The Disney Renaissance was a time during the late 80s, early 90s was when Disney became successful again in making great animated movies every year throughout the 90s. The Disney Renaissance started with the Little Mermaid in 1989 and ended with Tarzan in 1999. I remember this great time. I was born when Aladdin came out in 1992. Lets relieve this great period!

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http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/14/A70-7170

This was most certainly a great period, not just for animation lovers, but for Disney's bottom line. I was born in 1987, so I never knew that Disney was going through some rough times in the 70's and 80's until more recently. A string of mediocre offerings during those years, combined with fierce direct competition from the studio of former Disney animator Don Bluth, had some pegging Disney for dead.

The Renaissance changed all that. Starting with The Little Mermaid in the late 80's, Disney (in conjuction with Bluth's work during the same time) was able to help the flagging cartoon industry out of the black hole of the Dark Ages it had been suffering through since the mid 1960's, and into a new era of critical and commercial success in the 1990's.

Love this period! Though I wouldn't include The Rescuers Down Under as part of the Renaissance. It wasn't as successful and just didn't yield the same legacy the others did.

Yup, 1989 was the 'comeback' year for Disney. Especially after spending the 70s and 80s in the ditch. The 60s was mediocre, but the 70s and 80s was a terrible time for Disney!

And after 1989, their movies have continued to make $$$$!!

Little Mermaid is notable because it's the first film that used the CAPS system with digital 'ink'. Granted, the majority of LTM was completely traditional animation but one scene in the film used the CAPS. Starting with Rescuers Down Under in 1990, all their animated films used it.

One could view the Disney Renaissance as being transitional between traditional 20th century animation and the high tech 3D animation that's dominated since the late 1990s. I think in part that's what made the 90s Disney so great, just enough technology that it enhances the quality of the art, but still traditionally sketched and 2 dimensional so it doesn't seem 'fake' or overdone.  :)

Hunchback is very underrated.

Some say the peak of the Disney Renaissance was the release of The Lion King in 1994, then it started going downhill with Pocahontas in 1995. I think Beauty and the Beast should be considered the peak of the Renaissance, since it was the only animated film at the time to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.


Hunchback is very underrated.


I agree.

Some say the peak of the Disney Renaissance was the release of The Lion King in 1994, then it started going downhill with Pocahontas in 1995. I think Beauty and the Beast should be considered the peak of the Renaissance, since it was the only animated film at the time to have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

I agree.


Either way, you'd get a peak around 1993.

I think Pocahontas (1995) was good even though it wasn't an accurate telling of history. I think the one that gets the most bad rep is Hercules for many reasons.

I think Pocahontas (1995) was good even though it wasn't an accurate telling of history. I think the one that gets the most bad rep is Hercules for many reasons.


I remember when Hercules was in theaters. I had a soundtrack and I remember lying in bed at night listening to it (particularly the song Go The Distance). I also remember getting a Hercules backpack for kindergarten that year.

I remember when Hercules was in theaters. I had a soundtrack and I remember lying in bed at night listening to it (particularly the song Go The Distance). I also remember getting a Hercules backpack for kindergarten that year.


I remember watching Hercules when it was in theaters back in summer '97. Still love that movie over 15 years later and the character Meg is definitely in my top 3 fave Disney heroines of all time. I remember wanting to be Meg for Halloween that year. I also remember the Hercules merchandise that McDonald's had with their happy meals at the time.


Hunchback is very underrated.


Severely, mind-numbingly underrated! The Hunchback of Notre Dame was a dark and pretty ballsy film for Disney to make. That movie actually use to freak me out when I was a kid. It actually makes me wonder if Disney would've gotten away with releasing it today than back in '96. Also, I think the song "Hellfire", a song about lust and murder, is probably the greatest Disney villan song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyS3weMlxLA

I believe I read somewhere a few years ago that the movie almost got a rated "R" because Esmeralda originally looked naked or something during the "Hellfire" song sequence so Disney made the clothes look more defined on her.

