My View on Disney Princesses and Feminism

September 15, 2014September 15, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

This post is another little interruption from my reviews to answer a question I’ve gotten from friends and on social media. I clearly have issues with female Disney characters who only exist to make bug eyes at boys and have them fall instantly in love with them- or instant love as I have coined it. The end of the Jungle Book makes me nuts. The girl fox, Vixey in Fox and the Hound I hated especially because Tod was acting like a real idiot and she hears a song and goes right back to the old batting the eyes…

These characters annoy me because they are only there as a love object and that is it. It’s like the Disney equivalent of porn. Just look at me and you are hooked, hypnotized by my feminine wiles…

jungle book — She sings about cooking and cleaning, bats her eyes and…

mowgli — and Mowgli is hooked, hypnotized by her. Why? This scene bothers me much more than any princess scene.

Evidently that view makes me a raging feminist. I’m actually a Conservative Mormon pro-lifer, so politically I do not share much in common with current feminist public policy or organizations like the National Organization of Women. Do I want women to be treated fairly? Of course but in most of my life people would probably not think of me as a feminist.

But I do think societal trends in language, media and storytelling can influence the self esteem and behaviors of both men and women and are worth analyzing. As they are more likely to be objectified this is especially true for women.

Probably the most famous lyric when I was in high school warned against our ages willingness to be entertained and not think about what messages we were receiving:

Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

So, I like being entertained but I don’t think it is bad to take a step back and wonder- what are they saying with these characters? What does this tell young girls or boys? The answers can be different and debated but simply noticing the way women are portrayed or men are portrayed does not make me feminist. It just makes me someone who noticed a trend and is concerned.

For years Disney executives were fearful of making ‘girl movies’ and so how can that not have an affect on girls! It certainly seems like a natural question to ask when a massive demographic is specifically discouraged in films, especially for children who are so impressionable.

It all comes from an old idea that it is easier to get girls to like boy things than boys to like girl things. If Frozen did anything let’s hope the 1 billion dollars in sales puts that to a rest! (And Hunger Games. Not all girls in the seats).

Disney-Princess-Kida-disney-princess-30168400-2560-1117 — I realize this has more than the official princesses

So does this mean I hate princess movies? Some feminists I’m told do but even my sister who is pretty hard core doesn’t hate princess movies and loved Frozen and Tangled. So, I think that’s a bit of a stereotype on feminists. In fact, Slate.com, a very liberal site, had a great article recently called “The Problem with your Problem with Pink”. It is a brilliant article and I highly recommend reading it. One of its points is that by demonizing princesses and pink we are actually reinforcing gender stereotypes rather than eliminating them:

““Chill out” is very good advice. The pink phase will pass like anything else, and if it doesn’t, well, then, you have raised a human being who really likes pink. Which is the same as raising a human being who really likes green. The meaning of the color is what we make it mean. By steering our daughters away from the pink aisle to subvert dangerous gender norms, we’re reinforcing them”

I think you can say the same thing about Princesses. A Princess is not inherently bad for a child just like a wizard, warrior, knight, king, queen, human, alien, are inherently bad or good. It’s what the character does which makes them either a good example or not. Most of the time I think the Princesses are great in Disney movies. They are confident, happy, elegant, loving people. Some I like better than others such as Belle because she is a reader, or Ariel because she is a fighter (same with Mulan). Rapunzel is great because she is so optimistic, Cinderella works hard. All of them have positive attributes which I am more than happy to see reflected in my nieces or daughters if I have them.

I would certainly rather have a princess, Cinderella, who is dreaming of greater things than a common girl getting water who has resigned to cooking and cleaning for her life. That to me is a much greater hurdle in a Disney film to leap than explaining a princess to a little girl.

In some ways I feel grateful to Disney because in much of other storytelling women are few and far between. We have what is called by some ‘The Smurfette Principle’. In the world of Smurfs there is one female character who is there typically to gasp and sigh over any event which is happening. But the Smurfette can be the smart girl too, but she is always the girl surrounded by male characters. And to be clear these can be great characters but it is a definite storytelling trope, which is worth noting and discussing.

You could argue that such trends in storytelling doesn’t matter and it is certainly true that all-girl movies can be atrocious. I hated Austenland last year and that not only had mostly female cast but a female director, writer and producers.

What we have to be concerned with is overall trends in storytelling. and the way I see it the trends of Princess stories have been consistently positive and progressing in the last 2 decades. It has certainly been many years since we had a Disney princess who was a complete nothing- Black Cauldron maybe or Sleeping Beauty? For the most part they are independent, free-thinking, ambitious, positive women. What’s wrong with that?

So I think we are perhaps a bit tough on our Disney Princesses. They are usually pretty good examples and can be used as tools to help girls feel confident and beautiful. Where we get into trouble is when we don’t take a second to talk with our girls about the positive traits of the princess they admire and allow them to only focus on the beauty. Sometimes that is the fault of the Disney Princess branding of merchandise and products which tend to focus on Belle’s ample bosom and less on her love of libraries. As adults we can also sexualize things we loved as children and then can carry those grown up perceptions over to our children, forgetting they are seeing them with innocent eyes. When we think of Tinker Bell we may see a sexy girl in a green dress. Where our daughters see a simple green fairy. I’m not saying we shouldn’t encourage modesty but we can be over-cautious and throw out stories and characters who have many good things to teach our children, out of a fear we picked up later in life.

So, no. I have no problem with girls wanting to be a princess or loving princesses. In fact, when the royal wedding came along I threw a party and celebrated a girl becoming a princess. I don’t see anything wrong with that. From all evidences she’s a good person who was elevated to a princess, which had never happened before. For a woman who loves fairytales it was like one had come to life!

This is me with my hat at the Royal Wedding party

I guess with most things in life it is all about balance and how it is approached. But in my experience kids find their own form of balance. We played house and pirate ship and boxcar children (always some kind of orphan…) as much if not more than we played Princess. And like I said it has been some time since there has been a princess which wasn’t a pretty tough cookie.

I actually think live action films could take a lesson from animation and have more strong female characters. Look at the superhero genre which has failed miserably to provide a single watchable female superhero movie. The Xmen and Black Widow are as close as we’ve gotten but eventually I hope we can get good writers who can translate some of the great female comic book characters onto the screen in leading roles. I don’t know why it is so hard (and I am very skeptical of the new Wonder Woman but we will see…)

Because just like people thought ‘girl movies’ wouldn’t sell at Disney, they have thought ‘girl movies’ in dramas, comedies and anything non-romantic wouldn’t make money. I hope films like The Heat, Bridesmaids, The Blindside (and Frozen) have shown women can carry a picture and people will go if the writing is good. That’s always the key in any genre.

So what does my rambling mean? Well, basically that I hate it when women are objectified in film and only present to be beautiful love objects that transfix men. However, that does not mean I hate Princesses or Princess stories. I like girlie things. There is perhaps no more girly person than myself. I have a chandelier for goodness sakes in my bedroom. Princess movies can in fact be a tool to help encourage the right kinds of lessons in our girls and boys, so by discounting and discouraging them we miss out on stories which have lasted for generations partly because of their teaching ability.

Regardless girls deserve characters like Anna and Elsa in Frozen who have personalities, make mistakes, feel uncomfortable and insecure, have happy moments, fall in love and a range of other traits. And all girls do not have to be strong. They can be shy or withdrawn (the warrior woman can be an equal cliche) but give her something to say or do but to be oogled at by men. Boys deserve fleshed out characters too but they get it far more frequently in Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, all the Pixar movies but Brave, Star Wars, All Superheroes shows and movies, I could go on…

It’s a sad thing when something as simple as the Bechdel test is failed by many movies or passed by technicalities. The Bechdel Test asks the question does a movie have 1. 2 named female characters who 2. have a conversation about something other than a man. It is shocking how many movies fail the test and to be fair many terrible, demeaning movies pass the test. It is merely a way to look at trends not individual pictures. In life females talk to females about things other than men and movies should show that. I guess if that makes me a raging crazy feminist than so be it…

So I say embrace pink. Embrace your Disney Princess and strong women in film. Not because you are or are not a feminist but because you are human and want to tell and see stories about half of the human race.

The Nostalgic Critic had an interesting editorial on this topic and he did bring up a good point about why are girls never queens, but princesses? I had never thought about it and it is a valid thought.

Movie 29: Rescuers Down Under

September 14, 2014September 14, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

When I started this blog I was hoping I would be surprised by movies and really love something I had previously discounted. Up until now that hadn’t really happened. But I think Rescuers Down Under may finally be that moment!

Compare to the First-

What? You ask? But, Rachel you hated The Rescuers how can you like the sequel?

Well, as it turns out there are a lot of reasons. This is one of the few times in movies when a sequel is far superior to the original in every way. I seriously can’t think of a single way I liked the original better.

My main problem with The Rescuers wasn’t the set up. It was the tone. To me it had a mean spirit about it. First of all, it starts off the movie with Penny already captured. We don’t see her get abducted but just hear about it morosely from Rufus at the orphanage. We hear about how miserable and lonely Penny was and from the beginning it feels hopeless and sad. There is never a moment where Penny is free from her kidnappers. In Down Under there are extended sequences of Cody with Marahute the eagle before he is abducted which helps us feel more hopeful than a desperate message in a bottle.

We also get WAY more of Madusa in the original than we do of the villain Mcleach in Down Under . In fact, I would bet that Mcleach and Cody are in the same scene for less than 10 minutes of the finished film. Mcleach actually isn’t in the movie all that much, and there is almost always a comic element to his scenes whether it is Joanna stealing his eggs or Frank and the other animals trying to break free. (more to come on that later). Wilbur gets more screne time than the villain. Some may see that as a weakness but I need very little of Mcleach to know exactly who he is.

Mcleach is also not as emotionally cruel to Cody like Medusa is with Penny. He tells him to shut up and tries to intimidate him but it is more procedural and less personal than in the original. Plus, there is no tearjerker song telling Cody to be brave despite the evil he is among. And Cody has a mother who loves him and is looking for him. The loneliness the characters experience is not the same.

In the end it comes down to tone. In the little writing I’ve done I have learned tone is huge. Down Under is full of light and hope where The Rescuers felt dark and cruel. Again, this is just my opinion but that’s how the two came across to me.

So let’s actually talk about the movie instead of comparing to the original…

Production-

For some reason Disney had wanted to make a sequel to The Rescuers for some time. In fact, Oliver and Company was supposed to be a continuation of Penny with her adopted family. That was eventually scrapped and around 1988 production started on The Rescuers Down Under.

At the time there was an Australian trend with movies such as Crocodile Dundee being popular. In the dvd extras Disney animators went to Australia and spent time at the San Diego zoo to get the feel for the animals and it is definitely the most life-like animals since Bambi. Marahute is stunningly drawn.

Although it is often forgotten (even by me!), Rescuers Down Under was important because it was the first film to use all CAPS (Computer Animation Production System). This was developed by Pixar and instead of xerox which had been used since 101 Dalmatians copying the cells, the computer scanned the drawings and colored them in digitally. The CAPs work in this movie is stunning. Compared to the sketch xerox era it is so alive with color and movement. Even more so than Little Mermaid.

There is also CGI in the movie which is completely created on the computer and that does not hold up as well. Segments like the Sydney Opera House look dated when I bet when they were released it was pretty spectacular.

