With the re-release of 'The Lion King,' it would only be natural for me to list my favorite animated Disney movies. For purposes of this list, I'm strictly sticking to theatrically released, hand drawn, canon films.This would exclude Pixar. Ironically, 'The Lion King' didn't make the cut.
Undoubtedly, the most popular fairy tale and, perhaps, princess of the lot. Cinderella hits home. It's about the ability to become a somebody when you were once a nobody. Walt Disney said that the single greatest piece of animation his studio had achieved was the transformation of Cinderella's rags to a sparkling, silver ballgown.
One of the darkest Disney movies to be released, and trailing far from the integrity of the Victor Hugo novel, 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' wins a spot on this list for its sophisticated animation, stunning music and lyrics, and haunting characters, proving animation is not just for children.
Although it's the Genie, voiced hilariously by Robin Williams, that dominates this film, 'Aladdin' is an engaging film with a convincing romance, spirited characters, colorful animation, and some of the best background design in all of animation history. A simultaneously comedic and frightening villain as the cherry on top, and you've got yourself a first class Disney film.
Based on the classic stories of A.A. Milne, 'Winnie the Pooh' was originally several short films that were then conjoined for a theatrical release, due to growing popularity of the lovable bear. Children still know and love Pooh Bear and his unforgettable friends, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Gopher, Eeyor, Owl, Kanga and Roo, and so on and so forth. And who can forget the Heffalumps and Woozles?
One of the most romantic films of all time ... and its ingenue is a dog. 'Lady in the Tramp' isn't just about romance, though. It's about trust and loyalty. It's got a great 50s soundtrack, which includes 'He's a Tramp,' and the Siamese Cat Song, and a lovable bunch of characters. Not to mention Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Shockingly faithful to the imaginative and enchanting book by Lewis Carrol, this film showcases some of the most quirky, unusual, and unique animation in the Disney canon. The endearing and innocently intellectual voice of Katherine Beaumont as Alice remains one of the greatest voice-overs of all time. It is this animated classic, and not the ghastly live-action remake by Tim Burton, that shows true imagination, wit, and style.
After two decades of flop after flop, Disney was revitalized and reborn through 'The Little Mermaid,' which remains as beautiful, energetic, and nostalgic as it was in 1989. Ariel was a new brand of ingenue. A girl with passions and ideals and strong will. And for the first time, the Prince was seen as a man with flaws and dilemmas. The soundtrack started a musical trend for Disney, with the lively lyrics of Howard Ashman, and the iconic music of Alan Menken. Included is one of the greatest Disney tunes, 'Part of Your World.'
Cruella DeVille remains the most absorbing Disney villain in the canon. Her wild, greasy, yet sophisticated mannerisms and snobby voice-over by Betty Lou Gersen along with the green smoke of her elongated cigarette combine to create one foul, mean, and delicious woman. This film is notably contemporary, as compared to the other films produced by the man, himself. It utilizes stylized animation to match the unfortunate Xeroxing that became a Disney standard in the 70s and 80s, and remains the only film of the Xerox era to take kindly to it.
The first full length animated film. The mother of all animated films. 'Snow White' remains the most successful, when you figure inflation. It ingeniously utilizes, what I like to call, 'musical sound effects,' in which the music acts as the sound. As the dwarfs tip-toe in sync, the music drops a note every time a foot hits the floor, and so on. With timeless characters, including Grumpy, Dopey, Doc, and the writhingly wicked Queen, 'Snow White' is every bit as entertaining today as it was in 1938.
No other Disney film truly showcases the imagination and talent that existed in the Disney studio. 'Fantasia' isn't so much a movie as an exhibit of the capabilities of the form. It is an abstract artwork with a variety of beautiful, gothic, frightening, hilarious, inspiring vignettes, all set to classical music. The film glories in the brilliancy of the great composers, and how their works can be much more than simply instruments playing together to create a tune. They inspire stories, images, and dreams, and thank God. Without those composers, there would be no 'Fantasia,' and animation as we know it would be all the worse for it.
The inspiration for 'The Lion King,' Bambi remains a groundbreaking piece from the Disney canon. The animal characters are meticulously designed to remain anatomically correct. Compare the deer in this film with the deer in 'Snow White.' The animals in that film appear to move and stretch in unnatural, cartoonish ways. The animals in this film all have weight and proportion. Watching Bambi attempt to walk for the first time is utterly fascinating. Remember, these animators had absolutely no computer assistance. Disney was ambitious as ever. Not only must the animals be anatomically correct and proportionate, they must also be put in unusual situations, such as an amusing ice skating lesson provided by Thumper, the Rabbit. Another Disney first was the murder of a pivotal protagonist, Bambi's mother. This, along with a forest fire later in the film, undoubtedly bleeds Disney's personal views on the relationship between man and nature. The film is hauntingly nostalgic. It's about childhood and growing up, dealing with pain and death, and the determination to protect the ones you love. The impressionistic background animation pulls you into the film and lovingly showcases the seasons. Bambi's mother dies at the end of winter, but spring is just around the corner, and Bambi is not alone.
