Why is it that the post-1998 non-Disney animated films are more popular and recognizable than the pr

[Ktommy96]

I mean, like, come on. Ever since 1926, there have been various non-Disney animated films, even foreign ones. In 1939, after the success of Disney's very first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Paramount hired the Fleischer Brothers to produce and release Gulliver's Travels. Two years later, after the releases of Disney's next three animated films, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Dumbo, they produced another feature entitled Mr. Bug Goes to Town. The film was a box office bomb, and no other non-Disney animated film, except foreign ones, was ever produced again until 1954 in which Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy was released by RKO, whose contract with Walt Disney had already expired. Later that same year, the first adult animated film Animal Farm was released in Britain, and released in 1955 in the United States. And in 1959, The Snow Queen, which was originally released in 1957 in the Soviet Union, was dubbed in English in the United States, and Mr. Magoo's 1001 Arabian Nights was released a month later, which supposedly launched a new era of non-Disney animated films being released almost every year. There have many non-Disney animated films released in the 1960s (e.g. Gay Purr-ee, The Wild Swans, which was released in 1962 in the Soviet Union and dubbed in English in 1964 in the United States, The Daydreamer, and Mad Monster Party), and the first one to be based on television series was Hey There, It's Yogi Bear. Then in the 1970s, Ralph Bakshi directed Fritz the Cat, which was the third adult animated film after Animal Farm and the anime version of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, which was released in 1968. He directed more adult animated films after that (e.g. Heavy Traffic, Coonskin, and Wizards), and there were other adult animated films that were not directed by Ralph Bakshi (e.g. Once Upon a Girl and Watership Down.) But there were still some children's non-Disney animated films too (e.g. The Phantom Tollbooth, Charlotte's Web, Once Upon a Time, which was released in 1973 in Germany and dubbed in English in 1976 in the United States, Jack and the Beanstalk, which was released in 1974 in Japan and dubbed in English in 1976 in the United States, and The Little Mermaid, which was released in 1975 in Japan and dubbed in English in 1979 in the United States). And then in the 1980s, ex-Disney animator Don Bluth directed The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and All Dogs Go to Heaven, which some people call "Don Bluth's Good Movies", and there were other non-Disney animated films released in the 80s too (e.g. The Last Unicorn, Heidi's Song, The Adventures of American Rabbit, and Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night), but they were still some adult animated films as well (e.g. American Pop, Hey, Good Lookin', The Plague Dogs, and Heavy Metal). And in the 1990s, Don Bluth directed Rock-a-Doodle, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, and The Pebble and the Penguin, which some people call "Don Bluth's Bad Movies", and his only successful 90s film was Anastasia. And they were a lot of other non-Disney animated films as well (e.g. The Princess and the Goblin, which was released in 1991 in Hungary, and dubbed in English in 1994 in the United States, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Once Upon a Forest, Happily Ever After, The Swan Princess, which was directed by ex-Disney animation director, Richard Rich, Balto, Cats Don't Dance, and Quest for Camelot). Then in late 1998, DreamWorks Animation released Antz, and it grossed $171.7 million worldwide, and then Nickelodeon Movies released The Rugrats Movie, which grossed $140.9 million worldwide, and finally, DreamWorks Animation released another film, The Prince of Egypt, which grossed $218.6 million worldwide. These were all the first non-Disney animated films to gross more than $100 million worldwide, and this launched a whole new era of mostly successful non-Disney animated films (e.g. Shrek, Ice Age, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, and Rio), and last year, the first non-Disney animated film to gross $1 billion worldwide at the box office was the Despicable Me prequel and spin-off, Minions. But how come the post-1998 non-Disney animated films are more popular and recognizable than the pre-1998 ones? Is it because some of the pre-1998 ones were successful and the others weren't, is it because of the rise of computer animation and tradigital animation, is it because some of the non-Disney animators were sick and tired of producing Saturday morning cartoons, is it because audiences wanted the non-Disney animated films to be just as successful as the Disney ones, or is it because creators wanted every film in the world, live-action or animated, to be popular and recognized by everyone?

 

[ZukoFan]

Good question!

There are quite a few factors, I believe, in determining why we don't hear much about non-Disney animated films before the 21st century. First, many of the titles you mentioned weren't exactly critical hits, and media recognition goes a LONG way in determining popularity.

Also, many of these studios didn't establish a brand name like Disney had. Frankly, they didn't have the money to do so in most cases. That doesn't mean they were bad films or studios, per se, but they simply didn't have Disney's financial clout and couldn't keep producing movies.

In the 2000s, we've had several successful studios not named Disney. As you mentioned, DreamWorks, Blue Sky, and Illumination have made tremendous strides in the 2000s. I'll also mention that the works of Studio Ghibli have received more worldwide attention due to Disney's English dubbing of many of the anime giant's works.

 

[Mr. Daniel]

Once upon a time: Disney was the most powerful kingdom of animation for a good 30 years. But after going through a dark age between the late 60's to mid 80's. Many new companies tried to take down Disney. But failed.

Then Disney returned to it's former glory, but lost it in just a decade. With the rise of Dreamworks and Blue Sky's CGI hits. People feared Disney lost it's magic.

But in the 2010's. Disney reclaimed it proper throne as Animation king. but many animation companies took advantage of Disney's struggles back in the Early 2000's.

Now there are many new animated studios. Each making hit after hit. But Disney does not worry. They already have 2 oscars under their belt.

And they all lived happily ever after.

 

[TnAdct1]

A couple more things to consider:

1. Good animated movies released by Western countries tend to take their time (i.e. be in production for years) before they are released. As such, while I'm sure the early 1990's Disney output and Toy Story helped inspire new animation studios, it would take a while before the films would be ready for theatrical distribution.

2. 1999 was one of the bigger years in animation, with films like Toy Story 2, South Park, and The Iron Giant being released in theaters. As such, the critical acclaim of these films led to studios putting more effort into animation production.

 

[Surreal Kangaroo]

Actually movies like American Tail and Land Before Time were more popular than Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company. Also I think the success of early Dreamworks movies allowed other studios the idea that animated movies more profitable.