DVDizzy Forum

Have any of you seen a Disney film (animated or live action) that didn’t live up to your expectations? A film who looked promising by the trailers or that received well reviews that wasn’t deserved? If I should made a list, it would’ve been

- Hercules; I just felt the movie was too predictable and bland for some reason. I’ve learned to like it during the years, but I was far from impressed when I saw it the first time. I thought the film was cold and calculated and lacked the extra spunk which made the Disney’s best work great, especially being released after such a terrific movie as Hunchback.
- Mulan; The same reason at Hercules. But I’ve learned to like it as well.
- Dinosaur; although it did had some spectacular and remarkable moments, I thought it was quite dull and not engaging, as well it had some distracting similarities to both Land Before Time and Tarzan. It’s kind of funny to think that I was underwhelmed by it, considering that I love that movie now.
- Lilo & Stitch; Undoubtable one of the most overrated Disney movies ever made. The story had the potential to be really engaging and unique, yet it was destroyed by too many plot holes and an incoherent script. Besides, there was a real lack of connection and dynamic between the two title characters.
- Brother Bear; While it had its moments, I think the plot was too dark and too serious for a Disney movie, while it had some obvious plot holes as well.
- Bolt; The movie wasn't bad, but it didn't deserved the good reviews. It was quite forgettable and unremarkable.

Which are the film you've seen that didn't live up to your expectations? And please explain why.

I was still a child in the '90s, so I didn't have many expectations. It's a good thing, too, because that decade no doubt would've let me down, considering the films are so repetitious there.

The only ones I can think of:

Mulan ~ As a child, I had built this totally weird idea of what the movie would be about in my head. I saw the ancestors and thought this would be some weird mystical/fantastic film. Instead, I got a war film. That said, I absolutely LOVED this move--so I can't say my expectations ruined it. Still, it does qualify as "not living up to my expectations."

Brother Bear ~ I absolutely hate this movie. The characters are annoying, and most of the dialogue is overdone or sappy. The whole story is too saccharine for me. I expected something great out of this movie based on the trailers. After this, I didn't really have expectations for a Disney movie again until TP&TF. Might be why I enjoyed MTR and Bolt more.

Lilo & Stitch ~ I only say this because this move was pimped like crazy, but in the end I wasn't that crazy about. Pleakley and Lilo were both annoying for me, plus Stitch's speaking voice is so over-the-top cutesy and that final speech he gave was probably enough to put me off from watching it much.

Tangled ~ I only put this film here because of Gothel. The rest of the movie was pretty good, but I found Gothel completely underwhelming. Considering I love Disney villains so much--particularly their female villains--she was completely underwhelming. Rapunzel on the other hand was "overwhelming," I guess, since she exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect much from the prince, so Flynn's blandness didn't sway me either way.

Sleeping Beauty.

one comes to my head atm.

Pleakley and Lilo were both annoying for me

I agree with Pleakley. Although Lilo was somewhat a brat, she was still the most likeable character in the film. Much more relatable than Stitch. The film focused too much about him and not enough about Lilo.

Tangled ~ I only put this film here because of Gothel. The rest of the movie was pretty good, but I found Gothel completely underwhelming. Considering I love Disney villains so much--particularly their female villains--she was completely underwhelming. Rapunzel on the other hand was "overwhelming," I guess, since she exceeded my expectations. I didn't expect much from the prince, so Flynn's blandness didn't sway me either way.

Speaking of "Tangled", I also find that movie to be overrated. I'm not saying that it was bad, but it wasn't brilliant as many points it out to be. The songs were forgettable (with the exception of "I See the Lights", the ending was quite rushed and the dark moments just didn't worked for me. If those components were done differently, then we would have an outstanding film.

Sleeping Beauty.

one comes to my head atm.

Why? What didn't you like about it?

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)- I had heard so much about it before I got the tape in 1996 and was really anxious to finally see it. I was thoroughly disappointed with the look of the film, I remember. It was so flat and stripped of detail. Today, I kind of got used to it.

Lilo and Stitch - very kiddie stuff. Didn't enjoy it that much.

I have to agree with "Lilo & Stitch" and "Brother Bear". "Lilo and Stitch" rarely gets any multiple viewings by me and as emotional as some of the stuff in "Brother Bear" was, the plot suffered from being too anti-climatic and from having too many characters who do little to contribute to the actual plot.

The only minor disappointment I had w/ "The Princess and the Frog" was that I wish that Louis was a more substantial character in the storyline instead of a comic tag-along.

"Tangled" did not appeal to me during the actual trailers. I tried to keep an open mind when I finally watched it but to no avail. The songs were very disappointing considering this is an Alan Menken project. That was the only aspect of this movie I thought would make up for my lack of enthusiasm for it.

Older films that have disappointed me were "The Jungle Book", "Dumbo", "Alice in Wonderland", and "The Great Mouse Detective".

DisneyFan09 wrote:[Lilo & Stitch] Besides, there was a real lack of connection and dynamic between the two title characters.

rodis wrote:Lilo and Stitch - very kiddie stuff. Didn't enjoy it that much.

