Bambi 9/10

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G, 70m, 1942

With the Voice Talents of Bobby Stewart (Baby Bambi), Donnie Dunagan (Young Bambi), Hardie Albright (Adolescent Bambi), John Sutherland (Adult Bambi), Peter Behn (Young Thumper), Tim Davis (Adolescent Thumper and Adolescent Flower), Sam Edwards (Adult Thumper), Stan Alexander (Young Flower), Sterling Holloway (Adult Flower), Paula Winslowe (Bambi’s Mother and Pheasant), Will Wright (Friend Owl), Cammie King (Young Faline), Ann Gillis (Adult Faline), Fred Shields (The Great Prince of the Forest), Margaret Lee (Thumper’s Mom), Thelma Boardman (Girl Bunny, Quail Mother, Female Pheasant) and Perce Pearce (Mr. Mole). Directed by David Hand, James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield and Norman Wright. Produced by Walt Disney. Screenplay by Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, Vernon Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch and Ralph Wright. Music by Frank Churchill and Edward H. Plumb. Based on the book Bambi, a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten.

            Walt Disney originally planned to make this his second film after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However, production problems such as an inability to properly portray the necessary realism that Walt wanted, caused the film to be delayed as his fifth feature, behind Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo.

            The film opens with a beautiful panning shot of the forest that shows the beautiful lushness of the forest. The camera then rests on a sleeping owl, who we later learn is called Friend Owl (Will Wright). Friend Owl is suddenly awoken by a great commotion. It turns out that a baby prince was born. Why this particular deer is special and why he alone is going to be the next Prince of the Forest is never revealed. The young buck is named Bambi, by his mother (Paula Winslowe). The rest of the film follows Bambi as he grows up and befriends Thumper the Rabbit and Flower the Skunk.

            This is one of the perfect examples of a coming of age story. The shortened synopsis of Bambi is it’s a film about the life of a deer. This film truly illustrates what life is truly about. It features the happy moments like learning how to ice skate and making new friends, as well as some of the sad moments like Bambi and his mother being unable to find enough food to eat and a certain scene that I won’t spoil, but anyone who has seen the movie knows exactly what I’m talking about. This film wisely doesn’t boggle itself down with stupid side plots, it just focuses on the little moments of life. This makes it a film where it’s more about the journey rather than the actual destination.

            This is the first Disney film completely grounded in reality. From the way the animals move and behave, to the look of a spring shower, everything in this film breathes life (until a certain point). When a character dies, they stay dead. There’s no magic spell or MacGuffin that will bring them back. The jump in animation is extremely evident in this film. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the deer resemble bags of flour with stick legs more than they resemble a living breathing animal. The deer move and react the way a deer would act (for the most part). When Bambi is out frolicking in the fields kicking his legs in the air, I can’t help but smile at the minute details the animators nailed on this film. I grew up on a farm, so I’ve seen a lot of calves in my lifetime. They act almost the exact same way as Bambi does when he’s frolicking in the meadow.

This film is an artistic tour de force. The Multi-plane camera was able to give the forest a sense of depth. This is not a flat barren looking forest, it’s lush and beautiful looking. It looks like it could truly be the home for some woodland critters. The impressionistic landscape matches the character design, so the characters don’t look out of place inside the forest. This is due to the amazing artistry of the Disney staff, such as Tyrus Wong, who is largely credited for making the forest look as grand as it does.

            The characters of this film are a ton of fun. Bambi as a character is a little dull, as he spends the majority of the beginning of the film looking around with doe-eyed amazement. Thumper is the wise cracking neighborhood kid that says the first thing that pops in his hand (in other words, me). Flower is the shy awkward character. As he is a skunk, a lesser film would have made several fart jokes, because Flower’s a skunk therefore he must utilize the defensive technique skunks are known for. This film wisely avoided this obvious gag that may have been funny to some, I feel it would have resulted in a detriment to an otherwise mature animated film. I love how they never actually show “man” onscreen. This way the audience can insert themselves into the film and realize how their actions can destroy a fragile ecosystem.

            The environmental message is powerful, but not overbearing or forced. The message is simple. Humans have to be careful with their actions, otherwise they can bring ruin to themselves and others. Some may claim this film has an anti-hunting agenda. I disagree, the focus of this film is the life of Bambi and the trials and tribulations he must face while growing up. True, Bambi’s mother’s death is heart wrenching, but that was the act of one individual. In reality, hunters typically don’t hunt does as it is largely looked down upon in the hunting community. I’ve heard plenty of boasting from hunters about how they shot a 8-point or a 10-point buck, but I have yet to hear a hunter boast about killing a doe.

            I do feel Bambi has a massive tone problem in one particular spot in the film. The film goes from showing a very powerful and emotional scene, to a bright and happy go lucky scene. This takes the audience out of the moment, leaving many members of the audience to wonder what’s going on. While the emotionally powerful scene was executed well, it did not follow through well. The Land Before Time and The Lion King had similar scenes, but they knew to hold off on the bright and colorful moments until the film had at least addressed what had just happened.

            Bambi showcases how beautiful and tragic an animated feature can be. Although it has a simple plot, the film’s saving grace is the likeability of the characters and the gorgeous animation that wouldn’t be topped be topped until the Disney Renaissance, almost fifty years after Bambi’s theatrical release.

The Great Mouse Detective 8.5/10

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G, 74m, 1986

With the Voice Talents of Barrie Ingham (Basil), Vincent Price (Professor Ratigan), Val Bettin (Major Dr. David Q. Dawson), Susanne Pollatschek (Olivia Flaversham), Alan Young (Hiram Flaversham), Candy Candido (Figit), Diana Chesney (Mrs. Judson), Eve Brenner (Queen Mousetoria) Melissa Manchester (Miss Kitty Mouse) Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes), Laurie Main (Dr. Watson) and Frank Welker (Toby and Felicia). Directed by Ron Clements, John Musker, Dave Michener and Burny Mattinson. Produced by Burny Mattinson. Screenplay by Peter Young, Vance Gerry, Ron Clements, John Musker, Steve Hulett, Burny Mattinson, Matthew O’Callaghan, Dave Michener, Bruce Morris and Mel Shaw. Music by Henry Mancini. Based on the book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus.

After the disastrous critical and financial failure of The Black Cauldron, the future of the animation department at the Disney Studio was left in question. The studio really hadn’t had a largely successful film since Walt Disney’s death in 1966. The time period from about 1970 with the release of The Aristocats,to 1989 with the release of The Little Mermaid, was such a turbulent time in the Disney Studio, it was dubbed by some to be the “Disney Dark Age”.

