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THREAD!: 31 years ago TODAY, the spark of the Disney Renaissance caught fire when The Little Mermaid premiered. For a decade and nine films, Disney could do no wrong. If YOU were shaped by '90s Disney animation, this is how it started... (1/18)
Prior to The Little Mermaid, Disney's last fairy tale adaptation had been 1959's Sleeping Beauty, which underperformed at the box office. Frankly, Walt Disney himself suggested that maybe the studio ought to end the costly process of making animated films for good. (2/18)
All that saved Disney animation was Ub Iwerks (co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Disney's CircleVision 360 technology – see http://parklore.com/lost-legends/timekeeper) and his use of the ~*brand new*~ Xerox machine, easing the inking process of animation (hence, scratchy-lined '60s films). (3/18)
Disney's "Dark Age" followed. Especially after Walt's death in 1966, the retirement of Walt's original animators, in-fighting, and a whole era of "cheap & cheerful kids movies," the '70s and early-'80s saw a major decline in Disney's brand and earnings. (4/18)
Even though it's hard to believe, in the early '80s, Walt Disney Productions was *this close* to being sold for parts; having its portfolios, businesses, intellectual properties, and theme parks broken apart and sold off to the highest bidders. Animation was done for. (5/18)
Walt's nephew – Roy E. Disney – quit the company's Board in 1984 and rallied investors in his "Save Disney" campaign for new leadership. He hand-picked Michael Eisner to take over. Eisner brought his trusted studio executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg (yes, like, Quibi)... (6/18)
If you haven't visited http://parklore.com yet, try it! You'll find vivid, ad-free stories of closed, classic Disney rides, theme park disasters and masterpieces, and never-built rides. And frankly, Eisner touches (for better or worse) basically EVERY SINGLE STORY. (7/18)
Eisner was a Hollywood guy. He knew Disney Parks had to evolve into cool, hip places; home to the stories that mattered to modern audiences even if they weren't Disney stories! We dove DEEP into his "Ride the Movies" era in a full special feature: http://parklore.com/special-features/ride-the-movies (8/18)
After getting Disney's live action productions rebooted, Eisner's studio executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg, turned his sights toward Disney animation. When "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was a hit, Disney suddenly had a studio and brand positioned for a pop culture revival... (9/18)
Hans Christian Andersen's 1830s Dutch fairy tale "The Little Mermaid" had been on Disney's short list of animation candidates since Snow White, but the concept clicked when presented in a speedy "gong show" pitch meeting. Had "Once upon a time" returned? (10/18)
With the concept greenlit, Katzenberg's music business connections brought aboard Howard Ashman and Alan Menken – Off-Broadway lyricist and composer (behind "Little Shop of Horrors") who helped restructure the story into a full-on Broadway musical... in animation! (11/18)
The Little Mermaid was Disney's first animated blockbuster in years... and with universal critical acclaim. Suddenly, animation wasn't a genre for kids; it was a medium for serious, award-winning films. Oh, and it was PROFITABLE. 
Animation was BACK, baby! (12/18)
Animation was BACK, baby! (12/18)
Don't hate me, but I'm gonna stop here. I know, I know – Beauty and the Beast! Aladdin! The Lion King! The Disney Princess FRANCHISE! Obviously, the story continues... but there's a catch... (13/18)
First, for some *light reading,* I just published a fun, quick-read "listicle" look at the nine films of the Disney Renaissance and the (surprising lack of?!) theme park attractions that have come from Disney's generation-defining $4 billion era. https://parklore.com/passholder-exclusives/rides-of-the-renaissance/ (14/18)
But EVEN BIGGER, I have spent WEEKS researching and writing Park Lore's biggest story ever – the two-part history of the Disney Renaissance from the origin of fairy tales through each of the nine films of the '90s. I would be *honored* to have people read / RT these... 
(15/18)
(15/18)
If you were shaped by Disney's '90s classics – like Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King – you might not know of the Dark Age before the Disney Renaissance. Part I tells the true story of Disney animation long before Ariel... https://parklore.com/passholder-exclusives/renaissance/
For a generation, the Disney Renaissance felt like a dream, when a new fairy tale came to life on the big screen every year from 1989 to 1999. Part II of our in-depth look follows the thread of animation through all nine films of the era and to today... https://parklore.com/passholder-exclusives/renaissance-2/
BTW, Park Lore has a HUNDRED detailed ride histories from Disney Parks and beyond (completely open & ad-free)! Special Features like these will soon join our Passholder Vault with 100+ features from quick-reads to 10,000 word industry stories. Browse away! http://parklore.com/extras
If you want, consider supporting this Imagineering story collection. 
Passes start at just $3 a month to unlock 100+ extra articles, rare concept art, podcast, & merch in the mail! And 200%(!) of your first month goes to the #CastMemberPantry! http://parklore.com/join
Passes start at just $3 a month to unlock 100+ extra articles, rare concept art, podcast, & merch in the mail! And 200%(!) of your first month goes to the #CastMemberPantry! http://parklore.com/join
Park Lore Passholders make in-depth, well-researched, ad-free, clickbait-free theme park stories like this possible. $3 a month makes SUCH a difference and powers new stories. If you can't pay, join for free (
)! I'll still cry happy tears. 
THANK YOU! http://parklore.com/join
)! I'll still cry happy tears. THANK YOU! http://parklore.com/join
