Disney Blogs, Day Zero "Gargoyles"

            I have decided to do another 30-day movie blog to challenge myself to greater levels of output for this year.  (The last one I did is here; it is about video games).  This blog challenge will be about Disney movies.  This was somewhat inspired by the Nostalgia Critics “Disneycember” video blog in which he watched many… many-many movies over the course of multiple Decembers.  A luxury someone who reviews films for a living can justify and that I envy.

            After looking thru a wide swath of 30-day blog suggestions I realized that the cult of Disney has a bad habit of being overly positive “What’s your Favorite (Blank)” is too common a prompt.  They also have far too much an emphasis on asinine details like “Prettiest Eyes/Dress/Hair” … WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WRITE ABOUT THAT?  It is one thing to emphasize character design or art design (“Hercules” is different than “Oliver and Company”) but to go to the level of picking out favorite eyes is stupid.

This is a tumblr joke.  It would have to be.  Because even though it would sell and make money.
Disney does not encourage this kind of fandom.

            Anyway!  I eventually compiled a list that stretches things bit far in some areas, unlike with video games I can’t focus on game mechanics or systems so I have to focus more on characters, settings, and the emotional resonance of certain scenes.  Which is fine, I hammered out a list and it will do.

            That all being said I did not have a full grasp on the brobdingnagian amounts of stuff Disney has made over the years.  I have seen only a small portion of it all, especially when you include the animated series and direct to video garbage they were throwing out to the public for a quick buck in the 90’s.  So I have to put some logical limitations on what I am looking at because some things would be more than a little heavy with potential candidates.

            So here are my limitations:

1)     None of the animated series Disney produced; this one is difficult as it means I can’t give any sort of “Best” title to “Darkwing Duck”.

2)     None of the direct to video stuff, so “Return of Jafar” is out of the running for my nostalgia.

3)     This is the biggest one: None of the Live action stuff.

            Disney produces a shocking amount of live action material and me wanting to put “Sky High” as the most underrated movie from Disney is really not fitting in with all the animated musicals that a “Disney Blog Challenge” evokes in a reader’s mind.  And really, that also means I don’t have to worry about Muppets, Marvel, or Pirates either.  Which I think is for the best.

            Now, since I have established I will not be talking about animated series for the month of December, let me talk about one now, in the month of November.

            “Gargoyles” is perhaps the best thing ever made by Disney.  It miraculously/stupidly has not been replicated since its initial creative run in spite of it being an expansive universe that blends science, magic, and myth into a perfect adventure setting.  It had complex characters who developed over time and possessed motivations like bigotry and self-loathing that are rarely seen in television that is ostensibly aimed at children.  I consider it one of the best animated programs ever and one of my favorite shows that jumps to mind when I am asked.

I wonder how many people have used these sequences of the gargoyles breaking out and set it to Evanescence?

            While I wonder how anyone could get their hands on it for viewing these days I do think that if such a thing were possible it definitely should be a priority for anyone who likes Disney, animated shows, or the superhero genre.

“Gargoyles” uses many of the tropes associated with Marvel Comics’ properties—like a cadre of recurring villains, New York being the primary setting, fantastic powers being used for crime fighting, and a “will they or won’t they” romance subplot—so many of these tropes show up that I am kind of shocked they didn’t try to just tie it into Marvel comics after the merger, it would fit right in.

            The Show also has a legendary voice cast with Johnathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Keith David, and Ed Asner among many others.

Watch the show.

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