Some Last-Minute Christmas Eve Thoughts on "The Small One"

It has only just occurred to me that (A) there's almost no holiday-themed content on the ol' Obligatory Art Blog this year and (B) I do not believe that I have yet shared one of my vaguest, strangest, and yet possibly most significant childhood memories that involves Christmas and animation.  Well, it's finally time to resolve that.

Every year for the five years I attended my elementary school, just before they let us out for winter break, us students were all herded down into the auditorium/cafeteria.  We all sat down cross-legged and watched an animated short film entitled "The Small One".  I don't even remember if it was shown on two television sets and VCRs working simultaneously or if they managed to have an actual film copy (if it was the latter case, then at least this yearly tradition would be easier to explain... kinda).  Every single student in the school had to participate in this odd, unexplained little ritual, so I grew up watching this odd relic of 70's-era Disney animation every single year for five years in a row.

My only concrete memories involve sitting uncomfortably in the cafetorium, going home with the "Clink Clink / Clank Clank / Get the money to the bank" song wedged in my head, and that one year (fifth grade I think) when the secretary who came on the loudspeaker accidentally identified the film as "The Little One" and every student in the room muttered the correct title immediately after her gaffe.

But I mostly remember being a "Land Before Time"-obsessed kid and noticing Bluth's credit in the opening titles for the first time.  Which blew my mind and then filled it with lots of questions I wouldn't learn the answers to for years and years.

As an adult, now I know that this strange little short that runs just under a half-hour was made in that very strange and tumultuous time period for Don Bluth, Walt Disney Animation, and Richard Rich (who was also involved in this short) during the late 70's and early 80's.  It was released around Christmas in 1978 (oh, holy night, it's just months younger than I am!) to accompany a theatrical re-release of "Pinocchio".  And it was basically a demonstration of what the current animation team at Disney could do.  Compared to, you know, freaking "Pinocchio".  No pressure.

It turns out that this would be the final film that Don Bluth would work on as a Disney animator.  I'm unsure if the same is true of Richard Rich (John Pomeroy was also involved and shares some tantalizing stories here.)  At any rate, watching the short now, it feels an awful lot more like one of their films than the films Disney was making at the time, even the ones that had the greatest influence from the two future directors.  Honestly, it's a showcase of both Bluth and Rich's worst and best impulses.  It's not as oppressively sad as Rich's "The Fox and the Hound" or "The Rescuers", but there is a noticeable pathos throughout.  The characters have a distinctly Bluthian look to them.  For me, the weirdest thing is that because I watched this movie over and over and over throughout my young life, it may have had the biggest influence on me back then; I was a Don Bluth fan before I understood who he was.   And I am very very happy to say that it holds up.

For more -err- Bluthiness, check out my Don Bluth Month series.

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Sketch of the Day!  Happy Holidays to all!

Random 90's Animation - "The Swan Princess" (1994)

Unlike the previous three films I've watched for my Strange Animated Films from the 1990's Made By Random Studios Marathon, I remember actually liking "The Swan Princess" quite a bit when I saw it back in the day.  Watching it again for this project, it is by no means a bad movie, but the Nostalgia Filter sure was strong with it.

This is the first animated feature from what would eventually be known as Crest Animation (formerly Rich Animation and RichCrest Animation; interesting evolution, that), a studio created and headed by Richard Rich.  You may remember that name from the Disney Animated Canon project.  Rich started at Disney in the late 70's, co-directed "The Rescuers" and directed "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Black Cauldron", and went on to found his own studio.  The film generally agreed to be his best independent film was also his very first independent film.  For some reason, this sounds familiar - but you may notice that far fewer people discuss Richard Rich's post-Disney career than do Don Bluth's; probably due to the fact that all but three or four of Rich's features have gone straight to DVD.

"The Swan Princess" is -if you will forgive me- an odd duck indeed.  For all the world, it looks like what people who dismiss all Disney animated features as cutesy Fairy tales and girly pink Princess B.S. assume every Disney feature is like.  (By the way, yes, such people exist, and this saddens me.)  About a third of the ways into "The Swan Princess", I was thinking, "Oh, so this is basically 'Sleeping Beauty'.  Now it's kind of like 'The Little Mermaid'.  This scene reminds me an awful lot of something in 'Aladdin'.  And suddenly, we're in 'Cinderella'."  I suppose this is, in a way, admirable.  Most low-budget animated fairy tale movies would only rip off one or two very popular Disney Animated Canon features.  This one has the brass balls to swipe from damn near all of them!

Now don't get me wrong, as I said, "The Swan Princess" isn't necessarily a bad movie.  As it happens, there are some very clever and creative moments in it.  Some of the supporting characters are a lot of fun and the background paintings are gorgeous.

In general, the problems stem from the fact that while this movie is a distillation of what people who haven't sat down and watched a Disney movie in years remember from Disney movies, it's hampered from having a very small fraction of the budget.  As a result, the animation is very inconsistent, and occasionally downright sloppy.  In particular, the less caricatured characters like Human!Odette and especially Derek look very strange after a while (oh my good God, Derek's giant mouth).  The songs range from slightly dull to utterly tedious, and some of the gags (especially the header image) run at very sharp angles to the rest of the film's overall tone.  And, so help me, the villain's final boss form really does look like a fruitbat.  Speaking of, if you avoid saying the word "Beast" this often, it eventually becomes really obvious and distracting.

