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

I guess I don't understand the adoration for Beauty & The Beast. The story itself is very simplistic, and many of the characters don't really behave as one would expect them to. Nor is the ham-fisted moral really very profound or thoughtful at all. Or even, you know, correct. The other films from the early 90s seemed to do a lot better on this score than this one did. Why do people enjoy it so much?

 

I seriously hope that Pixar does NOT do a Toy Story 4. Even though the ending of 3 does leave an opening for future films, I would rather they officially end it with the scene of Andy and Bonnie playing together. Same for Cars; I haven't even seen 2, but the prospect of a third is a bit ridiculous.

 

Maybe they combine both movies into a bloody Mexican standoff?

 

But at no point am I saying that these new films should just be the Renaissance redux. I'm just saying that to be considered in the same light they need to hit the same high-watermark of writing and production, and I don't think Frozen does.

If I say that Chariots of Fire's cinematography doesn't hold a candle to that of Apocalypse Now, that doesn't mean I want it to look like Apocalypse Now, it just means that I think one, on a technical level, is inferior to the other.

Disney was all about pushing the technology forward, imparting valuable lessons to children (this film does that, and I applaud that aspect), and delivering, for want of a better word, pageantry. Those 90s films aren't actually like the classic Disney films in a lot of ways, but they do embody the same spirit that made so many of those animated films made during Disney's lifetime truly great. It's not about emulation at all.

I agree, up to a point. I have no argument with the film's message or intent, just the execution. But at the end of the day, I'm not the target audience, and if kids love it well and good. Whatever keeps them from watching Bayformers can only be a good thing.

 

Sorry for the double post - edit feature seems to have gone haywire for me.

All of this, but on top of that it's the atmosphere for me. There were elements of Disney films that had come before that really nailed atmosphere (The Jungle Book), but this is total from start to finish. You just feel like you're in that world, moreso than any other Disney film, I think. And contributing to that is the characters - it's a pretty huge ensemble of charcters TBH, and pretty much all of them are memorable, right down to the brief Tony Jay "cameo". It's the only film of its kind that unfolds like a "real" film, so to speak, and has the grandiose visuals to match (the ballroom dance and the pre-titles in particular).

 

Agreed. If they want to do an occasional animated short or tv special (the recent Halloween special was hilarious for example), that's fine, but the end of 3 wrapped up the story so neatly. What could a fourth film add?

 

You know what I meant.

 

I too agree that there should be no TS4. If there will be one I'd likely watch it anyway, but still...

So I showed Wreck-It Ralph to my Korean class. Whenever I show it to new groups I always love listening to their reactions at seeing the game characters

Spoiler

and their gasps at the revelation that King Candy is Turbo. I admit the first time I watched in theaters, I certainly didn't see that one coming.

 

I honestly don;t remember which Disney film I saw first as a kid, but our VHS tapes of "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan" were played very regularly. I think "Oliver & Company" was probably the first one I saw in a theater, and I know I probably saw "The Little Mermaid" at least 5 times with different groups of friends and/or family members in 1989. I have quite a few of the classics on Blu-Ray, and I'm excited about the upcoming release for "The Jungle Book".

One thing that really annoys me though, is that "Aladdin" still hasn't been released on Blu-Ray yet. December 2012 was the 20th anniversary, but the Disney execs chose to celebrate the 60-year mark for "Peter Pan" in February 2013. They've already gone the HD route with "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King", but "Aladdin" is nowhere to be found...c'mon, people!

 

Probably because Aladdin has never been re-released in theaters and Disney is lazy.

 

Welp, this is happening.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/01/22/frozen-sing-along/4783327/

All you haters may hate now.

 

It's come to my attention that some people consider their to be a contest between the two most recent Disney films, about which is superior. Having finally seen both, I'll weigh in to give the victory easily to Tangled. It admittedly had the form of a very conventional Disney tale. However, it's exploration of a troubled, even frankly pathological relationship between a daughter and her adoptive mother was novel for a children's film. They really made that relationship important to the film, and explored it in ways that were thoughtful and fairly plausible both. So this was, I'd argue, quite new ground for them overall.

By contrast, broadly flagging its intentions to be different, I'm not sure Frozen was very unique at all. Certainly outside the Disney canon, the idea of "love at first sight" and unrealistic romantic relationships had been pretty thoroughly derided. Even within the company's other products, its affirmative messages had been delivered before. Frozen lectured on the importance of getting to know someone over time, and sung about how two people have to grow to tolerate and complement each others' short-comings as individuals. Two decades earlier, Beauty & the Beast was modeling a months long relationship between people that initially despised each other, and included lyrics like "finding you can change//learning you were wrong" and "neither one prepared" to describe their evolving interactions with one another.

The story, too, was sort of lacking. There was never actually any dramatic tension around how the sister's felt about one another. The younger sibling risked herself as much to help her sister earlier in the film as she did at the end. It was equally apparent that the older sister always liked being around the younger, and only held back in an attempt to protect her. So what exactly was the grand point they were driving home? "Don't try to handle problems all by yourself?" That really seems tepid. Overall, I 'd rate this story an important step for this particular studio, but I don't see how it's terribly revolutionary in the broader environment of children's entertainment. Nor do I see how it was superior to its predecessor as an overall product.

 

I don't know whether its a good thing or not, but it seems that among the Internet forums I go to, THIS is the only one that seems to be more critical towards Frozen where others its almost unanimously praised.

Granted I can see how some think that, but there obviously must be a reason why most feel Frozen to be the superior one when put up with Tangled. The question is "what" exactly it is. Among my peers who've watched both and prefer Tangled more, one thing they comment on is a lack of explanation of Elsa's origins concerning her powers.

I will say this though; Frozen's songs knock Tangled's songs completely out of the water. And it's a damn shame because Tangled was done by Alan Menken, who has done great work before during the Renaissance. Making forgettable songs is Randy Newman's job, not Alan Menken's!
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On the live action Disney front, there's that new Maleficent trailer. I admit it does a better job drawing you in than the first trailer. I'm interested in seeing it in theaters now.

 

It's Olaf.

 

Finally saw Frozen. My review is this thread.

I would argue that Frozen's "Let It Go" is just as powerful as The Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World".

 

It's coming in second place at the Box Office this weekend. It's also surpassed Despicable Me 2.

 

Took my daughter to see Frozen today, her second time, my first. I already knew the story and have heard several of the songs a few hundred times each. I still loved it, 3 or 4 of the songs are tremendous, and I thought they nailed Olaf, very funny without being annoying. Disney also ususlly does a very good job getting local talent for the German versions of their movies, and that was the case here as well.

One note: as some of you know, I have two daughters, so the film hits a special chord with me.

 

Judging them as movies, I enjoyed Tangled more, but musically I like Frozen better as it has more of a stage musical sound (not entirely due to Idina Menzel's voice, but that certainly didn't hurt) which always apeals to me.
To be honest, I didn't really like "Let it Go" in the movie (but that might have been in part due to the headache I had while watching it) but it grew on me very quickly after downloading the soundtrack. I walked out of the theater with "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" in my head, which was my favorite song on inital thought.

I saw they were doing the sing along this morning... I can't imagine how horrifying that would be. All those kids, singing out of tune at the top of their lungs... *shutters*

 

Seems that for Frozen, the two iconic songs people recall are Do You Want to Build A Snowman and Let it Go.

While I agree that, I'd put in For the First Time in Forever in there too.