Meet the Robinsons

And now we've come to the end of this series of reviews. At the end of the Disney Classics reviews. I've done a review for every full length Disney Classic. And now we're ending it with Classic No. 47, Meet the Robinsons. Kinda along the lines of Chicken Little. Though not a painful. There are some good things, especially one thing in particular. But this kinda bored me. What's the story? It's about a boy named Lewis who's an orphan but also a genius. He's trying to make an invention for some fair but it turns out an evil villain named Bowler Hat Guy wants to steal it to use it for himself. But then another boy named Wilbur comes from the future for Lewis's help to stop Bowler Hat Guy. While there, they meet Wilbur's family. A bunch of weird and crazy people as well as some other weird creatures. So first off, the good stuff. The main thing I thought was good here that I just mentioned a second ago is actually the message. Yeah, they do a pretty good moral here. It's to live with your failures but still being able to move on. But the rest of the movie is either too weird or just not well paced. When you watch the film it's just people moving. That's the movie. Just watching stuff move. But it's so odd that it isn't very entertaining. At times there is a funny line and a funny character like that dinosaur part. But it's just kinda boring. The ending though is pretty good. Just by something that's said. It's a speech someone says and it's actually pretty good. But the rest of the movie is pretty bad. Badly focused, badly paced and badly presented. I guess I am glad I saw parts of it. But, like I said, it's just boring a lot. If you want to see it yourself, that's fine. Do if you want. I guess the ending and the message are good enough to watch it at least once. I just couldn't find my self liking it all that much. But who am I to stop ya? Watch it if you want. And everyone, those were all the full-length Disney animated Classics reviewed. I might do the six package films at some point, but not for a while. Thank you all for reading and I can't wait for the newest Disney Classic, Moana, to come out in November. Hopefully that'll continue Disney's amazing Classics track record. After Meet the Robinsons, they made Bolt and ever since then, they've been making nonstop great Disney Classics and hopefully Moana will continue it. And it'll be Classic no. 55. Thank you all for reading.

The Wild

My guess is you've never heard of the Wild. And it isn't hard to see why. It wasn't a financial success or a critical success, so it disappeared really fast and not much of anyone remembers it or even talks about it much. In fact, this is the lowest rated Disney Classic on Rotten Tomatoes But, to be honest, I don't entirely get it. There are dumb moments and really bad jokes in this but on the other hand, this movie has some pretty good and funny stuff in it. It also has a pretty good story. What's the story? It's about a lion in a zoo named Samson and his cub named Ryan. Also in the zoo are Samson's friends. A squirrel named Benny, a  koala named Nigel, a giraffe named Bridget and a snake named Larry. But Ryan is feeling jealous because he's always hearing stories about how brave his father once was and wants to be like him. So he stows away on a truck that's being taken away but then changes his mind. The truck leaves and so Samson and his friends go out to find him. So, yeah, not the most unique story but I like the characters in this that move it forward. They don't always get a laugh but they do at times. And while there are a lot of lame and stupid lines here, there's also some funny and creative ones. And what I find weird is how kinda similar this movie is to Madagascar. Have you ever noticed that if you've seen these two movies? The only difference is that this came out in 2006 and Madagascar came out in 2005. It also has a pretty entertaining villain. The villain is this wilder beast they meet inside a volcano. Him and his servants have this funny thought that a teddy koala that fell from a plane to them is god. I also think the animation is pretty cool. Not the best Disney has ever done but still, it almost kinda looks real-ish. There's also these really entertaining crocodiles they meet in the sewer and they're pretty funny. And the movie, as really dumb as it can get, does kinda keep you guessing. You surprisingly kinda find yourself interested. Or at least I did. So yeah, there are a lot of flaws, but if I didn't watch those parts, I never would have seen these good jokes, or these likable characters. For all the bad stuff, the good stuff made me really glad I saw it. And I may even watch it a few more times again. I mean, the jokes in this are far better than the ones in Home on the Range or Chicken Little. It's kinda hard to explain, but in my opinion, I think you should watch it. I already have it on DVD like the other 53 Disney Classics. For me, I would recommend it. Even if you don't like it, you'll at least laugh at a couple of the jokes. For me, I'm glad I saw it and you should too in my opinion.