The film opens in London in 1897, where we’re introduced to Olivia (Susanne Pollatschek) and Hiram Flaversham (Alan Young). The Flavershams are toymakers, and on this particular day it’s little Olivia’s birthday. Hiram, being a kind and dotting father (the mother is absent and is presumed dead) makes Olivia a dancing ballerina, much to her delight. The merriment is interrupted when a bat named Figit (Candy Candido) kidnaps Hiram, leaving poor Olivia all alone. Major Dr. David Q. Dawson (Val Bettin) discovers her crying in a discarded boot. She tells him of her plight and how she’s looking for the Detective Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham). Fortunately for Olivia, Dr. Dawson knows where Baker Street is, and he accompanies to Basil’s place of residence. The eccentric Basil makes his appearance and proves his sleuth skills by giving exposition on Dr. Dawson that had already been told by Dr. Dawson. After learning of the details of her father’s abduction, Basil agrees to take the case. Basil reveals that the bat that took her father is employed by the villainous Professor Ratigan (Vincent Price). The rest of the film centers around Basil and Dr. Dawson trying to uncover Ratigan’s nefarious plot, stop him and to rescue Olivia’s father.

The characters in this movie are just a thrill to watch. The hero and vilian play off each other perfectly. Basil is a highly intelligent and rather narcissistic sleuth, who has made it his mission to bring down Ratigan. Ratigan is a deliciously evil vilian, right down to Ratigan making evil Shakespearean gestures. Dawson and Olivia serve as the characters that adults and children can live vicariously through. The relationship of the characters are enhanced by the wonderful work of the voice actors, who did a tremendous job in their line delivery.

The animation of this film has a more cartoonish feel, rather than a realistic feel. The background of this film are drawn quite well, and they truly capture the dark beauty of Victorian era England. This film utilizes one of the first uses of CGI in an animated film. The process was used during the climatic fight inside Big Ben. The animation of the gears of Big Ben are simplistic as the CGI animation was limited at the time. Where it truly shines is camera angles and movements add to the intensity and tension of the action scenes. The action sequences are particularly memorable as they actually have weight to them. Basil actually cries out in pain when Ratigan scratches him, and seeing Ratigan go from a sophisticated and educated character to a snarling feral beast, is particularly terrifying.

During the turbulent time of the “Disney Dark Age” a former Disney animator name Don Bluth had left the Disney studio with several other animators in 1979, during the production of The Fox and the Hound. Bluth and his team believed that the Disney Studio was no longer creating content that was created during Walt’s lifetime, so they left to create their own animated films. The first film they released was The Secret of Nimh in 1982. The film was a financial success and lead to a rivalry between Bluth and the Disney Studio. Bluth even released a mouse centered animated film the same year The Great Mouse Detective was released. The film was An American Tail and it outgrossed The Great Mouse Detective by over forty-five million dollars, but the question remains, is An American Tail a better film than The Great Mouse Detective? In this critic’s opinion the answer is no. I feel that the relationship between Basil and Ratigan is more entertaining than the relationship of Fievel and Warren T. Rat and I found the characters in The Great Mouse Detective to be more compelling tan the characters in An American Tail. The songs in An American Tail are better than the songs in The Great Mouse Detective, with “Somewhere Out There” even getting two Grammy awards in 1988. Now granted “The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind” and “Let Me Be Good To You” from The Great Mouse Detective are more entertaining and are more pleasant to listen to than “There Are No Cats In America” and “A Duo” from An American Tail, however none of the songs in The Great Mouse Detective are as good as“Somewhere Out There”. The voice acting in The Great Mouse Detective is better than the voice acting in An American Tail as some characters like Fievel and Gussie Mausheimer. Although Olivia was voiced by a child actress, her voice never comes across as grading or annoying.

Despite being released during the “Disney Dark Age”, The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company are considered to be the beginning of the Disney Renaissance. I personally consider this film to be better than Pocahontas and Hercules, which were released during the Disney Renaissance. The Great Mouse Detective and its unfortunate failure in the box office e when compared to An American Tail helped serve as the necessary kick in the pants the Disney Studio needed and helped lay the groundwork for the Disney Renaissance. As it is a cartoon, several liberties were taken for plot convenience, but overall it’s still a highly enjoyable film.

An American Tail 7.5/10

Nick SheedyLeave a comment

G, 80m, 1986

With the Voices Talents of Philip Glasser (Fievel Mousekewitz), Amy Green (Tanya Mousekewitz), Nehemiah Persoff (Papa Mousekewitz), Erica Yohn (Mama Mousekewitz), Dom DeLuise (Tiger), Pat Musick (Tony Toponi), John Finnegan (Warren T. Rat), Cathianne Blore (Bridget), Neil Ross (Honest John), Christopher Plummer (Henri), Madeline Kahn (Gussie Mausheimer) and Will Ryan (Digit). Directed by Don Bluth. Produced by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and Jon Pomeroy. Screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Music by James Horner.

            The film opens in 1885 in Shostka, Russia. We are then introduced to the Mousekewitz family, who are celebrating Hanukkah (yes, the family is Jewish, and no the film never really references this again). Their celebration is interrupted when the Cossacks, along with their cats (who brings their cats on a raid? I can understand dogs, but cats?) attack the town, burning houses and killing all in their path. This leads the family to travel to Hamburg, Germany where they board a boat to travel to the United States. Following a musical sequence, a storm breaks out where characters from various countries sing about the woes of their countries and the optimism of which they view the United States. Fievel (Philip Glasser) is separated from his family. The rest of the film focuses on Fievel trying to reunite with his family.

The characters in this film run the gambit of being likeably funny characters, to being outright annoying and even offensive at times. Fievel, while likeable, suffers from what I call stupid fake hero syndrome – where he’ll suddenly get a burst of courage and do something extremely stupid, only to retreat after the courage fades. When the cats are attacking the town in Russia, Fievel runs out, beating a spoon against a pan trying to frighten the cats. At times, Fievel’s voice can be rather grating. I found it interesting that Fievel is dressed very similar to Mickey Mouse as he is portrayed in Fantasia. Both characters wear long, baggy red clothes, and both have blue hats that are important to them.Fievel also never goes through the proper process of coming to the United States. Therefore, Fievel is technically an undocumented immigrant. The rest of the Mousekewitz family is your standard good-natured family (although I noticed halfway through the movie that the baby Yasha mysteriously disappears and is never seen again). Tiger (Dom DeLuise) is your typical, good natured, bumbling, token nice cat. The fact that he’s in a gang though, conflicts with his established character. He openly states that he’s a vegetarian, and I can’t see the other cats being ok with this, as it seems the sole purpose of the gang is to eat and terrorize the mice. Characters like Digit (Will Ryan) and Gussie Mausheimer (Madeline Kahn) are just there for comedic relief, and often times come across as annoying. One character who is particularly offensive is the drunkard Irish politician Honest John (Neil Ross), and no, this Honest John has no resemblance to the Honest John In Disney’s Pinocchio. I understand that the character is meant to be a caricature of Tammany Hall politicians of that era, but he comes across as a negative stereotype of Irish people. I also fail to see what makes the other cats follow Warren T. Rat (John Finnegan). He’s one of the smallest cats in the gang (the cats aren’t shown to have any need of the protection money he gets from the mice). He’s not particularly menacing, and he’s never seen demonstrating any real force of power. I also fail to understand why someone who’s trying to con a group of people would use such an obvious fake name. In this situation, it’d be the same as if I was an Alien was trying to impersonate a human, and had the name Nicholas L. Human. The love side plot between Tony (Pat Musick) and Bridget (Cathianne Blore) serves little to nothing in the plot, and is just unbelievable and unnecessary. Now, this could have worked out better had the filmmakers had Bridget, who is from an aristocratic Irish born family, been forbidden from seeing Tony, who was from the lower classes. This would have added an excellent commentary on the nature of class prejudice, but instead the filmmakers decided to shoehorn a bland, forgettable, and unnecessary love story in the plot.

