5. Dumbo

It's been almost two months since my last post because I'll be honest: early Disney movies are a lot to handle all in one sitting. The lessons are geared towards an older generation, the graphics aren't as great and the story lines are slower. Even the now four-year-old isn't excited about sitting through Dumbo. He did however get very excited because he knew he had a Little Golden Book of Dumbo. When I said "Yeah, that's the movie we're about to watch!" he promptly went back to his LeapPad.

I think I've sat through Dumbo twice. Probably once as a child and once as an adult after I purchased the dvd. I still have the strong desire to own every single Disney movie on dvd and that includes movies I can't stand to sit through more than once every decade. I'm not saying Dumbo fits into this, I'm just saying I've never had reason to watch it more than twice in my 26 years on Earth. 

I like the opening with the announcer who sounds like he's straight from the circus. It does a nice job of setting up the setting without actually smacking the viewer over the head with it. However, the following song "Look out for Mr. Stork" makes me laugh. "Look out for Mr. Stork, he has you on his list!" I know that talking about the Stork was more socially acceptable than discussing sex back in the day (which was a Wednesday... sorry, bad Dane Cook reference there), but I really think it's funny that these animals apparently and no idea they had they had a bouncing bundle of joy on the way (wouldn't that be a killer? Wake up one day and have a kid there screaming at you? Though on the second hand, sounds much less painful). 

Movies like this always made me want to sit in the clouds. I was so upset when I found out that wasn't possible. What do you mean clouds are mostly vapor and won't support my weight? Damnit Disney!!! 

The train engine reminds me of the Little Engine That Could. Especially later when he climbs up the hill and says "I think I can, I think I can!" Now I'm curious about the origins of that storybook/movie. 

I feel bad for Mrs. Jumbo. She had to watch everyone else get their packages and she thought she was left out. And then she opens it in front of the peanut gallery (which seems to apply better to the gossiping gaggle of elephants than in any other situation since they love peanuts) and the poor kid has huge ears. 

"Look at those e-a-r-s!" 

I love (sarcasm) how politically incorrect early Disney is... The workers for the circus are black and they're singing about not having time to read or write because they work day and night. What will really be interesting is looking back at the films that Disney is releasing now in about 50 years to see how politically incorrect the films are. 

Speaking of incorrect.. go figure it's a ginger boy that gets beat on for making fun of Dumbo's ears. And the kid had ears that rivaled Dumbo's. You know what bugs me? Mrs. Jumbo wanted to name Dumbo "Jumbo Jr." but the Peanut Gallery added their two cents and suddenly Dumbo sticks. 

It cracks me up that the elephants are scared of Timothy Q. Mouse. I mean, I'd probably freak out if I saw a live mouse (I freak out when I see dead mice that my cats have killed) but I also don't have the ability to squash a mouse with my two-ton foot. 

The importance of dream sequences in Disney movies is definitely where the importance I place on dreams in my writing comes from. 

I love that the Peanut Gallery is just as catty to one another as they are to outsiders. I think that makes them more comical and less bitchy. They're like the original Mean Girls. 

"Get your foot out of my eye you fat ox!" 

Perfect punishment for an embarrassing elephant who is especially awful at entertaining: make him a clown. And then put him in a burning building and push him off a platform.

For future reference: Big buckets of beer cures hiccups (anyone else notice I'm on an alliteration kick?) . Course, Disney can't promote drinking, so it's cleverly disguised as suds in a bucket. But lets face it, soap won't induce visions of pink elephants dancing in the sky. 

T: This part always freaked me out.

Me: Why did the pink elephants freak you out?

T: dunno. just did. 

Me: This part always reminded me of Winnie the Pooh. Heffalumps and Woozles. 

(Winnie the Pooh was actually after Dumbo, so chronologically speaking Winnie the Pooh should have reminded me of this... but we were much bigger Winnie the Pooh fans than Dumbo fans in my house)

Also politically incorrect: the crows who could be mistaken as gangsters and pimps. Their speech also implies Disney pictured them as African Americans. 

Me: good news, only twelve minutes left.

T: Thank god.

Dontcha just hate it when you spend a night drinking and you wake up in a tree with a crow dressed as a pimp staring you in the face? 

For future reference: if you ever find yourself surrounded by pimps and gangster crows, start talking to them about their mothers. 

But forgive them for being mean if it means finding out that you can fly. (How else did you get into the tree after drinking?) 

He can fly! Now I have Peter Pan's "You can fly!" stuck in my head.

This was Disney's shortest animated film (for good reason?) and it was created to try to get back some money lost from Fantasia. Dumbo never talks. If he did, I picture it as something squeaky and high pitched. Not sure why. 

