Three Reasons Why You Love Disney!

[Escapay]

Let's have some fun. Similar to (or blatantly ripped off from) The Criterion Collection's "Three Reasons" videos, let us know your three reasons why you love any particular aspect of Disney. To get a basic idea of what type of reasons to look for, check out Criterion's "Three Reasons" for The Red Shoes:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwFb0B_VXY[/youtube]

I'll be the first to run the gauntlet, as I present...

Three Reasons: Beauty and the Beast

1: The Score - one of Menken's best, it has the power to make a grown man cry as Belle weeps over Beast's dying body, while still carrying the right kind of fervor to excite a six year old when Beast rescues Belle from the wolves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFXvB8ODUjA[/youtube]

2: Belle - smart, sassy, and stubborn. This is a Disney heroine for the 1990's. She's a no-nonsense woman who doesn't always think on her feet ("Promise or no promise, I can't stay here another minute!"), but accepts the responsibility when she realizes she's at fault. Perhaps the best example is when she returns to the castle and helps the Beast. This has always been my favorite scene in the film; it's the turning point when they start to realize they can be more than jailer and prisoner:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH_vcb2fQ2c[/youtube]

3: The Transformation - one of the greatest moments in Disney animation. The blood, sweat, and tears that went into this singular sequence shows how animation has the power to move an audience to tears. Presented in all its LaserDisc glory, 425 whole lines of resolution!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3j3S465oo[/youtube]


And an added bonus, I once discussed in the Theme Parks forum a Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage proposal from years ago (got some of the details wrong, however), and I finally re-discovered the video last year. It remains one of the best theme park proposals I've seen online:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFRyOD3L5Y[/youtube]

Here's the full explanation, as posted by David Jolly:

• I've suddenly realized that when this vid was first posted, only my Disney family of friends knew of the back-story. As more 'youtubers' view this, I feel the story needs a little more explanation to completely understand. This all took place on the afternoon of May 3rd, 1998. I arrived at the Beauty & the Beast Stage at the Disney/MGM Studios for the next-to-last show of the day. My girlfriend (now my wife) was a dancer there, and I was...well,...not a dancer.
  
  It was my day off, and I showed up to tell her that I was taking her out to a nice dinner after the show. So I hung out in the greenroom with her until call time, and when she went to go get ready for the show…so did I!
  
  Prior to that day I had pre-approved this idea with the stage manager, secretly rehearsed the waltz scene with a few dancers, arranged for her exact track schedule for the show, and had a costume fitting. The way the rest of the moment happened, was pure Disney Magic!

Albert

[Wonderlicious]

Good thread idea!

Three Reasons: Pinocchio

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc7X0jc2FBo[/youtube]
The Look
There is something so whimsical yet fully dimensional in Tenggren's styling for the film (and for Snow White and the few Silly Symphonies he worked on as well). He really captures the ambiance of a fairy tale in a way that is easy to translate to the screen reasonably unchanged (as opposed to Mary Blair's art, which tragically was often watered down). The attention to detail is certainly impressive, and adds great dimension to the wonderful animation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAykOz1gWi4[/youtube]
The Music
Overall, a very good score, but practically all the major songs, not just "When You Wish Upon a Star", are standards, full of real wit. "I've Got No Strings" in particular is a showstopper.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-veMrgBKAVE[/youtube]
The Story and its Ressonance
Obviously, it's a wonderful fantasy full of brilliant characters and wonderful settings, but I think Roger Ebert summed up its real appeal in that "it isn't just a concocted fable or a silly fairy tale, but a narrative with deep archetypal reverberations". It is a reasonably complex, thought-provoking story, and the fantasy exists as a means of commentary on realities - morality, exploitation, survival and unpunished villainy.

Of course, there are more reasons than just these to like such a good film. Maybe somebody else could cover them for me?

[Flanger-Hanger]

Three Reasons: The Haunted Mansion(Magic Kingdom Park)


Reason 1: The "Magic Show" Effect

Long Forgotten blog has hypothesized that part of the reason why this ride creates more fascination that say, Pirates of the Caribbean, is its illusionary qualities in its set design and effects. Pirates is more straightforward in how it presents its action as essentially stage sets with robotic actors, but Haunted Mansion goes beyond this to add another dimension of distortion to make its chambers feel unreal. "How do they do that?" is more likely to be asked and that level of questioning is what makes the ride more interesting to review and see again. Even if you know how things are done, their mechanical or trick functions are still interesting.


Reason 2: One Lone Tune

The song written for the ride, "Grim Grinning Ghosts", is only a minute long, but its simple melody is so easily adapted and changed that it becomes a running underscore for the entire ride, without ever sounding repetitive. That's a major achievement and I think Danny Elfman said he wished to do something similar for Mystic Manor (a ride at Hong Kong Disneyland opening later this year). Whether disjointed piano, crzed organ or sung with words, it's a great piece of Disney musical work.


