So, Fox really is the new Disney in this timeline. Now I really do see Disney going down the path the Fox Corporation did. Disney Kids, Disney News, Disney Sports, 20th Century Disney, etc.
An alternate history of animated films
- Thread starter NoName
- Start date
So, Fox really is the new Disney in this timeline. Now I really do see Disney going down the path the Fox Corporation did. Disney Kids, Disney News, Disney Sports, 20th Century Disney, etc.
Next up is Warner Brother's Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and Fox Animation's Banjo the Woodpile Cat.
The latter will have some of the ideas Don Bluth wanted to use when it was planned as a feature IOTL (including a villainous cat named Rocko, a henchman named Itchy, and a helpful termite; haven't figured out who should voice these characters yet).
I'm still trying to figure out everything that will happen in the eighties, including what I should do with Tim Burton. (I heard the reason he got into stop-motion IOTL was because he loved the Rankin-Bass specials, but those have been butterflied away, so maybe most of his work ITTL will be hand-drawn instead?)
The latter will have some of the ideas Don Bluth wanted to use when it was planned as a feature IOTL (including a villainous cat named Rocko, a henchman named Itchy, and a helpful termite; haven't figured out who should voice these characters yet).
I'm still trying to figure out everything that will happen in the eighties, including what I should do with Tim Burton. (I heard the reason he got into stop-motion IOTL was because he loved the Rankin-Bass specials, but those have been butterflied away, so maybe most of his work ITTL will be hand-drawn instead?)
I just realized that since the first film adaptation had Wonka's name in the title instead of Charlie, this sequel should be titled Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator. Most of the old cast will reprise their roles, and for the new characters, I can see Hans Conried as the President of the United States (who will probably be a cross between Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter), and Candy Candido providing the grunts of the Vermiscious Knids.
Most of the voice cast of Banjo the Woodpile Cat will be the same. I can see Roddy McDowall as Rocko, Hal Smith as the Termite, and Jack Angel as Itchy.
Most of the voice cast of Banjo the Woodpile Cat will be the same. I can see Roddy McDowall as Rocko, Hal Smith as the Termite, and Jack Angel as Itchy.
So far, not too different from OTL.
Was that film even released in the US at the time?
You know, maybe Britain should get in on the Animated Feature craze. I'd be great if Jeff Wayne went to one of them with his idea for a musical version of War of the Worlds. Maybe have Aardman do it in Stop-Motion? Here's what they were doing round about this time.
Jeff Wayne yes! I love that album so so much, I am 100% behind this!
1979
1979
Fox Animation releases their second animated feature Banjo the Woodpile Cat, the directorial debut of Disney animator Don Bluth. The film is successful and gets good reviews from critics for feeling like one of Disney's earlier works.
Meanwhile, Warner Brothers releases Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator. The film is not as successful as its predecessor, and doesn't get as good reviews, but Roald Dahl likes it even more than the previous film.
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Sorry about this one being shorter than usual. I'm still trying to figure out everything that will happen in the eighties, especially since that was when the animation renaissance started IOTL.
Fox Animation releases their second animated feature Banjo the Woodpile Cat, the directorial debut of Disney animator Don Bluth. The film is successful and gets good reviews from critics for feeling like one of Disney's earlier works.
Meanwhile, Warner Brothers releases Willy Wonka and the Great Glass Elevator. The film is not as successful as its predecessor, and doesn't get as good reviews, but Roald Dahl likes it even more than the previous film.
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Sorry about this one being shorter than usual. I'm still trying to figure out everything that will happen in the eighties, especially since that was when the animation renaissance started IOTL.
Perhaps Don Bluth's OTL films get made earlier ITTL under the FOX label, and are in the front seat of the animation renaissance.
I know that will happen, along with films that were done by Disney IOTL like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. But here's the stuff I HAVEN'T figured out yet.
1: Once again, what about Tim Burton? Will he stay at Fox? Team up with John Lasseter and the Pixar guys to make stop-motion/CG hybrids? Do his own thing completely?
2: What about Pixar? Will Disney help out with their films like IOTL? Will that be what convinces Disney to do animated features again? (I know IOTL John Lasseter wanted to do The Brave Little Toaster as a CG film, so maybe that will be Pixar's first film ITTL?)
3: Who will produce The Simpsons? Rankin-Bass? MGM? Some new studio? I know Klasky-Csupo helped animated the early seasons IOTL, but will they do so here as well?
