Not only that, his embarassing defeats of Disney in the mid-80s forced them to up their game. So, ultimately, we can thank Bluth for the Disney Renaissance.
I think that he was an amazing animator with great ambition, but I struggle to like any of his films except for NIMH. How ironic that the guy who left Disney because of their cost cutting measures ended up leaning on creepy looking rotoscoping far too often, not to mention moving to Ireland to screw over animators. The character design of most of his movies is absolutely horrid, with the same old fat bottom lips, eyes and over accentuated facial movements blurring together into a crappy soup of mediocrity. Don’t get me wrong, there is still some amazing animation proficiency going on in a lot of those terrible movies, but those character designs are so bad.
This video was messed up man. Filled with childhood trauma, nostalgia, and Dom DeLuise. Thanks, for the excellent work as always Matt. Now I got to somehow rewatch Land Before Time, All Dogs go to Heaven, and Secret of NIMH. And for good measure Brave Little Toaster.
Even though this video was amazingly put together because of its emotionality and greatly researched history, one thing Don Bluth made (or was about to make had Namco not been so stuck up their own asses before we could get a Pac-Man Eorld 4 or anything like Pac-Man World 1 & 2 for home consoles) that you forgot to mention would have to be Pac-Man Adventures.
This guy, Ralph Bakshi and Richard Williams were all animation masters that tried to compete with Disney during this time. They proved that you didn't need Mickey Mouse to be successful in the animation industry.
Not sure I'd say Richard Williams was as successful though... the Thief and the Cobbler is a sad instance of that. I'd say Bluth was far more successful by comparison, even with his lows.
Bakshi was never really a challenge for Disney and honestly most of his films weren’t that good. They were more unique and had interesting concepts but his execution for most of them sucked.
Don bluth is no doubt a legend as his animated films pushed so many boundaries of animation being not only for children but for adults to enjoy. My childhood favorite film of his was robin hood I still hold that close to me to this day.
A lot of adult animation filmmakers today (mostly in TV), cite Don Bluth as an influence, so yeah, without him, the animated landscape on TV would look very different.
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
Don Bluth is so underrated. He deserved much more support during his career and maybe an editor. He seems to have the same issues as George Lucas, he needs someone to help reel his ideas in. I hope he succeeds this time around with his new studio.
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth There was going to be a Dragons Lair movie a few years ago via Kickstarter but unfortunately it seemed to have fallen through. I hope he tries again!
@@TheSteveTheDragon I think Don Bluth said he would need $70 million to make an actual Dragon's Lair movie. The Kickstarter campaign was just to make a teaser trailer I think, and to attract a studio and investors. Then in 2020, a certain Netflix has gotten rights to make a live action movie with Ryan Reynolds starring as Dirk, though not much has been heard from that since.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth Ryan Renolds would make a great Dirk the Daring! Though I wouldn't mind if they even did it in 3D instead if they couldn't do it in 2D.
@@TheSteveTheDragon I'm cool with a CGI animated Dragon's Lair if done well. And yeah, Ryan Reynolds' got the personality, acting style and charisma to pull a solid Dirk the Daring. I hope Netflix reconsiders from going live action for a hybrid 2D/3D animated style (think that 2019 KLAUS movie), but I'm not gonna get my hopes up.
You missed the part about Katzenberg taking literal scissors to the film cells of black cauldron, destroying the sequences he demanded should be removed completely by literally cutting them out. It's why there's so little consistency between certain scenes because parts were just destroyed beyond repair.
One of the greatest strengths of Don Bluth films is how they'll not only bluntly admit "yeah, messed up stuff happens in life," they also make _processing_ the grief and trauma that comes afterwards a central part of the narrative. They normalize the concept of _"No one is fine all of the time. We all go through periods of our life that turn us into a hot mess, that make us feel like the world has ended even though it keeps on turning. It's okay to admit that you're not okay."_
I think so many audiences today really underestimate just how revolutionary and brilliant the majority of Bluth's films really are. Especially 'Secret of NIMH', 'Anastasia', and 'Titan A.E.'. (and yes, I agree; the OST totally slaps!) =)
The American thing about animation being a children’s medium is so true. I remember sharing in class that over the weekend I saw Anastasia with my mom. I was made fun of for being a baby and a little kid. I was freaking NINE YEARS OLD.
Funny how as kids we'd make fun of watching animation after getting older and hanging out with your Mom too much. Then fast forward to current year and now anime and animation in general is more mainstream than ever and checking in on your parents and taking care of them is seen as a huge W. I never got no hoes as a kid though so I just did whatever I wanted, and now watch my high school and middle school classmates asking me for anime recommendations lmao. Finna send them several links to Bocu no Pico and Kiss x sis with no context
Though they rarely reached the popularity of Disney's late 80s/90s greats, The Land Before Time had the highs, lows and heart that could have easily served as inspiration for something as grand as The Lion King. We all cried during TLK, but somehow The Land Before Time was more heartbreaking and personal. Great video!
I think because his mom was his only parent and Littlefoot so clearly still needed her. I’m a mom of little boys now and I full on sob during that scene now.
@@dvsdawlEmaline (yes, HIS mom) is my great aunt.. my late paternal grandfather is one of her little brothers. She dearly loved and still loves all of her children.. that was made very, very clear many years ago. His late brother Frederick "Toby" also worked for Disney and I hope my father still has the children's books Toby personally signed.
I have nothing but the DEEPEST respect and love for Don Bluth. Loved his movies when growing up and I enjoyed most of them a lot. His artisitc style was for med an eye opener and I could in many of his movies relate to the stories, like losing your family, been all on your own and against all odds find a way back to your family. Why so? Me and my lill bro had to live in a series of foster homes in our early childhood and things was not always that bright so movies and cartoons was a way for me to have something posetive and something that filled my fantasy.
I loved Titan A.E. as a kid and still think it’s a good space opera movie with many moments that stuck in my memory. I didn’t see it in theaters, I actually read the novelization in elementary school for a book report and then watched the movie on DVD.
I saw it in theaters, it was okay, I guess, but then again I don't care for Sci-Fi and I view mixing 3D with hand drawn cells a sin. With that being said, the fact I could still appreciate the film for what it was is a very strong point for me personally. Even with a genre I didn't appreciate, even with a mishmash of animation I don't approve of, it was still watchable.
Bluth is a genius, full stop. Even as a kid, I knew these Bluth films were different than the Disney movies I also liked. (And unlike most kids in the 90s it seems, I also was aware that they WEREN’T Disney!!) The movies I watched the most as a kid were probably The Lion King and All Dogs Go to Heaven. I can easily put both The Secret of Nimh and the Little Mermaid on my list of top favorite movies even though the part in Nimh where her house sinks into the mud with her kids inside used to (and still does) scare the $#*! outta me (my top irrational fear next to spiders)… And imagine my surprise when, after re-watching Anastasia a few years back, seeing how well it holds up and how timeless the soundtrack still is even though the story is complete fiction! Heck I even had a soft spot for Rock-A-Doodle and Thumbelina and I had a Fievel plushie long before I ever had a Disney Princess doll (though I did have Beauty and the Beast bedsheets and was Belle for Halloween one year…) Both of these entities greatly shaped my childhood, for better or for worse, that much is certain. Great video! 👍🏽
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
19:02 I agree with everything in this video EXCEPT ONE THING.. 19:02 good sir... Balto was NOT forgettable... it was fantastic and severely underrated!
Atlantis just failed because people didn't liked the art style UNTIL LITERALLY YEARS LATER. Now lot of people love it. And it's amazing! Fucking Mike Mignola worked with the damn film!
@@KingdomHeartsBrawler I never said that, but the art style was disliked very much at that time because it was not too "Disney", just as "The Emperor's New Groove". Also, violence was one of the things people really dig at the time (we did had Clayton's death in "Tarzan" tho) But yeah, people at that time didn't really went with the film until years later...
@@TheAceSpaceman Wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the dumb critics at the time who complained about the style, sorry if it came across as directed at you.
Having read Don Bluth's memoir, I have to say it's amazing how little anger or bitterness he has over how Disney treated him. Even when he talks about some of his mentors at Disney being pretty cruel to him, and remembers meetings where they told to his face they'd crush his movies, he just kind of laughs it off.
Most excellent video sir! the 30 mins whizzed by, really enjoyed it!!!! Out of curiosity, what happened with the kickstarted Bluth did for animatics for a Dragon's Lair animated movie?
