Disney's Best

[Avaitor]

Time for another one of my massive posts based on the house that the brothers Disney built. This time I'm asking, out of the 51 (52, with the up-and-coming Wreck-It Ralph) would you consider to be their objective best? And I'm not counting Pixar or other oddities into the equation here, obviously (sorry Desen, but A Goofy Movie does still kick ass ).

I begin this with 3 distinctive answers- Fantasia, Dumbo, and The Lion King. Each of which I pick for very different reasons.

Whether or not Fantasia is for you, it's damn near impossible to argue against its artistic merit. The film was the love child of over a decade's worth of the studio constantly testing the limits and possibility with animation, among their shorts and earliest features, and Walt's desire to lift animation into the artform that we admire it as today. Each segment is meticulously done, with practically every one involved in the animation process's best work. Not a single frame is spared, and each detail is perfected. The use of classical music to collide with the animated segments of course fits perfectly. Some scenes can be seen over and over again and not lose an ounce of their power by doing so, and may actually reward you for doing so.

Watch the "Ave Maria" sequence at the end again, and you'll see what I mean. The use of lights are sensational, and the music and imagery works as an incredible substitute to the previous "Night at Bald Mountain" sequence, which is equally unforgettable. With "Ave Maria", watch as the clergy walk across the bridge, and pay attention to the lights from on top and their reflection below in the water. Such perfect composition. Then you have "Rites of Spring", which takes place at the beginning of time. We see the planet start its life in the course of about 17 minutes, and not miss anything from this period. It's another obviously highlight.

I could mention all of the brilliant sequences in the film, because every one of them is, but that's for another day. Fantasia is considered by many to be Disney's greatest artistic statement, and it's hard to argue against that belief.

For the best narrative film of Walt's period, I side with Dumbo. Which may be an odd choice since Walt didn't have much involvement in it- he commissioned it to be a cheaper film made alongside the more expensive and ambitious Fantasia and Bambi, and focused on these two over it. But Dumbo's a bit of an underdog story for the studio, containing a lot of their unsung heroes doing the key work on the film as the bigger names worked to perfect Bambi, which also happens to be similar to Dumbo in a few major regards.

While both of these films are incredible, I feel that Dumbo resonates more. Bambi's ambitions was to take woodland creatures and recreate their natural motions and contain a more lyrical narrative, which it succeeds at. Dumbo is ultimately more cartoony, in certain ways a return to the studio's Silly Symphonies cartoons. Which works perfectly well, like with the devilish-looking clowns and crazier moments like "Pink Elephants on Parade". But it also contains plenty of artistic success, such as the creation of Dumbo. He's drawn in such an adorable fashion, but his animation treads more towards that of an actual baby elephant than anything, along with stabs at childish innocence. It's a great balance, and works well in terms of context to the surprisingly dark story, which stabs at the heart arguably moreso than Bambi can.

All of this, and Dumbo also contains what I consider to be the best song in the studio's library- "Baby Mine". I find this entire sequence to be equal to the whole of Fantasia in the power of music and art. Even something as simple as seeing Jumbo rock her baby to sleep for a brief period of time is filled to the brim with emotion. The lyrics are basic, but perfectly rendered, and all of the accompanying images add to the main idea.

And going through the studio's later, post-Walt days, I consider The Lion King to be their masterpiece. It's probably the most popular film in their canon, period, and for good reason. In the Renaissance's span of a decade, this is the only one to not feature human leads (unless you count Rescuers Down Under, which has major human characters, but the mice are the stars). There are songs, and while each one of them contribute lyrical and mental context, the music takes to the side in favor of everything else- story, character, dialogue, scenario, and animation.

The animation. My god. We've seen what the new batch of animators were capable with in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, but there are so many errors and weaknesses in them. I've only found one flaw in The Lion King, and it's rather tiny- Simba's eyeballs are painted in the wrong shade during the "remember who you are" sequence.

Everything else is pure magic. The opening sunrise of "Circle of Life". The lifelike accuracy of the animals as followed. The colors used in "I Just Can't Wait to be King". Simba's little nibble on Mufasa's ear. The little tremors before the stampede, and the breathtaking depth of the stampede itself. That one shot in which Mufasa rises up on the rock before his fall. The way the bugs in "Hakuna Matata" are drawn. Simba's realization when Nala pins him as an adult lion. Simba's face to Nala before he grabs the rope in "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", and his race towards Pride Rock. Scat's realization when the king returns. His shadow as the hyenas have his revenge. And that final roar.

Hopefully reminding you all the technical brilliance in The Lion King does good enough of a job in selling you the film's quality. There have been plenty of highlights from the studio since Walt's death, but The Lion King is among their best works, with or without him for numerous reasons. Every single frame adds to the power.

