Why do 21st century Disney animated movies suck???

[disneygold20]

Am I only one who thinks Disney animated movies released from 2000 onward are suckish when compared to the ones made from 1937-1999? I just can't connect with anything from the 2000s and 2010s. Even the more highly rated ones, like Frozen and Lilo & Stitch, pale in comparison with the likes of Pinocchio or The Lion King. Modern Disney animations feel almost too childish and merchandis-y. Who else feels the same way?

 

[BrianL]

I don't really. I mean, there have been some good and not-so-good ones, but some have been great. I think the little stretch from say Tangled to Moana was spectacular. There were some clunkers from pre-2000 too. It seems to come in waves, but I think plenty has been quite high on that wave in the modern day.

 

[tinkerhon]

Agree to some extent, but get subjective - agree w previous poster as far as "Moana" ( just to name one) - loved it
Having said this - I think most pale in comparison to the stories and animation of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli !

 

[PrinceEricsBich]

There are plenty of movies that were really well done and some that weren't but that's been every decade of Disney movies since the beginning. If you look down the list, there are gems that stand out of every decade among a sea of unmemorable flops.

Also, sometimes bad decisions are made. I was really excited for Aladdin the live action but when I found out that Guy Ritchie was writing the screenplay and directing it, I knew it wouldn't be amazing. It was a beautiful movie and I enjoyed a lot of it but it wasn't stellar. Or whoever's idea it was to make a "live action" Lion King, a movie with no humans, and recreate it shot-by-shot. I don't know who in the team is responsible for those bad decisions and why they were made but there are plenty of people out there who loved those movies so it's really subjective.

Other factors go into it too though, like we're all getting older and more than likely the movies you watched as a kid bring more joy and nostalgia than some of the family movies you watch as an adult.

My favorites from the 2000s and 2010s:
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Incredibles
Enchanted
WALL-E
The Princess and the Frog
Toy Story 3
Tangled
Frozen
Maleficent
Cinderella (2015)
Inside Out
Finding Dory
Moana
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Coco
Frozen II

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Yeah, I certainly don't like the drawings in the new movies I find the computer has ruined much of the magic and all the princeses now have these huge eyes and pointy chins. The only cartoon that really wowed me for story telling has been zootopia, a truly beautiful and meaningful story. And yes I agree with the previous poster and the live actions remakes comment, I also found Mary Poppins the return truly quite awful and why just why would you have Tim Burton for Dumbo? It made it so dark, as it's usual!

 

[Bill007]

I agree with posts that say each 'generation' of Disney films has its good and bad ones. For example, I loved Coco but did not like Inside Out. I loved The Jungle Book but didn't care for Alice in Wonderland. The seventies to early eighties was probably the weakest era producing more mediocre than great films.

 

[Tattylou]

There are plenty of movies that were really well done and some that weren't but that's been every decade of Disney movies since the beginning. If you look down the list, there are gems that stand out of every decade among a sea of unmemorable flops.

Also, sometimes bad decisions are made. I was really excited for Aladdin the live action but when I found out that Guy Ritchie was writing the screenplay and directing it, I knew it wouldn't be amazing. It was a beautiful movie and I enjoyed a lot of it but it wasn't stellar. Or whoever's idea it was to make a "live action" Lion King, a movie with no humans, and recreate it shot-by-shot. I don't know who in the team is responsible for those bad decisions and why they were made but there are plenty of people out there who loved those movies so it's really subjective.

Other factors go into it too though, like we're all getting older and more than likely the movies you watched as a kid bring more joy and nostalgia than some of the family movies you watch as an adult.

My favorites from the 2000s and 2010s:
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean
The Incredibles
Enchanted
WALL-E
The Princess and the Frog
Toy Story 3
Tangled
Frozen
Maleficent
Cinderella (2015)
Inside Out
Finding Dory
Moana
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Coco
Frozen II

Yes!!! So many good ones since 2000 imo.

 

[spiders]

I disagree with your assessment unless you are excluding Pixar. In which case, I will say that Disney on it's own really struggled during the first 10 years but seems to have rebounded since. Zootopia and Moana are what stand out to me as their better films.

 

[fhtpdw20]

Instead of just telling a simple story animation has become a tool to use to advance individual agendas as entertainment. The format now has to includes diversity, socially relevance, and/or a message. I want an entertaining escape of the world's problems, not enlightenment by a cartoon figure. I miss the beautiful hand-drawn animation of yesteryear. Finally, enough with the remakes already.

 

[karly05]

Zootopia is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies of all time. And I would say Lilo & Stitch, Princess and the Frog, Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Moana are all good, quality movies.

And nearly all of Pixar's films are 21st Century, including my favorites, Up and Coco, not to mention Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Toy Story 3 and Inside Out, all of which I think most people would consider top tier Pixar.

I have nostalgic warmth and appreciation for the Disney classics, but I am happy to see more complex stories and characters. You can be richly entertaining AND have diversity and social relevance.

 

[BrianL]

Instead of just telling a simple story animation has become a tool to use to advance individual agendas as entertainment. The format now has to includes diversity, socially relevance, and/or a message. I want an entertaining escape of the world's problems, not enlightenment by a cartoon figure. I miss the beautiful hand-drawn animation of yesteryear. Finally, enough with the remakes already.