The story is good: use what makes you different to make a difference. But I think modern audiences probably get bored with how simple the film is. 

Poor Dumbo. Maybe he just needs an upgrade. 

4. The Incredibles

This is slightly (okay, EXTREMELY) out of order, but the three-year-old is visiting and he's been on an Incredibles kick. As in, we're sitting down to watch it again for the seventh time in less than a week. I wish I was exaggerating. Since I originally really enjoyed this movie and am now getting to a point where I know all the words in my sleep, I'm breaking the blog order so that I don't have to watch it again towards the end of the list.

I saw this movie for the first time while I was a Freshmen at WVU. My dad was up for the weekend and he took my friend Cat and I to see it in the theaters. No better way to show how grown up you are than by having a parent take you and a friend to see the latest Disney flick. Right? Yeah....

My first thought when I first saw it, and my remaining thought now: What time period does this take place during? I'm not entirely sure it's current times.

I'm up in the air about the documentary style the movie opens with, but this is because I'm unable to suspend belief and truly think that this part is supposed to be unscripted. It's a cartoon. It's planned out. So what is the producer trying to accomplish with this segment? I remember not liking it when I was in the theaters either, and that was before all my film classes. That probably should have been my first hint that I would never be a normal movie watcher...

Supergirls must have a certain tolerance about their superdudes... if my fiance was willing to risk being late to our wedding because of a string of crime, I'd be pissed. You know, any other day would be okay... but on our wedding day? Oh hell no. But Elastagirl is also out fighting crime, so I think the tolerance thing might hold up.

What kind of city do they live in that there is THIS much crime in one night? I mean, it's like all of the villains with in a five mile radius decided to break the law all within five minutes of one another. And it's not very believable that Mr. Incredible just happens upon all these crimes. Does he have a super radar for that sort of thing?

I love the fact that Elstagirl and Mr. Incredible have a little verbal sparring match while taking out the pickpocketer. This is the first of many times during the movie where I admire the creators for being so true to life and real relationships. Cuz lets face it... women usually do swoop in to save the day and men are never appreciative. ;-)

I've always admired the creativity behind the idea of a superhero being sued for his actions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any one else doing this. I probably am wrong since pretty much all of the ideas in the world have been used and are just being recycled with a few added touches here and there to make them "original."

Anyone else get the distinct impression that Mr. Incredible's boss, Gilbert Huph, sounds really REALLY familiar? I've looked it up... and I'll give you a hint. INCONCEIVABLE!

Take a minute to think that one through.

"Everyone's special, Dash." "Which is just another way of saying that no one is..." I LOVE this. It's like when someone tells you you're one in a million... which means that in all reality there are thousands of people out there just like you... only Disney found a more creative way of saying it.

Seriously... when is this movie supposed to take place?? It has a vintage feel to it... the houses and cars feel almost retro.

Umm... bad parenting alert: When Mrs. Incredible goes into Dash's school to talk to the principal and teacher, she is solo. When they get back into the car, Jack-Jack is in the back seat. She left a baby alone in the car? Whoa, Disney. You've got some explaining to do...

"You make weird faces, honey." I'm guilty of this. With all of my friends' kids I've made faces and done the customary baby talk deal. I'm willing to admit it, but I think it's hilarious Helen doesn't. This whole dinner scene is also really nicely done, I think any American family can relate to it. You know, minus the super powers.

"We look like bad guys! Incompetent bad guys!"

I'll get yelled at for this later... but I could see T and one of his friends totally in a situation like this. Not that he's an undercover superhero (he's not sly enough to pull that off), but I could definitely see him and a friend in a situation that started off innocently enough and ended with them in over their heads. 

Okay, back to the Mr. Huph question. Still stumped?  

Crazy, right? I have an overwhelming desire to watch the Princess Bride now...

When Mr. Incredible gets the message from Mirage and then it self destructs... totally reminds me of Inspector Gadget. I was waiting for Mr. Incredible to throw it over his shoulder and have Chief Quimbly suddenly appear just in time for it to blow up in his face. 

Side note: Mirage has an incredibly large head for her tiny body. 

I'd like to see the interaction between Mr. and Mrs. Incredible after the sprinklers go off. Chances are he's still in trouble for not coming straight to dinner and now he's setting off fire sprinklers? Big trouble, mister. 

The sequence where Mr. Incredible first gets to the island and is running around out of breath never fails to make me laugh. And also to ponder what kind of material his suit is made out of... it still fits even though he's grossly out of shape and I don't see any sweat stains. I think we could all probably use a suit like that. 

The scene where the machine cracks Mr. Incredible's back also makes me laugh because it reminds me of T and his bad back. He has the back of an overaged superhero before it's been cracked... lol

Edna... Favorite. Character.

