Home on the Range

[Ballzo]

YES PG! Maybe we will get to see a little bit of cow udder!

[PatrickvD]

from an early review:

First...it's absolutely terrific. Since I saw previews on the internet of this film I had a good feeling, and I wasn't let down one iota....

that is good news!

The film is an adventure movie with some comedic parts. It's not a knee snapping comedy by any stretch, but it is light-hearted with some genuine pathos and lots of great action at times.

I've seen a lot of parts that were more emotional than comedy. I think the trailers are making it look like an all the way comedy. But there's also some slower moments with slow country songs.

How ironic this is. Finally, a really good Disney animated CARTOON feature...and it could be the last.

well at least they could be going out on a hgh note!

[mitch_evers]

Don't forget that the likes of 'Dumbo', and 'One Hundred and One Dalmations' both started out as relativly low cost, low key films, made in response to the studio's recent box office failures (i.e. 'Fantasia' and 'Sleeping Beauty'). I think the box office success of Disney in the early/mid 1990s dictated that every one of its major animated features had to be an epic, and this I feel is the company's downfall. The success of the Pixar films which generally have more simplistic (and charming) story lines and the success of the seemingly less ambitious 'Lilo and Stich' would seem to suggest this. I'm not saying that I expect 'Home On the Range' to be on a par with 'Dumbo' or 'Dalmations' (both of which are about as perfect as movies can get), but I feel it would be wrong to write off this film purely because it is funny.

Besides which, I kinda like cattle.

[AwallaceUNC]

Not that I'm complaining about the variety, but ...

Exactly. It's not that Disney has made a comedy that's the problem (none of them have been bad), it's that Disney seems to be leaning almost exclusively to comedy that I think is problematic. They don't have quite as much heart as some of their other stuff.

Yeah, Home on the Range is supposed to be funny... but so is American Pie. Obviously I'm not making a comparison here, but just to point out that Disney's standard of acceptable comedy has to be more family-friendly, and I just don't think that bar should be raised to allow "crude humor." Disney is for the 'kid' in adults... not the 'adult' in kids.

-Aaron

[Mr. Toad]

Disney has been leaning too much towards comedy - of the last fiveanimiated classics - (Fantasia 2000, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear) - only Lilo and Stitch had major comedic elements. And even it was not a full blown comedy. It was a movie with as much heart as any movie Disney has made in quite some time. My wife cried at the end.

So I cant agree with the statement Disney is leaning too far towards comedy films.

If someone wanted to make the argument that Disney was leaning too far towards pointless adventure films (Atlantis, Treasure Planet) that is aimed at a demographic that is not going to show up to an animated movie I might agree. Oh wait a minute, I geuss I just made it.

[PatrickvD]

Disney has been leaning too much towards comedy - of the last fiveanimiated classics - (Fantasia 2000, Atlantis, Lilo and Stitch, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear) - only Lilo and Stitch had major comedic elements. And even it was not a full blown comedy. It was a movie with as much heart as any movie Disney has made in quite some time. My wife cried at the end.

So I cant agree with the statement Disney is leaning too far towards comedy films.

If someone wanted to make the argument that Disney was leaning too far towards pointless adventure films (Atlantis, Treasure Planet) that is aimed at a demographic that is not going to show up to an animated movie I might agree. Oh wait a minute, I geuss I just made it.

I agree, Disney has been leaning towards comedy just as much as they have been throughout the nineties (Aladdin, Lion King, Hercules) So I would disagree with anyone that Disney has been leaning more towards comedy...

[AwallaceUNC]

I don't see how Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules can be classified as comedies.

Jimmy- you left out ENG, which came after Fantasia 2000, so out of the last 5 (or 6, counting HOTR), thr comedy ratio goes up. Stitch does have more heart than, say, ENG, but compared to the classic classics, or even to the TLM-TLK era, it's very much more a comedy.

-Aaron

[PatrickvD]

I don't see how Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules can be classified as comedies.

The Genie, Iago, Timon Pumbaa, Hades, Meg, Phil etc?!?!?! Those three have a higher level of comedy than most of the other Disney films of that time. They are just as much comedy as Lilo, ENG and probaply HOTR. I would agree though, with anyone who would say that we will be seeing more comedy the next few years. In that interview with Ron Clements and John Musker, they said when they pitched Rapunzel, the management told them they would only accept CG comedies. SO yes, we will be seeing more comedies the coming years.

But looking at Disney's 2d films... I dont think they started making more comedies. But that's just my opinion

[AwallaceUNC]

I just watched Mulan and think that the "there's bound to be a thing or two they'll notice" and "concubines... ugly concubines" lines push the envelope just a tad as well. I think this may have warranted a PG rating if it were to come out today.

-Aaron

[AwallaceUNC]

I don't see how Aladdin, Lion King, and Hercules can be classified as comedies.

