I sleep with music playing all night. I always have. So music just soothes me no matter what it is. Instead of counting sleep I imagine skaters skating to the songs I'm listening to and then I'm out like a light (no one said I wasn't a nerd). So this one is a little challenging because I can't think of a single song that I haven't slept to at least once... but... I'll go with Sing Sweet Nightingale from Disney's Cinderella... it's a sweet, short, song that I think works as a lullaby...
It's gotta be Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. It singlehandedly gave rebirth to the Disney franchise, IMO, as well as Johnny Depps career. It gave me hope for the future of the company I grew up with, and it's killer funny. It's based on a ride, looks like a serious swashbuckling adventure, and is so tongue in cheek. They made pirates sexy, funny, and kept the adventure alive.
The sequels were decent, for sequels, but Black Pearl will always be special. It was fresh, and completely original while still saluting the many Pirate adventures before (and of course the ride). The sequels rely on rehashing the jokes from the first film, but have their moments of brilliance.
So here's to the movie that tributes one of Walt's final works!
*and with that another 30 day meme is finalized. Now what to write about?
Definitely The Little Mermaid and Aladdin series. Both were just lame. I tried getting into the Aladdin show, but no dice. It didn't help that the Genie's voice was not Robin Williams. And let's face it, anything that is Little Mermaid is gonna go down as wrong in my book.
One last day to go... and then it's back to randomville...
I grew up in the late 80s early 90s so I got the best Disney had to offer for tv. Ducktales, Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers, Gummy Bears, Tale Spin, Darkwing Duck! The list goes on! It was a fantastic time to be a kid, that's for sure!
My favorite then and now and forever is Ducktales. Maybe it's because it's about Donald's extended family, I don't know, but I loved Ducktales and would never miss them on TV. I had them on tape (and I want them on DVD) and I loved the antics of Huey, Dewey, and Louie and Webbygirl! Launchpad McQuack added to the hysteria and who doesn't love that ol' softy Uncle Scrooge McDuck?
Yeah, like I can pick just one! But I guess this is the best place to tribute one of Disney's greatest Live Action films of all time. The ground breaking Pirates of the Caribbean brought back not only Disney fans, but it also gave rebirth to an actor who hadn't seen a lot of positive feedback in his career - at least, not by the heavy critics - and now Johnny Depp is everywhere.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow was epic (now they're running it into the ground, but that's a rant for another day) and his line delivery spot on for a Pirate... and he had me in stitches from the moment he came into the movie until it ended.
My all time favorite of his, though, is:
"Me; I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly stupid."
I would share a video, but the only one on Youtube apparently has embedding disabled. I finally chose the death of Flynn Rider in Disney's newest classic, Tangled. I cried so hard at the end. I won't ruin the movie past that, but it was such a shock that Disney would allow it that I actually had to talk it out and remind myself that this was Disney and the hero never dies. Never, never, never! Haille wanted to know why I was crying because "the Prince never dies!" Guess the five year old is right. (okay so I totally spoiled the movie, so sue me, it comes out on DVD tomorrow.)
honorable mentions are Mufasa's death in The Lion King and Ray's death in The Princess and the Frog.
Do Disney Park planning videos count, because those things make me cry like nobody's business!
Actually I think Disney-Pixar's UP takes the prize. Other than Toy Story 3, no film has been able to rip my heart out like that film does. I should've known bad things were coming when in the beginning of the film we meet the Fredricksons and then watch their life unfold until Ellie gets sick and passes away. And then towards the end he lets go of the house. What the heck? GAH! Why not just throw puppies in a river and drown 'em! SO SAD!
There are several Disney films I could name, but the first one that came to mind was The Emperor's New Groove. Disney's most sarcastic movie to date! Anyone who knows me, knows I love a good bit of sacarasm (especially if I'm the one getting to dish it out). The weakest part of his film is lack of creativity in the animation. It's simple, it's cartoonish, and there's no depth whatsoever. If it was supposed to be styled by some Incan or Mayan or whatever art, I think Disney missed the mark (I'm also not a fan of the Hercules animation even though we're supposed to believe that it's based in Greek art, which you can KINDA see, but again it's a cop out to make sure they don't need to have depth).
