A Short Conclusion

Well, we've/I've reached the end. 38 movies have been finally watched. For a while, it seemed like I wasn't going to finish, but I did. And despite not being on time, I am happy to have had this experience these past few months.

This conclusion should be more or less focused on the reviews themselves and my general feelings of the Disney Classics in the 20th century. It serves no purpose but to kind of add closure to this project, so I can finally look at this page and say, "it is finished. It is complete."

I believe the history of the Disney Classics in the 20th century can be divided into five phases: The Golden Age, the Package Age, the Silver Age, the Muddy Age, and the Renaissance. Each of these stages were unique in that they each showed us a different side of Disney-- a different way of seeing the world of animation and entertainment.

The Golden Age began with, of course, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and ended with Bambi. That's only five films, but they are five of the most treasured films in the entire collection. The animation was raw; the comedy was very low brow, but very amusing; the music was vintage and cheerful; and these films stole our hearts indefinitely. Looking back on these movies, I can only label them as the most open. That is to say that they could hit any demographic with ease and give them something to enjoy and love forever.
Best films from this age: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Dumbo

The Golden Age was followed by six films all following the same format: 70-minute features broken into segments ranging from five minutes to forty. The effects of the war on the animation became obvious: less dynamic characters and a downsized general effort into the works of art. By Disney's standard, they were not at all fantastic movies. They could function as television shorts if produced three decades earlier, but they could hardly suffice as cinema classics.
Best films from this age: Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

After muddling through the 40s, Disney resurfaced in 1950 with Cinderella, launching the Silver Age of animation. The Silver Age would dominate the next 25 years or so, producing an assortment of phenomenal princess tales and family films. This, without a doubt, is my favorite of the five stages. The stories are incredible from Sleeping Beauty to 101 Dalmatians to The Jungle Book, and they produce what I believe to be the best characters of the whole series. Music illuminates these wonders, the best songs coming from The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, and Cinderella. Never again would Disney see something as incredible as the Silver Age. This, despite the title, was its prime.
Best films from this age: Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Aristocats

What came next was a Disney era with no defined united characteristic. That's why I call it the Muddy Age-- not because all films produced during this time were terrible, but because the quality was inconsistent. For example, some films, though nothing compared to the Golden/Silver Age films, were pretty darn good. Others stooped to lows unseen since the Package Age. So while this era was a short and undefinable one, it still exists because I know for a fact the films included belong neither in the Silver Age nor the Disney Renaissance.
Best films from this age: The Fox and the Hound, Oliver & Company

And then we come to the Disney Renaissance, the "rebirth" of all good things Disney. And what a rebirth it was. I still cannot believe how amazingly super-fantastically drastically the animation quality increased. That is the beauty I saw in films like The Lion King and Tarzan. The Renaissance is also noted for being the turn into the modern era of entertainment of Disney. This change is most reflected, undoubtedly, in the soundtracks. New age pop songs became the standard, best exemplified in Hercules. In general, the films became more musical-- Beauty and the Beast, Pocahontas, and Aladdin, all largely reliant on the music. So while I only put a few of these films up there with Silver/Golden Age films, I don't deny that the changes made were revolutionary and overall a great step up for Disney.
Best films from this age: Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Hercules

So there you have it! The Disney Classics Project has come to an end, I hope you enjoyed it. I know it required patience, but I hope you thought it was worth it. If you have any comments, questions, or requests for another project, e-mail me at citycolour@live.com.

And now I look at this site and I say with a smile: It is finished. It is complete.

#38 Fantasia 2000

Title: Fantasia 2000

Release Date: December 31st, 1999

Cast (if you call it a cast): Steve Martin, Penn and Teller, Bette Midler, Angela Lansbury, Quincy Jones

Plot (if you call it a plot): Fantasia 2000 is a "sequel" to the early Disney film Fantasia that follows the same concept: several (eight) segments of classical music set to animated pieces.

Review: I guess you wouldn't think it to be ironic that the night I posted my last entry (the regrets), my computer crashed and everything was wiped clean. It took till about Wednesday to get everything back the way I wanted, even though it's still far from the way it was before. That event, combined with two big assignments this week and my birthday, made it difficult to find room for Fantasia 2000: the last film of the project. But I did.

It sure brings back memories of the early days of this project, but that's nothing I want to bore you with. Although, I do want to say that I just took a look at the Fantasia review, and I realized how long it was, so I'm going to condense this a bit. It works, though-- my feelings were generally the same throughout the whole film.

The film is very, very artsy, just like its predecessor. But yes, it's extremely, extremely boring. While the producers tried to deliver segments worthy of commendation equal to the first, they went overboard on the artsiness. There's a fine balance: avant-garde beauty on one side, entertainment on the other. I'd say seven out of eight segments fell to that first side. The one that didn't: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from the original Fantasia. That still remains a classic as ever.

Don't get me wrong: the animation is stellar, of course. It's the late 90s, and Disney has come a long way in 60 years. But that's nothing new; the last several films produced by Disney had fantastic animation of the same calibre. So while I praise this film for wonderous art, I can't help but feel it can only be beyond great in anything other than IMAX.

I guess if any segment had to follow "The Sorceror's Apprentice" in the muddled heirarchy of quality, it'd be either "Rhapsody in Blue" or "Pomp and Circumstance"-- the first because of a jazzy, innovative song choice and the second because of Donald Duck. That's probably as close as Disney got to being entertaining. In other places, they wasted time showing me yo-yo tricks and flying whales. No, thanks.

