# Man, I love Disney movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414 "2005-10-16T00:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/21 "2005-10-17T02:14:31Z")
> [@Farmwoman](#): > > Where’s the love for _Beauty and the Beast_? By far my favorite Golden Era Disney film. The Golden Era? I would call the Katzenberg-Eisner animation revival the Modern Era of Disney movies. The Golden Era would probably be the early days, when Walt and his gang were experimenting and created all those classic films in the '30s and '40s (_Snow White, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Bambi_, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/22 "2005-10-17T02:43:14Z")
Disney is uneven, but there are plenty of great films. Their live-action stuff is terminally mediocre (except for Mary Poppins), but their animated films were great. Disney went through phases. There were the classics (Snow White, Cinderella, Fantasia, Pinnocchio, Peter Pan), then the moribund phase (a dismal record up through The Black Cauldron), then the rebirth (starting with The Great Mouse Detective, they had a run of great films through The Emporer’s New Groove, the only real misttep being the banal “The Lion King”). Lilo and Stich was good, but minor. Best of the lot was Mulan. Worst of those I’ve seen was “The Fox and the Hound,” though I hear “The Black Cauldron” is even worse. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/23 "2005-10-17T08:48:23Z")
I liked The Black Hole ,except for the soundtrack and the robots ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/24 "2005-10-17T10:09:07Z")
> [@N. Sane](#): > > There’s one live-action Disney movie I really like– **Summer Magic**. It’s based on an old book by Kate Douglas Wiggin, called _Mother Carey’s Chickens_. The Ugly Bug Ball!! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/25 "2005-10-17T10:16:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > the only real misttep being the banal “The Lion King” Misstep??? What the…? That’s one of the best ever! I find it weird you’d class _The Great Mouse Detective_ as better than _The Lion King_. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/26 "2005-10-17T16:15:23Z")
And let’s give a shout out for the minor masterpieces of the 1940’s: Saludos Amigos (1942) The Three Caballeros (1945) Make Mine Music (1946) Fun and Fancy Free (1947) Melody Time (1948) Yes they lack the grandeur of a Pinocchio or a Snow White, but they have that wonderful Mary Blair visual palette. And Jose Carioca, the coolest character Disney ever created. One of my favorite pieces of Disney animation is an animated short from 1943 called [Education for Death](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035836/). It’s the story of a German boy growing up under the Nazis and gradually becoming indoctrinated in fascism. Unlike the silly Der Fuhrer’s Face, Education for Death is both moving and chilling. It’s an example of just how good Disney could be on the rare occasions when they played just to adults. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/27 "2005-10-17T21:48:46Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > As much as they want to blur the lines themselves, Disney is not Pixar. > > Disney merely distributes their movies, and otherwise have nothing whatsoever to do with their content. > > Please give credit where credit is due, and separate Pixar’s movies into a non-Disney category. Can you elaborate? Pixar didn’t get involved until Toy Story (in fact, I seem to find that the Pixar/Disney movies are: Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and the Incredibles. [Citey McCite Cite](http://www.pixar.com/featurefilms/index.html)). Most of the films being discussed here are _Disney_ movies. Movies come up with, drawn by, and distributed by Disney. And I think there is a case to be made that Pixar made/Disney distributed movies can still be considered “Disney movies.” Personally, I haven’t really been a big fan of the Pixar-era Disney movies (except maybe Nemo). There is something about simple, old fashion (well, you know what I mean) animation. **Pochacco** I LOVE The Three Caballeros! Thank you for reminding me! \*\*RealityChuck \*\*, can I ask why you think the Lion King was a huge mistep? I’m just curious if you took issue with the story, the animation, the music, or if it is just person preference? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/28 "2005-10-17T22:03:03Z")
My vote for most under-rated Disney movie: **Fantasia 2000** And most over-rated (by far): **The Lion King**. I don’t think the Lion King was _bad_, per se, I just thought it was generic, obvious and predictable, with only one really good song. And it came on the heels of the back-to-back-to-back triumphs of Mermaid, Beast and Aladdin. And yet it’s consistently named as people’s favorite Disney film. I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/29 "2005-10-17T22:49:22Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Can you elaborate? Pixar didn’t get involved until Toy Story (in fact, I seem to find that the Pixar/Disney movies are: Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and the Incredibles. [Citey McCite Cite](http://www.pixar.com/featurefilms/index.html)). Yes, all Pixar films have been distributed under Disney, because when they first started out with Toy Story (they had never had a feature film before) they needed money for distribution, and they chose Disney. Disney screwed them in their contract, though, claiming ownership of all their characters and in their five movie contract did not count sequels. So _The Incredibles_ was the last in the five movie deal. _Cars_, and those that follow (there’s one coming about sewer rats, I think), are not part of that deal. They need a new distributor, and I’m not sure what’s been decided as they are considering returning to Disney now that Michael Eisner’s stepped down. The point is, Pixar has all the creative input, which is the part that counts, and have long passed the point where they need to beg for funding from anyone anymore, but Disney still takes the credit, IMHO unfairly. Disney are even making a _Toy Story 3_, independent of Pixar (though if they sign up with Disney again, as mentioned above, then perhaps that will get sorted out). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414/30 "2005-10-17T23:57:01Z")
Best: **Pinocchio**. Visually, it’s amazing. They hadn’t learned how to cut corners yet. Every frame has this glorious hand-crafted luminosity. Worst: **Home on the Range**. This should have been direct-to-video. Skimpy animation, bad voice acting, boring. A sad end to a great tradition of animation. Most Under-rated: **The Emperor’s New Groove**. One of the funniest movies Disney ever made, plus it has some remarkable facial animation. Contains a subtlety of character not seen since Frank and Ollie retired. Most Over-rated: **The Little Mermaid**. A step above Hanna-Barbara. Crudely animated and saccharine. Saved by its songs. Weirdest: **Victory Through Air Power**. The full power of golden-age Disney animation used to sell the common man on the virtues of strategic bombing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-i-love-disney-movies/326414.md?page=1)