Who could ever learn to love a beast? - Beauty and the Beast

30 – Beauty and the Beast

I've watched 30 Disney movies this past month. That seems crazy to me. The ridiculous variety of movies I've gotten to see is crazy to me too. Even the weird varying qualities of these movies has been crazy. 1991's Beauty and the Beast, however, is a whole new kind of crazy for me.

The story is set up brilliantly with some narration that tells us that an enchantress disguised as an old beggar places a curse on a Prince when he denies her a place to stay because he is repulsed by her appearance. The curse causes him to become a horrific beast as well as cursing the whole castle and it's inhabitants. The spell will only be broken if he can learn to love someone and have them fall in love with him, despite his horrible appearance, before an enchanted rose wilts on his 21^st birthday. If he can't, the curse on him and all the people in the castle will remain permanently. Years later, a girl named Belle lives in a young village hoping for a more exciting life. Her father is an eccentric inventor who leaves to present one of his new inventions at a fair. He ends up getting lost and is captured by the Beast. Belle goes to rescue him and offers her in exchange for her father. Knowing that she might be the key to breaking the curse, Beast takes the offer.

Belle is a young girl who lives in a small, dull, French village. She is considered very odd by the other villagers as she always seems to have her head in the clouds. She really just dreams of leaving the village for a more exciting life. She uses books as a sort of escape and always seems to be reading. She's also an incredibly strong character. She doesn't let herself get pushed around by anyone and she isn't so shallow that she falls for the local handsome bachelor, Gaston. She also shows herself to be very adventurous and rebellious. Paige O'Hara did a fantastic job bringing her to life. She is definitely the strongest Disney heroine, or even just character, I've seen so far. She has dreams and goals but she also takes action and has realistic flaws that she needs to get over.

Beast is also a really great, complex character. He is very angry and controlling but you get the clear sense that this is hiding a great compassion and kindness. He really doesn't know how to act in front of Belle but it all comes from his lack of self esteem. He just can't believe that someone like Belle could ever learn to love him. Despite his anger and roughness you can't help but like him and identify with him because you know it's just a facade caused by his insecurity. He is definitely not the typical Disney Prince.

Beast is assisted with his interactions with Belle by the other castle inhabitants who have all been turned into various objects. Lumiére, the head waiter, has been turned into a Candelabra. He is very rebellious and ignores Beast's rules to be a good host to Belle and her father. He loves to entertain people and is a bit of a ladies man. His best friend is Cogsworth, the castle butler, who has been turned into a clock. He is much more loyal to Beast and never wants to get him angry. This causes him to be a bit of a stick in the mud and get into arguments with Lumiére. Mrs. Potts and Chip are the mother and son teapot and teacup, respectively. Mrs. Potts is very wise and offers advice to Belle and Beast. Chip is very curious about the world. I really loved all the side characters in this story. They really added a unique quality to the world they created. You also really root for them to become human again because you can tell how they're good people and how they care about both Belle and Beast.

Gaston starts off as a fairly typical chauvinist villain. He wants to possess Belle simply because she's beautiful. He wants her to give up her life and interests and become his trophy wife. It was a really good choice to make him handsome to give him a good contrast against Beast. He slowly gets more and more dangerous and angry throughout the movie. He starts with silly ideas like proposing to Belle and surprising her with a wedding already set up to really dark ones like blackmailing her into marriage to avoid him sending her father to an insane asylum. He really ends up being an interesting villain. I got a really clear idea of his motivation and what kind of horrible person he is.

One of the many things that really struck me as incredible in this movie was how much the characters changed over the course of the movie. Belle follows a really great trend with modern Disney heroines to be the cause of action rather than just react to things. She is way more intelligent than past heroines but she also definitely has some flaws, which is really great. When she meets Beast, even she is repelled by his appearance until she finds out what kind of person he really is. Beast starts off in so much despair about how he looks. He seems almost afraid that things will never work out so he lashes out in anger. Once he starts to soften up and take the chance to try to change, he starts to become more confident and less angry. I really like that his change in personality was gradual and natural. It never feels like he's acting out of character. The big realization for him doesn't come when he realizes he loves her but that he loves her so much that he is willing to forego his own wishes to become human for her sake.

Their relationship really evolves in a natural way too. Belle starts off incredibly angry at him and doesn't even want to give him a chance. This, of course, just makes Beast angry because it's what he expects would happen. Belle only gives him a chance once he proves that he isn't who he has shown himself to be the whole time he's been with her. They finally start to act more like themselves around each other. I really love that this movie avoids the whole “love at first sight” trope and makes a romance that makes sense and that you can really root for.

Just like with The Rescuers Down Under and The Little Mermaid the animation just keeps getting better. The ballroom scene is a classic for very very good reasons. The music, however, is just on a completely different level. Alan Menken completely surpassed the work he did on The Little Mermaid just as Howard Ashman did a fantastic job with the lyrics. Every single sequence in this movie just blew me away. Every one of them was beautiful and perfectly conveyed the emotions they wanted to convey while still giving more insight into the characters and pushing the story forward. The movie feels much more like a musical than even their other “musicals.” The tone they find for the whole movie, in general, is just perfect. They balance humor and action so well and they manage to keep you so invested in the characters.

So this movie is just incredible. I remember seeing this one as a kid but it's so much better than I remembered it. It's going to be incredibly difficult to top this one. I usually go and read about how they made the movie after I've watched it and even that story is incredible. Howard Ashman really put his heart and soul into this movie before he, sadly, passed away before he could even see the finished version. I'd say that I hope that he would have been proud of the finished product, but there's no need. I'll just end with a quote.

When producer Don Hahn had learned that the first screening of the movie was well received he leaned over to Howard Ashman and said, “Beauty and the Beast is going to be a great success. Who'd have thought it?” Ashman replied, “I would have.”

