Alice In Wonderland - 7.6/10
This is one that, while I did see as a kid, it was so long ago that I
don't even really remember anything from it. I hadn't even counted it
among my "seen films" on ICheck and IMDB as a result. Watching it now, I
think I enjoyed it a lot more than I would have then. There's so much
going on, and while I suppose kids might appreciate the random
silliness, there's a lot of subtlety to the nonsense that you need to be
older to understand, I think. I only wish Disney hadn't been so
conservative. They were still making visible efforts to infuse some kind
of coherence, and I think the film would have worked even better
without that.
The animation was still pretty good, and I love how calmly Alice accepts
so many of the insane things that are going on. The only real problem I
had with it was that Kathryn Beaumont, the voice of Alice, didn't
really have much talent for singing. They actually pointed this out
once, so even that doesn't bug me as much as it otherwise would.
Peter Pan - 8.1/10
Another one I loved growing up, though Tinkerbell often annoyed me and
to this day I don't understand her popularity. She's not "sassy", she's
homicidally jealous. There's a big difference.
Anyway, this film is a lot of fun, and easily the best part is Hook and
Smee. They are hilarious yet frighteningly dangerous at the same time.
Hook is not a comic/cartoon villain, despite his slapstick with the
croc; he is a legitimate threat. He is also the first Disney villain to
murder a man (one of his own men, no less) in cold blood in his first
minute of screen time. The scene where he's lowering the bomb into Pan's
hideout ("Captain Hook never breaks a promise") is one of the most
classic evil villain moments in the Disney canon, as far as I'm
concerned.
I also always get a laugh out of George Darling, the father (who is of
course portrayed by the same actor). Everything else is fine. A couple
of the songs are catchy, the animation is good, and aside from
Tinkerbell's bitchiness there isn't really anything annoying about the
movie. I liked it as a kid and I like it now.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Disney Animated Canon 12 - Cinderella
Finally a movie some people give a shit about.
Cinderella - 8.8/10
Now this is a feckin' Disney movie. Another childhood favorite, I have watched this one more recently that many of the others, but I'd say it has to have been at least 10 years since I saw it last, and several things occurred to me that never did before, one of which being that the majority of the movie (up through the ball) takes place over the course of a single day, and the rest of it (minus the final wedding scene) the following morning. Interesting.
Secondly, I was struck by the brilliant contrast between Cinderella's step-family and Cinderella herself. She waits on them hand and foot because she has no choice, whereas her animal friends do the same for her because they want to. It really helps to establish her character and shows just how well she treats people, despite how she herself is treated.
That leads me into another observation, which is my admiration for her as a character. She is a very strong person and endures more than anyone should really have to in terms of verbal and emotional abuse from those who should be her family, and she does it all while maintaining her good nature. That said, she goes on about dreaming and wishing, but never actually takes any steps to improve her lot (though to be fair, I'm not sure what steps she could take anyway). So all told, she is a very strong character, if not a very proactive one. And infinitely more interesting than the likes of Snow White.
Lady Tremaine is at once one of the most imposing and frightening villains in all of Disneydom, and she does it all simply by reigning over her own house with a cold fist and taking complete control over someone else's life. Her voice actress captured this domineering personality perfectly, in my opinion. The cat Lucifer also makes for a very menacing villain and his fall from the tower at the end is kind of this film's version of the usual dramatic villain death. The side characters of the King and the Grand Duke are a lot of fun, and they were taking pot-shots at fairy tale conventions fifty years before Shrek ever did.
Like Pinocchio, there seems to be a message here that all you have to do is wish and you'll get whatever you want, and while I disagree with that philosophy greatly (see my character analysis of Cinderella), I like it much better here than in the aforementioned film. This one is more of an uplifting story in that while it acknowledges that bad things can happen to good people who don't deserve it, it gives us a taste of justice as such a good person is finally rewarded for her perseverance through such unfair circumstances. Unrealistic or not, it sure makes you feel good watching it.
Cinderella - 8.8/10
Now this is a feckin' Disney movie. Another childhood favorite, I have watched this one more recently that many of the others, but I'd say it has to have been at least 10 years since I saw it last, and several things occurred to me that never did before, one of which being that the majority of the movie (up through the ball) takes place over the course of a single day, and the rest of it (minus the final wedding scene) the following morning. Interesting.
Secondly, I was struck by the brilliant contrast between Cinderella's step-family and Cinderella herself. She waits on them hand and foot because she has no choice, whereas her animal friends do the same for her because they want to. It really helps to establish her character and shows just how well she treats people, despite how she herself is treated.