It's a shame I had to give this last film such a rating, but I have no choice. As both a standalone film and a sequel, I think I am being generous in giving it a...

Bare Necessities

Please stay tuned; there will be a conclusion in the future!

7 Things I Wish I Could Have Done Differently

Well, we're nearing the end of this project, and it's time to state regrets. Please note that I don't regret doing the project as a whole, but how I did it. If I could do it again, I have a few things off the top of my head that I would have changed.

7. Proofread
Probably 95% of the reviews I posted were not proofread. As soon as I added in that last bit, I would save, publish, and go on to something else. A few times, my friend had to correct me on this. Other times went without such notifications, and, after reading over a random few just now, I noticed a good amount of typos and grammatical errors. Harmless, yes, but still something I could have done better.

6. Went More In Depth
Now, I do believe that I was not guilty of this for most of my reviews. I tried to get in a few good paragraphs for each that efficiently explained how I felt about the film in several aspects. However, there are certain reviews that lacked substance. The most recent, I believe, was Aladdin, a review which exists in short fragments and an effete disappointment. Sorry to any of you disappointed by this.

5. More Frequent Updates
Yeah, definitely. As you can see right now, I'm posting on probably on a one-film-a-week basis. That really disappoints me, and I'll explain that in a later item on this list. There was one time, I believe in early August, where my reviews came pretty frequently. However, in July, and especially in September, I was less dedicated. Granted I took two vacations in July, but I still believe I could have posted more frequently.

4. More Features
Oh, how this saddens me. This was one of my goals for this project from the very beginning. And I'm ashamed to say that over the course of this project, I only produced one feature. Just one. To me, that's extremely pathetic. Towards the end of this project, I was (and am) more concerned with just getting reviews done. Features were not necessary, so I kept focusing on the reviews. Unfortunately, that was a mistake.

3. No False Promises
I can think of two big ones in this category: features and two-a-day reviews. I feel really bad about this one, guys. It would be a different thing completely if I didn't even mention it, but I told you they would come, and they never did. I just couldn't keep up with everything, and August and September just got crazier. My sincerest apologies.

2. Started Earlier
I almost combined this item with the next item, but they are actually two different ideas. I started this blog in late June, if I recall correctly. I got off of school in early June, mind you. For the few weeks following that, I had absolutely nothing but free time on my hands. I chose to start this project at the end of that period of free time, just right before my summer classes were to start. Had I started earlier, I think I could have knocked out maybe 5-10 movies in that time. Sigh.

1. Finished On Time
Ah, the big one. I regret this more than the other 6 combined. When school started in late August, I had seven films left. It is now October 4th, and I still have one film left. What a pity. I completely underestimated how little time I would have left for this project, and as you can see, it went downhill. Extremely unfrequent updates and lacking reviews are the byproduct of not achieving a deadline. I cannot even explain to you how difficult it is to keep this going with school.

For all of this, I apologize. Please, stay for the last review and my conclusion. HOPEFULLY, they will be coming soon.

#37 Tarzan

Title: Tarzan

Release Date: June 18th, 1999

Voice Cast: Tony Goldwyn, Minnie Driver, Rosie O'Donnell, Glenn Close, Brian Blessed

Plot: A feral child, Tarzan, is raised by gorillas in the wild jungles of Africa. He has two primary friends, Terk and Tantor, a gorilla and an elephant respectively. He is close to his mother, Kala, but is resented by Kala's husband, Kerchak, who believes Tarzan does not belong amongst them. One day, three British explorers arrive in the jungle to study the gorillas. They are Professor Archimedes Porter, his daughter, Jane, and their bodyguard, Clayton. Tarzan meets them after saving Jane, and they teach him how to be human while Tarzan and Jane build a relationship. Through these bonds, Tarzan brings the three closer to his home-- but Clayton has disastrous intentions.

Review: The Disney Renaissance is a curious thing to me. It is supposed to be the second golden age of Disney animation, but I feel differently. Most people note Tarzan as the last film of this era, which is particularly why I initially chose to have it as the last film I reviewed.

But on to the good stuff. I walked away from Tarzan, honestly, not knowing what impression it landed on me. There were plenty of goods and an interesting bad, but I don't feel it deserves a "Hakuna Matata" for whatever reason. I think what I enjoyed most about it was its unpredictability. In nearly every moment, I could not tell you where the story was going in five minutes or fifty. And that's what makes me want to watch a film, especially in animation. That's what kept it going for me.

I can't help but compare Tarzan to the early Renaissance film The Lion King. It's the easiest way to describe and evaluate the setting and soundtrack of this movie. If you recalled, I praised those elements of The Lion King on high. This is not to purposely make negative comments about this film's setting or score by creating high standards. Let me just say this: both elements play entirely different roles then they did in The Lion King. In L.K., they had a synchronicity that created for an overall foreground motif that was extraordinary. Here, they take back seats, but these back seats are leather massage chairs. The intricate setting was amusing in its own right. More specifically, watching Tarzan weave his way through streams of vines and trees gives you a feeling of "I wanna do that!". The soundtrack, composed by the legend Phil Collins, was a heartfelt, semi-narrational cushion for the story to lean on at the appropriate times. And to my surprise, it worked in 1999.

