#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!)

Problems Continue; Deadline Extension

Agh! Yet another bad copy of The Rescuers. This is not good. For every bad copy, it's a day wasted. I've lost about five days already this way. So, to fit, I need to extend the deadline. The new deadline is Monday, August 31st. Again, I'm really sorry about all of this. I'm pretty unhappy about it.

Problems

Ugh, this is really quite annoying now. I keep running into problems with the versions of movies I'm getting. It's just a stroke of bad luck, but usually the first copies of the past few movies I've gotten have been bad copies. That's the reason you're seeing the delays in posts. Sorry, guys. Hopefully, you'll see a review for The Rescuers either late tonight or sometime tomorrow. Just stick with me. :)

#22 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Title: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

Release Date: March 11th, 1977

Voice Cast: Sterling Holloway, John Fiedler, Paul Winchell, Junius Matthews

Recap: Based on the books by A. A. Milne, this film tells the stories that revolve around a simple-minded bear and his friends that live in the forest. He, or his friends, often get into mishaps such as getting stuck, getting caught in a flood, having a house destroyed, getting stuck in a tree, or getting lost.

Review: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is all about adapting great characters. Forget the stories; well, not entirely. The stories are great in their own right. But it's the characters in the stories that make this film. They're all splendid and quirky, every last one of them.

My personal favorites are Tigger and Eeyore. Tigger is unstoppably hysterical, and he truly brings the happy-go-lucky tone to the film. Eeyore, on the other hand, is depressing with a delicious wit. His lines are all accompanied by a heavy brass scale, contributing to his character. In one of the best moments of the movie, protagonist Christopher Robbin says, "C'mon! We're going to get Pooh out of [the hole]!" Eeyore then returns, "Well... maybe." Along these are of course, Pooh, the silly old bear, as well as Rabbit, Owl, and others. If it weren't for the tremendously talented voice acting, the characters wouldn't be half as great.

I have to say, I enjoy the semi-package format of this film. It's a catalogue of stories, but they're all loosely woven together. However, sometimes the stories drag on, and other times they just feel unfinished.

Musically, there's really nothing. All of the songs are on a tiny scale, so this film doesn't leave any classics behind. Perhaps "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" is the classic; heck, its sung about four or five times throughout the movie. I think in this period in time, Disney was focusing less on providing awesome and focusing more on proving they could weave a story just as fine without Walt around.

All other complaints and prasies are minor; you'll just have to see for yourself!

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

DC Feature: Five Things You Didn't Know/Realize About Disney Films

Welcome to the first feature of my blog! It's been a long time waiting, but it's finally here! In this feature, I'm gonna share with you five things from Disney movies that you probably didn't know or realize.


#1: The Fair Fairy
You remember the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio who helps transform Pinocchio into a real boy? Well, the voice actor attributed to her was Evelyn Venable. Miss Venable was also a model; indeed, she was the live action model for the logo of famed studio Columbia Pictures.





#2: What's In A Name?
The picture on the left is from Fantasia. He is the very sorcerer from the iconic Mickey Mouse segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." Perhaps you didn't catch his name: it's Yensid. And "Yensid" backwards? "Disney."



#3: Nana in Neverland
Aw. Poor Nana! The worn-out nurse dog from Peter Pan got thrown out of the main story! Remember when Michael Darling throws the fairy dust onto Nana as the gang left for Neverland? But Nana is trapped to a leash, so she floats up only to get restrained at an unfortunate and uncomfortable height. Well, in the original storyline written up by Disney, this wasn't going to be the case. Nana was meant to go off to Neverland, and ultimately was to bite Hook, making him jump of the ship. But this never happened.

#4: Architecture Comes Before Art
Sleeping Beauty was one of Disney's most famous films about a princess. And like any other princess film, it featured an iconic castle. To the right is that castle, featured in California's Disneyland. That attraction was first seen by the public on July 17th, 1955, when Disneyland was opened. Park-goers didn't know that they had to wait another four years for the film that fit the castle. Sleeping Beauty was finally released in the U.S. on January 29th, 1959.








