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[CyclopsRock]

Lion King is still my all time favorite Disney movie, but I absolutely love Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph and many of the others you listed. At the very least they're on par.

Princess and the Frog being the only 2D Animated movie in the last 10 years is criminal though

Heh. There was another 2D Disney feature release after PatF and the fact that you - who appears to be disdainful of the lack of 2D Disney feature releases - don't know about it tells you why they don't make them any more.

 

[zoukka]

Lol no, so many forgettable movies in that "second renaissance".

 

[Aureon]

Honestly, the only new one that is up with the Lion King tier is Zootopia, which is still not as good as Lion King.
Frozen and forward are good, but it's gonna have to take a while.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

No, not really. Great steps though.

But nothing can beat the 2nd golden era, and seems nothing will beat it until we dont get some 2d animation goodness between that 3d.
Also as much as im liking zootopia, wreck it ralph, tangled... 90 percent of the second golden era movies I will still rate them higher on the lost. Things like the lion king, aladdin, hercules (my favourite disney movie and sadly overrated), beauty and the beast, hunchback... the quality of the musical pieces and villains are still to be topped by anything of the 3rd era.
The last great villain and musical were in the princess and the frog, things like tangled and frozen try, but they are really not comparable in that department.
I really hope the musical genius bit is present in moana thanks to musker and clemens though (no, im not hearing the music on youtube until I watch the movie).

Heh. There was another 2D Disney feature release after PatF and the fact that you - who appears to be disdainful of the lack of 2D Disney feature releases - don't know about it tells you why they don't make them any more.

Winnie the pooh was a fucking winnie the pooh movie, thats its problem. Shouldnt have been there supporting alone the 2d animation tentpole without any other 2d heavy hitters around it.

 

[Megawarrior]

I saw Hunchback for the first time ever a month ago and I can't believe Disney made it. The themes are very dark and the soundtrack is fantastic. Will they ever make something like that ever again.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

I dunno, none of the films I've seen from the "new" list have particularly resonated with me in a big way, but I was also a kid when I was watching those 90's films. (a few of which I find very rewatchable, btw)

I guess Tangled can hang.

 

[Timbuktu]

Need more musicals.

Frozen had some good songs but the rest of the movie was mediocre.

Zootopia was phenomenal regardless though.

Indeed, Zootopia and Tangled the only really good ones that I liked as much the best of Pixar's long run in the 2000s. They haven't broken out as much as Frozen though, which can stay in everyone's mind as much as Lion King if they manage to mount a great stage show.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Wholeheartedly disagree. While the quality level is more consistent, there is no modern disney film that hits the heights of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Hercules & Mulan, nor is there a film with songs as good as The Little Mermaid or some of the others.

I've never seen a film from Pixar as good as Aladdin personally, let alone Disney films.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

I would like more hand-drawn animations, but I'm really enjoying the output from Disney Animation Studios at the moment - as things stand right now they've probably surpassed Pixar. I bloody love Big Hero 6 and I'm probably going to take my daughter to see Moana.

 

[Xun]

The first renaissance was arguably a better period, although some of the animation was incredibly ropey (partially because a lot of it was on a tight budget). Animation-wise the 2nd renaissance is certainly more consistent, but they're not as memorable (this could be partially down to nostalgia though).

Also personally give me the Nine Old Men over Glen Keane any day, and that's coming from a big fan of his.

 

[KillGore]

Dat Lion King tho


Whenever they beat the best opening in cinema history, then I'll concede

 

[Boss Doggie]

I don't really give much about grouping movies, as I'd rather see the movies as themselves.

With that said man it took Disney awhile to actually get their groove back. Bolt is a really underrated movie.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

If we do a technical analysis is of the quality of the pacing, beats, dialogue, originality, and plot, the new ones on average come up on top, but does that stack up to more memorable and better written songs? Or does more dynamic and ambitious cinematography beat the look of hand drawn animation? One could say the new ones are better made on average, but everyone chooses to evaluate on their own criteria.

edit: considering that the renaissance started with Tangled, if you are counting Meet The Robinson and that stuff, then the mean quality is way way down. I only started hearing about a second renaissance after Tangled and Frozen. so In turn the new movies would need a few more entries to qualify for a fair comparison or shave the not so good ones from the 90s team.

