Having not seen Peter Pan (1953) in several years, it was pretty cool seeing it again. It was among my childhood favorites, and the years have not changed that. That's not to say that I didn't notice new things this time around. For instance, I had forgotten the extent of Peter's conceit. It's not until the tender moment with Tink in the tree (a moment that makes me cry every time) that Peter's shell of bravado is cracked. For the most part, I found him a much less desirable person to spend a day with than I had previously thought. Still, his aerial acrobatics and cockiness provide entertainment where Wendy tries to hold back the fun with her practical wisdom.
Another thing that stood out to me as an adult was the portrayal of the "red men." Never as a child did I think for an instant that the Native Americans in Peter Pan were a reflection of real native peoples. I honestly don't think any man, woman, or child could make that mistake; for one thing, they are distorted almost beyond recognition. The cartoons are misshapen, and two of them in particular--one being the chief, himself--are ugly, with horrid, gravelly bass voices. Their movements are also very cartoony, their combined word choice and sign language stereotypical to the max, and of course the song, "What Makes the Red Man Red?" is decades out of fashion if you're a follower of PC trends. Tiger Lily is the only "humanized" one, and she makes for an awesome character despite her small role.
BUT in the movie's defense I will say this: as I see it, the inhabitants of Neverland are not meant to be real people. They are intended to be the creations of young turn-of-the-century children's imaginations come to life, and for THAT reason and that reason alone I am able to accept this portrayal. I know that no tribe of Native Americans was ever like that. You know that no tribe of Native Americans was ever like that. But did little English boys and girls in the early 1900s? Probably not. I know there will be people who disagree on this matter, but I've tried to explain my opinion as best I can.
Moving on...
This is a movie of slapstick humor. Mr. Smee and Captain Hook are a great comic duo. The Captain himself is quite (unintentionally) comical for a villain. He pops in and out of the crocodile's mouth like a jack-in-the-box and he even engages in a bit of Looney Tunes-style physics. Overall, he is among the most hapless Disney villains, being foiled by Peter nine times out of ten and having a phobia of ticking clocks so strong that his mustache actually twitches in time.
Once again we get our bitchy characters, this time in the form of the jealous mermaids. Not super important. Nor are the Lost Boys, really. They're just a mob of boys in weird animal suits. Which reminds me... what's the deal with Nana? A dog (with eyebrows) that acts as a nanny? I'd ask Mr. Barrie, but unfortunately he's dead. A few other things that I never really got: the "I'm a codfish" joke, how the seagull gets its butt shaved without noticing, and (until this time) Mr. Darling's need for cuff links and his weird shirt front thing.
What else...... oh yeah, the music! The orchestral theme to Peter Pan is one that I have always been able to recall at will just as most people know the Star Wars or James Bond themes by heart. Of course there's the iconic "You Can Fly!" and "Following the Leader," and the orchestral "Never Smile at a Crocodile" and the pirates seem to like singing... the other songs are more forgettable.
I think that about covers it. I enjoyed Peter Pan as a child and I still enjoy it today.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
I think this was only my second time ever seeing Alice in Wonderland (1951), so it was like-new to me. What I found was a fun, nonsensical frolic through a dream-like world. The whole plot is driven by Alice's curiosity. There's no reason for her to follow the White Rabbit, and nobody really listens long enough to help her achieve this goal, but this objective drives Alice further and further into the "curiouser and curiouser" world of Wonderland until she realizes she would rather be home where things make sense.
Everything she encounters is a little bit frightening at first, except maybe the door knob. There are so many odd characters and creatures, and running into them is really what makes up the story: the White Rabbit; the door knob; the dodo; Tweedledee and Tweedledum; the Cheshire Cat; the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse; the Caterpillar; a chorus of flowers; a newt who's a chimney sweep; various creatures which combine household items and birds or dogs (the only creatures that didn't seem to fit in, I thought); and of course the card soldiers, hedgehogs, flamingos, and the King and Queen of Hearts. There are probably others I'm forgetting; as I said, meeting strange people and creatures is what drives the plot.
Instead of having a traditional antagonist, Alice is thwarted and emotionally hurt by the obstacles of the world she's in and by the lunatics she meets more than anything. The flowers are mean--along the lines of the elephants in Dumbo (1941)--but only the Queen of Hearts is really vicious. However, despite all her screeches of "Off with her head!" it would hardly be fair to call the queen a real villain, as she only turns up at the end of the story and seems to treat Alice the same as she treats everyone else. As with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), the Cheshire Cat is my favorite character from the movie, although the Caterpillar is a close second ("A-whoooooo aaaaare a-youuuuuu?").