All movies have a message, you just don't really notice when it conforms to the things you already believe. Even the oldest Disney films had messages, like beware the price of vanity and "always let your conscience be your guide" for something a little more on the nose. While you might regard those as universal truths, some people wouldn't and maybe needed to hear those messages. It's the same in modern movies, though messages of inclusiveness go back quite a while - as a kid in the 80's most of the cartoons I watched all taught about diversity. Granted, there is a way to do it where it seems natural, and if it's too ham-fisted it can harm the narrative, but that's really more of an artistic issue than a philosophical one.

 

[only hope]

I mostly agree. The last animated original film I like is Wall-E. I just watched Snow White for the first time in years. Over 80 years later, that movie is still charming and literally a piece of art. CGI works well for some stories, but I really miss traditional hand drawn animation and stop motion animation. Hand drawn animation is beautiful, something that I can’t say about cgi.

 

[Dole_whip_doll]

I think the homogenization of the early works are what make us have our own opinions on what being a “Disney” movie is. Beautiful girl, hits some hard luck, finds true love, all is good. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with these stories. I know some people say they are supporting specific gender roles or anti-feminism etc etc. And now we have more diverse or culturally significant movies (Coco, Frozen (somewhat) and Moana) where back in the day I would have expected those stories to come from whoever does Spirit, El Dorado, Prince of Egypt (Dreamworks I think?)
I guess what I’m getting at is Disney movies to me were always beautiful animation, catch songs to sing, cute and lovable characters and a love story. The other was what my grandma felt I should be watching (or that one friend who’s parents made us watch those types of movies or listen to religious music and then discuss what that means in our life).
looking through the years movies I’ve never cared for include: Bambi—never liked the characters, Treasure Planet, The Incredibles franchise, Coco, and now we get to this new style of animation in Onward that just looks like Dreamworks.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I disagree. However, the early 2000s wasn't such a great time for WDAS, given that they've been struggling against CGI-driven competition led by industry challenger DreamWorks, and Pixar was pretty much Disney's only hope at that time in keeping up with CGI competition. Although the early 2000s did have some underrated WDAS gems (and the highly successful Lilo and Stitch), I'd say Chicken Little was the worst of all the 2000s films. The 2010s IMO is the best decade Disney has had since the new millennium, particularly with Tangled, Frozen and Moana as some of the shining examples of WDAS during that decade. But in my opinion, it's like comparing apples with oranges, since the Golden and Silver Age classics are always going to be the most seminal.

 

[karly05]

I'd say Chicken Little was the worst of all the 2000s films.

I'd say Chicken Little was the worst of all the films ever. That poor thing was just a mess.

 

[BrianL]

I'd say Chicken Little was the worst of all the films ever. That poor thing was just a mess.

I agree. I can usually find something to like in any Disney movie - but that one. I guess I could say that it had good 3D effects as it was one of the first movies to use the newer type. I still have my 3D glasses from going to see it.

I recently watched Home on the Range fro the first time. It has a terrible reputation, but you know, I didn't think it was bad at all. Nothing special, but it did remind me of the "talking animal" movies from the 60's in some ways. It was the only one I never got around to seeing.

 

[karly05]

I agree. I can usually find something to like in any Disney movie - but that one. I guess I could say that it had good 3D effects as it was one of the first movies to use the newer type. I still have my 3D glasses from going to see it.

I recently watched Home on the Range fro the first time. It has a terrible reputation, but you know, I didn't think it was bad at all. Nothing special, but it did remind me of the "talking animal" movies from the 60's in some ways. It was the only one I never got around to seeing.

Yeah, Home on the Range isn't great but it still has some cute, fun stuff (I like the yodeling number). I don't think it really deserves all the bashing it gets.

I actually liked Atlantis and Dinosaur, and Treasure Planet at least had David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson to engage me. I had practically forgotten that Brother Bear even existed, but that is a compliment next to my "What were they thinking?!" dislike of Chicken Little.

 

[BrianL]

Yeah, Home on the Range isn't great but it still has some cute, fun stuff (I like the yodeling number). I don't think it really deserves all the bashing it gets.

I actually liked Atlantis and Dinosaur, and Treasure Planet at least had David Hyde Pierce and Emma Thompson to engage me. I had practically forgotten that Brother Bear even existed, but that is a compliment next to my "What were they thinking?!" dislike of Chicken Little.

Oh, Atlantis is one of my favorites - so underrated! Treasure Planet is good too - very beautiful. I liked the yodeling number too with the psychedelic lights - it reminds me of the "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" number. It's not necessarily one of my favorites but I thought it was perfectly fine and it certainly does not deserve the hate.

 

[old lady]

Computer animation or change in staff. Mostly it is lack of money or box office draw.

 

[radtubu]

I don't really. I mean, there have been some good and not-so-good ones, but some have been great. I think the little stretch from say Tangled to Moana was spectacular. There were some clunkers from pre-2000 too. It seems to come in waves, but I think plenty has been quite high on that wave in the modern day.

Lol. Everything after the 2000s was crap