The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Rescuers, The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective, Oliver and Company
The death of Walt Disney spiraled the Walt Disney Studios into the Bronze Age. Also known as the “Modern Era” this era was a time of decline for Disney. A period of trial and error filmmaking, the Disney Studios struggled to find their way without the guidance and imagination of Walt. The Bronze Age also shied away from fairytales and focused more on darker, secular stories.
During this time, there was a shift from hand-inked films to the use of xerography. This saved both time and money, allowing animators to directly print their drawings onto cells. However, this process did have its limits and initially only black lines were possible using this method. As a result, films during this era are known as “Scratchy Films” because of the heavy black lines in their animation.
In these scenes, you can get an idea of how the black lines were a characteristic of the movies:
The grandeur and scale of these films were less than that of previous Disney films, and the era had a very introverted feel to it. It didn’t explore bigger themes as well as other Disney films, and movies of this era did not make a lasting impression on audiences. Winnie the Pooh is the only exception to this, reflecting on childhood and the fantasies surrounding it. However, this era began to set the groundwork for a newer and better era in Disney filmmaking.
Disney Eras 