Happy New Year!
The end of the Soviet Union. The former Yugoslavia. Bill and Hillary. Lewinski. The tech boom. Microsoft Windows.
This film was a financial and artistic success. Madonna took singing lessons to learn how to breathe properly. The film had gone through development hell until Warren Beatty stepped in to take charge. “He has a vision, “said Dustin Hoffman.
Walt Disney had attempted to work on this story in the 1930s but put it aside. The original concept in 1991 was for a straight animated drama, but the first attempts were killed by Jeff Katzenberg with the order that the team start over with a musical. It was the right call, and the film was wildly successful, both artistically and financially.
Angela Lansbury nailed it on the first take. Leave it to the pros!
Robin Williams wasn’t sure about taking the role of the Genie, but the producers took one of Williams’ comedy routines and animated it as the Genie doing his act. “Williams laughed his ass off,” said one witness to the screening, and he took the job. The producers told Williams to do his usual stream-of-consciousness, and the animators would keep up with him. The result was hilarity and financial success.
Howard Ashman had died, and Tim Rice, who had started his career as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lyricist, teamed up with Menken.
It was the first film to portray homosexuality and AIDS in a sympathetic manner, with Tom Hanks playing the gay lawyer who gets fired for his sexuality. Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas and Joanne Woodward round out the cast.
Disney’s animation division struck gold once again, becoming a dominant force in the 1990s. What started out as a documentary turned into a Disney musical that became the highest grossing film of the year.
Elton John and Tim Rice provided the music.
Disney was on a roll, and this movie, which was not about Elizabeth Warren, may have been sloppy when it came to actual history, but few cared. It made a fortune for all concerned.
The concept album came to the big screen after 15 years in development hell. Madonna teamed with Jonathan Pryce and Antonio Banderas. A whole lot of studios put money into the film, which didn’t impress either critics or audiences.
Tim Rice rejoined Andrew Lloyd Webber for this effort, and the chamber music arrangement of the song is striking, worthy of Schubert or Samuel Barber.
This film was so expensive that it took two studios to finance it. It ended up as one of the greatest financial successes in history. It’s a magnificent film.
James Cameron didn’t want to attach a song to the movie, desiring to break the MTV mold, but when James Horner played Celine Dion’s recording, Cameron relented.
Jeff Katzenberg left Disney to co-found DreamWorks with Spielberg, and in doing so he took this idea with him – along with a large number of Disney animators. It featured an all-star cast rather than the usual voice-over artists, and it was the first non-Disney animated feature to become a major success. Over the years its reputation has only grown.
While there were many versions of the Tarzan story, this Disney effort was the first animated version, and it was a massive success. Having Tarzan break into song struck everyone involved in the production as ridiculous, so they brought in Phil Collins as the narrator and let him handle the songs.
Hope you didn't have too much noise for Tippy.