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Disney make films - as part of a filmmaking process we might want to know why they make film X and not Y, why they depict characters a certain way and not other

Disney make films - as part of a filmmaking process we might want to know why they make film X and not Y, why they depict characters a certain way and not others. Are filmmakers limited or directed in any way? Enquiring minds would like to know. Presumably if you were to view Soviet or Nazi propaganda films, you wouldn't consider it off-topic to ask about their provenance, or if the political orientation of their sponsors was evident, and if that is morally acceptable. Do you think Disney is immune?

RandomLensman 5y ago
"We" make propaganda for "our way of life/moral convictions" - so? EDIT: I don't think people presume Disney to be immune, more like the presumption is probably "they are on our side"
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  So? Those stories are interesting. Disney is like any other BigCo. They have a million stakeholders pulling things a million different ways and they need to chart a course. Finding Nemo could have been a hilarious comedy or it could have been a drama that criticizes modern society (depending on which way you want to spin it). Replace the clownfish with disabled vets. Replace the turtles with some hippies in a bus. Replace Dory with a stripper. Replace the sharks with a biker gang. Replace the whale with a rent-seeking small town police department. Replace the dentist's boat with a greyhound bus across the country. Etc, etc. But they didn't, they chose to stick a kid's movie with what is a fairly heavy adult plot line at its core (and they distanced it even further by using animals). Why? That decision making process is its own story.
saiya-jin 5y ago
A kind of moot point, this is decision process happening in every studio all over the world. The only people who are truly independent are those who finance their movies themselves, and they are for a very different audience than Disney. Not that I agree with certain Disney choices, but they are for-profit just like everybody else and if one doesn't like their production, voting with wallet is as usually the best course of action.
csmpltn 5y ago
> "Disney make films - as part of a filmmaking process we might want to know why they make film X and not Y, why they depict characters a certain way and not others. Are filmmakers limited or directed in any way? Enquiring minds would like to know. Presumably if you were to view Soviet or Nazi propaganda films, you wouldn't consider it off-topic to ask about their provenance, or if the political orientation of their sponsors was evident, and if that is morally acceptable. Do you think Disney is immune?" What are you trying to say exactly? We also don't know why Chopin and Bach wrote their music the way they did. Why Picasso, Vincent, Da Vinci and others chose the motives they did, and painted the exact way they did. Are you bothered by that too? The answer you're looking for is "artistic freedoms", but I get the feeling you're looking for "ulterior motives" instead.
j7ake 5y ago
It is false to equate Disney with soviet and nazi propaganda, because Disney has to make a profit and compete with movies made by other capitalistic companies. State sponsored movies in dictatorships are different because viewers have no other choices but to view what’s made by the government and has no goal of making a profit.
- speed_spread 5y ago
  Exactly. Disney having to make a profit certainly taints their productions with ideology: - Obsession with royalty - Obsession with absolute power - Excuses for exceptionalism - Binary morals (good / evil) You might see it as simple entertainment, but seeing there is nothing to learn about in Disney stories, any worldview carried over to the real world _is_ propaganda.
  - j7ake 5y ago
    That is a valid viewpoint, but by that definition of propaganda you would have trouble naming anything that is not propaganda.
jb1991 5y ago
It seems you are circling around saying something that you don't want to say specifically, and I'm afraid I cannot follow the vague suggestion you are making.
khazhoux 5y ago
> why they depict characters a certain way and not others The writers have ideas for characters and stories, they share them with each other, they refine them, change them a lot, and eventually try to get to a point where it's a cohesive story. That's it -- that's the process. And if you ever get to work in an animation studio, you'll see just how much the story changes from the first pitch to the final product.

RandomLensman 5y ago

"We" make propaganda for "our way of life/moral convictions" - so? EDIT: I don't think people presume Disney to be immune, more like the presumption is probably "they are on our side"

throwaway0a5e 5y ago
So? Those stories are interesting. Disney is like any other BigCo. They have a million stakeholders pulling things a million different ways and they need to chart a course. Finding Nemo could have been a hilarious comedy or it could have been a drama that criticizes modern society (depending on which way you want to spin it). Replace the clownfish with disabled vets. Replace the turtles with some hippies in a bus. Replace Dory with a stripper. Replace the sharks with a biker gang. Replace the whale with a rent-seeking small town police department. Replace the dentist's boat with a greyhound bus across the country. Etc, etc. But they didn't, they chose to stick a kid's movie with what is a fairly heavy adult plot line at its core (and they distanced it even further by using animals). Why? That decision making process is its own story.

saiya-jin 5y ago

A kind of moot point, this is decision process happening in every studio all over the world. The only people who are truly independent are those who finance their movies themselves, and they are for a very different audience than Disney. Not that I agree with certain Disney choices, but they are for-profit just like everybody else and if one doesn't like their production, voting with wallet is as usually the best course of action.

csmpltn 5y ago

> "Disney make films - as part of a filmmaking process we might want to know why they make film X and not Y, why they depict characters a certain way and not others. Are filmmakers limited or directed in any way? Enquiring minds would like to know. Presumably if you were to view Soviet or Nazi propaganda films, you wouldn't consider it off-topic to ask about their provenance, or if the political orientation of their sponsors was evident, and if that is morally acceptable. Do you think Disney is immune?" What are you trying to say exactly? We also don't know why Chopin and Bach wrote their music the way they did. Why Picasso, Vincent, Da Vinci and others chose the motives they did, and painted the exact way they did. Are you bothered by that too? The answer you're looking for is "artistic freedoms", but I get the feeling you're looking for "ulterior motives" instead.

j7ake 5y ago

It is false to equate Disney with soviet and nazi propaganda, because Disney has to make a profit and compete with movies made by other capitalistic companies. State sponsored movies in dictatorships are different because viewers have no other choices but to view what’s made by the government and has no goal of making a profit.

speed_spread 5y ago
Exactly. Disney having to make a profit certainly taints their productions with ideology: - Obsession with royalty - Obsession with absolute power - Excuses for exceptionalism - Binary morals (good / evil) You might see it as simple entertainment, but seeing there is nothing to learn about in Disney stories, any worldview carried over to the real world _is_ propaganda.
- j7ake 5y ago
  That is a valid viewpoint, but by that definition of propaganda you would have trouble naming anything that is not propaganda.

jb1991 5y ago

It seems you are circling around saying something that you don't want to say specifically, and I'm afraid I cannot follow the vague suggestion you are making.

khazhoux 5y ago

> why they depict characters a certain way and not others The writers have ideas for characters and stories, they share them with each other, they refine them, change them a lot, and eventually try to get to a point where it's a cohesive story. That's it -- that's the process. And if you ever get to work in an animation studio, you'll see just how much the story changes from the first pitch to the final product.