An alternate history of animated films
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As for the other animated format in faraway Japan in the late 50s, will the US animation companies look into this format or ignore it at their own peril? If they see something interesting, will they import or do co-productions of this new animated format?
1988
1988
Fox Animation releases The Land Before Time, directed by Don Bluth and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film is a huge critical and financial success at the box office, with many praising the obvious influence from films such as Fantasia and Bambi.
This isn't Spielberg's only contribution to animation this year, however. There is also Warner Brothers' Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which takes the old trend of combining live-action actors with animated characters to new extremes, and features a wide variety of characters from many different studios. After the critical and financial success of this particular film, Spielberg decides to stay at Warner Brothers to produce future animated projects.
Fox Animation releases The Land Before Time, directed by Don Bluth and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film is a huge critical and financial success at the box office, with many praising the obvious influence from films such as Fantasia and Bambi.
This isn't Spielberg's only contribution to animation this year, however. There is also Warner Brothers' Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which takes the old trend of combining live-action actors with animated characters to new extremes, and features a wide variety of characters from many different studios. After the critical and financial success of this particular film, Spielberg decides to stay at Warner Brothers to produce future animated projects.
Next up are Ralph Bakshi's animated film reboot of Batman and Universal's Curious George.
Batman's cast will be different from the Tim Burton version IOTL. Dick Grayson/Robin will be in the movie, played by Keifer Sutherland, and Sean Young will play Vicki Vale (since her horseback accident will be butterflied).
Here were the actors considered for Bruce Wayne:
Pierce Brosnan
Mel Gibson
Harrison Ford
Kevin Costner
Charlie Sheen
Tom Selleck
Dennis Quaid
Here were the actors considered for Jack Napier/the Joker:
Robin Williams
John Lithgow
David Bowie
Willem Dafoe
Brad Dourif
James Woods
Tim Curry
Which choices do you like the most?
Batman's cast will be different from the Tim Burton version IOTL. Dick Grayson/Robin will be in the movie, played by Keifer Sutherland, and Sean Young will play Vicki Vale (since her horseback accident will be butterflied).
Here were the actors considered for Bruce Wayne:
Pierce Brosnan
Mel Gibson
Harrison Ford
Kevin Costner
Charlie Sheen
Tom Selleck
Dennis Quaid
Here were the actors considered for Jack Napier/the Joker:
Robin Williams
John Lithgow
David Bowie
Willem Dafoe
Brad Dourif
James Woods
Tim Curry
Which choices do you like the most?
Considering the lack of an Animation Age Ghetto in this timeline, I don't think the mere existence of an adult cartoon on TV would be quite as revolutionary.
So, before I wrap up the eighties, I should share what I'm planning for the nineties, especially since there's some stuff I haven't figured out yet, and I'm hoping for suggestions.
Disney
Will probably start off the decade with a couple of feature films based on Uncle Scrooge and Winnie the Pooh, as well as distributing Pixar's stop-motion/CG hybrids. Hopefully that will convince them to do features again.
Pixar
As with The Nightmare Before Christmas, their filmography will consist primarily of stop-motion CG hybrids, and the staff will consist of John Lasseter, Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Joe Ranft, and newcomers like Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton. I imagine they'll start out with The Brave Little Toaster, before moving onto James and the Giant Peach, Toots and the Upside Down House, Corpse Bride, and Coraline. The lunch where the Pixar guys came up with Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E will probably still happen, though those films will probably be different from OTL's versions.
Warner Brothers
Steven Spielberg will work there throughout the nineties, and the films made at Amblimation IOTL (like We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto, along with the cancelled films like Cats and the early version of Shrek) will be done at WB instead, and will have Chuck Jones and Richard Williams on the staff.
Fox Animation
John Musker and Ron Clements will direct The Little Mermaid there, this time with help from Don Bluth. My original idea was that it would be split up into two different divisions, one run by Musker and Clements, and the other run by Bluth, but now I'm thinking of having Musker and Clements leave Fox to work at Universal. Anyway, Don Bluth will run the studio throughout the nineties, and will do some of his films that were cancelled IOTL like the Dragon's Lair movie, his version of Beauty and the Beast, Satyrday, and The Little Blue Whale.
Fleischer
Ralph Bakshi will continue to run the studio, and will do a mixture of feature films and TV shows. John Kricfalusi will create Ren and Stimpy (though ITTL he'll be exposed early on for his douchbaggery and will be kicked out, and Bob Camp will be recognized as the true creator of R&S), and Danny Antonucci will create Ed, Edd n Eddy. Maybe other Nicktoons like Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants will be Fleischer shows too?
Universal
I had the idea of John Musker and Ron Clements coming to work here and taking over after Walter Lantz's death. Still trying to figure out what kind of films they should do, though. I also had the idea of Brad Bird coming to work here and having The Iron Giant and The Incredibles being 2D Universal films.
MGM
I imagine like IOTL, a lot of Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls will start out as Hanna-Barbera productions. As for feature films, I could see Wayne and Diana Young pitching Ferngully: The Last Rainforest to them, as well as the studio also producing The Pagemaster. Hopefully the terrible Tom and Jerry movie will be butterflied.
