Movie Reviews
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Certainly the darkest of all the Disney features, and one of the very best. When I say dark, I mean the subject matter, not the look of the film, which explodes with color. We can see the continuing evolution of CGI, which is in use a great deal here in the backgrounds and the camera moves. The cathedral is beautifully rendered, and so are the amazing celebrations of the musical numbers in ... Read more »
Pocahontas
Though this is as colorful and visually interesting as any of the features from the Disney Renaissance, it has always felt a little flat to me. The music isn’t as good, nor are the big production numbers as impressive as its predecessors, with the exception of a magical sequence done to the best song in the picture, “The Colors of the Wind.” (Oscar winner.) It’s all just too solemn, as so ... Read more »
The Lion King
The most successful animated movie, ever, until Finding Nemo came along, and still by far the biggest earning hand-drawn feature. It brought in $783,000,000 worldwide, which makes it #29 of the all-time earners, and one of only six in the Top 30 that was made in the 20th century. When you adjust for inflation and things like the recent 3D surcharge, it’s probably ... Read more »
The Grapes of Wrath
DIRECTED by John Ford
PRODUCED by Nunnally Johnson & Darryl F Zanuck
SCREENPLAY by Nunnally Johnson
FROM THE NOVEL by John Steinbeck
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Alfred Newman (Randy Newman’s uncle)
CINEMATOGRAPHY by Gregg Toland
ART DIRECTION by Richard Day & Mark-Lee Kirk
The Ideal was a little movie theater around the corner from the 5&10 ... Read more »
Beauty and the Beast
Though I have a personal preference for The Little Mermaid, there is no doubt that this movie is the masterpiece of the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. It continues the Broadway structure pioneered by The Little Mermaid, and also has songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. (Sadly, Ashman died of AIDS before he could see this film. It ... Read more »
City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime
WRITTEN / PRODUCED / DIRECTED by Charles Chaplin
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Charles Chaplin
CINEMATOGRAPHY by Gordon Pollock & Roland Totheroh
Sometimes I think The Gold Rush should be on this list. Sometimes I think maybe Modern Times. And of course there’s The Great Dictator. Shorts? Read more »
The General
DIRECTED by Clyde Bruckman
PRODUCED by Buster Keaton & Joseph M Schenck
WRITTEN by Al Boasberg, Clyde Bruckman, & Buster Keaton
BASED on The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Robert Israel
CINEMATOGRAPHY by Bert Haines & Dev Jennings
ART DIRECTION by Fred Gabourie
So with the very first film I almost ... Read more »
The Rescuers Down Under
This was Disney’s first animated sequel until Fantasia 2000, which was not really a sequel but a continuation, as Walt had first envisioned it. (I’m not counting those now innumerable direct-to-video things. I haven’t seen any of them, and I don’t intend to. I mean, Bambi II? Cinderella III: A Twist in Time? ... Read more »
The Little Mermaid
I think most critics would name Beauty and the Beast as the best of the “Disney Renaissance” titles of the 1990s. I wouldn’t argue with them, but my personal favorite is this one. As usual I am unencumbered by any love for the source material. I had never read the Hans Christian Andersen story. I just now read a summary on Wikipedia, and gad, what an awful story! ... Read more »
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
I would have sworn there was a question mark at the end of this title, but there isn’t. That got me to wondering, why not. It’s based on a novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf: who knows how to punctuate? I came up with three possible explanations:
1. It’s not a question, it’s the solution. ...
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