I always love watching these Don Bluth documentaries on UA-cam and this one's no different! Usually they go heavy on what goes into Don's process; but this one's special as we get "Childhood trauma, Messed up man and Don Deluise!!!" Tagged on! Its almost like a drinking game! What I'd to say is great job and excellent coverage! As mentioned, this is yet another great video on my all time favorite animator!
9:45 I think this was mostly impacted for those Saturday morning cartoons that had low-budget animation and was less of a worry for the movies from Disney and Don Bluth. I'm glad this strike saved television animation (even if everyone didn't get used to higher quality animation until The Simpsons and Tiny Toons came in). It was really important for those who got bored of the same Archie/Scooby-Doo style.
I think that the true end of Bluth studios was "All Dogs Go to Heaven", and the rest from there was the downhill slide. That film was so scary, so distrubing, that it resulted in a studio-ending move: losing parent's trust. Parents reallized that they couldn't bring kids to see a Bluth film without screening it first. So the films didn't gross enough money to keep them in the public consciousness long enough for the VHS release.
Wow this is so eye opening. I was born in 1989 and my favorite movies as a kid were The Little Mermaid, Fox & The Hound, Fifle Goes West, Land Before Time, Rockadoodle, Thumbalina, Secrets of Nim, All dogs go to Heaven, Anastasia, and especially Titan AE. I loved Don Bluth animation and rewatched his movies far more than disney but I just learned his name and story today.
The scenes with the Great Owl in The Secret of NIMH are among animation at its best. Those glowing yellow pupil-less eyes! The creaking of the Great Owl's neck as he turned his head! Scrared the pants off of me, still does.
Not only are they great movies for a kid, they also still highly hold up. To me, An American Tail is still a masterpiece film that's easily 10/10, even to this day in my opinion. A timeless classic for sure.
Don Bluth made some of the best, most unique and underrated animated movies of all, and these are my personal favorite Don Bluth movies in no particular order..... - The Secret of NIMH - An American Tale - The Land Before Time - All Dogs Go to Heaven - Anastasia - Titan A.E. - Thumbelina
It's an outrage that Disney took Anastasia for its own and put it on Disney+. Everyone knows (and should know) that Anastasia is a Don Bluth princess and she should stay that way. If only there was a knight in shining armor to rise up and rescue Anastasia from a company who is now stealing other people's studios and companies, and claiming them for its own. Not to mention, killing the true magic of Disney by making nothing but 3D and live action remakes and no more 2D. You mark my words, if Disney keeps going a dark path like this, it will someday fall harder than Rome did. (Sigh) It's times like this I wonder what life might've been like if Don Bluth won the war. Maybe things in life might've been better. Plus, we might've had more 2D animated arcade games. P.S. Let's not forget, it was Don Bluth who made an Iphone App game that I for one wish I had the chance of playing, Tapper: World Tour.
At some point I believe Disney WILL have another fall because like all great empires, all suns must set and what made them great and sustained their success is what will contribute to their downfall.
Anastasia actually got removed from Plus sometime last year due to some legal snafu with FOX or something(it was not because of the Ukraine/Russian war contrary to what some believe).
@@joshuaguste6883 well, taking other studios, along with even anything related to marvel or whatever has proven to be their desperation to try and stay in power. Clearly they’re running out of money after the pandemic they decide to charge people even double the price, so yeah that really is telling you they are losing billions of dollars along with putting all woke in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually celebrating their downfall, I mean yeah the guy literally was the first one to ever take on Disney. Looks like he’s actually winning even though he’s no longer fighting anymore he’s winning. I will say this, I like some of his movies, but I also want to say good on those non-Disney studios for taking on Disney. So far the only good 3-D animated films I’ve ever seen had been illumination and DreamWorks both Mario brothers movie, and Puss in boots. Otherwise every single Disney film I have not even watched or gone to see bother doing any of that because it’s bullshit.
I was surprised that more of Bluth's films weren't big hits, as I vividly remember watching them on home video as much as the Disney films of the time.
Disney launched a smear campaign against him basically as soon as he left. Ron Miller never forgave him for walking out on the studio and taking what at the time constituted a tenth of their staff when *The Fox and the Hound* was only halfway done.
Some of Bluth's great early ones seem like tributes to some of the Golden Age Disney movies. An American Tail - Dumbo. Make a ridiculously adorable character with oversized ears and abuse him throughout the movie so the happy ending hits harder. The Land Before Time - Bambi. Kill off the mother and follow the lives of some young characters of different species with fantastic animation All Dogs go to Heaven - Pinocchio. Flawed character gets redeemed as a good boy to a shiny heavenly character with some messed up sequences along the way. Some obvious nods to Fantasia and Snow White in this one as well Can't really think of one for the Secret of NIMH though, that one is pretty unique
I really love animation. It’s probably one of my first big loves long before movies and comic books. And I love learning about the history of the medium. Don Bluth has had a long history filled with highs and lows but his style comes out in his best work. NIMH, American Tail and Land Before Time are almost on par (or many ways better than) with Disney’s input. Obviously, Disney as a corporation stinks, but with the animation division there’s a lot of interesting stories that happened especially during their Dark Age and the beginning of the Renaissance. Waking Sleeping Beauty in particular is a great documentary about this period. As for Bluth, he is a great animator/director and I’m glad over time he has received his status as one of the greatest in the medium, hope the Dragon’s Lair movie works out. Would love to see you cover the 2000s era of Disney and great video as always.
@@MattDraper got to very strongly disagree with you on Balto being "forgettable" Saberspark just did a great video where he perfectly summed up why that film is such an underrated gem.
Don Bluth and Disney both had massive impacts on my childhood and my love of movies. These and the original star wars trilogy. I'm now a tiny UA-cam person today but I have big dreams and ambitions. Thank you so much for making this good video. :)
The Black Caulderon was the very first movie I saw in the cinema. I was 5 years old and it scared the bejeezus out of me. But that was kind of a theme in the 80s- tramatizing kids with scary movies (The Secret of NIMH, Return to Oz, The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, Clash of the Titans, Legend, Willow...even The Care Bears movie had its dark parts).
The silver age ends with The Jungle Book in 1966. Disney was still involved with Animation and in Jungle Book particularly he was more like his Golden Era Walt
Don Bluth really was the shit. They made movies that were both innovative and brought a lot of emotion to our childhoods. Also, S/O for that The Midnight drop at 15:25. That immediately brings back the nostalgia.
Bluth represented a wave in that era of cinema nominally aimed at kids, but which didn't hesitate to make kids feel emotions like sadness and fear, ala films like The Neverending Story, or Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. The seeming loss of that approach to animation and media, more generally, leaves the art of the era worse off, though funny enough it wound up being animated TV that picked up some of the slack in shows ranging from the 90s Batman to the 2010s Avatar. ...also, as a small child I would always watch The Land Before Time, then immediately run to my mother to cry. Yet, I'd keep watching it!
11:00 In 1993 I saw a line of people waiting to play Dragon’s Lair. Once you played it, it lost its charm but for new players it was still impressive a decade later
I watched Titan A.E when I was around 8-10 years old and for the longest time, I wondered why I was seemingly the only one that saw the movie. It hasn't aged that well, but I always really liked the father-son dynamic portrayed in the film. And the hide and seek in between space rocks is still a stunning scene. Good to know I'm not the only one that movie left an impression on.
Solid video. Bluth was a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. I too saw Titan AE in the theater and loved it. One of the first movies I drove myself to after I got my license. Secret of Nymh and Dragon's Lair hit hard as a kid. Aladdin is my favorite Disney Reneisance movie by far. I watched or had that movie playing in the background every single day of my Senior year of high school. It was my almost adult Night Light.
Don is one of my dad's cousins so this is basically family stuff for me.. what I have heard is that everyone of Rey L Pratt's (Don and Dad's grandather) descendants have some sort of artistic aptitude, even if it doesn't amount to commercial success. That includes me and my kids.
Bluth wanted Disney to get it's act together and do good animation. Sounds like he got his wish. I would have liked to see his Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I came to his films older than most here when I worked in a small animation studio. Major kudos to the guy for striking out on his own and taking a huge chance. In the end, "Banjo the Woodpile Cat" will always be remembered fondly by this family. What a sweet story.
