I am sorry Movie Musicals Net but I could not disagree with you more, I think Disney has lost none of it's magic!
I'm all for musicals, but hey there's too much of a good thing!
I personally have adored every single one of Disney's 2000 films! Every one has been a masterpiece in my opinion!
And why?
Creativity and evolution of the art form, every one has added some new to the Disney cannon, which I feel strengthens it.
Let's pick of the films One by One.
The Emperor's New Groove.
This film was so artistically diverse from anything Disney had done, there were hints at the style in previous fetaures such as Mulan and Hercules but here for the first time was something that could really be called abstract.
It was a comedy, an all out comedy like had never been done before, think about it this came out at the end of 2000, before the whole slew of crappy comedies we ended up with like Shark Tale, Robots etc. It really pushed the envelope in terms of what an animated film could be. It was revolutionary, ingenious even!
The story had heart, a strong moral, breathtaking scenes which display perfectly the "magic" which Disney is famed for. From comedy scenes, to action scenes to a climax which had you rooting for the protagonists.
Atlantis
Atlantis really is one of the most amazing films I can say I've honestly seen. If there ever was anything that pushed the boundaries of animation this certainly is it!
The scale of the story, the epic nature of the quest. The wonderfully stylized animation, the creativity of the world of Atlantis, the voyage of discovery, Atlantis has it all!
As for magic? Well I don't know about you but what would you call the scene where Kida combines with the crystal and the carvings of the ancestors come crashing down? What would you call the creativity of the creatures that couldn't exist in real life, the stone fosh vehicles coming to life? The volcano erupting and spilling over the city of Atlantis and the stobe guardians protecting it?
Atlantis if full of "magic", and deserves to be recognised for the revolutionary piece of cinema it was.
If anything can be pinned to Disney's down fall, it was the unusual nature of Atlantis. Parents take their kids to see Disney's new movie, and they expect singing, pixie dust, fairies and singing candelabras and what do they get, a epic adventure film with breathtaking visuals, superb animation and not a cute sidekick in sight. And what do they do? Instead of saying "Oh it's different from other Disney films" instead they say "It's bad". Just because something breaks the mould and is different from what you expect, that does not make it bad!
It's the people who say "It doesn't feel like a Disney film" that annoy me. And if you have ever said that about a film, I hate you and think you are an arse!
WHO SAYS A DISNEY FILM HAS TO A CERTAIN WAY?
Disney find it increasingly hard to make a revlotionary nes type of film, because of people saying "It doesn't feel like a Disney film". What is this Disney feeling people witter on about? It's a load a crap that's what. Why should people pigeon hole things and if it doesn't fit the mould say "It doesn't feel like a Disney film, therfore it is bad"?
Would it not be better to actually allow the term "Disney" to expand? This is precisely the reason why Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy was switched to Touchstone at the last minute, because people would say "It's not very Disney". It's because of people dismissing things that "Don't have the Disney feel" that the company struggles to get anything new, original or different accepted!
Lilo and Stitch
Again Lilo and Stitch offered another level to what Disney could do.
The animation and backgrounds were different to anything before! The story added another level too!
I mean you have aliens, chases in spaceships all this and surfing too!
It has heart, strong morals. Storis and characters you can't help but get involved with.
Lilo and Stitch is abundant with magic!
Treasure Planet
Well here is a film that is undoubtedly unrecognised!
You talk about magic, well what do you call a reworking of the famous Treasure Island but in space.
I'm almost angry that i have to point out how magical this film is as it beyond belief to me how it can go unrecognised!
It is epic, it is beautiful it continued to push what a Disney film could be!
The scene where the star devolves into a black hole, the discovery of the planet, following the trail of the map, the Ben Bow inn being burnt to the ground, discovering the treasure in the heart of the planet!
Treasure Planet is a masterpiece!
We have issues that can be felt, jim being abandoned by his father as a child, finding a father figure in the villain. Think about this for a second, how many films have you seen where the hero adores and cares for the villain so much, he let's him go?
Treasure Planet is a work of brilliance
Brother Bear
Again epic, breathtaking animation!
The animation is certainly as top notch as Disney does so there not really much point in elaborating there!
The story is very clever! I think it's the only Disney film, in fact there are hardly any stories like this where there is no villain, but everybody's the villain if you know what I mean. The villainous moments of the film come down to love! The hatred the characters show for bears/humans comes from love and fear. Both species view each other as the threat! The story I think is very refreshing and is certainly a winner!
I also feel the story progresses at a nice rate, unlike films like the Lion King which choppily jump from event to event, Brother Bear certainly has that feeling of being planned better. The events unfold more naturally and there is a sense of progression throughout.
I feel that a lot of people judge a film by it's box office figure and they think "oh it only made so much therefore it's bad" well I'm sorry but if you think that, go toss yourself off a cliff! American audiences did not take to it, but in Europe and other parts of the world this movie was a MASSIVE success, in some countries it is Disney's most successful movie EVER! It deserved a lot better treatment than what it got, and I believe it is truly superior to films like "The Lion King".
Also the fact that this film in "new" is against it! Older films have that "Oh it's a classic" drivel surrounding them, which means most people will watch them despite the fact they are inferior!
I would easily rate Brother Bear as one of the best Disney films, from the Best Decade! It is original, daring and mind opening. However most of the implicit story and true brilliance of this film, is probably way over the head of younger audiences! For audiences 16/18 and under it is nonetheless a brilliant film! Yet for those 18+ just like "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and some other films, the experience and maturity opens up a whole new field!
Home on the Range
This is one that really love and I hate it when people have a go at this movie!
