The Jungle Book

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The Jungle Book is obviously up there with Disney’s best films and I can see its charm, but it’s just not a personal favourite of mine. It’s great, but other than the music there is nothing in it that makes it particularly spectacular.

This was the point in Disney history where the films started to become, for want of a better phrase, rougher, as the film’s budgets began to shrink. The Jungle Book gets nowhere near to matching the beauty of Disney’s previous animation, but it does have a certain charm that goes with the film’s overall atmosphere. This is also complemented by the fantastic music, the best songs of course being The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You, both of which are irresistibly fun.

Shere Khan is… ok. I’m sorry to say that, but he’s not nearly as good as the villains Disney would go on to produce. The voice acting from George Sanders is really the only thing that puts Shere Khan just about up there with the best- I just don’t see anything else that makes him stand out compared to other Disney villains.

Speaking of great voice acting however, there are some fantastic performances from a range of actors, many of whom would go on to do many more voices for Disney in this era. This includes of course Phil Harris as Baloo, Sterling Holloway as Kaa, Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera and Louis Prima as King Louis.

In terms of the main characters, until the climax of the film Mowgli is whiny and irritating at his worst and passive enough to be a bit dull at best.

 …And that’s all there is to say on the Jungle Book really. It is certainly enjoyable enough to deserve its classic status, but there are better films which also went on to earn that title.

Rating

Good guys: Mowgli is not particularly interesting for a lot of the film, but Baloo and Bagheera are fun enough to put the good guys at a 6/10

Bad guys: Shere Khan and Kaa are both ok villains, whilst not being the best Disney have produced, so the bad guys get a 7/10

Animation: The rough, scratchy style of these films often fits their fun and charming atmosphere, but they lack the beauty of Disney’s previous work, so the animation gets a 6/10

Music: The Jungle Book’s music is probably its greatest asset- based on The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You alone, the music gets a 9/10 (because none of the other songs are particularly memorable to be honest).  

Plot: It’s ok, but nothing about this particular story stands out for me, so the story gets a 5/10

Overall Rating: 32/50

Next review: The Aristocats

The Sword in the Stone

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.

…I really didn’t want to review this one. When I saw it for the first time a few years ago, knowing very little about the plot, I was very disappointed with its episodic nature and general meandering. It was better than I had remembered, but still not very impressive compared to the works that came before and after.

As gut wrenchingly painful as it is to criticise any of the work of the great Sherman brothers, the songs in this film are also probably the most forgettable and borderline irritating in the canon so far. The only decent one is ‘Higgitus Figgitus’ and even then, that is more to do with the fun of having a song filled with nonsense words. 

The animation is also not great- it doesn’t look horrible, but there is nothing particularly special to make it stand out.  

To be fair, having seen the film a second time, the plot functions far better than I first thought and having Arthur learning how to be King is an interesting concept, even if it doesn’t really gel that well overall.

Madam Mim is a pretty fun villain and her duel with Merlin is probably the most creative scene in the film- it would have been far better if she had come in earlier as an external threat, as it would have made the plot far more solid and it would have just been great to see more of her character.

Merlin and his owl Archemedies are also both great characters, who are entertaining to watch, so the film does have that in its favour. But other than that, there just isn’t anything particularly exciting to it. Sorry to people who grew up with this film, but I don’t think I will be re-watching it for a third time.

Rating

Good guys: Arthur doesn’t have much of a character, but Merlin and Archimedes are entertaining enough, so overall the good guys get a 5/10

Bad guys: Madam Mim is great, but the fact that she is only in one scene really hinders her impact as a villain, so the bad guys get 6/10

Animation: It looks pretty rough and there is nothing very impressive technogically, so the animation gets 5/10

Music: There was only one song I liked, so the music gets only 3/10

Plot: The plot goes at a very leisurely and relaxed pace, but it doesn’t gel too well, so the plot gets 4/10

Overall Rating: 23/50

Next review: The Jungle Book

101 Dalmatians

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.

When compared with Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians feels a lot more scaled down. The story, whilst not being epic, is fairly cute - the animation fares similarly, showing an interesting style whilst not matching the beauty of its predecessor.

Its greatest asset is its villain. Cruella De Ville is iconic for a reason- she has a brilliant design and is just so much fun to watch, really bringing the entire thing to life. The song ‘Cruella De Ville’ is also brilliant, even if it is the only song in the film. Another great touch is something that also really worked in Lady and the Tramp a few movies ago. That touch is the storytelling from the dog’s perspective, as the way that the dogs think of the humans and their pets is a charming addition. As a result of this, the bait and switch opening is probably one of the best scenes in the film. 

Other than that, there isn’t really much else to add- nothing about this film is particularly awful, but other than the points stated above, there is nothing particularly special about it either- it just sort of plods along without anything particularly ground-breaking being added. The only other note is that the animation on all of the puppies is technologically impressive for the time in which the film was made.   