I'm an older millennial, so Disney and Bluth were massive parts of my childhood. As much as I loved Disney, Bluth's films were the ones I gravitated towards more because of their dark themes. Yes, they sure as hell scared the crap outta me, but man they were/are amazing. Secret of Nimh, American Trail, and All Dogs Go To Heaven were watched so many times. I think Secret of Nimh was watched way more, though, because that damn movie had the threat level turned up to max during every single damn minute until the very end. Let's not forget the stellar soundtrack. Don't even get me started on how, to this day, the eerie, unsettling music that starts in slow from silence the morning that Brisby wakes up and senses something is wrong still gives me chills. Just watching her sniff the air warily as Shrew tells her to move her children asap of they'll die, to the moment the tractor is turned on in the distance and the music becomes terrifying as Shrew runs and shrieks for all the animals to run for their lives. It's pure terror that nearly crosses a line into the horror genre. Out of a lot of old animated movies I grew up with that my fiance didn't, that movie is one of the few he really, really likes. I never claim to have grown up in the "perfect time", because I didn't. However, I'm so unbelievably happy that I grew up when Don Bluth was at his best. I'm glad I grew up on animated movies that terrified me, because I didn't feel like I was watching something for kids. I felt like I was watching content I shouldn't be watching, since most kids media at the time was happy and joyful, with a few exceptions. Bluth made me feel older than I was. Even when the Disney Renaissance happened (which was awesome, especially seeing those hits in theaters on opening weekend), I never stopped watching Bluth films. I could gush for hours about that guy. 😋 I wish I could meet him and thank him for creating family movies that weren't of the typical fare we'd all grown accustomed to. ❤️ Also, Balto is a great movie. 😉
@@allie_Am lmao, I can see why you'd think that. 😜 I have a lot of admiration for him. He was such a staple of my childhood and made some of the best animated movies of the time.
Hello. Don is one of my dad's cousins and Dad followed him as religiously as I could. He's not just part of my childhood, he's part of my family. I thought for a time Dad was putting me on but I looked Don up in the genealogical records and everything my late paternal grandmother told me was more or less confirmed.
That would truly be something beautiful to see. A 2D animated world with no 3D or live action remakes, and animation not just for kids, but for teens and adults as well. Perhaps we can find it in the afterlife, or in another dimension, like in the Marvel What If... series.
I was talking about this with my Mother tonight actually. Imagine if Disney wasn't such a fucking awful company and shared the animation space instead of intentionally going out of their way to fuck Bluth. The world would be a better place because of it.
@@Uncle-Jay Imagine if Don Bluth's movies were more successful than Disney's, we would have more Don Bluth movies than Disney, and lots more 2D animation. Maybe maybe even a Don Bluth amusement park.
What a great tribute to Bluth. I've loosely followed his career starting with Nimh and Dragon's Lair. I could always recognize his work. I never knew the behind-the-scenes story. Truly brilliant. What's amazing his your observation that Bluth was basically a one man show competing with the huge Disney juggernaut. Wonderfully done. I'm subscribing.
I'm not sure I can take the "Bronze Age" timeline seriously calling the 60's "dark ages" there's a distinct line post-Walt death that has to be acknowledged. And I mean The Rescuers even was one of their highest grossing theatrical releases ever and was the only Ron era success. There's way more to unpack in terms of the CalArts graduates starting in making the new era
I agree with you too. Walt only lived to rarely work on The Jungle Book when he passed away. No one at Disney was prepared for this and it was a huge blow taking decades to get the right people in charge, but no one compares to the magic Walt gave his movies.
And even still, the “Disney renaissance“ feels less like a renaissance - the real one lasted more than five years and produced more than four great paintings -and more like a last hurrah at this point for an art form they they themselves threw on King Arthur’s sword for a bunch of acquisitions they don’t need and don’t know how to manage. This is how RCA, founder of NBC, went under and why NBC’s *Cheers* -era ascent from third to first place in the ratings couldn’t save RCA from being bought by GE.
Wow I did not know Don Bluth did “Titan A.E.”. That movie was truly ahead of his time. I can’t believe that movie made less money than the production. That was a excellent animation and good story.
Don Bluth and his groups did some great work, even if I question his company's methods of cost cutting. I do wonder what sort of workplace culture it had, not that I expect Disney was especially great in that regard either.
It's a shame that East of the Sun and West of the Moon never came to fruition. There was a copy of the story at my daycare and I read it to death as a child. I loved the illustrations and the story was imaginative, perfectly marrying a Beauty and the Beast story with the myth of Eros and Pysche, but still having its own twists and turns.
Wait, around the 2000s, Disney had competitor's. DreamWorks was a rising power, and Blue Sky popped up. Pixar was outshining Disney, and Disney was stuck in the past again.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the 2000s era Disney and particularly the DTDVD movies. It’s especially interesting for me because that’s the era I grew up in, so I have a certain amount of nostalgia for some of those films. As for Bluth, his work has always been something I’ve wanted to see more of, but never got around to. I have vague memories of watching All Dogs, Anastasia, and American Tail when I was younger, but beyond that I only know Bluth through reputation. Hopefully I can fix that
My family and I viewed most of the direct to movie films as garbage. I'm not even saying they were that bad, most of them were passable, but the fact remains, if they had effort put in to them, they'd have been classics, not cheap, direct to video knock offs that often didn't even have the same VAs.
My name is Don Moore, if you read the credits of Don Bluth movies you know I was head background artist from "The Secret of Nimh" through "All dogs Go To Heaven". Was a great experience
Really interesting video. I rarely see people talk about this and I’ve always found it interesting, you have so much variety on this channel when talking about pop culture, I would love to see you talk about the 90s Disney straight to DVD disaster.
What a great video, Matt. I would LOVE to see you do a companion video on the death of the Disney renaissance. As much as I watched the hit cinematic releases of the 90's, my family and I watched just as many of the direct to video sequels (I still love Lion King 2 and Aladdin 3). Keep up the awesome work, mate and greetings from Tasmania, Australia.
Nice timing, I was listening to the Titan A.E soundtrack earlier today. I can remember my friend who took me to the cinema handing me the ticket and telling me to keep it as the movie would be so successful I'll want to hold onto it. While it is one of my favourite films I can see why it didn't quite work with it's wonky pacing and wonkier plot twist.
Ile always love Disney but I can completely agree that dark themes are a must or should start being used a lot more in Disney movies. This would allow kids to learn that life isn’t a fairytale and sometimes bad things WILL happen. Sure it might spook and scare many of them, but once they get older they will understand the concept that life will get dark but their is always a light that will carry you out of the darkness.
@@wolf2912 you do have a point BTW I imagine this What If Idea here it is What If Idea: What If both Don Bluth and Jeffrey Katzenberg never had their falling outs with Disney and Chris Meledandri never left Blue Sky Studios?
I loved Titan A.E. seeing Earth's destruction in that movie was beautiful. It and Frieza's destruction of planet Vegeta were super impactful on me as a kid.
It's funny how a "low-budget" animated Disney movie from the 60s is still 1000x more impressive than most animated stuff on TV today. I see Robin Hood and I don't think "low-budget". I just think wow this is some beautiful animation.
KORYBUG BURKETT: This is what I heard about the seven Don Bluth movies, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, The Peddle and the Penguin, Anastasia, and Bartok the Magnificent and Titan A.E. owned by Disney and they are part of the Disney Empire and the Disney movies
Growing up, before we had Disney+ for a couple years, my mother had a series of DVDs of animated films that we would all watch every now and then, mostly the old Disney pictures everyone recognizes, but also a couple of obscure ones (specifically _The Great Mouse Detective,_ _The Aristocats,_ and _Atlantis: the Lost Empire,_ maybe even also _Robin Hood_ among them). I probably saw each one once or twice, though I can’t recall the plots of any of them in any detail. There were even two Bluth films in the mix: _An American Tail_ and _Anastasia._ Most of what I remember about them is how little they seemed to surface in general Disney advertising, and how different they all were from the more notable Disney productions. I’m not even sure why it occurred to my mother to purchase the DVDs for us, except if she herself grew up watching some of the films and, vaguely remembering them, wanted to revisit them with us. Something about the Bluth films in particular struck me as different from the Disney ones, though I could never quite place it. Figuring out the whole history behind them, and even about films made back then I never had the chance to see, gave me a whole new perspective on a lot of that.
