Tag Archives: Disney

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

05 Monday May 2014

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In 1909, in the bright Christmastime,
A man gives his wife a young pup in her prime.
They christen her Lady, this dog that they’ve gotten,
And pamper and love her and spoil her rotten.
She grows and receives a new collar as well,
Which every dog wants, so she runs off to tell
The terrier Jock and a bloodhound named Trusty,
Whose great sense of smell has become a bit rusty.
 
But Jim Dear and Darling, her folks who adore her,
Soon seem too distracted and start to ignore her.
Old Jock (who’s a Scottish, not Yorkshire or Cairn)
Thinks Darling’s expecting a wee little bairn.
A stray passing mutt called the Tramp overhears
And says things will change, making worse Lady’s fears.
Sure enough, months later, they have a boy,
But Lady protects him and thinks he’s a joy.
 
When Jim Dear and Darling leave home for a while,
Aunt Sarah takes over their quaint domicile.
Her Siamese cats, who are quick to lay claim,
Wreak havoc, and Lady receives all the blame.
When Aunt Sarah muzzles her, Lady escapes
And gets lost in places where she should not traipse.
Tramp comes to her rescue and frees Lady’s snout
And gives her a lovely, romantic night out.
 
The next day, however, while yet homeward bound,
His wild ways get Lady sent to the pound.
She meets the dogs there, whose lives are much colder;
When Lady gets home, she gives Tramp the cold shoulder…
Until a huge rat scurries past in the dark
To the dear baby’s room, causing Lady to bark.
The Tramp swoops right in to destroy the rat first,
But when Aunt Sarah sees him, the maid fears the worst.
 
To the pound with the Tramp, but when they find the rat,
They see he’s a hero who deserves a good pat.
Both Trusty and Jock stop the dog catcher’s cart,
And, though Trusty’s hurt, he does not yet depart.
The next Christmas, Tramp is a part of the home,
And Lady and he have some pups of their own.
_________________
 

Lady and the Tramp is among Disney’s great classics and one of his last impressively animated films (the artistic style seemed to suffer in future endeavors). It’s a classic love story retold countless times, the pampered princess falling for the lovable scoundrel, but it’s not only lovely to look at but also full of endearing characters and memorable moments. I also enjoy how Lady thinks her owners are named Jim Dear and Darling since that’s what they call each other; it has that same naïve misunderstanding as people being called “human beans” in The Borrowers.

Almost any pet owner can commiserate with Jim Dear and Darling in the beginning with Lady as a newborn puppy. Then later on, her banter with Jock and Trusty is downright charming. Yet we also get a glimpse of the darker possibilities of a dog’s life. Tramp has a good, carefree life for the most part, but that scene of adorable despair in the pound is more affecting than most SPCA ads.

We may be cat people, but my VC and I find the Siamese cats’ song positively grating, but Peggy Lee’s “He’s a Tramp” is a highlight of the film (though she sang both songs). And, of course, there is that iconic scene with the spaghetti and meatballs. I had forgotten how good this film was, so, if you haven’t seen this true classic recently, go remind yourself posthaste.

Best line: (Trusty) “Why, everybody knows a dog’s best friend is his human.”

 
Artistry: 7
Characters/Actors: 8
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 5
Watchability: 7
Other (those Siamese cats and the fact that I just like other films more): -5
 
TOTAL: 37 out of 60
 

Next: #245 – X-Men

© 2014 S. G. Liput

97 Followers and Counting

 

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993)

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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The young bulldog Chance tells us all in advance that he needs no home or owner.
He was lost and found and has been to the pound so he thinks himself a loner.
His family, though, which has started to grow with a stepdad for his kid,
Loves Chance a lot, even when he cannot help but do what they forbid.
 
There’s Shadow as well, a retriever by smell, who is tranquil, old and wise,
And Sassy the cat, who Chance likes to jeer at, though her skills catch him by surprise.
When Dad has to move, all the kids disapprove, for the animals must stay behind.
A family friend on whom they can depend agrees to keep all three confined.
 
The ranch where they’ll stay seems so far, far away that the children hate to leave,
And Shadow and Sassy, as faithful as Lassie, are sad to see them grieve.
They patiently wait and they both contemplate what could cause this sudden defection,
While Chance could care less, with too much to assess on the farm for introspection.
 
When Shadow feels strongly that something is wrong, he decides to depart for their home,
And Sassy and Chance, who are shy to advance, then join him to ramble and roam.
Naïve as they are, they believe it’s not far, but they soon are presented with trials:
The Sierra Nevadas, like wooded armadas, extending before them for miles.
 
From creepy night scares to giant brown bears to hunger they never have known,
These unseasoned pets are hounded by threats as they press over meadow and stone.
They suffer a loss at a river they cross as Sassy is carried away.
While watching birds soar, a man finds her on shore and gives her a warm place to stay.
 
The dogs are confronted and afterward hunted by some mountain cat that was spying.
A plan they devise takes the cat by surprise and sends the immense feline flying.
When Sassy is better and no longer wet, her desire for home makes her part.
She joins with her pals and improves their morales so the rest of their journey can start.
 
They find in the forest a girl at her poorest, alone for some reason and cold.
They stay with the child, so lost in the wild, and make sure a search party’s told.
Her parents are grateful, and this turns out fateful, for all three are quickly embraced.
Their owners are given the news and are driven to where their dear pets have been placed,
But Chance thinks they’ve found the deplorable pound so all of them flee and are chased.
 
