Why Does Disney Keep Recycling The Same Animation Over and Over and Over Again?
On today's installment of Twitter giving both goldfish and my space-cadet ass a respective run and swim for our money in having the worst memory on the planet, the internet has once again rediscovered Disney's penchant for reusing sequences in their animated films, destroying our collective childhoods for the millionth time.
Yep, in case you've been living under a rock for the past decade and change – which who can blame you, all things considered? -- several classic Disney films, ranging from Snow White and Robin Hood …
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… to 1991's Beauty and the Beast and 1959's Sleeping Beauty …
… and even The Jungle Book and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, the latest set of films to go viral since a clip depicting their similarities garnered 4.2 million views earlier this month, all feature nearly identical segments and clearly recycled animation.
Now, reader, I know what you're thinking – the company that's been accused of stealing the idea for every furry's favorite movie and heavily relies on Star Wars and Marvel for all their IP needs reuses clips from other films? Impossible! But alas such is evidently the case, a product of a process called rotoscoping, according to Business Insider. The animator's version of sheepishly asking the nerdy kid if they can copy their homework, rotoscoping “involves animators drawing and tracing over old footage to create anew,” a process that despite pervasive rumors of lazy artists and budget cuts at Disney, can actually be traced back to legendary animator Wolfgang “Wollie” Reitherman. Working on Disney classics including Robin Hood, The Jungle Book, and The Aristocats, Reitherman's motto was probably “if it ain't broke don't fix it,” seemingly much to the chagrin of animators who wanted to draw something other than small boys throwing rocks or princesses dancing over, and over, and over again – Please, Walt, make it stop! -- according to fellow Disney legend, Floyd Norman.
“That was Woolie Reitherman," Norman told Geek Dad when asked about the viral occurrence, noting that “it’s actually harder and takes longer to redraw an existing sequence and it’s a lot more fun for the animators." However, Reitherman in all of his apparent pragmatism decided to stick with what proved to be effective. “But Woolie liked to play it safe and use stuff he knew would work,” he continued. "That’s all it was.”
So folks, here's to hoping your childhood is not ruined by two little clips – mine certainly was.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
