Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty never made much of an impression on me, and I think it must be because Princess Aurora, while lovely and charming and all of that, is just not really an interesting character.  She's doesn't really do all that much, and the second half of the movie is spent, well, sleeping.  So let's face it: the real star of this movie is Prince Phillip.  Sleeping Beauty, in 1959, is also the last official "fairy tale" produced by Disney until 1989's The Little Mermaid.

I hate to be so negative about such a classic, but there were so many little things that annoyed me.  Perhaps it was just because the day we watched it I was having one of those days where it seems like everything little thing was going wrong anyway, and I was just in an irksome mood.  The characters just aren't that interesting and the film isn't all that exciting until the end.  Granted, it is old fashioned.  And normally I like old fashioned things and can appreciate them for what they are.  But I feel like even in 1959 I would hope people would just have more sense.  

For instance, when the three fairies arrive when Aurora is still a baby, they give her three gifts.  I'm certainly no super feminist, but I would hope that if they could give any gifts to a baby girl they could come up with better things than "beauty" and "song."  How about intelligence?  Or if it's too modern of an idea to have a woman be intelligent, even traits like compassion or patience or optimism would be preferable.  JK Rowling, when commenting on society's obsession with being skinny, once said something along the lines of "there are a thousand other things I would want my daughter to be before thin."  That's kind of how I feel in this situation.  Lord knows what Merryweather would have given her as a gift before she had to switch it up.  The one good thing is that I think this also shows how far Disney has come in portraying women, even if people are still critical.  Compare Princess Aurora to more modern Disney heroines like Tiana, Belle, and Mulan.

Anyhow, before I get to the positive, a few other things that bothered me: I realize that when it is the day of her 16th birthday you might be ready to breathe a sigh of relief, but would it really kill you to wait one more day to use your magic just for that extra insurance?  I mean, maybe I'm just a cautious person, but it's super frustrating that they're that close to everything being fine and they ruin it themselves.  And for it to be because of a blue vs. pink dress battle is silly.  I know they aren't the most mature fairies, but I'm supposed to believe that these women who can't even contain themselves over the color of a dress have raised this girl for the last 16 years and she's not completely screwed up?

On the plus side:  the scenes between Hubert and Stefan, the father of the two lovers, are cute and well done.    And Prince Phillip is absolutely the man.  Armed with the epic Sword of Truth and Shield of Virtue he not only is able to save Princess Aurora, he absolutely destroys a massively powerful Maleficent-turned-dragon.   The ending of the movie is really well done, I do love the classic romance and waking her up with a kiss.  Awww.

The Music

Sleeping Beauty really only has one song that is at all memorable, but it's a really excellent one.  "Once Upon a Dream" is a powerful, beautiful melody that fits in perfectly with a Disney fairy tale.  Other than that, the score is pretty good but the characters themselves don't do much singing, at least not like in other Disney movies.

The Villain

In my mind, Maleficent is arguably the worst (best?) Disney villain because she is so completely evil through and through.  Jason feels that other villains are more interesting, so he doesn't vote her as the worst/best.  I think we can definitely say she is one of the most evil though, because she is so completely ruthless and heartless.  Maleficent has a huge grudge and spends 16 years trying to destroy an innocent girl because she's hurt that she wasn't invited to a party (!).  To me, the scariest villains are the ones whose motives are completely insane and make no sense, because people like that are terrifying and unpredictable, following no known logic.

The Disney World Connection

Sleeping Beauty is actually bigger at some of the other Disney parks around the world, not WDW.  Disneyland's castle is Sleeping Beauty's, and Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong also has a Sleeping Beauty castle.  WDW, however, has less of a Sleeping Beauty icon (the castle there being, of course, Cinderella's).  However, Princess Aurora does make appearances throughout the parks, and Maleficent shows up in the Fantasmic! show.

My rating:  6 out of 10

Jason's rating:  7.5 out of 10

Mulan

When thinking about the Disney movies of when I grew up, everything always seemed like it went downhill a bit after The Lion King.  While Hercules, Pocahontas, and Mulan were good, they weren't quite up to par with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.  And the ones that came after that were even worse.  However, when we watched Mulan again I realized that I really enjoyed this one, much more so than I thought I would.