Reason 3: A Better Draft

Disneyland's Haunted Mansion went through a number of changes during its design and construction phase. Pieces that were laid out for one concept (the two exit graveyards for the twin walkthoughs), had to be altered to fit another and as such the ride lacks the sense of place and pace its second version has. WDW's Mansion has a longer ride that betters its pace by not sending you out of the "house" too soon, a more seculed park location that startegically draws your attention to the more striking looking building and understands that ideas like a load area of "boundless mists and decay" don't always translate well from concept to reality (epsecially when saftey regulates what light level you can use). As a result, the experience feels more "complete" and more satisfying as a whole and proves why the creative team was smart enough to not simply copy the original.

[PixarFan2006]

Three Reasons Why: Pixar

1.The Animation

Pixar was one of the first studios to really showcase what CG animation was capable of (even if movies like Tron predated it). With each movie, the animation only improved.

2.The Storytelling

Okay, maybe the company has lost its footing the last few years (with the abysmal Cars 2 and the mediocre Brave), but we have the classics (Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo) that make up for the duds.

3.The Characters
TBA

[pap64]

Oooh, I could easily lose myself in this thread...

Three Reasons Why: A Whole New World

1. Brad Kane and Lea Salonga
Disney could not have gotten a better pair of singers to record this song. They beautifully complement each other as Aladdin and Jasmine, yet still retain the youthful quality the speaking role actors bring to the characters. They put so much emotion in their performances you would swear they were actually on a flying magic carpet.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYCilZ8yMmU[/youtube]

2. Beautiful lyrics
I was talking to Disneykid one time about this: we were comparing "I see the light" to "A whole new world", and said that while "I see the light" has a beautiful melody, gorgeous scene and great singing, the lyrics are a tad flat thanks to the constant use of "And it's like, and it's like". "A whole new world" has amazing lyrics that truly capture the spirit of being in a brand new world, such as "Every moment red-letter" and "Soarin', tumblin' free wheelin' through an endless diamond sky". Aaron Wallace once said in his top 100 Disney song countdown that the lyrics have enough "adventure" to them that it prevents it from being a fully romantic song, which makes is beautifully balanced between the adventurous and the romantic.

3. The feeling of flight
One thing I love about the song is how it truly feels about flight. From the way it slowly opens up, like taking off, and then the middle is like flying through the sky in an exciting manner. The melody for this song is spot on, and one of the few instances in which a scene specific song works both in and outside the movie.

[Heil Donald Duck]

1. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
2. Mickey Mouse
3. Donald Duck
4. Goofy (sorry)

[jazzflower92]

1.Mutlidemographic Appeal

I believe Walt Disney was right when he said your dead when you only aim for kids.I mean if you think about some adults are still Disney fans because they basically grew up on it as children.If something still appeals to you as an adult then it must be really good.When we were kids we saw certain Disney movies in another angle while now we fully appreciate more of the meanings in a different way.Take for instance the Hunchback Of Notre Dame when you were a kid it might have been just another Disney movie with a different sorta of taste when you grow up you wonder how in the heck did they get all that stuff in a supposed G rated movie.

2. Songs

You gotta admit Disney has made some great memorable tunes that have captivated audiences over the decade.I like the ones during the 90's of course but I also have a soft spot for some recent additions as well.Not all Disney movies will be musicals or have songs but some of their movies will have a song that will probably stick in your mind.

3. Imagination

When I often go to a Disney movie I really do expect some imagination put into their work especially when its a fairy tale movie or a book based on a movie.Some complain about how Disney adaptions aren't always faithful to the source material but on the other hand some might say its for the better they do their own way.Even the early Disney fairy tales had a lot of tweeks to their stories.I think it was their later fairy tales stories that probably had more changes done from their source material but people will admit that these movies are memorable and more ejoyable because of it.

[Disney Duster]

The Story and its Ressonance
Obviously, it's a wonderful fantasy full of brilliant characters and wonderful settings, but I think Roger Ebert summed up its real appeal in that "it isn't just a concocted fable or a silly fairy tale, but a narrative with deep archetypal reverberations". It is a reasonably complex, thought-provoking story, and the fantasy exists as a means of commentary on realities - morality, exploitation, survival and unpunished villainy.

Every Disney movie has archetypal reverbrations. And how is the story complex and thought-provoking?

[Wonderlicious]

The Story and its Ressonance
Obviously, it's a wonderful fantasy full of brilliant characters and wonderful settings, but I think Roger Ebert summed up its real appeal in that "it isn't just a concocted fable or a silly fairy tale, but a narrative with deep archetypal reverberations". It is a reasonably complex, thought-provoking story, and the fantasy exists as a means of commentary on realities - morality, exploitation, survival and unpunished villainy.

