397 replies to this topic

[ellen89]

Okay so lets admit it we ALL have a favorite Disney movie, a favorite Disney moment, a favorite Disney character, favorite song.

A least favorite Disney movie. A least favorite Disney moment. A least favorite Disney character, least favorite song.

I'll start!

Favorite Disney Movie: Beauty and The Beast; This is one of those movies I can sit around and watch over and over again. Its just a beautifully made movie. I was so obsessed with it when I was a kid my mom dressed me as Belle and my brother as The Beast.

Favorite Disney Moment: Simple the beginnings of Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lion King. It just brings me into the movie right away.

Favorite Disney Character: Belle and Lilo. A tie.

Favorite Disney Song: I'll make a man out of you, Beauty and The Beast, and When You Wish Upon A Star. My wedding song is going to be Beauty and The Beast (the angela lansbury version).

Least Favorite Disney Movie: I hate those dang Disney sequels they keep releasing.

Least Favorite Disney Moment: Bambi's mom and Mufassa's death still haunt me.

Least Favorite Disney Character: Pinocchio as the Donkey scared the bejesus out of me.

Least Favorite Disney Song: Reflection in Mulan. I liked it at first but where I'm at every talent show or school performance EVERYONE sang that dang song.

Edited by ellen89, Feb 27, 2010 @ 3:06 AM.

[AimingforYoko]

A couple of things:
I'm no mod, but this probably belongs in the Series/Genres sub-forum.
And are we just talking about animation or any movie under the Disney banner?

[ellen89]

Any movie under the disney banner.

[Worthingbum66]

Their are three Disney movies, I loved so much and still hold up today.

The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast and The Lion King. I have really liked some of Disney's other movies, but for me these are like the 3 crown jewels.

I just floved Beauty and The Best so much. Their is a reason this is the only animated movie, ever to be nominated for best picture Oscar. It was perfection, in all ways. The music was great, I loved the story and animation so much, all the characters surruding Belle, and the Beast, where great, and Belle remains my all time favorie Disney Heroine. No other animated movie, ever compared to B&TB for me.

I loved The Little Murmaid and Lion King, as well and esp the music, and landscape of Lion King and some of the Lion King's theme's where surprisingly dramatic, and held up really well. I still cry at Mustfasa's death.

Edited by Worthingbum66, Feb 27, 2010 @ 8:28 PM.

[TWoP Dietrich]

I'm moving this to the Genres and Series subforum. Remember that posts should be more than just a list.

[Morrigan8472]

I can't really watch these movies anymore as an adult; all I see is the horrible subtext, even Beauty and the Beast "Sure he's an abusive asshole, but if you love him long enough, he'll change!". I tried re-watching the Rescuers recently and was literally agog over the antisemitism and misogyny, and while I can deal with that, what kind of lessons do the kids to whom these movies are marketed take away from them. I'm not even touching the body image issues the movies put forth.

Pretty songs and cinematography though.

[zelmia]

The Parent Trap (Hayley Mills - and Hayley Mills!) remains my all-time favourite. Hayley was really a fantastic little actress and I also loved Brian Keith as the dad. He was so natural and real in this.

I just floved Beauty and The Best so much. Their [sic] is a reason this is the only animated movie, ever to be nominated for best picture Oscar.

Actually, Mary Poppins, a siginficant portion of which was animated, was nominated for Best Picture as well. In both cases, it seems the Academy was honouring the technology involved in creating the film more than anything else.

[Kel Varnsen]

I can't really watch these movies anymore as an adult; all I see is the horrible subtext, even Beauty and the Beast "Sure he's an abusive asshole, but if you love him long enough, he'll change!".

Not only that but with Beauty and the Beast, sure the Beast gets punished for being a jerk. But you know who gets punished way more, his servants. I mean sure it sucks being turned into a horrible beast, but you know what would suck more being turned into a candle stick, or a tea cup (especially when you didn’t do anything wrong). I mean at least a beast still has legs and opposable thumbs.