I’ve been waiting for someone to explore this topic. Absolutely loved this!!! I would interested to hear you compare the success of the Disney Renaissance vs the Disney Revival. Both brought the most acclaimed Disney movies of all time
I say the same thing. Somewhere Out There in the movie with the two mice singing hitting extra high notes was a tearjerker, but I remember my family talking about it before going in to the movie specifically bc of the massive star power in Linda Rondstat and James Ingram. Disney then went out and started winning academies for soundtracks.The lineup that followed Somewhere Out There, lol. Early Celine Dion. Elton John AND Phil Collins.
It was so weird when I grew up and learned that the Secret of NIMH was just barely NOT a flop during its release, and that the Black Cauldron (which seemed to be taking more than a few lessons from NIMH) had fared even worse. The Secret of NIMH was like THE sleepover movie of choice for me and all my friends, even though it was scary as HELL! I was a little older by the time I saw the Black Cauldron, so it wasn't quite as scary despite the PG rating and the creepy villain design. But it was still SO COOL that I went out and made my mom buy me the video game for PC. And then that game got me hooked on Sierra games for the rest of my young life, until about the time I started getting into kissing situations with other people.
I have the video game on Apple II GS since the movie was hidden from view until the end of the 1990s and even to this day is only available in the obviously truncated Katzenberg cut.
Secret of NIMH could've been a big hit if more major theaters had played it as it did do pretty well in the few theaters that would allow it, but too many didn't think it would work.
There are so many fascinating topics like this that so many people don’t get to actually delve into and enjoy. There’s lessons to be learned as well as just genuinely intriguing History
If you listen to the voice of actress Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby in Secret of Nimh she nails the despair in the heroine's voice. The main reason for this imo is that Hartman was suffering from severe depression that was so bad that she refused to leave her house and had practically stopped acting. Her friends who tried to help her talked her into doing the voice. It was the last thing she ever did as a few years later she committed suicide while still in her early 40s.
Dob Bluth has an animation school at the moment and I'm one of his students, he is a fascinating man who speaks about animation so passionately well into his 80s, he is extremely humble for a legend as himself.
To me, Don Bluth comes across as a man before his time, unafraid to use the cartoon medium way beyond its predetermined boundaries. I remember watching The Land Before Time at the very young age, and while all emotional extremes were there, I don't recall coming out of theater any more traumatized then after watching The Lion King. Hm, the final part of the video has a bit of "Monday Night Wars" to it. Too bad that Bluth didn't have Vinnie Mac's tenacity and grit.
About 10 years ago I got drawn into learning about Richard Williams’ history with Disney… I even bought his animators survival handbook and started studying hand drawn animation. but I had no idea about Don Bluth! He’s clearly a legend. I also watched all of his films, and I had a sense they were separate from Disney but I wasn’t totally sure. I was pretty young and haven’t revisited them recently… going to deep dive into all his films now for sure
That Bluth movie have cool movie, I like it. but I like Disney 90’s movie too. I hate anybody compare them. I like them as long as good movie. But both studios should have messed by movie racing to reach high box office over animation..
Wow this wad an awesome video not what I'm used too from you but this was really informative and a fun ride down memory lane. Loved to see the death of disney renansiance video in the future
Loved Titan AE. Saw it in theaters. Also really liked Atlantis and saw that in theaters (thought it had more in common with Final Fantasy than that weird, drab movie Square put out that same year). Bluth’s 80s movies will always have a special place in my heart too. Except maybe All Dogs. Although I haven’t seen that one since I was a little kid, I don’t think
I still to this day unashamedly adore Titan AE. The greatest movie to shut down an animation studio! Also, growing up in Ireland in the 90's, Don Bluth was an icon. I was so proud to think that they were made in my small part of the world. How sad to think that that was to avoid unions. Sigh.
If anything, I love it even more than I enjoyed it back when it was new. Not a year goes by that I don't watch it again. Compared to Disney, where I only ever rewatched Lion King and that was because the CG version disappointed me so much that I needed to rinse my mind.
The same unions that said nothing and did nothing when Disney threw away an art form it had been working on for decades in order to replace hand-drawn imagery with soulless Pixar clones while dragging Pixar down to its level in the process? The same unions Disney still ignores today when they told the WGA strikers to get back to work? The same unions that did nothing to stop American animation from getting mired in Saturday morning mediocrity for decades or from dragging Disney down to its level? Yeah, I’m on Bluth’s side here.
I believe that Don Bluth is one of the most underappreciative animation filmmakers ever. He deserves more praise and recognition.
Not only that, his embarassing defeats of Disney in the mid-80s forced them to up their game. So, ultimately, we can thank Bluth for the Disney Renaissance.
@@crazydud3380 I think the Disney Renaissance primarily because of Steven Spielberg because he produced Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
@@patrickshields5251 Sure, but Spielberg was also a producer for An American Tale
@@crazydud3380 Actually, I'm mainly saying that to discreddit Bluth, because I'm not a fan of his films.
I think that he was an amazing animator with great ambition, but I struggle to like any of his films except for NIMH. How ironic that the guy who left Disney because of their cost cutting measures ended up leaning on creepy looking rotoscoping far too often, not to mention moving to Ireland to screw over animators.
The character design of most of his movies is absolutely horrid, with the same old fat bottom lips, eyes and over accentuated facial movements blurring together into a crappy soup of mediocrity.
Don’t get me wrong, there is still some amazing animation proficiency going on in a lot of those terrible movies, but those character designs are so bad.
This video was messed up man. Filled with childhood trauma, nostalgia, and Dom DeLuise. Thanks, for the excellent work as always Matt. Now I got to somehow rewatch Land Before Time, All Dogs go to Heaven, and Secret of NIMH. And for good measure Brave Little Toaster.
The Brave Little Toaster is super fucked, lmfao. I watched it last year tripping balls on 6 tabs of acid and I was horrified. Still a great film.
Even though this video was amazingly put together because of its emotionality and greatly researched history, one thing Don Bluth made (or was about to make had Namco not been so stuck up their own asses before we could get a Pac-Man Eorld 4 or anything like Pac-Man World 1 & 2 for home consoles) that you forgot to mention would have to be Pac-Man Adventures.
Might as well throw in Watership Down.
The Brave Little Toaster is actually Disney (technically), believe it or not, not Bluth, but I get it.
Don Bluth films were Like American anime or adult swim before adult swim.
This guy, Ralph Bakshi and Richard Williams were all animation masters that tried to compete with Disney during this time. They proved that you didn't need Mickey Mouse to be successful in the animation industry.
Bakshi was an insane person, but also a brilliant one. LOL
@@crazydud3380 He's a mad genius.
They weren't successful, though.
Not sure I'd say Richard Williams was as successful though... the Thief and the Cobbler is a sad instance of that. I'd say Bluth was far more successful by comparison, even with his lows.
Bakshi was never really a challenge for Disney and honestly most of his films weren’t that good. They were more unique and had interesting concepts but his execution for most of them sucked.
Don bluth is no doubt a legend as his animated films pushed so many boundaries of animation being not only for children but for adults to enjoy. My childhood favorite film of his was robin hood I still hold that close to me to this day.
A lot of adult animation filmmakers today (mostly in TV), cite Don Bluth as an influence, so yeah, without him, the animated landscape on TV would look very different.
Love Robin Hood. It was only Disney animated film I liked.
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
My Mom and I still quote the film.
SAME
Don Bluth is so underrated. He deserved much more support during his career and maybe an editor. He seems to have the same issues as George Lucas, he needs someone to help reel his ideas in. I hope he succeeds this time around with his new studio.
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth There was going to be a Dragons Lair movie a few years ago via Kickstarter but unfortunately it seemed to have fallen through. I hope he tries again!
@@TheSteveTheDragon I think Don Bluth said he would need $70 million to make an actual Dragon's Lair movie. The Kickstarter campaign was just to make a teaser trailer I think, and to attract a studio and investors. Then in 2020, a certain Netflix has gotten rights to make a live action movie with Ryan Reynolds starring as Dirk, though not much has been heard from that since.
@@mr.sinjin-smyth Ryan Renolds would make a great Dirk the Daring! Though I wouldn't mind if they even did it in 3D instead if they couldn't do it in 2D.
@@TheSteveTheDragon I'm cool with a CGI animated Dragon's Lair if done well. And yeah, Ryan Reynolds' got the personality, acting style and charisma to pull a solid Dirk the Daring. I hope Netflix reconsiders from going live action for a hybrid 2D/3D animated style (think that 2019 KLAUS movie), but I'm not gonna get my hopes up.
