Mary Poppins

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The film opens with Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) perched in a cloud high above London in Spring 1910. The action descends to Earth where Bert (Dick Van Dyke), a Cockney jack-of-all-trades is performing as a one-man band at a park entrance, where he suddenly senses that his good friend is about to return. After the show, he breaks the fourth wall and introduces the audience to the well-to-do but troubled Banks family, headed by the cold and aloof George Banks (David Tomlinson) and the loving but highly distracted suffragette Winifred Banks (Glynis Johns).

The Banks’ latest nanny, Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester), quits out of exasperation after the Banks children, Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) run off in pursuit of a wayward kite. Mr. Banks returns home from his job at the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, and Mrs. Banks reveals the children are missing. A policeman (Arthur Treacher), arrives with the children, who ask their father to help repair their damaged kite, but he dismisses them and advertises for an authoritarian nanny-replacement. Jane and Michael draft their own advertisement asking for a fun, kind-hearted and caring person, but Mr. Banks tears up the paper and throws it in the fireplace. Unnoticed, the remains of the note float up the dark chimney.

The next day, a queue of elderly and disagreeable looking candidates await at the door. However a strong gust of wind blows the queue away and Mary Poppins floats down, held aloft by her magical umbrella, to apply. Mr. Banks is stunned to see that this calmly defiant new nanny has responded to the children’s ad despite the fact he destroyed it. As he puzzles, Mary Poppins employs herself and begins work, saying that she will stay for a trial period of one week, before deciding if she will take a permanent position. The children face surprises of their own: Mary possesses a bottomless carpetbag, and makes contents of the children’s nursery come to life and tidy themselves (by snapping her fingers).

The trio then meet Bert, who is a close friend of Mary, in the park at work as a screever, where Mary uses one of his chalk pavement drawings as a gateway to an outing in an animated countryside. While in the drawing, the children ride a Merry-Go-Round while Mary and Bert enjoy a stroll though the countryside, during which Bert dances at an outdoor bistro with four penguin waiters. Mary and Bert join the children on the Merry-Go-Round, from which the horses break loose and take their riders on a trip through the countryside. As they pass by a fox hunt, Bert manoeuvres to save an Irish-accented fox from the bloodhounds. Finally the quartet finds themselves in a horse race, which Mary wins. It is here that Mary first employs the nonsense word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” The outing is interrupted by a rainstorm, which washes away the chalk drawing and returns the travellers to the park pavement.

That evening, the children ask Mary how long she’ll stay with them. With a sombre expression, she replies, “I shall stay until the wind changes”. The next day, they all visit Bert’s jovial Uncle Albert, who floats whenever he laughs, and join him in a tea party in mid-air (though Mary finds it childish and ridiculous).

Mr. Banks grows increasingly irate with his children’s stories of their adventures, but Mary effortlessly inverts his attempted dismissal of her services into a plan to take his children with him to the Dawes Tomes Mousley Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank, where he is employed. On the way there, as they pass the bank, the children see “The Bird Woman”, and they want to feed the birds, but George will have none of it as he expresses his uninterest in what Mary Poppins says and orders his children to “come along” and not mention her name for the rest of the day. Upon arriving at the bank, Mr. Dawes—Mr. Banks’ extremely elderly employer—aggressively tries to persuade Michael to invest his money in the bank to the point of actually snatching it out of his hand without waiting for his permission. When Michael protests, the other customers misunderstand, and start a run on the bank that forces the bank to suspend business. The children flee and wander into the slums of the East End of London. Fortunately, they run into Bert, now employed as a chimney sweep. He takes them safely home, explaining that their father does not hate them, but that he has problems of his own, and that unlike the children, has no-one to turn to but himself.

At home, a departing Mrs. Banks employs Bert to clean the family’s chimney and mind the children. Mary Poppins arrives back from her day off and warns of the dangers of this activity, but is too late as the children are both sucked up the chimney to the roof. Bert and Mary follow them and lead a tour of the rooftops of London that concludes with a joyful dance with Bert’s chimney-sweep colleagues. A volley of fireworks from the Banks’ eccentric neighbour, Admiral Boom, who mistakes them for Hottentots, sends the entire gathering back down the Banks’ chimney. Mr. Banks arrives home, forcing Mary to conclude the festivities. Banks then receives a phone call from work ordering him to return immediately for disciplinary action. As Mr. Banks gathers his strength, Bert points out that while Mr. Banks does need to make a living, his offspring’s childhood will come and go in a blink of an eye, and he needs to be there for them while he can. The Banks children approach their father to apologize, and Michael gives Mr. Banks his tuppence in the hope that it will make things all right. Banks gently accepts the offering.

A somber and thoughtful Mr. Banks walks alone through the night-time streets, for the first time noticing several of the buildings around him, including the cathedral and steps on which the woman was sitting earlier. At the bank, he is formally humiliated and sacked for causing the first run on the bank since 1773 (it is stated that the bank supplied the money for the shipment of tea destroyed in the Boston Tea Party). However, after being at a loss when ordered to give a statement, Mr. Banks invokes Mary Poppins’ all-purpose word “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” to tweak Mr. Dawes. He gives Dawes the tuppence, tells the old man one of Bert’s and Uncle Albert’s jokes and raucously departs. Dawes mulls over the joke, finally “gets it” and floats up into the air, laughing.

The next morning, the wind has changed direction, and so Mary must depart. Meanwhile, the Banks adults cannot find Mr. Banks, and fear that he might have become suicidal. However, Mr. Banks, now loving and joyful, reappears with the now-mended kite and cheerfully summons his children. The greatly relieved Mrs. Banks supplies a tail for the kite, using one of her suffragette ribbons. They all leave the house without a backward glance as Mary Poppins watches from a window. In the park with other kite-flyers, Mr. Banks meets Mr. Dawes Jr., who says that his father literally died laughing. Instead of being upset, the son is delighted his father died happy, and re-employs Mr. Banks to fill the opening as partner. Her work done, Mary Poppins takes to the air with a fond farewell from Bert (who was selling kites), telling her not to stay away too long.

REVIEW:

Someone actually suggested this one to me in the spring, but certain personal events put it on hold indefinitely. Today, I finally get the chance to make good on that promise.

Along with the classic hand drawn animation films of its heyday, one the Disney studios greatest productions had to be Mary Poppins.

This is everything one wold expect from a Disney film. It has bright, brilliant colors, great songs, a heart warming story, and that Disney magic. All of which have allowed it to withstand the test of time.

I was not aware, but should not be surprised, that Mary Poppins was actually a book. I suppose I should go the library and check it out. On that note, another nanny that has gained some popularity in recent years has been said to be Mary’s sister, and that is Nanny McPhee. Now, I don’t know how true or false this is, nor do I care to speculate on it, but I will look into it and see. My suspicion, though, is that they are two similar characters and people just want them to be related for some strange reason.

The songs in this film are great. Often times, a musical will have those 1 or two songs that you’ll be singing months after you watch, and the rest will be forgotten soon after they are over. Well, almost all of these songs are sure to be stuck in your head, with a couple of exceptions, and those aren’t necessarily bad, just not as catchy.

When Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was released, they all said it was the first to mix live action with cartoons. Well, those same people need to look at the scenes that take place in the sidewalk chalk art. Unless I’m seeing things, it looks very much like humans interacting with cartoons, in a cartoon world, no less!

As I said before, I have not read the book, but if this story is anywhere close to the source material then it will be a good read, because the audience can’t help but be enthralled by the plights, exploits, and adventures of each member of this cast, and how they all interact with each other.

It appears, though, that Disney altered the characterization of Mary Poppins. I’ve read that she was supposed to be a bit cruel and stern…ironically like the nanny she replaces or yo cold even go so far as to say Nanny McPhee, if you’d like.

I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the mother, but that’s just a personal preference, rather than a slight against the films. Also, the staff seems to be great comic relief. Using them a bit more might have been a good idea, as well.

Julie Andrews at this time was fresh on the scene. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, this is her big screen debut. What a debut, huh? Just think, though, things just went up from here, even if she has spent the majority of her career as either a nanny or in her later years as some sort of regal figure, such as a queen.

Dick Van Dyke is constantly getting flack for his cockney accent. People are saying that it ruins the film. Personally, I like it. His accent works for his character and throws a bit of spice into a cast that all seem to have the same cookie cutter British accent.

So, what is the final verdict on Mary Poppins? Well, this is hands down one of the best non animated Disney films. I think only Old Yeller is anywhere near as good. With a few minor exceptions, I have to say that this film is, to quote Mary Poppins, “Practically perfect in every way”.

5 out of 5 stars

Winnie the Pooh

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The film is based on three stories found in the Milne books. Two stories are from Winnie-the-Pooh: “In Which Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One” and “In Which Piglet Meets a Heffalump”. The other story is found in The House at Pooh Corner: “In Which Rabbit Has a Busy Day and We Learn What Christopher Robin Does in the Mornings”. Some elements, such as the gang thinking that Christopher Robin has been captured by a monster, are based on events from the film Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin

Pooh wakes up one day to find that he is out of honey. While out searching for more, Pooh discovers that Eeyore has lost his tail. Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, and Roo come to the rescue, and Christopher Robin decides to hold a contest to see who can find a replacement for Eeyore’s tail. The prize for the winner is a fresh pot of honey. After many failed attempts for what would replace Eeyore’s tail (such as a cuckoo clock), Kanga suggests they use a scarf, but it unravels.

The next day, Pooh goes to visit Christopher Robin and he finds a note that says “Gon Out Bizy Back Soon”. Because Pooh is unable to read the note, he asks for Owl’s help. Owl’s poor reading comprehension skills lead Pooh and his friends to believe that Christopher Robin has been abducted by a ruthless and mischievous monster they call the “Backson”. Pooh and his friends plan to trap the Backson in a pit, which they think he’ll fall into after following a trail of items leading to it. Meanwhile, Tigger, wanting a sidekick to help him defeat the Backson, recruits Eeyore to be a second Tigger. He dresses up like the Backson and tries to teach Eeyore how to fight. Eeyore, who is doing this against his will, escapes from Tigger and hides underwater.

After a failed attempt to get honey from a bee hive, Pooh’s imagination combined with his hunger get the better of him, and accidentally falls into the pit meant for the Backson. Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Eeyore (who had found an anchor whilst he was hiding to replace his own tail) try to get him out, but fall in themselves. Piglet attempts to get Pooh and friends out of the trap (though continuously irritating Rabbit with overintrepretations of his instructions, who is further miffed [though hiding it] when realising that Owl could have flown them out of the pit), but he runs into Tigger, still in his Backson outfit, and mistakes him for the actual monster. Piglet escapes from Tigger on a red balloon, which knocks some of the storybook’s letters into the pit. After the chase, Tigger and Piglet fall into the trap as well, where Eeyore reminds Tigger that he, being “the only one”, is “the most wonderful thing about Tiggers”. Eventually, Pooh figures out to use the fallen letters to form a ladder, and the animals are able to escape the pit. They soon find Christopher Robin, and tell him about the Backson, but he clarifies, saying he meant to be “back soon”.

