Day 54: Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans, Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Daniel Henney, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Billy Bush, Stan Lee

Songs: "Immortals" by Fall Out Boy and a Henry Jackman score

Big Hero 6 is the fifty-fourth (and currently most recent) Disney animated feature.  Inspired by the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the film tells the story of Hiro Hamada, a young robotics genius who starts a superhero team with his friends and goes after a villanous masked man.

Development for Big Hero 6 began in 2009 when Disney purchased Marvel.  Though Disney made the movie alone, without Marvel's help, several members of Marvel's television department took part in the development, and the two companies cooperated with one another throughout the production.  Visual inspiration for the film came from Japanese art and architecture as well as the landscape of San Francisco, as the filmmakers wanted to caricature the real world and felt these two cities would blend well.  The movie was a critical and financial success -- the second highest grossing Disney animated film, and I'm writing this post the night after the film won Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.

I enjoyed this movie a lot.  It has a unique look and sound, and while it is emotional, the drama is done very well.  Never heavy handed.  The characters are also all likable, and the animation is beautiful.  It's exciting and fun, and very enjoyable.  I hope Disney continues to make films this fun and with such broad appeal.

What I Liked: The setting of San Fransokyo.  Also Baymax is just wonderful.

What I Disliked: Nothing particular.

Should You Watch This Film: Definitely.

Spotlight on The Snow Queen

In light of the fact that Frozen is unfortunately not my favorite movie, I wanted to watch another adaption of the same fairy tale, The Snow Queen.  I had heard wonderful things about this Russian animation, so I found it on youtube and watched it.  But I wouldn't be me if I didn't post about it.

Снежная королева (The Snow Queen) 1957

This movie sticks quite close to the original fairy tale and tells of two children, Kay and Gerda, who grow up next door to each other and love each other deeply.  When they are told the story of the Snow Queen, Kay makes fun of her, so she curses him and comes to kidnap him.  Gerda then goes on a journey to save him.  The movie was made in Russia in 1957 by the Soyuzmultfilm Studio and an English dubbed version was released in 1959, the same year as Disney released Sleeping Beauty.

This movie was beautiful.  The animation was stylized and so pretty, but also quite well done.  The movie was enjoyable and proved that yes, you can do the story with the snow queen as your villain and make it likable.  Hayao Miyazaki cites this as one of his early inspirations to become an animator.  I'm going to be brief, for once, and just say that I would definitely recommend this movie (honestly, click the link up top... it's barely over an hour long, and so worth it).  But seriously, look how lovely.

Day 53: Frozen

Frozen (2013)

Starring: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciaran Hinds, Chris Williams, Maia Wilson, Paul Briggs, Maurice LeMarch, Jennifer Lee

Songs: "Frozen Heart," "Do You Want to Build a Snow Man?," "For the First Time in Forever," "Love Is an Open Door," "Let it Go," "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People," "In Summer," "Fixer Upper," "Vuelie"

Frozen is Disney's fifty-third animated feature.  Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Snow Queen, it tells the story of a Princess Anna who must journey into the mountains to confront and save her sister, Queen Elsa, whose ice powers have plunged the kingdom into an eternal winter.

Disney's first attempt at adapting The Snow Queen came around the time of Snow White in the late 1930s.  Disney planned to team with MGM and make a film with a live action story about Andersen's life with animated segments based on some of his stories, but this fairytale proved to be difficult to adapt as the Queen was a character they couldn't make sympathetic.  Development on the project stopped all together because of World War II.  The idea was brought up again in the 1990s during the Renaissance, and was developed on and off over the next decade and a half, in earnest after the success of Tangled.

Well, this movie.  I have to admit, I'm not a big fan.  It is beautiful to look at, but it honestly doesn't feel worthy of the over the top praise and popularity it has gotten.  The music is okay at best ("Let it Go" is an unremarkable song saved completely by Idina Menzel's stellar vocals) and the plot doesn't always make sense.  The plot twist, I will grant, I did not see coming.  But other than that, everything is recycled and predictable, and for the most part the humor falls flat.  Maybe the movie froze my heart.

Originally the story would have stuck more closely to the original fairy tale and Elsa would have been a proper villain.  This concept art (one from very early development and one from more recent years) shows how lovely it could have been.  Honestly, I feel the movie would have been more interesting this way.

And also for funsies, and because this picture is quite beautiful, here's an illustration of the fairy tale by artist Elena Ringo.

What I Liked: The animation is quite beautiful. But my most favorite part of the whole experience was Get a Horse!, the Mickey Mouse short that played before the film in theaters.  

What I Disliked: Saying there are a few plotholes would be kind.  The "Fixer Upper" scene was obnoxiously annoying.  But mostly, Olaf.  My God how I hate him. 

Should You Watch This Movie: Like you haven't already.  

Day 52: Wreck-It Ralph

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Ed O'Neill, Dennis Haysbert, Adam Carolla, Horatio Sanz, Rich Moore

Songs: Henry Jackman score and pop soundtrack

Wreck-it Ralph is the fifty-second Disney animated feature.  It tells the story of Ralph, the bad guy from the Fix-It Felix Jr. video game, who dreams of being a hero.  He travels through different video games and meets up with Vanellope, a glitching character from a racing game, and finds a way to become a hero.

