Disney Films - May Movie Club
With Disney starting their big "100 Years of Disney" campaign, I though I's start a mini series talking about my most favorite Disney films.
"Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer."
- IMDB
Watching this movie hits the same as did that day I saw it theaters. Right from the first 2 minutes, the movie has me in the palm of its hands. The music is enchanting from start to finish. That flute followed up by the guitar.... bruh. This soundtrack is magical and emotional and is such an amazing asset to overall story. Music is always important to any film, but it has such a different essence in Coco.
Coco is an emotional love letter to Mexican culture and is masterfully depicted in stunning animation and art design., The colors are as vibrant as the characters. The celebration of family and ancestry is core to Miguel's journey as he experiences the realm of the dead. Miguel himself is a treasure. That scene when we first see him play guitar makes me cry.... Well many moments from this movie makes me cry.
When you think about Coco, what scene stands out to you the most? Everyone's answer is the ending. Miguel tries to help Coco remember her father, and when nothing worked, music did. A scene that hits hard whether or not you have a relative with Alzheimer's, that moment brought all the themes together. Music allowed the memories to come back and Coco told stories of her father, making sure the memories of Hector remain in the family. "He loved you, Mama Coco. He loved you so much." That scene. The voice acting. Singing the song together. The whole family is crying. I'm crying.
This movie easily lives in my Top 5 Disney movies of all time. It's magic in so many ways and I can not recommend it enough if you haven't seen it yet.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★
"In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, two monsters realize things may not be what they think."
- IMDB
I can't believe it....... I'M ON TV!!!!!
First of all.... that joke is literally the funniest and it never gets old. Second of all, the intro is so iconic. The animation and art style with the jazz music made for a fun intro sequence and set the tone for the entire movie. The world of Monstropolis was so cool to see, with so many unique monster designs and fun characters. The plot of the whole "energy crisis! let's kidnap children to make a real profit" mixed in with Mike & Sulley's adventure with Boo worked well together to bring the resolution of using Laughter instead of Screams for energy. This was the perfect ending given that this movie is genuinely funny. I'd put it up there with one of the top 5 funniest Disney movies of all time. "Putthathtingwhereitcamefromorsohelpme!" "Always watching..." "23 19!!!!!" So many iconic quotes and scenes. So many laughs.
I will never forgive Pixar for being the cause of emotional damage with their films. Like... Boo's song plays and I'm immediately like 😠The goodbye scene still gets to me... but that just makes their reunion that much wholesome.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆
"Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household."
- IMDB
Where do I even begin? During the opening credits, there's words of thanks from Walt Disney to the crew for the hard work and love put into the film. Watching Snow White - I feel that hard work and love. I feel the dreams Walt had when this movie was made. Aside from Mickey, it was Snow White that kick started the Disney Company as we know it, for better or for worse. If this movie failed, whose to say where we would be with out Walt Disney and all the achievements that came from his life and success - from film & animation to engineering to tourism. This was a beginning.
I know that these days, we all wanna be progressive. We're tired of seeing the damsel in distress. The guy doesn't have to get the girl every time; cut the romance. Give us a story, not a fairytale. And Disney films as of late have done such a good job of this, from Frozen to Zootopia to Turning Red. But sometimes, it's good to go back to basics and classic tales. Fairytales are timeless. Don't knock out the Brothers' Grimm just yet!
Snow White remains my favorite Disney Princess. She's so precious, pure, and lovely. I just wanna give her a big Hufflepuff hug. The Evil Queen also remains my favorite villain. Disneyland character interactions & Once Upon a Time have totally solidified this for me. The music is also iconic. One Song is amongst my favorites and Heigh-Ho is still a bop. The animation has also stood the test of time. I'd love to hear some behind the scene stories to learn what production was like. Overall, a classic & staple in Disney culture. While Snow's tale has been told soooooo many times, Disney's adaption is definitely amongst the best.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★
"In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind."
- IMDB
So there are 2 sides to this story that kind of intertwine. There's the robot story, with Wall-E's crush on Eve being super cute while they're on a mission to deliver the plant to the captain. The other side is a pure reflection of humanity and our relationship with our planet. Throughout we see the Captain and a couple other citizens wake up from daily monotony to pay more attention and learn more about what it is to live. The Captain's line "I don't want to survive, I wan to live," sums it up perfectly. In the end, both sides meet in the happy ending on Earth, which is displayed through the credits. Wall-E & Eve live happily ever after and help humans evolve & rebuild Earth from the ground up. Reduce, reuse, recycle. Protect and love the planet. Go for a walk & enjoy the nice weather. And beware of HAL & Auto - AI could still be after us.
My Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆
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