What the movie does have going for it is the vocals and, of course, the humor. David Spade and Eartha Kitt - I am so there!
Erin and I have so many inside jokes with this movie, and the "Yzma, put your hands in the air!" is screamed many times while at Disney on rides. Even the wimpy drops get that line from time to time. Because we're the Dorktwins - and proud of it.
I guess I'd say Brother Bear. It's about Inupiat legend - I'm sure incredibly Disney-fied - and it does a great job bridging the many different groups. It has a bit of Alaska (what with the bear river, and of course Sitka, Denali and Kenai), you've got the Canadian moose (not really sure what that's about, eh?), and I'm sure those that are "across the pond" are also well represented.
The animation is pretty spot on, too, for a computer 2d adventure. I love the storyline too. It's so sweet. Yes there's a lot of Native Spiritualism, but even with that I recommend it to families (Christian families can use it as a teach/talking tool afterwards, IMO. To identify where the culture/spiritual beliefs differ from ours).
Any Disney CGI film before Tangled. Their storylines are horrible, the animation doesn't hold up to dreamworks (Shrek), Pixar (nothing better), or half a dozen other studios who do full out CGI animated movies. I think the only ones they're comparable to are the VeggieTales series, but those at least have short and sweet stories. Not so much - for me - with Meet the Robinsons or Bolt. I want Disney Animation to focus on the medium that grew this company into the monster it is today. 2d animation. Hate to break it to you, but even Tangled would have been just as amazing had they gotten the best 2d animators out there to work on it. Princess and the Frog was lovely (though I like the techonologies of Walt's Day more than doing it all in the computer with scans and what have you).
There's something to be said of the old classics where you can see the "pencil lines" of each character, there's more depth in those films (story and animation) than there are in the newer all done in the computer ones. I don't think Tangled gained anything from being fully CGI. I think the characters would be more life like on 2d form.
Day 20: Favorite Sequel
We bring you back to our regularly scheduled program now that we're seeing the 39th Iditarod come to a close. The countdown has already started, for me, for Iditarod 40. We're going to make it a long weekend for the start. We're going to do it all. Musher's Banquet, Trail Guard for Ceremonial Start, and then head up to the restart! Very excited and I hope the plans go through.
Anyway, back to the game. Favorite Sequel. Welll, for the most part I hate Disney sequels, I think they're a waste of time and it seems the Disney animation department thinks so too. All it is is a cheap way to make money on unsuspecting parents who just snatch up all things Disney because it seems it required at parenthood. Not that I'm complaining, I think children should discover the brilliance of classic Disney. But the sequels are not classics, they're cheap knock offs of the classics.
Pixar, however, has done an amazing job with their Toy Story sequels, and apparently the next several Pixar releases will also be sequels based on other of their classic films. Pixar is all about the story as well as the animation and it works. I have no doubt that Cars 2 and even Monsters Inc 2 will get teh job done well. (I don't think Monsters needs a sequel - or really prequel - but no one asked me)
Toy Story 3 is probably the most emotional animated film I have ever had to watch. Land Before Time ate me up when I was little, but this movie kills me everytime I watch it. I was BAWLING my eyes out in the theater watching the ending scene. It's horribly real. Pixar has gotten better and better with each film in tugging at the heartstrings. Toy Story 3 nearly put me in therapy after watching it. I've watched it three times, and just watching the clip I shared had me snniffling this morning. Crazy.
So Toy Story 3 is definitely my favorite sequel (yes I know I chose Toy Story 2 as my favorite pixar film).
Day 19: Least Favorite Pixar Film
Bug's Life. Like I said, this is easier than picking my favorite. I don't know what it is about Bug's Life that doesn't appeal to me. It's cute, there are some great lines and scenes, but over all it's just blah. But put me in teh parks and one of the first things I look for is It's Tough to Be a Bug. Go figure.