The idea for this movie had been kicked around by the studio since the late 1980s.  It was abandoned at the time and had been revisited several times throughout the years.  At one point there was going be a Sims like world where Ralph would go to find value and beat the depression he had fallen into but the idea proved to be too hard a concept to convey.  The filmmakers wanted to use the many video game cameos to make the atmosphere of Ralph's world and the arcade feel authentic, but they didn't want to shoehorn them in just for the sake of including them.

This is a great movie.  It's really pretty and unique, the story is fun, and the characters are likable.  I feel like even though this movie did well at the box offices and got good reviews, it's been ignored a lot by the Disney fandom, and that's really a shame.

What I Liked: Obviously all the references to retro video games and their characters, but mostly Vanellope.  She's a ball of cute wrapped in a ball of pure energy wrapped in a ball of awesome.  In her own weird, glitchy way, she's utterly relatable, and definitely lovable.

What I Disliked: Nothing particularly.

Should You Watch This Movie: I would totally recommend it.

Day 51: Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Starring: Jim Cummings, Travis Oates, Tom Kenny, Craig Ferguson, Bad Luckey, Jack Boulter, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Wyatt Hall, Huell Howser, John Cleese

Songs: "Winnie the Pooh," "The Tummy Song," "A Very Important Thing to Do," "The Backson Song," "It's Gonna Be Great," "Everything is Honey," "Pooh's Finale," "So Long"

Winnie the Pooh is the fifty-first Disney animated movie, one of few sequels in the official canon.  Like its predecessor, 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, it is based on the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne.  It tells the story of Pooh and his friends thinking that Christopher Robin has been kidnapped and trying to rescue him, needing to find Eeyore's tail, and Pooh being out of honey.

This movie began production in 2009 and used many veteran animators and story artists.  The movie was done in the style of earlier Pooh movies, and was originally to adapt five of Milne's stories, though the final version is merely inspired by three of them.  Several scenes and ideas were deleted or abandoned before the film was finished, making this one of the shorter films in the canon at just under seventy minutes.  That was one of the biggest complaints from critics.  The movie did receive pretty good reviews though its box office performance was only decent.

Overall, this was a cute movie.  While not quite as enjoyable as its predecessor, in my opinion, it was still a fun watch.  And the animation is beautiful, and quite likely the end of an era, as this is the last traditionally animated film to date.

What I Liked: John Cleese's narration and the opening with Christopher Robin's bedroom.  Also the whole sequence with "The Backson Song" is pretty darn cute.  And I love the design for the Backson as well.

What I Disliked: Since Jim Cummings is the only one to reprise his roles as Pooh and Tigger from previous Pooh projects, some of the voices sounded off to what I'm used to -- Owl and Kanga most notably.  It was a bit distracting at first, but it wasn't a make or break type thing.

Should You Watch This Movie: You know, it's not a bad movie.  Pretty cute and enjoyable, actually.  But I wouldn't call it a must-see unless you're either trying to see every Disney movie or you've already watched The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and need more Pooh stories.

Day 50: Tangled

Tangled (2010)

Starring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman, Jeffrey Tambor, Richard Kiel, M.C. Gainey, Paul F. Tompkins, Delaney Rose Stein

Songs: "When Will My Life Begin?," "Mother Knows Best," "I've Got a Dream," "I See the Light," "Healing Incantation," "Something that I Want"

Tangled is the fiftieth Disney animated film.  It is based on the German fairy tale of Rapunzel, and tells the story of a princess who is kidnapped by an evil woman who wishes to use the powers of the girl's magical healing hair to stay young forever.  Rapunzel grows up, locked away in a tower and longs to be free and to see the glowing lights that appear on her birthday every year.  When a thief named Flynn Rider ends up in her tower, Rapunzel gets him to guide her to the lights.

This story, like many other Disney films, has roots in the late 1930s.  Disney wished to adapt this story to film just after Snow White, but they found certain difficulties in writing a compelling story treatment and the projects was shelved.  Glen Keane revived the idea in the mid-1990s and began work on the story.  It was to be called Rapunzel Unbraided, as one of the challenges the fairytale presented when adapting it to the screen is that much of it takes place in the tower, and the idea was to put a new spin on it and take her out of the tower.  The Alan Menken score and soundtrack too inspiration from 1960s folk music and medieval music.  Visual inspiration for the movie came from oil paintings like the circa 1767 "The Swing" by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

This is a really great movie overall.  It's cute, entertaining, fun... and it's beautiful to look at and to listen to.  The love story is compelling, and Rapunzel is a very relatable character.  While I don't enjoy this one quite as much as The Princess and the Frog, I really do love it and appreciate it.

What I Liked: There's a lot of things, but if I was to single out one thing, it would be the horse Maximus acting like a dog.  That's hilarious to me.

What I Disliked: Nothing really.

Should You Watch This Movie: Definitely.

