The New Year's Resolution Concludes

This is it everyone....I have made it to the end of a long journey. There have been highs and there have been lows but all in all it's been a worthwhile experience. I have finally accomplished something that I have wanted to do for years now. It feels pretty fantastic.

Unfortunately my run of Disney movies ends on a rather flat note. I wish with all of my heart that my last post for the year could have been about Wreck-It-Ralph but sadly Disney came out with a new movie about a month ago.....Frozen. Going to see that movie was supposed to be my reward to myself for finishing finals, instead that role had to be filled by The Secret World of Walter Mitty (which I HIGHLY recommend to all you people out there) due to just how disappointing Frozen was.

*Sigh* Let's finish this off.....



I'm becoming increasingly more aware that a large amount of my friends did not grow up reading fairy tales. As for me, that is more or less all I read from the ages of 5 to 12 and one of my all time favorite stories is Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen". Frozen is loosely (and I use the term "loosely" VERY loosely) based off of this wonderful and beloved classic tale of love and devotion between children. There are perhaps two allusions to "The Snow Queen" in Frozen: the fact that there is a queen who has "winter powers" and a very abstract reference made to the Goblin mirror that makes good things appear bad and if a sliver of this mirror becomes lodged in your heart your heart will turn into ice. The whole time I was watching this movie the thought kept running through my head "You know what'd be cool? If this movie was 'The Snow Queen.'" I do make a hearty effort to not compare a movie to a book in most cases, but this movie is such an injustice to its source material that it makes me sad to think so many people are probably going to consider Anderson's original story to be a lot more similar to the convoluted story that Disney made up.

You should really read "The Snow Queen." I insist you read it. Your lives will be enriched by doing so.

That being said, here are my actual grievances with Frozen:

1.  WAY underdeveloped characters. Our Snow Queen has one personality trait: she's afraid. Her sister also has one personality trait: she's happy-go-lucky/super naive. Kristoff has one personality trait: he loves his pet reindeer (he has a few other half developed traits but they aren't developed enough to name them). Hans is possibly the most underdeveloped villain I have come across. And what purpose does that talking snowman serve?? Oh that's right, he's in it because every Disney princess has an annoying animal sidekick. Since the reindeer isn't that annoying I guess a secondary sidekick had to be added and I know! Instead of making him an animal let's make him a snowman! That's unique and clever!

Also, I don't know if the script writer doesn't have sisters/has never seen how sisters interact with each other but I have three sisters and I think it's safe to say that if two sisters hadn't spoken to nor seen one another in like ten years they would not so easily let bygones be bygones and forget all about the awkwardness of the past ten years. Nor would one sister have such unwavering faith that the other sister "is a good person." Why is that idea so unbelievable? BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO EACH OTHER IN TEN YEARS!!!!!! I wouldn't so easily believe my sister to be a good person because at this point she'd be a practical stranger to me.

I have so many other things to say about this point but I can already feel myself getting on a rant about it so I'm going to move on.



2. The most awkward segues into musical numbers I have ever encountered and a myriad of musical styles that don't fit into the style of the movie. The movie opens with this really ominous and moody song that is actually wicked awesome but then the rest of the movie's theme is all cheery roses. It makes for an awkward juxtaposition. After that every time there was a musical number it took me by surprise and made me go "oh, I guess singing is happening now." Not to mention every song, without exception, did nothing to progress the narrative. Since Snow White Disney has always had the philosophy that music should be there to move the story along and that a song should not be included just for the sake of having a song. Well, I think for the first time ever Disney went back on their philosophy because every musical number completely disrupted the flow of the story. It was like the pause button kept being pressed so that someone in the audience could perform a special musical number and once the play button was pressed again you had to take a moment to remember what you were watching.

