The Aristocats (1970) - 78 minutes

Wow. Hard to believe it's been more than TWO YEARS since we've done an update on this blog. It saddens me that time can fly by so quick.y. So much has changed. I (Eli) no longer live in NYC, Regan no longer has a terrace, and neither of us have jobs at the moment. Ha. So I figured, what a great time to take in some Disney movies. 

Eli

Rating: 4/10

This movie is really strange. It's about an old lady who has some cats. She decides to make her will, and instead of leaving the money to her butler, she leaves it to her cats. So the butler gets pissed and decides to get rid of the cats. Pretty simple. Sadly, I kind of felt bad for the butler. You know he's worked his butt off for this lady forever, and yet she's gonna leave her entire fortune to a group of felines!? I'd be mad too. 

This movie had a few cute bits a long the way, but I often felt my mind wandering throughout. First of all - who knew cats could play better piano that I? Sheesh, they had some good tunes they were working on. I really liked the little character of Roquefort, the mouse, voiced by the same guy as Winnie the Pooh. He (and O'Malley's voice actor) seem to pop up in all these Disney movies around this era. The two geese that O'Malley meets are also quite cute, and then they run into drunk Uncle Waldo. There's so much alcohol in Disney movies - no wonder I drink! 

I felt myself thinking about Homeward Bound and wanting to watch that movie instead. I just didn't really care about any of the characters in this film. The old lady Madam reminded me of the Grand Duchess from Anastasia, which was interesting as the films were almost 30 years apart. Perhaps they stole the idea from this movie, who knows? Suffice it to say, this movie doesn't have a whole lot to offer, and it was never one I grew up watching as a kid, so I didn't enjoy it too much. 

The Jungle Book (1967) - 78 minutes

A little boy is raised in the wilds of India by some friendly forest creatures.  But when Sher Khan comes to eat the boy, it looks like the only option is for him to return to a village of men.


Eli

Rating: 7/10

Reaction: So this wasn't exactly my favorite Disney movie growing up, but thanks to the Disney Sing-A-Long videos (remember that crazy owl zooming all around during the intro?) I will never forget the song Bare Necessities. The music in this film is totally great, and I even heard some new tunes that I don't remember from watching this as a kid, for instance the song where the girl is fetching the water: "I must fetch the water until I am grown."

The story is pretty simple. A boy is raised by wolves (literally) and he doesn't want to go back to the Man Village. But his animal friends know that eventually, he is going to have to go. But he has a few adventures with a herd of elephants, a bear (are there bears in the Indian jungles?) and a panther who help him on his way. And lest we forget the fearsome Shear Khan, whom we don't even see until the last few minutes of the film. He is the dreaded tiger that everyone fears, but when we finally meet our villain, he's an effeminate deep-voiced slip-of-a-thing, so I'd be more afraid that he'd ask me to a bake-off or crocheting party than to eat me. It was also fun to hear familiar voice actors in this movie. Winnie-The-Pooh's signature voices makes an appearance as the slithery Kaa the snake, sinister and somewhat simple here. Also Baloo seems to be a voice we will hear again in the upcoming Robin Hood, again, playing a bear, this time Little John. All in all, this is a quick and enjoyable Disney film, with many likeable characters and some clever music.


Regan

Rating: 7/10

Reaction: I really loved this movie growing up, and watching it again it's not hard to see why.  My favorite character is definitely Baloo, the kind-hearted, singing bear who takes Mowgli under his wing and decides to raise him as his own cub.  His song "The Bare Necessities" is one of those fun, catchy tunes you can't help but love.

Plot-wise, this isn't the most focused story--the threat of Sher Khan hangs over Mowgli's head the whole movie, but mostly we just follow his random adventures with various creatures before he finally defeats Sher Khan with the help of some friendly vultures (what a nice change of pace!) and ultimately decides to go back to the human village because he meets a cute chick.  I enjoyed the encounter with the monkeys, but it didn't really add much to the story (although the king orangutan's song is extremely catchy).

On a random note, I think the animals that Disney has most consistently done well are elephants--every time they pop up in a Disney animation, whether short or long, the elephants are lovable and fascinating, probably because the baby elephants are always so much smaller than the big ones.