Plus what kind of message is Beauty and the Beast sending to kids? If some strange person comes knocking on your door you should let them in and be nice to them, or you will be punished. I don't have kids yet, but when I do, I know now I won't be telling them that.

I mean at least with the older Disney movies, you could write off their strange messages and racism to the fact that they were products of their times. But Beauty and the Beast came out in the 90's.

Also, I am not a huge Disney fan, but I love Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I love the fact that it is a cartoon version of a Noir style detective movie. The disney version of Robin Hood is great too.

[cmahorror]

Aw, I love Beauty and the Beast. A heroine who loves books and reading? Yes. Belle was not willing to settle for the handsome jerk and wanted to be with someone who appreciated her for more than just her looks. Also, I never really saw Beast as abusive. He had been put in a terrible position through his own decisions and was made to pay for it. He was mean in the beginning, but Belle changed him and made him understand what was important.

For my money, I would much rather have a smart heroine like Belle who took steps to help Beast and ended up saving his life in more ways than one then Snow White who just sat there waiting for her prince to come. I cannot tell you how much that annoyed me even as a kid.

Plus, I was glad that they actually took time to get to know each other rather than just falling in love right away. As much as I love Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, this has always bothered me.

Maybe that is why I loved Enchanted. It took shots at all that stuff and was still romantic and fun.

Giselle: Oh, it's you.
Prince Edward: Yes, it's me. And you are?
Giselle: Giselle.
Prince Edward: Oh, Giselle! We shall be married in the morning!

HA!

Edited by cmahorror, Mar 1, 2010 @ 9:18 PM.

[marxfan]

I can't really watch these movies anymore as an adult; all I see is the horrible subtext, even Beauty and the Beast "Sure he's an abusive asshole, but if you love him long enough, he'll change!".

I respectfully disagree. The reason why I love Beauty and the Beast is because it has some of the most mature and complex themes of love I’ve ever seen in an animated movie.

Belle is my favorite Disney heroine. In fact, she’s one of my favorite movie heroines of all time, because she’s no victim and she has a good head on her shoulders. As Lindsay “The Nostalgia Chick” Ellis pointed out in her brilliantly scathing review of Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Belle doesn’t treat the beast like a “project”. She doesn’t like the Beast at all in the beginning (“I don’t want to get to know him! I don’t want to have anything to do with him!”).

And remember when Belle escapes the castle and Beast rescues her from the wolves? Belle actually hesitates helping the wounded Beast (one of the most human moments I’ve ever seen in a Disney film). Then when she’s cleaning his wounds back at the castle, Belle decides to lay down the law with the Beast in that priceless argument they have.

Beast: [roaring] Aaargh! That hurts!
Belle: If you'd hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!
Beast: Well if you hadn't have run away, this wouldn't have happened.
Belle: If you hadn't frightened me, I wouldn't have run away!
Beast: Well *you* shouldn't have been in the west wing!
Belle: Well, you should learn to control your temper!

Each time I see that scene, I think,
Belle:1, Beast: nada!

Again, Belle is no victim, and nobody pushes her around, not even a ferocious monster. So why does she fall in love with the Beast?

Because the Beast chooses to stop acting like a ferocious monster!! He’s not the abusive boyfriend who apologizes and promises to change... and then never does. He gives Belle that gorgeous library, learns manners, and spends time with her.He actually becomes a great guy on his own.

Some make the argument that Belle and Beast's relationship is nothing more than Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t agree. Belle doesn’t stay with the Beast that long, and she still wants to go home deep down. When they discover Belle’s father is sick and lost in the woods, Beast realizes that, as much as he’s grown to love Belle, he has selfishly kept her as his prisoner. He lets her go, even though he’s throwing away his chance at becoming human again. Belle takes his offer, is just fine being back home, and only goes back to the Beast when he’s in danger (leading to that badass moment where she breaks down the door on horseback). That sounds like real love to me.

