Top Ten Disney Animated Films

As mentioned in my previous blog, Empire Online created a guide to Disney's 50 animated films.  They are excluding titles such as The Wild and and the Brave Little Toaster because they only produced them.  Below are the top 10 I believe are the best. 

10. Lilo & Snitch         
     One of the more inventive films in Disney's Canon, there is a lot to cherish about this film.  It's funny.  The main characters are Hawaiian.  It has aliens in it.  Mostly though it has heart too and that's why I have included it.
9.  The Lady and the Tramp
     The Iconic scene when they eat spaghatti and meatballs alone is why this deserves to be on the list.  Sure, the Siamese Cats are awful Asian stereotypes but the rest of this magical film negates this flaw.
8.  The Lion King
    Hamlet with African animals, how can you not love it.  Elton John music and Hans Zimmer's score is impressive as are Tim Rice's lyrics.   
7.  Hercules
    Underrated and easily one of the most funny of Disney's films, it turns the Greek hero into a satire of sports celebrity.  Brilliant.
6.   Rescuers Down Under
    The opening scenes are eye-popping and its a welcome to see the Rescuers back.  How I wish they would have made a third film to make it a trilogy.  At least they made this one that is in many ways superior to the first.
5.   Sleeping Beauty
    What I love about this simple but addictive film is both the Medeval style of its design and the use of Tchaikovsky's score.  Then there's the classic feel of the movie that is so timeless.
4.   Beauty and the Beast
    This film actually made me tear up.  The musical numbers are perfect.  The Beast alone might be the greatest character design in Animation history.  What a fantastic love story.
3.   The Sword in the Stone
    This adaption of T.B White's book is a wonder to behold.  I love how the entire film is a prequel to the Arthurian legend.  It's funny because I never knew anything about King Arthur when I saw this as a kid.  The fact that you don't need to know the story is only proof at how good this film really is.
2.   The Little Mermaid
    The film to jump-start Disney into its second Reniassance.   Perfect musical numbers, great voice talent and the Universal story of the hopeless romantic wanting to explore the unknown.   Beautiful.
1.   Pinocchico
    A masterpiece.  How they animated some of this surreal and wonderful fantasy film is incredible.   There is nothing bad about this film.  It's just a great film. 

Three Honorable Mentions
Tangled - Too new to really know, I could see someday moving this up into the top ten.
Treasure Planet - This one is a guilty pleasure of mine.  Why is this so underrated?
Alice in Wonderland - This weird little adaptation is a masterpiece and it is killing me not to include it.

Brother Bear (2003)

Empire released a retrospective of Disney's 50 animated films (empireonline) and while I knew I hadn't seen all of them I was surprised I missed this one when it came out.   Now that I've seen it I have to admit to finding it a bit sentimental and lacking the magic of some of their classics, but it's still a well-crafted hand-drawn work of art and I was overall pleased by the story.   Kenai is the youngest of three brothers who must learn the value of love when his eldest brother dies.  Mostly a simple story it has lots of heart.  It's biggest flaw is how it seems to try too hard to be something it's not, and that's The Lion King.  Phil Collins music is hit or miss and when it misses the mark I couldn't help but wish they had just cut the song out completely.  On My Way and Welcome are the stand outs while the rest actually distract from the film.  I would rather have heard more banter from the characters than Tina Turner singing, and I'm a huge fan of Miss Turner but her voice isn't the right match for this story.  I watched the DVD's extras and heard the musical directors talk about how they didn't want to use too much Native American music because of its lack of range.  To me that's a sign of a collective narrow mind.   In the end I wish they would have given the story more depth.   It's a dated animated film but still worth seeing if you love animation.  Grade: B.

Spoiler:  This isn't really a spoiler but it could be.   Why on Earth did they give the film two different aspect ratios?   It starts off in piller box and a third way through widens to Letterbox.  Okay, I understand the effect they are trying for but it's not necessary.   If it distracts from the story it's not important.