Evil Poppins Background

Mary Poppins (1964) - 139 minutes

A freaky mystical nanny enters some children's lives just long enough to magically fix everything, probably by putting everyone on weird drugs that make them hallucinate dancing penguins.  Once again, Debra and Jeff join us as guest bloggers.


Jeff

Rating: 8/10

Reaction: As a film, Mary Poppins is almost perfect, albeit clearly dated in the special effects category. Almost. As a movie for children, it is a wonderful advocate for the importance of a healthy imagination and the ability to know when to use it and when to turn it off; however, it is also a little confusing, mostly plotless where a child would be concerned, and runs a bit long for the average young attention span today. As a movie for adults, it is a wonderful advocate for the importance not only keeping our imaginations alive as we age, but also remembering to allow children to be children while they still can; however, it is also a little confusing, mostly plotless if you overlook the character arc of Mr. Banks, and still feels a tiny bit long due to its episodic nature. Upon this viewing (again, one among very many over the years), I took more notice in the idea that rather than using "magic," Mary Poppins was instead simply urging the children's use of their imagination. I hadn't really paid attention before to the fact that after all these fantastical adventures, Mary Poppins denies that they ever happened, perhaps trying to teach the kids that imagination is wonderful, but it is not real, and trying to show them that difference without crushing their dreams. I like that. The musical numbers are whimsical and beautiful, some exciting and playful ("Step In Time," "Supercali..."), and some somber and simple ("Stay Awake," "Feed the Birds"). Julie Andrews is just exquisite, and Dick van Dyke's physical comedy is to die for. And let's not forget that those children were very talented for being so very young. But what a fantastic movie - again, imperfect, but fantastic.


Debra

Rating: 6/10

Reaction: Well, I have to say, I love the musical numbers (in particular, Step in Time!) but was not crazy about the movie as a whole. I feel like it was two movies smushed into one. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb but I wanted to watch just the musical numbers and then have a separate movie with the heart warming story of the Banks family. I found myself waiting for the musical numbers during the scenes and waiting for the scenes during the musical numbers. It is still a classic and for good reason, the cast is amazing and their performances stellar, I just felt something was missing.


Eli

Rating: 6/10

Reaction: Well, we practically had to hold Regan down to watch this movie, but we finally got through Mary Poppins. A whimsical fantasy about a super-nanny who comes and helps two children (and ultimately their father) become better Londoners and people. One of my favorite parts of this movie is the animated sequence, where Mary, Bert and the two children frolic through a chalk-painted wonderland full of carousels, foxes, singing farm-animals, and penguins. Penguins? Hm. There's also the scene where the Mad Hatter invites all parties to laugh and have a merry tea time on the ceiling of his flat. It's a wonderful time had by all, and though this movie can seem a bit long at times (all the scenes in the bank can drag quite a bit), it's still a fun time and you still end up liking Mary in the end, even though she hasn't been all that nice in the first place. I find it strange that the children have to beg her to do all the crazy things they end up doing, and she finally gives in. Please. Mary wanted to do them all in the first place anyway. I will say my favorite character is Mrs. Banks signing her Sister Suffragette number and parading around for women's votes. You go girl!


Regan

Rating: 3/10

Reaction: I have never, ever liked this movie.  I didn't like it when I watched it as a kid, I didn't like it when I tried it again three years ago, and I don't like it now.  I find the music insipid, the main character more terrifying (and not in a good way) than lovable, and the plot--wait, what plot?  At two hours and twenty minutes, this is by far the longest of the Disney movies we've watched so far, yet the only reason it's so tediously long is because there are so many unnecessary musical interludes that do nothing to advance the plot, although they do a nice job of getting stuck in your head and making you want to take a hammer to your cranium to get them out.

There are good parts, I will confess.  "Feed the Birds" is a great song.  I love the Admiral and his habit of firing his cannon like clockwork every day.  I like Bert and Mr. Banks okay (and really, Bert is far more the main character than Mary Poppins).  But I think Mary Poppins is a truly terrible character who seems to have multiple personality disorder and whose powers are used in mystifying (again, not in a good way) ways that mostly seem to revolve around improbably, unending dance numbers, some of which are with animated characters, and most of which are set to repetitive, insipid songs.

