Disney era explanations sourced from Dizavenu.
Data sourced from
Sameer Patel,
OMBD, &
The Movie DB.
Beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and ending with Bambi, these films were all overseen by Walt himself, and established Walt Disney Studios as one of the leaders in animated filmmaking. With the exception of Snow White and Dumbo, in terms of financial success, the “Golden Age” wasn’t all that golden. This era is known for its dramatic jumps from dark to sweet.
With the arrival of World War II, Disney Studios faced lower budgets and smaller teams of animators available for their films. This era, also known as the “Package Era”, features films that are comprised of multiple short films within each. They are considered some of the more obscure films in Disney history, and were not wildly popular.
Also known as the “Restoration Age”, the Silver Age marks Disney’s return to making big-budget full-length films. This era is marked by its beautiful animation with ornate backgrounds with soft colors. These films have an otherworldly feel, and make even common day settings look magical. The background animation in Sleeping Beauty, for example, was designed to look like a painting. This era featured fairytale storytelling like Cinderella and The Sword in the Stone, as well as stories from popular books like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.
After the death of Walt Disney, this era was a time of decline for Disney. Disney Studios struggled to find their way without the guidance and imagination of Walt. The era also shied away from fairytales and focused more on darker, secular stories. During this time, there was a shift from hand-inked films to the use of xerography. This saved both time and money, allowing animators to directly print their drawings onto cells. However, the initial explorations of this method were criticized for the heavy black lines that the technique required.
This era saw profound success in the box office, with its movies returning to the musical fairytale storytelling that Disney was known for. With The Little Mermaid, Disney had produced the best achievement using xerography. Disney also began the Broadway formula, the idea that musical films could easily be translated into live performances. This was also the advent of animators Ashman and Alan Menken, animaters key to Disney's musical success.
With little common narrative themes, what really defines this era is Disney Studios exploring new methods of storytelling, such as that of Pixar’s. With the exception of Lilo and Stitch, films during this time were overshadowed by big movie franchises. Though it is often overlooked, Dinosaur got Disney interested in CGI animation, which has been used in recent years to create immensely popular films for the company.
With John Lasseter taking over the animation division in 2006 and Disney’s eventual purchase of Pixar, this era is seen as the second Disney Renaissance. The 2009 release of The Princess and the Frog was praised for its return to original Disney animation while also taking in nearly $270 million worldwide. However, Tangled, blending CGI with traditional animation techniques, which was later used for successes like Frozen and Big Hero 6.