Yes, it’s a new princess movie. And, actually, it’s a relief to see that Disney is making an original story again. (Though, I don’t know why almost 100% of Disney’s original movies for the past 10 years have all been teenage, female protagonists… But at least it isn’t a remake film).
As they have only released a teaser of the film so far, it’s too soon to say if the story will be strong or come out generic or bland. The purpose of the teaser seems to only elude to the fact that it’s an original story (which is a relief), to show it’s “magical,” and to show the protagonist, mascot, and supposed villain characters. They haven’t given us much else on it yet.
However, what concerns me (though “concern” may be a little strong) is the animation.
Why does this look like it's something off Playhouse Disney (maybe only slightly better)? Everything seems so plastic, like a straight-to-streaming movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute, glittery, and bubbly—but so are Playhouse Disney Shows.
Her face looks like all the other CGi Disney-princess bases, everyone’s hair seems very solid (with the protagonist’s hair always oddly in the same spot), and the textures and items look very flat. Some people are saying that it has 2D animation—but looking at it, you can’t tell. It appears to be CGi. (It looks like maybe they possibly tried making the colors and textures look 2D-ish, but that’s not being 2D).
Still, I’m really hoping the story is cute. (And hoping that Disney’s recent movies aren’t an example of their best writing capabilities…)
But it’s already making it painfully clear that Disney is actually STRUGGLING to in it’s own field to KEEP UP with even Netflix’s level of animation (which is shocking). Disney used to be about family entertainment—making movies that were fun for all ages without feeling too “babyish.” (Hints why animated movies like Aladdin got more views in theaters and films like Winnie the Pooh—though beloved—had fewer because it was directed toward a smaller target audience of little ones).
This movie already feels like it’s targeting mainly little ones, and the animation only enforces that.
Compare that to the quality of Netflix’s biggest family entertainment films of the past 5 years.
Netflix wanted to bring back 2D animation for one of their films. So they 2D animated their film Klaus (2019), but colored it digitally and gave it CG lighting to give a 2D world 3D depth (it looked really unique and cool). The result? An award-winning film. It was actually nominated for the Oscars, and won several awards including several “Best Animated Film.” And the story was pretty sweet. It kind of reminded me of Emperor Kuzco meets Jethro from Dreamworks Prince of Egypt to tell a Santa story—and oddly enough, it works.
Then you have Netflix’s award-winning CG works.
One of their first big ones (winning a Golden Globe along with other awards) is Over the Moon (2020), featuring an actually pretty catchy pop-song and set in modern China. The animation is pretty good and the story actually deals with some mature themes about loss and grief. This film was successful enough that it was even selling its own merchandise, particularly of the Moon Goddess.
Look (below) at how soft the character’s hair is, as well as the detail in things like fur, or the textures of their clothes while still maintaining the animated aesthetic:
Then you have Sea Beasts (2022), which also was an award-winning film (with a sequel now on the way). In fact, this movie apparently has been said to have pointed Netflix in a new direction when it comes to original, animated films. Again, notice how detailed the backgrounds are as well as even the hair on their heads—without giving up the animated quality. The world feels very rich. (And notice how the characters have their own, unique style and facial structures instead of just re-using the same face-type from film to film).
(Look at the little girl’s hair! It looks so soft, like I can actually imagine what it feels like. That’s good animation!)
Now, even if they’re their own styles and characters, you may notice a slight Dreamworks and Disney-esque flare to some of the designs. That’s because former Dreamworks and Disney employees were helping to making them.
In fact, the creator of Sea Beasts said that he specifically left Disney because the company had become so ridged on what type of stories they were allowed to tell. They wouldn’t allow him to create this projects there. Disney had different themes in mind (ie, Disney wants princess girl-power films featuring teens. Not a forming father-daughter story between a male protagonist and a 10 year old having adventures on the high seas). So he left Disney and pitched his ideas to Netflix, who loved them and gave him the resources to make it happen. In fact, he said Netflix was very accommodating. And now it’s an award-winning film with better animation than any of Disney’s recent works.
(Although, the does story get a little sappy and preachy in the final part of the film, the rest of the film was great enough—and audiences were desperate enough for good material—that they forgave the preachy faux pa and wanted more).
Then, you have Disney. Making another princess movie, set in a generic magical kingdom. With slightly better than Playhouse Disney quality animation…
…and while even that is better than another remake, it still makes me wonder about the overall quality of the entire project.
Are they just throwing together something quick that fills in check-boxes because audiences keep pestering them for something new? Or did they put some real passion into it, making it because they were actually INSPIRED to make it?
Only time will tell.
(Though, can I just say just how weird it is that we live in a world where Disney seems like cheap, generic knock-offs that you’d expect on a streaming site, and Netflix is the company making theater-worthy films? Like, what’s happening to the world? Are we in the Twilight Zone?).
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