Posts
I have not been posting nearly enough this year and I want to steer back
from that. To that end I have found a 30-day blog challenge and
fluffed it out to 31 entries (since December has 31 days). I have
done a 30-day
challenge before for movies, though that one was poorly executed (I started
it in the middle of a month, at one point I posted 2 entries on one day, it is
a mess). I did another one just this year in August on Video
Games, that one was better, go read it after this
one, all of it. Or don’t, no pressure.
Today is
day 30 and the topic is “Top 20: 20-11”.
This was
tiring to write. I should have just
picked two of the thinner entries earlier in the month and made four entries of
5 movies each, or even five parts if I gave the Honorable Mentions their own
section. Live and learn.
Before I start let me just drop in
a few Honorable Mentions.
Honorable Mention: “Mulan”
This has a
song that stands out as one of the best workout montages ever. It has some good action; good lessons about
using intelligence to circumvent challenges and defeat enemies; interesting
themes about gender roles in society; and it is well animated doing their best
to replicate the armor and styles of historical China, but stylizing them to
keep the animators from dying of exhaustion.
So why is
it not in the top 20. Mostly it is the
Eddie Murphy dragon, I did not care for him.
But beyond that everything is very GOOD.
Not great, not amazing, but very good.
Nothing hits me especially deep.
Honorable Mention: “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”
Frollo is my favorite villain overall, and while I do like the movie there is one thing
that drags it down greatly. The
Gargoyles. They are just the worst. It is not the fault of the actors or animators;
these things just do not belong in this story.
Unlike “Mulan” in which everything was just good, this thing had the
potential to be better but the tone was destroyed by those gargoyles.
Honorable Mention: “Princess Mononoke”
I like this
movie and other Studio Ghibli productions more than most of the stuff on my
list. That being said their relationship
to Disney is secondhand, as this was distributed via Miramax and is not tied
into Disney studios directly. They are
most certainly a compatriot and ally of the Disney machine and animation
culture, but they are not strictly in there.
Honorable Mention: “The Force Awakens”
I excluded
the Lucas Film stuff at the start of the month, but this movie made me feel
okay with the direction Disney would take the franchise. I love it.
“Rouge One” not so much, but that will have to be a thing I talk about
next year.
Now on to the List. These are in no particular order, I had a few
movies I said, “Definitely, yes, yes, yes, okay, now let’s go over the list and
pick a few more, and a couple more, and a couple more” just to fill it out to a
full 20. Then I just shuffled them up.
Number 20: “The Lion King”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
The Prince
of an African nation goes into exile after the assassination of his father. He is framed for causing the death of the king
and his personal shame keeps him from returning home. His nefarious uncle allows
a foreign military to invade the country as part of his scheme to keep
control. After a decade the nation is
run into the ground and the exiled Prince is pulled back home to kill the
usurping uncle, banish the foreign interlopers, and assume the throne as the
divine right king.
Also, they
are all lions.
My Thoughts:
I actually
have some problems with this story because I am not a fan of Monarchies or the
idea that there is some supreme order to the world that only functions properly
if certain people sit on a throne.
Mostly because this sort of thinking has been used to justify a great
deal of historically bad mismanagement of governments. These people are on the throne not because
they are competent or have merit, but because they were “born to it”. That is not a healthy world view.
That being
said, I still like political machinations, betrayal, power struggles, and one’s
own hesitance to take on power because of a fear of not measuring up to those
who came before. And it has all those
things that I like.
And as far
as philosophy goes, the Circle of Life is a good one.
Number 19: “The Princess and the Frog”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A young
woman who has bought into the idea that hard work eventually pays off (she is
surprisingly naïve), dreams of one day owning her own restaurant. This dream goes off the rails when (sub
textually) racist bankers deny her loan.
After having her dreams dashed she is then transformed into a frog via
Hoodoo curse and must make it home quickly in hopes of breaking the curse.