This kind of computer look of the opera house and the ocean turning purple and flat doesn't hold up well — This kind of computer look of the opera house and the ocean turning purple and flat doesn’t hold up well

But these scenes are few and far between. Most look fabulous.

The voice cast is excellent. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor (her final role. I met her right around this time in the Beverly Hills Hilton and she was exactly you would think she would be. Even had a fir and hat like Bianca!) returns as Bernard and Bianca and both of them are given more to do in this telling. Bernard isn’t a total bore but actually does things to propel the story and there are lots of terrific side characters.

My favorite was Wilbur who is the albatross brother of Orville from the first film. John Candy does the voice work and he is hilarious. There are repeated scenes where he is in this mouse operation clinic where I laughed about as hard as I have in a long time . It’s a shame Candy didn’t do more voice-over work because he is so good.

The other interesting thing about the film is it is only the 2nd Disney film with no songs. The first being The Black Cauldron. The rest of the Disney Renaissance pictures would be full on musicals but Rescuers doesn’t even have a song in the credits, and you know I’m actually ok with it, which is surprising with how much I love musicals.

They were clearly going for an Indiana Jones vibe with Rescuers Down Under and in every way they succeeded including Bruce Broughton’s John Williamesque score. I loved it! Here’s the closing number. Listen to it and see if you don’t hear the Indiana Jones feel:

There is even a map with arrows just like in Indiana Jones:

And the kangaroo rat Jake has an Indiana Jones feel about him except he isn’t scared of snakes!

One of the animators said they were trying to share the message that “someone small can conquer evil” and that really comes through. What a great message for kids who are of course little.

It’s a shame it didn’t do better at the box office because it is routinely ignored by Disney and its fans. It had the bad luck of opening the same weekend as Home Alone which monopolized the family audiences leaving Rescuers with 4th place. Jeffrey Katzenberg pulled all marketing for the picture after that and it was left to the wayside.

The only good thing which came out of it is Disney decided to not release any of the sequels they would produce in theaters. The direct to video sequels by Disney are one of the grossest cash grabs ever perpetrated by the studio.

The Story-

Like I said, it actually takes a while for the abduction and crime to happen (at the 13 minute mark). Before that we meet Cody who lives with his Mother in the Australian outback, which looks a lot like a lush Grand Canyon. The vistas are magnificently drawn.

Cody is notified by some of his network of animal friends that a creature is in trouble. When he arrives he finds out it is a magnificent golden eagle called Marahute. At first Marahute is suspicious of Cody, but he is kind and cuts the ropes that bind her which thrusts him off the cliff. In a very dramatic scene Marahute rescues Cody and gives him the ride of his life.

When the ride is done Cody notices a small mouse tied up and not realizing it is a trap tries to free it. When he does he gets thrust into a pit and we meet Mcleach who is voiced by George C Scott. He is a greedy poacher something Cody is eager to accuse him of. Still he is willing to let Cody go until he see’s a golden feather from Marahute on his backpack.

Mcleach also has his pet ‘goana’ or giant lizard named Joanna. She is constantly fixated on eating eggs. Wanting Marahute, McLeach takes Cody and throws his backpack to the crocodiles to throw off the rangers who will search for him. The mouse who was the bait on the trap see’s the abduction and sends word to the Rescue Aid Society. This fun scene almost reminded me of an international version of the Twilight Bark from 101 Dalmatians.

Eventually Bernard and Bianca are assigned to the case but it interrupts Bernhard’s proposal to Bianca. This scene of the mice restaurant reminds me of classic Disney short.

The animation is also fabulous with the snow coming down in the background (think of the original with the static backgrounds that looked so corny. Quite the contrast!)

So off they go to find Albatross Air but it turns out it is no longer Orville but his brother Wilbur and like I said every scene with him is hilarious. In an homage to the original we get another rocky take off which is a lot of fun.

His arrival in Australia is equally funny.

Bernard and Bianca meet Jake in this scene and he agrees to be their guide. This is also where Wilbur get’s taken to the mouse hospital which is so funny.

Then we get the scariest scene in the movie with McLeach trying to get information from Cody using knifes. This is the closest the film gets to the tone of the Rescuers but it is about a minute long so it is more palatable.

Before you know it we are back to Bernard and Bianca with Bernard trying to propose again, but he is interrupted by Jake and a snake.

Cody is then put into a cage downstairs with the rest of the animals Mcleach has poached including a cellmate lizard named Frank.

This is another character that keeps things light and fun when they could be dark and disparaging. The gang tries to get the key from the wall to set themselves free but Joana catches them and destroys their attempt putting the key back.

We then get another funny scene of Wilbur in the hospital. Maybe you guys won’t think it is a good scene but it really made me laugh

We also get a humorous scene with Joana stealing Mcleach’s eggs and he gets the idea of how to manipulate Cody. The next morning he pretends to let Cody go but tells him he has killed Marahute and ‘too bad about those eggs…’. Knowing Cody will go to the eggs he follows him with Bernard and Bianca on the tank/truck contraption he is driving.

There is a scene that is right out of the tank scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade which was released in 1989. I have to believe this was added or changed to be an homage to that scene they are so similar but in a good way!

What kid isn’t going to like that kind of adventure? There is nothing about Rescuers Down Under that is going to scare kids, make them nervous around strangers like the Rescuers did for me at 9 years old.

Mcleach traps Marahute but Bernard is left behind with the eggs. He cleverly hides them from Joanna and just then Wilber shows up. He says he will not sit on the eggs but there he is at the end of the scene.

Now that Mcleach has Marahute he needs to ‘tie up the loose ends’ meaning get rid of Cody. All the hope lies in Bernard saving the day. Jake doesn’t think he can do it but Bianca believes in him ‘you don’t know Bernard like I do. He will never give up’ . I like this moment of faith in a tiny mouse under such odds. It goes with the theme the animators were trying to achieve.

To everyone’s relief Bernard does save the day and turn off Mcleach’s truck and causing him to be thrown into the river.

Marahute saves Cody and before another minute has gone by Bernard proposes to Bianca and she accepts creating our happy ending .

with one final word from Wilber sitting on the nest (I just love that guy!).

Movie Review/Conclusion-

This movie is the reason why you should always go into a film with an open mind. Even if you didn’t care for the original, maybe they will fix the problems in the sequel? It’s rare but it does happen, and it happens with Rescuers Down Under. I loved it!

The voice acting is fabulous. The comic relief is hilarious. The Indiana Jones moments are great fun. The side characters like Jake and Frank are developed and a delight to watch. The music is perfect even without any songs!

Some of the animation looks a little dated but it is only a shot here, and a shot there. Most of it looks gorgeous. The flying scenes totally hold up. The characters look so much more alive and vibrant than the original and more than anything we had seen in previous films (yes, even more fleshed out and illuminated than Little Mermaid).

The villain is a mean dude but you hardly get any of him, which is perfect. We know he is a bad guy. We don’t need to dwell in it till it becomes shrill and unpleasant. He’s in and out and done. Maybe not the greatest Disney villain ever but it works for the story.

Bernard and Bianca were a lot of fun this time around, and we got to see way more personality from both, especially Bernard who saves the day! I loved that.

And Wilber is my new favorite. He was so funny I could watch his scenes over and over again laughing each time. The crazy doctors almost reminded me of a Pinky and the Brain skit. That’s how funny they were.

So, I don’t know if going in with low expectations made this work for me but whatever it is I really liked it. I can’t imagine a kid not loving this movie.

Overall Grade- A

54 Disney Films- The How and Where Behind the Project

September 14, 2014September 15, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

A few people have asked me some questions about my project and I thought I would take a second to answer them.

WHERE DID I GET 54 MOVIES TO WATCH?

Disney is divided into segments. There are segments for Pixar, Studio Ghibli, Tim Burton animation (Frankenweenie, Nightmare Before Christmas), stop motion animation (Christmas Carol and Mars Meets Mom), and then there is the Disney Toons Dept. This last segment makes films many times associated with their television franchises such as The Ducktales Movie, or the Tinker Bell movies.

When we say something is ‘Disney cannon’ what we mean is it is from the Walt Disney Animation Studio and is deemed by them as an ‘animated classic’. That can be confusing because we hear classic we think old but it is actually just movies produced by Walt Disney Studios that they put on the list of animated classics. Why for instance are 2 of the Winnie the Pooh movies included but others like The Tigger Movie are not? I don’t know? I guess it just comes to where the movie is made in the company and the resources which go into it.

My friend over at The Lawn Gnome explains it better than I could.

HOW DO I WATCH ALL OF THE MOVIES?:

Perhaps I should add this to all of my reviews so you know how to watch it if the film sounds interesting to you. Basically there are a number of ways.

1. My Blu-ray collection- I don’t have that many Disney Blu-rays because honestly they aren’t that great. Unless you especially want to see it in HD and have a TV that will make a big difference there is no need to upgrade a film from a DVD to a Blu-ray. On most of them the special features and films are identical (and some feel the blu-rays are worse because they clean up images in pictures and take away some of the original earthiness. I’ve heard that about the blu-ray for Sword in the Stone). That said, if you don’t have them on DVD and you find a good price go for it! Disney is not keeping as many movies ‘in the vault’ like they used to (probably because of digital copies getting out to the public anyway) so you can find good deals if you are on the hunt for them.

2. Disney DVDs Collection- Like I said the DVD sets are basically identical minus the HD as the blu-ray so over the years I collected a bunch of those. I have more than pictured but I went through a misguided phase where I threw cases away to save space. Stupid!!

3. Stream It- There are lots of methods for streaming Disney movies which you can even get in HDX now. (Some claim there is a huge difference between digital stream and blu-ray but I haven’t noticed it with Disney at least. There is a website called CanIStreamIt.it where you can look up any movie and see if it is available for free stream, rent or own. Before I started my project I went through all 54 and checked them on CanIStreamIt.it and knew which one’s I would need to acquire from different sources.

Three of the biggest sites are vudu, amazon and netflix.

Vudu you purchase and rent on an individual basis but they have some great deals including daily rental discounts and an entire Disney Collections storefront. Most rentals cost between $2.99 and $4.99 depending on how picky you are about HD. My blu-ray players have apps for vudu which makes it easy. I can even watch vudu and netflix on my phone if I want. There is no monthly cost for vudu it is per purchase.

Vudu also gives you the rotten tomatoes score and review blips for any movie you look at which is nice, and you can share your experience on social media easily.

Amazon is similar to vudu but they have a large library of free viewing films for prime members (a yearly fee that covers your 2 day shipping and other usage of the site). It is an app on my downstairs blu-ray but not upstairs and it is not available for viewing on your phone (but really Disney deserves bigger than a 4 inch screen!). You can also load your digital hd copies that come with most blu-rays onto either amazon or vudu (and you can watch them at disneymovierewards.com).

Amazon gives you reviews from fans if that helps you decide to view a movie or not.

Netflix is the other major way to watch Disney films. Their streaming services are charged by the month and I think it is $7.99 in the US. They sometimes rotate a movie out so if you love it probably best to procure it some other way as it is not like vudu where once you buy it it’s in your library for good. But if you are not a rewatcher of movies than it is a great, affordable solutions. Right now they have The Rescuers movies, Pocahontas, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Sword in the Stone and other Disney films on Netflix.

If you were curious I do not have a fancy TV. It is a plasma Philips I bought on craigslist in 2009 but it seems to do the job just fine.

