Bolt (2008)

Rating: 60%
Nothing much to say right now except here's Disney review #41: Bolt.

Plot: Bolt is a dog who is raised to believe that he has super powers in order for him to star in a TV series along with his owner, Penny. Then the show is set so that Penny gets captured in one episode leaving Bolt to believe that she's really in danger. This leaves Bolt to escape from his trailer and accidentally knock himself unconscious into a box going to New York. He bumps into a cat named Mittens who he believes is in league with the main villain of the show which brings her to be forced to take him back to Hollywood. So the two make the journey to Hollywood where they befriend a hamster named Rhino who joins them.

If Walt Disney Pictures had their own version of Cars even without the 3-D animation and the fact that both main characters have a lightning bolt as their symbol, this would be it. I mean the main character is trying to get home, he's a superstar, was raised as one kind of person until the journey and his new friends change him, etc. But like Cars, this was an okay movie. I mean like Cars, the journey the main characters take isn't very original, a good amount of what happens was predictable, some of the comedy was pretty cute to be fair, but all around, it's just okay.

Characters:
Bolt: Bolt himself was just okay. I mean again, his journey was predictable. I mean the only good things I can think of was that he at least wasn't arrogant like Lightning McQueen in Cars and that he did look like a really cute fluffy dog.
Mittens: Like Bolt, she was just okay. I mean to be fair, while her back story is not creative, it works a little bit at least.
Rhino: Rhino I liked a little more. He just had the cuter moments out of the three characters.

Music: It was nice. Nothing really stood out.


And that's my review for Bolt. It's just an okay film that's pretty much the same thing as Cars only that it's Disney and not Pixar.   

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Rating: 100%
FINALLY!!! I've been waiting to see this movie again. I made myself wait until I can make it my 175th review, but I couldn't wait any longer to see it again. So last night I stopped over halfway through my Make Mine Music review and watched the movie! AAARRRGGGHHH!!!  I'm SO glad to be done waiting for so long...the only thing is I want to watch it again...guess I know what I"m going to do before bed tonight. So here's Disney review # 40 and my 175th review: Beauty and the Beast.


Plot: The was a young prince in a far away castle who was very selfish and cruel. Then an ugly old woman came to his door asking for shelter from the cold in exchange for a rose. Disgusted by her ugliness, he turns her away. But then the old woman reappears as a beautiful enchantress who saw the princes' cold heart and as punishment, turns him into a beast and turns his servants into furniture and other household items. The Enchantress gave the beast until the last petal of the rose she offered falls to love another and to earn her love in return to lift the enchantment or he would become a beast forever. Meanwhile, Belle, the daughter of the inventor of a village not far from the castle, yearns for life outside of the village. But then her life changes completely when her father gets lost and ends up in the castle of the beast leaving Belle to find and rescue him.

Well there's no doubt about it. I love this movie. The animation is spectacular, the songs and score are wonderful and memorable and memory comes, the characters are fun, and there's plenty of darkness and suspension to go with all the happy a joy stuff. What more do I really need to say about this movie? It was just a wonderfully done movie.

Characters:
Belle: If I had no choice as a guy but to choose which Disney princess is my favorite, I'd have to go with Belle. She's smart, brave, patient. I"m actually curious as to how old she is. Because I think she's the oldest Disney princess (it's probably either her or Tiana that's the oldest) which I like a little more because finding true love at a much older age than 16 or 18 or somewhere around that makes her all the more a better influence to girls as far as Disney Princesses go. At least to me.
Beast: I thought he was a cool character. I mean being a beast to begin with kinda made him a bad-a in a sense, and you have to like how the character changes throughout the film.
Gaston: He was a pretty good villain. Everything usually goes his way and when it doesn't, that's when he really become evil in a slightly crazy sort of way. Plus I just love that "Gaston" song.
The servants (primarily Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip): They are a lot of fun. Especially Lumiere and Cogsworth always fighting. I do find it weird that the castle apparently has so many servants that so many of them at turned into things that aren't even useful like those suits of armor. I mean what were those particular servants' occupation before the enchantment?

