I don't watch movies a lot, and so there are a lot of Disney movies I haven't caught up on, but I can tell you this, the music was a big part of why I watched the movies I have seen. The first time I saw Beauty and the Beast I was mesmerized from the first notes and narration with that stained glass beginning to the end with the ceiling and the animated cherubs looking down on Belle and the Prince dancing to the theme music. In Tangled, who can forget the magical lantern festival scene and romantic music? And I have to confess the main reason I saw FROZEN in the first place was because I was lured by Let it Go, and the artistic animation associated with it.
Other than music, as I've said before, I'm a huge stickler on plots. I also don't tolerate shallow and crude humor. I'll whip up a short list of movies I have seen and try to explain the why behind my likes and dislikes (they aren't restricted to Disney movies):
- Neverending Story (4.5/5): A lot of people joke about this movie traumatizing them, so I wasn't alone after all about being devastated when Artax gets swallowed up in the Swamp of Sadness, but despite that traumatic scene, I was attracted to the combination of adventure and fantasy, not to mention a beautiful childlike empress whose life depended on the quest being successful. The dog-like dragon was cute, too.
- Labyrinth (3.5/5): A really weird and twisted fantasy adventure story that turns in enough directions to make me question my sanity. It makes so little sense that it makes sense, if you know what I mean. The characters are quirky and strange, but still relatable in a way.
- The Dark Crystal (5/5): There are many of my family who didn't understand why I was obsessed with this movie. This was a movie I would watch multiple times. It's a little weird for those who aren't really into fantasy and strange looking creatures. I liked it for the adventure, but also of the contrasting portrayal between the darker sided Skeksis and the more peaceful-minded Mystics. It's a complex and dark movie, but it's an awesome display of courageous determination and how it ends with everyone healed through glorious unity and power.
- Cinderella:
- Disney original 1950 film (4.5/5): Cinderella has a special spot in my heart. My introduction to her was through a book published by the Walt Disney Company years ago, and it followed the basic story of the movie. That book was my joy for many years. I read it over and over, never tiring of it, so naturally I loved the movie when I finally got to see it!
- Televised Rodgers and Hammerstein with Leslie Ann Warren (3/5): Some people might gasp at my low rating here, but it was clearly a low-budget stage recording of the musical. The music was fine, but the acting was a little over-the-top for television in my mind. Anyway, it just didn't work for me that well.
- Rodgers and Hammerstein All-Star cast with Brandy (4/5): The cast is mixed race, which some people might struggle with, but it didn't bother me. I liked the twist. The acting wasn't anything spectacular, but not bad. I found it humorous that Bernadette Peters had to have a musical number, despite the fact that it was from an entirely different musical (maybe someone thought the audience wouldn't notice). On the whole, the movie was completely enjoyable, and the music was outstanding!
- Disney Live Action (5/5): Absolutely LOVED what Disney did with this story. It wasn't a remake movie (they didn't try to copy the classic). It was an entirely new way of looking at it, and even though the only music in it was Cinderella singing a song (which was, in fact, an old song written by Disney that was nominated for original song category for the academy awards back in 1949), the movie kept the spirit and message.
- Sleeping Beauty (4.5/5): This was another story that clinged to as a child, so when I saw the movie, it was a little hard to get used to, because there was more to the story than the book told. I also didn't realize until I was older that there was more to it than the story. They were using the Sleeping Beauty Waltz by Tchaikovsky as a guide to their storytelling! That greatly increased my appreciation for the movie.
- Beauty and the Beast:
- Animation (5/5): This also has a special place in my heart. Most of my movies I had seen from a television screen, but I had the opportunity to see this one on a large movie theater sized screen, and my mind was blown! From the first notes to the end, I was so taken aback by the story, the music, just plain everything! It kept a little bit of the traditional essence of the earlier classic Disney movies by opening the movie with a narrator showing a stained-glass window and ending it with a stained-glass window just like the earlier movies started with the first page of a book and the last page of a book. Let in the nostalgia!
- Live Action (3.5/5): It wasn't terrible. It just didn't feel all that magical. I get the idea of going into Belle's backstory, but I didn't find that it added much to the movie. I wasn't completely sold on some of the musical performances (particularly Belle), though I love the Beast's Evermore.
- Alladin (4/5): This was a fun and entertaining story, but it was definitely the music that made it for me on this one. It was Robin Williams who shined here! I had seen the sequels but wasn't into them as much (you know I'm not a great sequel lover), so I look at them separately from the original movie.
- Tangled (4.5/5): I guess I like my princess movies! This was one I'd watch several times, partly because there were some truly magical scenes (cue the birthday lantern festival!) and partly because my mom liked it so much, she would bring it up. That's significant, because she didn't watch Disney movies a lot. That's a great memory for me to have since she's passed on now.
- Princess and the Frog (3.5/5): Now, don't get after me for this. I only docked it, because I grew up with the traditional story, and this is far from any resemblance to that story (including the moral). I'm also not accustomed to the cultural focus, but I don't hate the movie. I love the music, and who didn't cry when Ray sacrificed himself? I've grown to appreciate the story significantly more as time has passed.
- FROZEN (5/5): I would have had no idea this movie existed when it first came out if it hadn't been for social media and people posting Let it Go. I was taken in once I saw that clip. The art was aesthetically pleasing, but that wasn't everything. There were so many things that got me interested in this. The focus on relationships, the emotional complexity, and being able to relate to both Elsa and Anna in different ways, as well as being able to feel For the First Time in Forever a connection to my Scandinavian heritage.
- Shrek (2.5/5): This movie is entertaining and has an interesting twist, but I just couldn't get into the crude jokes.
- Pride and Prejudice:
- 1995 BBC (5/5): Absolutely loved this version! The interpretation of the main characters appeared in my mind the most realistic. The element that nearly all American made movies leave out is the humor, and this version embraced that humor wholeheartedly. I loved the humor in this version! This is a movie I can rewatch over and over without getting tired of it.
- 2005 Universal (2/5): Though the cinematography of this movie was great quality and the acting wasn't particularly bad, my issue with the movie was with the plot and the speaking lines. Perhaps I was too aware of the story itself, but the movie chopped out parts of the story that I liked, and it felt chopped. I have seen older movies that had to cut out pieces of the story, but it was a smooth transition. I didn't feel that watching this movie. My greatest complaint was that it felt very much like watching a soap opera. I'm not sure how to explain it otherwise. The lines were almost melodramatic, and sickly sappy. It didn't stay true to how Jane Austen told it. And perhaps that was my biggest issue of all: It didn't stay true. Never had a desire to watch it again.
- Jane Eyre 1983 with Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton (4/5): I think many people these days would think this one of the most boring versions, because there is little background music. I don't mind it. The acting is well enough that I don't really think about it. It's well-interpreted of the characters and plot in the book, and it's easy to be able to relate and/or sympathize with the characters' plights.
- Sense & Sensibility
- 1995 Emma Thompson film (4.5/5): Even though this movie took free license to the story in places (likely for the sake of keeping it movie-length), it's still a good watch. It kept the essence of the story and provided a charming personality of the younger sister Margaret.
- 1981 BBC (4.5/5): Absolutely recommend this version for anyone who wants an interpretation closer to the book. Unfortunately, Margaret is left out, but that's the worst of it. There may be a few moments of awkward acting, but it totally fits the characters. It may take some getting used to since it's not filmed with cinematic quality, but once you get past that, it's really an interesting watch.
- Persuasion 1971 BBC (4/5): As with the 1981 Sense & Sensibility, this is also not filmed with cinematic quality and might take some getting used to, but it too interprets closely to the book.
- David Copperfield 1999 (4.5/5): If you want to watch Daniel Radcliff acting before he became Harry Potter, this is a good one. David Copperfield is one of my favorites of Charles Dickens, so naturally I like a good portrayal of the story. Just as the other BBC movies, this one is lengthy. It's really well done and there are other familiar faces in there as well, which makes it additionally fun!
- Harry Potter (3.5/5): Some Potterheads out there will hate me on that score! I love the Harry Potter books, but the movies don't completely capture the magic in the books. There are little clever details that can't be explained in a movie. I really liked the first two movies. I felt like they captured what they could well. After that, there were things that had to be changed or cut out that I would have liked kept, and I didn't care too much for Michael Gambon's interpretation of Albus Dumbledore in some scenes, but that's just me. I'm just picky about some things.
- The Princess Bride (4.5/5): Fairy Tale mixed with humor! It's hard not to love this one! I don't really know if I can say anything else. It's just an awesome movie!
- Titanic (3.5/5): It's a great cinematic film. The main reasons for me downgrading it were that it can get a little too intense for me during the sinking and there are a few intimate moments that I prefer not watching.
- Twilight: New Moon (2/5): Now to be fair, I wasn't expecting much anyway, because from what I'd discovered about the books, this type of story isn't my type of thing. I'd looked into the basic plot for the books to see if they might be interesting to me and seeing that the basic plot was some girl trying to find out which guy she loved the most seemed a little, well, I can't say it any other way, dumb. I had a group of coworkers who were excited to go see the movie so I decided that I would set aside my judgements and give the movie a chance. Goodness, I have never rolled my eyes more in my life than I had then! It seemed like every five minutes was kissing, and I'm thinking, Don't they do anything else besides kiss? I left that movie thinking I'd seen the stupidest movie in existence, so my score is actually pretty generous.
- WICKED (5/5): I absolutely loved the music in the musical and had experiences from other musicals being brought to the screen being a great disappointment. This one wasn't one of them! I really enjoyed watching it, and the music was wonderful! I know a lot of people try to compare the singers to the original Broadway singers, but I won't do that. Broadway and screen are completely different arenas so they shouldn't be compared. I think the movie singers did a great job at making the songs entirely their own, and that's what they should do.
- Mary Poppins (4.5/5): I mean, why diss the lovely Julie Andrews? It's a classic and entertaining movie that, despite the botched accent from Dick Van Dyke, makes us feel a little happier after watching it.
- Mary Poppins Returns (3.5/5): It's fun to have the idea of Mary Poppins returning, and I don't really have any objections with Emily Blunt's portrayal. My issue lies within the relationships with the other characters. They're all messed up. Of course, Jane and Michael are siblings, but did you know John, Barbara, and Annabel were their siblings in the book? That's trivial, but I just didn't like the overall plot of the movie, and there were few memorable songs. I think the only Mary Poppins-like part of the movie was when they jumped into the Royal Doulton Bowl.
- Star Wars (3.5/5): If I was restricting this to I-VI, the score would be a 5, but all of the sequels following lowered it. It seemed like the newer the movie, the worse it got. I've seen those other movies, and they feel entirely repetitive, and let me say this one time that I don't like what they did to the OG cast. But then I'm one who came up on an entirely different story of my own after Return of the Jedi and didn't like it getting destroyed.
- Scarlet Pimpernel 1982 (4/5): This is a beautiful adaptation of this story and it's great for the romantics. I did get into a discussion once with someone about whether the movie is more romantic than the book. Their view was that the sword fighting made the movie more interesting. I disagreed and thought the book was more interesting, but I guess it depends on what you prefer. There is no sword fighting in the book, only a matter of devotion, intellect, and pure determination that saves the day.
- The King & I 1956 (5/5): Love this movie! The music, the emotions, the set, the costumes, it's all amazing! If you haven't watched a classic musical movie, you're missing out.
- The Muppet Movie 1979 (4.5/5): The Muppets are a close second to the Peanuts Gang (Charlie Brown) as a family favorite, second because some family members don't get into their humor as much. I've always been a Muppet fan, so I could pick out other Muppet movies that I liked, but I am limiting it to this one since it was among the first. There isn't much I remember about the movie since it's been a while and I was quite young when I first watched it, but the scene that did stick was of Kermit the Frog sitting on the log in the swamp with his banjo and singing Rainbow Connection. I remember that scene, because I connected to that song. I could feel it. So it gets a high score just for that.
- Lord of the Rings (4/5): Trying to cramp all three movies in here. I really liked the quality of the movies, and they portrayed the characters well. The only part I may have had issues with were the battles. You know I'm not one for gore, so those aren't my favorite parts.
I could go on and on, and I don't even watch movies that much. You might get a little bit of an idea of my tastes when I do watch something. I will watch movies from the 1930s to current if they interest me, so have fun figuring me out! LOL.
I've talked enough, so until next time, have a wonderful time!
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| Flowers Downtown Disney |