If you are a Comcast subscriber they have a ‘Disney Family Movie Channel’ that is a premium on demand channel and those films rotate as well. They do a good job getting odd or unusual films in there and I watched Saludos Amigos and Three Cabelleros on the channel. It is $5.95 a month where I live.

4. VHS it!- I know it’s old school but I have a TV/VCR combo (2 actually in different rooms) and for harder titles to find like Aladdin VHS can still be a good method. Again I’m not too picky about the HD angle. I actually watched Snow White, Pinocchio and Melody Time on VHS for this project and I was able to get them for .50 each. Not half bad.

HOW DO YOU HAVE THE TIME?

Well, first of all I have been a blogger for 7 years and a youtuber for about 2. I love social media and interacting with people from all over the world, especially about something I love like Disney. I have done movie reviews on both my old site and my channel (in fact, I just posted reviews on my channel of Boyhood and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).

http://smilingldsgirl.com My Regular Blog

To read a written review I did on a movie I did not care for this summer called Austenland-

http://smilingldsgirl.com/2014/06/22/austenland-a-review/

My Channel

http://www.youtube.com/user/smilingldsgirl

My review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes-

I have loved criticism my whole life. I was a huge Siskel and Ebert fan growing up and find it fascinating how individuals can see art and have such differing responses . My parents raised me to ask questions and not just be an absorber of art. So it is the perspective I am coming from. To me noshing over a movie with friends, even online friends, is part of the fun of going to a movie.

For a long time I have wanted to watch all of the Disney cannon because there were films I had heard about like The Black Cauldron but never seen. I was curious but never could find the time . Then in July my MCL tore and I found myself with limited mobility.

It was also screwing up my already problematic sleeping schedule (you have probably noticed a lot of 2-4am posts. I’m a terrible insomniac). I figured I needed something to feel productive because I was literally sitting around all evening once work was finished. So, I decided to dive in and finally watch the Disney cannon. At first I was confused and thought it was 57 movies because the list I had included The Wild, Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms. Then I figured it out and changed it over to 54.

One of the nice things about Disney is most of the movies aren’t very long. Usually around 75 minutes so really it is just a few minutes longer than a tv show like Project Runway or Survivor . Most of my shows are in between seasons so that worked out perfectly too. It was easy for me to watch a 75 minute film and blog about it daily or every other day depending on my schedule. These next 26 are going to be harder because most of them are longer but once I start a project I never stop so we will get all 54 for the Big Hero 6 premiere in November!

As far as my knee I am probably 80% healed but still some pain and not able to do a lot of standing or walking. Hopefully I can get back to swimming soon.

HOW DO YOU WRITE A REVIEW?

For me it is a process writing a review. I do as much research as I can before watching the movie, even for a movie I know pretty well. The wikipedia on Disney films is actually pretty good, Disney wiki, other bloggers, articles, reviews etc are also helpful. If I have one I will watch behind the scenes and audio commentaries.

I also take notes both of my research, the plot and my responses.

Some of the package films I will have a tab for each of the segments so I can keep them straight. With Little Mermaid I had 2 tabs because there was so much in the audio commentary I wanted to keep that separate. I couldn’t capture all my notes on a screen capture. They are pretty in depth. As a grad student I learned how to take detailed notes quickly and I find I enjoy the films better when taking notes (super nerd I know).

One thing that helps is I am a very fast typist and writing the prose of the review isn’t difficult for me. In fact, as much as I enjoy youtube I find editing a video to be more challenging. Plus, once you’ve uploaded it is harder to make corrections like I can with my blog entries. Youtube is also more restrictive on copyright rules than blogging and if I get strikes against my channel even though it is fair use it cold be a big pain.

In June I also ended 10 years of accounting and was hired to work as a digital marketing specialist so anything I learn on any social media isn’t just for fun but helps me with my career as well.

MY VIEW ON CRITICISM

It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve tried my best to be open minded to every movie, even one’s I previously did not care for. I also have tried to be positive and not trash any films. This is Disney and they all have some good traits. I haven’t given an F to any film because nothing has deserved an F. An F would be for a total failure like The Smurfs or The Lorax (2 least favorite animated movies). I know when I read a review I like to see the reasoning behind the critique and even if I disagree I can respect it. That’s what I’ve tried to do in the blog.

I hate internet reviewers who give blanket statements like ‘I hate this movie’ or ‘it sucks’ or ‘it is so boring’. That’s a starting point but tell me whey. Even if your ‘it sucks’ reviews are meant for humor,in the jokes tell me why you don’t care for the film. Did the characters not work for you? Did the plot meander? Did you find the animation unpleasant? I try to comment on all of those factors whether it is positive or negative in my reviews because those are the types of reviews I find fascinating. People have dedicated years of their lives to these projects and we owe them a thoughtful response.

A while back I had posted that I didn’t really get the movie The Graduate. The performances were good but I didn’t like the ending, and I explained why. A friend told me why it made sense given the time and characters and it opened my eyes to the scene. While I don’t think The Graduate is a masterpiece, I like it much better after that conversation, so I am always open to others insight and analysis.

In a way it is funny because my parents are not movie people at all. My Dad is lucky if he see’s one movie a year but all of his kids love them. Other than the Simpsons, nothing got us talking as siblings more than movies.

I believe movies are the great storytelling device of our era and if you miss out on going to the movies you miss out on understanding yourself, others and the age we live in.

So that is the 411 on the blog and how you can watch all of these great movies. Thanks for reading and making it such a fun experience!

Movie 28: The Little Mermaid

September 13, 2014September 14, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Here we go. How to talk about a favorite film? It’s tough. I’ll have you all know I watched it 3 times for this review . Once to enjoy, once with commentary and once to take notes. There are a lot of ways I could go with the review and even now as I am writing I’m not sure what way the words will take me but that wouldn’t be the first time in my blogging career and it won’t be the last.

Aside from being a massive hit, The Little Mermaid was important for Walt Disney for a number of reasons:

1. It marked the beginning of a yearly animation offering from Disney which to 2015 has only missed a few years. Previously a film would take 4-7, even 10 years to finish

2. It was the return of the ‘girl movie’. After Sleeping Beauty failed Disney was convinced movies for girls weren’t successful, which is why we went from 1959 to 1989 without a solo female leading character, and most of the time it was just a male lead and the female would be thrown in for the last minute as a love interest only (you all know how I hate that!). At one point Jeffrey Katzenberg was so concerned about it being a ‘girl movie’ he warned the directors Ron Clements and John Musker to not spend very much money because it was unlikely to do well at the box office. (Amazing in retrospect right?)

3. It marked the return of the broadway style Disney musical which hadn’t been seen since Cinderella. You certainly had pictures with songs, many by the Sherman Brothers but there weren’t any ballads or traditional scores like a musical.

4. Computer animation was used in a new way. Scenes like the ship scene at the beginning and the climatic battle were done using CGI, which had just been invented by Pixar. It is the last movie to use hand painted cells. But even so bubbles and other special effects were revolutionized to create the lush look of the picture.

5. It would inspire Disney to keep on progressing in their animation quality and storytelling ability. The next decade is what is known as the Disney Renaissance where we see such classics as Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King and others. Really Disney would face no competition until Dreamworks had it’s first megahit with Shrek in 2001. Pretty impressive.

So that’s some of the 411 behind The Little Mermaid. Even if you are one of those poor unfortunate souls who doesn’t like this movie you can’t deny it was very important.

Getting Started-

As we discussed in the Oliver and Company review, Disney executives had gathered animators for a brainstorming session and green-lit the ‘oliver twist dog movie’ and the ‘little mermaid’. As I said, executives were skeptical could appeal to boys limiting your audience. However, they had decided to embrace the musical and Splash had recently been a big hit in live action for the studio.

Walt Disney had actually thought about doing Little Mermaid as a package film of Hans Christen Andersen shorts. They had even commissioned some storyboards which 1989 directors Ron Clements and John Musker found and the changes they had made to the original story were largely the same as the 30s version (cool right?). In both cases the story had been softened from the book to have a happy ending.

Hayao Miyazaki — Directors Ron Clements and John Musker

Once they had decided on a Broadway style musical they had worked with Howard Ashman previously on Oliver and Company and he had worked with Alan Menken on Little Shop of Horrors. If you ever get a chance listen to the audio commentary on the diamond edition dvd because I was amazed at how much influence particularly Ashman had over the film. He is even credited as writing ‘additional dialogue’. I figured he was just the lyricist but evidently he would preform each of the songs in costume and insist the animators and their body doubles (Little Mermaid used human forms for the first time in many years too) mimic his acting.

howard-ashman=oscars — Howard Ashman and Allan Menken

Little Mermaid is also a movie that is ‘underscored’ meaning the music was written to dictate the animation, not the other way around. This also hadn’t been done in many years at Disney.

For the first time in many pictures there weren’t any celebrity voices except for Buddy Hackett who played Scuttle. Jodi Benson who voiced and sang for Ariel was a broadway performer who had worked with Ashman before. Her and Samuel Wright who plays Sebastian did not audition before the main team but sent in tapes from New York and they were so impressed they go the jobs. Kenneth Mars who plays Triton had been a working actor but not well-known and Pat Carroll was a replacement for Ursula. They originally wanted Bea Arthur from the Golden Girls.

I’ve mentioned on the blog how much I admire Walt Disney Studios risk taking. Despite initial nervousness Little Mermaid was the most expensive animated movie ever made and with the flop of the previous expensive film, the Black Cauldron, you have to admire them for taking a risk again.

The animation is so detailed. After decades of xerox films to have a million bubbles surrounding the characters under water, and the iridescent look of the light on the rocks is amazing.

The light and shadows are stunning in the film.

If you've never paid attention to the bubbles watch next time. Every inch is animated and bubbly! — If you’ve never paid attention to the bubbles watch next time. Every inch is animated and bubbly!

Even just the movement in Ariel’s hair is incredible. There isn’t a moment under sea where it is static. It always moves and flows. No small task even today.

If you listen to the audio commentaries it becomes clear Little Mermaid was a labor of love especially for Clements, Musker, Ashman and Menken, and I for one am grateful because it meant a lot to me growing up.

The Little Mermaid was also the first movie to be released on VHS only 6 months after it’s release. At the time Disney was very nervous about doing this because it would prevent profitable re-releases which they had done of their other classics; however, it was a huge hit selling 7 million in the first month!

It also started a track record of Disney winning Oscars again (first nomination since 1977 Rescuers) with wins for best score and song (Under the Sea). They would win again in 91, 92, 94, 95, and 99. Not bad!

The Story-

Ok. Enough of the delicious backstory. Let’s talk about the actual story. This is probably less interesting for some of you as most everyone knows the story of the Little Mermaid (I mean even if you don’t care for it could you get through the 90s and not see Little Mermaid?)

Let’s talk about the story by going over the songs.

We start out with Prince Eric’s boat and a sea shanty which introduces us to the myth of Triton and his ‘fathoms below’. Immediately we are immersed in the feel of the water and the melodies we will be hearing throughout the film.

Then the melody takes us to Triton’s castle and the concert. We learn Ariel is headstrong and doesn’t come to practices. We meet Sebastian and Triton and get a brief glimpse at Ariel’s sisters.

This scene is not only humorous but it tells us a lot of Triton’s relationship with Ariel. She is clearly the favorite of his girls and she isn’t there. This doesn’t just disappoint Triton but it angers him. That is a lot to learn about characters in what is essentially a comedic scene.

