[8] It may be one of the most atypical Disney animated film, but I thoroughly enjoy The Emperor’s New Groove. It’s by far the funniest Disney flick I’ve ever seen, reminding me more of a Warner Brothers Looney Tune than anything Walt might ever have conjured. The irreverent script focuses on four very engaging characters, two good and two evil, and lets them run the …
[4] Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson star in this Disney live-action/animation hybrid about a witch, a conman, and three children who search for the missing ingredient to a spell that could help England during the siege of WWII. Call me cynical and jaded, but I thought this was bargain basement stuff for Disney. I like the historical backdrop and the basic concept, but not the …
[5] Disney’s first animated theatrical sequel is a technical and stylistic achievement featuring beautiful character and effects animation, rich background paintings, and thrilling music from the ever-underrated Bruce Broughton. The movie is best at the beginning, during a spectacular sequence in which a boy rides a giant eagle through the Australian outback. But after that, the script offers few surprises and our hero mice, Bernard …
[6] This Rudyard Kipling adventure stars young Dean Stockwell in the title role, playing a sneaky street-wise kid who spies for British Intelligence in colonial India. The adventure is a little more episodic than I prefer, bringing Kim into contact with several supporting players, including an older spy named Red Beard (an underutilized Errol Flynn), a curt hypnotist (Arnold Moss), and a holy man (Paul …
[7] There’s a lot to like about the first animated feature produced by 20th Century Fox, even if the sum of the parts is a bit uneven. Directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (The Secret of NIMH, The Land Before Time) can always be relied upon for solid aesthetic design, but the merging of CGI with traditional animation is a little clunky here. The voice …
[5] Pixar usually moves me with some genuine human emotion, but Inside Out is a little more sentimental and pandering than many of their other films. The big cry moment is a cheap, low blow, is what I mean to say. And I hold a special kind of grudge against movies that make me cry by hitting below the belt (I’m talking to you, Forrest …
[6] In order to make The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson and company first had to make the financiers a sequel to their successful Muppet Movie. And so The Great Muppet Caper was born. It’s not as epic or inspirational as the first film, and the songs are nowhere near as magical either, but the sequel isn’t too shabby in its own right. Kermit, Fozzy, and …
[7] A mysterious carnival rolls into town, granting wishes at a sinister cost in Disney’s adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story. I wish the film were more strongly from the perspective of the two leading boys and that their parts were better written. But this is still a pretty entertaining fable that achieves some genuinely spooky moments. Jonathan Pryce steals the show as the carnival’s …
[6] Charlton Heston headlines an ensemble cast in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth. We’re talking, of course, about the Circus — and the lives of the people who put it on. Heston plays the owner and manager of the sprawling, traveling outfit. Betty Hutton is the love interest he has no time for, while Cornel Wilde plays the hunky trapeze artist who …
[4] This short feature presentation from Disney Animation is really two short stories slammed together. Up first, we have “The Wind in the Willows,” narrated by Basil Rathbone. It’s a fast-paced story about three stuffy critters — a badger, a mole, and a river rat — who try to keep their friend Toad out of trouble. Toad is addicted to all the latest modes of …
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