Disney Countdown 20-11
Welcome back to the Disney Countdown! We are entering the home-stretch and the next bunch of films can be placed into the category of "Great!" I would even go as far as to say a number of films in this next batch are super underrated. Speaking of which...
20. Meet the Robinsons
I adore Meet the Robinsons. I remember seeing it in theaters for the first time and it really catching me by surprise. I do have some minor complaints with the animation as Disney is still trying to catch up with Pixar. Its usually the characters eyes that suffer the most as they appear sunken in and even some of the mouth movements can't line up correctly, however this is the first attempt to animated animated people with Disney's CGI rather than animals that we saw them handle in Chicken Little.
I always hoped they would spin this off into a tv series because the cast of characters are so well-defined and silly. You get a sense of who they are by just a few lines. I would also place Dolores and "The Bowler Hat Guy" as some of my favorite Disney "villains." The twist for the Bowler Hat Guy is both sad and hilarious. The vision of the future under Dolores is one of the darkest sequences of Disney animation as well.
The film has a lot of humor and A LOT of heart and I remember being deeply affected by its messaging of "keeping moving forward." If you haven't seen it I implore you to do so.
19. Winnie the Pooh
I'm going to spoil a later entry on this list, I love Winnie the Pooh. I have loved Winnie the Pooh and the rest of the citizens of The Hundred Acre wood since a very young age. I, personally, place Winnie the Pooh as one of the greatest Disney characters.
The Winnie the Pooh films have this warmness about them with very low stakes and just simple storytelling that allows the films to be accessible for anyone at any age. The difference between this film and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is that animation has grown by leaps and bounds and the clean cut look I think dates the film a little bit (more on that later). The writing is sharp, the voice acting is perfect, and the songs match the early Sherman brothers work. It's just one of those films you feel "nice" after watching.
18. Cinderella
Cinderella is another film (like Bambi) that I was greatly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I feel like Cinderella is our first Disney Princess that feels like a well-rounded character when compared to the earlier Disney princesses, such as Snow White. The style and lighting in the film gives the film more whimsy or darkness to it, especially in the way it highlights the stepmother.
Lady Tremaine is one of our great Disney villains. She doesn't revel in her evil like Maleficent, but she certainly stews in it and her cold collective cruelness is biting. I also forgot how fun the Fairy Godmother segment was as it was buried under "Bippity-Boppity-Boo" and you see how great of a character she is as well. A lot of the time the small woodland sidekicks can be a lot to handle but the mice play well here and usually drive a lot of the comedy. Cinderella, I believe, stands as the standard that a lot of Disney films tried to emulate later on.
17. Frozen
Ah yes...Frozen... The big issues for Frozen is how overblown the entire film is. Its entered our current pop-culture and Elisa's frozen grasp has taken hold and it permeates almost everything now. The point where you set all of the annoying fanbase behind, you do remember that Frozen is a great film. The music is certainly the stand out and the reason we are still haunted by "Let It Go" is that it's a god damn catchy song.
I also have a love hate relationship with Olaf. He's not terrible, he can sometimes be funny, but many he is skirting along the end of being super annoying. I believe the worst part of the film is the trolls. They serve no real purpose, you can argue it's their fault the tragedy that transpires in the film, and they have one of the worst Disney songs, period. I despise the Trolls, I forget about them but then everytime I watch this film again and they pop up I audibly groan.
A lot has been discussed about how Frozen played with our expectations of a Disney film and how it changes the mold for films to come and I agree with those arguments, it's an important film in that regard. Frozen is great, I'd say give it a watch but you probably have...several times.
16. Aladdin
I believe that if you had to simplify Aladdin, it's "the boy" movie like Frozen is "the girl" movie. While both of the film's appeal for everyone, I remember when Aladdin first came out and how a lot of boys said this was their favorite Disney film, its main character is a boy and by Disney's standards (at least up till this point) that was rare. Aladdin, once again, has a killer score from Alan Menken and the film feels grand and adventurous not unlike Indiana Jones. The big action moments feel huge, something that wasn't seen much in animated films until Aladdin.
The escape from the Cave of Wonders, the final battle with Jafar set the bar for action that Disney expanded upon in future films. Robin Williams' Genie is one of the greatest animated characters put to film and its honestly one of the Robin's greatest rolls. While we recognize its his voice, he disappears into the roll and brings a ton of heart to it.