There's only one negative, and it isn't as defined; it's more conceptual. I realized a difference between Disney Renaissance films and Golden/Silver Age films. I cannot deny that Disney has reduced its demographic to almost completely children. Think about it. Who enjoyed such works as Snow White, Cinderella, or even Pinocchio? Now, they werent films meant for adults, but they were at least meant for everyone. I feel that since the 70s and 80s, Disney has been shifting gears. Honestly, if it weren't for Phil Collins, how many adults would care for the childish humor that is found nearly everywhere in this movie?

Oh well. Y'know what? I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)

#36 Mulan

Title: Mulan

Release Date: June 19th, 1998

Voice Cast: Ming-Na, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Miguel Ferrer

Recap: The Huns, led by Shan Yu, have invaded Imperial China. Mulan, a young Chinese woman, cannot seem to find her place in life after repeatedly dishonoring her family. In order to stop her weak father for going to fight for China, she goes in his place, disguised as a man. She is soon accompanied by Mushu, a petite dragon who claims to be sent by Mulan's ancestors. With Mushu's help, she impresses Captain Li Shang and becomes an excellent soldier. However, her position as a woman compromises her stance in the army, and it soon becomes a major issue.

Review: Mulan starts off well. There's an intriguing plot set-up, a few chuckles here and there, and already a star song. Unfortunately, the rest of the film treads on dangerous water, approaching complete dullness though, luckily, never quite reaching it.

No, the rest of the film isn't just bad. It's just par compared to the beginning's birdie, which promises a potentially great film. The excellent comedic timing fades away, and the humor falls flat throughout the middle of the movie. Eddie Murphy's performance is slightly funny, but nowhere near as good as his other work in animation.

The soundtrack remains steady for the most part. It's a risky move to put the best song in the beginning "Reflection" has a heart-grabbing chorus with a melody the likes of "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. "Honor to Us All", also in the beginning, makes an efficient musical filler-song, and "I'll Make a Man out Of You" does contain a surprising deal of excitement.

It's the screenplay that breaks the film-- the speed, namely. Certain scenes are two or three times the length they need to be. In the big picture, the story works, just not when broken down. Thank God the feminist motif was always there to add some uniqueness.

In all fairness, I wasn't disappointed by Mulan-- just disappointed with the introduction implied. If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend it only as an "okay" film.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')

#35 Hercules

Title: Hercules

Release Date: June 27th, 1997

Voice Cast: Tate Donavan, James Woods, Susan Egan, Danny DeVito, Rip Torn

Recap: Strait from Roman/Greek mythology, Hercules is the story of a demigod (the son of Zeus and Hera) who at a young age was adopted by two humans after Hades made an unknowingly unsuccessful attempt on his life. In his life on Earth, Hercules finds himself to be socially awkward due to his superhuman strength. He finally learns the truth of his parents, and goes to Zeus to become a god. Zeus sends him to Philoctetes, a retired trainer of heroes. Philoctetes finally agrees to help him, and the two set out to make themselves known. Enter Megara, a damsel in distress who is actually a servant of Hades. Hercules saves Megara, who then informs Hades that Hercules is well alive. Hades uses everything in his power to stop Hercules so that he can take over Mount Olympus, but soon Meg refuses to help him after falling in love with Hercules. That is when Hades realizes that Hercules' true weakness is none other than Meg herself.

Review: I don't know if you knew this, but Hercules was what prompted this project in the first place. I watched it back in June and thought it was so wonderful that I wanted to watch more Disney movies. 3 months later (unfortunately), here we are. So you already know this is going to be a good review.

I suppose I should start by saying that I love Greek/Roman mythology when simply compacted. Hercules is the epitome of great story-telling, and I could watch myth-based Disney movies like this to no end. What I love most is the modern twist Disney throws into the film, particularly in characters like Megara and Philoctetes (gotta love Danny DeVito). But the best part about the modernization of this story is not the characters.

Did you guess it? The music. Oh, oh, oh, the music. Plain in simple: "I Won't Say (I'm In Love)" is my favorite Disney pop song before. It's wonderfully composed, beautifully sung, and packed with romance. The Muses as back-up singers are delightful, not just in this song but in the score motif. "Go the Distance" is terrific, too. As is everything else, of course! Which is odd, considering most don't consider Danny DeVito to be too musical. (Gotta pay the troll toll... who'll catch that reference?)

In short, Hercules is flawless, and can be enjoyed by all. (Awwwwwwwwwwww.) It's good to see a good Renaissance film given the last two disappointments. I just hope the three that are left can be as good!

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)

#34 The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Title: The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Release Date: June 21st, 1996

Voice Cast: Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Tony Jay, Kevin Kline

Recap: In 15th century Paris, a disfigured bellringer, Quasimodo, lives a lonely, blissfully ignorant life in the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. His master is Judge Claude Frollo, a vicious man who is adamant about keeping Quasimodo away from the rest of the world as well as eliminating the gypsies from Paris. One of these gypsies, Esmeralda, befriends Quasimodo along with one of Frollo's sympathetic knights, Phoebus. Pheobus and Quasimodo team up to save Esmeralda from Frollo, but there is a conflict of interest-- both have a romantic interest for her.
And here's the kicker: Frollo's got a little thing for her too.

Review: This is probably the most difficult review I've ever written. Even the recap was challenging to write, and I'll tell you why. Well, I'll try to explain to you why. My thoughts are so jumbled on this film that it's near impossible to judge what needs to be judged.

I think that is, in part, due to the fact that the story is all over the place. I couldn't stop and analyze one element of the movie because within moments a whole new element took over and the old one was abandoned. So I suppose that means style is all over the place too. But here's the thing: I didn't hate any of it, or dislike any of it significantly.