Later, Pooh visits Owl only to find that Owl was the one that took Eeyore’s tail, not realizing it belonged to Eeyore. Owl had been using Eeyore’s tail as a bell pulley for his door. Pooh chooses to leave and return the tail to Eeyore instead of sharing a pot of honey with Owl. Christopher Robin is proud of Pooh’s kindness and rewards him with a large pot of honey.

Following the credits, it is revealed that the rumored Backson actually exists deep in the woods, but is much friendlier than imagined. He discovers the trail of objects that the animals left, and picks up each one, planning to return them to whoever owns them. He ends up falling into the pit that was originally meant for him and waits for someone to arrive and help him out. He adds, “I sure hope that fellow will be back soon”.

REVIEW:

I believe that it was around this time last year that I left a comment on someone’s blog that it won’t be long before they start remaking animated films. Sure enough, here is our first foray into that area. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Winnie the Pooh isn’t necessarily a remake, as much as it is stories from the book and other films in the Pooh franchise being spliced together with certain details being changed. For instance, remember the Huffalump and that catchy song? Well, in this film they did almost a parody of it and called it the Backson.

I had my preconceived notions of this film before I even watched it, but it got rave reviews, so I decided to see what the hype was about. Let me make one thing clear…this is not a bad film, if this is your first outing with Pooh. However, most of us grew up with the Saturday morning cartoon and probably watched The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh at some point in time.

I think the biggest drawback for me with this film was that they didn’t come up with a new story. If you’re going to release a new Pooh film, then for goodness sakes give us a new story!

I have to give kudos to much of the voice cast, especially Jim Cummings who sounds almost identical to Sterling Holloway’s tenor timbre. I was impressed. Also receiving lauds from me is Craig Ferguson. While he doesn’t sound anywhere near the original voice of Owl, he brings the character to life in his own way and maintains his personality.

The rest of the cast, though, I felt was sadly miscast. My biggest qualm is with Bud Luckey as Eeyore. For those of you who don’t know, Peter Cullen, best known as the voice of Optimus Prime, provided the voice of Eeyore since at least the 80s. I have to wonder why he didn’t for this film, unless there was some schedule conflicts with the Transformers films or he just didn’t want to be a part of what he felt was not going to be any good, which I can totally understand.

Finally, Christopher Robin is too British for my taste here, but I can live with that. What I can’t fathom is how they made Kanga almost a bitch! in every incarnation I’ve seen, Kanga has been uber-mothering, and not more or less a female version of Rabbit. Ugh! That was so frustrating.

The songs in the film are horrible. It was as if they hired some commercial jingle writer to compose all of them in like 10 minutes. The only exception is Zooey Deschanel’s  memorable take on the theme. The rest are quite forgettable.

Disney took a risk with this film. Not only was it a near remake, but it was released against arguably the most anticipated film of the summer, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt II. I do congratulate them on using hand drawn animation. We don’t get enough of this today. While this film isn’t my favorite in the Disney collection, it isn’t the worst they’ve put out. The sure family fun and sweetness factor makes it worth watching, and be sure to catch the Nessie short, as well. With all that said, this isn’t worth adding to your DVD collection,. just a couple of viewings.

3 3/4 out of 5 stars

Tarzan

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In the 19th Century, an English couple and their infant son escape a burning ship, ending up on land near uncharted rainforests off the coast of Africa. The couple craft themselves a treehouse from their ship’s wreckage, but are subsequently killed by Sabor, a rogue leopardess. Kala (Glenn Close), a gorilla whose own son was killed and eaten by the vicious leopardess, hears the cries of the orphaned infant, and finds him in the ruined treehouse where the parents’ dead bodies lie in a dark corner. Kala takes an instant liking to the baby. Kala is attacked by Sabor, who wants to kill and eat the baby, but Kala manages to get her tangled in the ropes holding the derelict rowboat, and she and the baby escape.

The kindly Kala takes the baby back to the gorilla troop to raise as her own, despite her mate Kerchak’s (Lance Henriksen) disapproval. Kala raises the human child, naming him Tarzan (Alex D. Linz as a young boy, Tony Goldwyn as a young adult). Though he befriends other gorillas in the troop and other animals, including the young female gorilla Terk (Rosie O’Donnell) and the paranoid male elephant Tantor (Wayne Knight), Tarzan finds himself unable to keep up with them, and takes great efforts to improve himself. As a young man, Tarzan is able to kill Sabor with his crude spear and protect the troop, earning Kerchak’s reluctant respect.

The gorilla troop’s peaceful life is interrupted by the arrival of a team of human explorers from England, consisting of Professor Porter (Nigel Hawthorne), his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver) and their hunter-guide Clayton (Brian Blessed). Jane is accidentally separated from the group and chased by a pack of baboons. Tarzan saves her from the baboons, and recognizes that she is the same as he is, a human. Jane leads Tarzan back to the explorers’ camp, where both Porter and Clayton take great interest in him—the former in terms of scientific progress while the latter hoping to have Tarzan lead him to the gorillas so that he can capture them and return with them to England. Despite Kerchak’s warnings to be wary of the humans, Tarzan continues to return to the camp and be taught by Porter, Clayton, and Jane to speak English and learn of the human world, and he and Jane begin to fall in love. However, they are having a hard time convincing Tarzan to lead him to the gorillas, due to Tarzan’s fear for their safety from the threat of Kerchak.

When the explorers’ boat returns to pick them up, Clayton persuades Tarzan that if he shows the group the gorillas, then Jane will stay with him. Tarzan agrees and leads the party to the gorilla troop’s home, while Terk and Tantor lure Kerchak away to avoid having him attack the humans. Porter and Jane are excited to meet and mingle with the gorillas, but Kerchak returns and threatens to kill them after witnessing Clayton threatening some gorillas with his rifle. Kerchak heads directly towards Clayton but Tarzan is forced to hold Kerchak at bay while the humans escape, and then leaves the troop himself, alienated by his actions. Kala reluctantly takes Tarzan back to the treehouse where she found him as a baby, and shows him his true past.

Encouraged by Kala to follow his heart, Tarzan decides to leave with Jane, Clayton, and Professor Porter after saying a tearful goodbye to his adopted mother. When they return to the ship, they are all ambushed by pirates and it is then revealed that Clayton desires to capture and sell the gorillas in England for a fine price. Tarzan and the others are then locked up in the hull of the ship, but are rescued by Terk and Tantor and race back to the gorilla home.

Clayton and his men arrive back in the jungle and capture the gorillas. Making their way back to the gorillas’ home, Tarzan recruits some miscellaneous animal friends (baboons, rhinos etc.), and together they fight and/or scare away the rest of Clayton’s men, imprisoning them in the very same cages they planned to imprison the gorillas in. As the rest of the gorillas (including Kala) are freed by Jane, Professor Porter, Terk and Tantor, Kerchak and Tarzan together battle Clayton. Kerchak is fatally shot while Clayton chases Tarzan into the vine-covered trees, where Tarzan gets the drop on him, destroying Clayton’s gun. Clayton pulls out a machete, in his haste to kill Tarzan, ignoring his warning about the vine wrapped around his neck. Once Clayton cuts the vine holding him up, he and Tarzan fall, but while Tarzan lands safely, Clayton is killed when the vine snaps his neck, leaving him hanged. Tarzan goes to Kerchak’s side and asks Kerchak for his forgiveness, but Kerchak instead asks for Tarzan’s for never accepting him as one of the herd and names him the new leader of the pack and calls Tarzan his son for the first time ever as he dies.

The next day, as Porter and Jane prepare to leave on a row boat, Tarzan reveals that he now plans to stay with the gorilla troop to continue his position as their new leader. As the ship leaves shore, Porter encourages his daughter to stay with the man she loves, and Jane jumps overboard to return to shore; Porter shortly follows her, telling the non-money-grubbing captain to tell the British that the crew never found them, “After all, people get lost in the jungle every day.”

REVIEW:

I’m a bit saddened to write this review because it was just brought to my attention that Tarzan was the end of the Disney Renaissance. I suppose that there are worse films that could have ended one of the best eras in Disney history, one that began with The Little Mermaid.

It may be hard to believe, but Tarzan has only been on the big screen a few times, and this is the only one time that he’s been animated.

The plot of the film is Tarzan getting orphaned by the death of his parents, who are killed by the leopard, Sabor. Kala, who had recently lost her child the same way, hears him and goes to save him. In the process she adopts him, much to the dismay of Kerchak.

As the film progresses, Tarzan struggles to gain the respect of Kerchak, who seems to be the only one that doesn’t seem to be able to get past his outward appearance.

Eventually, humans come to the jungle to study the gorillas. Well, two of them come to study, the hunter, Clayton, wants to sell them to the zoo.

After some interesting montages that show Tarzan learning how to walk and talk like human, we finally get to the climax which culminates in a battle between Tarzan and Clayton and ends rather darkly.

For those of you like me that don’t really care for all this computer animated junk that they keep shoving down our throats these days, this is the film to blame, because it is the one that really mixed the two mediums effectively and not make it look like two separate things.

Speaking on the graphics, watching Tarzan surf through the trees is a real treat. I seem to remember hearing that they used Tony Hawk as inspiration for that. Wise choice animators!

This is not a musical, but there is music in the background that is some of the best in Disney film. Phil Collins really outdid himself, if you ask me.

Apparently, in true Disney fashion, they took some liberties with the source material to make this more family friendly. Having not read the original book, I can’t really comment on this, one way or the other.

In the end, Tarzan delivers a great story, awesome music, breathtaking graphics, and yet it is underrated. Of course, in the realm of Disney films, that isn’t saying much. There are many, many great films. While this doesn’t stack up to something like say Pinocchio, it is more than worth many, many viewings.

5 out of 5 stars

Home on the Range

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Maggie is the only cow left on the Dixon Ranch after Alamida Slim (a cattle rustler capable of stealing 500 in a single night) stole all the rest of Dixon’s cattle. Mr. Dixon sells Maggie to Pearl, a kind and elderly woman that runs a small farm called Patch of Heaven.

The local Sheriff arrives to tell Pearl that her bank is cracking down on debtors. Pearl has three days to pay the bank $750, or her farm will be sold to the highest bidder. Hearing this, Maggie convinces the other cows on the farm (Grace, a happy-go-lucky character, and Mrs. Calloway, who has had leadership gone to her head) to go to town to attempt winning prize money at a fair.

While the cows are in town, a bounty hunter named Rico (who Buck, the Sheriff’s horse, idolizes) drops a criminal off and collects the reward. Stating he needs a replacement horse to go after Alamida Slim while his own horse rests, he takes Buck. When Maggie find out that the reward for capturing Slim is of exactly $750, she convinces the other cows to try and capture him to save Patch of Heaven.

That night, they hide among a large heard of steers, when Alamida Slim appears. Before any of them can do anything, Slim beings a yodeling song which sends all the cattle (except Grace, who is tone deaf) into a trance that causes them to dance madly and follow Slim anywhere. Grace is able to bring Maggie and Mrs. Calloway back to their senses just before Slim closes the path behind him with a rockslide to stop Rico and his men from chasing him.