No capes! This caught me off guard when I first saw the movie. When you think about it... most of our significant super heros wear capes. Superman? Cape. Batman? Cape. But Edna makes a relevant point.

Watching this movie over the weekend with our roommate who is currently married, and T who was previous married, made me laugh cuz they were able to pick out Mr. Incredible's mistakes. Including when the phone rings and he yells at Helen not to answer it. I'd probably do the same thing she did... but I'm part stalker anyways.

The fact that Mr. Incredible carries a briefcase to his assignment makes me giggle.

Another question that surfaced: where are Buddy's parents through all of this? They just let him run off when he was younger to follow Mr. Incredible? Seems dangerous. And they should have probably also taught him let some things go... His gadgets are pretty cool though. I wouldn't mind having that freeze ray that he has. 

There's a fire theme that carries throughout the movie. The island getaway is an old volcano and Mirage walks through lava walls to meet up with Mr. Incredible. Edna has a ton of goldfish that look like a flickering flame behind her when she's on the phone with Mrs. Incredible. When Edna shows Mrs. Incredible the suits for the family, the first thing she does to Jack-Jack's suit is set it on fire. 

Did some research on the time period. There's no set date that I could find and people have guesstimated that the first part of the film takes place in mid to late-fifties, meaning the majority of the movie would take place in the late sixties or early seventies. The Pixar Wiki describes The Incredibles as a film that takes place in a 60's-esque era.

Fun fact: Kronos, the word Mr. Incredible sees in the cavern (possibly carved by Gazerbeam) and the password for the computer caught my attention. Kronos is a Titan, father of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc. He was overthrown and held captive by Zeus. Not sure if this has any sort of relevance in the movie, although I suspect it does. Disney/Pixar isn't one to include things by accident. 

This movie is the first created by Pixar that followed humans (Monster's Inc did have humans in it, but they were not the main focus). I'm really impressed by how life-like the characters are, down to their hair frizzing. I like that it isn't perfect.

I'm not going to lie: the part where Mr. Incredible thinks that his wife and kids have been killed by Syndrome's missiles made me cry in theaters. Up to that point I had liked the movie, but this is what pushed me to actually love the movie. The human feel. These characters aren't just superheros. They have emotions. They lose their tempers, they aren't perfect, they're going through everyday experiences (albeit with a few 'super' things thrown in).

Another fun fact: The director of the movie wanted Dash to sound legitimately out of breath, so he would have the actor who voices Dash (Spencer Fox) run laps around the studio before recording segments where Dash needed to be out of breath. 

I love when Mrs. Incredible is wandering around the complex and she gets distracted by how big her butt looks in a reflection. Doesn't help that about thirty seconds later she gets trapped in a bunch of doors and gets even more stretched out. 

The part where Mrs. Incredible helps Mr. Incredible escape (although to be fair, Mirage was there first... I JUST got the parallel to the beginning of the movie... whoa) and they're arguing reminds me of T and I. Especially the whole "How could I ever betray the perfect woman?" "Oh, you're talking about me now?" exchange. Sarcasm is my second language. I could also see T making a comment like Mr. Incredible's "You're still trying to pick a fight but I'm just happy you're alive" outburst. 

When the guards find Violet and Dash and suddenly realize they're Supers... did the suits not tip you off?? Seriously? Do you often encounter strange children dressed alike wandering about the island? 

Disney is on a kick about no one being special in this movie... Syndrome comments "When everyone can be Super, no one will be." What a downer. 

"HONEY!? Where's my Supersuit??" Funniest exchange between a married couple in the entire movie. And also the most repeated by the three-year-old. 

I've also taken enough road trips with the family to know that that the scene where the Incredibles are driving on the highway is pretty much right on par with how road trips really go. Minus the whole crashing into a parking spot thing. 

Wouldn't someone have learned to make the machine's downfall something other than what it was originally? It's kind of like the Death Star conundrum. If one of your inventions has been defeated, but the force defeating it hasn't been, maybe make your next invention a little bit more difficult to destroy. 

I'm also really amused that Syndrome's downfall was caused by a cape. Edna. She knows what she's talking about. 

Even though I've seen this movie seven times in the last four days, I still love it. On the surface it's a movie about superheros. But sneaky Disney added the usual touches to make the movie so much more. 

Well, unless the three-year-old goes on another Cars kick and the family is forced to watch that numerous times in a row, I'll be back on track with the movies. Dumbo is up next.

