Disney Released Its First PG Movie As A Response To Star Wars' Success

In 2012, Disney bought the Star Wars franchise from its creator, George Lucas. That decision turned into one of Lucas' biggest regrets regarding the franchise, but Disney had "Star Wars" on the brain decades before that decision. In 1979, the House of Mouse released the movie "The Black Hole," the company's first PG-rated film – Disney's first PG-rated animated movie, "The Black Cauldron," wasn't released until 1985.

"The Black Hole" revolves around the crew of a spaceship, the USS Palomino, and their adventures surrounding a long-lost ship caught in an anomalous gravity field surrounding the titular black hole. The movie is perhaps best known for its robots, the small but scrappy V.I.N.CENT and the intimidating Maximilian (not to be confused with one of the film's stars, Maximilian Schell). The development of "The Black Hole" is long and storied.

The movie began development in 1974, and the studio originally envisioned it as a disaster flick called "Space Station One" — think "The Towering Inferno" but in outer space. But that was all scrapped after "Star Wars" entered the scene. Walt Disney's son-in-law, Ron Miller, retooled the narrative to capitalize on Lucas' box office hit. Unfortunately, the script wasn't finished before filming, so the filmmakers decided to go for a "2001: A Space Odyssey" feel with trippy visuals of what could be heaven, what could be hell, and everything in between.

It's no secret that "Star Wars" has left a lasting impact on people everywhere. Even many technologies exist today in part because of "Star Wars" (kind of). And yes, Ron Miller transformed "The Black Hole" to be more in line with what audiences loved about "Star Wars," but he wouldn't have received that chance had the film flopped. As previously stated, "The Black Hole" began development in 1974 as "Space Station One," and Disney kicked the idea around for years.

However, director Gary Nelson told The Hollywood Reporter that nobody had any idea what to do with the film. It went through rewrite after rewrite, but the project was eventually abandoned. And then along came "Star Wars." The movie caught the attention of audiences, which in turn caught the attention of Disney. Apparently, the success of "Star Wars" convinced someone at the company that a movie like "Space Station One" could stand a chance at the box office — if it were more like "Star Wars," that is.

Of course, simply mimicking what came before is no recipe for success. It doesn't even guarantee interest. Nelson admitted that when he was first approached to direct "The Black Hole" (then titled "Space Probe One"), he turned it down. He remembers thinking the movie concept was "not very good." However, he was eventually won over thanks to a bit of persistence on Disney's part. That and what he describes as "incredible" concept paintings of spaceships that would appear in the film.

Once Nelson began work on "The Black Hole," he started by cutting out superfluous characters and plot elements. The film was given double the budget of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," and according to multiple interviews with The Hollywood Reporter, everyone got along on set. This did not translate into success, though. "The Black Hole" was a box office flop and earned a fraction of what "Star Wars" did. "The Black Hole" even earned less than "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," one of the worst films in the "Star Trek" franchise.

Not surprising since critics found "The Black Hole" dull – Roger Ebert found it bogged down by melodrama. While audiences and critics certainly look at the movie more favorably now than when they did at release, nobody is claiming it's a masterpiece. People have pointed out that "The Black Hole" has strong points, such as its atmosphere, overarching sense of dread, and the robot Maximillian as a terrifying antagonist.

Maximillian has a gruesome kill scene that doesn't leave much to the imagination without betraying the PG rating – a bold move for Disney. "The Black Hole" is not a hidden gem, but it isn't a movie you should avoid at all costs. It's just Disney's first attempt at copying the success of "Star Wars," with all the ups and downs that come with it. If you're interested, you can stream "The Black Hole" on Disney+ and judge for yourself.