We played an intense game of Disney's Scene It with friends a few months ago. The game was highly successful. Not only was it fun, but it actually made us want to watch the movies. We realized there were many movies we hadn't seen since childhood and that there were many we hadn't seen at all. We decided to take on the task of watching all the Disney movies, preferably in order (though it's hard to find a good list of the films in order).
Unfortunately, we started out by having to skip the first three movies (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Fantasia), since we couldn't find them on Netflix or at the video store. Good start. So far, we have seen a number of films we hadn't seen before. We've viewed the following: Dumbo, Bambi, Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Some of these were full length films (the first two), some were two short films in one and others were made up of various animated or musical shorts. They have been fun to watch and diverse in style.
We really enjoyed Dumbo and Bambi. Dumbo was probably the favorite so far, since it's hard to resist an adorable elephant and the fun tripped out elephant sequence (I am convinced that many early Disney movies have a sequence in them that is the part of the movie where the animators were high for a day and liked what they came up with). We are also surprised at how early cartoons make such light of drunkenness. Tom really enjoys the long scenes of musical montages where nothing much is happening, but you really get a feel for the scene. Examples: the scene where Dumbo's mom is bathing him and they play hide and seek, the scene where Bambi is walking and falling on the ice and the beautiful overviews of the forest in Bambi.
The travelogue to Latin and South America in Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros was interesting and surprisingly open to other cultures (as opposed to the usual cultural stereotypes we often associate with a lot of the early movies). However, Donald Duck is far more annoying than I remembered and shocked me with his adolescent, hormonal obsession with women. For instance, as he flies over a beach with his feathered pals, one of them says something about looking at the "hot stuff" and Donald becomes crazy with all the ladies in swimsuits around him. It was weird. We are also pretty sure that we heard Donal swear in one of the clips that was an extra on the DVD. Just because you talk like that doesn't mean we can't decifer naughty words, Donald.
The films compiled of shorts were hit or miss with a variety of entertaining clips, such as Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, Peter and the Wolf, The Legend of Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, Casey at Bat and Lambert the Sheepish Lion. They also included some boring musical montages and strange clips. Sterling Holloway is a favorite voice for narration and characters. We liked the combination of Bongo and Jack and the Beanstalk in Fun and Fancy Free and enjoyed last night's pick, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, another two in one deal, though a bit scary at times.
Upcoming features include: Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp. All this fun mixed in with early seasons of The Office (American edition) makes for fun viewing.
Unfortunately, we started out by having to skip the first three movies (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Fantasia), since we couldn't find them on Netflix or at the video store. Good start. So far, we have seen a number of films we hadn't seen before. We've viewed the following: Dumbo, Bambi, Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free, Melody Time and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Some of these were full length films (the first two), some were two short films in one and others were made up of various animated or musical shorts. They have been fun to watch and diverse in style.
We really enjoyed Dumbo and Bambi. Dumbo was probably the favorite so far, since it's hard to resist an adorable elephant and the fun tripped out elephant sequence (I am convinced that many early Disney movies have a sequence in them that is the part of the movie where the animators were high for a day and liked what they came up with). We are also surprised at how early cartoons make such light of drunkenness. Tom really enjoys the long scenes of musical montages where nothing much is happening, but you really get a feel for the scene. Examples: the scene where Dumbo's mom is bathing him and they play hide and seek, the scene where Bambi is walking and falling on the ice and the beautiful overviews of the forest in Bambi.
The travelogue to Latin and South America in Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros was interesting and surprisingly open to other cultures (as opposed to the usual cultural stereotypes we often associate with a lot of the early movies). However, Donald Duck is far more annoying than I remembered and shocked me with his adolescent, hormonal obsession with women. For instance, as he flies over a beach with his feathered pals, one of them says something about looking at the "hot stuff" and Donald becomes crazy with all the ladies in swimsuits around him. It was weird. We are also pretty sure that we heard Donal swear in one of the clips that was an extra on the DVD. Just because you talk like that doesn't mean we can't decifer naughty words, Donald.
The films compiled of shorts were hit or miss with a variety of entertaining clips, such as Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, Peter and the Wolf, The Legend of Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, Casey at Bat and Lambert the Sheepish Lion. They also included some boring musical montages and strange clips. Sterling Holloway is a favorite voice for narration and characters. We liked the combination of Bongo and Jack and the Beanstalk in Fun and Fancy Free and enjoyed last night's pick, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, another two in one deal, though a bit scary at times.
Upcoming features include: Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp. All this fun mixed in with early seasons of The Office (American edition) makes for fun viewing.
2 comments:
Dumbo is definitely one of my favorites. I also love The Fox and the Hound.
Sounds like you are having lots of fun with Disney...maybe you could write one of your books about your reflections on the lessons taught through cartoons. I would read that book.
I also love The Fox and the Hound; probably tied for all time favorite with The Aristocats. We aren't there yet though.
I will consider writing the book. But won't you also read The Rambling Complainer?
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