The Death of 2D Disney

What is the death of two-dimensional (2D) Disney? The beloved 2D animated films of Disney are far gone. Audiences have discussed 2D animation after Disney's most recent film, Wish. Wish was an attempt by Disney to answer the pleas for a 2D Disney revival. However, Wish has blatantly failed to please the audiences with 48% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and numerous critiques on social media. People critique Disney's departure from traditional 2D animation into generic three-dimensional (3D) animated films. The film left a bitter taste in the mouths of Disney fans who felt that their wishes weren't served by the film's style. Wish had animation that looked unnatural, eerie, and strongly similar to AI-generated art. Although Wish was the product of hardworking animators who worked on the fusing of 2D watercolor backgrounds–reminiscent of older films like Snow White–and 3D computer graphics (CG), their toil resulted in an artificial intelligence (AI) feel. Newer Disney films have been letting down audiences who yearn for the nostalgic Renaissance Era of Disney.

Firstly, what is the Renaissance Era of Disney? Disney's Renaissance is identified with the release of The Little Mermaid in 1989, and all the movies following it through 1990-1999. These films were smash-hit after smash-hit at the box offices. The loveable 2D animation along with catchy songs and moving plotlines was a recipe for success. All these films combined "mixture of hand-drawn animation and computer-generated imagery," according to WDW Magazine. These films were recognized by critically-acclaimed groups like the Oscars and the Grammys. Tarzan earned an Academy Award for Best Song and the whole soundtrack won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack Album. To this day, the films made during the Renaissance Era are remembered as classics. These films are still being reproduced into live-action films (Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast) by Disney to take advantage of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, Disney couldn't continue to ride the wave of success. They had experimented more with CGI after Tarzan, and their stories started getting old. Their recipe for movies became predictable for audiences. During this time, Disney tried replicating Pixar's 3D animated movies with films like Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and Bolt. These moves solidified Disney's move from hand-drawn animation. Fortunately, a decade after unsuccessful movies, Disney came back with their first hit after the Renaissance Era. By returning to their roots in 2D animation with CG, The Princess and the Frog (2009) marked the Disney Revival Era. As stated by WDW Magazine, "And during that era, Disney did find out how to be successful with CGI films like Zootopia, Tangled, Moana, and Frozen." Moreover, Frozen drove Disney to ride this whole new wave: $1.2 billion generated worldwide, fifth-highest-grossing film of all time and highest-grossing animation (The New Yorker). The film broke barriers of what Disney was known for: a savior prince with romantic-focused plot. The New Yorker puts it best, "It is the women, in fact, not the men, who save the day, repeatedly—and a selfless act of sacrifice rather than a "kiss of true love" that ends up winning."

With a grip on their revival, Disney realized that 3D animation was the way to go. One of the drivers to abandon 2D animation was that 3D animation was more profitable. Toy Story was overwhelmingly more profitable than Pochahontas that was released the same year (Movie Web). Movie Web notes that, "Pixar films, along with competition from DreamWorks Shrek series and Blue Sky Animation's Ice Age, were drawing big box office numbers while traditional hand-drawn animated films like Treasure Planet, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Home on the Range were major box office bombs." When Disney worked on 3D animation like Princess and the Frog and Frozen, those films grossed over one billion dollars at the box office. More 3D animated films like Zootopia, Big Hero 6, and Moana reiterated how CGI animation made more money and was worth investing over 2D animation which was labor intensive and old-school.

Furthermore, 2D became the one to blame for Disney's box-office failures. Instead of considering that the predictable, boring plot of the 2D animated films were the reason behind their failure, Disney thought it was the animation style. Storytelling was a skill lost by Disney during the Post-Renaissance Era. "Meanwhile, 3D animated films like Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Shrek, Ice Age, and Madagascar were hits not because they were computer-animated but because they offered something new to audiences," notes Movie Web.

More recently, Disney has decided to go back in time and remake the films of their Renaissance Era in hopes to generate money from nostalgic audiences. The loss of 2D animations and disappointing remakes and movies like Wish, are causing fans to ask Disney to dive back into their 2D-animated roots. By remaking old films into cash cows, Disney should focus on listening to the audiences and telling a moving story with 2D animation.

- Jasleen. K

Sources: 

https://movieweb.com/disney-2d-animation-movies-stop-why/

https://www.wdw-magazine.com/disney-renaissance-movies-why-when-and-what-happened/

https://www.bloopanimation.com/why-were-seeing-less-2d-animated-movies-and-why-they-wont-make-a-comeback/

https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/how-frozen-took-over-the-world

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wish_2023