July 29: How Disney’s Turning Point Can Be Traced to Snow White in 1987
Plus Sir Mix-a-Lot, obscure Happy Meal toys, Eiffel 65, and more
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
July 29th, 2022 • Issue 110
How Disney’s Turning Point Can Be Traced to Snow White in 1987
35 years ago, on August 2nd, 1987, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was re-released in theaters.
When Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs returned to movie theaters in August of 1987, it wasn’t the first Disney theatrical re-release. It wasn’t close to the first re-release for Snow White (it returned to theaters roughly every seven years, starting in 1944).
But this re-release was a special one, as it denoted a major milestone for Disney. Because the ‘87 Snow White re-release marked 50th anniversary of the movie’s 1937 debut — as the first-ever feature-length Disney animated firm.
And… at the half-century mark, Disney’s animated features were in a rut. A rut. A rut that meant that meant a 100th anniversary hardly seemed like a guarantee.
Rewinding a bit first…
Walt Disney’s decision to create a full-length animated feature in the 1930s was, at the time, considered a huge risk. The production was expensive and the format was untested. Would audiences show up to theaters for an extra-long cartoon? Had Snow White not been a success, who knows where the future of animation (or Disney) might have gone.
But Snow White was a success — a massive one, and an industry-defining one — which led to the string of Disney animated classics that followed. Over the next few decades Disney pumped out hit after hit.
They also quickly began re-releasing their hits to theaters on approximate seven-year cycles. The re-releases introduced a new generation to the classics every time. They built legions of new fans, kept the films relevant, squeezed out even more box office and merchandising money, built interest in the eventual theme parks, and cemented the Disney animation brand as the biggest player — even as the studio’s output took a creative downturn.
And by the 50th anniversary re-release of Snow White on this day in 1987, Disney animation was in that fide downturn.
The classics of the ‘40s and ‘50s were far in the past. Their last classic was (probably) The Jungle Book in 1967. They’d run out of big-name fairy tales. They’d gotten away from original music. Other studios were starting to nip at their heels with movies like An American Tail.
The Disney animated features in the 10 years leading up to the 50th anniversary? The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective. Oliver & Company was Disney’s next film, scheduled for a 1988 release. While I’m sure many reading have fond nostalgic memories of one or two of those movies, it’s not a murderers’ row. Many performed well at the box office, but Disney needed more than that. They needed classics. None of those movies was, say, Disneyland-ride-worthy.
The contrast to Snow White was stark. In another half-century, audiences wouldn’t hit theaters to see these movies on their 50th anniversary re-releases. Milking the re-releases was good — but milking old IP while creating new, equally (or more) valuable IP was even better.
But for Disney to accomplish that, it was going to take another risk — 50 years after the first risk — to turn things around.
Fortunately for Disney animation, there was a risk ready to go. Two, actually. And the studio had the right leadership to capitalize on it.
Just as Snow White was re-entering theaters on this day in 1987, The Little Mermaid was in the early stages of development. The approach was different. Disney was going back to the fairy tale world (albeit for a lesser-known fairy tale) — and princesses. And the movie’s philosophy was more that of a Broadway musical than a traditional film. It featured big songs and lots of them. It was the first film in a long time with “classic” potential.
The higher-ups at Disney (led by Jeffrey Katzenberg at the time) realized they might have their biggest animated hit in decades in their hands. And they began applying the formula from that point on — leading to the Disney animation renaissance of the early ‘90s.
The Little Mermaid was the first potential risk waiting in the wings. The second? Computer animation. Less than a year after Snow White’s re-release, Disney would begin talking with Pixar to start development on a feature film about talking toys. By 1991, the two companies signed a three-film deal.
By the 55th anniversary of Snow White, Disney animation was back in all its glory. By the 60th anniversary Disney had become one of the largest media companies in the world. Today, on its 85th anniversary? It’s hard to believe there was ever a time when Disney animation had any question marks at all.
Other momentous moments from this week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
July 29th
1981 - Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married.
1982 - Jerry “The King” Lawler slapped Andy Kaufman on Late Night with David Letterman.
1987 - Ben & Jerry’s reached a deal with Jerry Garcia to create the Cherry Garcia ice cream flavor.
1988 - Cocktail hit theaters.
1991 - Metallica’s single Enter Sandman was released.
1993 - Toni Braxton’s debut single, Another Sad Love Song, was released.
1994 - The Mask hit theaters.
1997 - 98 Degrees’ self-titled debut album was released.
July 30th
1979 - Apple began working on Lisa, the first computer with a graphical user interface.
1986 - Flight of the Navigator hit theaters.
1990 - The first Saturn automobiles were produced.
1990 - The MovieTime cable network rebranded as E!.
1993 - So I Married an Axe Murderer hit theaters.
1999 - Runaway Bride hit theaters.
July 31st
1980 - Harry Potter was born (canonically).
1984 - The U.S. men’s gymnastics team won gold at the Olympics.
1987 - The Lost Boys hit theaters.
