No they didn't. They expected the movie to make its sales back in DVDs and streaming, and they were right. Though I can't remember there being any bad accents in Harry Potter...
Glad I'm not the only one who likes this movie. I have an ear blockage this week, so I wasn't sure I caught all of it. Most of the reviews I read lamented that the movie was too hyperactive and got the characters all wrong. They prove one thing: that they didn't watch children's TV shows in 2011, because they were ALL like that --- and worse! As for the characters, I can see how they might be seen as different, but nothing that bothers me. In the original movie, Tigger gets so annoying that Rabbit deliberately tries to make him lose his way in a forest, in winter. What's a duck move! Nothing in this movie comes close to that.
I remember one online commenter remarking that Eric Goldberg was somewhat miscast as the supervising animator of Rabbit, and should have been given Tigger instead. I kind of agree with that, because Rabbit in particular I DID think felt a bit too hyperactive at times. Tigger animated by Goldberg and Rabbit animated by Andreas Deja (who was Tigger's lead animator) could have been interesting to see.
It's a giant creature with a tail (Here, I'll draw Piglet in for scale) Its hide is like a shaggy rug Its face a surly ugly mug With two sharp horns atop his head In between a mop of hair that's red! And in his nose a ring of gold It smells of monkey's feet and mold Its toes are black Its fur is blue I swear that all I tell you is not made up
The vaccine! The vaccine! The vaccine! The vaccine! Oh no!
But Owl what does a vaccine do? Yes Owl what does a vaccine do? Hmm, what does a vaccine do? I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking and now I will tell you
They sneak into your library and scribble in all your books The vaccine! The vaccine! We don't like the vaccine! When decorating your Christmas tree, they tangle up all the hooks! The vaccine! The vaccine! We're afraid of the vaccine! They spoil the milk, they stop all the clocks, they use their horns to put hole in your socks The vaccine's the one who's been putting holes in our socks!
Tell us more about what vaccines do Yes more about what vaccines do More about what vaccines do? Why don't we hear some thoughts from you?
Maybe they make ya sleep too late Yes, yes that's good, that's great! I bet their the reason my tail is gone You're on a roll go on, go on! They muddy up your tiny house They make you feel as small as a mouse They break your crayons They spill your tea They wake up babies at one and three They made me catch the cold I caught They made me lose my train of thought They swipe your strips They clog your pipes They dig up your garden They won't be your pardon They eat your snacks They won't relax They chip your tooth They steal your youth And now you know the horrible truth! The vaccine, the vaccine, the vaccine, the vaccine. Oh, noooooo!
Oh, yes! I know exactly what we'll do We'll find things vaccines are partial to Like books And dishes And socks And toys Yes everything that a vaccine destroys Then we'll dig an enormous pit and make the items lead to it He'll fall in and we'll get our friend And this horrible nightmare will come to an end!
The vaccine! The vaccine! The vaccine! The vaccine!
Go home and search your closets, bring everything that you can The vaccine! The vaccine! We're gonna catch the vaccine! We'll save Christopher Robin by following Rabbit's plan The vaccine! The vaccine! We'll save Christopher Robin! We must be brave and have no fear Search to the death, we'll persevere We'll search by the sun and the light and the moon and everything goes well! We'll be back soon! Back soon? Back soon! Sounds like vaccine Back soon! Oh well, good luck everyone!
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2022 20:19:37 GMT by That Duckfan
Paperman (2012) Directed by John Kahrs Story Clio Chang, Kendelle Hoyer Voice Talent John Kahrs, Kari Wahlgren
Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film - John Kahrs - WON
There was a lot of buzz around Paperman and its novel method of blending hand-drawn and computer animation. Some hoped that it might be the first step in a new direction, but that's not how the pipeline seems to run anymore. Paperman has been somewhat forgotten since the initial splash, but it's a decently heartwarming story and technically well accomplished.
