Disney Movie Marathon Challenge

Oops, gotta catch up quickly!

Sleeping Beauty: This was the first of the Disney classics to be released on bluray and it is STUNNING. The story and the characters are fine, but it's the stylized artwork that really makes it great for me (square trees!)

101 Dalmatians: I think this was the first Disney movie I saw as a new release in theaters way back when. It might have been the first animated VHS home release Disney did, it also seems that it was among the very first Disney DVDs. Fun to note that when the puppies are all gathered round watching tv that the animated clip "airing" on the tv is one of the Silly Symphonies (I think it's "Flowers & Trees.")

Sword In the Stone: One of the weakest titles up to that point. I do love Merlin, but the rest...
 
Mary Poppins (1964)

So we cheated a little bit on this one and deviated from the list of Disney animated films we've been following in order to watch...Mary Poppins! We're not cheating that badly though, as there is quite a lot of animation in Mary Poppins. I would say almost as much as in Song of The South, which was on the list. There's also lots more animation in Mary Poppins than you think there is, as there's a few bits where they sort of trick your eye by using a more photorealistic style.

Also we just really wanted to watch Mary Poppins as its been ages.

This was probably my sisters favourite of the movies we've watched so far in terms of story and songs. Even though it's a pretty long film at 2 hours 20 minutes, it feels really well paced. There's time for lots of moments of sheer unadulterated joy but also quiet contemplative moments; even some moments that pretty much had her welling up! (she’s a softie!)

The songs all encapsulate these moments beautifully. The Sherman bros killed it with all of the songs in this movie. And of course, the actors, in particular, Julie Andrews (
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), perform them brilliantly.

Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke are of course the standouts in this movie. Although his accent is truly dreadful, you don't mind a bit because in every other way his performance is so perfect. He can sing, dance, act and just exudes charm in every way. He is delightful and moments like Supercalifragilous (never tried spelling that before) just wouldn't work without him.

Julie Andrews is just perfection. She has one of the most beautiful singing voices I've ever heard but also has superb comic timing and can kick it in the big dance numbers too. It's hard to overstate how good she is in this movie! The character she creates is very different from the Mary Poppins of the books, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as from what I remember, the books are quite dark and Mary Poppins a much less likeable character.

All the other actors are great too. As is the set design and the animated sections. There is nothing compared to some of the animation we’ve seen up to this point, but the way animation and film are blended together is gorgeous.

Basically I could go on and on about how much we enjoyed this movie. So I'll stop there.

...

We’ll be on a break for a couple of weeks now as we are off on holiday with no access to TV/film :) Will be back with more reviews in early September! I think its the Jungle Book next!

Many thanks to anyone following along!:wave:
 
Well, what is there to say about Mary Poppins? The word masterpiece comes to mind. It's practically perfect in every way! Also, what's wrong with Dick Van Dyke's accent? Don't all you Brits talk like that? ;)

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend the film Saving Mr. Banks. It seems these days that nobody can mention Mary Poppins without bringing this movie up, but it really is terrific. Now, I just hope this sequel they are cooking up lives up to the legacy.

Have fun on your holiday. I'll miss checking for the reviews. I've really been enjoying this thread and it reminds me of a few films that I need to catch up on myself.
 


Mary Poppins really is just about perfect, in its genre I think it's the best movie ever made just edging out Wizard Of Oz. The actors are so well-cast and for Julie Andrews it's the role of a lifetime. Dick Van Dyke is brilliant even though the accent is a mess--I can live with that.:) The music is the pinnacle of the Sherman Bros and the matte paintings for backgrounds are like something out of a dream. Just for fun I checked the critic's score for MP on Rotten Tomatoes: It's 100%.

Sidebar on Saving Mr. Banks: I didn't care for this movie. I loved the parts depicting Walt and Disneyland, but the backstory on Travers was just a bummer. I saw it one time in the theater, should I give it another shot?
 
Mary Poppins really is just about perfect, in its genre I think it's the best movie ever made just edging out Wizard Of Oz. The actors are so well-cast and for Julie Andrews it's the role of a lifetime. Dick Van Dyke is brilliant even though the accent is a mess--I can live with that.:) The music is the pinnacle of the Sherman Bros and the matte paintings for backgrounds are like something out of a dream. Just for fun I checked the critic's score for MP on Rotten Tomatoes: It's 100%.

