.
A Crazy Idea
An idea was ultimately made to have “Beauty and the Beast” screened in an unfinished format for the New York Film Festival in early 1991. Sadly though, Howard’s illness had ravaged his body and he was placed in St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan. Following the screening, Producer Don Hahn asked Howard if he believed “Beauty and the Beast” would be a success.
To which Howard replied in a whisper, “I would’ve.”
Death of Howard Ashman
Sadly, shortly after the work in progress version was screened, Howard Ashman died of AIDS on March 14th, 1991 at the age of 40. At the end of “Beauty and the Beast,” a dedication was placed in memory of Howard.
A Tale as Old Time
When “Beauty and the Beast” was released on November 22nd, 1991, the film garnered international recognition and praise with one reporter calling it the best film since “Snow White”! The film’s success reached a climax when “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar at the 1992 Academy Awards.
Sadly, the film lost in the category to “Silence of the Lambs.”
Trouble at the Top
During the production of “Beauty and the Beast,” there was a sense of animosity brewing between Katzenberg and Eisner in terms of who should be the next Walt Disney. At a studio screening of “Beauty and the Beast,” Roy E. Disney revealed that there would be a new animation building built at the studio which infuriated Katzenberg as he was never told about the change.
As a result of this animosity, COO Frank Wells would often be called in to be the peacemaker between the two men.
Viva La France!
In 1992, Disney opened its second international theme park, Disneyland Paris in France with much controversy as the French Government was not a fan of having Disney build a theme park in its country. To make matters worse, Disneyland Paris did not make a profit right away on its opening and for a while, was Disney’s least profitable venture.
Mighty Ducks
In an effort to promote their 1993 live action film, “The Mighty Ducks,” Disney founded a team of the National Hockey League known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Eventually, the team was later named the Anaheim Ducks and continues to play to this very day.
Disney Goes Broadway
The following year, in 1994, Disney broke into the field of Broadway with their broadway adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast,” eventually going on to receive 9 tony awards. Later on, a song from the show, “Human Again,” would eventually be placed in a special edition of the Animated Film.
Death of Frank Wells
1994 would also bring tragedy back to Disney when the company’s COO Frank Wells was killed in a helicopter crash. With his death, the animosity between Roy E. Disney, Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg grew stronger and Jeffrey saw an opportunity to take Wells’ place as COO.
“The Lion King”
Disney’s third most successful film of the 1990s came in 1994 with the release of “The Lion King,” becoming the highest grossing film of the year. The story was adapted from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and was also referred to as “Bambi in Africa.”
The film received awards for its musical score and for the song, “Hakuna Matata,” and two years after it’s release, received a stage adaption at the New Amsterdam Theatre where it went onto win the Tony Award for Best Musical.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
During the promotions of “The Lion King,” Jeffrey Katzenberg would often be featured in promotions as an effort to get acceptance and be viewed as the next Walt Disney. This angered Michael Eisner who would later confront him and say that if he was patient and not be forceful after Frank Wells’ death, he would have gotten the promotion.
Disheartened, Katzenberg resigned from Disney following the release of “The Lion King.”
Enter Pixar and “Toy Story”
During the 1990s, Disney had contracted a small computer animation company called Pixar to produce computer generated effects for “The Rescuers Down Under” and saw potential in this small studio. One of its animators, John Lassetter, held a strong belief that a collaboration with Disney would open new doors and in 1995, Disney and Pixar released the first fully computer animated feature, “Toy Story” featuring an all star cast including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney and Annie Potts.
One critic also compared “Toy Story” to “Snow White” in terms of breaking new ground in animation.
Playing Ball and Setting Sail
In the late 1990s, Disney went ahead and purchase the Anaheim Angels Baseball Team and later opened Disney’s Wide World of Sports Baseball Stadium at Walt Disney World Resort in a bid to attract sporting fans.
In 1998, Disney got into the cruise line business with the debut of the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney would close the 1990s with the debut of Walt Disney World’s 4th property, “Disney’s Animal Kingdom” showcasing real life animals from around the world.
Closing out the 20th Century
As Disney closed out the 1990s, the successes it had obtained gave much needed optimism for the 21st Century. A second theme park was being built across the street from Disneyland and the 100th birthday of Walt Disney was coming up.
But a national tragedy coupled with boiling tensions between Michael Eisner and Roy E. Disney would quickly erase that optimism.
QUESTION AND ANSWER TIME
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Blog/Website, “Going the Distance”
https://jeffsnyderautismneurodiversityselfadvocate.wordpress.com
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