Tom should go to Britain and work for Aardman. Work on War of the Worlds and share his animation style with the company.
1) Tim and John woulr be a nice combo
2) I hope Disney comes out of animation retirement, and Pixar would be the spark that allows it.
3) If Nickelodeon is still a thing ITTL, Klasky Csupó will still have their heyday there. As for The Simpsons, perhaps they'd still do that, perhaps for a new studio or RB or MGM.
(Also, anything else you are still tryong to figure out?)
I don't know, but it sounds awesome! That album is a masterwork and an animated adaptation would be epic, and make BANK!
In OTL, a sequel was conceived titled Banjo Meets the King of the Goblins but Bluth wanted to move on from Banjo. He also planned merchandising and even a comic strip of Banjo but those never came to fruition. Will that happen ITTL?
Maybe? I'm still thinking about that.
I know the merch will definitely come to fruition, as with any successful film at this time.
Okay, so here's what I HAVE figured out for each animation studio in the eighties so far.
Disney
They will continue to do television shows and live-action films throughout most of the decade, and this will also be when their classics will be released on home video. I imagine close to the end of the decade, they will make a theatrical film based on either Uncle Scrooge or Winnie the Pooh.
I'm still debating whether they will start doing the infamous Mickey Mouse Act or not. I can see them being totally fine with letting Mickey fall into the public domain (since he was a bland character anyway, and the only reason he became popular was because Walt kept trying to push him into the public's eye when he was alive), and maybe accepting a different character like Winnie the Pooh as their new mascot instead. Alternatively, they could make it so that the original "classic" Mickey with the dot eyes is public domain, but the current Mickey is still under copyright. (Like how Thor from Norse mythology is public domain, but Marvel Thor is under copyright.)
Warner Brothers
Chuck Jones will do Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, and maybe one other film. Who Framed Roger Rabbit will still be released, but it will be a WB film instead of a Disney film. Steven Spielberg will join WB's animation department after that.
Fox
Fox Animation will continue to release animated films directed by Don Bluth, both the ones from OTL like The Secret of NIMH, and the ones done by Disney IOTL like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. They will also release Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, and those games will be such hits that virtually every animation studio will want to do interactive movie games as well.
Fleischer
Ralph Bakshi will decide to try his hand at "FAMILY pictures", and will first release Wizards, then will do two Dr. Seuss adaptations: The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book. (Seuss went back to children's books after leaving Warner Brothers, and I imagine Bakshi was a fan of the films written by Seuss at WB.) Paramount still owns the rights to DC, so Bakshi will direct 1989's Batman instead of Tim Burton.
Bakshi will also produce the Star Trek reboot series The Next Generation. Meanwhile, John Kricfalusi, Danny Antonucci, and maybe other notable cartoonists will join Fleischer at this point, and make their own animated series.
IOTL, Donkey Kong started out as a Popeye game before Nintendo lost the rights...so maybe Paramount could let them keep the rights ITTL, resulting in the Mario franchise being butterflied away.
Pixar
John Lasseter will leave Fox Animation and direct The Brave Little Toaster as a CGI film. (Maybe Disney will help produce it, and this will be what rekindles their interest in animated films.)
Tim Burton
He and Henry Selick will do The Nightmare Before Christmas as a TV special instead of a feature. Haven't figured out whether it should be stop-motion or hand-drawn. (I heard Burton IOTL gained his love of stop-motion from the Rankin-Bass specials, but those have been butterflied. Of course, he could just as easily gain this interest from the Ray Harryhausen films.) Once again, maybe Disney will produce it. (I also had the idea of him and Selick teaming up with John Lasseter and the Pixar team, and experimenting with CGI/stop-motion hybrids, which The Brave Little Toaster could end up being. Since Joe Ranft worked with both Pixar and Henry Selick, it's not as unlikely as you may think.)
MGM
The Plague Dogs will be their first animated film of the decade, then they'll probably do features and TV specials based on their television characters like Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo.
Universal
Walter Lantz's studio will mainly do adaptations of children's books (including obscure ones like Willy Visits the Square World and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, along with maybe a Curious George movie). Haven't figured out who will take over the studio after he passes in the nineties. Some ideas include Phil Roman, Phil Nibbelink, and Phil Kirschner (yes, three Phils).
