DVDizzy Forum

Little Mermaid and Lion King

I like them both. But believe me. You realize how overrated they are after hearing songs from mainly those two movies being repeated over and over again. Nothing against the people who are fans. God bless them. But it just kind of put a damper on it.

Imagine how people who grew up with Snow White and Pinocchio felt.

“If I hear When You Wish one more f-ing time…”

Hands down Toy Story 3. It's THE highest rated animated feature on IMDB and yet it's a totally mediocre movie (not to mention inferior to the first two). Take out the incinerator scene and the awkward saccharine ending that so many adore and what are you left with? You're left with a crappy genre spoof that recycles story points from the first two and would most certainly be as heavily criticized as Cars 2 as nothing more then a kid oriented cash grab.

Never have I seen a movie elevated to such a status for nothing but a single scene, completely ignoring the rest of the mediocrity. I'm sorry but this is the first Disney movie that comes to mind when I hear overrated. This comes from someone who feels there is probably only about 10 genuinely good DACs out of the 50 made and that Pixar is far from perfect.

I have always though the Jungle Book was severely. I've never seen the appeal in it. Every character is annoying. It's uneventful and tiresome. And the fact that Mowgli ditches his friends for a pretty girl is pretty much the absolute worst message a movie can send to children.

I have also never loved Hercules. Its overrated in so many ways. I feel that it's a strange mash-up of Disney and Warner. It doesn't ever truly find it's niche. It has some fantastic parts, but overall? It's uneven. It has some gorgeous animation and other times it's awful. The whole "Go the Distance" sequence is one of the ugliest, most uninspired song sequences in Disney history. Terrible animation.

Hunchback has never been a favorite of mine either. I love the animation, like the music, but hate the way it's set up. The gargoyles ruin it for me. They don't fit into the story. Had they been wise and brooding, they could have worked. I always end up feeling empty after watching this movie. It's like it ends too soon. There isn't enough to it. It goes so slow, then goes too fast. It's really clunky. I enjoy it, but the fact that almost all of my friends cite this as their favorite Disney film baffles me. I've never seen the appeal. There's no Disney magic in it for me. Nowhere near enough.

jpanimation wrote:Never have I seen a movie elevated to such a status for nothing but a single scene, completely ignoring the rest of the mediocrity.

You must've missed Up. That one's been severely overrated because of the opening montage.

The only one that immediately comes to mind is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I've always felt the movie gets far too much praise for the sole fact that it was the first animated film. Personally, I've always felt it meanders, and becomes horribly boring in the middle. Regardless, I've never thought it has ever deserved to be call the "greatest of all" animated films. The 4 films that followed it alone are all much better than it.

Thinking more about it, I do think Beauty and the Beast is somewhat overrated. I say "somewhat," because I do think it's one of Disney's greatest films. However, I think it's one of many great films they've had, rather than the holy grail of Disney that it's become thought of as because of that Best Picture nomination.

DisneyFan09 wrote:Pinocchio; It is a cute and watchable movie. But a classic? No. It's just average.

Why are you laughing? This board isn't for making fun at other users!

jpanimation"]Hands down Toy Story 3. It's THE highest rated animated feature on IMDB and yet it's a totally mediocre movie (not to mention inferior to the first two).

Really? I actually think Toy Story 2 is the most overrated animated feature of all time. It is a cute and touching movie, but nothing beyond that.

Better I just list than go into detail about each one. (But if anyone is curious about why I find a particular film overrated lemme know and I'll be happy to explain):

Disney

• Dumbo
  Cinderella
  The Jungle Book
  The Great Mouse Detective
  The Little Mermaid
  Beauty and the Beast
  Lilo & Stitch
  Bolt
  Tangled

Pixar

• Toy Story (just the first film)
  Monster's Inc
  Ratatouille
  Up

toonaspie wrote:Better I just list than go into detail about each one. (But if anyone is curious about why I find a particular film overrated lemme know and I'll be happy to explain):

Disney

• Dumbo
  Cinderella
  The Jungle Book
  The Great Mouse Detective
  The Little Mermaid
  Beauty and the Beast
  Lilo & Stitch
  Bolt
  Tangled

Why do you find Dumbo and the Great Mouse Detective are overrated? Dumbo is brilliant and the Great Mouse Detective is not very well-known (I personally think it's underrated).

monorail91 wrote:I think Up is wildly overrated. I adore all the parts of the film revolving around Carl, his wife, and Russell (maybe my favorite Pixar character!) and find those aspects of the film deeply moving. I don't care for the subplot with Carl's hero and the airplane and all that, I honestly fast forward through it.

I couldn't agree with you more. The subplot just doesn't make much sense and ruins the great beginning.

Dr Frankenollie wrote:

toonaspie wrote:Better I just list than go into detail about each one. (But if anyone is curious about why I find a particular film overrated lemme know and I'll be happy to explain):

Disney

• Dumbo
  Cinderella
  The Jungle Book
  The Great Mouse Detective
  The Little Mermaid
  Beauty and the Beast
  Lilo & Stitch
  Bolt
  Tangled

Why do you find Dumbo and the Great Mouse Detective are overrated? Dumbo is brilliant and the Great Mouse Detective is not very well-known (I personally think it's underrated).

Both films for the most part don't really hold my interest. I mean most of Dumbo is spent around seeing Dumbo getting abused and mistreated, it's rather depressing. You don't see much of a plot development until the final 5 minutes of the film when it's discovered he could fly.

As for Great Mouse Detective, it's kinda slow and dark (I don't mean dark in the sense of content) I mean dark in the sense that much of the movie takes place in either a dark fog or a nighttime setting. The climax in Big Ben is cool. I just don't see the cult following it's got. It almost makes you sleepy to watch it.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention live action films. The POTC sequels are crap. I knew that with all of those rules they set up regarding the Davy Jones scenario in the second film that the writers would write themselves into a corner with the third film and lo and behold I was right. The first film is an endearing classic though. Damn sequels.

Alice in Wonderland (the live action) is also overrated IMO. Would've been more interesting if Alice hadn't been such a clichéd character.

Now I know that the DTV sequels are generally supposed to be bad anyway. But among those sequels I gotta say the most overrated of all of them in Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time. I'm just so annoyed with how Cinderella and the Prince are portrayed in this film.

toonaspie wrote:Both films for the most part don't really hold my interest. I mean most of Dumbo is spent around seeing Dumbo getting abused and mistreated, it's rather depressing. You don't see much of a plot development until the final 5 minutes of the film when it's discovered he could fly.

I understand what you said about The Great Mouse Detective, and despite my liking for it I admit it does have it's flaws. However, Dumbo is undeniably great.

You say that it's depressing. Disney can be depressing all the time: the death of Bambi's Mum, the death of Old Yeller, the death of Mufasa, etc. But the depressing parts make the happy ending all the more satisfying and effective.

Also, you say there's not much plot development. For want of a better phrase...so what? Plot is irrelevant; characters are much, much more important than how the plot is structured. Perhaps you mean story, but even then, the story is well-developed and whilst perhaps not structured in a conventional way, it flows well; and besides, characters should drive the story, not vice versa. We care for Jumbo Junior because we felt sorry for him and he had an appealing design; we care for Timothy Mouse as he was compassionate and helped Dumbo; and we care for Mrs Jumbo due to her woes and how well-rounded and sympathetic her character is.

In other words, what you're saying is wrong and completely groundless.

nomad2010 wrote:I have also never loved Hercules. Its overrated in so many ways. [...]

Hunchback has never been a favorite of mine either. [...]

But Hercules and Hunchback are not rated highly among critics, general audience or Disney-fans at all. Quite the opposite. So to say they're "overrated" doesn't really ring true.

toonaspie wrote:The Great Mouse Detective
Bolt

But those aren't rated highly either, not by any standard or measure. 'Overrated' doesn't mean "I don't like them"; it means: "everybody loves it, but I don't, because I don't think it deserves all the praise".

DisneyFan09 wrote:Why are you laughing? This board isn't for making fun at other users!

I laughed because you said Pinocchio is "just average fare". You may dislike the movie; you may even hate it with passion; it might not be your cup of tea, that's all fine. To each his own. But you cannot take a look at the incredible achievements Disney made in animation with this movie and say it's "just average fare". Disney made so many (technical) improvements with Pinocchio over its predecessor that it's astonishing! The underwater-scenes, the Monstro-scene, the multiplane shots of the village: they were unprecedented and have never been matched ever since.

Ouch.


I love every Disney film I've seen. As impossible as that sounds.

Double ouch! I just can't see any of the DAC made under Walt (1937-1967) being considered overrated. Just my opinion...

To be honest...

As much as I love Up, Toy Story 3 and The Little Mermaid, they get way too much credit than they deserve.

Little Mermaid, because technically, I don't think that was the movie that got people interested in the animated musical genre back in the late 80's, let alone Disney's big moneymaker in ages, as opposed to Oliver & Company.

Correct me if I'm wrong on that part.

DisneyJedi wrote:Little Mermaid, because technically, I don't think that was the movie that got people interested in the animated musical genre back in the late 80's, let alone Disney's big moneymaker in ages, as opposed to Oliver & Company.

Correct me if I'm wrong on that part.

Actually, I think it was. Oliver & Co. was definitely a stepping stone, but TLM knocked it out of the park (along with Roger Rabbit when it came to animation in general).

Overated? Everything Pixar. (exluding Toy Story 1 and 2)

As far Disney goes I would say Lion King. (minus all sequnce with Timon and Pumbaa).

Almost every single Disney movie is overrated. It's just a matter of what reason they're rated so highly.

Bambi, for example. Probably the single most overrated Disney film period (or possibly tied with Beauty and the Beast). But... why is it so great again in the first place?

Most of Disney's flaws in animated storytelling can be traced back to their struggle with making their films feel warm. They usually make the characters unbelievably stupid or just goofy. Snow White is a complete idiot. So why should we care about anything that happens to her? Same thing with Bambi and almost all his friends. Same with Lady and Wart / Arthur. Same with, if we're being honest, Pinocchio. If Dumbo weren't so adorable as a sweet, clueless elephant, that film would fall victim to the same exact trap. (Another reason, by the way, Sleeping Beauty is such a towering Disney achievement: you don't have to care about the characters to get deep into the movie. The movie just said- why do we need to warm the heart to take the audience on a ride?)

And if the characters aren't being so dopey that you don't care about them, they're being annoying. Cases in point: Bambi, Mowgli in The Jungle Book, Mr. Toad, John in Peter Pan, Peter Pan in Peter Pan, several puppies in 101 Dalmatians, several mice in Cinderella, the "kids" in Robin Hood, the kittens in The Aristocats, Donald in The Three Caballeros, Roo at times in Winnie the Pooh, Taryn at times in The Black Cauldron, Todd in Fox and the Hound, Peter in Make Mine Music, Bobby Driscoll in Melody Time, Flounder, and of course... Simba! (DEATH TO SIMBA!!!) Characters painted with stupid stereotypes: "I hate girls." "Sissy stuff." "Womanly wyles." "I can take care of myself!" "I'm not a fraidy cat!!" Etc.

Seriously, Disney was crazy 'bout that formula. And very few films mastered it to the point of high-mark excellence (outside of Disney standards themselves) or broke away from the formula.

Lazario wrote:Almost every single Disney movie is overrated. It's just a matter of what reason they're rated so highly.

Bambi, for example. Probably the single most overrated Disney film period (or possibly tied with Beauty and the Beast). But... why is it so great again in the first place?

Most of Disney's flaws in animated storytelling can be traced back to their struggle with making their films feel warm. They usually make the characters unbelievably stupid or just goofy. Snow White is a complete idiot. So why should we care about anything that happens to her? Same thing with Bambi and almost all his friends. Same with Lady and Wart / Arthur. Same with, if we're being honest, Pinocchio. If Dumbo weren't so adorable as a sweet, clueless elephant, that film would fall victim to the same exact trap. (Another reason, by the way, Sleeping Beauty is such a towering Disney achievement: you don't have to care about the characters to get deep into the movie. The movie just said- why do we need to warm the heart to take the audience on a ride?)

And if the characters aren't being so dopey that you don't care about them, they're being annoying. Cases in point: Bambi, Mowgli in The Jungle Book, Mr. Toad, John in Peter Pan, Peter Pan in Peter Pan, several puppies in 101 Dalmatians, several mice in Cinderella, the "kids" in Robin Hood, the kittens in The Aristocats, Donald in The Three Caballeros, Roo at times in Winnie the Pooh, Taryn at times in The Black Cauldron, Todd in Fox and the Hound, Peter in Make Mine Music, Bobby Driscoll in Melody Time, Flounder, and of course... Simba! (DEATH TO SIMBA!!!) Characters painted with stupid stereotypes: "I hate girls." "Sissy stuff." "Womanly wyles." "I can take care of myself!" "I'm not a fraidy cat!!" Etc.

Seriously, Disney was crazy 'bout that formula. And very few films mastered it to the point of high-mark excellence (outside of Disney standards themselves) or broke away from the formula.

Are you sure about this? If so might I recomed you watch the following films insteed.

1. GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (12/22/39) Paramount - Fleischer Studios.
2. MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN (12/4/41) Paramount - Fleischer. 77 mins.
3. 1001 ARABIAN NIGHTS (12/1/59) Columbia - UPA. 76 mins. Starring Mr. Magoo
4. GAY PURR-EE (10/24/62) Warner Bros. - UPA 86 mins.
5. THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET (3/28/64) Warner Bros. (live-action/animation) 102 mins.
6. OF STARS AND MEN (5/13/64) Brandon Films Inc. 53 mins.
7. HEY THERE , IT'S YOGI BEAR (6/3/64) Columbia - Hanna Barbera. 89 mins.
8. THE MAN FROM BUTTON WILLOW (2/1/65) United Screen Artists. 81 mins.
9. ALICE OF WONDERLAND IN PARIS (2/5/66) Rembrant Films. 52 mins. Director: Gene Deitch.
10. THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE (8/3/66) Columbia - Hanna-Barbera. 87 mins.
11. THE WACKY WORLD OF MOTHER GOOSE (12/2/67) Embassy Pictures. (Rankin-Bass) 77 mins.