Sunday, November 16, 2014

Disney Movie Reflection: 101 Dalmatians

As I get to the end of my journey to watch all of these Disney films, I realize that I have watched almost all of the old films. With 7 movies to watch left and me leaving to see Big Hero 6 in 15 minutes, this was bound to happen but it does make me a bit sad to bid farewell to the golden age of Disney (well except for the fact that I am saving Peter Pan for the day before my birthday because it is my favorite). 

I ordered 101 Dalmatians from the library almost 6 months ago but they only have 5 copies and it was just released on DVD for the first time in like 100 years and I had to wait and wait. Some how along the road, I got Jake to say he would watch it with me. Now Jake wasn't raised on Disney like I was. He has two older siblings that are 7 and 3 years older and he says he spend his childhood watching Freddie Kruger and Tremors instead of Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio. I watch most of my Disney movies on Saturday or Sunday mornings while he sleeps for a bit and plays on his iPad and sometimes he comes in and watch the last half of one with me asking confused questions and being shocked by Pinocchio being drowned in a puddle. This was all to say that I was really excited when he said he would watch 101 Dalmatians with me.

I love dogs and have a bit of an affinity as of recent for Disney movies revolving around dogs (The Fox and The Hound, Pocohontas, Lady and the Tramp). I remember really liking this VHS as a kind with my brother. My favorite dog was always Rollie because I empathize with the fat hungry kid. I wasn't sure how this would stand the test of time though especially against so many other pupcentric movies.

Of course it still remains a great movie. Jake seemed to like it too cooing over animated puppies, feeling bad for Perdie when her pups are stolen, and generally interacting with all the dogs. Girlfriend didn't have as great of a time in a general state of confusion about why the TV kept barking. Cruella Deville remains one of the worst villians in my opinion with her greed and lack of heart. Overall, it stand the dog test of time and will now forever remind me of the Disney movie that Jake could finally watch.


Disney Movie Reflection: Alice in Wonderland

Over the Summer, I had a really bad week where I didn't get a promotion that I thought I would get. It was disappointing beyond belief. I decided to take an impromptu three day weekend because I needed some time away from work. I planned it perfectly to include a Disney movie in the morning, beach in the early afternoon and U-pick in the late afternoon. I decide on Alice in Wonderland as the movie to watch because I was prepping to go to Disneyland which has two rides devoted to the movie. 

Unfortunately, it was hot and I wanted to leave so I barely paid attention to the movie which I loved as a kid. I felt bad because I've seen so many movies this year that this one couldn't just slip through my fingers. I decided it would get rewatched at a later time just to make sure I gave it it's fair chance.

I rewatched it once Saturday afternoon while Jake was out playing and I needed to get caught up on knitting this stupid pillow cover that I have been working on for a year. The movie always reminds me of my brother and my dad. I am pretty sure it is because we three always rode the Tea Cups together even as full grown men. My brother also liked to watch the movie as a kid and I remember my dad taking me to check out the book from the library. 

Everyone has seen this movie a hundred times so I won't bore you with talking about the whole thing but I do want to focus in on my favorite part as an adult: The Walrus and The Carpenter. Part of me wishes that the Walrus and the Carpenter could have it's own movie entirely as they are the most outlandish and strange characters in the entire Disney cannon. They are a story within a story and I would wait in line for hours for a meet and greet. The story is dark and has a lot of adult nuance such as how the mother knows she must be cautious about her seafood babies because the month contains an R. The animation has a completely different color palette than the rest of the movie relying on blues and oranges while the rest of the movie is primarily greens and reds. I love this part because it is a difficult feet to interject a story in a story that is made up of a bunch of mini stories but done so well.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

I don't think I ever realized until I was an adult that these two movies went together. I distinctly remember Mr. Toad from Disneyland and Ichabod reminds me of watching Disney film strips in fifth grade. It wasn't until about three years ago when I saw this DVD as a combo pack at Target during Halloween that I decided to pick it up which lead to a rabbit hole of learning about the War time compilation films starting with Fantasia and ending with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

It is hard to take them as a pair as they couldn't be further a part. One is a turn of the century tale that centers on modernization and established wealth and is a zany and outlandish. The other is a classic American story from the colonial period that sets off each October properly. While they a misjoined pair, I look forward to watching them each year.

In 2012, right after buying this DVD I spent it cat sitting for Amanda Clem drinking pumpkin beer, trying to make Dia de los Muertos figurines, and eating Granny Smith apples in that shelf stable caramel sauce they sell in produce section In 2013, I watched it after Jake and I had been to Target and I had picked up this weird foam skeleton craft kit. I put the skeleton together while Jake napped on the couch. I skipped the apples and caramel. 

For 2014, I had this on my radar since the very beginning of the goal. I knew this was the movie to signal Halloween. So in early October I bought apples and caramel and apple cider but each weekend didn't feel right. I went to Chicago and watched Fantasia which is my other Halloween movie one weekend. Another I woke up late and we were in Silverton and then finally Halloween came and went with no time to watch my movie. Once October 1st hits, it might as well be Christmas for how quickly the days fly by. Anyways, I watched the movie on November 2nd with coffee and butter toffee creamer and warm Fall oatmeal having watched Tim Burton's Sleep Hollow the night before.