Their kids are too late, for the pets couldn’t wait but keep on their homeward-bound trip.
When all that remains is a trek through some trains, poor Shadow then suffers a slip.
He falls in a pit, cannot climb out of it, and starts to act sad and morose,
But Sassy and Chance urge him still to advance, especially since they’re so close.
 
The kids that they’ve trekked a long way to protect are glad to hear barking and yell.
First Chance rushes there, though he claimed not to care, and Sassy then follows as well.
Though Shadow is hurt, he climbed out of the dirt and joins with his person to play.
Though Chance likes to roam, this new family and home are now where he’s happy to stay.
______________________
 

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey is one of those perfect children’s movies that adults enjoy just as much as the kids. A remake of Disney’s 1963 adaptation of a Sheila Burnford novel, both entitled The Incredible Journey, this film is a must for dog and cat lovers. (I am the latter.) While the book and the previous version were set in Canada, this one is among the glorious vistas of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

While Homeward Bound has the three main animals speak to each other, their mouths do not move, whether for budget or believability reasons, but their conversations are just as good as other films that do have creatures literally speak, such as Babe or Charlotte’s Web. This is due to a clever script that pokes fun at common dog-and-cat behavior with a host of great lines, as well as the perfect voice acting. Michael J. Fox brings great energy as Chance, and Don Ameche is much more likable as Shadow than he was in Trading Places. My favorite, though, is Sally Field as Sassy, whose voice I can now hear coming from any snooty feline. How they trained the animals to do everything in this picture is astounding, particularly the very real-looking scene of a poor kitty swept away by a rushing river. Even when the animals messed up, such as some scenes in which Chance slips while running, they just included it as an extra joke in the voiceover. “I meant to do that.”

While the animals are spot-on, the human side of the coin sometimes feels like a TV movie, understandable considering that first-time director Duwayne Dunham went on to direct some respectable Disney Channel films like Halloweentown, The Thirteenth Year, and Now You See It…. Luckily the animals are the stars, and the audience can’t help but root for them, even though their journey was totally unnecessary. If they had just stayed, nothing bad would have happened. Dogs.

Full of breathtaking mountain scenery and touching reunions, Homeward Bound is a wonderful movie for any pet lover and a fond carryover from my childhood.

Best line (there are many): (Sassy) “Yes. I’ll get food by acting like I don’t want food.”
(Chance) “That’s stupid.”
(Sassy) “I’ll prove it.”
(Chance) “Oh, you don’t have to prove it. I believe you’re stupid.”

 

Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 5
Watchability: 7
 
TOTAL: 37 out of 60
 

Next: #251 – Brave

© 2014 S. G. Liput

89 Followers and Counting

 

Treasure Planet (2002)

25 Friday Apr 2014

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Jim Hawkins grew up with the stars in his head
And the dread pirate Flint sailing all round his bed.
He’d dream of the treasure, while he was a kid,
Which this space pirate took to a planet and hid.
But twelve years have left, as his father did too,
And Jim’s a delinquent with little to do.
 
But that will soon change; Jim’s adventures begin
When Billy Bones enters the old Benbow Inn.
He gives Jim an orb before joining the morgue
And warns him about an impending cyborg.
The inn is attacked then and burned to the ground,
But Jim and his mom flee with what they have found.
 
Jim opens the sphere with a twist and a tap
And finds that it’s Captain Flint’s lost treasure map.
Their friend Dr. Doppler is wholly entranced,
Agreeing a voyage be quickly financed.
They’re off to the spaceport, as hastily planned,
With Captain Amelia, a cat, in command.
 
Jim then meets John Silver, the garrulous cook,
Who has more prosthetics than ol’ Captain Hook.
He’s wary at first of this cyborg-y one,
But soon they are bonding like father and son.
A close supernova makes their escape narrow
But swallows the trusty first mate, Mr. Arrow.
 
While Hawkins is hidden, he hears Silver talk
With the crew of a mutiny, which causes him shock.
As Jim tells the captain and Doppler of this,
The mutiny begins because something’s amiss.
The three journey down to the planet they’ve found,
Escaping the pirates by ramming the ground.
 
While searching for shelter, Jim meets up with B.E.N.,
A robotic castaway who shares his den.
With B.E.N.’s manic help, Jim goes back to the ship
To get back the map which he lost his first trip.
Back down on the planet, they all end up caught,
But Jim wields the map because Silver cannot.
 
The sphere leads the band to a portal of sorts,
That must have been used by Flint and his cohorts.
The right portal leads to the planet’s own core,
Where treasures abound, as recorded in lore.
They have a brief moment to revel in gold
Before a sly booby trap starts to take hold.
 
The planet begins to break up and explode,
And Silver saves Jim at the cost of his lode.
The heroes attempt to escape from the blast
But see they won’t make it when they lose the mast.
So Jim turns them round to the portal they saw
And sailing right through it, they barely withdraw.
 
It takes them back home just before certain death
And gives them a moment to re-catch their breath.
While Silver shoves off and Jim lets him retreat,
The cyborg is proud of “Jimbo’s” awesome feat.
Now that he’s done something to earn admiration,
Jim has a bright future in space navigation.
_____________________
 

Treasure Planet should have been a hit, but, despite fairly good reviews from critics, it never gained much of an audience and sadly joined a string of Disney flops that led to the canning of their traditional animation department. I don’t understand the chilly reception since the film has much going for it. It’s a futuristic telling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, with spectacular cutting-edge visuals that combined hand-drawn and CGI animation, funny and likable characters, and some truly touching scenes. It’s also Disney’s most exciting animated movie, in my opinion, and was nominated for an Oscar (unfortunately losing to Spirited Away).