Rankin-Bass
Will continue to do Peanuts specials, along with Garfield specials and maybe even a Calvin and Hobbes special if Bill Watterson is slightly less reluctant here. IOTL, Bill Melendez handed the Garfield specials to Phil Roman so he could focus more on Peanuts. Maybe ITTL, something like that will happen here...maybe Klasky-Csupo could do Garfield once RB is done with them?
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Any other suggestions?
Disney
They will continue to do television shows and live-action films throughout most of the decade, and this will also be when their classics will be released on home video. I imagine close to the end of the decade, they will make a theatrical film based on either Uncle Scrooge or Winnie the Pooh.
I'm still debating whether they will start doing the infamous Mickey Mouse Act or not. I can see them being totally fine with letting Mickey fall into the public domain (since he was a bland character anyway, and the only reason he became popular was because Walt kept trying to push him into the public's eye when he was alive), and maybe accepting a different character like Winnie the Pooh as their new mascot instead. Alternatively, they could make it so that the original "classic" Mickey with the dot eyes is public domain, but the current Mickey is still under copyright. (Like how Thor from Norse mythology is public domain, but Marvel Thor is under copyright.)
Warner Brothers
Chuck Jones will do Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland, and maybe one other film. Who Framed Roger Rabbit will still be released, but it will be a WB film instead of a Disney film. Steven Spielberg will join WB's animation department after that.
Fox
Fox Animation will continue to release animated films directed by Don Bluth, both the ones from OTL like The Secret of NIMH, and the ones done by Disney IOTL like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. They will also release Dragon's Lair and Space Ace, and those games will be such hits that virtually every animation studio will want to do interactive movie games as well.
Fleischer
Ralph Bakshi will decide to try his hand at "FAMILY pictures", and will first release Wizards, then will do two Dr. Seuss adaptations: The Lorax and The Butter Battle Book. (Seuss went back to children's books after leaving Warner Brothers, and I imagine Bakshi was a fan of the films written by Seuss at WB.) Paramount still owns the rights to DC, so Bakshi will direct 1989's Batman instead of Tim Burton.
Bakshi will also produce the Star Trek reboot series The Next Generation. Meanwhile, John Kricfalusi, Danny Antonucci, and maybe other notable cartoonists will join Fleischer at this point, and make their own animated series.
IOTL, Donkey Kong started out as a Popeye game before Nintendo lost the rights...so maybe Paramount could let them keep the rights ITTL, resulting in the Mario franchise being butterflied away.
Pixar
John Lasseter will leave Fox Animation and direct The Brave Little Toaster as a CGI film. (Maybe Disney will help produce it, and this will be what rekindles their interest in animated films.)
Tim Burton
He and Henry Selick will do The Nightmare Before Christmas as a TV special instead of a feature. Haven't figured out whether it should be stop-motion or hand-drawn. (I heard Burton IOTL gained his love of stop-motion from the Rankin-Bass specials, but those have been butterflied. Of course, he could just as easily gain this interest from the Ray Harryhausen films.) Once again, maybe Disney will produce it. (I also had the idea of him and Selick teaming up with John Lasseter and the Pixar team, and experimenting with CGI/stop-motion hybrids, which The Brave Little Toaster could end up being. Since Joe Ranft worked with both Pixar and Henry Selick, it's not as unlikely as you may think.)
MGM
The Plague Dogs will be their first animated film of the decade, then they'll probably do features and TV specials based on their television characters like Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and Scooby-Doo.
Universal
Walter Lantz's studio will mainly do adaptations of children's books (including obscure ones like Willy Visits the Square World and The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, along with maybe a Curious George movie). Haven't figured out who will take over the studio after he passes in the nineties. Some ideas include Phil Roman, Phil Nibbelink, and Phil Kirschner (yes, three Phils).
Rankin-Bass
Will continue to do Peanuts specials, along with Garfield specials and maybe even a Calvin and Hobbes special if Bill Watterson is slightly less reluctant here. IOTL, Bill Melendez handed the Garfield specials to Phil Roman so he could focus more on Peanuts. Maybe ITTL, something like that will happen here...maybe Klasky-Csupo could do Garfield once RB is done with them?
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Any other suggestions?
As I said, Burton would do better in this timeline by taking his craft abroad to Aardman. The Nightmare Before Christmas would look even more creepy in Clay and the company would do bigger overseas.