Day 18: Favorite Pixar Film
Oooo, this is tough. it's easier for me to pick my least favorite. I'd have to go with... well... maybe... I don't know... ummmmmm... Toy Story 2. It's an amazing sequel, and the only reason I don't choose #3, which is the most brilliant of the trilogy, is because it made me cry and I hate that. I don't like the ending because it's so real to life. It's just wrong. I like to escape in a Pixar or Disney film, not be reminded I'm an adult and I have to let go. It is almost an Anti-Disney film! haha!
Toy Story was very much a part of my childhood. I remember watching the first one and loving it, and by the time the second came out I was bursting to see it. Granted they both came out during the Baptist Boycott against Disney, so I didn't see either in theatres, but I did see them when friends would bring them over (hey none of our money went to the Mouse at that time, so it counts.)
Thankfully that boycott is done and over with, and I happily own the entire Pixar collection (and I'm slowly but surely making up for lost time Disney Animation wise).
So for today, Toy Story 2 is my favorite. Tomorrow it will probably be Cars or Up or Finding Nemo... or Monsters Inc... or Wall-E... oy.
I'm not a fan of the Little Mermaid, I love teh music and Prince Eric is a decent prince, but over all I just can't get into teh storyline and find the animation to be.... well... not up to par with the princess movies then or since (though Aladdin has it's moments of shoddy animation as well. Stupid computers).
Mainly, though, I don't like the Princess Ariel. She's a spoiled brat who is defiant in a very wrong way. It's not like her father is some evil stepfather who locks her away, and his concern is very much real. But what do I know. I'm a Daddy's Girl who can't stand disappointing her best friend.
But, as I said, I LOVE the music. Under The Sea, Kiss the Girl, Le Poisons... so much fun!
If you haven't figured it out by now, well, you haven't been paying attention. From the time I can remember my favorite Disney movie of all time is, of course, Sleeping Beauty. I love everything about the film (except the fact that it forever placed Aurora in a pink dress when she wore BLUE for almost the entire movie) and I always will. Prince Phillip, Maleficent, Merryweather, Aurora will forever be with me.
I don't know what the first Disney movie it was that I saw at home, but I remember the first one I saw in theatres. It was in 1988 and Disney's newest feature animated film was Oliver and Company. I became obsessed with it very quickly.
True Love's Kiss - Phillip & Aurora. I love how after all he's been through, Phillip races up the stairs to save the beautiful princess and when he reaches the top of the stairs and the side of her bed he stops and just looks at her for a moment before gently kneeling and giving her, her first kiss. It's just a really well animated and touching part of the film.
I'm searching my brain trying to think of one that is my least favorite. There are many that I don't care for, or are annoying, I don't know that I can pick just one... But, I guess the one that has annoyed me lately is the completely unneeded song which was rightfully cut from the film (and then added back in for the blu-ray addition) which was "Human Again" in Beauty and the Beast. It's where the household staff all dream of what it will be like once they all return to their former lives as humans. It's horribly animated, and doesn't fit. Maybe because I grew up without it, and I don't like change, but there was an obvious reason why it was cut from the theatrical release, and I'm glad it was. It's lame.
Another one I don't like is If I Never Knew You - when it's sung by the characters - in Pocahontas. It's a great love song for the credits, but it doesn't go AT ALL within the scene it's from in the film. Again it was cut for the theatrical release, but added in when the film went to DVD a few years ago. LAME.
Well, if Maleficent had a song you know it'd be hers, because she is awesome, but since she doesn't I went with my favorite Disney on Broadway villain, Scar. The character himself is awesome, but the costuming is "to die for". Everything about the Scar character on stage is just perfect, and I love the take on him. He's less wimpy in some ways on stage to the movie counterpart. While still whiney and not as noble or heroic as Mufasa and Simba, he's less... needy in some ways. And he's still that highly intellectual type. Just a great allaround villain.
My favorite villain song, then, is not Be Prepared which is in both the film and on stage, but a song that is from the stage version. The Madness of King Scar which ties in quite a bit of the movie, and adds a more adult element for the reason that Nala leaves the pride to "go for help." Besides, it's just funny.