I really enjoyed this story the second time around. It may be super weird--and they do use the "standing on your head" gag twice--but overall the music, art, and story are cute and fun.
Everything she encounters is a little bit frightening at first, except maybe the door knob. There are so many odd characters and creatures, and running into them is really what makes up the story: the White Rabbit; the door knob; the dodo; Tweedledee and Tweedledum; the Cheshire Cat; the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse; the Caterpillar; a chorus of flowers; a newt who's a chimney sweep; various creatures which combine household items and birds or dogs (the only creatures that didn't seem to fit in, I thought); and of course the card soldiers, hedgehogs, flamingos, and the King and Queen of Hearts. There are probably others I'm forgetting; as I said, meeting strange people and creatures is what drives the plot.
Instead of having a traditional antagonist, Alice is thwarted and emotionally hurt by the obstacles of the world she's in and by the lunatics she meets more than anything. The flowers are mean--along the lines of the elephants in Dumbo (1941)--but only the Queen of Hearts is really vicious. However, despite all her screeches of "Off with her head!" it would hardly be fair to call the queen a real villain, as she only turns up at the end of the story and seems to treat Alice the same as she treats everyone else. As with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010), the Cheshire Cat is my favorite character from the movie, although the Caterpillar is a close second ("A-whoooooo aaaaare a-youuuuuu?").
I really enjoyed this story the second time around. It may be super weird--and they do use the "standing on your head" gag twice--but overall the music, art, and story are cute and fun.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Cinderella (1950)
As I was watching Cinderella (1950) for the first time in at least a decade, it occurred to me that Cinderella has to be the most mild-mannered heroine imaginable, a fact that bugged me throughout the movie. Without a rebellious bone in her body, her only "strength" seems to be her incredible patience. Those who mock Disney movies for singing animals and superficial role models must be thinking mainly of this film, but I suppose my main beef is with the fairy tale source which teaches that external beauty wins handsome princes.
Another thing that bugged me considerably was the devolution of the artwork. All of the animals up to this point have been pretty realistic, but in Cinderella we get the evil Lucifer who is shaped more like a pig than a cat and Bruno the dog and Major the horse who are misshapen, old bags of bones. The mice are cute, but why are they wearing clothes? Oh, that's right, because our heroine is so bored (and boring) that she spends her spare time sewing tiny outfits for mice and birds, her only friends. As if that's not bad enough, for the first time we have animals who can speak to humans, and vice-versa. Are they really speaking, or is Cinderella just cray-cray? It almost drove me insane trying to understand their speech, but I suppose the only words you really need to hear are "Cinderelly," "Gus-Gus," and "Lucify." Which makes me think, if the mice can talk, why not Lucifer or Bruno? The only explanation is that the girl is loony. What about the talking crows in Dumbo (1941) or Jiminy Cricket and Honest John, the talking fox, in Pinocchio (1940), you ask? While the crows do wear clothing, so do the rest of the circus animals, so that seems to fit. Besides, there is still no communication between animal and human. The same goes for the Pinocchio group, who only ever talk to the wooden boy and the Blue Fairy (already fantasy elements), whereas I get the feeling that the only magic in the Cinderella world occurs at the hands of the Fairy Godmother.
Another thing that bugs me is that we get misshapen human characters in Cinderella: the king, the step-sisters, the grand duke, the little town crier dude... they're much more cartoon-y than the humans in the previous works. Just to be inconsistent, though, Prince Charming, Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, and the Lady Tremaine look perfectly real.
Basically, I feel that while it is regarded as one of the most iconic Disney films, Cinderella is far from my favorite in terms of story and character design. Cinderella is completely reliant on mice and her fairy godmother, who help her because she cries. Not the most inspirational tale, and she's not even witty. Ok, I'm done with my Cinderella bashing.
Another thing that bugged me considerably was the devolution of the artwork. All of the animals up to this point have been pretty realistic, but in Cinderella we get the evil Lucifer who is shaped more like a pig than a cat and Bruno the dog and Major the horse who are misshapen, old bags of bones. The mice are cute, but why are they wearing clothes? Oh, that's right, because our heroine is so bored (and boring) that she spends her spare time sewing tiny outfits for mice and birds, her only friends. As if that's not bad enough, for the first time we have animals who can speak to humans, and vice-versa. Are they really speaking, or is Cinderella just cray-cray? It almost drove me insane trying to understand their speech, but I suppose the only words you really need to hear are "Cinderelly," "Gus-Gus," and "Lucify." Which makes me think, if the mice can talk, why not Lucifer or Bruno? The only explanation is that the girl is loony. What about the talking crows in Dumbo (1941) or Jiminy Cricket and Honest John, the talking fox, in Pinocchio (1940), you ask? While the crows do wear clothing, so do the rest of the circus animals, so that seems to fit. Besides, there is still no communication between animal and human. The same goes for the Pinocchio group, who only ever talk to the wooden boy and the Blue Fairy (already fantasy elements), whereas I get the feeling that the only magic in the Cinderella world occurs at the hands of the Fairy Godmother.
