I used to watch "The Wonderful World of Disney" too, and I still like "Pinocchio", "Cinderella", and, more recently, "Beauty and the Beast".
I used to think that those who attacked Disneyland went overboard, until I went to Orlando, and experienced Disneyworld. It was sooooo kitschy, so relentlessly self- promoting, so unsatisfying, that it made me unhappy whenever I overheard some foreign tourist whose experience of America was likely to be that rather than Washington or New York. Even among Americans, I disliked that idea of having so much of their heritage served up as a mere merchandising gambit, a bunch of post- modern facades to t- shirt and knick- knack shops.
Then I think, what about Louis Mayer or Samuel Goldwyn, the people who really built Hollywood? Maybe I shoud include them before Walt Disney, anyway? Or what about Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, who were the most extraordinary animators for the Warner Bros. cartoons? Or Mel Blanc, one of the most talented men in Hollywood?
Then I go back to Walt, who did, after all, pioneer animation, especially in feature films....So I guess I should think about it some more...... |
