Credit: DisneyTo say Walt Disney Animation Studio has been struggling lately would be an understatement. Despite its best efforts, lackluster releases and poor box office numbers have brought the animation juggernaut to its knees.
Even though its newest addition, Wish (2023), was an attempt at bringing viewers and fans back into the fold with a traditional Disney fairytale, the studio is still wrestling with a mixed reception. However, it might be the case that Disney needs to go a little further than back to the drawing board.
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The studio has a wealth of animators, artists, and storytellers at their disposal, but not every concept or film made it past the conceptual or storyboard stages. For every Lion King (1994) and Tangled (2010), there is a Gigantic or a King of the Elves waiting in the wings.
A Different Direction for Disney Animation
Not every Disney concept makes it into production, that’s showbiz. However, certain ideas have been revisited before. If animation buffs learned anything from the famous “Pixar Lunch” (seen in the trailer above), it’s that no idea or concept is ever truly scrapped.
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Lately, Disney has been struggling with newer ideas. The studio is essentially trying to appeal to the modern culture, and it’s left a bad taste in the audiences’ mouths. This might very well be a sign that it’s time to revisit some old concepts from the studio’s heyday.
Collider’s Lisa Laman brought the abandoned project Fraidy Cat out of obscurity in her recent article. The 2000s-era concept was Piet Kroon’s (known for his work on Osmosis Jones (2001)) comedic-thriller concerning a cat accused of eating a pet parrot told in the style of an Alfred Hitchcock film.
“Back in August 2004, Disney had displayed concept art for Fraidy Cat at that year’s edition of the SIGGRAPH conference. At this event, the studio also declared the feature to be one of a handful of new Walt Disney Animation Studios titles coming to theaters “very soon” alongside a quartet of Disney Animation titles that did see the light of day…”
Kroon’s vision was undoubtedly very peculiar for a Disney production, but not so bizarre that the legendary duo of Musker and Clements didn’t take notice. If the studio still wishes to experiment with the stories they tell, it might be a good idea to revisit previous ideas like Fraidy Cat.
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Although Fraidy Cat might never see the light of day, it hasn’t died in the limbo of obscurity just yet. With animation taking stranger routes as seen in movies like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) and Nimona (2023), the timing might actually work in the concept’s favor.
Inside the Magic has reached out to Disney for comment on its future animated projects, but received no response by the time of publishing.
Should Disney let the cat out of the bag? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!