Disney Animation Erases Walt’s Original Work

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Skeletons dancing in Skeleton Dance

Credit: D23

The Walt Disney Company recently announced that they would release a slew of vintage short films onto Disney+ starting July, 2023. While this is obviously great news for all the hardcore Disney fans out there who love the Silly Symphonies and classic antics of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, it might come with a twist that does more harm than good.

Mickey Mouse sits on Walt Disney's shoulder
Credit: Disney

The shorts are also slated to come with full restoration for higher quality and modern screens. That all sounds well and good on paper, but some of the work being done could come at the expense of Disney’s original artistry.

Restoration and Elimination For Disney Animation

Goofy fishing with a grasshopper
Credit: D23

Disney built their magical empire on animated shorts, and to deny fans any of the studio’s early work would be denying them a piece of animation history. However, while restoring the films for modern audiences is a good idea to an extent, previous work done by this team has left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans.

Related: Disney Criticized After “Baffling” Censorship In Popular Children’s Show Goes Viral

Kevin Schaeffer and the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation Team are scheduled to bring 28 classic Walt Disney short films to Disney+. While they do have the involvement of Disney Legend Eric Goldberg on their side, their previous work on Cinderella literally erased the artistry of the original animators.

If you replace the blade on Abe Lincoln’s hatchet, is it still Abe Lincoln’s hatchet? The restoration of classic Disney movies is what helps the studio preserve their films for posterity, but recent 4k restorations have erased minor ticks and flaws left by the original artists.

Cinderella 4k and Original
Credit: boredpanda.com and Disney

An article from boredpanda.com showed what a difference there was between the restoration and the original print of Disney’s Cinderella. Needless to say, it’s honestly shocking how much of a change in quality a few lines can make. Logic dictates that fans might be presented with a similar situation.

Related: Immersive Disney Animation is Nightmare Fuel

Additionally, there’s also the addition of forced censorship on these vintage cartoons. If Disney will cut an entire episode of Bluey for fart jokes, there’s no way they’re letting shorts from the ’20s and ’30s go unchecked. That all being said, we won’t really know what happens until next month.

The real question on the issue is, “how much is too much?” Of course Disney should go the extra mile in preserving their animated shorts and  films for generations to come, but they shouldn’t do it at the cost of losing the original work, warts and all.

Does Disney go too far with their restoration efforts? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!

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