 

[KeyBladerXIII]

Nah, the first Renaissance is still far better to me. The current one has yet to give me songs and villains comparable to the first Renaissance. Only a few songs from Frozen and Dr. Facilier have been comparable.

 

[Boss Doggie]

I mean, when you think about it, both renaissances have blunders, though I feel the second one has a few more mediocrities than the first

 

[CloudWolf]

Whether you like Frozen or not, it's still a new classic and will without question still be talked about in twenty years.

Oh yeah, Frozen. Still, that's only one.

 

[Balb]

The newer ones are generally smarter and less shallow at the very least. The 90s movie songs are better though in my opinion. Then again, I'm not 8 years old and absorbing and internalizing the current songs so who knows.

 

[Boss Doggie]

The newer ones are generally smarter and less shallow at the very least. The 90s movie songs are better though in my opinion. Then again, I'm not 8 years old and absorbing and internalizing the current songs so who knows.

Well it depends really. Both have ups and downs.

Also some movies get certain interpretations wrong. Like for instance I'm not a big fan of The Little Mermaid but people seem to think Triton was "in the right" when the worst thing her daughter would do was collecting artifacts, what he did was borderline abuse.

 

[dlauv]

Big Hero 6 is the only new movie I like as much as Aladdin, Lion King, Hercules, and The Little Mermaid.

The others are fine. I liked Zootopia quite a bit too, but not as much.

Frozen's songwriting made me cringe a couple of times.

 

[Cuburt]

Having just watched Moana, I might agree except that if you watched classic Disney for the songs, this new era doesn't quite match up imo. In every other aspect, Disney animation right now has a stellar output.

 

[Oersted]

New "era" has less stinkers but also bores me more.

There's so much focus on the two "eras" of Disney, but I've always been way more interested into why Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch are so damn good despite being surrounded by crap like Chicken Little and Home on the Range.

Preach

 

[Chezzymann]

Tangled, Frozen, Zootopia and Moana are on the level of 90's classic stuff. Animation in moana is so beautiful, love the soundtrack too.

 

[disappeared]

Yeah but Sleeping Beauty still reigns supreme.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Just no, Aladdin is my all-time favorite and there is no movie in this new era better than it. Pocahontas , The Hunchback of Notre Dame , Mulan, The motherfucking Lion King are way up there too, current era isnt better .

 

[HotHamBoy]

Most of the movies from both eras are terrible.

Bad movies:

Rescuers DU
Pocahontas
Hunchback
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan

Unlike the former era, I haven't seen all the newer films.

Of the ones I have seen, only Zootopia deserved to be called "good."

Tangled was... okay. Frozen and Wreck It Ralph aren't very good. The clips I've seen of Meet the Robinsons and Princess and the Frog make me feel pretty confident that they aren't very good, either.

Rotten Tomatoes is a TERRIBLE metric because every review could be a "C" rating and it would have 100%. It means nothing. Better-than-awful kids movies tend to get graded on a curve, too, because so many kids films are abysmal. The bar is low.

 

[Diabelli]

Nah, nothing in the new renaissance beats the trifecta of Beauty, The Lion King and Aladdin. In terms of animation eras, nothing will likely ever beat that 15 year stretch of Ghibli (and I include Pixar in that who also had a strong run).

 

[Boss Doggie]

Most of the movies from both eras are terrible.

Bad movies:

Rescuers DU
Pocahontas
Hunchback
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan

Unlike the former era, I haven't seen all the newer films.

Of the ones I have seen, only Zootopia deserved to be called "good."

Tangled was... okay. Frozen and Wreck It Ralph aren't very good. The clips I've seen of Meet the Robinsons and Princess and the Frog make me feel pretty confident that they aren't very good, either.