You missed the part about Katzenberg taking literal scissors to the film cells of black cauldron, destroying the sequences he demanded should be removed completely by literally cutting them out. It's why there's so little consistency between certain scenes because parts were just destroyed beyond repair.
Such a fucking shame. I would be willing to pay a lot to see an uncut version of this film.
He's an objectively horrible person.
And that’s just one of the reasons he was fired from Disney, other than making the Black Friday reel in Toy Story.
@@WobblesandBean a lot of his former employees would concur
Source?
One of the greatest strengths of Don Bluth films is how they'll not only bluntly admit "yeah, messed up stuff happens in life," they also make _processing_ the grief and trauma that comes afterwards a central part of the narrative. They normalize the concept of _"No one is fine all of the time. We all go through periods of our life that turn us into a hot mess, that make us feel like the world has ended even though it keeps on turning. It's okay to admit that you're not okay."_
He's one of my dad's cousins and I know he's absolutely drawing from personal experience.
I think so many audiences today really underestimate just how revolutionary and brilliant the majority of Bluth's films really are. Especially 'Secret of NIMH', 'Anastasia', and 'Titan A.E.'. (and yes, I agree; the OST totally slaps!) =)
Thanks for the feedback! And thanks especially for highlighting this underrated Auteur. =)
The American thing about animation being a children’s medium is so true. I remember sharing in class that over the weekend I saw Anastasia with my mom. I was made fun of for being a baby and a little kid.
I was freaking NINE YEARS OLD.
Heck, when I was in high school I was laughed at for enjoying old Looney Tune cartoons and those were basically made for adults back in the day.
Even in 2010s when I was a kid, I refused to tell anyone I liked cartoons since in my mind it would make people think I was a little kid.
WTF?
Funny how as kids we'd make fun of watching animation after getting older and hanging out with your Mom too much. Then fast forward to current year and now anime and animation in general is more mainstream than ever and checking in on your parents and taking care of them is seen as a huge W.
I never got no hoes as a kid though so I just did whatever I wanted, and now watch my high school and middle school classmates asking me for anime recommendations lmao. Finna send them several links to Bocu no Pico and Kiss x sis with no context
@@curtailedbike4123 This is ageist bigotry and it has got to stop.
Though they rarely reached the popularity of Disney's late 80s/90s greats, The Land Before Time had the highs, lows and heart that could have easily served as inspiration for something as grand as The Lion King. We all cried during TLK, but somehow The Land Before Time was more heartbreaking and personal. Great video!
I think because his mom was his only parent and Littlefoot so clearly still needed her. I’m a mom of little boys now and I full on sob during that scene now.
Both of those were throwbacks to *Bambi,* but unlike that film, these actually show the dead bodies.
And when Disney copies TLBT, we get *Dinosaur.*
@@dvsdawlEmaline (yes, HIS mom) is my great aunt.. my late paternal grandfather is one of her little brothers. She dearly loved and still loves all of her children.. that was made very, very clear many years ago. His late brother Frederick "Toby" also worked for Disney and I hope my father still has the children's books Toby personally signed.
Forever my favourite❤
I kinda wish Don Bluth would’ve been given Black Cauldron and had it his way without anyone telling him to cut scenes out that were deemed too scary.
Yes! The Black Cauldron could've been Beauty and The Beast of the 80s.
@@Clay3613 I even wish we could see Don Bluth's version of Beauty and the Beast.
@@Clay3613 Nope. It was shockingly dark for the 80s, when everything was full of colour
I have nothing but the DEEPEST respect and love for Don Bluth.
Loved his movies when growing up and I enjoyed most of them a lot. His artisitc style was for med an eye opener and I could in many of his movies relate to the stories, like losing your family, been all on your own and against all odds find a way back to your family. Why so? Me and my lill bro had to live in a series of foster homes in our early childhood and things was not always that bright so movies and cartoons was a way for me to have something posetive and something that filled my fantasy.
I loved Titan A.E. as a kid and still think it’s a good space opera movie with many moments that stuck in my memory. I didn’t see it in theaters, I actually read the novelization in elementary school for a book report and then watched the movie on DVD.
I saw it in theaters, it was okay, I guess, but then again I don't care for Sci-Fi and I view mixing 3D with hand drawn cells a sin.
With that being said, the fact I could still appreciate the film for what it was is a very strong point for me personally.
Even with a genre I didn't appreciate, even with a mishmash of animation I don't approve of, it was still watchable.
I was really rooting for Titan A.E. as something that will score a point for mature American made animation, but it was not to be.
I still love Titan A.E. I saw it in theaters, and it kills me that there was never a bluray release.
Bluth is a genius, full stop. Even as a kid, I knew these Bluth films were different than the Disney movies I also liked. (And unlike most kids in the 90s it seems, I also was aware that they WEREN’T Disney!!) The movies I watched the most as a kid were probably The Lion King and All Dogs Go to Heaven. I can easily put both The Secret of Nimh and the Little Mermaid on my list of top favorite movies even though the part in Nimh where her house sinks into the mud with her kids inside used to (and still does) scare the $#*! outta me (my top irrational fear next to spiders)… And imagine my surprise when, after re-watching Anastasia a few years back, seeing how well it holds up and how timeless the soundtrack still is even though the story is complete fiction! Heck I even had a soft spot for Rock-A-Doodle and Thumbelina and I had a Fievel plushie long before I ever had a Disney Princess doll (though I did have Beauty and the Beast bedsheets and was Belle for Halloween one year…) Both of these entities greatly shaped my childhood, for better or for worse, that much is certain.
Great video! 👍🏽
Underappreciated is the word. If Bluth only had stable financial backing, he could've made a Dragon's Lair movie or even a Space Ace movie somewhere down the line.
An American Tale will always hold a very dear spot in my heart. My sister's kids are now 6 and I've been introducing them to all of his films.
All Bluth films are classics 💗
19:02 I agree with everything in this video EXCEPT ONE THING.. 19:02 good sir... Balto was NOT forgettable... it was fantastic and severely underrated!
Don Bluth remains my favorite animator. Yes, his films are messed up but they have such a unique style.
I guess I was a messed up child because they were my favorites 🤣 I loved all the scary stuff
Atlantis just failed because people didn't liked the art style UNTIL LITERALLY YEARS LATER. Now lot of people love it. And it's amazing! Fucking Mike Mignola worked with the damn film!
Imagine genuinely thinking that the creator of Hellboy and one of the guys who worked on BTAS has a bad art style.
@@KingdomHeartsBrawler I never said that, but the art style was disliked very much at that time because it was not too "Disney", just as "The Emperor's New Groove".
Also, violence was one of the things people really dig at the time (we did had Clayton's death in "Tarzan" tho)
But yeah, people at that time didn't really went with the film until years later...
@@TheAceSpaceman Wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the dumb critics at the time who complained about the style, sorry if it came across as directed at you.
That's why it failed? Geez, I guess a lot of people those days were really stubborn.
Pixar and DreamWorks CGI animation took over
The Land Before Time is definitely a tearjerker, it was that when I was a kid, and it still is. Same goes with All Dogs Go To Heaven.
Such an interesting topic, great video
Having read Don Bluth's memoir, I have to say it's amazing how little anger or bitterness he has over how Disney treated him. Even when he talks about some of his mentors at Disney being pretty cruel to him, and remembers meetings where they told to his face they'd crush his movies, he just kind of laughs it off.
Most excellent video sir! the 30 mins whizzed by, really enjoyed it!!!!
Out of curiosity, what happened with the kickstarted Bluth did for animatics for a Dragon's Lair animated movie?
What does “whizzed” mean?
Netflix picked it up and is making it a live action project instead. I have no idea how involved Bluth is with it now.
@@CoinBox170 ah I wondered that myself.
I always love watching these Don Bluth documentaries on UA-cam and this one's no different! Usually they go heavy on what goes into Don's process; but this one's special as we get "Childhood trauma, Messed up man and Don Deluise!!!" Tagged on! Its almost like a drinking game! What I'd to say is great job and excellent coverage! As mentioned, this is yet another great video on my all time favorite animator!
9:45 I think this was mostly impacted for those Saturday morning cartoons that had low-budget animation and was less of a worry for the movies from Disney and Don Bluth.
