Saturday, February 7, 2015

Must See Disney Movies Everyone Should See

By Beryl Dalton


The California based Walt Disney Studios, has produced fifty-four Disney feature films since 1937 and the release of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. At regular intervals movies are released with the latest Big Hero 6. This was released in 2014.

These animated movies fall into various genres, including musicals (Jungle Book (1967), Frozen (2013)), fairy stories (Cinderella (1950), Sleeping Beauty (1959)), history (Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1996)), and animal tales (The Lady and the Tramp (1955), The Aristocats (1970)).

Disney also produces movies where actors and animated characters interact together with such legendary movies as Mary Poppins (1964), with Julie Andrews as the erstwhile nanny. This movie is infamous for the worse English accent in movie history, thanks to Dick Van Dyke. This in itself is interesting as the writer of the original Poppins books, had insisted all actors in the film should be English.

Another classic live action/animation movie was Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) where the lucky kids got to travel to Isle of Naboombu on their bed. I can't have been the only kid who turned the knob on my bedpost and hoped.

Disney movies are for everyone, although the biggest hits are those enjoyed by adults too. Kids like to watch these movies on a daily basis and it helps if they are fun for parents too. A list of A-list celebrities appear as voices in the movies including the vibrant performance of the late Robin Williams, Aladdin (1992), or Whoopi Goldberg for The Lion King (1994).

A typical "What is your favourite....?" question concerns animation and everyone has their favourite. With such an extended history of film-making, a favourite is not always a film from childhood. Simply a film that has spoken to them for whatever reason. For great songs a classic is Jungle Book (1967), and I defy anyone not to dance to I wanna be like you-hoo-hoo. The most recent movie with annoyingly catchy tunes is Frozen (2013), where Let it Go has been used in TV adverts in the UK, played hundreds of times a day in December 2014. Although perhaps not the most spectacular example, everyone should see Frozen just so they are able to join the discussion.

A great tale of adventure is Peter Pan which consists of pirates, wild children living in the woods, an alarm clock in a crocodile, and a boy who never grew up. Disney excels at romances, of which there are a lot. One that shines is Little Mermaid (1989) which tells the love story of a man and Aerial. There are some jolly tunes like Under the Sea, vibrant colours and loveable characters.

One Disney movie which tapped a whole other audience was The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) which appeals to kids, adults and goths alike. The story of Jack Skeleton the Pumpkin King who decides he wants to take over Christmas instead of only celebrating Halloween. A dark, dreary movie with great songs and a distinctly un-Disney macabreness to it ensures that it couldn't be anything but a hit.

This list is not definitive and is likely to change. As the audience matures the choice of favourite movie will change. With a choice of fifty-four movies (and counting) there will always be one or ten that stands out.




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