Chicken Little

Chicken Little was Disney first completely C.G.I animated Classic. And what I find ironic is that this is actually Classic No. 45. Do you find that odd? The first completely C.G.I animated Disney Classic is number 45. Do ya get what I mean? Anyway, this came out in 2005 and I actually remember going to see this with my sister. I was only 6 years old and I remember enjoying it. But now that I'm older, I totally see the many problems with this movie. O.K. First, what's the story? Well, following the original Chicken Little story, sorta, it has a small chicken named Chicken Little who believes that the sky is falling when he thinks it falls on his head. But everyone thinks it's an acorn that hit him which embarrasses his dad and now he wants to distance himself from him. Chicken Little tries to win back everyone. The only ones who like him are his friends. Abby, Runt and Fish. Chicken Little decides that he's going to join baseball to try to win back the respect of everyone. He eventually manages to win a game and everyone loves him. But one night later it seems he was right. Something from the sky that looks like a piece of the sky falls and hits him. He realises that it's some kind of panel and shows his friends. Fish is then taken away by the sky thing and they chase him. And I won't say the rest because I don't really want to. So I guess one of the only few good things in this is that it's not painful to watch like with Home on the Range. This is a kinda survivable movie. There also can be some entertaining parts and one or two jokes do kinda hit. And that's all the good. Now the bad. First off, the characters here aren't very good. The main four are kinda entertaining but the rest are either a total jerk or are just plain out unlikeable. Especially Chicken Little's dad. At the end you do kinda like him. But for the majority, you don't all that much. He has a few moments throughout but he doesn't seem like a likeable guy. Especially given what he says to his son. He is so hard on him when he doesn't believe him. Same for the others. And the ending is really weird to me. I guess it's kinda cool visually, but I don't think it's that great. Also the whole romance thing with Chicken Little and Abby is really odd and weird as well. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that. But it's something I thought I should bring up. Also the animation in this is kinda weird looking. I guess it's makes sense considering this is Disney's first C.G.I animated movie. But it just looks odd to me. So in the end, Chicken Little isn't that good. There are some fun scenes but the jokes aren't really funny, there's too much mean-spirited stuff and the premise isn't very entertaining. Overall, I'd most likely just skip it.

Home on the Range

Well. Here we are. We're finally here. The lowest Disney Classic of all time. Home of the Range. Oh, boy. This was such a failure back in 2004. It only got $103.9 million worldwide and the critics bashed it so hard. Even the critics who usually love everything Disney makes hated it. And it not hard to see why. I'm not lying, seriously Disney, I love you, but really. You had to make this? Now look, this isn't as bad as something like the most horrible Disney movies ever like Mulan 2 or Maleficent, it's just a ginormous mess. What's the story? It's about a cow named Maggie who's just been sold to a farm with other cows. But then they find out it's being closed down. So the Maggie and the other cows like Mrs. Caloway and Grace decide that if they bring this wanted bandit named Alameda Slim to justice, they can use the reward money to save the farm. And... that's it. The rest is them going after this guy. And, for one thing, I'll give it this. It does have really good animation. That's the only positive I'll give it. It's that the animation is actually really, really good. That and that the climax is kinda fun in the mine. But even coming from Disney, you'd expect a lot more. Not just in the animation but also the writing. I mean, if someone told you that this movie was from Disney, I repeat, Disney, the most famous and greatest animation company on the planet, you'd want a lot more than this. This is obviously a movie that's meant for small kids. I mean really little kids. Three or four year olds. And, like I kinda said in my Fantasia 2000 review, that's not what Disney is supposed to be. This is an animated studio that make movies for the whole family. But no, this is clearly just for kids. The writing isn't for adults, the characters aren't for adults, even the animation, as nice as it isn't, isn't really for adults. The characters are so forgettable, so are the songs and the jokes and the premise. And the villain, Alameda Slim, what a yawn. I honestly don't know what else to say about it. It's just bad. This is also the movie that made Disney think that maybe making hand-drawn movies isn't a good idea anymore because they began to think that maybe they should make C.G.I animated movies instead like Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky. With all of these Disney Classics, even the bad ones, there's at least a couple of decent things in them. But no, not here. So unless you're a parent and you want to show you're small kids this. Do. It won't be bad for them. But if you're older than that, then this is a definite skip.