30 down. 23 to go.

I didn't make it all the way through third grade for nothing. - The Rescuers Down Under

29 – The Rescuers Down Under

The Rescuers Down Under from 1990 has the distinction of being the very first direct sequel in the Disney Animated Classics series. This is a bit unfortunate for me as I really didn't love the first one. Despite that, I tried to go in with no preconceived notions or judge it too harshly. This is made way harder since it follows the incredible The Little Mermaid. This movie had a bit of an uphill battle with me to convince me that it was good. I don't want to just rehash all the things I said from the first one so please read my original The Rescuers review first.

The plot is mostly similar to the first movie but takes place in Australia. A young boy named Cody loves animals and goes to rescue them. He rescues a rare Golden Eagle named Marahute from a trap and befriends it. He ends up being kidnapped by a poacher called McLeach. McLeach wants Marahute for himself to sell but Cody refuses to tell him where she is. The Rescue Aid Society gets the message that the boy has been kidnapped and dispatches Bianca and Bernard to go rescue Cody. When Bianca and Bernard get to Australia they meet the Kangaroo Mouse Jake who helps them try to rescue Cody. Cody, meanwhile, tries to escape McLeach and protect Marahute.

The only characters who really return from the last movie are Bianca and Bernard. Bianca is largely the same as before. She is still seemingly oblivious to Bernard's feelings and believes that he has the potential to really be a hero. I felt like she did less in this movie than she did in the last, however. Bernard is still timid and reluctant but this time he has to compete for Bianca's affections with Jake. I think this is a big reason he actually finally gets some character development in this movie. He finally gets those scenes that really lets him prove himself like I wanted last time. Bob Newhart definitely did a better job this time as well.

The new cast includes Jake, a very charismatic and flirty kangaroo mouse. His interest in Bianca really makes the movie more interesting with regards to Bernard's and Bianca's relationship. He comes off as much more adventurous and brave than Bernard which forces Bernard to come out of his shell a bit. Unfortunately, his role kind of ends there. He has a bunch of scenes where he acts cool and makes Bernard look bad but he doesn't really do anything else. Cody, in comparison, does much better in that sense. He is very brave and has a strong desire to help animals. He never gives up and is always trying to do the right thing. That's sort of where I had a big problem with him. He's just kind of a bland character. I feel like we've seen this kind of one dimensional character so many times before. I wanted to see his motivation and struggles more. I don't think this is entirely his fault, though. The problem may have been that he just didn't really have a worthy nemesis.

McLeach the poacher is the villain of this story. His whole motivation is to capture the Golden Eagle Marahute and sell it. He has a huge temper but he's otherwise just a really lame villain. He comes off as just incredibly stupid sometimes. He gets outsmarted by his pet Joanna, a goanna, which is a silly scene just played for laughs but it just makes McLeach look even more stupid. Joanna herself is just a standard Disney villain pet. We never get a good idea of why he does what he does except that he's going to make a “fortune.” I feel like the movie makers were just trying to shoehorn that “poachers are bad” idea. Of course they're bad, but don't forget to actually make an interesting villain.

Aside from these characters, almost all the other side characters are just idiotic. Wilbur, the albatross, is just made for comic relief and acts stupid the whole time. The other animals locked up by McLeach are equally dumb with Frank, the frill necked lizard, particularly annoying. He really gave me a Jar Jar vibe. The action scenes were ok. They were gorgeous because the animation and presentation is great but I just didn't feel invested in the action. One of the scenes had Frank getting chased around by Joanna that they played for humor but it was just frustrating because you knew it was because Frank was such a stupid character. McLeach just wasn't a good villain. He was a jerk but he so generic that it was boring and I never felt any tension with any of his scenes. Worse than all of this, I still don't have a reason to actually care about any of these characters.

So I tried real hard not to judge this film before it started but, as a sequel, they still couldn't manage to make me like the characters. The animation is still top notch. The music is really great. It's awesome that Bernard finally got some development. Still, I really felt like this movie was all style with the absolute minimum of substance. This is so frustrating after watching The Little Mermaid. You can still make a movie that kids enjoy without it being downright idiotic. It's kind of funny too because I probably liked this movie more than the first one but I'm so much more frustrated with seeing the lack of progress now. Tomorrow, however, we get back into the good stuff.

29 down. 24 to go.

The Disney Renaissance begins with a splash - The Little Mermaid

28 – The Little Mermaid

1989's The Little Mermaid started an era in Disney history known as the “Disney Renaissance.” These movies are some of the best reviewed and most popular movies in Disney Animation Studio's long history. I have been really excited to get to this stuff since I started writing these reviews for a few reasons. First, I know their quality is almost legendary among fans. Secondly, these were the movies I really got to grow up with through the early 90s. The first movie, The Little Mermaid, is a return for Disney in many ways. It's the first real attempt at a musical and their first attempt at a fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty.

The story is about Ariel, the youngest daughter of the King of the Sea Triton. She is very bored with her life under the sea and wishes to learn about humans and their world despite her father's protests. She ends up falling in love with a human prince after she rescues him from a boat wreck. After her father reprimands her for making contact with a human, Ariel makes a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula to become human. She ends up making a deal that isn't exactly fair and has to find a way to stop Ursula from using the opportunity to take King Triton's position.

We know exactly what kind of person Ariel is when she doesn't show up for a concert for her father to explore a sunken human ship. They set up her character really well and we get to see that she's brave and has a fascination with the human world. We also see that she has a great fish friend named Flounder who is very timid but stands up for Ariel when he needs to. We also meet Scuttle, a seagull, that she brings her findings to so he can tell her what they are. He is often wrong and seems to be quite dumb but he also clearly cares about her and is actually really helpful at times. Immediately, I really like that she actually has a personality. She probably has the strongest personality of any female character I've seen in these Disney movies so far. She has issues that, I think, many people can identify with. She wants to explore a world unfamiliar to her and has trouble making her father understand her. What teenager hasn't gone through something like that?