As Rico discusses with his men what his next move will be, Buck starts talking with Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway as old friends and miming actions. This causes Rico to believe Buck is frightened by cows, and sends Buck back to the Sheriff. Buck escapes, determined to capture Slim for himself to prove his worth. Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway are left behind, but they meet a peg-legged rabbit named Lucky Jack, who leads them to the Slim’s hideout mine.

At the mine, Slim reveals that he has been stealing all cattle from his former patrons. When his former patrons can’t support their land anymore, he buys the land when it is auctioned off, under the guise of the respectable-looking Mr. O’delay, using the very money he gets from selling the cattle he stole.

After arriving to Slim’s hideout, the cows capture Slim. They run off with Slim’s accomplices and buyer in pursuit on a steam train. Rico arrives. When the chase stops, Rico is revealed to work for Slim.

Slim dons his O’delay costume and leaves the cows stranded in the middle of the desert with the train, while he goes to attend the auction. However, the cows arrive using the train to the farm and expose Slim. Slim is arrested by the police, and Patch of Heaven is saved by the reward money.

REVIEW:

 This film was said to be the demise of hand-drawn animation. Disney even publicly stated it wold be their last foray into that medium. A couple of years later, with a new guy in charge, we got The Princess and the Frog and this summer we’ll be treated to Winnie the Pooh. So, I guess Home on the Range didn’t kill hand drawn animation after all.

I’ve read some reviews about this film being the worst Disney animated picture, ever. I highly disagree. Sure, this film doesn’t stack up to many of the classics, bt it is a far cry from, say, Pocahontas.

The first thing I would change about this film is that it seemed like it wanted to be a musical, yet they just stuck some songs over it instead of having actual singing. To this, I say WTF?!?

So, what is this film actually about? Well, as with most westerns, it involved cattle rustling, but this time the cows fight back against their yodeling adversary and his nitwit nephews, with the help of a cocky, egotistical horse and jack rabbit.

You can say that the plot seems a bit clichéd and unoriginal, but how often do we see a cattle rustling movie from the cows point of view…and with a yodeling cattle rustler riding a buffalo, on top of that?

I’m not a fan of this boxy-type animation. It worked for Hercules because of the setting, but the old west isn’t ancient Greece. Last time I checked, cows were fat and round and didn’t have pointy hips.

Disney is usually great with their voice casting, and Home on the Range is no exception. The combination of Roseanne Barr, Jennifer Tilly, and Dame Judi Dench (an eclectic trio, don’t you think?) compliment and contrast each other so perfectly that you’d think they were sisters.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Buck the horse seems to bring the characterization from his Jerry Maguire role to this animated equine.

Randy Quaid made a good comedic villain. However, the most impressive of all was Steve Buscemi as Wesley.

No, his voice wasn’t impressive. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it was what yo expect. The impressive thing was how close the animators drew this guy. Looking past his diminutive stature, you would almost think it really was him.

The first time I saw this film, I was on the same page as many critics and film bashers. Of course, I was also distracted by evil children that I was being forced to watch (and make sure they didn’t tear up the house), so my opinion was a little skewered. Today, I had no such distraction and was able to actually sit down and watch. I must say that this is quite enjoyable. Granted, I think if this was going to be the last hand drawn animated film, it could have been better, but a good time can still be had by all.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Rescuers Down Under

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

In the Australian Outback, a young 8-year-old boy named Cody (voice of Adam Ryen) rescues and befriends a rare golden eagle called Marahute, who shows him her nest and eggs. Later, the boy is captured in an animal trap set by wanted local poacher Percival C. McLeach (George C. Scott). When McLeach finds one of the eagle’s feathers in the boy’s backpack he is instantly overcome with excitement, for he knows that capturing the bird would make him rich because he had caught one before (presumably Marahute’s mate). McLeach kidnaps the boy and attempts to force out of him the whereabouts of the rare eagle. McLeach throws Codys’ backpack to some crocodiles, fooling the local Rangers into thinking that Cody was eaten.

Meanwhile, a message is sent to New York to the Rescue Aid Society headquarters, and Bernard and Bianca (Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor), the RAS’ elite field agents, are assigned to the mission, interrupting Bernard’s attempt to propose marriage to Bianca. They go to find Orville the albatross who aided them previously, but instead find Wilbur, Orville’s brother. Bernard and Bianca convince Wilbur to fly them to Australia to save Cody. In Australia, they meet Jake, a kangaroo rat who is the RAS’ local regional operative. Jake later flirts with Bianca, much to Bernard’s anger. He serves as their guide and protector in search of the boy. At the same time, Wilbur is immobilized when his spinal column is bent out of its natural shape, convincing Jake to send him to the hospital.

When he refuses to undergo surgery and instead attempts to flee, Wilbur’s back is unintentionally straightened by the efforts of the mouse medical staff to prevent him escaping through a window. Cured, he departs in search of his friends. At McLeach’s ranch, Cody has been thrown into a cage with several of McLeach’s captured animals after refusing to give up Marahute’s whereabouts. Cody tries to free himself and the animals, but is thwarted by Joanna, McLeach’s pet goanna lizard. McLeach ultimately tricks Cody into thinking that someone else has shot Marahute, making Cody lead him to Marahute’s nest.

Bernard, Bianca, and Jake, half-aware of what is happening, jump onto McLeach’s Halftrack to follow him. At Marahute’s nest, the three mice try to warn Cody that he has been followed; just as they do, McLeach arrives and captures Marahute, along with Cody, Jake, and Bianca. Joanna tries to eat Marahute’s eggs, but Bernard found the nest first and replaced the eggs with stones in order to protect them. Wilbur arrives at the nest, whereupon Bernard convinces him to sit on the eagle’s eggs, so that Bernard can go after McLeach. McLeach takes Cody and Marahute to Crocodile Falls, where he ties Cody up and hangs him over a large group of saltwater crocodiles and attempts to feed him to them, but Bernard, riding a type of wild pig called a “Razorback”, which he had tamed using a horse whispering technique earlier used by Jake, follows and disables McLeach’s vehicle, preventing the use of its crane to put Cody at risk. McLeach then gets out his Winchester Model 1912 and tries to shoot the rope holding Cody above the water. To save Cody and get rid of McLeach, Bernard tricks Joanna into crashing into McLeach, sending them both into the water. The crocs chase McLeach, while behind them the damaged rope holding Cody breaks apart. McLeach tries to fight off the saltwater crocs, but only Joanna reaches the shoreline while McLeach realizes the crocs swim away because of the enormous waterfall and falls over the waterfall to his death.

Bernard dives into the water to save Cody, but fails. Jake and Bianca free Marahute in time for her to retrieve Cody and Bernard. Bernard, desperate to avoid any further incidents, proposes to marry Bianca, who accepts eagerly while Jake salutes him with a newfound respect. All of them depart for Cody’s home. Wilbur, whom they have neglected to relieve of his task, incubates the eggs until they hatch, much to his dismay

REVIEW:

 Disney is not known for making sequels to their animated films. Well, let me take that back…they don’t normally release them in theaters. The Rescuers Down Under and Fantasia 2000 are the exceptions to this rule.

This film continues where The Rescuers left off. This time our pint-sized heroes are dispatched to save a little boy in Australia.

Why Australia, you may ask? Well, for one thing, the vast countryside allowed the animators rom to show off their talents, and at the time this film was being made, America was obsessed with all things “down under”, thanks to Mel Gibson’s rising career and the Crocodile Dundee films. That is the belief, anyway. Of course, I have to wonder, if not Australia, then where?

The plot of this film, as I mentioned has our heroes saving a little boy who was kidnapped by an evil poacher that wanted the majestic golden eagle, Marahute. Especially since he already finished off (we assume) her mate. Marahute is also caring for 3 eggs that are soon to hatch. If these eggs hath, then she isn’t as valuable anymore, so McLeach and his lizard…not real sure what kind she is…also seek to get rid of them.

Believe it or not this film was released in the midst of the “Disney Renaissance”. There are no songs, though. As a matter of fact, this film is kind of dark, especially when you consider the Disney films that were released around the same time.

Some have said that the villain, McLeach, is too sadistic to be a Disney villain. To be honest, he’s no worse than classic villains such as Maleficent, The Wicked Queen, or even Shere Khan. The only difference really, is that he seems to be more realistic, unlike the previous Rescuers villain, Madame Medusa, who was more of a comic effect type.

The animation here is as gorgeous as if were live action. The scenery is very well done and the characters are what you wold expect from Disney…flawless!

The voices really fit the characters and their personalities, unlike some animated films these days.

The action scenes are pretty good, but I could have done with a few more flying scenes. I don’t know, it just seems to me that if you have a giant eagle like that, why not take advantage of her ability to soar.

One thing that has me scratching my head about the animals, it was the same way in the previous film as well, is how is it that only certain animals can talk, mostly mice, but others can’t.Wouldn’t it have been nice to hear Marahute say a few words? Maybe I’m alone in thinking that, though, as I’m sure some will say that her silence spoke louder than any words ever would.

Final verdict on The Rescuers Down Under? Well, it is obvious that the animation and technology have improved since the days of the first film. The story is told better, but I felt more of a connection to the previous one. This one seemed to focus less on our heroes until near the film’s end for some reason. It was kind of odd. Aside from that, this is a really good film and, I think, one of the most underrated of the Disney film. If you’re looking for a good family adventure flick, though, give this one a shot, but be wary of the scary images and more mature tone.

4 out of 5 stars

Beauty & the Beast

PLOT:

In the film’s prologue, an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman offers a young prince a rose in exchange for a night’s shelter. When he turns her away, she punishes him by transforming him into an ugly Beast and turning his servants into furniture and other household items. She gives him a magic mirror that will enable him to view faraway events, and she gives him the rose, which will bloom until his twenty-first birthday. He must love and be loved in return before all the rose’s petals have fallen off, or he will remain a Beast forever.

Years later, a beautiful but unusual young woman named Belle lives in a nearby French village with her father Maurice, who is an inventor. Belle loves reading and yearns for a life beyond the village. She is courted by the arrogant local hero, Gaston, but has no interest in him.

Maurice’s latest invention is a wood-chopping machine. When he rides through the woods to display the machine at a fair, he loses his way and stumbles upon the Beast’s castle, where he meets the transformed servants Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts and her son Chip. The Beast imprisons Maurice, but Belle is led back to the castle by Maurice’s horse and offers to take her father’s place. When the Beast agrees to this and sends him home, Maurice tells Gaston and the other villagers what happened, but they think he has lost his mind, so he goes to rescue Belle alone.

Meanwhile, the Beast orders Belle to dine with him, but she refuses, and Lumiere disobeys his order not to let her eat. After Cogsworth gives her a tour of the castle, she finds the rose in a forbidden area and the Beast angrily chases her away. Frightened, she tries to escape, but she and her horse are attacked by wolves. After the Beast rescues her, she nurses his wounds, he gives her the castle library as a gift, and they become friends. Later, they have an elegant dinner and a romantic ballroom dance. When he lets her use the magic mirror, she sees her father dying in the woods, and, with only hours left before the rose wilts, the Beast allows her to leave, giving her the mirror to remember him by. This horrifies the servants, who fear they will never be human again. As he watches her leave, the Beast admits to Cogsworth that he loves Belle.