Then we get to see Ariel. She is searching for human treasure and is willing to face a shark for it. She goes up to the shore to find out what the items are from Skuttle. Again this is a humorous scene but it also tells us a lot about her . She is brave (perhaps carelessly so), rebellious, inquisitive and naive. These are all huge traits that makes her vulnerable later on to the manipulations of Ursula.

Triton is upset with her of course so he assigns Sebastian to take care of her. He a musician is insulted to watch over a ‘teenager’. Evidently Menken and Ashman decided on a Jamaican voice because reggae was very popular and they felt it would give a swaying feeling of the sea to Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl sung by Sebastian and I think they were right. Plus, it makes Sebastian an interesting character. Most characters with that accent are relaxed and chill but he’s high strung. It’s funny.

Sebastian follows Ariel to her secret grotto where she sings of her desire to be human, to be part of that world. Originally this song didn’t test well in focus groups but Ashman, Menken, Clements and Musker told execs neither did Over the Rainbow, so the song stayed. In the audiocommentary one of them says having Sebastian there during the song adds a level of tension and even suspense which helps tone down the cloyingness that might otherwise be there if she was unheard. I had never thought about it before but it makes sense.

I’ve heard some people object to Ariel because she is selfish and whiny. She can be selfish but where do you draw the line between knowing who you are and what you want out of life, and being selfish? She certainly does selfish things but it is from a good place. She doesn’t feel at home in her own skin literally. How many of us have felt the same? I certainly have and that’s why I related to the movie so much. I remember looking through my Mothers wallet and wishing I could be taken seriously by someone. I hated being a kid and being told what to do all the time. I wanted to try things my way and maybe that is selfish but it is also what produces great human beings.

To me her yearnings come from a deeper place than just whining and complaining and I think it is why girls related so well to Elsa in Frozen too. It’s the same kind of yearning to be who you are supposed to be but the world won’t allow it.

Getting off track…

She hears some fireworks, leaves Sebastian, and heads up to see what the noise is about. This is her first time looking at Prince Eric and she is immediately taken with him.

Eric is one of the most present Disney Princes. Evidently for some reason men are hard for the animators to draw and that is why they were avoided in films like Cinderella. (It’s strange but I’ve read that more than once). I know technically it is only a few days but for a Disney movie we get a lot of time spent between Eric and Ariel.

He actually has a fair amount of dialogue for Disney Prince. We know he is waiting for the right girl despite his adviser Grimsby’s yearnings for him to settle down. They establish quickly Ariel and Eric are a match in spirit not just appearance (which is something the instant love trope usually misses. I have no problem with instant attraction but that should just be the beginning and with Ariel and Eric it is).

An unexpected storm comes and Ariel jumps to Eric’s rescue saving him from drowning. We get a reprise of Part of Your World which is stirring and had every earnest little girl singing along!

Again, I related to this song because I felt like Ariel- a kid who wanted to break out of the kid body and be taken seriously by the world.

Her session with Eric makes her twitterpated and she flirts around the castle to the notice of her father and sisters. This stresses out Sebastian as he knows the King will be enraged if he finds out Ariel’s secret love.

So Sebastian tries to convince Ariel that she should stop wishing to be on the ground. He then sings to her the Oscar winning song Under the Sea. The animation in this song is amazing. Every fish plays a different musical instrument and they all combine together for one sound. How they recorded it I will never know but everything from tubas to steel drums make for a great song.

On the audio commentary they mentioned how the backdrops in under the sea are many colors. I guess Katzenberg was concerned they weren’t all blue but it totally works. In fact, the more creatures involved the more colors the sea is until we have seen purple, gold, green, pink and of course blue. And seriously watch the bubbles in Under the Sea. It is amazing!

orange sea — In this shot the sea is orange

Of course she doesn’t listen and leaves with Flounder before the song is even over but Triton requests Sebastians presence because he wants to know who Ariel is in love with. By a slip of the tongue Sebastian tells him Ariel is in love with a human. Of course, he is angry and worried.

Fearing for his daughter and completely incapable of communicating with her Triton destroys Ariel’s grotto and leaves her devastated.

Again think of this from her perspective- everything she knows in her heart she is to be has been destroyed and told is wrong. To me it makes perfect sense she would be vulnerable at such a moment to Ursula, the sea witch who sends her thugs Flotsam and Jetsam out to tempt her.

The eels are basically like the snake in the Eden story and Ursula is the devil. Ariel is willing to sell her soul, her voice, to the devil for a chance to be who she is supposed to be, and love who she is supposed to love. That is compelling stuff in my book!

From the moment we meet Ursula she is one of the great Disney villains. She is bitter, out for revenge, overweight octopus who covers the sea with her blackness. Pat Carroll as the voice gets the perfect balance of a truck driver with a drag queen and even the way she puts on lipstick is suspect. She is like a used car saleswoman but in Ariel’s case it is her soul and revenge on Triton Ursula must convince her to give up. Poor Unfortunate Souls is my favorite villain song ever (and only the second solo by a villain ever). Much copied but never duplicated, it has the perfect combo of gravitas, manipulation and salesmanship.

Once she is turned into a human Flounder, Sebastian and Skuttle must help her find some clothes (in a very well choreographed scene by Disney considering their heroine is without clothing! The score in this section is also brilliant highlighting every moment.

I’ve heard some people say Little Mermaid teaches a bad lesson because Ariel gets what she wants in the end despite making very poor choices. She does make mistakes and she realizes it when her father is taken down by them, but when she gets her legs Sebastian looks at Ariel and he says ‘or you could be miserable for the rest of your life’. Her father was never going to give her what she knew she needed and Ursula at least provided a chance.

Eric meets Ariel and thinks she is the one but since she can’t speak he discounts the resemblance to his rescuer. Nevertheless, she is invited to the castle and given a warm bed and place to stay. An unlikely contrivance I suppose but it works!

She is invited to dinner with Prince and Grimsby but first we get a little comic relief when Sebastian accidentally stumbles into Chef Louis kitchen, a kitchen hard at work cooking “les poissons’ or little fish. My brother took a french immersive class and a teacher used the word ‘les poissons’ and immediately a chorus of girls started singing the cooks song. It is hilarious slapstick and doesn’t have much to do with the story but I love it! It gives a break from some of the schmaltzy romance and very funny vocal performance by Rene Auberjonois.

At dinner Eric invites Ariel to get a tour of the village so the next day is spent driving around, dancing and getting to know Eric despite Ariel’s lack of a voice. Knowing their time is brief Sebastian tries to encourage the romance with the wonderful song Kiss the Girl. I thought this song was hilarious as a kid. We’ve got to create the mood after all… (The vocal by Wright is actually quite lovely)

Ursula realizes things aren’t going her way so she uses Ariel’s voice and becomes human to trick Eric into marrying her. She actually has hypnotized him with yellow eyes.

Ariel, Sebastian, Flounder and Skuttle all gather together to help stop the wedding and it is a funny yet tense scene.

The battle between Triton and Ursula isn’t a wizard’s duel for sport. It is a battle of good vs evil, of bitterness and revenge with the fate of the sea at stake. The tension builds so well and it feels pretty desperate and that Ariel has lost her love and her father all at the same time. What can be done if even Triton is under Ursula’s control?

Then Eric comes through and we get our amazingly drawn final battle.

Another person I read said Ariel doesn’t learn anything by the end. I disagree. She does learn that chasing your dreams requires sacrifices and that love and family are precious. She learns she is where she is supposed to be. That is huge. But her father also learns. He learns HE WAS WRONG That’s why he changes her in the end. He was thwarting his daughters destiny and he made it right. So, lessons are learned and it is not a lesson that whining gets your way. At least that’s not what I have ever taken from it. It’s that we need to fight for what we are supposed to be in life and that is more important than anything else for both Eric and Ariel.

We get our happy ending!

Movie Review/Conclusion

It probably goes without saying this movie gets the highest grade from me. It has everything you want in a Disney movie. The animation is stunning in it’s detail, artistry and light. The songs run the gambit from heartfelt to hilarious. The characters are complex and relatable, even the Prince. The story teaches important lessons to girls (and boys I suppose) about finding out who you are and where you belong in life and fighting for it. It has the classic father/daughter dynamic that goes back to King Lear (and further I’m sure).

The villain is unlike any we had seen before with a villain song that has yet to be topped. The score clips along and speaks for a character who for a majority of the film cannot. The songs are all instant classics. Every choice worked and it was magic to me as an 8 year old in 1989 and it totally holds up. I saw it 3 times this weekend and could have watched it 3 more times.

Just like Frozen is doing for modern girls, Little Mermaid inspired many from my generation to be yourself and to sing your heart out. Just like girls are singing Let it go, we were singing Part of Your World. My sister and I would have competitions at night both of us claiming that we sounded the most like Ariel. (It was me all the way).

I get that it strays from the classic story, but I think if Hans Christian Andersen saw the treatment of his work he’d be thrilled (and with Frozen too!). It certainly keeps the spirit of the story without punishing Ariel for dreaming big.

I have nothing bad to say about it. I love it and can’t wait till the day I can gather my daughters (if I ever marry) and watch The Little Mermaid together and hear about all their desires, frustrations and dreams, and to sing with them!

Overall Grade A+

PS The sequels that are usually terrible by Disney aren’t half bad for Little Mermaid. There is actually a prequel and a sequel.

Disney Halftime Report Card

September 11, 2014September 12, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

We are just about to start the Disney Renaissance, have passed the 50 years of Disney mark in the reviews and am at half way through the Disney classics. So it seemed appropriate to do a little report card of the films I’ve reviewed so far.

At the end of every review I give a grade. There were only 2 reviews which got 2 grades. The first was Make Mine Music which I liked on a ‘so bad it’s good level’. It’s one of the most bizarre cinematic experiences of my life but I can’t say I wasn’t entertained by it. I’d rather watch a strange failure than a lazy bland movie like Fun and Fancy Free, but that’s just me. The other double review was The Rescuers because if you can tolerate Medusa it is fine movie.

So with that said, let’s go over my grades:

4 movies received A+

Fantasia

Cinderella

101 Dalmatians

Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

If you had asked me to pick 4 before the project started I don’t think I would have said those 4

6 movies received A

Snow White and 7 Dwarfs

Dumbo

Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad

Alice in Wonderland

Sleeping Beauty

Jungle Book

Only 1 film got an A-

Great Mouse Detective

4 movies received a B+

Pinocchio

Melody Time

Lady and the Tramp

Robin Hood

1 movie received a B-

Bambi

2 movies received a C+

Peter Pan

Fox and the Hound

The Rescuers (for most people)

I look at a C grade as average. And of course all of these grades are relative to Disney. I know in the realm of all animation these C’s are not average. They would be higher when compared with a lot of other pictures.

3 movies received a C

Saludos Amigos

The Black Cauldron

Oliver and Company

2 movies received a C-

Make Mine Music

The Sword in the Stone.

1 movie received a D

The Three Caballeros

3 movies received a D-

Fun and Fancy Free

Aristocats

The Rescuers (for me)

People are always curious to know my favorites and it is such a hard question because I like them all for different reasons. Even the D’s I’m not sad I watched them. They aren’t the kind of terrible movies where I want to rip my hair out and hope for death. Usually I just felt like the tone was off and it wasn’t original or creative enough for me to like.

I will try though. I’ll give a gold, silver and bronze on a few categories.