The prince she meets, Prince Eric, has some different issues. He is being continually pressured to find a wife but thinks that when he meets her he'll “know.” He's clearly a big romantic and we later get to see that he's also incredibly brave. During a big storm he swims back to the burning ship to rescue his dog, Max. Max doesn't really get to do much but add some humor and show off that Eric is very kind but I liked his presence. After he gets rescued from the shipwreck by Ariel, he gets a bit of an obsession with her and keeps looking for the girl he heard singing when he got rescued. Prince Eric is definitely the most well developed Prince there has been in Disney so far. Again, I really liked that he had a personality and wasn't just there to end up with the heroine.

King Triton was another really great character. He thinks humans are all barbarians so he doesn't let Ariel interact with them at all. His big problem is that he has a very short fuse and doesn't try to understand Ariel's point of view. He also clearly cares about her greatly, wanting to protect her and regretting when he loses his temper. He asks the crab and court composer, Sebastian, to look after her. Sebastian is a big stick in the mud and also doesn't want Ariel interacting with humans. He later realizes that she is unhappy and decides to support her decision to stay on land.

The one who gives Ariel the opportunity to be a human is the Sea Witch Ursula. She formerly lived in the palace but was banished. She uses magic to make deals with merpeople to improve their lives but turns them into polyps when they can't pay her fee. She has a real creepy design but she feels different than most of the Disney villains I've seen so far. She is much more conniving and doesn't use force until it's necessary. The scene where she makes the deal with Ariel is great. The deal she makes is just ingenious too. She makes the deal that Ariel needs to make Prince Eric fall in love with her in 3 days but at the cost of her voice. She convinces Ariel that men don't even really like when women talk. You know she can't be trusted but Ariel is just so desperate. She uses her eels, Flotsam and Jetsam, to go spy on Ariel for her and generally just add to her creepiness.

Right from the beginning of the movie, something just feels different. I really try hard not to have any preconceived notions before I go in to these movies so I hope I still managed to do that. It just seems like that “Disney Magic” was back in full force. Although I really liked The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver & Company, they did feel like they lacked a bit of that “magic” and timeless quality. The amazing animation definitely contributed to it. It is definitely the best looking Disney movie I've seen so far. The music was also great. Even though this movie had a ton of musical sequences they were all fantastic. They were fun and interesting and always helped move the story along or let us get to know the characters better. “Kiss the Girl” was especially great with Sebastian setting up a ridiculous romantic situation to goad Prince Eric into kissing Ariel. The movie definitely has a really simplistic idea of love, much like the other fairy tale Disney movies, but I think they handled it really well this time. Eric thinks that he'll just know when he meets the right girl but it ends up that he actually has to get to know Ariel better before he commits to a decision. He decides that he loves her even though he's been desperately searching for the girl he heard singing that is, of course, Ariel herself.

I didn't really have any huge problems with this movie. Flounder probably could have had a bigger role. I just liked his character and his and Ariel's relationship. I thought it was a bit lame that Eric was hypnotized near the end because I wanted to see some more conflict with his decision, but I think they still handled it well. In any case, this is a fantastic start to the famed “Disney Renaissance.” I don't want to be pessimistic, but tomorrow is a sequel to a movie I wasn't a huge fan of...

28 down. 25 to go.

You're all right, kid, for a cat - Oliver & Company

27 – Oliver & Company

Today's movie is 1988's Oliver & Company. It's based on Charles Dickens' classic novel “Oliver Twist” although I have to admit that I've never actually read it. It's just one of those books that have eluded me all my life, though I haven't exactly put in the effort to find it. Maybe it's better this way though. I can really try to look at Oliver & Company for what it is instead of trying to compare it to Charles Dickens' novel. I took a look at some reviews after I watched the movie and it seems like it didn't received very well but most of those reviews also tried comparing it to the classic novel. I can't do that so I'll just see if it works as a movie at all.

The plot of this movie is actually kind of crazy. It all makes sense, unlike The Black Cauldron, but there is just a crazy amount of things that happen. We first meet Oliver the cat who has been left alone in a box with all of his siblings being taken away to nice homes. He then meets Dodger, a dog who uses Oliver to get himself some food. Dodger is part of a group of dogs that helps a poor man named Fagin. Fagin owes money to a man called Sykes. Oliver ends up joining this group but gets separated and meets Jenny, a little girl who is lonely because her parents are always away. The group goes to rescue Oliver but find that he enjoys his new life. Fagin, in desperation, ransoms Oliver for money because he believe he has been taken in by a rich family. This ends up leading to Jenny getting captured by Sykes and the group having to go rescue her from him. So yeah. A lot happens and, if you haven't noticed, there are a ton of characters.

The filmmakers really make you feel bad for Oliver from the beginning. You see how he so eagerly wants to be with people but ends up being left alone while his brothers and sisters all get adopted. He's shown to be very friendly with people and a bit curious about the world. He also shows himself to be pretty persistent once he meets Dodger and finds that Dodger just used him to get himself some food. He follows Dodger all the way back to where Dodger lives with his group. Dodger, a Jack Russell Terrier, is much more street smart than Oliver. He comes off as pretty carefree and selfish when he takes the food that Oliver helped him get but he shows a different side when he meets up with his friends and offers them the food. You really see how much he cares about them and Fagin, their poor owner. He and Oliver really become good friends and he is really hurt when Oliver finds a new home.