It's one of those films where you remember that Robin was a tremendous actor and was more than just a funny man. Robin was the first actor that I recognized as "a movie star" when I was young. Aladdin is still a magical adventure.
15. Hercules
Where Aladdin set a high bar for action in animation, Hercules hurdles over in and continues that growth. Hercules is an odd combinations of animation style, presentation, voice acting, and music that on first glance looks like it would clash, but it all comes together in a super fun film. After the success with Aladdin and using Robin Williams Disney went through a cycle of trying to recapture that magic by bringing in some other big celebrity names, James Woods as Hades is one of those successes.
James Woods brings this chaotic energy and his quick, car salesman approach brought a very unique villain and a struggle for the animators to keep up with his speed and boy does it pay off. Hades is another villain that revels in evil and we have fun with it. The music (once again by Alan Menken) is tremendous, I don't think there is one weak song in the bunch and the muses are welcome every time they pop up on the screen. Meg is also one of my favorite Disney heroines, her snarky attitude and how she plays off that damsel in distress approach is something that was new for its time.
The action is tremendous and the battle with the titans and, especially, the hydra captures the epic nature of the old greek myths in a way that only Disney animation can. Hercules, can indeed, go the distance.
14. Rescuers Down Under
Rescuers Down Under is a HUGE improvement over the first film and is one of those sequel films that so well surpasses its original film that I have run into a number of people who love this film and don't realize it's a sequel. The film is also the first animated film for Disney that used computer coloring (something they would use for all films afterwards) that really made the film pop and contrast. The 90s animated films tried to utilize all of these action sequences and one of the successes that Down Under has is that you feel like you are flying in the film when the eagle takes off.
We also have a cast of characters that stand out and Miss Bianca and Bernard really shine in this film. Joanna and McLeach are some of the slimiest, love to hate, villains we have seen in Disney animation. The film also is a love letter to Australia and really has some beautiful backgrounds and set pieces that show off the vast environments of the outback. Rescuers Down Under is a trip worth taking.
13. Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet is another film that falls into the underrated Disney camp. The film is a hard one to sell, a sci-fi adaptation of Treasure Island. This is an ambitious idea that you can feel a lot of care and love for on the screen. I grew up loving Treasure Island and the characters of Jim and Long John Silver in this are my favorite interpretations.
The film also is a step forward in animation in that they tried and experiment and the entire film's backgrounds are CGI animated and its only the characters that are animated in the classic hand-drawn style. This allowed a lot of sweeping camera shots and these chase sequences that would have been impossible if the entire film was hand drawn and gives the film a lot of life in that it feels big like a Star Trek film. Just don't focus on the backgrounds too hard because their age is starting to show.
So check out this film and undercover the treasure yourself!
12. Lilo and Stitch
Lilo and Stitch is an odd, odd film and that's what makes it so strong. Lilo may be one of the most well written child in animation history, every choice she makes and her manner of speaking feels accurate. The relationship between her and Nani is one of the strongest points of the film that make it more than a fun space romp and you really care for these two and there is some powerful quiet moments they share.
Stitch is definitely a character that when the advertisement for the film began to drop, there was a major concern he was going to become annoying very quickly, but he never does and his character arch through the film is not only hysterical, but heartwarming as well. The entire cast of characters are a lot of fun and you get a lot of fun alien design in the film as well. There is a reason this film only grows in popularity. Lilo and Stitch is indeed a rollercoaster ride of fun.
11. Emperor's New Groove
Emperor's New Groove may be the funniest Disney film and it sets the bar so high in that camp that it may never be crossed. The history of the making of this film and its creation demands a more in depth documentary in how it went from a "Prince and Pauper" retelling that matched the Disney musicals of the time, to a wild screwball comedy. It has been reported that the final, and only draft of the script was turned into Disney's records a week after the film was in theaters.
You can feel the chaotic energy this film has and how they threw everything at the screen. I probably quote this film more than any other Disney film and you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love it. I can't think of one character that doesn't stand out. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton's Yzma and Kronk are firing on all cylinders as are John Goodman and David Spade's Pacha and Kuzco and they all play off each other. The Emperor's New Groove earns the acclaim it gets.
10-1 Soon to come!
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