Watching all the Disney films from the very beginning

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Day 39: The Lion King



So, cards on the table, this is my favourite Disney movie OF ALL TIME! To me, it is absolutely perfect - the characters, the music, the idea behind it all, the villain and my God the animation! There simply aren't enough superlatives in the world to describe how awesome I think this movie is. I know it’s a fairly common opinion, but it seems to me that that’s for a very good reason. This is everything an animated movie should be, managing to be supremely entertaining and heart-warming but also transcend the medium to become a true work of art.

In fact, I love this movie so much that reviewing it is quite difficult. Please take it as read that I adore everything in the movie, but I will now take one or two key elements that I think make The Lion King stand out as Disney’s most glorious achievement. If I try to talk about everything we’ll be here for hours, and I will run out of synonyms for the phrase ‘bloody brilliant’.

The villain
Wow Scar is a brilliant villain. He is one of those villains who is so attractive as a character that you become certain if he was a tad less murdery you’d definitely be on his side. The design of the character is amazing. We’ve seen the mastery of the Disney animators when portraying human emotions on animals’ faces grow over the years since Dumbo, and it reaches its pinnacle here (Fight me Zootopia! I’m just kidding I love Zootopia too). Scar just makes evil look so cool! There’s something a bit rock-starish about how dishevelled and skinny he is and it was a stroke of genius to make him a black-maned lion, in contrast to how brightly coloured and healthy-looking Mufasa’s family is. The voice work by Jeremy Irons is also amazing. I know it’s a bit of a cliche in Hollywood to always have the villain played by a Brit (I guess we just sound like we’re planning world domination...which we are mwahahaha!) but it was the perfect choice here. He has so many super-quotable lines too - ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’ is my personal fave.

The sidekicks
Like Aladdin, The Lion King’s side characters elevate it rather than just being there to make up the numbers. I’m looking at you Fox and the Hound! Timon and Pumbaa are just fantastic and really make an impression considering they're only in half the film. Timon in particular I’ve loved since I was little; I think Nathan Lane does fantastic work bringing the character to life. He also sings the songs brilliantly. Sitting here thinking about it I realise they actually give him quite a lot of singing to do, but I almost feel like he deserved more because he does such a great job. Honourable mention also to the hyenas - the design of them is soooo ugly and fantastic, and of course they’re voiced superbly.

The way they handle bereavement
Now you can't watch more than a handful of Disney films before you start to notice there’s quite a few dead parents, but this is easily the best treatment of bereavement, and the only one I can think of where a character actually dies on screen. Especially such an important character. It makes Scar all the more effective as a villain that you see him straight up murder his brother. The way ‘the great circle of life’ is handled in this movie is nothing short of beautiful. I can remember being quite shocked and almost not quite believing my eyes when I witnessed Mufasa’s death for the first time as a child. They couldn’t be have actually killed him off could they? Not Mufasa! He’s such a well realised character (warm, wise, funny) and you fall in love with him so completely that his death, though you can feel that it’s necessary for the story, seems extremely cruel. That scene where Simba discovers his father dead and just calls out for help hopelessly never fails to bring a lump to my throat.

The music
You can't not talk about the music in The Lion King, but what can I even say? The songs are completely brilliant with extremely catchy melodies and witty lyrics, but they are elevated beyond just ‘really good musical theatre/pop songs’ by the choral arrangements and the orchestration. And those are just the songs; the rest of the music is completely amazing too and really helps to make the film what it is. I love the African influences - it doesn't feel like they’ve just sprinkled them in here and there to remind you where the movie is set; they’re integral to the whole sound of the movie. The four dudes who seem to be responsible for this music, Hans Zimmer, Lebo M, Elton John and Tim Rice did a truly amazing job on this movie - it wouldn’t be half the movie it is without their work.

The depiction of Africa
Part of the reason that I love The Lion King so much is that it recreates East Africa, the part of the world where I did quite a lot of my growing up. I think they also took inspiration from South Africa, but the big open plains of The Pride Lands look very East African to me. And what can I say? They had plenty to work with - this to me is the most beautiful place in the whole world - but man, did they do it justice! You can’t help getting caught up in the brilliant story, but whenever you pause the movie you realise that every damn frame is a perfect work of art. The Circle of Life opening sequence (Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa - sorry, I couldn't help myself) is the best in all of Disney, largely because of the stunning visuals. And they aren't content with just making a beautiful place with beautiful animals look beautiful, they choose brilliant camera angles that synch up with the music and lyrics and add to the sense of scale, wonder and drama. You blink along with the baby giraffe as it steps into the sun, and you flinch when the elephant’s giant foot comes down towards you. This is next-level animation.

