Disneycember Month by Doug Walker of TGWTG

[Mooky]

When was the second Disneycember? Btw, disneyspirit, this reminds me that I still haven't sent you pics of my Disney 'Art of' books. Sorry! I have it all at the ready, I just can't find time to take proper photos. I sincerely hope it's going to be next weekend.

[Avaitor]

Secondly, live-action Disney? With the amount of films there are in that field? He'll eventually give up with them.

Well he's not going to tackle EVERY live-action movie. There's no way he could. Doug's plan is to review the most admired of their many, many live-action films, and he used the following films in the opening for this one (on the top of my head, at least):

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
The Parent Trap (1961)
Mary Poppins
TRON
Return to Oz
Hocus Pocus
Pirate of the Caribbean
The Chronicles of Narnia

With plans to do follow-up videos for the various sequels of these films. There's a bunch of live-action Disney films which I think deserve rediscovery, so I'm hoping this will help with that. But based on this video, Doug's critical limitations are still present.

[zackisthewalrus]

I couldn't get even halfway through that video without stopping. The way he pronounced Uncle Remus as Uncle Ray-mus was incredibly annoying.

[thedisneyspirit]

Secondly, live-action Disney? With the amount of films there are in that field? He'll eventually give up with them.

Well he's not going to tackle EVERY live-action movie. There's no way he could. Doug's plan is to review the most admired of their many, many live-action films, and he used the following films in the opening for this one (on the top of my head, at least):

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Darby O'Gill and the Little People
The Parent Trap (1961)
Mary Poppins
TRON
Return to Oz
Hocus Pocus
Pirate of the Caribbean
The Chronicles of Narnia

With plans to do follow-up videos for the various sequels of these films. There's a bunch of live-action Disney films which I think deserve rediscovery, so I'm hoping this will help with that. But based on this video, Doug's critical limitations are still present.

Oh thanks for the input!

TBH I can't comment much since for some time I can't see his videos on either BLIP or TGWTG (dunno whats the problem) (since he no longer updates his vids to youtube i have to wait to see his vids) so I just spoke out of assumption based on your comment.

So what was about his research that bothered you?

Mooky: the second Disneycember was last year around this time, where he covered Disney's CGI films (including stuff like A Christmas Carol and The Wild) and the whole Pixar slew. Then in January he covered all of the Dreamworks' films.

[Avaitor]

Well I have the same problem with this video as I do with most of Doug's attempts to seriously critique something- he isn't very good at it. He likes to speak for us too much, using phrases like "we" and "you" in an inappropriate and sometimes snobbish manner, while also using obvious shortcuts with potential critical analysis, and he has a very likely tendency to get facts wrong.

Granted, I can't really think of anything he got wrong with the basis of Song of the South in his video. In fact, when it comes to personal opinion, I basically agree with him on the movie. James Baskett is very delightful as Uncle Remus and the animated bits are fun, but the core story isn't very interesting at all, and Doug seems to side with me without coming off as rude in any way to someone who would disagree. But my other problems with Walker's critical views are still present in the video.

[thedisneyspirit]

You're right that Doug is really bad at criticizing/analizing things from an objective perspective. It's always "i think this would've been better" "i think we should've had less of this and more of that" "this doesn't work" "eeeeaah i don't knooooow" "this is actually pretty good!" and my favorite:

"what works well here, really works!"

And at times he's not really descriptive or doesn't tell why certain things work or don't work. His reasons for disliking a film often don't make sense:
Aladdin is a bad film because it's too "modern"? WTF?

Tbh I'll take this series with a grain of salt, especially considering his opinions on Dreamworks-uary were just so random. (Bee Movie is such a messy film with the plot but to him the story is "genius").

[thedisneyspirit]

When was the second Disneycember? Btw, disneyspirit, this reminds me that I still haven't sent you pics of my Disney 'Art of' books. Sorry! I have it all at the ready, I just can't find time to take proper photos. I sincerely hope it's going to be next weekend.

No problem Mooky! I'll just wait.

[DisneyFan09]

You're right that Doug is really bad at criticizing/analizing things from an objective perspective. It's always "i think this would've been better" "i think we should've had less of this and more of that" "this doesn't work" "eeeeaah i don't knooooow" "this is actually pretty good!" and my favorite:

"what works well here, really works!"

And at times he's not really descriptive or doesn't tell why certain things work or don't work. His reasons for disliking a film often don't make sense: Emperor's New Groove is bad just because it's a buddy comedy film starring David Spade...Oh the horror.

