atlanticaunderthesea wrote:1. The Little Mermaid : The peaceful seagulls passing overhead, the bustle of the ship, the tales of the mythical undersea world ... and then the smooth transition to the world below, with the magnificant swelling of the music to the beautiful shot of the palace. The music, the colours, the mood, the animation all combine to make this opening to the film fantastic and iconic.
Perfectly worded. I completely agree. It's my 2nd favorite opening. That piece of music always gives me goosebumps --even just thinking about it and 'hearing' it in my head...
I can't believe nobody has mentioned The Jungle Book yet! Yes, it is nothing more than pictures of the various locations where the movie takes place, but that MUSIC...! That mysterious music, that completely draws you into the film and immediately gets you into the right mood.
My all-time favorite opening for a Disney film is "Dinosaur". I know, I know, there are a lot of haters out there, and people who have never seen this film, but that first 10 minutes is brilliant and almost makes you forget that this is an animated film.
My second favorite is "The Lion King", who can deny the "Circle of Life" opening.
My third would have to be "The Rescuers", for all the reasons others have listed.
The only way to watch movies - Original Aspect Ratio!!!!
I LOVE my Blu-Ray Disc Player!
1. The Lion King- So majestic and classic it's not even funny.
2. Beauty and the Beast- I think the music really sets the tone, and David Ogden Stiers's voice gives me chills. The stained glass window images make it even better.
3. 101 Dalmatians- As others have said, it's very creative, and I love the music accompanying it.
Scarred4life wrote:
Mulan
I don't really like the Hun attack, but I love how the calligraphy fades into the movie. But I do think the Hun attack gets the story going very quickly.
ahhh, i had forgotten about that one! last time i watched it, our adopted stray was with me, asleep. soon as the music started, he put his head up and then sat up and watched the entire opening. he was really fascinated, watching the lines move.
All of our answers, quite rightly as well, are best on personal opinion. I wonder what the animators favourite openings are ? Or if they have any stories to share about the openings to Disney films they have worked on ?
Just thinking of this question now, and I've never really heard they talk of it before, but did Disney ever consider giving TLM a storybook opening ? Or was it a deliberate descision to move away from that ? After all, every other fairy tale Disney had produced up until then had one. This was then developed / updated for BATB I presume when it became a stained glass window. Would be interesting to find out if anyone has any info on this ?
Disney's Divinity wrote:and I've never felt "Cinderella" was a weak song.
The music (writing) is good, what you can hear of it over the singing is well performed, and the lyrics might be great. But the chorus sounds mostly like just noise. And not appealing noise, either, like in "Alice in Wonderland" (the only flaw here, really, if you can stand the old chorus style, is the twinkling sound in the "where do the stars go, where is the crescent moon" section) and "Second Star to the Right" where you can actually distinguish the lyrics.
dvdjunkie wrote:My all-time favorite opening for a Disney film is "Dinosaur". I know, I know, there are a lot of haters out there, and people who have never seen this film, but that first 10 minutes is brilliant and almost makes you forget that this is an animated film
Finally someone who mentioned "Dinosaur". Although that film is hampered by some flaws, it is an atmospheric movie with some memorable and breathtaking scenes. And the opening is certainly one of them.
dvdjunkie wrote:My all-time favorite opening for a Disney film is "Dinosaur". I know, I know, there are a lot of haters out there, and people who have never seen this film, but that first 10 minutes is brilliant and almost makes you forget that this is an animated film
Finally someone who mentioned "Dinosaur". Although that film is hampered by some flaws, it is an atmospheric movie with some memorable and breathtaking scenes. And the opening is certainly one of them.
Although this is a Disney movie that I don't like that much I have to agree, the opening scenes and after are indeed breathtaking
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - A Pretty dark way to start a movie and a pretty good way to set the tone for the rest of the film (if you ignore the gargoyles' scenes).
Music of the Heart
Pete's Dragon
The Rescuers
Hercules
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
Beauty and the Beast
Sleeping Beauty
Peter Pan
Pocahontas
The Jungle Book
Mary Poppins
Sister Act
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Bambi
The Little Mermaid
AHt! That's the one I was thinking of. I was going to try to talk live-action and then, the next day, I forgot about this movie. Definitely a cool, murky, and ominious opening.
The Princess and the Frog
It may not have the best opening, but the atmosphere, Anika's song, and the storytelling... I don't know, it just makes me smile.
In no particular order, my favorite movie openings are:
Pinocchio - the music makes me feel relaxed and I like the setting of being in a sleepy village at night.
The Little Mermaid - once we go underwater, I really love the music, because it sets the tone perfectly.
Beauty and the Beast - I love how dramatic and sumptuous the prologue is. The stained-glass windows are very lovely and are a nice break from the traditional storybook opening.
Aladdin - I really like the song Arabian Nights.
The Lion King - the music and the scenery complement each other very well.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - I love the Latin chanting and the bells.
