DVDizzy Forum

Am i the only person in the world who likes disney's 60s and 70s live-action stuff better than their animation? i don't really get that much of a kick out of "aladdin" or any of that stuff, but i'll watch "the computer wore tennis shoes" or "that darn cat" pretty much any time, any where. and don't even get me started on the witch mountain movies. love 'em!

which that darn cat?

Hayley Mills or Chrisitna Ricci?

hayley mills, of course! she's the bee's knees!

i actually haven't seen the christina ricci one, i suppose i'd better.

is everyone aware that the 1965 that darn cat movie was investigated by the FBI? that makes it cooler, in my book.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/darncat1.html

thats pretty interesting w/ the FBI...

the live-action films are awesome...though i would probably still prefer the animation over live-action.

If disney live-action movies are on tv- i wont shut them off.

I grew up with both the live-action and animated movies, so both types have special meaning to me.

I can't say I prefer one type over the other, but I do know that without one or the other then Disney wouldn't be a rich a culture as it is today.

jwa1107 wrote:I grew up with both the live-action and animated movies, so both types have special meaning to me.

I agree. I have special memories of seeing Sleeping Beauty and The Aristocats on the big screen, but I also loved the Disney live-action movies when I was growing up. I remembering going to see The World's Greatest Athlete, Superdad, The Island at the Top of the World, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and Pete's Dragon at the theater. It was always great when those movies finally aired on "The Wonderful World of Disney" on Sunday evenings.

I think all the live-action films with Kurt Russell are wonderful. I was thrilled when The World's Greatest Athlete came out on DVD, and it's fun for me that my kids now like these movies too.

Before I became a movie snob (as everyone in my family tells me--probably happened when i was 13) I'd watch anything Disney produced. Recently I've seen "The Cat From Outer Space" and "Condorman" again and ...well, they sure weren't as good as I remember them.

On the other hand, I'd watch the Apple Dumpling movies again for a bucket of popcorn. I bet the company would remake them in a heartbeat if there were any two people with whom you could replace Don Knotts & Tim Conway (and there aren't...are there?)

Live action movies and historical dramas were Disney forte' for many years. Movies like "Johnny Tremain", "The Great Locomotice Chase", "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier", "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates", "The Island at the Top of the World", and of course the two 'Witch Mountain' movies. A Disney collection without the live action films is not a complete Disney collection. All completists should have all the Disney movies - animated or live action - in their collection.

I agree with DVDjunkie, while some of my earliest memories of Disney is Bambi and Cinderella, there is also Davy Crockett, Haley Mills ect. My favorites happen to be the Kurt Russell Movies, if I'm sick and in bed I'll watch those over any other movies any day.

NarniaDis

Cant' say as a whole I prefer the live-action over the animated, but I love the live-action films from the 60's & 70's. My three favorites have got to be: The World's Greatest Athlete, Snowball Express, and Gus.

The period from Walt Disney's death up until the last 70's produced some of the craziest films of all time. What's nice about them is that Disney was afraid to stray too far from the formulas that Walt helped create, so all the films from that period have a similar spirit and feel to them!

(I love the films from when Walt was alive and producing as well!!!)

i actually agree about cat from outer space, that movie was kinda weak. i'm just finding as i get older i still get a kick out of the live-action movies that i don't really get from the animated features by and large anymore. i'll have to check out "gus," i've never seen it.

I agree- I love the animated films, but I would choose a live-action flick from that time period any day. I have almost all of the 50's, 60's and 70's films either on vhs or dvd. My favorites are:

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
Now You See Him, Now You Don't
The Barefoot Executive
Gus
No Deposit, No Return
The North Avenue Irregulars
Super Dad
The Moonspinners
That Darn Cat
The Love Bug Series
The Happiest Millionaire
Snowball Express
Moon Pilot
Blackbeard's Ghost
The Ugly Dachshund
Davy Crockett
Follow Me, Boys!
The Shaggy D.A.
The Gnome Mobile
The two Annette Funicello and Tommy Kirk flicks- The Monkey's Uncle and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones

Just about any Disney movie with Hayley Mills, Fred MacMurray or Dean Jones were not ones to miss!

I also have The Cat From Outer Space on dvd. I haven't even opened it, because it is a weaker film, but I still wanted it for my collection.

Doesn't anyone like Follow Me Boys, it's probably one of Kurt Russel's finest Disney movies (with regard to his acting)

pleasurebay wrote:Doesn't anyone like Follow Me Boys, it's probably one of Kurt Russel's finest Disney movies (with regard to his acting)

It's in my list ! This movie is fantastic. I saw it for the first time on Vault Disney (somehow when I was a child, I missed this) and cried. Then I think Encore Action showed it and I taped it. Kurt and Fred were wonderful. It is definitely a tear jerker, but in a good way. It makes me wish that the world was still like they were in that movie- caring and helpful. I now own the dvd and watch it when I have time (It is a long one!)

dvdjunkie wrote:Live action movies and historical dramas were Disney forte' for many years. Movies like "Johnny Tremain", "The Great Locomotice Chase", "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier", "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates", "The Island at the Top of the World", and of course the two 'Witch Mountain' movies. A Disney collection without the live action films is not a complete Disney collection. All completists should have all the Disney movies - animated or live action - in their collection.

I'd agree with that. I got into the 'whole Disney thing' through animation, with Fantasia, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Alice in Wonderland being often-played childhood favourites. The World of Disney specials that played on TV here when I was a kid also made Disney a large part of my 'animation upbringing'. However, I had largely dismissed the live action element until recent years, simply because most of the recent live action offerings were ...how can I put this delicately...?...not very good. I found them very kiddie-oriented and playing for the lowest common demoninator. This has definitely changed, but it was a roadblock.

However, since visiting this site 3 or 4 years ago, I have definitely investigated more live action Disney from the 'Walt Years'. As with junkie, my faourites tend to be those 'historical' ones, as I find that whole era of Americana fascinating. The Davy Crockett Treasures set was played over and over. There is a whimsy in those 'Walt Era' live action films - especially the four/five films that make up the 'Vault' collection. A sense of adventure and wonder comes through in Swiss Family Robinson and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - both of which were books I read and loved as a lad - that a modern version might overlook in favour of flashy effects. That said, the effects for the day were amazing. The sets on 20,000 Leagues alone are worth a viewing or two.

Similarly Darby O'Gill and the Little People is easily one of my favourite live action Disney films. The quaint old Irish charm might be a little cliche, but it is hard not to have a big grin on your face as the film reaches its musical conclusion.

I might have to go and fill in some gaps in my Disney 'live action' collection today, methinks

i loved the original parent trap... i used to watch it over and over again... but i think i liked the animations such as THE LION KING better than the live-action films

Disney make live action films?

My favourites are the more modern ones.

The Honey I... series, with Blew Up The Baby[/b] surprisingly being the weakest

Herbie: Fully Loaded Yes, I do like it.

Sky High Clever and witty

Freaky Friday The Remake, I find, is much better than the original

Holes - Perhaps Disney's best live action film

The Country Bears - Yes, I do like this too.

Despite appreciating some of the older live-action films, I do prefer the newer ones.

it's funny because when i was a kid i'd watch wonderful world of disney (kinda dating myself, there) and i'd be let down if it was a live-action movie, all i wanted to see was animation. but now that i'm (nominally) grown-up the live-action stuff seems more engaging to me.

you know what i dig about no deposit, no return? the car chase. it's so choreographed, it's almost like ballet.

back then there was nothing better IMHO than watching zebra vs. ostrich in Swiss Family Robinson

and Francis egging on the fighting Fritz and Ernst