Oh I just know that I’m going to catch hell for this one, but honestly, its been stewing in my mind for a while.

The Disney writers need to hand over the reigns to studio Ghibli. I’m sorry, they do. When you take a look at the writing for a lot of their movies recently, sure many of them were big box office hits, but is that really because of story, or was it because of memorable characters and songs that drill their way into your brain and remain there for years?

Going back over some of the newer Disney movies, but even a lot of the older ones, they’re basically rehashed, simplistic good will triumph over adversity, bastardizations of classic stories. Let’s take a look at a few;

Frozen was a smash hit with great visuals, acting, music, and a girl-power message… however go through the praise and try to find any that praises the story as anything more than an after thought. Go ahead and check out the articles, then come back…

Now I’m willing to bet that you’ve confirmed my suspicions that the majority of critical pieces on Frozen didn’t cover the story. Well… there’s a reason for that; like so many Disney movies prior, it’s completely inferior to the original work by Hans Christian Andersen.

Frozen was based on a book known as the Snow Queen, and that story also has a girl-power message, but its one where the girl actually saves the guy instead of girls saving each other. Arguably, it’s message is even stronger. This is an unfortunate trend for Disney movies.

After reading the ‘Little Mermaid’ Disney’s bastardization has become unwatchable. The main character has little to no growth, does everything wrong, and in the end still gets what she wants.

The worst part is that in these  stories, I’d argue that the parents are the main bad guy.

‘Don’t go up to the surface Ariel!’ What’s a teenager going to do?

‘Don’t go outside the reef or do anything different, or advance in any way, Moana’ Yeah that’ll work out fine…

‘Conceal, don’t feel…’ STOP! You know what… I don’t have the time to write everything that’s wrong with this! Just go watch the HISHE video on it. They pretty much sum up the psychotic parenting in Frozen:

Okay, back on topic. In terms of story writing, Disney has lost their touch. Whether you liked Frozen, Moana, Tangled, etc. You have to admit that they were watered-down versions of better stories and the changes led to a number of plot-holes that really destroy the story.

Now then, let’s take a look at Studio Ghibli. For those of you that don’t know… and its totally understandable if you don’t, Disney doesn’t advertise them as much as they should…

From Wiki:

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社スタジオジブリ Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Sutajio Jiburi) is a Japanese animation film studiobased in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan.^[1] The studio is best known for its anime feature films, and has also produced several short films, television commercials, and one television film. It was founded on 15 June 1985, after the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(1984), with funding by Tokuma Shoten.

Eight of Studio Ghibli’s films are among the 15 highest-grossing anime films made in Japan, with Spirited Away (2001) being the second highest, grossing over US$290 million worldwide. Many of their works have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award, and four have won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year. Five of Studio Ghibli’s films received Academy Award nominations in the United States. Spirited Away won a Golden Bear in 2002 and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003. Totoro, a character from My Neighbor Totoro, is the studio’s mascot.

Their movies are distributed in the U.S. on home video by the Disney Corp. So technically Disney doesn’t own the studio, but they do have a some investment in it.

So, why should Disney let Studio Ghibli handle their stories? Or at the very least, hire their writers? Uh, because the Ghibli movies are awesome? My kids personally love Frozen, Tangled, etc., but I find myself putting Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Secret Life of Arietty on for them. They love those movies and continuously ask for them.

My wife has even caught me watching Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Earthsea alone in my spare time as, IMO, they are the two best. What’s more, these are original stories. They’re not something we’ve seen rehashed before. Granted, they can get a little silly at times and… Ponyo does bear a striking resemblance to The Little Mermaid, but even that one is different enough to make you want to see what happens next.

In short, Disney’s classics are being kept afloat by catchy tunes and memorable characters, but are short on story… and that cannot last forever before people start catching on, especially since the true Disney villains appear to have been done away with. They need a fresh infusion of stories and the Ghibli writers have been churning out new and interesting ones for well over 30 years!

Anyway, that’s my thoughts, what do you think? Am I right or way off?

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
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Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim