I tried to whittle the list down to 10 but I ended up with 16 and I figured why not include them all?
So, here goes- the 16 best Disney Villains as determined by me.
16. Man with the Bowler Hat (Meet the Robinsons)- This was such a creative villain. Everything about him surprised me. I love his look and that he is a reminder even the most innocent of us can turn to a life of villainy if we aren’t careful (and get enough sleep!)
15. Yzma- Emperor’s New Groove– One of the funniest villains. She’s got style and is a spazz.
14. Prince John- (Robin Hood) It kind of pains me to have him so low but there are so many great villains. This is another funny villain who is constantly sucking his thumb and crying for Mommy. And yet he’s incredibly ruthless to all the people. He’s probably the villain who does the most harm for the greatest number of people (Gaston, for instance, pretty much only hurts Belle and The Beast). He’s also got that great English dry wit
13. Shere Khan and Kaa (Jungle Book)- Really the success of these villains has to do with the voice talent. Sterling Holloway plays against type as the hypnotizing Kaa who oils his way around the room and Shere Khan voiced by George Sanders is very creepy and deeply voiced villain.
12. Evil Queen (Snow White) Another one that pains me to see it so low because she is so great but there are 11 I like even better. Her transformation is amazing and she is so vain even being queen isn’t enough for her. She isn’t content until she is better than everyone else in every way.
11. Ratigan- (Great Mouse Detective)- the most James Bondlike villain of any of the Disney villain. Not satisfied with a simple solution he makes everything as complicated as he can. Amazing voice performance by Vincent Price, one of first great villain songs and hilarious to have a villain named Ratigan who becomes enraged when called a rat.
10. Devil (Fantasia)- I know the devil should be higher because he’s the Devil! But it is a short sequence so I thought 10 seemed a good spot. The artistry in Night on Bald Mountain is amazing. The demons and spirits that the Devil rules over are gorgeous especially compared with the light and peace of the Ave Maria section. It’s as stunning a depiction of good vs evil as in any Disney movie (or any movie for that matter).
9. Captain Hook (Peter Pan)- Another funny villain. The slapstick with the crocodile is the highlight of the movie but Hook steals every scene he is in. He is sniveling, snide and extremely manipulative. The way he interrogates Tinker Bell is intense.
8. Coachman, Stramboli, Monstro (Pinocchio)- For my money the Pinocchio villains are the scariest because there is no sense of justice or retribution. There is no humor or lighter side to them. Just despicable, greedy, awful, terrifying people. For the morality tale it is, they work perfectly. I certainly wouldn’t want to sin if I knew they were at the end of every bad choice. I mean the coachman turns little children into donkeys to work in salt mines for money? Does it get more evil than that?
7. Mother Gothel- (Tangled)- A woman willing to manipulate her ‘daughter’ and basically ruin her life for her own greed. Make her a prisoner and brainwash her into believing she is doing her a favor. That’s pretty bad. I love Mother Knows Best because it takes the nurturing maternal nature of mothers and turns it on its head, uses it for bad not good. It’s perfect. She’s the closest Disney has come to having a true sociopath as their villain
6. Gaston- (Beauty and the Beast)– It seems to low but again there were simply 5 I like even better, but I love Gaston. He is an interesting villain because in the minds of most people he’s the hero. But like the Evil Queen in Snow White his lack of control over one person causes him to descend into madness. He probably has the funniest villain song; although World’ Greatest Criminal Mind is a close second. It’s not even really a villain song. It’s just everyone telling him how great he is. No wonder he thinks he should have his way!
5. Lady Tremaine (Cinderella)– Otherwise known as The Wicked Stepmother, Lady Tremaine, gets 5th spot from me because she is so duplicitous even to her own daughters. She plays the part of genteel and kind and then proceeds to make Cinderella’s life a living Hell. She locks her up when she worries Cinderella’s foot will fit and she encourages the girls to rip off her dress, despite pretending to keep her side of the bargain. She is like that women at work who makes your life a nightmare but then always tries to claim the high ground. I love how her eyes are yellow with disdain. She also has a cat named Lucifer!
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4. Cruella De vil (101 Dalmatians)- I love how her name has both cruel and devil in it but I still love her. She is perhaps the most shallow villain. All she cares about is looking good with her dalmatian furs. That’s just hilarious and over-the-top but it feels believable in the story. Her driving, the way she throws her hands in the air and even yells through the phone are all totally chilling and funny. I’m no animal lover but anyone who wants to kill 101 puppies just for her wardrobe gets top honors on the villainy tribe in my book. Such a funny character and I love how she mocks Roger ‘Roger’s songs…’
3. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)- Aside from the Devil, Maleficent is the closest Disney got to a pure evil character. She has horns for goodness sakes! She is basically a She-Devil with all of his powers to create thorns, thistles, demons and pronounce curses on people who don’t invite her to parties. That’s got to be the best part of Maleficent is that she curses Aurora to death for getting snubbed at the christening.
There are arguments for subtle villains who have good and bad but there’s also a case for going all the way in a fairytale. Make your characters, the heroes, stand up against the ultimate evil. That’s what made Harry Potter so good is there was no chance of redemption for Voldermort. That bridge had already been crossed and he was evil. I haven’t seen the new Maleficent yet but am highly skeptical. By softening her it could take away what is the most special about her.
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2. Scar (Lion King)- I remind you I gave Lion King #13 spot on my final rankings but Scar is a fantastic villain. He’s smart, disdainful and murders his own brother with glee. He may actually be Disney’s 2nd sociopath. He’s convinced what he is doing is right even though it clearly isn’t. He is completely selfish and has surrounded himself with people he can control. (How brilliant to make hyenas who laugh his cronies).
What puts Scar so high though is Jeremy Irons voicework. It is dripping with disdain as if he is condescending to talk to everyone at all times. His villain song, Be Prepared, is one of my favorites, both the actual song and the animation. It’s the best part of Lion King and completely gripping.
1. Ursula (Little Mermaid)- As I’ve mentioned many times on this blog Little Mermaid was my favorite movie growing up and Ursula is a big part of that . She is so unique. In a movie full of fish and mermaids, she’s an octopus with tentacles that cover the screen with their blackness. She’s overweight and speaks like a chain smoker and is perfect. I love how she looks like a combination of a drag queen and a truck driver.
And her villain song is brilliant. Poor Unfortunate Souls is funny, manipulative and the perfect song to trick a 16 year old lovestruck girl. She also equally villainous when she turns into Vanessa and for no good reason, she just is evil with those yellow eyes!
She also has a dishy motive of revenge on Triton. She’s been banished and when the two spare off it is classic.
So what you’ve all been waiting for! My ranking of the Disney Canon!
I will add in Big Hero 6 when I finish that review but here are my current rankings. I’ll go least to best
54. Dinosaur– slow, predictable, looks ugly, CGI is awful, attempt to be thoughtful ends up stupid, the writing was maddeningly bad
53. Chicken Little– mean spirited, frenetic, unfunny, none of the episodes connect, animation underwhelming. Feels like they didn’t even try
52. Brother Bear– every choice was wrong. Badly animated characters, strange voicework, predictable and unbelievable story, unlikable characters, underwhelming music, strange singing choices. The humor never works. Huge disappointment.
51. Home on the Range– Trots out tired ‘save the farm’ storyline, terrible puns, strange voice choices, underwhelming songs, jokes and illusions to westerns don’t work, some of the animation is ok and the yodel song was well done. Otherwise skip.
50. Three Cabelleros– 2 ok shorts surrounded by lots of Donald shouting and chasing women around Rio. Watch Saludos Amigos instead.
49. The Rescuers- some nice animation but shrill, mean spirited villain overwhelms the picture. Not enough hope makes film feel depressing and cold. Watch sequel instead
48. The Aristocats– lazy mismash of 101 Dalmatians and Lady and the Tramp but with cats. Duchess feels apathetic and bored. No sense of tension in the plot and chemistry between her and Thomas nonexistent. Designs and backdrops underwhelming and strange voice work. Lame villain who’s actions don’t really make sense. Some alarmingly bad animation where the mouths don’t quite match up with the vocals. Ok songs.
47. Fun and Fancy Free– Bongo is well animated but strange message and oddly paced, Say it with a Slap is one of worst Disney songs, Mickey and Beanstalk is Ok but feels kind of lazy and slow. I like crazy Donald. In between live action segments feel strange and unnecessary.
46. Pocahontas– Savages is the films saving grace. A wonderful number but Pocahontas is kind of an unlikable character. She doesn’t listen and has no chemistry with John Smith. The animation is boxy and too geometric and the villain with all his GOLD is so boring. Plus, it’s a real story, important to a people, which makes it more insulting.
45. Hunchback of Notre Dame– Some good elements but the attempt to combine an adult story with juvenile elements creates a tonal mess. Very frustrating. A man tries to dump a baby down a well after killing his mother, he sings a song about wanting to rape and kill another woman and he lights a house on fire containing a family inside. And we have singing gargoyles! What was Disney thinking…
44. Fantasia 2000– Takes the original concept of concert films and turns it into a cheap celebrity clip show. I hate the CGI. The music choices are strange. Whole thing feels second rate except for Rhapsody and final number
43. Sword in the Stone– The film everyone else likes but I don’t. Arthur does nothing to prove he should be able to pull the sword in the stone. None of his ‘lessons’ actually prepare him to be king. On top of that it looks blue and gray and ugly throughout. Madame Mim isn’t introduced till end and it’s Merlin not Arthur that takes her on. I don’t get why it’s so popular. Sherman Brothers songs are ok and duel is fun but again doesn’t have anything to do with the story and Arthur.
42. Bolt– Forgettable but enjoyable film. Decent vocal performance, fun story but nothing to spectacular.
41 Oliver and Company- A mess of storytelling, terrible villain, but some of the visuals of New York are nice, cool subway scene at the end and 2 dynamite songs.
40. Make Mine Music– one of the strangest entertainment experiences of my life. Kind of ‘so bad it’s good’. Each of the segments in this package films feels so strange especially the story of the Whale Who Sings Opera, who they kill off and send to whale heaven for no reason except to teach kids that miracles don’t exist and people hate goodness and light (strange message). It’s so odd but oddly entertaining.
39. The Black Cauldron- A lot of problems but I liked the villain and Gurghi’s sacrifice. All in all I enjoyed watching it, even with issues. It looks beautiful and score is fantastic. Terrible voicework throughout, and kind of unlikable characters with weak motivation but enough to keep me mildly interested.
38. Saludos Amigos– Disney’s goodwill mission to South America spawned this movie and it is better than Three Cabelleros. First of all, it is shorter (45 min). It has more segments and they are all pretty good. Live action is tough to sit through but again it is short. Generic but entertaining.
37. Meet the Robinsons– Nutty time travel story with a convoluted but entertaining plot. Great and surprising villain. A little cluttered but I enjoyed it. If you have a kid who likes things that are a little bit out there I bet they will love this movie.
36. Treasure Planet- Beautiful steampunk look, but feels slow and story is the same old story from grade school we’ve seen a million times. Unpredictable looks but predictable story. Plus, some of the world doesn’t make sense so it is hard to feel suspense or tension.
35. Wreck-It Ralph– Fun premise of bad guy in video games who gets tired of being bad is fun but they spend too much time in Sugar Rush and some of the voice performances are annoying. Could have been much better but still enjoyed it. A good villain.
34. Fox and the Hound– A sentimental soapy flick if there ever was one but it embraces that soap so I enjoyed it. Bear scene very good but intense for small kids. Friendship and forgiveness nice messages. Music and female characters super bland
33. Princess and the Frog- Looks beautiful and a wonderful lead character, Tiana, who works hard, sets goals and has a unique dream for a princess. Dwells too much on occult, cluttered, shouty and underwhelming lead man and songs. Villain good but not my cup of tea
32. Peter Pan- Probably my biggest disappointment in rewatching the Canon. It’s not bad but slower than I remember it mixed with slapstick that is pretty good. The songs are ok except for Redman and You’re Mother is a snoozefest. People are very mean to Wendy throughout especially the other female characters. Still, it’s charming in it’s own way.
31. Bambi- Beautifully drawn and I love how the score is the sound effects creating rain and fire so effectively. Great voice work but the story is meandering and is basically a year in the life of a baby deer. Not enough to grip me although the death of Bambi’s Mom is traumatic, we haven’t gotten to know her very well and she is quickly replaced by a bland Faline. Still, I own it and enjoy watching it. It’s very good. (Bambi is our first B graded picture so I like all from now on a lot. That’s 30 films with a B or higher!)
30. Lilo and Stitch– LOVE, love, love the Nani and Lilo sections and Ohana themes. Love Hawaii backdrop and the watercolors. I love the Elvis music. I do not love Stitch. I wish they had gone more ET and less cockroach. He’s too mean, takes it too far and looks too gross. But the stuff I like I really love
29. Winnie the Pooh– A worthy entry in the Winie the Pooh series. Lovely, simple story for young children. Not too scary and nice message. Beautifully drawn and enough humor to entertain adults. Voices are a little off but I enjoyed it. Love the music.
28.Hercules– a guilty pleasure of mine. Disney’s first attempt at a super hero movie and I enjoy it. I love the gospel muses and the music. The villain is dry and funny and Megura is sassy and a lot of fun to figure out. Pain and panic are very funny too.
27. Tarzan- Looks gorgeous. The flow and feeling of Tarzan surfing on the trees looks great. Jane is a lot of fun too and not always the damsel in distress we expect. Sidekicks are lame and villain a bore. Songs especially You’ll be in my heart are great.
26. Melody Time– Aside from Ichabod and Mr Toad, my favorite of the package films. Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill are lovingly drawn with good music and tightly written scripts.
25. Pinocchio– I know some will be shocked to have this so low on the list but it is so grim and sad with no sense of retribution or punishment for the wrong doers. I guess the kids just stay as donkeys. Some of the story and design choices don’t make a lot of sense but as a morality play on film it works well and Pinocchio and Geppetto are both likable and the music is classic especially When You Wish Upon a Star.
