Fern Gully at 25!

[ShyViolet]

Cool article, but watch out for annoying pop-ups!


http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/201 ... -making-of

[Dacey]

Thanks, Vi! Great find!

Interesting that the "tensions" between JK and Williams were already building up even then.

[ShyViolet]

No problem Dacey my pleasure.

[Bill1978]

Thank you so much for sharing. I remember when FernGully was released I was hooked. A lot of the appeal for me at the time was being an Aussie kid it was exciting to have an animated movie set in Australia (at this time I was unaware of Rescuers Down Under) created by 'Hollywood'.

I actually use the movie now in my Science classroom when I teach the environment part of the curriculum. It is incredible how many kids get excited when they discover they will be watching FernGully. When I first started showing it, I was worried the kids would think it would be too juvenile (since they are around 15 years old), but they all get excited to relive their childhood. It is incredible how many of them say it is their favourite childhood movie.

[ShyViolet]

No prob!

[EricJ]

Thanks, Vi! Great find!
Interesting that the "tensions" between JK and Williams were already building up even then.

Yeah, and I remember when Disney was ball-bearings paranoid of any "pretenders" to the 90's-animated throne, but I didn't realize it went back before Little Mermaid vs. Anastasia.

At the time, the reviews basically dismissed it for what we remember:
A) A movie that was selling a fairly commercial and generic eco-"message" and nothing particularly else, and
B) just having Robin Williams in a movie doesn't necessarily make it Aladdin. (Qv. "Robots".)

You might find some folks who remember it just because of a hobby of remembering everything Tim Curry was in, or who get their 90's-animated studios confused and think Crysta was one of Tinkerbell's friends, but that's more of a fan niche.

[Ben]

The Secret Of NIMH - limited release July 2, went wide July 16 1982.

Tron - released July 9 1982.

To pick a more obvious earlier one. It goes back even further, to when Disney reissues battled Bakshi and the like. Not sure if Walt ever scheduled a movie against another family title, it that was way back before competing release slots became the norm and most of Walt's classic titles actually got released in the now dumping ground of January and February.

But...yeah...Disney's been using their brand name to compete against films in the same marketplace for a long, long time.

[EricJ]

Okay, Cap'n Nitpick, I didn't realize "Jeffrey Katzenberg vs. the Other 90's-Wannabe Studios" went back before Anastasia--
Although obviously JK wasn't with the studio when Disney tried to delay new "Bug's Life" Pixar end-credits outtakes to try and sabotage Prince of Egypt's opening, it was just studio policy by that point.

[ShyViolet]

Disney also released Oliver and Company around the same time Land Before Time came out.

EDIT: Actually the exact same day: November 18, 1988

[Dacey]

To clarify, it happened over and over again. And I'm not sure who benefited from it. Both sides probably left money on the table...

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West: November 22nd, 1991
Beauty and the Beast: November 22nd, 1991

The Little Mermaid: November 17th, 1989
All Dogs Go to Heaven: November 17th, 1989

Oliver and Company (reissue): March 29th, 1996
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2: March 29th, 1996

The Lion King (reissue): November 18th, 1994
The Swan Princess: November 18th, 1994

[Ben]

I was actually just making the point of how far back Disney has been using mg their brand in competition to other family/animation titles.

NIMH/Tron was the earliest "modern" example, borne from wanting to thwart one of their - previously - own: first Don Bluth (an ongoing target from NIMH to Anastasia) and then Katzenberg when he set up shop.

[EricJ]

To clarify, it happened over and over again. And I'm not sure who benefited from it. Both sides probably left money on the table...

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West: November 22nd, 1991
Beauty and the Beast: November 22nd, 1991

The Little Mermaid: November 17th, 1989
All Dogs Go to Heaven: November 17th, 1989

Oliver and Company (reissue): March 29th, 1996
All Dogs Go to Heaven 2: March 29th, 1996

The Lion King (reissue): November 18th, 1994
The Swan Princess: November 18th, 1994

The first two examples are pretty harmless, since Thanksgiving was THE most in-demand weekend for family movies during the holiday season, back before the majority of theaters were in shopping malls, and before Black Friday became a national industry to scare parents away from them. (And which was later retired in the 00's when it was discovered that the first weekend in November got more holiday audiences, and Thanksgiving was almost overlooked.)
Also, while NIMH was still an in-house grudge over Bluth's walkout, the fear of "competition" wasn't as big an issue before Beast-mania and the Renaissance in '91, let alone Mermaid's out-of-nowhere reception.

As for the reissues....yeah. One might well look askance at Disney's sudden urges for "reissues" every time the competition had an opening.

[Ben]

Actually, the Thanksgiving window was created by An American Tail in '86. No one was expecting that to be the smash it was in that release slot.