Best Villain-

Gold- Maleficent

Silver- Lady Tremaine

Bronze- Cruella De Vil

Honorable Mention- Ratigan

Best Artistry-

Gold- Fantasia

Silver- Alice in Wonderland

Bronze- Sleeping Beauty

Favorite Lead Character/Hero-

Gold- Cinderella

Silver- Winnie the Pooh

Bronze- Lady, Lady and the Tramp

Favorite Side Character-

Gold- Baloo the Bear

Silver- Tinker Bell

Bronze- Trusty and Jock from Lady and the Tramp

Even More Minor Characters-

Gold- Timothy Q Mouse, Dumbo

Silver- Jaq and Gus, Cinderella

Bronze- Olivia, Great Mouse Detective

Worst Vocal Performance-

Gold- Gurghi, Black Cauldron

Silver- Snow White

Bronze- Aristocats

Best Vocal Performance-

Gold- Verna Felton- Dumbo, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty etc

Silver- Sterling Holloway- Dumbo, Bambi, Three Cabelleros, Peter and the Wolf, Alice in Wonderland, Jungle Book, Aristocats and of course Winnie the Pooh

Bronze- Phil Harris- Jungle Book, Robin Hood, Aristocats

Strangest Scene- love all these scenes

Gold- Pink Elephants on Parade, Dumbo

Silver- Heffalumps and Woozles, Winnie the Pooh

Bronze- All of Alice in Wonderland

Best Original Score-

Gold- Black Cauldron by Elmer Bernstein

Silver- Bambi by Frank Churchill

Bronze- Jungle Book- Sherman Brothers

Best Song- (this is tough)

Gold- When You Wish Upon a Star by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington

Silver- Bear Necessities by Sherman Brothers

Bronze- Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes by Mack David, Al Hoffman and Jerry Livingston

Saddest Moment-

Gold- Snow White’s death and Grumpy crying

Silver- Dumbo Baby of Mine scene

Bronze- Christopher Robin goes to school (I know but it just struck a nerve with me)

Best Comedy-

Gold- Robin Hood

Silver- Peter Pan (the slapstick is very funny)

Bronze- Great Mouse Detective (not a comedy but some good laughs)

Scariest Moment-

Gold- Pleasure Island, Pinocchio

Silver- Grizzly Bear Scene, Fox and the Hound

Bronze- Headless Horseman, Ichabod and Mr Toad

Cringe-worthy Moment

Gold- Red Man, Peter Pan

Silver- Siamese cats, Lady and the Tramp and Aristocats

Bronze- Bongo, Fun and Fancy Free

Honorable Mention- Every instant love scene but specially Vixey and end of Jungle Book…

Not that Bad (Big problems but not as bad as I expected)

Gold- Black Cauldron

Silver- Melody Time

Bronze- Saludos Amigos

Film Everyone Else Loves but I Just Liked OK

Gold- Fun and Fancy Free particularly Mickey and the Beanstalk which I thought was lazy.

Silver- Sword in the Stone

Most Sentimental/Corniest Moment–

Gold- Fox and the Hound (whole movie but especially the Widow’s poem. I know I’m made of stone)

Most Romantic Moment-

Gold- Spaghetti, Lady and the Tramp

Silver- Phillip and Aurora dancing, Sleeping Beauty

Bronze- Pongo and Perdi, 101 Dalmatians

Grand Champions-

Worst- The Rescuers (just for me and my taste would never want to watch again)

Best- Cinderella

I guess out of the 4 A+ movies I will go with Cinderella. I have every version of Cinderella I can get on film. I love the story and Disney pulls it off pretty flawlessly.

Thanks for Reading!

So there you go! It’s funny we are down to 89 and have 1/2 left. That old releasing a film every year makes the 90s and 2000’s very productive times for Disney. Should be a blast. Please keep up with the blog and let me know if any of these rankings surprised you.

How would you rate your favorites? I always enjoy a good back and forth with my commentors, especially when we are talking Disney so put your thoughts below!

Movie 27: Oliver and Company

September 11, 2014September 28, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

This post couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. It is 9/11/2014 and what do I see from this Disney movie?:

Whenever I see a movie with the old skyline and the twin towers my heart hurts a little bit. Almost feel I could end the review there with that image…

But I will push forward 🙂 Let’s talk about Disney’s 27th animated classic, Oliver and Company.

Production-

For me watching Oliver and Company is like Christmas Eve. It’s fun and all but partly because I know what is coming!!! The Disney Renaissance is next up and Oliver and Company, while commonly considered a lesser Disney entry did make some contributions to the upcoming movement.

It’s interesting because when they first started Pixar they gathered the animators and had a retreat and brainstormed a list of ideas that led to Toy Story, Bugs Life, Finding Nemo, Wall-e etc. I have no doubt that John Lasseter got that idea from the Disney animators in the late 80s.

After the failure of Black Cauldron Michael Eisner and Jeffery Katzenberg had a similar retreat and came up with ideas like Little Mermaid, Aladdin and even as far reaching as Treasure Planet.

One of their ideas was a ‘Dog Oliver Twist’. This is funny because at the beginning of Ichabod and Mr Toad the narrator lists off the great characters from English literature and they include Oliver Twist and Arthur, both now part of Disney cannon.

This is perhaps a bit of a breakaway because you have to go way back to the package films to find source material which is adult turned into children’s entertainment. Great Mouse Detective was in a way but there was actually a series of books about Basil of Baker Street.

Oliver and Company is notable for four other reasons.

1. Land Before Time- It was released the same weekend as Land Before Time produced by the Bluth company. LBT had better reviews and did make more money $84 million to Oliver’s $74. LBT was also the last collaboration of Don Bluth with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, and aside from All Dogs Go to Heaven he would not have another big hit to challenge Disney’s renaissance.

I wanted to watch Land Before Time for this review because most everyone thinks it is the better film but I didn’t want to distract from this review or give a halfhearted review of LBT. Will have to go back and review the Bluth films (the good Bluth films) another time.

2. Computer animation- Oliver and Company used computer animation throughout the film not just in scenes as previous 2 films had done. It also marked the start of the computer animation division at Disney, which was crucial to Little Mermaid and especially Beauty and the Beast

3. Disney Broadway- In some ways Oliver and Company was an experiment to see what the public responded too. That’s probably why there is a little bit of everything- slapstick, drama, situational humor, celebrity voices, and music. Growing up Little Mermaid wiped Oliver and Company from my mind but I did remember the music. Seeing the soundtrack’s appeal Disney would go on to make musicals for the next 12 years aside from Rescuers Down Under.

4. Oliver did well enough Disney decided with the computer animation they could go from producing a film every 4 years to 1 a year and they would keep up that track record for the next 20 years, only missing a handful of years. Thank you Oliver for giving me a Disney film every year!!

The Story-

I’m not a Dickens scholar but to say this is a loose translation of the classic novel is an understatement. Aside from character names and pickpockets briefly mentioned there is basically no resemblance in the stories. So, to enjoy the picture you kind of have to get rid of that expectation right away (want to see a true egregious translation to cartoon watch Gnomeo and Juliet…Sigh).

The opening segment with a song by Barry Mann and Howard Ashman (the latter went on to write for Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast). It is sung by 80s star Huey Lewis.

Like I said you get the New York skyline and the twin towers and as a lover of New York I loved this intro.

It’s fun to see an 80s New York through the animators eyes.

Through the song we meet Oliver an orphan who is forced to fend for himself. Right away he meets a quick talking dog name Dodger voiced by Billy Joel (huge fan of him) who teaches him how to steal hot dogs from a vendor.

Once they get the hotdogs Oliver wants to share but Dodger explains to his new friends the ways of the street animal. It is without a doubt one of the best Disney pop songs ever.

Even if you aren’t crazy about the movie I don’t know how you can argue it is a catchy tune. One of Billy Joel’s better vocal performances and like I said I am a huge fan. Saw him in concert a few years ago- amazing!

Eventually Dodger takes Oliver to meet the crew who works for Fagan. One thing I like about Oliver and company is how clearly diverse the voice cast is and the characters drawings show that. There are 2 in the troop, Rita and Francis that are voiced quite obviously by African-American actors and little Tito voiced by Cheece Marin (he’s a cliche but brings a lot of humor so I don’t think anyone will be offended by it?)

While none of the character animation feels original or artistic (seems pretty standard Saturday morning animation work) I liked some the characters and the feeling of family. In the world of Disney animal movies this just in design is probably at the bottom for me.

After a little more singing Dodger and the other dogs decide to teach Oliver the ways of the world and how to run scam on a limo driver who thinks he has run over Francis.

One of the occupants of the limo is a little girl named Jenny who’s parents don’t care for her and leave her alone with the butler (seems like such an 80s latch key kid cliche). I was not a big fan of the Jenny character. I thought she could have been replaced by a million other Saturday morning cartoon girls in both design and personality. This is random but she also has very short skirts and her hair changes colors dramatically throughout the film

.Oliver and Jenny quickly bond and she gives him a license, which if we remember Lady and the Tramp means you are part of the family.

This, however, is very bad news for Jenny’s pompous poodle named Georgette . She introduces herself in a delightful number. It’s a fun sequence and definitely seems to have that Broadway edge. The stairs at the end feel especially broadway and since I love broadway I enjoyed it. Plus, you’ve got to like Bette Middler!

Meanwhile Dodger and the group think Oliver is unhappy in the rich house and create a plan to get Oliver out- a plan which Georgette is only too eager to get behind.

Through some funny scenes, particularly with Tito, Oliver is put in a sack and taken back to the docks. I found this plot point to be a little odd. They are pickpockets . Wouldn’t they take stuff from the mansion? And they haven’t been the most selfless group up to this point (Dodger wouldn’t even give Oliver a hotdog) and yet all of a sudden they will risk life and limb to get him back? That didn’t make sense to me . A scheme where they got Oliver back and scored serious loot would have been more in keeping with the characters.

Unfortunately Fagan, the drifter who owns the pets, comes in and see’s Oliver’s license. He develops a scheme to extort money from Oliver’s owner by putting Oliver up for ransom. I actually not sure why they made Fagan likable? It’s a shame really because I think having a villain around the dogs more would have helped with pacing of this movie .

Speaking of villains, this movie’s version is super lame. His name is Sykes and most of the time he is in shadows and bullies Fagan about the money he has loaned him. He has no real personality and isn’t even on screen that much . His dogs are scarier looking to me, but again we don’t see them for long.

Jenny goes out searching for Oliver and somehow ends up down by the peer where she meets Fagan. She promises to pay for Oliver and gives him her piggybank. Not the ransom he was hoping for but touched Fagan gives Jenny her cat. Just then Sykes swoops in and nabs Jenny (stop with these little girl abductions please . At least this is brief).

The dogs then end up chasing Sykes down in a great segment in the Subway and on a train tracks. All of the characters including Tito and Georgette have moments which I liked. This isn’t like the Duchess who waits for others to rescue her. I liked Georgette!

Some of this subway scene is a little dated but considering it was so new to computer animation it is pretty impressive:

With Sykes gone all are reunited and we get a reprise of our favorite song

Movie Review/Conclusion-

I have a friend who loves this movie. I can respect that. However, for me it has nice moments but doesn’t quite work as a whole narrative. I liked the music. I liked the backdrops of New York. I liked the Subway scene at the end. I loved the vocal performances but the story was weak, which is a crime since it starts with one of the great stories of English literature.

