Chris Luckett

There are some animated Disney movies that everyone agrees are modern classics. Movies like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King are universally considered irreproachable. Where the Disney Renaissance period gets fuzzy is after that. While some would say the era continued until Mulan or Tarzan, I would argue that The Lion King was the pinnacle of the period and 1995 marked the beginning of Disney’s Post-Renaissance period.

Firstly, there was Pocahontas, the first Walt Disney Animated Classic of the ‘90s that lost the perfect alchemical formula. Secondly, there was Toy Story; coincidental or not, when Walt Disney Animation Studios lost the magic touch, Pixar found it. Lastly, there was A Goofy Movie, which introduced contemporary humour and sarcasm into Disney’s animation, the ripples of which have continued through everything from The Emperor’s New Groove to Wreck-It Ralph. Continue reading →