Directed by Rich Moore Story by Rich Moore, Phil Johnston, Jim Reardon Screenplay by Phil Johnston, Jennifer Lee
Starring John C. Reilly as Ralph Featuring Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Ed O'Neill With Dennis Haysbert, Edie McClurg, Raymond S. Persi, Jess Harnell, Rachael Harris, Skylar Astin, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz, Maurice LaMarche With Stefanie Scott, John DiMaggio, Rich Moore, Katie Lowes, Jamie Elman, Josie Trinidad, Cymbre Walk, Tucker Gilmore, Brandon Scott, Tim Mertens With Kevin Deters, Gerald C. Rivers, Martin Jarvis, Brian Kesinger, Roger Craig Smith, Phil Johnston, Reuben Langdon, Kyle Herbert, Jamie Sparer Roberts
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - Rich Moore - nominated One of the most striking developments at the turn of the 2010s was the sudden and quick transformation of geek culture into the mainstream. Suddenly, everyone in the developed world had a smartphone in their pocket and was quick to establish an online presence. We can also see this development at Disney's: where the 2000s had featured geeky loners like Milo Thatch and Lewis, by 2012 Disney was unafraid to take a deep dive into the world of video games. And that brings us to Wreck-It Ralph, Disney's first truly contemporary animated movie.
Arguably the defining feature of Hollywood in the 2010s is the crossover franchise. From the Marvel movie team-ups in The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) to the improbable success of Ready Player One, a "story" based on 1980s nostalgia, the accumulation of recognizable motifs across pop culture was raised to an art form. This too was borrowed from geek culture, namely comic books. But it also shows a concerted effort to homogenize American popular culture, common knowledge. Aggressive marketing played up people's sense of nostalgia in order to dust some of their old IPs, or buying them wholesale. 2012 saw Disney purchase Lucasfilm, adding to an ever-growing number of properties.
It's in this environment of big studios with big stakes that Wreck-It Ralph makes its appearance, casually featuring dozens of cameos from popular video game characters. It's hard to imagine Disney making this movie even five years earlier. But the writers knew well not to exploit the novelty too much. Wreck-It Ralph does not rely on mindless cameos and vapid dated in-jokes, even if it spawned a whole subgenre of movies that did, not to mention a sequel. It was not the first: this is a Toy Story with the word 'video' added. But it was the first to take on the emergent digital culture.
The result is one of the most impressive worlds Disney has ever created. There's some thick worldbuilding in this movie: the visuals, the music, the characters, even the story rules are meant to evoke video games, and they do an amazing job. (My one issue would be that the bugs in Hero's Duty effectively act as a computer bug or virus, suggesting that the game was horribly broken by design.) This movie feels like a video game come to life, no doubt about it.
In the world of Wreck-It Ralph, characters have varying levels of autonomy from their programming. This leads to a situation when Wreck-It Ralph, the Villain in an old arcade game, gets fed up with his job because his fellow characters treat him like dirt for being the Villain. It's not quite acting and it's not quite a job, more like a social hierarchy that includes a standard 'bad guy'. While that term is a useful shorthand for stories, it's not the kind of thinking you want to introduce in real life situations, and the movie gets around this potential somewhat clumsily. Portraying Villains in a AA meeting proclaiming the importance of loving yourself sends a strange message. It's the kind of language I would expect from a minority, especially given Ralph's backstory with the Nicelanders (see Who Framed Roger Rabbit for a similar discussion). Who do NOT live up to their name, by the way: they act like 1950s suburbanites.
The main point of this whole system is that our two leads are outsiders. Earlier drafts of this movie present this more overtly, including a much larger role for Felix (who was the initial hero envisioned for this movie). These early animatics are fascinating, showing a much edgier tone and more adult jokes than any time since The Great Mouse Detective. What we end up with is much better, even if Vanellope the annoying brat isn't among my favorites in any category. There's some reason given as to why she behaves this way (defense mechanism for bullying), but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. In the end, she sounds like a little tyrant in the making. Ralph does better, largely due to him being an affable John C. Reilly character.
Ralph and Vanellope are okay, but Wreck-It Ralph's B-team is straight fire. Hot on Ralph's heels is Fix-It Felix jr. (Jack McBrayer), star of the eponymous game that Ralph has bolted from, and Sergeant Calhoun (Tina Fey), the no-nonsense commander of Hero's Duty, a game where Ralph caused havoc. These two are a legendary odd couple: Calhoun is incredibly serious and programmed with a ridiculously tragic backstory but new to the game, while Felix is a folksy repairman who falls head over heels in love with her. Physically, too: she's well-proportioned and high definition, while he's an 8-bit button-nose who doesn't reach past her legs. The actors were co-stars in the sitcom 30 Rock at this time, which likely explains their instant chemistry.