Some of their choices are odd. For example, why make Fagan so bland? He is voiced by Dom DeLuise (who is in almost all of Bluth’s films) and who is a brilliant voice actor and could have done interesting things with the character. As it is, he kind of mopes around fearing the worst. He doesn’t even have a strong bond with the animals. Fagan is a manipulative beast in the novel so why they turned him into such a bore here I will never know. I never felt any real tension in the hostage storyline and since Fagan is around the characters the most it would have worked better if he was the main villain like he is in the book.

When I say he was bland what I mean is there wasn’t enough growth or story happening to him. He just kind of observes and makes a few choices but no real drama, which left the movie feeling slow and a little boring.

The most interesting thing about the main villain Sykes is the way he dies. He felt like a standard 80’s cartoon villain, like Prof Claw in Inspector Gadget. Same thing with Jenny. Her animation felt sloppy and standard 80s Punky Brewster style little girl. She has some spunk going to find Oliver, but we don’t get to know her well enough to feel concern or care for her like we do with other Disney little girls in peril (how strange that is a category). Jenny does sing a rather bland song called Good Company (honestly I forgot about it when I was writing the earlier part of the review. Clearly forgettable!). As much as I dislike The Rescuers, the little girl, Penny, gets a whole backstory. We know her. She’s an interesting character. That’s what makes it hard for me to watch when she is treated so poorly. Jenny I didn’t feel that same connection too. She reminded me of the little kids in the Care Bears movie which is never a good thing.

That said, a lot of the characters I liked. I liked Dodger, Rita, Tito and Georgette. There is a nice diversity in the cast and the group feels like the pound sequence in Lady and the Tramp but with a little more edge. I enjoyed their family feel. Oliver is cute but kind of bland. Bette Middler hams it up in her song and scene and Billy Joel is great as Dodger. Tito is funny but it can get a little old at times.

And ‘Why Should I Worry’ is a great song. I can picture dancing with my nieces to it and having a ball . There is nothing offensive or problematic for small children; although older children might get a little bored with the story. It’s pretty predictable and slow.

So, in the end, Oliver and Company has good moments and I’m glad I watched it. I was entertained. The music is great. However, sections drag and there are too many bland characters with an especially bland villain which hurt the picture. A mixed bag for me.

Overall Grade- C-

Little Mermaid is coming!!!!!!!! I feel like I should host a sleepover or something!

Movie 26: The Great Mouse Detective

September 10, 2014September 10, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Before starting this review I should explain something about my family. We are Sherlock Holmes obsessed. You see my parents have almost no interest in media. They will watch an occasional movie but basically no television. Aside from religious programming and an occasional sporting event (I would coral my family into watching the Olympics every 4 years), I have basically no memory of my parents watching television regularly.

…with one exception.

Every year from 1984-1994 PBS, as part of their Masterpiece Mystery programs. would air Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes. My Dad even videotaped the episodes, which was even more rare for him to do. The only other time I remember him recording something was Ken Burns, The Civil War, which is another great PBS program of that era.

If you haven’t seen his portrayal it is fabulous with all the mannerisms and cases we have come to know and love from Sherlock Holmes.

From that show we all read the original stories and saw all the versions we could including Great Mouse Detective by Walt Disney. I think I even read the mouse series Basil of Baker Street books the film was based upon.

Even now we will spend hours talking about how the Robert Downey Jr versions get it all wrong and Benedict Cumberbatch is perfect…You think I’m exaggerating but I’m not. Ask one of my sisters. Anna, who may be the greatest Sherlock fangirl of all of us, one year threw up her hands and said “can we talk about something else!”

So with that intro let’s talk about Disney’s 26th animated adventure- The Great Mouse Detective!

Production-

How Great Mouse Detective came into fruition is very interesting both for itself and how it influenced future Disney films. As the studio was hard at work with the Black Cauldron 2 animators, Ron Clements and John Musker, broke away and developed concept art for an adaptation of the Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone and were based on the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories but with mice in the leads. Clements went on to direct the movie and be actively involved in the Disney renaissance including directing Little Mermaid, Aladdin and even later The Princess and the Frog. Clements had also done a Basil of Baker Street short before he joined Disney, so that is no doubt where he got the idea.

Originally Disney gave the project a large budget but before production started Michael Eisner was hired as CEO and the budget was slashed from 24 to 10 million. This proved to be a good thing as it forced them to embrace computers in a new way that had only been dabbled in for Black Cauldron. Especially the finale in the clock was groundbreaking in its use of computer graphics and films like Little Mermaid would follow suit. Just shows a cut budget isn’t always a disaster for a project!

In so many ways selecting Sherlock Holmes was an inspired choice. It’s something that has had near universal appeal since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle penned the stories in 1887. Especially once the Black Cauldron faced production and then box office problems, having a stake in a franchise that has always scored money in publishing and at the box office in nearly every recreation and retelling was a stroke of brilliance. Having Brett’s version on PBS, also no doubt, helped create an atmosphere where kids wanted their own version of their parents favorite show!

This was another moment where Disney higher-ups threatened to close the animation department, especially after the colossal disaster of Black Cauldron (remember BC stands as one of the biggest monetary losses in not just Disney but Hollywood history. Right up there with Cleopatra and Heaven’s Gate). Fortunately for all of us Disney fans, Great Mouse Detective scored making 25 million in theaters on what ended up being a 14 million budget (good thing they cut the budget from the original 24 million). These profits were then taken and invested into a little movie about a little mermaid, so all of us that idolized Ariel have Basil to thank for it! 🙂

The whole picture has an artistry which is impressive for this type of urban based Disney picture . Every shot feels foggy and full of mystery- even inside. The characters are drawn with a sketchy style but there is enough ambiance and they are so much fun I didn’t mind it.

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The soundtrack is wonderful and like Black Cauldron they hired a top name film and television composer Henry Mancini for the project. There’s a real broadway feel to the songs and I don’t know if that had been done before with Disney. You had all the jazzy music in Lady and the Tramp, Jungle Book and Aristocats but a broadway show in animation hadn’t really been done to my knowledge. It is also the first solo sung by a villain in a Disney film. The Siamese cats sing a duet and many other films have songs sung about the villains (such as in Peter Pan) but this was the first virtuoso villain number. For the next 15 years a villain solo is a hallmark of not only Disney but all animated stories and Ratigan’s ‘The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind’ still holds up very well. ratigan2

Aside from Jeremy Brett there was certainly no shortage of inspiration for animators to go off of with Sherlock Holmes. But as far as character design goes, the animators were clearly paying homage to Basil Rathborne and Nigel Bruce’s famous performances as Holmes and Watson. In fact, in one brief scene we hear the human Holmes talking and that voice is Basil Rathborne (who had worked with Disney back in Mr Toad).

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But it was not an outright copy of Rathborne and Bruce. Director Ron Clements said:
“We didn’t want to make them simply miniature versions of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce,” Clements affirmed. “Dawson’s not a buffoon. He’s a foil for Basil but also a warm and caring person.”

This is no doubt why the story begins with Dawson uncovering the case and presenting it to Holmes in a very loving and nurturing way. As with any Holmes story, Dawson is naturally the narrator and maternal presence to balance out Basil’s brusque and aloof nature.

One other funny part of production is usually in Disney there is an animal world and human world coexisting but this is the first one I can think of where the two are direct duplications. There is a human and mouse Sherlock, Watson, Queen Victoria etc. I find this to be a funny concept- makes me think about the duplicate Rachel mouse hanging out in her tiny townhouse, balancing books and blogging… 😉

The Story-

So let’s talk about the case. As I said, the film starts off with a lot of foggy, eerie atmosphere and we dive right into the scene at a toy store. It is scary but most of the violence is heard and not seen, and with an adult getting kidnapped it is slightly less traumatic than when it happens to a child. (Most of the voice cast is unknown but Mr Flavisham is voiced by Alan Young who would later voice Scrooge McDuck in Ducktales). For young children this may be too intense but it could easily be skipped over with a parent explaining what has happened.

Next we get introduced to Dawson and they hold remarkably true to the original Conan Doyle details even down to serving in Afghanistan in the army. Dawson then meets the little girl from the previous scene named Olivia, and this introduction shows the heart they were trying to achieve with Dawson:

Just a quick aside, I have been critical of Disney female characters in a few posts, so I will say I love Olivia. She’s sweet, tough and smart (without her Basil would never have even been involved). She is not a puppet, meant just as a love interest for a character (although at first she was supposed to be older and be Basil’s love interest. Thank goodness they didn’t go in that direction. Holmes a love interest? The very idea!) and there is NO instant love in Great Mouse Detective!!! I haven’t seen Oliver and Company in years so I’m not sure on that, but the rest of Disney animation will take a break from the girl batting her eyes across the stream and boy falling instantly in love with her trope I detest for many films! Hurray!

758px-Mousedetective017 — Olivia. Not just a great female character, but a great character!

Off to Baker Street they go and they meet Basil in a terrifically Holmes-like way.

Eventually Basil hears the case and off they go on his dog Toby to face Professor Ratigan (based on Professor Moriarty in original books) who we then meet through the villainous number I mentioned above. Ratigan is voiced by the incomparable Vincent Price. With probably the most distinctive voice of the 80s from the Thriller music video, Price is perfect as Ratigan. You can feel the fun he is having. The only performance I can think to relate it to is Robin Williams in Aladdin. It is that good.

The writers are also very clever because they give a character named Ratigan a violent repulsion to being called a rat. That’s just funny however you slice it! We also learn of Ratigan’s dastardly plan to create a robot queen and make himself ‘king of all mousedom’! Now that is a great villainous plot!

The next scenes are at a toy store trying to figure out why Ratigan has abducted Olivia’s father, a toy maker. The design of the toys and robots are great, almost steampunkish (an art movement also obsessed with robots and Conan Doyle).

Thinking it will motivate Flavisham, Ratigan has his bat crony abduct Olivia in the toy store and Basil at first reams Dawson for not watching the girl. His response is one of the most dejected in any Disney film. Again, another example of Dawson being the heart of the film. tumblr_m4dkifAu9Z1qh1mzno1_500

Basil realizes he has crossed a line and he seeks to reassure Dawson they will find Olivia and to not worry. I like that interplay between the two.

Any blog reader will remember how critical I was of the abduction of Penny in The Rescuers. However, there are differences in Great Mouse Detective that make Olivia’s abduction more palatable. First of all she is a mouse not a little girl. It is also not in a modernish time period or dwelt upon much like in The Rescuers. I said in that review if you like Medusa you will like the movie. I didn’t. In this movie I like Ratigan because he is so over-the-top and funny. I mean he wants to take over the world not just find a diamond. Plus, he’s a rat not a woman (much to his dismay)…

Fidget, the bat, leaves the 2 a clue and through his clever detecting Basil realizes Rattigan must be at a pub near the ocean. However, Rattigan also realizes Basil is going to the pub and sets up a trap to capture his foe.

Unfortunately, before that fun can happen we get the one scene in this movie I do not care for. They arrive at the ‘seediest bar in London’ and a female mouse starts singing with a dress on, and as she sings a pretty lyrically suggestive song she gets less and less clothes until she is wearing a bar girl type uniform. I know it is just mice but I don’t want my daughter seeing a burlesque inspired number in my Disney film. That kind of annoyed me.