Belle finds Maurice and takes him home, but Gaston arrives with a lynch mob. Unless she agrees to marry Gaston, the manager of the local madhouse will lock her father up. Belle proves Maurice sane by showing them the Beast with the magic mirror, but when she says the Beast is her friend and calls Gaston a “monster”, he becomes murderously jealous, arouses the mob’s anger against the Beast, and leads them to the castle to kill him. He locks Belle and Maurice in a basement, but Chip, who hid himself in Belle’s baggage, chops the basement door apart with Maurice’s machine.

While the servants drive the mob out of the castle, Gaston finds the Beast and attacks him. The Beast is initially too depressed to fight back, but he regains his will when he sees Belle arriving at the castle. After winning a heated battle, the Beast spares Gaston’s life and climbs up to a balcony where Belle is waiting. Gaston follows the Beast and stabs him from behind, but loses his footing and falls to his death.

As the Beast dies from his injuries, Belle whispers that she loves him, breaking the spell just before the last petal drops from the rose. The Beast comes back to life, and he and the servants become human again. The film ends as Belle and the prince dance in the ballroom with her father and the servants happily watching

REVIEW:

 In the late 80s and 90s, there was a period of time knows as the Disney Renaissance, in which some of the newer classic were released such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, along with others, but the piece de la resistance for many during that period was Beauty & the Beast.

Why, you may ask? Well, for one thing, it was the first animated feature to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, a distinction it was alone in until Up  joined the “club”.

While many of the other films during this period were great feats in animation and musicality, not to mention good family fun, Beauty & the Beast stands alone at the top…I still prefer Aladdin, though.

What is it that makes this such a great film? Well, first of all, there is the great storytelling. Some have said that this is one of the weaker tales in the Disney lore, but I disagree, and don’t give me that it is so cliché. For goodness sakes, this is not an original story. Sure they changes a few things here and there, but the basic premise is still intact, and I, for one, am glad they didn’t try to mutate that into something unrecognizable just to please some critic who thinks everyone should bow down to his wants and needs.

The next reason for greatness here is the animation. With the exception of the ballroom scene, this is almost all hand drawn (excluding the painted backgrounds). I find it amazing how hand drawn animation, in a manner similar to stop-motion animation, makes things seem so much better, as opposed to the computer animated stuff (no offense to Pixar). Sure, some of the ancillary characters seem a bit…off…but it is that level of humanity that makes it so much better and not manufactured.

The characters are great, led by both Belle and Beast. For those of you that don’t care for talking animals, then you may love this one. Unless you count Beast as one, there are none. Of course, this is an enchanted castle, so the silverware and appliances talk (and sing).

Gaston may not be the greatest Disney villain. You can argue that point between Maleficent and Jafar. However, his cruel, twisted, bloodthirst is something to be respected in a villanous..er…villain. His sidekick, LeFou, was a good foil and comic relief as he was the complete opposite of Gaston.

With all that said, the thing that makes this film stand out, for me at least, is the music. As a musician, of course I’m going to notice it, but how can you not. Now, the songs aren’t as memorable as other films such as Aladdin or The Lion King, but there are 2 standouts. Lumiere’s showstopping ”Be Our Guest” and Mrs. Pott’s gorgeous ballad, the titular “Beauty & the Beast”. Both songs are Alan Menken and Howard Ashman at their best.

Some has queried why the Disney films went downhill. Well, as this was finished and Aladdin was nearing completion, Howard Ashman, the man who brought many of the great songs to the Disney Renaissance, succumbed to the AIDS virus. I can only but wonder what would have happened had he not passed away.

Now I have to ask you, why is it that you have yet to see this film? Are you anti-Disney or something? There are very few films I’ve seen, animated or not, that have proven to be better than this one, let alone have a lasting an impression/legacy as Beauty & the Beast. I’m sure you can find issues here and there, but in what film can you not? For the handful of you that haven’t seen this, what are you waiting for. Run, don’t walk to get this and check it out!

5 out of 5 stars

Fantasia

PROGRAM:

Some of the works played in the film are program music; that is, instrumental music that depicts or suggests stories in sound. However, the Disney program is generally not the same as the original. This criticism was addressed in the film itself. The host and narrator of the film, Deems Taylor, introduces each piece in the program and gives background on the original intent of the composer. There is no intent to deceive anyone into thinking that the Disney visual accompaniment was the “original intent” of the composer.

Some of the musical works selected were shortened from their full length for the sake of the film’s running time. Of the eight pieces, four are presented virtually complete: Toccata and Fugue, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, the Dance of the Hours (which is actually expanded), and the Ave Maria. The Nutcracker Suite is shorn of its Miniature Overture and March, the twenty-five minute Rite of Spring (the longest segment in the film) is ten minutes shorter than the original thirty-five minute work, and the Pastoral Symphony segment is performed in a twenty-minute version rather than Beethoven’s complete forty-minute original. There are also small internal omissions in Night on Bald Mountain.

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

• Musical score: Johann Sebastian Bach – Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV 565 (Stokowski’s own orchestration)
• Directed by Samuel Armstrong
• Story development: Lee Blair, Elmer Plummer, and Phil Dike
• Art direction: Robert Cormack
• Background painting: Joe Stahley, John Hench, and Nino Carbe
• Visual development: Oskar Fischinger
• Animation: Cy Young, Art Palmer, Daniel MacManus, George Rowley, Edwin Aardal, Joshua Meador, and Cornett Wood

Fantasia begins immediately (there are no opening credits or logos of any sort) with the curtains being opened to reveal an orchestra stand. Musicians are seen ascending the stand, taking their places, and tuning their instruments. Master of ceremonies Deems Taylor arrives and delivers an introduction to the film. Stokowski appears and begins conducting the first strains of his own orchestration of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, by Johann Sebastian Bach (originally written for solo organ).

The first third of the Toccata and Fugue is in live-action, and features an orchestra playing the piece, illuminated by abstract light patterns synchronized to the music and backed by stylized (and superimposed) shadows. The first few parts of the piece are played in each of the three sound channels (first the right, then the left, then the middle, then all of them) as a demonstration of Fantasound. The number segues into an abstract animation piece—a first for the Disney studio—synchronized to the music. Toccata and Fugue was inspired primarily by the work of German abstract animator Oskar Fischinger, who worked for a brief time on this segment. The animation segues back into the live-action footage of Stokowski as the piece concludes, setting the precedent for the rest of the musical numbers.

Although the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded the music for the film (excepting The Sorcerer’s Apprentice), they do not appear onscreen; the orchestra used onscreen in the film is made up of local Los Angeles musicians and Disney studio employees like James Macdonald and Paul J. Smith, who mime to the prerecorded tracks by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Originally, the Philadelphia Orchestra was slated to be filmed in the introduction and interstitial segments, but union and budgetary considerations prevented this from coming to pass.

Nutcracker Suite

• Musical score: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Nutcracker Suite Op. 71a
• Directed by Samuel Armstrong
• Story development: Sylvia Moberly-Holland, Norman Wright, Albert Heath, Bianca Majolie, and Graham Heid
• Character designs: John Walbridge, Elmer Plummer, and Ethel Kulsar
• Art direction: Robert Cormack, Al Zinnen, Curtiss D. Perkins, Arthur Byram, and Bruce Bushman
• Background painting: John Hench, Ethel Kulsar, and Nino Carbe
• Animation: Art Babbitt, Les Clark, Don Lusk, Cy Young, and Robert Stokes
• Choreography: Jules Engel

The Nutcracker Suite, a selection of pieces from Tchaikovsky’s now-classic ballet The Nutcracker, is a personified depiction of the changing of the seasons; first from summer to autumn, and then from autumn to winter. Unlike the original Tchaikovsky ballet, this version of The Nutcracker has no plot. It features a variety of dances, just as in the original, but danced by animated fairies, fish, flowers, mushrooms, and leaves; no actual nutcracker is ever seen in this version. Many elements are rendered carefully and painstakingly using techniques such as drybrush and airbrush. The musical segments are as follows:

• As dawn breaks over a meadow, during the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”, tiny fairies sprinkle drops of dew on every flower and stern.
• A cluster of tiny mushrooms, dressed in long robes and coolie hats resembling Chinese (plus one little mushroom always out-of-step), perform the “Chinese Dance”.
• Multicolored blossoms shaped like ballerinas perform the “Dance of the Flutes”.
• A school of underwater goldfish perform a graceful “Arab Dance”.
• High-kicking thistles, dressed like Cossacks, and orchids, dressed like lovely Russian peasant girls, join together for the wild “Russian Dance”.
• In the final musical segment, “Waltz of the Flowers”, autumn fairies color everything they touch brown and gold with their wands. Then the frost fairies arrive and everything becomes part of an icy, jewellike pattern among falling snow flakes.

One quaint novelty of the full-length roadshow version of Fantasia is that, during his commentary on the Nutcracker Suite, Deems Taylor observes that the complete ballet The Nutcracker “is never performed anymore.” The United States did not see a complete staging of the Nutcracker until 1944, four years after Fantasia. This staging was performed by the San Francisco Ballet, which was the first company to begin performing the ballet annually at Christmas time in the U.S.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

• Musical score: Paul Dukas – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
• Directed by James Algar
• Story development: Perce Pearce and Carl Fallberg
• Art direction: Tom Codrick, Charles Phillipi, and Zack Schwartz
• Background painting: Claude Coats, Stan Spohn, Albert Dempster, and Eric Hansen
• Animation supervisors: Fred Moore and Vladimir Tytla
• Animation: Les Clark, Riley Thompson, Marvin Woodward, Preston Blair, Edward Love, Ugo D’Orsi, George Rowley, and Cornett Wood

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, perhaps the best-known Mickey Mouse short after his debut in Steamboat Willie (1928), was adapted from Goethe’s poem “Der Zauberlehrling”. It is the story of wizard Yen Sid’s ambitious, but lazy, assistant who attempts to work some of the magical feats of his master before he knows how to properly control them. Mickey plays the role of the apprentice. After the wizard leaves, apparently to go to sleep, he leaves behind his wizard’s hat. Mickey takes the hat and after reading a few pages of the Sorcerer’s spell book, magically causes a broom to come to “life” and perform his chore (fetching water from the well and pouring into a stone basin in the wizard’s laboratory). Mickey directs the broom in his chore but falls asleep and dreams that he is a powerful wizard controlling the mighty seas and starry skies; he wakes to find that the basin is overflowing and the broom is still filling it up. After trying repeatedly to halt the broom, Mickey panics, grabs an axe and chops the broom to pieces, but each piece comes to life, forming hundreds of new brooms which continue to fill the basin over and over, causing a monstrous flood. Mickey races to the wizard’s spellbook to find a counter-spell, but to no avail. After nearly drowning in a giant whirlpool, Mickey is rescued by the wizard, who returns and magically halts the flood and causes all the brooms to vanish. Angrily, he surveys the damage wrought by his apprentice (giving what Disney animators termed “The Dirty Disney Look”; the one raised eyebrow was an oft-repeated stare of disapproval from their boss). The embarrassed apprentice sheepishly defers to his master and returns to his work. The wizard displays a hint of a smile, secretly enjoying the humor of the situation, and hits him on the behind with the now inanimate broom, sending him scurrying from the room. (The sorcerer’s anger with his apprentice as depicted in Fantasia does not appear in the Goethe poem – in the poem, the sorcerer finds the situation amusing and chides his apprentice for it.)