Phew! Sorry, Beauty and the Beast brings out my long-winded, hyperbolic side. Now, I do admit that Belle becomes a Bella Swan-like simp in the atrocious, direct to DVD sequels and mid-quels. Here’s a link to the Nostalgia Chick review if you want to see my point.

http://thatguywithth...ick/15171-ep022

[cmahorror]

marxfan-Amen! I agree with all your points. This is why it continues to be one of my favorite movies.

Coming on the heels of Ariel and The Little Mermaid (just for the record, I do love the movie) and the message it sends, Beauty and the Beast is a godsend. Ariel is willing to leave her family, give up her whole life and a great gift (her voice) just for a chance to meet this guy she knows nothing about. And convince him to fall in love with her. In 3 days. And if she doesn't she becomes a slave to Ursula. So either way she is taking a path that she knows will alienate her from people who love her forever. And they all seem to love and care about her, so it isn't like she is living a terrible life. Oh wait, that's right - she's 16 and needs her independence. Please!

[Batman Beatles]

Ariel is willing to leave her family, give up her whole life and a great gift (her voice) just for a chance to meet this guy she knows nothing about.

"I sold my soul for a vagina and a man I don't even know!" - The Nostalgia Chick

[ellen89]

marxfan- I 100% agree. You listed every single reason I LOVE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. But I am one of those people who still enjoy Disney and quite frankly I always will. Sure some of the subtext is wrong but Beauty and The Beast's subtext never bugged me. One of the subtext that bugs me the most is Pinocchio regardless of how bad you are and what you do you'll still get your way.

[Cress]

I don't care either way about Beauty and the Beast. But no matter whether you like the romance or not, you gotta admit it's one screwed up curse that punishes all the servants, not just the Beast himself.

I liked Sleeping Beauty the best, especially the fact that she met the Prince before he woke her up from the magic sleep. They weren't total strangers, which is something that people often misremember about the Disney film. Briar Rose and the Prince met each other in the forest, shared a dance, and made a date to meet at her cottage for her birthday party. And then, when the three fairies reveal to her that she was really a princess and already betrothed to a prince, she cried. She didn't care about being a princess now and meeting some stranger; she was rightfully upset about having been lied to her whole life about her identity and having other people choose a husband for her without consulting her.

(It turns out of course that the prince she's betrothed to is the same guy she met in the forest, but she didn't know that at the time.) I like that Aurora/Briar Rose has real concerns and isn't just automatically swept away with joy to find out that she's a princess. The prince also doesn't know who Briar Rose/Aurora is, and tells his father he won't marry anybody but the girl he danced with in the forest. Nice to see that the feeling was mutual, even if love at first sight is rather convenient.

Edited by Cress, Mar 7, 2010 @ 12:24 AM.

[TheTexasKid]

Actually, the fictional marriage in "Sleeping Beauty" is not that far off from a real marriage of the 1300s, when the movie supposedly takes place.

The man and/or woman did not choose--normally--their future bride and/or groom. It was choosen for them by their parents, as in the film.

As the two kingdoms adjoined each other, the marriage was for political reasons, which was the normal reason to get married at that time.

Princess Aurora/Briar Rose is only 16. Also normal somewhat. Remember Juliet in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" was only 14, when she was to be married, and contemporary audiences of that time, apparently had no problem with that.

King Hubert, Prince Philip's father's response to Prince Philip's wish to marry some peasant girl. Also normal, as at that time, princes slept with, but did not normally marry peasant girls, because they would then be marrying below thier station.

The only thing odd about the marriage in "Sleeping Beauty" is Prince Philip's age at the marriage. While we are not told how old he is, he appears at the christening and appears to be 3 or 4 at that time, so he'd now be 19 or 20. And a man that young was not normally consider old enough to support a wife and family.