That leads me into another observation, which is my admiration for her as a character. She is a very strong person and endures more than anyone should really have to in terms of verbal and emotional abuse from those who should be her family, and she does it all while maintaining her good nature. That said, she goes on about dreaming and wishing, but never actually takes any steps to improve her lot (though to be fair, I'm not sure what steps she could take anyway). So all told, she is a very strong character, if not a very proactive one. And infinitely more interesting than the likes of Snow White.
Lady Tremaine is at once one of the most imposing and frightening villains in all of Disneydom, and she does it all simply by reigning over her own house with a cold fist and taking complete control over someone else's life. Her voice actress captured this domineering personality perfectly, in my opinion. The cat Lucifer also makes for a very menacing villain and his fall from the tower at the end is kind of this film's version of the usual dramatic villain death. The side characters of the King and the Grand Duke are a lot of fun, and they were taking pot-shots at fairy tale conventions fifty years before Shrek ever did.
Like Pinocchio, there seems to be a message here that all you have to do is wish and you'll get whatever you want, and while I disagree with that philosophy greatly (see my character analysis of Cinderella), I like it much better here than in the aforementioned film. This one is more of an uplifting story in that while it acknowledges that bad things can happen to good people who don't deserve it, it gives us a taste of justice as such a good person is finally rewarded for her perseverance through such unfair circumstances. Unrealistic or not, it sure makes you feel good watching it.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Disney Animated Canon 9-11
Incidentally, all numerical scores are a hybridization of my personal enjoyment and objective* criticism, with slightly more weight going to one or the other depending on how much I love or abhor the film in question. I generally try to keep it pretty even, though.
*As objective as I can manage, anyway.
Fun and Fancy Free - 7.5/10
I had assumed this was going to be another collection of shorts like Make Mine Music, so I was surprised to learn that it was only two shorts stuck together, one of which (Mickey and the Beanstalk) I had actually seen before on its own. The other one, Bongo, I had never seen, and was slightly less interesting, but all right. It's a shame they had to combine them into one film, because I think both of them would have done really well as stand-alone features, and the overuse of narration really brought both of them down. Ah, what could have been.
What I have to say I really didn't like about this film was the live-action framing device used primarily for the second short. It was annoying, overdone and at times kind of creepy.
The title didn't really have anything at all to do with either story, and its only purpose seemed to be being repeated over and over again in the theme song until you want to throw something.
Melody Time -7.9/10
This one's about as close to Fantasia as you can get without actually being Fantasia. The shorts are all enjoyable and much more timeless and demographically friendly than those of Make Mine Music. Also, I got a pleasant surprise with the final segment - Pecos Bill - which was one of my favorites as a kid but I never knew what it was from. Like Mickey and the Beanstalk from Fun and Fancy Free, I always just saw it on its own and didn't know it was part of a larger feature. I had completely forgotten about it until this, so it was a nice wave of nostalgia.
I'm pretty sure I've seen the Johnny Appleseed one before too, and while the imagery was great, the story didn't hold up for me quite as well as Pecos Bill's did.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - 7.0/10
The last of Disney's "compilation" features, and frankly I'm happy to see the tail end of them. Sure, there were a couple of gold nuggets in there, but on the whole I just want to watch a movie. This one was similar to Fun and Fancy Free in that it was just two short stories stuck together instead of a series of short segments. Unlike FFF though, there weren't any annoying framing devices. Once again the stories have Narrators, but Toad's was far less intrusive and that might have been why I liked that segment more. It also could have been because I found his character far less irritating and unlikable than Ichabod (who was a douche), though to be honest I wasn't overly fond of Toad's character either, even if his manic self-indulgence was supposed to be played for laughs.
*As objective as I can manage, anyway.
Fun and Fancy Free - 7.5/10
I had assumed this was going to be another collection of shorts like Make Mine Music, so I was surprised to learn that it was only two shorts stuck together, one of which (Mickey and the Beanstalk) I had actually seen before on its own. The other one, Bongo, I had never seen, and was slightly less interesting, but all right. It's a shame they had to combine them into one film, because I think both of them would have done really well as stand-alone features, and the overuse of narration really brought both of them down. Ah, what could have been.
What I have to say I really didn't like about this film was the live-action framing device used primarily for the second short. It was annoying, overdone and at times kind of creepy.
The title didn't really have anything at all to do with either story, and its only purpose seemed to be being repeated over and over again in the theme song until you want to throw something.