The song is sung very well by Melissa Manchester and it could be in Chicago or any other broadway show. It’s very well written but just not my favorite example to be showing children, even like I said with mice.

It’s funny I asked my Mother about this because I have no memory of the scene and lo and behold she would fast forward through the song when we would watch the movie (see I have a good Mom). Problem solved. If you find it offensive then skip ahead, no harm done. 🙂

To Basil’s dismay, Ratigan’s trap appears to work and he and Dawson are captured and strapped to a mouse trap affixed to an elaborate rube goldberg device to kill them both. Basil is dejected. Oddly enough not because of his imminent death but by having been outsmarted by Ratigan!

Like his plan to take over the crown using a robot, Ratigan’s scheme to kill Basil is so over-the-top it can’t help but make you laugh. It reminds me of some of the early Bond villains who could never just shoot Bond. No, he had to kill him in the most complicated way possible, which is a lot of fun.

With Basil seemingly wrapped up, Ratigan begins to execute his plan and abducts the Queen and has the robot announce his approval as King. He then brings out a hilariously evil list of all the changes he is going to make in power including taxing the ‘elderly, infirm and little children’. Ha. That’s again very funny writing!

Sadly for Ratigan, Basil breaks free from the trap and stops him and his robot, but the movie is not over. Ratigan and Basil take to the air and end up on the Big Ben clock. As I said before, this sequence used computer animation for the first extended period and it’s remarkable how well it holds up. The sound effects are also fabulous with the tick, tock and the gears creating tension.

So, of course Ratigan’s plans are foiled, Olivia and her father are reunited. Dawson is about to leave and a new case comes in so Dawson and Basil become partners for life!

Movie Review/Conclusion

So what does this Sherlock obsessed girl think of The Great Mouse Detective? I think it is great! It is funny with just enough scary to entertain kids. It has a terrific villain with one of Disney’s best vocal performances by Vincent Price. The case is over-the-top but drawn with visual interest and appeal. Even the backdrops are great at creating ambiance and mystery.

I love when Disney can introduce children to new mediums like Lady and the Tramp did for Jazz (or Jungle Book) or Fantasia for classical music. Great Mouse Detective not only introduces kids to the greatness of Sherlock Holmes but to detective stories as a genre. It also has the message Sword in the Stone was trying to teach about education and using your brain, but with Basil it is demonstrated not merely expressed. Kids can see a keen intellect is important because it helps Basil put the clues together and solve the case.

That is why it is a bit of a downer to have a song in the middle which is about appearances and is basically a stripper song for mice (she literally looses half her clothing by end of number). But like I said, you all can be like my mother and skip over that scene. Nothing wrong with that. There is also some imitative behavior that may be of concern to parents- drinking, smoking cigars etc.

For young children (kindergarten and below) there are scenes of peril. Mainly the abduction, and particularly the bat may be too scary. It depends on the child. It is kind of like 101 Dalmatians in tone and feel. There is so much humor and it is all so over-the-top that it tempers the scenes pretty well but some kids are sensitive to anything scary. It does not have a gloomy feel like some of the films which scared me- Rescuers, Pinocchio and Return to Oz being the big examples.

Overall Grade- A-

Also, got a shoutout today from a favorite youtuber of mine The Lawn Gnome who has a great Disney vlog series called ‘Out of the Vault’. If you are on youtube please subscribe to his channel. Here is his Great Mouse Detective review.

PPS- I am now half way through my reviews of Classic Disney! What do you guys think of The Great Mouse Detective.?

Movie 25: The Black Cauldron

September 8, 2014September 8, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Long ago there was a legend of a great movie flop. A flop that nearly crippled the great life force known as Sir Disney. It was even defeated by a mangy set of daemons known as the Carebears. Could it rise up and conquer as the beautiful Princess Rachel trogged through it sore knee and all.

Well good friends let’s talk about the Black Cauldron…

Production-

First there is a lot to talk about with production on this one. Black Cauldron was released in 1985 after a 9 month delay insisted upon by then Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg (later Disney traitor!).

Based very loosely on a series by Lloyd Alexander called The Chronicles of Prydain. Alexander later said:

“First, I have to say, there is no resemblance between the movie and the book.
Having said that, the movie in itself, purely as a movie, I found to be very
enjoyable. I had fun watching it. What I would hope is that anyone who sees the
movie would certainly enjoy it, but I’d also hope that they’d actually read the book.
The book is quite different. It’s a very powerful, very moving story, and I think
people would find a lot more depth in the book.”

I actually think this is super cool of Alexander. It must be hard as writer to see your work and passion changed by another source (especially one as big as Disney) and to still have warm things to say about it is very commendable.

The movie has a darker feel than previous Disney films or at least since the minion scenes in Sleeping Beauty but there was a certain string of animation at the time that liked such mythological dark stories. Two I thought of were Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings animated movie (better than this and in 1978 so 7 years earlier) and Don Bluth studio’s Secret of Nimh.

Secret of Nimh even has a character with bone hands like the Horned King here. Nimh is the better movie IMO but you can see a similar trend in the movies and animation of the era.

That’s why it is maybe a bit surprising that so much ‘to do’ was made about the Black Cauldron being too dark and scary for kids. Many similar looking films had been released within 7 years so why did this one cause such an uproar?

Black Cauldron was actually the first animated film to receive a PG rating, so that may have been part of the backlash; but also where people are able to take a bold artsy film from Bluth and Bakshi they expect lightness from Disney (although have these people seen On Bald Mountain or Pinocchio?)

Nevertheless, the movie had bad buzz before it’s release. Evidently at one point Katzenburg actually tried to edit the movie himself to keep the violence down. Michael Eisener, who Katzenberg would later use as inspiration for the design of Shrek, talked Katzenberg out of the editing room but he was still vocal about his distaste for the film. (Such drama!) All of this bad vibes didn’t help the marketing by Disney and it was a huge failure at the box office. The worst in all of Disney history.

In addition to being the most expensive animated film ever at the time, it was also was one of Hollywood’s top flops including live action:

“It’s right up there with Cleopatra and Heaven’s Gate as the most expensive film (unadjusted) made at the time, costing $44 million to produce, it grossed only $21.3 million domestically”

Worthy of the Hate?

So is it worthy of such hate? Yes and no. The animation is stunning. It looks full and rich with details rarely seen even today in a Disney film.

If we look at the shot above in the castle you can see how rich the backgrounds and animation is. Every crack and crevice of that wall is textured and ridged. The backdrops are also gorgeous, like a dark watercolor.

The other major standout of the movie is the score. Written by the great Elmer Bernstein it is one of the most stirring scores I’ve ever heard. And you’ll never guess who played the orchestrations?- The Utah Symphony! Right here at home recording for Disney! It’s one I might consider purchasing because I loved it and I like to listen to scores while I am working sometimes.

Where the movie looses me BIG TIME is in the voice work. With the exception of the Horned King (who has just standard villain voice by John Hurt), I thought all the voices were not only wrong but cringe inducing.

The worst of all is Gurgi, a dog, who sounds like Donald Duck is on the journey. It is Jar Jar Binks bad. The voice of the Princess Eilonwy by Susan Sheridan, while not as bad, is high pitched and annoying and even the lead Taran by Grant Bardsley is awfully whiny. They are all missteps.

I almost wish they could go in and record new voices like they do with the Miyazaki movies. It is so distracting.

The Story-

The story is pretty long and convoluted but it works all right; although, it feels like a poor man’s version of the kind of lore and legends of Secret of Nimh or Lord of the Rings. A prophetic pig and a black cauldron just doesn’t have the same gravitas as the ring of power or the amulet in Secret of Nimh.

We start out with a pig-keeper Taren daydreaming about becoming a great warrior.

As it turns out the very pig Taren is helping has special powers. He can see into the future if he dips his head in water (strange super power but there you go)

Next we meet the villain of the picture, the Horned King. The design on him is great but I’m not sure we get enough backstory of who he is or why he wants the cauldron. As contrast, Sauron in Lord of the Rings has a detailed backstory of why he turned and why the ring had such power over him.

Still it’s a cool design and the one voice I liked by John Hurt.

The other problem with the story in The Black Cauldron is there is never a sense of real jeopardy for the characters. I’m not sure if it is the comic relief thrown in at odd times but it never felt to me that they might not make it. In the Bakshi version and definitely in Secret of Nimh there is a real sense of peril for the characters.

The other difference is our character motivations. Frodo and Mrs Brisby have selfless motivations. Frodo wants to serve his friends and do what Gandalf asks. Mrs Brisby wants to save her son. Taran wants to be famous. He wants to be a celebrated warrior in all the land, which just isn’t as gripping as more noble ambitions.

In fact, Taran looses Hen-wen, who he has sworn to protect very quickly because he is daydreaming about being a ‘famous warrior’.

As Taran journeys to the castle fairly uneventfully we meet Gurgi who I already said is so out of place in this kind of film. The voice is just insufferable.

Anyway, Taran gets to the castle relatively easily. Again in Nimh and Bakshi there is way more peril at every step of the way, not just the climatic battle. This makes you care about the journey and the characters much more and be invested in the battles.

One cool thing at the castle is there are layers to the sound (sound mixing I think?) which I had never heard in a Disney film. You’d have a conversation going on in the forefront but could hear murmurings from the pub or guardsman in the background. That is a very cool immersive touch I think they should do more often.

So Taran and the Horned King meet and long and short of it Taran ends up in the dungeon and Henwen escapes. In the dungeon Taran meets a princess with the tough to pronounce name of Eilonwy. I agree with Doug Walker’s review of the movie on youtube that there really is no good reason to make her a princess. She doesn’t have any kingdoms we see, people looking for her or following her, or any of the other vestiges of royalty. There’s no sense of loss to her people shown if she isn’t freed from the Horned King. I also think if she is a Princess than she wouldn’t be in the dungeon with all the other prisoners. Think like Star Wars where Leia is used as a tool by Vader to try and get what he wants. In fact, I’m not sure if we ever see the Horned King with Eilonwy? (There actually isn’t enough of the Horned King in general).

I found her voice by Susan Sheridan to also be incredibly annoying. Not as bad as Gurgi but still very bad.

But to Taran’s good luck Eilonwy is escaping just as he arrives in the dungeon and she allows him to accompany her. They also meet a minstrel player named Fflewddur Fflam (doesn’t that name seem like something out of a Monty Python skit?) He doesn’t add much to the story but he is fine voiced by Nigel Hawthorne.

Taran also gets a sword of power kind of given to him but why we aren’t really sure? When Harry get’s Gryfindor’s sword he has been brave and it is a gift from Dumbledore. Here he kind of finds it which doesn’t quite make sense for this kind of story. Later the 3 witches will trade anything even the black cauldron for the sword, so why would Taran just stumble upon it? And again, he is most excited about it at the start because it will make him famous…

Eventually the band gets free from the castle and there is some bonding time, romance time that really falls flat (Eilowynn has such a dopey laugh) but it’s fine I guess. This middle section should be building peril and endearing us to the character but we don’t get that.

They stumble into a whirlpool that takes them to the world of fairies. Considering Disney knows how to design fairies I don’t know what they were thinking with these. They feel very Saturday morning animation style with the crabby faerie roped into helping the group on the quest.

I guess they are cute but why go the cute route? I would have gone the mystical route like the faeries in Fantasia.