Dodger's group is introduced early on too. You get a good idea that they all have very different personalities and it's nice to see that variety. There's Tito, a Chihuahua who is a bit hyperactive with a short temper but is also the group's mechanical expert. Francis is a Bulldog who is a bit snobby about his intelligence but loves theater and is the group's actor. Einstein is a Great Dane who is a bit unintelligent and, sadly, gets the least characterization. Finally, there's Rita, a Saluki, who is the only female of the group and is much more mature than the rest of them. She also doesn't really get to do much. They're all taken care of by Fagin, who is in enormous debt to the evil Sykes. He has his dogs try to find him money or things to sell to pawn shops. He is clearly a good guy but sadly has to resort to some underhanded things to make money. He also clearly cares about his dogs greatly and accepts Oliver with open arms. I felt bad for him though I think when he ransoms Oliver, it's a bit out of character the way he does it. He just seems too excited to be doing something so shady.

The villain in this movie is clearly Sykes who continuously threatens Fagin for the money Fagin owes him. He's pretty intimidating but you don't really get too much of a sense of who he is. He comes across as just a generic bad guy sometimes. He does own two Doberman, Roscoe and DeSoto, who are more like direct villains for Dodger's group to face. They also don't get too much screen time so you don't get to know them very well.

Finally, there's Jenny and her dog Georgette. Jenny finds Oliver during one of Dodger's groups attempts to get money for Fagin. She is a kind a rich little girl but is very lonely because her parents seem to always be away. She quickly bonds with Oliver and gives him a loving home. When Oliver is held for ransom by Fagin, she personally goes and offers her piggy bank. Georgette is her spoiled Poodle show dog. Georgette is very selfish and loves attention when she's introduced. She is shocked when she meets Dodger and his group but is eager to get rid of Oliver who is taking attention away from her. She does, however, grow to become less selfish for Jenny's sake when Jenny gets captured by Sykes.

I really liked this movie but it definitely has a lot of problems. One of which is the music. It's not necessarily bad but it's just extremely dated compared to the “timeless” quality Disney movies usually have. The songs are ok but they just feel very late 80s. That is sort of the danger they face when they put something in a modern setting. My bigger problem with the movie is just how many things happen in a short time. As you can probably tell, this movie has a crazy amount of things going on with a pretty big cast. I find that this movie has a different problem than most Disney movies with large casts. Usually I feel like Disney includes characters that don't contribute anything to the movie but this time I think they didn't give the characters the screen time they deserved. I really liked all the characters but with all the stuff going on in such a short time, they didn't get any time to really develop stories with them. They really could have used more time developing Oliver and Dodger's relationship or worked on making Sykes a more compelling villain.

Overall, I really did like this movie. I'm glad that Disney seems to be getting a bit more ambitious with their storytelling in this era. I'm sure it's incredibly different from it's source material but I think it ultimately worked, though not without some problems. Tomorrow, we start the most famous era in Disney history.

27 down. 26 to go. Finally halfway there, and starting with the “Disney Renaissance”

The Mouse of the Baskervilles - The Great Mouse Detective

26 – The Great Mouse Detective

Something weird happened while I was watching 1986's The Great Mouse Detective. I actually didn't remember seeing this one as a kid but as I was watching the movie memories just suddenly came rushing back about it. The movie itself is based on the children's book series “Basil of Baker Street.” That series is, in turn, obviously based on Sherlock Holmes. I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book so I wouldn't say I'm really familiar with it except for the basics and the awesome BBC series.

The movie starts on the young Scottish mouse Olivia Flaversham's birthday. Suddenly, a peg legged bat barges in and takes Hiram, her father, away. Olivia then meets the old army doctor, Dawson, who helps her find the famed Basil of Baker Street, a great detective. Together, they uncover a plot devised by the master criminal and archenemy of Basil, Professor Ratigan.

The filmmakers did something cool with Basil that they've done with a few characters before. Before we see him we hear how great of a detective he is and get to see how he lives from the strange contraptions in his house. When we finally do see him he makes a great display of his ability to disguise himself and then goes on to correctly deduce who Dawson is. It's really great to see who Basil is so clearly and quickly. It was impressive, both because Basil is impressive and also because the filmmakers did it so well. We also find out that he has incredible mood swings. He gets very downtrodden whenever he comes up at a dead end in a case but gets very excited whenever he finds a clue or gets an idea. He also seems to have some trouble in social situations and sometimes says a bit too much. He really develops a good relationship with Dawson and Olivia by the end.

The movie didn't spend nearly as much time on Dawson as Basil. We do find that he's very kind, willing to help Olivia, a little girl he's just met. He is a bit timid and clumsy for an army doctor but it doesn't stop him from going with Basil to solve the case. He never acts really stupid but he also doesn't help the case directly very much. His best quality is that he doesn't give up hope easily. This makes him an especially good pair for Basil, particularly at the end of the movie.

The villain Professor Ratigan is a creepy rat-like character. He comes across as a bit silly sometimes but he makes up with it by his actions. He definitely doesn't shy away from blackmail and is very quick to punish people with a bell that summons Felicia, a cat he uses to swallow up anyone who crosses him. He is also ridiculously dramatic and loves to talk, which may contribute to his downfall. He also has a minion called Fidget who is a pretty creepy character too. He tends to pop up throughout the movie which is good for quite a few jump scares. He's probably a big reason I remember being scared of this movie when I was a kid. He can also fall into the silly side on occasion but he is definitely not stupid. Most of the time he fails really isn't his fault but just that Basil manages to foil him.

This movie does a really great job with not introducing too many side characters. Olivia is shown to be a very brave girl and isn't afraid to help out Basil despite her young age. She's also very curious, which gets her into a bit of trouble. Her father, Hiram, clearly cares deeply about her. He is a brilliant toymaker that was taken by Ratigan to build something for his evil plan. He clearly opposes Ratigan and tries his best to stand up against him but Ratigan blackmails him by threatening that he'll never see Olivia again. Lastly, there's Toby the dog that helps Basil. He was just a fun little character that popped up and helped break up the tension. He has some funny scenes, which are welcome given how likeable the characters are and how fast the story moves. He definitely doesn't overstay his welcome.