----
There's still some other stuff I haven't figured out, like what studio Klasky-Csupo will work at, for instance. Any suggestions?
Disney
Will probably start off the decade with a couple of feature films based on Uncle Scrooge and Winnie the Pooh, as well as distributing Pixar's stop-motion/CG hybrids. Hopefully that will convince them to do features again.
Pixar
As with The Nightmare Before Christmas, their filmography will consist primarily of stop-motion CG hybrids, and the staff will consist of John Lasseter, Tim Burton, Henry Selick, Joe Ranft, and newcomers like Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton. I imagine they'll start out with The Brave Little Toaster, before moving onto James and the Giant Peach, Toots and the Upside Down House, Corpse Bride, and Coraline. The lunch where the Pixar guys came up with Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, and Wall-E will probably still happen, though those films will probably be different from OTL's versions.
Warner Brothers
Steven Spielberg will work there throughout the nineties, and the films made at Amblimation IOTL (like We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story and Balto, along with the cancelled films like Cats and the early version of Shrek) will be done at WB instead, and will have Chuck Jones and Richard Williams on the staff.
Fox Animation
John Musker and Ron Clements will direct The Little Mermaid there, this time with help from Don Bluth. My original idea was that it would be split up into two different divisions, one run by Musker and Clements, and the other run by Bluth, but now I'm thinking of having Musker and Clements leave Fox to work at Universal. Anyway, Don Bluth will run the studio throughout the nineties, and will do some of his films that were cancelled IOTL like the Dragon's Lair movie, his version of Beauty and the Beast, Satyrday, and The Little Blue Whale.
Fleischer
Ralph Bakshi will continue to run the studio, and will do a mixture of feature films and TV shows. John Kricfalusi will create Ren and Stimpy (though ITTL he'll be exposed early on for his douchbaggery and will be kicked out, and Bob Camp will be recognized as the true creator of R&S), and Danny Antonucci will create Ed, Edd n Eddy. Maybe other Nicktoons like Rocko's Modern Life and SpongeBob SquarePants will be Fleischer shows too?
Universal
I had the idea of John Musker and Ron Clements coming to work here and taking over after Walter Lantz's death. Still trying to figure out what kind of films they should do, though. I also had the idea of Brad Bird coming to work here and having The Iron Giant and The Incredibles being 2D Universal films.
MGM
I imagine like IOTL, a lot of Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Lab, Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls will start out as Hanna-Barbera productions. As for feature films, I could see Wayne and Diana Young pitching Ferngully: The Last Rainforest to them, as well as the studio also producing The Pagemaster. Hopefully the terrible Tom and Jerry movie will be butterflied.
----
There's still some other stuff I haven't figured out, like what studio Klasky-Csupo will work at, for instance. Any suggestions?
It'll probably keep the original dark ending, for starters. (Don't worry, it'll still be happy. Think about the ending of All Dogs Go to Heaven IOTL.)
Oddly enough, it reminds me of how I had suggested to @HeX that his version of TLM function similarly to the plot of ADGTH, but with the mermaid surviving.
If they're still working on The Simpsons in this time line, I could definitely see them with Fox Animation. Fox Kids also launches in 1990 in OTL so that could be a place to put their TV Shows. Otherwise, they would still be working with Nickelodeon.
I just remembered something else.
Yes, with Spielberg at Warner Brothers, the WB shows he produced like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs will still be made under his belt. (Batman: the Animated Series, on the other hand, will be done by Fleischer. Another person suggested WB could do the Marvel stuff instead, and that's not a bad idea.)
Yes, with Spielberg at Warner Brothers, the WB shows he produced like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs will still be made under his belt. (Batman: the Animated Series, on the other hand, will be done by Fleischer. Another person suggested WB could do the Marvel stuff instead, and that's not a bad idea.)
So know...sometimes I think about remaking this project from the beginning.
There's a LOT of stuff in animation that I glossed over. For instance, during the late forties, former Disney director David Hand worked at a British studio that produced these shorts called Animaland (that have unfortunately fallen into obscurity), and I heard they were going to do film adaptations of "The First Men on the Moon" and "The Hunting of the Snark" before the studio was shut down in 1950. I could've talked about that here, but I was too focused on American animation.
Similarly, I could've had Bill Peet stay at Disney and produce animated adaptations of some of his later children's books. (The reason he left IOTL was because he fought with Walt over The Jungle Book, but that film was done by Warner Brothers IOTL.)
There's a LOT of stuff in animation that I glossed over. For instance, during the late forties, former Disney director David Hand worked at a British studio that produced these shorts called Animaland (that have unfortunately fallen into obscurity), and I heard they were going to do film adaptations of "The First Men on the Moon" and "The Hunting of the Snark" before the studio was shut down in 1950. I could've talked about that here, but I was too focused on American animation.
Similarly, I could've had Bill Peet stay at Disney and produce animated adaptations of some of his later children's books. (The reason he left IOTL was because he fought with Walt over The Jungle Book, but that film was done by Warner Brothers IOTL.)