For a movie that claims to reject traditional villain norms, it does turn out to have one. If this is the first of Disney's twist villains, this one makes some sense. It ties up a central piece of mythology, makes the final act into more than just a racing game, and gives Ralph someone to fight against other than himself. Too bad the Nicelanders aren't involved in this somehow, since their attitude was the catalyst for Ralph going AWOL.
Whatever the inevitable conceptual shortcomings in its worldbuilding, Wreck-It Ralph presents a grand, immersive canvas quite unlike any that came before. As digital culture continues to change and grow, it'll be interesting to see how long of a shelf life it will have. One thing that I didn't quite understand about this movie was King Candy, ruler of the game Sugar Rush. He's a walking tribute to Ed Wynn, specifically his Mad Hatter. This such an odd creative choice that it took me out of the movie when I first watched it. Small children aren't going to get the reference, and those that do will wonder what it's doing here. Was there a shortage in the funny voices department? Who's next, Jerry Colonna?
Quoth the Disney Wiki: "[Ed Wynn's] performance as the Mad Hatter served as inspiration and reference for the character King Candy in the 2012 Disney animated feature film, Wreck-It Ralph." So at least the connection is recognized as intentional; I don't know whether anyone anywhere says *why*.
I am virtually completely ignorant of video games, but I appreciated the careful, logical world-building of Wreck-It Ralph. I enjoyed the visuals of the game worlds and the depot where the characters mix outside their game-worlds. The only other animated movie that matched it in creating an imaginative visual world with sub-worlds is Inside Out.
I agree with you that Vanellope is annoying. You want her to be a bit off-putting somehow, so that Ralph doesn't seem like a jerk when he doesn't warm to her immediately. But I think they could have managed that without making her quite so obnoxious for most of her screentime.
In regards to King Candy/Turbo, a lot of what made him work as a twist villain compared to later villains was that the "twist" was largely about his identity. Not so much him being a villain. He was the campfire horror story that children were told about. Him being revealed as Turbo didn't actually recast his older actions before the reveal into a new light to the point that they make his villany not hold under scrutiny unlike a villain who shall not be named until later in thread.
He also has the point for him that he did bother to put up a decent sounding excuse to hold back the girl. When Ralph comes to him, he offers him what he needs up front with no haggling or wordplay or loopholes and all Ralph has to do was smash a kart (and make Vallope angry/betrayed).
Just watched the short Captain Sparky vs. the Flying Saucers (2013). I hope to discuss it another time, when we do the Tim Burton collaborations, but since it is a short on my list I wanted to give it a shout out.
Mickey Mouse: Get a Horse! (2013) Directed by Lauren MacMullan Story Lauren MacMullan, Paul Briggs, Nancy Kruse, Raymond S. Persi Voices Walt Disney, Marcellite Garner/Russi Taylor, Billy Bletcher/Will Ryan Academy Award for Best Nominated Short Film - Lauren MacMullan and Dorothy McKim - nominated
This is a weird short. On the one hand, it tries to imitate the feel of a 1929 era Mickey Mouse short with great fidelity. But then at the climax, it gets substituted for a Chuck Jones-style cartoon trashing. Sure, old Mickey wasn't above a scrap of violence now and then. But fourth-wall abusing sadism? No, I don't think so.
Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee Screenplay by Jennifer Lee | Story by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Shane Morris Story inspired by "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen Original songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
Featuring Kristen Bell/Livvy Stubenrauch, Idina Menzel/Eva Bella/Spencer Ganus, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciarán Hinds With Chris Williams, Stephen John Anderson, Maia Wilson, Edie McClurg, Robert Pine, Maurice LaMarche, Jesse Corti, Jeffrey Marcus, Tucker Gilmore
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, and Peter Del Vecho - WON Academy Award for Best Original Song - Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez - Let It Go - WON Well, they finally did it. They finally made another princess musical that I can fully get behind. And they broke through the billion-dollar barrier, becoming the second* animated movie (after Pixar's Toy Story 3) to do so. And it only took them 76 years. (*Due to the magic of inflation, numerous older movies had already grossed $1 billion in real terms by 2010: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Shrek 2.)
