Up next is the 1950s. I think you all will like the lineup for this decade and I am ESPECIALLY looking forward to 1951 because of how beloved the title is IOTL and I want to transform it to fit into the 1950s.
The Shuffled Disneyverse: An Alt Disney Timeline
- Thread starter PGSBHurricane
- Start date
There were some segments I wanted to include here that were considered during the selection process for the original Fantasia film of OTL in 1938 and story material and concept art for 8 new pieces considered for a contusion. This included one based on the Hobbit and one based on the Steadfast Tin Soldier (which even had concept art completed by Bianca Major). But with the pieces Taylor recorded in 1940 and limited slots available, these two and countless other segment ideas. I hope to include some of these in the Fantasia sequel. In the meantime just enjoy the 1950s lineup even though I am less certain about the story for the 1953 film since it is rather risky.
Chicken Little (1950)
Chicken Little (1950):
Unlike most of its predecessors, Chicken Little was not conceptualized as a feature film until World War II. An anti-Nazi propaganda short film named Chicken Little, based on the Henny Penny fable, was released in 1943 to demonstrate the evils of mass hysteria. Not long afterward, Disney drew up plans for a full-length feature based on the folktale. He assigned Joe Grant and Dick Huemer to start working on it in December 1943 and gave them an initial budget of $1 million. Work was halted in 1945 during the production of Song of the South. More story meetings were held before storyboarding began in August 1947. By early 1948, Chicken Little was fast-tracked to be the 12th Disney film released with a 1950 date based on its story development compared to other projects going on. Since Disney himself was occupied with filming the live-action adaptation of Treasure Island, he canceled daily story meetings and allowed the directors greater judgment. Production was finally finished by mid-January of 1950, just two months before its premiere.
Chicken Little starts with the titular character watching the end of the namesake 1943 short in school for social studies class as an exercise in parallelism between World War II and the rising tensions between America and the Soviet Union. As a shrinking violet with a rather wildly vivid imagination. Chicken Little gains anxiety over the sky falling both in the literal sense and as a euphemism for a nuclear bombing. The anxious young girl ever becomes more hysterical until summer break when her parents, to help her gain courage after a “falling sky” incident, send her away to summer camp. There, she meets a boy nicknamed the Ugly Duckling who is ostracized for his looks. The two bond over their shared ostracism and become friends. Thinking she has found safety, Chicken Little and the Ugly Duckling discover a plan by a pack of wolves to impersonate the counselors (mostly comprised of anthropomorphic sheep) so that they can lure in the campers and eat them during the wolves’ annual feast. Chicken Little starts to lose her sanity but realizes that only she and the Ugly Duckling can save the camp. They try to warn the other campers and counselors about the wolves in sheep’s clothing but will anyone believe them until it’s too late?
The premiere of Chicken Little was held in Boston on May 17, 1950. It debuted in New York and Chicago a week later before making its wide release on June 2. Because its final budget was $1.7 million, it was able to earn enough money at the box office to wipe out most of Disney’s remaining debt. Disney himself was not thrilled with the finished product, though. He loved the idea of a feature centering around anthropomorphic animals, considering his most iconic stars were Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. But, Walt commented that, in retrospect, the film felt too contemporary and lacked the timelessness of his previous work. He also said it was cynical and even mean-spirited at times. Critics and audiences at the time agreed, universally panning Chicken Little. However, it was one of the first Disney films to be released onto home video in the early 1980s and has since gained enough fans for people to be evenly dispersed into one of three camps. One considers it one of the worst, if not the worst 2D Disney films; another genuinely loves it despite its flaws; and yet another considers it okay to average. The most hated Disney film had yet to be released and Chicken Little came right before one of the most beloved and successful of them all.
Author's Note: So Chicken Little has something of a better fate ITTL. Hated at the time yet unlike its OTL counterpart is tripolar in the present day and has a large fanbase. Of course, this title was meant to emulate Cinderella in terms of animation quality and being the film to technically save Disney from bankruptcy yet otherwise parallel Robin Hood, most notably being hated before developing a fanbase due to home video releases and, of course, talking animals. I based the plot based on the original draft of OTL's version of Chicken Little but of course with some modifications and cultural references of the 1940s and 1950s.
Up next is, so far, my favorite title of the lineup in terms of writing. I even started it while I was halfway through this Chicken Little write-up; that's how excited I am about this and you will soon understand why when I release the 1951 title.
Damn, I might actually prefer this Fantasia to the real one.
Do you have a source for Deems Taylor having recorded those intros though? I've never heard that before.
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Here’s the source: https://books.google.com/books/abou...1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1#v=onepage&q&f=false
It’s an online format of Deems Taylor’s biography.
At this point in the timeline, does Walt have any descendants that differ from OTL?
The only thing that is different in TTL is the order of the titles that are released and by extension the butterflies associated with it such as a slightly increased spotlight on Non-fantasy anaimation. There might be different descendants of Disney down the road since both of his daughters came into the picture before the POD. So if there are different direct descendants it won’t be yet.
Also, the next update might be the last for a little while since I still have my two other main timelines to pay attention to and I'm less certain about the plot for this TL's 1953 release. Meanwhile, I've been looking at this site and I've been thinking of another idea similar to this one for a second side project, albeit I'm not planning on starting it in the too near future: What if Bambi was Disney's second animated feature as originally intended?