But yeah, these are just my choices. What would you guys go with?

[Spark Of Spirit]

I was actually just thinking that about the Lion King when I saw it on TV last month. So much went into that one in every single aspect, that you could feel all the soul they poured into that one. From the music, to the art, to the animation, to the writing (VERY strong and universal themes were presented and they nailed them all), and to the perfect pace... everything about it was pretty amazing.

I mean, personally I would pick Aladdin as my favorite as it is an amazing adventure film but I do think The Lion King is just better in pretty much every way.

Also, those songs never leave your head. Ever.

[Commode]

I don't think Aladdin would've been as good as it is without Robin Williams' Genie.  Aladdin and Jasmin aren't exactly interesting characters, and all you've got left is a monkey, a Gilbert Gottfried parrot, and a boring sultan.  Jafar was pretty cool, but the Genie, and more specifically Williams' performance/improv really made the movie.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Not being much of a Robin Williams fan, I can't say that Aladdin does much at all for me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I don't think Aladdin would've been as good as it is without Robin Williams' Genie.  Aladdin and Jasmin aren't exactly interesting characters, and all you've got left is a monkey, a Gilbert Gottfried parrot, and a boring sultan.  Jafar was pretty cool, but the Genie, and more specifically Williams' performance/improv really made the movie.

Really? See, I thought the movie ground to a halt when Genie first appeared on screen. Up to that point I thought it was set up with gorgeous art and a very fun action adventure plot, and the entire cave scene is one of Disney's best, IMO. Not to say I didn't enjoy his performance, but I always thought the movie ground to a halt whenever he showed up on screen and the pace suffered a bit for it.

I mean, I don't think Jasmine or Aladdin are the best leading characters Disney has ever had (however, I do think they work very well) but the plot, action, and pace are way more exciting than any other Disney film barring possibly The Lion King, IMO.

[talonmalon333]

I always thought Aladdin was middle tier for Disney.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Aladdin is lumped in with Hercules and Pocahontas as the "Disney movies about foreign cultures that Disney clearly has no idea about" trilogy.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Aladdin is lumped in with Hercules and Pocahontas as the "Disney movies about foreign cultures that Disney clearly has no idea about" trilogy.

I'm not going to deny that (especially Pocahontas because that is extraordinarily off), but I still think Aladdin is a great adventure film on its own merits when it comes to character interactions, action, story, pacing, and especially in the art and direction.

Quality-wise, IMO, it's way above Hercules and Pocahontas even if it makes some cultural flubs. But 'middle tier'? No, I think of stuff like Aristocats, and Oliver & Company as 'middle tier'... and I like those films.

[Commode]

Pocahontas isnt about a foreign culture, she's Native American.  She's actually from an area thats not too far from here(the original Jamestown settlement is only about a half hour way, near Busch Gardens).

[Dr. Insomniac]

Pocahontas isnt about a foreign culture, she's Native American.  She's actually from an area thats not too far from here(the original Jamestown settlement is only about a half hour way, near Busch Gardens).

Disney still did a shitty job with the research though. Like, all Native Americans are one with the nature and can talk to trees, according to Disney.

[Avaitor]

You know that there were plans to build another Disney park, this one based on American history, in Virginia, not in Jamestown exactly, but still in the state? That was scrapped when historians protested it and Pocahontas didn't meet up to Disney's expectations in the box office.

And I dunno, I really like Aladdin. He and Jasmine are among my favorite leads too. But it still has some of the animation problems that TLM and BATB were chock full of, and Tim Rice's songwriting was kinda uneven, especially compared to which Ashman songs remained. Otherwise I still quite dig it.

[Commode]

Well yeah, we do have a lot of American history in the state, more US presidents were born here than any other state for one.  Either it would've been built around here and competed with the aforementioned Busch Gardens or it would be up closer to Fairfax/Arlington/DC and possibly competed with Kings Dominion, which is up that way.

And I don't understand the complaints that Disney doesn't do enough research.  If they used the more truthful side of the stories chances are the films would've been much darker than they are, and thats not really their territory.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Then, why use those stories in the first place?

[Avaitor]

Well Katzenberg wanted Pocahontas to be Disney's equivalent to Romeo & Juliet and West Side Story, historical accuracy be damned!

Considering how naturally weak each of these stories are (at least in comparison to the Bard's other works for R&J; it really doesn't stack up), I guess Disney succeeded there.

[Commode]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney%27s_America

Yeah, that would've been just outside of the DC area, and about and hour and a half from Kings Dominion(and probably about three and a half from me). Definitely would've been interesting.