I love this movie not only for its ability to ring in Fall but because it is also the turning point for really great animation. While the stories are good, the animation is really quite great. Mr. Toad feels light and ethereal. A land where animals and people really talk is totally believable. Ichabod is ominous and dark with a spooky but light side that is perfect.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Disney Movie Reflection: Oliver & Company

Oliver & Company is a sleep Disney movie for how much they really put into the film. It stars Billy Joel, Cheech Marrin, Bette Middler and a young Joey Lawrence. In addition to a song by Billy Joel, it also has a song by blockbuster crooner Huey Lewis. It had adorably sad animals and a lonely girl. It maximizes the musical format. It takes a classic story and mixes it with a bit of "Annie" to make this story that should be a hit. It recouped its $4 million dollar budget in the opening weekend but I would argue that this film is forgettable for most. They aren't selling Oliver or Dodger plushes at Walt Disney World and no one is lining up for a meet and greet.

I think that Oliver & Company takes all of the previous conventions and tries to add them together to make the perfect movie that turns into a bit of a failure. It borrows a little bit from each of it's previous movies so much so that it adds up to be a little too much. The cameos of other Disney dogs, the cute red head girl that looks too much like the little girl from The Rescuers, the villain that looks too much like several other Disney villains, and the over reliance on New York City as the setting to carry the movie. In the end, the movie is fun but it doesn't hold the relatable values of the blockbusters that follow it (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast). It is just a cute happy ending about a kitty getting a home.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Disney Movie Reflections: Bambi, Pocohontas, and Bolt

With the Fall just beginning, I finally have found a few evenings at home where I can get caught up on all the writing I wanted to do this year. I grouped three entries about Disney movies I watched over the past few months here for ease and just so I would get them done.

Pocahontas
I was inspired to watch Pocahontas after my first day of my summer trip to Disneyland (which was the second leg of the same trip that resulted in all of the watched Britney Spears videos), We saw World of Color at Disney's California Adventure and they play "Colors of the Wind" and that song makes me a little weepy so when everyone went to bed at like 10 I watched Pocahontas on my Kindle in a hotel bed in Cypress, CA.

I remember watching Pocahontas in the theater with my mom and brother. There was probably sodas in cans and a backpack with microwave popcorn. My mom was always frugal and loved popcorn. I remember one of my cousins having all of the stuffed animals for Meeko and Percy and Flit. I remember when I was in 8th grade we visited Jamestown and standing on the real beach where John Smith landed and being in total awe of how they had really captured the setting.

For some reason, I always really liked Pocahontas. I told people when I lived in Florida that Pocahontas was my favorite princess to be different. I even bought the DVD while there. I like her strong will and her spirit of adventure. She is loyal but headstrong. In the weirdest way, I see a lot of traits I have embodied in her in the best combination,

Bambi
Bambi gets a bad rap as being a little boring and a lot sad. I knew this going in. In fact, I decided that I would watch Bambi while Jake and Jake's Amanda watched Saw 1, 2 & 3. Great juxtaposition right? I know I have seen Bambi before. I remember Flower and Thumper and Bambi but there is so much I didn't know about this movie.

First, technically I had never really understood what a multi plane camera was until watching Bambi. It is crazy to realize that this movie was made in the early 1940s and the technology that went into from there.

Second, the impact that the artist Tyrus Wong had on the creation of Bambi is something that isn't much discussed but is really interesting. Wong was a Chinese immigrant whose impressionist paintings were responsible for the overall look of the movie. It made me take an even closer look at the movie at the movie as an early art piece instead of just a movie.

Finally, while Snow White had a dead mother I would argue that Bambi really sets the tone for the Disney "dead mother" trope. Snow White was release in 1937 before the untimely death of Walt's mother but Bambi was released just 4 years after Flora's passing due to a leak from a gas furnace. While Dumbo centers on the love of mother for son, Bambi can be seen as Walt's first film in which he starts to come to terms on film

Bolt
Truth be told, I checked this BluRay from the library 3 times. I finally watched it on the last time because it was overdue and Jake had gone out with friends so I decided to get it out of the way. I don't really like John Travolta and syrup sweet Miley was always a bit annoying so I pretty certain this would be a dud like all of the other computer animated films before it.

Turns out that Bolt is actually quite cute. Maybe I just have a soft spot for dogs, Jenny Lewis songs and animated Las Vegas. It could also be that they finally got the animation right in this movie just in time for them to go back to hand drawn. The story is cute and it made me want to just snuggle my dog and never let her go. I rooted for the animals to find home because Homeward Bound ruined me for life. While it doesn't have the lasting power of most other Disney movies probably because of the glut of Disney dog flicks, of the four computer animated films I would show this one to the nieces and nephews over the the other three.