After the music ends, Mickey and conductor Leopold Stokowski, seen in silhouette, congratulate each other with a live-action/animation handshake. In the original roadshow version, after Mickey leaves, Deems Taylor and the musicians are seen applauding Mickey and Stokowski.

The Rite of Spring

• Musical score: Igor Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring
• Directed by Bill Roberts and Paul Satterfield
• Story development/research: William Martin, Leo Thiele, Robert Sterner, and John Fraser McLeish
• Art direction: McLaren Stewart, Dick Kelsey, and John Hubley
• Background painting: Ed Starr, Brice Mack, and Edward Levitt
• Animation supervision: Wolfgang Reitherman and Joshua Meador
• Animation: Philip Duncan, John McManus, Paul Busch, Art Palmer, Don Tobin, Edwin Aardal, and Paul B. Kossoff
• Special camera effects: Gail Papineau and Leonard Pickley

Disney’s imaginitive re-interpretation of the music to The Rite of Spring features a condensed version of the history of the Earth from the formation of the planet, to the first living creatures, to the age, reign, and extinction of the dinosaurs. The sequence showcased realistically animated prehistoric creatures including Tyrannosaurus, Dimetrodon, Parasaurolophus, Apatosaurus, Triceratops, Ornithomimus, and Stegosaurus, and used extensive and complicated special effects to depict volcanoes, boiling lava, and earthquakes. The large carnivorous dinosaur attacking the Stegosaurus is a Tyrannosaurus according to the preliminary introduction to the segment by Deems Taylor, and concept sketches by the artists. Disney also changed the order of the movements in the piece. The segment, after beginning with the first, second and third movements, omits the fourth and reorders all the others. The Danse de la terre is placed near the end of the cartoon rather than midway through the work. At the end, the orchestra replays the slow introduction to the Rite, which does not happen in the original work. (The original ends with a violent Sacrificial Dance – also omitted in the Disney version – and an orchestral crash.)

The roadshow version of the film features a humorous moment omitted from the general release version. When Deems Taylor announces the title of the work, there is a sudden loud crash in the percussion section, and we see that the chimes player has accidentally fallen against his instrument. He sheepishly gets up, to the amused chuckling of Taylor and the other musicians.

Intermission/Meet the Soundtrack

• Directed by Ben Sharpsteen and David D. Hand
• Key animation by Joshua Meador

Deems Taylor announces a fifteen-minute intermission following the conclusion of The Rite of Spring. The musicians are seen departing the orchestra stand, and the doors close to reveal a title card. In a proper roadshow of Fantasia, the theater’s curtains would close simultaneously with the closing doors on the screen, and the title card would remain projected for fifteen minutes while the guests are briefly excused. Following the intermission, the film would be started again. Onscreen, the stage doors are opened again, and Taylor and the orchestra musicians are seen returning to their respective places.

After the intermission there is a brief jam session of jazz music led by a clarinetist in the orchestra, followed immediately by the Meet the Soundtrack sequence which gives audiences a stylized example of how sound is rendered as waveforms to record the music for Fantasia. The sequence is narrated by Taylor and features animation by effects animator Joshua Meador and his team, who give the soundtrack (initially a squiggly line which changes into various shapes based upon the individual sounds played on the soundtrack) a distinct personality.

The instruments are a harp, violin, flute, trumpet, bassoon, and percussion including the bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, and triangle

The Pastoral Symphony

• Musical score: Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 6 in F, Op.68 “Pastorale”
• Directed by Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, and Ford Beebe
• Story development: Otto Englander, Webb Smith, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Bill Peet, and George Stallings
• Character designs: James Bodrero, John P. Miller, Lorna S. Soderstrom
• Art direction: Hugh Hennesy, Kenneth Anderson, J. Gordon Legg, Herbert Ryman, Yale Gracey, and Lance Nolley
• Background painting: Claude Coats, Ray Huffine, W. Richard Anthony, Arthur Riley, Gerald Nevius, and Roy Forkum
• Animation supervision: Fred Moore, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Art Babbitt, Oliver M. Johnston, Jr., and Don Towsley
• Animation: Berny Wolf, Jack Campbell, Jack Bradbury, James Moore, Milt Neil, Bill Justice, John Elliotte, Walt Kelly, Don Lusk, Lynn Karp, Murray McClellan, Robert W. Youngquist, and Harry Hamsel

The Pastoral Symphony utilized delicate color styling to depict a mythical ancient Greek world of centaurs, pegasi, the gods of Mount Olympus, fauns, cupids, and other legendary creatures and characters of classical mythology. It tells the story of the mythological creatures gathering for a festival to honor Bacchus, the god of wine riding his horned donkey, Jacchus, which is interrupted by Zeus, who decides to have a little fun by throwing lightning bolts at the attendees.

Disney originally intended to use Cydalise by Gabriel Pierné as the music for the mythological section of the program. However, due to problems fitting the story to the music, the decision was made to abandon Cydalise for other music.

This portion of the film was criticized for brief yet blatant nudity on the part of the female centaurs. Other criticisms center on the racial images of a female centaur servant named Sunflower, who is part African human, part donkey, and two attendants to Bacchus who are part African Amazons, part zebra. The servant has been excised from all prints in circulation since 1969 (often by the use of pan and zoom, so the scene doesn’t focus on her), although the clip has recently turned up on various blogs and internet media. The zebra female centaurs have always remained in the film.

Dance of the Hours

• Musical score: Amilcare Ponchielli – La Gioconda: Dance of the Hours.
• Directed by T. Hee and Norm Ferguson
• Character designs: Martin Provensen, James Bodrero, Duke Russell, Earl Hurd
• Art direction: Kendall O’Connor, Harold Doughty, and Ernest Nordli
• Background painting: Albert Dempster and Charles Conner
• Animation supervision: Norm Ferguson
• Animation: John Lounsbery, Howard Swift, Preston Blair, Hugh Fraser, Harvey Toombs, Norman Tate, Hicks Lokey, Art Elliott, Grant Simmons, Ray Patterson, and Franklin Grundeen.

The dancers of the morning are represented by Madame Upanova and her ostriches. The dancers of the daytime are represented by Hyacinth Hippo and her servants. (For this section the piece is expanded by a modified and reorchestrated repetition of the “morning” music.) The dancers of the evening are represented by Elephanchine and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe. The dancers of the night are represented by Ben Ali Gator and his troop of alligators. The finale sees the chaotic chase that ensues between all of the characters seen in the segment until they eventually decide to dance together. The segment ends with the palace collapsing in on itself.

Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria

• Musical score:
  • Modest Mussorgsky – Night on Bald Mountain and
  • Franz Schubert – Ave Maria
• Directed by Wilfred Jackson
• Story development: Campbell Grant, Arthur Heinemann, and Phil Dike
• Art direction: Kay Nielsen, Terrell Stapp, Charles Payzant and Thor Putnam
• Background painting: Merle Cox, Ray Lockrem, Robert Storms, and W. Richard Anthony
• Special English lyrics for Ave Maria by Rachel Field
• Choral director: Charles Henderson
• Operatic solo: Julietta Novis
• Animation supervision: Vladimir Tytla
• Animation: John McManus, William N. Shull, Robert W. Carlson, Jr., Lester Novros, and Don Patterson
• Special animation effects: Joshua Meador, Miles E. Pike, John F. Reed, and Daniel MacManus
• Special camera effects: Gail Papineau and Leonard Pickley

This is the only animated segment in the film that blends two entirely separate musical compositions by two different composers. The Night on Bald Mountain segment is a showcase for animator Bill Tytla, who gave the demon Chernabog a power and intensity rarely seen in Disney films. The nocturnal Chernabog summons from their graves empowered restless souls, until driven away by the sound of a church bell. Noted actor Béla Lugosi served as a live action model for Chernabog, and spent several days at the Disney studio, where he was filmed doing evil, demon-like poses for Tytla and his unit to use as a reference. Tytla later deemed this reference material unsuitable and had studio colleague Wilfred Jackson perform in front of the cameras for the reference footage.

The horror of the demons, ghosts, skeletons, witches, harpies, and other evil creatures in Night on Bald Mountain comes to an abrupt end with the sound of the Angelus bell, which send Chernabog and his followers back into hiding, and the multiplane camera tracks away from Bald Mountain to reveal a line of faithful robed monks with lighted torches. The camera slowly follows them as they walk through the forest and ruins of a cathedral to the sounds of the Ave Maria. The animation of the worshipers is some of the smallest animation ever done: the camera had to be so close to some of the work that it had to be rendered at only an inch or so high. Even a slight deviation in the width of the final painted line would have been distracting to a movie audience on the big screen. The entire sequence had to be reshot twice, once because the wrong focal length lens was used, and once because of a small earth tremor that shook the animation planes out of alignment. The multiplane camera then finally tracks through the trees to reveal a sunrise as the film fades to its conclusion.

Originally the plan was for the procession to enter an actual church, and there are numerous concept drawings of gothic architecture, stained glass windows, and actual statues of the Virgin Mary as can be seen on the Fantasia Anthology bonus disc and the interactive art gallery on the 2010 Fantasia releases. Ultimately, this ending was deemed too overtly religious by Walt, and he opted for a more natural setting instead. However, the forest design in the segment still mimics that of a cathedral with an overtly gothic motif.

REVIEW:

 Walt Disney often called Fantasia his opus, or masterpiece. After you see it, you’ll understand why!

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. This is not your typical Disney picture, filled with talking animals and/or a fairy tale princess, but rather this one of the package feature films that was made during the war to save costs.

There is no real plot here, just various segments, all of which are the artists ideas of what one would see listening to the beautiful orchestral music.

Audiences today just aren’t into this kind of thing ,but when this was released it was a humongous accomplishment, despite the apparent failure commercially of the film.

There are two big highlights of this film for me. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and A Night on Bald Mountain. Both of these are beautiful examples of what the Disney animators could really do. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the sequences are beautifully animated as well, but these are my favorites.

Aside from the gorgeous animation, one has to commend the musicians that gave such brilliant performances in this picture and really brought this music to life and perhaps to audiences that had never heard it before.

As I said in my review of Fantasia 2000, this is not the film for everyone. As with any other genre of music, there are just those that don’t care for the classics, and as such they would either be bored or miserable watching this film, despite the perfect animation. However, if you are not one of those people, or can get over your distaste of classical music, then check out Fantasia and see why Disney calls this his masterpiece. You will not be disappointed!

5 out of 5 stars

Brother Bear

PLOT:

The film is set in a post-ice age North America, where the local tribesmen believe all creatures are created through the Spirits, who are said to appear in the form of an aurora. Three brothers, Kenai, Denahi and Sitka, return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his sacred totem, its meaning being what he must achieve to call himself a man. Unlike Sitka, who gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi who gained the wolf wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love, much to his objections, stating that bears are thieves. His point is made a fact when a bear steals some salmon. Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear, but a fight follows on an glacier, Sitka giving his life to save his brothers, although the bear survives. Vengeful, Kenai heads out to avenge Sitka. He chases the bear up onto a mountain and kills it, unaware that the mountain is where the Spirits make contact with the Earth. The Spirits, represented by Sitka’s spirit in the form of a bald eagle, transforms Kenai into a bear. Denahi arrives, mistaking Kenai for dead, and his bear form is responsible for it, vows to avenge Kenai.

