Favorite Modern Era Animated Film (Post-TLK)

[Disney's Divinity]

You don’t have to give long posts if you don’t want to! Simple votes are fine!

I know that not everyone considers the “Fab Four” great, but I know there are many many people who would choose them first and foremost out of the modern films and that’s why I’ve excluded them in order to make this more of a defining choice. I’ve often heard that the films following TLK aren’t as good in quality--when I first joined this forum, I began to unconsciously blacklist the films in my mind because of the general dislike they tended to receive from posters--and this poll was just an idea to see more thoughts on the subject. This is disregarding all sequels, of course.

Personally, I’m surprised. While I do think several of these films could be considered a drop in quality from the four renaissance films or even formulaic, I enjoy nearly all of them when I give them my undivided attention. Perhaps it’s because the two weakest (imo), Hunchback and Pocahontas, were released right after the peak Disney and, apparently, audiences found in The Lion King that these films seem to have such a bad reputation.

Anyway, my personal favorite of these is Hercules. The songs, the style of animation (I enjoy "rounder," "softer" animation over the hard-edged look of several of these other films), the characters and the comedy (which is more well-balanced that what you would find in Aladdin) all work together to make an amazingly satisfying experience. From the rest of the films, Mulan, Treasure Planet, and The Emperor‘s New Groove all provide great characters, moments and laughs without being predictable. The rest of the films, while being slightly uninteresting to me, aren’t entirely unsalvageable. Hunchback provides some great music and one of the more memorable villains from Disney’s modern era. Pocahontas, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Home On The Range all bring, again, wonderful music and beautiful animation (in somewhat original styles). Lilo & Stitch tells a somewhat unconventional story for Disney and gives a new look at the family. The only two films I find hard to give much credit to are Tarzan and Brother Bear, as I don’t particularly care for either of them in any way (they‘re lackluster musically and I have problems with the character designs in both films being a bit dull).

So, what is everyone else’s feelings regarding these specific films (if you have any at all)?

[Flanger-Hanger]

Yzma wins so I'm picking Emperor's New Groove. Treasure Planet and Lilo and Stitch are also really good. The rest is meh outside of the song scores to Pocahontas, Hunchback and the song "I Won't Say I'm in Love".

[rs_milo_whatever]

Hercules had been a personal favorite since it's release. It's not the average Disney film while staying true to the company,
Alan Menken's music is engaging, and the comedy is not overdone.

[pap64]

Wow...this is hard.

I enjoyed each of these films greatly (save for Atlantis).

I have to think about it...

[PrincePhillipFan]

It's really hard for me to choose. My top three I would say are Hercules, Emperor's New Groove, and Atlantis from that group. I think if I had to pick, my favorite would be Hercules. I love the characters, the design style of the film, and incorporates a good balance of heart and emotion along with comedy.

[Daisy Duck]

Pocahontas : Despite its historical inaccuracies, the animation and the music are my favorite of the films listed. (Hunchback is a close second.)

[Disney Duster]

I voted "The Emporer's New Groove". Yzma is a strong, funny villain and just plain awesome, Pacha is actually a truly good guy who continues to give chances to the jerky Kuzco, which feels great, and the whole film is just enjoyable.

Honestly, it could just as easily go to Hercules or Hunchback for me. But I'd have to see those again along with Emporer to really decide.

Hunchback's score is Menken's best though. Or at least the most powerful, moving, dramatic one.

[Widdi]

In order of personal rank. I've included the overall rank (out of all 46 DACs) just for poops and giggles.

1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (#4 overall): I think it is easily the best thing Disney produced since 1961; gargoyles included. There is absolutely nothing I do not like about this movie.

2. Hercules (#7 overall): Probably the most underrated Disney movie among the general populous.

3. Pocahontas (#9 Overall): The animation is gorgeous. This movie gets a bad rap for it's "historical accuracy" but honestly, I don't care. The story is written so well that I forget all about my American History course in high school and embrace the movie for what it is: One hell of an entertaining ride.

4. Meet the Robinsons (#10 Overall): Insanely entertaining and infinitely re-watchable.

5. Lilo & Stitch (#12 Overall): Beautiful artwork, cute characters. Pretty much everything works in its favor.

6. Mulan (#16 Overall): Good, but not as good as most of the other 90's films. The music is what killed it for me as I don't care for the majority of the film's songs.

7. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (#20 Overall): I honesty don't get why people don't like this movie. Sure I like 19 DACs more than it, but I still love Atlantis. It's one of the most viewed DVDs in my collection.

8. Treasure Planet (#22 Overall): Would probably be a lot higher if I didn't dislike the lead character so much.

9. Fantasia/2000 (#24 Overall): More re-watchable than the original though it lacks a lot of the artistic value. Still "Firebird Suite" is one of the most amazing things ever animated in my opinion.

10. Tarzan (#26 Overall): It's one of the movies I like sometimes, I don't others. On one hand it offers to only Phil Collins song I've ever liked ("Two Worlds") but it also has a lot of unlikeable characters (Terk, The Villain who I can't remember the name of). It's a meh film for me.