Like many Disney movies, Mulan is based on a story that came before it; in this case it's an old Chinese legend.  I never knew this until I looked it up on wikipedia right now, but it's interesting to know.  In the movie, you'd think Mulan's character would be really tough and awesome at everything, and while she's intelligent, she also kinda lacks good social skills.  Even though she may not be too suave with the other guys at the camp, at least she comes up with the brilliant idea to get the avalanche to fall on the Huns.  Speaking of which, the fact that any of them rose out of that avalanche was pretty unbelievable.

It was also a lot funnier than I remembered.  Eddie Murphy is a fun character as Mushu, the dragon.  Mulan herself is pretty endearing, too.

One interesting thing that Jason pointed out is that he thinks this is one of the only Disney movies where the hero actually intentionally kills the villain.  We're still trying to figure out others, but it actually is kind of true.  I tried to argue Simba, but we decided that was really more self-defense and not actual intentional murder.  Mulan definitely wanted to kill that hun, though!

The Music
The music in this one is pretty good.  There are two really excellent songs in it: "Reflection" and "I'll Make a Man Out of You."  None of the others are really all that memorable, though, so while it has two good songs the soundtrack overall isn't the best.

The Villain
Shan Yu is a jerk, certainly, but he's not really all that interesting of a villain.  I tend to think of the villains here as "The Huns" overall, and so the villain is just an idea, not a specific person.  Shan Yu really has no personality, he's just "the bad guy."  Anyway, Mulan's personal struggles and fight against societal norms is really the more interesting plot.

The Disney World Connection
Mulan never really hit off with the world all that well, so it's not too surprising that she doesn't make a huge appearance in Disney World.  Mulan herself appears around the park, specifically in the Japanese pavilion in Epcot, but as far as I can remember there's no ride or attraction in WDW dedicated to the movie.  She can be found other places as well, and Mushu can be seen sometimes too.

My rating:  8 out of 10
Jason's rating:  9 out of 10

The Lion King

Many people might say that The Lion King is Disney's finest film ever made - the peak of their renaissance period of the 1990's, not to mention the epitome of a Disney classic. I am one of those people. While the competition is stiff, I think I can say that The Lion King is my favorite Disney movie. I absolutely adored this movie growing up. I watched the movie over and over again, and I had a cassette tape with most of the soundtrack and dialogue on it, and I listened to it so much that to this day I basically have the movie memorized. I also decided when I was about seven or eight that my family would perform The Lion King as a play, in which I would play Simba. I don't believe this ever actually came to pass, but I remember "rehearsals" and trying to create costumes...

Anyway, my point is that The Lion King is an awesome movie. It really has all of the qualities of a good movie (not just a good Disney movie, or a good cartoon), and it's got something for everyone. It has some of the best music found in any movie. It's also an extremely moving story with an interesting message. I always cry no matter how many times I've seen it when Mufasa dies. And yet it also has some of the funniest characters in any Disney movie in the dynamic duo of Timon and Pumba.

Some of the "lessons" learned from this movie include moving on with your life after bad things happen, believing in yourself and in what's right, and taking action to fight for what's right. I think one of the most touching moments in the movie is when Mufasa talks to Simba and tells him about the circle of life - how we are all connected to everything else in the world, and that even when one person or animal dies life as a whole goes on. Just like the lions are connected to the antelope, and although they eat the antelope and are often the cause of their death, "when we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass, and so we are all connected in the great circle of life."

There's also an all-star voice cast in this one. When I first watched the movie at 7 I had no idea who any of these people were, but you've got a lot of talent here. James Earl Jones at Mufasa, Matthew Broderick as older Simba, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as younger Simba, Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi, and Nathan Lane as Timon.

This is one Disney movie that isn't all about rainbows and perfect, fairy tale happy endings. It's realistic about life and events, in a sense, but it still has a positive ending and hope for the future. And that's one of the reasons why I love it.

The Music

Probably the best music in any Disney film, done by the genius Elton John and Tim Rice. There isn't one dud song in the bunch. The Circle of Life is a beautiful opening number with an authentic feel. I Just Can't Wait to Be King and Hukuna Matata are kids' favorites with fun, upbeat tunes and great lyrics. Be Prepared, when shown with the animation, is quite creepy. And Can You Feel the Love Tonight is in my opinion one of the best love songs ever (perhaps more the Elton John recorded version, but the one in the movie is a lot more plot oriented). The Lion King won two Oscars - one for Best Music, Original Score, and one for Best Music, Original Song (for Can You Feel the Love Tonight).