The voice actors suit their characters perfectly. The roles of Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler were written with Emma Thompson and David Hyde Pierce in mind, but Brian Murray as Silver and an up-and-coming Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jim Hawkins fill their roles equally well. Martin Short is at his most frenetic as B.E.N., the castaway who has literally lost his mind, at times making Robin Williams look like a Type B personality. The script ranges from tear jerking to hilarious, and I love a few well-timed references to Star Trek and Jaws.

With all this going for it, why then did the movie bomb? I can’t say. Roger Ebert claimed it was too “gimmicky” to futurize the classic adventure novel, but I don’t think this gimmick is any worse than, say, The Great Mouse Detective, in which Disneyreimagined a Sherlock Holmes mystery with rodents. Then again, John Musker and Ron Clements did direct both films. Hmm.

It’s true that the concept may not be as original as it at first seems. Don Bluth’s even less-successful Titan A.E. was released just two years earlier and featured a heavy mix of traditional animation and CGI and a science fiction plot involving a fatherless young rogue following a map through the stars. In addition, there was even an Italian miniseries in the 1980s entitled Treasure Island in Outer Space or Treasure Planet. I don’t know if anything in Disney’s film was drawn from that, but it’s interesting to note.

As much as I’ve defended Treasure Planet, I must admit that, compared with most of Disney’s films, it just doesn’t stick out like others do. I may just like other movies better, but Treasure Planet is nonetheless a wondrous retelling of a classic story that anyone can enjoy.

Best line: (Captain Amelia to Dr. Doppler) “Doctor, to muse and blabber about a treasure map in front of this particular crew demonstrates a level of ineptitude that borders on the imbecilic! And I mean that in a very caring way.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 10
Originality: 5
Watchability: 8
Other (I just like other films more): -9
 
TOTAL: 36 out of 60
 

Next: #255 – Silverado

© 2014 S. G. Liput

81 Followers and Counting

 

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

23 Wednesday Apr 2014

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The toymaker Flaversham makes the best toys
Of any mouse London has seen,
Which catches the eye of a villain who sends
A bat to abduct the old bean.
His daughter Olivia’s now all alone,
So a helpful gent must intervene.
 
This gent is, of course, Dr. David Q. Dawson,
Who won’t let her stay all alone.
He guides her to Baker Street, where they meet with
A detective named Basil, who’s known
For solving great crimes. He’s uncaring at first,
Having problems and such of his own.
 
But when he hears tell of the bat that’s involved,
This Basil of Baker Street knows
His nemesis Ratigan must be behind it,
A plan that he now must expose,
For Ratigan’s famous for being depraved,
The foulest, most wicked of foes.
 
This time he is forcing the toy man to build
A robotic clone of the queen,
Replacing the real one with his lookalike
To be the top mouse on the scene.
His cat will eat Flaversham and his young daughter
If he doesn’t build the machine.
 
So Basil and Dawson (Olivia too)
Ride off on one Toby, a hound,
In search of ol’ Ratigan’s peg-legged bat,
Who’s stealing and snooping around.
The bat grabs the girl and then gets away clean,
But soon an important clue’s found.
 
The pair of detectives drop in at a pub
In their search for the villainous chap,
And, after poor Dawson has much too much fun,
They follow the bat through a gap,
But Basil is soon made to feel like a fool
When he walks into Ratigan’s trap.
 
The bad guy conspires to do his foe in
With a mousetrap, an axe, and the like,
But can’t stay to watch since he’ll be much too busy
Directing his villainous strike.
Yet Basil snaps out of his self-induced shame
To save them all, even the tyke.
 
They rush to the palace, where Ratigan’s plan
So far has been going as planned,
But after our heroes recover the queen,
His brilliant scheme gets out of hand.
Then Ratigan flees, having lost his one chance
To be the great mouse of the land.
 
A chase through the city in two big balloons
Ends up with a terrible crash.
High up in Big Ben, dodging clockwork and gears,
Both Basil and Ratigan clash.
Though Ratigan hates to be branded a rat,
He turns into one in a flash.
 
The face of the clock sees their final showdown,
And both plummet from a great height,
But Basil’s inventiveness saves him again,
And everyone’s gladly all right.
Together, the Flavershams take their leave, but
Dawson’s now Basil’s new partner, quite.
_________________
 

The Great Mouse Detective, based on Eve Titus’s Basil of Baker Street book series, was a ray of hope for Disney’s animation department when it was released to good reviews in 1986. After Disney’s dark ages of the 1970s and ‘80s, with such good but unimpressive fare as Robin Hood, The Rescuers, and The Black Cauldron, this film proved there was still interest in well-made animated movies. Oliver and Company came next, but The Great Mouse Detective paved the way for 1989’s The Little Mermaid and the whole of the Disney Renaissance.