I'm glad this strike saved television animation (even if everyone didn't get used to higher quality animation until The Simpsons and Tiny Toons came in). It was really important for those who got bored of the same Archie/Scooby-Doo style.
All things considered, Don Bluth saved Disney Animation.
I think that the true end of Bluth studios was "All Dogs Go to Heaven", and the rest from there was the downhill slide. That film was so scary, so distrubing, that it resulted in a studio-ending move: losing parent's trust. Parents reallized that they couldn't bring kids to see a Bluth film without screening it first. So the films didn't gross enough money to keep them in the public consciousness long enough for the VHS release.
Wow this is so eye opening. I was born in 1989 and my favorite movies as a kid were The Little Mermaid, Fox & The Hound, Fifle Goes West, Land Before Time, Rockadoodle, Thumbalina, Secrets of Nim, All dogs go to Heaven, Anastasia, and especially Titan AE. I loved Don Bluth animation and rewatched his movies far more than disney but I just learned his name and story today.
The scenes with the Great Owl in The Secret of NIMH are among animation at its best. Those glowing yellow pupil-less eyes! The creaking of the Great Owl's neck as he turned his head! Scrared the pants off of me, still does.
An American Tail and The Land Before Time were two of the first VHS tapes I ever owned. Both of them were great movies for a kid.
Not only are they great movies for a kid, they also still highly hold up. To me, An American Tail is still a masterpiece film that's easily 10/10, even to this day in my opinion. A timeless classic for sure.
I'll be 44 this summer. I still watch An American Tail and Secret of NIMH once a year. Never too old for art.
@@Shernickyholmes221 That's the spirit Nicole :) I'm 26 years old, and I still love these movies.
I got The Land Before Time VHS at Burger King. Or my parents did. I remember there was a BK advertisement on the sleeve.
Don Bluth made some of the best, most unique and underrated animated movies of all, and these are my personal favorite Don Bluth movies in no particular order.....
- The Secret of NIMH
- An American Tale
- The Land Before Time
- All Dogs Go to Heaven
- Anastasia
- Titan A.E.
- Thumbelina
Treasure Planet and Atlantis were just ahead of their time
29:42 "I love u Charlie" *ME crying unconsolably*
It's an outrage that Disney took Anastasia for its own and put it on Disney+. Everyone knows (and should know) that Anastasia is a Don Bluth princess and she should stay that way. If only there was a knight in shining armor to rise up and rescue Anastasia from a company who is now stealing other people's studios and companies, and claiming them for its own. Not to mention, killing the true magic of Disney by making nothing but 3D and live action remakes and no more 2D. You mark my words, if Disney keeps going a dark path like this, it will someday fall harder than Rome did.
(Sigh) It's times like this I wonder what life might've been like if Don Bluth won the war. Maybe things in life might've been better. Plus, we might've had more 2D animated arcade games.
P.S. Let's not forget, it was Don Bluth who made an Iphone App game that I for one wish I had the chance of playing, Tapper: World Tour.
At some point I believe Disney WILL have another fall because like all great empires, all suns must set and what made them great and sustained their success is what will contribute to their downfall.
Ok, I can understand where you're going, but the part about no more 2D? Who even cares?
Anastasia actually got removed from Plus sometime last year due to some legal snafu with FOX or something(it was not because of the Ukraine/Russian war contrary to what some believe).
@@joshuaguste6883 well, taking other studios, along with even anything related to marvel or whatever has proven to be their desperation to try and stay in power. Clearly they’re running out of money after the pandemic they decide to charge people even double the price, so yeah that really is telling you they are losing billions of dollars along with putting all woke in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually celebrating their downfall, I mean yeah the guy literally was the first one to ever take on Disney. Looks like he’s actually winning even though he’s no longer fighting anymore he’s winning. I will say this, I like some of his movies, but I also want to say good on those non-Disney studios for taking on Disney. So far the only good 3-D animated films I’ve ever seen had been illumination and DreamWorks both Mario brothers movie, and Puss in boots. Otherwise every single Disney film I have not even watched or gone to see bother doing any of that because it’s bullshit.
i'd rather have ALL don bluth movies on disney+, rather than becoming lost media, which is what's happening to all the others right now
Secret of NIMH remains an all time classic.
So is An American Tail.
It's been my favorite animated movie since I was a kid back in the 80's.
I was surprised that more of Bluth's films weren't big hits, as I vividly remember watching them on home video as much as the Disney films of the time.
Disney launched a smear campaign against him basically as soon as he left. Ron Miller never forgave him for walking out on the studio and taking what at the time constituted a tenth of their staff when *The Fox and the Hound* was only halfway done.
Some of Bluth's great early ones seem like tributes to some of the Golden Age Disney movies.
An American Tail - Dumbo. Make a ridiculously adorable character with oversized ears and abuse him throughout the movie so the happy ending hits harder.
The Land Before Time - Bambi. Kill off the mother and follow the lives of some young characters of different species with fantastic animation
All Dogs go to Heaven - Pinocchio. Flawed character gets redeemed as a good boy to a shiny heavenly character with some messed up sequences along the way. Some obvious nods to Fantasia and Snow White in this one as well
Can't really think of one for the Secret of NIMH though, that one is pretty unique
I really love animation. It’s probably one of my first big loves long before movies and comic books. And I love learning about the history of the medium. Don Bluth has had a long history filled with highs and lows but his style comes out in his best work. NIMH, American Tail and Land Before Time are almost on par (or many ways better than) with Disney’s input. Obviously, Disney as a corporation stinks, but with the animation division there’s a lot of interesting stories that happened especially during their Dark Age and the beginning of the Renaissance. Waking Sleeping Beauty in particular is a great documentary about this period. As for Bluth, he is a great animator/director and I’m glad over time he has received his status as one of the greatest in the medium, hope the Dragon’s Lair movie works out. Would love to see you cover the 2000s era of Disney and great video as always.
Thanks! Waking Sleeping Beauty is such a great documentary. I'd love to do more videos like this!
Yeah, it is too bad the corporation is so screwed up now, as their animation department is still in great form!
@@MattDraper got to very strongly disagree with you on Balto being "forgettable" Saberspark just did a great video where he perfectly summed up why that film is such an underrated gem.
Bluth: *amazing animator
Disney: There can only be one! ⚔️
Secret of Nimh was absolute magic for me growing up. And a movie I shared with my mother who loved it. So incredibly special.
Don Bluth and Disney both had massive impacts on my childhood and my love of movies. These and the original star wars trilogy. I'm now a tiny UA-cam person today but I have big dreams and ambitions. Thank you so much for making this good video. :)
The Black Caulderon was the very first movie I saw in the cinema. I was 5 years old and it scared the bejeezus out of me. But that was kind of a theme in the 80s- tramatizing kids with scary movies (The Secret of NIMH, Return to Oz, The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, Clash of the Titans, Legend, Willow...even The Care Bears movie had its dark parts).
The silver age ends with The Jungle Book in 1966. Disney was still involved with Animation and in Jungle Book particularly he was more like his Golden Era Walt
That and the Jungle Book was the last film made with Walt Disney himself overseeing it before his death.
“Titan A.E.” track “It’s My Turn to Fly” STAYS on my listening rotation. I thought I was the only one who remembered it!
Don Bluth really was the shit. They made movies that were both innovative and brought a lot of emotion to our childhoods. Also, S/O for that The Midnight drop at 15:25. That immediately brings back the nostalgia.
Bluth represented a wave in that era of cinema nominally aimed at kids, but which didn't hesitate to make kids feel emotions like sadness and fear, ala films like The Neverending Story, or Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal. The seeming loss of that approach to animation and media, more generally, leaves the art of the era worse off, though funny enough it wound up being animated TV that picked up some of the slack in shows ranging from the 90s Batman to the 2010s Avatar.
...also, as a small child I would always watch The Land Before Time, then immediately run to my mother to cry. Yet, I'd keep watching it!
see also Return to Oz, to quote Nostalgia Critic "we need more 80s PG"
Aw, the 80s and 90s animation. No doubt why I need therapy now lol
Don Bluth just fucking GETS IT. I will forever enjoy his work and hope now he does what he loves. Truly the Hayao Miyazaki of the west.
Don't forget my name Joaquin Valeri and i will become Hayao Miyazaki of South America and also Stanley Kubrick of Animation
11:00 In 1993 I saw a line of people waiting to play Dragon’s Lair. Once you played it, it lost its charm but for new players it was still impressive a decade later
I personally feel like once you beat it, the magic was gone, but until then the game remained awesome.