11. Home on the Range (#27 Overall): One of the more "In your face" funny films Disney has ever released. Still the supporting cast (especially that damn villain) kills it for me.

12. The Emperor's New Groove (#30 Overall): I like one thing about this movie. Her name is Yzma.

13. Chicken Little (#38 Overall): It's just bad. I laugh maybe two times when I watch it.

14. Brother Bear (#45 Overall): I despise this movie. I said there was nothing I didn't like about "Hunchback", well this is the total opposite; there is nothing I like in "Brother Bear". I hated everything. The only Disney movie I like less is "Saludos Amigos".

[Disney's Divinity]

Considering this thread hasn't received many posts ( ) and that I also have an hour to waste between classes ( ), I'll rank the films as well:

1. Hercules
2. Mulan
3. Treasure Planet
4. The Emperor's New Groove ~ Yzma keeps this movie from failing completely. While the pursuits of Kuzko aren’t entirely boring, the film would fall flat without Yzma. In the beginning, you almost feel she’s about to be overdone, but they manage to keep her hilarious and likable. “And you know what else? I’ve never liked your spinach puffs! Never!”
5. The Hunchback of Notre Dame ~ The more I watch this film, the more I like it. I still don’t like the casting of Esmeralda or Phoebus and I still wish the gargoyles’ humor was better-played and better-infused within the film, but it’s a wonderfully done film. Frollo is, of course, one of Disney’s greatest villains, imo.
6. Pocahontas ~ Again, I hate the hard-edge and the fact that there are so many moments where the style is not completely defined and maintained makes the movie hard to watch in many places. However, nearly all of the characters are likable and real (Grandmother Willow and Wiggins are personal favorites). I also see serious flaws in the story, particularly the language barrier. And, while it goes without saying that the music is beautiful, it’s rather inconsistent.
7. Atlantis: The Lost Empire ~ Milo Thatch is, to put it plainly, boring. And Kida isn’t too much better. But the rest of the cast (from Mrs. Packard to Vinny) are all interesting/entertaining. The animation, while being an unlikable hard-edge, is beautifully done as well.
8. Lilo & Stitch ~ I used to abhor this film, but it’s grown on me (similar to Hunchback). The only thing I dislike is the underdevelopment of the alien world. They just seem strange (a flaw comparable to Treasure Planet).
9. Home On The Range ~ The three leads are really the only detrimental factors to this film for me. The three voices have no unity and their development through the story is so completely predictable that the story lacks any entertainment value.
10. Tarzan ~ I don’t hate this film—really, I don’t—but it’s extremely hard for me to want to re-watch it or to even have positive feelings remembering it. The animation’s beautiful and the songs, while out-of-place to me, are well-done. But the story, characters and character designs are all flawed and uninteresting, imo.
11. Brother Bear ~ Worst film. None of the characters are likable, nearly everyone is miscast, the storyline is far too sappy and the music is underwhelming. The animation is decent, but the character designs are dull.

[universALLove]

It's funny how the two films that are considered to be the "favourite" in this poll, are the two that are still awaiting re-releases. *Sigh

[BelleGirl]

Really hard for me to decide. I think that HoND, Pocahontas and Mulan definitely belong to my top 3, followed closely by Tarzan, Hercules and Lilo & Stich.

Emperor's New Groove and Home on the Range fall in the 'mildly entertaining' category for me, with ENG a lillte more humorous.


Atlantis and Treasure Planet: I watched them both through once and I cannot say they grew on me immediately - they might.


Brother BearBoring. Some good animation though. Promising start but ultimately weak story with strange conclusion. Not really re-watchable.

[jeremy88]

Oooh wow thats really hard to decide.

I like pretty much all of them up until..Tarzan...after that except for Lilo I'm kinda like blah.

I think probably Pocahontas and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame are equal favorites...there just so dramatic and the music is so beautiful. And I love the comedy of Hercules and Mulan, those are really good too.

[Jack Skellington]

1. Hercules - This movie is my 3rd favourite animated movie. (after BATB and Aladdin)

2. Pocahontas (One of those Disney movies that just never ceases to amaze.)

3. Hunchback of Notre Dame (I used to love this movie so much, I still do, but the fact that I used to be so obsessed about it made me put this on my top 5, I even remember having a Quasimodo costume when I was seven.)

4. Mulan (I like the fact that Disney picked China as the location of this movie, I also remember going to a field trip to the cinema at Grade 4 for this with all of my classmates, I never could forget that trip.)

5. Lilo and Stitch (Cute characters, everything about this movie makes you smirk.)

6. Tarzan ( I also remember being obsessed about this movie when it came out.)

7. Emperor's New Groove (one word : YZMA ! )

8. Treasure Planet (I can relate to Jim Hawkins in so many ways, and I like the song "I'm Still Here", I still listen to that song on my ipod.)

Atlantis and Home on the Range are not in my list, period !