Another thing that bugs me is that we get misshapen human characters in Cinderella: the king, the step-sisters, the grand duke, the little town crier dude... they're much more cartoon-y than the humans in the previous works. Just to be inconsistent, though, Prince Charming, Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, and the Lady Tremaine look perfectly real.
Basically, I feel that while it is regarded as one of the most iconic Disney films, Cinderella is far from my favorite in terms of story and character design. Cinderella is completely reliant on mice and her fairy godmother, who help her because she cries. Not the most inspirational tale, and she's not even witty. Ok, I'm done with my Cinderella bashing.
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Bambi (1942)
I looooooooove Bambi (1942). A lot of people claim this movie is too sad to watch, but I disagree. It's one of those emotionally purging stories.
Of course I cried, but I also laughed, smiled, and "aww"ed, and when it
was all over I was entertained and emotionally sated. I must confess
that I actually teared up prematurely because I forgot the sequence of events and was anticipating Bambi's mom's death (oops... spoiler?) early, but I cried again at the actual event. To those who find this scene too sad, just remember that there is a lot more story to follow. If a baby deer who can only say "BIR-duh" can learn to move on, so can you. That's kind of the point of the story: the world can be a dangerous place, but life and love go on.
Visually, though, and musically, Bambi has to be one of the most beautiful animated features I've ever seen. The artwork is beyond spectacular, and the main theme, "Love Is a Song," is gorgeous. The next time you watch Bambi, take a moment to listen to the lyrics. The animals don't sing, but there's no reason for them to; for the first time, only the chorus assists the tale as the choruses of theater once did, moving the story through the seasons as a vocalization of nature. "Little April Showers" is always a favorite of mine, but "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" is alright, too. Without it, we wouldn't have a segue into Friend Owl and his memorably mimed explanation of twitterpation (being the noun form of "twitterpated").
Fortunately, the transition from linguistically challenged toddler Bambi to manly-voiced adult Bambi is far less awkward than the three-stage transition of young Simba to adult Simba in the Lion King (1994), but we'll get to that later... much later. I would choose unrealistically sudden aging to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBLGVwl3uhU any day. I haven't even talked about how adorable Thumper is... but I think I've said enough.
With man as an off-screen harbinger of death, Bambi begins to resemble a Greek tragedy, but the semblance is only momentary. There are so many memorable and adorable scenes like the ice skating, and eating clover, and meeting Faline. Ultimately, the story is one that warms the heart and cleanses the soul. As I said, I looooooooove Bambi.
Ooh, ooh, one more thing: I don't know how many releases were like this, but on our VHS copy there's a mistake at the very end where the mother raccoon has swum to the island and is cleaning it's babies on the left-hand side of the screen and one baby magically teleports to the right side while the mother continues to lick the dirt.
Visually, though, and musically, Bambi has to be one of the most beautiful animated features I've ever seen. The artwork is beyond spectacular, and the main theme, "Love Is a Song," is gorgeous. The next time you watch Bambi, take a moment to listen to the lyrics. The animals don't sing, but there's no reason for them to; for the first time, only the chorus assists the tale as the choruses of theater once did, moving the story through the seasons as a vocalization of nature. "Little April Showers" is always a favorite of mine, but "Let's Sing a Gay Little Spring Song" is alright, too. Without it, we wouldn't have a segue into Friend Owl and his memorably mimed explanation of twitterpation (being the noun form of "twitterpated").
Fortunately, the transition from linguistically challenged toddler Bambi to manly-voiced adult Bambi is far less awkward than the three-stage transition of young Simba to adult Simba in the Lion King (1994), but we'll get to that later... much later. I would choose unrealistically sudden aging to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBLGVwl3uhU any day. I haven't even talked about how adorable Thumper is... but I think I've said enough.
With man as an off-screen harbinger of death, Bambi begins to resemble a Greek tragedy, but the semblance is only momentary. There are so many memorable and adorable scenes like the ice skating, and eating clover, and meeting Faline. Ultimately, the story is one that warms the heart and cleanses the soul. As I said, I looooooooove Bambi.