Fantasia 2000

This was the next Disney that was made after the Disney Renaissance finished with Tarzan. And this is what Walt wanted originally with Fantasia. He wanted to continue to make more of these and have it be like a series of Fantasia movies. But after the box office failure of the first movie, that plan was changed. So after 59 years, they finally made the sequel and that's this movie. And, in my opinion, this is kinda in the middle. And by that I mean how I feel about this movie. It's isn't as good as the first film and there are some problems. But the stuff that's good is really, really good. Well, let's get to specifics. Well, first of all, I have to give them credit for trying something different. I mean they try all sorts of things in their segments. At first it looks hand-drawn, then C.G.I and then it looks like something out of a newspaper. And it looks really cool. They reshow the Sorcerer's Apprentice, which is always great to see. There's also others like the Flamingo with the yoyo, the whales, the story of the nutcracker, then there's Donald's ark, then it's Blue New York, then there's the changing of seasons with the lava monster and the sprit. I can't remember the rest. Maybe that was it. Anyway, the good things first. The best one in my opinion is the whales. This is awesome. The C.G.I and imagery makes the whole thing and the whale's size seem absolutely massive. And the rest are good too visually. But, like I said, this movie has problems. Some of the segments feel like they're trying to tell a story. But that isn't what Fantasia is supposed to do. It's to make art and be serious so adults can take it seriously that kids will like it. Here, it's just odd. And of course, let's get to what you're all waiting for me to bring up, the celebrities. Aw man. I almost didn't want to talk about these guys, but I've gotta. If you've seen the movie and you've seen these guys, then you know what I'm talking about and they can get really annoying and really painful to watch. I say if you ever see this, definitely skip the scenes that they're in. But this may make it sound like I hated this, which I didn't. I was confused by some of the choices in this. But there are some incredible stuff in this. It is definitely a really good movie. But in some parts, I almost kinda think that this is a divisive movie. I can't explain it. I just sorta feel that way. But even if you take away all the negative stuff I said, the good stuff is absolutely amazing. It has great music, animation, ideas at times and maybe some of Disney's best animation. I would say yes to seeing it, but, well, just make sure you skip the right parts.

The Rescuers: Down Under

Is it really new talking about this movie on here? I mean I already reviewed the first Rescuers movie and said how it was very mediocre. And even though this movie really didn't need to exist, this put their hardest into this. This is a really, really, really good adventure movie and I have no idea why it continues to be overlooked. What's the story? It's about a little boy in Australia named Cody who frees a giant golden eagle, named Marahute  from a trap. But then a  poacher named Percival C. McLeach captures him and tries to force him to tell him the location of Marahute. So Bernard and Ms. Bianca are instructed to go and help him. Instead of using Orville from the last movie, this time they use another bird named Wilber. What Ms. Bianca doesn't know though is that Bernard is trying to purpose to her all throughout the  movie but instead he keeps getting cut in by another Australian mouse named Jake who's trying to flatter her too. You really feel sorry for this guy. All he wants is to ask the question and something keeps interrupting him. So while not the most unique story from Disney, what makes this movie great is how epic and action packed it is. I mean, talk about a sequel that is far better than the first. Just the opening is enough to keep anyone entertained. And by that I mean the flying scene with Marahute and Cody. Just watch this animation.