Rotten Tomatoes is a TERRIBLE metric because every review could be a "C" rating and it would have 100%. It means nothing. Better-than-awful kids movies tend to get graded on a curve, too, because so many kids films are abysmal. The bar is low.

wat

Down Under got the atmosphere and stake right. Easily much better than the first movie and has the danger really set out.

And Mulan, few problems aside, is pretty great. A well balanced film and has a kick-ass music.

 

[Captain Europe]

Hell no, nothing in the second list beats The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and The Lion King. I enjoy watching their live action remakes of the classics more than their new animated films.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Hell no, nothing in the second list beats The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and The Lion King. I enjoy watching their live action remakes of the classics more than their new animated films.

Ehh for the live action BatB I suggest just looking for the french film La Belle et La Bete.

 

[old manatee]

No, not really. Great steps though.

But nothing can beat the 2nd golden era, and seems nothing will beat it until we dont get some 2d animation goodness between that 3d.
Also as much as im liking zootopia, wreck it ralph, tangled... 90 percent of the second golden era movies I will still rate them higher on the lost. Things like the lion king, aladdin, hercules (my favourite disney movie and sadly overrated), beauty and the beast, hunchback... the quality of the musical pieces and villains are still to be topped by anything of the 3rd era.
The last great villain and musical were in the princess and the frog, things like tangled and frozen try, but they are really not comparable in that department.
I really hope the musical genius bit is present in moana thanks to musker and clemens though (no, im not hearing the music on youtube until I watch the movie).




Winnie the pooh was a fucking winnie the pooh movie, thats its problem. Shouldnt have been there supporting alone the 2d animation tentpole without any other 2d heavy hitters around it.

yo say that to me irl

 

[KHlover]

Hercules a bad movie...them's fighting words.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Hercules a bad movie...them's fighting words.

it's by no means a bad movie and has really great music and design among other things, but ignoring the roman/greek dichotomy and inaccuracy, it really has some bad plotholes that can be really jarring

like, how does the lord of the dead not know hercules is still alive

 

[StayDead]

I don't think it topples it, but it is absolutely fantastic. I knew when Lasseter came on board and I saw Meet the Robinsons, I knew Disney was back.

Big Hero 6 and Hercules are still low-points though.

Uhh, what? How are Big Hero 6 and Hercules low points? Big Hero 6 was incredible.

 

[Gnome]

The bells of Notre Dame is still the best Disney song of all time, and Lion King the best Disney movie of all time.

 

[Ratrat]

Tigger Movie (2000)
Dinosaur (2000)
The Emperors New Groove (2000)
Atlantis (2001)
Lilo and Stitch (2002)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Brother Bear (2003)
Home on the Range (2004)
Chicken Little (2005)

Most that era is crap, but I like more films here than the current one.

Disney basically got its mojo back by refusing to take risks(content and artstyle) and just cater to nostalgia.

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

yo say that to me irl

You know is true though. Not saying the movie is bad by any means, just saying it should be a support movie and not a main one, because nobody os going to pay a movie ticket for a winnie the pooh movie, and thats actually what happened, it killed 2d disney animation because it was used as main feature. Or maybe that was disney cep plan all along, to use it to kill 2d disney animation.

Hercules a bad movie...them's fighting words.

My man, hercules is top dog!

it's by no means a bad movie and has really great music and design among other things, but ignoring the roman/greek dichotomy and inaccuracy, it really has some bad plotholes that can be really jarring

like, how does the lord of the dead not know hercules is still alive

The movie is so amazingly intertaining from start to finish, so infinite rewatchable thanks to the spectacle, music and humour that I never mind the plotholes bbecause for me they dont hurt anything, even when you add the animated series into canon (that i do, becuase I really like it) and the hades presenting to hercules at the final act dont make any sense.
And then its the greek mythology thing that makes me laugh any one that uses it to criticise hercules, when every freaking disney movie doesnt give two flying fucks about the original material. But oh, do thay with greek mythos and is sacrilage.