Ooh, ooh, one more thing: I don't know how many releases were like this, but on our VHS copy there's a mistake at the very end where the mother raccoon has swum to the island and is cleaning it's babies on the left-hand side of the screen and one baby magically teleports to the right side while the mother continues to lick the dirt.
Dumbo (1941)
Dang it--I kept telling myself I would let this blog be more free-form. So. Beginning now, I'm going to try not to be formulaic. Anyway, I've gotten a bit behind on both reviewing and watching, but I'll try to churn out the next couple on my list, starting, of course, with Dumbo (1941).
Dumbo is, in my opinion, the creepiest of the Disney animated films... of those I'm familiar with, anyway. I don't mean because there's a flying elephant, but because 95% of the characters are malicious for no reason at all. I mean, those animals are HORRIBLE. And the people are equally bad. Not only is the setting almost entirely dark and stormy, but then you have these horrifying shadows of the carnies and clowns, not to mention the appearance of clowns themselves, who wear some of the creepiest costumes and makeup (seriously, what is that "mother elephant" headdress?).... well maybe I'm biased because I find clowns frightening to begin with, but I find this film downright disturbing.The circus tent shadow-people may have been the animators' way of being lazy, or maybe an artistic choice, but I've always found it unsettling.
Let's talk about Dumbo the character. Dumbo is a baby. He can't even talk, yet he's subjected to some of the cruelest japes and ostracization imaginable, not only by the buck-toothed circus-goers, but also by his human masters and his fellow elephants. If you didn't remember, his name is actually Jumbo; "Dumbo" is the nickname given by the elephants, but even the humans call him that. As if that's not bad enough, there's the horrific scene when Mrs. Jumbo, the little guy's mother and only friend (at the time) is whipped and locked up in isolation and shackles because she stands up for him! Not kid-friendly, if you ask me. Things do get marginally better with the appearance of Timothy Mouse, the sort of Jiminy Cricket of Dumbo... only to bring on the tearjerker song "Baby Mine," which gets me every time. It's only when Dumbo and Timothy get DRUNK TO THE POINT OF HALLUCINATION that the story progresses and we can finally leave those bitchy elephants and cruel circus performers behind. I guess I can't complain too much about the horrific pink elephant sequence; it scared me onto the wagon before I was even old enough to think about drinking. After that, you meet the enjoyably non-threatening crows who, with Timothy, are the most entertaining. Unfortunately, once their song "When I See an Elephant Fly" is over, the movie is pretty much over as well.
If you get some sick, schadenfreudistic (is that a word?) pleasure from watching babies being bullied, you should love this film. If not, you're probably more like me and this is probably not your favorite Disney movie. Despite all this verbal abuse I've been giving Dumbo, I still think it's entertaining and worth watching.
The cool characters are found below:
Mr. Stork
Mrs. Jumbo
Dumbo
Timothy Mouse
the five crows (the leader is apparently named "Jim Crow," although I didn't know that until I read it somewhere)
oh, and the lazy tiger... just because I like tigers
Dumbo is, in my opinion, the creepiest of the Disney animated films... of those I'm familiar with, anyway. I don't mean because there's a flying elephant, but because 95% of the characters are malicious for no reason at all. I mean, those animals are HORRIBLE. And the people are equally bad. Not only is the setting almost entirely dark and stormy, but then you have these horrifying shadows of the carnies and clowns, not to mention the appearance of clowns themselves, who wear some of the creepiest costumes and makeup (seriously, what is that "mother elephant" headdress?).... well maybe I'm biased because I find clowns frightening to begin with, but I find this film downright disturbing.The circus tent shadow-people may have been the animators' way of being lazy, or maybe an artistic choice, but I've always found it unsettling.
Let's talk about Dumbo the character. Dumbo is a baby. He can't even talk, yet he's subjected to some of the cruelest japes and ostracization imaginable, not only by the buck-toothed circus-goers, but also by his human masters and his fellow elephants. If you didn't remember, his name is actually Jumbo; "Dumbo" is the nickname given by the elephants, but even the humans call him that. As if that's not bad enough, there's the horrific scene when Mrs. Jumbo, the little guy's mother and only friend (at the time) is whipped and locked up in isolation and shackles because she stands up for him! Not kid-friendly, if you ask me. Things do get marginally better with the appearance of Timothy Mouse, the sort of Jiminy Cricket of Dumbo... only to bring on the tearjerker song "Baby Mine," which gets me every time. It's only when Dumbo and Timothy get DRUNK TO THE POINT OF HALLUCINATION that the story progresses and we can finally leave those bitchy elephants and cruel circus performers behind. I guess I can't complain too much about the horrific pink elephant sequence; it scared me onto the wagon before I was even old enough to think about drinking. After that, you meet the enjoyably non-threatening crows who, with Timothy, are the most entertaining. Unfortunately, once their song "When I See an Elephant Fly" is over, the movie is pretty much over as well.
