Tarzan

I actually think that I had never seen this movie before.  Ever.  It came out in 1999, towards the end of Disney's "renaissance" period.  It followed Hercules and Mulan, and since I wasn't a huge fan of those at the time I guess I passed on Tarzan.  I was also at an age where watching Disney movies was probably seen as childish.  As a kid you can love them, and as a teenager and up you can embrace Disney as a form of nostalgia, but I was 11 at the time, so maybe it wasn't "cool."  I don't know.  But from watching it for the first time now, I did enjoy the movie.

The story is sweet, and the characters are pretty good.  It's rather funny when Jane and her father show up, and there's no shortage of action.  I found the ending sequence, with Clayton coming back to try and capture/kill the gorillas, to be particularly exciting and thrilling.  They did a good job putting it together.  Other highlights and things that we enjoyed about the film were the pacing, some of the voice acting, and of course the soundtrack.

However, I was not in love with the way that the movie ended.  This is my personal opinion, and Jason thought it was fine.  It's obvious that you're either going to bring Tarzan back to England so he can be with Jane, or Jane will stay with Tarzan in the jungle.  The way the movie ended was having Jane and her father stay in the jungle.  If you ask me, that's a little ridiculous.  I mean, I know they liked nature and studying it and all, but they were both clearly completely incompetent at surviving, partly because neither of them have any common sense.  They only lived through the movie because Tarzan kept saving them.  Plus, well... humans don't really belong in the jungle.  And Tarzan is a human, after all.  He belongs in the world of humans.  Very similar to Mowgli and The Jungle Book... except that one ended in a way that made sense.

I'm one of those people that always wants to know the differences between the movie and the original source (in this case, the book), so I went onto the wikipedia page to read about the Tarzan novels.  The first one is somewhat similar to the movie, and the influences are clear.  However, if you're bored and looking for something entertaining, read about the sequels.  Apparently the Tarzan franchise went a little crazy, and Tarzan ends up fighting in both WWI and WWII, traveling to the lost city of Atlantis, discovers a Jurassic park and fights dinosaurs, and travels to the earth's core, among other things.  Forget about being raised by monkeys - this guy had a crazy life after that!

The Music
The soundtrack is really good.  Phil Collins does some very nice songs for this one.  They aren't really integrated into the movies with the characters singing, like so many other Disney films, but provide background music.  Two of the songs were pretty big hits: "Strangers Like Me" and "You'll Be in My Heart."

The Villain
Clayton was a pretty evil villain.  It's obvious from the beginning that he's the bad guy, but he really takes things to the extreme.  He not only wants to kill/capture the gorillas to sell their pelts, he's also willing to kill any of the humans that get in his way.  And this is after Tarzan has show him kindness, led him to the gorillas, and attempted to save his life.  However, Clayton gets what he deserves in a big way, as he not only dies, but in a pretty gruesome way.  Accidentally hanging himself as a result of his own actions is a pretty fitting death for an awful Disney villain.

The WDW Connection
Tarzan got some attractions/attention when the movie first came out, and again when the Broadway musical opened, but most of those attractions have since been replaced by other, more popular films.  There was a show called Tarzan Rocks in the Animal Kingdom, but it was replaced by Finding Nemo: The Musical.  To my knowledge, there isn't much left of Tarzan in Disney World.

Becky's rating:  7 out of 10
Jason' rating:  7 out of 10

Dumbo

This movie is just a classic that has lots of charm.  It's got the precious relationship between a mother and her child, some funny bits, some weird parts, and it is ultimately the story of the underdog triumphing.  It also takes place in the circus, so if you're one of those people that hates clowns, some parts might be a little creepy - even if they are animated!  I do not like Dumbo forced into clown make-up. :(

The strangest part is definitely when Dumbo accidentally drinks alcohol - which seems to have the effect of a hallucinogenic drug.  The whole pink elephants scene is really trippy - both for Dumbo and for those of us watching!  I'm not sure what purpose it serves in the film and I probably could have done without it, but it's certainly become one of the most iconic scenes in Disney animation history.

I love that it's a happy ending, and it works nicely.  Even though Dumbo and his mother go through a lot, everything turns out all right in the end.  They are reunited, and Dumbo is famous for being able to fly.  Speaking of which, I bet this movie is a lot more suspenseful and exciting if you didn't know that Dumbo learns how to fly. However, I feel like that's the big tagline of this movie and even if you hadn't seen it before you probably already knew that piece of information.  And if you didn't, well... sorry I just ruined it for you!

