Which movie would you consider to be the start of the "Disney Revival" era?

[Jason]

This poll was inspired by this post in the Moana thread:

 

On 11/22/2016 at 8:42 PM, Mojoguy said:

The only argument is which movie this modern era began with.
Bolt, Frog, or Tangled

Bolt because it was first WDAS movie John Lasseter fully influenced, first WDAS in a long time to get good reviews too

Frog since it brought back the musical, it shares many similarities to Little Mermaid which also was a trend setting but didn't make that much as BatB, Aladdin or Lion King

Tangled because of how much money it made and Rapunzel was the first CG Disney Princess

 

A little bit of discussion of this already happened over there. The Disney Wiki suggests Princess and the Frog as the start and offers a number of supporting sources, but I'm curious to know what BOT members think. Seemed like a better idea to create a poll than continuing the discussion over there. 

 

*Note: added Meet the Robinsons after the first four votes were in, see posts below.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Jason

[Morieris]

PATF because...that's just what I always thought the start was. I hate it, but the critical reception is pretty great.

 

I was going to pick Tangled on the merit that it's the best movie here.

[yjs]

I used to think it was the Princess and the Frog since that was more like Lasseter's passion project, but now I think Tangled is the one that sets the stylistic tone and the new trend and truly opened up a new era.

 

Bolt and Frog worked more as The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company, showing some promises and being modest box office success

then bam, Tangled happened, like how The Little Mermaid did. that are respectively followed by small sequel-ish movies that tested the medium with recycled materials (Winnie the Pooh for not entirely writing off the traditional hand drawn animation, The Rescuers Down Under for integrating CGI to a 2D animation)

[AniNate]

None of those. Meet the Robinsons was the first film with Lasseter as CCO, and also the first manifestation of their new "braintrust" with Stephen J Anderson as director. It may not have been critically acclaimed or a huge box office success, but it still was the film that laid the seeds down

Edited November 24, 2016 by tribefan695

[Jason]

3 minutes ago, tribefan695 said:

None of those. Meet the Robinsons was the first film with Lasseter as CCO, and also the first manifestation of their new "braintrust" with Stephen J Anderson as director. It may not have been critically acclaimed or a huge box office success, but it still was the film that laid the seeds down

 

Added Meet the Robinsons. 

[filmlover]

Meet the Robinsons.

[Yandereprime101189]

While Bolt and Princess and the Frog were steps in the right direction, it's really Tangled that started it, with Frozen later cementing it. 

[Spidey Freak]

Tangled. MTR, Bolt and especially TPatF marked the crawl towards the light at the end of the tunnel, but it was Tangled that made WDAS truly rediscover its identity as a studio and show how incredibly potent it still could be both critically and BO-wise. Tangled was literally WDAS's "Healing Incantation" to recover from the period of serious misfires, uncertainties and identity crisis.  

 

Heal what has been hurt
Change the Fates' design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine

What once was mine 

[Joel M]

Meet the Robinsons was a financial flop and had so-so reviews. Bolt had good reviews but barely made its budget back. Princess and the Frog did a little better but it still was the final nail in 2D animation's coffin. All of those movies created a "Disney is on the rise" vibe but for most people they came and went without notice. Also they didn't had a very high bar to pass. Disney had pretty much hit rock bottom creatively with the back-to-back of Home on the Range and Chicken Little. After Princess and the Frog Disney was still miles behind Pixar and DW, and boxoffice-wise they were even behind Blue Sky.

 

And then Tangled pulled a Little Mermaid.

Edited November 24, 2016 by Joel M

[grey ghost]

Tangled and Wreck It Ralph is when they found their mojo.

[Ethan Hunt]

Obviously Tangled

 

[lolifofo]

If we're talking critically only, I definitely think the Princess and the Frog should be included because it's nothing like the mediocre/terrible Disney films of the mid-2000's, and it's a very solid film that has the feel of the renaissance era but with even better animation. Bolt is okay I suppose but also very forgettable and unremarkable. I'd say it's in a limbo between the eras.

 

But once box office is factored in, then yes, Tangled is without doubt what put Disney back on track.

[The Panda]

I'd go with Tangled, it set the style and the standard for their movies going forward.

[SchumacherFTW]

I've always considered it to be Bolt, sort of kick started their course correction on the way to reaching the top. 

[RandomCat]

Bolt. It may not be the big hitter of Tangled, but it's where they start their course correct to finally hit big.

[Kalo]

Tangled, not only was it well received by critics and fans it was their first film of the 21st century to cross $200m, and the first for WDS since The Lion King in 94. even though PatF and Bolt were both critically acclaimed they weren't as well reviewed as Tangled and neither could muster much over $100m at the box office. Tangled was a major turning point for the studio, and the true start of the revival era imo. it was also fraudulently denied the BAP nomination, and if there had been 5 nominations in stead of 3 it most certainly would have been nominated. 

Edited November 30, 2016 by Kalo

[Joel M]

The Great Mouse Detective was the best reviewed Disney movie in a long time when it came out and also the directing debut of Musker & Clemens. Oliver & Company was a hit for 80s animation standards, it was actually the biggest animated hit of the decade up to that point. Both of those movies looked even more succesfull in context because the followed the epic bombing of Black Cauldron. None of them was ever considered as part of the Renaisance era. Bolt and Princess&Frog are in the same way not a part of the current revival or 2nd renaissance or whatever we would call the current Disney era after it's over.

[movieboner]

Tangled