Cinderella

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                                    

In terms of its wider impact, this is obviously an adaptation of one of the most iconic stories of all time. Along with Snow White, it defines the way in which many perceive animated Disney films. After a slump during the Second World War and several financial issues before that, this was the mega hit that saved Disney Animation and started the Second Golden Age more commonly known as the Silver Age. But does it live up to its monumental reputation?

In terms of atmosphere, you could not find a Disney film with a more classical feel than Cinderella. A lot of the songs sound very orchestral, with a lot of violins and tunes that sound slow and pretty in a classic way. A prime example of this is the iconic ‘A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes’- it’s a nice ballad that makes use of several instruments and sounds almost dream-like. My personal favourite, however, is the exception to this atmospheric rule, Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo, which has a really fun tune that makes it very enjoyable to listen to.   

This then matches up very well with the also pretty, if not slightly bland at times, animation. There are a lot of pastel colours, such as several light pink and blue tones, and overall it is very nice to look at. Cinderella herself is the same in a way- pretty, if not a little dull. Like most Disney Princesses of her era, she doesn’t have too much of a personality, but to be fair she is a better role model than many would give her credit for, always staying kind and optimistic no matter what she has to endure. The Mice also make for fairly entertaining side characters, although in terms of story there is way too much focus given to their hijinks with the cat.   

But by far one of the best characters Cinderella are the three villains, Lady Tremaine and the Ugly Stepsisters. The Ugly Stepsisters are really funny with great designs to match and Lady Tremaine is the best villain in the Canon so far. Something about the great Eleanor Audley’s chilling performance combined with her often cruel looking character design makes her a force to be reckoned with.

Overall, Cinderella is a very pleasant and enjoyable film to watch, with some pretty animation, good songs and really great villains.   

Rating

Good guys: Cinderella is a bit bland, but the mice and the Fairy Godmother are entertaining enough to bring the character score up to a 6/10                                                                                               Bad Guys: All three of the villains are fantastic, so they get a score of 8/10                                                                                                                                          Animation: Pretty to look at, if not a little bland at times, the animation gets a 7/10                                                                                                                                                 Music: All very pleasant to listen to, with some classics in amongst the score, the music gets an 8/10 Plot: Obviously, it is an iconic story, but there is also a lot of filler with the mice, which can get tedious, so the plot gets 7/10                                                                                                                    Overall score: 36/50

Next review: Alice in Wonderland

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                                

                                                         

This film is the last of the Package Era films and falls slap bang into the middle of the ones that I have been able to review here in terms of quality.

I really enjoy both of the classic stories that the two halves of this movie tell- and strangely enough, they do seem to go together really well. They are linked as they are both based on classic literature, but at the same time the more light-hearted nature of the Wind in the Willows balances out the darker storyline of Ichabod Crane.

I also really like the music, especially the Headless Horseman song. It just has a really fun tune- but the other songs range from ok (the songs in Ichabod Crane) to a bit irritating (We’re Merrily on Our Way to Nowhere). The animation is also generally decent- but the Headless Horseman sequence at the end of the Ichabod Crane section particularly stands out. Something about the background and the way in which the animation builds up the atmosphere is effectively eerie, making for a really tense scene overall.

The Headless Horseman is a great villain generally, even with his short amount of screen time- he has a great design and it works really well with the atmosphere of the scene, allowing him to be scary without even uttering a single line of dialogue.

As you can probably tell from this rather unbalanced review, the Ichabod Crane segment is the better of the two. The Wind in the Willows story is perfectly entertaining, but the Disney version doesn’t do anything particularly notable or special with it.

Generally, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad is an enjoyable film that is a good end to this era of Disney Animation.

Rating

Good guys: I wouldn’t really call Ichabod Crane a good guy, but Toad is a great protagonist in any film he’s in, so overall the good guys get 6/10

Bad Guys: The Headless Horseman is a very effective antagonist, so the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: With the exception of the Headless Horseman scene, none of the animation is particularly special, so it gets a 5/10

Music: The songs are pretty mixed on the whole, but the Headless Horseman song brings the film’s music up to a 5/10

Plot: Both storylines are classics and as a result the plot gets a 6/10

Overall score: 29/50

Next review: Cinderella

Melody Time

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                                     

Like Make Mine Music, Melody Time is made of several entertaining stories, all of which make for an ok film overall. In addition, for the most part, all of the shorts are very well animated. However, the way in which some shorts attempt to blend animation with live action can feel very odd and out of place in this particular film.

On the other hand, there are some creative choices that pay off with the animation. For example, there are some interesting uses of colours in the first short, Once Upon A Wintertime and I enjoyed the surrealism of Bumble Boogie and Blame it On the Samba. But some of the shorts do go on for a bit too long. For example, the aforementioned Once Upon A Wintertime feels like it just keeps going and going and going, with the drama levels going out of control, to a level that is at odds with the rest of the short’s atmosphere.

The music is fairly enjoyable- obviously, the tunes are not amazing, but they are ok. This assessment is also accurate for the characters- for the most part, the protagonists of each short are pretty bland, but they are at least bearable to watch.

And that pretty much sums up Melody Time. It’s sort of generic, but still vaguely enjoyable and with some pretty good music. 

Rating

Good guys: Somewhat likeable, but not particularly memorable, the good guys get a 4/10

Bad guys: The film doesn’t really have any bad guys, with the possible exception of a certain animal in Pecos Bill, so the score for Bad Guys is 5/10

Animation: There are some nice colours and interesting creative choices presented, so the animation gets a 5/10

Music: There are some good tunes in there, although there is nothing incredible, so the music gets a 6/10

Plot: Each of the shorts has a pretty decent story to it, although certain shorts do go on for a bit too long, so on the whole the plot gets a 5/10

Overall rating: 25/50

Next review: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad