movies/tv Are Disney movies from the Walt Era (1937-1967) underappreciated these days.

[Mesme Rize 15,681]

I was spending this christmas day with my family and my nephew and my niece where also with us. My Mom borrowed some of my Disney movies from my shelf and we watched Dumbo, Bambi and sleeping beauty, which are some of the older disney animated movies.

 

While i watched those movies with my family, i thought to myself that these movies are really great in their own right and that they shouldn't hide behind some of todays classics, because these days, we rather talk about how great modern animation is with studios like Pixar, Dreamworks and Disneys newer movies. But does that make Walts movies actually worse then these?

 

I think movies like Pinocchio and Bambi are some of the most beautiful looking and emotional animated movies i have ever seen. Fantasia is still a masterpiece in it's own mind, for turning classical music into animation.

 

I don't wanna make this an old vs. new debate, considering i like modern animation. But i think we should give these movies a bit more attention, since they helped build what he have today.

 

How do you see it? Do you like these movies, or do you think "out with the old, in with the new"?

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

They are ABSOLUTELY unappreciated.

 

For example, it's hard to find someone who's favorite Disney Princess came BEFORE Ariel.

My favorite for example is Princess Aurora.

 

And dear lord, you're not kidding. The animation is just wonderful. And heck even the later films when the studio was having some financial trouble, I find the sketchy animation cells to have a lot of character to them.

[Megas 27,136]

Nah, while people now will more likely prefer the new movies and the Renaissance movies, lots of people still have a high appreciation for them(well, apart from the PC people who hound on them for being "sexist"). I mean to this day you still have people talk about how great Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, Jungle Book, etc., are well loved by people and are still classics to this day

 

If any group of Disney films is underrated, it's the group between Walt Disney and the 90's Renaissance(Winnie The Pooh, Robin Hood, The Rescuers)

[PiratePony 8,473]

I think the war time package films are super unappreciated. Make Mine Music and Fun And Fancy Free are a lot of fun. And I love love love The Three Caballeros.

[GeekySonic 1,150]

Well, it certainly seems like it at some times, but I don't really know. I personally don't like ALL of them, but I like going back and re-living my childhood.

 

I also don't particularly like how the big wigs at Disney think it's a great idea to remake all the classics. That may be all kids these days remember them for. Each holds some sort of merit, but the original movies are much better.

 

Besides, I think there are plenty of superior options to make live-action adaptations of: Chaos Walking, SILO Chronicles, Gone, The Enemy, etc. But then again, the fans of those books would probably go bat-crap crazy.

[CaptainDoubloon 856]

I would say they are appreciated more since current day Disney movies are all computer animated now. I can personally say I enjoy the older movies more now then I did when I was younger.

[Nit Pick 247]

I would love to see silly old movies like The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes or The Cat From Outer Space to be remade.

[Leave a Whisper 703]

They are still popular Classics with Disney fans.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Leave a Whisper

[Steel Accord 6,658]

I wouldn't say they are ​under appreciated but they are very different films from the later renaissance and especially the modern films. Dumbo and Bambi are both deliberately easy going character pieces about the life of their named protagonists, Fantasia is an experimental piece combining the mediums of orchestra with animation, and Sleeping Beauty is one of the most arch and direct adaptations of a fairy tale's tone and feel.

 

Later films would cement the elements we associate with Disney more firmly. Having more focus be on the adventure and humor, often derived from their distinctive side characters. What the Walt era of Disney tried to focus on was something that the man himself excelled at personally and professionally, charm. Not to say the later films entirely lacked that charm, but films like Bambi or Cinderella sustain their running times only with that signature charm and just the life of their protagonists.

 

So no, I wouldn't say the early Disney films are "under appreciated" at least as far as whom I interact with go by. It simply has to do with exactly what kind of Disney movie one is talking about as they aren't all the same even exempting their specific settings and characters.

[Dreambiscuit 8,246]

It often seems that people overlook anything that isn't 'here and now' but Disney classics are classics for a reason, and Disney re-releases them every few years because there will always be fans who appreciate them. 

 

I would love to see silly old movies like The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes or The Cat From Outer Space to be remade.

 

I love Cat From Outer Space. It's one of my favorites, but I don't think they can capture that kind of innocent magic anymore. What would be due for a reboot is The Black Hole. That one never did come out quite right and could use a dusting off. 

[Nit Pick 247]

It often seems that people overlook anything that isn't 'here and now' but Disney classics are classics for a reason, and Disney re-releases them every few years because there will always be fans who appreciate them. 

 

 

I love Cat From Outer Space. It's one of my favorites, but I don't think they can capture that kind of innocent magic anymore. What would be due for a reboot is The Black Hole. That one never did come out quite right and could use a dusting off. 

 

Yeah, you're right. It would probably be littered with bad stuff like a poorly chosen voice actor for the cat. And GGI out the wazoo.

[Brick Jojo 17]

I really miss the Donald and Nephews Shorts as well as Ducktales. Those ones are the ones that are underappreciated. Anything with Huey, Dewey, and Louie in them are bound to be awesome. They seriously don't use the characters as much as they should.

[cmarston1 5,953]

To be honest maybe a little bit even if I am much more a fan of the Reaissance films and the Revial era films.

[Glimmer 78]

Certainly. The whole Disney Renaissance was kind of overrated. Sure, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Lion King... these were all great movies! But then, there was also stuff like Pocahontas, Hercules, Tarazan... However, the '37-'67 era for Disney movies didn't have as many duds. Sure, Sleeping Beauty is just about the most boring movie of all time but they made up for it with Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Peter Pan (barring the racism there), etc. 

Disney Princesses themselves weren't really much of characters themselves until Ariel, which is part of the reason people have forgotten these movies. Snow White barely has any characteristics besides being beautiful, Aurora is asleep the entire time, and Cinderella just sorta becomes beautiful without putting much effort into it. The original princess trinity, while certainly icons, have always been lacking in any distinguishable personality traits that make them interesting/compelling characters. This is partially due to them being products of their time, which meant that twenty years later when Disney released The Little Mermaid they decided to make a lead female character with, well, traits. If anything it's the prince who people complain about in this one.

But, people often forget that Disney Princess movies are not the only movies that Disney makes. Between 1937 and 1967, Disney also released:

• Pinocchio 
• Fantasia
• Dumbo 
• Bambi 
• Alice in Wonderland
• Peter Pan 
• Lady and the Tramp 
• 101 Dalmatians
• Sword and the Stone
• The Jungle Book 

While I don't love every movie on that list, I agree they are all worthy of recognition and definitely enjoyable to watch still. 

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

Among audiences, these films still command a high amount of respect, but not as much as they used to. The company seems to contradict themselves on these films; they still hold them in high regard as classics, yet they don't seem to want anyone to see them. Disney holds their movies out from streaming and continues to adhere to the controversial Disney Vault policy for limited edition home media releases as a means of driving up market value. Disney also rarely airs their movies on their TV channels anymore for those who don't have the DVDs; I did catch Alice in Wonderland on Freeform the other day, but Disney movies are no longer a weekly event on their TV properties.

 

I think they do still get a degree of respect, but they would get more if Disney made them more available to wider audiences.