24 Robin Hood– Great dry wit and folksy music save this recycled animation cash grab. It’s very entertaining and has some fun action sequences too. It goes on for one act too many and becomes a little repetitive. Great villain. I love it!
23. Lady and the Tramp– Lovely Norman Rockwell style animation with an appealing dog couple (may be Disney’s best romance ever filmed…hmm). Siamese song is a little insensitive but brief and then we never see them again which is strange. They could have been more important to the story? Great side characters of Trusty, Jox and Trixie. Fun jazz inspired score and songs by Peggy Lee. A little too predictable and syrupy to be in top 20 but close.
22 Atlantis- A fun treasure hunt with eclectic cast of characters who are funny and surprised me from time to time. I enjoyed seeing an original land, language, culture. Looks great. Kind of like a cross between anime and comic books with a bit of steampunk thrown in. In the minority on enjoying this picture, but I thought it was an entertaining adventure. Kida is a weak character but as she isn’t one of the core group it doesn’t matter too much. This is the first A of the list so the rest are all very strong.
21. Emperor’s New Groove- More laughs crammed in than any other Disney movie and they worked. Very funny script and appealing enough characters to support the humor. Great villain, good voice performances. Especially when you know the troubles they had making it, it’s a wonder it produced something so entertaining. Creative story too.
20. Aladdin- One of Disney’s best characters and certainly the funniest single character. The Genie (aka Robin Williams) is hilariously spastic and full of energy. Nice chemistry between Aladdin and Jasmine and she has more spunk than a typical princess. Jafar is an ok villain. Animation is ok. But nice messages throughout, great songs, and a very entertaining picture for both boys and girls (and parents!).
19. Great Mouse Detective- Fun Disney take on Sherlock Holmes. Ratigan is hilarious villain with a over-the-top scheme to take over England. Basil and Dawson are very well done. The kidnapping scene at the beginning is pretty scary for young kids and the bat in the toy shop is a scary sequence. The saloon song I could do without but all in all a very fun movie. First extended use of CGI is very effective.
18. Rescuers Down Under- One of the rare sequels that is infinitely better than the original. Much less of the villain. Much more hope for Cody. Bernard and Bianca are back and a lot o f fun. John Candy is hilarious. Flying sequences gorgeous. Some of the CGI doesn’t hold up but for the most part a great adventure story. Like Indiana Jones for little kids. Underrated score by Bruce Broughton.
17. Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad- Don’t really think of it as a package film but definitely the best of that era. 2 American stories Wind and the Willows and Sleepy Hollow are done very well. Both dark in different ways. Toad more of a morality tale and Ichabod a classic ghost story. Basil Rathborne and Bing Crosby great as narrators. Beautifully drawn with scares and humor balanced out perfectly.
16. Snow White and the 7 Dwarves– Still holds up amazingly well. Animation is beautiful especially in scenes like the transformation of the queen and the haunted forest. Some humor and emotional scenes too. Not a huge fan of the voice work and especially the high pitched singing. Great villain who isn’t satisfied unless she is the best at everything. 2 leads are pretty bland but ok.
15. Big Hero 6– Maybe recency bias but I loved Disney’s first Marvel super hero movie. It’s got heart, action and a script that surprised me. Plus, it looks gorgeous and has a unique world with very likable characters. I just loved it!
14. Mulan– Love the character of Mulan who joins the army to save her father. Li Shaang and rest of army appealing and fun. Eddie Murphy very good as Mushu. Completely forgettable villain given no nuance or subtlety. A few minutes after couldn’t remember his name. It also could be a hair shorter but I love it.
13. Lion King- A lot of pop music in both the songs and pacing. Draws you in. Very entertaining. Terrific villain and villain songs. Mufasa’s death is heart breaking. I love the message and story. The humor can be a little annoying but I still love it. Amazing Hans Zimmer score. Animation is stunning.
12. Dumbo- Such a sweet movie about accepting differences and how they make us special. A wonderful friendship between an unlikely pair of Timothy Q. Mouse and Dumbo. Pink Elephants on Parade is brilliant. Love the watercolors and simple backgrounds and feel of the circus. I don’t think the crows are all that racist and it’s just a lovely little movie with huge heart.
11. Alice in Wonderland- Not for everyone but if you can handle non0linear storytelling you will enjoy it. It’s basically Alice meeting a bunch of eclectic characters in Wonderland. It’s bright and colorful and clips along nicely. Only part that didn’t work for me was the Walrus segment. It stalls the story and I kept wanting to get back to Alice. So much better than Tim Burton versoin. Mary Blair drawings are stunning, bright and geometric. It’s nutty and weird and you will love it.
10.Sleeping Beauty- Gorgeous literary style animation. It feels like paper dolls in segments. One of most dynamic Prince in Disney. Amazing villain who should have been invited to the party! The fairies are fun. The alcoholic fathers I could do without and Aurora is too perfect and bland but the Tchaikovsky’s ballet as the score is neat, the battle between Phillip and Maleficent is awesome. A great movie!
9. The Jungle Book- All comes down to the music and villains. I hate the ending but Shere Kaun and Kaaa are very good villains. All the voice cast is fantastic and it is edited so well. Hardly a minute goes by without some action or a song. It clips a long so well and is consistently entertaining. Sherman Brother’s best music aside from Mary Poppins.
8. Frozen- A movie that showed a different kind of love- love of friendship and of sister. The voicecast features the best singers of any Disney movie. The songs are great. The message of not being who you are raised to be is moving and powerful. The animation is gorgeous. Just enough humor. I love it.
7. 101 Dalmatians- Best of the sketch films by far. Terrific and tense adventure. Fabulous villain with Cruella Deville. Lots of great characters and puppies are so cute. The scene where they get to the truck disguised is a nail biter. All the side characters on the journey and the twilight bark are a lot of fun. Roger and Anita are one of my all time favorite Disney couples. I love it6. Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh– 4 lovely stories of our friends at the Hundred Acre Woods that are just about perfect. Full of humor, great songs, and a little bit of zany scares with the Heffalumps and Woozles. The ending is perfect and really moved me. Winnie the Pooh symbolizes childhood and this movie is like a big hug.
5. Fantasia- A stunning concert experience. It’s like combining the best symphony and gallery you’ve ever been to into one experience. The music is gorgeous. The inspiration they get from the music inspires me to be more creative. It’s not a movie in a traditional sense but an experience like Tree of Life. I like all the segments but probably enjoy Sorcerers Apprentice, Nutcracker Suite and On Bald Mountain the most. If it feels long divide it up and watch it over a week. Nothing wrong with that. . Those who hate this film probably aren’t the biggest classical music fans and wouldn’t find going to a symphony or art gallery very enjoyable. I loved it.
