Amph The Disney/Pixar Movies Thread (for anything non-Marvel/SW)

I'm quite partial to The Black Cauldron. I freely admit that some of that love is due to the befuddled expressions you get from other people when you tell them your favorite Disney film is The Black Cauldron.

No.

 

Are we including Pixar in that question? Because Up and Toy Story 3 got me.

What?

 

Meet the Robinson's, Aladdin King of Thieves and Mary Poppins are awesome

 

Exactly... it was that opening montage!

 

Not for animated movies though, that's for sure. Which makes me wonder what's to come in the Academy Awards. At first I thought Frozen would be a sure-fire win because of the meh competition (Even though I like Monsters University), but then I was informed about Miyazaki's The Wind Rises, which just HAD to have a limited LA theatrical release qualifying it. Normally I wouldn't care, but ever since Brave usurped Wreck-It Ralph at the Academy Awards I've been dying to see Disney get back at them. And don't get me wrong, I liked Brave. I just liked Wreck-It Ralph more.

I think the success of Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen has pretty much put the anti-CGI Disney protestors to rest and now they've found their stride. It helps that the movies still have a "feel" of a traditionally animated movie while simply wearing 3D clothes. It blends the two well, I must say. I need to make it a point to buy the home releases of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, and buy Frozen when it releases too.

Technically...Pixar is a subsidiary of Disney now, but that's just going into a whole different argument. At best it's good to think of them as "Second-tier", while the Big 53 are higher because of their direct connection to the company.

20 bucks for a ticket? What the crap?!? Are movie tickets in the US that expensive now? As for your lack of intention to watch Frozen, that's too bad. Frozen is leagues above Tangled. But if it's because of the marketing I don't blame you. Whoever is in charge of Disney's marketing needs to be fired because their attempts to market Tangled and Frozen as a Dreamworks comedy was utter fail. At least for Frozen they had a sense to release second, more traditional trailer that focused more on the sisters than Olaf and Sven.

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But you're right on the ball that they're doing fine CGI without Pixar. I'm rather sick and tired of people thinking that every single Disney CGI movie is a Pixar production. On the other hand though, it has helped in word of mouth; when I mentioned to a friend of mine that Frozen is not Pixar and was still good, he was intrigued and said he'll watch Frozen himself.

Yes, yes you can. Home on the Range and Chicken Little IMO are the worst of the Big 53. The former because of how blegh and dull the premise is, and the latter for being so....utterly mean-spirited.

Those two movies exemplified the Dark Age of 2000's Disney from 2000-2008. If any of you like any movies from there, good for you, but for me I don't think back on them lightly. Any good or decent ones were overshadowed by the awfulness of others. IMO of course.

That's one of the reasons why I like it so much and why I rank it high among my Top 5. And this isn't just first-time hype talking. I watched it twice, second time with my family, and gave it time to settle. I still love it. It takes on the traditional formula while updating, poking or twisting it around to make it a new experience and update it accordingly. While at the same time, NOT poking at it just because for poke's sake. Compare that to Enchanted and how they ALWAYS had to mention how non-realistic the formula is. In Frozen, they take it seriously.

Oh Black Cauldron...poor Black Cauldron. It's either that or Song of the South that Disney is afraid to bring up or mention. But at least Black Cauldron doesn't have racial connotations. I think the Black Cauldron may actually be gaining in popularity now.

On the Pixar movies, I enjoyed most of them. Cars 2 can rot though, Brave is OK, and Monsters University, while I enjoyed, isn't anything too special. My Top 5 Pixar movies are:
1. Toy Story 3
2. Up
3. The Incredibles
4. Ratatouille
5. WALL-E

On the DTV sequels...yeah, most of them were horrible. There are few good ones here and there, but most are just stains. My Top 5 DTV sequels are:
1. Bambi 2
2. Lion King 2
3. Aladdin and the King of Thieves
4. The Return of Jafar
5. Mulan 2

Then for the live action Disney films...admittedly I'm not too experienced in this area. But I've heard of good things about some of them. Out of all the branches of Disney films these are the ones I'm the least familiar with, but if I had to give my Top 5:
1. Bedknobs and Broomsticks
2. Mary Poppins
3. Enchanted
4. The Parent Trap 1998
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Then finally, my Top 5 among the Big 53. Note that this is just my own opinion, I'm fully aware that all the other movies are good/decent/OK. I don't claim to be an expert or a definitive person to talk about this since, as I mentioned previously, the longevity of the Big 53 ensures that everyone has their own favorites and their own Top 5's, and they shouldn't be sidelined or criticized because of that. Whatever people like Leonard Maltin and Siskel & Ebert like to say, they're not definitive. There is no "one" definitive list because of everyone's opinions.
1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Frozen
3. The Lion King
4. Tangled
5. Wreck-It Ralph

As for the upcoming films? Well for the Canon, I'm certainly looking forward to Big Hero 6, though its success has me worried because of how well Frozen did. On Pixar, I'm looking forward to Finding Dory and Inside Out. Live Action? Well, when I watched Frozen I saw a trailer for Saving Mr. Banks. Looks really interesting.

 

I'm glad that you've decided how you think we should view them, but when I told you that Pixar is a separate studio I mean literally that. They're owned by Disney but not much beyond that. They're literally a separate studio with separate management and separate artists and storywriters. They're not "second-tier" by any means.

Also yeah it's $20 in Hollywood to see a movie. You can get it cheaper for a matinee or if you want to travel farther away, but for me the only theaters within range are about 18 then tax on top :/ It blows.