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Now that I've established that Chicken Little won't be the most hated film in the WDAC, I will be hinting at two potential contenders:
One is released in the 1970s, the other in the 1980s.
Since Pooh is a 1940s movie ITTL, I have no horse in this race, and I'm glad.
Just to be sure, are the release dates for these films OTL or TTL?
Here are my guesses for the next three films in the WDAC:
1951 (From a fairy tale that features royalty): The Little Mermaid (1989)
1953 (Inspired by mythology): Moana (2016)
1955 (Talking animals are the focal point): Zootopia (2016)
1953 (Inspired by mythology): Moana (2016)
1955 (Talking animals are the focal point): Zootopia (2016)
The release dates are TTL and for the next three films you got one right, I won’t say which though as I don’t want to spoil anything. I can take PMs for spoilers though.
The Emperor's New Groove (1951)
The Emperor's New Groove (1951):
In 1938, after the success of Snow White, Disney bought a book of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. Drawing out of a hat, Disney selected The Emperor’s New Clothes as the second Hans Christen Andersen film after The Snow Queen. A story real was completed in 1939, but Disney was dissatisfied since he thought the script was too ambiguous and not whimsical enough and the lead character himself too cold and unlikeable. Because of the production demands for other Disney films and World War II, The Emperor's New Clothes was shelved until the war ended and finally went into full production in 1946. At this point, Disney edited the title of the film to the Emperor’s New Groove to reflect the emperor’s changes in his style and attitude throughout the movie. A new competition within Disney’s studio took place to see which film would be completed first: Chicken Little or The Emperor’s New Groove. The latter was scheduled tentatively for a 1950 release but had fallen behind the former by early 1948 and the directors pushed its release back to 1951. The writing of both the script and music of The Emperor’s New Groove was said to be grueling, and they barely met their deadlines.
The film begins with the vain and short-sighted Emperor George sitting in his palace throne room. The wealth of his empire allows him access to the most luxurious clothes, but almost none of it goes to the majority peasant population. George notices his clothes are old and out of vogue, so he demands his royal advisor hire a tailor to make him new clothes. The advisor knowingly hires two swindlers who dabble in weaving and want revenge on the emperor. At first, they appear legitimate and even show the emperor how they make the clothes. Eventually, the clothes get wackier with each visit, and the townspeople take notice and start imitating these fashion trends. Finally, they make George a suit colored with a rare dye with magical properties that are supposed to prevent foolish or incompetent people from seeing it. Not noticing any change, the emperor thinks nothing of it until he overhears the conmen discussing with the royal advisor their plans to humiliate him by having him wear his nothing suit to the annual royal ball and parade in front of the kingdom. Can a newly-humbled George avoid public humiliation before it's too late?
Before The Emperor’s New Groove premiered at the Broadway Theater in New York on July 26, 1951, Disney employed the television to help advertise the film, making it his first to be promoted on television. On NBC and CBS, Disney aired a handful of small clips of the film alongside several cartoons and two cast members did interviews for promotional purposes. When it premiered in the United States and in Canada two weeks later, audiences and critics gave it a standing ovation at its ending. It ultimately became the most successful Disney animated film at the box office in 13 years, making $7.5 million on a $3 million budget. Disney feared that the titular emperor would be too unlikeable for audiences. Still, it turned out he had the right about of charisma, entertainment value, and heart to balance out his vanity. The animation, music, and performances of the voice actors were considered the highlights of The Emperor’s New Groove. Its re-release in 1974 proved one of the most successful runs that year. By 2003, it became so beloved and profitable that it was added to the Disney Platinum Edition Lineup.
Author's Note: As excited as I am now, I initially dreaded writing about this. When the randomizer worked its magic I had no idea how to make The Emperor's New Groove work 50 years earlier. I soon watched a childhood favorite of mine, Muppet Classic Theater, which had The Emperor's New Clothes in it and that's when the idea clicked. Of course, it couldn't be complete with 1950s-style humor like in OTL's Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland so that's part of the expansion from the original tale.
Interesting, yeah new groove otl was a post-modernist stravaganza, it has the same feeling but is like a roaming 20's parody style
In a way you can say TTL’s version is also a post-modernist style film but fused with the 1920s and 1950s. You can also argue it’s like OTL’s TENG if it slammed into Alice in Wonderland.
As of right now I'm taking a short hiatus from this TL to work on my other TLs and also because I'm still unsure about the plot for the 1953 film release ITTL.
I'm still not quite resuming this TL just yet but I will put hints for more upcoming Disney films ITTL:
1959: An ambitious project both IOTL and ITTL
1961 and 1963: Largely representative of the time they are produced
1967: Source material is of French origin
1961 and 1963: Largely representative of the time they are produced
1967: Source material is of French origin
1959: In OTL, some heavily-CGI flick? (I'm placing my bets on one that features lots of hair like Monsters, Inc.)
1961/1963: Representative of the 60s, or of the times they were made in OTL?
1967: Sleeping Beauty, by French author Charles Perrault (Cinderella, by the same author, has already appeared in 1940)