It was a bad night for Disney at the Golden Globes last night. Of the seven categories they had nominations in, they only managed to pull out victory in one. Congrats go to the team up in Emeryville for earning the award for Best Animated feature for Toy Story 3.
The suits down in Burbank had to know that this paltry showing was coming when they closed up and sold off Miramax and took a decidedly big-tent look at major Disney Studios films. Basically, if Johnny Depp isn’t in it, Disney doesn’t seem ready to produce it. Without serious award contenders, the Walt Disney Studios is at risk of becoming a minor player in Hollywood. Awards generate DVD sales, buzz for future releases (from the team that brought you…. etc) , and help studios attract better actors, producers, and crew who all dream of one day earning their own awards. They’re not going to work at a studios that has decided the games not worth it.
I do see two bits of silver lining to this. First, Ricky Gervais won’t pick on you if you’re a nobody. Second, the Walt Disney Animation Studios does finally appear to have some life in it. The closer it sticks to historic romps, fairy tales, and princess films, the better it does at the box office and the awards. Let’s leave the “what if” movies to the team that shows it knows how to win – Pixar.
A bad night for Disney at the Golden Globes – http://bit.ly/fYYDvA Why Disney has better shape up or risk creative stagnation.
Well, to be fair, having the single highest rated movie of the year as well as two billion grossers is probably better territory to be in than winning big at the Golden Globes which is, let’s face it, a B-award show, carrying less prestige among true artists than some awards that aren’t even televised. Also, I wouldn’t underestimate the attractiveness that is working on huge-budget projects and franchises that have large (or maybe just diehard cult) built-in fan bases, which Disney still has plenty of.
They’ve got David Fincher, Guillermo Del Toro, and John Favreau on the roster, so I’m not too worried about attracting talent at the moment.
…And let’s not forget that Disney actually garnered 7 nominations in the first place. Doesn’t that count for something?
To be honest, if Walt Disney Animation sticks closer to fairy tales, then whats the point of keeping it open? It is eventually going to run out of stories to use for movies. The moment WDAS boxes itself in, it will fail. That is really the reason why Pixar is successful, it constantly pushes itself. But its important to remember that past success does not equal future success.
Comments are closed.