The movie is an enjoyable little Sherlock Holmes parody, translating the characters into mice and rats. While the film has few big names in it, Vincent Price steals every scene as the treacherous Ratigan, and the celebrated actor sounds like he had a lot of fun recording his lines. The other characters are appropriately likable (Basil, Dawson) or cute (Olivia), though not quite as memorable as later Disney efforts. The filmmakers even used some recorded dialogue from one of the original Sherlock Holmes, Basil Rathbone.

The Great Mouse Detective is obviously aimed at children but does feature some aspects unusual to most popular animation, such as smoking, drunkenness, a burlesque-style musical number, and a scene in which a mouse is eaten whole, which made my mother uncomfortable the first time I saw it as a child. It’s nonetheless a fine kid-friendly mystery and even has some fairly exciting scenes. Though the climax was clearly inspired by the end of Miyazaki’s The Castle of Cagliostro, in this film it’s less cartoony, and the gears (made using early CGI) are more evocative of size and danger for the characters.

The Great Mouse Detective is one of those films I always enjoyed while growing up, and, though it may not have the same magic as it once did, it’s still a short but entertaining jaunt through Mousedom.

Best line: (Basil) “There’s always a chance, Doctor, as long as one can think.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 7
Visual Effects: 6
Originality: 5
Watchability: 7
 
TOTAL: 36 out of 60
 

Next: #257 – Trading Places

© 2014 S. G. Liput

79 Followers and Counting

 

Hercules (1997)

14 Monday Apr 2014

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When Zeus and Hera have a boy,
They love their little pride and joy,
But Zeus’s brother Hades aims
To rule the heavens and destroy
His brother and the son he claims.
 
The evil god sends Panic and Pain,
His fearful minions, to obtain
The boy and give him every drop
Of a drink to let his godhood drain,
But just too soon they’re forced to stop.
 
Young Hercules is mortal now
But still has godlike strength somehow.
He’s raised by a human dad and mum.
His friendlessness spurs him to vow
To find out where he’s really from.
 
Zeus tells him that he is a god,
And Hercules is rather awed.
For Mount Olympus to be his,
He must be worthy of great laud
And find out what a hero is.
 
He seeks out Philoctetes (Phil),
A trainer who has gone downhill.
This satyr coaches Hercules
To master every hero skill
Until his ace can fight with ease.
 
While journeying to stop some hell,
He saves a girl named Meg as well.
He falls for her like any man,
But Hades owns this mademoiselle
And plots to use her in his plan.
 
In Thebes, Herc’s fandom is increased
When he destroys a Hydra beast.
Though Hades sends out fiends galore,
Though every monster is released,
Herc beats them, still prepared for more.
 
Then Hades shifts his strategy:
By offering to set Meg free,
He says to date Herc and infer
Whatever weakness there may be;
Herc’s only weakness, though, is her.
 
So Hades makes a deal with Herc:
If, for a single day, he’ll shirk
His hero duties, Meg goes free.
His diabolic plan does work
And leaves Herc one weak wannabe.
 
This day is part of Hades’ design,
For all the planets will align.
He frees the Titans from their jail
To strike his enemies divine,
And he is eager to prevail.
 
Though Hercules is badly thrashed,
He still leaves adversaries trashed.
His superhuman strength returns
When Meg saves him and ends up smashed.
The fire of vengeance in him burns.
 
When he arrives, the Titans flee,
And he defeats them easily.
He follows Hades to his pit
Once Zeus and all the gods are free,
And Herc is not afraid one bit.
 
He says he’ll stay there in Meg’s place.
While reaching for her cold embrace,
Herc’s heroism proves divine.
He punches Hades in the face
And leaves him in his ghastly brine.
 
Olympus’s gates are open wide;
Both Zeus and Phil are filled with pride.
The stars acclaim him overhead,
But lovely Meg makes him decide
To stay on earth with her instead.
_____________________
 

The first film on my list from Disney’s Renaissance of the 1990s, Hercules combines many of the elements that made The Little Mermaid and Aladdin such hits, just less successfully. It has a young protagonist trying to prove himself, a soundtrack from the great Alan Menken, funny sidekicks, and voice-acting star power; on the other hand, it has some obvious plot holes and less memorable characters and songs than other Disney classics.

My mom never cared for the animation, which has a Greek swirly aspect to it, so I didn’t watch Hercules much growing up. Seeing it more recently, I see that the film has both strong and weak points. Because it thankfully strays from the often less-than-savory Greek myth, the writers basically turned Hercules into a Superman story (separated from parents and raised by a human couple, grows up feeling different because of his powers, and leaves home to find his otherworldly origin), but whereas Jor-El was dead (Man of Steel blurred that point), Zeus knew exactly where his son was but didn’t help him one bit or tell him the truth until Hercules was “old enough.” For the king of the gods, he seems pretty powerless, making his declarations of love for his son rather unconvincing. Also, Zeus’s lightning bolts had no effect on the invading Titans at first; after Hercules frees him but before he really joins the fight, the Titans suddenly run for the hills from…Zeus and his lightning bolts? Not to mention, Hercules makes a deal with Hades to stay in the underworld in Meg’s place, but after he saves her and becomes a god, he just walks out, not holding up his end of the supposedly binding bargain.

On the positive side, I like most of the animation and the intentionally anachronistic humor, which ranges from hilarious (“Zeus-y, I’m home!”) to rather out of place, such as several Yiddish words like schlemiel and furshlugginer. The voice acting is a mixed bag: James Woods is at his villainous best as the wisecracking Hades, as is Danny DeVito as Louie De Palma—I mean Phil. However, Susan Egan is unnecessarily sultry as Meg and Tate Donovan’s boyish voice fits the young Hercules but not so much his buffed-up hero persona.