Melody Time -7.9/10
This one's about as close to Fantasia as you can get without actually being Fantasia. The shorts are all enjoyable and much more timeless and demographically friendly than those of Make Mine Music. Also, I got a pleasant surprise with the final segment - Pecos Bill - which was one of my favorites as a kid but I never knew what it was from. Like Mickey and the Beanstalk from Fun and Fancy Free, I always just saw it on its own and didn't know it was part of a larger feature. I had completely forgotten about it until this, so it was a nice wave of nostalgia.
I'm pretty sure I've seen the Johnny Appleseed one before too, and while the imagery was great, the story didn't hold up for me quite as well as Pecos Bill's did.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - 7.0/10
The last of Disney's "compilation" features, and frankly I'm happy to see the tail end of them. Sure, there were a couple of gold nuggets in there, but on the whole I just want to watch a movie. This one was similar to Fun and Fancy Free in that it was just two short stories stuck together instead of a series of short segments. Unlike FFF though, there weren't any annoying framing devices. Once again the stories have Narrators, but Toad's was far less intrusive and that might have been why I liked that segment more. It also could have been because I found his character far less irritating and unlikable than Ichabod (who was a douche), though to be honest I wasn't overly fond of Toad's character either, even if his manic self-indulgence was supposed to be played for laughs.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Disney Animated Canon 6-8
Saludos Amigos - 6.8/10
I can't decide what this film is. A documentary? A travelogue? Tourism advertisement? Silly entertainment? DVD special features? What? I never had any idea what this film was or what it was about, so I had no clue what to expect going in save that it was really short (40 minutes). A collection of shorts connected by narration and shots of the animators traveling around gathering inspiration was interesting, but more suited to a TV special or something than a feature release, in my opinion.
The Three Caballeros - 6.5/10
Maybe it's because I had my fill of docu-travelogue in Saludos Amigos, but this film was much less enjoyable than it's predecessor. This was another one I had no knowledge of save that Donald Duck was in it (and I knew a bit of the theme song from a clip in one of the AMV Hells). The framing device this time is Donald has received some birthday gifts from his friends in Latin America. Throughout the film we see various semi-educational semi-cultural segments, some live action and some animated. José Carioco reappears (seriously, he's my favorite part of these two films, and I wish Disney had hung onto him, as he's actually an interesting character and a thousand times less irritating than Donald), and there's a new Mexican rooster whose name I don't know. (*Checks IMDB*) Okay, so his name is Panchito, but I'll be damned if they ever mentioned it in the movie.
Many (by which I mean all) of the segments ran way too long and though they might have been interesting to begin with were downright boring by the time they were over. And way too much time was spent on Donald trying to hit on chicks. The best parts of the movie were the bits in between the travel segments where Donald, José and the rooster were just goofing around. If there had been more of that and (a lot) less pointless live-action dancing, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.
Make Mine Music - 6.9/10
What does this title mean? Seriously, what? Are we ordering at a restaurant and I'm just hungry for a song? It doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, this is another movie I had never seen and the only thing I knew about it was that it was a collection of musically-themed shorts. And that's pretty much all there is to know, really. A few of them were kind of interesting, a couple were pretty childish, and a few made it feel like I was watching a poor man's Fantasia. Not much else to say, really. Definitely a step up from Three Caballeros, though.
I can't decide what this film is. A documentary? A travelogue? Tourism advertisement? Silly entertainment? DVD special features? What? I never had any idea what this film was or what it was about, so I had no clue what to expect going in save that it was really short (40 minutes). A collection of shorts connected by narration and shots of the animators traveling around gathering inspiration was interesting, but more suited to a TV special or something than a feature release, in my opinion.
The Three Caballeros - 6.5/10
Maybe it's because I had my fill of docu-travelogue in Saludos Amigos, but this film was much less enjoyable than it's predecessor. This was another one I had no knowledge of save that Donald Duck was in it (and I knew a bit of the theme song from a clip in one of the AMV Hells). The framing device this time is Donald has received some birthday gifts from his friends in Latin America. Throughout the film we see various semi-educational semi-cultural segments, some live action and some animated. José Carioco reappears (seriously, he's my favorite part of these two films, and I wish Disney had hung onto him, as he's actually an interesting character and a thousand times less irritating than Donald), and there's a new Mexican rooster whose name I don't know. (*Checks IMDB*) Okay, so his name is Panchito, but I'll be damned if they ever mentioned it in the movie.
Many (by which I mean all) of the segments ran way too long and though they might have been interesting to begin with were downright boring by the time they were over. And way too much time was spent on Donald trying to hit on chicks. The best parts of the movie were the bits in between the travel segments where Donald, José and the rooster were just goofing around. If there had been more of that and (a lot) less pointless live-action dancing, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.