I could go on and on about every aspect of The Lion King, but I have run out of time and need to stop there. I’ll just finish by saying that this movie has been special to me since I was very young. I watch it at least once a year and though Disney and Pixar have knocked it out the park on many occasions since, it’s never been knocked off the top spot for me. I feel very lucky to have grown up where I did and to have grown up during the Disney Renaissance years - these are the things that made my childhood so special and helped make me who I am today.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Perfect review of a perfect movie. This is DH’s favourite film (not just fav Disney) and a big favourite of all the family. Everything about it is incredible from the magnificent scenery, evil bad guy, cute Simba, the humour of Timon and Pumbaa, beautiful storyline and of course, magnificent, uplifting music.

Never gets boring, we never tire of seeing it. Love the theatre show too which seems to evoke the African feel even more than the film.

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

Perfect review of a perfect movie. This is DH’s favourite film (not just fav Disney) and a big favourite of all the family. Everything about it is incredible from the magnificent scenery, evil bad guy, cute Simba, the humour of Timon and Pumbaa, beautiful storyline and of course, magnificent, uplifting music.

Never gets boring, we never tire of seeing it. Love the theatre show too which seems to evoke the African feel even more than the film.

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Yes! I love the stage show too. My sister actually went to see it again only a few weeks ago and loved it. I love the songs they added for the stage show and the design of it is stunning.

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Day 40: A Goofy Movie (1995)

Day 40! We've watched 40 of these movies...



This was a new one for both of us, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

The relationship between father and son is fantastic, both Max and Goofy have really lovely arcs, and this really works as a road trip movie. Goofy’s caring and trusting approach to fatherhood is really great - even if he is a little too quick to believe his son has the propensity to end up in ‘the electric chair’ in later life after he hijacks a school assembly to do some sweet moves.

There are lots of self-aware references is the movie which are really fun. Ariel, Zero from Nightmare Before Christmas and the Country Bears are all in there. In fact when we got to the 'Country Bears' bit, my sister commented that Max’s disgruntled expression at having to sit through it was very similar to mine when forced into the Carousel of Progress and the Tikki Room at Disney World. Both me and my younger sis they flat out refuse to do the Country Bears.

We also really liked the trappings of the environment in which the characters live, complete with exploding cassette tapes, waterbeds with actual fish inside, and hot tubs. Is this 80s nostalgia twenty years too early?

The songs are great fun. I can see why they have nostalgic value for so many people. As a whole the soundtrack isn't very cohesive, but there's some really catchy tunes in there.

We did have some queries though - a few things that mystified us about this movie: 1) Is Goofy their surname? Nickname? Goofy gets called Mr Goof at one point and Max gets called the Goof boy. Is it Max Goof and Goofy Goof? The Goofs? 2) What kind of animals are they? I mean I appreciate Max and Goofy are dogs, but what about the female characters? Are they hybrid human-dogs? Maybe it's better not to ask...

The only thing about the film, and it’s not really a negative, is that when you watch them chronologically as we are, it seems really out of place where it is. It looks like such a throwback to the 80s, which I suppose it was, but it seems an odd time for Disney to make a movie like this, bang in the middle of the Renaissance. It really has echoes of Roger Rabbit with all its references and self-awareness, while the artwork is more Oliver and Company and Basil: The Great Mouse Detective.

For all it’s out of place, I am so glad it exists and will definitely watch it again sometime!

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Sorry for being slow again folks. We don’t have a good excuse this time, we just got caught up in Making a Murderer 2!

Day 41: Pocahontas (1995)



Pocahontas was always going to be a difficult subject matter for a Disney film, but as we know Disney doesn't shy away from dealing with difficult topics, especially in the 90s. However trying to make a coming-of-age/love story with a neat beginning, middle and end, set in early colonial America, with the necessary comical sidekicks and musical numbers, that also tries to tackle racism and a legacy of oppression was always going to be...well, impossible.