4. Tangled- Proof that Disney brilliance isn’t only in the Golden Age and Renaissance. I LOVE the villain an villain song. The idea of a mother manipulating her daughter for her own selfish desires is so evil. The side characters including Maximus are great. Rapunzel is so kind and likable. We all know someone like her who is indecisive and naïve but charming. Flynn is a wonderful narrator and a complex, funny character. The animation is stunning especially the lantern scene in 3D. It’s Disney’s first attempt at a romantic comedy and they totally pulled it off.
3. Cinderella- Just about a perfect movie. Cinderella has warmth and kindness. She works hard and tries to be optimistic. Lady Tremaine is a fantastic villain who’s soul purpose seems to be to control Cinderella. The scene tearing the dress is devastating because we saw how tenderly it was given to her by her friends. The mice are cute and loyal friends. Small characters like Lucifer, Bruno, Archduke, and the King all have fun personalities. The Fairy Godmother is perfect and the music sublime. A Dream is a Wish is a favorite of mine and Bibbity Bobbity Boo a classic. The Prince is bland and they fall in love at first sight but at least we have gotten to know him a little bit through the King. It’s a great movie!
2. Little Mermaid– Truly my co-#1. I love Ariel’s journey to find out who she is and where she belongs. I love her curiosity and determination. I love Ursula and her drag queen crossed with a truck driver persona. I love the music especially Part of Your World and Under the Sea. I love the look of it and all the bubbles and colors. It’s so well paced and the characters, even the Prince, have real heart. They are all trying to do the right thing in their own minds. It is also very funny with Les Poissons a hilarious slapstick number. It was the most magical experience I had at the movies as a little girl and I just love it.
1. Beauty and the Beast– and co #1 goes to Beauty and the Beast. A perfect movie. The music is stunning. Belle is a fabulous heroine who we would all want to be friends with if given the chance. Gaston is hilarious and his journey to madness very interesting. The Beast is such a monster and yet he does change and grow until you are almost sad to see him turn into a human. I could listen to Angela Lansbury sing the title song all day. She is great in it. Jerry Orbach as Lumiere is perfect. I loved the broadway play and the movie is so entertaining. The animation looks amazing. The computer graphics hold up and still look fantastic. It’s a stunning picture that will entertain the whole family no matter the age or sex.
Here is a video version if you prefer that. If you are on youtube I would love a few likes.
There will be spoilers in this review so if by some miracle you haven’t seen the movie stop reading and watch it. (I personally don’t care about spoilers but to some that is a big deal)
Here we go! The big controversial post . It was so big, it seems you either love it or hate it, and I am on the loving it side! Let’s get cold and talk some FROZEN!
Make sure to look at my initial review after seeing it in 2013. At the time I thought all the songs ran together like a Sondheim musical without a standout cabaret like number. Boy was I wrong on that one!
But I also said in my review
“It is worth your money and will be an experience that will stick with them forever just like the princess movies stuck with me. Plus, these are strong, independent women who come to their own rescue without the need of Prince Charming. Love that.”
I still like that. I think in many ways Frozen is the new Little Mermaid. It’s about a girl who is told by her parents she has to live a certain way, a way that isn’t right for her. She learns through the movie to be herself and that her parents were wrong. The only difference is Ariel is never led to believe her ambitions will hurt anyone but herself. They do end up hurting other people, but Ariel is never fearful of that. From the get-go Elsa almost kills her sister and the fear that could happen again causes her to be paralyzed into not living her life. In a way she is brainwashed into believing she is wrong and bad. Ariel is rebelling but Elsa cannot rebel because people will die.
But the appeal in the characters of Ariel and Elsa is similar. Both feel uncomfortable in their own skin and both break free through the course of their movies. They both have freedom anthem songs and they both greatly appeal to young girls for that reason.
Before writing this post I asked my twitter and facebook friends why their daughters liked Frozen. Some of the responses:
“My 11 year old loves the new songs, the twist they put on Hans and when Elsa saved Anna by unfreezing her with the power of love”
Another says
“My son loves Sven. He is 3. Whenever he sees a moose or cow anywhere he will say ”There’s Sven”
Another
“My oldest 5 says she likes the movie because the princesses are the good guys…she likes how they win”
So that gives you an idea of some of the appeal to youngsters.
Because I’ve seen this reaction from the kids in my life it has seriously bummed me out to see the negative backlash around Frozen. It makes me sad because I was allowed to love The Little Mermaid and nobody said I was stupid or it was awful. I had never even heard of anyone not liking Little Mermaid till a few years ago. It all goes back to my Content, Content, Content post. If you don’t care for it fine but do not make little girls feel badly because they do like it. Youtube is especially brutal. Every video of little girls singing Let It Go has so many hateful comments. Get a life people.
I’ve felt very defensive of the movie because of these girls and boys who love it. So, in the comment section if you hate it please try to keep the discourse to a respectful level as we have done so far on the blog. I will try to let you guys discuss and not get too involved.
The Production-
On the blu-ray there is a cool featurette about the history of The Snow Queen at Disney. Evidently in 1940 there was a plan to make a package film of the works of Hans Christen Andersen but it was eventually scrapped.
Early Concept Art
Evidently pitches for The Snow Queen happened after The Little Mermaid in the 90s and again in 2002 by exec Harvey Fierstein when it was rejected by the studio.
When John Lasseter was made CCO after the purchase of Pixar by Disney he assigned Chris Buck of Tarzan fame to begin working on the Snow Queen. Buck decided:
“he wanted to do something different on the definition of love”
Josh Gad was evidently involved early on when it was closer to the original story but in 2010 the concept was rejected again.
After the success of Tangled, they picked up the project again and in December 2011 Disney announced Frozen and gave themselves under 2 years to complete. Quite the ambitious project but I guess with so much groundwork being done on story and ideas that helped.
Immediately song writers for Avenue Q, Kristen Anderson- Lopez and Robert Lopez, were brought on board and the idea of the ‘frozen heart’ was developed with the songs.
They had a challenge of creating a fairytale movie without a traditional villain. Pixar’s Brave tried to do this but much less successfully. We had to always keep our heart open to Elsa. Buck said of writing “That was a concept and the phrase…an act of true love will thaw a frozen heart”
Jennifer Lee from Wreck-it Ralph was brought in as co-director and she said “Anna was going to save Elsa. We didn’t know how or why?” Lee then went on to rewrite the script again and with only 17 months left till it’s release. (Pretty amazing what they pulled off).
I guess in the original script Elsa was in fact more ‘evil from the start’ and didn’t want Anna to get back to Hans. Anna was also more brooding and resentful about her spot as the second daughter.
Then the Lopez’s wrote Let it Go and the song was so powerful they rewrote the script again with Elsa as a more nuanced character.
“Forget villain. Just what it would feel like. And this concept of letting out who she is[,] that she’s kept to herself for so long[,] and she’s alone and free, but then the sadness of the fact that the last moment is she’s alone..”
Then they decided to switch things up again and make Hans duplicitous and a sociopath type character. This had certainly never been done with Disney. Every character had been pretty obviously bad from the start even if the characters don’t see it such as Clayton in Tarzan or Radcliffe in Pocahontas.