In fact, I don't think I was moved in either direction by what was going on in the film. Sure, I could pick out a few things if necessary. For example, I didn't care for the character of Quasimodo. Now, before you start going off on some notion of prejudice, let me say this: the abuse of Quasimodo is so dark that I felt uneasy watching it. And since we're heading in THAT direction, I might as well say the whole film is like a dark opera. Just listen to the motif in the score. And the song "Hellfire" would give me a nightmare or two if I was a kid.

I absolutely loved one thing about this film, though. It's not something most people would notice, but I sure did. The character Phoebus-- I urge you to go to another Disney film and pick a character who has a role like his. All the love stories are the same: a guy and a girl, usually against the world. Phoebus was an interesting spin into the work; he got the girl, and he's not the protagonist. Of course, I can't thank Disney for that. (Hats off to Victor Hugo.)

Diving into the idosyncrasies, I'll just give you some brief grades:
Music: C- Very, very disappointing except for the angry opera motif in the score, which was badass.
Animation: A It's a Disney Renaissance film for goodness sake. As darkness goes, this has got scenery nailed.
Story: B- Detail was a problem. Overall, it was pretty great. But when you break it down, it gets messy.
Characters: B Phoebus!!!
Voice Acting: C+ I give props to Jason Alexander and Tony Jay.

So uh, yeah. I can't be sure if I liked or disliked this film. And as I believe, when in doubt, aim for the middle.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')

Don't Go Away!

I know the few reading this would be a slightly happier if I had better news for them than: school takes up a lot of time, did you know? I see now why my original deadline (p.s. screw deadlines) was the day before school started. So uh, yeah. We're seeing a rapid decline in review writes, and I only have a few more to go.

Again, I am happy with what I did. Despite not doing what I want with this blog, I did the minimum necessary for myself to be satisfied/entertained. It's allllll about entertainment.

#33 Pocahontas

Title: Pocahontas

Release Date: June 23rd, 1995

Voice Cast: Irene Bedard, Mel Gibson, David Ogden Stiers, Russell Means, Linda Hunt

Recap: In the Native American Powhatan tribe lives Pocahontas, a free-spirited young woman who is alive with the spirit of nature. She has but three friends: a hummingbird, a raccoon, and another girl back in her village. Her father wants her to marry Kocoum, a strong, "serious" man. However, a dream she has been having tells her that her path leads otherwise. Enter John Smith, a settler from England who arrives on a boat captained by a gold-hungry aristocrat. John and Pocahontas have a chance of meeting and share a true connection, but there is one problem: the feud between the violent feud between the settlers and the Powhatans.

Review: A friend of mine told me yesterday that my reviews are more interesting when I dislike the film I'm reviewing. I don't know to what extent that is true-- I suppose, I told her, that I think more creatively when I'm disappointed. I can tell you this right now: any thinking I do while writing this is certainly more creative than Pocahontas.

This, quite bluntly, is a script I could write. This is an 8th grade history project to me, no joke. In a few moments, I even stopped and played a game in which I guessed what the characters would say next. Almost every time, I was generally spot on (meaning all but verbatim). I'm going to be frank: this is the worst dialogue I've ever seen from any movie with a budget like this. It's the reason why the first half of the movie flat-out sucked.

I could rant about a variety of elements in this movie. I'll avoid the trite few: historical inaccuracies (big laugh here), recycled concepts (the movie is a mashup of old Disney tricks, really), or voice acting (just awful, Mel Gibson). You see? I hardly had to comment on any of those and you already get the picture. It was the tiniest amount of intensity starting at midpoint that made this movie slightly enjoyable.

I'll tell you what saved it from a Crocodile "Tick Tock" though. You probably have already guessed it, though. It's the one thing I haven't mentioned in this review that I include almost every time. Only two people deserve full credit for their parts in this movie: Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz-- music, if you hadn't guessed. "Colors of the Wind" is close to epic, and "If I Never Knew You" is borderline balladic. The rest I could keep or leave. That is to say, if I had to give a rating for just the music, I'd probably give it an Under the Sea.

And no, I don't blame The Lion King for setting the bar too high. Pocahontas is frankly just incompetent as entertainment. That's this film crew's fault, and they should take the blame. Maybe next time (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Disney will pick up the slack.

Bare Necessities (as bare as you can get...)

Pocahontas Tomorrow

Believe me, I know the delays are ridiculous. However, this time I have a good reason. I started school on Wednesday, and since then I've obviously been busy with homework and general organization. I just finished watching Pocahontas, but I have other things to tend to right now. There is no reason you shouldn't see a review tomorrow. (Technically, there's no good reason this project shouldn't have been finished by the original deadline, but...)

So look for that tomorrow if you wish.

#32 The Lion King

Title: The Lion King

Release Date: June 24th, 1994

Voice Cast: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Moira Kelly, Rowan Atkinson, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella

Recap: A lion cub, Simba, is born to the king of Pride Rock, Mufasa. Mufasa teaches Simba the values of life and what it's like to be king, as Simba will one day hold the throne when Mufasa passes. Unfortunately, Mufasa's brother, Scar, has other plans for them both. With the help of hyenas, he kills Mufasa and convinces Simba to run away from home. Now, Scar is king, and everything is chaos. Meanwhile, Simba has escaped to the care of Timon and Pumbaa, a carefree meerkat and warthog, respectively. One day, Simba's childhood friend Nala finds him and pleads for him to come back home and assume the throne. Simba refuses, as he cannot find it in is heart to recover from the loss of his father. However, a mystical mandrill, Rafiki, helps him speak to his father: "Remember who you are", Mufasa says, and Simba gains the pride.