Red Road (2006)

This drama, sold as a thriller, won the Jury Prize at Cannes for its director Andrea Arnold.   There's nothing wrong with this film, it's well-executed on all fronts.  Kate Dickie and Tony Curran are excellent, giving raw performances that would make most Oscar winners red with envy.  I wouldn't say the story is as fascinating as it could have been.  In someways I felt like the concept of a security camera operator in London spying on people more interesting and worthy of a better plot.  It could have been a modern day Rear Window but instead it's really just a drama about forgiveness.  That's okay, Arnold obviously was more interested in keeping the film real instead of wandering into the realm of fantasy.  Grade: B+.

Top Ten Monster Movies

To bounce off from the theme of yesterday's blog let's have a count down.  To clarify, I'm not counting movies about vampires or werewolves.  Frankenstein is a monster but not the kind this list refers to.  Here I'm talking about big monsters that terrify an entire town or city.  I am not counting animals either.  Jaws is a monster movie in a way but sharks are real.  This list celebrates the imaginary creatures. 

10. King Kong (2005)
9. Feast
8. Reign of Fire
7. Cloverfield
6. Tremors
5. The Mist
4. The Host
3. Aliens
2. Gojira (the original Godzilla)
1. King Kong

Monsters (2010)

Science fiction is a live and well.  Sure at times this film reminded me of District 9 but that's not a bad thing, is it?  In honesty I'm beaming that big movies like this can be done with a small budget (reportedly done under a million dollars if you can believe it).  At times the film crawls along at a slow pace but the tension is real and builds to a satisfying ending.  This film isn't so much about monsters or borders or even governments, it's about two people connecting, and trying to find their way home (which isn't a destination.)   With a few more millions in director Gareth Edwards pockets he might have been able to show more of the aliens and maybe have had a real amazing battle but that wouldn't necessary make for a better movie.   As Jaws proves sometimes leaving it up to audience's imagination is the way to go.  I'll be keeping a look out for Mr. Edwards next film.  Grade: A-.

Spoilers:  About the ending, while it leaves a lot up in the air, more questions than answers, I loved it.  It was hauntingly beautiful to watch to two aliens connect followed by two humans connecting too.  IT was a page right out of Spielberg's handbook:  you want wonder, show people looking at something in wonder and the audience will believe.    

Top Ten Best X-Files Episodes

In honor of my completion of the X-Files, all nine seasons revisited, I've decided it would be fun to make a list of my favorite episodes.   

10. Roadrunners; Season 8
9. Drive; Season 6
8. Momento Mori; Season 4
7. Our Town; Season 2
6. Small Potatos; Season 4
5. Darkness Falls; Season 1
4. This is Not Happening; Season 8
3. Leonard Betts; Season 4
2. Pusher; Season 3
1. Milagro; Season 6

X-Files (Season 2)

My journey to re-watch all of the X-Files is done.  I started about two years ago from Season 3 and finished at the beginning of this month with the end of Season 2.  Why start at the third season?  At the time I was checking the DVDs out at the library and they didn't have the first two season available.   I must someday devote a blog reviewing the entire series but for this entry I will focus on second season.  

If the first season was a great set up the next season launches the show into the TV canon as one of the greats.  Mulder and Scully's chemistry really sparks in this season and you can see that the writers understand their relationship and their deeper complexities.  There really is only one weak episode and that's Fearful Symmetry, a story about alien abductions of zoo animals.  Reason: fake gorilla.  Yet all the episodes are great.  The three best (and there's more than three) are Blood (brain washing machines), Our Town (a town with a grisly secret) and Ascension (the episode that forever impacted the character of Scully).   The show's mythology really hit its stride, starting with Duane Barry and giving us a really strong season finale.  In hindsight you can tell that the writers don't really know where they're going but it's still fun.  Does it hold up?  Absolutely.   This is the show that's DNA spawned such shows as Lost and Fringe.  I still miss The X-files and now that I have finished re-watching it I wonder how long it will take before I decide to start the journey again.   Chris Carter, if you're out there, please make another movie, I know the last one didn't make any money but I need my Scully and Mulder fix.  Grade: A.