When Frozen hit theaters at the end of 2013, it was huge. It was bigger than huge, it was a phenomenon. I often get an adverse reaction when a movie is surrounded by hype, so I studiously avoided it for two years. It certainly wasn't easy! But I've warmed to Frozen over multiple viewings. Like, I get it now! For once, a Disney musical deserves all the hype it gets!
A big part of Frozen's success comes from the music. "Let It Go" gets all the publicity, but there's a remarkable consistency throughout the soundtrack. The lyrics are rhetorically clever and thematically meaningful, the score picks up the cues. The Sherman Brothers could crank out a medley, Howard Ashman knew how to structure a musical story, but now we're another generation ahead. You know Disney means business when the movie opens with a choir; the haunting "Vuelie" by Cantus. The songs all stand out, they build on each other, and each pushes the narrative forward. A favorite moment of mine is the reprise of "For the First Time in Forever", a spectacular counterpoint where the voices of our two protagonists face off, building and building up to a musical and narrative climax. Counterpoints are tricky, but they manage to make it work. The voices of Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel contrast one another superbly.
The story of Frozen is that of Elsa, a Norwegian princess who locks herself in because she cannot control her magic ice powers. The weight of her late parents' expectations sets her on a downwards spiral, causing her to accidentally set off an eternal winter and disappear into the mountains. Elsa's sister Anna is a naïve extraverted girl lost in her own romantic dreams, but reality soon comes crashing down on her. Eventually, Elsa learns to control her power through her love for her sister. The close connection between Elsa's mood, her powers, and the general atmosphere is why this movie works so well.
Frozen's driving character dynamic lies between two sisters, one of the reasons why it's so popular. But where it succeeds in writing them as girls (you can tell there was at least one women writing), it's harder to see the resemblance in family, because Anna and Elsa are just so different. You can tell that Disney is trying its very best to substitute romantic love for familial love, but some of the old tropes get in the way. What we're left with is a lot of accidentally gay subtext. I'm not sure that was intentional, but you never know.
Love plays an important part in Frozen. Nowhere is this more present than in Anna's love triangle. Now, this is a divisive point among fans and I can see why. Apart from the literal "Love Is an Open Door" song, the movie doesn't do enough to dissociate itself from Anna's perspective. And so, when Prince Hans reveals he's been manipulating her all along, it comes out of nowhere. Up until that very moment, Hans has been a fearless leader who put himself in harm's way. There's no need for him explain his evil plan to Anna when a simple kiss would have proved his intentions were less than honorable. No, what this movie needed was a Regent. You know, the guy who ran the country in the three years of Elsa's minority? Where is he? Here we have a character with a motive to hold on to power at any cost, who can be as scheming as Hans and as blunt as Weselton. (For a trading partner, that guy has the strangest attitude.) Hans could continue to dig gold to his heart's content: morally wrong, but not evil.
Related to this is the romance between Anna and Kristoff. It's pretty low-key as far as Disney romances go, but I have a hard time believing in this one. Anna and Kristoff are two very different people. Much of my resistance stems from the song "Fixer Upper", where the trolls play matchmaker despite the clear and obvious resistance from both parties involved. This never fails to give me the creeps: I have strong feelings against interference in the private (love) lives of people, especially when they claim to be already engaged. The whole troll scene gives off contradictory signals. The viewer is again invited to reject the sudden wedding preparations, but unlike in "Love Is an Open Door", the trolls also deliver a good point about love and family. Nobody's perfected and should not expected to be so... But also, two people automatically don't make a match. The fact that Anna and Kristoff do eventually fall in love detracts in my opinion from the larger lesson about love between siblings.
Frozen walks a tight rope between two protagonists who learn opposite, but equally important lessons. And apart from some minor tangential issues, it manages to pull this off to the end. This is no mean feat. Coupled with some of the most rhetorically powerful songs Disney has released in a long time, make this movie a modern-day classic. Strictly speaking, there is very little need for Olaf the snowman to be in this movie. But we all know the reason he exists, and that is to sell a lot of merchandise. And boy, did they sell a lot of merchandise. I like Olaf. He's cute and funny and I bet Josh Gad had a blast voicing him. Olaf brings some comedy relief to a storyline that perhaps needed some, without taking away from the overall message. And it's a way for Disney to make money without selling out their integrity as usual. I'll take that trade-off any day.