Kenai falls down some river rapids, survives, and is healed by Tanana, the shaman of Kenai’s tribe. She does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain to find Sikta and be turned back to normal. Kenai quickly discovers the wildlife can talk, meeting two brother mooses, Rutt and Took. He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by a chatty bear cub named Koda. The two bears make a deal, Kenai will go with Koda to a nearby salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. The two eventually form a sibling-like bond, Koda revealing his mother is missing. The two are hunted by Denahi who fails multiple times to kill Kenai, still unaware that he is his brother. Rutt and Took run into the bears multiple times, the group hitching a ride on a herd of mammoths to quicken the pace to the salmon run, but the moose are left behind when the bears move on. Kenai and Koda escape Denahi again, and reach the salmon run, where a large number of bears live as a family, including the leader Tug, a black bear. Kenai becomes very much at home and at content with the other bears. During a discussion among the bears, Koda tells a story about his mother fighting human hunters, making Kenai realize he killed Koda’s mother.

Guilty and horrified, Kenai runs away but Koda soon finds him. Kenai subtly reveals the truth to Koda, who runs away grief-stricken. An apologetic Kenai leaves to reach the mountain. Rutt and Took, having fallen out, reform their brotherhood in front of Koda, prompting him to go after Kenai. Denahi confronts Kenai on the mountain, but their fight is intervened by Koda who steals Denahi’s hunting pike. Kenai goes to Koda’s aid out of love, prompting Sitka to appear and turn him back into a human, much to Denahi and Koda’s surprise. However, Kenai asks Sitka to transform him back into a bear so he can look after Koda. Sitka complies, and Koda is reunited briefly with the spirit of his mother, before she and Sitka return to the Spirits. In the end, Kenai lives with the rest of the bears and gains his title as a man, through being a bear.

REVIEW:

I always have found it difficult to watch the “post-Renaissance” Disney films, because they seem to have no heart, soul, and appear to have been made just because they were in the already in production before someone decided that everyone wanted to see computer animation as opposed to the classic hand drawn stuff. There are exceptions to this rule, but Brother Bear is not one.

This film has it’s moments, but they all seem recycled and/or borrowed from other animated tales. The only thing that may be original is the whole thing about the big brother turning Kenai into a bear, but even that doesn’t exactly sit well with me. I feel like I’ve seen that before somewhere. Maybe not in that exact context, but it feels as if it had been done.

This is the point where Brother Bear fails to connect with the audience. True, the story is actually touching, especially when it is reveled that the bear Kenai killed was Koda’s mother, but with all the unoriginal elements, it starts to die a slow and painful death.

What makes it worse is that there was nothing here to really capture my attention. Sure Koda was cute and hyper, and Rutt and Took were obvious comic relief, but none of them made me sit up and want to not leave my seat everytime they were on the screen. Characters that have done that in previous Disney films are Mushu, Genie, Sebastian, Lumiere, Creeper, etc.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that, in a manner similar to Pocahontas, this film just gets too serious, and it really does. If not for the montage when Koda and Kenai meet up with the other bears at the salmon run, this thing might as well have just been an animated drama. Even the comic relief wasn’t very comical.

There are a few good things about this picture, though. For instance, the animation, as with everything Disney, is sensational, topped with the sequences involving the spirits and the lights.

Phil Collins’ score and songs, while not in musical form, do help move the film along. I think it would have been better if this was a musical like the good ol Disney flicks, but hey, that’s just me.

Brother Bear fails to deliver an entertaining film, but at the same time it does manage to tell a captivating tale complete with a good moral. This is far from being my favorite Disney flick. As a matter of fact, it may very well, be near the bottom. For me, it just wasn’t good enough. Maybe I just hold Disney to higher standards or something, but this just didn’t deliver the goods. Still, I would recommend it to those that are in the mood for a hand drawn animated flick, even if it is barely average.

3 out of 5 stars

The Emperor’s New Groove

PLOT:

Kuzco (David Spade) is the self-centered teenaged emperor of a mountainous jungle nation. One day, he summons Pacha (John Goodman), the headman of a nearby village, to inform him that he is building his enormous summer home, Kuzcotopia, on the site of Pacha’s house. Pacha attempts to protest, and is dismissed. Kuzco’s ancient, power-hungry advisor Yzma (Eartha Kitt) and her easily-distracted lackey Kronk (Patrick Warburton) then attempt to poison Kuzco so that she can take control of the empire, but the supposed poison turns out to be a potion which turns Kuzco into a llama.

After knocking Kuzco unconscious, Yzma orders Kronk to dispose of him, but conscience-stricken Kronk loses the sack holding Kuzco. Kuzco ends up in Pacha’s village, accuses Pacha of kidnapping him and demands that Pacha help him return to the palace. Pacha refuses unless Kuzco builds his summer home elsewhere, and Kuzco attempts to find his own way home. He ends up surrounded by a pack of jaguars, only to be saved by Pacha. Meanwhile, Yzma assumes command of the nation, but when Kronk reveals he never killed Kuzco, the two head out and begin to search the local villages for him.

Kuzco feigns agreement with Pacha’s demand, and Pacha leads him back toward the palace. They stop at a roadside diner, and Yzma and Kronk arrive shortly after. Pacha overhears Yzma discussing their plans to kill Kuzco, and attempts to warn him. Kuzco, convinced Yzma is loyal, berates Pacha and returns to Yzma, only to overhear Yzma and Kronk discussing that they are seeking to kill him, and that the kingdom doesn’t miss him. Kuzco realizes Pacha was right, but Pacha has left. After a repentant Kuzco spends the night alone in the jungle, the two reunite. They race back to the palace, with Yzma and Kronk chasing them until the pursuers get hit by lightning and fall into a chasm.

Kuzco and Pacha arrive at Yzma’s laboratory only to find that their pursuers somehow got there first (by a method which, humorously, not even they know). Kronk changes sides after a vicious tongue-lashing from Yzma, and gets dropped down a trapdoor. Yzma summons the palace guards, forcing Kuzco and Pacha to grab all of the transformation potions they can and flee. After trying several formulas that convert Kuzco to other animals, and then back to a llama, they escape the guards (but not Yzma) and find they are down to only two vials. Yzma accidentally steps on one of the two, turning herself into a tiny kitten. She still almost manages to obtain the antidote, but is thwarted by the sudden reappearance of Kronk. Kuzco becomes human again and sets out to redeem himself, building a small summer cabin on the hill next to Pacha’s home. Meanwhile, outdoorsman Kronk becomes a scout leader, with kitten-Yzma forced to be a member of the troop.

REVIEW:

When I first saw the title to this film, I thought it was going to be Disney’s version of The Emperor’s New Clothes. I was mistaken, but it was still worth the viewing. I wonder if they do have any plans of making Emperor’s New clothes into some kind of feature. Hmmm….

The Emperor’s New Groove starts out with a short monologue of our main character Kuzco, lamenting on how he got to the point of being alone in the rain and as a llama. This is followed by the groovy theme song as the film kicks off into full swing with Tom Jones’ “Perfect World”.

When it comes to the characters in this films, they are very well developed, especially Kuzco. In previous Disney films, it tends to be that the most disliked characters are the villains, but Kuzco breaks that mold. I belive that this has to do with the way David Spade characterizes him.

Speaking of villains, we have a bit of yin and yang here with Yzma and Kronk. Yzma, voiced by the late, great Eartha Kitt is your typical comedic villain with homicidal tendencies. The perfect villain for the tone of this film. Kronk, her sidekick, is the lovable jock type, and by Kuzco’s introduction, boy toy. While he is loyal to Yzma, it is apparent that he is a good (read naively innocent) guy at heart.

The film moves at a fairly rapid pace. As with almost every picture, there is a lull to slow things down right before the climax.

The plot is pretty good, though I would like to know where Kuzco’s parents were and how Yzma practically raised him. That’s not a complaint, but rather a curiosity.

John Goodman, who has become a go-to guy for Disney when it comes to voices, similar to the way Phil Harris was back in the day, voices Pacha. Pacha is, for lack of a better term, Kuzco’s sidekick. I say that because, he accompanies him through the jungle and back to the palace to help him become human again. Make no mistake, though, Pacha is not a yes man, he has his own opinions and ways of doing things, and will stand up for himself.

I guess my one complaint about this film is that, as good as it is, it doesn’t stand up to the films of the Disney Renaissance or the classic films. Having said that, it is one of the better post-Renaissance films, and highly underrated, if you ask me.

I don’t know much about llamas, except for that internet song a few years back, “Llama, llama, duck”. The fact that the animators chose to use a llama as the main character was pure inspiration. I would have never guessed to use such an obscure animal, but that may have been the reason they used it. This is totally a great film for everyone, so check it out and enjoy!

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Princess and the Frog

 

PLOT:

The movie opens with the evening star twinkling above New Orleans. A young Tiana and Charlotte La Bouff are listening to the story of The Frog Prince as told by Tiana’s mother. Charlotte is thrilled with the idea of finding a prince, while Tiana vows she will never need to. Instead she shares a dream with her father: to open a restaurant of their own.

Years pass and Tiana is now working as a waitress, skimping and saving, and seems to have let go of having fun in favor of her dream, as her father has now passed on. She finally makes the money and shows the plans for her restaurant to her mother, who insists that she needs to look at other parts of life and that even though her father never got what he wanted, he had what he needed: love.

Meanwhile, Prince Naveen arrives in the city with his butler Lawrence. The prince has been cut off by his parents for his play-boy lifestyle and either has to marry or get a job to support himself. He plans to wed Charlotte to gain her fortune. The two soon meet up with Dr. Facilier, who turns Naveen into a frog and gets Lawrence to join him in his plot to rule New Orleans.

At the La Bouff grand ball, Tiana learns that another client put down an offer on the building she wanted for her restaurant, and is now left with nothing unless she can top him by Wednesday. Having given up hope, she desperately wishes on a star, when frog Naveen appears. Thinking her a princess, he convinces her to kiss him, but the spell backfires and she becomes a frog as well.

The two are chased out as Lawrence uses a voodoo charm to impersonate the prince and win the heart of Charlotte. It requires Naveen’s blood however, so Facilier sends out his voodoo spirits to retrieve the prince, who has escaped to the bayou with Tiana. He plans to get Charlotte’s money, kill her father Big Daddy La Bouff, and take over New Orleans, feeding the souls of the citizens to his voodoo friends.

In the bayou, Tiana and Naveen encounter Louis, an alligator who wants to be a jazz musician, and Ray, a Cajun firefly who is in love with a star he has named Evangeline. They take them to see Mama Odie, the good voodoo priestess of the swamp. Along the way, Naveen falls in love with Tiana. They eventually reach Mama Odie, who insists they need to dig deeper to get what they want. Naveen realizes this means being with Tiana.