Day 49: The Princess and the Frog

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Elizabeth Dampier, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Keith David, Jennifer Cody, Breanna Brooks, Jenifer Lewis, Peter Bartlett, John Goodman, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Frank Welker, Dee Bradley Baker, Corey Burton, Jerry Kernion, Ritchie Montgomery, Don Hall, Paul Briggs

Songs: "Down in New Orleans," "Almost There," "Friends on the Other Side," "When We're Human," "Gonna Take You There," "Ma Belle Evangeline," "Dig a Little Deeper," "Never Knew I Needed"

The Princess and the Frog is the forty-ninth Disney animated feature.  Inspired by the E.D. Baker novel The Frog Princess and the Frog Prince fairytale, it is Disney's first traditionally animated film and first fairy tale film in a number of years.  It tells the story of Tiana, a hard working young woman who dreams of opening a restaurant but is turned into a frog when, dressed as a princess during Mardi Gras, she kisses a frog who is in fact a playboy prince.  The two journey through the Louisiana Bayou together (with the help of a jazz playing alligator named Louis and a Cajun firefly named Ray) to try and find a way to turn back into humans.

In 2006, Disney and Pixar were both developing movies based on the Frog Prince fairy tale, so the projects were merged and development continued from there.  Originally Tiana was to be maid named Maddy, and the title was going to be The Frog Princess.  The visual look for the film was based on Lady and the Tramp, and the backgrounds for the bayou were based on the look of Bambi.  Because most of the traditional animation departments had been closed and the artists laid off after Disney decided to focus on CGI films, they had to be rehired and reassembled for this film.  Because the movie was successful (though unfortunately not to the levels of the renaissance films of the 1990s) the studio decided to do traditional and CGI animation, though they later announced that the traditional animation departments had again been closed.

I love this movie, truly.  It's easily one of my favorites and one of Disney's best.  Best animated film since The Lion King, maybe since Beauty and the Beast, and I don't say that lightly.  

What I Liked: To say that there being a black princess was a dream come true for me, a lifelong Disney fan who happens to be a black girl, wouldn't exactly be accurate because I never even dreamed that there could be or would ever be a black Disney princess.  So the fact that there is one... wow.  It just means so much to me.  And she's an amazing character, too.  Very close after Aurora on my list of favorite princesses.  Plus she is voiced by a stunning black woman, Anika Noni Rose, who totally looks like the character.

What I Disliked: Nothing, honestly.  Maybe the fact that this movie is often so ignored by the Disney fandom.  *massive side eye*

Should You Watch This Movie:  Yes.  Without hesitation.

Day 48: Bolt

Bolt (2008)

Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Malcolm McDowell, Nick Swardson, Diedrich Bader, Chloë Grace Moretz, Greg Germann, James Lipton, Randy Savage, Kari Wahlgren, Grey DeLisle, J.P. Manoux, Brian Stepanek, John DiMaggio, Jenny Lewis

Songs: A John Powell score and a pop soundtrack

Bolt is the forty-eight film in the Disney animated canon.  It tells the story of Bolt, a dog who stars on his own television show but doesn't know it isn't real, so he thinks he has superpowers.  When he thinks his human, a young girl named Penny, has been kidnapped, he goes across the country to rescue her, with the help of a cat and a hamster.

When this movie began development, it was to be called American Dog and be about a dog TV star who gets lost in the desert and thinks he is still on television.  When Pixar and Disney merged and Lasseter took over animation, he felt the story needed to be improved, so the script was reworked and the film was completed in record time.  This was the first movie to be fully completed after he took over, and it is considered by many to be the start of a new era in Disney animation -- a new renaissance,

I had never seen this movie before today.  Honestly, the reason I didn't want to watch it was because of Miley Cyrus, whose voice is... grating to me.  Luckily I found that her speaking voice in this movie wasn't so bad and her character didn't have as much screen time as the publicity for the movie would have had you think.  All that aside, I did think the movie was cute.  I do enjoy a good dog story.  It wasn't the best Disney's done, but they've certainly done worse.  The animation also looked really good and the backgrounds are nicely done.

What I Liked: Bolt (the character, the dog) is pretty cute.  And that scene at the very beginning where tiny Penny adopts him as a puppy is really adorable.  Also I love the illustration looking art style of the closing credits.

What I Disliked: Ignoring the fact that the whole plot is a little bit contrived (since it is a Disney movie, after all, and that can happen), the pigeons and the hamster are all fairly annoying.  

Should You Watch This Movie: Eh.  I mean, it's totally watchable.  It's not a must see, but it's an all right way to pass an hour and a half.  So it's up to you.

Day 47.1: Enchanted

Though not an official part of the Disney animated canon, Enchanted  (which is partly animated) is such a loving spoof of older Disney movies told through a really cute, enjoyable film.  I decided to do a post on it as well, mostly because I've not mentioned any of the previous partly animated films, so this seemed like an ideal one.

Enchanted (2007)

Starring: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel, Rachel Covey, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Bennett, Kevin Lima, Jon McLaughlin, Fred Tatasciore, Paige O'Hara, Jodie Benson, Judy Kuhn, Julie Andrews

Songs: "True Love's Kiss," "Happy Working Song," "That's How You Know," "So Close," "Ever Ever After"

Enchanted is a 2007 film in the tradition of Mary Poppins and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? -- a blend of traditional 2D animation and live action.  It tells the story of Giselle, a young woman from the fairytale land of Andalasia who gets transported to the real world (New York City) by her evil, jealous mother-in-law to be.  She finds shelter with a divorce lawyer and his young daughter.