Music: Do I even really have to bother with this one? I mean "That Belle", "Gaston", "Madame Gaston", "Be our Guest", and of coarse, the winner for best original song of that year: "Beauty and the Beast". And the movie doesn't need the Oscar for best original score for you to know that it is just spectacular.


And that's my review for Beauty and the Beast. It's a wonderful film and a fine choice to become my 175th review.

Pinocchio (1940)

Rating: 100%

Well I had to get to this classic eventually. So without further ado, here's Disney review # 39: Pinocchio.

Plot: Geppetto is a woodworker who has just finished working on his latest puppet, Pinocchio. Later that night he wishes on the wishing star that Pinocchio would become a real boy. As he falls asleep, a blue fairy comes in and half grants his wish by at least giving Pinocchio life. She tells Pinocchio that in order to become a real boy, he must prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish. She makes Jiminy Cricket his conscience who tries to tell him the difference between right and wrong as he goes through many tests throughout their adventures.

well if one thing's for sure, this movie is way more child friendly than the book. I mean in the book you have stuff like Geppetto actually hating children and the fairy gave Pinocchio live as punishment, and Pinocchio wasn't exactly an angel either considering that he actually kills (or seemingly kills) Jiminy. But anyway, this is an excellent movie. It's fun, cute, sometimes really dark and suspenseful, all around, it was very well done. I think this has the most villains out of all the Disney animated films with the Fox, Stromboli, the Coachman, and Monstro.

Characters:
Pinocchio: He's a very nice character. I think they did very well in roughly being like a normal boy from around that time when it comes to having both bad and good points. And yet you have to like him all the more that he does turn out a hero.
Jiminy Cricket: I liked this character. I guess I always liked him with how he's wise while he does have his silly moments.
The Coachman: Out of all the villains in this movie, I think he's the best. I mean his evil plot is clever, you want to know if his henchman really ares apes and what's the background about them, his evil smile is creepy as heck, and on top of it all, he wins. I mean the man may not have gotten his hands on Pinocchio and maybe even Lampwick for all we know, but his evil plot is never foiled. While Pinocchio and Jiminy escaped, he's still turning boys into donkeys and selling them to salt mines and circuses.


Music: um, excellent, DUH! "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)", "Give a Little Whistle", and of coarse, "When you wish upon a star." I mean that's been played as Disney's intro for it's movies pretty much forever. Plus they did win best original song of that year and the song is #7 of AFI's 100 years: 100 songs. so yeah.



And that's my review for Pinocchio. It's a wonderful film that we all continue to enjoy.

Make Mine Music (1946)

Rating: 60%

Okay so this is the second to last package film that Disney has made. So Here's Disney review # 38: Make Mine Music.

Plots:

Blue Bayou:This segment is a story about a blue bayou that was originally made for Fantasia using the Claude Debussy musical composition Clair de Lune. 

All the Cats Join In: This was about 1940s teens that get swept away by popular music.

Without You: This was a ballad of lost love, sung by Andy Russell.

Casey at the Bat:This segment featured Jerry Colonna, reciting the poem "Casey at the Bat" about this arrogant ballplayer.

Two Silhouettes:This segment featured two live-action ballet dancers, moving in silhouette with animated backgrounds and characters with Dinah Shore singing the song.

Peter and the Wolf:

This is an animated dramatization of the 1936 musical composition by Sergei Prokofiev, with narration by actor Sterling Holloway. A Russian boy named Peter set off into the forest to hunt the wolf with his animal friends: Sasha the bird, Sonia the duck, and Ivan the cat.

After You've Gone: This segment again features Benny Goodman and his orchestra with cartoon musical instruments.

Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet:It's the romantic story of two hats in a department store window named Johnny and Alice who fall in love. But then Alice was sold, leaving Johnny on a quest to find her. 

The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met: It's the story of a whale who has incredible musical talent and dreams of becoming a star. But a opera producer named Tetti-Tatti goes on a quest to find and kill him on the belief that he's able to sing because he has swallowed some opera singers.