My Thoughts:
This one is
heavily weighted toward my enjoyment of the bad guy and the setting. I feel that New Orleans is a crossroads of
numerous cultural traditions that have permutated into something distinct, this
has also lead to it being mystifying to outsiders and ripe with story juice
waiting to be squeezed.
Shadow Man is voiced by one of my
favorite voice/genre actors Keith David and as I expressed before, has both
strong motivations and clever confrontation with the hero. One that few other characters’ match. Unlike “Hunchback” the goofy sidekicks do not
break drastically with the tone of the film, instead complimenting the action
and being entertaining. Shadow Man kills
one of them and it is a pretty brutal character establishing moment. Overall I think the elements hang together
well.
Number 18: “Alice in Wonderland”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A young
woman of prose tries to make sense of a world of poetry. Disney takes out a lot of the creepiest vibes
from the book. And then puts in some
stuff that completely fits the lighter tone they were shooting for. It still has some edge to it, but not likethe book does.
My Thoughts:
I feel this
is an adaptation true to the spirit of the book it is taken from. I have talked about it enough really.
Number 17: “Finding Dory”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A lovable fish
played by national treasure Ellen DeGeneres goes on an adventure to find her
home. Along the way she learns how she
became who she is and the friends and family that helped her grow into such a
wonderful person.
My Thoughts:
I didn’t watch its predecessor, “Finding Nemo”, and I still thought this movie was
great. It is a mystery story in which
the clues are pieces of memory, skills, and pneumonic devices. It is “Memento” for children.
I have not talked a lot about this
one this month but it is a solid film that I would recommend to anybody
really. So long as they are not the sort
of joyless dipshit who can’t watch a cartoon about talking animals without
bitching about how, “Real fish can’t talk” as Aesop spins in his grave.
Number 16: “Duck Tales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost
Lamp”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A
billionaire who could already afford anything he could ever want is given a
magic lamp to wish for whatever he wants.
Hashtag .1% Problems.
My Thoughts:
DuckTales is a quintessential adventure series and the movie takes them on as epic an
adventure as it could. The humor is a
bit silly and overall the film skews closer to “kid’s movie” than “family movie”
but the action moves at an excellent pace, the antagonist is a threat, and the treasure
they are trying to find and protect is not just more money, but something that
affects the plot in a meaningful way.
Not all action movies have those
elements working for them. Too
frequently the treasure/tchotchke driving the plot is just more money, and that
is boring.
“Treasure of the Lost Lamp” is similar
to another movie with a Genie in it, but not to a distracting level.
Number 15: “The Fox and the Hound”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
Two
childhood friends are driven apart by social forces as they grow into the roles
society has set for them.
Also, they
are a dog and a fox. This movie might be
(sub textually) about segregation.
My Thoughts:
Sad!
Screw society! Their social conventions that break
friendships!
Society should not set us at each
other’s throats and tell us it is our way!
Number 14: “A Bug’s Life”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A community
is under siege, as an ostensibly more powerful militant group is extorting them
for crops. The local eccentric inventor
strikes out to search for help and employs a cadre of actors thinking that they
are a group of mercenaries. Ultimately
the community is spurred to band together and confront the invaders as a united
front and win their freedom.
Also, they
are all bugs.
My Thoughts:
I haven’t
mentioned this one at all this month.
Oversight!
I generally
like narratives that revolve around the community’s odd duck concocting a plan
that allows them to save the day via the power of team work. Cause that is basically me, and most of my
life philosophy is about the power of collective action. This movie hits that mark with air strike
force and precision.
There are some things holding “A
Bug’s Life” back a bit, like the community being a little too resistant to the
oddball’s ideas. As if Ayn Rand threw in
some script edits with “Anthem” on her mind.
But overall a solid movie.
I still
remember seeing this in theaters with my dad and brother at the Hollywood 20 at
the north end of the county when the first opened the new theater.
