While still at Disney, Katzenberg’s buddy Geffen helped him discover the talents of musical lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken, a duo that crafted the hit songs responsible for much of Mermaid’s recognition. Their next project, Beauty and the Beast, proved that Katzenberg had tapped into the formula Walt Disney used to perfection during his legendary reign. Next came Aladdin, yet another animated trophy for Katzenberg’s mantle.
Katzenberg then took the king of the jungle and created a masterpiece, one that ultimately led to his demise at Disney. The Lion King evolved from an idea that Katzenberg first discussed while on a plane ride to Euro Disney. As LaPorte writes, “the film broke every record for animated films,” taking in $700 million in box office sales, but an underling should never get too powerful. “Katzenberg was beginning to look — a bit too much for some — like the king of the Disney jungle.”
Between his time at Disney and the animation launch at DreamWorks, what went wrong?
Perhaps he was tricked into believing Robin Williams’ turn in Aladdin led to the film’s success, but that was by no means the case, at least not artistically. And in a medium that is, at its core, the most artistic form of movie making, there is an onus placed on its creators to keep to higher standards than the rest of Hollywood.
Up until DreamWorks, Katzenberg seemed to understand such unspoken rules. In the end, it appears his vendetta against Eisner clouded his judgment, leading to break-neck speeds when churning out animated films and the desire to one-up his arch nemesis, rather than work towards impressing Walt Disney, a man Katzenberg once imagined looking down from above and guiding his animated work at Disney.
The Los Angeles Times wrote that Antz, a movie voiced by such A-listers as Woody Allen, Sharon Stone and Sylvester Stallone, had “no magic in the air.” Shark Tale, as LaPorte writes, was “one of the most chaotic productions to date,” thanks in large part to troubles working with Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese and Will Smith.
Lion King sported a somewhat well known cast of voice actors, but they did not make the film, rather the old Disney formula of heart and magic was at work.
Were it not for the Shrek franchise, Katzenberg might have never been able to puff his chest around Hollywood again, but Shrek is a film that purposely dumps on Disney’s hallmark brand of storytelling. While it is a welcome addition to animation, it by no means stands alongside Walt’s original creations, or even Katzenberg’s earlier masterpieces. In the end, Katzenberg opted to “go Hollywood” with animation, relying on celebrities and flashy technology to sell his movies, but for a one-time believer in all things Disney, he has sadly damaged the value of an art form he once championed.
This article was also published by the Huffington Post on June 4, 2010.
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