thedisneyspirit wrote:
I suppose Dumbo and Peter Pan? The first one may have some charm but the second one has aged terribly, yet is still considered a classic.
Tangled as well. It plays things relatively safe and steals a lot from other sources, yet for years was considered the only "genuinely good one" of the Lasseter era.
I've actually had the opposite situation with Dumbo. I wasn't a fan of it when I was younger but I love it a lot now. Peter Pan definitely hasn't aged well in every way. I've often said that Cinderella takes the best elements of the 50s while Peter Pan takes the worst.
I detest Tangled. I can't understand how anyone calls it a return to the heights of the Disney Renaissance.
farerb wrote:
- Mulan: A nice film, but less than what people makes it.
Agreed. I find it to be very flawed and not nearly the darling that people make it out to be now.
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one. "I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren "I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
Looking at my previous answers (which were written seven years ago), I must say that I've changed my mind about Pinocchio. I rediscovered it six years ago and I realized how cute and enchanting it was. Perhaps the first half of the movie is superior to it's second half, but Pinocchio is a charmer, nonetheless. Plus, Pinocchio himself is the most adorable Disney kid ever.
After seeing it again, I must say Sleeping Beauty. I see people rave about it and Disney exploit it from time to time, and while it is impressive technical-wise, the plot is thin and the characters are just static.
The movie just feels cold, and the characters just do actions because the plot mandates them instead of genuine emotion. The love story is forced, and you don't see what attracts these two characters to be together.
I see why the film flopped when it first came out. It follows the archetypes to the bone but leaves very little in terms of emotion for audiences to care. And I wouldn't be surprised most of modern criticism aimed at Disney about damsels-in-distress and the like all came to be thanks to this film. Aurora is the archetypical example of their criticisms.
Aurora and Phillip are somewhat nonexistent (although I believe their voice actors elevate the overall characters, which is why both characters are still beloved to this day) but the fairies are some of Disney's best protagonists imo. And Maleficent is considered Disney's best villain as well which raises the amount of public goodwill towards this film, despite its flaws.
Would you say that the love story is more forced here, compared to the ones presented in Snow White or Cinderella? Imo, all are cut from the same cloth, which really isn't an issue for me.
We’re a dyad in the Force. Two that are one. "I offered you my hand once. You wanted to take it." - Kylo Ren "I did want to take your hand. Ben's hand." - Rey
The movie flopped because it was too expensive, not because people didn't want to see it.
I also disagree about the damsel in distress thing since it wasn't Phillip who saved the day, but the faries, which is a lot since it is actually a film where 4 elderly women drive the plot.
However for me Sleeping Beauty is more about the art than anything. This is the pinnacle of animation and there hasn't been any animated film that tops Sleeping Beauty. Every director should strive for his film to look like Sleeping Beauty. Unfortunately that's not a priority anymore.
Yes, it's true, the reason Sleeping Beauty lost money was because it cost so much to make. It was only second to Ben-Hur in the year it came out!
But let's not call the film all feminist. Aurora can't be with her man, and she accepts it. Phillip can't be with his girl, so he goes after her. Phillip's killing of Maleficent and waking Aurora are tricky to say if they are feminist. Phillip is needed to kill Maleficent. They need him to manly throw that sword with all his man-strength. Yes, it did also have female magic, but they needed a man. Same with the kiss. Female power and male power together. So it seems they are equal. But it kind of feels like Phillips' power is more significant. I suppose that's debatable.