If you get some sick, schadenfreudistic (is that a word?) pleasure from watching babies being bullied, you should love this film. If not, you're probably more like me and this is probably not your favorite Disney movie. Despite all this verbal abuse I've been giving Dumbo, I still think it's entertaining and worth watching.
The cool characters are found below:
Mr. Stork
Mrs. Jumbo
Dumbo
Timothy Mouse
the five crows (the leader is apparently named "Jim Crow," although I didn't know that until I read it somewhere)
oh, and the lazy tiger... just because I like tigers
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Pinocchio (1940)
I used to think Pinocchio was kind of creepy and weird. I still kinda feel that way. After all, this movie has not one, but three disturbing villains: Strombolli, the Coachman, and Monstro. To enjoy this movie, you have to wrap your head around the idea of a living wooden boy who can spin his body around while his head stays stationary like something out of a horror movie. He makes Honest John and Gideon, the talking fox and his bipedal cat companion, seem normal by comparison. Pinocchio himself is humorously clueless and gullible, with a shorter attention span than Gepetto's goldfish, Cleo, making the audience as exasperated as Jiminy Crickett as he epically fails to teach Pinocchio any life lessons. It's really Jiminy, our two-legged insectoid narrator, who steals the show with his songs, flirtations with wooden toys, and numerous asides. The Blue Fairy is just deus ex machina. The plot goes as such: Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, Pinocchio gets in trouble, Blue Fairy helps, Pinocchio needs info, Blue Fairy helps, Pinocchio dies, Blue Fairy helps. Actually, one of my favorite characters this time around was Figaro, the feisty kitten who may only say, "Mrrrrrrrrow?" with his mouth, but says so much more with his expressions. Interesting characters, but built upon a very strange premise.
Art: beautiful backgrounds, smooth animation
Comedy: laughable ignorance (of Pinocchio), Jiminy flirting with toys, boys being boys, slapstick of Honest John and Gideon
Mood: cautionary, frightening at times, both light and dark moments
Music: some catchy ("Give a Little Whistle" and "Hi-Diddle-Dee Dee"), others memorable, beautiful ("When You Wish Upon a Star")
Art: beautiful backgrounds, smooth animation
Comedy: laughable ignorance (of Pinocchio), Jiminy flirting with toys, boys being boys, slapstick of Honest John and Gideon
Mood: cautionary, frightening at times, both light and dark moments
Music: some catchy ("Give a Little Whistle" and "Hi-Diddle-Dee Dee"), others memorable, beautiful ("When You Wish Upon a Star")
Monday, July 8, 2013
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
What's nice about this movie is that it's simple and it's classic. It also has a stylistic simplicity compared to later works, emphasized by the use of rotoscoping (tracing live footage frames) for the Prince and Snow White. Simple doesn't mean all happy, though; the anthropomorphic forest used to scare me as a child. The witch queen is jealousy and vanity exaggerated to the point of pure evil, making for an all-right villain, but very one-dimensional. Her minions are... a crow and a mirror? Kinda sad. Only the huntsman and Grumpy show any character growth, and the huntsman only appears for half a minute, max. Basically there's a lot of silliness between a sweet young innocent princess who loves to laugh and the titular seven dwarfs, bookended by the quest of a romantic prince and the queen's plots to kill the girl. I mean, the ending features text that skips over months of story, only to reintroduce a "hero" we know virtually nothing about to save the day. Still, for all its simplicity, expect to tear up when Grumpy does; I always do. Not my favorite, but one I enjoyed as a child and still enjoy today.
Art: some rotoscoping, anthropomorphic forest
Comedy: lots of slapstick, fumbling over words, and animals doing cute things
Mood: mostly cheerful, with a few frightening and sad moments
Music: warbly soprano, memorable romantic and fun songs
It was fun to note that the dwarfs like to use the expression "Jiminy crickets!" which leads us to the next film, Pinocchio (1940).
Art: some rotoscoping, anthropomorphic forest
Comedy: lots of slapstick, fumbling over words, and animals doing cute things
Mood: mostly cheerful, with a few frightening and sad moments
Music: warbly soprano, memorable romantic and fun songs
It was fun to note that the dwarfs like to use the expression "Jiminy crickets!" which leads us to the next film, Pinocchio (1940).
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