I'm leaving
Big Hero 6 off for now. As much as I like it, I can't tell if I'm just on a post-theater high from it, and I honestly don't know where to rank it anyway. Come back to me when the Blu comes out, unless you're willing to buy me a ticket to see it again, of course.
1-
Princess and the Frog- Yes, there are problems. The pacing's a little off, with the middle swamp act in particular needing to have some fat trimmed out. There are contrivances in the plot, and Randy Newman's work... is Randy Newman. You either love him or hate him, and while I think this has some of his better songs, the soundtrack is fairly forgettable at the end of the day. It is also questionable that the first black protagonist in a DAC is a frog for most of the movie. But what works REALLY works.
Even despite being an amphibian for much of the length, Tiana is a fantastic character. Strong in every sense of the word, with a believable enough story to make her quirks work. I'd go as far as to call her my favorite princess. Dr. Facilier, meanwhile, is equally as great of a villain, effortlessly brought to life by Keith David's voice and some excellent animation. And I do like how instead of a traditional big fight scene climax, the villain's end comes off as a smaller, intimate affair. Naveen's also a likable male lead, and there are great side characters, Charlotte especially being a treat, while Ray's arc compliments the rest of the film pretty well. New Orleans also pops, thanks to some excellent work from the animators. I know this isn't many people's favorite, but you can't convince me that
TPATF was not a step in the right direction for Disney.
2-
Wreck-It Ralph- You know, I actually just watched this one again recently. While I ultimately think that Vanellope's story is atypical of Lasseter's sob factor fetish, I really do enjoy the movie. I love Ralph's storyline, and the way he amicably returns to his game but finds respect from his peers. I think that Felix, Calhoun, and even Vanellope are likable side characters, each with noticeable quirks that makes them work. The animation is rightfully gorgeous, and helps to add in multiple great jokes about gaming and candy without beating you over the head with them. This is just a fun little movie that fits in well with this current age.
3-
Frozen- I'm on the side of people who is pretty sick of
Frozen, but I'm not ready to burn my Blu-Ray anytime soon. Granted, when I first saw the film, I instantly had issues with Elsa's arc not feeling complete, Anna and Kristoff not doing much to impress me, many of the songs not winning me over, and Hans' reveal coming off as half-assed. That, and I HATED the trolls.
I still feel that way for all of the above, but for whatever reason, I still like the movie. Similar to
Princess, I really like what works for me. Olaf, while hardly my new favorite character, was a lot more likable than I was expecting him to be, and "In Summer" is among my favorite songs from the soundtrack. The animation is by far among Disney's best for CG, with the snow of Arendelle radiating for me. It's a treat to watch for much of the film, aside from the troll sequence, where the atmosphere is almost wholly taken away. And while I do think it contradicts with her story, "Let It Go" really is a great song. Just not Best Disney Movie Ever great.
4-
Tangled- Truthfully, I think I'm even more sick of
Tangled, though. But I do like enough of it to give the film a thumbs up. I'm not a Mandy Moore hater, since she really does a good job, with Rapunzel herself working as a solid character, but Donna Murphy utterly blows her out of the water, even when she's just speaking. Flynn himself is a strong enough love interest to make him come off as unique, and Zachery Levi does pull him off. And I do like the thugs that help out near the end. Some of Disney's better comedic final fight sequences come from their Vaudeville-esq gags.
But I've lost a considerable amount of interest in the film in the years since it came out. As much as I like Murphy, Gothel's a flat villain, nearly as flat as the chemistry between Rapunzel and Flynn, which I never feel the need to believe, even by the contrived fake-out ending. I'm also less enthused by Pascal and Maximus than I used to be, as before I really enjoyed their comic relief, but now I just don't care. Maximus' pissing contest with Flynn is tired, while I've seen so many better renditions on Pascal's pantomime shtick. And Menken just didn't seem to care about the movie, as his compositions are among his least inspired, by far. Even "Mother Knows Best" sounds lazy as a track in comparison to Murphy's take. This may not do much for me now, but there's enough good for me anyway.
5-
Winnie the Pooh- I just watched this for the first time earlier this year. It's a cute movie, more so than most of Pooh's story since the original featurettes, but it really would have benefit from having a lot of the story cut down to allow for another segment or two. There just isn't much here to come back to, I'm afraid.
None of these are perfect (what movie is, though?
The Apartment and the Before trilogy, maybe), but at the end of the day, it really has been a good era for Disney. I can't wait to see what they'll try next.
CLUCK
) and just loved it.
