For those of you who may not know, I recently came up with a list of 40 things I want to do before I’m 40 years old, which you can read here. I just turned 32 so that’s 8 years to accomplish these things and I think I can do it. One of those things is watching the entire Disney animated catalog from beginning to end, which is a serious undertaking. It has been made SOOOO much easier since the beginning of Disney+ – at least I have access to them now! I’m planning on writing little short reviews in chunks, five to six movies at a time, so hold on tight, let’s do this!
If you’d like to read the reviews for the first six movies, you can do so here – it includes reviews for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Reluctant Dragon, Dumbo and Bambi.
The second six can be read here, and includes Saludos Amigos, Victory Through Air Power, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, Song of the South and Fun and Fancy Free.
Today, I’m reviewing Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp!
THE THIRD SIX!
Melody Time (1948) – Watched 4/4/20
I don’t believe I have ever seen it. At the very least, I have no memory of seeing it other than now. Yet another feature length film that was a series of shorts. Honestly I don’t mind them that much but I like a full story so much better and all of these are starting to get boring. I want back to the full length stories! Plus Disney+ kept freezing so that was frustrating. That being said – the music is fantastic and the animation is fun. It is like Fantasia and Make Mine Music. There was a Johnny Appleseed one that I vaguely remembered but was waaaaay more religious than I remember haha. I also totally remembered the tug boat one – I loved that one even though it gets seriously dark at points omg! The more I am watching it, the more that I’m recognizing it haha. Honestly, at the end of the day, I think a lot of the shorts really stand out on their own and are probably better off just being watched on their own. Its really hard to get through, watching all the shorts back to back.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949) – Watched 4/4/20
I feel like I finally got to another movie that was a full story and I was super excited to watch this one. This one is much like Fun and Fancy Free in that it has TWO separate stories. The first one is the story of Mr. Toad and how his wild rides get him into an awful lot of trouble. Its one of my favorite rides at Disneyland and I just adore the heck out of Toad. The story is fun and silly and it really cements the fact that the ride totally captures the movie. Its definitely one of my favorites. I have no memory of the Ichadbod story, though they are together and I would have had to watch it at some point. I found it sort of silly, instead of the dark Sleepy Hollow story that I’m used to but I definitely enjoyed it. The two movies together definitely were entertaining, though they weren’t really similar. I feel like this was another attempt to make a full length feature out of the shorts they were making at the time but this one was just so much easier to get through.
Cinderella (1950) – Watched 4/6/20
Guys, this movie is SO good. Its not that I didn’t think it was good before. I just think its been so long since I’ve seen it and I think I always sort of found it old fashioned so I just never sat down to watch it. But honestly, I enjoyed it so much. Cinderella has a lot more agency that other princesses have had – cough cough Aurora cough – and she has more of a personality that I really remembered. Her interactions with her animal friends and the way she teases Lucifier, the cat, and her little sarcastic mutterings when her stepmother and stepsisters demand things of her. I totally loved her. Honestly, the prince is the person with the least amount of personality – Cinderella, all the animals, the stepmother, stepsisters, the king and grand duke all have such wonderful distinct personalities and the prince is just sort of…there haha. I loved Gus Gus and Jaq even more than when I was a child, especially Jaq. All in all, a GREAT rewatch and honestly, I think Cinderella is definitely becoming more of a favorite than it was before.
Alice in Wonderland (1950) – Watched 4/6/20
This has never been one of my favorites, growing up or even now as an adult. It’s bizarre though, I was sitting there and watching it with my boyfriend and I could quote almost the entire thing so even though it’s not a favorite, I’ve obviously watched it quite a few times. Here’s what I’ll say after just watching it again – I don’t love it but I don’t hate it. It’s entertaining but I don’t think I ever sit around and say, you know what I super want to watch? Alice in Wonderland. It’s not that I dislike anything about the movie. The animation is great, the music is absolutely phenomenal and probably the best part of the movie. The oyster story that Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum tell is still so freaking sad – I remember that being slightly traumatizing as a child haha. I’m glad the movie is part of the rewatch but I probably won’t watch it again for a while and honestly, it mostly made me want to reread Marissa Meyer’s Queen of Hearts prequel, Heartless…
Peter Pan (1953) – Watched 4/6/20
I absolutely love this movie and have loved it for a very long time so it wasn’t new to me and it definitely hadn’t been awhile since I watched it. I found myself quoting along with it quite a bit and it just made me honestly remember how much I just love the Peter Pan story in general. I love the sibling relationship between Wendy and her brothers and I love Nana, the nanny dog, and I love how they present the dad as this gruff, no nonsense guy but he’s not totally hopeless because he remembers the pirate ship from his youth. I love the Lost Boys and spoiled, bratty Tinker Bell and the seriously bratty Peter Pan haha. The mermaids are worse than I remember haha, “we were only trying to drown her!” made me laugh so much in how absolutely horrible it is. The only thing that truly doesn’t age well is the representation of Native Americans in this film…the entire scene after Peter Pan saves Tiger Lily is pretty awful and racist. There’s even a moment where John says they’re a primitive creature or whatnot and cannot be counted on for intelligence. “What Made the Red Man Red?” just felt super inappropriate the entire time that I was listening to it. All in all though, the film looks great, so much of the music is so great and the story is so timeless.
Lady and the Tramp (1955) – Watched 4/9/20
It was very fitting that my boyfriend and I watched this very cute, romantic movie between two pups on our three year anniversary. Its so much shorter than I remember but if I’m being honest, I remember very, very little of this movie. I remembered there was a baby and I remember Lady being caught by the dog catcher and I remember the racist Siamese cats that are total assholes. The movie is a lot cuter than I remember but also a lot sadder than I remember. Sad because, well, at one point, they make you think a dog DIED and then all the dogs at the pound, crying, because they don’t have a home. But it was also so cute. Puppy Lady was so adorable and made me really miss when my cats were kittens. I love the pet love in this. It’s short and sweet and I really enjoyed it. It was extra enjoyable because it honestly felt like the first time I’d ever watched it, and maybe had seen a trailer or two, because I couldn’t remember exactly what happened. Plus all the Disney animals are just too cute for words.
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