Top 10 Disney animated pictures
I would love to hear people's top Disney movies out of the animated cannon, preferably with a brief blurb, especially if you've got something out of left field (hoping a diehard Brother Bear fan shows up).
If you aren't sure if it's part of the Disney animated cannon, consult the Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walt_Disney_Animation_Studios_films
I'll start! Here are mine from #10 to #1.
Dumbo: At 1 hour and 4 minutes it's one of the shortest Disney animated films. It's short because the films that preceded it failed at the box office despite being critically acclaimed and visionary for their time. Dumbo had to get made, released in theaters and bring in cash, quickly. Production also suffered due to a labor strike. The strategy worked, and the film ended up being Disney's most profitable film of the 1940s. Gee, if this is Mr. Disney's output when he's cutting corners, imagine what they can do when they try!
Big Hero 6: Big Hero 6 imagines a world where Japan won World War II. Hey, at least they were nice enough to let us keep half of San Francisco. I wouldn't expect this to be on many top 10 lists but I love a superhero origin story when it unfolds like this one does.
Fantasia: While not every animated feature can be designed in such a way, I wish Walt had kept his original vision of a kind of animation road show that was continuously updated. It's pure animation, unencumbered by the demands of a 90 minute plotline. Using classical music frees up even more resources to simply be poured into the artistry on display.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame: I sometimes imagine what this movie would be like without the comic relief. The film is haunting and beautiful at times. It's not that I dislike a little slapstick, but the film suffers for it. But what's here more than makes up for it.
Beauty and the Beast: You have to put this on your list because it almost won an Oscar. Not that containment award for best animated feature film, but the big one. Otherwise, your list doesn't have any cred.
Bambi: Parents debate when to show their kids this one, if at all. I said to hell with it. Give kids a little credit and just show the movie. Bambi was courageous filmmaking.
Tangled: It took 73 years but with Tangled, Disney had finally perfected the Disney princess. There are those who think Disney princesses are too timid, too reliant on a man, and there are those who do not want to see them lose their femininity and sweetness. Rapunzel is the perfect compromise.
The Little Mermaid: So the Walt Disney Company has been accused of keeping a tight grip on copyright while being the beneficiaries of centuries of public domain fairy tales from across the world while sanitizing the heck out of them. I forgive their hypocrisy if it results in masterpieces like The Little Mermaid.
Pinocchio: The best "can't make 'em like this these days" Disney animated feature. Children drinking and smoking! Well, how else are you going to warn kids they can turn into donkeys if they disobey you? The longtime animator for the Charlie Brown specials, Bill Melendez, worked on this film as a frontline animating worker bee. He calls it "just really good animation." I agree. It makes me want to log onto now shuttered Miiverse and talk about the film's nice water.
Lilo & Stitch: Lilo & Stitch is the animated equivalent of The Shawshank Redemption or Goodfellas for me. It's a movie where if you just start watching it, you must see it through to the end. Once you get past the opening space scenes, the film just flows with nary a dull moment.
Now you!