Continuing from The Black Cauldron, the animation is still really great. There's a bit less CGI this time, but the final showdown scene really uses it well. The music is also pretty good and there are only two musical sequences. I really liked the first one where we get to know Ratigan a bit more and how dramatic he is. The second one was a bit strange, taking place in a seedy cabaret that just felt a bit awkward. The tone of the movie is much better than The Black Cauldron. They manage to balance the dark and light tones much better with some genuinely funny scenes and genuinely scary ones. It never feels bi-polar or confused, though. The action is also great with some of it being pretty funny, but always keeping the excitement up too. The last showdown is particularly good. It takes place in the Big Ben Clocktower and really has some great moments. Finally, there are these great little glimpses of the real Sherlock and Watson that were fun to spot.

I really liked this one. The pacing was really good and I never felt bored. It was interesting remembering that I had seen this one as a child. I remember the scenes that really scared me as a child so I must have been pretty young. I hope tomorrow's movie, also based on a book, is just as good.

26 down. 27 to go.

The Black Cauldron can never be destroyed. Only its evil powers can be stopped. - The Black Cauldron

25 – The Black Cauldron

So I was definitely not looking forward to watching 1985's The Black Cauldron. I distinctly remember watching this when I was a kid and hating it. Now, usually I avoid reviews but I was dreading this one so much that I actually checked the reviews beforehand. Maybe the movie was better than I remembered? Unfortunately, the reviews seemed to agree with child me. Strangely, after having watched the movie I think I have some different thoughts than the reviews I read.

The story of this movie is by far the most confusing so far so bear with me. The story is basically about the evil Horned King that wants to obtain the Black Cauldron which he can use to raise an army of undead soldiers. Taran, a young boy, finds that his pig can somehow see where the Black Cauldron is hidden and The Horned King comes after them for that reason. Soon, Taran meets a young girl, Princess Eilonwy, and Bard, Fflewddur Fflam, who try to help him destroy the Cauldron before the king gets to it. Also, there's an annoying thing called Gurgi.

The main character is the pretty standard Taran. He's a young boy who wants to be a warrior but is stuck as a “pig assistant.” He starts off very over confident and really wants the chance to prove he can be a warrior. They did a good job establishing who he was at the beginning of the movie but they also didn't really give him any redeeming qualities. I just never got to like the kid. He's very different at the end of the movie when he realizes that friendship is more important than being a warrior.

Taran is assisted by Princess Eilonwy, a young girl who helps Taran escape from The Horned King after they get captured. She is a brave and strong willed character who seems to be a good match for Taran. They get along fairly well although they butt heads a few times. I liked her as a character but after they escape the Horned King she really doesn't do anything of note. She and Taran are obviously romantic interests but was that really all they could think of for her to do in the movie?

Then, of course, there's Fflewddur Fflam and Gurgi. Flooderflam, as I'll refer to him because his name is annoying to type, is a bard with a magic harp that breaks whenever he lies. He does almost nothing the entire movie. Gurgi is an annoying little dog-like character that is shown as incredibly greedy and cowardly in the beginning of the movie. Taran seems to hate him and tries to get rid of him constantly. Later on, he somehow decides to become courageous and sacrifices himself for the heroes. I really don't buy it.

The Horned King himself is actually pretty good, on the other hand. He is a bit too much of the stereotypical “evil undead lord” archetype but his actions show that he is actually really intimidating. Unlike a lot of typical Disney villains, he keeps calm and collected when dealing with people and doesn't get visibly angry easily. He is also not a humorous character at all, which I think works for this kind of story. His minion, Creeper, is very scared of him and tries to make him happy constantly. Creeper is just a stupid character. He's one of those silly characters that are brought in to lighten the tone of the movie but we have Gurgi and the heroes if there was a need for humor.

There were a bunch of other characters too but they were almost all pointless. There were the Fair Folk, fairy-like creatures who help the heroes find the Cauldron. They were super unnecessary and just came out of nowhere. There's Hen Wen, Taran's pig, who can see where the Cauldron is. He is kind of the catalyst for the story but he otherwise does nothing. Then there are the Three Witches who are actually kind of interesting characters. They offer the heroes a trade for the Cauldron and Taran has to give up his magic sword that let's him be the hero he always wanted to be. It was actually pretty interesting to see the characters deal with them and I liked that Taran grew up enough to give up his dreams of being a warrior for the greater good.

Before I start to complain about everything that's wrong with this movie, I'll start with what I liked. The animation was really great. Everything looks really nice and clean and this is the first movie where they used computer generated imagery and it all looked really good. The background music also took a step up. There were no stupid unnecessary music sequences, though I still don't mind when they're used correctly. Finally, the action scenes were really pretty interesting. Some of them were actually pretty exciting, probably due to the better animation.

As for what's wrong...holy crap this movie is a mess. The story is just absurdly confusing. So many things happen that, I'm sure, the book would explain better but this adaptation just doesn't do a good job of it. The scene with the Fairy Folk just seemed so unnecessary to me, though that could have just been the way the scene was paced. The tone of the movie is just all over the place. It's clearly a very dark story but then they have these weird out of place humorous scenes that don't have to do with anything like the stuff with Creeper. The biggest problem for me was how they tried to develop the characters. I'm glad they tried but they really didn't do a good job. They started off well enough, although they could have tried harder to make Taran more likeable. They even ended really well with Taran clearly having gone through big changes. Unfortunately, nothing in the middle is cohesive at all. The characters don't change gradually and naturally, they just suddenly seem to come to crazy realizations. This is especially clear with Taran and Gurgi who just seem to completely change their way of thinking completely.