Those kind of marriages did not end with the Middle Ages, but it one is to believe Mark Rascovitch's "Falkenhorst" and/or Kaoru Mori's "Emma," those kind of marriages continued up to the 19th century in Europe. Though, the motivation for such a marriage might have changed. As now the impoverished European aristocracy was now marrying into the moneyed middle class of Europe and America.

Both sides getting something out of the marriage. The groom's family getting money to continue their lifestyle, and the bride's family getting a child and grandchildren with a prestigious title.

That is not to say that the prospective bride and groom did not fall deeply in love with each other, but love was seldom the primary motivation for a marriage.

[oreo8704]

I don't care either way about Beauty and the Beast. But no matter whether you like the romance or not, you gotta admit it's one screwed up curse that punishes all the servants, not just the Beast himself.

I love Beauty and the Beast but I never got why the servants got punished too either.

[AimingforYoko]

I liked Sleeping Beauty the best

It had quite possibly one of the best villain(ess) names ever: Maleficent.

[lastdaughterfk]

Sure some of the subtext is wrong but Beauty and The Beast's subtext never bugged me.

I think subtext is kind of a personal thing to bother you or not. My favorite Disney movie is The little mermaid and the subtext never bothered me. Actually not Disney subtext ever bothers me since all this are fantasy setting and like on Neverending Story I think fantasy doesn't has limits. Only straight real life movies/books get to offend me once in a while.

[Cress]

Actually, the fictional marriage in "Sleeping Beauty" is not that far off from a real marriage of the 1300s, when the movie supposedly takes place.

I know all about medieval marriages, and political alliances by kingdoms. I was just saying that I liked the story. How Briar Rose/Aurora reacted to the news that she was a princess, and could no longer see the guy she fell in love with. I'm not talking about historical accuracy; just talking about the equality of the romance from a modern romantic point of view. Like, how I'd like the story to be if I showed it to a young niece of mine or any girl who's so wrapped up in the idea of Disney princesses. I love the fact that Briar Rose cried and felt her life was ruined, instead of automatically being happy at the prospect of having royal advantages.

That is not to say that the prospective bride and groom did not fall deeply in love with each other, but love was seldom the primary motivation for a marriage.

Yes but even in medieval ages, fairy tales were still told about people falling in love and marrying fantastically (Cinderella). Balladeers still sang songs talking of epic romances. Also, the idea of courtly love was that people could fall in love, even if they had to be married to someone else. So a person can want love, even if they could not realistically get it in the confines of marriage.

[burntoemerge]

My favorite is actually Mulan. It's definitely one that I could see showing to my kids one day without having to worry about them getting some worrisome messages. Mulan is simply the best heroine of them all, and some bits to this day make me cry.

My, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one's late. But I'll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of all.

Beautiful. :) I loved that, although there was a romance, the focus was on Mulan coming into her own. Her relationship with her father was (rightfully) more important than her relationship with Shang. If Shang hadn't come to his senses and gone along with Mulan's plan, Mulan would have been upset, but the job still would have gotten done. Mulan would still have brought honor to her family, and to her country.

Beauty and the Beast is my second favorite. I identified so much with Belle.

The Emperor's New Groove is a completely different type of movie, but it always brings a smile to my face. Kronk and Yzma made the movie for me.

Fox and the Hound has a worrying message (nope, if you're different, you cannot be friends. Sorry.) but it gets honorable mention for always making me cry.

[marxfan]

Re: Maleficent

I dunno, I always thought Maleficent was overly sensitive (this applies to nearly every version of Sleeping Beauty I've read or seen). For God's sake, so you weren't invited to a damn baby shower! Just have your own party and don't invite those people! Problem solved!

And it irritates me that it took her nearly two decades to figure out her idiot henchmen weren't succeeding in finding Aurora. If you were Maleficent, wouldn't you start to suspect your minions' incompetence after the second or third year??

As far as Disney villainesses go, I prefer Ursula from The Little Mermaid and the Wicked Queen from Snow White. Ursula, because she had competent henchmen (Flotsam and Jetsam knew what they were doing, and were creepy as hell to boot) and wasn't afraid to take charge and get her hands dirty. Same goes for the Wicked Queen, who did the same after her huntsman failed her.

