Loveday Writing

Now that I’ve watched and written analysis pieces on the eleven animated feature films of the Post-Renaissance Era: Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Lilo & Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt, I’m going to rank them from my least favourite to my favourite.

11 – Home on the Range

I’d say this ranking would be of a surprise to no-one, considering that I agreed with the consensus of how bad this film is.

Roseanne Barr’s narration didn’t fit, and neither did the modern jokes against the 19^th century setting. The jokes were juvenile, the “comedic” elements were too slapstick and nonsensical, the tone was inconsistent and gave me whiplash, and the plot hard to follow. The writers’ attempts to be emotional, deep and heartfelt with the flash flooding sequence at the halfway point felt too little too late. I found it hard to be invested in the emotional stakes the writers were trying to raise when the tone of the film was uneven and mostly silly.

The overall concept of the film and its plot had potential and probably would have been better received if it had been better executed and wasn’t aimed towards a younger audience. I can see why it’s viewed as Disney’s worst animated feature film, and thankfully its running time is short.

10 – Chicken Little

I felt that this film suffered similar issues to its predecessor, Home on the Range – a film with a story that had a lot of potential but was poorly executed. Despite the film’s title and inspiration, the adaptation of the original tale only took up a small portion of the film’s plot and run time, with the rest of the film focusing on the sci-fi subplot. I felt that the combination of Chicken Little’s underdog/redemption story and the sci-fi subplot didn’t work, it felt like they were two films joined together and the genre change was jarring.

Despite the fact that I felt that this film suffered similar issues to Home on the Range, I felt that this film’s focus on the father-son relationship between Buck Cluck and Chicken Little, as well as a general focus on friendships and family, and its clever writing and animation moments, for me it ranks higher than its predecessor.

9 – Fantasia 2000

I wrote in my analysis piece on Fantasia, that I was looking forward to watching Fantasia 2000 and seeing how it compares 60 years on. Much like its predecessor, I appreciate Fantasia 2000 as a theatrical masterpiece and would happily see it at theatre.

However, I felt that having different celebrities introduce each segment was a little distracting and over-the-top. Whilst this film was enjoyable as a theatrical masterpiece, and an outlier film paying tribute to Disney’s past and providing an insight into their future, it was a little too out of place, and some of their successors in this Era are of higher quality, which is why it ranks in ninth place for me.

8 – Dinosaur

Whilst I did enjoy this film more than I thought I would and appreciated its innovation with computer-generated and 3D animation, as well as the writing of the story, it ranks in eighth place for me as it felt a little long and drawn out. Much like with my ranking of Fantasia 2000, some of its successors in this Era are of higher quality than this film.

7 – Bolt

This ranking may surprise some, for me whilst Bolt was a good quality film, due to the lack of originality with its plot (i.e. similarities to The Truman Show and Toy Story), I found it hard to stay engaged with it. However, I appreciated that the plot chose to have Bolt discover and accept his reality that he was not a superhero by the halfway point of the film, and have the second half focus on his growth and personal journey.

6 – Atlantis: The Lost Empire

This film was Disney’s first foray into science fiction, and an attempt to appeal to an older audience. Overall, I felt that the film did a good but not great job at this.

The halves of the film were firmly split, with the first half establishing the premise and characters (which was necessary) but was done too slowly for my taste. However, I appreciated that Atlantis was found relatively early in the film, as opposed to being saved until the end, which led to a decent exploration of the Empire. I also appreciated that the film’s pace picked up in the second half.

5 – Treasure Planet

Overall, I felt that this film was an interesting combination of traditional animation and storytelling, sci-fi, and modern animation and storytelling. I felt that the animators achieved their goal of seamlessly animating three animation mediums at once, and the animation alone makes it a perfect film to mark the halfway point of the Era, as it showcases a peak of Disney’s experimentation with traditional hand-drawn and CG animation.

However, I did feel that the film was too slow paced in the first half, B.E.N was introduced too late and a little annoying, and that Silver’s characterisation was inconsistent. I ranked this higher than Atlantis: The Lost Empire as I found it more engaging.

4 – Meet the Robinsons

I had heard that this was a good film and after watching it, it was easy to see why. It would be easy to get caught up in the CG, 3D animation, and fantastical landscape and architecture design, and maybe even write it off as another attempt by Disney to make another successful science fiction experiment, however what stops it from being a write off is its deep, meaningful, and hopeful messages.

I contemplated ranking this film higher than fourth, however I ranked this film fourth in the end for two reasons. Firstly, frankly, bias wins out with my podium finish rankings. Secondly, whilst I enjoyed the film, with the time travel elements and fast pacing, it was hard to absorb the story and its many zany characters, and fully enjoy them.

3 – Brother Bear

Brother Bear holds a special place in my heart due to my love for it when I first saw it in cinemas and the many times I watched it after receiving the VHS copy of it for my 14^th birthday. However, it ranks in third place for me as whilst it is a solid film with a simply structured, but beautifully and powerfully told story, complemented with beautiful 2D animation, it’s not a standout film, in comparison to some of Disney’s other films.

2 – The Emperor’s New Groove

This film has always held a special place in my heart, and it comes in second place for me as it’s a fun, light-hearted, buddy comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously, isn’t afraid to make fun of themselves and isn’t pretending to be something it’s not. It’s a fun and easy watch, but it’s not a blockbuster.

1 – Lilo & Stitch

This film gets the top spot due to its grounded sci-fi setting, ability to evoke a nostalgic feeling for older Disney animated feature films, and its emotional depth.

This film is Disney’s continuation of experimentation in science fiction, following Atlantis: The Lost Empire, but in a present-day and more grounded setting. It achieved its job in its desire to evoke a nostalgic feeling for older Disney animated feature films in its animation and design, it feels like a comfy film to me. It’s also a film that has more depth than it appears, with its themes of loss and belonging, which were relatable, heartbreaking, and towards the end of the film, turned heartwarming. The film’s ingenious marketing campaign of inserting Stitch in famous scenes in films from the Renaissance Era and even interacting with the characters, also helped elevate this film.

What do you think of my rankings and how would you rank the eleven films of the Post-Renaissance Era? Feel free to let me know by leaving a comment below.