This point also lines up well with my issue about underdeveloped characters. Elsa sings a song at one point called "Let It Go" (and by the way, the ending song in Meet the Robinsons is also called by the same title....way to recycle Disney). This song is supposed to be about liberation, about not being afraid any more, and about accepting yourself. So Elsa sings this song and builds a huge ice palace and changes her outfit (which is another issue that I have) and in her very next scene she's all like "Nobody come near me! I'm so afraid of myself!" So that song more or less accomplished nothing and instead of being a great moment to build the character and give her some added depth it's just there so that some Disney channel wanna-be pop star can sing it in the special features on the DVD.

3. Too many unresolved issues and a plot that takes the easy way out. Ok, so even if this movie wasn't "The Snow Queen" like it should have been, it could have still been a great movie if they just focused it a little bit. Cut out the double love plot, get rid of the trolls and the snowman and just focus on the relationship and reconciliation between two estranged sisters and this could have been a really great movie. Instead they just have an "all is forgiven!" moment at the end and that's that. No. Bad family relationships are not solved that way. Families need time to talk things out, to say "I'm sorry." A lot of animosity can build up over years and years of not talking and to just brush it off in one scene at the end of the movie trivializes the problems. Nothing is really resolved, it's just covered up for the moment.

4. Miscellaneous issues: This movie was made to sell merchandise to little girls. Considering the lack of substance to the plot and the use of almost every Disney princess cliche in the book there is only one purpose to this movie: merchandising.

Elsa's transformation dress. As mentioned above I have a big issue with this dress. Apparently having a slit in your dress that goes up to your thigh and swaying your hips a lot more noticeably when you walk equates to liberation because that's the only difference there is to Elsa after that dress appears on her. Also, what is that dress made out of? Is it ice? Is is snow? Because last I checked Elsa only had "winter powers." She doesn't have "seamstress powers" (although I would be VERY jealous of her if she did) and she isn't a fairy godmother.....so what's holding that dress together? It's obviously some type of fabric because she's wearing it at the end of the movie when it's summer again and there isn't some snow flurry following her around to make sure it doesn't melt off her body.

Seriously guys, that dress bothers me.

Ok, so I have a lot of other issues with this movie but if I keep going this is going to turn a lot more ranty than it already is so I'm going to leave it at that.

To conclude my Disney movie experience: I have learned that Disney is not infallible. They have always made bad movies and they will continue to make bad movies but enough of them are good enough to make up the difference.

There are 10 Disney movies that feature a book opening up as a way to begin the story.

There are 10 Disney movies that feature a princess (not including Mulan who is not a princess but has been inducted into the official princess roster).

There are 26 Disney movies that are about talking animals.

There are 4 Disney movies that are musical compilation movies.

Only 2 of the movies on the official Disney canon are sequels.

Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pinocchio are my first and second favorite Disney movies. After that I can't decide.

Well everyone, it's been a fun year of ranting about/enjoying a myriad of Disney movies. I hope you've enjoyed ready my opinions as much as I've enjoyed sharing them. Next year I'm going to attempt to watch all of the Studio Ghibli and Pixar films. Hopefully it'll be as enjoyable as watching all of the Disney animated movies was.

Until then; Happy New Year!

"Doomsday and Armageddon just had a baby and it is ugly!"

Good evening my darlings!

Can you feel the anticipation?? There are only THREE more movies to talk about!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So let's chat....

Winnie the Pooh



Disney has come out with a myriad of Winnie the Pooh movies since the release of the original way back in the 70's and this is the only one of that lot to be canonized. It also is the second sequel to be canonized as well so hurray for that!

I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. It is so charming and witty and clever and hilarious. In fact, I'd say this is one of those rare movies where the sequel is WAY better than the original. I'd recommend it to anyone. You won't be disappointed by watching it.

Now then, this movie follows the same basic formula as the original in that it takes place in a storybook. It breaks the fourth wall a lot more than the original did and it does so in some very creative and entertaining ways. The chalkboard drawings used to tell the story of the "Backson" reminds me so much of those educational shorts Disney produced in the 1950's it's uncanny. There's no way it isn't intentional.

Pretty much I'm just happy this movie was made so that traditional animation could end on a high note....not a mediocre one like it would have if Princess and the Frog had been the last one produced. Well, at least the last one produced as of now.