And there's a ton of other great things in it too. The story as well is far more entertaining than you would expect. The characters are also a lot better than the first one. Not just the returning characters, but also the new one. Jake is pretty cool, Wilber is really funny and even Percival C. McLeach is great as the villain. So, really, why does this movie get overlooked all the time? The only reason I can think of is because it is a sequel to the first movie and that was pretty disappointing so maybe people think that that same thing is in this. But, no. This is an incredibly good Disney adventure movie. People, you've got to check this out any time. I promise you, you won't regret it.

Oliver & Company

It's almost impossible to talk about this movie without talking about the backstory of it first. So in 1988 when this was released, it was released the exact same day as another animated movie. The Land Before Time. Both movies did get good reviews but at the end of day, the Land Before Time was the one that won. This was also just a massive let down for a lot of people when it was released. You can definitely tell that this was just a marketing movie. I only first saw this movie early this year. What's the story? It's about a kitten named Oliver in New York city who's an orphan who's on the streets. One day he meets an older dog named Dodger who promises to be partners with him if he gets him some food and he'll share with him. And he managed to get him some sausages. But then Dodger leaves without sharing. Oliver follows him back to where he lives which is a old abandoned place in a dark and swamp like area with other dogs and they're owned by a man. After that, Oliver gets taken up by another family who's richer and nicer. There's also a villain in this named Sykes who wants the man who owned those other dogs to pay him back. Eventually a whole bunch of stuff happens where they all get involved and Jenny, the girl who's part of the nice and rich family gets kidnapped by Sykes and the rest is trying to get her back. So, while this movie does have a lot of potential to be great, there's really only a few things that stick out. Some of the characters are entertaining and enjoyable, one of the songs here is actually really good. Why Should I Worry. Listen.

And actually, Sykes's death in this is really brutal. I didn't even think Disney could go this brutal with it's deaths. But watch.

That is awesome. Aside from that, it's not all that memorable. I don't really remember a lot of the characters or the other songs and it has a lot of things that isn't Disney's best stuff. It isn't awful, it just isn't anything spectacular. But still, if your interested, I guess I would recommend it. So just see it if you want. Also, this was the last movie to be released before the first Disney Renaissance started wit the Little Mermaid in 1989, which is pretty cool.

The Rescuers

This was the very first Disney Classic Walt himself had absolutely no involvement with what so ever. And the reason for that is because of his death after the Jungle Book in 1967. And it definitely shows here. You can easily tell that something is different here. Not just by the animation, but also just the overall style of it. You can definitely see that this isn't something from Walt. And it's kinda like 101 Dalmatians in the sense that it is really spectacular. Not a very interesting premise, not much stellar animation, just an overall meh feeling. What's the story? It's about a little girl named Penny who's being held by this crazy woman named Madam Medusa who wants her to go inside a mine and get a diamond from it. And apparently this group of mice call the Rescued Aid Society which is full of mice who go in and help people in terrible situations like this, which is kinda weird, but whatever. So two mice named Bernard and Ms. Bianca are told to go in and save her. And bringing them there is a bird named Orville. And that's really the basic story. I guess for a movie from the 70's, it's decent. But this isn't really good in my opinion. Well, O.K. Let's go over the good things first. Some of characters are kinda fun like Madam Medusa is pretty over the top as the villain but she's still kinda entertaining. Her sidekick is also pretty blithering which is pretty funny at time and overall, the movie is survivable. Aside from that, it's just pretty bland. The main location in the movie is just this boring swamp and these lead characters are so bland and so tiring. Nothing really happens in the movie. Usually it's just walking and talking. And really weird and boring talking as well. I'm not saying this movie is awful, but I don't think it's very good. And Penny is so clichéd. The typical precious sort of character and there isn't really anything to her. Sure the climax is kinda fun, but there isn't much to that either. Overall, this movie isn't terrible, there area couple of things in it that are a little passable, I'm just saying that are other Disney movies that are better, if you know what I mean. Check it out if you want, just don't expect a whole lot.

The Sword in the Stone

So before I say anything about the movie, I just want to bring something up. Today I've gotten a new laptop and my dad and I put all my old stuff onto it so expect there to be a bit more posts  to come up because with my old one I was having some trouble with my blog on my old one so now that I've gotten a new one, it's going to be a lot more easy to write. So let's continue the Disney Classics I never reviewed before with no. 18, the Sword in the Stone. And, in case I didn't bring it up before, the reason I didn't do these before is because I never saw these at the time I did those other reviews two years ago. The other Disney Classic reviews I'm going to do after this are going to be the Rescuers, Oliver & Company, the Rescuers: Down Under, Fantasia 2000, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, the Wild and Meet the Robinsons. So let's continue with the Sword in the Stone. This is one of the very few Disney Classics that actually gives you education. What do I mean by that? Well, let's look at the story first. What's the story? It's about a boy named Arthur who's a servant to a king and his two stupid sons who are mean to him. But one day Arthur meets an old wizard named Merlin. And the majority of the movie is Merlin teaching Arthur a whole bunch of things of being a good king as well as teaching him other things. And that's really the majority of the movie. So I guess the main positive is that these are very memorable characters. Especially Arthur, Merlin and Merlin's owl. Especially given how Merlin is the only character in this who actually was in Kingdom Hearts. And I liked him a lot there too. And I like how they dive into all of this and the dive into the education of learning to be a good king. And the whole transformation scenes are a lot of fun. But that's kinda the problem. That's exactly what this movie is. It's education and learning things. It's kinda like an actual teacher talking to you but here it's Merlin and the owl. I guess that is kinda cool but that isn't exactly what you want in a Disney movie. I guess it's kinda cool but nothing really exciting until the end when we get the villain of the movie, Mad Madam Mim. And she's a lot of fun too. And that whole wizard's duel scene. That is awesome. Watch this.

It's easily the best part of the movie. But besides that, not much is really spectacular except these characters and the very, very end with Arthur finally getting some respect. It's isn't awful by any means and you can still watch it if you ever have the time.

Bambi

Now let's talk about Walt Disney's personal favourite movie he had made, Bambi. And I can't talk about this movie without showing this scene.

There's no point in not discussing this scene. I mean, it most likely traumatised a lot of people back when this was really in 1942. But is that the only thing to like in this movie? No, absolutely not. This movie has a ton of things to like. Not only is the art, animation and painting in this movie absolutely incredible, but it's also just a really interesting, likeable and kinda character driven movie. There's not even a real plot in this movie. The story is basically the life of one deer. And for some reason, that's really plenty. This is enough. And it's really interesting to see how Bambi goes through life and learns all these lessons. Especially with his dad. His father is almost never around whenever he's a kid and when he is, Bambi's kind of afraid of him. And that whole scene with his mother's death is so powerful because before that we could see that there was such a strong and genuine connection between her and Bambi. And it's nice to see all these characters. Bambi, Thumper, Flower, his dad, Faline. They're all great to follow. Although, I kinda prefer them in the sequel. Yeah, recently when I rewatched the sequel, and I liked it a lot more. I even changed some things in my ranking of 22 Disney sequels. I put Bambi 2 closer to number 1. I didn't put it as number 1 but I put it closer. I enjoyed it a lot, lot more after rewatching it again last weekend. I also really prefer Bambi himself a lot more in the sequel because he talks more and he does more stuff that I like and I like the voice actor they got for him there. In fact, I even recently redid my painting of Bambi in my Disney Classics character paintings because the one I did before looked absolutely nothing like him. Here it is if you want to see it.

But here he's still likeable. Just a wide-eyed, curious and innocent like kid. And it's also a really intense movie. I'm not just talking about the whole thing with his mother, but also what happens when Bambi becomes an adult. I also like the ending where we actually see Bambi become a father and see him actually be the way the way he is at the end. It's really satisfying. There's also a lot of violence than you'd think. In fact, the villain in this is Man, and you never see him but you can definitely feel the threat he causes to everyone. It's enough to be intimidated. And all on all, this is another really great Disney, I think I might actually like the sequel better but this is still a really impressive movie. And, while it isn't one of my favourites and I think there are other Disney Classics better, this is still a great way to pass time. Definitely check it out.