-I've noticed that I'm kind of biased, I like movies that remind me of a certain time when I went to a movie theatre with either friends or family, and this applies to all the above. (cept for Herc and Pocahontas ! )
I wonder if I would still be a Disney fan if I hadn't been introduced to it during my childhood. Mom likes to watch Tom and Jerry, one of my uncles is a big Star Wars fan, and the other is a big Transformers fan, what they all have in common is that they have all watched this when they were children, and I think because childhood is undeniably the most beautiful time in a human's life, we still love them because they take us back to those days. Can anybody else relate to this here ?

[BelleGirl]

-I've noticed that I'm kind of biased, I like movies that remind me of a certain time when I went to a movie theatre with either friends or family, and this applies to all the above. (cept for Herc and Pocahontas ! )
I wonder if I would still be a Disney fan if I hadn't been introduced to it during my childhood. Mom likes to watch Tom and Jerry, one of my uncles is a big Star Wars fan, and the other is a big Transformers fan, what they all have in common is that they have all watched this when they were children, and I think because childhood is undeniably the most beautiful time in a human's life, we still love them because they take us back to those days. Can anybody else relate to this here ?

I like to reply to this.
First of all, who hasn't been introduced to Disney animation for the first time in their childhood? If there's a fan on this board who really saw his/her first Disney animated feature as an adult I would gladly hear of him/her.
As for myself, as an adult I feel the same exitement for Disney Animation as I did as kid. It may have gotten a new dimension even now I pay more attention to the artistry of a movie.
I don't think I prefer the Disney films of my childhood to those I first saw as an adult, really, even if theres is some nostalgic feeling connected with them. Apart from the re-releases of undistructable classics like "Snow -white and the Seven Dwarfs" I have many good memories of seeing the newly released "The Rescuers" at a time when I was really happy, but I do not feel that therefore I'm biased and prefer this movie to other ones (I do not).
I used to watch a lot of "Tom and Jerry"as a kid, but I'm not that fond of them anymore. I'm still fond of Disney features.

[Goliath]

My absolute favorite is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I also think this is a better movie than the vastly over-rated Lion King. What appeals to me, is the darker, more serious tone of the film. Out of all the Disney-films, this one is the heaviest and also the most 'grown-up'. It tackles subjects you would never think you'd see in a Disney Animated Classic, like guilt, sin, sexual desire, religious intolerance et cetera.

The scene that most makes this clear, is the brilliant 'Hellfire' song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj1v5tXs ... annel_page

Frollo is singing to God (!) about his secret desire for Esmeralda, a woman whom his conscience says he must resent, because she is a gypsy. And this makes Frollo the best Disney villain ever: he is not evil for the sake of being evil, but because he honestly believe he is doing the morally right thing. That makes him so realistic it's scary. Anyway, so he prays to God for forgiveniss for his sins, yet he still desires Esmeralda.

This song brings me to the amazing score. The music is much better than Elton John's work on The Lion King. It fits the material so well, it moves the story forward, it explains the characters and their motivations, and it's different from other Disney music in that it sounds almost like an opera at times. Still, it is a real treat just to listen to the soundtrack.

Some people dislike the film because it diverts from the novel too much, and because it has the gargoyles in it. I would argue Disney was brave in putting the film out in its final form in the first place. It's much more adult than all of their other movies. But of course it still IS a Disney Classic, so it HAS to have a happy end. And the gargoyles provied just the right amount of relief and prevent the film from getting *too* gloomy.

[Goliath]

If I had to rank them:

1. Hunchbck of Notre Dame
2. Hercules

I would have been tempting to make a film that's true to the original myths, although Disney-fied, but still serious in tone. I think it's great the directors have decided they wanted to make a spoof of modern society wrapped in a Greek myth. The humor is very clever, moreso than in other Disney flicks, even moreso than in Aladdin. "Zero to hero" is unbelieveable catchy and funny!

3. Mulan

Underrated movie. Animation is gorgeous; especially the part when Mulan's army unit is attacked by the Huns in the snow-white mountains. Character design is original, the villain is frightning *because* he is given so little screen time. Overall a good 'message film'. Never understood the dislike for the music or songs.

4. Tarzan

I was unimpressed when I saw it in the theatre in 1999. Ten years later, I like it a lot better. What I still dislike, though, is the CGI animation in some parts. Sometimes, the CGI backgrounds make it look like Tarzan and the apes are living in a plastic jungle. Makes it feel like you're watching a video game. But at other times, it works better with the traditional animated characters. Still, I wish they hadn't animated *all* other things with CGI, like the sea, the ship etc.

What I did like, was the development of Tarzan. Finally a movie which deals with the human, emotional side of Tarzan rather than focusing on his fighting skills. Focusing on his not knowing where he belongs is classic Disney. Jane is one of my favorite Disney female leads. I can't find the words to explain why, but it has a lot to do with Minnie Driver's excellent voicing the character.

And I adore Phil Collin's score.

5. Lilo & Stitch
6. Pocahontas

I haven't seen the others.