The Music
There are a few classics in terms of music, and a few more forgettable pieces.  The big ones that everyone remembers are "Pink Elephants on Parade" and "When I See an Elephant Fly."  In my personal opinion, the best number is definitely "When I See an Elephant Fly."  There are a few others, such as "Look out for Mr. Stork," which fit in well with the time period but don't have too much lasting value.

The Villain
There's no main villain here, but a few smaller characters that contribute to the problem.  The other elephants are just mean, making fun of Dumbo because he's different.  They are probably the worst, though the clowns and the circus owner are a bit cruel in their own ways.  And the crows also make fun of Dumbo, but no one is particularly villainous.

The WDW Connection
The Dumbo ride is one of the most popular and well known children's rides in all of Disney World.  In addition, it's recently got a makeover as part of the new Fantasyland expansion.  They added a second set of flying elephants, as well as a Big Top and an interactive queue area.  The Casey Jr. train gets some love as well with a splash area created for children.

Becky's rating:  7.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  8 out of 10

The Rescuers

When we started watching, I couldn't really remember this movie very much at all.  However, as it went on, I started recalling all sorts of small details and realized that I actually did remember a lot of it.  Overall I would say that it was all right, certainly not one of my favorites. Jason, however, didn't really like it, and said it was his least favorite out of all the Disney movies we've watched so far.

Probably my favorite thing about it was the adorable little romance between Bernard and Bianca.  They have fun personalities, though it's not obvious why she would ever be so attracted to a mouse like him.  I personally found the story line to be interesting and it kept my attention, which I appreciate.  Maybe not a stellar film, but it was all right.

Jason, however, did not like it.  He felt the plot was disorganized, the transitions were lacking, and there were things that didn't make sense.  He also didn't like or identify with any of the characters, which he found static and uninteresting.  He called the whole thing "way too absurd."

Here's a fun fact about this film: apparently in the film's original release, as well as all released editions until 1999, there's an extremely brief shot of a naked woman.  It's during the scene where Bernard and Bianca are riding on the bird's back, and it takes place in one of the windows behind them.  No one really knows how it got there, but it's pretty obvious that it's a result of someone that worked there tampering with the film.  It's been removed in subsequent editions.  However, my copy is pretty old, so maybe it's still there!

The Music

There are a few songs in this one, such as the opening song and a song sung by Penny.  However, the music in this film sounded, to me, very dated.  And not in a good, classic way either.  It was just old and somewhat boring.

The Villain

The one thing this movie does have going for it is a decent villain.  Her name is Medusa, and she just looks hideous.  Ew, if you have that sort of a body, you should not be wearing a little red dress like that.  She was awfully lumpy.  Looks aside, she's also obviously deranged, and cruel to this little girl.  She is clearly motivated by greed.  However, it's her sheer stupidity and probably pride that end up being her downfall.  She could have gotten away with the diamond, if only she didn't insist on keeping it in that teddy bear.  If she had just given teddy her bear back, she would have gotten everything that she wanted.  Pretty dumb.

The WDW Connection

None really that I know of.  Let me know if you find any!

Becky's rating:  7 out of 10

Jason's rating:  5 out of 10

The Great Mouse Detective

This turned out to be a surprisingly good movie!  I'm not sure why it didn't turn out to be a bigger hit.  I know I watched it when I was little, but it was never one of the major Disney movies.  I think when it came out it was better than what had previously been around, but it got shown up by the later films of The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast.  We both really enjoyed it this time around, though.

This movie is really a Sherlock Holmes story, but with mice instead of people.  The characters are very clearly based on the Sherlock Holmes characters, and there are even images and shots of people that we are supposed to believe are probably the real Sherlock Holmes and Watson.  There are a lot of cute, references to it throughout the film - some subtle, some obvious.

The Great Mouse Detective really had a lot of action.  There was always something happening, which was fun. I thought it was also pretty clever in terms of plot.  Sure, there's some stuff that unbelievable, but that's because it's a movie!  And a cartoon, at that!  The craziest part was when they actually escaped from the mouse trap that they were in... but in many ways that's what Sherlock Holmes was all about.  Figuring out things down to a T at just the right moment.

