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Disney
Just days before the release of Disney shocked the world by
would be their last fairy tale princess story. But while there
was much wailing, another, more positive milestone has been somewhat
overlooked: ³Tangled´ marks the studio¶s 50th animated feature.
We know what you¶re thinking: Surely Disney has made more than 50 movies,
right? And it¶s true, they have. But if there¶s one thing Disney knows even more
than animation, it¶s how to protect their brand, which is why they¶ve designated
some of their features to be official classics and others ² like ³The Jungle Book 2Ǝ
or ³Pete¶s Dragon´ ² to be, you know, just something they do on the side for
giggles and grins.
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Disney
Zach Braff, Joan Cusack and Adam West are just a few of the normally reliable
voice stars who sank with the ship on ³Chicken Little,´ one of Disney¶s recent ill-
fated attempts to claim a portion of the new CGI animation market. The failure of
this film helped convince Disney to finally cut a permanent deal with Pixar to run
their combined animation efforts in order to make sure nothing like ³Chicken Little´
gets made again. So at least something good came out of it.
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iere¶s the idea: Take the Charles Dickens classic ³Oliver Twist,´ set it in modern
day New York, substitute kittens and dogs instead of people and then add in
voicework from Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel and Dom DeLuise, all while using
generally mediocre animation backed by a theme song from iuey Lewis. ioly ugh.
Amazingly, ³Oliver & Company´ was so successful when it was released that it
spurred Disney to begin annual animated feature releases ² a decision that paid
off one year later when ³The Little Mermaid´ started the Disney Renaissance. Talk
about making silk from a sow¶s ear.
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Speaking of traumatizing viewers, ³The Black Cauldron´ was such a critical,
commercial and artistic disaster that Disney essentially disavowed its existence for
nearly two decades before finally owning up to having made it. A new generation of
animators wanted to bring Disney into modern times, but instead they almost sank
the studio thanks to a villain who bounces from the ridiculous (see: his signature
fur-lined mink bathrobe) to the terrifying (the titular cauldron is filled with undead
monstrosities). Add in a section where a character is nearly crushed to death by a
fat witch¶s giant breasts and now you know why ³The Black Cauldron´ has become
synonymous with failure.
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Disney
When ³mantasia´ came out in 1940, Walt planned to re-release it every few years,
rotating in new musical numbers to replace outdated ones. Sixty years later, the
studio finally got around to actually doing it, with ³mantasia 2000Ǝ the result. The
main problem with ³2000Ǝ: almost everything that is cool about it comes directly
from the original ³mantasia.´ So why would you ever watch this instead of the
original ³mantasia?´ Answer: you wouldn¶t.
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Ah, the Arthurian legends brought to life in an adaptation of T. i. White¶s epic
series ³The Once and muture King.´ But while we do enjoy the occasional moment
in this one ² Merlin¶s performance of the goofy song ³iigitus migitus´ stands out ²
most of this ³iarry Potter´-esque story of a boy being trained for his destiny by an
old wizard and a friendly owl falls sadly flat. Somehow, goofy villain Madam Mim
just doesn¶t have quite the same heft as Lord Voldemort.
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This is a love it or hate it film; on the one hand, most critics disliked it, giving it just
a 46 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it bombed at the box office as well
when it debuted in 2001. On the other hand, the movie does feature a great cast,
including Michael J. mox and James Garner, along with animation by legendary
comic book artist and ³iellboy´ creator Mike Mignola. Because of this last factor,
³Atlantis´ has become a bit of a cult favorite in some circles, but for the rest of the
world it falls somewhere between a WTm and a yawn.
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iere¶s the voice cast: Roseanne Barr, Dame Judi Dench, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Randy Quaid, Jennifer Tilly and Steve Buscemi. ionestly, could you possibly come
up with a weirder assortment of people if your life depended on it? That outright
bizarre mix does provide some bits of oddball humor in this ¶04 comedy about cows
fighting back against wranglers, but while we¶d love to attend a party with this guest
list, we¶re not sure we really want to watch this film again. As they say online,
random is random.
