The Golden Years
December 21, 1937 was a red letter day for all the children of the world, both born & unborn. It was the day that Walt Disney Animation Studios released its first feature-length animated movie "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs". This almost-80-year-old movie turned out to have such a timeless beauty to it, that it is still a must-see for little kids today.
After that first step, Disney quickly became a household name for children's entertainment across the world. It produced blockbusters like "Dumbo", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Jungle Book", "The Rescuers", "The Little Mermaid", "Mulan" & so many others that are loved by generations of audiences across the world.
Post-2000 Productions
While the new computer-animated versions are admittedly not nearly as beautiful as the older stuff, which is why even kids born after 2000 still appreciate the "Golden Oldies", they are also captivating & interesting. Some examples of excellent movies are "Monsters, Inc.", "Chicken Little", "Ratatouille", "Tangled" & "Frozen".
One explanation for the change in presentation from hand-painted to computer-animated may be Disney's shift in interest to making blockbuster action thrillers like the "National Treasure" & "Pirates Of The Caribbean" series.
It is said however, that Mr. Disney harbored a deep dislike for computer animation & always insisted that, even if it is used for crowd scenes, the work of the artists should always be more important than that of the programmers.
Who Was Walt Disney?
Walt Disney was born in Chicago, the son of a prospector/farmer/businessman & a home-maker. His gift for art & entertainment was there from the beginning & he honed his business instincts as a boy delivering newspapers for his father's newspaper delivery business. The business instinct born of a combination of his natural gift & his work experience was so sharp that, until it became the blockbuster success that it was destined to be, the film industry sneeringly nicknamed the "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" project "Disney's Folly".
But Disney was not just a master entertainer & businessman. He was also an accomplished amateur scientist. He understood that if he was to do good business, he must thoroughly understand the capabilities of the technology upon which his business was based, in terms of both its psychological & physiological effects on the audience. So why should such a progressive thinker be so wary of new technology?
One possible explanation could be his accidental run-in with low-frequency sound. In the course of exploring sound effects, he stumbled upon & personally experienced the horrible physiological effects of infrasound.
The experience came about during the screening of one of his animations at the cinema. Disney & his assistant accidentally slowed a cartoon sound effect from 60Hz to 12Hz & amplified the result throughout the entire theatre. The resultant tone, even though it was very brief, triggered severe nausea in the entire audience (including Disney & his assistant) that lasted for several days - but the people outside the theatre remained unharmed!
This episode taught Disney a very valuable lesson: don't embrace something simply because it is new; make sure it is safe first. Perhaps the secret to his success consisted of, not two, but three factors: his artistic gift, his work experience & his careful attitude towards shiny, new things.
December 21, 1937 was a red letter day for all the children of the world, both born & unborn. It was the day that Walt Disney Animation Studios released its first feature-length animated movie "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs". This almost-80-year-old movie turned out to have such a timeless beauty to it, that it is still a must-see for little kids today.
After that first step, Disney quickly became a household name for children's entertainment across the world. It produced blockbusters like "Dumbo", "Sleeping Beauty", "The Jungle Book", "The Rescuers", "The Little Mermaid", "Mulan" & so many others that are loved by generations of audiences across the world.
Post-2000 Productions
While the new computer-animated versions are admittedly not nearly as beautiful as the older stuff, which is why even kids born after 2000 still appreciate the "Golden Oldies", they are also captivating & interesting. Some examples of excellent movies are "Monsters, Inc.", "Chicken Little", "Ratatouille", "Tangled" & "Frozen".
One explanation for the change in presentation from hand-painted to computer-animated may be Disney's shift in interest to making blockbuster action thrillers like the "National Treasure" & "Pirates Of The Caribbean" series.
It is said however, that Mr. Disney harbored a deep dislike for computer animation & always insisted that, even if it is used for crowd scenes, the work of the artists should always be more important than that of the programmers.
Who Was Walt Disney?
Walt Disney was born in Chicago, the son of a prospector/farmer/businessman & a home-maker. His gift for art & entertainment was there from the beginning & he honed his business instincts as a boy delivering newspapers for his father's newspaper delivery business. The business instinct born of a combination of his natural gift & his work experience was so sharp that, until it became the blockbuster success that it was destined to be, the film industry sneeringly nicknamed the "Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs" project "Disney's Folly".
But Disney was not just a master entertainer & businessman. He was also an accomplished amateur scientist. He understood that if he was to do good business, he must thoroughly understand the capabilities of the technology upon which his business was based, in terms of both its psychological & physiological effects on the audience. So why should such a progressive thinker be so wary of new technology?
One possible explanation could be his accidental run-in with low-frequency sound. In the course of exploring sound effects, he stumbled upon & personally experienced the horrible physiological effects of infrasound.
The experience came about during the screening of one of his animations at the cinema. Disney & his assistant accidentally slowed a cartoon sound effect from 60Hz to 12Hz & amplified the result throughout the entire theatre. The resultant tone, even though it was very brief, triggered severe nausea in the entire audience (including Disney & his assistant) that lasted for several days - but the people outside the theatre remained unharmed!
This episode taught Disney a very valuable lesson: don't embrace something simply because it is new; make sure it is safe first. Perhaps the secret to his success consisted of, not two, but three factors: his artistic gift, his work experience & his careful attitude towards shiny, new things.
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