Until next time =) 

3. Pinocchio

In Disney's reoccurring theme, Pinocchio was adapted from a children's novel. The Adventures of Pinocchio was published in Italy in the late 1800's. It actually did contain many of the same ideas as the movie, except that the original version ended with Pinocchio being hung for his actions. Carlo Collodi's editor encouraged him to change the ending and make it more kid friendly and voila, the Pinocchio we're familiar with was born.

The first couple lines of the opening jingle reminds me of 101 Dalmatians. That's before 'When You Wish Upon A Star' starts of course.

Jiminey Cricket singing 'Star' always makes me sleepy. First of all, it's a song about wishing on stars. When do stars come out? At night. Right before bed. Second of all, Cliff Edward's voice reminds me of something I used to listen to on my grandmother's Polka station and it always bored me. Unless she started dancing around to the Polkas and would drag me out of my chair. This happened frequently. But since there's no one pulling me out of my chair now, I'm sleepy.

I think it's hilarious when Geppetto names the wooden doll Pinocchio and then asks the cat and goldfish what they think and no one likes it. Made me wonder what Pinocchio actually means. There's some debate going on online, but it could possibly mean pine nut. Either that or pine eye. Quite a few people also think it's just a name and has no meaning.

I understand that clock makers are big in Italy, but being in a house with that many clocks would freak me out. Especially when they all went off at the same time. No thank you. Especially since so many of them are morbid. And why would anyone want a clock where each hour a mother spanks a child?

"Star light, star bright... first start I see tonight..." Am I the only one who sees more stars in that picture than just the one he's making a wish on?
T: He's old and wearing glasses. Maybe that's the only star he can see?

The scene where everyone is snoring in their sleep reminds me of my nights. Tyler sounds just like Geppetto.

Tyler has decided that Pinocchio looks like Elijah Wood. Then he giggled. "Elijah. Wood. Get it?" Yeah, I get it... I just don't find it as funny as you do.

hmm... Elijah does look rather block-like and wooden there. Maybe he's on to something.

I'm a little confused by Jiminey becoming Pinocchio's conscious. I mean, the cricket broke into Geppetto's house and has been spying on the family all night. But sure, he's conscious-worthy.
T: sure, we're going to make the breaking-and-entering hobo cricket the puppet's conscious. That's a great idea.

I'm impressed by how quickly Pinocchio could speak and walk and do basic things. Maybe that's why Geppetto decides he's ready for school the morning after the Blue Fairy brings him to life, equipped with the hobo conscious. And not even, Jiminey is late on Pinocchio's first day, which is one of the reasons Pinocchio falls victim to Honest John and his stray cat sidekick.

Any time I see:

 

I think:

I'm also wondering what rock Geppetto lives under that he didn't hear about the huge, successful show that involved a wooden puppet without strings...

For the record: I'm not at all surprised that Jiminy can pick locks... fits right in with the hobo image.

The rainy scenes are driving me nuts. I know it was 1940 and animation isn't what it is now... but the white "rain" looks more like the picture going bad, especially when it's "pouring."

"If boys aren't good, they might as well be made of wood." This made me giggle.

Pleasure Island is kind of creepy. Never mind all the boys running around destroying everything, but they're allowed to smoke cigars too? And if Pinocchio is made of wood and doesn't have lungs... how can he smoke?

The scene in the pool hall where Jiminey threatens Lampwick makes me chuckle too. Shouldn't consciouses not run around threatening other people?

It also makes me laugh that the boys are being turned into Donkeys. Or Jackasses as Lampwick says. Extended metaphor? I'd like to believe so.

I have a fear of being underwater. Not underwater in a pool or a shower where I can see, but under the ocean where it's dark and who knows what's crawling on the ocean floor. It's creeping me out just writing about it, so I'm having a hard time watching the scene where Pinocchio and Jiminey jump into the water and walk along the ocean floor to find the whale that swallowed Geppetto.

How exactly is Jiminey breathing underwater? I'm questioning that, but not the whole getting swallowed by a whale and surviving thing...

"I never thought it would end like this... starving to death in the belly of a whale..." I'm not sure many people do think it will end like this. Unless you're me and have envisioned every single possible death underwater scenario possible...

Side note: whenever I do a google search for Geppetto images, at least one stray image of Robert Downey Jr pops up. I'm enjoying it immensely..

Wouldn't tickling the whale's tongue be a better way of getting him to sneeze instead of starting a fire? At least you could pass off the tickle, whereas building a fire is pretty obvious. No wonder he was pissed.

This whale scares me...

Does anyone else think that Pinocchio is cuter as a wooden boy than as a human boy? I felt the same way in Beauty and the Beast when Beast changes back into a prince.

Maybe it's because he REALLY looks like Elijah Wood now...

Fun fact... Elijah Wood DID play Pinocchio in a couple of 80's short educational movies. The above picture is a still from one of those movies.

I couldn't be a fairy... I'm not entirely sure that Pinocchio and Jiminey were deserving of the awards they received from the Blue Fairy at the end of the movie. I'm all for second chances, but I think maybe making him into a real boy should have been delayed a bit longer. Maybe make sure he actually won't get sidetracked by Honest John again.

Anyways, there's Pinocchio. Maybe you were able to tell that it is not one of my favorite Disney movies. I watched it a lot as a kid, but I could never get into it (maybe it's that whole underwater scene...). It didn't hold the attention of the 3 year old either, he got very antsy towards the middle and started playing Batman.

Until next time =)

2. Fantasia

I used to love this movie as a kid.

Looking back at this, I think I probably loved two or three scenes out of the entire movie which I would fast forward to and skip everything else. I think a lot of people forget that "Fantasia" includes more than just the Mickey Mouse/mop scene, although it is Fantasia's most iconic.

Sitting down to watch this as an adult after years of pretty much forgetting that it even exists, I'm cautiously excited. Will it be boring? Will I enjoy it now that I've had my own musical experience and can "properly appreciate"the skill and art? Or will it be like the time I went to see a local orchestra play and thought "okay, I admire their skill, but this would be so much more interesting if I was actually playing it"?

For the record, let me also state that I love how you can find just about anything free online. "Fantasia" has long ago been locked into the basement for safe keeping (or, to borrow a phrase from Disney, it's been locked in the vault), and it's not available streaming on Netflix. Enter the marvelous YouTube.

I LOVE the opening titles in old movies. Something just seems so much more authentic about them than the new stuff.

Being apprehensive about this film already... I'm a bit disturbed to see that this film is two hours long. Snow White was about an hour and twenty minutes. In fact, anywhere between 71 and 82 (these are approximate) minutes seems to be about on par for early Disney films. With this in mind, I also question the decision made to watch the band file in. And the attempt made to keep the audience interested by running dialogue about the different kinds of music... oy. Maybe I'm annoyed because I've got something of a musical background.

(maybe I'm annoyed because the version I've found online is in a foreign language and I have to read the subtitles... I take back what I said about YouTube being marvelous)

I think that the lighting is a bit overdramatic. I understand wanting to take away from the individuality of each band member by casting them all in shadow so that the audience can concentrate on the music... but I find the shadow silhouettes distracting. A black screen might be a better choice.

Okay, something I didn't understand as a child but have an appreciation for now... the animated bows and bridges from the stringed instruments moving in time to the music across the animated cloud backdrop. Note: the screen fades to near black after this and I find I have a better time concentrating on the music in this scene. I'd be interested to see what the idea behind Fantasia was: emphasis on music or on animation? Because it seems to me that the producers start off with the idea of emphasizing the music, but then let it take a backseat to the animation.

Anyone else see Mufasa in this cloud? No? Just me? Okay, carry on.

The first animated sequence that actually has a storyline and not just floating images is one of my favorites. This sequence is the fairies flying around and interacting with different parts of nature. And then, the dancing mushrooms! Any one else think they look Asian?

The dancing flower petals on the water is the reason why as a girl I used to love getting dressed up in big poofy dresses for special occasions like Easter and Christmas. I would twirl myself in circles so that my skirt would go up around me. That's probably one of the reasons why mom enrolled me in ballet.

The first twenty minutes of this film has reminded me of Christmas. And now I'm very upset that it's 103 degrees outside and not snowy.

The Mickey/Wizard/Mop scenes is 26 minutes in. I thought I remembered it being further in.

The wizard always scared me. Its something about the grey beard.

I like that the wizard's power is in his hat. Every modern wizard knows the magic is in the wand (Maybe I should do Harry Potter next)

Mickey is very relatable here. And it's also a nice sneaky Disney lesson about what trouble taking the easy way out sometimes leads to.

Moses wizard

The next song, where the conductor tells us to "imagine that we are several billion years ago, looking back on Earth" always freaked me out as a kid. It was the same concept as with the opening scene for The Jetsons when you flash through space. I used to be afraid of the concept of forever, and whenever someone would talk about space they would describe it as going on forever. Thus, space=forever in my mind. It doesn't make perfect sense, but until I was about 14 I couldn't watch the beginning of the Jetsons.

For anyone who wants to FF>> to the interesting parts of this movie... the dinosaurs start at 45minutes in. This was another of my favorites growing up. My brother and I were HUGE "Land Before Time" fans and that carried over into everything else.

Me: HIT HIM YOU'VE GOT SPIKES ON YOUR TAIL! Get him in the jugular! The jugular! (said in Timon's voice of course).