So, for what it's worth, The Black Cauldron is better than I thought it would be. It's also a mess of a movie that clearly got lost from adaptation from book to screen. I'm interested in seeing what the source material is like. I am definitely not in a hurry to do so, however. At least tomorrow I get to solve a mystery.

25 down. 28 to go.

Oh no, not my friend Copper. He won't ever change. - The Fox and the Hound

24 – The Fox and the Hound

Disney has tried making movies about relationships before with varied results. Lady and the Tramp successfully dealt with a romantic relationship between two dogs from different worlds while The Aristocats had a similar theme that, I think, didn't work. This movie, 1981's The Fox and the Hound, tries exploring a different kind of relationship. One of a young fox who becomes friends with a dog who should, and one day might, be his enemy.

The fox in this story is Tod who was orphaned at a young age and taken in by the kind Widow Tweed. He's very curious about the world about him, adventurous and very friendly. I liked Tod. We connect with him pretty quickly as we see the sad situation that gets him orphaned and we also spend a good amount of the beginning of the movie getting to know him. There's definitely a reason he's mentioned first in the title as he is definitely the main character of the story. We spend the most time with him and the story is ultimately about his relationships. Widow Tweed is also a pretty good character. She is incredibly kind and takes in Tod without question. She is very protective of him and isn't afraid of fighting for him if she needs to. Despite that, she doesn't really show up too much in the movie, especially near the end.

The dog that Tod ends up meeting is a young hound dog named Copper. He is similarly curious about the world and aspires to be a good hunting dog in the beginning of the movie. He looks up to the older dog Chief he lives with but can't help running off to play with Tod. When they meet they become instant friends. I really liked that scene. They seem to hit it off very quickly but it doesn't seem too forced. We don't actually see them play very long before Copper is tied up to stay home but they manage to make a promise to be friends forever.

Copper is owned by Amos Slade, a hunter with a crazy temper. Amos also owns Chief and gives Chief the responsibility of taking care and raising Copper to be a good hunting dog. Chief and Amos get off to a bad start with their relationship with Tod when they find him on their property and think he's trying to kill his chickens. While Amos and Chief aren't really villains, they definitely have an antagonistic relationship with Tod. Amos later takes Chief and Copper away for hunting season where Copper learns to hunt and grows up. There are some scenes where Chief seems a bit jealous of Copper but nothing really comes of it.

Of course, this wouldn't be a Disney movie without a ton of other side characters. This movie actually does pretty well with not introducing too many characters but there are definitely some that weren't really needed. There's Big Mama who introduces Tod to Widow Tweed and tries to teach Tod about the world. She's a bit of a strangely inconsistent character in that in the beginning of the movie she acts happy that Tod has met Copper but she later goes to warn Tod that they can't be friends forever. It's a bit of a small detail but that sort of thing kind of bothers me. Then there are Dinky and Boomer who are two birds that try to chase after a caterpillar. Their only real connection to the movie is that they help a bit in the beginning with Tod but they aren't really necessary. Their scenes really only serve to be a break from the action with some humor but I really wish they had more to do with the story. Finally, there's Vixey, a young girl fox that Big Mama introduces to Tod. She's an ok character but it's definitely interesting to see Tod in a different kind of relationship. She doesn't get a lot of character development and she's introduced very late so I feel like there was some lost opportunity there.

As for the rest of the movie, I have to say I didn't really like the music. Some of the background music is pretty good while some of it is just boring and some can border on annoying. The songs aren't really any better. I can't say that any of them are really very memorable. The animation has definitely taken a step up from The Rescuers, however. They also do a much better job on the action scenes in this movie. One scene, in particular, near the end was very tense with Tod and Vixey trying to escape Amos.

Ultimately, I think this movie is about relationships. We see Tod and Copper meet and become friends before the world they live in forces them to become enemies. We also see Tod's relationship with Widow Tweed who is very much like a mother to him. Finally, there's Tod and Vixey as Tod learns about romantic relationships. While the relationship between Tod and Copper takes center stage, I don't think that any of those relationships were explored quite enough. There's a nice scene in the beginning where Tod and Widow Tweed interact and a very sad one later when she has to let him go but Tod seems almost unaffected by it. Tod and Vixey definitely don't win any awards for best couple in a Disney movie. They should have handled that one a bit more like Bambi and Faline. More importantly than either of those, they really should have given more focus to Tod and Copper. They only really have a few scenes together in the beginning and the end. I would have liked to see more conflict there. On top of all that, they also could have made more of a comment on Chief and Copper's relationship, or at least gotten rid of those moments where Chief was jealous of Copper.

Overall, the movie is definitely better than The Rescuers. They had some problems with where their focus should have been but they still did a good job convincing me of Tod and Copper's relationship. The movie definitely has it's rough patches but it really has some great ideas and succeeds in conveying at least some of them.

24 down. 29 to go.

Please rescue me from mediocrity - The Rescuers

23 – The Rescuers

It's really great when I get to review movies that I end up loving, like Alice in Wonderland or One Hundred and One Dalmatians. It's also not bad when I end up hating a movie like Sleeping Beauty or Melody Time. Those reviews almost write themselves. It's movies like 1977's The Rescuers that really give me problems. The movie isn't terrible but it's nothing really special either.

The story is about a little girl named Penny who gets kidnapped but manages to send a message in a bottle for help. The people, or in this case mice, who find the message are the Rescue Aid Society. The representative of the Society from Hungary, Bianca, volunteers to find and rescue Penny and chooses the janitor Bernard to help her. They then have to find out where Penny is and how to save her from the evil Madame Medusa. The plot is ok. The beginning is actually pretty cool with Bianca and Bernard trying to figure out where Penny actually is. It plays out a bit like a mystery and that's different from what I've seen from Disney before. Sometimes great characters can help an average plot like this really take off.

Unfortunately, one of our characters is Bernard. Bernard is a timid and superstitious janitor and gets chosen, for some reason, by Bianca to help her save Penny. Throughout the movie he has a few moments where he shows he might be braver than he looks. He even seems to be a good person and wants to help Penny and do the right thing. Otherwise he's kind of a boring character. Even though he has the potential for really brave actions he never really has a shining moment to prove himself. I really think his character needed that. This results in feeling like he hasn't changed or grown as a character and that's a shame cause he really has a lot of growing he can do. I usually don't mention the voice actors that play the characters but I have to mention Bob Newhart. I really don't think he did a good job. He just sounded really phoned in and unemotional the whole time. That definitely didn't help me like Bernard.

I did, however, like Bianca. I think she's actually a pretty cool character. She is much more adventurous than Bernard but also wants to help Penny. She is much more sophisticated and just has a more interesting personality than Bernard. Unfortunately, she also doesn't really change or grow during the story either. I also really don't see what she sees in Bernard. I suppose he shows himself to be brave and a good guy every now and then but I just don't really buy their relationship. Bernard just never really proves himself the way I think he should. As far as her voice actor goes, however, I think Eva Gabor did a great job. She was much more expressive and reminds me of one of the few things I liked about The Aristocats which was her performance as Duchess.

So Bernard and Bianca are a bit of a mixed bag. A great villain is always interesting too. Madame Medusa is pretty creepy and wears way too much make up but I don't think she's really anything special. She has her mean comments and keeps some dangerous company, two alligators named Brutus and Nero. Otherwise, she's pretty much the standard Disney villain I've come to expect. Her business partner Mr. Snoops also hangs around but he's just really dumb and doesn't do to much. Medusa's plan is also a bit stupid. She really wants Penny to find the Devil's Eye diamond for her in a pirate's cave only Penny can fit into. I really wonder why they need Penny specifically. Penny comes from New York and they end up going to The Devil's Bayou which I presume is somewhere like Florida. Are there no orphaned children in Florida she can use? Maybe I just missed something? It's just a small nit pick but it bothered me a bit.

Penny wasn't a terrible character though she didn't really get a ton of screen time. She's a little orphan girl who wants to be adopted and is scared that no one would want her. I kinda felt sorry for her so that made me at least want her to succeed a bit. She's also really feisty and tries to escape Medusa on her own a few times. I really liked that she had her brave moments. It makes for a more interesting character. She's also helped by a bunch of other characters who show up but don't really stand out. They don't really get a ton of screen time so I don't feel like they took a lot away from the movie but they could have been a bit more integrated into the story, especially if they were more interesting.

So on top of a lot of bland characters, the animation was really inconsistent for a Disney movie. One example is a scene where Bianca's jacket kept appearing and disappearing between shots. It's just weird when I'm so used to such attention to detail in these movies. The music isn't really great either. The music either didn't really stand out or I actively thought that it was bad at times. The action scenes are actually pretty good but they definitely don't stand out like some of the ones I've seen before.

Overall, the movie is just really run of the mill. It's definitely not the best work Disney has done but it's certainly not the worst. I just didn't really have that special quality that makes movies like One Hundred One Dalmatians stand out. Hopefully tomorrow is a bit better.

23 down. 30 to go.

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

22 – The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

There are many different kinds of stories. Watching all these Disney movies has really given me an opportunity to see many of them. By “many different stories” I really mean even beyond genre there are stories that try to accomplish different things. There are the stories that really try to tell a story that involves interesting characters and carries it's own themes. That would be most of what Disney has tried to do. Then there are stories, like the shorts I reviewed early on, that don't really try to tell a story but just have fun scenes to keep people entertained. 1977's The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh doesn't really fit into either of those categories.

The movie itself is structured a bit differently than any of the movies I've reviewed so far. The movie is really four shorts combined into one story depicting the lives of Winnie the Pooh and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. The first short deals with Pooh's crazy attempts to get his favorite food, honey, out of a tree protected by bees. The next one shows how the characters deal with some particularly bad weather. After this, there's a short where Pooh's friend Rabbit tries to get Tigger to stop doing his favorite thing, bouncing. Finally, we have a little short where Christopher Robin, Pooh's human friend, has to leave the Hundred Acre Wood. I really like the approach they took with this format. None of the shorts felt too disjointed and each one helped to establish the characters more and more. They spent just enough time on each one to make sure nothing felt rushed or pointless.

The story also, surprisingly, gave a good amount of detail to the characters that lived in the Hundred Acre Wood. There's Winnie the Pooh, of course, with his insatiable love of honey and real loyalty to his friends. Then there's Christopher Robin, the young boy that presumably imagines all of the events that occur and is a real model of a good kid. Piglet also appears as the shy and timid but also extremely kind friend of Pooh's. There's the incredibly energetic and bouncy Tigger and serious Rabbit who is a bit of a stick in the mud and would love to stop Tigger from bouncing. On top of all of them there are a few side characters that get a bit of screen time like Eeyore, the pessimistic donkey, Kanga and Roo, the mother and son kangaroos, and Owl, an older and wiser figure for the other characters. It's really crazy to me how many characters this story has and how unique each one is.

The style of the story is also incredible. The movie is told in this really great storybook form where we can sometimes actually see the pages and words of the book in addition to the animation. You can see the pages turning and the narrator of the story frequently comments on events happening on specific pages. The words on the pages sometimes react to the events in the story like wind blowing words off the page or Tigger using some words to safely land on. The art really looks like illustrations from a book and really has a unique and nostalgic feeling to them. The movie really gives you the impression that the illustrations in the story are coming to life.