Oh, well.  At least I survived it.  Now back to the good stuff!

The Sword In The Stone (1963) - 79 Minutes

 This is the timeless tale of a little boy named Wart - uh, Arthur - who travels around with his wizard pal Merlin, transforming into many different animals, and ultimately pulling a sword from out of a stone. Today, we were lucky enough to have TWO guest bloggers, Jeff and Debra. Here is what they thought of the film as well.


Jeff

Rating: 8/10

Reaction: The Sword in the Stone is another of my very favorites from childhood (you may remember the last time I made an appearance here, with Peter Pan, perhaps my very favorite). For as long as I can remember, I've had a fantasy about being Arthur, in many of the different interpretations and times of his life, and have always related to him; I owe much of that to this film. Also, the nearly constant "physical comedy" in it mark one of Disney's funniest films, in my opinion. I will say that on this viewing I noticed for the first time how abruptly the ending comes about, but I can't say it really matters to me or changes my opinion of the movie, knowing the rest of the story and how giving us any more to see would be digging into far too much to put into a children's cartoon, much less one of a reasonable length. Mad Madam Mim is definitely one of my favorite villains, the scene with the squirrels is hilarious, and the voice acting is all around just fantastic (aside from the noticeably different actors used in a few different scenes for Wart's character). I love this movie, and will always feel nostalgia for it.


Debra

Rating: 9/10

Reaction: Although this is not a Disney musical, it is one of my all time favorite Disney films! Between the wolf looking for a good meal, the barracuda in the moat and mad Madame Mim, these are my favorite villains EVER! (When it comes to Broadway, I am soooo Madame Mim!) My favorite scene in the movie however, is the sequence with the squirrels. I roared at the antics of the older female and even got a little teary eyed when the young squirrel lost her love.
The only reason this movie didn't get a 10 from me is because of the ending. I understand why they ended it the way they did, but I still would have liked a more cohesive closing.


Eli

Rating: 7/10

Reaction: This isn't one of Disney's musical masterpieces, but it's definitely a charming little film that still makes me smile and laugh to this day. The characters are ridiculous, and anyone who says that Mad Madam Mim isn't one of the best Disney villain in the history of Disney villainhood needs to have their head examined. I mean, she sings a whole ditty about how being evil and doing black magic is her favorite thing in the world. She cheats, lies, and is just all around fun. And that pig face she does frightens me still to this day.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending because I felt that it ends quite abruptly. It was almost as if Disney was hoping to plan a sequel. However if we found out everything about the King Arthur story, then this movie would be five hours long, and in the words of Sweet Brown, "Ain't nobody got time for dat." I would still recommend this movie to everyone, so go watch it. Huzzah!


Regan

Rating: 8/10

Reaction: Strangely, the part of this movie I remembered the most vividly was the poor wolf who despite his best efforts to have a good meal (boy, squirrel...) never manages to get anything but bruised and beaten.  This is a darling movie, although I'm not sure Merlin's lessons are quite as on point as one would hope ("who cares if it's your job to do the washing--they won't know who did it, let's go have fun!").  That was a terrifying barracuda that chased fish!Wart through the moat.  The girl squirrel who falls in love with squirrel!Wart was a tragic figure--her heart really got broken.  I'm holding out hope that ultimately Merlin changed her into a human and her name was Guinevere.

The best part of the movie is probably Merlin's duel with mad old Mim, which demonstrates some real creativity on both parts.  Merlin's victory through becoming a germ is genius--and good punishment for Mim, who now must suffer through wholesome sunlight.  I also loved the bit later on when Merlin turned himself into a rocket and jetted off to 20th-century Bermuda.

The ending of the movie was extremely abrupt.  This is definitely a prequel movie, but leaving off with an eleven year old boy on the throne of England and just telling us he's going to be awesome is a bit of a stretch. 

Lies!

Buzzfeed conveniently posted this article today, which is highly relevant to our blog.  However, I would argue that 1-4 are lies!  Did they even watch those movies?  Snooze fests!

Last Header

Here is the header for our last three films. On to the next three!