1988 - The last Playboy Club closed.
1991 - Hot Shots! hit theaters.
1992 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer hit theaters.
1993 - Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team peaked at #2.
1995 - Disney announced it would be acquiring ABC and ESPN.
1995 - Selena’s album Dreaming of You debuted at number one.
1998 - Baseketball hit theaters.
1998 - Ever After hit theaters.
1999 - Christina Aguilera’s single Genie in a Bottle hit number one.
August 1st
1980 - Cinemax debuted.
1981 - MTV debuted.
1981 - Rich Springfield’s single Jessie’s Girl hit number one.
1981 - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie’s single Endless Love was released.
1986 - Howard the Duck hit theaters.
1987 - Mike Tyson became undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for the first time.
1987 - Denver defeated Pittsburgh in the first-ever ArenaBowl.
1988 - Altered Beast was released by Sega.
1990 - Deee-Lite’s single Groove Is in the Heart was released.
1996 - MTV2 launched.
1997 - The first Air Bud movie was released.
1999 - The Petronas Towers opened in Malaysia to become the world’s tallest building.
August 2nd
1985 - Weird Science hit theaters.
1989 - Parenthood hit theaters.
1990 - A revised version of Punch-Out!!, with the titular Mike Tyson replaced by Mr. Dream, was released for NES.
1996 - Matilda hit theaters.
1996 - The Dream Team III won the gold medal at the Olympics in Atlanta.
1998 - Lamb Chop’s Shari Lewis died.
August 3rd
1977 - Tandy and RadioShack announced their first personal computer.
1984 - Mary Lou Retton became the first American woman to win the all-around gymnastics gold medal.
1985 - Tears for Fears’ single Shout hit number one.
1987 - Def Leppard’s album Hysteria was released.
1990 - Young Guns II hit theaters.
1990 - Mo Better Blues hit theaters.
1990 - Duck Tales hit theaters.
1996 - Los Del Rio’s Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) hit number one.
1999 - Iron Giant hit theaters.
August 4th
1987 - In a move that would contribute perhaps even more than anyone realized to destabilizing American society, the FCC rescinded the Fairness Doctrine.
1987 - The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was released.
1990 - Mariah Carey’s single Vision of Love hit number one.
1992 - Gin Blossoms’ album New Miserable Experience was released.
1993 - In a famous baseball fight, Nolan Ryan put Robin Ventura in a headlock.
1994 - Howard Stern dropped his bid for governor of New York.
1995 - Babe hit theaters.
1998 - INOJ’s single Time After Time was released.
5 ‘80s and ‘90s trivia facts
It took until 1993 before we learned the nature of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse’s relationship.
After decades of speculation, Walt Disney revealed in a 1993 interview that Mickey and Minnie are married and not brother and sister.
BMW had to recall its navigation system in the ‘90s in Germany for… quite a reason.
The navigation system had a female voice… so German men refused to follow its directions.
The lead in Men in Black was offered to David Schwimmer.
He turned it down, and it went to Will Smith.
Pagers hit their peak in the mid ‘90s — about 60 million were active in the U.S.
Today, there are still two million active pagers. So that’s way down from the ‘90s peak… but still a lot higher than expected.
Jackie Chan did the voice for the Beast in the Mandarin language version of Beauty and the Beast.
He also performed some of the music.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Klondike has discontinued the Choco Taco, which came to life in 1984.
A man in Texas just received the Guinness World Record for the largest Sonic the Hedgehog memorabilia collection. Here are some photos.
The trailer is out for the A League of Their Own reboot on Amazon Prime. The series premieres on August 12th.
The first images are out of the Tiny Toon Adventures reboot, which will be on HBO Max sometime later this year.
The Weird Al biopic will premiere on The Roku Channel on November 4th. Also, a new Weird Al photo book is coming out on November 15th.
Here’s why there are so many ‘90s alt-rock t-shirts in Nope.
The first photos are out of the sitcom Reboot, which takes place behind-the-scenes of a sitcom reboot. It premieres on Hulu on September 20th.
Paul Sorvino passed away this week at age 83. He was part of some ‘90s classics including Goodfellas, Dick Tracy, Romeo + Juliet, Nixon, The Firm, The Rocketeer, and more.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Pre-orders are open for an inspired Sir Mix-a-Lot Funko Pop. Much like the Baby Got Back music video, he’s standing on what you think he’s standing on. (The Pop costs $12 on Amazon. It comes out October 7th.)
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
No one can forget Eiffel 65’s hit from 1999 Blue (Da Ba Dee). But your mind wouldn’t let you remember its music video — which took the concept of being blue as the process of transforming into a blue alien.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
In 1985, McDonald’s did a small test run of Transformers toys in the St. Louis area. The results are some very generic toys — that are so obscure they’re now lucrative collectables, both from the Transformers collecting crowd and the Happy Meal toy collecting crowd.
Have a great week!
-Sam
This is my fav line: “1997 - The first Air Bud movie was released”. A reminder their are more than one Air Bud movie 😂🤣😂