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Disney
You have to give Disney credit for at least trying to stay current, as ³Treasure
Planet´ offers one of their bolder experiments: The movie takes the beloved novel
³Treasure Island´ and reworks it as a futuristic space epic, all done with anime-
inspired artwork. Despite being nominated for an Academy Award in the new Best
Animated meature category, ³Treasure Planet´ was one of the studio¶s biggest
failures ever, taking in $38 million domestically against a production cost of $140
million. mailures like that discourage innovation, which is too bad, because we kind
of like what they were trying to do even if they didn¶t succeed in getting there.
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During the 1990s, the animation powerhouse was in the middle of the great Disney
Renaissance, which saw the studio churn out one instant classic after another, just
like in the good ol¶ days. That¶s one reason why ³iercules´ was such a big
disappointment when it came out; the flat animation and the corny storyline just
seemed kind of half-assed compared to stuff like ³The Lion King´ or ³Mulan.´
James Woods saves the whole thing from disaster with his inspired voicework as
the villainous iades.
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Squeezed in between two of the studio¶s worst movies of all time, ³The Black
Cauldron´ and ³Oliver and Company,´ 1986ƍs ³The Great Mouse Detective´ is easy
to overlook. But surprisingly enough, this movie is actually pretty good, at least
compared to those stinkburgers; an adaptation of the kids story ³Basil of Baker
Street,´ it¶s basically ³Sherlock iolmes´ only with mice and whatnot instead of
people, which is kind of cool. Of special note is the villainous Ratigan, who is
voiced by legendary horror-meister Vincent Price. This movie may not be great, but
it might be worth a second look.
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Disney
Pixar¶s John Lasseter took over Disney animation while ³Robinson¶s´ was in
development, leading to wholesale changes in order to Pixarify the movie. The
result: a pleasant and entertaining if not exactly memorable CGI adventure about a
kid and a time machine and the mayhem that follows. Coming out just three years
ago, ³Meet the Robinsons´ had a limited 3-D release, just missing the current wave
of animated megahits using that extra dimension to snare viewers. A solid movie
that was, ironically enough given its storyline, a victim of being released in the
wrong year.
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This sequel to 1977ƍs ³The Rescuers´ tried to do a lot of different things and ended
up doing most of them somewhat poorly. Set in Australia for basically no reason,
the movie took a story about a kid fighting environmental menaces in The Outback
and added the mice protagonists from ³The Rescuers´ to it. It also featured the first
extensive use of CGI in a Disney film and, unusually, had no musical numbers. The
result is a mish-mash where the mish is kind of crappy but the mash ² i.e. The
Rescuers themselves, Bernard and Miss Bianca ² is sweet.
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The last Disney film to actually be worked on by Walt himself, ³The Artistocats´ was
a good idea at the time. And the story of some cats in Paris doing a bunch of cat
stuff is still fine today. But for modern audiences, the Rat Pack-esque lead
character and the subpar animation turn this 1970 offering into one of the most out-
of-date films in the entire Disney catalogue. Bright spot: Comic relief dogs
Napoleon and Lafayette are still cool.
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The best of Disney¶s postwar anthologies, ³Ichabod and Mr. Toad´ features two
unconnected adaptations of classic non-fairy tales: The Ichabod section, of course,
covers ³The Legend of Sleepy iollow,´ while ³Mr. Toad´ is a Disneyfied version of
³The Wind in the Willows.´ Like the other anthologies, this 1949 film suffers from its
disjointed nature ² despite the title, Ichabod and Mr. Toad sadly don¶t actually
adventure together ² but the individual segments were strong enough to turn the
movie into a hit and allow Disney to start doing full-length features again, starting
just a year later with the significantly more classic ³Cinderella.´
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Disney
The hand of Pixar chief John Lasseter is all over Disney¶s ¶08 holiday crowd-
pleaser ³Bolt;´ after canning the original director because the movie was too weird
for Disney audiences, Lasseter revamped the plot and installed a new regime with
order to bang it out in record time. Throw in some voicework from Disney Channel
megastar Miley Cyrus and you pretty much have a surefire hit. ³Bolt´ is also a
genuinely entertaining movie, so even though we kind of wanted to see the original
(which featured a one-eyed cat and a radioactive rabbit), we¶re happy enough with
the version Disney actually put out.