The Genie, Iago, Timon Pumbaa, Hades, Meg, Phil etc?!?!?! Those three have a higher level of comedy than most of the other Disney films of that time. They are just as much comedy as Lilo, ENG and probaply HOTR. I would agree though, with anyone who would say that we will be seeing more comedy the next few years. In that interview with Ron Clements and John Musker, they said when they pitched Rapunzel, the management told them they would only accept CG comedies. SO yes, we will be seeing more comedies the coming years.

But looking at Disney's 2d films... I dont think they started making more comedies. But that's just my opinion

You're citing comical characters, not comical films. These are secondary characters who were placed in the film for comic relief from an otherwise non-comedy. The same was true for C-3PO and R2-D2, and Star Wars certainly wasn't a comedy.

(I will acknowledge that Hercules flirts with comedy a little more, b/c the villain also provides comic relief for a good portion of the movie, but still don't think it makes the cut).

-Aaron

[Squirrel]

But looking at Disney's 2d films... I dont think they started making more comedies. But that's just my opinion

I kind of agree ...

But, for some reason, to me ... it just feels like they're making more (even if they're not). Or maybe it's just because it seems that animated films in general (and not just Disney) are more comedy-focused now than they were before, like the DW films (Shrek and such) and the Pixars (though they have heart, too) ... I don't know. Or maybe it's because, for marketing, they play up the comedy to attract a wider audience (even if the movie's not entirely comedic). But I would classify the Disneys of this decade as ...

Fantasia 2000 - Artistic ; for lack of a better word
The Emperor's New Groove - Comedy
Atlantis - Adventure
Lilo & Stitch - Romance/Comedy
Treasure Planet - Adventure
Brother Bear - Drama
HOTR - Comedy ; even though I've not seen it, obviously

And I'll say the Disneys of the early 90's as ...

The Rescuers Down Under - Adventure/Romance
Beauty and the Beast - Romance
Aladdin - this one's the hardest to classify, I think
The Lion King - Drama
Pocahontas - Drama

And I haven't actually seen anything from Hercules to Tarzan (none of them all the way through, anyway ; need to get around to that, eventually!)

So, I guess there aren't that many comedies, no. One could argue (including HOTR), there are only three (from '90 onward). And that (assuming, on the part of HOTR), two of them are "zany" and Lilo was a more heart-filled comedy (which I loved). However, all three of those have come from this decade (all in the past four years), so ...

It's nice Disney has a variety in their animated classics. I'm just saying that I'm not attracted to Disney films for their comedic elements (but, rather, for the more romantic, dramatic things, and the animation itself; and though the comedy is necessary in all the films, and I like it, I think it's best when it either plays a secondary or equal role to the other elements of the film, rather than being the primary element).

lol. I feel like I've just overanalyzed and explained away whatever it was I was trying to say. Anyway, I'm really looking forward to HOTR, yeah. But, for me, there's more appeal in something like Lilo & Stitch or Brother Bear, rather than New Groove or HOTR ... but it would be boring if all the Disney classics all had the same tone! So, I guess it's nice, as long as they continue to keep it evenly spread ...

[Prince Adam]

Not sure if I'd consider "Lilo and Stitch" a romance...
"Drama" is a better word.

[PatrickvD]

I agree Squirrel, animated films in general have been more comedy. I think the fact that Disney's comic movies have been more succesful added to the feeling that there are more comedies. Very well put

[Squirrel]

Not sure if I'd consider "Lilo and Stitch" a romance...
"Drama" is a better word.

Well, not so much a romance, but romanticized. If that makes sense. It just feels to me ... the round, soft designs, the warm, lush watercolors. The connection made between Lilo and Stitch, their friendship ... and finding family. Not romantic in a passionate sense, but in terms of imagination, et cetera ... and that it was sweet. But, yeah, it could be considered drama instead ...

I agree Squirrel, animated films in general have been more comedy. I think the fact that Disney's comic movies have been more succesful added to the feeling that there are more comedies. Very well put

Yeah ... and thanks.

[Jack]

Lilo & Stitch - Romance/Comedy

Romance? As in a girl falls romantically in love with an alien? Ewwww.

As for this discussion, I don't think Disney is leaning any more heavily on comedy now than they were earlier on. There's plenty of comedy in all the Walt-era films (except for Fantasia). Some may say that there were never flat-out comedies like Emperor's New Groove back then, but when you think about it, stuff like Peter Pan & Alice in Wonderland are pretty darn full of light-hearted humor. The reason the more recent ones seem to rely more heavily on it, I think, is because it's just a different type of comedy - humor created by and for a new generation.

[Prince Adam]

Not sure if I'd consider "Lilo and Stitch" a romance...
"Drama" is a better word.

Well, not so much a romance, but romanticized. If that makes sense. It just feels to me ... the round, soft designs, the warm, lush watercolors. The connection made between Lilo and Stitch, their friendship ... and finding family. Not romantic in a passionate sense, but in terms of imagination, et cetera ... and that it was sweet. But, yeah, it could be considered drama instead ...

I agree Squirrel, animated films in general have been more comedy. I think the fact that Disney's comic movies have been more succesful added to the feeling that there are more comedies. Very well put

Yeah ... and thanks.