This movie came out the same time
as the film “Antz” which I have never seen.
Number 13: “A Goofy Movie”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
After a
popularity stunt goes off like fireworks the high school doofus becomes a made-man
on campus and is about to go on a date with his dream girl. His father throws a wrench into the plan by wanting
to take the boy on a road trip to reconnect.
A chain of funny, sad, and
complicated father-son bonding commences and culminates with sneaking into the
biggest concert on Earth cause Goofy is a ride or die fam who goes to great
lengths for the sake of his son.
My Thoughts:
I already
talked about this movie as the underrated comedic treasure that it is. Go read about it there.
Number 12: “Toy Story”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A favored
son and community leader is feeling himself be pushed out of the spotlight by a
new favorite. After getting lost far
from home the favored son and newcomer become trapped by a demented and abusive
monster. Banding together with the
tortured and malformed prisoners of the monster they must escape and reunite
with their community before they relocate forever to parts unknown which would
leave the favored son an newcomer lost forever.
Also they
are a toy cowboy and spaceman respectively.
My Thoughts:
On paper
the idea that toys are secretly alive with their own personalities is
terrifying and sad. Very much a, “I have no mouth and I must play” scenario coupled with a creepy sense of voyeurism. Somehow this movie not only makes it work,
but does so in an emotionally affecting way.
The idea
that Andy, the toy owner, is moving with his family is the perfect
backdrop. Childhood playthings being
left behind as the child who plays with them moves thru life is a pretty
literal metaphor and that the toys must work to stay in his life could be read
as grappling with keeping one’s own sense of fun and adventure while growing.
It might be
seen as a complaint by many that moving is such a common backdrop for kids’
movies, just last year “Goosebumps” had it, and in the past others like “Karate Kid”, “Casper” … and “Twilight”. Along
with TV shows like “Gravity Falls”, “Eerie Indiana”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”,
and “Spooksville”. It is a common trope
because it works.
Moving is a transitional period
which pairs naturally with the concept of growing up. It also allows the main character to start
the story out of their element or familiar local, this means that making new
friends and being drawn into a story has a sense of adventure and tension in it
even without extra-normal elements. It
is also easy for the writer to work explanations into the script, when
characters explain things to the protagonist it makes sense that they would,
because the main character is the new person who doesn’t know things.
Number 11: “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
The Plot Goes Thusly:
A local
community leader is going thru a midlife crisis and after getting lost in
another community while on a walk far afield, he decides to expand his horizons
and try out a radically different career.
Ignoring that he has no idea what he is doing and that such attempts
will endanger lives and property.
Also, he isa ghoul and he orchestrates the kidnapping of Santa Claus and the usurping of
Christmas into a horror show of monsters and demonic toys.
Have you noticed how I keep giving descriptions of the plot and then
throw in the elements that set it apart from all the other times you have seen
a similar story? It is a joke, but it is
also a comment on how Disney tells stories that should not be dismissed just
because they have cartoon lions or talking toys in them. Maybe similar considerations should be
afforded animation in general so that stories with different levels of scale
can be attempted with the freeing medium of animation rather than being
compromised to fit into live action adaptations. Or, WHATEVER!
My Thoughts:
I already
talked about the fantastic design work and originality in this movie. Beyond that it has one of the best villain
protagonists in any family film, and a great character arc/moral lesson. You may get bored with your life sometimes,
but don’t use that as an excuse to terrorize people, just try to remaster what
you know and find joy in the world and friends around you.
Tomorrow is
my Top 10.
Share your
own thoughts on this in the comments. I
know I am not the only person out there who is nostalgic for Disney products,
and I am sure many people disagree with my selection for today’s entry.
I picked Disney stuff just because
I knew there was so much of it to talk about and it lends itself to discussion
in the comments.
What are some of your favorite
Disney movies?
Do you have a top list?
Do you have a blog like mine talking
about it? If so, then post a link below.
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