Disney should try to tackle an adult animated feature

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » March 20th, 2009, 10:55 pm

I was talking with a friend of mine about adult animation and Disney, and he mentioned some things. Like how Disney should re-rate some of the animated films for its content, which made me think that that Disney should try to tackle of an animated feature film for adults{In other words...an R rated cartoon and/or PG13 cartoon}.

Usually Disney is not known for doing adult like cartoons but known for musicals. However he considers some of the WW2 stuff adult. But what made me think of this was that in some of the content in the Disney films that were produced in the 80's and 90's. Like "The Great Mouse Detective", "Roger Rabbit" "Hunchback of Notre dame", "Beauty and The Beast" and "The Lion King".

I think it would've been perfect they made an adult cartoon after they finished with Roger Rabbit because that movie was loaded with adult jokes that you wouldn't find with a "PG" kids rating by today's standards . Or during the 70's when adult animation was proven successful thanks to Ralph Bakshi.{and if anyone says "Roger Rabbit was released by touchstone." I know the movie was released by touchstone pictures. Don't get me started on that please}

Now that adult animation is no longer around much in the theaters{But however some people hope for Tim Burton's "9" to green light the Hollywood studios to produce animation outside the "family ways". I do know that there are two adult cartoons in the works.. Bakshi's Last Days of Coney island...Which I have no idea when its coming out. and Rob Zombie's El Superbeasto. Which I think would be a summer release.}

But In my opinion I think Disney should try something like this because there's probably a lot of people who are sick and tired of kids cartoons being shown in the theaters and garbage like High School Musical{Which in my opinion is a rip-off of Grease and A goofy Movie}

So what are your thoughts? I don't think this will ever happen but however I think it would be cool... Should Disney push the limits of doing an animated adult cartoon?

Post by **eddievalient** » March 21st, 2009, 1:16 am

It would be interesting to see them try, but let's get real. The current management of Disney would only screw it up. Almost without exception, their live action material reeks and the only reason their animated films are still good is that John Lasseter is the head guy and he's proven time and time again that he knows what he's doing. That being said, I would love to see Pixar tackle a film noir story. If you watch Red's Dream, the beginning and end scenes have film noir written all over them, so they definitly have a handle on the distinct visual style of the genre. It would be great to see them try it in a feature, which would by necessity have a more adult narrative than anything they've done previously.

Post by **EricJ** » March 21st, 2009, 2:02 am

OriginalGagBonkers wrote:Usually Disney is not known for doing adult like cartoons but known for musicals. However he considers some of the WW2 stuff adult. But what made me think of this was that in some of the content in the Disney films that were produced in the 80's and 90's. Like "The Great Mouse Detective", "Roger Rabbit" "Hunchback of Notre dame", "Beauty and The Beast" and "The Lion King".

Actually, sometime just before the Shutdown and around the end of the Katzenberg era, three "serious" classics were reportedly under consideration, to keep Mulan and Tarzan's big-classic momentum going (at least accdg. to JHM.com)--
- "Don Quixote" got far into character development before "Hunchback" purist whines made the story department re-think about how Spain would react to any story changes,
- "Frankenstein" was considered too kid-unfriendly, even with a PG (as theories about Why Hunchback Flopped turned to whether kids didn't like Quasimodo),
- And "Beowulf"?....Yep. Thank Mr. Z for leeching that one away, only Disney's wouldn't have looked like a Playstation game.

After that, of course, the Nemo Massacre set in, and Eisner had the bad fortune to listen to TOO MANY columnist entrails-and-chicken-bones theories about why "Atlantis" and "Titan AE" had flopped (all not mentioning the correct one
Before the entire industry settled on "Audiences probably don't like action films", which unfortunately caused "Treasure Planet"'s marketing to suffer the fatal mistake it received.
Hunchback-traumatized plans to release the projects as safer direct-videos instead fell by the wayside once Eisner purged the studios of ink and paint the next years later.

And that's why. Well, you did ask.
Any other questions you'd like to feel important with?

Post by **eddievalient** » March 21st, 2009, 10:56 am

And let's not forget that a film doesn't have to be rated R to be "adult". All Dogs Go To Heaven was rated G, but it had a very adult themed story dealing with issues of sin and redemption that you don't generally see in a kid's movie (in fact, as a kid I didn't really understand that film. I didn't get what it was about until I grew up and saw it again).

Post by **Whippet Angel** » March 22nd, 2009, 12:18 am

Same here eddie. Most of that stuff went way over my head when I was a kid.

It's unlikely that you'll ever see any sort of R rated animation from Disney. Keep in mind that they have always been a family oriented company, and it really wouldn't go along with their image.

Best to leave that stuff to other studios who can do it. Animation has been growing so much as a medium lately, I'm sure we'll see more mature stuff in the near future.

Post by **droosan** » March 22nd, 2009, 1:40 am

Heck, we saw one last month. :idea:

Coraline was refreshingly 'adult' by comparison with most animated films of late.

Likewise with last year's Waltz With Bashir.

You don't need to be Disney to tackle sophisticated/serious subject matter in an animated feature. As Whippet Angel implies, it rather helps if you're not Disney.

Post by **Darkblade** » March 23rd, 2009, 8:57 am

If this ever happens It would end up something like this

Post by **eddievalient** » March 23rd, 2009, 12:00 pm

The difference being that Conker was actually funny and a Disney film in the same vein most likely wouldn't be.

Post by **Once Upon A Dream** » March 23rd, 2009, 12:34 pm

Hunchback Of Notredame-The uncut version

.

Post by **Sunday** » March 23rd, 2009, 7:47 pm

Come to think of it ol' Frollo was actually handled pretty well in that regard. "Hell Fire" and whatnot.

Post by **eddievalient** » March 24th, 2009, 1:25 am

True, but they (understandably) wimped out on the ending. Given how dark and undisneylike the book actually is, I'm surprised that many of the book's themes made it to the film intact, even if they had to change the events to satisfy a family audience.

Post by **Tyler_Legrand** » March 24th, 2009, 6:47 am

Don't agree. Better a newer company break in with adult features than Disney waste time trying to shed its family-friendly image.

Post by **Ben** » March 24th, 2009, 3:20 pm

Sorry I'm late to the conversation, but Frankenstein was in fact an Industrial Light & Magic animated feature which was in development for Universal. Disney had nothing to do with it. It eventually folded because of growing cost and Universal's reluctance to have black and white scenes in it.

Post by **parka** » March 27th, 2009, 12:00 am

I long for the day I can see dark clouds flying over the Disney castle logo in cinemas...

Post by **OriginalGagBonkers** » March 31st, 2009, 7:52 am

Tyler- Don Bluth shouldve thoughted of that instead of producing Disney like cartoons when he left Disney with those animators...

For granted if Walt was still alive during the 70's when adult animation was proven successful we mightve seen an adult cartoon out of by then. It would be better than having Lassester act like he's disney

Disney should try to tackle an adult animated feature

Disney should try to tackle an adult animated feature

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