And about Aladdin? It's a bad film because it's too "modern"? WTF?

Agreed that he's not good at analyzing. But the worst part is that he's not good at conveying his opinion in a nuanced manner. If I didn't knew better, I've would have guessed it was a teen who conveyed his message.

And he's quite blatant when tries to be funny. At least Lindsay has a better sense of timing.

[thelittleursula]

And at times he's not really descriptive or doesn't tell why certain things work or don't work. His reasons for disliking a film often don't make sense: Emperor's New Groove is bad just because it's a buddy comedy film starring David Spade...Oh the horror.

And about Aladdin? It's a bad film because it's too "modern"? WTF?

Tbh I'll take this series with a grain of salt, especially considering his opinions on Dreamworks-uary were just so random. (Bee Movie is such a messy film with the plot but to him the story is "genius").

^ Lol this so much

Bee Movie is a horrible movie, though he liked it because he got a strange nostalgia vibe with it. And he's reasons for downgrading Aladdin and Emperors New Groove, were indeed terrible.

[DisneyFan09]

Lol this so much

Bee Movie is a horrible movie, though he liked it because he got a strange nostalgia vibe with it. And he's reasons for downgrading Aladdin and Emperors New Groove, were indeed terrible

Not to mention that his reasons for ditching them were ridiculous and laughable.

[thedisneyspirit]

I can maybe understand why to him the jokes in Aladdin might date the movie, but does that make it a bad film? I dunno.

And he says something like Agrabah is too "modern" or that Aladdin and Jasmine come out of "Saved by the Bell"...And that is bad? Ariel was based on Alyssa Milano for christ's sake. All Disney characters have a "modern" touch so the audiences can relate to them, especially the year comes out. He should research before spewing out nonsense.


One of my favorite of his demeaning words is when he reviewed the Little Mermaid "yeah, you've all seen it, you've all heard of it, so now we're gonna talk about it". What Doug? You mean we listen like sheep while you squeal your thoughts over the video? What a snob.

[PatrickvD]

You're right that Doug is really bad at criticizing/analizing things from an objective perspective. It's always "i think this would've been better" "i think we should've had less of this and more of that" "this doesn't work" "eeeeaah i don't knooooow" "this is actually pretty good!" and my favorite:

"what works well here, really works!"

And at times he's not really descriptive or doesn't tell why certain things work or don't work. His reasons for disliking a film often don't make sense: Emperor's New Groove is bad just because it's a buddy comedy film starring David Spade...Oh the horror.

And about Aladdin? It's a bad film because it's too "modern"? WTF?

Tbh I'll take this series with a grain of salt, especially considering his opinions on Dreamworks-uary were just so random. (Bee Movie is such a messy film with the plot but to him the story is "genius").

All I can say is AMEN to all of the above.

I don't mind him as the nostalgia critic, but his serious reviews are laughable. He has nothing to add in an intelligent constructive manner. It's a joke.

[pap64]

I have A TON of issues with Doug when it comes to his analysis videos. Like people have said already, his main issue is that he fails to convey a good analysis voice. He comes off as being like that one teenager who has to do a report in front of the class. Note that sometimes I suffer from some of those issues when I do the Three Commentears commentaries, but I try to fix it by writing notes, thinking ahead and speaking slowly when possible. Doug just seems to go in there and wing it.

He has severe redundancy issues, like when he is so over excited about the things he loves in a movie, he goes "THE BLANK IS PERFECT, THE BLANK IS PERFECT, THE BLANK IS PERFECT". It is double the redundancy when he uses that line of thought AGAIN at the end of the video.

Then his analysis methods are so incredibly inconsistent, often praising a movie for some things, then criticizing the other films for the exact, same thing. Like, when he couldn't stop ranting about how The Rescuers Down Under was a fantastic film that defied the rules of what a Disney movie should be, then he bashed Emperor's New Groove because it is not the movie HE wanted to see, rather than to analyze it on the film's own merits. He also LOVES to stick with the status quo with some movies, like Beauty and the Beast is considered a masterpiece, so he raves about it. The Lion King is highly praised by a generation of 90s babies, he has to to criticize it because it is overrated. Pocahontas and Hercules are highly hated, so he must hate on them as well.

DOUG WALKER, THAT IS NOT HOW ANALYSIS WORKS.