Wreck-It-Ralph



I think this movie basically proves that animation is not made solely for the 12-and-under crowd. There are so many references in this movie that only teenagers who grew up in the 80's and hung out at arcades would understand. I can't even follow all of the games that are referenced and I've only played/seen someone else play maybe 10 of them. Of course, I feel like it's important to know that me and video games don't really get along; if you want to know who holds the record for making Mario die the fastest it's probably me. Although I just know that "Sugar Rush" is an homage to "Mario Kart Racing," which was my favorite game as a kid.

The animation style in Ralph is very unique. The style and motions between the 8 bit characters and the super realistic characters in "Hero's Duty" is impossible not to notice. In fact, this might be one of those movies that reads better in computer animation than it would with traditional animation. It would be way harder for the audience to be able to pick up on the subtle differences between each character if this were hand drawn. Not to mention I think the style would detract from the storytelling rather than add to it.

And speaking of storytelling, the moral to this story is a little unexpected. The usual story line for the underdog sort of movie is that our under-appreciated hero dreams of doing something big, achieves his goals, and wins a million bucks (or something) at the end. Basically the hero starts low and ends high. In the case of Ralph he ends right where he started but his attitude about his situation has changed substantially. He still lives in the brick yard, he still gets thrown off the side of a building and into the mud every single day, but now he understands that he's valuable just doing his job. I think that is a significant lesson to learn. Especially in our day and age when everyone wants to be rich and the star of their own reality TV show; it is important to remember that the most significant difference you will make in the world is on the small scale. I'm sure it's fun to be in the spotlight but I know life is better when we just try to be a little better to the people in the world around us.

Isn't that tender?

(And since there's still a half hour more of the 25th: Merry Christmas!)

Almost There! Only 5 More Movies to Go!

Guess what everybody?? As of yesterday I have officially watched every canonized Disney animated feature film from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Frozen. I feel like I've accomplished something grand. Now, I could talk about all of these movies in one post but I'm not going to do that. I actually have copious amounts of things to say about these last 5 movies and it doesn't feel right to cram that all into one post. I'm going to break it down into three posts over the next two weeks.

So, here it goes, the beginning of the last 5 Disney movies:

The Princess and the Frog



I recall that this movie came out in the winter of 2009. I remember because I was on my mission and I went a little crazy because I couldn't go see it in theaters. As a result it was one of the first things I watched when I came home and I think at the time I liked it a lot because I was so starved for animation (like a heroine addict). However, the more I watch it the more I dislike it and here's why:

This movie feels like it was made because the People were demanding a traditionally animated movie and Disney, who is always looking to please the People, made one to satiate their needs. They threw every Disney movie cliche into a pot and made some mediocre princess movie out of it. The music is great, the animation it top notch (I especially love the art deco sequence during the "Almost There" musical number), but the characters are one dimensional and their motivations are cursory at best. The only thing Tiana has going for her is that she's a "hard worker" and that's the sum of her existence. Prince Naveen is TERRIBLE! He is one character that does not deserve his happy ending and his supposed "reformation" is unbelievable at best.

Let's recap his story arc:

Spoiled prince gets cut off from his family's wealth because he's a womanizing leach. Prince then goes to America so he can marry an heiress, cheat on her and spend her fortune. Prince makes a deal with the devil (essentially) and gets turned into a frog as a consequence. Prince tricks a desperate girl into breaking his spell by making promises to her he can't keep and in the process gets her turned into a frog as well. Prince and girl run around a swamp for a day, he whines because his parents didn't teach him any life skills. Girl makes him dinner. Prince then falls for girl because she's a "hard worker" and decides to reform his ways. The end.

Does this sound a little far fetched to anyone else out there?

I'm thinking that a few years down the road we won't see much of a happily ever after with Tiana and Naveen.

Also, does anyone else think that Tiana's choice of restaurant location is a pretty poor one? Think about it. She wants to make a ritzy, stylish restaurant and she feels the best place for it is in a dilapidated sugar mill surrounded by what looks like dilapidated warehouses. Does she have vision for the potential of the area or is she just narrow sighted?