 

Just saw Frozen and absolutely adored it. I'm gonna have to see it again to see its staying power, but right now I'm putting it in my #3 spot for favorite Disney movies (B&TB is #1 and TLK is #2). The movie's biggest strength was making the main relationship be about the sisters and not Anna and Hans/Kristoff. And Idina Menzel singing "Let it Go." Dear God is that a good song.

 

I didn't even consider seeing Frozen....

Until I movie Bob of the escapist started gushing over it, He mentioned its odd marketing campaign. It piqued my interest. Then Brad Jones of Cinema Snob did his vlog of it and praised it, which was uprising as bob and Jones usually have differing opinions.

The I watched the trailers, then listened to the sound track. Trailers were nothing special, the track knocked me flat on my back, especially let it go and For the First time in forever (reprise).

So I said okay, and read the TV trope page spoiler and all, then I saw the Movie.

Why did Disney feel it necessary for the deceptive Add campaign?

Was it the Double princess familial love? This movie actually got me to research then Buy Tangled!? How the hell did I miss "Now I see the Light"!?

Why the deception? Frozen is a damn good movie!

 

Yeah, count two more positive votes for Frozen from both me and my younger brother (for what it's worth, we're 27 and 18, respectively). The trailers make it look dumber than it really is. Admittedly, there are a couple of musical numbers that I didn't really care for, but I didn't *hate,* and I think the CG could have been better (though there were parts that I thought were really good.) That said, I do think the story is solid and the characters were well written, and I really liked how it took several of the tropes common with Disney animated movies and actually twisted them around a little bit.

I wouldn't say the movie is Lion King or Beauty and the Beast-level good, but I'd still rank it pretty high up. Probably along the lines of Aladdin or Little Mermaid.

Quick thoughts on some of the other movies:

My personal favorite animated Disney movie: Hunchback of Notre Dame. Love the soundtrack, and Tony Jay's performance as Frollo was great. Probably my favorite villain, especially of the late-80s mid-90s era.

Of the animated movies (that I remember), I'd say my favorites are: Great Mouse Detective, Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and I'm sort of partial to both Princess and the Frog (if only for Keith David) and Atlantis: The Lost Empire (nice story, but sort of falls apart in the last third or so).

Of the live-action ones that I can think of off the top of my head, I'd say my favorites are Tron, Bedknobs and Broomsticks (if only for the ending. Medieval/Renaissance suits of armor vs Nazis. What's not to love? ), The Rocketeer, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, and Tron: Legacy. I remember liking the original That Darn Cat when I was younger, but I haven't seen it in ages.

Also, does Who Framed Roger Rabbit? count as a "Disney" movie? If it does, add that to either of the lists.

I'll admit, it was Brad and Jake's vlog on Frozen that convinced me to see it. Those two did a much better job selling the movie to me than Disney did.

 

I'm also not a fan of Bolt. It seems much too pleased with itself at times. They spent too much money animating the dog and not for the rest of the movie. Some of the backgrounds look like they were drawn by a 4 year old.

 

Hard to believe that Dinosaur is animated, it looks more animated than it does animated.

 

Yes, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? it's a Disney movie

 

I have almost zero romanticism for the Disney brand, though I do recognize and appreciate it as a symbol of childhood and a bit of Americana. I can count the number of Disney animated features I've seen all the way through on one hand. To be honest, my favorite Disney film is the one in the picture above (and like its contemporary Marvel counterparts, The Rocketeer wasn't an original Disney creation). I'm also fond of Tron and Tron: Legacy. Toss in the first National Treasure as well I suppose. But the animated stuff, their bread and butter really. Eh. Can't argue with their legacy, though. It's impressive and important, and I tip my cap to them.

Oh, but I do love Duck Tales. Duck Tales rocks.

 

Completely understandable, Juke. I think Disney hurt themselves by allowing the DTV sequels to happen, and the last decade saw some pretty weak canon films. For what it's worth, I feel they have started to rebound a little in the last few years, but still need to be careful. As The Lone Ranger proved, even Disney isn't immune to failure.

 

Don't forget John Carter

 

Good point, Richie.

 

Yeah, I can definitely see those DTV sequels cheapening the brand a bit, not to mention not sitting very well with long time fans. I'd guess they probably raked in a lot of cash, though. I haven't seen The Lone Ranger yet, but there's a classic example of excess. Why does a western need a budget approaching $200 million? But otherwise Disney's business model seems pretty sound. They keep churning out hit live action and animated shows on the Disney Channel. Because those kids eventually age out those shows only have a certain shelf life, but there always seems to be a replacement show cued up and ready to go. And I read somewhere recently that the Disney Princesses is like the #1 grossing toy/kids property in America, if not the world.

John Carter is definitely underrated. I liked it the first time I watched it, and really liked it the second time. It has a few issues IMO, but it's really close to being something special. I would loved to have had a sequel. Alas...

 

What?

 

I believe there isn't enough attention paid to Basil the Great Mouse Detective. It came just after the massive flop that was The Black Cauldron and was one of the last movies made before what's considered to be Disney's second golden age in the 90's. So I can understand why people forget about it. Yet that doesn't make it any less of a pity that people forget about that one. It had some pretty major breakthroughs in animation technique, for example it was the first Disney movie to combine 2D animation and CGI. And most importantly, it has Vincent Price as Moriarty (Or Rattigan in this movie), and you can tell he's loving every second voicing the role.

 

I love Robin Hood.

 

Whoops, i meant Hard to believe Dinosaur is animated, looks more live action than it does animated.

 

Yo dawg, I heard you like animated movies so I put an animated movie in your animated movie so you can watch your animated movie while you watch your animated movie.

 

i don't have the time will to read up on what you people are discussing, but i wanted to say that tarzan is the best disney movie evurr