And Pocahontas really does try - it’s a film that’s trying so hard that it’s almost not that fun to watch; certainly a lot less fun than films that are seemingly so effortless, like Robin Hood or Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It doesn't have a lack of drama - it just has to keep pointing out to you how dramatic it is. And it’s so earnest. Which it probably should be, as it’s dealing with a complex period of history, one in which there are few heroes and villains and instead a big faceless system of oppression and people trying to survive in it. But that earnestness when juxtaposed with the frankly irritating antics of Meeko, Flit and Percy makes for a bit of a tone problem.

I don't want to be too hard on Pocahontas, because I don’t hate it by any means, and as a child I absolutely loved it. I also think Disney should be given credit for not shying away from the difficult topics. The films they make these days are often so safe, that they don’t really leave much of an impression, and there’s definitely merit in making something beautiful and flawed, even if it doesn't end up aging too well.

So, after that lengthy introduction, here’s some thoughts on Pocahontas.

The animation is somewhat mixed for me. The backgrounds are very beautiful - maybe too beautiful. None of it looks very real. I think the native American characters look great. The white characters are mostly flat and cartoony, apart from John Smith and Ratcliffe. This is probably on purpose, and it works pretty well. There’s some very beautiful imagery in this film, and you get the sense they were going for a very artistic approach, like in Sleeping Beauty, which works OK. I think my main problem with the visuals (and the rest of the movie too kinda) is the mystical, dreamy quality of everything; the sense that the native Americans are ‘in touch with nature’ and therefore a bit magic and able to talk to trees and stuff. This seems a bit patronising to me.

I don’t have any favourite characters really, except maybe Nakoma, and she's under-used. Pocahontas is designed beautifully - seriously, she might be the hottest Disney princess - but she’s again a bit earnest. Maybe this is unfair though - she calls John Smith on his nonsense after all, and refuses to be patronised. Pocahontas is OK.

John Smith on the other hand, I am not a big fan of - though my sister disagrees with me. They set up him at the beginning of the movie as someone who has travelled to ‘hundreds of new worlds’ and is therefore world-weary and cynical, and sees any native people as ‘savages’. Seriously? You travelled all over the world and didn't manage to view anyone as more than a savage until you met Pocahontas? Guess none of those ‘savages’ were hot enough. Also he plans to kill her on sight and only doesn't because she’s so pretty. A woman with less good hair would have been dead. Still, he learns his lesson and tries to change things so...yey for him.

Ratcliffe is awful. Worst villain since Sykes in Oliver and Company. He’s irritating and ineffectual; I don't even like the design of the character. He also just shouldn't be there. He is a stand-in for a big, ugly colonialist strategy that has and is going to cost thousands of people their lives and freedoms - this shouldn't be represented by one slightly stupid, greedy guy. It’s Disney’s way of giving the movie an ending - Ratcliffe is ‘hilariously’ clapped in irons at the end of the movie and we’re supposed to consider that settled. Villain defeated, all friends now. Yey, we solved colonialism. Oh wait…

The music suffers from the same problem as the animation I think. It's beautiful - man, it’s beautiful, and I’ve been singing along with Pocahontas since I was a kid, but they’re still not really suited to the subject matter. Colours of the Wind is easily the best song in the movie, and I do love it, but Pocahontas still seems to be suggesting that bears are people too (bet ‘you never knew you never knew’ that ) and we should be listening to what rocks have to say - which I don’t think is what native Americans really believe.

Savages is just a deeply misguided song. I get that they were trying to go for a balanced view, but a 3 minute song is not enough time to get into the complexities of racism, and what you end up with is two sides yelling ‘Savages!’ at each other as if they are both equally wrong.

I think that’s all I have to say about Pocahontas for now. And I got through the whole thing without using the word ‘problematic’ tee hee. This movie hasn't aged well for me. As a kid I loved it, especially Pocahontas because she was so pretty and did that cool dive off the cliff, but as an adult, with the legacy of British colonialism still all around us, it’s more difficult to enjoy films like this. That isn't to say they shouldn’t exist, just that it’s harder to love them unconditionally.

See you next time chaps

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Day 42: Toy Story (1995)



And so we reach yet another landmark film in this string of absolute classics: Toy Story! Toy Story is almost like the Snow White of the 90s because, although it’s not my favourite, it is so ridiculously good that it managed to reinvent the genre and change the face of children’s movies forever. As with Snow White you find yourself wondering what would have happened if Toy Story had been a failure, and thanking your lucky stars that it wasn’t.