The Villain

Scar is pretty much complete scum. He's motivated completely by his desire for power and attention. The interesting thing about him is that he doesn't really start with power - he's brother to the king, but that doesn't mean much. Unlike characters like the evil stepmothers that are queens, Hades, a powerful god, Frollo, and so many others, Scar basically has to get himself any sort of power, and that he does. In some ways he's almost like the "bullied kid turned bully" - you can tell that he's been picked on his whole life, with Zazu and Mafasa making some comments about him, and he's kinda small and scrawny for a lion. He may not be the most absolutely evil Disney villain, but he's sneaky and underhanded and despicable. He's also pretty entertaining for a villain, with his sarcasm and sly jokes.

The Disney World Connection

Due to its popularity, it's no surprise that The Lion King has a pretty big presence in WDW. It's particularly popular in The Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has Cinderella's Castle, Epcot has "the big silver ball," and Animal Kingdom has The Lion King's tree of life as its icon. Animal Kingdom is also host to a performance called "The Festival of the Lion King," and the research and education center is known as "Rafiki's Planet Watch." The Lion King is also in Epcot, with the "Circle of Life" movie in the Land Pavilion, which is hosted by Timon and Pumba. In The Magic Kingdom, Zazu now stars along with Iago in The Enchanted Tiki Room. And you can find the characters Rafiki and Timon wandering around several parks, including Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom.

My rating: 10 out of 10

Jason's rating: 10 out of 10

The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book is another one of those Disney movies that I know I watched when I was young, but I don't remember it too well. It turns out to be fairly significant in terms of Disney history, because it is the last film that Walt Disney himself actually had a hand in before he died. We watched a fun little "making of" that was on the VHS after the movie ended, so we learned some interesting things about how the movie was put together.

Overall it's a cute Disney movie, I liked it, but it's not one of my favorites. Jason liked it more than I did. There are some fun characters, like Baloo and King Louie, but to be honest I really just did not like Mowgli. I mean yes, he is a child, but he's one of those annoying children that thinks they know everything and don't want to listen to anyone else. So the entire time I'm watching, I keep saying things like, "stop being stupid, Mowgli! You probably should be afraid of that snake, if you know what's good for you."

I haven't actually read the stories by Rudyard Kipling, but my understanding is that they are not very similar. Apparently Walt Disney told everyone involved in the movie, "Don't read the book. I want to do this my own way." And I think it definitely worked. The ending is a good one - it works and it's pretty darn cute.

The Music

This is definitely The Jungle Book's strong point. There are so many good songs in this movie, from a variety of genres. You can King Louie's jazz/scat number, "I Wanna Be Like You," Baloo's catchy "The Bare Necessities," and the vultures' Beatles imitation in "That's What Friends Are For." Only Kaa the snake's song was rather weak ("Trust in Me"). We learned from the making of video that the entire movie was actually written, and then re-written because it was too dark. The only song that was kept from the original was "The Bare Necessities."

The Villain

Shere Khan is kind of a lame villain. I mean, he's okay - he's a tiger and all - but he doesn't really do all that much. Kaa, while not exactly the main villain of the piece, is certainly more interesting and entertaining. But neither of them are making it into the top five (or even the top ten) or all time greatest Disney villains. A lot of the opposition comes from Mowgli himself anyway, and his desire to stay in the jungle and not go to the man village.

The Disney World Connection

To my knowledge there are not currently any Jungle Book themed rides or attractions in Walt Disney World. At one time there may have been a show in the Animal Kingdom, but I'm not 100% sure on that. I don't think there's any restaurants or shops either. I do know that Baloo can be seen wandering around the parks - I have a picture with him from the last time I was there!

My rating: 7 out of 10

Jason's rating: 8 out of 10

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

When I think of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I think of a movie that I enjoyed as a kid but didn't leave as a big an impression on me as, say, The Lion King did. However, when watching it again this time I liked it a lot more than I expected to. It was much, much better a movie than I had remembered. It was also a Disney movie that Jason hadn't seen (gasp!), and so it was completely new to him.

First of all, I really like the story. It was, as Jason said, a very action-packed Disney movie. There is romance, suspense, all that good stuff. Although it's certainly altered from the original novel (like any Disney movie), they do a really good job adapting it into its own story.

Jason's one complaint was that he felt that most of the characters were not realistic enough because they were too good and didn't have faults, except for Quasimodo. But he felt this way about Esmeralda and Phoebus. Personally, I thought they were all interesting character. I really like Esmeralda a lot. If she was one of the princesses I would certainly count her as one of my favorites. She's tough but she's got a good heart. She's beautiful but she really cares about people. She's not naive or stupid, like Meg from Hercules, but she's also a lot more likable than Meg. I suppose Phoebus is probably the weakest character, he's your typical good guy.

