It can now be said that it was just a flashy statement from a CEO that wanted to please investors, but there is evidence to suggest otherwise. This is the second time in recent months that Hastings has unveiled animation as a focus area for the business. Talk to The Hollywood Reporter, he made the same bold claim that he wanted to “beat” Disney during family animation. Even more remarkably, he suggested that they would compete for animation dominance over the next half century:
We want to beat Disney in family animation. It’s going to take a while. I mean, they’re really good at it. We’re both very focused on expanding our animation group, and you know, it’s a friendly competition. We both want to do incredible stories for consumers and we want to be able to raise the bar in that area. We know they will be a challenger and a competitor for the next 50 years.
To date, Netflix has introduced only three original animated features – Klaus, The Willoughbys, and Over the moon – and despite strong qualities in every movie, no one can be considered a legal challenger to the Disney and Pixar thrones. But here’s the caveat: Netflix is still sharpening its animation division. Animation is a well-known slow art form, and each film lasts about four to eight years from concept to release. We will only realistically understand next year what Netflix is trying to achieve with their animation program, when they have a written goal to release six original features per year.
While Netflix’s original animated production is a mystery for now, Hastings’ remarks remain that he wants to “catch up” with Disney. What exactly does catching up mean? Numerous others have tried over the years to make Disney and Pixar style movies, and they have all failed, simply because Disney and Pixar have perfected their home styles and are doing it better than anyone else. But there’s another way, and that is to offer something original to the public, something that would never be confused as a Disney movie. The two non-Disney films that have won Oscars over the past decade – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Rango – suggested striking alternatives to the worn rhythms and rhythms of the Disney product. By the way, when Pixar made its first feature, Toy Story, also the film was a rebuke to the Disney standard.
Netflix seems to understand this to beat Disney, you can not be Disney. Their upcoming lead contains projects that sound bold and differ from typical animated rates, directed by authors who have a record of conventionality. This includes movies like Richard Linklater Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Nora Twomey My Father’s Dragon, and Henry Selick’s Wendell and Wild.
Netflix remains a huge experiment with an indefinite outcome at this point. The large number of films that the company intends to release gives them the freedom to stick to the edges of the art form, and especially the freedom to fail. It’s important to remember that Disney would not be Disney today without its own failures. Shortly before the release of Pinocchio, Walt Disney said, “I’d rather have an artistic flop than hit a box office hit any day.” He not only got his wish Pinocchio, but also its follow-up, Fantasy. Both films were creative triumphs that jumped at the box office.
The failure of one of the films would have been enough for a contemporary film studio to withdraw from the animation section. But Disney saw the long game – he understood that he had to constantly invest in animation and keep experimenting to gain true dominance in the medium. At first glance, Netflix seems to share the same long-term vision, which is very beneficial to Hastings’ vision of challenging Disney.