We will at some point have to have the conversation about which of the Toy Story trilogy is the best one, but let’s wait until a bit further on before we do that. However, I think for me it’s probably not this one - not because it’s not good (man it is good) - but just because there is a bit of a sense of them finding their feet with this movie, whereas Toy Stories 2 and 3 are a bit more relaxed and confident. This is understandable of course, and maybe has a bit to do with the slightly tortuous journey the Pixar guys went on to make the movie.

All that having been said Toy Story is an immensely enjoyable film and sets up a lot of what we love so much about Pixar. It maybe doesn’t hit the big emotional notes that become Pixar’s trademark in the years to come, but it already has the knowing humour meant to appeal to adults as much as children, the imperfect, complex and recognisable main characters, the great use of music and of course the groundbreaking animation.

Woody is such an unusual main character, especially for Disney at this time. He’s almost a bit of an a**hole at the beginning of the movie, and I think he’s definitely a character that adults would identify with perhaps more than children. He’s the big man on campus, or that guy in the office who is great at his job and who everyone is a bit jealous of. Buzz too is an unusual choice for a main character, because although he is more ‘pure of heart’ (more like Hercules or other Disney heroes), he’s so single-minded that you can understand why Woody finds him irritating.

I think as a child this slightly affected my enjoyment of Toy Story. I was more used to the Disney Princesses, who were beautiful and good and who I could look up to, but as an adult I think it makes me like the film even more. Whereas something like Pocahontas I adored as a kid and now have problems with.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot for kids to love in this movie - just the idea of your toys coming to life when you left the room was so awesome that, even though I was quite a rational kid, I couldn’t help thinking ‘Well it could happen. I wouldn’t know if it was happening, would I?’ The movie is also hilarious whether you’re a child or an adult, and if a movie can grow with its audience, so that every rewatch brings something new to enjoy (whether it’s a joke you didn’t previously get, or a new appreciation of an emotional moment), I think you’ve got a masterpiece on your hands.

Though I did like Toy Story when I was a kid, I found Sid very frightening. This is weird because while everyone knows a boy like Sid when they’re growing up, they rarely know any insane octopus witches or regicidal lions; and yet Sid was far scarier to me than Ursula or Scar. I think this is another way in which Toy Story exemplifies one of the tropes that makes Pixar films stand out and feel like such a breath of fresh air in the years to come. The characters in Pixar films are often trying to reconcile themselves to living with a system or an aspect of life that seems unfair. Pixar deals with things like aging, bereavement, growing up and family relationships, rather than with heroic people defeating evil in the form of an evil person. Sid is not an evil person (he’s certainly a little psycho, but he’s not evil) but he represents the toys’ powerlessness. Woody has no control over being replaced as Andy’s favourite toy; Buzz has no control over being a toy rather than a space hero. Both of them have to learn to be OK with this and learn to live in the system they’re in, which is not as easy a concept for a children’s film as defeating an evil witch.

I have no idea whether this is why I found Sid so scary when I was a kid though. It might have just been that he’s such a little psycho.

There’s obviously a lot to say about Toy Story, but I don’t want to go on forever. Let me just finish by talking briefly about the animation. As I said at the top, this is an experiment that totally paid off. A lot of hard work must have gone into making this film look as spectacular as it does. Obviously when you compare it so some of Pixar’s (and Disney’s) computer animated films from the last ten years or so, you can definitely see improvement, but Toy Story definitely holds up. This is particularly true of the characters. The texture of the toys and the way they move is fantastic, and so much thought and creativity has gone into thinking about how characters like that would move. The backgrounds obviously were amazing for the time, but are noticeably less detailed and organic-looking than what can be achieved these days. Nonetheless the film looks wonderful and for being the first of its kind is a bit of a marvel.

So yeah, Pixar seems to have crushed it on their first round - I predict big things to come from this plucky young studio. Watch this space!

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Last one of these for a few days, folks, as we are off to DLP! We've never done Halloween at Disney before, and we're going with a friend who hasn't been since she was a kid, so we are all super excited!



Enough gloating. On with the review...

Day 43: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)



Ah the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Hunchback, Hunchback, what are we going to do with you, eh? Damn, this movie is frustrating.

