I'm sure there are plenty of "44ers" here...

[Mayhem]

...but to paraphrase Judge Frollo "I'm taking care of the Disney Classics one by one..."

Thanks to my brother's girlfriend who either buys or loans me the films I haven't seen. Check Lilo and Stitch, Atlantis, Hercules and now The Emperor's New Groove. So this leaves me with four left...

The Little Mermaid*
Treasure Planet
Brother Bear
Home on the Range

(* yes I know, and I apologise. I never got around to seeing it back then, which is strange considering by the time it came out on VHS, I'd seen rare stuff such as Victory Through Airpower, Melody Time, Make Mine Music, and all the others of the 40s. But I didn't watch this. Time to make amends.)

Anyhow, my question is, which one do you recommend I watch next? Honest reviews here. I know my brother's gf owns Treasure Planet, but not sure about the others. I can ask.

[Wonderlicious]

In order of personal preferability...

1. The Little Mermaid
2. Home on the Range
3. Brother Bear
4. Treasure Planet

[gaysnappercarr]

As a kind of "countdown" of how much I enjoyed those features that you have yet to watch, I'd go with

1. Home On The Range (okay story/okay animation - GREAT music)
2. Treasure Planet (very good concept / GREAT character animation)
3. Brother Bear (I actually liked everything about the movie)
4. The Little Mermaid (A modern classic)

That way, you go out on a very high note!

[ichabod]

And my list of preference

1. Home on the Range = Brother Bear (it's tied )
2. Treasure Planet


and then a biiiiiiiiiiig gap.


3. The Little Mermaid

[Jasmine1022]

1. The Little Mermaid
2. Brother Bear (even though I've never seen it I've heard it's good)
3. Home On The Range
4. Treasure Planet (never seen it, never want to)

i hope you enjoy all the movies

[Aladdin from Agrabah]

The little Mermaid. Because it's one of the best -if not the best - animated film EVER.
As for the others...just watch Treasure Planet because it may not be a great film but it is interesting and has got some great characters. As for the other two, take my advice and forgett about them. Or you'll waste 157 precious minutes.

[thomashton]

Easily . . .

1) The Little Mermaid
2) Brother Bear
3) Treasure Planet

and way down low here . . .

4) Home on the Range--terrible. The only Disney classic I do NOT own. The completist in me says "buy it", but I just can't. I just can't.

[akhenaten]

my advice is not to follow the chronological order and not listen to any recommendation but listen to your heart. you will gain your own unique experience.

[Beastboyravenz]

You should definately watch all the underappreciated one's first. You'll be surprised how amazing those films are. Such as Brotherbear, Home on the Range and Treasure Planet. These three movies are great take the time to watch those instead of The Little Mermaid who you should leave for last.

[Lucylover1986]

1. The Little Mermaid - you have to see this A.S.A.P

the rest are on a lower level...


2. Brother Bear - not too bad
3. Treasure Planet - this is the only disney film I couldn't wait to end, my least favorite one
4. Home on the Range - i haven't seen this so i can't comment too much but it looks terrible

[Disney Duster]

I think it all comes down to this: Would you rather start with the best films and go downward to the worst films, or start with the worst films and work upward to the best films? If you start with the cherished, most popular Disney classic The Little Mermaid, then every film after that will pale in comparison. Since you haven't seen it, after you do see it you may get so excited and love it so much you'll be itching to post about it on UD. But then you have these less good movies to watch and really nothing to look forward to.

I think you should actually do a balanced order of one pretty good film, one horrible film, one okay film, and then one really great film:
Brother Bear
Home On The Range
Treasure Planet
The Little Mermaid

[Disney-Fan]

I'm taking into consideration both DVD quality and the movie itself:

1. The Little Mermaid -- Great documentary to go along with a great film
2. Brother Bear -- I don't have the 2-Disc Set but 2 is better than one and it's a great film.
3. Treasure Planet -- Tied with BB in terms of quality, and the DVD itself is wonderful, but is one disc short of magnificent.
4. Home on the Range -- Nothing personal. The movie has grown on me, but the DVD still ranks poorly.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

"44ers"? Are you disincluding Chicken Little? Just because it isn't hand-drawn, don't make that let you to never see the film! But since that wasn't the question, here's my ranking in order of preferences:

1. Treasure Planet: One of Disney's (and film industry's) most underrated masterpiece! Don't let box office scores fool you, I've never met someone who thought Treasure Planet deserved what it got. Terrific movie.