I mentioned the feeling this story gives before and on top of that it really has a child-like wonder to it all. The way the characters act are very unique and imaginative. They are incredibly simple minded but it really reminds me of how a child might view different things while they're playing. The themes the movie goes into are really simple too but so important. The idea of being generous, even when it might put you in a difficult place. The idea of being brave in the face of danger. Even the incredibly sad idea of having to say goodbye to someone. The movie really hits hard at the end with some really poignant moments.

Overall, I adored this movie. It's really a great change of pace from what I've been seeing. It's incredibly different than anything I've seen so far. I really think that movies like this need to exist. I think we all need to be reminded sometimes what it's like to be a kid and have that sense of wonder come back. While I really enjoyed this, I think this kind of movie is best when you haven't seen something like this in awhile. I don't think it would carry the same weight if this was the sort of thing I saw every day. I'm excited to go back to some more traditional stories tomorrow, even if it just means that in the future I can come back to this one.

22 down. 31 to go.

We never rob. We just sort of borrow a bit from those who can afford it. - Robin Hood

21 – Robin Hood

After yesterday's disappointing entry I was really dreading watching 1973's Robin Hood. This was another movie I loved as a kid and I was really starting to doubt my younger self's tastes. Luckily, It seems that I got it right every now and then.

The story obviously stars Robin Hood so how does he stack up? Well, he's everything Robin Hood needs to be. He steals from the rich to give to the poor, he's brave, he's charismatic and he's just as clever as you'd expect from the prince of thieves. I really liked how the story really showed him off too. You really get a good sense of who he is and how he hates when people are treated unfairly. He frequently shows off how clever he is and what a master of disguise he is. Despite being strog and a good fighter he usually wins against his foes using his mind instead. I really appreciated that side of his character. It makes him more interesting.

Of course, he couldn't do it without his merry men. Or in this case, basically just Little John. Strangely, in this adaptation, Robin is really only joined by his friend Little John. I don't really think this was a bad choice, though. I really liked that the movie focused on their friendship and didn't get things muddled up with more crazy characters than they needed to (and they have definitely done that before...). You can tell that Little John cares about Robin and warns him when he thinks one of Robin's plans is too dangerous. He's always quick to help Robin out and they can even be a bit competitive with each other. John, in particular, gets some great scenes himself like when he holds a knife up to Prince John and forces him to release Robin after he's captured him.

Prince John is the evil acting king that taxes the poor people to collect as much money as he can. He has some pretty strange characteristics that crop up every now and then. He is incredibly jealous of his brother and king Richard that seems to stem from his mother's preference for Richard. He tends to suck on his thumb and act strange whenever someone mentions his mother. He's clearly a bit of an idiot and a definite coward. Despite that he's still quite dangerous. Unlike Edgar from The Aristocats, Prince John is actually a big threat. He's stupid but he commands a great army and hates Robin enough to really try to hunt him down.

Prince John's assistant is Sir Hiss, a snake. Like Kaa from The Jungle Book, Hiss has the power to hypnotize people. Despite that, it really doesn't come into play in the movie. It's simply explained that he used that power to convince Richard to fight in the crusades. They really could have used that power a bit more. He is, however, much smarter than Prince John. He usually catches on to Robin Hood but seems to always fail to warn Prince John.

Along with Sir Hiss, the Sheriff of Nottingham is another lackey for Prince John. He collects the taxes from the poor people and is quite cruel about it. He clearly likes what he does. He's also really stupid, a common theme with these enemies. The writers really didn't utilize him as well as they could have. I would have liked to see him go toe to toe with Robin and bit more and be a bit more serious. He's the one who would have the most contact with Robin and they should have had a few more scenes together.

Robin doesn't quite stand alone with Little John, however. Maid Marian is introduced fairly early on and they really try to establish her character quickly. She is very friendly to children and it's established that she knew Robin before she went off to London. I really liked this. They don't have to waste time having them meet and fall in love and go through that whole thing. That can really bog down the movie if they don't do it right. And they definitely don't do it right sometimes. As long as they have chemistry when they do meet, then I'm fine with it. Luckily, they have a really great relationship when they meet and, though they don't spend a ton of screen time together, they seem to have great chemistry. The thing I liked the most about her, though, is that they really tried to give her some personality. She has her own moments of bravery and charisma and it's great that she's not just a damsel in distress (though she has some of those moments too). Again, she doesn't really get utilized as much as she could have.

This story also has it's fair share of side characters. The rooster, Alan-a-Dale narrates the story. He doesn't really get too much screen time so we don't really get to know him. He didn't impede the story at all, though. Friar Tuck is another character we don't really get to know very well. He is clearly friends with Robin and keeps hope alive amongst the poor people. He has a great outburst later when he's had enough from the Sheriff taxing people. A small family of Bunnies and a turtle play a small role as well. They basically represent the poor people that Robin saves and serve their purpose. They don't impede the story either. Finally, there's Lady Kluck, Marian's attendant who is a pretty funny character. She is very friendly and is definitely on the side of Robin. She has a great scene where she fights John's army but she is otherwise just there for humor. I didn't mind her at all.

This movie does some really great stuff with their characters. You get a sense that they tried to work on their relationships and make them feel a bit more natural. They definitely could have gone further but it's a definite improvement from The Aristocats. The plot is a bit thin but because the characters are good, I find myself not caring as much. There is definitely less style than The Jungle Book and the music isn't as good but it also doesn't waste nearly as much time on stupid music sequences as The Aristocats. I don't mind when they do have funny scenes or music scenes because they break up the action and I actually like the characters. On top of that the action scenes are actually pretty good. They aren't terribly ambitious but the last one, in particular, is actually pretty exciting and tense. Overall, I think the story was really helped by the fact that Robin Hood itself is just a great story. This adaptation didn't do much to expand on that story but it's definitely a cute introduction to it.

Tomorrow, another classic with some honey.

21 down. 32 to go.