The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Based on the novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, this movie is the premiere in the direction of Don Bluthone of the most renowned animators in the industry and who worked on some Disney classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood either The rescuers and that in the 90s he rounded off his career with the unforgettable Anastasia. This fable of the brave little mouse began a prodigious decade of the American.
The Magic Cauldron (1985)
Walt Disney’s 25th animated film in its history, is a good example of the low impact that some North American productions obtained with their premieres in those years. The Magic Cauldron It wasn’t appreciated until years later, when its initiatory story directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich began to catch on among cartoon fans. It barely raised $22 million. compared to the 44 that cost a production that tells us how the King of Evil wants to get hold of the Magical Cauldron and our protagonist Taron has to avoid it at all costs.
Basil the Mouse Detective (1986)
Walt Disney returns to the fray with a film that was more successful than The Magic Cauldron, but not enough to create a franchise with more deliveries, or TV series and spin-offs. It has the peculiarity that begins to use 3D effects in certain scenes and it is, for many, one of those movies that smell like our earliest childhood. Basil the Mouse Detective is a fun movie where our protagonist has to find a toymaker that Professor Rattigan has kidnapped.
The Castle in the Sky (1986)
First film of the newly created Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki at the helm in the direction. Although not the best of the Japanese, it already shows many of the virtues that they will have in the future the productions of this Tokyo-based studio. The plot tells the story of Muska, a secret government agent, and Sheeta, his companion, who must prevent a mysterious magic stone from falling into the hands of a group of soldiers with rather dubious intentions.
Fievel and the New World (1986)
Universal showed the world what Steven Spielberg could do when he started producing cartoon stories as well, and in this case, it’s the second movie with Don Bluth at the helm. Fievel’s mousy epic on his arrival in the US. It will be the axis of one of the most important films that were released in that decade, with the Russian exodus during the years of the 1917 Revolution as the background of its argument.
Transformers The Movie (1986)
Based on the television series that was also so successful in the 1980s (and now considered a true classic), it came to theaters adopting the same animation techniques that we had been seeing in Japanese productions since the 1970s. On this occasion, the story of robots that transform into vehicles has the extraordinary contributions (in the English version) of the voices of Eric Idle (member of Monty Python) in the role of Wreck-Gar, Leonard Nimoy (the Spok of Star Trek ) in Galvatron’s and the great Orson Wellen as Unicron.
The Brave Toaster (1987)
Disney gives a twist to his classics and, we don’t know if he wanted to or not, he created one of those cult movies today despite the fact that at the time of the premiere it went quite unnoticed. There are no talking animals here, but eight years before the premiere of toy story, the North Americans devised a world in which electrical appliances spoke when humans did not see them. Same thing that connection had something to do with John Lasseter and Joe Ranft participating in the brave toaster responsible for the story and the script.
In Search of the Enchanted Valley (1988)
Don Bluth’s third film as director has in executive production by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, which is enough support to make it an instant success. The story of little foot looking for a better place to live was the starting point for one of the most prolific franchises in the history of cinema, with 13 different installments. That success was helped by the explosion of home formats and video stores in the 1980s and 1990s, where most of the following sequels arrived directly without going through movie theaters.
Oliver and his gang (1988)
So much In Search of the Enchanted Valley like this one presented by Disney, the faces were seen in the same weekend of the month of November 1988. Although the success was in charge of the film signed by Don Bluth, the misadventures of the stray dogs that roam New York ended up prevailing over time. Is about one of the most memorable movies of the decade whose story mixes comedy with certain doses of drama. Not surprisingly, this is a free version of the famous novel Oliver Twist by Mark Twains.
Who cheated on roger rabbit? (1988)
What to say about one of the masterpieces of Robert Zemeckis. Although this is a live action movie, It is the first where cartoons are incorporated into the scene with moving shots. Until then, it was only possible with fixed frames, but the work of the director of Return to the future made us believe that drawings they really had life. Bob Hoskins and Christopher Lloyd managed to Who cheated on roger rabbit? be an absolute classic as current today as the first day it hit theaters.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
We reached the turning point where Disney got hit the right key. Thanks to a superb score by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, Mickey Mouse’s empire resurfaced, stringing together a series of virtually unprecedented box office successes. The adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale is considered the moment in which the multinational company that now owns the rights to Star Wars and Marvel took flight to become the giant it is today. Although it was released in the US in 1989, it did not arrive in our country until a year later, in 1990.
My Neighbor Totoro (1989)
The story of the two sisters (Satsuke and Mei) who go to live in the country and meet some strange goblins is surely one of the masterpieces of Studio Ghibli. Not in vain has it been considered by Empire UK magazine as one of the 100 best films in the entire history of cinema (ranked 41). Once again we have Hayao Miyazaki at the helm of the direction of a true masterpiece that must be seen if at the time (or throughout these 33 years) you could not enjoy it.
All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
If the decade began with The Secret of NIMH, the only way to end it properly was with Don Bluth’s fourth animated film in the lead. With dogs go to heaven, the North American closes his particular circle of animal adventures and, of the four that premiered in the 80s, it is surely the one that achieved the worst public and critical results. However, his passage through the VHS format took her to the top of the charts movies Most sold. Its plot, which mixes the adventures of several dogs around the city to the rhythm of jazz, is one of the most remembered by young people of the 90s. A true classic.