I’m likewise conflicted about the songs. Though Danny DeVito’s song is the only really forgettable one, the soulful vocalizing and gospel influences in most of the soundtrack seem more at home on an Aretha Franklin album than in ancient Greece. I do still love Meg’s song “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)” and the Muses’ funny musical narration, and “Zero to Hero” is a toe-tapping showstopper and the best of the bunch. As for the mostly cartoonish action, the battle with the CGI hydra midway through is a most thrilling scene, though the head-slicing seemed unusually violent for a studio that typically leaves such gruesome things off-screen.

Hercules may be the weakest of 1990s Disney films, especially coming between greater films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan, but it’s still an entertaining musical tale of true heroism. It may not be divinity, but Hercules at least earns a spot on my list.

Best line: (Pain or Panic, disguised as trapped little boys) “Somebody call IX-I-I!”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 7
Originality: 5
Watchability: 8
Other (aforementioned problems): -3
 
TOTAL: 35 out of 60
 

Next: #266 – The Hunt for Red October

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

#270: Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

11 Friday Apr 2014

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In 1914, Milo Thatch
Has got a hare-brained scheme to hatch,
A trip to find an ancient book
To reach Atlantis, but the hook
Is none will pay him to dispatch
A team to reach this awesome catch.
 
But, led by one Helga Sinclair,
Thatch meets a quirky millionaire,
Who lost a very costly bet
To his granddad. To pay the debt,
He’s funded Milo’s whole affair
To find Atlantis deep somewhere.
 
Aboard the great sub (quite a feat),
The linguist has a chance to meet
Commander Rourke, who heads the mission;
Vinny, who likes demolition;
Mole, a burrower; and Sweet,
The kindly doctor for the fleet.
 
Deep underwater, soon they find
A monster that comes from behind.
This huge Leviathan attacks;
The sub is wrecked, but they make tracks
And reach a cave that is designed
To reach Atlantis, once it’s mined.
 
Once more is said of those with names,
Strange fireflies burst into flames.
The fire spreads; to flee from it,
They find an old volcano’s pit.
From there, within a couple frames,
They reach the truth of Milo’s claims.
 
They’re welcomed to Atlantis by
The Princess Kida, who’s not shy.
Impressed at what Milo can read,
She takes him to a sunken screed
That notes a crystal power supply,
But Rourke butts in as our bad guy.
 
He and the crew start acting rash;
They’ll sell the crystal just for cash.
Once Rourke has hurt Atlantis’ king,
He still locates that crystal thing.
It bonds with Kida in a flash,
And giant stones fall with a splash.
 
They pack up Kida to depart,
But Milo’s pleas to have a heart
Create misgivings in the many;
Rourke and Sinclair haven’t any.
Before the city falls apart,
They must bring Kida back, to start.
 
Thatch leads a team of those who stayed
On flying fish ships, unafraid.
They battle Rourke, who’ll get out soon
If he escapes in his balloon.
When Thatch flies in to Kida’s aid,
Rourke’s killed by his propeller blade.
 
That same volcano starts to wake,
So all our heroes make a break.
When Kida’s back, she forms a shield,
And soon the lava has congealed.
The crystal, which can give and take,
Lets Kida go for Milo’s sake.
 
Though most died in this enterprise,
We still have all the named good guys.
While Milo stays, his friends return,
Concealing what their group did learn.
The crystal on which life relies
Now floats above Atlantis’ skies.
­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________
 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire is an outlier among Disney movies. It has no princesses, no musical numbers, and no cute and funny animal sidekicks. Mole doesn’t count. It also has a different kind of animation, more angular and intentionally reminiscent of old pulp magazine tales. While there’s much humor throughout, Atlantis is more mature than most Disney films, with hundreds of people dying, albeit off-screen. This large number of redshirts makes it almost funny that only the good characters with names end up living.

The characters are actually what attracted the most criticism when Atlantis was released. The film is like Indiana Jones crossed with a caper film, and the latter’s habit of collecting a team of uniquely skilled individuals for the mission is well utilized. While I personally like all the characters, it’s true that most of their backstories, if any, are glossed over so quickly that any development is relegated to humorous character moments, like Cookie’s grease-based cooking or Dr. Sweet’s chiropractic assistance for Milo’s neck. The voice acting, though, is spot-on, with Michael J. Fox as Milo, James Garner as Rourke, Don Novello (“Fr. Guido Sarducci”) as Vinny, Phil Morris as Sweet (Disney’s first animated African American character), and Corey Burton as Mole being the stand-outs.

Watching it again, I was reminded of other films, particularly Prometheus. The scene in which Milo gives a presentation about their mission’s goal to the unimpressed crew, which was commissioned by an eccentric millionaire, is suspiciously similar to the same scene in the much later Ridley Scott film. As for the action scenes, they are extremely well-done, if implausible at times, and critic Roger Ebert wrote that the finale “stands by itself as one of the great animated action sequences.”

The main issue for me is the whole “explanation” for Atlantis itself. The advanced power source Milo seeks turns out to be a sentient New Age-y crystal thing that protected Atlantis against the flood, which its misuse supposedly caused. Using this New Age crystal as the film’s MacGuffin is just not as successful as, say, the Biblical ones of the first and third Indiana Jones movies.