I agree about THoND being underrated! Very dark for a Disney film indeed. It's stunning that they actually depicted Esmeralda in real jeopardy of being burned alive at the stake. I don't think they would get away with that today.

These days, they're afraid to even kill the villain. Take the Little Mermaid series of films

Little Mermaid 1 (1989): Giant Ursula (who is terrifying) is freaking SHISHKABOBBED by the splintered bowsprit of the ship, electrocuted by lightning, and we see her fried carcass sink to the bottom of the ocean. Epic!
Little Mermaid 2 (2000): Morgana is encased in ice and sinks to the depths of the ocean...not as cool as Ursula's demise but not bad
Little Mermaid 3 (2008): Whoever the villain was...was fired from her job at the end. That was her demise. Uhhh...justice served

The plots between the first and third films got increasingly simplistic and benign. Ursula wanted to steal the crown and rule the entire ocean and even tried to kill Ariel in the process. Lady from the third one wanted to steal Sebastian's job if I remember correctly. How riveting.

I agree about THoND being underrated! Very dark for a Disney film indeed. It's stunning that they actually depicted Esmeralda in real jeopardy of being burned alive at the stake. I don't think they would get away with that today.

These days, they're afraid to even kill the villain. Take the Little Mermaid series of films

Little Mermaid 1 (1989): Giant Ursula (who is terrifying) is freaking SHISHKABOBBED by the splintered bowsprit of the ship, electrocuted by lightning, and we see her fried carcass sink to the bottom of the ocean. Epic!
Little Mermaid 2 (2000): Morgana is encased in ice and sinks to the depths of the ocean...not as cool as Ursula's demise but not bad
Little Mermaid 3 (2008): Whoever the villain was...was fired from her job at the end. That was her demise. Uhhh...justice served

The plots between the first and third films got increasingly simplistic and benign. Ursula wanted to steal the crown and rule the entire ocean and even tried to kill Ariel in the process. Lady from the third one wanted to steal Sebastian's job if I remember correctly. How riveting.


Well, those movies were sequels, and you know how Disney sequels are.  :P



-----SPOILER ALERT------



Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog (2009) got a pretty scary, morbid demise (dragged to "voodoo hell" by demons); and Gothel from Tangled (2010) fell out a window while crumbling to dust. Disney villain deaths today aren't really as tame as you say they are.

Speaking of iconic Disney movie villian deaths, is there any more epic than this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOGKa7bMuoE

I think Clayton's death from Tarzan takes the cake for most gruesome Disney villain death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2YVeovK9Nw

I think Clayton's death from Tarzan takes the cake for most gruesome Disney villain death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2YVeovK9Nw


Hmm... I don't know. Being eaten alive by hyenas doesn't really sound like fun. :P

Disney was such a fond part of my childhood! I think I first watched the Little Mermaid when I was 4, way back in 1990, and remember being so enchanted by it. Along with the first golden age, of the 1940s, I think Disney's Renaissance was it's best period: from the Little Mermaid to Mulan in 1997. I do agree the Lion King was probably the masterpiece of the era although Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, the Hunchback of Notre Damme.etc were also classics. They were very story-driven, could be dramatic/serious as scary as the old Disney films, yet seemed more light-hearted with more jokes than the older Disney films. I still recall seeing the Lion King in cinemas when it first came out.

Disney was such a fond part of my childhood! I think I first watched the Little Mermaid when I was 4, way back in 1990, and remember being so enchanted by it. Along with the first golden age, of the 1940s, I think Disney's Renaissance was it's best period: from the Little Mermaid to Mulan in 1997. I do agree the Lion King was probably the masterpiece of the era although Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, the Hunchback of Notre Damme.etc were also classics. They were very story-driven, could be dramatic/serious as scary as the old Disney films, yet seemed more light-hearted with more jokes than the older Disney films. I still recall seeing the Lion King in cinemas when it first came out.


The Lion King is the first movie I remember seeing in theaters.