What?! Okay, it's fine for anyone to not like the film. We can't all enjoy the same things. But you can't just make up reasons for that. Both arguments quoted above can easily be verified as being false.

My pick would be The Princess and the Frog. I was going in with high expectations, but I was very disappointed by it.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t classify L&S as kiddie. It dealt with issues like unconventional families, dead parents, child services, and also Stitch’s identity issues. Heavy.

Disney's Divinity wrote:Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t classify L&S as kiddie. It dealt with issues like unconventional families, dead parents, child services, and also Stitch’s identity issues. Heavy.

Well I wouldn't call it kiddie either, but much of the story seems taken from past family films of the 80s and 90s. So to some people THAT might be considered kiddy. The only thing that made it stood out was it's unique setting and that Stitch started out as a vicious alien criminal on the run.

Brother Bear

I absolutely hate this movie with a passion! At first I thought it sounded like it might be a good movie with a good moral. Of course I wasn't impressed with the trailers. But then i thought, well, Hunchback of Notre Dame didn't have the best advertising and that turned out great. Maybe this'll turn out the same. Wrong!!! Aside from "On My Way", this has got to be the most pandered down, inconsistent Disney animation in the canon. One minute it's a serious story but then we get some weird breaking fourth wall scenarios. And Kenai is just so unlikeable. Peter Pan was kind of unlikeable but we saw that there was a heroic side to him. This guy just whines and complains that it's so hard to sympathize with him even when he learns his lesson. Koda is annoying, the moose are annoying and if anything seeing the portrayal of the Salmon Run bears seems to lead one thinking that Kenai's hatred towards them was justified. They should have been quiet and even mysterious. But no. They were noisy, senile and just...Why are two of them voiced by Gregg Proops and Estelle Harris? The funny thing is the sequel was actually better and that's really not a good sign when a Disney DTV sequel is a vast improvement over one of their own canon feature films.

Hunchback OND, 3 Carabellos, and TLM 3

Hunchback OND-I'm sorry, I know I'm going to get slammed, but it was WAYYYYYYYYYYY too dark! The first time I saw it I was 2 or 3. Me and my brother were totally terrified of Frollo and we turned it off early. Even my mom didn't like it. So, either in 2009 or last year (I think prob. 2009), it was on Toon Disney and I was like, "HEY! I didn't finish it last summer. So, I'll watch it! " SO DISAPPOINTED! There was no wonder why my brother and I were so scared of the movie, and it wasnt because we were little. The movie was dark 99% of the movie (Yes, I watched the whole thing). There would be one moment of Disney sweetness every 15 minutes, and the rest was like anger, murder, and an old dude singing to the Virgin Mary that he wants her to burn Esmerelda if she refuses to "get down with him" which was really un-Disney like.

3 Carabellos-I know, the spelling is wrong. To celebrate the release of PATF, I had a Disney movie marathon in which I only watched 1 movie . Guess which the movie it was? I thought I would enjoyed since I liked it when I was little. Saw the first half of it. Enjoyed it at first, then I GOT BORED OUT OF MY MIND! Yes, it's visual appealing! It was gorgeous! But, MAN! I was getting soooo tired of the stories, I wanted to see Donald, Jose, and Pannchianto rock out. But, as the Mexico song came up....

MOVIE: MEEXXXXXXXXXXXXICOOOOOO...
ME: FORGET IT!

TLM 3-Ok, I admit it! I enjoy the Disney sequels ....except this one! I was looking soooo forward to this one since everyone waited a couple of years for this. My sister and I watch it....TOTAL LETDOWN! IT WAS STUPID/HORRIBLE! I hated the songs, the villian, and Ariel's sisters' voices (they sounded too much like 80s teenagers who were like 'OH MA GAWD! WHATEVER!). I was so disappointed with no Melody in sight. And of course, THEY SCREWED UP FLOUNDER! I mean, watch these clips and compare them!

TLM 1-
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lkjYjz2dHIY" frameborder="0"></iframe>

TLM 3-
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6tWFPJAO3g0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

See?!?! In TLM 1, he's a good two-shoes aka a "guppie". In TLM 3, he's a REBEL! A freaking REBEL! Seriously, he ran away from the guards!!! Flounder would have accepted the fact that's he's arrested! And also, they pretty made did the same thing with Sebastian. Sebastian listeins to the King in TLM 1, but he breaks the law in TLM 3?!?! Did Disney TS EVEN watched the first movie and the TV show?!?! (The show tells a different way of how Ariel met Flounder).

Of course, it was AWESOME we finally see Ariel's mom (loved it!) and why Triton hates humans, and why she isn't in the first 2 movies.

EDIT: Oh. Another reason why I hate this....RAPPING SEA CREATURES ACTING GHETTO! ARE YOU FREAKING ME??? Nice job, Disney! Thanks for ruining my childhood!
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1Ts8D4cgHG0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

DisneyFan09 wrote:

Sleeping Beauty.

one comes to my head atm.

Why? What didn't you like about it?