Oh, and apparently Timmon was right: the stars are made of fireflies that got stuck up in that big bluish black thing.

Tangled



Speaking of my mission; this is the first movie I saw when I came home from it. I went and saw it by myself because I didn't want to wait for someone to be able to see it with me. It was totally worth it.

I used to have the same issues with Flynn Rider (Eugene) as I do with Naveen but as of my last watching I've changed my mind. I felt like Flynn (Eugene) didn't deserve to have his dreams realized (if you'll recall: he dreams of being on an island that he owns surrounded by enormous piles of money. Isn't it interesting what happens when you get married to the heir of an island kingdom?) but I have since realized he's not so bad of a guy. He comes from a rough background. He's an orphan and the one person he aspires to be like is a fictional hero in a children's book. He's a thief more from circumstance than from choice (ish). Not to mention the idea that Rapunzel gets him to reform is a little more believable than it is with Tiana and Naveen. Rapunzel is smart, witty, determined, brave, kind, understanding, not to mention she saves his life on a few occasions.....basically, she's a developed character so it makes sense that someone would want to be a better person when they're around her. Good people have a tendency to make the people around them want to be good as well. So Flynn (Eugene) is pretty alright in my book. He's no Aladdin, but he can hold his own.

Rapunzel isn't so bad herself. I just have one issue with her (and I recognize it comes from over analyzing): for a girl who has been locked in a tower for 18 years with no contact with the outside world and with only three books to read (the subjects of which are: botany, geology, and cooking) she is unbelievably well adjusted. I have met many a person who was home schooled or otherwise cut off from other regular social interactions and they were noticeably strange. And those people still had more interaction with people than Rapunzel ever had. It's a little thing but it still bugs me.

One thing I love about this movie is that it explains how Rapunzel's tears can heal a person. The fairy tale from which this story is derived is one of the oddest I've ever read. At the end of the story Rapunzel is reunited with her prince whom she finds wandering about the desert and whose eyes have been viciously gouged out by the witch. Upon finding him Rapunzel weeps uncontrollably and her tears fall into the prince's eye sockets and miraculously he can see again! Oh, and inexplicably Rapunzel has twins.

I'm also glad this movie explains why the poor girl won't cut her hair. My whole life I wondered why Rapunzel doesn't just cut her own hair and use it to climb down the tower and ditch the witch herself. So thank you Disney for giving her a reason to keep it unimaginably long.

Some final notes: Rapunzel's pet chameleon is among one of the more obnoxious and useless princess animal sidekicks that Disney has come up with. I'd put him on par with the ones Pocahontas totes around with her.

Congratulations Disney! You just made your 50th animated feature!

Also, I wonder what Rapunzel would have been like if it was traditionally animated.

"What does Cornelius look like?"

Good evening my dear friends. I am literally three movies away from completing my New Year's Resolution (in your face statistics!). I'm not gonna lie; I feel like I'm getting to the end of a marathon and I'm pretty excited to get it over with. Not that I don't entirely like these last few movies per say, 52 movies is just a lot to watch.

Anywho....

To start this post off I want to talk momentarily about Chicken Little. This movie is like an embarrassing blemish on the face of a teenager on picture day. The story is inconsistent and has a confusing tone, I mean the opening sequence has nothing to do with the rest of the movie and there are so many underdeveloped characters. This is also one of those odd movies where there isn't a clearly defined antagonist but there are several that make a half-hearted attempt.

As Disney's first attempt at a completely computer animated movie it is a total let down. This movie looks like Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron....not the full length movie even, but the animated cartoon that followed after. Come on Disney! This is just bad. It's not like ya'll were lacking for funds when this movie was made, you could have taken the time to make a good movie.

One redeeming quality: Fish Out of Water. That character steals every scene he's in and he doesn't even say anything!