Mama Odie reveals that for the two to become human, Naveen must kiss Charlotte, who is the Mardi Gras Princess. Naveen plans on proposing to Tiana, but she shows more interest in her dream than in him and he thinks she doesn’t reciporate his feelings. He decides to marry Charlotte and give Tiana her money so Tiana can open her restaurant. However, he is kidnapped by the voodoo spirits, and as they search for him Ray reveals to Tiana that Naveen truly loves her.

Tiana rushes to the Mardi Gras parade to find Lawrence marrying Charlotte in the Naveen disguise, having re-fueled the voodoo charm. Broken hearted, she runs to the graveyard and tells Ray that Evangeline is just as star and he will never actually meet her. Ray rushes off and manages to free the real Prince Naveen and steal the charm, causing Lawrence to resume true form and become arrested. He gives it to Tiana just before Facilier crushes him.

Facilier offers Tiana her restaurant, as well as her human form back, but Tiana realizes that love and following your heart is more important than taking the easy way, like her mother had said. She shatters Facilier’s charm, releasing the voodoo spirits from within who proceed to drag a screaming Facilier into their world for failing them. Naveen offers Charlotte marriage, but Tiana confesses she’d rather have him as a frog than have her restaurant because she is in love with him. Charlotte offers to kiss him so he can marry Tiana, but it is too late. Mardi Gras is over and she is no longer a princess.

Louis finds Ray and rushes him to the pair. He gets to see them together and happy before he dies from his injuries. At Ray’s funeral, they look up and see that another star has appeared next to Evangeline.

Naveen and Tiana are married in the bayou by Mama Odie. Their kiss turns them back into humans because Tiana is now a princess married to royalty. The two go back home and get back the building by having Louis threaten the real estate agents. They work together and open Tiana’s restaurant, where Louis plays trumpet in his band. The movie ends with them kissing as the evening star, Evangeline, twinkles from above.

REVIEW:

Remember the days when movies were hand drawn and in 2D? Well, if The Princess and th Frog is any indication, they may be coming back. I’ll admit, I’m a Disney freak, and have been looking forward to this film longer than just about any movie in my life, including both Transformers. After watching this afternoon, I can say with pride that it did not disappoint.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Tiana, is Disney’s first African-American princess. However, as you watch the movie, you don’t even notice, and why should you? Aside from the culture difference between her and her best friend, Charlotte, who appears to be the richest girl in New Orlans, you don’t even notice it. Such a shame that people are making such a big deal about the race of the newest princess, especially since they didn’t make a big deal about Ariel being the first redhead, or Mulan being the first Asian, or Aladdin being the first human male to get his own picture.

When you make a picture set in New Orleans, no matter what the genre, you must have jazz and food in it, and those are exactly two of the biggest driving forces in this picture, aside from the voodoo (another key New Orleans draw) and story. Set in the 1920s, the city sets the perfect backdrop for this story, and the animators and storyboarders captured the city to near perfection (it was a little clean for my taste, even for those days).

Tiana…what can I say about her. I’ve touched on her in previous entires, Defending the Disney Princesses and Who Should be a Princess, and now she has her time to shine.In the lexicon of Disney heroines, in years to come she will be remembered up there with the greatest. She works two jobs to scrimp and save in order to buy her own restaurant, something her father and she dreamed of. It is never said what happened to her father, but it appears he may have dies in WWI. Although this is her movie, she doesn’t hog the spotlight, just as her fellow princesses didn’t. I have to wonder when she was cast, if she sought out advice from the likes of Ariel, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, etc. Speaking of Belle, she bears a slight resemblance to her and the actress who gives her a voice, Anika Noni Rose. Anika’s vocals do this character justice, but it is her singing that really sets her apart. While not the strongest in the world, they are solid. For goodness sakes, Tiana isn’t an opera or Broadway star. Rose allegedly beat out the likes of Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Hudson, for the role. I think she was a perfect choice.

Prince Naveen…this guy comes off as your typical cocky prince when we first meet him. He’s carefree, but when you have no money and have been cut off, you have to find some way to get that out of your head, right. Naveen falls prey to the Shadow man,and spends the majority of the film trying to decide what it is he wants, true happiness or love…not to mention the constant berating be Tiana he endures. I’m not exactly sure where this country he’s from, is, but his accent leads me to belive it’s somewhere near France or Spain, but I can’t pinpoint it. In terms of looks, he reminds me of Eric from The Little Mermaid, only with more, for lack of a better term, ethnic features.

Dr. Facilier…another in a great line of tremendous Disney villains, which include Jafar, the Wicked Queen, Ursala, Scar, the Horned King, Cruella de Ville, and Maleficent. When you talk about giving this guy a voice, no one is better than Keith David. This guy’s rumbling baritone vocals really resonated with the character and were downright creepy at times. I didn’t quite understand what is deal was with this “friends from the other side”, but that’s just one of those mysteries that may have been uncovered in the book, or is best left unknown. What I do know is that this guy’s song steals the show. It is such a shame he isn’t more in the film. Also, I do believe he is the first villain to no have some sort of sidekick. Even Maleficent and the Wicked Queen had crows. All he has is his shadow.

Mama Odie…I guess you can say she is the equivalent to the fairy godmother in the picture. Like Facilier, her song steals the show, and she also uses voodoo, but at least she doesn’t owe a debt to mysterious voodoo masks. This blind woman uses a pet snake as a walking stick, and like Cinderella’s fairy godmother, is a bit…shall we say…out there. It works for her, though, and makes for quite the enjoyable character.

Ray and Louis are the token sidekicks. Ray being a firefly they meet in the bayou (that’s a swamp for you non southern/Louisiana readers), and Louis is an alligator who years to play his trumpet for people. I don’t think I need to tell you who Louis is named after, do I? Both characters are there to add comic relief, but Ray, I have to say, does a better job. I warn you now, there is a moment of sadness near the end, involving one of these characters.

Charlotte, Tiana’s best friend, is a spoiled rich girl, who you just know she would want to keep the prince all to herself, but in a break from the norm, she actually is as nice (and airheaded) as can be. Bi Daddy LeBeouf and Tiana’s parents are some of the most caring people I’ve ever seen on film.

This film isn’t all rave review from me. The drawing seemed a bit off, as if they had either gotten artists straight out of high school or were rusty. I’ll chalk it up to the latter, since Disney has been obsessed with computer animation since Home on the Range. The beginning of the picture, where we meet Tiana seems to drag on. I mean we get the pciture…thisi s Tiana and Charlotte and New Orleans, blah, blah, blah, get on with it. Also, when Tiana first becomes a frog and she and Naveen are escaping the party, Charlotte’s dog apparently speaks to her, giving the audience the impression that the animals can hear her, but this is never touched on or talked about again. I’d say that this is how they hear Louis and RAy, except that the humans Louis plays with on the steamboat (they think he’s in a Mardi Gras costume) can hear him just fine. I guess that’s one of those mysteries like who all can hear Stewie from Family Guy.

I am so glad Disney decided to not only go back to 2D, but bring back the musicals. If they were smart, they go back and look at their most successful animated pictures (not counting the Pixar films), these would be the ones that are musicals, yet for some reason they abandoned the concept and eventually gave up on hand drawn animation. Often times musicals will leave you with songs that are just ho-hum and you won’t remember then 5 minutes after they’re done, let alone be singing them after the film is over, but this one had my toe tapping all the way through. Trust me, I will be adding this music to my collection. Randy Newman did an excellent job, and Ne-Yo’s song during the end credits just was the cherry on top.

As I was sitting in the theater, I was surprised at how excited everyone was to see this. Aside from your typical summer blockbuster, I have to say I have not seen a theater so packed. It was almost standing room only, and I went during the day!

Oh, one more thing, Tiana’s dream sequence…the animators captures that 20s style of art. It reminded me of the “RHapsody in Blue” segment from Fantasia 2000, and was just as good!

Disney has recaptured the magic with this one. No, it’s not as good as some others, but it is a major step in the right direction. Tiana hopefully won’t get mired down in controversy, as is sure to come her way from people who just want to be haters. This is a beautiful picture, and most importantly, is didn’t const $2.50 extra for what accounts to renting a pair of sunglasses to watch! I love this movie and even if I wasn’t a collector of Disney animated pictures, it still would be going in the collection. Let the countdown begin for the DVD! In the meantime, you should go see it, preferably more than once. Yes, it is that good!

5 out of 5 stars

The Lion King

PLOT:

The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a mandrill, anoints Simba (cub by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, adult by Matthew Broderick), the newborn cub of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock.

Mufasa takes Simba around the Pride Lands, teaching him about the “Circle of Life”, the delicate balance affecting all living things. Simba’s uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons), who desires the throne for himself, tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned  Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala (cub by Niketa Calame, adult by Moira Kelly). Their parents agree but only if Mufasa’s majordomo, the hornbill Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu’s supervision and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed (Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings), spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa.

Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they’ll “never go hungry again”. Scar tells the hyenas to kill Mufasa and Simba, thus establishing his plan of regicide. Some time later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below. Scar convinces Simba that he (Simba) was responsible for his father’s death and tells him to flee from the Pride Lands. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line.

Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella), a meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub. When Simba has grown into an adult he is discovered by Nala, who tells him that Scar has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland. She asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses. Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa’s presence in the stars.

Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa’s death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensures between the hyenas and the lionesses which results in Simba cornering Scar. Begging for mercy, Scar blames the hyenas for Mufasa’s death, but Simba orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by flipping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and devour him. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala’s newborn cub.

REVIEW:

First of all forget the sequel and prequel, they just skewer the legacy of this great picture. Second, it is important to remember that not much effort was put into The Lion King. They thought that Pocahontas was going to be the bigger and better hit. Boy were they wrong!

As with most Disney films, this is loosely based on a piece of literary work. Originally, I thought this was a total orignal idea, but it turns out that it was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I found that quite interesting.

The voice casting here is terrific, though many have been critical of Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matthew Broderick being cast as Simba, moreso Thomas, instead of African-American actors. I suppose there could be a point to that, but only if you really grasp at straws to find it.

Who else could voice the regal Mufasa than the booming voice of James Earl Jones? The man is so perfect for this that it almost seems like it was written with him in mind. Strangely enough, though, Jones always seems to be married to Madge Sinclair whenever they are in the same movie. Sinclair does a good job of bringing grace and elegance to Sarabi, Simba’s mother.

Jonathan Taylor Thomas fits young Simba perfectly with his youthfully exuberant voice, and the transition to Matthew Broderick as adult Simba really works. Broderick is no Jones, and contrary to popular belief Simba is no Mufasa, and that’s the way it should be.

Jeremy Irons is another perfectly cast character. He already has a villainous voice, and uses it to its full potential as the conniving Scar.

Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin are excellent comic relief as the hyenas, while Nathan Lane, who has this film to thank for his mainstream career, and Ernie Sabella provide two of the most memorable characters in the picture, Timon and Pumbaa.

Musically, it is obvious that Tim Rice is without the late Alan Menken, but collaborating with Elton John, he still comes up with some memorable songs. My personal favorite is “Be Prepeared”…or is it “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”? As far as the score goes, Hans Zimmer does what he does best, and captures the true essence of the film through the use of various instruments in the orchestra, as well as experimenting here and there.