The idea for this movie came in the form of a script bought by Touchstone Pictures in 1997.  The direction the story took at the time was felt to be too mature, so the project was abandoned for a few years and development resumed in 2002, with production beginning in 2005.  The animation in this film took longer to complete than the live action portion.  Visual reference footage and costume designs had to be done before animation could begin so that the look of the characters, as well as their mannerisms and they way they moved, would be consistent.  To make the movie even sound like some older Disney films, Alan Menken did the music.  

This movie is a lot of fun, and really lovely.  The animated opening is really beautiful and skillfully done, and it's all very charming.  The whole film, not just the opening (though especially the opening) looks and sounds beautiful.  A totally enjoyable movie.

What I Liked: The many, many references to older Disney movies, especially the fairytales.  Also, Giselle totally saves Robert.  My kind of love story.

What I Disliked: That poor bus driver was just doing her job.

Should You Watch This Movie: Absolutely.

Day 47: Meet the Robinsons

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Starring: Jordan Fry, Daniel Hansen, Wesley Singerman, Harland Williams, Tom Kenny, Steve Anderson, Angela Bassett, Laurie Metcalf, Adam West, Tom Selleck, Nicole Sullivan, Jessie Flower, Matthew Joston, Ethan Sandler, Don Hall, Kelly Hoover, Tracey Miller-Zarneke, Joe Mateo, Aurian Redson, Jamie Cullum, Paul Butcher, Dara McGarry, John H.H. Ford, Nathan Greneo

Songs: A Danny Elfman score and a pop soundtrack

Meet the Robinsons is the forty-seventh Disney animated feature.  Inspired by the William Joyce children's book A Day With Wilbur Robinson, it tells the story of Lewis, a young orphan who gets taken to the future by an odd young man named Wilbur and how they team up to stop the evil Bowler Hat Guy from destroying life as Wilbur knew it.

This movie began production in 2004 and was to be released in 2006, but when Disney and Pixar merged and John Lasseter became chief creative officer of animation, the film was reworked almost completely and the story was changed, as was the villain.  Nearly 60% of it was redone, and the release was delayed about one year.  Director Stephen Anderson felt a certain kinship with the final version of the story as it was about an adopted child's longing for a family and to know the family that he might have had because he was an adopted child.  Reviews for the film were mixed to positive, and the box office was relatively successful, though not a blockbuster.

What sets this movie apart is the future setting.  This had been done before (in Treasure Planet) but the was tradition 2D animation, and the film was wildly different, as was the art style.  It does have some of the kiddish humor I mentioned in the last couple of films, but it also has some more mature humor, slapstick comedy, and most importantly, it has puns.  This is a film that I have loved since the first time I saw it, and I'd probably but it in my top ten.  I don't know why it resonated with so much, and though I will admit it's not Disney's best movie, it has a soft spot in my heart.

What I Liked: I like this movie a lot, so I could pick out a number of things.  The soundtrack is awesome, and the scenery is really cool.  But Todayland always makes me smile.

What I Disliked: Hm, well, as much as I do like it I admit it's not perfect... SPOILERS AHEAD.

The fact that seeing Lewis's hair proved to the family who he was is a little silly.  Really, that was circumstantial evidence at best.  Could have been anyone.  And also the fact that Lewis defeats D.O.R.I.S. by saying he'd never invent her... slightly heavy handed.

Should You Watch This Movie: I'd recommend it, yes.

Day 46: Chicken Little

Chicken Little (2005)

Starring: Zack Braff, Joan Cusack, Dan Molina, Steve Zahn, Amy Sedaris, Mark Walton, Garry Marshall, Don Knotts, Sean Elmore,Matthew Michael Joston, Evan Dunn, Fred Willard, Catherine O'Hara, Mark Dindal, Patrick Stewart, Wallace Shawn, Patrick Warburton, Adam West, Harry Shearer

Songs: A score by John Debney plus a pop soundtrack

Chicken Little is the forty-sixth Disney animated film, loosely based on the fable of the same name.  It tells of a young chicken who must save his town from an alien invasion.  

This movie began development in 2001.  The original story was to be about a girl who wanted to become more brave, but during production it was reworked to being about the story we see in the finished version.  This is the first fully CGI film made solely by Disney.  At the time the studio was in negotiations with Pixar to determine each company's individual role in the production and release of future CGI animated films.  After this film, the two companies went forward together, and in 2006 Disney purchased Pixar outright, making Pixar's John Lasseter the chief creative officer of animation.  This movie was fairly successful in the box office though largely a critical failure.

Interesting to note is the fact that Disney had told this story before in a short from 1943.  That short, however, is much heavier and definitely a product on World War II.