Some of the themes were really good - interesting and meaningful. Standing up for what you believe in, and the idea of someone you trust who has been constantly lying to you your whole life. Also, of course, our judgement of others based on their looks and how we treat people different than us. As a teacher I immediately see bullying - even in 15th century Paris, people are not so different than how they act today when confronted with people that are different or unusual.

The ending was perfect, in my opinion. Although you certainly want Quasimodo to end up with Esmeralda, something about that would be really hard to buy. It's just not probable, so it makes sense that she ends up with Phoebus. However, that doesn't mean it's a sad ending for Quasimodo. He gets friends, and he gets to know that people finally see the real him and he'll be able to go out into the world now. He doesn't seem too upset about it by the end either.

The Music

Again, this is another area where it just seems like Hunchback doesn't get much credit - but I really loved the music. "Out There" is by far my favorite song from the soundtrack. It's perfect for Quasimodo - semi-sad, semi-happy, but pulsing with energy. When discussing Hercules, I mentioned that I never really liked his big song, "Go the Distance," because something about it just fell flat or didn't work. I feel like "Out There" is what "Go the Distance" could have and should have been. Anyway, The Hunchback of Notre Dame has lots of other good songs, including "The Bells of Notre Dame," "Topsy Turvy," "God Help the Outcasts," and a few others.

The Villain

Frollo is really an evil villain, more evil than many of the others if only because he is completely real. He doesn't have magical powers, spellbooks, or evil spirits to do his bidding for him. There is nothing supernatural about him. Instead he is a cruel, heartless man, treating people terribly because they are different from him, and doing it all in the name of God. There have been very real people like this throughout history, which just makes him a little more scary. He acts so nice and caring to everyone, but he is really terrible inside. He gets what he deserves. I find his death to be rather similar to what happens in The Lion King. They're both on the ledge, and Frollo confesses that he killed Quasimodo's mother. (Very reminiscent of Scar's "I killed Mufasa"). However, instead of Frollo plunging to his death because of Quasimodo's anger, he quotes the Bible, saying "God shall smite the wicked." And then he is indeed smited. Score.

The Disney World Connection

Quasimodo and friends don't make too much of an appearance in WDW. You might be able to find the characters occasionally, but the one attraction dedicated to the movie, a show in MGM studios, didn't stick around very long.

My rating: 9 out of 10

Jason's rating: 8 out of 10

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a very special Disney movie because it was the first full length animated Disney movie ever made. It dates back to 1937, so that certainly has to be taken into account when viewing it and comparing it to more modern Disney films. Snow White was definitely important for its time, and is still enjoyable today, though our tastes may have changed and it may not be a popular favorite anymore.

The story is pretty simple and fun. The dwarfs are so charming and funny, and Disney throws in a lot of cute little things for the dwarfs. It stays fairly true to the original fairy tale, much more so than many later Disney films, though it does leave a few things out. The biggest difference would be the kiss from the Prince at the end - in the original story, it is not a kiss from her true love that wakes Snow White, but the fact that her coffin gets bumped and it knocks the piece of poisoned apple out of her throat. Realism is all well and good, but I like the Disney ending better.

Snow White as a character is not all that realistic or even interesting, however. She is unbelievably nice and naive, which makes her likable but not too real. She is unfailingly kind to everyone and so naive that she seems a bit stupid. Really, if you grew up with that stepmother, don't you think that you would have developed a bit more sense or been a bit more alert? I didn't get the idea that she was really that sheltered. Of course, she is young, but still, probably around 16, which isn't that young. Don't be surprised if you're screaming at the screen, "No, Snow White! Don't talk to strangers! Especially really creepy looking ones with evil laughter! Even 5 year olds know better than that, and they know they definitely should not take food from them!" Add in the fact that the dwarfs warned her that her stepmother might disguise herself and try to come visit, well, you really have to wonder just where Snow White's head is.

Another interesting thing to note is that like many later Disney movies, Snow White's mother is dead and her father is virtually non-existent. We do not see any sign of him, and no explanation about who he is, who her mother was, or what happened to her. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that the stepmother might have killed the mother with witchcraft in order to become queen. I do find it curious that the father does not appear, as he is presumably still around.