 

 

 

Eh...whatever. That's what I really feel about this movie. I guess the thing is that my experience with most of Disney's package films where there's a lot of stories in them has left me to not really caring a whole lot about those movies. I mean both Fantasia movies I can stand a little more because I'm older and I can appreciate some of the choices of music and the stories a lot more. And Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and also Fun and Fancy Free (which I hope to re-watch and review soon), I can manage those films because they had less stories in them and the stories they did have were all fun. But then you get this movie, Melody Time, Saludos Amigos, and The Three Caballeros... and I can't really stand them. I mean Make Mine Music, Saludos Amigos and Melody Time I'm willing to give them a 60 or a 70% because they did have some stories that I liked. The other stories in those films I just didn't like but I would declare the movies okay just because those stories weren't terrible The Three Caballeros might've been the case too if the second half of the movie isn't Donald chasing girls and last quarter of the movie was a mind f*ck which I just hated. I'm really taking what I recently heard the Nostalgia Critic say about a few of these particular films, but I have to agree with him that a lot of the actual good stories they had should've been made totally separate from these films. So in the case of this film, the stories that really stood out were Peter and the Wolf, The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, and Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet. The rest weren't terrible but they weren't that interesting to me.

 

Music:It was nice. Again the parts that stood out were from Peter and the Wolf, The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, and Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet.

 

And that's my review for Make Mine Music. I know I was rambling about Disney package films to begin with, but a lot of what I had to say included this movie. So really I'm glad that that this is the last package film with more than two or three stories because I am done! done! DONE!

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997)

Rating: 20%

Now believe it or not to you who've seen this movie an knew it was bad right away, I loved this movie as a kid. Yeah, yeah, I know. "H.A.K., what the heck?" "how is that even logically possible?" "Can you really put those words together in a sentence?" "Just...HOW!?!?!?!" Well what can I say? Generally as a kid, I guess I kinda liked any movie that I didn't find extremely boring beyond belief and even then, Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney films so it was a little natural to me to like this. But at last I see the light after watching it for the first time in years. Heck, I"ll even sing it. (singing "At least I see the light" slightly revised)  "And at last I see the light and oh boy did I take my time. And at last I see the light, and I'm glad for how long it's been. All at once everything is different, now that I saw it again." But enough of me being ridiculously silly, let's get on with my review for Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

Plot: It's been about a year since the events of the first movie and everyone is celebrating Christmas. Lumiere and Cogsworth argue over who saved the Christmas before the enchantment was lifted. So Mrs. Potts set things straight by telling the actual story. The events of Christmas last year take place shortly after the Beast saves Belle from the wolves. Belle tries to being Christmas into the castle not caring that the Beast forbids it. Meanwhile, the attempts to bring Belle and the Beast together are being foiled by Forte: the music composer of the castle who was turned into a pipe organ and wants the enchantment to be permanent due to the Beast relying on his music for comfort ever since the enchantment was cast.

Yeah, this is an incredibly cheesy movie. A lot of the lines were terrible, hardly any of the music was good, and there were so many plot holes. For instance, *WARNING! SPOILER* why is it no one remembers that particular Christmas after one year? I mean if there's ever a reason the tell the story in flashback, they could've just gone with telling it to the visitors of the castle. Or maybe better yet, just Belle's father who was standing next to Mrs. Potts when she told the story. Also why would Forte destroy the castle when he's in there too. And what did they do with Forte or the damage he did afterwords? Because it sounds like they just left his corpse there for all eternity. I mean imagine the west wing being the place where both Belle and the Beast sleep and...do other things after they get married and have kids and so on in one side of the wing while there's a dead man in the other room. And what even happens to Forte when the enchantment is lifted? And when Forte falls, what's with Belle and the Beast being right in front of him yet far away when he crashes. But at the same time to me, there's still little portions of the songs and a bit of the character Forte and the story all around where I feel like, given to the right people, this could've turned out to before a pretty decent film.