So, this movie.  I have to admit this movie was a slog to get through.  Every attempt at humor falls flat, and I found myself groaning more than smiling or laughing.  It felt like it was aimed at a very young audience, and like I said about Home on the Range, these movies should not be aimed at young children.  They should be aimed at a family audience.  What I mean when I say that is that a Disney movie should be appropriate to show to a child or a sensitive adult, but it should have appeal for people of all ages.  This, for me, missed that.  This is probably one of the worst, if not the very worst, film in this canon.

What I Liked: Hm... well... the Adam West cameo was nice.

What I Disliked: Pretty much all the characters are annoying, and the humor is... lacking.  Gross-out and toilet humor, fat jokes, and jokes at the expense of the awkward "ugly duckling" Abby are eye roll worthy at best.

Should You Watch This Movie: Skip it.

Day 45: Home on the Range

Late post is late.

Home on the Range (2004)

Starring: Roseanne Barr, Judi Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Randy Quaid, Charles Dennis, Charles Haid, Carole Cook, Joe Flaherty, Steve Buscemi, Richard Riehle, Lance LeGault, G.W. Bailey, Patrick Warburton, Estelle Harris, Sam J. Levine, Ann Richards

Songs: "(You Ain't) Home on the Range," "Little Patch of Heaven," "Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo," "Will the Sun Ever Shine Again," "Wherever the Trail May Lead," "Anytime You Need a Friend"

Home on the Range is the forty-fifth Disney animated film.  It tells the story of three cows who try to capture a cattle thief for the reward money so their human can use it to save their farm.  The film is named for the country-western song of the same name, though the story isn't based on the song.

Like The Emperor's New Groove, this movie was completely retooled during its production.  The original idea was to be called Sweatin' Bullets, and it would have been a supernatural story about ghost cattle rustlers trying to kill off herds of cattle in revenge for the fact that they had been trampled to death in a stampede.  They're stopped by the rabbit Lucky Jack.  This idea was later felt to be too dark and dramatic, and would most certainly have resulted in a PG rating, so the movie was reworked into a western comedy with music.  The art style of the 1950s UPA studio was the inspiration for the art.

When this movie came out, I was in high school and in my "too old for Disney" phase.  But even so, I thought it looked a little silly.  When I did eventually see it a few years after it came out, I thought it was okay.  Definitely one of the weaker Disney outings, but honestly not terrible.  It's mostly watchable, though definitely a little silly.

What I Liked: The backgrounds.  They reminded me of the "Pecos Bill" segment of Melody Time.

What I Disliked: The higher than usual amount of gross-out humor.  It makes the movie feel like they're aiming it strictly at a younger audience, which shouldn't be the case with a Disney movie.  They aren't meant to be children's movies, they should be family movies... and there's a difference.

Should You Watch This Movie:  It wasn't a terrible movie, but by no means a must-see.  You can get away with skipping this one, IMO.

Day 44: Brother Bear

Brother Bear (2003)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Jason Raize, D.B. Sweeney, Joan Copeland, Michael Clarke Duncan, Greg Proops, Pauley Perrette, Estelle Harris, Bumper Robinson, Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

Songs: "Look Through My Eyes," "Great Spirits," "Welcome," "No Way Out," "Transformation," "On My Way"

Brother Bear is the forty-fourth Disney animated film.  It tells the story of Kenai, a young Inuit boy who tries to kill a bear after he causes a fight with the bear that leads to his older brother's death.  He is then transformed into a bear as a sort of punishment and lesson.  

This film began animation in 2001, and was the last film to be made at the Disney animation studio in Florida, which was shut down not long after this was released.  The film blends traditional animation and CGI, not to the extent of previous features like Treasure Planet or Atlantis, but it was blended very well here.  One thing that sets this movie apart is that the beginning, before Kenai is transformed into a bear, is done in full screen, and it later transitions to widescreen when he is transformed.  The colors used  also became brighter.

This film unfortunately got mixed to poor results, many critics thinking too much of it was rehashed from previous Disney films.  I, however, rather liked it, and it was fairly successful at the box office.  The animation is really pretty and the backgrounds are gorgeous.  The characters are engaging, and the Phil Collins written music is nice.  The film is totally watchable -- enjoyable, even.  I unfortunately never saw this movie when I was younger. as it came out during my regrettable "too old for Disney" phase.  But when I did finally see it, I enjoyed it... and I think I would have liked it at the time as well.

What I Liked: The Canadian moose brothers, eh.  Bob and Doug McKenzie.  They're hilarious, I don't care what anyone says.  Also, Koda is a ball of adorable.

What I Disliked: Nothing springs to mind, actually.  Well, there's not a lot of females...

Should You Watch This Movie: Yeah, I'd honestly recommend it.

Day 43: Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet (2002)

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, Martin Short, Michael Wincott, Laurie Metcalf, Roscoe Lee Browne

Songs:  "I'm Still Here," "Always Know Where You Are"

Treasure Planet is the forty-third Disney animated feature film, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.  It tells the story of young Jim Hawkins, who joins the crew of a spaceship and goes on an adventure across the galaxy.