I watched Titan A.E when I was around 8-10 years old and for the longest time, I wondered why I was seemingly the only one that saw the movie. It hasn't aged that well, but I always really liked the father-son dynamic portrayed in the film. And the hide and seek in between space rocks is still a stunning scene.
Good to know I'm not the only one that movie left an impression on.
i think it's aged pretty well.
Solid video. Bluth was a huge part of my childhood and teenage years. I too saw Titan AE in the theater and loved it. One of the first movies I drove myself to after I got my license. Secret of Nymh and Dragon's Lair hit hard as a kid. Aladdin is my favorite Disney Reneisance movie by far. I watched or had that movie playing in the background every single day of my Senior year of high school. It was my almost adult Night Light.
Don is one of my dad's cousins so this is basically family stuff for me.. what I have heard is that everyone of Rey L Pratt's (Don and Dad's grandather) descendants have some sort of artistic aptitude, even if it doesn't amount to commercial success. That includes me and my kids.
Bluth wanted Disney to get it's act together and do good animation. Sounds like he got his wish.
I would have liked to see his Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I came to his films older than most here when I worked in a small animation studio. Major kudos to the guy for striking out on his own and taking a huge chance. In the end, "Banjo the Woodpile Cat" will always be remembered fondly by this family. What a sweet story.
I'm an older millennial, so Disney and Bluth were massive parts of my childhood. As much as I loved Disney, Bluth's films were the ones I gravitated towards more because of their dark themes. Yes, they sure as hell scared the crap outta me, but man they were/are amazing. Secret of Nimh, American Trail, and All Dogs Go To Heaven were watched so many times. I think Secret of Nimh was watched way more, though, because that damn movie had the threat level turned up to max during every single damn minute until the very end. Let's not forget the stellar soundtrack. Don't even get me started on how, to this day, the eerie, unsettling music that starts in slow from silence the morning that Brisby wakes up and senses something is wrong still gives me chills. Just watching her sniff the air warily as Shrew tells her to move her children asap of they'll die, to the moment the tractor is turned on in the distance and the music becomes terrifying as Shrew runs and shrieks for all the animals to run for their lives. It's pure terror that nearly crosses a line into the horror genre. Out of a lot of old animated movies I grew up with that my fiance didn't, that movie is one of the few he really, really likes.
I never claim to have grown up in the "perfect time", because I didn't. However, I'm so unbelievably happy that I grew up when Don Bluth was at his best. I'm glad I grew up on animated movies that terrified me, because I didn't feel like I was watching something for kids. I felt like I was watching content I shouldn't be watching, since most kids media at the time was happy and joyful, with a few exceptions. Bluth made me feel older than I was. Even when the Disney Renaissance happened (which was awesome, especially seeing those hits in theaters on opening weekend), I never stopped watching Bluth films.
I could gush for hours about that guy. 😋 I wish I could meet him and thank him for creating family movies that weren't of the typical fare we'd all grown accustomed to. ❤️
Also, Balto is a great movie. 😉
In my opinion, An American Tail is the best movie ever.
@@retrofan4963 it's definitely an amazing movie
The 😋 emoji makes you look like you're thirsty for this man
@@allie_Am lmao, I can see why you'd think that. 😜 I have a lot of admiration for him. He was such a staple of my childhood and made some of the best animated movies of the time.
Hello. Don is one of my dad's cousins and Dad followed him as religiously as I could. He's not just part of my childhood, he's part of my family. I thought for a time Dad was putting me on but I looked Don up in the genealogical records and everything my late paternal grandmother told me was more or less confirmed.
Don Bluth is an amazing animator! I can only imagine an animated world where he was the one who won the war against Disney.
That would truly be something beautiful to see. A 2D animated world with no 3D or live action remakes, and animation not just for kids, but for teens and adults as well. Perhaps we can find it in the afterlife, or in another dimension, like in the Marvel What If... series.
I was talking about this with my Mother tonight actually. Imagine if Disney wasn't such a fucking awful company and shared the animation space instead of intentionally going out of their way to fuck Bluth.
The world would be a better place because of it.
@@Uncle-Jay Imagine if Don Bluth's movies were more successful than Disney's, we would have more Don Bluth movies than Disney, and lots more 2D animation. Maybe maybe even a Don Bluth amusement park.
What a great tribute to Bluth. I've loosely followed his career starting with Nimh and Dragon's Lair. I could always recognize his work. I never knew the behind-the-scenes story. Truly brilliant. What's amazing his your observation that Bluth was basically a one man show competing with the huge Disney juggernaut. Wonderfully done. I'm subscribing.
I'm not sure I can take the "Bronze Age" timeline seriously calling the 60's "dark ages" there's a distinct line post-Walt death that has to be acknowledged. And I mean The Rescuers even was one of their highest grossing theatrical releases ever and was the only Ron era success. There's way more to unpack in terms of the CalArts graduates starting in making the new era
I agree
I agree with you too. Walt only lived to rarely work on The Jungle Book when he passed away. No one at Disney was prepared for this and it was a huge blow taking decades to get the right people in charge, but no one compares to the magic Walt gave his movies.
And even still, the “Disney renaissance“ feels less like a renaissance - the real one lasted more than five years and produced more than four great paintings -and more like a last hurrah at this point for an art form they they themselves threw on King Arthur’s sword for a bunch of acquisitions they don’t need and don’t know how to manage. This is how RCA, founder of NBC, went under and why NBC’s *Cheers* -era ascent from third to first place in the ratings couldn’t save RCA from being bought by GE.
Bluth hit the sweet spot for me as a kid ('79 baby) because I LOVED his films!
Wow I did not know Don Bluth did “Titan A.E.”. That movie was truly ahead of his time. I can’t believe that movie made less money than the production. That was a excellent animation and good story.
Don Bluth and his groups did some great work, even if I question his company's methods of cost cutting. I do wonder what sort of workplace culture it had, not that I expect Disney was especially great in that regard either.
It's a shame that East of the Sun and West of the Moon never came to fruition. There was a copy of the story at my daycare and I read it to death as a child. I loved the illustrations and the story was imaginative, perfectly marrying a Beauty and the Beast story with the myth of Eros and Pysche, but still having its own twists and turns.
What is that story about?
Dude the movies that you are intentionally under playing are highly underrated. Rescuers down under is among them.
What a great video! It's the first I've seen of your work. Gonna start working my way through your catalog of content!
Now do “Brave Little Toaster and the fall (and rise) of John Lassiter”
Wait, around the 2000s, Disney had competitor's. DreamWorks was a rising power, and Blue Sky popped up. Pixar was outshining Disney, and Disney was stuck in the past again.
And now Disney has flop after flop after flop. They deserve it.
You should cover Jim Henson's labyrinth and the dark crystal.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the 2000s era Disney and particularly the DTDVD movies. It’s especially interesting for me because that’s the era I grew up in, so I have a certain amount of nostalgia for some of those films.
As for Bluth, his work has always been something I’ve wanted to see more of, but never got around to. I have vague memories of watching All Dogs, Anastasia, and American Tail when I was younger, but beyond that I only know Bluth through reputation. Hopefully I can fix that
My family and I viewed most of the direct to movie films as garbage.
I'm not even saying they were that bad, most of them were passable, but the fact remains, if they had effort put in to them, they'd have been classics, not cheap, direct to video knock offs that often didn't even have the same VAs.
My name is Don Moore, if you read the credits of Don Bluth movies you know I was head background artist from "The Secret of Nimh" through "All dogs Go To Heaven". Was a great experience
The Lion King II can ABSOLUTELY get it
same here I remember those DTV films being advertised a lot.
@@Uncle-Jay I thought they were decent at the time and some still hold up though others aren't good.
❤ Don Bluth animations!!! Gave me my first ever VHS "Land Before Time" and so many more favourites.
Really interesting video. I rarely see people talk about this and I’ve always found it interesting, you have so much variety on this channel when talking about pop culture, I would love to see you talk about the 90s Disney straight to DVD disaster.
18:55 Balto was my childhood! Not forgettable!! 😐😐
What a great video, Matt. I would LOVE to see you do a companion video on the death of the Disney renaissance. As much as I watched the hit cinematic releases of the 90's, my family and I watched just as many of the direct to video sequels (I still love Lion King 2 and Aladdin 3). Keep up the awesome work, mate and greetings from Tasmania, Australia.