Review: For the technical record, The Lion King is the first EVER in the Disney Classics to contain an original story, not one based completely off of another work (ignoring certain allegations of plagiarism...). I, personally, would just love to know why it took them nearly 60 years to do it. Sure, I've said in previous interviews that one of the best things that Disney knows how to do is to take classic stories and make them its own. I certainly don't believe that the mind of Walt Disney was incapable of working from nothing. We know what an "imagineer" he was. But wow. 60 years before an original story. And from that we get The Lion King.

This film... just wow. This film captivates from the very beginning, from the very first (and probably most or second most iconic) scene. What I love most about this film, which is introduced here, is the magical connection between the soundtrack and the setting. Brilliant elements like this are hard to achieve, and in fact I've only seen it done once before now, in The Jungle Book. This case puts that one to shame. The rich blend of traditional African music with the warm-colored, earth tone landscape is absolutely sublime.

What's unique about the music is how it takes that traditional music to a whole new level, adding perfect elements of pop to create a masterful setlist. No doubt, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" is the absolute best-- the shining star of this film. So beautiful, the chorus makes me shudder, similar to "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. But again, it's those background beats that makes this score take the cake. "Circle of Life" is nearly as epic, and two fabulous upbeat counterparts exist for those who feel like dancing "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" and "Hakuna Matata."

While The Lion King was doing all this, it was also making history as the most philosophical animated feature ever. I applaud an especially deep moment: after getting in trouble, Simba is walking behind his frustrated yet silent father. Simba steps into Mufasa's pawprint and looks down. Without saying anything, he notices the enormous difference in size. 80% of ALL films cannot produce a moment on the same intellectual level as this, symbolizing the entire theme of the movie in a single, resonant moment.

I could go on and on praising this movie. But to be fair to Aladdin, I'll keep it at that. I neither like ranting forever nor raving forever. I'll just leave this rating here...

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

#31 Aladdin

Title: Aladdin

Release Date: November 11th, 1992

Voice Cast: Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Jonathan Freeman, Linda Larkin, Gilbert Gottfried

Recap: Set in the Middle East, a young thief named Aladdin has dreams of living the rich life in the royal palace. In contrast, Princess Jasmine wishes to escape the palace life along so that she may choose her own husband (much to the frustration of her father, the sultan). When Jasmine does flee the palace, she meets Aladdin, and the two share a spark. However, their time is interrupted when guards are sent to capture Aladdin by the sultan's traitorous advisor, Jafar. Jafar uses Aladdin to fetch a magic lamp, but as he is leading the boy to die, Aladdin's monkey Abu manages to steal the lamp. Inside the lamp is the Genie, who promises to grant Aladdin any three wishes (with some exceptions). Aladdin uses these wishes to get closer to Jasmine, but Jafar still aims to stop him.

Review: If any one of my reviews would sharply polarize my opinions with most viewers, it'd be this one. Not beating around the bush: I don't care for Aladdin that much. But I'll tell you why, and I hope in some ways I can make points that you'll understand.

Then again, I only have one main point. Aladdin tries too hard. It tries too hard in almost every aspect. The result of trying too hard, if you didn't know, is cliché. For example, it tries too hard to be funny. Don't get me wrong, Robin Williams is a comic genius, and he was just fine in this movie. But every other joke fell flat in my opinion. I only laughed once throughout the whole movie.

The drama and romance is bland, too. This is in part due to a lackluter set-up to the plot, which is everything to a Disney movie. And again to the clichés: "Some day, Abu, things are gonna change", "It's mine! It's all mine!", etc. I've got nothing else to say but... come on.

So Renaissance animation and sound effects, couldn't save this one. Sorry.

Bare Necessities

#30 Beauty and the Beast

Title: Beauty and the Beast

Release Date: November 22nd, 1991

Voice Cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Angela Lansbury, Jerry Orbach

Recap: In a small French village lives Belle, who is regarded as the most beautiful woman around. She is being sought by Gaston, a buff, conceited hunter to whom physical beauty is everything. When Belle's father goes for a ride through a dangerous forest, he ends up in the enchanted castle of an enormous beast, actually a cursed prince. The beast takes Belle's father as a prisoner, and soon she comes to rescue him. In exchange for her father's freedom, she offers to remain in the castle forever. Belle is taken in warmly by the animate everyday objects in the castle, who are also cursed humans. The objects also try to help the Beast and Belle fall in love so that the curse can be broken. Slowly but surely, a love builds, but Gaston still seeks to marry Belle and won't let the Beast stand in his way.

Review: Like many Disney movies, Beauty and the Beast had been previously attempted by Disney Studios long ago (30s and 50s, to be precise). The problems came with the story which proved to be a challenge for the writers. So the idea was scrapped, scrapped, and semi-scrapped once again in the late 80s. I count these "failures" lucky, because I imagine that this film could not have been so enormously grand if made before 1989. The blend of traditional animation and CGI is a very crucial component of making this film as large as it needs to be, and there was never a more ripe time for Beauty and the Beast to premiere.