2012 they got the voice talent on board and went with Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, and Broadway superstar Idina Menzel. In my opinion Frozen has the best singers in a Disney musical bar none.
That’s only a handful of the details out there. They did amazing things with the set designs, backdrops, story etc. I personally find them all fascinating but most importantly there is a definite sense of teamwork with Frozen because it was created under such time constraints all facets were working together at the same time. Beauty and the Beast was very similar.
And all that teamwork produced something very special. Something a lot of people responded to in a way a movie hadn’t done in a long time. With on demand and high def the days of people going to movies 12+ times were kind of passed us but Frozen had that kind of success and it made over a billion dollars. It stayed in the top 10 until March which was the same time it was released on DVD!
A Storybook-
I thought it would be fun to do something different for the story portion. I wanted to tell you about the story but also explain why it was different and why people responded to it. (I’ve been thinking about this review the whole time writing the blog). I was at Costco and found this ‘Busy Book’ and I think it does a good job explaining each of the character’s appeal, story and why they are different.
ELSA
First we have Elsa
That sums up Elsa pretty well. Worried she will do harm she hides her powers and then runs away causing the freeze.
ANNA-
Then there is Anna
Anna really is all of the adjectives loving, energetic, fearless optimist. She is a really complex character who is stupid yet brave and combined with Elsa they are a great team. She also has great romantic comedy banter with Hans at the beginning and Kristoff as they search for Elsa.
OLAF-
Olaf is our fun snowman who I think is in the movie just the right amount to remain funny.
Olaf is big-hearted and willing to sacrifice himself for his friends. A terrific character.
KRISTOFF-
Anna meets Kristoff and he is not a fan of hers at first. They have a lovely romantic banter. He is a simple guy and wants to sell his ice in peace.
Kristoff is the pleasant side of Elsa. Kind of the character that is allowed to be who he is and isn’t stymied by his parents (or trolls!). He prefers to be alone but also has a ‘very kind heart’. I love Kristoff. He will tell you what he thinks even if you don’t want to hear it. Love that.
SVEN-
Then we have Kristoff’s friend Sven who I am so glad they did not make him a talking reindeer.
Sven could have been a throw-away character but they give him a lot of humor and heart.
HANS-
Finally we have our villain who again doesn’t start as a villain, Hans
THE SONGS and more Story
Let’s talk for a second about the songs, which I LOVE!
We start out with a very strong introductory song called Heart and it introduces us to the theme of ice and a frozen heart. The choral work is beautiful. Reminds me a lot of The Lion King intro or Hunchback of Notre Dame choral work.
We then get our introduction to Anna and Elsa. This involves Elsa hurts Anna with her magic winter powers. The trolls tell the family that they must shut magic out and hide it for everyone’s safety and until she can control it.
This is a bit of a plothole because why not explain to the family that love is the antidote? Surely she could work on that instead of being just shut in? But I put that along with Gothel telling Rapunzel her actual birthday or the Beast being 11 when the spell was cast. Somethings have to be in order for the plot to start, so not a major stumbling block for me.
Anyway, Elsa shuts Anna out because her parents tell her to. We then get a great song of storytelling and character development with Do You Want to Build a Snowman. The girls parents die and all along Elsa follows orders and keeps away from her sister to keep Anna safe.
The day for Elsa’s coronation comes and Anna is excited to finally be opening the doors. Elsa is naturally nervous. So we get a song called For the First Time. Kristen Bell is wonderful in this song.
The ball comes and Anna meets Hans and falls in love with him and they sing a very funny song- very well sung by Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana. It pokes fun at the instant love tropes used in many previous Disney movies.
Anna and Hans ask Elsa for her blessing and she refuses causing them to fight and her powers are revealed. Elsa runs away and Anna goes after her.
Elsa realizes now everyone knows she might as well Let it Go! I don’t know if any of you have ever had a secret and then it is finally out but I have and it feels great. It’s out there and you can be you!
Anna meets Kristoff and Sven and together they meet Olaf Elsa’s snowman creation. He is a wonderful character and in the movie just enough to not get annoying. His song is well done by Josh Gad. Turns out he dreams of summer.
Anna and Elsa meet but Anna is unable to convince her to come back and Elsa doesn’t want to because she can’t face all the people and doesn’t know how to bring back summer. In an accident she strikes Anna in the heart and tells her to leave. This is all very exciting!
In probably the weakest section Kristoff takes Anna to meet his parents (although Olaf is very funny in these scenes). Turns out he was raised by the trolls from the beginning of the picture and they want Anna to fall in love with their fixer upper.
It’s not the best song but I don’t hate it and it is well sung by Broadway veteran Maia Wilson. I can certainly think of comic relief songs that are far worse.
The trolls tell Anna she must have an act of true love to reverse the spell. They all assume it must be a kiss and head back to find Hans. Unfortunately he is a true villain and has captured Elsa and refuses to kiss Anna, in an attempt to claim her throne.
I don’t think Disney has ever had a villain who has been so duplicitous. It is very effective and genuinely surprised me. I thought Hans was going to be a match for Elsa but no.
Finally we get our ending where Anna is frozen and Elsa devastated but it turns out her love for Anna is the act needed to break the magic.
To me the ending was just about perfect.
Some claim this is ‘false feminism’ but I disagree. The point of Frozen was not to make a feminist picture. It was to show a different type of love. Whether it’s the love of friendship Olaf shows, the loyalty Kristoff shows or the sisterly love between Elsa and Anna the film does an excellent example of showing the power of each kind of love. It’s not trying to be a female empowerment film. It could have as easily been about two brothers loving each other.
The fact that some people cheered it for not having a Prince Charming moment does not mean that was the main point of the ending. The filmmakers are not responsible for every person’s response. They were trying to make a movie about different types of love. Whether that is especially feminist or not is up for debate. I thought it was refreshing and moving. Most of the love in my life has been through friendship and I have always been very close to my 3 sisters so I related to the emotion very well.
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I watched Frozen every day this week, so 4 times before writing this review. I have a high tolerance for repetition. If I like it, I like it on the 100th airing as much as on the 1st. Seriously it does not damper from over-exposure like it does for others. I don’t know why but that’s just the way I am. So for me, the popularity of Frozen has no effect in dampening my enthusiasm.
I love it’s story of a girl who is told she can’t be who she is, that she is dangerous, and then her eyes become open and she becomes empowered. It is the Little Mermaid for girls of today and I love seeing that. I love young girls have an anthem in Let it Go like I had Part of Your World. That’s a great thing.
I think the story is a lot of fun. I love the ending. I totally buy them focusing on a new type of love that we haven’t seen in a Disney movie. Whether it is feminist or not I don’t really care. It’s the love of sisters and I certainly relate to that. I love the surprise in the villain, which I think is very difficult to do in a fairy tale. Movies like Treasure Planet look beautiful but fail to surprise me. Frozen did just that.
I think the comic relief is in just enough and there is real heart to it as opposed to say Trashing the Camp segments of Tarzan which are much more grating than In Summer or Fixer Upper. All the singing is the best in any Disney film. It really elevates even so-so numbers.
