Whew, I got through the 80’s, now I am entering into the Disney Renaissance. I have seen the majority of these many times, as I think most parents of college aged kids have- those lovely VHS tapes gave many of us a breather now and then. Pull up a chair, this is a long post!
The Rescuers Down Under. 1990. This one has a lot of the flaws of the 80’s, but slightly better. The books are all about Miss Bianca, but this movie centers around the little boy. The movie stutters a little bit- it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be realistic or cartoonish. The “rules” of the world building are inconsistent. All the animals and birds can talk except for the eagle and Joanna the lizard. At one point, the mice ride on fireflies. Bernard has his own arc, trying to propose and fighting jealousy and a sense of inadequacy. Miss Bianca is mostly an object, with very little speech and not much effective action.
Beauty and the Beast, 1991 I have watched and rewatched and memorized the lyrics and seen the live action version of this movie. Belle is my princess. She doesn’t take crap from anyone, whether it’s the town jock or a giant fanged beast. Her curiosity and recklessness gets her in trouble, her intelligence and heart gets her out. The art, music and plot beats are on point, the art has depth and detail.The timeline of the story is a little confusing, especially if you factor in a Christmas special. Also, how many servants are there? Are some just spirit extensions of one person? These are the thoughts that keep you up at night. If you love this movie, go read ‘Beauty” by Robin McKinley.
Aladin, 1992 since this is my challenge and I am making up the rules, I decided to watch the remake. Just like Ariel, Aladdin yearns for something more, while Jasmine longs to be part of the world. It also addressed honesty, twisted ambition and keeping your identity despite temptation or oppression. In the remake, more emphasis is given to Jasmine, who wants not only to get out of her sheltered life, but to rule. In the remake she gets her own song (smash that patriarchy, Jasmine!) Will Smith does a good job playing the Genie, but he wavered between doing his own thing and copying the performance of the wonderful Robin Williams, to the point where it was like he was a “face character” walking around Disney World. In the end, the major thing that bugged me about the remake was that Genie was no longer a djinn when freed, no powers at all.
The Lion King, 1994 I have seen the cartoon many times, watched the show at Animal Kingdom and is still powerful . The themes of taking responsibility and facing your pain and fears resonates. The whole movie is grand and majestic, with great music. The side characters are great and are necessary for the plot, not just comic relief. I feel like Nala is the unsung hero- she’s the one who defies Scar and finds Simba.
Pocahontas, 1995. If you know the actual history of the woman called Pocahontas, you would see why this was a weird choice for a Disney movie. The less than historically accurate story centers around the angelic, sweetly misguided John Smith and the powerful sorceress Pocahantas, whose powers include prophetic dreams, controlling animals, translating languages, super speed, perfect gravity defying hair, wind powers and speaking with tree spirits. I felt uncomfortable all through it, didn’t like the songs, and did not like making just one man evil. I will come out and say that I didn’t like the sidekicks (humming bird, raccoon and pug) either. John Smith was voiced by Mel Gibson? Ratcliffe was also Cogsworth???
Toy story, 1995 I had a debate with myself whether to include Pixar or not. On one hand, it’s a different company, which at one point was leaning far away from Disney. On the other hand, it’s now hard to think of Disney without Pixar characters now, and the work of Pixar has greatly influenced Disney artists. This movie was a milestone, the first full length computer animated film. It could have just been a novelty, but the story, characters and themes all were fantastic as well. Apparently, Woody was originally supposed to be eviler, but he really wasn’t as nice as I remembered. I read Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull, which covers the history of Pixar and explores what helps and hinders creative projects.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996 Another odd choice. They couldn’t get the rights to the three Musketeeers? I don’t remember ever watching this. This is a dark musical. Yes, they tried to liven it up a bit with talking gargoyles (Victor, Hugo and…Laverne) but even that went dark when Frollo pointed out it was just his imagination (I think it was- neither Esmerelda or Phoebus interacts with them). One of the running gags is an ancient old man who goes from a debtor’s cage to the stocks to falling into the sewer. Judge Frollo is a full on religious nut hiding a disturbing obsession with a woman and a penchant for genocide. However, Quasi was the first Disney hero with a disability (but missing one disability he had in the book, deafness) and for one friend of mine, a metaphor for coming out as gay, afraid to be treated like a monster or a “less than”. I did not like that the gypsies (Roma) hideout was called the Court of Miracles because they were pretending to be blind or legless. Probably from the book, you depressing racist old sod, Victor. They had a “don’t be dead” sequence. Did you know they made a sequel? I… just can’t. I’m not doing the direct to video sequels. My favorite character in this movie is the horse, Achilles. “Sit, Achilles. Heel, Achilles.”
