A-List: Walt Disney
By Josh Spiegel
March 12, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
A discussion on exactly how many times Walt Disney would turn in his grave before rising to wreak revenge because he found out that - because of his television channel - Miley Cyrus is a superstar is worthy of its own column, but that's not what I want to talk about today; the less said of Hannah Montana, the better, and more so for the upcoming feature film. No, today's A-List is going to look at the best that Walt Disney, or his company, has had to offer, cinematically speaking. So you're aware, we're not looking at any Pixar movies here because...well, because, this would no longer be an A-List about Walt Disney, let's just say that much.
Instead, the A-List will, this week, look at the many animated feature films Walt Disney either worked on specifically or those after his death (and no, fans of The Black Cauldron, this list will not please you). Even though he's best known for his influence on animation, Disney helped oversee plenty of live-action films in his day and one or two may pop up here. So, without further ado, let's take a walk down memory lane with Walt Disney and the A-List
Pinocchio
It's fitting that this week heralds the Blu-ray release of the 1940 classic "Pinocchio," as a new generation will get a chance to be reintroduced to the third animated feature from Walt Disney. Nearly 70 years have passed, but this film's major themes and set pieces haven't gotten any less disturbing and scary. If it actually took nearly becoming a donkey and fighting a monstrous whale to be turned into a real boy, who knows how many of us would be left? As joyful as most of this movie is, from "When You Wish Upon A Star," the thrilling opening number, to Pinocchio's colorful swim through the ocean before facing down Monstro, Pinocchio is an equally scary film; watching the obnoxious Lampwick turn into a jackass and jump around an empty pool is as unsettling for me to watch as an adult as it did when I was a kid. Though Pinocchio, as a character, isn't very active, he's surrounded by memorable supporting characters like Jiminy Cricket and Honest John the con-artist fox. Some will say differently, but I'd argue that Pinocchio is the best animated feature Walt Disney was ever part of.
Mary Poppins
All of the fans of Mary Poppins only need to thank Jack Warner, not Walt Disney, for introducing the world to Julie Andrews, who plays the title character in the 1964 family film. Warner was avidly against Andrews playing the role of Eliza Doolittle, which she originated on Broadway, in My Fair Lady. Since Warner kicked Andrews to the curb, Walt Disney was able to get her to star in the fantastical period piece; not only that, Andrews won the Best Actress Oscar for her work in Mary Poppins as a prim, proper, practically perfect nanny charged with keeping control of the Banks children. Of course, it's not easy to keep these kids in line, as their imaginations and Mary Poppins' magical and mysterious powers lead to some wild misadventures. Mary Poppins is known for Andrews' great performance and for the truly so-awful-it's-great work of Dick Van Dyke, as Bert, a chimney sweep who says he's British, despite his ever-changing Cockney accent. Despite Van Dyke's cartoonish performance (or maybe in spite of it), I love this movie, its many songs, and the above-it-all attitude exuded by Andrews. This one's not perfect; however, it was the first major film to mix live action and animation, a major coup, even for a genius like Disney.
The Jungle Book
From 1967, The Jungle Book is the last film Walt Disney ever had his hands on; however, he didn't get to see the final product, as he passed away in 1966. Still, before he died, Disney did work on The Jungle Book, a movie very loosely based on the famous stories about the man-cub Mowgli written by Rudyard Kipling. Speaking of grave-turning, I can't imagine Kipling would have been thrilled to see a wisecracking bear and a scatting, jiving ape accompanying Mowgli on his journeys through the African jungle. This movie, while not nearly as fully realized as Pinocchio, for example, holds sentimental value for me. As a kid, I would frequently watch this, singing along with "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wan'na Be Like You". It's hard to explain why The Jungle Book still works so well, even after 40 years and counting, but Walt Disney's movies hold some kind of childlike charm for most people (except for those of you with hearts of stone, and you know who you are!). This story, of a boy who doesn't want to grow up and is helped along by talking animals, maybe spoke to me because, at the end, who wants to grow up? Being a kid like Mowgli is more fun, and becoming that kid again is even better.
Beauty and the Beast
For a long time after The Jungle Book, the Walt Disney Company wasn't doing too well with its more infrequent animated feature films; there may be those of you out there who love The Aristocats, but you folks are the rare breed. It took a mermaid named Ariel to help the brand become strong again, and an intelligent but lonely girl named Belle to make Walt Disney movies classic. Beauty and the Beast, a romantic fairy tale on par with the old classics like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, is about Belle, a girl who gets trapped in a mansion peopled with household items that talk, sing, and dance and a bitter, beastly master. Only Belle's love for the Beast can turn the mansion's denizens into humans again, so it's up to the Beast's servants, including a saucy candlestick named Lumiere and a stuffy clock named Cogsworth, to make sure sparks fly. For many reasons, Beauty and the Beast is often cited as the best of Disney's second golden age of animation, which began with The Little Mermaid and culminated only five years later, with The Lion King. For "Beauty," it helps that the film was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars; this movie remains the only animated feature to achieve that feat (why, Academy, why shun WALL-E?). Even without that honor, "Beauty" is a great movie, with memorable characters, smart and clever humor, and a soundtrack full of classic songs.
The Lion King
1994 was, for the most part, the end of that new golden age for Disney. The next year, Pixar would storm on the scene with computer animation, and Disney would follow up with modest hits like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Hercules. The Lion King, based on, of all things, Shakespeare, was the last chance Disney had to make a classic, and they didn't let that chance go. The story of Simba, a pampered lion who's soon to be King of the Pride Lands, and his coming-of-age makes up the bulk of the film. Of all the newer Disney movies, this one had the most stars (Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Cheech Marin, Matthew Broderick, Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, among others), songs from classic composers (Elton John and Tim Rice), and a combination of the best Disney's ever offered: snappy humor for kids and adults, scary imagery (Mufasa falling into a herd of wildebeests is still haunting to watch), and music so good it helped Disney branch out onto the Broadway stage. Though Walt Disney's never been as good since, it's nice to remember the good times with Simba, Mufasa, and the truly villainous Scar.