Sidebar on Saving Mr. Banks: I didn't care for this movie. I loved the parts depicting Walt and Disneyland, but the backstory on Travers was just a bummer. I saw it one time in the theater, should I give it another shot?

Well, the parts that show the backstory on Travers are a bit slow. They are also pretty sad. She had a sad life with her Father's issues. It would have been easy for the movie to make Walt the "bad guy" but it really doesn't do that. It does create some sympathy for Travers through the driver character. I do feel like they could have trimmed a bit of the Australia parts, but the rest is just so good it keeps it afloat for me
 
Day 21: The Jungle Book (1967)

Back and ready for more reviews!...I think its actually more like day 23 because we had to extras, Song of the South and Mary Poppins so maybe I will start with 24 next time...anyway...

We definitely enjoyed this one - it would be hard not to as it’s so fun. It’s definitely more of a comedic crowd pleaser, in the style of Robin Hood or The Aristocats, than one of the heavy, artistic pieces, or the romantic Disney princess films. It’s never been one of my favourites, but there’s certainly lots of enjoy here.

Of course the most enjoyable aspect is the music. Bare Necessities is a classic by any standards and Phil Harris sings it wonderfully, and so is I Wanna Be Like You - we were wondering how much of it is improvised. They’re the type of songs that get stuck in your head and you’re humming them for days - and still know all the words 25 years after hearing them for the first time! I don’t think I really paid much attention to the incidental background music when I was a kid, but it’s very beautiful. It's very different from the songs and they maybe don’t quite belong in the same movie, but I think it just about works.

The cast are all really good, in particular Phil Harris. I also couldn’t help noticing that Shere Khan has quite a sexy voice...just me? OK then, moving on. The decision to have the vultures as the Beatles sort of works. Their song is a bit like British invasion music and one or two of them seem to be trying to do Liverpool accents. It feels little bit half-arsed though.

I think it’s maybe the plot that lets the movie down a little bit. It’s again quite episodic (which I think is down to the original novel, though I haven’t read it) and doesn’t completely hang together as a complete story. There’s some great standout moments (mostly centred around the songs), but also a fair amount of filler. The ending is also a bit weird, with the girl popping up at the last minute and changing Mowgli’s mind about going to the man-village - something he’s been pretty certain he’s not going to do throughout the whole of the rest of the movie, even after being attacked by a tiger. The live action version changed the ending and had Mowgli stay in the jungle, which I think was a really good choice. I actually thought the live action Jungle Book was pretty great all round.

Overall not an amazing film - it didn’t have me on the edge of my seat - but it definitely had me giggling and tapping my toes, which I think is what it set out to do.
 


Were we going to discuss Song Of The South? I think I missed that discussion. If you decide to go there, I have thoughts.;)

As for Jungle Book, I love the music but I don't think the animation is peak Disney. One of my favorite things about Disney animation is the attention paid to the background art, it's very intricate in some cases, and the color palette makes the scenes really come alive. In The Jungle Book there is quite a bit of empty space/sky backgrounds which leave the scene somewhat lifeless. I do agree that the voicework is good and there are a couple of classic Disney songs in it.
I'm glad you mentioned The Beatles impression with the buzzards. As a fan of the Beatles I've always been intrigued with the "what if?" scenario where they had agreed to do the voices. I don't think the music from that sequence is Brit invasion influenced though, I'd say it's more Barbershop.
 
Were we going to discuss Song Of The South? I think I missed that discussion. If you decide to go there, I have thoughts.;)

[In The Jungle Book there is quite a bit of empty space/sky backgrounds which leave the scene somewhat lifeless]

I did discuss Song of the South a bit further back-We initially could not get hold of it, so the watching of it was a bit out of sequence, but I did talk a bit about it. It certainly throws up some issues about how Disney chooses to deal with problematic elements of its past.

-Yes, I totally agree. There is a lovely bit with the moon on the river, but apart from that the backgrounds are a bit still and do not really capture a jungle feel.

-Barbershop is def in there too :D
 
Yeah, Jungle Book is a classic, even if the animation quality is not quite as high as previous films. The songs make up for that, as there are quite a few great ones. I haven't seen the original cartoon in a while, but I do remember it. It's not a favorite other than the music, but I do appreciate it. I also appreciate that it gave us TaleSpin, which will forever cement its legacy of greatness!
 
Yeah, Jungle Book is a classic, even if the animation quality is not quite as high as previous films. The songs make up for that, as there are quite a few great ones. I haven't seen the original cartoon in a while, but I do remember it. It's not a favorite other than the music, but I do appreciate it. I also appreciate that it gave us TaleSpin, which will forever cement its legacy of greatness!

Actually never watched TaleSpin, I did not realise its characters were from The Jungle Book!
 
Actually never watched TaleSpin, I did not realise its characters were from The Jungle Book!

Oh, my! TaleSpin is brilliant!

The premise of the show is that they used the characters from The Jungle Book, however they turned it into a 1920's adventure universe focusing on airplanes and piloting. It's a little Indiana Jones, a little African Queen, and a little Only Angels Have Wings. Baloo is a cargo pilot, but is flat broke, so his new investor becomes his boss, Ms. Rebecca. She was a new character for the show, along with Kit, the spunky young sidekick. King Louie runs the local watering hole/club, and Shere Khan is the ruthless kingpin. The world is kinda incredible, a bit over kids' heads, and overall kind of amazingly brave. I haven't watched it in quite some time, but just take a look at the character designs, and you can see they had something really special there. I always loved it!
 
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Day 24: The Aristocats (1970)


I was definitely still humming the theme tune to this one this morning. :D The Aristocats is a highly enjoyable film. It's not up there with Disney’s greats, but nevertheless, it's really likeable.


The story is decent and doesn’t fall into the trap of feeling too episodic, although that is the nature of the plot if you really think about it. I would say the sections with Edgar and the dogs really let the rest of the plot down though. They have nothing to do with anything else that’s happening in the story and only serve to further undermine Edgar, a possible nominee for title of Disney’s Worst Villain Ever?


Edgar’s motivations are possibly even sillier than those of the Evil Queen from Snow White - why not just wait for the cats to die of natural causes meanwhile spending all their cash? It’s not like they could argue. And what self-respecting villain gets outwitted by a bunch of cats? Oh Edgar, smh.


Apart from Edgar the characters are pretty great. Duchess and Thomas have very cute repartee and both of those voice actors are extremely likeable. Can’t wait to see Eva Gabor back for The Rescuers! The kittens are also great fun, in particular, Marie. I think I may have internalised the lesson ‘Ladies don’t start fights but they can finish them’ at some point in my childhood and have been living by it ever since, tee hee.


The second tier characters are a mixed bunch, but the alley cats are truly awesome. Yes, I know there are some culturally questionable ones in there, but they are just so likeable! Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat is a fantastic song and that whole sequence is definitely the best part of the film. The rest of the songs fade into the background a little bit when compared to other Disney songs, unfortunately. Not that they’re not enjoyable, they just don’t especially stand out.


The animation seems weaker. The characters look a little scruffy and the backgrounds flat and a bit uninteresting, without the cool stylistic notes that made 101 Dalmatians work. The Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat sequence is an exception however and the use of colours throughout the song is part of what makes it such a standout part of the film.


Overall an OK film; some great characters and witty dialogue and one fabulous song. *Starts singing Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat to self*
 
Well, I am a big fan of the Aristocats! Yeah, it's not a top-tier Disney movie, but it has great music and great heart. The animation is from the xerography era, and that has its flaws. Still, I enjoy this one quite a bit. Maurice Chevalier came out of retirement to record the title song, and of course Everybody Wants to be a Cat is pretty amazing. You can look at Scat Cat's crew as an attempt at cultural diversity, though every one of them is the epitome of the stereotype for that region. Apparently, there are cut scenes where Edgar had a love interest (the maid of course) and that was part of his motivation to take the money, but they cut that pretty much. There was even a song.
 