Let me explain why. Usually the main reasons for HotR are so pathetic it's untrue. For example some of the things you usually hear are "There's no love story", "Not a lot happens" "The animation is bad" or "It's not that long".
It annoys me that people can make the assumption that because it's not Beauty and the Beast, it's bad!
The thing that really gets on my wick is when people say there is no love story not a lot happens and it saunters along, and then as soon as they have said this they will say "Disney should make more classic like The Jungle Book, The Aristocats or 101 Dalmatians"
I'm sorry, but HELLO!!! Home on the Range is bad because it has no love story or much happening but The Jungle Book is what we should be aiming for? Have any of you seen TJB, to my memory there is no love story that also goes along at an ambling pace moving from one point to the next!
It AMAZES me how people can not see the overwhelming similarities between Home on the Range and the films of the 50s, 60s and 70s.
And then this is something that also gets on my wick! When I say this to people what do they answer me back? "But The Jungle Book is a classic". What a pile of crap, anyone who justifies a movie being good because "It is a classic" needs a slap back to reality!
In is bizarre to me how people separate the older Disney films and the new ones! Why? People seem to think of them as almost two different companies! Also I think this is becoming more and more obvious, Disney fans seem to have a go at anything new from Disney! I mean look in the Chicken Little thread, there are aout 3 people at least who have said "I'm not going to see this, because it's rubbish!" HELLO!!!! The film hasn't even been finished or released yet! For crying out loud we are supposed to be Disney fans, can't we even at least support it until it's released?
Anyway back to Home on the Range. Like I said it baffles me how people can praise The Jungle Book for a list of reasons and then with the same list of reasons condemn Home on the Range!
Home on the Range has so much going on it, from Maggie arriving on the farm, to going to the town meeting Buck, going after Alameda slim, the cattle rustling, the flash flood, going to echo mine, the rollercoaster style chase and then the out of control train ride! I mean for all of those of you who say not a lot goes on, I think you should rewatch it, because you must have been watching a different movie!
The animation is again pushing the boundary even more. Animation really is an art form, but if I had to choose one film that really was a moving work of art, I would have to say HotR. the stylized abstract designs, those amazing printed backgrounds! Home on the Range is a marvel!
Also forgive me if I wrong but the jokes in Home on the Range are actually funny! Unlike the crap in Shrek which retreads are we there yet jokes, the odd triplet of cows is hilarious IMO, I mean a cow showing her udders and saying "Yeah, they're real. Quit Staring!", Is that not the most genious line ever uttered?
Home on the Range has a fantastic score, I mean I once had a conversation with a 42 year old confirmed Disney addict and she said that she hated the songs in HotR and that whoever wrote them she should be fired. Then I told her it was Alan Menken who wrote, Little Mermaid, BatB, Hunchback etc. Anyway I saw her again a couple of weeks later and she said that she loved the songs in HotR!
I mean HELLO!!! What is that about?
Also how can I not comment on the yodelling scene? Without giving it away for those who haven't yet seen it! What a work of ingenuity!
Home on the Range is basically an ingenious rework of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and in my opinion is the most overlooked Disney film ever!
And why do I think these films have been so under valued?
I think it is because of the fact that they are so creative!
People expect musicals and when they see Atlantis, It is not what the expect, therefore it is labelled bad! Also I think creativity of animation has also been to it's detriment. Even though i weep at the amazing ness of HotR's animation I can understand why it would put many of, because many can't understand that it is art, and most do label it as "bad animation" because they don't understand it! Also I am a firm believer that CGI mania has been a participant! I mean how else could you explain why a rollicking 2D comedy with IMO funny jokes could be such a failure whereas a CGI rollicking comedy like Shark Tale with jokes that have been done to death and crap animation could be a success?
I have no problem with someone saying they dislike a movie if they have a valid reason, but more often than not people say "I don't like, just because". Also people (you know who you are
will say HotR is bad because it has burping pigs and then they'll say something like "My Favourite film is the Lion King", now forgive me if I'm wrong but doesn't TLK features a pig that not only burps but also farts?
Some people will concentrate as hard as they can to find even the slightest fault with something, whereas with another film they film concentrate as hard as they can not to see the faults simply because "It' a classic".
I think I've wittered on enough, but hey it has been a while since I had a good whinge in defence of HotR.
Something I have said before Is that the 2000s are my favourite decade and i think that all of these films are a lot stronger than some other films which are given more credit, simply because they made a lot of money or got awards or because they are "classics"
Another thing I would like to add is this, people seem to forget how much of a flop half of the Disney classics were. I mean at the time Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Bambi never set the world alight and it only because they have been rereleased so many times to theatres and that they have been shown so much on TV that they have become classics.
Some of you may remember how Walt publically apologized for Fantasia, which at the time was a laughing stock!
Don't believe everything you see on the DVD bonus fetaures where everyone says how wonderful the film is!
Another example although non Disney is "It's a Wondeful Life" The word flop can't even describe how badly received this film was! It made Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen look like Gone With the Wind.
So why is it so popular now? Because of a legal loophole allowing the film to be shown on TV without the stations having to pay for any rights!
I'll finish by saying this:
The most profitable film of all time is "Star Wars", the highest grossing animated film of all time is "Shrek 2" and "Titanic" won 11 oscars.
Now while I'm in no way saying Star wars and Titanic are abyssmal, my point is awards and box office success usually say nothing about the quality of the film!
I don't think Brother Bear was a downgrade at all. It's as much of a Disney movie as any of the others you rate so highly. It was one of DIsney's most beautifully animated films with a terrific story about family and brotherhood with a lot of heart. It had enough humor to balance with the more dramatic scenes and the characters were all great and memorable. Another cool thing about the movie (somewhat of a spoiler) 
