Deepfocuslens
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Fox Animated Studios R.I.P. 1994-2000
🕑 Added 2022-07-04 18:14:11 +0000 UTCI was thinking a bit about the Fox animated movie company that began trying to compete with Disney in the late 90s, amidst the Disney existential crisis. FAS really only made two major films: Anastasia and Titan AE. Both have some cool visual styles, and a bit more darkness or edge than Disney or Dreamworks. I always enjoyed how Anastasia had that almost haunted, gothic quality to the atmosphere. Titan AE had such a cool sci-fi look too. It was just incredibly half-baked. Really they both have a lot of third-rate elements in them, yet I find myself thinking of them often. They left some kind of impression on me aesthetically. Titan AE of course, was poorly marketed, and it bombed so hard, that the studio had to immediately close. It's considered one of the biggest box office failures for animated film, in history. But...I saw it quite a few times as a kid, more for the aesthetic. And admittedly...I own the soundtrack, purely for nostalgic purposes of course. ;)
One of the sadder aspects of it, is that Don Bluth created both films for Fox. Titan AE was the final film he ever did, which likely couldn't have been an easy thing to get over. But yeah....I admire some of the risks the company took aesthetically, and I wish they had developed the style better, and be bolder in the motivation to counteract Disney. But for what they did achieve, if anything, it was an intriguing style, that I wish we could've seen more of.
Comments
Wolfman Brandon
Secret of Nimh is easily his best film. It has a surprisingly more dark but mature tone and a fantastic leisurely pace to it to the point where it doesn't feel like a kid friendly story in the best way despite its Disneyesque animation.
Deepfocuslens
Same. Though I admit I never saw Secret of NIMH >< But haha I was curious to know what the broadway show was like. Good to know.
Tyler Shobe
I recently rewatched Anastasia after seeing the abysmal Broadway show and I agree with your sentiment that what it was doing visually was so interesting and felt very unique in the Disney dominated animation landscape. I just wish it had the story to backup that visual ambition and music. That's how I feel about most Bluth movies I've seen though. Visually cool but the stories are very down the middle and don't stand out to me and just feel like dollar star versions of other movies, usually Disney. I never felt like he was able to carve out his narrarive niche the way he did with his animation.
Wolfman Brandon
Bluth lost his magic way too soon. Back when Nostalgia Critic was funny, he did great videos on his 90s duds like Rock a Doodle, A Troll in Central Park, and Pebble and the Penguin. While I don't care for American Tail or Land Before Time as much as most people who saw it as a kid, they were better than most Disney films from that time before Little Mermaid started the Renaissance.