"Pebble and the Penguin" is one of my absolute favorite animated movies. It's so underrated! Great documentary. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to see you cover more animation history, perhaps different studios or even television networks?
I agree. Maybe a longer, more comprehensive video that also covers Japanese anime and Pixar.
Thanks so much for all of the work and understanding put in to this video! I loved being a part of it. Maybe I'll see you at D23 (Booths 223 & 225).
I always found his character designs odd yet appealing. Good work.
Nice timing, I was listening to the Titan A.E soundtrack earlier today. I can remember my friend who took me to the cinema handing me the ticket and telling me to keep it as the movie would be so successful I'll want to hold onto it.
While it is one of my favourite films I can see why it didn't quite work with it's wonky pacing and wonkier plot twist.
I love Titan AE!! for years I was convinced it was a fever dream since my brother did not remember it at all. It took me ages to track down a copy.
Ile always love Disney but I can completely agree that dark themes are a must or should start being used a lot more in Disney movies. This would allow kids to learn that life isn’t a fairytale and sometimes bad things WILL happen. Sure it might spook and scare many of them, but once they get older they will understand the concept that life will get dark but their is always a light that will carry you out of the darkness.
I think that Disney learned to have death again with movies like the Lion King being dark like land before time
@@wolf2912 you do have a point BTW I imagine this What If Idea here it is
What If Idea: What If both Don Bluth and Jeffrey Katzenberg never had their falling outs with Disney and Chris Meledandri never left Blue Sky Studios?
The land before time is one of my favorite movies of all time, makes me cry every time 🤧
Same can be said with An American Tail for me.
I loved Titan A.E. seeing Earth's destruction in that movie was beautiful. It and Frieza's destruction of planet Vegeta were super impactful on me as a kid.
It's funny how a "low-budget" animated Disney movie from the 60s is still 1000x more impressive than most animated stuff on TV today. I see Robin Hood and I don't think "low-budget". I just think wow this is some beautiful animation.
KORYBUG BURKETT: This is what I heard about the seven Don Bluth movies, Banjo the Woodpile Cat, Thumbelina, A Troll in Central Park, The Peddle and the Penguin, Anastasia, and Bartok the Magnificent and Titan A.E. owned by Disney and they are part of the Disney Empire and the Disney movies
Love this channel when it dives into the lore and career of artists and writers
Loved this video. All your videos are amazing both in the unique topics that aren't always covered and in the presentation.
Growing up, before we had Disney+ for a couple years, my mother had a series of DVDs of animated films that we would all watch every now and then, mostly the old Disney pictures everyone recognizes, but also a couple of obscure ones (specifically _The Great Mouse Detective,_ _The Aristocats,_ and _Atlantis: the Lost Empire,_ maybe even also _Robin Hood_ among them). I probably saw each one once or twice, though I can’t recall the plots of any of them in any detail. There were even two Bluth films in the mix: _An American Tail_ and _Anastasia._ Most of what I remember about them is how little they seemed to surface in general Disney advertising, and how different they all were from the more notable Disney productions. I’m not even sure why it occurred to my mother to purchase the DVDs for us, except if she herself grew up watching some of the films and, vaguely remembering them, wanted to revisit them with us. Something about the Bluth films in particular struck me as different from the Disney ones, though I could never quite place it.
Figuring out the whole history behind them, and even about films made back then I never had the chance to see, gave me a whole new perspective on a lot of that.
I’ve been waiting for someone to explore this topic. Absolutely loved this!!!
I would interested to hear you compare the success of the Disney Renaissance vs the Disney Revival. Both brought the most acclaimed Disney movies of all time
American Tail also started the trend of a celebrity doing a radio version of a film's big song & "Why Should I Worry" is a total jam
I say the same thing. Somewhere Out There in the movie with the two mice singing hitting extra high notes was a tearjerker, but I remember my family talking about it before going in to the movie specifically bc of the massive star power in Linda Rondstat and James Ingram. Disney then went out and started winning academies for soundtracks.The lineup that followed Somewhere Out There, lol. Early Celine Dion. Elton John AND Phil Collins.
It was so weird when I grew up and learned that the Secret of NIMH was just barely NOT a flop during its release, and that the Black Cauldron (which seemed to be taking more than a few lessons from NIMH) had fared even worse. The Secret of NIMH was like THE sleepover movie of choice for me and all my friends, even though it was scary as HELL!
I was a little older by the time I saw the Black Cauldron, so it wasn't quite as scary despite the PG rating and the creepy villain design. But it was still SO COOL that I went out and made my mom buy me the video game for PC. And then that game got me hooked on Sierra games for the rest of my young life, until about the time I started getting into kissing situations with other people.
I have the video game on Apple II GS since the movie was hidden from view until the end of the 1990s and even to this day is only available in the obviously truncated Katzenberg cut.
Secret of NIMH could've been a big hit if more major theaters had played it as it did do pretty well in the few theaters that would allow it, but too many didn't think it would work.
There are so many fascinating topics like this that so many people don’t get to actually delve into and enjoy. There’s lessons to be learned as well as just genuinely intriguing History
I'm learning from him now with Don Bluth University. He is BRILLIANT!
Agreed.
Great vid. Fascinating story. And you told it very well! Can tell you're passionate about animation.
If you listen to the voice of actress Elizabeth Hartman as Mrs. Brisby in Secret of Nimh she nails the despair in the heroine's voice. The main reason for this imo is that Hartman was suffering from severe depression that was so bad that she refused to leave her house and had practically stopped acting. Her friends who tried to help her talked her into doing the voice. It was the last thing she ever did as a few years later she committed suicide while still in her early 40s.
Dob Bluth has an animation school at the moment and I'm one of his students, he is a fascinating man who speaks about animation so passionately well into his 80s, he is extremely humble for a legend as himself.
To me, Don Bluth comes across as a man before his time, unafraid to use the cartoon medium way beyond its predetermined boundaries.
I remember watching The Land Before Time at the very young age, and while all emotional extremes were there, I don't recall coming out of theater any more traumatized then after watching The Lion King.
Hm, the final part of the video has a bit of "Monday Night Wars" to it. Too bad that Bluth didn't have Vinnie Mac's tenacity and grit.
About 10 years ago I got drawn into learning about Richard Williams’ history with Disney… I even bought his animators survival handbook and started studying hand drawn animation. but I had no idea about Don Bluth! He’s clearly a legend. I also watched all of his films, and I had a sense they were separate from Disney but I wasn’t totally sure. I was pretty young and haven’t revisited them recently… going to deep dive into all his films now for sure
An American tail is still one of my favourite films to date and the land before time is a classic to me
That Bluth movie have cool movie, I like it. but I like Disney 90’s movie too. I hate anybody compare them. I like them as long as good movie. But both studios should have messed by movie racing to reach high box office over animation..
Wow this wad an awesome video not what I'm used too from you but this was really informative and a fun ride down memory lane. Loved to see the death of disney renansiance video in the future
5:53 Doesn't Aristocats count as a 70s film since it was released in 1970?
Thanks for the coverage Matt. Much ❤ as always
Loved Titan AE. Saw it in theaters. Also really liked Atlantis and saw that in theaters (thought it had more in common with Final Fantasy than that weird, drab movie Square put out that same year).
Bluth’s 80s movies will always have a special place in my heart too. Except maybe All Dogs. Although I haven’t seen that one since I was a little kid, I don’t think
I still to this day unashamedly adore Titan AE. The greatest movie to shut down an animation studio! Also, growing up in Ireland in the 90's, Don Bluth was an icon. I was so proud to think that they were made in my small part of the world. How sad to think that that was to avoid unions. Sigh.
If anything, I love it even more than I enjoyed it back when it was new. Not a year goes by that I don't watch it again.
Compared to Disney, where I only ever rewatched Lion King and that was because the CG version disappointed me so much that I needed to rinse my mind.
The same unions that said nothing and did nothing when Disney threw away an art form it had been working on for decades in order to replace hand-drawn imagery with soulless Pixar clones while dragging Pixar down to its level in the process?
The same unions Disney still ignores today when they told the WGA strikers to get back to work?
The same unions that did nothing to stop American animation from getting mired in Saturday morning mediocrity for decades or from dragging Disney down to its level?
Yeah, I’m on Bluth’s side here.
same here, it's my favorite Bluth film.