In retrospect, this was probably a very traumatic scene for a kid. What was my mother thinking?

54 minutes in, the dinosaurs are dying and so am I.

The part where the conductor has a conversation with the "soundtrack" is very enlightening. Pretty sure this is where I learned it was okay to talk to inanimate objects.

One hour, two minutes into the movie: my ABSOLUTE favorite part. Mount Olympus =) I'm a sucker for the unicorns and pegasus(s? es? Spell check is failing me right now)

Me: How does one white pegasus and one black pegasus create multicolored pegasi?
T: They're magical creatures. They do what they want.

Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry flavored Pegasuses. (still not sure this is correct, my spell check is having a field day with these mythical creatures)

Also, not going to lie... the scenes where the little cupids make over the female centaurs for the male centaurs made me want to run outside and make my own natural headpieces.

For some reason, I don't think I'd be able to get two doves to sit on my head quite as well.

This is a cupid whose butt turns into a heart. This reminded me of the Big Bang Theory, when Amy Farrah Fowler explains to Penny that hearts were shaped after the female bottom and Penny says "So I spent all of middle school dotting my eyes with girl butts? Cool." (or something along those lines)

I call BS on the rainbow that continues under the water. Where does that ever happen??

The dancing ostriches... also one of the reasons why I was so interested in taking Toe when I became a ballerina. But unfortunately, the ostriches in this movie are a lot better at it than I ever was.

Remember the tick and flea preventative commercial (for Frontline, I think) that had the puppy singing "Hello mother, hello father..." the ostriches/hippos are dancing to that song and that adorable puppy is all I can think of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alk26XzDYF4

I linked the commercial above. So much more entertaining than "Fantasia."

Bashful hippo makes me smile. Also, as improbable as this may seem, I think she's more graceful than I am.

I might have blanked out... is the alligator (croc?) trying to EAT the hippo as they dance around?

Okay, the conductor who has to explain everything is kind of annoying me. Technically I could turn the subtitles off and just listen to him talk in Italian, but that would probably get to me too.

I can honestly say I don't remember this last sequence at all. T was very excited waiting for it earlier and I had no idea what he was talking about. Makes me wonder... could I never get through the movie to this part? Did I always turn it off after the dancing hippo?

This reminds me of "Hercules:" all the scenes in the Underworld with Hades and his little sniveling ghouls. It's not too far fetched since this scene is supposed to be about Lucifer.

OMG THIS TOTALLY LOOKS LIKE JAFAR FROM "ALADDIN!" (It's Lucifer from Bald Mountain)

One hour, forty-six minutes into the film. I'm so relieved I only have ten minutes left.

Interesting contrast... the opening of the film opens with dark scenes, the film closes with the sun rising.

All in all, I'm still not sure what to make of "Fantasia."I definitely admire what they were trying to do, but I found myself caught somewhere between boredom and feeling bad that I was falling asleep through the cartoons.

So, things we learned today:
Don't watch "Fantasia" when you're already tired.
The Dinosaur scenes start 45 minutes into the film.
Listening to the conductor in Italian is not anymore entertaining than listening to him in English.
Lucifer= Jafar.

I promise to stay awake better through my next post.

Until next time!

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

This seems especially fitting since there has been not one but two adaptations of this story this year. It's also necessary to point out that like many of Disney's more popular films, this is not original. Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was adapted from the Grimm Brother's tale. Needless to say, Disney fluffed it a bit (or a lot). In the Grimm Brother's tale, the Evil Queen appears to Snow White three times in an attempt to kill her. You can't help but feel that by the third time Snow White might have learned NOT TO OPEN THE DAMN DOOR. Also, there's this lovely part at the end about red-hot shoes and dancing until the death.

For anyone who hasn't read the tale, here's a link:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html

Here's where some of you may disagree with me. I've never liked "Snow White." I respect it as Disney's first attempt to make a classic and by some degrees this does in fact make it a classic. But Snow White's voice annoys me and that pretty much ruins the entire movie for me. Also, just like in the story, I get annoyed with her. I mean c'mon... even GRUMPY tells her not to open the door to strangers and what does she do? She opens the door. I know a couple almost-four-year-olds who listen better than that.

I watched this film last night, before I got serious about the blog, and I'm going to watch it again now to try to remember some of the original comments made. This will probably be the most times I've watched "Snow White" back-to-back. Anyways, here we go...

Side note: the talking mirror on my dvd menu really annoyed me. Okay, now back to the movie.

Remember when movies used to roll the credits at the beginning of the film, and not at the end? I didn't until I sat down to watch this. Got me thinking... remember all those people who leave the theater when the credits start? Did people know to come late to movies, or did they actually watch the credits? Thought of the day. 