            The animation on this film is a mixed bag. While the character design of the animal and the human characters does look nice, at times the animation can get a little awkward. Throughout the movie, there are several scenes where a character, who is neither speaking nor being spoken to, suddenly freezes. Now it’s fine to have a character sit around not moving very much in your animated film because animating every character is difficult and expensive. What’s not ok is to have a character freeze up with the same look on their face, neither moving nor blinking. This gives them an almost petrified look. There are also multiple animation errors in the film, mainly involving Fievel and his hat. In one scene, Fievel is depicted wearing or holding his hat, in the next, the hat will be missing, and in the next he’ll have his hat again. Several characters change color tones throughout the film. I’d understand if this was intentional, showing a character that is sad or depressed as less colorful, but, there’s no consistency with the color tones, so it just ends up being distracting. Now this isn’t to say that the animation of this film is bad throughout the film. I particularly enjoyed the scenes involving song and dance number. My favorite scene would have to be the “Somewhere Out There” number.

            This was the second film that Don Bluth made, and while it’s not as good as his first film, The Secret of Nimh, it is certainly better than the films Bluth and his team would create later on, such as A Troll in Central Park and Thumbelina. It’s also painfully obvious that this film didn’t have a large budget, and this really shows in the animation. Younger viewers might find this film to be a tad too depressing, and at times scary (seriously what does Don Bluth have against cats?). In The Secret of Nimh and An American Tail some of the cats are drawn in a way that looks demonic. Sure the film has its flaws, but I found it to be a fun parable about a bunch of minority groups banding together to stop another group from taking away their freedom.

The Black Cauldron 6/10

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PG, 81m, 1985

With the Voices Talents of Grant Beardsley (Taran), Susan Sheridan (Princess Eilonwy), Nigel Hawthorne (Fflewddur Flam), John Byner (Gurgi and Doli), John Hurt (The Horned King), Phil Fondacaro (Creeper), Freddie Jones (Dallben), Eda Reiss Merin (Orduu), Adele Malis-Morey (Orwen), Billie Hayes (Orgoch), Arthur Malet (King Eidilleg) and John Huston (Narrator). Directed by Ted Berman and Richard Rich. Produced by Joe Hale and Ron Miller. Screenplay by Ted Berman, Vance Gerry, Joe Hale, David Jones, Roy Morita, Richard Rich, Art Stevens, AL Wilson and Peter Young. Music by Elmer Bernstein. Based on The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander.

            The Black Cauldron is often labelled as the black sheep of the Disney Studio. This is understandable when you factor in how dark and drastically different this film is in terms of tone to other Disney movies. Now this doesn’t mean that Disney is known for only doing lighthearted fluff. The “Night on Bald Mountain” segment from Fantasia, the death of Bambi’s mother and the jackass transformation scene in Pinocchio are some of the darkest scenes and concepts in western animation. However, this film took it several steps too far while simultaneously having a massive tone problem. This film is also labeled as the black sheep of the Disney Studio due to its infamously poor reception both at the box office and critically. This film did so bad at the box office that it was beat out by The Care Bears Movie, which had a much smaller budget. This film did so bad at the box office it almost bankrupt the Disney Feature Animation studio. The film would not be released on home video until 1998, which by that point many Disney films had already been released multiple times on home video.

            The film is based on the first two books in Lloyd Alexander’s series The Chronicles of Prydain (The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron). The film opens with exposition narrated by John Huston about the Black Cauldron and how by using it one can create a race of deathless warriors. We are then introduced to Dallben (Freddie Jones) and his ward, Taran (Grant Beardsley). They are the caretakers of the magical pig, Hen Wen. Hen Wen has the power to produce visions by dipping her snout in water. When Dallben learns that the Horned King (John Hurt) is searching for Hen Wen in order to find the Black Cauldron. Dallben then orders Taran to hide in a cottage in the forest, until Dallben believes its safe. Naturally, Taran gets distracted daydreaming about being a warrior and loses Hen Wen. While looking for Hen Wen Taran runs into Gurgi (John Byner) who only wants “munchings and crunchings”. Taran finds Hen Wen just as she’s being captured by the Horned King’s Gwythaints (basically a dragon, only they never breathe fire). They bring Hen Wen to the Horned King, where Taran manages to free Hen Wen at the cost of his own freedom. Inside the Horned King’s dungeons, we meet the talkative Princess Eilonwy (Susan Sheridan) and the minstrel Fflewddur Flam (Nigel Hawthorne). Taran finds a magical sword that can seemingly cut through anything and uses it to escape the Horned King’s castle along with Eilonwy and Fflewddur. Now the group must find the Black Cauldron before the Horned King and destroy it or all of Prydain is ruined.

            In a fantasy adventure driven story, the story lives or dies by its characters. This is effectively the biggest flaw with the movie. In the books all the characters get properly flushed out. The characters in this film do not get the same treatment. In the book, Princess Eilonwy is a princess for a reason and her being a princess matters to the story. She also has a personality and contributes to the plot. In this film, Eilonwy is a princess for seemingly no reason. We never visit her castle, we learn nothing of her life prior to the events of the film and she doesn’t even do the stereotypical Disney tropes that is commonly found in Disney films (she has no animal sidekick, she never sings, she never looks into a pool of water singing about what she wants in life etc.). The only reason I can think of for her possibly being a princess is a marketing ploy by Disney. Evidentially this backfired because she is the only Disney princess to be in a full-length animated film and not get marketed as a Disney Princess (Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire doesn’t count because she becomes queen at the end). The character of Fflewddur Flam is essentially pointless serving, only as a comic relief. Which is real shame because in the book, he was one of the most interesting characters and his magic harp actually came into play. The characters of Gurgi, Creeper and Doli serve some use to the plot, but they come across as annoying and uninteresting. However, by far the worst character in this film is Taran, who serves as the stereotypical “I want to be a somebody” character. Taran is easily one of the worst characters in the movie. He spends most of his time acting like an arrogant brat who whines constantly. As is the case with many Disney films, the best character in the film is the villain. The Horned King is easily one of Disney’s most sinister and creepy villains ever brought to screen. John Hurt does an excellent job voicing the Horned King. His creepy vocals give the character an even more sinister edge.

            This film may not be suitable for some young children. Many children will find scenes involving the Horned King to be too scary. During the final battle scene, we see hundreds of skeletons come to life in an eerily puppet like manner. This scene alone will give some young viewers nightmares. I grew up in a strict household when it comes to media (in other words I was the kid whose parents wouldn’t let him watch The Simpsons or Family Guy) and I was not allowed to watch this film until after I turned ten. This film is the first Disney animated film to receive a PG rating and this PG is well earned. Granted the film could have been a lot darker, but Disney made some cuts to the final picture, and it is rather noticeable. In the scene when the Cauldron Born first come to life and attack the Horned King’s henchman, there’s a very noticeable edit where the score suddenly cuts off and one can quickly tell something was edited out.

