Disney Plus-Or-Minus: 1984 (An Intermission)

1984 was a year of transition for the Walt Disney Studios. In January, their most recent picture, the outstanding Never Cry Wolf, finally went into wide release after a slow rollout that had begun the previous October. While the brand kept active with reissues of Pete’s Dragon, The Jungle Book and Pinocchio, Walt Disney Pictures would not release a new film until June 1985.

Things may have been quiet at the movies but behind the scenes, a whole lot of shaking was going on. CEO and President Ron Miller finally realized a longtime dream with the creation of Touchstone Pictures. Miller recounted a conversation he’d had back in the 1960s with his father-in-law, Walt himself. Walt had just seen To Kill A Mockingbird and held it up as an example of the kind of movie he’d always dreamed of making. Walt knew that he and his studio had been pigeonholed into making a very specific brand of family entertainment. Anything that ventured into more mature subject matter was off limits.

Miller had been tiptoeing up to this moment for years with ambitious PG-rated films like The Black Hole, Tron and Tex. Touchstone would open the door even further. The banner released its first film, Ron Howard’s mermaid comedy Splash, on March 9. It was an immediate hit, transforming TV funnyman Tom Hanks into movie star Tom Hanks and single-handedly turning Madison into a legitimate and popular girl’s name.

Touchstone released its second film, Country, on September 29. A drama about an Iowa couple (Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard) struggling to hang on to their family farm was never going to do as well at the box office as a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy-fantasy and it didn’t. Country also had the misfortune of being part of a mini-glut of 1984 farm movies, including Places In The Heart and The River. But it still helped differentiate Touchstone from Disney. The label earned some industry legitimacy at the Oscars when both Splash and Country received nominations (for original screenplay and Lange’s performance, respectively).

However, none of this was enough to save Ron Miller’s job. Miller had made some bold decisions during his tenure and almost none of them had paid off. In retrospect, Miller was moving in the right direction and some of the films released under him have become beloved cult classics, especially among Gen-Xers like myself. But for every Tron, there was a Condorman. Miller’s slate of pictures had cost the studio millions. It was clearly time for him to go.

Miller’s replacement was Michael Eisner and, if you were around in the 80s, you know who he is. Eisner took his role as Walt Disney’s successor very seriously, becoming the public face of the studio and taking on the role of host of The Wonderful World Of Disney despite having absolutely no on-camera experience. Eisner hired Jeffrey Katzenberg as chairman and, by the end of the decade, they would turn the studio’s fortunes around.

So where does all this leave Disney Plus Or Minus? As I said at the outset, this project’s goal is to cover theatrically released films from Walt Disney Studios. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), this means I won’t be covering anything from Touchstone (or its later sister label, the bizarre and wacky Hollywood Pictures, or Marvel or Lucasfilm, for that matter). I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a paid tier that goes in-depth on those movies. But that seems like a lot of effort for something potentially no one will read. If it sounds like something you’d be willing to shell out a few bucks for, comment down below and maybe I’ll reconsider it.

Now, there are several Touchstone movies that Disney would love to reclaim for itself. The most notable of these would have to be Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, which the studio initially shuttled off to Touchstone until it started to make money. But there are also movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Rocketeer that exist in a gray area that sort of straddles both camps. Ignoring Touchstone leaves a lot of interesting movies (and also It’s Pat) on the table but that’ll just have to be how it is.

In the meantime, I’m putting a pin in this project for at least a month or so. For one thing, I’ve been up to my mouse ears in Disney for awhile now and could use a little break. I also want to look into finding a publisher for a book compiling the series so far. If any of you happen to be in that world, let me know. I’m happy to follow any and all leads that get sent my way.

Rest assured, this is not the end of Disney Plus Or Minus. We still have plenty of ground left to cover, even if I’m not exactly looking forward to The Remake Era. But that’s still a ways off and we’ve got a whole renaissance to enjoy before then. So sit tight, get caught up on some older entries you may have missed and, if you’re so inclined, help spread the word by recommending D± to anyone you think might enjoy it. Share it on social media, forward specific columns, sign people up without their knowledge or consent, whatever you want (well, maybe not that last one). And keep watching your inbox for the next installment of Disney Plus Or Minus.

M-I-C you real soon!

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