1986 was a pivotal turning point for the future of animated cinema
In short: While Disney struggled to avoid bankruptcy, a new era of animation began in 1986. The founding of Pixar and the record-breaking success of Steven Spielberg's first animated production, An American Tail, signaled a massive shift in the industry, forever changing how audiences would experience feature-length cartoons on the big screen.
The year 1986 was defined by significant institutional instability and creative transition within the film industry. Major studios saw leadership shakeups, with Lawrence Gordon resigning from Fox Entertainment Group and Guy McElwaine stepping down as head of Columbia Pictures, eventually replaced by David Puttnam. Amidst this corporate flux, the animation landscape underwent a quiet revolution. Disney, reeling from the financial failure of The Black Cauldron, found a lifeline in the critical and commercial success of The Great Mouse Detective. However, the true disruption came from outside the traditional studio system.
On February 3, 1986, Edwin Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith founded Pixar Animation Studios, an event that would eventually redefine the medium. Simultaneously, Steven Spielberg entered the animation market as a producer with An American Tail. Released in November, the film shattered the opening weekend box office record previously held by Disney's The Rescuers, proving that non-Disney animated features could command massive audiences. This success underscored a growing appetite for high-quality, non-traditional animation that challenged the status quo.
Beyond the business of animation, 1986 was marked by notable cultural shifts and losses. The film industry saw the passing of screen legend Cary Grant, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Davenport, Iowa. Meanwhile, the television landscape for film criticism was transformed by the syndication of Siskel & Ebert in September. While the duo had collaborated since 1975, this program became their most enduring platform. The year also saw the debut of the Midnight Sun Film Festival in Sodankylä, Finland, and the official casting of Timothy Dalton as the fourth actor to portray James Bond, signaling a new direction for the iconic franchise.
International cinema also gained prominence through festivals like the Toronto International Film Festival, which awarded Denys Arcand’s The Decline of the American Empire. These developments, alongside the birth of future stars like Gemma Arterton and the Phelps twins, highlight 1986 as a year where the foundations of modern film culture were being actively laid, balancing the decline of old guard institutions with the rise of new technological and creative forces.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: 1986 in film
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