So fairly easily they are taken to the room with the black cauldron but it is guarded by 3 witches who are fun with the exception of one who falls instantly in love with Fflam. Instant love? Haven’t seen that before in a Disney movie…And in this case it does nothing for the story except to be funny and for her to have big Dolly Partonish breasts (a strange design choice for a fable action movie)..

The witches make a deal with Taran to give them the black cauldron in return for his sword (which again he had just kind of stumbled upon). He gives it to them but it turns out he can’t really use the cauldron. It is only magical if someone jumps into it to their death, making the ultimate sacrifice.

I liked this idea of a Messianic feel to the cauldron. Many of these stories have Messianic overtones (anointed one, called to sacrifice for good, fights the devil, etc). That gives the story the kind of heft it sorely needs.

Eventually they end up back in the castle with the Horned King. He is attempting to use the power of the cauldron to create an army of the undead, which is super cool looking. I’m not sure how they did the design but they look like cellophane, layered on top of each other.

The Horned King is going to keep building his army if the black cauldron isn’t stopped. Again, this animation is awesome!

Someone must make the sacrifice into the black cauldron and in a very touching scene despite the annoying voice Gurgi takes the fall for his friends.

When he enters the cauldron it reverses the army of the dead and sucks the horned king into the cauldron in an awesome scene. I think it is one of Disney’s best villain deaths they’ve ever done.

With the Horned King gone the castle starts falling apart (not sure exactly why? Is his castle part of an evil spell or creation?) But the team escapes and meets the witches who try to give Taran the sword for the cauldron. Taran doesn’t want the sword. He just wants Gurghi back.

It’s a fine scene but I don’t know if the narrative has really earned it? I think it is good in Lord of the Rings for Gollum to make the ultimate sacrifice for the ring which has ruined his life. Or in Harry Potter when Dobby sacrifices himself we have an emotional tie to the character. I don’t know if I ever feel such a closeness between Taran and Gurghi or that he has really grown from wanting to be famous?

But it’s ok and Gurghi returns and our story is basically finished.

Movie Review/Conclusion-

So in the end is The Black Cauldron the horrible piece of junk some claim it to be? No. The animation alone takes it beyond the putrid level. While not as beautifully animated as Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings or Bluth’s Secret of Nimh, it still has stunning moments of visual artistry.

It doesn’t have the heart or the story which Bakshi and Nimh have either and the voice performances are almost all terrible. However, I think if they recorded new voices like they do with Studio Ghibli movies and rereleased The Black Cauldron might be a pretty big hit nowdays with kids sensibilities being more comfortable with darker stories.

The score by Elmer Bernstein is tremendous. Every scene it immerses you in the story in a way the story itself doesn’t actually do. It’s sweeping and then soft and magical at the same time. I loved it.

The characters motivations and the gravitas behind the prophetic pig and the cauldron just don’t have the weight of similar stories and movies. I know we are supposed to see Taran grow and learn that being famous isn’t everything but I needed another layer of motivation for him to go on this quest and make choices.

The other side characters are fine once you take away the voices. Princess Eilonwy doesn’t need to be a princess. In fact, I think her character might be more interesting and layered if she was a normal girl caught up in the magic like Taran.

I really liked the villain. I wish more had been done with him, explaining his backstory or why he wants the power of the cauldron but his design is very cool (and the only voice I didn’t want to punch in the throat).

So The Black Cauldron has its big flaws. Evidently Disney kind of dropped the ball on the marketing too so I can see why it wasn’t a big success but I’d take it any day over a mean spirited entry like The Rescuers. I know we have the undead and a Horned King but I still thought it was a more enjoyable and less cruel story than Medusa abducting Penny…

If you like this kind of adventure story and have seen Secret of Nimh and Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings than give this a watch. You won’t have a miserable time at the movies. As far as entertainment for kids it is pretty dark but then again kids like pretty dark in Lord of the Rings (Jackson version) and Harry Potter and even How to Train Your Dragon. So it just depends on the kid. If I was making a rule I’d say 10 and up.

It would be more terrifying if there was a real sense of peril for the characters like in Harry Potter or even the bear scene in Fox and the Hound. That to me is much scarier for kids because it comes out of nowhere and it feels like our heroes could actually lose. As much as I liked the Horned King I never felt like he was going to win.

There is some nice messaging about friendship, sacrifice and not seeking fame that would be great for kids. So depending on the kid give it a watch.

Overall Grade- C Voices- F

What do you guys think of The Black Cauldron?

Movie 24: Fox and the Hound

September 7, 2014September 7, 2014 | Rachel's Reviews

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for a sentimental tale about romance and friendship. I have been known to snuggle up to the 25 days of Christmas on Hallmark and whatever syrupy story is coming out of ABC Family.

That said, Fox and the Hound lays it on almost too thick even for me. One thing is for sure if you are at all averse to that kind of message you will hate the movie. As for me, I liked it but it bore on me after a while.

Production-

Released in 1981 (year I was born!) The Fox and the Hound had a very dramatic time in production (took 4 years and 12 million). Based on a novel by Daniel P Mannix, it was initially started by the legendary 9 Old Men of animators with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, in particular, taking the lead in the early storyboarding and concept development.

However, at the same time Disney had a school of animators and such big names as John Lasseter, Tim Burton (who knew right?), John Musker, Ron Clements and Brad Bird all had graduated and began work on the Fox and the Hound.

Don Bluth, who had been a part of Disney animation since Sleeping Beauty, led a contingent that felt Disney had ‘grown stale’ and wanted to do edgier things with the material. Mid-production Bluth quit and took 11 animators with him, 17% of Disney’s staff. I’m sorry but to me that is just wrong. Finish out the project and then severe ties. I mean can you imagine someone doing that on a regular motion picture? Like if Brad Pitt and Christopher Nolan didn’t get along or agree with the direction of the movie so they just bolted?

What makes it worse is then Bluth went on to be a competitor to Disney. Early on Bluth’s movies were stiff competition to Disney with Secret of Nimh (1982), An American Tale (1986) and Land Before Time (1988). To be fair this competition I believe made Disney better and led to the renaissance but it was still a dirty move to leave mid-project and take animators with him.

This change in leadership led to a few rocky moments in Fox and the Hound such as the bear attack that feel disjointed and episodic which is to be expected since the film was probably drawn and conceptualized in episodes by different men.

However, at least the animation is gorgeous. It was getting close to the art pieces of the 30’s and 40’s and I enjoyed Fox and the Hound on that level very much.

Look at this intro. For a second I thought it was the beginning of Bambi.

The voice cast is very strong with everyone from Kurt Rusell (Copper), Mickey Rooney (Tod), Pearl Bailey (Big Mama), Paul Winchell (from Tigger fame as Boomer) and more. Everyone does a good job with the voices although at times it was a little distracting because I kept thinking of Tigger when I’d hear Winchell’s voice.

The music is a mixed bag. It’s not that it is bad. It’s fine and the score by Jim Stafford is great. The strange thing is most of the songs don’t really feel like songs at all. It feels like the songs start and then get interrupted by talking or activity. It’s a shame in a way because I liked the songs if I could have heard them all the way through. I wonder if they were just over time at 83 minutes so cut down the songs?

The movie opened to mixed reviews but it made 63 million at box office.

Story-

Kind of like with Lady and the Tramp the beginning we get to meet baby Tod and baby Copper and they are uber-cute.

Copper is owned by Amos and Tod is adopted by the Widow Tweed. It’s interesting because there are no children in this film. All older adults.

There are an array of side characters including Big Mama owl, Boomer (woodpecker) and Dinky (canary), and Chief who is owned by Amos.

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Tod and Copper meet when they are too little to know that foxes and dogs are enemies and hunt each other. Like I said, if this kind of sentimentality makes you roll your eyes and groan this is not the movie for you.

One day when trying to play,Chief see’s Tod and chases him off the property, which angers Amos,and he shoots at and threatens Tod and the Widow. As a result, she keeps him inside but it doesn’t matter because Amos is taking Copper away for a winter hunting trip.

Our next scene is Tod and Copper all grown up. Copper knows how to hunt and he tells Tod they can’ t be friends any more.

In between these tense scenes we get some comic relief from Boomer and Dinky as the chase a caterpillar.

Tod and Copper end up getting involved in a scuffle involving a train that injures Chief. The segment with the train is very well animated.

Feeling that Tod has injured Chief Copper vows revenge and he and Amos chase Tod and the Widow in a fun car scene.

Eventually the Widow decides it is for Tod’s own good to take him to back to the woods. I don’t mean to be harsh but she sing/talks one of the worst poems I have ever heard (and I know poetry pretty well). It’s discount greeting card bad.

“We met it seems, such a short time ago.
You looked at me, needing me so.
Yet from your sadness, our happiness grew.
Then I found out, I need you, too.
I remember how we used to play.
I recall those rainy days, the fires glowed, that kept us warm.
And now I find, we’re both alone.
Goodbye may seem forever, farewell is like the end.
But in my heart’s a memory, and there you’ll always be.

I mean yikes…

So Tod is forced to make it on his own in the forest. He meets a mean badger and then finds a friend in a porcupine played by John Fielder of Piglet fame. Then we meet my least favorite character in the movie. One of the worst in all of Disney- Vixey the female fox or vixen (clever name there…).

Voiced by Sandy Duncan, Vixey is the cooing, fawning, giggling, idiot female character I hate in Disney. And of course we get the instant love trope like we do in every Disney movie but this one is one of the worst for sure. Why couldn’t it have been like in the Lion King where they meet in some way as little foxes and then meet up again later? Or anything but the instant love twitterpated scene from Bambi all over again…She reminds me of an idiotic Michael Bay woman in fox form.

What makes it worse is that Tod behaves like kind of a pompous moron when they meet but one song from Big Mama and she’s back on board the ‘oh well. He’s so pretty…’ train. Urgh…At least in this movie we have Big Mama and the Widow but seriously why does every other Disney woman have to be a complete twit? Thank you Renaissance for changing that at least a little.

Moving on.

Amos decides to set traps and Tod and Vixen come upon them. That leads to a chase with the climatic bear scene. It is an amazingly animated scene but for a movie that has been kindergarten aged friendly the bear is too scary. My nieces all bolted at the bear in Brave, and I know they would be terrified of the bear here too.

Tod eventually comes to Copper’s defense so when Amos is about to shoot Tod, Copper steps in, the two realizing they really are friends at heart.

We get an ending back at the farms where all is back to normal and Copper thinks about those early days and we hear the voice over ‘Tod, you’re my best friend’…

Conclusion/Movie Review-

Another mixed bag for me, and I think recommending the picture entirely depends on the type of movie-goer you are. If you don’t mind the ooey-gooey messages laid on very thick than you will eat this up! I went with it for most of the way. It eventually wore me a down a little bit and I HATED Vixey character just as much as about any character in Disney ever.

There are a lot of good messages for kids but the bear scene is very scary (and the train fight too). I guess it just depends on the kid in question. Like I said, I know it would be too much for at least my youngest niece. And it is kind of a long scene so if you fast forward it you are missing story and a lot of the movie (plus, it is animated very well).

It was so nice to see animation from Disney that looked pretty. For once I am liking a Disney movie more for the animation than the music and story. That hasn’t happened since Bambi!

It is not up there with the greats. I’d put it smack in the middle of Disney films. It’s not terrible. It has a nice message. The comedic scenes work and the action is good. So if you can handle the script you will probably like it!

Overall Grade- C+