The idea for the picture came about in 1985, when The Little Mermaid was pitched.  Then studio executive Jeffrey Katzenberg wasn't interested at the idea at the time, and the technology to make the film as envisioned didn't exist at the time, so the project laid dormant until it went back into development in the late 90s and began production in 2000.  The goal with Treasure Planet was to blend traditional animation and CGI, as well as to blend classic and futuristic.  Visually, they took inspiration from sci-fi films and classic storybook illustrations.

A 1911 Treasure Island illustration titled "One More Step, Mr. Hands" by N.C. Wyeth

This movie was exciting and really unique looking.  It's got this steampunk thing going on, so that's pretty cool.  The "Treasure Island in space" concept is cool, too.  I didn't see this movie as a kid (or, I should say, as a teenager, since I was 14 when it came out) because it looked like "a boy movie" to me at the time.  I liked it well enough when I saw it much later.  Not a favorite, I'm afraid, but a reasonable way to pass the time.

What I Liked: Captain Amelia, who is perfectly voiced by Emma Thompson.  Also the ending scene is really well done.

What I Disliked: While I didn't hate him, I have to admit B.E.N. is a tad on the annoying side.  I'm just humorless and heartless enough to say that.

Should You Watch This Movie: I'd give it a shot.

Day 42: Lilo & Stitch

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Starring: Christopher Michael Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carerre, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Kevin Michael Richardson, Zoe Caldwell. Jason Scott Lee, Liliana Mumy, Kunewa Mook, Amy Hill, Susan Hegerty, Frank Welker

Songs: "He Mele No Lilo," "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" 

Lilo & Stitch is the forty-second Disney animated feature.  Set in Hawaii, it tells the story of an offbeat little girl who lives with her older sister and ends up getting what she thinks a dog but is actually a destructive alien.  

This movie was sparked by a desire to do an animated feature that wouldn't require a huge budget, like the studio had done with 1941's Dumbo, after the large budgets on Pinocchio and Fantasia. The movie's director Chris Sanders created the character in 1985 with the intention of publishing a children's book about him, but the book never came to be.  This seemed like a good use for the character, and when the studio made the realization that they'd never done a film set in Hawaii, the story turned in that direction.  Part of this film's unique look comes from the fact that they took inspiration from Hawaiian art and architecture, and unlike previous Disney films, the backgrounds were all done in watercolors.  

This movie is a lot of fun.  It's so pretty, it's got awesome music, and the animation is really skillfully done.  The character designs are even fantastic.  Nani is nothing like any of the other Disney women in the way she looks and the way she's built, and that's awesome.  I like this movie a lot and I always have.  This was the first Disney movie of my teenage years, but I did go see it in theaters.  I believe this was the last one I owned on VHS though before everything became more about DVDs.

What I Liked: The relationship between Lilo and Nani.  They're believable both as sisters and as a tight, loving little family.  It's really touching.  And despite the fact that diehard fans of a certain later Disney movie about sisters will claim otherwise, this is the first Disney movie that focuses on the love between siblings -- two sisters who have a great bond.

What I Disliked: When the lady at the animal shelter told Lilo that "Stitch" wasn't a real name.  Like, c'mon lady, let the girl name her weird alien dog what she wants to name him.

Should You Watch This Movie: Yes, I would recommend it.

Day 41: Atlantis: The Lost Empire

My apologies for posting this a day late and then editing the time stamp so it looks like I got it up on time.  Lol, anyways...

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Starring: Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, Florence Stanley, David Ogden Stiers, John Mahoney, Jim Varney, Corey Burton, Leonard Nimoy

Songs: A score by James Newton Howard

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is the forty-first Disney animated film.  It tells the story of young explorer Milo Thatch, who takes a crew in search of the lost city of Atlantis.  This was Disney's first animated sci-fi adventure film.

Development began on this movie after the completion of 1996's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  The studio wanted to do something different than the musicals they had been producing, and they took inspiration from Jules Verne's A Journey to the Center of the Earth.  Visual inspirations included Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the film was styled after comic book artist and graphic designer Mike Mignola's work.  Marc Okrand, the linguist who developed the Klingon language for Star Trek, created an Atlantean language.

The production was difficult and expensive, and unfortunately box office performance was modest and critical reviews were mixed.  To me it seems like that was probably because the movie was very different than what Disney had recently been doing and what people were used to.

This is a movie I didn't see in theaters.  I actually didn't see it the first time until I was a little older, but I did like it when I saw it, and still like it now.  I think it's really cool and enjoyable.

What I Liked: This is a really unique film in the Disney canon, and that's very cool.  Also the characters are really well developed and likable.  Well done there.  And also the score... perfect for a film like this.

What I Disliked:  My usual complaint for the films of this era... sometimes the CGI elements stick out around the traditionally animated elements like a sore thumb.  But to be fair, other times they're blended really well, really cohesive.  And this movie used more CGI than any previous traditionally animated Disney film, so it was an admirable effort.  It works really well in most places, but when it's rocky, it's noticeable.

Should You Watch This Movie: I'd definitely give it a shot.  It's really enjoyable... don't let the mixed reviews deter you.

