It's interesting the way that many of these Disney "live action" films simply "do not land." They are hard punches, thrown by professionals, but they miss on a regular basis. For every "Old Yeller" there is a "Follow Me, Boys" or two (or three) and Disney got a bad reputation for creating stuff the just fell flat.
The question for film students is this: WHY does it fail? All of the elements seem to be there, but then something just goes wrong. It's the same problem with "In Search of the Castaways"-- another Disney movie that just sits there and, in the end, fails.
My opinion is that it's about The Missing Character. In these films, made during the final years of Walt Disney's life, there is a missing person-- one character that really moves the story along or provide entertainment. You need to have somebody in there who is genuinely capable of making the audience feel something. Like a really funny comedian. A really bad villain. A really amazing character who stands out.
Since Disney (apparently) saw this kind of character as maybe a bit too patronizing, these movies just don't work for me. I kept expecting Don Knotts or Tim Conway of somebody of that stature to appear. But no. So everything is "heartwarming" but the movie maker doesn't have the sense to calm down and give us a "slice of life." Instead, we get weird events that aren't funny and aren't real. So they flop. Too bad.
The question for film students is this: WHY does it fail? All of the elements seem to be there, but then something just goes wrong. It's the same problem with "In Search of the Castaways"-- another Disney movie that just sits there and, in the end, fails.
My opinion is that it's about The Missing Character. In these films, made during the final years of Walt Disney's life, there is a missing person-- one character that really moves the story along or provide entertainment. You need to have somebody in there who is genuinely capable of making the audience feel something. Like a really funny comedian. A really bad villain. A really amazing character who stands out.
Since Disney (apparently) saw this kind of character as maybe a bit too patronizing, these movies just don't work for me. I kept expecting Don Knotts or Tim Conway of somebody of that stature to appear. But no. So everything is "heartwarming" but the movie maker doesn't have the sense to calm down and give us a "slice of life." Instead, we get weird events that aren't funny and aren't real. So they flop. Too bad.