This made me smile. I wonder if he had any idea the following he'd gather, or the magic he'd start. Of course, it is important to recognize that he had created several shorts before this. This was the beginning of his full-length films, not the start to the magic completely. 

Anyone else ever wonder why the Queen was the fairest in the land? Is it just me, or is she not all that fair? Does the mirror see her without her headpiece? Also, I'm a little angry that this seems to be a beauty contest. 

Regarding the scene by the wishing-well. I'd never go near a well that sang back (even if it was just an echo. No well ever echos that... well. Well, now that the word "well" has lost all meaning to me...). 

Me: If I were Prince Charming and I heard that voice, I would have ridden off in the opposite direction, not pursued it.
T: Yeah, me too.
Me: It's also cute that he seems to know the words to the song she was singing.

Prince Charming is kind of cute... I mean, I have a thing for brunettes anyways, but give me a brunette in a cape... woof.

When the Huntsman gets his orders from the Queen and she says "you know the penalty if you fail!"... does she ever follow up on this?

When I watched this film yesterday, I laughed at how overdramatic the scene was where she runs from the Huntsman into the woods. But after rereading the Grimm Brother's version, this scene seems pretty accurate. And the logs that turn into alligators is pretty accurate. I think that was a nice touch.

Has anyone else noticed that Disney princesses all have this innate ability to communicate with animals? Snow White has the entire forest at her beck and call. And if memory serves me correctly, Aurora does too. And of course Pocahontas has Meeko.... I'm getting ahead of myself.

Ah, the beginning of Disney lessons through song.

The fact that Snow White refers to the cottage as a "doll house" makes me chuckle. Also, the fact that she's appalled by how messy it is makes me smile. Course, this also speaks to the time and the need for a Woman's Touch in a house full men. 

Pretty much the entire scene where Snow White cleans the cottage T and I blanked out for. We were sitting here trying to figure out the names of the Seven Dwarfs (it's kind of like trying to figure out the names of Santa's reindeer... there's always ONE you forget). 

T: Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Sleepy

Me: Sneezy

T: Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy...

Me: *Blank stare*

We didn't remember Bashful until Snow White goes upstairs and sees their names carved on the beds. Poor Bashful. Though T had a good point... "Maybe if he weren't so bashful, people would remember him..."

Another instance of me reading too far into things. If you work in a mine that looks like this:

Why do you live in a house with six other men? Ten minutes in there and you're rich. 

I think my two favorite characters in this movie are Dopey and the Turtle. Any animal that can fall down the stairs in rhythm to the background music has my vote. And Dopey... he's just too cute.

Also, the Dwarfs... not so great at sneaking around. Either their shoes are really loud, or their floorboards are out of control. Am I the only one who thinks Sneezy should probably have his sinuses looked at? If your sneeze can blow your brothers? housemates?... If your sneeze can blow six other men across the room, there's a problem. 

T: How has Snow White NOT woken up yet?

Me: Apparently she's a heavier sleeper than even you.

This whole scene also reminds me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, when the bears come home and discover Goldilocks asleep in their bed. 

I'm upset that Dopey has a voice when he screams. I mean, he can't talk otherwise but suddenly he makes a noise? I'm not really upset, just another observation for the filmmakers. 

Snow White just reminded me of Betty Boop. Something about the hair. I think I'm going crazy.

Maybe not.. T just agreed the voice reminds him too.

Grumpy talking about the Queen:"She's full of black magic! She can even make herself invisible!" 

"Does that mean I'm full of black magic too??"

I can definitely relate to how hard it is for Snow White to get the Dwarfs to clean up for dinner. Sometimes it's a fight with T, too (lol). But I think this just further underlines the differences in sex for the time period. I also wonder if the Seven Dwarfs are supposed to be representative of a typical man's personalities, personified and split into seven. Sorry, this is where my over analyzation from all those film classes starts to play in. 

I find it funny that Snow White goes from a situation where she's completely helpless (she's stuck under her evil stepmother) to suddenly being in charge. I understand that she had chores she had to do around the castle (or at least it's hinted at it), but I highly doubt she was down in the kitchens with the hired help making meals (she's not Cinderella, after all). But once she's thrown into the cottage with the helpless men, she gets it all together and takes charge of the household, all while making them feel as though they're still in charge. Thank god I wasn't born in a different time period. 

It makes me sad that when the Queen is making her poisoned apple and reads that love first kiss is the only anecdote, her first thought is of the Dwarfs. "The Dwarfs will think her dead!" Umm... lady, you saw Prince Charming singing to Snow White on the balcony. Let's have a little faith that the Fairest in the Land will be able to attract someone other than a little man. 