The Music
I felt like this movie had such great potential to really be a wonderful Disney musical!  It had a great, show stopping song that was perfect for the villain... and that was it.  If it had more songs in it I think this movie would really be a top contender.

The Villain
It feels like it's been a long time since we've watched a movie with a truly evil, horrible villain... but now we've got one!  Ratigan is absolutely awful, and certainly ranks high on the list of villains.  He has absolutely no problem killing off his henchmen for insignificant reasons.  He tries to take over the country and kill the queen. And he's absolutely insane, as evidenced by the way he goes from "animal that acts like a human" to "just plain animal" by the end.

The WDW Connection
Again, this film's been neglected in the world.  There's no connections that I can think of - let me know if you know of any!

My rating:  8.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  8.5 out of 10

The Fox and the Hound

"Copper, you're my best friend."
"And you're mine too, Tod."
"And we'll always be friends, forever, won't we?"
"Yeah, forever."

For me, these lines from this movie really capture a lot of what I think of when I think of classic Disney films and movies I watched a lot when I was a kid.  That scene is just so endearing, and full of childhood innocence, and just so sweet.  I remembered the beginning of the movie a lot better than the second half of it, though.

First of all, I think the old woman that took Tod in made a big mistake.  Who has a fox as a pet?  It's just not right.  And then the hunter, I think his name was Amos, he was completely insane.  I don't know why she didn't call the cops on him.  He tries to kill her pet, break down her door, and shoot all over the place.  And then he goes hunting in a game preserve, where it's not allowed.  What a jerk.

Overall I feel like Tod is the much better "person" throughout all of this.  He really doesn't do anything wrong at any point.  Copper kind of turns his back on him though.  Even though he lets Tod go once, he gets so upset about what happened to Chief that he takes it out on Tod.  If the hunters hadn't been all crazy to get Tod in the first place, it never would have happened.  Then Copper goes again to help kill Tod in the game preserve.  Despite all that, Tod still chooses to fight a BEAR to save Copper's life.  He could have easily walked away, knowing he was keeping his own life and the dog getting attacked by a bear was trying to kill him anyway.  Sure, Copper finally defends Tod at the end, but he had better, after what Tod did for him.

The Music
The Fox and the Hound makes a half hearted attempt at providing music within its movie, kind of like in The Sword and the Stone or 101 Dalmatians.  It has two songs, both sung by Big Momma.  One of them, "Lack of Education," is pretty forgettable.  The other, "Best of Friends," is more memorable and easily associated with the movie.  Not an instant classic, but a good tune.

The Villain
Amos Slade.  He's kind of a scary villain because he's just so crazy.  He is so intent on killing Tod, no matter what.  The thing is, Tod didn't even do all that much.  He appeared to be attacking his chickens one time, but I guess that's enough to get Amos on the warpath.  His dedication is frightening.

The WDW Connection
Try as I might, I really can't come up with anything.  They may make an appearance somewhere... maybe in some art work in the parks or the resorts, but I don't know of anything off hand.  It seems this film has been pretty neglected by the theme parks. If anyone has a reference let me know!

Becky's rating:  7.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  8.5 out of 10

Cars

Cars is a cute Pixar movie that is getting a lot of attention right now since it has a sequel coming out this summer. I think the original does some really nice things.  Our main character, Lightning McQueen, is a race car that's a bit full of himself.  Despite being so cocky he's actually funny and pretty endearing.  It's definitely fun to watch his transformation when he lands in Radiator Springs, a small hick town.

A strong point of this movie is the cast of friendly and unique characters.  We have the ridiculous and lovable Tow Mater, Doc Hudson, a grumpy old car who it turns out used to be an old race car, and Sally, the love interest, as well as some fun other townfolk.  Though this story is obviously fictional, the ideas behind it aren't.  Radiator Springs is a run down old town that relied on tourism and visitors traveling on Route 66.  Once a new, more direct road was built, they stopped getting traffic.  This was true of many towns along Route 66.  The people that lived there made a living off of travelers and visitors, and once they stopped coming the towns suffered greatly.

I also like the ending and what happens in the final race.  It's somewhat predicable, and shows that Lightning learned his lesson, but it's a nice way to end things.

Overall I think this is a really good movie, but somehow it just doesn't stand out to me as stellar, like some of the other Pixar movies do.  I like some of the voice choices - I think Owen Wilson does a really good job as Lightning McQueen.  The funniest part is actually during the credits.  The cars go to a drive in movie theater, where they watch a series of other Pixar movies - only they all star Cars (A Toy Car Story, A Bug's Life (as in VW bug), Monster Trucks, Inc.).  Make sure you don't turn off the movie before the credits, because you don't want to miss this little extra!