I loved the world they created. Elsa’s castle is gorgeous. The costumes and character designs look great. Even Elsa’s hair is cool. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf aren’t stock characters but have nuances we haven’t seen in a Disney film. Kristoff is kind of a loner and glad to be so which is refreshing. Anna is very interesting and complex. She is naive, silly, impetuous, free spirit but in a realistic, sweet way. She is allowed to make mistakes in the script and can even be sarcastic.
Elsa is this brainwashed girl who grows throughout the film. She is a villain for a bit but you always like her so she’s not the villain. It is very well written. Most Disney movies have one heroine and I liked there are 2 and together Anna and Elsa balance themselves out well.
Like I said, I know there is tons of backlash but this is my blog and my opinion and I love Frozen. I think it is a terrific movie with great characters, songs, story and animation. I am sure there will be tons of people who feel differently and please share but remember to be respectful and keep the language clean. I worked really hard on this post so please actually read my thoughts before responding.
I jus thought before I post about Frozen this weekend I would share with you all my opinions just after seeing it. It’s funny I wrote the ‘songs kind of run together and sound similar’. At the time I loved the songs but didn’t feel there was one big stand out number…Boy was I wrong on that front!
“the story has a nice message about family, sisters and the many forms of true love. It surprised me at points which is tough to do in a princess movie and the snowman was very funny…I think any young girls would love it. Whether it will appeal to young boys I’m not sure…
So go! Take your kids, especially your girls to see Frozen. It is worth your money and will be an experience that will stick with them forever just like the princess movies stuck with me. Plus, these are strong independent women who come to their own rescue without the need of Prince Charming. Love that”
So that’s what I thought just after seeing it!
This is a quick follow up to my Official Disney Princess Rankings. Here are all the Disney women ranked by simply how much I like them and a few words that come to my mind to describe them.
I added Anita and Giselle from Enchanted who is partly animated but is not on the photo below.
1. Belle- smart, thoughtful, compassionate and brave
2. Ariel- free spirit, not afraid to take risks, social butterfly, lots of friends, embraces new things, impetuous (changed that one guys!). I got to pick Ariel for #2 because I was basically her till I was 17 so I just relate to the girl. I was headstrong and impetuous, stubborn, didn’t like to be told what to do, but I also was quick to make friends and got done what I set my mind to do. Love that.
3. Nani- Yep, I know this is very high. But I love Nani. She is doing something so hard, raising her sister, and she keeps getting knocked down but doesn’t give up. I feel for her and love her spirit and devotion to ohana. She also surfs, dances and flirts- has a fun side. But she has a temper too and gets frustrated. She’s as close to a perfectly well-rounded, developed female character as Disney has created. She along with Giselle are the only Disney female characters who mother children (maybe Wendy?).
4. Cinderella- hard working, loyal, good friend, strong, kind, optimistic
5. Megura- Yep, bring on the comments. I love her sass. I love that she’s a little tough to figure out. She’s working with the enemy but a clear love interest, she’s funny, sarcastic but still a good perosn.
6. Tiana- hard working, goal setter, dedicated, loyal, soft spoken but bold, fun once she let’s her guard down
7. Rapunzel- optimistic, naive but smart in her own way, inquisitive, fun-loving, see’s good in people, hopeful and quick with a frying pan
8. Mulan- Brave, fearless, strong, still vulnerable, a fighter, loyal
9. Giselle- The only princesses who actually does some mothering of a little girl and does it well (Nani is the only other female I can think of). Optimistic, positive, happy, loving, kind, funny, industrious, clever in her own way.
10. Elsa- Brainwashed as a little girl to fear herself she realizes she is alright just as she is and is empowered. Love that. Becomes strong and is always loving and trying to do the right thing.
11. Jane- Timid around animals at first but gets over it, Nonjudgmental, kind, good teacher, humble, loving
12. Anita- you don’t get to know her that well but very pretty, affectionate to Perdy and the puppies, encouraging to Roger and his music, still nice to Cruella when she probably shouldn’t be. Just seems like a cool lady.
13. Merida- bold, impetuous, good with a bow and arrow, climbs mountains, free spirit, brave, confident, love her curly hair
14. Jasmine- free spirit, independent, loving, not afraid to stick a tiger on an annoying suitor!, dreamer, spunky
15. Esmeralda- Faithful, hopeful, sexy, confident, kind, one of only a few Disney adults who prays (in song form of God Help the Outcast), loving to Quasimodo.
16. Anna- innocent, sweet, kind, believes in people, impetuous, brave, optimistic and loving. Needs to think before she acts sometimes.
17. Snow White- optimistic, kind, positive, happy, whistles why she works
18. Aurora- asleep a lot (is sleeping beauty after all) and a little too perfect because of her blessings, but great singer, beautiful, dancer, dreamer, loving
19. Alice- love the movie but Alice is really just a conduit for all the craziness surrounding her. I like her (I like all the girls to some degree or another) but don’t feel I really know her.
20. Pocahontas- loves nature, stands up to others, throws herself on John. But I don’t feel like she listens well and being older than Ariel she should take the counsel of those around her more seriously over strangers, resistant to change, and her choices do cause a death.
21. Kida- I liked Atlantis but Kida is kind of a mystical character without much personality. She’s a clue to her culture and interesting on that level but that’s about it. Plus, she dresses very immodestly. The other women in Atlantis are a lot more interesting IMO. And there is no chemistry between her and Milo
22. Eilonwy- is a princess for no reason for the story, totally blank and boring, Can’t think of one thing she gives to the story aside from telling Taran how to escape the castle. She may be very nice and have commendable qualities but the movie gives us none of that. (And I didn’t hate The Black Cauldron). Plus, not a fan of her voice actor. You could take her character out and the movie would be exactly the same.
Feel free to share your lists or to comment on mine. I really don’t detest any of them and can see value in them all. Great characters by a great studio, Disney! Did I miss anyone? I figured Wendy, Penny, Jenny were more girls than women or adolescents. If I included Elastigirl (which maybe I should?) she would be around #10).
My post on the Disney princesses was such a hit I decided to tackle the Disney men- a much thinner pool to draw from but a few good one’s mixed in.
I decided to use this graphic as my guide because I couldn’t count every man say Geppetto or Kuzco so here goes:
I did add Kristoff from Frozen, and Milo from Atlantis: The Lost Empire because they are such central characters, and subbed out Phoebus for Quasimodo because I feel you get to know Quasimodo much better in the movie.
1. Prince Phillip- tough, brave, impetuous, dancer, dreamer, warrior
2. Aladdin- good friend, dreamer, smart, learns to be humble and honest.
3. Flynn/Eugene- Starts out confident, fun-loving, adventurous, learns to be kind, honest, and less cynical.
5. Li Shang- Do I need to say much more than this picture? He’s definitely the hottest Disney man IMO. But he is also tough but kind. He learns to forgive and has a nice smile.
6. The Beast- We never get a name for Beast but Beast. I guess some say his name is Adam? He has the biggest transformation of any Disney man. He starts out a monster and turns into a gentleman who gives up all for Belle.