I love the scene where Snow White is saying goodbye to each of the dwarfs. I love that Grumpy acts up to his name and pretends to be put out by her, but in reality he's just as concerned about her as the others. Which makes me even more angry when SHE OPENS THE DAMN DOOR. Seriously! Even Grumpy told you to watch out!

T: That doesn't look sanitary. 

Me: Probably not. 

T: Seriously, gray pie dough?

Me: It's tinted with dirt from all the animals helping her. 

"Oh look, a tasty apple from a weird lady who seems more determined than normal to get me to eat it. Seems legit." 

T: STRANGER DANGER!!! STRANGER DANGER!!!!

Seriously, even the naive forest animals knew better.

T: Bitch, who's ever heard of a wishing APPLE? Wishing well, wishing lamps, wishing stones... 

(I think he's angry I'm making him watch it twice)

Also, is there nothing else going on in the kingdom that being the Fairest takes priority? 

I love when the movies use weather to help underline dramatic situations and feelings. It conveniently starts pouring down rain right as Snow White dies. Though, the lightning does come in handy since that's what actually kills the Queen. Well, that and the boulder. 

I'm sorry... but who goes around kissing corpses on the mouth? Whenever I go to a funeral with an open casket, I'm freaked out. Even with my two grandmothers, the closest I got to touching them is I kind of awkwardly patted the coffin next to their hands. So what we're saying here is that Prince Charming has a condition. Necrophilia. 

And they lived happily ever after... 

Sorry to anyone who might have just had "Snow White" ruined for them... But I do appreciate comments... too long of a commentary? Not enough? Like the pictures? Don't like them? Think I'm funny/rude/out of my mind? Let me know. 

Until next time. 

Welcome!

If you don't like Disney, you should probably stop reading now. This blog is dedicated to all random musings that pertain to or derived from Disney (movies, shows, products, parks, etc).

If you're still reading, I'll assume that you're like me: you grew up with Disney. If you're a girl, you've imagined being one of the princesses at least fifty times (I'm Belle. Every. Time.). If you're a boy, maybe you grew up daydreaming about one of the princesses, or even pictured yourself as Charming, or have more appreciation for the Pixar flicks that started with Toy Story. Disney has always been there for you, whether it was a movie on a dark and dreary day or a place to let your daydreams carry you while sitting bored in class. You get goosebumps whenever the Disney Logo appears on screen, you giggle every time the Pixar bouncing lamp jumps on the 'I', the first five minutes of 'Up' never fails to make you cry, you can ALWAYS find a reason to reference a Disney movie in daily conversation.

I'm a self-proclaimed (and sometimes otherwise proclaimed) Disney Dork. My biggest accomplishment recently has been getting my fiance to agree to go on a Disney cruise for our honeymoon.
The conversation went something like this via text message:
Me: I think we should do a Disney cruise for our honeymoon.
T: okay.
Me: and then spend a couple days in the parks.
T: Sounds good to me.
Me: <3

The idea for this blog came about when I stumbled across another Disney blog http://simpledisneythings.com/. While scrolling through her almost 2,000 entries, I got it into my head that I wanted to chronologically organize my Disney movies.

So I did.

Then I decided I wanted to watch them. All of them. In chronological order.

So T and I sat down to start.

Something else you should know about me, if you don't know already: I always have something to say. Especially while watching movies, and especially since majoring in English and taking more than a handful of film classes. I've been yelled at more than once for ruining the film watching experience (come to think of it, I've been yelled at more than once for ruining books, too). I'm nit-picky and critical. But also, when something in a film reminds me of something else, I like to point that out. When I really enjoy something, I'm not afraid to get really REALLY excited about it (even in public).

As T and I sat down to watch "Snow White" I began running commentary. And somewhere along the line, the idea for this blog was fully created.

My goal is to watch every single Disney movie created, in chronological order, and to share my thoughts with anyone who wants to read them. You may not always agree with what I have to say and I'll admit I'm something of a troublemaker... I enjoy saying things to get a reaction (ask me what I think about 50 Shades of Gray. That one's gotten me into quite a few arguments). I like comments, so feel free to leave me several. Be mindful that I have something of a life and so if this isn't updated every day, I've not died or forgotten about the blog. Saying that, some of these movies may be a bit difficult to find, so if there's a long lull between entries I'm probably having trouble finding a movie.

Oh, for anyone interested:

The website I found that has all of the Disney movies listed in chronological order is http://www.disneymovieslist.com/disney-movies.asp for anyone curious about what movie is next, or when I'll be getting to a favorite, or who couldn't give a care in the world for my blog but is interested in the Disney timeline of movies.

With all that explained... on to the movies =)