No, I pick it as it didn't give me the expectations or live up to the hype it receive I was hoping for when I first watch it.

That does not mean you hate the film. Technical skills are top tier. story and characters skills is a mess.

I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to movies so I am not usually too disappointed unless they completely suck. However I don't think any Disney movie's really suck. I would say that the ones that let me down are Hercules, Enchanted and Princess and the Frog.

I rewatched Hercules a while back because I hadn't seen it in years and while I thought it was cute I didn't love it as much as the other films from the 90's. To me it seemed like they were trying too hard to be like Aladdin with all of the goofiness. It is especially disappointing because of the more serious tone of Pocahontas and Hunchback and then they do a 180 with Hercules. Mulan and Tarzan were a bit better balancing out the drama and humor like earlier 90's films. I enjoy Hercules but it is overall my least favorite animted 90's film.

PatF was good but idk I was a little disappointed. I liked Tiana and Naveen was fun but it felt so short to me lol. I kinda wish we saw more of Facilier who is a great villain but he wasn't around too much in the movie. I overall enjoyed the film but I personally wish it was like 15-20 minutes longer.

Tangeled actually had the opposite effect on me. I expected not to like it from the previews it seemed almost like Shrek to me but I really enjoyed it. Rapunzel was awesome and it was a fun movie. The songs were ok and I personally thought Gothel was a good villain she kinda felt like Lady Tremaine to me I found her interesting and enjoyed her.

If any villainess disappointed me it was Narissa from Enchanted she sucked imo lol. Which lead to my disappointment because she was a mixture of the Evil Queen and Maleficent so I was expecting to love her. But Susan Sarandon was kind of a let down for me. I personally would have picked Anjelica Huston for the part she oozes early Disney villainess. Plus she has played her fair share of evil witches so she would have been awesoms. But Amy Adams saved the movie for me so it was all good. And thankfully Narissa didn't get alot of screentime.

The black Cauldron. After everything building up to last year's DVD release, the movie itself was a bit of a letdown.

^ ^ ^

I would have to say The Black Cauldron as well. While it's stylistic elements keep it off my hate list, it's writing is awful. I see that Night on Bald Mountain style animation, and I hear that Ondes Martenot laced score, and I want to change the film so that the characters aren't props.

Another one of mine would be Fantasia 2000 It just didn't charm me anywhere near as much as the first one. I wish I could say why.

Tangled

As much as I love it before and after its release, I felt it needed just a little more time for some fine tuning. Quite often I left like cringing, and my first viewing I barely enjoyed it.

Cars

This was released when Pixar was at all time high, and although it did get good eventually, the first hour is just an absolute BORE.

Fantasia

I heard nothing but good reviews, but I didn't imagine it be sooooo long. I'd probably enjoy the cutdown version more.

I remember coming home from the store, having just bought "Tarzan", and being so excited to see what the next Disney movie would be. And then a preview for "Dinosaur" came on... I was so disappointed, because I had been looking forward to the next traditionally animated musical. Still, "Jurassic Park" was one of my favorite movies and I loved dinosaurs, so I didn't think all was lost.

But the movie was so boring! I've only seen it the once in theatres, I'm not sure if I ever got through it again when I bought it on VHS. Then "The Emporer's New Groove" was announced, and I thought, "I still get the traditionaly animated musical, only maybe they're releasing them in December now". I went through the usual routine: I bought the books, the CD, whatever merchandise I could get my hands on really. Then I saw the movie and utterly HATED it. The animation style wasn't rich, the songs were minimal and bland, the story was shallow and the humor failed to amuse. I know a lot of people like this movie, and maybe I should give it another chance in light of Disney's change in direction, but for me it was NOT what I came to love in a Disney film.

"Home on the Range" really sealed the deal. I thought it looked stupid from the outset and didn't even buy the books. I fell asleep in the theatre...

I didn't give up on Disney entirely. "Lilo and Stitch" was cute but unspectacular, "Treasure Island" was poorly paced, "Brother Bear" was forgettable...

"Atlantis" was probably the best Disney movie during that period. It wasn't great, but it was good.

"Princess and the Frog" was probably the greatest disappointment though. I really thought that was IT, Disney's return... I even flew to Disneyland and attended the exclusive run at the studios...

Recently "Princess and the Frog". While not a bad film, it didn't meet my expectations. I had heard so many good things... Maybe it made my expectations too high.

Also "Home on the Range" was pretty terrible. I honestly don't remember much of the movie at all. I remember not being interested in it while it was in the theater, but rented the DVD for my little cousin while he was over one afternoon. We were both bored after a few minutes.

DisneyFan09 wrote:[Lilo & Stitch] Besides, there was a real lack of connection and dynamic between the two title characters.

rodis wrote:Lilo and Stitch - very kiddie stuff. Didn't enjoy it that much.

What?! Okay, it's fine for anyone to not like the film. We can't all enjoy the same things. But you can't just make up reasons for that. Both arguments quoted above can easily be verified as being false.

Haven't we discussed the former issue before, Goliath? Besides, we're just giving our subjective opinion, so why should it be seen as false?