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In the years since its ¶02 release, the profile of ³Lilo & Stitch´ has been boosted by
several direct-to-video sequels and a popular animated series on the Disney
Channel. The original film, though, shouldn¶t be hyped up for more than what it is:
an entertaining and somewhat atypical Disney adventure where the bad guy
(Stitch) is the good guy and the good guys (space cops) are trying to protect
everyone from him. Moral ambiguity takes a backseat to jokes, which is too bad,
but the voice performance by ³Kids in the iall´ stalwart Kevin McDonald is still
certainly worth your time.
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mollowing the success of ³Saludos Amigos,´ Disney returned to South and Central
America for this sequel, which landed in theaters just in time for Christmas in 1944.
The movie itself, which is another anthology comprised of South American-themed
shorts, is elevated by the title sequence, where Donald Duck and his two feathered
friends, the Brazilian parrot Jose Carioca and the Mexican rooster Panchito, sing
their theme song, ³The Three Caballeros.´ mans of Latin music and culture will
especially appreciate this film, though kids probably will fall asleep. That¶s why
sometimes it sucks to be a kid.
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OK, we were justly skeptical after hearing the admittedly lame name of this movie.
And the film, which features voicework from the likes of David Spade, John
Goodman and Eartha Kitt, does in fact revolve around an emperor who has lost his
³groove.´ But thanks to some very clever dialogue and an extremely funny turn by
Patrick Warburton as the dopey henchman Kronk, ³Groove´ turned out to be a
surprisingly good and consistently underrated movie. Definitely worth another look
if you gave up on it based on the title; this is no ³Beverly iills Chihuahua,´ that¶s for
sure.
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Yep, it¶s a good showing for Disney¶s latest heroine, as Rapunzel powers her way
into the top half of our list thanks to some spiffy use of 3-D CGI animation and fun
characterization. The fact that Disney has announced that ³Tangled´ will be their
final princess fairy tale adaptation is made particularly bittersweet considering this
movie seems to prove that the genre can still be relevant for today¶s audiences. Go
see it and find out for yourself.
Last year¶s entry in the princess genre also happened to be the first Disney film to
feature an African-American princess ² or, really, an African-American protagonist
of any kind. And no, don¶t even say ³Song of the South,´ please Jesus. But all the
³black princess´ talk may have overshadowed the fact that this is probably the best
movie Disney has made in the last decade or more. mor whatever reason,
audiences didn¶t take to ³Princess,´ leading to it underperforming at the box office
² and leading Disney to cancel adaptations of other fairy tales in the future. A sad
legacy for a really good movie.
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Of all the films on the list, ³Mulan´ probably generated the most disagreement
regarding where it should be ranked. Some felt that the film¶s combination of
memorable characters, catchy tunes, white-knuckle action and girl-power message
make it one of the best movies in Disney history. Others felt that by the time it
came out in 1998, the creative energy from the Disney Renaissance had stagnated
into a predictable formula that doomed ³Mulan´ to be nothing more than
serviceable but disposable entertainment. You¶ll have to watch it yourself to decide
whether we got it right in the end or not.
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This adaptation of Victor iugo¶s classic 1831 novel wasn¶t a huge success when it
was first released back in 1996 during the height of the Disney Renaissance; critics
panned the film for being too sanitized, but the surprisingly adult themes were still
far darker than movie crowds looking for standard Disney fare were expecting. mor
this same reason, though, the movie has become a cult hit, especially for the
creepy-cool supporting character Clopin and the sexually charged musical
sequence where Judge mrollo fantasizes about the gypsy Esmerelda. iide your
eyes, Bambi, because this isn¶t your mother¶s Disney.