2. Brother Bear: I strongly believe this should be labeled "Bambi" or "The Lion King" of the 21st century. Another great movie(but not quite as much as TP).

3. Home on the Range: As long as you don't expect "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" or "Toy Story",(which most critics seem to do these days ) this is an incredibly fun ride! Cows, Western Landscapes, and Alan Menken music, oh my!






and finally:

4. The Little Mermaid: Hmmm, to be possitive for a change, what can I say about this film? Well... "it's well animated." And it is made by Disney, so if your a completist, it's good for making your shelf complete. And.... that's all the possitive things I can possibly think of.

[Disney-Fan]

And.... that's all the possitive things I can possibly think of.

So the timeless music, great casting, acclaimed directors and the classic sidekicks just slipped your mind?

[Jeffel]

The Little Mermiad really isn't very good; just the general plot is bad and the way the story progresses is so so poor.

[AwallaceUNC]

And.... that's all the possitive things I can possibly think of.

So the timeless music, great casting, acclaimed directors and the classic sidekicks just slipped your mind?

Or its significance to the field of animation?

-Aaron

[James]

1. The Little Mermaid- Well just because it's a classic that you really need to own. It's the perfect companion for the other classics- Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. You need it to have the complete Fab Four.
2. Treasure Planet- I'd actually prefer to watch this than TLM. I definitely agree with Timon/Pumbaa Fan- Disney's most underrated movie. Terrific storyline, I'd rather watch this space version than an island version of it. Very sad that it did so badly at the Box Office.
3. Home On The Range- I liked this, but I don't have it on DVD yet. The style of the animation put me off a bit, but overall, a great film. The cast is great as well. Historical piece of Disney movies, since it's the supposed last 2D film to be made - (we'll see).
4. Brother Bear- A good film, but I personally don't think that it's as good as everyone says it is. It's good but it just never really got me involved in the story. But once again a great film. Joaquin Phoenix was perfectly cast, shame he isn't in the sequel.

Overall, you should buy all of these films. They are all above average and better than most CGI kids films out there nowadays.
-James

[jeremy88]

The Little Mermiad really isn't very good; just the general plot is bad and the way the story progresses is so so poor.

I beg to differ actually...The general plot is pretty basic like most Disney movies because remember "small kids watch these too" lol..and I think the story progresses very nicely where after each couple of scenes there's a musical number that really helps the story progress very well and executes each of story's key elements. The only flaw I think with the general story is that it moves really fast...the movie takes place in about 4 or 5 days? As compared to movies like The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast which take place of a course of over a year or so making the plot seem stronger(using only those two examples btw...)
God I really need to stop over analyzing everything lol...

Anyways back to the main topic...

I think you should watch

1. Home on the Range...I've never seen this one before and Im going to buy it in about a week, so that will be fun. I hear it's not the greatest but hey everyones a critic, you mite like it and it looks like a fun film

2. Brother Bear...I really enjoyed this one actually, it does seem a little reminciscent to The Lion King and Bambi but theres nothing wrong with one of those once every decade lol. So this is a good one and is enjoyable for number 2.

3. Treasure Planet...Another film which I feel needs more recognition, its really entertaining and its action packed with beautiful visuals...So its a re-make of a futueristic Treasure Island? Its still pretty good.

4. The Little Mermaid...This one will always rank high among my top favorites, its really enjoyable and it has really great music. So out of these four, save the best for last...(in my opinion of course lol)

So I think I would watch those four in that order...well for me anyways...

[yamiiguy]

shouldn't it be '45ers'?

anyway

1. Brother Bear
2. Treasure Planet
3. The Little Mermaid
4. Home on the Range

[Mayhem]

"44ers"? Are you disincluding Chicken Little? Just because it isn't hand-drawn, don't make that let you to never see the film!

Oh I've seen it, I just consider HotR to be "the end" of the traditional Disney studio output as I see it. To me it's the cutoff point where I want to make sure I've seen everything before it before I reach... well too old, but that shouldn't be a problem now. Considering I'd seen almost everything ever released by 1990, then I guess I was just a little slow during the 90s in watching the rest

Seems everyone is offering a completely different opinion here, I never thought they would divide people as much as this

Seeing as she has Treasure Planet I might make the next, but I'll also see if she has the other three...