The Music
The characters don't sing, but there are some good song choices here for the soundtrack.  It of course includes the song "Route 66," as well as a cover of "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts.  Brad Paisley also has a few songs on the soundtrack, including one used for the end credits.  As a country music fan, I'm a big fan of this soundtrack.

The Villain
The biggest obstacle Lightning McQueen faces is overcoming his own limitations - namely, believing he is the best at everything.  In terms of characters, a rival race car named Chick Hicks is pretty obnoxious.  He's not only a jerk, he violently rams the lead car during the ending race, causing a good amount of destruction.  However, since Lightning spends most of his time in Radiator Springs, Chick isn't really featured that prominently as a villain, putting him pretty low on the list of powerful and evil Disney Villains.

The WDW Connection
I'm willing to bet that Disney will see a lot of little Cars touches in the next year, in terms of merchandising and small, changable items due to the fact that the sequel is coming out.  However, there aren't any permanent rides or attractions themed around Cars.  You can actually meet the characters from Cars in Hollywood Studios, though they are animatronics rather than actual people in costume.  Also, the new Art of Animation resort, which is due to open in summer 2012, will have a whole Cars themed building.

Becky's rating:  8.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  9 out of 10

Finding Nemo

Even though it wasn't the first Pixar movie, it stood out to me as being one of the most important to come out.  It came out when I was a teenager, and it was the movie that really showed me that children's movies didn't have to be just for kids.  It was super popular with everyone in my age group.  Plus, it came out during a time when classic Disney animation was really at a low point (this was the time of Brother Bear, Home on the Range, and Chicken Little), so Pixar was getting a lot of attention for actually being... well, good.

I have to admit that I'm usually much more into the story and the characters than the details like the animation and the music, but the graphics and the art in this movie are just amazingly gorgeous.  I notice every time I watch it how bright and amazing the colors are, and they have a great backdrop for it - all of the coral reef, brightly colored fish, and sea life.

The beginning of the movie is pretty heartbreaking, and I always cry when Coral dies.  In that sense it's kind of in the style of some of the traditional Disney films, with a parent being dead early on in the film.  It's a rough way to start, but it gets you emotional right from the beginning.

I think the thing that makes this such a great movie is the characters.  There are so many fun, lively characters with great personalities.  You have the cute, innocent, and hardheaded Nemo, Marlin, who's totally paranoid, and of course Dory, unbelievably forgetful and hilarious.  Throw in an amazing bunch of secondary characters, such as Crush, Bruce, and the tank fish in the dentist's office, and you just have a great bunch of characters that keep you laughing and pull at your heart strings.

I'm going to get a little bit personal here and say that when I watched the film this time around, I realized that I'm a lot like Marlin, and it made me sort of sad.  I'm pretty much scared of everything, and always worrying. The part that really got me is when they're in the whale's mouth, and Marlin is sure they're going to die.  Dory is telling him that he just needs to let go, and he says something like, "How do you know we're not going to die?"  And she just says, "I don't."  And I know that for me personally, that's something that's so hard for me to accept, so that really resonated with me - and yes, that part made me cry too!

The Music
Again, with Pixar we don't really have musicals, so it's just about the soundtrack.  Nothing from this movie really stood out for me, so I don't have much to comment on.

The Villain
They meet lots of different "bad guys" on the adventures that occur in this film - there's the humans that catch Nemo, the sharks that turn on them and try to eat them, and of course, Darla.  While she's very creepy, I think the most evil villain in this film is the fish right in the beginning that kills Coral.  It causes the most damage and is portrayed as just an evil figure, rather than a character with any substance.

The WDW Connection
Because it's so popular, Finding Nemo is all over the parks.  It has its own ride in Epcot called The Seas with Nemo and Friends.  In addition, after that ride you can experience "Turtle Talk with Crush," a really neat interactive "show" where you can talk to Crush - and he talks back!  There's also a show at the Animal Kingdom called "Finding Nemo - The Musical."  Finally, it's not completed yet, but Disney is working on a new resort called The Art of Animation.  One building at this resort will be themed after Finding Nemo.

Becky's rating:  9 out of 10
Jason's rating:  8.5 out of 10