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Disney
Not everyone was on board with this retelling of the near-mythical relationship
between Native American icon Pocahontas and English settler John Smith; many,
including those in the Native American community, thought it was a politically
correct whitewashing of history. Well, tish tosh. While it isn¶t perfect, ³Pocahontas´
features typically excellent animation and an engaging romp through America¶s
colonial past. Of special interest to movie buffs: The character of Thomas is voiced
by Christian Bale, who would later play Pocahontas¶s husband John Rolfe in
Terrence Malick¶s live action version of the story, ³The New World.´
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Technically speaking, ¶77ƍs ³Pooh´ was neither new nor truly a feature film per se;
it¶s actually a compilation of three previously released shorts, ³Winnie the Pooh and
the ioney Tree´ (which first came out in 1966), ³Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery
Day´ (1968) and ³Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too´ (1974). Regardless of how you
classify it, though, these adaptations of A. A. Milne¶s classic kids books remain
family favorites to this day and for most people provide the definitive version of
Winnie and friends. A 3-D sequel is set to come out next summer.
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Based on the popular series of children¶s books from Margery Sharp, ³The
Rescuers´ features a couple of heroic mice, Miss Bianca and Bernard, as they try
to save people in need through their international association of helpful mice, the
Rescue Aid Society. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor supply the voicework for this
film, which was popular enough to spawn a direct sequel in 1990. ³Rescuers´ was
also just about the only honestly good movie Disney put out between 1967ƍs
³Jungle Book´ and 1989ƍs ³The Little Mermaid,´ so that¶s something to keep in mind
if you ever find yourself stuck in the late-¶70s with nothing to do on a Sunday
afternoon.
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Music fans may remember ³Tarzan´ mainly for the Academy Award-winning song
³You¶ll Be in My ieart´ from Phil Collins, but animation buffs know this modern
masterpieces more for the fantastic backgrounds and the whirlwind jungle-chases.
The last bonafide box office smash from Disney¶s animation department, ³Tarzan´
grossed nearly $450 million worldwide while racking up an 88 percent fresh rating
on Rotten Tomatoes. There¶s pretty much nothing bad you can say about this film.
iere¶s how crazy people were in 1959: ³Sleeping Beauty´ was such a box office
disappointment that Disney fired much of the production staff and the movie was
never re-released during Walt¶s lifetime. Since then, of course, we wiser folk of the
future have come to appreciate the gorgeous score, the great art design and, most
of all, the epic climactic battle between the noble Prince Phillip and perhaps
Disney¶s greatest villain of all time, the witch-dragon Maleficent. Totally awesome.
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Cuddly bear mentor Baloo and his signature song ³The Bare Necessities´
immediately launched themselves into the realm of pop culture classics when this
adaptation of Rudyard Kipling¶s children¶s book hit theaters in ¶67. Sure, some
elements seem a little dated ² the sketchy animation technique, for instance, and
the chorus of vultures modeled on the Beatles ² but the final film to be produced
by Walt before his death remains a family favorite. It¶s also no coincidence that
Disney¶s biggest box office smash, ³The Lion King,´ drew heavily from Baloo and
company to create that whole iakuna Matata mindset.
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Like ³Alice in Wonderland,´ ³101 Dalmations´ has the distinction of also being
adapted into a successful live-action film by Disney as well. That¶s a testament to
the strength of the premise and storytelling of this hit (the biggest grossing film of
1961) rather than the animation, which was forced to go to a shabby Xerox system
after the financial tanking of Disney¶s previous film, ³Sleeping Beauty.´ But really,
here¶s all you need to know; a mom and dad dog go on a quest to save a batch of
puppies from being turned into a fur coat. iow can you not tear up at that?
Disney
Disney may have had better, more dramatic and more technically excellent movie
than ³Aladdin,´ but they¶ve certainly never had a movie that was funnier or more
fun to watch. Thanks to the manic antics of comedian Robin Williams at the height
of his powers as the wish-granting Genie, this rags-to-riches story just about jumps
right off the screen, no 3-D necessary. Nearly two decades later, ³Aladdin´ still
remains one of the most popular Disney movies of all time.
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munny thing about this adaptation of J. M. Barrie¶s famous play ² Peter Pan
himself isn¶t even close to the most beloved character in the movie. That honor
goes to either strangely loveable villain Captain iook or the enchantingly devilish
pixie Tinkerbell, depending on who you¶re talking to. Some aspects of the movie
don¶t necessarily hold up for modern audiences (the Native Americans of Tiger
Lily¶s tribe have offended some sensibilities) but the movie¶s celebration of
childhood and its charms (and dangers) remains timeless.
