So yesterday we did it! We, the writers of the Rotonation, finished our mammoth task of reviewing all 55 Disney animated classics before Moana‘s release. I hope you all enjoyed the experience as much as we did. I thought it would be fun to close out the project with a bit of a summary of how it went and what our experiences were like.
We ended up with 15 different writers contributing reviews with Jonathan North writing the most with 13 articles – including his introductions to each of the eras. I like how each author had a unique style and way for interpreting the animated film. It helped to showcase how Disney can be perfect for logical, artistic, emotional people or any other type of personality. I am particularly thankful for writers who filled in last minute or were willing to take on the less popular films.
Pablo Ruiz said, “I absolutely loved the experience. I daresay we’re all here because of Disney movies so going through all of them was fascinating. Seeing how everyone focused on different things, what people said and commented… It was a blast.”
I am also very proud that we kept the project a celebration of Disney. Even with the less successful films, the focus was to remain as positive as possible. As someone who writes critique on a regular basis I wasn’t sure how this would go down, but I don’t feel the commentary and flaws in the films were glossed over at all. If anything they were discussed in a more thorough and in-depth way as a more careful hand is needed to find both the good and the bad in weaker films like Home on the Range or Chicken Little.
Max Den Hartog said, “I was only able to participate in one countdown post, but I loved doing it and it really gave me different perspective on the movie. Writing the post really had me thinking about the film in a different way and made me see some of its flaws that I hadn’t really seen as much before.”
Some people wondered if we should put stars on the reviews, but I haven’t missed them at all. Without a grade I was forced to read the articles and understand the arguments being made rather than focusing on a score. Have you missed the stars?
It was gratifying to see great discussion from all of you especially on more obscure films. Frozen, Tangled, and Cinderella had the most comments, which is probably not a surprise. But after these films are Dinosaur, Bolt, Big Hero 6, Wreck it Ralph, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Kelly Conley said, “What I really enjoyed the most about the Disney Canon Countdown was reading everyone’s opinions and thoughts about the films. Everyone had something different to talk about, from the characters to the music to the animation. It was wonderful to see animation fans interact over something they shared in common.”
I hope all of you were encouraged to give hidden gems like Melody Time or Meet the Robinsons a try. And I hope the Countdown articles become a resource for future animation addicts looking for insight into all these Canon films.
I would love to hear what your experience has been reading these reviews. Have you been inspired to watch any of these films? Have you thought about them in a new way?
Special shout-outs go to Ryan Campbell for making the graphics for the canon articles and to our amazing editors who saved my butt more than once. It will probably be a while, but if there are other series you’d like us to do put your suggestions in the comments section.
And thanks again for being animation addicts and loving all things Disney!
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes