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Well, I am a big fan of the Aristocats! Yeah, it's not a top-tier Disney movie, but it has great music and great heart. The animation is from the xerography era, and that has it's flaws. Still, I enjoy this one quite a bit. Maurice Chevalier came out of retirement to record the title song, and of course Everybody Wants to be a Cat is pretty amazing. You can look at Scat Cat's crew as an attempt at cultural diversity, though every one of them is the epitome of the stereotype for that region. Apparently, there are cut scenes where Edgar had a love interest (the maid of course) and that was part of his motivation to take the money, but they cut that pretty much. There was even a song.
Ha I'd like to see that song! Poor Edgar, he has a point, the cats inheriting is crazy (I'd be annoyed), but his plan is not well thought out!
 
I've never seen this movie, it looked weak to me. Maybe I'll catch it with the grandkids some time.:)
 
Robin Hood (1973)

Although I’ve seen it many many times before I was really looking forward to this one coming round. It is one of my sisters favourite Disney movies of all time. Probably in her top four or five and one I really really enjoy as well. It is one of Disney’s funniest films - which when you think about the Aladdins, Zootopias and Incredibles of this world is really quite a feat. It’s also easily the best Robin Hood film there’s ever been. I love Prince of Thieves as much as the next person, but even that doesn’t find the perfect balance of comedy, action and romance that this one manages.

Cards on the table: we are from Nottingham, so perhaps Robin Hood holds a special place in our hearts, but I still think this movie would appeal to me even if I wasn’t from there.

So let’s get the criticism out of the way first, so I can get on with gushing: the animation is nothing to write home about. It’s scruffy, there’s lots of fairly noticeable bits of repetition and the backgrounds are very lazily done. Even though the animation isn't great through, they’ve still managed to bring so much life and personality to the characters that overall the movie is still a success visually. The songs in the movie also are not standouts. I enjoy them immensely, but objectively speaking they’re not up there with the greats from this period. I really like the country sound and I think it was a good choice for this movie however, especially since the narrator is supposed to be a minstrel.

So, on to what I liked, which is...everything else. These characters are some of the best we’ve seen so far and there isn’t a dud among them. Robin is sooo charismatic and exactly what you want Robin Hood to be; brave, cocky, hilarious, romantic and effortlessly cool. Phil Harris plays the straight man to Brian Bedford in this movie, which is nice to see after seeing him as the more broadly funny Baloo and Thomas O’Malley. He is just as good in this role as he was in the previous two.

The villains are fabulous too. The Sheriff is no Alan Rickman but he is still pretty funny and Peter Ustinov as Prince John just makes the film. He’s quite an unusual sort of Disney villain, being childish and scheming, and less proactive than the villains usually are. But he gives the performance everything and is totally hilarious.

I could pretty much mention every other character in the movie at this point (Marian! So lovely! Clucky! What a badass!) but I won’t because we’ll be here forever.

In terms of plotting this movie is really well paced. Every incident tells us something about the characters and there’s none of the ‘comic business’ that seem to exist independently of the story and take you out of it, like with the mice in Cinderella and the dogs in Aristocats. The comedy sequences all advance the story and feel truthful both to the characters involved and to the overall tone of the film. My sister thinks this might be Disney’s funniest film, I’m still voting for Zootopia! But the humour here definitely appeals to me more as an adult than it did when I was a child, and the sheer irreverence of it really tickles me.

Basically, I really like this movie. I’ve watched it hundreds of times before and will watch it hundreds of times again, because this is how a Robin Hood movie should be done. Stop remaking and rebooting this story, Hollywood, Disney already nailed it. :D
 
You know, it's funny, Robin Hood is a very funny film, but it's also quite dark. There is a real sense of suffering for the people of Nottingham and it conveys great sadness. This really is a great Disney movie, despite the xerography animation. It's pretty fantastic all around. The songs are memorable as well and I think Pat Buttram is pretty great as the Sheriff. That's an iconic Disney voice!
 
I've never seen this one either, I think we had a VHS of this for the kids. I'm pretty much out until Roger Rabbit.:) I'm afraid this just wasn't a good run of Disney movies for me through this era.
 

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