171. December 26, 2010 - Tangled (2010)

#71 on my Top 100 List
Rapunzel has never been my favorite fairy tale. In fact, I barely remember all the details except that "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," is somehow important. This version is heartwarming and moving and adorable - Rapunzel is a great character and Flynn Ryder is way more intricate that I expected. It's interesting to note that Rapunzel is 18 in this, whereas every Disney princess before her was 16 (and paired with a 21 year old prince, which is a little creepy in this day and age). Also, this is the 50th animated feature film from Disney. A worthy film of such a landmark! I highly recommend it.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

89. July 8, 2010 - Toy Story 3 (2010)

I think that a lot of movies for children rely on emotional manipulation to make themselves more relatable to the adults who inevitably have to accompany their kids. This one doesn't need to do that, which I think is a sign of a great film. This is, by far, my favorite of the Toy Story's. It brings to the front the issue and sad reality that things don't last forever - except things molded in plastic. Andy, the child at the forefront of the first two films, is no longer a child and is going off to college. What, then, is to happen to his childhood toys? Prepare to cry - anyone who has ever had to leave any part of their life behind will be able to relate. Critics were right who said that this is the best movie of the summer so far.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

88. July 7, 2010 - Toy Story 2 (1999)

I should start by reminding you all that despite my best efforts, I just don't really like Toy Story the first. I also don't like stories that rely on their characters being in Sudden Imminent Danger to drive the plot. BUT, I really liked this movie somehow. Maybe it was because it flipped the Woody/Buzz relationship from the first one and made it Buzz who was looking out for his friend. Or maybe it was because of the character of Jessie, whose memories of her former owner (set to the Best Song nominee "When She Loved Me") makes me cry. Regardless, I felt that I needed to see this before I saw Toy Story 3, which has been getting the best reviews of anything this summer.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

67. May 29, 2010 - Pocahontas (1995)

Okay, I know that as far as Disney movies falsifying history goes, this one is one of the worst offenders. I can't help it - I like it anyway. The veracity of the story that Pocahontas truly did throw herself over John Smith as he was about to be executed has been argued endlessly for hundreds of years and will probably never be settled one way or the other. I tend to think that it's been at least exaggerated over the centuries, since most of those outrageous stories have been. Either way, this is definitely part of the Disney second golden age that started with The Little Mermaid - the animation is beautiful and the songs are catchy and touching (the Academy agrees with me on that point). Plus David Ogden Stiers is the voice of the villain and I adore him as a voice.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

January 17, 2010

The Jungle Book (1967)
Happy Golden Globes day! This is the last film that Walt Disney himself worked on before his death in 1966. It has catchy music and fun characters, including Baloo the Bear and King Louie (voiced by the jazz legend Louis Prima) as well as the villainous Shere Khan and Kaa the snake. Kaa is voiced by Sterling Holloway, who was also the voice of Winnie the Pooh and let me tell you - it's really disturbing to hear Pooh's voice coming out of the mouth of a giant man-eating python. Look for an appearance by a quartet of vultures who are curiously reminiscent of a certain Fab Foursome from Britain. Also appearing is Phil Harris as Baloo - my favorite Disney voice actor. And what is Bambi's mom doing in India?
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

January 6, 2010

The Princess and the Frog (2009)
All hail Disney's triumphant return to hand-drawn animation!! I'm so happy that this movie exists and that it's so well-done and touching. (By the way - sorry I haven't updated in a while! The website hasn't been letting me in.) Tiana is a fantastic princess in the model of Jasmine or Belle, plus she is the first African-American princess in Disney history. The movie also returns to the traditional Disney form of incorporating musical numbers into the story, taking the lead of The Aristocats and using jazzier songs as opposed to the straight-up "Disney music" style of more recent movies. The most beautiful moment of the film, though, comes toward the end. I'm not going to ruin it for anyone, but for those of you who have seen it - Evangeline.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

December 13, 2009

Lilo and Stitch (2002)
#91 on my Top 100 List
I consider this the last of the good hand-drawn Disney movies before the official switchover to CG animation (and the subsequent resurgence of hand-drawn - I can't wait to see The Princess and the Frog!) and it was a great one. My theory is that hand-drawn animation went out of favor not because people stopped not because of the actual animation style but because the stories began to suffer. Brother Bear, which came after this one, wasn't terrible, but everything else hand-drawn that Disney put out until Enchanted five years later was definitely subpar. This one has a precocious and adorable child heroine, a fun and mischievous alien, dangerous bad guys, gorgeously-drawn colorful backgrounds and catchy songs appropriate for the movie's Hawaiian setting. The trailers for this film, where Stitch appears in classic Disney films such as Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, were great.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

November 8, 2009

Fantasia (1940)
#8 on my Top 100 List
The things that Disney and Stokowski (the conductor who was a part of the creative drive behind the movie) came up with for this film are mind-blowing. The Nutcracker is shown through seasons changing. The Rite of Spring follows the formation of Earth and the reign of the dinosaurs. The Pastoral Symphony is done with Greek mythology. A Night on Bald Mountain is paired with Ave Maria! And of course, Mickey Mouse axe-murders zombie broomsticks in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I love this movie because it's done backwards from how music is normally used in a film. Usually a scene is shot and edited and then music is written to score the film. In this, they used the music as inspiration to create a visual that matched it. It's perfect. It's also beautifully drawn. Forget about the wretched sequel they tried to make - just watch the original and bask in the wonder.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

November 20, 2009

Finding Nemo (2003)
#89 on my Top 100 List
Oh, the movie that taught the world what it was like to speak whale. I think that part of the appeal and success of this movie was that it was so refreshingly new. Disney has a long-standing tradition of adapting fairy tales and books into animated movies (and the results have always been overwhelmingly positive), but it was so nice and different to see a brand new story. The voice cast is amazing (as always with Disney), with the biggest stand-outs being Ellen DeGeneres, Allison Janney, Geoffrey Rush, and Willem Dafoe. Listen closely and you'll hear Eric Bana as the vegetarian hammerhead shark, too. The film also looks great - with a brand new CG technique for creating realistic-looking water. I know that I spend a lot of time talking about how much I don't like CG animation, but if the story is strong enough (which I think this one is), then I can get past it.
My Netflix rating: 5 stars

November 19, 2009

A Christmas Carol (2009)
This movie is definitely not a kid's movie. I'm not entirely sure that Charles Dickens intended his story to be a children's story, but that seems to be the way its been slanted ever since. Not so with this version. It's dark and twisted and scary, showing images of Hell and the grim reaper, not to mention putting the main character in multiple dangerous situations (including being chased by horses that look like they belonged to the Ringwraiths once upon a time). The voice cast is amazing, headed by Jim Carrey but including Colin Firth and Gary Oldman. I know most people don't particularly enjoy motion-capture animation, but I prefer that to CG animation (though I prefer most things to CG animation). It is obvious, though, that they put far more effort into creating lifelike faces only for the main characters and left the secondary characters to suffer.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

November 6, 2009

Mulan (1998)
This is definitely one of the more interesting Disney "princesses" (though Mulan isn't a princess, nor is she considered one of the six traditional ones) - a female character who, like Jasmine and Ariel before her, doesn't just sit around and wait for things to happen to her. Mulan loves her family and is willing to do anything to protect them. Of course, this being Disney, she happens to get help for a talking dragon, a lucky cricket, and an attractive man along the way. The animation is beautiful and very colorful, especially in the end sequence in the Forbidden City. It's also interesting to note that this is based on a Chinese legend that has roots in a true story, as opposed to a fairy tale that has no basis of truth whatsoever.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

September 15, 2009

The Sword in the Stone (1963)
I should like this movie way more than I do. It's a Disney movie, it's hand-drawn animation, it's about an actual historical figure, it's based on a classic novel...but it's also really boring. Merlin teaches young Arthur about being a wizard, young Arthur is teased and mistreated - then the storyline gets jarred when they try to force a villain in (Madame Mim, who is one of Disney's lamest attempts at a villain) and it never really works. There are several funny moments, though, with Merlin and his allusions to time travel (he cheerfully informs Arthur that The London Times won't be coming around for about 1,200 years and that the 20th century is a big mess). If you really like Arthurian legend or are a Disney purist, you might be more open to this than I was - historically speaking, it's important however in that it was the last Disney movie released while Walt Disney was alive.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

September 3, 2009

Dumbo (1941)
Wow, there are a lot of things in this movie that could never be included today. Where was the Production Code on this one? Besides the racist crows and the concept of ripping a baby away from its mother who was only trying to protect him, it includes the beating of children (though that little brat was tormenting baby Dumbo, so it fits into the storyline), the forced labor of animals to build the circus Big Top, the whipping of a mother elephant, and a baby consuming lots of alcohol. In looking at Wikipedia, I think that the elephants in the movie are Asian elephants and Dumbo, with his big ears, is closer to an African elephant. Might that be a little reference to racial discrimination? The whole "Baby Mine" song and sequence is one of the most heartwrenchingly sad things I've ever seen and I cry every single time I watch it. Though, if you've noticed, crying at movies isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for me.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