Every Disney movie has archetypal reverbrations. And how is the story complex and thought-provoking?

Not being funny, but why did you feel the need to drag up a thread that hadn't been posted in for a good whole month just to try and discuss one of my opinions? I think that you could have at least attempted to list three things you like about something from Disney.

I'm not saying that other films don't have it. I can think of plenty of films dealing with the fantastic that hit that same nerve, be they Disney or non-Disney. In fact, that same "Great Movies" article lists a number of other Disney films that Ebert considers to have the same quality. In any case, it's thought provoking beacuase it uses fantasy to inform our own lives. And as for it being reasonably complex, I would say that it is. It is undeniably a relatively simple story in that it's not deep and complex like an art-house film or Shakespeare play, and it doesn't need to really be that complex. However, it takes it story very seriously and isn't afraid to take risks that, frankly, a lot of Disney animated films never had and never will (charting the gradual growth of a character warts and all, having more a theme as the villain with personifications of said theme as the threat to the good characters etc). You can disagree all you like with my opinion, but frankly, there's no way you're going to change it, just like how I don't harbour that great a desire to bump long-dead threads to challenge what you do or don't like.

Anyway, to sway this back onto topic, another "Three Things", this time for something a little bit more obscure and underrated...

Return to Oz
Okay, so it is a bit cheesy, and it ultimately never will beat the 1939 film (nor is this film a sequel to that film!), but it's one of my favourites.

An alternate vision of Oz
The 1939 MGM musical pretty much set a look and tone for Oz that has been plagiarised ever since (Oz: the Great and Powerful). While I think Return to Oz is actually darker than the original Oz books (which were indeed gorier and more anarchic than the MGM film - not that it's a bad film, nor did it lose any of the emotional spirit of the original), it at least returns to the aesthetic spirit of the source material/illustrations and their turn-of-the-century feel.

Special effects
They may not wow as much as they did back in the mid 80s, but I think they stand up well. Moreover, they actually fit the surroundings. Things like the Narnia films sometimes fall flat as you see CG heavy creatures against ultra-realistic backdrops (hence why so many fantasy/sci-fi films may go for a very stylised look). Successful puppetry à la Tik-Tok and Jack Pumpkinhead helps blend the characters with their surroundings.

The score
I always liked the score for the film. It has a wistful quality to it, and it seems very patterned after the music of the period setting.

[Disneykid]

Cool thread idea! I think we all know where I'll take this...

Three Reasons: Alice in Wonderland

1. The Dialogue - It's one of the few adaptions of the books whose added lines fit well with Lewis Carroll's original text and manage to evoke genuine laughs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUnqbBgYZmI[/youtube]

2. The Voicework - The distinctive qualities each actor gives to his character, mingled with impeccable timing, make for what most consider the definitive interpretations of these zany characters

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROqlhMEWA70[/youtube]

3. The Visuals - This is easily one of the most colorful animated films ever made, and the topsy turvy art style inspired by Mary Blair takes advantage of the surreal dreamscape while remaining aesthetically pleasing.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHte24GGHD4[/youtube]

[Marky_198]

1.Mutlidemographic Appeal

I believe Walt Disney was right when he said your dead when you only aim for kids.
Unfortunately Disney hast lost this in the 90's, after the Disney Renaissance.

2. The realistic character designs, the mature look, the life lessons (goodbyes, love, death, war).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fct-Lbp9mRA

3. The beauty and the music.

[DC Fan]

1. Timeless

There are several that can show their time; very few (Snow White, Oliver and Company) but they all feel timeless. Thanks to the animation, stories, characters and just care.

2. Generational

I watched them with my mom and I´m building my collection for my future children. And so on and on.

3. Collector´s films

I´m not talking about Editions or quality of them. I mean about the fact that there is a specific number of them. It´s not like Pokémon (be it and endless TV series or movies made just because). So anyone can build the collection. Yes, they will keep on coming but still they´re affordable. And once you have them (be it on DVD/BR/Digital....) it´s for you to decide: keep upgrading, stick with the collection you´ve built on X format or anyway you have it it´s yours.

[Disney Duster]

Sorry, my life keeps getting in the way of me replying to this more at times so I don't keep bumping in from pages back.

Wonderlicious, it's totally ok to bring up a thread from a while if I have something I legitimately want to discuss in it.

I agree that the film making us think about our own lives is thought provoking but I was hoping you'd give a specific example or something. You also wrote something that confuses me, "having more a theme as the villain with personifications of said theme as the threat to the good characters etc)." What does that mean?

[thedisneyspirit]

1- Emperor Kuzco
2- Goofy
3- A Whole New World


I'm so predictable