There are many unanswered questions. Where did it come from? If it’s sentient, why would it allow itself to be misused so terribly? Why did it give Kida back but not her mother? On top of these questions, there are others. The crystal was under Atlantis, which was underground, so what provided daylight? Even if Atlantean was the root of every language, how could they speak perfect English, having not been exposed to its modern development? If Atlantis sank 10,000 years ago, how did Plato know about it?

Despite these problems, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was an entertaining new direction for Disney that sadly didn’t deliver as executives had hoped. It remains a cult classic and a worthy addition to my list.

Best line: (Packard, over the intercom, like something from MASH) “Attention: Tonight’s supper will be baked beans. Musical program to follow.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: 8
Originality: 6
Watchability: 8
Other (New Age themes) -8
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #269 – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

Bambi (1942)

08 Tuesday Apr 2014

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(Because of Bambi’s naturalistic simplicity and personal time constraints, I have opted to try a different style for today’s poem, a series of haiku.)

 
Deep in the forest,
A fawn prince enters the world
With eyes of wonder.
 
All is new to him,
The flowers and butterflies,
Bright and exciting.
 
Young rabbit Thumper
Befriends the newborn, as does
Bashful skunk Flower.
 
The young trio plays
Together, and Bambi meets
Female fawn Faline.
 
The seasons march on.
Winter offers newfound joys,
But sorrow awaits.
 
As gunshots ring out,
Bambi flees the deadly sound,
But Mother is gone.
 
Bambi’s cries echo
Through the snow-shod trees until
His father helps him.
 
Years flow ever on,
And Bambi becomes a stag,
Grown but still naïve.
 
He and his old friends
Scoff at romance until it
Captures their young hearts.
 
Faline, now a doe,
Has more than one suitor, but
Bambi proves himself.
 
Man threatens the woods,
But Bambi defends his love
From the vicious dogs.
 
Careless Man’s fire spreads
To drive creatures from their homes.
All flee before it.
 
A strong, daring leap
Lets Bambi escape from death
To create new life.
 
Like Father, Bambi,
The new Prince of the Forest,
Watches o’er his fawns.
_______________
 

Who here saw Bambi as a child and didn’t cry? Anyone? I doubt it. Bambi starts out as one of the gentlest children’s films ever made with adorable woodland creatures but turns into one of the most traumatic as well. Every well-loved child’s worst fear is the loss of a parent, and Bambi’s pitiful search for his mother taps into that potential loneliness to make it one of the ultimate tearjerkers. Those who have seen it several times, like me, may not burst into tears anymore, but it’s still undeniably sad.

As for the rest of the film, the hand-drawn animation is gorgeous, possibly the artistic height of Disney’s original films; the characters are memorable (Any deer can be called Bambi, and any rabbit Thumper to this day.); and the climax is actually pretty exciting. Yet, as with other films like The Secret World of Arrietty, Bambi is so gentle and innocent at times that it becomes rather boring, especially during his saccharinely slow initial exploration of the forest.

Still, Disney managed a surprising balance to this pacing issue by including some almost shockingly realistic events, like Bambi’s aforementioned search for his mother and a scene in which a panicked pheasant flees from her hiding place only to be shot down. Seriously, this movie has probably turned off more people from hunting than any ASPCA ad ever could. Bambi is a naturalistic masterpiece, one of those skillfully made films that work well as both kiddie entertainment and an early introduction to the big, bad, but beautiful world in which we live.

Best line: (Friend Owl, to the grown Bambi) “I was talking to myself about you the other day; we were wondering what became of you.”

 
Artistry: 9
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 5
Visual Effects: 10
Originality: 7
Watchability: 4
Other (slow pacing): -8
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #272: U. S. Marshals

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

06 Sunday Apr 2014

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Kuzco is a pompous brat
Who sings and talks about himself.
He isn’t popular for that,
But he’s the one with power and pelf,
And niceness he is clueless at.
 
Kuzco calls a village man
Named Pacha, who is big on heart,
To tell him of his birthday plan
To have his village torn apart
And build a mansion, since he can.
 
Kuzco next goes on to fire
Yzma, his advisor old.
She and henchman Kronk conspire
To steal the throne she’s craved to hold
Once they dispatch their selfish sire.
 
Kuzco drinks yet doesn’t die
But turns into a talking llama.
Kronk, since things have gone awry,
Then gives the emperor head trauma.
So Kronk is told to kill the guy.
 
Kuzco ends up in a cart
Which Pacha takes back to his town.
The peasant says his help will start
When Kuzco will not tear it down,
But he refuses, and they part.
 
Kuzco finds a panther pack,
But Pacha helps him from his bind.
The llama thinks he’s sharp as a tack
And lies that he has changed his mind,
So Pacha swears to take him back.
 
Kuzco, though, reveals his lie,
Before they both fall from a bridge.
They work together, or they try,
To climb back up onto a ridge,
And each assists the other guy.
 
Kuzco, who is hunger-prone,
And Pacha stop for lunch. Unfed,
The llama hears Yzma the crone
Announce she wanted Kuzco dead.
Depressed, he wanders off alone.
 
Kuzco’s cheered by Pacha’s aid,
And both depart for Yzma’s lair.
Though Yzma is by Kronk betrayed,
She tries to stop the motley pair
And hides the human brew she made.
 
