You can make a convincing argument for any one of three movies in this spot: The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty And The Beast (1991) and The Lion King, the Holy Cartoon Trinity that (together with 1992s inferior Aladdin) formed the spine of the Disney Renaissance of the early nineties, the period thats cited as the one that saved the animation franchise of the company after the creative and financial doldrums of the eighties. All three won Oscars for their soundtracks and signature songs, all three have been turned into Broadway musicals and all three were massive successes, animated hits the box office had never seen before. Whichever film you choose of the three would probably say a lot about you in one of those personality quizzes that Buzzfeed like to hawk around, but really theres little contest. The Little Mermaid has charm out the wazoo, a great villain and the catchiest tunes, but no story to speak of. Beauty And The Beast has less tunes, a poor villain but a captivating story and compelling characterisation. The Lion King has the tunes, the villain (a practically never better Jeremy Irons voicing the malevolent, Shakespearean tyrant-in-waiting Scar), the story and the characters. Not for nothing is it still the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film in history, having made close to a billion dollars worldwide in the last two decades. The films seeped into popular culture since its initial release, and the animation and storytelling still hold up today.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