Hercules is basically a Rocky/superman story parodying greek mythos, it doesnt try to emulate it, and thats why I love it so much. And even when I loved studying greek and roman legends, I still prefered they just stayed away from it and just get an inspiration to create their own. Hera being a horrible mother because zeus was a rapist? Hades not being a villain but just the guy who kept hell in check? Hercules being a crazy guy that kills her family? Meh. I think the disney story is more fun and inspirational than the real one, the kids dont need game of thrones here. They need to like this characters and story to then lead them into finding the real stuff if they are interested on it, and to people that know about it already laugh at the multiple references thrown.
Its something that the animated series delves into in more depth and does great playing with all the greek mythos.
And then theres meg that is probably the best disney female ever created and has something to during the whole story even when she is not the main character.

Tigger Movie (2000)
Dinosaur (2000)
The Emperors New Groove (2000)
Atlantis (2001)
Lilo and Stitch (2002)
Treasure Planet (2002)
Brother Bear (2003)
Home on the Range (2004)
Chicken Little (2005)

Most that era is crap, but I like more films here than the current one.

Disney basically got its mojo back by refusing to take risks(content and artstyle) and just cater to nostalgia.

I prefer when they cater to nostalgia and still xreate something good, that whatever they tried to do during the second dark age of animation. All animation, not only disney took a deep nose dive.

 

[Vampirolol]

Personally I prefer these movie over the 90's ones. Aladdin and The Beauty and the Beast are the only classics I love from that era, while I find The Lion King to be pretty boring after the first part. The Princess and the Frog (my favorite), Tangled, Frozen and Zootopia are top tier Disney movies.

 

[Garlador]

It is a phenomena, and its the only one from this era that is. Looking at the list, its either forgettable crap like Bolt or Meet the Robinsons, callbacks like Frog, Tangled, Frozen etc, or hip, bandwagoning like Big Hero 6, Wreck it Ralph.

None of these feel fresh or like they are moving the medium forward. The CG ballroom scene in B&B, the incredible animation, music from Lion King, an actual awesome Heroine in Mulan(Asian!), the very dark tone of Hunchback etc are all more memorable. The only thing interesting Disney has done recently is Zootopia.

The animation in current Disney films is astounding, and if you think they're not moving the medium forward, you should check out their shorts like "Get A Horse" and "Paperman".

The music has been great in every musical they've done lately. Frozen's soundtrack was in the top 10 album sales all year. Moana's music is getting universal praise. My wife walked down the aisle to "Now I See The Light" from Tangled.

We've gotten a ton of great heroines (Judy Hopps is already underrated, but I'll give a shout out to Sergeant Calhoun too) and Moana is another great addition.

From what I observe of my young nieces, in twenty years, they're going to champion films like Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled, and Moana the way we champion Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.

 

[Ratrat]

Thats part of the second dark era, not the disney renaissance or second golden era.
And all those movies actually didnt try to follow the type of formula the renaissance ones did.
Princess and the frog, tangled and frozen are more similar to the renaissance formula, with some twists, than anything during the 2000s

I know its not the same era. And I'm saying the present era's success is probably because they stopped taking risks and just made stuff that calls back to classics. Remember when Tangled was supposed to look like a moving painting? The shock collars in Zootopia? Perhaps those were good changes, but it makes me sad we'll probably not see them try something experimental like Hercules, Dinosaur, Atlantis etc again. Just a bunch googly eyed Princesses and animals for now.

I prefer when they cater to nostalgia and still xreate something good, that whatever they tried to do during the second dark age of animation. All animation, not only disney took a deep nose dive.

I thought it was just the uncomfortable transition to CG that took the medium down at that point. Anyway, they seem to have the talent now, it would be nice to see something ambitious again.

The animation in current Disney films is astounding, and if you think they're not moving the medium forward, you should check out their shorts like "Get A Horse" and "Paperman".

The music has been great in every musical they've done lately. Frozen's soundtrack was in the top 10 album sales all year. Moana's music is getting universal praise. My wife walked down the aisle to "Now I See The Light" from Tangled.