7.. Jim Hawkins- Free spirit, adventure seeker, loyal to Mom and friends
8.. Kristoff- Honest, Will tell you what he thinks, Loving, Good friend to Sven.
10. Tarzan- Innocent, sweet, simple, brave when needs to be, loyal, fun loving, exciting.
11. Hercules- Confident, a desire to make others happy, brave, a little bland especially compared to Megura
12. Milo- Adventurous, Determined, Honest. The characters around him have much more personality.
13. Roger- Musical, Fun loving, Welcoming, Don’t know him well but seems like a good husband and man.
14. John Smith- Now we are getting into the thin gruel. He is at least inquisitive and has an open mind. He listens but pretty bland.
15. Peter Pan- Can’t be too hard on Peter because he’s just a boy but the way everyone fawns all over him is annoying. He’s cute and fun but not my fav.
16. Naveen- Confident, learns to be loyal, but he seems kind of a womanizer at beginning and I’m never quite convinced he changes.
17. Charming- Most of what we learn about him is in this look and a yawn earlier. We do hear how impetuous and hesitant to settle down he is from his father and the Duke.
18. He comes, he sings. He comes back and kisses and leaves with the girl. Doesn’t even have a name but The Prince.
What do you think of my list? I would love to hear suggestions of other lists for the next 2 weeks. Put down your order below or critique away! 🙂
So we have 2 weeks till Big Hero 6 premiere and I will post my Frozen review this weekend (I intend to watch it 5 or 6 times to do a very good job)
In the next 2 weeks I will also be posting lots of top 10 lists culminating in my complete rankings once I see Big Hero 6. This should be a lot of fun and I would love it if you would share your lists in the comments each time.
Of course, it goes without saying it is just my opinion and most of these are nitpicking. Out of 53 movies I will give 20 movies an A category grade, 30 with a B or higher (which is pretty remarkable when you think about it) so I like them all but minute differences lead to my rankings.
I thought I would start with ranking the official Disney Princesses because I love the princess movies. These are not all the women, or even princesses in Disney Canon, that will be another list. However, I am including Anna and Elsa in Frozen because they are considered princesses in waiting (they have a coronation ceremony and everything).
Some people gripe about Mulan being included but that doesn’t bother me because there are no princesses in China. If there were she would have been made one in the movie for sure. She certainly shows all the qualities of a princess so it’s fine with me.
This list also includes Merida from Brave, which I have not reviewed, because she is an official Disney Princess. Also, this is a ranking of the princesses themselves not the movies they are in.
RANKING DISNEY PRINCESSES
1. Belle- smart, thoughtful, compassionate and brave
2. Ariel- free spirit, not afraid to take risks, loyal, impetuous
3. Cinderella- hard worker, good friend, kind, optimistic
4. Tiana- hard worker, dedicated, loyal, goal setter, soft spoken but bold
5. Rapunzel- optimistic, naive but smart in own way, inquisitive, fun-loving and hopeful
6. Mulan- Loyal, brave, strong, determined, a fighter
Michael Phelps of the Chicago Tribune said about Wreck-It Ralph:
“You’ll either love it or you’ll admire it, while wishing it would calm down and, I don’t know, maybe pick up a book for a while”
I think that is so true and unfortunately I fall into the latter category. I want to like this movie because a lot of other people love it but it just doesn’t do anything for me. I know, I know. Don’t hate me.
The Production-
The idea behind Wreck-It Ralph is to combine Who Framed Roger Rabbit for video games and Toy Story in a traditional arcade video game world.
Naturally to make the movie they had to license properties from all kinds of video games like Sonic, Pacman, and Super Mario Brothers. However, the main bulk of the movie is spent in new lands so for someone who knows nothing about video games most of these cameos did nothing to excite me. (unlike seeing Bugs Bunny and Mickey together in WFRR).
They created 4 main worlds or settings for the movie. There’s Ralph’s game a traditional 80s arcade game, a train depot in between worlds in the power strip, a . halo =like game called Hero’s Duty and a massive section of the movie in Sugar Rush, a play on Sugar Crush (another game I’ve never played before).
These worlds are beautifully created but kind of like Treasure Planet once I got used to them, they stopped being as spectacular. I wish they had gone through a lot of games in rapid fire succession so you spent 10 minutes in one game, 10 in another instead of nearly an hour in Sugar Rush.
The power strip depot
I kind of wish they had gone with songs and traditional Disney music. It would be fun to see what they would come up with. Instead, they went with a soundtrack featuring Owl City, AkB48, and others and it was completely unmemorable to me .
Wreck-It Ralph is directed by Rich Moore of Simpsons and Futurama fame and you can sense their influence but without near as many jokes.
The voicecast is good with John C. Reilly great as Ralph. However, I am in the minority that is not a fan of Sarah Silverman. I find her incredibly grating and annoying in this movie.
The Story-
The first 20 minutes of Wreck-It Ralph go quite quickly (the movie is too long. 101 minutes which is longer than the typical Disney film) .
We begin with Ralph who is the bad guy in an old 80s style arcade game.
But Ralph is fed up being the bad guy and even goes to a 12 step group to deal with his frustration. I don’t know any of these games but it is a funny scene nonetheless.
Finally on the anniversary of the game Ralph is slighted from the party and bolts. He is told at the party that he will never win a medal and be part of the team like Mr Fix-it is. So his goal is to get a medal.
This is a little bit of a problem because he gets the medal very early on so the last hour of the movie is a series of delays to get back to his game and be crowned the hero.
But he starts out in a land called Hero’s Duty because he hears they give out medals. He meets a hard talking fighter named Sergeant Calhoun voiced effectively by Jane Llynch (who must have had a blast finally not playing a comedic part)
The design is cool in Hero’s Duty but as a non-fan of these types of games it gets old quick.
Then they get to Sugar Rush and WAY too much time is spent in this Candyland world. It is bright and colorful but after a few minutes I grew weary of the color scheme and especially of Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope von Schweetz.
Basically Vanellope is a glitch and if she dies she will not be brought back in the next game. This is why King Candy (a pretty good villain) has forbidden her from racing in the Sugar Rush race. She, like Ralph, is pushed to the outskirts and so they bond. I feel like these interactions between Ralph and Vanellope take forever and the whole time I know exactly what is going to happen. There is even that moment where the teammates misunderstand each other and storm off pouting.
The world is neat to look at but I fee like it isn’t that neat. I’ve seen similar worlds in everything from My Little Pony to Care Bears to the Barbie movies. And I just felt like the characters were so predictable.
Eventually we get the big race, a confrontation with the bad guy ala Ben Hur in Sugar Rush (although his secret did surprise me). It turns out Vanellope is actually a princess and not a gliche and Ralph returns the hero.