Finally, since things like this have to be pointed out in a review written by me (heh): What we have here is a story about a human princess who is forced to be separated from a weird-looking unlikeable doormat of a prince who openly stated that he was only interested in her because she is pretty by being transformed into a big scary dinosaur that can fly, kill a child easily, and seriously maim an adult.  Remind me again how this is a curse?  (I know, but we're ignoring Rothbart being a total creeper for now, especially since the movie itself doesn't seem to know what to do with that plot point either.)

Overall, "The Swan Princess" is worth a look, and is certainly a better choice for children than, say, any of the DTV Disney sequels.  Next up, something that isn't on my official Queue list but I would be a total bockhead to ignore.

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Sketch of the Day!

Went to the good old Maine Wildlife Park and drew some birds that -and you have to trust the birder here- are far less vicious and scary than swans.

The Disney Animated Canon: The Dark Age, part two

#30: "Pete's Dragon"
Better known as "The Movie That Made Don Bluth Say, 'F*** It.'"
After watching this one for the first time ever, I started to think that I was a little rash in calling the late-90's/early-00's period the Dork Age. This is the "Pretty Woman" of the Disney Animated Canon (stay with me here). The original short story told a very dark, depressing story of a little orphan boy who'd escaped from his abusive foster family and retreated into a fantasy world of magic dragons.
Something obviously got lost in the adaptation here. It's either the fact that Elliot is absolutely real from the first scene or the fact that it's a musical. On the first point, Elliot is actually invisible most of the time for no other reason than saving money on special effects. On the second point, this is the kind of musical where you half expect them to start singing, "The Front Door's a Little Sticky (You Might Have To Give It A Good Kick Open)".
Mind you, aside from the dragon and the songs, the story is still very dark, which makes for a movie that is downright manic-depressive in tone. Fortunately, Don Bluth was in charge of all the animation, and the character animation on Elliot is wonderful. Too bad we only see twenty minutes of it.

#31: "The Fox and The Hound"
If I am not mistaken, this is the very first movie I ever saw in a theater. Having watched it again, I realize that in all these years, I only had the vaguest memories of it. Mostly the fact that Glen Keane (he did much of the last act, including the bear scene) is incredible.
Man, Disney was on some drama-rama kick at this time, weren't they? This time, Richard Rich is listed as one of the Directors. While he isn't as well-known as Don Bluth, he's another Disney animator who later formed his own studio. He's best known for "The Swan Princess". His other films are very eclectic (ranging from Biblical epics to annoyingly cute versions of famous musicals and E.B. White novels), but he loves drama.
"The Fox and the Hound" has got more drama per pound than some live-action movies. It's got very little incidental music and the cheerful songs and comic relief characters are instantly forgettable. It gets lost in the shuffle of other films, but it's well worth revisiting as it may be the most mature film in the Cannon. It is, essentially, "Brokeback Mountain" with cute animals. I kid you not. Watch it again.
Incidentally, it's almost worth it to watch "The Fox and the Hound 2" trailer included on the disk just for the "WTF" factor. (I don't want to spoil it but isn't this plot right out of EVERY Disney Channel sitcom ever?)

#32: "TRON"
Well, first, I need to do the obligatory thing where you sit there and reflect on the fact that you're writing a review of "TRON" on a better computer than the one they used to animate it.
(She does this.)
Duuuude...
While it was an expensive bomb back in the day, "TRON" has since grown into a cult classic and it's easy to see why; it's overall the best out of all the movies in this time period. Thanks to the remastered DVD, it looks and sounds better than ever. Very trippy and cool, it appears as though they used a similar design aesthetic for EPCOT's Future World buildings.
Hey, did you ever notice that this movie is all about gaining evidence for a copyright infringement suit?

#33: "The Black Cauldron"
Better known as "The Movie That Made Tim Burton Say, 'F*** It.'"
Even better known as "The Movie That Almost Killed The Studio. No, really."
In production for nearly twelve years, way over budget, and the first Disney movie ever to fall victim to (dunt-dunt-daa) Executive Meddling right before it's release. New big boss Michael Eisner welcomed himself to the animators by chopping several scenes out of the finished film. (Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of animation's production process, specifically how animated features are meticulously planned from beginning to end well before anyone gets to put pencil to paper in earnest, will see how insane this was.) "Black Cauldron" bombed spectacularly in it's initial release and was kept out of circulation for decades.
When Disney finally released it on video, it was treated more as an obligation than anything. It was barely promoted and given a bare-bones release. The DVD is slightly better. At least the film is in it's original widescreen format - but it isn't anamorphic. You will learn what anamorphic means the second the movie starts, especially if you've got a 16x9 television. You'll also learn the difference between 5.1 surround sound and whatever was available in the 80's, as the soundtrack hasn't been remixed with the new technology and tends to fade in and out (I pumped up the volume to the thirties to hear the dialogue and got the sh*t scared out of me when the guard dog started barking).
For all this… I kind of liked it. Yes, it's obvious that the production was labored and plagued with problems; expect a very episodic movie. But it's a hell of a lot more interesting than the similarly-themed "Sword in the Stone" and has a far more focused plotline. It also (see what a huge difference this makes) has a great cast of villains and supporting characters. It's just bizarre how this is remembered more for what it could have been than accepted for what it is. I like The Chronicles of Prydain too and I do think a faithful film series would be quite good. But really, how come nobody levels the same kinds of "Wah, it doesn't have anything to do with the books" complaints at "The Jungle Book", or "Sword in the Stone" for that matter?
And what's Eilonwy got to do to be a part of the Princesses line?

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Next time: The movies get good again! For more posts in this series, go here, or click the Chronological Disney Animated Canon tag below.