Characters:
Belle: oh good golly was she especially cheesy. I mean the whole 'trying to bring in the Christmas spirit' is pretty cheesy to begin with but it's worse that they've done that to Belle
Beast: Yeah, the whole hating Christmas thing was cheesy. But you have to admit, when it comes to why he hates Christmas they were on the right track.
Forte: Now what particularly got me into loving the movie was Forte. I thought he was just plain awesome. I mean he uses music to make earthquakes, illusion, and these beams that are used to just...knock people over which isn't very evil or even handy for that matter...BUT I STILL THOUGHT IT WAS AWESOME!!!! Now that I've seen this movie again where I'm so much older and wiser, I find the character very poorly developed. I mean in a way the idea of the character still works because he's potentially insane and stuff like that, but they didn't get much into that. And I thought his lines were just terrible! I mean luckily I still thought the climax with him was still cool. But really, I thought that while this character couldn't ever be something worse than Hannibal Lecter or something like that, I feel that with the right hands, this villain could've been SO much more!


Music: the music was horrible. I mean Forte's "Don't Fall in Love" song was definitely one of the worst villain songs ever. Although when it comes to "As long as there's Christmas" I thought the chorus was nice...the first half for sure.

And that's my review for Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas. I finally am fully aware with how horrible this film is, but at the same time I still have a soft spot in the sense that with the right people, it really could've been a really good movie.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Rating: 100%

Nuff said.

Plot: Christmas is coming to the Peanuts gang. But while Charlie Brown has done a lot of things to get ready for Christmas, he can't help but feel depressed. He talks to Lucy about it who suggests that he needs to get more involved, so she suggests that he directs the upcoming Christmas play.

Now in a way, I find Peanuts a little depressing because of how nothing goes right for Charlie Brown. But you still have to love this film over how he's trying to understand Christmas. And even then you have to love everything else about it. Because it's just fun with having most of everyone's favorite Peanuts characters. Especially Snoopy. Snoopy is just the best. I mean there's a reason my stuffed Snoopy was always my favorite toy as a kid.


Music: The music was just spectacular. I mean there's the song "Christmas time is here." and then of coarse there was the Peanuts theme song which is just awesome.


And that's my review for A Charlie Brown Christmas. I know I'm not saying an entire lot, but really, what more needs to be said about this particular movie?

Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983)

Rating: 100%

While my family never owned this movie, there have been plenty of times during the Christmas season where we'd rent it or see it at a friends house or something. And for me, I found watching it during Christmas time to be pure tradition

Plot: Based on the novel by Charles Dickens, the story is about the greedy duck named Ebenezer Scrooge (played by Disney character Scrooge McDuck) who cares about nothing but money and works in his counting house with his underpaid employee Bob Cratchit (played by Mickey Mouse). But on Christmas Eve, he gets a warning from the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley (played by Goofy) that three spirits will come and attempt make him change his old ways.


What is there to say? I love this movie. I would like to think that it's definitely one of the best version of Christmas Carol. Now true, it is extremely short, and it roughly is just generalizing the story with all sorts of Disney characters from other Disney movies like Ichabod and Mr Toad, Robin Hood, and even Pinocchio. But to me, that doesn't matter. It still is a wonderful movie filled with joy, comedy, suspense and a story well told Disney style. And in a way, making it a short film can be good in the sense of introducing the story in a short and simple way before showing any other versions for future generations. I mean it worked that way for me, so why not do so for our children and their children and so on?
   

Characters:
Ebenezer Scrooge: Looking at it now, it is a little silly that he sometimes just says "bah!" instead of "Bah! Humbug!" but not enough to make my rating any lower than 100%. Scrooge McDuck was a very lovable job and Alan Young did a very good job being the voice of the characters as well as writing the screenplay.
Bob Cratchit: I liked this character. Again, he was a pretty good general way of portraying the character.
Jacob Marley: He was funny...but then again duh! He's Goofy!
Jiminy Cricket: I just thought he was a nice character to be the Ghost of Christmas Past.
Willie the Giant: He was a decent character to be the Ghost of Christmas Present.
Pete: I thought making Pete the Ghost of Christmas Future was an excellent choice.


Music: I thought the only song, that played during the beginning and end of the movie was very good.


And that's my review for Mickey's Christmas Carol. It may have its downs but as biased as it may be to say, I don't care. It's a wonderful film for future generations to know and love.