Kuzco, Pacha, and the witch
Face off high up in comic style,
But, overcoming every hitch,
Our heroes get the potion vial.
Kuzco drinks the brew to switch.
 
Kuzco’s changed and shows goodwill
By not destroying Pacha’s town.
He finds he can enjoy life still,
And everybody parties down
With Kuzco on another hill.
__________________
 

Ending Disney’s streak of traditionally animated musicals in the 1990s, The Emperor’s New Groove was a completely different animal from previous classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Mulan. It was straight-up buddy comedy with just the right amount of pathos. Possibly Disney’s funniest movie, The Emperor’s New Groove has more jokes, both visual and verbal, than you can shake a stick at. From Kronk’s ineptitude and his arguments with his shoulder angels to the continual comments about Yzma’s age, the laugh-out-loud moments just keep on coming throughout the 78-minute runtime. By the end, the filmmakers even throw in plot holes and serendipity just to point them out for a laugh.

The voice acting is also some of the best I’ve heard. David Spade is appropriately unlikable yet still funny as Kuzco the talking emperor llama (whose character change is quite satisfying), John Goodman is warm-heartedly sympathetic as Pacha, Eartha Kitt fills Yzma’s every line with scratchy-voiced charisma, and Patrick Warburton is an absolute hoot as Kronk, so much so that he got his own funny but not-as-good sequel in Kronk’s New Groove.

While it would have been nice to see the originally planned film, a typical Disney musical with songs by Sting, The Emperor’s New Groove nonetheless deserves a spot on my list just for the unceasing humor. I remember that Yzma’s transformation at the end left me in stitches the first few times I saw it. It may not be the instant classic that so many other Disney films were, but it’s entertaining from start to finish.

Best line: (Pacha, with Kuzco the llama dressed as a woman in a diner) “It’s our honeymoon.” (monotone waitress) “Bless you for coming out in public.”
 
VC’s best line: (Pacha) “What’d they look like?”
(Townsman #1) “Well, there was this big guy, and this older woman who was… well, how would you describe her?”
(Townsman #2) “Ah, scary beyond all reason?”
(Townsman #1) “Yeah, that’s it.”

 

Artistry: 3
Characters/Actors: 9
Entertainment: 9
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 7
Watchability: 7
Other (I just like other films better): -6
 
TOTAL: 34 out of 60
 

Next: #274: Hugo

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

The Jungle Book (1967)

04 Friday Apr 2014

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Bagheera the panther is prowling around
The jungle when suddenly he hears a sound,
A helpless man-cub that has need to be found,
And he can’t bring himself to forsake him.
 
He then has a thought of who might raise the child,
A family of wolves that at first may seem wild,
But, with all their cubs, they’re surprisingly mild,
And Bagheera’s relieved when they take him.
 
They name the boy Mowgli, but, after some years,
The threat of Shere Kahn, a great tiger, brings fears
That Mowgli must leave; the black cat volunteers
To take him where more humans dwell.
 
But Mowgli insists that he’d much rather stay;
The jungle’s his home and he can’t run away.
Though dangers like Kaa the snake threaten each day,
The boy’s quick to fight and rebel.
 
Bagheera gives up on the man-cub, annoyed.
Baloo the bear sees a chance he can’t avoid;
He tells Mowgli life should be simply enjoyed,
And both of them get very close.
 
Then monkeys take him to their coolest of kings,
But Mowgli’s friends save him while everyone sings,
When the bear tells him he ought to leave, the truth stings,
And Mowgli flees, sad and morose.
 
Though many tell Mowgli that he need not leave,
Repeated deceit makes him loath to believe.
He’s joined by some vultures, who help him not grieve,
But soon he is met by Shere Khan.
 
The tiger attacks, but Baloo holds his tail,
But, as the cat strikes, Baloo cannot prevail.
Yet Mowgli wields fire to make Shere Khan wail,
And soon the great tiger’s withdrawn.
 
Though hurt, Baloo rises, still quite the wise guy.
Bagheera and he then observe from nearby
As a beautiful girl catches young Mowgli’s eye,
And he follows her home and is gone.
_______________________
 

As the last film that Walt Disney worked on before his death, The Jungle Book is a true classic, and both my VC and I remembered it fondly from our childhoods. It has a number of enjoyable songs from the Sherman Brothers, such as King Louie’s “I Wanna Be Like You” and the vultures’ “That’s What Friends Are For,” but the most memorable tune, “The Bare Necessities,” was actually done by a previously involved songwriter, Terry Gilkyson. The Jungle Book was also one of Disney’s first films to employ several well-known voices, such as radio comedian Phil Harris as Baloo, George Sanders (Rebecca, All About Eve) as Shere Khan, Sebastian Cabot (Family Affair) as Bagheera, musical great Louis Prima as King Louis, and Sterling Holloway (Winnie the Pooh) as Kaa.

While there is no denying The Jungle Book’s status as a classic, I will say that it seemed much slower than my VC or I recalled. The best scenes are the musical numbers and the action scenes with King Louis and Shere Khan; most of what is between these scenes is a tad boring, to be honest. Also, while the film has inspired several fine animators, such as Brad Bird, the thick-lined animation just doesn’t seem to be on the same level as many Disney films that came before, such as Peter Pan or Lady and the Tramp.