The Music

There is a lot of music in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it's old fashioned (as to be expected), but a lot of it is good. The dwarfs have a lot of fun songs, and the movie has several well known songs, such as "Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work." There's also "Someday My Prince Will Come," a song which Jason finds extremely boring but I think is quite pretty.

The Villain

The stepmother/queen is an excellent villain, and as we were watching the movie she seemed more and more crazy and evil than I remembered. There is no redeeming quality to her and no sign of real human-ness. She has extremely powerful dark magic on her side. She wants to kill an extremely innocent and kind young girl. And why? Just because she wants to be the prettiest woman around! She's doing all this just to be "the fairest in the land." Wow, can't you settle for second best? It's not like Snow White is that much competition, she's just going to marry the prince and go off with him so you won't have to worry about her flaunting her looks around or anything. To me, the queen is by far the most evil villain we've seen yet, though Jason thinks Jafar ranks just above her. At least she met a satisfying death.

The Disney World Connection

Snow White has her own ride in the Magic Kingdom, called Snow White's Scary Adventures. I've never been on it because when I was little I was certainly not going on anything with the word "scary" in the title, and I didn't return until much later when I was too old for the ride. However, I'm curious, so I think this is one that we'll have to do. Snow White makes appearances with many of the other princesses, and she can be found around the parks.

My rating: 7 out of 10

Jason's rating: 7 out of 10

Hercules

I have to admit that I was never a big fan of Hercules. I don't remember watching it over and over again as a kid, like some of the other Disney movies. To be honest, I couldn't really remember a single thing from that movie. However, Jason lists it as his favorite Disney movie, so of course we had to watch it. I was willing to give it another shot - and I was certainly more impressed this time around than I was when I was a kid.

The story is based on the Greek myths of Hercules, but Disney tweaks it a bit. The most noticeable difference being that instead of Hercules being a demigod, he is born a full god to Zeus and Hera and reduced to being a mortal with super strength by Hades. Aside from this though, it's fun to see all of the little references to Greek mythology that they throw in. Knowing nothing about it in 1997, it's not surprising that I missed a lot of the jokes. This time around, I got them - cheesy as they were sometimes.

Hercules himself is pretty endearing, especially since we first see him as a super clumsy kid that no one really likes. He's your typical, always trying to do what's right hero, and is unbelievably honest and naive. The more interesting character, however, is Meg, who from the get-go is not very likable at all. Hercules falls for her at first sight, but it's pretty clear to the audience that she's playing him. She's got a bit of an attitude and is by no means the "come rescue me, hero" type of girl - she only pretends to be. Her attitude is more negative and she's not your typical Disney princess. She almost seems like a bad guy at first because she's serving Hades. However, it's later revealed that she sold her soul to save her boyfriend's life. She acts super tough but really she has a heart.

Even though said boyfriend then walked out on her, she was still stuck with Hades. Obviously these circumstances made her bitter and not such a big fan of love. But Hercules manages to bring out the love in her with his innocence and goodness... yay.

One more comment about Meg. I realize that they were going for imitating Greek art and all that, but if Barbie is considered disproportionate with her wide hips and small waist, what would Meg be considered?

Also, I liked the ending of Hercules. It was somewhat clever, and though it was very, very close, everyone lived happily ever after. My favorite kind! Same style of ending as Beauty and the Beast.

The Music

The music in Hercules is okay. It's not fantastic but it's not terrible either. I like the gospel style music, but the stuff sung by the five women seems more like narration/filler than actual songs. Phil's song is cute, but nothing special. Hercules' big song, "Go the Distance," which everybody loves, really does nothing for me. I personally find it pretty boring and sappy. The only song that I really like from the soundtrack is Meg's, "I Won't Say (I'm in Love)". Surprisingly, Hades does not get a song.

The Villain

Speaking of Hades... he kind of has a lot to live up to, given that he's already established as an evil villain in mythology. It's kind of surprising to see Hades as a fast talking comedian rather than the epitome of evil, but I kind of like it. He's still pretty darn evil, effectively planning to take over the world and not giving a damn about what he has to do to anyone else to get to the top. He is completely ruthless. Perhaps he's not quite up to Jafar standards, but he's definitely up there on the evil meter.

The Disney World Connection

Hercules and friends are not well represented in WDW. Apparently both Hercules and Hades make an appearance in Disney's Fantasmic! show. Hercules can also be found around the parks for pictures and autographs.

My rating: 8 out of 10

Jason's rating: 9 out of 10