by Jeffrey Dale Starr
Just a few years ago, Pixar was the gold standard of quality animation and Walt Disney Animation Studios was seeming like Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard: a faded star who didn't realize their time had passed.
While Pixar was making classics like Finding Nemo and Wall-E, Disney was churning out dreck like Brother Bear and Home on the Range.
Then a funny thing happened.
Disney bought Pixar. I thought this certainly sounded the final death knell for Disney animation. Surely, they wouldn't waste any more time on their second-class fare and would let Pixar take over.
But that isn't what happened. Walt Disney Animation Studios released Tangled, a truly perfect animated film. It featured great artwork, first-class songs, clever dialogue, true emotion...some of the things that Pixar was doing so well and some of the things that Disney Animation had mastered in its golden era.
Over at Pixar they were releasing Cars 2. A ho-hum sequel that would have made a fine direct-to-video release or a one-hour special on The Disney Channel. But a theatrical release? Very un-Pixar-like.
Next up, Disney released Wreck-It Ralph, a wholly original story that was Pixaresque in its tone and message.
Meanwhile, Pixar was offering up Brave: a movie that looks gorgeous but in the end has no clear vision. What starts off as a serious statement about identity and gender roles turns into a slapstick farce with a muddled plot.
And now this week Disney has released one of their greatest animated films ever - Frozen. Aside from the beautiful graphics (that's a given these days), the writing is first-rate. The voice acting is spot-on. The songs are as good as anything Broadway will churn out this year. The message and climax are truly unique...something that Pixar used to own the patent for.
To put it plainly, my two favorite animated films of all-time are Tangled and Frozen, both by what seemed to be an extinct Walt Disney Animation Studios.
And what does Pixar give us? Monsters University.
Let's hope that the boys in Emeryville feel the pressure and step up their game.
Jeffrey Dale Starr is a tequila enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.
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