Disney Movies - Days 71 & 72
I still had a couple of those two-disc combo packs, so I decided to clear them out on Sunday, starting with The Emperor's New Groove. Is it just me, or is this possibly the shortest Disney movie ever? It does have some great jokes and the animation isn't horrible (although it has the same characters styles as Atlantis, including the block fingers, so I felt like I'd been there and done that).
The second movie, Kronk's New Groove is surprisingly good for a sequel. Because they were made so close together, the animation style is at least similar and they were able to get the same actors. But with as Patrick Warburton as the lead in this one, I kind of had to keep looking up because I felt like I was in the queue line for Soarin'.
Like I said yesterday, I don't have many Christmas things and the ones I do have tend to be Disney related, so one of the last of my double-disc sets is Prep and Landing. I have never watched either of these and I didn't know that they were only 30 minute TV specials, I always thought they were full-length movies. The first one, Prep & Landing, isn't bad, but I don't see the need to watch it again. I don't know if they became the Christmas tradition the entire cast and crew were touting on the bonus features since I don't watch Christmas shows, but I could see where it would fit in with all the others.
The second one, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs Nice, I actually related to a bit (well, except for the whole Christmas theme). I grew up with that perfect younger sibling who is smarter, prettier, and cooler than me (and she still is), so I related to the elf brother's relationship. I also related to the naughty kid because I did a lot of mean things when my sister came to be and I blamed her for all that was wrong in my world.
There are a series of "Stocking Stuffers", which are basically shorts, so more for the total.
Thankfully, those were short because it meant I could finish the very last of the double discs, the Once Upon A Christmas series, starting with Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas. If this wasn't the Fab 5, I wouldn't give this movie the time of day, especially since I've already seen it. It's bad animation, the three-story compilation thing that I hate, and it's Christmas themed. But I don't know that anything could make me dislike a Donald Duck cartoon, so I gotta give it props for that.
The sequel to this one, Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas is about as different as night and day. Although there is only a couple of years between these two discs, this one is full-on CG animation and it was the first time I saw the Fab 5 that way. Before you read the next line, you might want to sit down if you're not already...I actually prefer Mickey and friends CG to hand-drawn. Yes, you read that correctly. It's why I like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. CG does lend itself better in some situations than in others, especially if it's done right.
Thankfully, I only had one more Christmas-themed disc, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In At The House Of Mouse. This is really only a Christmas episode of the House of Mouse TV show, so it has the same story path that most of the House of Mouse episodes follow. For those that don't know, House of Mouse was a Disney TV show centered around a cartoon club that Mickey and friends operated. They showed cartoons, some old, some new, and there were often little stories going on between cartoons, but the coolest thing about this show was that every single Disney character since the dawn of time sat in the audience...everybody from black and white characters from Steamboat Willie to Chernabog to Ariel to Pecos Bill, to, well, just about everyone you can ever think of. Sometimes these characters even speak and a lot of the original actors offer their voices...James Woods as Hades, Jodi Benson as Ariel, Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, etc. I couldn't find a trailer, but I did find one of the cartoon clips and most of us have been watching this for years, no matter our age:
There was the premiere episode of the TV series House of Mouse on this disc too.
Finally, the Christmas discs were done with, and since I was in a House of Mouse mood, I went with House of Mouse Villains next. This is SOOOO much more my speed. I've always been more of a Halloween person than a Christmas person (well, except for the whole dressing up and trick-or-treating thing). Not only does this episode contain my favorite Disney cartoon ever, Trick or Treat, but it also has Lonesome Ghosts. It doesn't get any better than that! And, on top of all the cool cartoons, the villains are secretly plotting to take over the House of Mouse and villainy ensues. I love every minute of it! Again with a clip instead of a trailer, but it kind of gives an idea what the House of Mouse was like when they weren't watching the cartoons.
It was bedtime at this point, but I wasn't quite ready yet, so I watched two movies that I have owned since they came out, but again, never watched, starting with A Goofy Movie. Of course I know the characters in this because I am Disney obsessed, but I just never got around to watching them. Plus, the thought of a Fab 5'er having a kid is just weird...nephews are one thing, but kids? Eh, not so much. Where did Max even come from? Does anyone know that story?
There were two shorts on this disc, a Goofy and Max short as well as The Goofy Story, which really wasn't a short since it was so long, so I'm going to add it to the animated movie title counts.
As far as I know, there was only ever one sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie, and I think I actually liked this one better.
I never got the thought of the whole animation troubles of the second gen out of my mind since Saturday, so I decided a definite path for Monday night, starting with Waking Sleeping Beauty. This movie makes me angry, depressed, hopeful, and more dedicated to my beloved animators and a company I've loved my entire life. It doesn't show some very important people in a not very nice light sometimes, but that's life for you. My interest in animation was at its peak during these years and I think that the events in this documentary are one of the reasons why my obsession with art died out. Granted, I didn't know the whole story back then, but I felt it in the animation that was coming out at the time and I just lost interest. I honestly feel that if you never see another Disney movie in your entire life, this movie should be it.
I needed a bit of a positive spin on my heroes, so I went with Frank and Ollie, a documentary about Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of Walt's nine old men. As much as I worship Marc Davis, Frank and Ollie were the heart of the company in those days and this is just a sweet dedication to two of the greats.
I tried to get through another movie, but there were so many special features on these two discs, it pretty much ate my night away. I really am getting close to finishing though (I think).
MOVIE TOTALS:
Live Action: 79
Full-Length Animation: 110
Mixed-Medium: 9
Animated Shorts: 289
Live Action Shorts: 1
Mixed-Medium Shorts: 3
Animated Series: 84
Mixed-Medium Series: 2
Documentaries: 9
Concerts: 1
The second movie, Kronk's New Groove is surprisingly good for a sequel. Because they were made so close together, the animation style is at least similar and they were able to get the same actors. But with as Patrick Warburton as the lead in this one, I kind of had to keep looking up because I felt like I was in the queue line for Soarin'.
Like I said yesterday, I don't have many Christmas things and the ones I do have tend to be Disney related, so one of the last of my double-disc sets is Prep and Landing. I have never watched either of these and I didn't know that they were only 30 minute TV specials, I always thought they were full-length movies. The first one, Prep & Landing, isn't bad, but I don't see the need to watch it again. I don't know if they became the Christmas tradition the entire cast and crew were touting on the bonus features since I don't watch Christmas shows, but I could see where it would fit in with all the others.
The second one, Prep & Landing: Naughty vs Nice, I actually related to a bit (well, except for the whole Christmas theme). I grew up with that perfect younger sibling who is smarter, prettier, and cooler than me (and she still is), so I related to the elf brother's relationship. I also related to the naughty kid because I did a lot of mean things when my sister came to be and I blamed her for all that was wrong in my world.
There are a series of "Stocking Stuffers", which are basically shorts, so more for the total.
Thankfully, those were short because it meant I could finish the very last of the double discs, the Once Upon A Christmas series, starting with Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas. If this wasn't the Fab 5, I wouldn't give this movie the time of day, especially since I've already seen it. It's bad animation, the three-story compilation thing that I hate, and it's Christmas themed. But I don't know that anything could make me dislike a Donald Duck cartoon, so I gotta give it props for that.
The sequel to this one, Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas is about as different as night and day. Although there is only a couple of years between these two discs, this one is full-on CG animation and it was the first time I saw the Fab 5 that way. Before you read the next line, you might want to sit down if you're not already...I actually prefer Mickey and friends CG to hand-drawn. Yes, you read that correctly. It's why I like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. CG does lend itself better in some situations than in others, especially if it's done right.
Thankfully, I only had one more Christmas-themed disc, Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed In At The House Of Mouse. This is really only a Christmas episode of the House of Mouse TV show, so it has the same story path that most of the House of Mouse episodes follow. For those that don't know, House of Mouse was a Disney TV show centered around a cartoon club that Mickey and friends operated. They showed cartoons, some old, some new, and there were often little stories going on between cartoons, but the coolest thing about this show was that every single Disney character since the dawn of time sat in the audience...everybody from black and white characters from Steamboat Willie to Chernabog to Ariel to Pecos Bill, to, well, just about everyone you can ever think of. Sometimes these characters even speak and a lot of the original actors offer their voices...James Woods as Hades, Jodi Benson as Ariel, Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, etc. I couldn't find a trailer, but I did find one of the cartoon clips and most of us have been watching this for years, no matter our age:
There was the premiere episode of the TV series House of Mouse on this disc too.
Finally, the Christmas discs were done with, and since I was in a House of Mouse mood, I went with House of Mouse Villains next. This is SOOOO much more my speed. I've always been more of a Halloween person than a Christmas person (well, except for the whole dressing up and trick-or-treating thing). Not only does this episode contain my favorite Disney cartoon ever, Trick or Treat, but it also has Lonesome Ghosts. It doesn't get any better than that! And, on top of all the cool cartoons, the villains are secretly plotting to take over the House of Mouse and villainy ensues. I love every minute of it! Again with a clip instead of a trailer, but it kind of gives an idea what the House of Mouse was like when they weren't watching the cartoons.
It was bedtime at this point, but I wasn't quite ready yet, so I watched two movies that I have owned since they came out, but again, never watched, starting with A Goofy Movie. Of course I know the characters in this because I am Disney obsessed, but I just never got around to watching them. Plus, the thought of a Fab 5'er having a kid is just weird...nephews are one thing, but kids? Eh, not so much. Where did Max even come from? Does anyone know that story?
There were two shorts on this disc, a Goofy and Max short as well as The Goofy Story, which really wasn't a short since it was so long, so I'm going to add it to the animated movie title counts.
As far as I know, there was only ever one sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie, and I think I actually liked this one better.
I never got the thought of the whole animation troubles of the second gen out of my mind since Saturday, so I decided a definite path for Monday night, starting with Waking Sleeping Beauty. This movie makes me angry, depressed, hopeful, and more dedicated to my beloved animators and a company I've loved my entire life. It doesn't show some very important people in a not very nice light sometimes, but that's life for you. My interest in animation was at its peak during these years and I think that the events in this documentary are one of the reasons why my obsession with art died out. Granted, I didn't know the whole story back then, but I felt it in the animation that was coming out at the time and I just lost interest. I honestly feel that if you never see another Disney movie in your entire life, this movie should be it.
I needed a bit of a positive spin on my heroes, so I went with Frank and Ollie, a documentary about Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, two of Walt's nine old men. As much as I worship Marc Davis, Frank and Ollie were the heart of the company in those days and this is just a sweet dedication to two of the greats.
I tried to get through another movie, but there were so many special features on these two discs, it pretty much ate my night away. I really am getting close to finishing though (I think).
MOVIE TOTALS:
Live Action: 79
Full-Length Animation: 110
Mixed-Medium: 9
Animated Shorts: 289
Live Action Shorts: 1
Mixed-Medium Shorts: 3
Animated Series: 84
Mixed-Medium Series: 2
Documentaries: 9
Concerts: 1
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