1937 vs 2011

vs.

I was recently talking with some co-workers about Disney movies when one brought up the fact that she tried to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs the other day, but couldn't handle it because there was only one plot line and it moved too slowly for her.  I've heard it before, and I'll be the next one to say it:  We live in a time where story is no longer enough.  We live in a time where stimulus is everything.  People have no patience today. 

Notice the differences between these posters.  Snow White's poster is filled with pastel colors, a basic background that doesn't draw attention to itself, simple smiles and poses, and virtually every character in the movie.   The poster for Tangled shows bright colors, extremely detailed scenery in the background, a determined look on each of the main 3 characters faces, and they stand in kind of awkward poses to be honest.

Notice the backgrounds specifically.  Snow White's background doesn't draw any attention to itself.  The castle is there to hint that Snow White is royalty, but it isn't there to take away from the focus of the main character.  The castle is done in a lighter ink than the characters.  You don't want to spend much time looking at it, because it really has nothing to do with the story line.  Tangled's background kind of distracts from the main characters.  When looking at this poster my eye travels from Rapunzel's awkward stance in the front to the tower in the back.  There is no dividing line between the scenery and the characters.  The same goes for the entire movie.  Everything is animated with stimulating colors - the only reason your eyes stay focused on Rapunzel and Flynn is because they are the ones moving.

True, Walt Disney was a visionary.  He kept up with the latest technology and took advantage of anything and everything available to him.  Notice that Snow White was filmed in Multiplane Technicolor.  Yes, I have no doubt that Walt, if alive today, would be pursuing computer animation.  In fact, I think he would probably have been the first to use it.  He would have taken advantage of the speed and almost life-like quality that comes from computer animation.  He would have created amazing movies, I'm sure.  But I'm not arguing that Walt's creations were "better" in any way than today's movies.  They're both good - just in different ways.

All-in-all, in the 1930s people were more patient.  They didn't mind taking their time to get to the happily ever after.  They enjoyed the music, the comedy, and the emotion.  Today, that just isn't enough.  It seems like everyone must be hurrying.  Rapunzel and Flynn do a lot of running, fighting, and keep on the move constantly.  Their story isn't the only one we follow.  We see Mother Gothel weave in and out with her own twisted addition to the plot.  Anytime you can tell there is a slow moment between Rapunzel and Flynn we cut to a scene of Mother Gothel's scheming.  We never see Rapunzel and Flynn just walking for more than a minute, there always must be something going on that we need to pay attention to.  If you stop watching for just one minute, you just might get lost in what is happening.

I love that I live in this day and age.  I've said before that I belong in the 1940s.  I still think I would have enjoyed it immensely.  I would have enjoyed taking my time a little more.  I would have enjoyed the patience, but I enjoy living in today's world where I can compare and contrast.  I'm eclectic.  I don't have one specific style.  I like to gather bits and pieces of all kinds of styles from different time periods.  I will always enjoy the classics from the past, but I can't ignore the present and future.

To me, it doesn't matter how the characters get there, how slowly or speedily it arrives, but the one thing I can always be certain of in a Disney movie - there will always be a Happily Ever After.