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22 Aug 18, 01:08 PM |
#41
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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Day 18: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Day 18: Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Lady and the Tramp is a really lovely movie. It seems a shame that it gets a bit overlooked sometimes because there's loads about it that's really good. Everyone knows that one scene with the spaghetti, but I think a lot of people don't remember much about the rest of the movie. As an adult I really liked the beginning of the movie, which establishes the characters of Lady, Jim Dear and Darling and the two next door neighbour dogs really effectively. I think I didn't really pay much attention to the humans when I was a kid, but seeing Jim Dear going out in a blizzard to get watermelon and chop suey for his pregnant wife some time around the turn of the century makes me like him a lot. I have a suspicion though that a child watching this movie would find it a bit slow to start off with. The dramatic events don't really start until Aunt Sarah turns up with the Siamese cats which is a good 20-25 minutes or so into the movie. As I said though, as an adult I don't mind that they take things quite slow. I like that this movie spends time on establishing the relationships between its characters, and not just between Lady and the Tramp, but between Lady and her two friends as well. And these four characters are all very likeable and cute, which is nice to see after Alice and Peter Pan, where many of the characters are difficult to like. I also really liked all the stray dog characters that Lady meets in the pound. The song that Peg sings is absolutely brilliant - one of the best we've heard so far I think. Although we placed the movie somewhere in the Edwardian period we had a bit of trouble working out where it was taking place. Does anybody know? Wherever it was it looked very idyllic and pretty and as usual was wonderfully designed by the Disney artists. My one criticism might be that the movie is a bit too nice and maybe a bit safe. Everything is pretty and there's no villain except for the slightly underdeveloped rat and Aunt Sarah who is just a bit annoying because her villainy comes from misunderstanding situations. There's also no standout comedy moments - though the beaver and the log puller had us chuckling. As a result of being a bit safe, the movie doesn't make a huge impression, which is maybe why it gets overlooked. This is a very mild criticism though, because it's a lovely film, which we really enjoyed watching. |
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23 Aug 18, 04:18 PM |
#42
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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Day 19: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Day 19: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
We didn't watch this movie much when we kids (though I'm pretty sure we owned it) because Bex (my sister) was really scared of Maleficent. Watching it now, I can kind of see why. Maleficent isn't deliciously evil, she's just evil. Bex was particularly terrified of the green spot as a kid, and used to freak out if she even heard the music, and she was right, it is very unsettling. Just one example of how the design of this movie is absolutely brilliant. Thankfully as adults, we could watch the movie and really enjoy it. While the story is incredibly thin on the ground, it is undoubtedly an artistic masterpiece. You could freeze any frame and have an incredible piece of art to hang on your wall. As far as criticism goes, the main characters are once again a little underdeveloped and poor Aurora suffers the same fate as Snow White and Cinderella - her movie is wrestled away from her by second-tier characters, in this case the three good fairies. However, the fairies are really cute so I don’t mind too much. Basically, this movie has to be appreciated in a different way, as it’s more a work of art than a children’s fairytale. So on to what we liked! We both adored the way they drew on inspiration from medieval artwork and tapestries. The whole aesthetic of the film is so unique and really sets it apart from other Disney classics. The backgrounds are just stunning, I love the box trees in the forest! And there are some really iconic scenes; Prince Philip (with the fairies help) fighting the dragon is a highlight. This piece has a lot fewer comedy sketches than films such as Snow White, but there are some excellent moments, e.g. the drunk bard and more famously the fairies fighting over the colour of the dress. Additionally, the decision not to go with a 'Disneyfied' score and to use the ballet music was genius. However ‘Once Upon a Dream’ is a beautiful addition and Aurora sings it beautifully. The scene with the green spot may have terrified me as a kid, but the way they marry the animation and the score is excellent, no wonder it had such an impact. Wow, just realised I used a lot of superlatives (and this isn't even one of my faves), can you tell we liked this one? Again Sleeping Beauty will never be either of our favourites, but I am so glad I can watch it now and enjoy it as a fantastic piece of art (and kind of the end of an era in animation)! Just wanted to add that we're heading off on holiday to Majorca and won't have very good internet access, so I won't be posting any more reviews for a while. Bye! |
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23 Aug 18, 06:02 PM |
#43
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Imagineer
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Really enjoying your unbiased, well-written reviews. Hope you have a lovely holiday in Majorca. Looking forward to the rest of your reviews when you begin again 😊
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3 Sep 18, 11:59 AM |
#44
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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3 Sep 18, 12:10 PM |
#45
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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Day 20: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
Day 20: One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