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The American milm Institute named this hit one of its top 100 romantic films of all
time, thanks in large part to one of the most iconic sequences in all of film, the
accidental spaghetti-eating kiss between Lady and Tramp. Interesting trivia note:
The film took so long to develop (nearly 18 years depending on how you figure it)
that Disney had time to issue a novelization of the script a full two years before the
movie¶s release in order to build up buzz.
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Clocking in at barely over an hour long, ³Dumbo´ was rushed into production in
order to recoup losses from the failure of ³mantasia;´ the movie, which was based
on a toy prototype of all things, features simplified storytelling and animation in an
attempt to cut the budget. The result? Only Disney¶s biggest box office success of
the decade, thanks to emotionally wrenching scenes like Dumbo¶s tearful meeting
with his imprisoned mother and innovative flights of fancy such as the infamous
³Pink Elephants on Parade´ sequence. Chalk one up for spontaneity.
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Disney
Like ³Cinderella´ almost 30 years earlier, ³Little Mermaid´ was a return to greatness
following a creative drought that had dogged Disney for almost two decades. The
classic calypso-tinged soundtrack helped turn a whole new generation on to
Disney and launched a new golden era of animation in America. Twenty years
later, Ariel remains the cutest ginger in movies, all apologies to Jessica Rabbit.
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Ever since ³Cinderella´ first hit theaters back in 1950, it has been hailed as one of
the studio¶s best movies. And it needed to be; at the time it came out, Disney,
which had been plowed under by the demands of World War II, hadn¶t put out a
full-length animated movie in eight long years. Everything was riding on
³Cinderella´ and thanks to classic songs like ³A Dream is a Wish Your ieart
Makes´ and ³Bibbidy-Bobbidy-Boo´ ² and a minimalistic art style that influenced
American animation for decades to come ² the film didn¶t, and still doesn¶t,
disappoint.
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Undoubtedly the most experimental and risky work attempted by Disney,
³mantasia´ was a massive flop when it debuted in 1940, due in large part to the fact
that most theaters weren¶t equipped to handle the film¶s groundbreaking audio
technology. As a result, most people never had the chance to see it in the theater,
which is part of the reason the film didn¶t actually turn a profit until 1969. By then, of
course, a new (and possibly ² just possibly ± drug-fueled) generation was ready
to embrace the breathtaking fusion of animation and classical music. Over 70
years after its creation, ³mantasia´ still manages to seem ahead of its time even
today.
Disney
Remember what we were saying earlier about ³Pinocchio´ being traumatizing for
the kiddies? Well, multiply that by 10 billion and you have ³Bambi,´ the story of how
evil humans burn and shoot cartoon animals just for the sheer hell of it. Of course,
the unforgettable line ³Your mother can¶t be with you any more´ wouldn¶t have the
same emotional impact if not for all the great character work, finely crafted
storytelling and beautiful artwork that led up to it. Still, this is maybe the saddest
moment in movies, which is why ³Bambi´ probably created more vegetarians than
every other film in iollywood history combined.
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iere¶s what you need to know about ³Beauty and the Beast:´ Until the Academy
Awards expanded their Best Picture field to 10 nominees last year, ³Beauty and the
Beast´ was the only animated film to ever earn a nod in the category. Oh, and the
film, which was hailed as an instant classic when it was released, also spawned a
wildly popular Broadway show. Plus, the bad guy uses antlers in all of his
decorating. Yep, that pretty much covers it all when it comes to the movie that
would be the greatest animated film in movie history if not for«
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Disney
When it comes to any ranking of Disney films ² or animated films in general ² the
first is still the best. Debuting in 1937, ³Snow White´ did more than just tell a
perfectly balanced story with memorable music, complex characters and incredible
art ±as the first feature-length animated movie, it also created an entirely new
artistic medium. And anyone watching ³Snow White´ today will immediately see
that this was no experiment; the new animation genre was born fully formed, as
this classic is as great now as it was 73 years ago. ³Snow White´ is, and will
always be, the number one Disney movie of all time.