#5: Mom? Dad?
This is a well-circulated fact on the internet about a certain pattern in Disney movies. The fact is this: there are but a few Disney films where BOTH of the main character's parents are features AND at least ONE of them doesn't die during the movie. There are inconsistencies, however, about which films these are. For example, www.unnecessaryknowledge.com notes that these films are 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Mulan. However, in Sleeping Beauty, both parents of Aurora are present, and neither dies throughout the movie. I can't speak for certain movies past Robin Hood, but there still seems to be a very small amount of films that fit this criteria.

#21 Robin Hood

Title: Robin Hood

Release Date: November 8th, 1973

Voice Cast: Brian Bedford, Phil Harris, Peter Ustinov, Monica Evans

Recap: Based on English Folklore, Robin Hood tells the story of an outlaw who steals from the rich to give to the poor. One day, he steals from Prince John, a sissy monarch who gets pleasure from nothing but money, which he receives from taxing the people of Nottingham. Prince John is fed up with Robin Hood, so he sets up an archery contest in which the first prize is a kiss from the lovely Maid Marian, with whom Robin Hood has had a long romance. The prince's plan fails, so imprisons all the citizens of Nottingham after they fail to pay tripled taxes. Now, it is up to Robin Hood to save them.

Review: Robin Hood can be summed up in four words: nothing novel, nothing awful. It has its subtle pros and its forgettable cons; not much to show for either side. I think you already know what review this movie is getting. That being said, I'll tell you the pros first.

I was immediately glad to see a return to a better class of animation. The "liney-ness" that I complained about for The Sword in the Stone and The Aristocats is gone (hopefully for good). Also, there's plenty of excitement in this film, along with a hefty amount of suspsense towards the end. Robin Hood is certainly watchable, and it is still interesting enough to enjoy.

The negatives are more defined, but they still do not weigh out the cons. For example, some parts feel like a cheap Nick Jr. cartoon you watch on sick days as a kid. That's hard to avoid with anthropomorphic animals, especially when you throw in kids. The character of Prince John is tastelessly overdone, with both humor and principle revolving around him well below Disney's standards.

So, if you haven't seen Robin Hood, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to you. I still believe that everyone can have extremely differing opinions over the same film, and this here is just mine. So, by all means, check it out.

Hakuna Matata (It Means 'No Worries!')

#20 The Aristocats

Title: The Aristocats

Release Date: December 11th, 1970

Voice Cast: Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Gary Dubin, Liz English, Dean Clark

Recap: A mother cat and her three kittens live happily with a wealthy madame in an upscale district of Paris. All is going well for them until the madame's butler finds out that he is taking a back seat to the cats in her will. He decides to get rid of the cats by abandoning them in the countryside. Luckily, they meet a streetwise, friendly alley cat named O'Malley who agrees to escort them back to Paris. Throw in two british geese, one drunk goose, a persistent horse and mouse, a comedy duo of hounds, and a swing band of cats, and you've got The Aristocats.

Review: There are few movies I have seen in my life that made me laugh more than The Aristocats. It's priceless comedy that brings together a blend of slapstick the style of Abbott & Costello or Laurel & Hardy, purely unintentional humor, and poking fun at the French. Without a doubt, my favorite characters were Napoleon & Lafayette, two farm dogs who can carry on a comedy routine like the greats.
"It was just a little cricket bug, Napoleon."
"Hold it! I'm the leader! I'll say what it was! ... It was just a little cricket bug."
I could have watched them for hours.

While not jampacked with excitement like most other Disney films, this story is well-played. It has dynamic characters, cute voices (which I am a sucker for), and a fair plot that will keep your butt glued to your seat, eyes to the screen. And I, personally, saw Edgar, the butler, as the most unlikely candidate for a villain in the first five minutes. The French setting is perfect, as it makes for both unique scenery and a unique score. The soundtrack is decent, too, full of upbeat tunes like "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat".

