The Miscellaneous Thought Thread

mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King as my Top 7 (in no particular order) Disney movies when considering story, characters, music and entertainment value. Artistically all of the Renaissance movies fall way short of the Golden Era movies.

Of course Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the greatest movie of all time but that’s a different category.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Rich T said:
At the time it came out, it was mind-blowing simply because it was actually good. I (and a lot of other animation fans) sat there in the theater thinking, "Holy Moses, someone at Disney actually knows how to tell a story again!"
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Really? I have it in my Bottom 5 with Atlantis, Oliver and Company, Black Cauldron and The Rescuers. The 80s are interesting as they simulatanously produced some of my favorite movies of all time and least favorite Disney movies of all time.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
Really? I have it in my Bottom 5 with Atlantis, Oliver and Company, Black Cauldron and The Rescuers. The 80s are interesting as they simulatanously produced some of my favorite movies of all time and least favorite Disney movies of all time.
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Remember, the previous films were Black Cauldron, Fox and the Hound, Rescuers, Robin Hood and Aristocats. Great Mouse Detective was the first film since Walt's death (saving, maybe, Rescuers) that wasn't either 1) super-light on story, overly-cute and aimed almost exclusively at small children or 2) a mess (special category for Black Cauldron). GMD was like a reassurance that a new team was on board who knew how to make a film. It was funny, fast-paced, sharply animated, had a great villain and a fun, action-filled plot. This was the movie that proved to Jeffrey Katzenberg that the animation department was worth saving.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Rich T said:
Remember, the previous films were Black Cauldron, Fox and the Hound, Rescuers, Robin Hood and Aristocats. Great Mouse Detective was the first film since Walt's death (saving, maybe, Rescuers) that wasn't either 1) super-light on story, overly-cute and aimed almost exclusively at small children or 2) a mess (special category for Black Cauldron). GMD was like a reassurance that a new team was on board who knew how to make a film. It was funny, fast-paced, sharply animated, had a great villain and a fun, action-filled plot. This was the movie that proved to Jeffrey Katzenberg that the animation department was worth saving.
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I was bored to tears watching it for the first time in my adult life a few years ago. I think I saw it once or twice as a kid. I do understand it’s place in Disney history though in that it kind of got the ball rolling for the Renaissance era. I wouldn’t even say rolling, I would say maybe it got them to think they still had a ball in the first place. I’m not a huge fan of Robin Hood or Arsitocats but I think they’re much better than GMD or any of the others you or I mentioned.
 
Tanna Eros

Tanna Eros

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
Really? I have it in my Bottom 5 with Atlantis, Oliver and Company, Black Cauldron and The Rescuers. The 80s are interesting as they simulatanously produced some of my favorite movies of all time and least favorite Disney movies of all time.
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I have a strange fondness towards the Rescuers because 1) you can see the artists' pencil lines, and see the work they put in, 2) That villainess is amazing to watch- she's animated fantastically.
 
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mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tanna Eros said:
I have a strange fondness towards the Rescuers because 1) you can see the artists' pencil lines, and see the work they put in, 2) That villainous is amazing to watch- she's animated fantastically.
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I think we can all find redeeming qualities on most of even the worst Disney movies. A lot of these movies that I rank so low have the unfortune of being seen for the first time as 30+ year old man. With that said, they still rank among the worst by most fans.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
I was bored to tears watching it for the first time in my adult life a few years ago. I think I saw it once or twice as a kid. I do understand it’s place in Disney history though in that it kind of got the ball rolling for the Renaissance era. I wouldn’t even say rolling, I would say maybe it got them to think they still had a ball in the first place. I’m not a huge fan of Robin Hood or Arsitocats but I think they’re much better than GMD or any of the others you or I mentioned.
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I like GMD, but it's one I've only rewatched once or twice. The miracle for animations fans at the time was that it had an actual working plot, wasn't awful and showcased a new crop of animators who had studied with the masters but were also willing to try new things and types of humor. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a good snapshop of Disney animation in transition from directionless to focused.
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Rich T said:
I like GMD, but it's one I've only rewatched once or twice. The miracle for animations fans at the time was that it had an actual working plot, wasn't awful and showcased a new crop of animators who had studied with the masters but were also willing to try new things and types of humor. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a good snapshop of Disney animation in transition from directionless to focused.
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Wasn’t it also the first one to have computer animation?
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
mickEblu said:
Wasn’t it also the first one to have computer animation?
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Yes. It was the first time Disney had combined computer animation (the interior of Big Ben's tower) with traditional hand-drawn characters. The scene stuck out like a sore thumb, but in a cool, creepy, surreal kind of way.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
The main reason fans still enjoy GMD is because super animator Glen Keane (Ariel, Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, Long John Silver) animated the villain, Ratigan (voiced by Vincent Price!). The finale where Ratigan regresses to feral rat form as he chases Basil is the best moment in the movie.
 
Rich T

Rich T

Well-Known Member
Disney Irish Bruh said:
Yes but before that he did Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, Rescuers, and Pete's Dragon. And let's not forget the excellent classic The Small One....
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Bluth is a very talented man, and his work in those films is wonderful (don't like Small One, myself). I can't stand Robin Hood simply because it completely wastes their one shot at telling the Robin Hood legend by turning it into a collection of pleasant comedy skits. Pete's Dragon has major script, acting and directorial issues. Pooh is 2/3 fantastic (sorry, Tigger Too). Rescuers is a fine film.

My very favorite Bluth work, however, is the Dragon's Lair Trilogy. Just bought it again, this time for my Nintendo Switch. :D
 

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