We both really enjoyed watching this one again - it's probably been at least a decade! I love the modern aesthetic and the fact that the film was set at the time it was made. This makes it kind of unique among the films we have seen up till now. Although the design of the movie is really cool and definitely works for the story, I would say the one negative is that you can see a big drop in quality as we enter the 1960s. It's especially apparent straight after watching Sleeping Beauty (possibly the most gorgeous film we've seen so far) that the backgrounds are much less detailed (even being rendered in only one colour sometimes) and some of the bits of animation are repeats. However, I like that they leaned into this and ended up with something that looked purposefully stylised, rather than just a cheap version of what had gone before. I adore the original story of One Hundred and One Dalmatians and they did a really good job of getting all the key moments of Dodie Smith's book into the Disney version. The twilight bark is a wonderful idea taken from the book, which works really well here (with characters from Lady and the Tramp participating - first time noticing that!). It is probably the best sequence in the movie, although the dalmations covered in soot and escaping under Horace, Jasper and Cruella’s noses and Roger singing the ‘bluesy’ Cruella De Vil and dancing his wife round the living room are highlights too. Let's just talk about Cruella De Vil for a sec - what a song! This really is the ultimate song about a Disney villain! In general, the film is well paced with all the action serving the story and as we've seen that wasn't always the case with these movies. The characters and the relationships between them are also well developed. I love the relationship between Roger and Anita and the fact that they have the same silly sense of humour. I wish Perdita could have had a tiny bit more agency, but the dalmations, in general, are well characterised. Cruella and her minions are of course great. She’s iconic! How I wish I could pull off entrances and exits like hers... Cheerio! Cheerio DARLINGS! *Maniacal laugh* |
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3 Sep 18, 12:40 PM |
#46
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VIP Dibber
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Love the song (particularly the more recent Dr John version) but it’s a shame that a film featuring a songwriter only had one song in it! Roger must have hit the jackpot there.
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DLP: day trips 2000, 2003; Cheyenne Sep 2009, Feb 2011, Nov 2018; Sequoia Lodge June 2008, May 2012; Elysee May 2012, Jan 2013, Sep 2013; Disneyland Hotel Mar 2015, Santa Fe Nov 2016; Newport Bay Sep 2017, Ibis Sep 2019, Hotel NY Art of Marvel Nov 2021
WDW: Port Orleans Riverside Dec 10; SSR Nov 14 |
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3 Sep 18, 05:40 PM |
#47
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Imagineer
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I think 101 Dalmatians is very under-rated. Everyone seems to remember the live action version, which isn't anywhere near as good as the animation.
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4 Sep 18, 12:53 PM |
#48
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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You'd hope so - can you imagine the vet's bills?
There is actually one more song though - at the end Roger sits down at the piano and starts singing about having a 'Dalmatian Plantation'. Not such a hit though. I think in the book he's like a spy or something. He's definitely set it up with the government that he doesn't ever have to pay taxes, so they are quite wealthy. |
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4 Sep 18, 12:55 PM |
#49
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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4 Sep 18, 01:12 PM |
#50
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Thread Starter
Excited about Disney
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Day 21: The Sword in the Stone (1963)
Day 21: The Sword in the Stone (1963)
I’ve never really liked this one and both of us found this to be the case this time around as well. Its strange really because you would think the story of King Arthur’s boyhood would make a great subject for a Disney film. Part of the problem, I think is the actual trajectory of the story itself, which seems very episodic, with each episode not actually serving the greater narrative. This is especially obvious after the tight plotting we saw in Dalmatians. When Arthur does pull the sword from the stone it should feel like the climax of the film - but in fact this has come 10 minutes or so before when Merlin defeats Madam Mim - admittedly a fun moment. What's more, pulling the sword out of the stone is an accident and Arthur does not seem any better prepared to be king than he was before Merlin’s teaching. The filmmakers seem to be wanting to make some philosophical statement about education for education's sake (which is great and I am all for), but attempts to make this point keep getting hijacked by ‘comedy’ moments and songs, which don’t seem to fit. On a similar note, what's with the wolf that keeps following Merlin and Arthur around trying to eat the kid? Is he supposed to represent the strong preying on the weak? Because if so, the design of the character doesn’t suit the theme at all, as he’s so weedy and pathetic. Just one example of how the movie keeps undermining itself in an attempt to be funny. Archimedes and Merlin are great characters, and though I'm not sure how Madame Mim really serves the story, she is fun to have around as well. Arthur is a bit of a nothing. Throughout the movie Merlin makes cracks and introduces anachronisms to show that he's travelled in time and visited the modern day. At the end he jokes about the advantages of TV and full-length films in what I think is the first instance of Disney obviously adopting the self aware, raised eyebrow approach to humour that became so popular in the early noughties. Good try guys, I chuckled, but you didn't quite pull it off. All in all this would probably be the only Disney film that actually needs a live action remake. And yes, that includes most of the live action remakes that have already been done. This subject could be treated in a much more interesting and engaging way and I don't think there'd be that many people who would be bothered about besmirching a classic. |
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