Unfortunately 7 of these characters have very brief screen time
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I suppose this movie is like Sword and the Stone- a movie everyone else seems to get but doesn’t do anything for me. The animation is better than Sword in the Stone for sure but the story is predictable and nothing new to me. There aren’t near enough jokes and some of them are lost on me, a non gamer. We also get Sarah Silverman who drives me nuts. I mean I love Fran Drescher but I don’t want her in an animated movie. To me Silverman is equally shrill. And I just think her ‘sweet little girl who belches’ routine gets old fast (they resort to the potty humor far too often in the movie).
I did enjoy the first 20 minutes and the premise has potential. I wish they had spent time in more lands, zipping around like the doors in Monsters Inc. Things get bogged down in Sugar Rush when a change of scenery could have kept me interested. Also, instead of introducing all these characters and then giving them one line I wish more of them were built up. In Toy Story we feel a kinship with all the toys not just Woody and Buzz. I didn’t get that type of character development in anyone but the 3 leads here.
That said, I can see why others enjoy it, especially if you are a big gamer you will understand a lot of the inside jokes (although my brother is huge into video games and he agrees Wreck-It Ralph is overrated). I have a lazy eye so video games have never caught my interest.
I like the lead character of Ralph and John C. Reilly is very good. Jane Llynch also does a good job.
So some things to like but overall just not my cup of tea I suppose.
(Like I said, don’t hate me!!)
In the end, it’s just not made for me and that’s ok. Not everything needs or should be made for my interest and tastes. I can deal with that.
Overall Grade- C ( I have Sword in the Stone a C- so I’ll give this one higher)
You might be thinking. ‘wait a minute Rachel, you’ve already reviewed Winnie the Pooh’? And you would be right but I already reviewed Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which was released in 1977 and is one of only 7 films I’ve given an A+ too. Today we aren’t talking about that film but the 2011, Winnie the Pooh. While not as strong as 1977, Winnie the Pooh has its own appeal and magic and I enjoy it.
As I mentioned in my Consider the Audience post one of the things that makes this Winnie the Pooh special is it is made for little kids. Toddlers in fact, and any mother who has sat through Barney for the millionth time will tell you what a rarity quality for small children is. The original is made for slightly older children, or at least the Heffalumps and Woozles is a little scary for the smallest of children. It’s also a little bit longer and small children have a shorter attention span, which is why not many movies are made for the demographic, mostly just TV.
If the movie is not for you maybe you should ask yourself the question ‘maybe it just wasn’t made for me?’. Most movies can’t be everything to everyone. I don’t think there is anything wrong with a sweet, short, simple movie made to entertain toddlers.
Oh and did I mention I love the music by Zooey Deschanel and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the team behind Frozen! I consider Winnie the Pooh to be one of the underrated, hidden gems of the Disney Canon. Not as good as the first but still a lot to love considering it is for a different demographic.
The Production-
Wow there was nothing on this movie. Very few production details anywhere I looked. The few things I found is veterans Stephen Anderson and Don Hall directed. Burny Mattinson, a Pooh veteran, was a lead storyboard artist and they hired a new cast including Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Tom Kenny as Rabbit and Craig Ferguson as Owl.
Here is the trailer
For the music they had new songs except for the title Sherman Brother’s song which is sung by Zooey Deschanel. I love the new intro.
Some critics didn’t like the length but again that’s actually its big selling point. 63 minutes is perfect for a little child. Plus, the original was only 11 minutes longer, so is that really such a big deal? Winnie the Pooh went in against a Harry Potter movie but it still did ok. Made 44.7 mil in theater on budget of 30.
The animation is lovely and it is great to see 2D back again with Disney as much as I enjoy the computer generated movies.
The Story-
There are 2 stories, instead of 4 that make up Winnie the Pooh. Our first story is helping Eeyore find his tail. The writing is very sharp and I found myself laughing throughout.
The gain tries a number of different possibilities for Eeyore’s tail but nothing is working. Finally they decide to ask Christopher Robin.
Christopher’s eyes follow the anime big eye look we saw in Tangled and other films which bothers some but not me.
They don’t have much luck finding a suitable tail when the day is done. The next morning they find a note from Christopher
The smart one of the group, Owl, determines Christopher has been taken by the Backson and is in trouble! We get a charming song that isn’t too scary for little kids but still nostalgic for adults. I’ve sat with little kids watching this number and they just love it!
So the gang goes out to find the Backson
There’s interactions with the narrator just as in the original and 4th wall jokes that are very dry and funny. You also have characters behaving like little children such as when Piglet cuts up the rope to save the gang.
We also get a cute song where Pooh dreams of honey.
Eventually Christopher returns and explains the confusion and we get our gang back together again. It’s as simple as that!
Movie Review/Conclusion-
Let me again reiterate, this movie is not for everyone but I don’t think it is trying to be. What it is trying to be, a simple movie for very young children, it does very well. It’s sweet and Winnie the Pooh continues to mean childhood in 2011 as it did in 1977.
There are enough little jokes and play on words like when Owl says ‘issue’ and the gang thinks he’s say ‘achew’ and blessing him. That’s clever and funny. It’s a soft, simple, short movie that parents will enjoy and their little one’s will fall in love with.
The music is a great folksy take on Winnie the Pooh and the animation is bright and colorful. I love that it doesn’t shout at your kids or use hip lingo or stories meant for older kids. It gives simple stories and let’s their imaginations go wild. I can’t imagine a little girl or boy that wouldn’t love Winnie the Pooh. It’s bright and colorful and full of warmth and charm.
If I was going to fault it I’d say some of the new voices aren’t perfect but I don’t hate them either. They are just ok. Also they could have made the Backson story a little shorter to fit in one more plot device.
But I really do love it and hope they make more feature films for Winnie and company. Of course, I’ve liked all the Winnie the Pooh movies, Disney Canon or not (I had 3 siblings over 10 years younger than me so I got used to watching small children’s programming and understanding what was quality and engaging for them and what is not. Winnie the Pooh is).
Curious George is another great choice for very small children if you are looking for suggestions.
15. Yzma- Emperor’s New Groove– One of the funniest villains. She’s got style and is a spazz.
14. Prince John- (Robin Hood) It kind of pains me to have him so low but there are so many great villains. This is another funny villain who is constantly sucking his thumb and crying for Mommy. And yet he’s incredibly ruthless to all the people. He’s probably the villain who does the most harm for the greatest number of people (Gaston, for instance, pretty much only hurts Belle and The Beast). He’s also got that great English dry wit
13. Shere Khan and Kaa (Jungle Book)- Really the success of these villains has to do with the voice talent. Sterling Holloway plays against type as the hypnotizing Kaa who oils his way around the room and Shere Khan voiced by George Sanders is very creepy and deeply voiced villain.
12. Evil Queen (Snow White) Another one that pains me to see it so low because she is so great but there are 11 I like even better. Her transformation is amazing and she is so vain even being queen isn’t enough for her. She isn’t content until she is better than everyone else in every way.
11. Ratigan- (Great Mouse Detective)- the most James Bondlike villain of any of the Disney villain. Not satisfied with a simple solution he makes everything as complicated as he can. Amazing voice performance by Vincent Price, one of first great villain songs and hilarious to have a villain named Ratigan who becomes enraged when called a rat.