We've gotten a ton of great heroines (Judy Hopps is already underrated, but I'll give a shout out to Sergeant Calhoun too) and Moana is another great addition.

From what I observe of my young nieces, in twenty years, they're going to champion films like Frozen, Zootopia, Tangled, and Moana the way we champion Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.

Maybe if they made Paperman a full length feature...they wont though.
Frozen has one memorable song, yeah. Also, I doubt these movies will be remembered as fondly. Disney was peerless back during The Lion King. Now we have Pixar, Dreamworks, Laika etc making movies just as good if not better.

 

[Boss Doggie]

You know what's a big outrage?

Why did fucking Peter Pan 2 get a theatrical release when they could have given its budget to a theatrical release of King of Thieves, a much worthier film? PP2 isn't even considered a Disney Animated Canon anyway.

The movie is so amazingly intertaining from start to finish, so infinite rewatchable thanks to the spectacle, music and humour that I never mind the plotholes bbecause for me they dont hurt anything, even when you add the animated series into canon (that i do, becuase I really like it) and the hades presenting to hercules at the final act dont make any sense.
And then its the greek mythology thing that makes me laugh any one that uses it to criticise hercules, when every freaking disney movie doesnt give two flying fucks about the original material. But oh, do thay with greek mythos and is sacrilage.

Hercules is basically a Rocky/superman story parodying greek mythos, it doesnt try to emulate it, and thats why I love it so much. And even when I loved studying greek and roman legends, I still prefered they just stayed away from it and just get an inspiration to create their own. Hera being a horrible mother because zeus was a rapist? Hades not being a villain but just the guy who kept hell in check? Hercules being a crazy guy that kills her family? Meh. I think the disney story is more fun and inspirational than the real one, the kids dont need game of thrones here. They need to like this characters and story to then lead them into finding the real stuff if they are interested on it, and to people that know about it already laugh at the multiple references thrown.
Its something that the animated series delves into in more depth and does great playing with all the greek mythos.
And then theres meg that is probably the best disney female ever created and has something to during the whole story even when she is not the main character.

Oh I'm not saying it's a bad film, and it's definitely enjoyable with its memorable characters. And I don't even chide it with its inaccuracy (I just bring it up since many people do use it), since even Disney is poking fun at it (they knew it is very inaccurate and even make hints on the labors and such). In fact I enjoy the metropolitan greek setting it has (I think the other film that tried this was Emperor's New Groove, and the other I can think of are the Shrek films. Honestly metropolitan ancient/fantasy settings should be a common thing if only for the creativity and interesting worlds they would create).

It's just that some of the problems it could stick out like a sore thumb, like that plothole I mentioned. Still doesn't make it unenjoyable though and as I said is easily one of the memorable Disney movies.

And I guess people have a love-hate with Hades. Hate in that they don't like the idea that Hades is literally the embodiment of evil, but Wood's performance is so perfect that they love him all the same.

 

[entremet]

Most of the movies from both eras are terrible.

Bad movies:

Rescuers DU
Pocahontas
Hunchback
Hercules
Mulan
Tarzan

Unlike the former era, I haven't seen all the newer films.

Of the ones I have seen, only Zootopia deserved to be called "good."

Tangled was... okay. Frozen and Wreck It Ralph aren't very good. The clips I've seen of Meet the Robinsons and Princess and the Frog make me feel pretty confident that they aren't very good, either.

Rotten Tomatoes is a TERRIBLE metric because every review could be a "C" rating and it would have 100%. It means nothing. Better-than-awful kids movies tend to get graded on a curve, too, because so many kids films are abysmal. The bar is low.

What the hell @ the list?!

Those aren't bad movies lol. Not as great as Mermaid, Beauty, Lion King, but those are solid movies.

They're no Atlantis or Treasure Planet.

 

[Bornstellar]

Just wanted to pop in and say Moana is fantastic.

Disney animation is 2 for 2 this year.

 

[Boss Doggie]

Hey now, Treasure Planet is great.

Just wanted to pop in and say Moana is fantastic.