Disney was so lovingly attached to making the ultimate animated film, that he put his company in debt to do it. 'Sleeping Beauty' has the most meticulous animation. Every little brick in Melificent's castle is unique and full of detail. Every tree is writhing with knots and chafing bark. The climax, in which Melificent becomes a terrifying dragon, includes fire, smoke, thorns, falling rock, razor sharp teeth, and plenty of magic spells. The film utilizes Tchaikovsky's music, sometimes putting words to it, which gives the film a romantic touch, but much of the visual essence of the film is delightfully medieval. The template includes straight lines, mostly vertically inclined. The leaves and branches of the trees are shapes like boxes, and the townspeople wear pointed hats. The three fairies are some of the most delightful characters, and their quarrels are most amusing. Speaking of ... her dress is blue.
Disney's personal favorite, and a huge box office smash, Dumbo is unique to Disney in that it has never been out of print, meaning it has never been "in the vault." It's a testament to its commercial success. Dumbo was originally a throwaway picture, a movie Disney needed to make in order to get out of debt from the failures of 'Pinocchio' and 'Fantasia.' Not only did this movie make more money than both those pictures combined, but it was able to finance Disney until 'Cinderella' in the 1950s. Dumbo is the only Disney protagonist with no dialogue, and the cels for 'Dumbo' are the rarest for any Disney film. It's a simple film with its only premise being to showcase circus animals. It's the simplicity of the film, perhaps, that makes it so endearing. That, and the ever abstract 'Pink Elephants' number, which remains one of the best sequences of animation to date.
Of all the Disney films, none are quite as frightening and scary as 'Pinocchio.' It's also a landmark film for Disney. Instead of using watercolor backgrounds, like in 'Snow White,' 'Pinocchio' uses oiled backgrounds which clearly elevates the lush and detailed design. The multi-plane camera is, perhaps, most ambitiously utilized here - particularly in a shot that beautifully moves through the quaint town at the beginning of the film. But, among the lavish and ambitious animation, the characters are what have remained most enchanting. Who can forget the no-nonsense, jittery Jiminy Cricket, and the stunning Blue Fairy? Figaro, the cat, and Geppetto, the toymaker - whose clocks are absurd and hilarious? How about an evil circus man who plots to turn naughty little boys into jackasses, and a ferocious whale named Monstro, who propels a thrilling, heart-stopping finale? Not to mention Pinocchio himself, who was originally a nasty, deceitful little boy who needed to learn his lesson, but was made innocent and pathetically gullible by Disney. The song, 'When You Wish Upon a Star' has become the theme for the company, and will always remind us that our dreams really can come true.
The only hand drawn animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, 'Beauty and the Beast' was made immediately following the success of 'The Little Mermaid,' with the same composer and lyricist at the helm. The animation is cleaner and more precise than that of 'Mermaid,' and its story more timeless and sophisticated. 'Beauty and the Beast' has two qualities that make it unique among other Disney films: It's very mythical, in the score and in the story; the film is undoubtedly a musical. The songs are the forefront of the film and weigh heavily on the story and the characters. These are the reasons I think 'Beauty and the Beast' has jumped to the top of the list of favorite Disney films among many movie buffs. The villain to the film is ruthless, but never over-the-top. It's that quality in him that gives the movie a serious feeling about it, particularly by the end. Indeed, the movie deals with serious issues and handles them in a beautiful way. As the Beast loses his temper and holds Gaston over the edge of the castle and Gaston pleads, pitifully, for his life, we see a change in the Beast's eyes as he decides to spare him, but his voice is just as hateful and monstrous as it was before as he demands the villain, "get out." The transformation from Beast to Prince is one of the great sequences of Disney animation and the showstopping numbers, 'Be Our Guest,' and 'Beauty and the Beast,' are unforgettable. The film was a great leap forward in computer animation, paving the way for 'Toy Story.' The attention to Belle as a fully developed human being and not just a princess made it clear that Disney was in top form. I could go on and on and on. Howard Ashman died of AIDS before the release of the film, but his genius and imagination will always inspire generations of artists, and writers, and musicians, and filmmakers. He is a human being to which the world is truly indebted to and this film is his masterpiece.
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