August 20, 2009

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1939)
So this is the movie that started it all. Mickey Mouse may have debuted in Steamboat Willie, but the traditional Disney animated movies didn't exist before this movie. Just like its early companions, this has considerably more violence than newer family films. Snow White herself is very passive, just like most of the female characters in the early films, while the dwarfs protect her in exchange for cleaning and cooking. Most of the jokes in Enchanted are on this story. By the way, the dwarfs - are they brothers? Why else would they all live together in a cabin in the woods? And why do their shutters have little hearts carved into them? The Prince is hardly a character at all - he appears briefly in the beginning to sweep Snow White off of her feet, then disappears until he's needed in the end to wake her from her magical coma and whisks her away to his castle in the clouds. Literally. I really do like this movie - there are just a lot of strange things going on. Also, a glass coffin is just creepy.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

August 11, 2009

Toy Story (1995)
No matter how many times I see this movie, I can't manage to like it more. I try - really I do - but something about it just bores me. Even after I found out that Joss Whedon was one of the main writers, it didn't make a difference. I can see why other people like it, though - Tim Allen and Tom Hanks are great voice choices for the two main toy characters, the whole idea of toys coming to life is whimsical and fun, and there's a great villain. I do love the music, especially "I Will Go Sailing No More" - the song that plays over Buzz Lightyear's realization that he's just a child's plaything. Very poignant.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

July 31, 2009

The Incredibles (2004)
So yesterday I watched the director's cut of Watchmen, which of course doesn't count for this project since I've already reviewed the film. It put me in the mood for something similar though (and by the way, the director's cut is definitely worth watching) and this film is actually very similar. Popular opinion turns against superheroes and they are forced by law to go underground and stop any sort of hero activities, then a new threat draws them out and they are forced to protect themselves. Of course, this being Disney, it ends with the superhero family being reaccepted into society instead of millions of people being killed in huge explosions, but both are fitting endings for their stories. There are also allusions to several Marvel Comics characters, including Quicksilver, Storm, the Invisible Woman, and Mr. Fantastic (or Skin I guess) as well as the DC character Superman. Finally, in what might be the greatest homage in Disney history, watch for superhero suit designer Edna Mode - most likely based off one of the most legendary Hollywood costume designers ever, Edith Head. No capes!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

July 29, 2009

The Aristocats (1970)
There seems to be a clear division between Disney's "people movies" (all of the Princess movies, plus movies like Peter Pan, Mulan, and Alice in Wonderland) and the "animal movies" (ie. 101 Dalmatians, Lady and the Tramp, and Bambi). It also seems like people usually like one group significantly better than the other. I really love all Disney movies, but although The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie, I think I am partial to the animal ones. This one follows a family of cats - a departure from the usual dogs or mice, plus a change from cats being the manifestation of evil like in Cinderella - who are kidnapped from their wealthy home and left for dead in the French countryside. Sounds emo, but never fear - an alley cat with a heart of gold is here to save the day, voiced by my all-time favorite Disney voice actor, Phil Harris.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

July 3, 2009

Enchanted (2007)
Remember how I said that Hollywood is good at poking fun at itself? Disney's even better. This movie is great in so many ways. It takes all of the saccharine-sweet things about Disney and parodies them and at the same time, pays a nice homage to all of the old classic Disney movies, including references to Dumbo, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. When it came out, I was ecstatic to see the return to hand-drawn animation (and am even more pumped about The Princess and the Frog later this year!!) and the translation of cartoon to actor and back again is pretty dead on. It's a little bit of a twisted fairy tale in that people don't end up with who they're necessarily set up to be with, but it's got a beautiful princess, a handsome prince, catchy songs, talking animals, and a fearsome villain, so really, that's all it needs. Poor Timothy Spall has seemed to be stuck in the villain roles, but he plays Wormtail so well in Harry Potter that it makes sense.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

June 5, 2009

Up (2009)
I would say that it's the sign of a good movie if I'm invested enough in the characters to be crying in the first ten minutes. This is one of the most touching and heart-wrenching movies that I've ever seen and I have to say that it's nice to see Disney returning to the idea of having a true villain in the story. Before Disney switched almost exclusively to CG animation, the stories were more about a message than fighting a bad guy. Also, the short before the film, Partly Cloudy, is amazing, as was the trailer for The Princess and the Frog. Thank God that Disney is returning to hand-drawn animation!!
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

June 3, 2009

Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Normally I am against the whole "surprise! It was all a dream!" convention, but in this movie it works. Dreams are not supposed to make sense - stories like The Wizard of Oz make sense and don't work as dreams. Alice's dream is nonsense, just like she said her version of Wonderland would be. Also, scary. The Queen of Hearts is one of Disney's creepiest villains, I think. I'm not putting the Family label on this because, as well as Fantasia, I really don't believe this one was made for kids.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars