Best "Disney" movies made by other studios....

[jennydumas]

OOO I also love the Swan Princess

[dvdjunkie]

Of the Don Bluth films no one is talking about the best animated film he did, in my opinion, "The Secret of N.I.M.H." If you didn't know better you would swear it was Disney animation. Also how about "An American Tail"? Another Don Bluth movie that hasn't got mentioned.

As far as "Night at the Museum" I will go so far as to say that it is one of my favorite films of the past five years. It has a lot of sentimentality built in to it with the addition of Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney. I thought the CGI was just amazing, and the whole family appeal was very apparent. This is one movie that wouldn't offend anyone. I have a hard time believing that there are people who actually don't like this movie as entertainment. I am not a Ben Stiller fan, but I thought he was terrific in this film. I was so glad that the trailers for the film didn't give anything away.

I bought the two-disc edition of the "Museum" DVD, and it really makes everything fit properly. The deleted scenes, and the behind-the-scenes featurettes just add to the joy of watching this movie.

[toonaspie]

Of the Don Bluth films no one is talking about the best animated film he did, in my opinion, "The Secret of N.I.M.H." If you didn't know better you would swear it was Disney animation. Also how about "An American Tail"? Another Don Bluth movie that hasn't got mentioned.

I always considered Don Bluth's 1980s films (NIMH, American Tail, Land before Time, All Dogs) faaar too dark and out of the mix to qualify as Disney-ish. I think "An American Tail" would probably be the closest of the four to being Disneyish, however their portrayal of the Giant Mouse of Minsk was waaaaaaay too scary for kids. I would know. Heh. The sequel "Fievel Goes West" though has tons more Disney flavor without a doubt.

I also think Balto could be Disney-ish too when I think about it.

[myr_heille]

OOO I also love the Swan Princess

The Swan Princess is really, really great. It's so Disneyish, it even has sequels! When I was a child it was (for a while) as popular as the Fab Four Disney movies. It has a very Broadway-like telling and a beautiful princess. It's one of the two only animated movies that I have which aren't Disney and is to me really one of the great Disney movies that Disney never made!

[blackcauldron85]

FernGully: The Last Rainforest

I forgot about that one- I completely agree. I used to like this movie when I was younger- I didn't own it, but I'd see it on TV or at a friend's house. The weird thing is, I'd sometimes think it was a Disney movie, and then other times think that it wasn't. But, it is a very Disney-ish movie.

[numba1lostboy]

A Cinderella Story
(Hopefully, James and Slave2moonlight can back me up here )

Say what you want, but I really kind of love this movie. It's so formulaic, but I think that's part of its charm.
It also has Hilary in it, and it was made early in her career, which makes it seem all the more Disney-ish. She still looked like Lizzie and was still a child icon. I honestly don't know why she didn't stick around at Disney longer. Lindsay did.

I think this film is very Disney. In the vein of Lindsay's Parent Trap and Freaky Friday remakes.

[Disney Duster]

I was disappointed, but not really surprised, that it didn't win the Best Picture award.

Wow, I didn't know it was nominated for an Academy Award! Really?

I think any big well-known animated film, especially of a fairy tale, can be liked as other Disney animated features are. For instance, the public usually thinks they are made by Disney, and I liked some of them almost as much as Disney. However, I never exactly felt "Disney" from them except in terms of special effect animation! Which was almost my only attraction to them, anyway.

So Anastasia, Thumbelina, The Swan Princess, and the Prince of Egypt kind of seem like they could be Disney. I wondered if Prince of Egypt was for a while, but the style looked too different from usual Disney. But everyone seems to think the movies I listed are Disney movies.

In my stage voice and movement class, my teacher had heard of the Prince of Egypt but was asking if it was that animated one and they were like "Yea, the Prince of Egypt is a Disney film" and I was like, no it's Fox. Is it Fox? No, it's Dreamworks isn't it! Oops, I told them it was Fox...

[Escapay]

I was disappointed, but not really surprised, that it didn't win the Best Picture award.

Wow, I didn't know it was nominated for an Academy Award! Really?

It lost to Braveheart, but the fact that it was nominated was impressive in itself.

In my stage voice and movement class, my teacher had heard of the Prince of Egypt but was asking if it was that animated one and they were like "Yea, the Prince of Egypt is a Disney film" and I was like, no it's Fox. Is it Fox? No, it's Dreamworks isn't it! Oops, I told them it was Fox...

Yeah, PoE is DreamWorks. The DVD is great too, especially for 1999 standards:
-1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
-English 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Tracks
-Commentary: Directors Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells
-The Making of The Prince of Egypt (26 minutes)
-Basics of Animation: The Chariot Race (10 minutes)
-Focus on Technical Effects (6 minutes)
-Multi-Language Reel: "When You Believe" (6 minutes)
-Two Theatrical Trailers (2 minutes each)

*sigh* If only Disney gave that kind of treatment to their films in 1999. Heck, Disney should give that kind of treatment to some of their films today! A simple commentary and 26-minute making-of featurette could seriously raise the buyability factor for many of their "lesser" titles. I'm not that crazy about The Rescuers or Oliver & Company, and that kind of release would have me buy the movie again.

Escapay

[Disney Duster]

Thanks for always making sure I'm in the know, Escapay!

Is that whole, "Even though it's not my favorite movie, I'll buy it for the excellent treatment and bonus features" more true of DVD collectors? Or you think the general public, which Disney seems to be aiming more for, would feel like that, too?

[Prudence]

I love The Swan Princess. Queen Uberta and Lord Rogers made this movie for me!

Anyway, I thought of some more movies. Uptown Girls and Charlotte's Web.

[Anthony]

The best "Disney-like" movies never made by Disney:

Shrek
The Iron Giant
The Road to El Dorado
Back to the Future
Nanny McPhee
Hook
Free Willy
An American Tail
Harry Potter films
Annie (1982)
Stand by Me

[Escapay]

Is that whole, "Even though it's not my favorite movie, I'll buy it for the excellent treatment and bonus features" more true of DVD collectors? Or you think the general public, which Disney seems to be aiming more for, would feel like that, too?

I'm sure it likely applies to DVD collectors and rabid fans than the general public, but it also applies to certain movies. I mean, I lobsterlove The Breakfast Club and would kill for a Special Edition Director's Cut (offering the 2.5 hour cut John Hughes originally made, as well as the 90-odd minute cut we've all grown to love) with all the extra gravy. But at the same time, it's a movie that has near-universal appeal and has continually be released on DVD in the same barebones format, because it doesn't necessarily *require* a SEDC with extra gravy. It's popular enough to continually just stand on its own that if an SEDC is ever produced, it'd likely only interest the DVD collectors and rabid fans, while anyone who's owned the previous barebones releases and are content with them won't see the point in picking it up again. At the same time, there are films like The Princess Bride that has seen three different releases between 2000 and 2006, and people still pick them up. The 2000 barebones edition sold rather well, I believe, and the 2001 SE turned out to be one of MGM's biggest-selling titles (as well as one of the finest single-disc SE's out there), so when Sony acquired MGM, they knew they could re-release that title and still get people to buy the film again.

Escapay

[UncleEd]

I've only seen the first 2 Harry Potter movies but both left me cold and empty, like most films geared to that age group. That's why NATM so amazed me.


How is the book Ella Enchanted?

Swan Princess and Sinbad are in the 5.50 bin at Wal*Mart if anyone is looking for them.

[singerguy04]

An American Tail
The Land Before Time
Anastasia
Ferngully
The Prince of Egypt

I've always wanted these to be Disney!

[Prudence]

A Cinderella Story
(Hopefully, James and Slave2moonlight can back me up here )

You forgot about me. I'm also inclined to agree with this.

Uncle Ed, in the book Ella Enchanted, all the characters and situations are very different. Ella isn't dependent on random creatures she meets in the woods, Areida and Ella become friends in a boarding school, Olive isn't stupid, Ella's mother lives longer than she did in the movie, there are no strange campaigns, and...it's just completely different.

The movie was fun, but it felt like a different story.