One of the saddest moments in all of cinema happens when Mufasa is killed. What makes it worse is that young Simba has to see it. The realistic feel of that is what makes it so heartbreaking. There are no magic spells, or pixies, or anything like that to bring him back to life, the king is dead. The moment is reminiscent of when Bambi’s mother gets shot.

There was a time when it seemed Disney could do no wrong when it came to animated features. Unfortunately, after The Lion King, those days seemed to have ended. Hopefully, with the upcoming release of The Princess and the Frog, they’ll have a Renaissance of sorts. In the meantime, we can always pop in the DVD, VHS, Blu-Ray, or download classics such as these that are true gems.

5 out of 5 stars

Cinderella

PLOT:

Cinderella is the much-loved only child of a widowed aristocrat. After deciding that his beloved daughter needs a mother’s care, Cinderella’s father marries a proud and haughty woman named Lady Tremaine. She too has been married before, and has two daughters by her first marriage, Anastasia and Drizella, who are just Cinderella’s age. Plain and socially awkward, these Ugly Stepsisters are bitterly envious of the beautiful and charming Cinderella.

The family lives in happiness for several years, until the untimely death of Cinderella’s father. After that, Lady Tremaine’s true nature is revealed, and she and her spiteful daughters take over the estate, and begin to abuse and maltreat Cinderella, envious of her beauty. She is forced into housekeeping responsibilities and made to wait upon her jealous stepsisters like a maid. As Cinderella blossoms into a beautiful young woman who is kind despite her hardships, she befriends the animals living in the barn, including Bruno the Bloodhound, Major the horse, and many of the mice and birds who live in and around the chateau. Cinderella finds a mouse inside a trap, releases him, and names him Octavius, “Gus” for short. She is also friends with a mouse named Jacques (“Jaq” for short), the leader of a mouse-pack.

At the royal palace, the King is angry that his son does not intend to marry. The King is determined to see grandchildren, so he and the Duke organize a ball for Prince Charming in an effort to cause his son to fall in love and marry, with every eligible maiden in the kingdom ordered to attend.

When the invitation to the ball arrives, Cinderella asks her stepmother if she can attend. Her stepmother tells her she may go to the ball, if she finishes her work and can find a suitable gown. To consume her time, her stepmother sets Cinderella with a mountain of chores. Her mouse friends Gus and Jaq use Cinderella’s stepsister’s discarded sash and beads to fix an old gown that belonged to Cinderella’s mother. When Cinderella wears her dress before the ball, Lady Tremaine points out her daughters’ beads and sash, and the jealous sisters physically assault her, tearing the gown to shreds, leaving Cinderella to run to the back of the garden in tears while her stepfamily attends the royal ball without her.

Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother appears to her in the garden, and transforms her appearance for the ball. She transforms the mice into horses, Bruno the dog into a footman, Major the horse into a coachman, a pumpkin into the carriage, and transforms her torn dress into a beautiful blue dress with glass slippers. Cinderella departs for the ball after the godmother warns her that the spell will expire at the stroke of midnight.

At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl, until he sees Cinderella, with whom he is immediately smitten. The two dance throughout the castle grounds until the clock starts to chime midnight. Cinderella flees to her coach and away from the castle, accidentally dropping one of her glass slippers. After the Duke tells the King of the disaster, they plan to find Cinderella with the slipper they found during her escape.

The next morning, a royal proclamation is issued, stating the Grand Duke will visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fits the glass slipper, so that she can be married to the Prince. When this news reaches Cinderella’s household, her stepmother and stepsisters begin hurriedly preparing for the Grand Duke’s arrival. Cinderella, overhearing, begins dreamily humming the song from the palace ball the previous night. Realizing Cinderella was the girl who danced with the Prince, her stepmother follows Cinderella up to her attic bedroom and locks her inside.

When the Grand Duke arrives, the mice steal the key to Cinderella’s room from Lady Tremaine’s pocket and laboriously drag the key up the stairs to her room, only barely managing to free her after a fight with the Stepmother’s cat Lucifer, in which Bruno comes to their rescue and scares the evil cat out of the house. Meanwhile, Anastasia tries on the slipper, but her foot is too big. Drizella tries on the slipper, and finds her foot is also too large. As the Duke prepares to leave, Cinderella appears at the top of the stairs, asking to try on the slipper. Knowing that the slipper will fit and that Cinderella will marry the Prince, her stepmother insists she’s just a servant girl. The Grand Duke sharply reminds her that every maiden is to try on the slipper. As the footman bring the slipper to Cinderella, her stepmother trips him, causing the slipper to drop and shatter on the floor. Cinderella then reveals she has the other glass slipper. Delighted at this indisputable proof of the maiden’s identity, the Duke slides the slipper onto her foot, which fits perfectly. The two agree to keep the broken slipper a secret.

At the wedding, Cinderella and the Prince descend the church’s staircase, surrounded by confetti tossed by the King and the Grand Duke. Cinderella loses a slipper and retrieves it with the aid of the King. As the film ends on a scene of the two newly-weds kissing, the narrator concludes “…and they lived happily ever after”.

REVIEW:

Cinderella is another classic in the Disney repertoire. This film has such iconic status that it is her castle that is used at Disneyworld in Orlando, Fl (don’t quote me on that).

You all know the story, girl is oppressed by her stepmother and stepsisters, all the women in the village are invited to the prince’s ball, stepmother forbids her from going, fairy godmother comes to help her out, but she has to be home by midnight, girl leaves in a rush dropping her glass slipper, prince searches far and wide for the mystery girl, they live happily ever after. In a nutshell, that’s it, but the geniuses that were working at Disney during this time were able to make this sappy love story a bit more interesting, mostly through the use of the supporting animals and music, as well as stellar animation.

There really isn’t much I can say about this masterpiece that hasn’t already been said, other than the fact it should NOT have spawned the direct-to-DVD sequels that were a complete waste of time, especially since they were nearly 50 yrs after this orignal. I think the reason Cinderella has been so endearing over so many years is because the story is probably one of the most relatable of all the fairytales. Whether it is by parents, bullies, or some other authority position or superior, we’ve all been bossed around, some to the point that we just wish we could get ahead somehow and show them what for. When Cinderella meets the prince as Lady Tremaine and her daughters can only look in awe, she accomplishes this, and when she pulls out te glass slipper proving she was the girl at the ball and leaving the trio as she goes to a better life, you can’t help but fell her sense of validation. This is a Disney masterpiece, why haven’t you seen it yet?

4 out of 5 stars

The Fox and the Hound

PLOT:

After a young red fox is orphaned, Big Mama (Pearl Bailey) the owl, Boomer (Paul Winchell) the woodpecker, and Dinky (Richard Bakalyan) the finch arrange for him to be adopted by the Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan). Tweed names him Tod (voiced by Keith Coogan), since he reminds her of a toddler. Meanwhile, Tweed’s neighbor, Amos Slade (Jack Albertson), brings home a young hound puppy named Copper (Corey Feldman) and introduces him to his hunting dog Chief (Pat Buttram). Tod and Copper become playmates, and vow to remain “friends forever.” Slade grows frustrated at Copper for constantly wandering off to play, and places him on a leash. While playing with Copper at his home, Tod awakens Chief. Slade and Chief chase him until they are stopped by Tweed. After an argument, Slade says that he intends to kill Tod at his first opportunity. Hunting season comes and Slade takes his dogs into the wilderness for the interim. Meanwhile, Big Mama explains to Tod that his friendship with Copper cannot continue, as they are natural enemies, but Tod refuses to believe her.

Months pass, and Tod and Copper reach adulthood. On the night of Copper’s return, Tod (Mickey Rooney) sneaks over to meet him. Copper (Kurt Russell) explains that he is a hunting dog now and things are different between them. Chief awakens and alerts Slade, a chase ensues and Copper catches Tod. Copper lets Tod go then diverts Chief and Slade. Chief maintains his pursuit onto a railroad track where he is struck by a train and wounded. Copper and Slade blame Tod for the accident and swear vengeance. Tweed realizes that her pet is no longer safe with her and leaves him at a game preserve. Big Mama introduces him to a female fox named Vixey (Sandy Duncan), then Slade and Copper trespass into the preserve and hunt the two foxes. The chase climaxes when Slade and Copper inadvertently provoke an attack from a bear. Slade trips and is caught in his own trap and drops his gun just out of reach. Copper fights the bear but is no match for it. Tod battles the bear until they both fall down a waterfall. Copper approaches Tod as he lies in the lake below when Slade appears, ready to fire at the fox. Copper interposes his body in front of Tod, and refuses to move away. Slade lowers his gun and leaves with Copper, but not before the two former adversaries share one last smile before parting. At home, Tweed nurses Slade back to health while the dogs rest. Copper, before resting, smiles as he remembers the day when he became friends with Tod. On a hill Vixey joins Tod as he looks down on the homes of Copper and Tweed.

REVIEW:

The Fox and the Hound is a nice coming of age story that is one of the better known of the lesser known Disney films.

The film beings with the quiet calm of the forest, then all of a sudden, a mother fox holding baby Tod, is seen running from hunters and their dogs. Before we know it, he is left by the fence to be discovered by Big Mama. Big Mama is the typical matronly type, compete with African-American mannerisms, partially because she’s voiced by Pearl Bailey.

With the help of Dinky and Boomer, a sparrow and woodpecker, respectively, she gets the Widow Tweed to come notice Tod by the fence. At the same time Tod is discovered by the widow, the hunter neighbor, Amos Slade, brings home a hound pup named Copper.

Soon enough, Copper and Tod meet and, despite the fact that they should despise each other, become best friends. That is until Copper leaves with Amos on a hunting trip and comes back a trained hunting dog. Needless to say, things change between the two, especially after Chief is injured falling of a bridge in pursuit of Tod.

Tod is dropped off at the animal preserve and has a miserable night. would you expect him to just fall right into things after living with a human his entire life? With the help of Big Mama, though, he meets a female fox, Vixey. As with many films of this nature, they immediately hit it off and before we know it they are a couple.

Just in time to ruin things, here comes Amos and Copper, hell-bent on getting Tod. They trick him (and Vixey) down. After a cunning escape, Amos and Copper are cornered by a big black bear. Copper is roughed up quite a bit and lets out a whine that Tod hears. you can see the look on Tod’s face as he takes a few moments to decide whether to keep escaping or go back and help his former friend. He goes back and fights the bear tooth and nail, until he gets the upper hand.

Amos, still wanting Tod’s hide, even though he saved his life sees him ripe for the picking and is ready to shoot him, when Copper stands over Tod and gives Amos the puppy dog eyes. Somehow this sends the message to Slade to leave Tod be. As Copper leaves, he and Tod share one glance that says we’re friends again and thanks.

This is not the best Disney film, but the story is one of the best. Strangely enough, I think of all the Disney films that have come from literary material, this one deviates the most, but considering this is a kid-friendly film, it had to. The original book is quite dark. I don’t think it would have worked as well had they gone more in the direction of the source material. Having said that, the overlying theme of friendship conquers all that is prevalent throughout the film, is perhaps the best thing about it, and is handled so expertly that it doesn’t even come off as preachy.

4 out of 5 stars