Now at the halfway point! From here on out it will get even more difficult to rank these films. Actually that's not true. My top 10 are pretty solid. These next few will be difficult though, as their order is constantly rearranging itself based on my feelings on any given day. Here is a list of what's been ranked already and those yet to come:
51. Chicken Little 50. Home on the Range 49. Melody Time 48. Meet the Robinsons 47. Saludos Amigos 46. The Black Cauldron 45. The Rescuers 44. The Three Caballeros 43. The Aristocats 42. Fun and Fancy Free 41. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 40. Dinosaur 39. Brother Bear 38. The Fox and the Hound 37. Alice in Wonderland 36. Make Mine Music 35. The Emperor's New Groove 34. Robin Hood 33. 101 Dalmatians 32. Oliver & Company 31. Treasure Planet 30. The Rescuers Down Under 29. Fantasia 28. Lilo & Stitch 27. Dumbo 26. Atlantis
And here's what's left:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Pinocchio Bambi Cinderella Peter Pan Lady and the Tramp Sleeping Beauty The Sword in the Stone The Jungle Book The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh The Great Mouse Detective The Little Mermaid Beauty and the Beast Aladdin The Lion King Pocahontas The Hunchback of Notre Dame Hercules Mulan Tarzan Fantasia 2000 Bolt The Princess and the Frog Tangled Winnie the Pooh
Also although last night I mentioned I was having second thoughts about ranking a certain film next, after writing up the first film it would have leapfrogged I'm finding it difficult to rank that one next! That's how much I enjoy these films. I don't want any of the remaining 25 to fall this early.
A true classic within the canon, Lady and the Tramp was dubbed as Disney’s happiest motion picture yet. There is no arguing its position as one of the most iconic Disney films if only for the famous spaghetti scene. It’s definitely one of the better love stories Disney has ever told, and Walt Disney himself didn’t even want the spaghetti scene included in the first place! One of my favorite things about this film is actually just how original it is in comparison to most of the Disney canon. Its genesis began with the antics of one of the staff members’ springer spaniel, and Walt Disney thought it could work as a film after being shown some sketches.
Lady and the Tramp has an uncanny ability to put me in a good mood. It was actually tagged as Walt Disney’s “happiest motion picture” and I certainly understand why. Perhaps it’s my love of dogs seeping in here and how Lady reminds me a lot of my old dog Kona, but this movie is wonderfully happy. That’s probably why she wins the nod for best character over Tramp, although there’s more to it than that. Lady is pampered but not snobby. She’s kind, funny, and adventurous. She’s basically what Duchess should have been if done correctly. Paired with the Tramp you have an unforgettable romance that puts its stamp on the film instantly. Although I found their romance a little weaker and shorter than I remember it being the last time I watched it, it was still believable and affectionate. I especially enjoyed how the film built up their characters before they actually met one another. They didn’t just plunge the two together in eternal bliss immediately after they met.
This film doesn’t really have a primary villain. Yes, Aunt Sarah, Si and Am, the dogcatcher and even the rat are villainous, but they’re all lacking in the traditional villain department. While I’m not quite the villain guy that vcharon is, a good villain can often make or break a Disney film for me. Aunt Sarah really isn’t a villain in the traditional sense. She’s antagonistic towards Lady, but there’s no malice there. To me she’s a lot like the ringmaster from Dumbo. They’re just doing their job and happen to mistake the animals for doing something wrong. We as the audience know the animals in question are innocent, but they don’t so they come off as evil to us. Aunt Sarah isn’t evil; she’s just an annoying busybody. She even indirectly admits her mistake and acknowledges she was wrong near the end of the film when she sends Lady some kind of gift. Whereas Aunt Sarah is awful without any evil intent, characters like Si, Am, the rat, and the dogcatcher are basically masked villains. We don’t really see into their personalities at all. They exist solely to promote evil from afar. They’re evil disembodied, and I like my evil incarnate. That said, I did enjoy just how evil Disney was able to make a rat seem. The climax at the end was very tense and well done, especially having to focus on a “character” that was never developed at all throughout the film.
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I’m not really big on the songs here. I’ve consistently heard that Lady and the Tramp boasts one of the most underappreciated Disney soundtracks and I just didn’t see it. “Bella Notte” was my favorite song and “He’s a Tramp” was decent, but “The Siamese Cat Song” was irritating and the rest were simply forgettable.
Although I love the two titular characters, the film does have its faults that prevent me from ranking it any higher. Not a whole lot really happens throughout the film, and although I mentioned earlier how much I appreciated their skill in making the rat so evil and the scene so tense, it was a relatively weak climax. Even the part where the Tramp is captured by the dogcatcher is quickly resolved after Jaques and Trusty rescue him without a problem. I feel like I’m being too hard on this film and I don’t mean to be. I really do love it, but the things I mentioned above prevent me from placing it any higher.
Next Up: This film contains a very clear moral to its story
Lady and the Tramp is one of the several Disney films that rely on the strength of the protagonists while the antagonists are secondary and basically used as plot devices. It would be difficult for me to rate it much higher than this personally speaking, but I do agree that the main characters are pretty strong. They aren't really my favorites by any stretch, but they work well together and the supporting protagonists are pretty likable as well.