Honorable mentions for Disney villains:

Lady Tremaine from Cinderella: Such a delightful sociopath. Think about it; her only joy in life, the one thing that makes her get out of bed in the morning, is making meek little Cinderella as miserable as humanly possible. That is evil, my friends.

The Coachman from Pinocchio: Seems harmless at first, but is in fact a vicious, ruthless schemer who lures in innocent boys, robs them of their humanity, and sells them into slavery. How does the Coachman not get more credit???

Practically everyone in Dumbo: Especially the other elephants! I personally think anyone who picks on someone's baby for their looks deserves to brought down, and HARD. And when Mrs. Jumbo whoops that mean kid for tormenting Dumbo? One of my earliest "hell yeah!" moments.

Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective and McLeech from The Rescuers Down Under: By virtue of the great actors who voiced them (Vincent Price and George C. Scott, respectively).

Edited by marxfan, Mar 9, 2010 @ 7:45 PM.

[lastdaughterfk]

I think Maleficient gets points for being the most competent and the one that had to be overpowered by numbers to lose. I also think she was not invited to the party because she was evil already, that is just the excuse she used to curse little Aurora. They could had invited her and she would had still cursed her.


I adore Ursula too. She was evil, large, sexy, clever and her minions rocked too.


Cinderella's stepmother was really creepy too. But I always wondered if her daughters were adopted she is very pretty (for an old lady) but her daughters were horrible, from where did they got their looks!?

[marxfan]

Cinderella's stepmother was really creepy too. But I always wondered if her daughters were adopted she is very pretty (for an old lady) but her daughters were horrible, from where did they got their looks!?

Mr. Tremaine? Or maybe Lady Tremaine was having a fling with an unattractive stable boy?

While on the subject of Disney's Cinderella, does anyone else loathe how the direct-to-DVD sequels try to paint evil stepsister Anastasia as sympathetic? Sorry, Disney, but you messed up big time with that one. You can't make establish a character as abusive and cruel only to show that she's misunderstood and as put-upon as Cinderella! Doesn't work like that!

[Colonel Green]

I don't care either way about Beauty and the Beast. But no matter whether you like the romance or not, you gotta admit it's one screwed up curse that punishes all the servants, not just the Beast himself.

Magical forces in fairy tales are nothing if not capricious.

I have to say, while perhaps none of the post-Lion King movies were as good as that one (or the ones immediately previous), I've always thought that Disney continued to do great films through 1999's Tarzan. I like all the films in that period; some of Disney's best music is there.

[Brn2bwild]

I watched Bambi for the first time in a long time recently, and I was amazed at how bleak it was. We all remember what happened to Bambi's mother, but even the romance is grim.

[Cress]

I liked Maleficient because she turned into that huge dragon at the end.

The Great Mouse Detective was pretty good, and Ratigan became more feral and animal like at the end. You know, where he rips his clothes and starts crawling around like the Rat that he is.

[burntoemerge]

Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame didn't scare me the most as a kid (that honor probably goes to Cinderella's stepmother or Ursula) but looking back, he was probably the creepiest. There was a whole song dedicated to his lust for Esmeralda! The worst is that Quasimodo didn't realize Frollo was a villain until near the end of the movie.

[Batman Beatles]

Yeah his idea of tough love was brutal.

[Craphole Island]

My all time favorite is Mulan. "I'll Make a Man Out of You" is still played/sang pretty regularly by my group of friends.

I also love Aladdin and basically any of the other 90s ones.

Anything after 1999, I didn't really like, in terms of cartoons. I haven't seen The Princess and the Frog yet though. Oh and not counting Pixar of course. I love all those.

Fox and the Hound can still make me cry. :(

[Batman Beatles]

One thing the prince in Sleeping Beauty had going for him was that he was interesting. He had a personality.