About the Project

Being unemployed upon college graduation is bliss.

Well, not really. I’m slowly descending into madness, I think. I am three weeks into my post-graduation “f”unemployment, and I have set up camp in my father’s home until further notice. I guess I should qualify my unemployed status. I have a gig; it just doesn’t start until August.

So, here I am until then. As I have been going through my old things in my childhood room, deciding what to throw away and what to keep, I have been reminded mostly of one thing: I was mad about the Mouse, y’all.

You should know: I was not your average, Disney-liking child. I was obsessed. Not only did I attend the Disneyana Convention every year at Walt Disney World, but I even got to take a personal tour of Walt Disney Studios because I so avidly and frequently sent letters to the Fan Mail staff, who I can only imagine wondered why I had so much time on my hands that I was able to write them weekly. Well…I didn’t ever learn how to swim or ride a bike, so I had to do something.

I wanted to be an animator. My “research a career” project in 8th grade was completely focused on becoming a Disney animator. I knew all of the different kinds of animators — key, in-between, supervising, effects, assistant. I knew all of the leading animators in the industry at the time — Glen Keane, Andreas Deja, Tony Bancroft, Ruben Aquino. I loved storytelling, and I loved drawing. I had what it takes.

And then I went into theatre. Life doesn’t always go as planned. (Current unemployment, for example.)

Looking back on my time of intense Disneyphilia, I’m realizing that, outside of my favorites, I never really devoted a large amount of time to watching the entire Disney canon. Of course, my videotapes (are we far enough removed from the 90′s that I need to Wikipedia that? Here: Videotapes) of Cinderella and The Little Mermaid were worn from use, but how often did I actually sit down and watch Saludos Amigos or even The Aristocats? Rarely. I’m honestly not even sure I’ve seen Make Mine Music.

Enter: The Disney 50 Project.

Over the course of this summer of joyful unemployment, I am committing myself to watching all 50 Disney animated classics in chronological order. It should be noted, however, that Tangled, Disney’s 50th animated classic, is not being released until November. I suppose that viewing and writing about Tangled will be the capstone of the project. It will just have to wait until November.

Were you unaware that there is, in fact, a Disney-sanctioned list of which films do and do not count as “animated classics?” Because there is. The general guidelines: no sequels — except, of course, The Rescuers Down Under; Duck Tales and A Goofy Movie (but who doesn’t love A Goofy Movie?) are out; and nothing from Pixar.

As much as I can, I will explore each film in its historical context, researching both the film making process and the world in which the films premiered. Hopefully I’ll learn a little bit about why I loved Disney so much as a kid. After all, there had to have been more to Disney than just Cinderella and The Little Mermaid…right?