It had the potential to be one of the greats. The music and the visuals mark it out as exceptionally high quality; up there with The Lion King, Sleeping Beauty and Fantasia for sheer artistry...and then they had to go and add those damn gargoyles and ruin everything!

Hunchback of Notre Dame was another really ballsy move on the part of Disney, and although their adaptation of the book isn’t a faithful one, they chose to go a very interesting direction with it, and I think made mostly very good decisions along the way. I haven’t read the book so I can’t go into this in detail, but it seems to me that the message of the film is very powerful and its characters are rich and complex, even if that message and those characters are nothing like the source material.

No, poor adaptation is not my problem with The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It would be disingenuous of me to pretend that it was, as I haven’t read it. My problem is that the movie looked like doing something extremely powerful and unusual for a children’s animated film, and then (as my sister said while we were watching the film) somebody panicked. Somebody said, ‘Oops, this is too dark for a kids’ movie, we better add some dumb gargoyles.’

I admire this film so much in spite of the gargoyles (or the problem that the gargoyles represent anyway), that I think I’ll get them out the way first, so I can get on with what is so brilliant about the film. So, yeah, the gargoyles are AWFUL! And you really do get the sense that they were a hasty insertion. Maybe they weren’t, but if so why do they have nothing whatsoever to do with the film? Why do they impact on nothing in the story? And why, most importantly, are they tonally so wrong? This teeth-clenching tone problem is exemplified best, I think, by this line, sung by Hugo (the most irritating one), while Quasimodo is worried Esmerelda may be dead and Frollo is setting the whole city on fire trying to find her:

Paris, the city of lovers/ Is glowing this evening./ True, that's because it's on fire/ But still, there's l'amour.

The city is on fire, we just watched Frollo nearly murder an entire family and they decide to stick a comedy song in? Ouch. And it’s like that with pretty much every scene the gargoyles are in.

This, along with some extremely irritating comedy sound effects (seriously, listen out for them, they are so inappropriate), effectively destroys what could have been a masterpiece. And you may think I’m being harsh here - my sister definitely does - but it’s just how I feel. I think movies should have a direction and a tone and stick to them. The excuse that it’s a children’s film just isn’t good enough. Disney manage to tackle complex and difficult themes in other films, and include songs and lighthearted moments, why could they not do that here? You don’t make a film about hypocrisy, oppression, abuse and marginalisation more ‘a kids’ movie’ (or I guess less not a kids’ movie) by adding in some silly gargoyles. Yes, removing the gargoyles would make this more obviously an older children’s film, but Walt pushed those boundaries with Fantasia. Someone was scared of losing money and the genre as a whole is the poorer for it.

However! I really really do like this film. It has so much about it that is beautiful and unique and dark and ballsy. I don’t want this review to end up being way too long, and I think I could go on and on about everything that makes Hunchback so awesome, so I’ll try and put a few points here to sum it up:

• The music, overall, may be the finest soundtrack to a Disney film. May be. I know it’s a helluva claim, but Alan and Stephen really did amazing work here. Out There must be the best song for a male soloist in a Disney film, though it faces serious competition from Hellfire. The religious and spiritual themes of the music and lyrics are just perfect and manage to create extremely dramatic moments, both dark and light.
  
• The artwork is soooo gorgeous. We are actually going to Notre Dame later this week and seeing it rendered so beautifully by the Disney artists made us even more excited. The cathedral really becomes a character in the story. Also, I legit cried during Esmerelda’s song God Help the Outcasts because Notre Dame was so lovely.
  
• The four central characters are superb. They are so rich and complex. Quasimodo is presented as almost like a Disney Princess at the beginning of the film - he’s sweet and good and talks to birds and sings like an angel. But the way they go into his abusive relationship with Frollo makes his journey so much more interesting, and the emotional payoff when he finally realises how cruel his master is all the more powerful. Frollo is...well he’s an amazing villain, but a Disney movie about sexual obsession? Also, though he’s not a priest, he is associated very strongly with religion and the church throughout the film and yet is one of the most evil Disney villains there is. He starts the movie by nearly killing a baby, don’t forget. This was extremely daring for Disney and I LOVE IT! The romantic couple are also pretty fantastic. Esmerelda is very sexy for a Disney heroine, but also good, wise and brave. She saves herself and others as much as she is saved and it’s nice to see a heroine who is a grown up, who very much knows her own mind. Phoebus is just very cute. He’s a traditional handsome hero sure, but he’s a very self-effacing one and he has some of the best comedy lines in the film.