Disney animation is 2 for 2 this year.

While it's worth a watch, I'd kinda put it below Zootopia. Hell I'd even put it below the other animated films that aired earlier this year.

 

[Violet_0]

the renaissance era movies were beautifully animated opulent musicals, modern Disney movies put much more focus on the narrative. It's not easy comparing them

 

[Blueingreen]

Naah traditional animation has more personality and charm to me, it's a shame it's a diying art forms.

 

[Acidote]

These four movies in the span of five years.

The Little Mermaid (1989, 92% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)
Beauty and the Beast (1991, 93% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)
Aladdin (1992, 94% Fresh of Rotten Tomatoes)
The Lion King (1994, 92% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Brutal.

 

[Boss Doggie]

the renaissance era movies were beautifully animated opulent musicals, modern Disney movies put much more focus on the narrative. It's not easy comparing them

Still has hits and misses though.

Like Big Hero Six for me feels like a really watered down plot from a henshin hero show which has done it better, and they ruined one of the character's greatest gimmick.

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

If you pare down both 'renaissances' to the only movies that matter:

Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King

vs.

Wreck it Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia (possibly Moana now)

That's a tight race. I prefer the musicals, but the newer films are extremely well made, fun to watch. I think... desert island situation, I'd take the second batch.

ps: Extended out, though, to the other films, I love Pocahontas and Notre Dame because Menkin is a god in my book, so the first renaissance will always be the best to me.

 

[entremet]

nvm.

 

[Garlador]

I know its not the same era. And I'm saying the present era's success is probably because they stopped taking risks and just made stuff that calls back to classics. Remember when Tangled was supposed to look like a moving painting? The shock collars in Zootopia? Perhaps those were good changes, but it makes me sad we'll probably not see them try something experimental like Hercules, Dinosaur, Atlantis etc again. Just a bunch googly eyed Princesses and animals for now.

I thought it was just the uncomfortable transition to CG that took the medium down at that point. Anyway, they seem to have the talent now, it would be nice to see something ambitious again.

Maybe if they made Paperman a full length feature...they wont though.
Frozen has one memorable song, yeah. Also, I doubt these movies will be remembered as fondly. Disney was peerless back during The Lion King. Now we have Pixar, Dreamworks, Laika etc making movies just as good if not better.

I think your memory is faulty then.

I'll reiterate that I like current Disney for NOT playing it as safe. Recent films have bucked long-standing traditions that Disney films built an empire on. Moana is praised as a Disney princess who doesn't even need a token love interest and whose happily ever after doesn't involve true love.

Disney has always been princesses and animals. Hercules, Dinosaur, and Atlantis had princesses and animals front and center. And you seem to be ignoring films like Big Hero 6 (no musicals, animals, or princesses) or Wreck-It Ralph (technically has a princess, but it's almost played for laughs).

My instructor worked on Tangled. That moving painting look was attempted for a very long time and at great cost, but ultimately it just didn't look right. It wasn't working and wasn't going to work. The final film is still incredible vibrant and vivid, but Tangled was the most expensive and time consuming animated film Disney ever made. Going for that moving painting look was never feasible.

Frozen had far more than just one memorable song. Ask any little kid "do you want to build a snowman" and wait for the response.

And Disney back then wasn't peerless either. Disney's Renaiisance was right in the midst of Don Bluth's greatest hits - Secret of NIHM, All Dogs Go To Heaven, American Tail - while Dreamworks Animation was killing it with The Prince of Egypt (and I happen to adore Road to El Dorado and Spirit). Fox had a big hit with Anastasia aping their formula too. There were a to of duds to be sure (hello Quest for Camelot), but there were plenty of animated blockbusters at the time that didn't bear Disney's name.

Trust me when I say that something like Frozen will be far, far more fondly remembered than Renaissance films like Pocohantas, Hunchback, Hercules, Rescuers Down Under, or Tarzan. And I love those films. I think it'll be every bit the equal for kids now that Aladdin, Little Mermaid, or Mulan was for us.