            The only reason I can think of for recommending this film is to see Disney attempt to make a much darker film. Fans of The Chronicles of Prydain will hate this film because it was translated to film about as well as Eragon or Percy Jackson was. The only slightly redeeming thing this film is the animation as well as the Horned King, and even he is rather dull and lifeless (no pun intended). Disney has gotten into a bad habit recently of remaking some of their classics into live action films. In my opinion, they should stop remaking their good animated films into live action films and instead remake their bad or mediocre animated films into live action. I would love to see this film done right in live action. The film would have to be at least PG-13 to do it justice. The only saving grace this film has is it finally gave the Disney Animation Studio the kick in the pants it needed to better themselves.

9 6.5/10

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PG-13, 79m, 2009

With the Voice Talents of Elijah Wood (9), John C. Reilly (5), Jennifer Connelly (7), Christopher Plummer (1), Crispin Glover (6), Martin Landau (2), Fred Tatasciore (8 and a Radio Announcer), Alan Oppenheimer (the Scientist) and Tom Kane (the Chancellor). Directed by Shane Acker. Produced by Jim Lemley, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov and Dana Ginsburg. Screenplay by Pamela Pettler. Music by Deborah Lurie. Based on the short film of the same name.

            This is one of those animated films that scoffs at the notion of animation being a children’s medium, and the film certainly earns its PG-13 rating. This film is classified as an adult animated film. I disagree, I consider this film to be a teen animated film, as the film never goes near the boundaries pushed by other adult animated films like Fritz the Cat, Heavy Metal or A Scanner Darkly. This film was released on September 9, 2009, making its release date 09/09/09 (I can’t make this stuff up if I tried). The film is an expansion of the 2005 animated short 9 created by Shane Acker, when he was a student in UCLA. The short was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 2006, but it lost to The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation.

            The film opens with a mysterious scientist (Alan Oppenheimer) stitching together a rag doll like figure called a Stitchpunk. This opening brings to mind the opening of Coraline, which was released the same year. The difference is the opening of Coraline sets a creepy precedence for the rest of the film. This film’s opening sequence feels less creepy as it feels like a lonely old man is creating something he can interact with. Through narration from the Scientist, it’s revealed that in its pursuit to further technology humanity was destroyed itself and now the world is a barren wasteland. 9 (Elijah Wood) wakes up with no memory of who he is and mute. He goes outside where he’s started by the apocalyptic landscape. He hears something coming so he hides and bonks it on the head. It turns out to be a fellow Stitchpunk by the name of 2 (Martin Landau). 2 helps 9 regain his voice before they are attacked by a terrifying mechanical monster. 2 is captured in the ensuing battle and 9 is left alone. He gets rescued by 5 (John C. Reilly) and is quickly introduced to 1 (Christopher Plummer) and 8 (Fred Tatasciore). There 1 tells 9 the expositional story of how the Stitchpunks awoke to a world ripped straight out of The Matrix, where machines and humanity are at war with one another. Eventually humanity is wiped out leaving only the machines referred to as “the Beasts” and the Stitchpunks. 9 and 5 set out to rescue 2, they fin him in the Beast’s lair and their helped in taking down the Beast by 7 (Jennifer Connelly). 9 puts in the remaining part of a machine that sucks out the soul of 2. The machine comes to life and tries to kill 9, 7 and 5. They escape and travel back to 7’s lair 4 and 3. It’s revealed that the Scientist had built the machine, dubbed the brain as a way to build new machines. The Brain and its creations eventually turn on the humans following the machines being used for war purposes. The group joins back with the other Stitchpunks and they’re attacked by a machine created by the Brain. Their residence is destroyed leaving the Stitchpunks without a home and without shelter. The rest of the film centers around the Stitchpunks trying to survive and take down the machines.

            The film touches on the dangers of letting fear guide one’s actions This is best illustrated through the character of 1. 1 is so terrified of the outside world, that he forces all of the other Stitchpunks to hide and in the effort to save himself and his companions, he virtually imprisons them, The film also touches on how if great technology is put into the hands of the wrong people, it could have disastrous consequences. This is demonstrated when the scientist creates a machine that is meant to help humanity, instead the dictator bastardizes the project and turns it into a weapon of war. For a time, the plan works, that is until the machines turn on their creators and obliterate all of humanity.

            The creation of the Stitchpunks reminded me of the Homunculi from the Fullmetal Alchemist series, as both groups of characters are created by one being and both groups embody a particular trait. However, unlike the Homunculi, the Stitchpunks aren’t very interesting as characters. Conceptually they are interesting, but when put into practice, the characters fall into dumb, boring and generic stereotypes. Examples of this include 9 is the new guy, 3 and 4 are the geniuses, 7 is the rebel, 8 is the big strong brute and 2 is the kind elderly gentleman who gets axed off quickly. This is extremely frustrating as this idea could have worked. Had the story been stretched out to the length of a series, the characters could have been almost as interesting as the Homunculi from Fullmetal Alchemist, instead we’re treated to instantly forgettable character that we’ve seen time and time again.

            The animation of the Stitchpunks is rather jerky, but I interpreted this as a way to show the unnatural nature of the characters as they are not naturally created. The details of the character animation is quite exquisite. Each of the Stitchpunks are made with similar material, but their designs are unique, making each of the Stitchpunks instantly recognizable. The background animation is your typical post-apocalyptic setting, with a dulled color tone and dark cloudy skies.

            As this film is rated PG-13, it has themes that may frighten young viewers. The movie is very open about showing several human characters meeting their demise and that all the humans on the planet are now dead. Scenes involving the Stitchpunks getting their souls sucked out of their bodies are likely to inspire nightmare among young children. That being said, the film does take time to remember the peaceful soft scenes. There’s a particular memorable sequence where the Stitchpunks dance and relax, while listening to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

            9 introduces its audience to new ideas and concepts that aren’t fully explored, resulting in a film riddled with exposition and characters that we as the audience hardly get to know. The film’s design is your basic post-apocalyptic wasteland, with minimal visual substance. This is a real shame as Tim Burton was a producer on this film, and while some of his films are lacking in characters and plot, his set and character designs are always visually interesting. While not a bad film, 9 lacks the awe and wonder of other films released at the time like Up, Coraline and The Princess and the Frog.

The Land Before Time 8/10

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G, 69m, 1988

With the Voice Talents of Gabriel Damon (Littlefoot), Candace Hutson (Cera), Judith Barsi (Ducky), Will Ryan (Petrie), Helen Shaver (Littlefoot’s Mother), Burke Byrnes (Cera’s Father), Bill Erwin (Littlefoot’s Grandfather) and Pat Hingle (The Narrator and Rooter). Directed by Don Bluth. Produced by Don Bluth, Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy. Screenplay by Stu Krieger, Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Music by James Horner.

            The Land Before Time was the first film by Don Bluth that I ever saw. As a kid I was obsessed with dinosaurs, and as a kid I loved this film. I watched this film so many times that I must have driven my grandmother up the wall. I only saw a few of the sequels as a kid (I’ve since seen them all), but this film was by far my favorite. Revisiting this film as an adult, I found it to be more enjoyable than when I was a kid.

            The film opens with some beautiful sweeping shots of various dinosaurs, as a narrator informs the audience that the landscape is changing, and all the herds are heading towards the Great Valley. One of these herds is a family of Apatosaurses, nicknamed Longnecks in the film, watch as their single egg hatches. What happened to the other eggs as well as the father is left unanswered (yes, I know it’s revealed what happened to the father in the tenth movie). The hatching is named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon). On his travels with his mother (Helen Shaver), his grandfather (Bill Erwin) and his grandmother, Littlefoot meets Cera a Threehorn (Triceratops). Cera’s father (Burke Byrnes) quickly informs the young dinosaurs that dinosaurs don’t play with dinosaurs outside their kind. One day they play with each other anyways and their attacked by the terrifying Sharptooth (Tyrannosaurs). Littlefoot’s mother comes to the rescue at the expense of her life. A great earthquake separates Littlefoot and Cera from their families, forcing them to travel to Great Valley alone. Along the way Littlefoot and Cera are joined by Ducky (Judith Barsi), a Bigmouth (Saurolophus), Petrie (Will Ryan) a Flyer (Pteranodon) and Spike a Spiketail (Stegosaurus).

            I found Littlefoot’s mom’s death to be far more powerful than Bambi’s mom’s death. My reasoning behind this in The Land Before Time, Littlefoot actually shows signs of prolonged grief. In Bambi, after a truly powerful sequence with muted sound and minimal dialogue, the film immediately cuts to a bright and colorful musical number. In The Land Before Time, Littlefoot actually talks about his feelings with other dinosaurs. Littlefoot refuses to eat anything for a while after his mother’s death. Littlefoot even forgets about his quest to reach the Great Valley, until he hears his mother’s voice telling him to go there. Littlefoot actually gets enraged when Cera calls his mother stupid. Compare this to Bambi, where the mother’s death is never mentioned again. Granted Bambi’s mother’s death plays a huge role in the sequel Bambi II, but we’re not here to judge a movie based on its sequels. The film even has the character Rooter (Pat Hingle) explain death to Littlefoot and as an extent, to kids. Very few animated films actually address death and dealing with grief. This film tackles the subject matter beautifully.

            The film also addresses the subject of prejudice. When Littlefoot and Cera first meet, Cera’s father is quick to tell the youngsters that dinosaurs don’t play with others outside their kind. This notion is then confirmed by Littlefoot’s mother. This prejudice rubs off on Cera and she refuses to travel with Littlefoot at first, as he’s not a Threehorn. At one-point Cera tells Littlefoot that her father told her that “flatheads have very small brains”. When Littlefoot first meets Ducky, he tells them they can’t travel together because she’s not a Longneck. Ducky was evidentially never taught this, so she ignores this notion. The message of the film is clearly that more can be accomplished if different species (or races) band together, more can be accomplished.

            The Land Before Time films wouldn’t become musicals until the direct-to-video films came about. This film has one song played during the end credits called “If We Hold On Together” by Diana Ross. The song is a very pleasant melody that is very similar to “Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail as both songs have pleasant lyrics and are performed well by their respected performers. The background music is also particularly good. The “Whispering Winds” number has become iconic in the franchise and is my favorite number in the film.

I find this film to be the best animated dinosaur film. It doesn’t resort to dumb dialogue and boring characters like Walking With Dinosaurs and Dinosaur. Admittedly I find “The Rite of Spring” segment from Fantasia, to be a better piece, however I understand that more people will like The Land Before Time, as the dinosaurs only appear for a short time in “The Rite of Spring” and many people will be turned off the segment by the absence of dialogue. The film also uses logic from “The Rite of Spring” as it features dinosaurs coexisting when they never would have met in real life. However, this film is not trying to go for accuracy, so I won’t fault the film on this decision. I also found the fight between Sharptooth and Littlefoot’s mother to be better than the fight in “The Rite of Spring”. In “The Rite of Spring” segment, the stegosaurus gets bitten multiple times and he hardly reacts to the pain. Littlefoot’s mom on the other hand limps away after she gets attacked and the look of horror on Cera and Littlefoot’s faces adds to the intensity of what’s going on onscreen.

This film was released the same day as the Disney animated feature Oliver and Company, and I find The Land Before Time to be stronger film. Oliver and Company is chocked full of product placements and the film feels dated with its design. The Land Before Time is also more daring to tackle darker subject matter and it handles them better than most Disney films.

            While not my favorite Don Bluth film (my favorite is The Secret of Nimh), the film is super enjoyable with memorable characters, a well-executed plot and morals that are applicable to audiences of all ages.

Dinosaur 6.5/10

Nick Sheedy1 Comment

PG, 82m, 2000

With the Voice Talents of D. B. Sweeney (Aladar), Alfre Woodard (Plio), Ossie Davis (Yar), Max Casella (Zini), Evan Sabara (Young Zini), Hayden Panettiere (Suri), Samuel E. Wright (Kron), Julianna Margulies (Neera) Joan Plowright (Baylene), Della Reese (Eema) and Peter Siragusa (Bruton). Directed by Ralph Zondag and Eric Leighton. Produced by Pam Marsden. Screenplay by John Harrison and Robert Nelson Jacobs. Music by James Newton Howard.

            Like many kids, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I had numerous dinosaur toys and books. Naturally when this film came out I was ecstatic. I loved “The Rite of Spring” segment from Fantasia and I adored The Land Before Time, so I was excited to see another dinosaur movie (my parents didn’t let me watch the Jurassic Park films). Early trailers of the film showed the first few minutes of the film and they looked astounding to me. As a kid, I liked this movie. As an adult, I find it rather dull.

            The opening to this film is one of the best openings in a Disney film. The film opens with a curious Parasaurolophus looking through various Dinosaur’s nests. Unfortunately, its curiosity attracts the attention of a Carnotaurus who chases the terrified Parasaurolophus. The Carnotaurus causes havoc to reign as it looks for food. The approaching beasts causes a mother Iguanodon to abandon her nest. While she’s away an Oviraptor snatches the only surviving egg and is about to make a meal of the egg when another Oviraptor tries to snatch the egg away. A struggle ensues and the egg falls into a river. The egg then travels until it’s picked up by a Pteranodon. The Pteranodon accidentally drops the egg on Lemur Island where a tribe of lemurs live. A young female lemur named Plio (Alfre Woodard) cautiously investigates the fallen object, despite the urging of her father Yar (Ossie Davis), to leave it alone. The object is revealed to be an egg, that contains a baby Iguanodon, who miraculously suffered no injury from his long journey or the long fall. The lemurs decide to raise the baby dinosaur, whom they name Aladar. Aladar grows up and is enjoying his life amongst the lemurs. However, one day a massive meteor interrupts the lemurs’ mating ritual and destroys the lemurs’ home. Now only Aladar, Yar, Plio, Suri (Hayden Panettiere) and Zini (Max Casella) are left. They eventually come across a huge herd of diverse dinosaurs led by the tyrannical Kron (Samuel E. Wright). The herd is on their way to the Nesting Grounds, a place believed to be untouched by the meteor’s destruction. On top of having no access to water of food, the herd also has to watch out for predators, like the dreaded Carnotaurus.

            As I stated earlier the opening to this movie is amazing. However, this actually serves as a detriment to the rest of the film. The opening starts off with such promise with sweeping shots of gorgeous landscapes and interesting looking dinosaurs. Then we get a cool battle over the egg, which results in the egg tumbling down before landing with a thud. Then the lemurs talk, and things go quickly downhill. This film suffers from the same problem as James Cameron’s Avatar. For its time the visuals look amazing, but the story and characters are cliched and boring. Aladar is your basic wise cracking nice guy. Neera is your basic love interest. Kron is your basic unbending no compromise leader. Bruton is your basic flawed grumpy character that learns the power of friendship. Suri is your basic doe-eyed kid, Plio is your basic mom character and Yar is your basic grumpy grandpa character. One thing that really bothers me about this movie is the character Url. Url is an Ankylosaurus that acts like a pet. Why? In The Land Before Time, Spike was portrayed as mentally slower than the other characters, but the film wasn’t insulting to him. In fact, if anything, The Land Before Time has a good message of treating those different than you like everybody else. Url didn’t even have a reason for being in the film. If you took him out the film would lose nothing. In The Land Before Time, Spike helps out, he’s not a one note character that contributes nothing to the plot. I don’t think it was the filmmakers’ intent to portray a mentally handicapped dinosaur in a negative light, but I don’t get why Url is treated as a pet. The carnivorous characters, I understand making them mute and brutish. It’s lazy filmmaking, but it’s quite common to make the carnivorous characters mute when your characters are herbivores. Speaking of the carnivorous characters, I loved how they had a different carnivorous dinosaur be the villain in this movie. So many films like The Land Before Time, Jurassic Park and “The Rite Of Spring” segment from Fantasia, use the Tyrannosaurus Rex, as the big bad (even if the dinosaur wouldn’t have been in that time period or in that area). In Dinosaur, the big bad is a Carnotaurus. This makes the film feel more unique with a villain that looks visually interesting and one that has received few appearances in film.

            I like the gritty realism of this film. They don’t hold back when it comes to showing what would happen if a predator catches a dinosaur. They also showed several dinosaurs falling over and dying from lack of food and water. This is very similar to what Disney did earlier in “The Rite of Spring”segment in Fantasia. When Aladar and his friends find water, the herd nearly tramples one another in order to quench their thirst. The meteor scene is a very poignant scene. The imagery is reminiscent of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the meteor destroys Lemur Island, Aladar and his family take a moment to mourn the loss of their home and loved ones. However, I do feel the scene would have been more powerful, had a named character died in the destruction.

            While visually stunning (for its time), the film is hindered by generic characters and av bland story. Although the film does have little moments where it shines through, they can’t save the bloated mess.

Fantasia 2000 7.5/10

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G, 75m, 1999

Starring: Steve Martin, James Lavine, Itzhak Perlman, Quincy Jones, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones, Penn Jillette, Teller, Angela Lansbury, Wayne Allwine (Mickey Mouse), Tony Anselmo (Donald Duck), Russi Taylor (Daisy Duck) and Eric Goldberg. Directed by James Algar, Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Hendel Butoy, Francis Glebas, Eric Goldberg, Don Hahn, and Pixote Hunt. Produced by Lisa C. Cook, Roy E. Disney, Donald W. Ernst, Patty Hicks and David Lovegren. Screenplay by Don Hahn, Eric Goldberg, Gaëtan Brizzi, Paul Brizzi, Perce Pearce, Carl Fallberg, Joe Grant, Irene Mecchi and David Reynolds. Music by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

            During the production of Fantasia, Walt Disney envisioned the film as an ongoing process that would never truly be completed.  Walt originally wanted a new Fantasia to be released every few years with new segments replacing to the original segments. Unfortunately, due to the failure of Fantasia during its original run and the onset of World War 2, Walt never fulfilled his wish to make another film like Fantasia. Released fifty-nine years after its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 has one of the longest gaps between films.

            Like its predecessor, Fantasia 2000 contains eight segments. The first segment is “Symphony No. 5” by Ludwig Von Beethoven. The segment tries very hard to be like the “Toccata and Fugue” segment in the original Fantasia, in the sense that it tries to set animation to music but have no definite story. The segment does succeed with combining animation with music, but it fails at living up to the abstract beauty of “Toccata and Fugue”.  The next segment is “Pines of Rome” by Ottorino Respighi. This segment features a family of CGI flying whales. While learning to fly, a baby whale cheeses off some birds and it gets separated from its parents. The rest of the segments centers around the baby whale trying to reunite with its family. The segment does look visually interesting, but when you really get down to it, the segment is kind of boring. The next segment is “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin. The segment takes place in New York City during the Great Depression. The segment follows the lives of four people. The first character we’re introduced to is Duke, who is an African American construction worker, who dreams of playing the drums. The next character is Joe, who is experiencing the harshness of the Great Depression. His dream is of course to find a job. The next character is a little girl named Rachel. Rachel’s parents are evidentially perfectionists as they send their daughter to ballet, choir, tennis, swimming, piano, violin, art and gymnastics lessons. Her dream is to live happily with her parents and play with her red ball. The last character introduced is John, who is married to a snobbish lady who loves to spoil her dog. He just wants to have fun. (Don’t we all?) John is modeled after Animation Historian John Culhane, who had previously been the model for Mr. Snoops from The Rescuers. Interestingly enough, John wrote a book on the making of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.The segment is designed in the style of Al Hirschfeld’s caricatures. This style works really well, and it really enhances the look and feel of the segment. The next segment is The Steadfast Tin Solider, based on a more light-hearted version of the fairy tale of the same name by Hand Christian Anderson, set to “Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102” by Dmitri Shostakovich. The segment mostly utilizes cg animation making it resemble a less attractive version of Toy Story.  The segment tells the story of a tin solider who is missing a leg. One day he sees a beautiful porcelain ballerina with one leg. It’s then revealed to him that she was just practicing her balance. This upsets the tin solider, as he believes she won’t like him due to him only having one leg. The ballerina shows that she doesn’t care about his disability and the two hit it off. They are interrupted by a jealous jack-in-the-box and a fight ensues. During the fight the ballerina is trapped in a glass case and the tin solider is knocked out of an open window. The rest of the segment follows the tin solider and his journey to get back home to rescue the ballerina. The segment does have a good message of don’t assume others will judge you harshly due to some form of disability. The next segment is the “Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns. The segment features a flamingo playing with a yo-yo, much to his friends’ annoyance. One thing that I noticed was while James Earl Jones was introducing the piece, a figurine of what appears to be Mufasa from The Lion King, appears behind James. This is interesting because James Earl Jones voiced Mufasa. It’s by far the shortest segment. The next segment is the only returning segment from the original Fantasia, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas. The next segment is “Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4” by Edward Elgar. The segment feature Donald and Daisy Duck as helpers for Noah, from The Book of Genesis. While doing a final head count Donald notices Daisy is unaccounted for so he goes outside the ark to look for her. Naturally they walk right past each other, but they can’t see each other due to an elephant blocking their view. A giant wave of water interrupts Donald’s search and Daisy, who is watching from a window covers her eyes, so she misses seeing Donald clamber into the ark. The rest of the segment follows the basic story of Noah’s Ark, with Donald and Daisy just missing each other until the very end. This makes absolutely no sense to me as the Ark is big, but I imagine they’d pass each other at least once. (It’s not like they can really leave the ark) Also this means that neither Donald nor Daisy talked to Noah or his family about losing the love of their life. They’re shown to really care about each other, so it baffles me that they never once talked to somebody about it. So, this means they either kept quiet or Noah and his family are jerks. The segment also features a cameo of Mickey and Minnie Mouse (they’re located the farthest right of the group on animals right after the rains stop and everybody goes out for some fresh air) The last segment is “Firebird Suite—1919 Version” by Igor Stravinsky, whose other work “The Rite of Spring”, appeared in the original Fantasia. This segment is by far my favorite. The story starts with an elk waking up a Sprite, so she can awaken the forest from its wintry slumber. We are then given some gorgeously vibrant animation of the Sprite creating spring. She notices that her powers don’t work on this smoking mountain, so she goes to investigate. She awakens the Firebird, whose raw power and fury is reminiscent of Chernabog form the original Fantasia. The Firebird lays waste to the forest killing virtually everything except for the elk. The elk revives the Sprite and she revives the forest. The influence of the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens and the imagery of the Firebird’s rampage looks apocalyptically hellish.

            Despite having the same number of segments as its predecessor (eight), Fantasia 2000 is much shorter than Fantasia. This is because all of the segments, (save for the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) are vastly shorter than the segments in Fantasia. This is a gigantic hindrance to the film. In the “Firebird Suite”, the segment introduces some interesting ideas and visuals, but then it just kind of ends without explaining who the Firebird is or what happened to him. “The Carnival of the Animals”segment is cute and colorful, but it only lasts for a few minutes. This is not long enough for the audience to truly care about what’s going on.

The segments of this film are much more colorful and child friendly than the original Fantasia. In the original Fantasia colossal prehistoric beasts fought to the death, a winged demon brought forth an apocalyptic hell, Zeus rained down his gleeful fury on characters from Classical Mythology. In Fantasia 200 a flamingo entertains himself with yo-yos, Donald Duck engages in slapstick and a love story between a one-legged tin solider and a ballerina. I feel like this film is like a Classics Illustrated version of Fantasia. The film certainly does have its darker moments, most notably in the “Firebird Suite”. However, the film lacks the sophistication and grace that the original had and instead caters more to children. This is most notable when Bette Midler describes Salvador Dali as the “limp watches guy”.

While not as grand and visually pleasing as the original Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 does have great looking animation and some interesting stories. Although Fantasia 2000 does feel like a Classics Illustrated version of Fantasia the film is sure to delight kids and be entertaining for adults.

Fantasia 9/10

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G, 126m, 1940

Starring Deems Taylor (Master of Ceremony), Leopold Stokowski (Conductor), and Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse) Directed by Samuel Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen, David D. Hand, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson and Wilfred Jackson. Produced by Walt Disney and Ben Sharpsteen. Screenplay by Joe Grant Dick Huemer. Music by Leopold Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra.

            This film is simply astounding. The very idea of combining classical music and animation is a wonderful concept. Unlike the Silly Symphonies series, which was music set to animation, Fantasia is music that is set to animation. Like many people, I was introduced to the works of Beethoven, Bach and Tchaikovsky through this film and I believe this film is a perfect introduction to classical music

            The premise for this film is nothing new after all, the studio has been synchronizing music with animation since the 1929 Silly Symphonies short The Skeleton Dance. However, each segment feels like a much more advanced version of a Silly Symphonies cartoon. The film opens in a concert hall with the orchestra prepping for the concert just before music critic Deems Taylor steps up to perform the role of master of ceremony, introducing each segment that is about to appear on screen. The first segment is “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach. The segment begins with live action footage of the orchestra set with colorful lights and dark shadows. The segment then fades into abstract lines, shapes and colors. This is meant to emulate what might go through someone’s head as they sit through a concert hall and they’re beginning to nod off during the performance with the musicians and their instruments fading into the abstract. The next segment is “The Nutcracker Suite” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. This segment features fairies, mushrooms, flowers and fish in a dance segment that reflects the changing of the seasons from summer to winter. The next segment is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas. This segment is based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poem, Die Zauberlehrling (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice). The segment stars Mickey Mouse as a plucky ambitious apprentice to his mater Yen Sid (Disney spelled backwards). After his master goes upstairs to rest, Mickey can’t resist the temptation to put on his master’s magical hat and make a broom sentient and to grow a pair of arms. Mickey tasks the broom to fill a basin with water. Like his master before him, Mickey falls asleep and has a beautifully animated dream sequence, only to be awoken by a pool of water caused by the broom overfilling the basin. Mickey tries to stop the broom, even going as far as to cut the broom multiple times with an ax. This causes the broom to multiply and the brooms continue to fill the basin (long since filled to capacity) until Yen Sid arrives to return everything back to normal. The next segment is “The Rite of Spring” by Igor Stravinsky. This segment covers the creation of the universe to the destruction of the dinosaurs. Some might find fault in the inaccuracy in the assembly of dinosaurs, most notably in the epic climatic battle sequence between a stegosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus rex, given that neither dinosaur would have ever met, as the pair lived in different time periods. Following “The Rite of Spring”, we get an interesting intermission sequence where the orchestra actually gets up to leave and the curtain closes, just like it would at an actual concert. When the musicians return, Deems Taylor introduces the soundtrack, which is essentially a humorously stylized demonstration of how sound is rendered on film is shown. This is done by having a straight white line, change form, shape and even color depending on the instrument being played. Some might find this segment to be boring, I found it to be an amazing display of giving personality animation (which is to say, animation that has its own personality) to a visual representation of sound. The next segment is “The Pastoral Symphony” by Ludwig van Beethoven. This segment features Greco-Roman mythological creatures and characters such as fawns, centaurs, cherubs and unicorns (I know that unicorns were not featured in Greek mythology, they were instead depicted in accounts of natural history, because Greek writers of natural history believed unicorns to be real). We also get to see some gods from classical mythology such as Bacchus Zeus, Vulcan, Iris, Apollo, Morpheus and Diana. The next segment is “The Dance of the Hours” by Amilcare Ponchielli. This segment is a comical ballet featuring groups of animals representing different times of the day. This segment, like “The Nutcracker Suite”, is very similar to The Silly Symphonies shorts in terms of tone and animation. The final segments are “Night on Bald Mountain” by Modest Mussorgsky and “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert. These two musical pieces are combined into one segment because the two are such polar opposites that they offset themselves perfectly. The segment opens with the demonic Chernabog raising the dead and evil spirits to torment them and have them dance for him before all are driven back by the sound of Angelus bells as night fades to dawn. A line of robed monks holding candles make their way through a forest into the ruins of a cathedral while a chorus beautifully sings “Ave Maria”. This segment is by far the darkest and the most beautiful. This segment will frighten many younger children with its ghastly depiction of Chernabog tormenting the damned in a hellish manner. It wouldn’t surprise me if Christian churches used this segment to demonstrate the horrors of hell. Some might find the peaceful slow-moving “Ave Maria” segment to be boring, following the thrilling and climatic “Night on Bald Mountain”, but I found the segment to be enjoyable and a beautiful way to end such a monumental film.

            The animation on this film is simply stellar. Each segment has its own unique feel and animation style. In “The Rite of Spring”segment, the camera angle is kept low giving the audience an impression that these creatures are larger than life. I also appreciate how the dinosaurs weren’t depicted as cartoony looking. Instead the animators drew them as big lumbering creatures acting like science believed they did when the film was released.

            Fantasia was the first film released in stereophonic sound. The new sound system was dubbed Fantasound. Despite being innovative, Fantasound actually hurt the box office performance of Fantasia. This is because many theaters were ill equipped to effectively play the film as it was intended and as a result the initial run of Fantasia was more like a side show instead of a wide theatrical release. The film was also severally impacted financially because the European box office was shut down due to World War 2. Walt Disney wanted Fantasia to be an ongoing project that would continue to evolve and continue to push the artistic boundaries of animation. Unfortunately, due to the film’s poor box office reception, the idea was scrapped until 1999 when Disney released Fantasia 2000.

            Some might find this film to be too dull given that there’s no dialogue in the film except for Deems Taylor introducing the next segment and a congratulatory exchange between Mickey Mouse and Leopold Stokowski. I however am a firm believer that a film doesn’t have to have a lot of dialogue to make it a great film. Film is a visual medium; and so many filmmakers seem to have forgotten this and try to rely too heavily on characters talking about something when it would have been much more powerful to have shown the audience the event. Others might find the use of classical music to be unappealing to them and that’s perfectly fine, everybody has their own taste when it comes to music and are entitled to their own opinion. If you’re like me and actually enjoy classical music, then give this film a watch to experience dazzling animation set to great music.

            This film has been described as the perfect marriage of music and animation by several Disney historians and I couldn’t agree more with this statement. This film is the perfect example of an animated film that legitimizes animation as an art form.

Hercules 8/10

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G, 93m, 1997

With the Voices Talents of Tate Donovan (Hercules or Herc), Susan Edan (Megara or Meg), Danny DeVito (Philoctetes or Phil), James Woods (Hades), Bobcat Goldthwait (Pain), Matt Frewer (Panic), Rip Torn (Zeus), Samantha Eggar (Hera), Paul Shaffer (Hermes), and Charlton Heston (Narrator). Directed by John Musker and Ron Clements. Produced By Ron Musker, John Clements and Alice Dewey. Screenplay by Ron Clements, John Musker, Donald McEnery, Bab Shaw and Irene Mecchi. Music by Alan Menken and David Zippel

            Hercules marks the second time the Disney company has adapted classical mythology for their animated features, the first being “The Pastoral Symphony” segment in the 1940 film Fantasia. While this film is based on classical mythology, the characters are not the characters featured in Bullfinch’s Mythology or Hamilton’s Mythology.

The film opens in the vividly colorful land of Mount Olympus, where Zeus and Hera (Rip Torn and Samantha Eggar) have thrown a party for their son Hercules, (I did say that the characters are different than their classical mythological counterparts.) when the party is crashed by Hades (James Woods) who is resentful that he has to be in charge of the Underworld while everyone else gets to gallivant on Mount Olympus. (Of course, Hades is the villain, he’s the god of the Underworld for Pete’s Sake) After learning that his plans to take over Olympus would fail if Hercules was to fight against him, Hades sends his minions Pain And Panic (Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer) to kidnap baby Herc, turn him mortal by potion and then kill him. Since the movie would only be a few minutes long if they succeeded, Pain and Panic are interrupted before Hercules can finish the bottle, because of this Hercules still retains his god like strength. Hercules is found by a childless couple (Hal Holbrook and Barbara Barrie) and is raised knowing nothing of his biological family. Young Herc (Tate Donovan) grows into the awkward, clumsy, shy nerd archetype that was so popular in the 1990s, due to his immense strength, he’s isolated from everyone around him and during the “I Want” song, Herc expresses how all he wants is to feel like he belongs. Hercules goes to the temple of Zeus in hopes of getting some answers as to where he came from, the statue of Zeus suddenly comes alive and informs Herc about his true parentage and in order to return to Mount Olympus, he must prove himself to be a true hero. Hercules sets out with Pegasus, a winged horse created by Zeus, to find the satyr Philoctetes (Danny DeVito) so Hercules can receive the proper training in order to be a true hero.

            Meanwhile, Hades having built up a stockpile of minions for the upcoming takeover of Olympus has learned that Hercules is still alive (you’d think with him being the god of the Underworld, he’d know if Hercules was dead or not). In order to discover Herc’s weakness, Hades sends in Megara (Susan Edan) to use her womanly charms to discover Hercules’ weakness only for Meg to fall for Hercules.

            With the exception of Hades, all the characters in this film are rather cliched. Hercules is your standard good guy muscle head. He may not be very bright but he’s goofy and he’s got a heart of gold so its hard not to like him. Megara is your standard snarky love interest. She has no real character identity apart from being jaded due to her getting dumped by her boyfriend after she sold her soul to Hades to save his life. Phil is your basic coach character. He’s basically Mickey from the Rocky movies. James Woods as Hades is simply one of the best aspects of this film. By the way he’s animated one would think that Hades, would be a threatening slow-moving demonic force, like Chernabog from Fantasia or the Horned King from The Black Cauldron. Instead, Hades is more like an energetic zany character that talks like a used car salesperson. By all accounts this should not work for the god of the Underworld, however James Woods was able to give a masterful performance. Thus, enabling the animators more artistic freedom that allowed for a very entertaining character. The rest of the characters are forgettable and bland, which is a real shame because the animation on the Olympian gods is amazing. Each god is drawn in such a way that if one has any knowledge of classical mythology, one could instantly recognize each god.

            I mentioned earlier that Hercules is only loosely based on the character from Greek mythology. In fact, his name is taken from the Roman spelling instead of the Greek spelling which is Heracles. In truth, Hercules has more in common with Superman than his Greek counterpart. Both have to deal with the double-edged sword of fame, both are raised by kind people who aren’t their biological parents, both find out their true parentage and use their powers to fight evil and protect humanity, both have snarky love interests, and both are adorkable. I suppose this is rather fitting because many superheroes from comics were inspired by characters from classical mythology. The film also draws heavily on sports movies, most notably the Rocky films with some scenes looking like they were taken directly from either the Rocky films or the early Superman films. This, in effect, hurts the film because it’s just imitating better films instead of being its own thing. This film version of the Hercules myth is essentially a modernization of classical mythology.

            While Hercules may not be the best film made during the Disney Renaissance, it still has that certain magic that will leave audiences satisfied.