First off, much of the awkwardness surrounding the overall plot but eespecially on Hans roots in the radical changes the movie had across its development. It started as a more close adaptation of the Snow Queen (with them toying with making her and Kai the leads while Gerda from the original story would be a rival/villain ala Gaston), then they made Gerda and the Snow Queen sisters, changed Gerda's name into Anna, and then at one point worked towards make the title character more of a "tragic villain" who depending on the pitch was either unfavored compared to Anna or favored compared to her. Kai was retooled into Kristoff (who had a personality more akin to Flynn), and a character named Admiral Westergaard was meant to be Anna's betrothed (obvious prototype for Hans). The movie was supposed to have a troll prophecy as reflected in a cut song that would've apparently had a selfish or more mercenary character (like Kristoff in his earlier characterization) redeem himself by helping Anna against Elsa. Even in the late stages you can see Elsa's villainous characterization in a cut out scene with Elsa attacking Anna's party (and in advertising too). Then Let It Go happened and so they decided to make her an anti-hero. Which had the problem that they didn't have any villains besides Elsa, leading into Hans.
(also on a side note, they DID consider including a steward character voiced by Louis CK)
Speaking of Hans, he doesn't work as a villain besides what you already pointed out since his plan falls apart under quick enough scrutiny (namely that he did things that defeated the purpose of him killing off both sisters all along what with helping them rather than let Elsa get killed and dispose of Anna off a boat). Arendelle from all evidence is a monarchy that restricts rulership to those of the local royals (we don't know if Anna and Elsa get their claim from the father or the mother). Hans has no claim to the throne absent of marrying one of the sisters, and his plan had him kill off both sisters. We aren't told how he planned to get Arendelle's throne absent of either sister let alone how he'd defend it once the nobility figured out he's trying to conquer them. As it stands, it would've held up better if they revealed the duke (who in hindsight was there to provide a red herring) was working with Hans all along to get an in for him.
Now for Kristoff. Kristoff's whole problem really is that they radically changed the plot from the original Snow Queen that Anna didn't really need a 3rd wheel in her dynamic with Elsa. Even in the final, they come off more like surrogate siblings rather than boyfriend and girlfriend.
Like I already said, Tangled covered the same or close enough themes (isolation tied to magic, the "one true boy/girl") much better than Frozen. It helps that the cast was much more economical than in Frozen (you have Rapunzel, Flynn, and Gothel with Maximus in a pinch as the main cast, all not overlapping, all needed). Gothel was a far better villain since the plot was actually designed around her as the villain rather than doing the "actually the prince charming stand in is the real villain."
It started as a more close adaptation of the Snow Queen (with them toying with making her and Kai the leads while Gerda from the original story would be a rival/villain ala Gaston), then they made Gerda and the Snow Queen sisters, changed Gerda's name into Anna, and then at one point worked towards make the title character more of a "tragic villain" who depending on the pitch was either unfavored compared to Anna or favored compared to her. Kai was retooled into Kristoff (who had a personality more akin to Flynn), and a character named Admiral Westergaard was meant to be Anna's betrothed (obvious prototype for Hans). The movie was supposed to have a troll prophecy as reflected in a cut song that would've apparently had a selfish or more mercenary character (like Kristoff in his earlier characterization) redeem himself by helping Anna against Elsa. Even in the late stages you can see Elsa's villainous characterization in a cut out scene with Elsa attacking Anna's party (and in advertising too). Then Let It Go happened and so they decided to make her an anti-hero.
Yes, the character development Elsa went through during the movie is interesting. I think they ultimately made the right call, but then I'm a big fan of "you are your own worst enemy" types of movies. Having Elsa be destructive but not malicious is something Disney desperately needed, too.
Now for Kristoff. Kristoff's whole problem really is that they radically changed the plot from the original Snow Queen that Anna didn't really need a 3rd wheel in her dynamic with Elsa. Even in the final, they come off more like surrogate siblings rather than boyfriend and girlfriend.
I like Kristoff, but he doesn't have that much of a personality. Anna and Elsa seem like anything but sisters to me: at the royal reception, they act more like mother and daughter. (Which shouldn't be surprising, as we saw a similar dynamic in with Lilo and Nani after their parents died.)