Make Mine Music - 6.9/10
What does this title mean? Seriously, what? Are we ordering at a restaurant and I'm just hungry for a song? It doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, this is another movie I had never seen and the only thing I knew about it was that it was a collection of musically-themed shorts. And that's pretty much all there is to know, really. A few of them were kind of interesting, a couple were pretty childish, and a few made it feel like I was watching a poor man's Fantasia. Not much else to say, really. Definitely a step up from Three Caballeros, though.
Disney Animated Canon 4-5
Dumbo's a special case. I actually watched it in 2010 and made some comments on it then, but when I started watching all the films in sequence I watched it again and made a few more. Both are reproduced here in their original form:
Dumbo - 6.3/10 I was feeling nostalgic, and I had an hour to kill (the movie seemed a lot longer than that when I was little). I was actually surprised at how simplistic it was, and a lot of the cartoony gags and little mini-songs made it feel a lot like an extra-long Silly Symphonies cartoon than a movie. And man, pink elephants has got to be one of the biggest WTF moments in any kid movie ever. I mean seriously, WTF??? This is one of the few Disney flicks I did not enjoy as much as an adult as I did as a child, though on the plus side clown dumbo no longer freaks me the hell out.
But damn, the crows' song is feckin' catchy.
Dumbo
I rewatched this last year of course, so I don't really have anything new to say, except that now seeing it in context the drop in animation quality is even more jarring. I said last time that it felt like just a really long Silly Symphonies cartoon, and coming on the coattails of masterpieces like Pinocchio and Fantasia that is even more apparent. I know they were trying to recover box office losses, but a lot of this movie felt like they were just phoning it in.
Bambi - 7.9/10
Now this is more like it. I could tell in the first five seconds that the Disney animation team was taking this one seriously. Bambi is another film I haven't watched since I was a kid, and though I recall a time when I was five where I would watch it just about every day, I don't recall much about the movie itself. I did not, for instance, remember any of the stuff about Bambi being a prince (despite knowing his father was called the Great Prince of the Forest), and the parallel both at the beginning and the end with The Lion King kind of took me by surprise. Like Dumbo, I was also struck by just how short it was. Just over an hour - I seem to remember it being longer, though watching it, it didn't really feel short, either.
There wasn't much of a story to speak of; just a deer growing up in the forest. Kind of nice I guess, and the ominous presence of Man gives it a kind of edge and keeps it from being boring. I don't know, though. After Pinocchio it seems like they could be doing more. Not that there was anything wrong with the film, and in all honesty I can't think of anything I would add to it. A good film, well executed, but not their best. Great nostalgia value, though.
Dumbo - 6.3/10 I was feeling nostalgic, and I had an hour to kill (the movie seemed a lot longer than that when I was little). I was actually surprised at how simplistic it was, and a lot of the cartoony gags and little mini-songs made it feel a lot like an extra-long Silly Symphonies cartoon than a movie. And man, pink elephants has got to be one of the biggest WTF moments in any kid movie ever. I mean seriously, WTF??? This is one of the few Disney flicks I did not enjoy as much as an adult as I did as a child, though on the plus side clown dumbo no longer freaks me the hell out.
But damn, the crows' song is feckin' catchy.
Dumbo
I rewatched this last year of course, so I don't really have anything new to say, except that now seeing it in context the drop in animation quality is even more jarring. I said last time that it felt like just a really long Silly Symphonies cartoon, and coming on the coattails of masterpieces like Pinocchio and Fantasia that is even more apparent. I know they were trying to recover box office losses, but a lot of this movie felt like they were just phoning it in.
Bambi - 7.9/10
Now this is more like it. I could tell in the first five seconds that the Disney animation team was taking this one seriously. Bambi is another film I haven't watched since I was a kid, and though I recall a time when I was five where I would watch it just about every day, I don't recall much about the movie itself. I did not, for instance, remember any of the stuff about Bambi being a prince (despite knowing his father was called the Great Prince of the Forest), and the parallel both at the beginning and the end with The Lion King kind of took me by surprise. Like Dumbo, I was also struck by just how short it was. Just over an hour - I seem to remember it being longer, though watching it, it didn't really feel short, either.
There wasn't much of a story to speak of; just a deer growing up in the forest. Kind of nice I guess, and the ominous presence of Man gives it a kind of edge and keeps it from being boring. I don't know, though. After Pinocchio it seems like they could be doing more. Not that there was anything wrong with the film, and in all honesty I can't think of anything I would add to it. A good film, well executed, but not their best. Great nostalgia value, though.