Day 40: The Emperor's New Groove

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

Starring: David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, Patrick Warburton, Wendie Malick, Kellyann Kelso, Eli Russell Linnetz, Bob Bergen, Tom Jones, Patti Deutsch, John Fielder, Joe Whyte, Frank Welker

Songs: "Perfect World," "My Funny Friend and Me"

The Emperor's New Groove is Disney's fortieth animated feature.  It tells the story of selfish and spoiled young Emperor Kuzco who gets turned into a llama by his adviser Yzma and her bumbling henchman Kronk, and must make his way home with the help of peasant Pacha, despite the fact that he's planning to kick Pacha and his family out of their home so he can build a pool there.

This movie had a long and difficult development.  The idea dates back to 1994, when the story was to be called Kingdom of the Sun.  The story was going to focus on a selfish young emperor who meets a peasant that looks just like him.  The two pull a Prince and the Pauper and switch places, and sorceress Yzma turns the peasant into a llama in an attempt to protect her scheme for eternal youth.  This version of the story would have been more serious and also would have been a musical like previous Renaissance era Disney films.  But due to the fact that the last few films like that hadn't made as much money as the studio would have liked, they decided to retool the film into a buddy comedy.

An interesting fact is that while production on this film was shut down for the story to be retooled, the animators were kept busy working on the "Rhapsody in Blue" segment of Fantasia 2000, which was a late addition to that film.

This movie is really nice.  The art styling looks really cool -- the animation is sharp and the backgrounds are really pretty.  It shows the Incan influence really well.  It really only has the two songs (at the beginning and the end) but they were both good.  And it's just in general a fun film.  The characters are all great.  Their relationships are believable and their interactions are perfect.  The voice acting works really well.  It just all came together.  

I liked this movie a lot as a kid.  I believe I went to see it in the theater, and I do remember really enjoying it from the first time I saw it.  I still really love this movie.  It's one of my favorites.

What I Liked: The fact that this movie is so funny.  It's honestly the funniest one so far, maybe the funniest of them all.

What I Disliked: Nothing really.

Should You Watch This Movie:  Do yourself a favor and watch it now.  Like yesterday, even.

Spotlight on The Land Before Time

In light of the fact that the last post was about Dinosaur, a movie that many have compared to The Land Before Time, and also in light of the fact that I really liked that movie as kid but could not remember anything about it since it had been so long, I decided to watch it.  And though this is a Disney blog and that's not a Disney movie, I decided to do a little post about it, since there's a connection there.

The Land Before Time (1988)

Starring: Gabriel Damon, Candy Hutson, Judith Barsi, Will Ryan, Helen Shaver, Burke Byrnes, Bill Erwin, Pat Hingle

The Land Before Time is a Don Bluth film, produced by his company in conjunction with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment.  It tells the story of Littlefoot, an orphaned Apatosaurus dinosaur who has to go to the Great Valley where there is food and water with his four friends Cera, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike.  The film was a huge critical and financial success and spawned over a dozen direct to video sequels.

In comparing this movie to Disney's Dinosaur, I have to admit, there are some major story similarities!  They both feature packs of dinosaurs migrating to find safety as well as food and water.  The main characters in both films are orphaned.  They even both have eggs rolling away in opening sequences, which are both more moody and realistic than the rest of the film.  Both films star talking dinosaurs though they originally did not intend to.

Overall, this movie is fun and cute, and though there are similarities between this and Dinosaur, I wouldn't call Dinosaur a rip-off.  I don't think having both films in your DVD library would be redundant, either.  Especially if you like dinosaurs.

Day 39: Dinosaur

Dinosaur (2000)

Starring: D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Alfre Woodard, Max Casella, Hayden Panettiere, Samuel E. Wright, Peter Siragusa, Julianna Margulies, Joan Plowright, Della Reese, Frank Welker

Songs: score composed by James Newton Howard

Dinosaur is the thirty-ninth Disney animated film.  It tells the story of Aladar, an Iguanodon dinosaur adopted by a family of lemurs.  When a meteor strike destroys their home, Aladar and his lemur family migrate and join up with a pack of dinosaurs in search of some place with water.  Released in 2000, it wasn't considered an official part of the Disney animated canon until 2008.

The idea to make a CGI film about dinosaurs dates back to 1988.  The first idea for the story was going to be much darker and end with the meteor that would cause the death of all the main characters.  The project was shelved until the '90s, when technology began to catch up with the original vision for the film. 

I don't have a lot to say about this one.  It was nice enough, cool looking and pretty entertaining.  It's a really unique entry in the Disney canon, so I appreciate that a lot.  I did feel like there was a bit of similarity between this and stories like Tarzan and The Jungle Book where an orphan from one culture is adopted into another.  That was neat.  And though the movie was a success, reviews were mixed.  The films critics have said the plot was predictable, which sure, it probably is somewhat but that didn't bother me.  The story is told well, so I could appreciate it.  And being Disney, there are a number of inaccuracies in the way the dragons and lemurs are portrayed.  I'm not an expert in that area, so I don't really feel comfortable commenting on that.  Another complaint is that there were too many similarities between this and The Land Before Time, which was made by Disney ex-pat Don Bluth.  While I loved that movie as a kid, I don't really remember it, so again I can't comment.  Though I do plan to revisit that film soon.