Overall, it’s a bit of harmless fluff- it’s not particularly special, but it sure is a fun ride.

Rating

Good guys: The main characters are all fairly bland and generic here, resulting in a score of 4/10

Bad guys: Not only is Cruella one of the best Disney villains in general, she is also the most fun part of the film, meaning that the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: It has a charming style, whilst not being particularly pretty- the backgrounds are especially nice, resulting in the animation getting 6/10

Music: Cruella De Ville is a fun and catchy song, so the music gets 7/10

Plot: There is nothing particularly great about the story, but there is nothing particularly terrible about it either, so the plot gets 5/10

Overall Rating: 29/50

Next review: The Sword in the Stone

Sleeping Beauty

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Of all the ‘classic’ Princess films covered so far, this one is by far the best. I implied in my Lady and the Tramp review that Philip and Aurora are incredibly dull and to be honest they are- but the film more than makes up for it with great protagonists (I’ll get to that point in a minute), one of the greatest villains in the entire canon, a lovely use of classical music and animation so good it almost sank the studio, as its $6 million budget was essentially too high for it to ever make much money back.

That is the first thing to talk about- from an artistic perspective, this film is wonderful. It has a unique and beautiful art style unlike anything seen previously and this combined with the music based on the famous ballet gives it the lovely classical feel of Cinderella tenfold.

Maleficent is also one of the greatest Disney villains of all time- there is just something in her design combined with Eleanor Audley’s cold yet powerful vocal performance that makes her fantastic to watch.

I mentioned this before, but Aroura herself is one of the weakest Disney Princesses, as this was really a time before they had personalities, with the possible exception of Cinderella. She does have more dialogue than people give her credit for, but none of it is really worth much- just the stereotypical ‘someday my prince will come’ stuff that I have ironically spent a lot of time claiming is over exaggerated by many people, as a Disney fan. I seriously can’t wait to get to Ariel.  

Prince Phillip isn’t much better, so they don’t really have much chemistry in the two scenes they share.

But now, let’s talk about the real lead characters, the three fairies- in terms of the narrative, they are truly the protagonists, as they feature most prominently in the story as the ‘good guys’. And they all have unique personalities and are very funny throughout. And others have also pointed out that the fact that much of the plot is primarily driven by strong women does more than make up for Aroura’s lack of agency.    

Overall, Sleeping Beauty is a stunning film, which is the greatest masterpiece of the Silver Age.

Rating

Good guys: Aroura and Phillip don’t do much, but the three fairies are great characters, so that characters get 7/10

Bad guys: As I said, one of the best Disney Villains of all time, Maleficent gets 10/10

Animation: Beautiful and unique, the animation gets 10/10

Music: The use of classical music really adds to the classic fairy tale feel, so the music gets 8/10

Plot: Another great adaptation of a classic fairy tale, but with additional scenes that actually feel relevant to the plot, the story gets 7/10  

Overall Rating: 42/50

Next review: 101 Dalmatians 

Lady and the Tramp

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.

On paper, Lady and the Tramp is not a film that should be as good as it is- it just sounds like a cute love story, but nothing particularly special. So what makes it such a classic?

Truly, it’s the characters and their development, particularly the two leads. Their contrasting personalities and backgrounds lead to some really great chemistry, which really does make you root for them throughout, more so than some of the blander Princes and Princesses, in spite of their species. I actually care more about Lady and the Tramp than I do, for example, Philip and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, but that’s for the next review- I’m getting off track. The point is, the two leads carry the film really well. The smaller details added to their world are also very clever. For example, I love the fact that everything is from the dog’s perspective, at low angles- I also love the detail that Lady thinks her owners are actually called Jim Dear and Darling, because that’s what they call each other. 

The progression of the conflict, within the story in general and between the two leads, also feels very natural- none of it feels forced or added in for the sake of a plot, which also helps the story to develop well.

Both the animation and the music are beautiful. Well, one song is beautiful, but I’ll get to that in a minute. The film has that classic Silver Age look you will notice if you watch any other films from this era, including lots of artsy backgrounds and that solid look to the colours and the lines that I am personally a big fan of. As a said, there is some great music here too- Bella Notte is obviously as stunning as the iconic scene it is played over and He’s a Tramp is a lot of fun.

Overall, Lady and the Tramp took a very simple story and turned it into something beautiful and one of the best films of Disney’s Silver Age.

Rating

Good guys: Lady and Tramp are great characters with good chemistry. There are also two tiers of side characters, with the main ones, Jock and Trusty, being great together and as individual characters, whilst the characters in the pound scene are actually very bland, as well as being made up of various stereotypes, which does not help. Overall, the good guys get an 8/10

Bad guys: The rat has a scary design and is suitably sinister. However, I didn’t bring this up in the review itself, but the racist stereotypes portrayed in the cats make for some very uncomfortable viewing in 2017 and as characters they are actually really dull, so the movie gets 5/10 for Bad Guys.  

Animation: Visually, the film is very pretty, so the animation gets a 7/10  

Music: As I said in the review, Bella Notte is iconic and He’s a Tramp is a lot of fun, so the music gets 7/10

Plot: Whilst very simplistic on paper, the plot develops on a more complex level than many of its predecessors due to great characters and the natural nature of the conflict, so the plot gets a 7/10

Overall Rating: 34/50

  
Next review: Sleeping Beauty

Peter Pan

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Overall, this film is…nice. It’s not extraordinary or ground breaking, it is certainly not the best of the Silver Age, but it’s nice (well, apart from the incredibly disgusting and racist portrayal of Native Americans). This story is a classic for a reason- there is just a sense of magic surrounding the world of Neverland which is present in all good Peter Pan adaptations and it can certainly be found here. 

The animation is mostly pleasant, with the best scenes being various shots of London, particularly during the ‘You Can Fly’ sequence. The backgrounds are beautifully done- the character designs mostly follow the rather generic Disney House Style of the time, but they are nice enough to look at.

The music, particularly the score, is also beautiful, aside from ‘What Made the Red Man Red’ and parts of ‘Following the Leader’ for obvious reasons mentioned in brackets above. The best song by far is the aforementioned ‘You Can Fly’, with its sweeping melody and catchy tune.

Much like Wonderland, the best characters in Peter Pan are from the world that the film explores, in this case Neverland. None of the Darling children have much personality, but the film more than makes up for it with iconic good guys like Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, who are both a lot of fun and the equally iconic bad guys Captain Hook and Mr Smee, who are very funny in all of their scenes.

Speaking of great sequences, the fight scenes between Hook and Pan towards the end are by far some of the best scenes in the film and are also refreshingly different to the films that came before it.

Generally, this film doesn’t break many boundaries, but it is fun to watch for the most part and definitely deserving of its status as a Disney classic. 

Rating

Good guys: Although the Darling children are pretty bland, the Lost Boys, Tinkerbell and Peter Pan are a lot of fun, so the good guys get a 6/10

Bad guys: Mr Smee and Hook have some very funny scenes, so the Bad guys get a 6/10

Animation: Some very nice backgrounds and ok character designs mean that the animation also gets 6/10

Music: You Can Fly is great and most of the other music is passable so it gets a 7/10

Plot: A classic story told well- the movie gets 8/10 for the plot

Overall score: 33/50

Next review: Lady and the Tramp

Alice in Wonderland

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Compared to the classic feel of its predecessor Cinderella, and many of the other Disney films from this era, Alice in Wonderland feels far more adventurous, in terms of both animation and overall style. To be fair, this is due to the stranger nature of the story, but it is a jump nonetheless.  

Its two greatest assets are the ones that make it stand out most- its animation and its supporting characters. The backgrounds are beautiful to look at, translating the iconic style of Mary Blair perfectly and the character designs are also great on most of the people and animals in Wonderland. Alice’s design fits the typical Disney house style of the era, so she’s not particularly interesting, but the Mad Hatter, March Hare and the Cheshire Cat are among the best drawn (and most fun to watch) characters in the film.  It also has a very entertaining villain in the Queen of Hearts, so that’s a plus.And ultimately, this film is about the world that the protagonist finds herself in, rather than the protagonist herself, so the fact that Alice is less interesting than what is happening around her is actually not too much of a problem. 

As for minuses? Well, there aren’t many, but the music is weak. Other than the unbelievably catchy Unbirthday song, all of the other songs feel a bit… meandering. There is just something in the tunes of In a World of My Own and All in the Golden Afternoon, amongst others that just don’t really stick in any way. They are good for communicating information in the story- but that’s about all they are good for to be honest.    

I have stated previously that I am not a big fan of films with more episodic plots, but it works very well here. In this case the plot and characters are less important than the world they show, so a story made up of lots of smaller parts actually works very well.

Overall, this film is a fun and unique ride, with some great animation and fun characters.

Rating

Good guys: Alice isn’t awful, but she’s not particularly interesting, especially when compared to the characters in Wonderland- the real leads are actually the supporting characters, all of whom are iconic for a good reason, so overall the good guys get 6/10

Bad Guys: The Queen of Hearts is a fun villain, although there are far better ones to come, so the Bad Guys get 6/10

Animation: The animation in this film is stunning, some of the best until Sleeping Beauty so it gets a 8/10  

Music: Other than the Unbirthday song, the music in this film is pretty weak, so it gets a 4/10

Plot: The episodic nature of the plot actually works very well here, so the plot gets 6/10

Overall score: 30/50

Next review: Peter Pan