I have but two minor complaints about the film. First, the liney animation I mentioned in The Sword in the Stone was present again in some aspects. Namely, the madame's hair looked completely unfinished. It looked like rough draft, raw animation. Secondly, in a FEW places there was some shotty voice acting, just hardly noticeable.

But I would pay good money to see Disney make a film as funny as this one. I just don't see how it's possible, though!

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

#19 The Jungle Book

Title: The Jungle Book

Release Date: October 18th, 1967

Voice Cast: Bruce Reitherman, Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Louis Prima, George Sanders

Recap: Based on a story from the book of the same name by Rudyard Kipling, the film tells the tale of a feral child raised in the jungle. He is found as a baby boy by a panther, Bagheera, who in turn hands him over to a family of wolves. Years later, it is realized that the boy, Mowgli, must be returned to a man village in order to escape the dangerous tiger, Shere Khan. Bagheera tries to take Mowgli back to the village, but is cast aside when Mowgli meets Baloo, a care-free, simple bear. Now, Mowgli wants to stay forever in the jungle with Baloo, though threats such as wild monkeys, a hypnotic snake, and of course, Shere Khan still await.

Review: The first thing I noticed about The Jungle Book that differs from other movies is that the score is so appropriate to the story. It's dark, but not too dark, and fillled with woodwinds and brass to fit the jungle theme. I've never seen a Disney movie as well-scored as this one.

The soundtrack is even better than the score, and it's part of the reason why this film was so big when it was released. Who could forget the upbeat, cheery "The Bare Necessities"? Or the jazzy, scat-song "I Wan'na Be Like You" (my personal favorite)? These alone make the film a fantastic show of song, but that doesn't make the other tunes throw-aways. "Colonel Hathi's March" is very catchy for a parade song, and "Trust in Me" hits the right notes for the eerie mood.

Honestly, the music is 75% of why I enjoy the film. It's most definitely the forte. There's nothing wrong with the story or the characters, but it's difficult to pick out either flaws or strengths when the music is what has your attention. Sure, Bagheera is serious enough, Baloo is silly enough, Mowgli is stubborn enough, Shere Khan is evil enough, and so on. But even if they weren't, or even if they were superb, I don't think I would notice immediately. It's up to you to decide whether or not that's a good thing.

Don't take that to mean that the film is only good for it's music. I still loved it. Plus, it was the last Disney film to have Walt's effort in development. He passed away only 10 months before this film was released.

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

#18 The Sword in the Stone

Title: The Sword in the Stone

Release Date: December 25th, 1963

Voice Cast: Karl Swenson, Sebastian Cabot, Junius Matthews, Rickie Sorenson

Recap: Based on the novel of the same name by T.H. White, the film tells the story of a scrawny page named Arthur, who has no realistic hopes of becoming anything more than a squire. He is met by Merlin, a fanciful wizard, who foretells that Arthur will be the next king of England. To accomplish this, Arthur must be able to pull a sword from a stone in London, where it is written that he who does this shall claim the throne. Of course, Arthur has to compete with all of the mightiest knights in include, as well as his foster brother, Kay. So, Merlin begins to use magic to train him, teaching lessons as fish, squirrels, and birds.

Review: This won't be too long of a review, actually, because a lot of this film can be summed up in a few sentences. It's just simply below par. Not terrible, but below par. The animation is a step backwards. Well, not a step backwards, because I would take Snow White animation over this. It's far too liney, and the characters' movements don't seem in place sometimes. That creates another problem with the voice acting, which (especially for Arthur and Kay) lacks the moment a lot. The way they speak is not appropriate for the situation. Finally, the humor is very, very low-brow. And the worst time of it is, they waste time laughing at their own jokes.

So again, The Sword is not terrible. But there's a reason some Disney films aren't as well-known as others. The Sword lies, chronologically, between 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book, and just look how marveled those two are. So, I imagine I'm not being too harsh on this one.

Bare Necessities

P.S. Did anyone notice that the last few Disney films have been British? I sure didn't until this one.

P.P.S. Check back in a few hours for a review on The Jungle Book.