I must admit, even I was terrified the Beast. I don't know who to thank for that. Voice acting, perhaps? That's Robby Benson, chosen by the filmmakers because they "could hear the prince beneath the fur." I 100% agree with that, because he is superb on both fronts of the Beast: explosive and nurturing. Or should I thank the sound effects team? Those growls are certainly computer-assisted, and the engineers deserve a lot of credit for it. Maybe the animators, who designed the Beast and animated him so well to stress the importance of inner beauty.

I know what you want. You want me to talk about the songs. Well, there are a lot of em. The Little Mermaid had about four (not including reprises), but this installment has about six big ones accompanied by a fabulous instrumental score by Alan Menken. But there's a difference between the two films that needs to be acknowledged when analyzing the music. Beauty and the Beast is set up like a Broadway musical, narrational songs performed very frequently and by almost everyone in the film. So while I tip my hat to The Little Mermaid for beautiful classic songs like "Part of Your World" and "Kiss the Girl", I give props to Beauty and the Beast for the presentation of their score, because as I said in the intro, everything is enormously grand. There is one song, however, that I would notch up there with the ballad "Part of Your World". You know, the title track? Done so delightfully by Angela Lansbury during the film's most iconic scene? I think you know the one I mean.

There you have it, the review for the only full-length film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. If it wasn't for Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, I think it would have definitely won.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Oh, the Irony

The concept of having a deadline is stressing me out. Being stressed out -> putting me out of the mood to watch a movie. No movies, no reviews. It's yikes. I don't know if I'll meet my deadline, but I don't mind. I'm just glad I'm doing this.

Not to sound selfish, but I did this blog for myself, not for others. I wanted to do something during the summer, and I did it. I'm proud of it, regardless of the constant delays this month.

That's all I have to say.

You'll get Beauty and the Beast. Soon.

#29 The Rescuers Down Under

Title: The Rescuers Down Under

Release Date: November 16th, 1990

Voice Cast: Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, John Candy, Frank Welker, George C. Scott

Recap: After rescuing a rare eagle, a young boy is kidnapped by a poacher who wants the bird's whereabouts. This is another job for Bianca and Ryan, the heros of the predecessor The Rescuers.

Review: Oh boy. The Rescuers Down Under is one of two sequels in the Disney classics series, the other being Fantasia 2000. And when people talk about the Disney Renaissance, which began with The Little Mermaid a year before this film, the often leave out this southern sequel. That is to say it wasn't good enough for critics or fans to marvel at it.

I don't blame them, really. I miss the style of the first film. Now, I don't know if I can hold the film itself responsible. What I loved about the first was its uniqueness and (believe it or not) dark tone. Though there's a decent amount adventure, I feel like it's all been done before in better circumstances.

I suppose if there was no predecessor, I would be fine with this film. Bianca and Bernard are just as loveable as they were in The Rescuers, and the albatross is just as funny as his brother (props on John Candy). But it feels a bit emptier than it should be. In sequels, I look for new interesting concepts to beat the first, and Down Under just wasn't fresh enough.

I want to give this film two ratings. The first is as a sequel, and the second is as an individual film. It just makes more sense for me to do it that way.

Bare Necessities

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')

#28 The Little Mermaid

Title: The Little Mermaid

Release Date: November 17th, 1989

Voice Cast: Jodi Benson, Pat Carroll, Samuel E. Wright, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Jason Marin, Kenneth Mars

Recap: In a kingdom of merfolk under the ocean, a mermaid princess Ariel is longing to live on the surface with humans. Her father, King Triton, does not understand and is furious when she rescues a drowning human prince from a shipwreck. Ariel is then tempted by the evil sea witch, Ursula, who promises to give Ariel three days on the surface in exchange for her beautiful voice. As if this wasn't enough, Ariel now has these three days to make the prince fall in love with her (specifically, kiss her) or Ursula will harness Ariel's soul. All is going well with this challenge until Ursula decides to step in further.

Review: There is SO much I want to say about The Little Mermaid, but if I said it all in full context, it would be the length of 2-3 reviews. I suppose I'll start with the facts, and relate them into the movie.

This film was an extremely significant installment in the Disney Classics series. It marked the beginning of what is known as the Disney Renaissance, an era that would last for the next ten years. It's obvious why, too. It had been a while since Disney had released such a musical film, the kind of film that made them famous in the late 30s/early 40s as well as the 50s-70s. Also, it was the first fairy tale since 1959's Sleeping Beauty, 30 years previous.

Oh, the music. The music the music the music. I'm lost for words on this one. The first song is "Part of Your World" sung by Ariel. It's... it's one of the most beautiful ballads I've ever heard, not just of Disney songs. It hits all the right notes with fierce emotion, and Jodi Benson could not have knocked this one out of the park anymore than she did. The poppy "Under the Sea" is a delicious Caribbean counterpart, gigantic and grand as it needs to be. "Kiss the Girl" is wonderfully romantic, and dominates the mood of that particular scene.

You know how I've commented on recent Disney films having particular fortes? The Little Mermaid doesn't have one. No, it has every single one imaginable. It's the royal package, every aspect taken to it's limit and beyond. Humor, animation, music, story, characters; I could go on. All tremendous, all deserving equal and glorious applause. It's probably the first Disney film I've seen to have perfect cinematography, something enormously difficult to achieve for animation.

