Walt Disney Pictures became popular as a result of their animated pictures, It can be sometimes difficult to remember that fact considering today they are more interested in buying up other intellectual properties like Marvel and Star Wars and using them to pepper the upper echelon of the box office record-holders. The rest of their investments tend to be in their various theme parks and remaking live-action version of the animated films that helped build their empire. But perhaps live-action may be a misnomer. Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book was almost entirely digital effects, save for one child actor. His upcoming remake of The Lion King seems to have been done in a similar fashion but with not a single physical actor of any kind.
The line has been blurring between live-action and animation ever since the special effects artists at Industrial Light and Magic were able to create the first fully-computer-generated character, the stained glass knight for Young Sherlock Holmes back in 1985. This is all well and good, film as an entire concept should change as technology does. George Lucas famously summed up the shift by saying that digital advancement was allowing filmmakers to become less like photographers and more like painters. But some filmmakers were always painters: animators. Here we will look back to the 80 or so years when Disney focused a great deal of energy on hand-drawn animation and some of their best products: the animal characters.
Check out our slideshow below! Did we miss any of your favorites? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comment section!
disney animals
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5. Jaq & Gus, ‘Cinderella’ (1950)
Jaq and Gus are integral to Cinderella’s story. They help her immensely on her journey. It plays a key role in creating the princess with animal friends. They also helped create the “princess’s animal friends” trope that would be spoofed by films like Enchanted.
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4. Max, ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989)
It is clear that a great deal of animation had to go into Prince Eric’s dog Max. It was no small feat to give the impression that he flops around like a mop come to life. He plays a small but memorable part in the first film of the Disney Renaissance.
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3. Timon & Pumbaa, ‘The Lion King’ (1994)
Timon and Pumbaa are the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Simba’s Hamlet. They keep things light and funny as Simba moves ever closer to his destiny of dethroning is conniving uncle Scar. With characteristically expressive vocal work from Nathan Lane, little negative can be said about the duo.
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2. Simba, ‘The Lion King’ (1994)
It’s difficult, if not impossible, not to root for Simba. Not only is poor young Simba animated to be very cute, but he also gets dealt a real tough hand, even for a Disney protagonist. The Lion King remains vital today, with no small part due to the titular character.
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1. Bambi, ‘Bambi’ (1942)
Bambi is an elegantly-animated movie, perhaps the most gorgeously-done in the Disney canon. It is clear that no expense was spared for its titular character, the adorable and fragile orphaned fawn. This early hit no doubt helped make the Disney name what it is today.