I'll agree with you on The Rat though. Though the fight scene is brief and the "character" has no real personality, the portrayal of the heroes and the story of the film itself give way to allowing something that basically only represents evil to be quite effective. I also don't view Aunt Sarah as a villain, simply an overbearing, dog-hating old lady.
This is what I call the most middle of the road of all the Disney movies. The story is good, but not astounding, same goes for the characters, animation, songs, etc. I like to think of it as a measuring stick to which all other Disney movies can be compared. The two scenes that stand out (and probably the ones everyone remembers) are the spaghetti scene and Si & Am's song. Other then that, there isn't really much else memorable about this movie (in either a good or bad way).
Best Character: The Tramp
Even with the cocky, streetwise character being overdone in animated movies nowadays, The Tramp simply is the best of them all (and probably always will be).
Worst Character: Trusty
Pretty much the same as every other cartoon bloodhound ever created. Had a chance to be distinguished from the others by a late movie sacrifice, but alas, twas just another stupid Disney 'fake hero death'.
-- SuperNiceDog is about 20% cooler then the other gurus.
I can't begrudge you for putting Lady and the Tramp a little lower than I might, but I just want to throw out there that I think the a capella choral arrangement of Bella Notte right after the crazy Italian guy starts singing is one of the most beautiful moments in Disney history. Gotta love that old-fashioned Disney chorus. If there's one thing I miss about classic Disney music, it's DAT CHORUS. Snow White, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp...none would've had quite the same amount of magic without it.
For those who don't remember what I'm talking about: (it starts at about 2:10).
Yeah, I figured with the hint of the one scene, it'd be Lady and the Tramp. I'd put it much higher though. Outside of my Top 10, but still a strong placement. Let's see some Renaissance films bite the dust already :P
-- Little town... http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae221/GenesisSaga/3rdPrizeBelle.jpg
Out of the Disney Renaissance, I can definitely see Pocahontas dropping out the quickest. Does Mulan count as one too? I haven't seen that one yet, but I'm not sure if I'd like it. People always think it is odd that I never saw that movie since I'm a non-Chinese person that speaks Chinese...then they're shocked that I didn't like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon either. Ang Lee just can't do wu xia and Zhang Ziyi can't act her way out of a paper bag. (ramble ramble ramble, stealth tag post)
then they're shocked that I didn't like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon either. Ang Lee just can't do wu xia and Zhang Ziyi can't act her way out of a paper bag. (ramble ramble ramble, stealth tag post)
Or perhaps it could be Hunchback. "Don't murder a woman, kidnap her child and force him into a life of slave labor, fantasize about raping women in glorious song, and attempt to murder your loyal ward at the first sign of disloyalty, all in the name of God." That's a pretty good moral.
It should be Snow White. It has a very clear cut moral too.
Which is of course, don't make a movie and have virtually EVERY subsequent movie be way better. The time is WAY PAST DUE, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has so ungodly outlived where it should have been in this ranking. It is time.
Isn't it good that the first movie was the least good rather than the first being really good and the next movies being worse (like Scary Movie franchise for example).
Best Character: Merlin Worst Character: Archimedes
To me, The Sword in the Stone exemplifies films where the moral of the story is abundantly clear. In this case it seemed like it was constantly reinforcing the notion that you need more than just brawn in this world to succeed; you need intelligence! An admirable lesson to tech young Wart and the audience as a whole. Really the entire film consists of these episodic lessons, most of which go back to the moral previously mentioned. The Sword in the Stone probably jumped higher than any of the other films on my list. If you would’ve asked me last year where I would rank the Sword in the Stone I would probably say somewhere in the late 30’s to early 40’s. The way its characters performed in the SMDC contests above what I deemed them worthy only added fuel to my dislike of the film. Since then however I’ve come to appreciate the characters much more.
Merlin is a lot of fun. He is by far the best character in the film, and it’s his antics that save the film from a placement in the late 30’s. His interactions with the rest of the characters really make this film great. He and Archimedes are old friends who just bicker back and forth at each other all day long. Archimedes is a cranky, arrogant know-it-all though, so I’m glad he received some verbal abuse from Merlin. The support and life lessons Merlin gives to Wart are crucial not only to his future as king, but it also represents his affection for the boy. Wart never truly believes in himself in the beginning of the film but Merlin sees through all of that. He becomes just the figure Wart needs to persevere and succeed in life. My favorite interaction between Merlin and the other characters is when he has turned himself into a squirrel and just shuts down Madame Squirrel. She’s fallen head-over-heels in love with him and he takes no effort to spare her feelings. In fact he instead turns back into a human and proceeds to torment the poor thing. Hilarious. On the other hand you have Wart, who in his squirrel form has attracted the attention of a young girl squirrel. The entire squirrel scene is really funny, but man it has a sad ending. Seriously, after Wart turns back into a human I feel so bad for girl squirrel. I wanted Merlin to change her into a human! Oh well, at least Wart tried to be gentle about the whole thing. He just has he worst luck with animals. He’s almost eaten by a bigger fish when he’s a fish, by a wolf when he’s a squirrel, and by a hawk when he’s a bird, all because of Merlin’s antics. Merlin is hilarious, and I’m sorry I ever doubted his brilliance.
His duel with Madame Mim is my favorite scene of the film, and it stands as one of the best duels between a protagonist and an antagonist throughout the entire canon. It has fantastic animation and it’s the most exciting segment of the film. When I watched it I remember thinking to myself, “Why is Merlin being so stupid? Morph into a bigger animal and stop playing on the defensive!” He was visibly getting dominated during the entire fight scene, but he’s Merlin. Of course he would have a trick up his sleeve! His idea to shrink down into a germ to infect Mim with was brilliant, reinforcing the theme that brute strength alone, even in the form of an imposing dragon, will succumb to intelligence and cleverness. It’s too bad this scene wasn’t the end of the film, as after it was over we had to endure the final 10 minutes or so.
My biggest problem with the film is its ending. It just…ends with Wart grabbing the sword out of nowhere and subsequently becoming king. If you knew the tale you knew this was where the film was going to end up, but it did so with almost no buildup whatsoever. It was like they created a film with fun characters teaching life lessons to the viewer and then remembered there was a certain way they had to resolve it. There’s never really any kind of story arc with Wart. It seems as though even after his lessons with Merlin he just falls into the right place at the right time and manages to pluck the sword from the stone. It felt really anticlimactic and rushed, which is too bad because the majority of the film was really strong.
I suppose the songs didn’t really do much for me either, but I can overlook that. Well, actually I can’t overlook Wart’s singing. Oh my god he is awful. He and Taran are seriously so bad. Why would the producers give him the go-ahead to sing at all? Merlin’s not a terribly good singer either, but at least it’s not offensive to my ears. The lyrics are pretty bad though. Higitus Figitus is basically just a bunch of nonsense that Merlin kind of sings. It’s fun, I guess.
Although this film is largely devoid of a plot, I enjoyed every single episode of Merlin’s antics and Wart’s transformations. Merlin especially made the film rank so high for me and helped carry the slack from the other two protagonists I wasn’t as fond of. It teaches us good lessons in the process of being an entertaining film, and for that I ranked it here in the top half.
My biggest problem with the film is its ending. It just…ends with Wart grabbing the sword out of nowhere and subsequently becoming king. If you knew the tale you knew this was where the film was going to end up, but it did so with almost no buildup whatsoever. It was like they created a film with fun characters teaching life lessons to the viewer and then remembered there was a certain way they had to resolve it. There’s never really any kind of story arc with Wart. It seems as though even after his lessons with Merlin he just falls into the right place at the right time and manages to pluck the sword from the stone. It felt really anticlimactic and rushed, which is too bad because the majority of the film was really strong.
I suppose the songs didn’t really do much for me either, but I can overlook that. Well, actually I can’t overlook Wart’s singing. Oh my god he is awful. He and Taran are seriously so bad. Why would the producers give him the go-ahead to sing at all? Merlin’s not a terribly good singer either, but at least it’s not offensive to my ears. The lyrics are pretty bad though. Higitus Figitus is basically just a bunch of nonsense that Merlin kind of sings. It’s fun, I guess.
Although this film is largely devoid of a plot, I enjoyed every single episode of Merlin’s antics and Wart’s transformations. Merlin especially made the film rank so high for me and helped carry the slack from the other two protagonists I wasn’t as fond of. It teaches us good lessons in the process of being an entertaining film, and for that I ranked it here in the top half.
Next Up: Its title consist of six syllables
How bout six WORDS. It is ****ing time. Deer god, you are gong to tell me there are only (at most) 21 films in the canon better than Snow White?
The Great Mouse Detective Fantasia 2000 The Princess and the Frog
Those are the 3 it could be, of those it should be Fantasia 2000, but I am not sure if we are counting 2000 as as actually 3 syllables. So of the remaining two, it should be The Princess and the Frog. But being that Snow White is still alive, I am guessing it will be The Great Mouse Detective, tragedy though that would be.
Archimedes just isn't entertaining to me, nor is he likable. There's one brief instant where Archimedes rescues Wart that I thought would be a turning point for him, but the film never goes anywhere else with it. He just remains super cranky.
Also MWC your rage is very interesting. I have never seen anyone hate Snow White with such a passion aside from the Evil Queen. You may be hiding something.
Way too high for me, sorry. Horrid songs, bad main character, no plot to speak of, completely ignored villain, and lots of very irritating humor. Merlin saves it from being a complete travesty, though, and it was a bit more whimsical to me the last time I deigned to view it (a few months ago). Definitely not really bad, though that does mean the end product is much greater than the sum of its parts. I'm pretty sure Merlin is the single saving grace that movies SitS from "abominable" to "decent".
There's one brief instant where Archimedes rescues Wart that I thought would be a turning point for him, but the film never goes anywhere else with it. He just remains super cranky.
I don't get this part. I can see whether a character is entertaining or not is subjective, but Archimedes stays close with Arthur, even when Merlin is absent.
-- Little town... http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae221/GenesisSaga/3rdPrizeBelle.jpg