My words cannot do justice for this movie. I'm sure most of you have seen it; it's one of the most popular Disney movies of all time. To end with a lame metaphor, The Little Mermaid is as golden as King Triton's palace. :P

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

#27 Oliver & Company

Title: Oliver & Company

Release Date: November 18th, 1988

Voice Cast: Billy Joel, Joey Lawrence, Dom DeLuise, Natalie Gregory, Cheech Marin

Recap: A stray cat, Oliver, meets a group of dogs living with a homeless man on a 1980s Manhattan pier. The homeless man, Fagin, is struggling to pay off a powerful loan shark. Every day, the dogs go out to find items or money to help Fagin pay off the loan shark. On one of these days, Oliver ends up on his way to a wealthy home with a little girl and a spoiled show dog. He becomes happy there, but Fagin's gang rescues him, and Oliver becomes a ransom item for the pitiful Fagin.

Review: When I was very young, I remember that Oliver & Company was one of my absolute favorite Disney movies. I don't even remember why; in fact, I didn't remember much of the film before watching it yesterday. Here's what I knew: there was a cat, there was a dirty hobo, there was a girl with a piano, and it was set in 1980s New York. So watching it some 10 years later, it was almost a brand new film to me.

No doubt my favorite thing about this film now is it's setting. I'm making a quick conclusion here that this film is the only Disney classic to have a completely urban setting. Singularity is always a plus for Disney movies. The great thing about the setting is how much it affects the soundtrack. These are Disney tunes like you've never heard 'em before, sprouting out 80s jazz, pop, and rock in the best possible way. Having Billy Joel as a lead certainly didn't hurt, and he takes the cake with the fantastically built-up "Why Should I Worry?".

My complaints are equal. This is the first Disney movie I've seen in a true while that didn't move as fast as I'd have liked it to. It drags on A LOT, working to define irrelevant moments in the plot. It just doesn't work. The end product is a slow-moving story that just can't catch the runtime of 70+ minutes.

This is probably the first review that I've struggled to give a rating on. If there was a rating between the two ratings I was considering, it would belong there. But I suppose I have to go by the universal rule: round up.

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)

#26 The Great Mouse Detective

Title: The Great Mouse Detective

Release Date: July 2nd, 1986

Voice Cast: Barrie Ingham, Vincent Price, Val Bettin, Candy Candido, Frank Welker

Recap: In the world of mice and rats, a toymaker is kidnapped by the cruel Professor Ratigan in a complex plot to rule England. The toymaker's daughter, Olivia, comes into the care of Dr. David Dawson, who helps her seek the assistance of eccentric Sherlock-Holmes-based Basil. Basil only agrees to help Olivia because Ratigan is his arch enemy and becomes very determined to solve the case.

Review: I'm telling you now, this is one of the lesser-known classics that you should see. (There aren't too many of those). It opens instantly with a hook to pull you in, a little bit like a Harry Potter movie. There's a sharp wit to the characters, something that might go over a little kid's head. But I enjoyed it thoroughly. The dialogue was just so smart.

It almost feels like it could be live-action. I could see a director like Christopher Columbus or Robert Zemeckis doing a heck of a job with it. The Sherlock Holmes element is brilliant, which reminds me that there is indeed a live-action Sherlock Holmes film coming out this Christmas. That'll be interesting.

There's also an antagonist that I absoluely adore in this film. Everything he does is comedic and priceless. There was a similar character in The Black Cauldron, but he doesn't do this one justice. The character I'm referring to is Fidget, the primary antagonist's henchman. I think you'd really get a kick out of him. Props to Candy Candido for that one.

I only have a minor complaint about this film, and it's nothing I'll spend a paragraph on because it's just not worth it. There are some tacky things, that's all. For instance, the world in which they live is called Mousedom. I know, right? Oh well.

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)

#25 The Black Cauldron

Title: The Black Cauldron

Release Date: July 24th, 1985

Voice Cast: Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne, John Byner

Recap: An assistant pigkeeper, Taran, learns that his pig has supernatural powers. An evil overlord, the Horned King, seizes the pig in order to find a magical, powerful cauldron. Taran, along with Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam, and a primate-esque creature named Gorgi, must stop the Horned King from harnessing the power of the black cauldron and save his beloved pig.

Review: I'm toying with the idea of saying the negative things about this film first. I've never really thought about it before, but I suppose when reviewing films I like to state the pros first. For some reason, I think I'm going to hand you the cons first so you know how I truly feel about The Black Cauldron.

Where to begin? The Black Cauldron is a mess. There's no suspense, but the creators sure try for some. Ironically, that's their downfall. Too many moments of explosive score result in absolutely nothing in suspense. But it's hardly the score's fault. Everything is either predictable, cliché, or a predictable cliché. Characters are disturbingly stereotypical for a fantasy film.

I imagine that The Black Cauldron was better as a book, and even better when placed in a series. Surprisingly to me, Lloyd Alexander, the author of the series, enjoyed the film. Honestly, all the film did for me was inspire me to read a good fantasy book. Just because I know I can most likely be more pleased with a book than an adaptation.

The two pros? First of all, it continues with the modern style of animation I mentioned in the Fox and the Hound review. Other pro: innovative sound effects, none like you've ever seen before from Disney. I hope the sound engineers for this film got a good cut of the revenue. But even magificent sound an vision couldn't make me watch The Black Cauldron again.