This is a movie I never saw as a kid.  I actually never saw it before today!  I did enjoy it though.  I would watch it again.

What I Liked: Aladar playing with the "kids."  And actually, Aladar is pretty sweet and cool in general.  He's a good character.

What I Disliked: As cutting edge as I'm sure this was in 2000, the CGI characters stick out noticeably on the live action backgrounds.  Part of me does feel it's unfair to criticize a movie for taking advantage of then current technology, but when it serves to make the movie look dated, I think that's fair.

Should You Watch This Movie: It's an enjoyable movie, but you could probably get away with skipping it.  If you want to see them all or you love dinosaurs, go for it.  Otherwise, I wouldn't call it a must see.

Day 38: Fantasia 2000

Fantasia 2000 (1999)

Starring: James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Steve Martin, Itzhak Perlman, Bette Midler, Penn & Teller, Eric Goldberg, James Earl Jones, Quincy Jones, Angela Lansbury, Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo

Songs: see below

Fasntasia 2000 is the thirty-eighth Disney animated feature.  Premiering in December 1999, it did the same thing as the original Fantasia and did a tour to several major US cities before its general release.  And like the original, it can be attributed to two different years because of this.  This film finally fulfilled Walt Disney's vision for Fantasia by taking a familiar segment ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") and adding new ones.  The idea was for Fantasia to be a new experience for the audience every time they saw it.

The idea for this film, again, dates back to that original vision of Walt Disney's.  However when the original film lost money at the box office, the plan had to be abandoned.  Walt's nephew Roy pitched the idea of revisiting Fantasia again in the 1970s, and for a while the project was called "Musicana" and would focus on different cultures around the world.  The idea was again abandoned until around 1990, when production began in earnest.  

For the purposes of this blog, I'll treat this movie as a package film.

• The opening segment features beautiful colors and patterns with shapes that look like butterflies and bats, all set to Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5."  The colors here are so pretty and so enchanting.  It's a really beautiful opening for the film.
• Ottorino Respighi's "Pines of Rome" tells the story of a family of flying whales.  The music here is lovely, and the animation is beautiful.  The underwater sections are a big technological advancement over previous films that feature water -- even The Little Mermaid.
• George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" accompanies a story set in 1930s New York City.  The scene features intertwining stories about several separate people.  The art for this one is really cool, taking inspiration from Al Hirschfeld, much like Aladdin's Genie, whose supervising animator Eric Goldberg directed this piece.
• Han's Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Solider" is set to the tune of Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2.  It tells the story of a one legged toy solider who falls in love with a ballerina doll.  This piece is nice, but a bit darker in tone.  The animation, however, has an interesting look and is very pretty.
• "The Carnival of the Animals" by Camille Saint-Saëns is a really cute little segment about a flock of flamingos and a yo-yo.  This was the funniest and most fun piece of the lot.
• "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," with its music by Paul Dukas, stars Mickey Mouse as the titular character who gets himself into a ton of trouble by trying to experiment with magic.  This is the only piece that carried over from the original Fantasia.  It is just as much of a highlight here as it was in the original film.
• "Pomp and Circumstance" is an interesting piece.  It marries the music we traditionally only hear at graduation ceremonies and the story of Noah's Ark, with Donald Duck playing the part of Noah.  It sounds crazy but it all works perfectly.
• Igor Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" tells of a Spring Sprite who awakens a Firebird and must watch it destroy the forest before she can restore it to its former glory.  This piece was beautiful and evocative, and the music and animation went together perfectly.

Overall, this movie is really nice.  One thing I said about Fantasia was that it was more art than entertainment.  Fantasia 2000 tries to add more fun, but it is still more of an experience than a diversion.  If you look at movies like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, they are certainly finely crafted pieces of art, but they're also accessible as entertainment.  While that's not really the case with movies like Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 (and some of the package films, for that matter), that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  These films can still be fun to watch because the music makes you feel things, and you get to be "told" a story without words.  That's where these movies succeed.

I liked this movie a lot when I first saw it.  I was eleven or twelve years old when I went to go see it at an IMAX theater, and it was a really cool experience that I still remember fondly.  I still like these movie today... and as a Disney nerd like myself it might be sacrilege to say this, but I like this one a bit better than the original. 

What I Liked: The animation is truly stunning.  This might actually be the most beautiful film thus far, or certain in a number of years.  Plus the moment when Mickey speaks to the conductors and goes and tells Donald he needs to go on stage.  Ahhh, wonderful.

What I Disliked: Nothing in particular jumps out at me.

Favorite Segment: "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" aside, because picking that would be way too obvious, I'd have to say "Rhapsody in Blue."  It was the most unique and also the most charming, plus I just love that song.

Least Favorite Segment: I did like all of them, so this is a tough question.  But if I had to pick, it would be a toss-up between "Pines of Rome" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier."  Neither was terrible, and the animation and music were beautiful on both, but they didn't click quite as well as some of the other segments.

Should You Watch This Movie:  If you liked Fantasia, you'll likely like this.  If Fantasia's length put you off an otherwise enjoyable movie (like it did for me, especially as a child) you may find you prefer this film.  So yes, I would recommend this movie.