Analysis is looking at a creative endeavor through objective eyes, study the intentions behind its creation and analysis whether or not the creator succeeded in achieving those goals, and how the audience's perception affected the legacy of the product. If Doug Walker understood analysis, he would have looked at all those movies and would have presented why they or they don't work, how people perceived it and such. Just repeating what everybody else is saying is not enough. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HIS ADVENTURE TIME VLOGS! Seriously, just him going "OMG WHAT DID I WATCH OMG HAHAHAHA THIS IS SO RANDOM LOL!!!!" is NOT analysis. Yeah, AT is a very silly, random series, but one that merits analysis as a popular creative effort.

And double on the fact that he often comes off as a passive aggressive snob. He often gets so insulted by something in a movie, TV show, whatever, that he often dedicates whole segments to it because HE is offended by it. Like the fact that he HATES Moulin Rouge so he keeps pounding on it, and then labeling it as a "guilty pleasure" because he thinks that's the only way to enjoy the movie. Yes, Moulin Rouge is a flawed movie. However, a lot of people love the movie for many of its merits. I could tell he was thinking the same way with his Les Mis review. Then there is the fact that he loathes the TMZ and needs to bash it. I get that they are very lowly, but WHY keep focusing on them so much? It is a way to stroke his ego and think that he is sticking it to them.

It is because of Doug Walker that I decided to join the Three Commentears project; because I want people to appreciate Disney films for the artistic endeavors that they are, and offer better insight than this clown will ever do in his entire life.

[Avaitor]

Here is 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

[thedisneyspirit]

Is it strange that I've never seen Song of the South? I hear so much commentary towards it, but aside from the slavery there's not really much else. Everything else seems very boring.

[Avaitor]

haha, it's okay. It is pretty boring, actually. I'd say the film is worth a watch to feed off curiosity and for the animated sequences, but there are much better films you could watch instead.

Like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Which I'm glad to see Doug likes.

[thedisneyspirit]

Disneycember in a nutshell:

Moderator's Note:

REALLY?!?

Offensive image removed.

[lord-of-sith]

I have to say that I'm confused by the negative reaction to NC reviews on here. While I definitely think that Lindsay is a better overall reviewer because she can more accurately point out why something works and why something doesn't, I think Doug often makes valid points. Most importantly, however, I don't think either of them assert that their opinions are fact and are the only ones that should matter. In fact, when Doug makes a point that goes against popular opinion, he is very clear that it's okay to disagree with him. Is he the best person in the world to review movies in this way? Probably not, but at least he's giving notice to movies that a lot of modern audiences haven't seen or even heard of before (as is the case with a lot of his Disneycember reviews) and for that fact alone I give him credit. Plus, I don't think a review calling The Lion King overrated is going to sway anyone's opinion on the film if they already have one. That's the case with most Disney movies, especially with the people on this board, so I don't think his reviews should be taken too seriously. It's just one guys opinion.

Additionally, one of the things I like about some of his reviews (though Lindsay does it much better) is that he can put into words some of the things I've thought about films without being able to deduce exactly what it was. It doesn't necessarily change my opinion on the film, but it gives a good solid wording to my opinion. Overall, I just don't get the hate.

[thelittleursula]

I can maybe understand why to him the jokes in Aladdin might date the movie, but does that make it a bad film? I dunno.

They do date the movie, but Aladdin is still a decent movie, however it's just cool to put Beauty and the Beast and Lion King on a pedestal and snub Aladdin.

Aladdin has decent characters, warm-hearted moments, well-written songs, and stunning animation. Plus it's the Genie that does the Pop- Culture, so it sort of makes sense, it's not like Shrek where it's dropped everywhere like bombs or Hercules and it's late 90's dude.

All Disney characters have a "modern" touch so the audiences can relate to them, especially the year comes out. He should research before spewing out nonsense.

This so much !

I mean look at Snow White and Cinderella, they have late 30's and early 50's written all over them. They reflect what time they came out, and just because they're not modern anymore, doesn't mean that they're bad and their movie is bad. They have aged, but of course they're going to age. In 20 years time Frozen is going to be aged and Anna and Elsa are going to reflect 2013.

Is it strange that I've never seen Song of the South? I hear so much commentary towards it, but aside from the slavery there's not really much else. Everything else seems very boring.

It should be on YouTube, unless it's been taken down.

It's very draggy and dry and the awkwardness doesn't help.

[thedisneyspirit]

Oi! Put that image back on!