The ones that I really like (and have on VHS) are The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, & The Lion King. I do  have some others like Aladdin:the Return of Jafar, Pocahontas and several others but I think I sort of lost interest after a while. I do have quite the collection of Disney films on VHS-including the "banned" Little Mermaid cover.

http://www.blogdecine.com/images/2007/01/la%20sirenita%20el%20palacio%20del%20falo.jpg 



It was funny when people would come over to my old apartment when I lived by myself. They would see all my Disney films and look around and say, "You don't have kids do you?" I said no and they would laugh at my Disney films. Then they would spot one, "Oh, you have this one. Can we watch it?" Then I would laugh. At least I admitted that I bought them for myself. But, I haven't watched them in many, many years.


Cat

The ones that I really like (and have on VHS) are The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Aladdin, & The Lion King. I do  have some others like Aladdin:the Return of Jafar, Pocahontas and several others but I think I sort of lost interest after a while. I do have quite the collection of Disney films on VHS-including the "banned" Little Mermaid cover.

http://www.blogdecine.com/images/2007/01/la%20sirenita%20el%20palacio%20del%20falo.jpg 



It was funny when people would come over to my old apartment when I lived by myself. They would see all my Disney films and look around and say, "You don't have kids do you?" I said no and they would laugh at my Disney films. Then they would spot one, "Oh, you have this one. Can we watch it?" Then I would laugh. At least I admitted that I bought them for myself. But, I haven't watched them in many, many years.


Cat


You know what they say, you're never to old to watch a Disney movie!  :)

I wish I still had all my old Disney VHS tapes. Back in '08 or '09, my dad gave them all away against my wishes to Half-Price Books because we were feeling the effects of the recession. I don't know why my dad thought he'd make anything off of those tapes.

I think Disney made a come back in '09 starting with the Princess and the Frog

http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120915095458/disney/images/thumb/f/fa/Frog_official_poster_500.jpg/250px-Frog_official_poster_500.jpg

I think ^this one is severely underrated. It's almost like most people forget that it exists.

And of course 2010's Tangled

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b8/Tangled_Soundtrack.jpg/220px-Tangled_Soundtrack.jpg

I really enjoyed both movies, and I'm probably a bit older than the main fanbase. And to top it off I'm a guy  :-https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IRJPz7a-FYw/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAK4/5WFVkNv39r8/s250-c-k/photo.jpg

I haven't seen it yet but I here that it's good.

And of course, this year has Frozen
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121130040802/disney/images/thumb/0/05/Frozen_%282013_film%29_poster.jpg/250px-Frozen_%282013_film%29_poster.jpg

Maybe 10-20 years from now, people will see this time as a second "Renaissance", "Disney's Third Coming"??

I really think that Disney is making a comeback.

But to stay on topic: Of the Renaissance films, I really like Aladdin, the Little Mermaid, and the Lion King. They're all equally brilliant I don't know if I can pick a favourite between them.

"Kiss the Girl", "Under the Sea", "A Whole New World", "Hakuna Matata", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

Wow, these songs are beautiful. I think they're the best bunch from all the movies.

I LOVE this one:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEryAoLfnAA



Cat

I LOVE this one:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEryAoLfnAA



Cat


Yeah, this one's also great. It's one of the standouts in Aladdin

But now that I think about it, I think the sequences are just as important as the music itself. It's the art/direction combined with the music that truly makes it magical.

All the sequences for Disney songs are memorable

"Kiss the Girl", "Under the Sea", "A Whole New World", "Hakuna Matata", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight"

Wow, these songs are beautiful. I think they're the best bunch from all the movies.



It's honestly SO hard for me to choose a favorite Disney song. If I can pick a top 3 right now, in no particular order, it would be:

"A Whole New World"
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"
"I Won't Say (I'm in Love)"

"‘Beauty & The Beast’ Cast Reuniting For Epic 25th Anniversary Event"

https://hollywoodlife.com/2016/08/16/beauty-and-the-beast-reunion-cast-25th-anniversary-nyff-screening/

Sounds like the 2010's is the second Disney Renaissance.  :)