Disney Animated Canon 1-3
The first ten films or so I wasn't really getting very in-depth or anything. Thus I'm grouping them together here in all their copy/pasted glory:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 7.6/10
Haven't watched this in years, and honestly I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. There were all the old-timey cartoon cliches that usually make me roll my eyes (and I did a few times to be sure), but they were all done so well that I actually found myself laughing quite a lot in spite of myself. Snow White's voice is still annoying, and the ending is too abrupt in my opinion, but on the whole it was a really good film for its time. The art and animation was simply fantastic, and some of the imagery (not to mention dialogue) with the queen was just downright creepy as shit. In a really good way. I don't think they'd get away with that sort of thing now.
Pinocchio -8.7/10
Another one I haven't watched since I was a kid. Wow, man. Animation was beautiful back in the day. You never realize just how standardized it's become until you watch a true masterpiece like this one. I can understand why Disney used Snow White for their maiden voyage, so to speak, but this film works brilliantly as their second, and shows just what animated films are capable of in terms of scope, story, character, and excitement. Unlike Snow White, which seems rather simplistic and gimmicky by today's standards, Pinocchio is truly timeless. If it weren't for the extraordinary effort that went into the art and animation, it would be extremely difficult to determine just when this film was made if you didn't already know.
I never got into this one much as a kid; I think it weirded me out, but for whatever reason I've been holding onto that dismissive attitude for years and so was completely shocked at how much I enjoyed it this time. If you're in the mood for some classic Disney or just good old fashioned nostalgia, here's a good place to start.
Fantasia - 8.7/10
Man, I loved this film as a kid, but just because it was fun. Being older now, I have some knowledge of classical music and am also able to A.) appreciate the symbolism, and B.) follow what the narrator is talking about. It adds so much more depth and I enjoyed it even more than I ever did as a kid. Plus I don't recall ever seeing the Ave Maria half of the last segment before. Night On Bald Mountain was the only part I was interested in.
And speaking of things that wouldn't fly today, man were there a lot of naked boobs in this movie.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 7.6/10
Haven't watched this in years, and honestly I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. There were all the old-timey cartoon cliches that usually make me roll my eyes (and I did a few times to be sure), but they were all done so well that I actually found myself laughing quite a lot in spite of myself. Snow White's voice is still annoying, and the ending is too abrupt in my opinion, but on the whole it was a really good film for its time. The art and animation was simply fantastic, and some of the imagery (not to mention dialogue) with the queen was just downright creepy as shit. In a really good way. I don't think they'd get away with that sort of thing now.
Pinocchio -8.7/10
Another one I haven't watched since I was a kid. Wow, man. Animation was beautiful back in the day. You never realize just how standardized it's become until you watch a true masterpiece like this one. I can understand why Disney used Snow White for their maiden voyage, so to speak, but this film works brilliantly as their second, and shows just what animated films are capable of in terms of scope, story, character, and excitement. Unlike Snow White, which seems rather simplistic and gimmicky by today's standards, Pinocchio is truly timeless. If it weren't for the extraordinary effort that went into the art and animation, it would be extremely difficult to determine just when this film was made if you didn't already know.
I never got into this one much as a kid; I think it weirded me out, but for whatever reason I've been holding onto that dismissive attitude for years and so was completely shocked at how much I enjoyed it this time. If you're in the mood for some classic Disney or just good old fashioned nostalgia, here's a good place to start.
Fantasia - 8.7/10
Man, I loved this film as a kid, but just because it was fun. Being older now, I have some knowledge of classical music and am also able to A.) appreciate the symbolism, and B.) follow what the narrator is talking about. It adds so much more depth and I enjoyed it even more than I ever did as a kid. Plus I don't recall ever seeing the Ave Maria half of the last segment before. Night On Bald Mountain was the only part I was interested in.
And speaking of things that wouldn't fly today, man were there a lot of naked boobs in this movie.
The Purpose of This Blog
I hate blogs. As a general rule I avoid them and I think the whole idea is stupid. That's not to say there hasn't been the odd blog I've enjoyed, but 99.9% of the time they're just random people spewing their inane random thoughts that no one gives a crap about. It's why I also hate Twitter.
That being said, that's pretty much exactly what this blog is going to be, minus the no one giving a crap part. I was specifically asked to put up my thoughts on films in blog form, and I figured since I was already writing up said thoughts to post in an online forum anyway, it couldn't hurt anybody. And since probably a max of a dozen people or so will ever read any of this, I may as well just get on with it.
That being said, that's pretty much exactly what this blog is going to be, minus the no one giving a crap part. I was specifically asked to put up my thoughts on films in blog form, and I figured since I was already writing up said thoughts to post in an online forum anyway, it couldn't hurt anybody. And since probably a max of a dozen people or so will ever read any of this, I may as well just get on with it.
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