Disney Movie Eras: The Golden Age

Disney Movie Eras: The Golden Era

This month begins a new series of blogs for fans of popular culture. Whereas in the past explorations of Walt Disney films we highlighted individual works, we will now be talking about the larger groupings of movies, and the various artistic and commercial visions sought for and achieved from said movies.

A quick run though of the eras:

The Golden Age: 1937-1941

Wartime: 1942-1949

The Silver Age: 1950-1967

The Bronze Age: 1968-1988

The Renaissance: 1989-1999

Post-Renaissance: 2000-2009

Revival: 2010-Present

As you can see, the various eras are inspired by historical art movements over the year, as well as comic books. You can draw the parallel, for instance, between the Italian Renaissance, or between the iterated variations of popular superheroes like Batman and Superman.

We will also be covering Disney live action films. The list of films owned by the Walt Disney Corporation is quite expansive because it includes multiple studios and production companies, such as Touchstone Pictures, Pixar, and more. And for good measure, we will also cover animated films that released without the official Walt Disney Pictures branding, as well as films that only released via television or Disney +.

So buckle up everyone as we retread the Disney films of years passed:

The Golden Era consists of five films: Snow White (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941) and Bambi (1942).

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is notable for many, many reasons! Not only is the film the first on our list, it was the first full-feature animated film ever! Viewers may be unaware that it was not the first project considered by Walt Disney. During the early 1930s, Disney had been producing numerous short films called Silly Symphonies; these were his earliest productions, many of which were in black and white, including the original Steamboat Willie. Apart from these, Disney endeavored to produce a feature film, but had not settled on one quite yet. From 1933, Disney received offers from United Artists and RKO Pictures for numerous works, including Bambi, Babes in Toyland, The Illiad, Alice in Wonderland, and more. In the end, Disney decided on Snow White, as it offered the least complications financially, while also being a fairly simple and easy to understand story.

The rest, as they say, is history. After the film released in 1937, the property soared to fame and fortune. Snow White became Disney's Folly, but it was Walt who laughed in the end; against a budget of $1.5 million, the film went on to earn over $8 million worldwide, an Academy Award nomination, and an honorary Oscar the following year. The film has been rereleased periodically over the years, including on home video, but it remains the best-selling and most profitable film by Walt Disney pictures, adjusted for inflation. More than that, Snow White birthed the animated film industry, and eventually other studios rose to compete.

Disney originally planned to release Pinocchio third, after Bambi, but production issues delayed the later film. Instead, development increased on Pinocchio, along with a much bigger budget. The company used that larger budget to hire more well-known actors and singers, in addition to putting more resources into the technical production itself. The title character himself enjoyed a redesign, making him more friendly and relatable to audiences, while the role of the Cricket was expanded entirely, becoming Jiminy Cricket. Jiminy would go on to become a mascot of sorts for Walt Disney Pictures, filling the role of presenter and maestro in future projects. On the technical side of things, the company tried their hand at several new techniques, mainly revolving modeling. To achieve more realistic animation, Disney technicians constructed models of Pinocchio and several of the wooden clocks in Gepetto's workshop, and then filmed the models. Additionally, the various actors were filmed pantomiming their roles, allowing for the animators to more accurately draw their characters giving realistic performances. For the film, Disney earned numerous awards, including Academy Award for Best Song. Financially, the movie was an initial disappointment due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe, though the film was released later there once fighting ended.

While Bambi languished in the animation studios, Disney needed another film to help fund future projects. To that end, the corporation turned to its animators. Splitting up into teams, and pairing with one of the greatest maestros of then-modern times, the Disney animators set to work animating several well-known orchestral pieces, bringing them alive. Viewers could now go to the movie theater and witness classical works of music, while appreciating the stories they supposedly told. The vignettes share origins with the Merrie Melodies that had been popular in theaters before Snow White; production began on a new short, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, centered on Mickey Mouse, with a fancy new design. In total, 7 works premiered together in Fantasia, but as with Pinocchio, the film experienced financial difficulty due to World War II.

Again, with Bambi still missing in action, and now with two financial missteps, Disney despaired for a profit. Unable to count on the European market, the corporation pared down production for a new film, with a smaller budget, a smaller run time, and a more localized story. Dumbo emerged as the first Walt Disney picture to actually take place in the United States, starring the titular tiny elephant with the oversized ears. Dumbo clocks in at under 65 minutes, making it the shortest feature film the studio produced. Unlike the previous two efforts, Dumbo did turn out a profit, as well as an Academy Award.

Finally in 1942, Bambi released. By the time the film finally finished production, America itself became involved in World War II. Bambi was the final project that had begun production before the war, and remained the final feature-length film for quite a while. In fact, due to later budget cuts, the film lost several minutes of footage to the cutting room floor. Bambi began as a film being courted to MGM, but the reversion of rights to Disney resulted in initial delays. One of the goals of the film was to bring more realism to the various animals portrayed on film, in comparison to the relatively poor animation in Snow White and the anthropomorphism in Pinocchio. The art team spent tons of time at the Los Angeles Zoo and out and about in nature, but even that was not enough. Ultimately, Disney brought in live animals to the animation studio, including rabbits, skunks, and two deer. The research gained animating these animals would prove invaluable not only for Bambi but also future films.

Stay tuned when we next cover the Wartime Era of Disney films.