Still, where the film most excels is in the characters. Every character with his distinctive voice is indelible in the memory: Baloo, with his original “Hakuna Matata” worldview; Bagheera, who doesn’t get enough credit for essentially saving Mowgli’s life; King Louie, whose monkeying around can’t help but entertain; Shere Khan, with his deep, seductive voice; and Kaa, who gets some of the most visually interesting scenes. The film’s plot is quite loose overall, and it is Mowgli’s interactions with these immortal characters that really make it the classic that it is. While it’s very different in tone from Rudyard Kipling’s original story and it is a clear product of its time (those mop-topped vultures were originally going to be played by the Beatles, if Disney had had his way), Disney’s take on The Jungle Book was the last really good animated film for over fifteen years.

Best line: (Bagheera) “This will take brains, not brawn.” (Baloo) “You better believe it, and I’m loaded with both.”

 
Artistry: 5
Characters/Actors: 9
Entertainment: 6
Visual Effects: 5
Originality: 5
Watchability: 5
Other (slow parts): -2
 
TOTAL: 33 out of 60
 

Next: #276: Dave

© 2014 S. G. Liput

 

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

24 Monday Feb 2014

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When England’s left without a king,
It seems that swords will likely ring
For a successor to be named,
And yet a method is proclaimed.
 
A sword is set within a stone,
And he who frees it gets the throne.
The sword becomes the nation’s judge.
Though many try, it will not budge.
 
The wizard Merlin says a sooth,
That he will welcome soon a youth,
But Archimedes, Merlin’s owl,
Scoffs and mocks him with a scowl.
 
But sure enough, that very day,
An arrow search for grumpy Kay
Has scrawny Arthur crashing through
Their cottage roof, as Merlin knew.
 
He stays for tea, and it is stated
That Arthur must be educated.
When Arthur says that he must leave,
He sees a thing he can’t believe.
 
The wizard shrinks his many things
To fit in one bag, which he brings.
Then, carrying his magic goods,
He leads young Arthur through the woods.
 
They go to Arthur’s home, a castle
Where the “Wart” is but a vassal
For his foster father Ector,
Who’s more employer than protector.
 
The wizard tries to teach the boy
And thinks his student would enjoy
A different view. He grants a wish
And turns the lad into a fish.
 
He shows the small fry how to swim,
And, when attacked, he cheers for him,
As Arthur’s hounded by a pike,
Which tries to eat the little tyke.
 
Once Archimedes saves the day,
The boy must work and walks away,
But Merlin’s magic does his chores
And washes plates and sweeps the floors.
 
When Merlin turns them into squirrels,
Young Arthur learns the world of girls,
And things he’d never reckoned of
Like gravity and the woes of love.
 
Still later, Wart becomes a sparrow,
Flying higher than an arrow,
But when a hawk tries snatching him,
He finds the home of Madam Mim.
 
This wicked witch plays cat-and-mouse
With Arthur all around her house.
But Merlin saves him (he’s in school),
And fights with Mim a Wizards’ Duel.
 
They change themselves to varied beasts
And try to make their foe deceased.
Though Mim breaks rules, she’s left infirm
When Merlin beats her as a germ.
 
When Arthur’s glad to be Kay’s squire,
Merlin’s mad he won’t aspire
To bigger, more refined pursuits.
Thus, to Bermuda Merlin shoots.
 
In London, Kay fights for the crown
But needs a sword that’s not around.
So Arthur finds the stone-held sword
And pulls it out; the town is floored.
 
He pulled the sword from out the stone
And must be destined for the throne.
He’s frightened to be chief of state,
But Merlin tells him he’ll be great.
________________________
 

The Sword in the Stone, based off of the book by T. H. White, is a lesser-known Disney classic that nonetheless is a whimsical fantasy that kids and adults alike can enjoy. My dad once called it a perfect drive-in movie, the kind to keep the kids safe in the car and glued to the screen while the parents got popcorn. The plot is episodic and so seems rather weak, considering that the actual Sword in the Stone is only at the very beginning and end. Still, these comical vignettes featuring a young Arthur transformed into various creatures are quite entertaining and nicely merge Arthur’s wide-eyed wonder with Merlin’s anachronistic, curmudgeonly wisdom. The duel with Madam Mim is also both funny and exciting, and Arthur’s pulling out the sword is a truly classic scene.

It also has some references to other films, such as Merlin cleaning up with animated brooms like in Fantasia. His ever-spacious travel bag is also reminiscent of Mary Poppins, which actually came out the next year. While the songs are less than memorable, they are some of the early work of the Sherman Brothers, who went on to write much better songs for Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Jungle Book. One song in the film did stick out because of its similarity to Andy Serkis’s ad-libbed tune in the Forbidden Pool scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Perhaps he was subconsciously inspired by this much earlier Disney ditty.

The Sword in the Stone may not be able to claim the iconic depiction of these characters, but I much prefer its portrayal of Arthur and Merlin than some other films’, like the awful Shrek the Third. While it certainly isn’t the best Arthurian film adaptation, it is nonetheless a classic of childhood that teaches the age-old lesson of brains over brawn.

Best line: (Merlin, speaking of Archimedes the owl) “When he stays out all night, he’s always grumpy the next morning.”  (Arthur) “Then he must stay out every night.”

 
Artistry: 4
Characters/Actors: 6
Entertainment: 6
Visual Effects: 4
Originality: 5
Watchability: 5
 
TOTAL: 30 out of 60
 

Tomorrow: #310: The Karate Kid

© 2014 S. G. Liput