OK! Sorry, I misunderstood you.
You mean like Anne of Green Gables' "It would be so romantic to drown" and Richard Paul Evans' "My romantic friends, those who believe in Santa Claus..." romantic.
Whoops!

[Paka]

I just watched Mulan and think that the "there's bound to be a thing or two they'll notice" and "concubines... ugly concubines" lines push the envelope just a tad as well. I think this may have warranted a PG rating if it were to come out today.

I doubt it. There's a difference between quick one-liners that fly over the heads of kids in a "family film," and films that are saturated in adult humor and lowbrow bodily function jokes, like Shrek. The themes of The Lion King, Hunchback, and maybe Tarzan (i.e. violence, mature subject matter like lust and revenge, etc.) would likely earn them a PG these days, but a few throwaway jokes? Nah. That's why I can't really believe the oft-told story of the MPAA giving Home on the Range a PG because of one line. This being Roseanne, there's likely more than just one line of "rude humor." Besides, if the MPAA truly did give it a PG because of one line, then I say that's truly oversensitive. Finding Nemo deserved a PG by those standards - why the hell did IT get away with a G? Hollywood politics?

But anyhoo, Disney has always had comic relief in nearly every animated film; in fact, that's the main reason I liked and still like Cinderella - Lucifer and the mice are nothing short of hilarious!

However, what seems to have happened to the animated features in the past few years, especially post-TLK, is they've seemed to polarize in theme - they're either heavy on drama (i.e Pocahontas or Hunchback), or heavy on comedy (i.e. Hercules or New Groove). The extreme examples I just listed have problems handling the opposite theme - Flit, Meeko, and Percy in Pocahontas, or the gargoyles in Hunchback feel really forced, while the low points of pathos in Hercules or New Groove (or even the borderline examples of Mulan or Tarzan) seem alien - there's little that's sufficient enough to sympathize with the characters, especially after non-stop, A.D.D. gags and silliness. And while Mulan and Tarzan are borderline comedy, Atlantis and Treasure Planet fall more into the drama category, with their serious action-adventure themes.
In any case, many of the post-TLK films have leaned too much towards one theme or another, and it tends to burn them in the end. Too much of a good thing... as they say.

So Disney's bandwagon move of focusing primarily on comedy in their animated features isn't a wise idea, says I. Not only are they flooding the market with all-CG films now (the novelty of which will run out really quickly), but they're making more light, fluffy comedic stuff. Which is what most other CG bandwagon studios have in mind - DreamWorks, Sony, Blue Sky - not exactly heavy stories are in the development pipeline. And Disney's not only doing comedy - it's satirical comedy, in the line of Shrek. As in, taking a traditional tale and "turning it on its ear." Rapunzel Unbraided, Chicken Little, and Gnomeo and Juliet are prime examples of this. The Shrek template will only work for so long, guys - how about you stop acting the sheep and become the shepherd again, Disney? Oh yeah, I forgot - too risky.

[goofystitch]

I often get upset when I read posts from people stating their opinions as actual fact. An example of this would be someone saying "There has not been a classic since Hunchback." This is just somebody's opinoin. I also hate when people criticize other peoples opinions. You can disagree with them, but don't criticize them. And from now on I will stick to the topic.

I heard Ebert and Ropert say that they are mad at the MPAA for their recent ratings. The thing that they were upset about at the time was "Whale Rider" receiving a PG-13 rating. Now, I didn't see the film, but I have heard only good things about it and people seem to agree that nothing was bad in it to earn the same rating as films like "Bad Boys 2," which I am pretty sure was PG-13, but I could be wrong about that.

I think "Home on the Range" will be an enjoyable 90 minutes and I look forward to seeing it this Friday. I have seen every Disney animated feature to date, and there isn't one that I have truely hated. There are some that shine above the rest, and there are ones that I rarley watch, but I have never hated one. I don't think "Home on the Range" looks like a last hoorah for traditional hand drawn animations hopefully temporary farewell, but it does look to me like it has a lot of good possibilities.

I forget who wrote it, but somebody posted a message saying that Disney has been rating their films PG to attract teenagers. As a teenager myself, I know that PG ratings actually discourage me and my friends to see these films without a kid attached to our sides and so I don't understand where this person drew their conclusion from. And furthermore, I think Disney is still just making films for families and actually, they don't have controll over what the MPAA decides the rating should be.

I think that this is the time for all true Disney fans to step up and support a dying art. If you all keep an open mind, you might like it. A lot of people on this forum seem to make their assumptions early on and won't change them no matter how the product is. Admitting that you have changed your mind about something dosen't make you look weak or however it is you are worried about appearing. If you don't go see it, than how do you have the right to say it is bad?

[MickeyMousePal]

I'm planing to see Home on the Range and Hellboy this weekend with a review on Sunday or sooner.

[PatrickvD]

I think "Home on the Range" will be an enjoyable 90 minutes and I look forward to seeing it this Friday.

actually, an enjoyable 76 minutes... of wich the last few are credits. It's actually a really short movie!