Here's the original short of which this movie is based upon. It has a wicked twist ending so be sure to watch the whole thing:

I think Disney realized their mistake with CL because the next movie they came out with is Meet the Robinsons and O.M.G. this movie is wonderful! I remember seeing this movie during my freshman year of college up in Ye Olde Logan Towne where there isn't much else to do besides go see a movie (and I saw A LOT of movies). Frankly, if there had been other things to do I probably would have done that instead because the advertisements for this movie made it look super lame. So thank you Logan, for being such a boring small town.



Robinsons does a lot of things well. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It tells a heartwarming story about family that always makes me a little teary eyed at the end. (Fun fact:Walt Disney was an adoptive parent himself.) The design of this movie is fabulous. I like the different tones of all the time periods portrayed in this movie. The past is always shown in muted sepia tones demonstrating how our memories dull over time, becoming dimmer and dimmer the further removed we are from the actual event. The future on the other hand, is bright and optimistic. It's full of clean and curvy lines. In fact, the whole design of this movie reads like the 1950's ideal of what the future would be like. It's such wonderful eye candy. Basically, Meet the Robinsons is Disney's way of tenderly reminding the general public that they are still relevant.

I love Jamie Cullum. He does the voice of the singing frog and I feel like everyone should be a fan of him because he is AmAzing.

Interesting side note: this is the first movie where Walt Disney Feature Animation changed their name to ""Walt Disney Animation Studios." It features the studio's new logo which displays the first few seconds of "Steamboat Willie." It's also the first Disney movie to resurrect the old tradition of featuring a short before the actual movie (something that was commonly done back in the day). Since Robinsons was shown in 3D and 2D it had two different shorts depending on which one you saw, both of them were classic Disney cartoons and they are delightful.

Bolt is the last movie I'm going to discuss in today's post. And with it I'd like to bring to your attention the issues I have with computer animation:

I am not against computer animation entirely. I'd have to be a sadist to dislike Pixar and some of the charming stuff Dreamworks has come out with lately. However, computer animation (and this is entirely my opinion, I'm aware that not everyone shares this point of view) seems to be a glorification of what technology can accomplish. I so frequently hear how amazed people are that something was done or made on a computer. I don't hear how impressed people are by the person that made those graphics as much as I hear how impressed they are by the computer that made those graphics. Traditional animation on the other hand is, in my opinion, a glorification of what the artist can accomplish. It is impossible to ignore the hand of the artist when watching likes of 101 Dalmations or Pinocchio.

I also don't understand why traditional animation is completely overshadowed by computer animation these days. It doesn't seem to be cheaper or faster to make a movie on a computer rather than by hand and it certainly seems to take the same amount of manpower. So why is computer animation completely monopolizing the industry these days? This is a legit question to me so if anyone out there has an answer, I'd like to hear it.

That being said, let's discuss Bolt. This is not a bad movie. I'm kind-of obligated to like it for the same reason I'm obligated to like The Rescuers and Inspector Gadget: there's a little girl in it who shares the same name as my darling sister Penny. There are also a few things in this movie that remind me of Animainiacs, namely the three New York pigeons, the fact that this story chronicles the journey of a scrawny stray cat and a demented dog as they try to find a home (albeit the dogs are both demented for very different reasons) and that Bolt's sole purpose in life is to keep a little girl safe....not unlike a poor dog named Buttons who is always trying to save a little girl named Mindy while her negligent parents look the other way.

However, last week I was having a general conversation about animation with a friend of mine at school. He was telling me that the issue he has with computer animation is that there is an attempt to make a fictional world look too realistic and then make the characters in that world look too cartoony which makes for an uncomfortable juxtaposition. I didn't really get what he was talking about until I watched Bolt and then it suddenly made sense. This movie is a prime example of very cartoony looking characters walking around in an environment where they clearly don't belong.  It doesn't work. Meet the Robinsons works because the characters fit the environment. Bolt on the other hand fails in their attempt.... It's still a decent movie though.

I also watched The Princess and the Frog this week but I'm going to hold off talking about it until I've watched Tangled....I have similar issues with both of these movies.

Until then, cheerio!