Peter Pan/Peter Pan II: Return to Neverland

Just like the Cinderella trilogy, I'm going to combine the two movies into one post. It is interesting to compare the two together--one which was made under the watchful eye of Walt Disney and is held as a classic and the other which is seen as a cash grab by a greedy corporation.

The first Peter Pan, I have to say, is not the best Disney movie. Yes, I am biased toward those of the 90s but let's face it. While the animation is good, the songs and references in the movie do not hold up well in today's world.

And one wonders why Disney movies have often been accused of being racist. It's just amazing that Peter Pan hasn't been given the 'Song of the South' treatment and shoved into a closet somewhere. I'll get into Song of the South at a later date--and it'll probably be a short post, mainly because I've never seen Song of the South.

Anyway, back to the topic of this post. Here's the thing with Peter Pan. When I can look at a Disney animated movie, filled with magic and wonder, and say "Ehh, that movie with David Bowie did it better", that's when your plot fails. It's Wendy's story about not wanting to grow up. It's not Peter's story (who is the titular character), it's not her brothers' story, heck it's not even Tinkerbell's story!

While the flying scene is beautifully animated and one of my scenes in both movies, it just doesn't hold up. I like Tink as a character--or I would if she wasn't used as the more sexist element of the movie (and yes, I know this movie was made in the early 60s. That doesn't mean I have to like it!).

Though it is tragic what happened to the boy who voiced Peter Pan. Bobby Driscoll voiced the flying scamp in the first movie and was beloved by all, including Walt Disney. Supposedly, though after puberty hit our young friend, he was shunned by all including dear Uncle Walt. Driscoll allegedly developed a drug habit and overdosed.

Now, let's turn our attention to the second Peter Pan movie--and one of the few Disney sequels to earn a theatrical release. Here's the thing with disney sequels--they usually fall into three categories. A: person from the first movie falls in love. B: child of main character learns same lesson as the main character learned in the first movie or C: midquel. Return to Neverland is partially B as Jane is Wendy's daughter but she doesn't learn the same lesson.

Actually, I don't think Wendy ever learned a lesson--if she did, I don't remember it. Jane on the other hand is growing up during war time and has to grow up extremely quickly. However by the end of the movie, she learns that it's okay to be a kid and believe in childish things--it's really inspired. Peter also seems to get some character growth in this movie though Captain Hook seems to have regressed--thinking Wendy would remain the same after all this time.

Speaking of which, two questions. A: How did Hook get his ship back after the events in Peter Pan and B: why does it still fly? Does he have his own fairy to provide Pixie dust? Speaking of which, why is Hook an adult? How did he discover Neverland?

Disney, if you ever want to produce another animated Peter Pan movie, I just gave you like 10 ideas.

Anyway, back to Peter's growth. In the first movie, he's portrayed as a kid--full of himself, thinks he's the most important person, yada yada yada. But in the second movie, we don't see that as much. Yeah, he's still cocky and full of himself but you get to see his caring side too--something that makes the viewers remember "Oh yeah! He's the guy we're SUPPOSED to be rooting for!"

While it doesn't contain as many songs as the first movie, Peter Pan II certainly knows quality is better than quantity.

But just remember: if there's a smile in your heart, there's no better time to start!

Alice In Wonderland

Out of order I know, but I figured I should stick with the classics before diving into the black hole that is the Dark Ages of Disney animated movies. Granted, some of the classics don't deserve the title as much as others. Alice in Wonderland is one such classic.

Gaining mixed reviews in the box office, Walt Disney even distanced himself from the picture after its lackluster success--and if I'm honest, I don't blame him.

There's nothing about Alice in Wonderland that captures your attention. The beginning starts off tame and then WHAM out of nowhere there's a different world that you just fall into, like Alice. There's just a feeling of little to no plot--not to mention a noticeable lack of songs.

The music in Disney movies, I've noticed, has always been one of their greatest strengths. Even when the animation wasn't up to par, *coughALADDINII:RETURNOF JAFARcough*, the music was enough to keep you interested and invested. There's absolutely none of that in Alice in Wonderland. Well, there is the song about painting the roses red, which is upbeat and kind of catchy but one song does not save a movie.

On top of all that, the characters are not likable in the least! I've never seen the show Once Upon A Time in Wonderland but something tells me they have more likable characters than the ones in the movie.

However, I have seen Once Upon a Time, and their Hatter is much more enjoyable than the one presented in this movie. Then again, he is played by Sebastian Stan aka Bucky Barns aka The Winter Solider so maybe my fangirl bias is coming out to play.

The animation, however, is beautiful--like most Disney movies. When I watch the movies, it's hard to remember that each cell was hand painted, taking years to make a single movie. It truly is amazing how far animation has come. If Walt Disney was still alive, he would be awestruck at the advancement in technology that has taken his animation studio from taking three years to release a movie to only needing four months between releases (The Good Dinosaur was released Nov. 25 2015 and Zootopia, the newest Disney animated feature, was released yesterday.)

Despite all its flaws, though, you can see the heart in the movie. You can see the effort that the team of animators put into making this movie. Sometimes, though, you need more than effort and good animation. You need to tell a story, you need a coherent plot. Something Alice in Wonderland, unfortunately, does not have.

Sleeping Beauty

Here's the thing about Sleeping Beauty--I have a love-hate relationship with it, just like I do with a lot of the classic Disney movies.

On the one hand, I love how the animation style seems to differ a little from those that came before it. However, different does not always mean better. The animation in the beginning feels cheap, like it was hastily done in an attempt to get another movie out quickly.

Another thing I dislike about the movie is the fact that Aurora/Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty only has 18 lines in the entire film--and she's the main character! It almost makes one wonder if Disney didn't mean to have the movie really be about Prince Phillip as he seems to have the most development out of all the characters presented.

I mean, the man is willing to give up his rights to the throne of his kingdom to marry what he believes to be a peasant woman, and he's known her for maybe three hours. Granted, he's lucky that said peasant woman was the woman he was betrothed to.

The music, as in all Disney movies, is amazing. Though, the main downfall of the music is that there's really only two songs in the entire movie--Hail To The Princess and Once Upon a Dream. Oh, and the odd chorus that appears when the three fairies give their gifts to the princess.

Let's talk about these fairy, as the whole plot of the movie could have been avoided if a: they hadn't been invited to the christening or b: Merryweather kept her trap shut! Maleficent seemed willing to forgive the fact that she wasn't invited if the annoying blueberry hadn't stated that she wasn't wanted.

Side note: Maleficent is one of the best Disney villains that's ever been made! There's no underlying reason for her evilness--she's just evil! Cursing a baby because she wasn't invited to a party--how can you get more evil!

Well, by invoking all the powers of Hell I guess--and props to Disney for actually using the word 'Hell' in their movie! For a movie made in the 1950s, the use of the word 'hell' is unexpected, especially in a children's movie.

All in all, another great movie from the Disney company. While I may not like the fact that the titular character only gets 18 lines and never speaks again for the rest of the movie, it's still a good film and one I consider to be one of my guilty pleasures.

Cinderella Trilogy

Next on the agenda, Disney's Cinderella (and its sequels).

Unlike Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, I find myself enjoying Cinderella a lot more. As the second Disney Princess movie, it did have some big shoes to fill following Snow White. But fill them, it did. In fact, Cinderella did so well in the box office, it saved the Disney animation studio from closing.

The movie, again, is beautifully animated--and unlike Snow White, the music is enjoyable. Granted, some of the lines in there are dated by society's standards today ("Leave the Sewing to the Women, you go get some trimming"). Cinderella is also allowed to have a bit of a personality. We see her get upset, we see her fight back against her wicked stepmother and stepsisters with the most powerful tool of all--logic!

Speaking of logic, why did it take the Fairy Godmother so long to appear to Cinderella? Are we saying that she saw how cruelly Cinderella was treated but because she didn't cry, the Fairy Godmother never appeared? *shrugs* Her song's cool so I guess it's okay. Still doesn't make a lick of sense though.

The sequels are also beautifully animated, one of the few Disney sequels to have the animation quality match the originial material. However the timelines are rather confusing. Cinderella III: A Twist in Time seems to take place between Cinderella and Cinderella II. However, that's only apparent if you watch all three movies. Really, you can go without Cinderella II and still keep up with everything.

Cinderella III also gives some much needed personality to the Prince (while not giving him a name. Seriously, we have to wait until 2015 before Prince Charming gets a name). He's goofy, sarcastic and all in all, someone we want to root for.

 Also, while the original Cinderella was about a young girl in an abusive home wanting one night of happiness and also finding the love of her life, Cinderella III makes Cinderella a little more active in the plot.

In the original movie, Cinderella is reactive to everything. She never takes action to find her own happiness. In Cinderella III, she actively tries to set things right after her wicked stepmother goes back in time after stealing the Fairy Godmother's wand and makes it so her daughter fits the glass slipper.

All in all, Cinderella and its sequels are pretty good movies. Harmless movies that teach kids that while it's important to believe in dreams, it also takes a little action to make them come true.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Snow White...how exactly do I feel about Snow White?

On the one hand, it's hard to not marvel at the beauty of the animation and artistry--especially for a movie made in the 1930s. Snow White took three years to make and was a huge risk for the Disney company to make, considering they had never actually animated humans before.

It was actually due to that fact that they changed Snow White from an adult as the character had originally been written and made her into a fourteen year old girl. The reasoning was that any mistakes or proportion errors would be pushed off as her still developing, allowing the animators a little more freedom in how they drew her.

Now on the other hand, Snow White is not my favorite Disney movie. Not by a long shot, and I have a lot of grievances with this movie. For one thing, her voice. Given that it was made in the 1930s, I can give some allowances with the underlying message that if you're a good girl and do the cleaning and the cooking, you'll find true love. However, her voice is just something that bugs me, to the extent that I can't even enjoy her songs--and I normally love all the Disney music. The second grievance is the scene when Snow White runs away from the henchman. First, why did the evil queen give her such a nice outfit to be killed in? Wouldn't that raise some alarms with Snow? Second, the freaking trees! When I was a kid, the scene with the trees used to scare me to the point I never really finished the movie. It's Disney though so I pretty much know the ending.

Now, in Disney's defense, the scene is well done--and however scary I thought it to be at the time, I have changed my mind. Don't get me wrong, it's still frightening. Just not to the point that I want to turn the movie off now.

The good thing about it is that at the end, when it's revealed that it was all in her imagination and that there was nothing harming her anyway. It reinforces for the audience that our main heroine is a fourteen year old girl. I'm not saying that fourteen year old girls are prone to overreactions. What I am saying is that if you were a fourteen year old and you found out that your guardian wanted to kill you, how would you react? Pretty much the same I'd expect.

But here's what rubs me the wrong way about Snow White. You see her run off, create a home with the dwarves and then trusts a creepy old woman into said home and eats the apple said creepy old woman had given her.

I understand that again, Snow White is only 14 and that judging by appearances is wrong. However, when you know that someone is out there who wants to kill you, you might want to be a little more on your guard.

The ABC show Once Upon a Time does a much better job at not only giving a more realistic Snow (by aging her a bit) but also gives Charming a personality--and makes the kiss a little less creepy!

There's no way to actually make the kiss not creepy at all. In both cases, said prince is kissing what they believe to be a dead person. I'm sorry, nothing makes that not creepy!

However, Once Upon a Time does establish their relationship a bit more and I will be reviewing the show so this won't be the last time I touch upon this. The kiss is seen as a kiss goodbye--a final farewell before she's buried. In the movie, however, things take a turn for the seriously weird.

First: despite the fact that the prince was seen prior to this moment, they had maybe five minutes of screen time. On no level does that allow for True Love's Kiss to be a factor--or even be socially acceptable!

Second: She's believed to be dead. Was there a prince lesson on what to do if you come across a dead body being guarded by dwarves? "Oh, she's not really dead! She's just cursed--so it's perfectly okay for me to kiss her!"

Third: I'm just going to leave this here. Despite the fact that we have no idea how old the prince is (or even what his name is), Snow White is still only 14--possibly 15 as we're never told when her birthday is--and while the time period clearly shows it's a different time than ours, the idea of a fourteen year old girl getting kissed by someone she doesn't know and is not able to consent to just gives me a bad vibe.

All in all, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is not a bad film. Considering that this was the first full length animated film that the Disney company had made, it holds up nicely to today's animation quality. Just don't ask me to sit down and enjoy it.

Starting Point

Hello everybody!

Welcome to my blog where I'll be reviewing everything and anything that comes to mind! Whether it is animated or live action, can be read or played--if it's possible to have an opinion on it, you bet your bottom dollar that I'll have one!

Feel free to comment on my blog! I only ask that the comment section be kept civil. No harassing other posters! If you fail to keep the comment section civil and safe for every reader, then you will lose your comment privileges.

Each style of review will have its own different tag--movie reviews, book reviews, TV reviews, etc. Now, you may ask, what if a show is currently on TV but also has some seasons out on Netflix? I'll count it as a TV review. The Netflix shows will have their own tag once I start reviewing them as well. I will be reviewing them, just not right now.

Baby steps. :)

So let's start this blog off with the movie that led the way to the greatest animation conglomerate the world has ever known--Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.