I’ll leave it there because I have a tea to make. Hunchback of Notre Dame is definitely a more grown up film than some of its neighbours, which might explain why it wasn’t among my favourites when I was a kid. As an adult there are moments when it’s so good, when the music, the themes and the dark beauty all come together, that I get honest-to-God chills. These are then nearly always ruined by a moment of ill-judged ‘humour’, leaving me frustrated and unsatisfied. But I still think this is a truly remarkable film.

[YLL]

Frollo is the most complex Disney villain ever, and Hellfire is their most daring piece of animation in my opinion. It's one of my favourite Disney sequences ever!

[Gr8WideSomewher]

Originally Posted by YLL

Frollo is the most complex Disney villain ever, and Hellfire is their most daring piece of animation in my opinion. It's one of my favourite Disney sequences ever!

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Totally agree! The whole movie was a really brave move for the studio and in most respects they really pulled it off. Hellfire is incredible - it might be the most frightening sequence of animation since Fantasia, what an achievement! And the guy who sings it is amazing too!

[Gr8WideSomewher]

I'm back!

Sorry it's been such a long time, chaps. We were in DLP and then I just had a mental week at work.

But we managed to watch a few movies over the weekend so I'll post them once we've written the reviews.

Here's Herc for a start!



Hercules is another movie I remember very vividly from my childhood. Me and my friends used to quote it at each other (particularly Meg’s and Hades’ lines) constantly. It was never my favourite of the 90s Disneys, but I accepted it as the latest in a long line of completely awesome films for which we owned all the merchandise (my Meg barbie was one of my faves ), sang all the songs and which became the basis for many imaginative games and stories. Hercules was as expected. It was good. I’m not going to say bad things about it because it doesn’t deserve them.

Hercules is far more successful as a whole movie than Hunchback of Notre Dame is, in that it picks a tone and style and sticks to it. I spent a good portion of the last review articulating (at length ) Hunchback of Notre Dame’s failings, but find that I really can’t do that it when it comes to Hercules, even though if you asked me to choose I would say I prefer Hunchback. Hercules is fine. It’s good even. I can’t really think of anything bad to say about it. It just doesn’t reach the daring, glorious heights of Hunchback or Toy Story or The Lion King.

For me the two greatest strengths of this movie, the things that are most memorable and exciting, are Meg and Hades. Hades is really very very funny. He’s a bit like a less sinister version of Scar, skipping over the brother-killing and gaslighting of small children and sticking to the scheming, quipping and intensely likeable sides of that character. He’s another villain who you kind of want to win in the end (or at least nothing too bad to happen to him) because he’s super fun and cuts through the naivete and sweetness of the movie’s main character. This is all because of Hades’ personality though, not because we’re really invested in his evil plan. The plan is a bit ill-formed - we’re told he’s going to take over the cosmos and this is a bad thing, but mostly Hades just jokes about it, so it’s hard to form any opinions about it. Maybe he’s not evil enough. Who cares though, when he’s this much fun?

In many films, the female character takes the moral high ground in the relationship, shaking her head over the male character’s failings in a poe-faced way, and gradually coaching him into reaching his full potential. The male character in these scenarios is usually allowed to be a lot more morally grey and sarcastic, plus gets all the best lines, and is usually a lot more interesting and likeable for these reasons. (If you need examples here’s a few from the Disney animated films that we’ve watched so far in the marathon - but trust me this trope exists in many many films - Snow White, the Blue Fairy, Wendy, Lady, Duchess, Rita, Sally, Nala and Pocahontas). In Hercules, this dynamic is turned on its head, with the woman taking the wise-cracking, amoral role in the relationship and is ultimately saved by the love of a good man as male characters are usually saved by the love of a good woman. She’s extremely witty and funny, but also fragile, emotional and complex, in fact completely the opposite of most traditional Disney heroines, making her an extremely engaging character.

All in all the rest of the movie succeeds too. There’s some fantastic design (I particularly like the evil characters like Hades and the Fates and their environments), the music is fabulous and the jokes for the most part land really well. The movie is really really good. There may be one or two underdeveloped themes and ideas in it that lead to it not being excellent in the way that The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast are excellent, but it’s still a brilliant kids’ movie.

Tune in next time for Mulan!

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