Like I already said, Tangled covered the same or close enough themes (isolation tied to magic, the "one true boy/girl") much better than Frozen. It helps that the cast was much more economical than in Frozen (you have Rapunzel, Flynn, and Gothel with Maximus in a pinch as the main cast, all not overlapping, all needed). Gothel was a far better villain since the plot was actually designed around her as the villain rather than doing the "actually the prince charming stand in is the real villain."
I mean, you can re-use certain themes. The OG deconstruction of Disney romance is Enchanted. It wasn't really a big deal in Tangled, was it?
Tangled was perhaps a bit too economical with its cast, with the various roles Maximus, the Stabbington brothers and the Pub Thugs play being a little too contrived for my taste. I also think there is a substantial difference between self-imposed isolation and a controlling parent. Plus, Elsa's magic actually has widespread consequences for the community, whereas the kingdom of Corona pretty much carried on with or without Rapunzel. I like a strong communal element like that. (Why Rapunzel's parents didn't just have another baby remains unclear to me.)
, the character development Elsa went through during the movie is interesting. I think they ultimately made the right call, but then I'm a big fan of "you are your own worst enemy" types of movies. Having Elsa be destructive but not malicious is something Disney desperately needed, too
Frozen post-Let It Go wasn't really a movie that needed a villain. The problem is that they already designed most of the movie around ultimately leading into a big confrontation with a threat (Elsa) then they made said threat the anti-heroine who's just misunderstood. They pulled the twist villain card with Hans so they could still have the final showdown that was prophecized but with a villain who's not Elsa.
I like Kristoff, but he doesn't have that much of a personality. Anna and Elsa seem like anything but sisters to me: at the royal reception, they act more like mother and daughter. (Which shouldn't be surprising, as we saw a similar dynamic in with Lilo and Nani after their parents died.)
I think part of it here is that they decided to have their parents die at sea to push the idea that Anna and Elsa were so close to each-other having no one else but they didn't include any other adult characters to watch over them even when it'd fit for the situation like a steward (who again was considered) so they kinda just had one of the sisters be a surrogate parent when it suited the scene (plus, I suspect that Elsa/Snow Queen was envisioned in early drafts as being notably older).
I mean, you can re-use certain themes. The OG deconstruction of Disney romance is Enchanted. It wasn't really a big deal in Tangled, was it?
Tangled was perhaps a bit too economical with its cast, with the various roles Maximus, the Stabbington brothers and the Pub Thugs play being a little too contrived for my taste. I also think there is a substantial difference between self-imposed isolation and a controlling parent. Plus, Elsa's magic actually has widespread consequences for the community, whereas the kingdom of Corona pretty much carried on with or without Rapunzel. I like a strong communal element like that. (Why Rapunzel's parents didn't just have another baby remains unclear to me.)
I mean, Elsa's isolation or at least being raised to see her powers as a curse came from her parents to begin with. Both the original and the sequel have this weird treatment of Elsa and Anna's parents where even though they raised Elsa to fear her powers and keep them hidden rather than train them, they're treated as more or less "dead yet saintly" parents ala The Waynes. The final Frozen had that "if others don't accept you it's their fault, not yours" moral except Elsa's powers were legitimately dangerous. It's kinda like in X-Men with how we're supposed to see characters like Senator Kelly as wrong except we're shown Mutants as far too dangerous for us to accept that they're getting picked on by meanie humans.
It's kinda like in X-Men with how we're supposed to see characters like Senator Kelly as wrong except we're shown Mutants as far too dangerous for us to accept that they're getting picked on by meanie humans.
I've never seen X-Men, but I think know what you're getting at (I did see The Incredibles). I can't actually think of a lot of Disney 'bad guys' who were similarly unfairly treated by their movies. King Triton ends up getting proven completely right by the events of the movie, and even Bagheera loosens up a little by the end (and is also proven completely right).
As for the Good Monarch trope, I suspect that goes back to Frozen's virtual predecessor, Sleeping Beauty. Perfect kingdom, everybody under a spell, final showdown with magical monster. I've always found it strange how enthusiastically royalist that movie was, but I guess it's part and parcel of the story. (Plus, there's the whole parallel revival with the nuclear family of the 1950s.)