Hercules, 1997 After two movies in a row I did not like (and the excellent first Pixar movie) I remember enjoying Hercules in the the theater. Greek mythology! A grand hero! Monsters and gods. Lots to work with. They chickened out and skipped the part about his parentage- did not like that. He’s supposed to be half-human, with a human mother (Zeus got around, and Hera got PISSED). But hooray for Disney leaving all parents alive, mortal and immortal alike! This was deliberately cartoonish, with lots of Disney in-jokes, Yiddish slang and lively music. It was framed/narrated by a greek chorus of muses. Hercules has his own “part of your world” song where he wants to become more and be accepted. He has strength, but not grace or brains, and runs right into things without thinking. Phil’s song is awful, but there are some hits with” Zero to Hero”, and “I Won’t Say I’m in Love”. This has the first “don’t be dead” moment where the person in question is actually dead. My favorite line from the movie “Will you forget the head-slicing thing!” yells Phil to Hercules about the Hydra. I like Meg, she’s spicy, a damsel, in distress, but she’s got this.
Mulan, 1998 I had never heard of the story of Mulan before the Disney movie. I don’t know if the live-action movie is closer to the legend or even farther off. I went to watch the live-action, which I hadn’t seen yet, and when it was done, I went back and watched the animated version. Huh. Ok. There’s this hawk witch from the huns who just wants to be respected, and Mulan has mystical chi magic which she isn’t supposed to use in battle because she’s a woman. You know what? I don’t like it. I liked that Mulan did it all herself. Mushu gave some pep talks, created some disasters, but otherwise she saved the day herself with hard work and practice and brain power. I don’t like the idea that the only reason Mulan could succeed was that she was a witch. Also, her dad is telling this story. He loves his daughter, but he wasn’t there. I also missed the music. The songs in Mulan are all good- well, except “True to your Heart”- bleh. So…I think Eddie Murphy is the only person who has played a dragon and a donkey father to dragons.
A Bug’s Life, 1998 The second Pixar film. The story of Flick, an eccentric genius living in an ant hill full of conformists. He accidentally loses the tribute/protection bribe for the grasshoppers. To make up for it, he goes out to find warriors and comes back with circus performers. I have had days like that. As long as you don’t think too hard about the biology of actual ants, it’s a sweet romance and a good movie.
Tarzan, 1999
The story of Tarzan is a classic, and has been done many times in books and movies. I’m sure the idea of having another African animal story while avoiding mentioning African humans probably appealed to the company as well. That Phil Collins song “You’ll be in my Heart” pushes my mom buttons every time. I felt bad for the parents, who worked tirelessly for months to build a beautiful home out of a shipwreck, only to be killed before the end of the first song. There’s a theory that these people are the King and Queen of Arendelle, but that implies that the movie Frozen is set in the 1900’s. Anyway, they are dead. Tarzan grows up with the gorillas, with his friend Tantor the elephant and a very small gorilla adult named Turk. Tarzan wears a loincloth because no one wants to see his junk (that would have made his first encounter with Jane a bit different, maybe). Disney once again carefully makes only one oddball white man, Clayton, the evil one (well, him and the mutineering crew). I forgot that the dad stays at the end too- a bit awkward, especially since they have no stuff except for the overgrown treehouse of death. Favorite quotes: “There are no piranhas in Africa, dear.” and “I have had it with you and your emotional constipation!”
Toy Story 2, 1999
This movie is excellent. It’s about family and friends, and sometimes having to choose between the two, and also about mortality and obsolescence. Pretty deep for a kid’s movie! The Prospector is a relatable villain- why take risks when you could be safe? Why love when you can be rejected or abandoned? So the theme of this is, “toys are meant to be played with”. Life is messy and scary and you’ll end up damaged, but life is meant to be lived, not hiding in a box. I am reminded of this because I hurt my knee ice skating.
So that’s the 90’s. Well, actually Fantasia 2000 came out in 1999, but I will throw that in the 00’s. Want to follow along? Ask me for my checklist. My goal is to finish to the present by the end of March- can I do it?