Bare Necessities

#24 The Fox and the Hound

Title: The Fox and the Hound

Release Date: July 10th, 1981

Voice Cast: Mickey Rooney, Kurt Russell, Jack Albertson, Pat Buttram

Recap: Two neighbors, a sweet old lady and a grumpy old hunter, acquire two different animals on the very first day: an orphan fox and a hound poppy respectively. These two critters become friends instantly, though their owners do not like each other very much. That winter, the hound, Copper, goes on a trip with his master to learn how to become a hunting dog. The fox, Tod, is confused and saddened by this, as he is told that Copper will come back as his enemy. Sure enough, Copper returns as a masterful hunting dog, and when Tod accidentally leads another hunting dog to be injured, the old lady has no choice but to leave him out in the forest. Copper is angered by the incident and swears revenge, but the friendship leaves some lingering bonds.

Review: The Fox and the Hound is, quite blatantly, a simple concept stretched out over 83 minutes. It does indeed have a great moral encased for children, but that may or may not be overshadowed by something else these kids may realize (which I'll talk about soon enough). If you've been reading my blog at all, you know that whenever child actors are voicing animals, I fall in love. And that's no different here. Tod and Copper as little ones are downright adorable. The film's simpleness has every right to be treasured and appreciated.

Here's what scared me: there's quite a bit of macabre tone. What am I talking about? Consider this: the first thing you see in the movie is Tod's mother get shot. What's worse (though appropriate for that), there's no music in the opening. Remember all the other Disney movies that started out with a nice overture of theme music and credits? Not here. The film opens to practically nothing: a dreary, foggy day. Heck, at first, I even thought it was another bad copy: one with no sound. Hunting plays a critical role in the film, but I do think that some young children may be a little disturbed by this movie. I think I would have been.

I also have two more small complaints. They probably won't bother you, but I was a little pestered. First of all, there's a woodpecker in the film named Boomer who plays a relatively minor role. The voice behind the bird is Paul Winchell, the same man who provided the voice for Tigger in Winnie the Pooh. I have no problem with reusing voice actors, but that's not the issue. Boomer acts exactly like Tigger in every way. Boomer is Tigger in bird form. He even does Tigger's signature "Whoo hoo hoo hooo!" I thought it was a little shabby for Disney to recycle something as unique as that. Second of all, I'm turned off by the pop songs that appeared in this and The Rescuers. Sure, other films have soundtracks with famous artists and what not, but to me, the magic of Disney songs comes from characters themselves singing. Luckily there were only two incidents of this in the film.

In short, The Fox and the Hound is righteous and (mostly) warm, if not dull and utterly macabre in some parts. Oh! One more thing. The animation was superb here. I could easily mistake this film for a late 90s animated film. Incidently, Don Bluth, a key animator at Disney Studios, left during the production of this film to form his own company. Just some trivia: Mr. Bluth went on to make classics such as Anastasia and the first The Land Before Time movie.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')

P.S. Sorry, but you won't be seeing a 2-a-day from me today. It was enough to get this good copy of The Fox and the Hound. I hope you aren't too disappointed. Things are getting rough. :P

Of course, you realize, this means 2-a-days!

Surprise, surprise. Another bad copy today. This time of The Fox and the Hound. I swear, someone's punishing me. This is all just coming out of nowhere. I hope it's just a temporary streak of bad luck. But I've come up with a solution! It may or may not work.

The solution is this: 2-a-days. That's right. Meaning I watch 2 movies a day, review 2 movies a day. Will I be able to do it? Who knows? Tonight is my last driver's ed class, so that will free up some time. Once that's over, the only obligatory thing consuming my time is 2 books I have to read for English. I'm about 2/3 through the first one. I hope to finish it sometime this weekend.

So there you have it. I missed out on a lot of days, so I owe you guys. This will probably go into effect tomorrow. So I think you have a right tomorrow to expect 2 movie reviews. If not, you can yell at me all you'd like.

That's all for now. Keep reading!

#23 The Rescuers

Title: The Rescuers

Release Date: June 22nd, 1977

Voice Cast: Eva Gabor, Bob Newhart, Geraldine Page, Jim Jordan

Recap: The Rescue Aid Society, an international team of mice, receives a message in a bottle from an orphan appearing in danger. A Hungarian female mouse, Bianca, takes the case and calls upon the RAS janitor, Bernard, to be her co-agent. They travel to the orphanage mentioned in the message for more information, and they discover that the orphan, Penny, has been taken by a wicked pawnshop owner to an abandoned luxury boat in order to find a precious diamond. So Bianca and Bernard, embark to rescue her with the help of an albatross, a dragonfly, and some other helpful mice.

Review: The Rescuers was a milestone for Disney in various different aspects. Most importantly, it was the last film of what was considered Disney's Silver Age, an era that began with Cinderella in 1950. Not until 1989's The Little Mermaid would Disney see such critical and financial success. The film also breaks the comedic pattern of the last few films, returning to the dramatic style that early Disney films were none for.

I'm beginning to feel that the Silver Age was about fortes. I can personally pinpoint the strength of every Disney movie since Cinderella, though I may not have mentioned them in certain reviews. For The Rescuers, this strength is atmosphere. What Disney produced with this film was a novel blend of a hard-boiled mystery and the natural Disney spirit. So while every moment in this film is not picture perfect, the tone remains fluent and golden. You want to be there with Bianca and Bernard, assisting them in some way.

On to the idiosyncrasy of the film: I noticed that, for the most part, the animated actions and the voices of the characters were more realistic. That is to say that they were less exaggerated and truer to the moment. When I think of this, I think of Pinocchio 40 years earlier. When Jiminy Cricket listens in on Gepetto, 80% of what he does is completely over-the-top and fake. Disney has come a long way.

So, as the last film of the Silver Age, I'm saluting to it with a silver rating.

Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better!)