Hello, all!
This will be the last post in my Disney animation watch series! It’s been fun and I’m glad I can finally say I’ve seen all of the Disney animated films (sort of… abandoning Home on the Range notwithstanding). There were many that I really did not enjoy but I found a few surprises along the way. More about that at the end of the post. For now, let’s watch the last handful of movies!
As always, watch out for spoilers. They’re everywhere.
Big Hero 6 (2014)
I like this one! It was one I had no desire to see but my sister convinced our family to watch it (I think?) and it was great! I’ve seen pieces of it here and there since then with my Tiny Friend but, as watching movies with toddlers usually goes, I don’t think I’ve seen it start to finish since that first time.
So, I think I looked this up when I watched it the first time but is this supposed to be San Francisco in an alternate reality where Japan has way more of an influence? (Update: googled it again, and it is actually called San Fransokyo. This is also the future, 2032 to be exact.)
I love Baymax!! So adorable and funny.
Okay… I know either Krei and Callahan are the villian but I can’t remember which!
We are getting close to the moment where Tadashi dies. Not happy about that. Hmm… Running in after Professor Callahan. This makes me think he is the villian who fakes his own death and Krei was a red herring.
Oh this is excellent: they got James Cromwell to voice Prof. Callahan. He also played the father of robotics in I, Robot.
Baymax over inflating himself and then doctoring himself with tape is an amazing physical comedy moment.
Also, low battery Baymax is drunk. It really points out how drunk people are like toddlers… Apparently, Baymax’s movement was based on a toddler with a full diaper.
I saw an article the other day that pointed out that Honey Lemon’s formula purse thing still requires her to type in the formula. This means that in battle when she pumps them out so quickly she sees what is happening, figures out the formula and types it in, all in a matter of seconds or faster. Brilliant lady!
Oh right! It is Callahan avenging his daughter who worked for Krei and went missing or died in a failed experiment, isn’t it? (Update: yes.)
Oh my word the end credits scene!! Stan Lee sighting!!! I had never seen that before!
Final thoughts: This is so good. I know they made or are still making a tv show so they aren’t likely to make a sequel. Good thing this one is so rewatch-able!
Zootopia (2016)
I’ve never seen this one. I recall the trailer and thinking the sloth moment was pretty funny but never got around to watching it.
Well, having an adorable kids’ play explain the world we’re in here was a stroke of genius.
Hahaha Judy’s dad’s name is Stu. Stu, the rabbit. The nursing home my mom worked at had a rabbit named that and it always killed me.
Oh is this bully fox the same one I know she has to work with as an adult? Whoa, he actually scratched her. Awful.
Oh ew. The elephant making the sundae with his trunk. Ha! They are supposed to glove the trunks.
This is a different fox. Good. Definitely a con artist, though. A con artist she is fooled by…. Oh, there it is. What an elaborate and thorough hustle.
Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman were excellent choices to voice these characters. She does the optimistic and independent thing well and he does the wry, overconfident thing well.
Ha! They made fun of Frozen! “Life isn’t some cartoon musical where you sing a little song and all your insipid dreams magically come true. So let it go!”
Oh, the sloths thing is funny. I assumed it was going to be one of those jokes from a trailer that isn’t as good in the movie but it is. I sometimes like jokes that go on too long and this definitely does! The tearing of the printer paper! Oh, and it is night when they leave?! So good.
The tiny little shrew is the Godfather-esque mob boss. Amazing.
I like their buddy vibe: “You’d actually make a pretty good cop!” “Ugh, how dare you.”
Oo, the mayor is in on it?! Also, is he voiced by JJ Jameson? Aka JK Simmons? (Update: yes!)
Aww, her bully apologized!
Oh my word is it actually the little sheep assistant mayor lady? That’s my guess. Update: I’m brilliant.
I feel like this movie could be used to reach about racism and stereotypes….
Final thoughts: Pretty good. Not as good as others seemed to think but still enjoyable and would watch again if others wanted to watch it. Maybe wouldn’t choose it on my own.
Moana (2016)
I have seen this eleventy-million times. I saw it in theater during grad school because my friend had an extra pass to the VIP theater. I loved it!! I already loved Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, Hamilton (which, yes, the film version came out two days ago and I’ve watched it twice already), so I was excited he was doing the music for a Disney movie. Since then, it has become my Tiny Friend’s favorite, so I’ve seen it all the way through many times and then bits and pieces of it many many times. And yet, somehow, it holds up and I still like it.
I found out this weekend that Chris Jackson from the original cast of Hamilton (George Washington!) voices Moana’s dad! (Update: just his singing voice.)
I love water. The animation of the ocean in this movie is excellent and I love that it is a character.
I love that the sounds of the village are worked into the All You Need song. (Not sure if that’s what it is called)
Fun fact: this one was directed by the same team as The Little Mermaid and Miranda said TLM was one of his inspirations for writing the music. No wonder I love it–it is the new version of my childhood fave but with a better heroine.
I remember watching this one and feeling so pumped and empowered because it was the first Disney Princess movie where she didn’t have a love interest. I know technically Elsa didn’t have a love interest BUT she was a Queen not a Princess and there were still love storylines for Anna. Also, technically, Venelope didn’t have a love interest BUT I would argue that she is a Disney Princess on a technicality and that the movie isn’t actually about her like other DP movies usually are. Either way, was so happy when this one came out.
Her grandmother is amazing.
Final thoughts: I forgot to take notes the rest of the movie because I was watching with my sister and it was just so good.
Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018)
I have seen this once since it came out a couple years ago but Netflix told me to resume with 11 minutes left so I am hoping there is an end credits scene I haven’t seen yet. Stay tuned.
Says “home run’ when he gets a field goal. My kind of sports ball.
“It is new, it is different, and we should fear it.” That’s a healthy (sarcasm) yet so accurate of too many people in our world.
Oo, Taffyta is not played by Mindy in this one. The part must be too small.
Redirecting to Desmond’s Tutus?! That seems like an inappropriate and insensitive joke. Boo.
The portrayal of the internet and how it works is pretty great, though. Ha! The popup adds.
Why did Colleen aka Miranda Sings get a cameo? Are there are other YouTube/Internet folks in the movie?
Ha, the popup guy is named Spamly and crushed a computer mouse under his foot in his nasty shack.
The Disney princess scene is excellent even though I hate the animation of them all.
The exit at the Pinterest building is a spiral staircase! A Pinterest spiral! The little jokes and hard to miss references are the best part of these movies sometimes.
Speaking of… How did Disney get YouTube and Amazon and Google and all those companies to agree to have their logos in the movie? Does Disney secretly own everything?
I was just whining that the bunny pancake scene from the trailer wasn’t in the movie and then the mid-credit scene came on and the kid complained that the scene from the trailer wasn’t in the movie but her mom told her to play her game and THAT was the scene from the trailer! Win, with a self-aware joke bonus.
And bonus end credit: got Rickrolled by Ralph. My mom is now humming it in the kitchen.
Final thoughts: It is good. Not as re-watchable as the first one but still funny and probably has lots more of those little built in jokes I haven’t noticed yet.
Frozen 2 (2019)
I haven’t seen this one and it is the last one! I had no desire to see it since I wasn’t super into Frozen and then I had decided to start this process so I just waited.
Is their dad played by Alec Baldwin? That makes me want to care less…. (Update: Alfred Molina! Much better.)
The animation of their faces is different in this one… more like Boss Baby. But I think that is… Dreamworks?
I recognize their mom’s singing voice… (Update: Evan Rachel Wood and I know her voice from Across the Universe)
Olaf is still the best! “So much better now that I can read.”
I love Kristoff aka Jonathan Groff’s voice. Oh his face after she doesn’t realize he is trying to propose! “It’s fine…” The little comedy moments are probably going to be the best part of this movie.
Elsa, nobody sleeps with that much eyeshadow on. Man, Anna sleeps like me. Arms up, body flailed in a weird angle.
She woke the spirits… but do we still not know where her magic came from?
“When one can see no future, all one can do is the next right thing.” That is excellent advice for all of life…
Okay, yep… so far my favorite song is once again Olaf’s. Just so naive…. “everythig makes sense when you’re older”. Sure, okay pal. So naive and yet so incredibly smart and unaware of it. Oh my word his summary of the the first movie is amazing.
Well, tiny fire lizard is adorable.
Hold up, so their mom was magic too?
I love that the Indigenous folks of Scandinavia, the Sami people, entered into a consulting contract with Disney to ensure their culture wasn’t erased from this movie and was actually highlighted and expressed acurately! Don’t love that they got white actors to play the Indigenous characters…
Oh my, the ballad Kristoff sings in the forest. I saw a short clip of this when my Tiny Friend was watching this and I wasn’t paying attention…I wondered why Sven was singing.
WAIT WHAT? Their parents’ sunken ship is in the woods? Now I am intrigued. Only took 53 minutes. Whoa, the water droplets on the boat looked real. Okay, so the whole thing is about where her magic came from!
Okay, didn’t expect her big Show Yourself song to make me cry. Did expect that the Arendelle folks were the bad guys in this situation and the dam has to go. Oh, good. Not all the Arendelle folks, just their grandpa.
Oh and now I’m crying again because Olaf is flurrying away. Guys… this movie was not supposed to make me care this much.
Oh and now I’m crying because they’re all reunited at the end. My word. I mean, I was cring earlier tonight about something else so it just isn’t my day BUT I am impressed with the amount of successful emotional manipulation this pulled of considering I wasn’t even into it for the first hour of the movie.
Excellent decision to bring back storytelling Olaf for the end credits scene.
Final thoughts: I am not sure I agree with everyone that this one is significantly better than the first but it is definitely on par. I did like that we got answers for her magic’s origin but in general I’d say it was a similar watching experience for the first one (this time around, not the first time I saw it): Some good songs, Olaf is great, some funny one liners, heartfelt ending. Not my fave but would rewatch if someone else wanted to.
Final final thoughts:
Well, we made it. I am glad I can say I’ve officially seen them all but I won’t lie, there were lots I don’t think I was missing out on not having seen them until now. That said, there were a few I enjoyed more than I anticipated. Here are my final recommendations:
Skip these:
- All of the Wartime Era (other than maybe The Adventures of Icabod and Mr. Toad, but that could be a nostalgia thing for me)
- The Black Cauldron
- Dinosaur
- Home on the Range
- Treasure Planet
- both Fantasias (unless that is your thing–super artsy people or classical music lovers may enjoy it more than I did)
Best unexpected enjoyable new (to me) film:
- Brother Bear
My top favorites that I am always game to rewatch and don’t get sick of (in release order because I can’t decide numerical):
- The Little Mermaid
- Beauty & the Beast
- Aladdin
- The Lion King
- Tangled
- Moana
What do you think of my final assessment? Also… what watch or rewatseries should I do next?
-Katie
Chronically KD 