Just to start off, this will be a hell of a long post. Due to this, I will attempt to be brief in each countdown and will most likely go into further detail as we meet each character, episode or moment in future reviews and character profiles.
Top 10 Batman Villains:
Going into this list, I thought of a few things that would influence my choices. What they've done, their visual appearance and their one biggest "victory" or accomplishment. All this is based off the Batman The Animated series and not other incarnations.
10) Bane
9) Mad Hatter
8) The Riddler
7) Two-Face
6) Mr. Freeze
5) Catwoman
4) Harley Quinn
3) Poison Ivy
2) Scarecrow
1) The Joker
Top 10 Looney Tunes Characters:
A very common factor for characters you will find, is that visual appearance can play a role in my choices. For these characters it's not a major deciding factor, but what is one is the overall character, what they do in their shorts and just how funny I find them.
10) Sam Sheepdog
9) Gossamer
8) Count Blood Count
7) Tweety Bird
6) Witch Hazel
5) Sylvester
4) Bugs Bunny
3) Pepe Le Pew
2) Wile. E Coyote
1) Marvin Martian
Top 10 Animated Movies (Non-Disney, in my collection):
Alrighty. First off, nothing from Disney appears here. Secondly there are at least three movies that should be on this list but aren't, simply because I am going by what I own. If I didn't limit it that way I could sit here all night trying to whittle my list to just 10. Perhaps in time I will be able to separate the anime entries into their own list and update this one.
10) Happily Ever After
9) All Dogs Go To Heaven
8) Fern Gully
7) G.I Joe: The Movie
6) Digimon the Movie
5) Batman Mask of the Phantasm
4) Anastasia
3) Cardcaptors the Movie
2) Secret of NIMH
1) Spirited Away
Top 10 Ghostbusters Ghosts:
The Real Ghostbusters ghosts only. Ones from the movies, while deserving of spots here will perhaps make appearances on future countdowns. Visual appearance, the ghosts powers and just how much of a match they are for the Ghostbusters are all factors in my choices.
10) Stay Puft Marshmellow Man
9) The Dark Entity
8) Marduk
7) Captain Jack Higgins
6) Sandman
5) Boogieman
4) Lord Kildarby and the Bird of Kildarby
3) Big Boo
2) Rall
1) Samhain
Top 10 Darkwing Duck Villains:
Let's get dangerous! Darkwing Duck's villains are rather fun in the way that they quite often are based off of comic book villains, whether it's the obvious Bushroot/Poison Ivy or the perhaps more obscure Moliarty/Mole Man reference these villains are just a lot of fun. Most of these villains though, are a bit hard to take too seriously, though that looks like it's changing with the Darkwing Duck comic series.
10) Moliarty
9) Tauras Bulba
8) Liquidator
7) Tuskernini
6) Bushroot
5) Megavolt
4) Splatter Phoenix
3) Steelbeak
2) Negaduck
1) Quackerjack and Mr. Banana Brain
Top 10 Scooby-Doo Villains: Seasons 1 and 2 of Scooby-Doo Where Are You?
Yes, yes even though the series was a bit laughable and fairly corny, Scooby-Doo still had some rather unique villains. There are though, a few clunker villains who were nothing more than a cliche ghost. But these villains are, in my opinion, among the more visually unique ones even if it turned out to be someone in a mask each time.
10) Werewolf Ghost
9) Black Knight
8) Miner 49er
7) Elias Kingston
6) Creeper
5) Redbeard
4) Mr. Hyde
3) Snow Ghost
2) Zen Tuo
1) Ghost Clown
Top 10 Movie Monsters Non-Human:
Movie monsters! Who doesn't love a good movie monster? Now, in the title what I mean by human is that there won't be Vampires, Werewolves or Zombies found here. Humanoid ones though can be found here and there in the list.
10) Creature from the Black Lagoon
9) Graboids
8) The Thing
7) King Kong
6) Godzilla
5) Jaws
4) Critters
3) Gremlins
2) Predator
1) Aliens
Top 10 Scary Movie Animals:
The majority of the animals found here are living, breathing animals even if most aren't ones we are likely to encounter on a daily basis. Since dinosaurs do technically classify as animals they have been included in this list, but ones such as dragons with purple spots will obviously not be present. One day though a "Fantasy" oriented list may appear.
10) Grizzly: Grizzly
9) The Birds: Birds
8) Piranhas - Piranha
7) Lake Placid: Crocodile
6) Anaconda - Anaconda
5) Jurassic Park: Velociraptors
4) Jurassic Park: Dilophosauras
3) Arachnophobia: Spiders
2) Jaws: Great White Shark
1) Cujo: Saint Bernard
Disney Villain Songs:
Disney! The main rule of thumb for me when it came to this list was if it's one that was memorable enough to me. Some things that factored into this was the scene itself where this takes place, was it visually interesting? Did it help the story along?
10) The Mob Song: Beauty and the Beast
9) Heffalumps and Woozles: Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
8) World's Greatest Criminal Mastermind: Great Mouse Detective
7) Mother Knows Best: Tangled
6) Be Prepared: Lion King
5) Kidnap the Sandy Claws: Nightmare Before Christmas
4) Gaston: Beauty and the Beast
3) I've Got Friends on the Other Side: Princess and the Frog
2) Hellfire: Hunchback Of Notre Dame
1) Poor Unfortunate Souls: The Little Mermaid
Top 10 Saddest Moments in Disney and Pixar:
Disney is, despite being family friendly, quite good at providing the audience with scenes that are just downright depressing. So of course I had to compile a list of the ten saddest moments in the animated canon and Pixar! Get your kleenex ready or just skip over this list if you'd prefer to stay happy :)
10) Toy Story 2: When She Loved Me (song)
9) UP: Married Life Montage
8) Mickey's Christmas Carol: Bob Crachit in the graveyard
7) Brother Bear: Kenai telling Koda the truth.
6) Tarzan: Kala losing her baby in the opening.
5) Dumbo: Baby of Mine (song)
4) The Lion King: Mufasa's Death
3) Toy Story 3: The ending.
2) Bambi: Bambi's mom getting shot.
1) Snow White: Snow White's funeral/the Dwarf's vigil.
This concludes our 100th post and our 10 Top 10's. I hope you enjoyed scanning through the list, please feel free to drop a comment on what you liked (or didn't like) about each list or even supply a list of your own! See something I missed? Let me know and I'll be happy to point out why I may not have added it to a list.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Justice League: Justice on Trial Part 2
When a US submarine goes down in Atlantean territory, the Justice League moves in to help though the surface worlds arrival causes Aquaman to resurface. He informs the heroes that they can take the people off the sub, but must leave it and the weapons aboard behind.
When Aquaman goes to visit the surface world conference, a hired assassin fires a bazooka at the man, critically injuring him. The Justice League comes to his aid as they work to save the man's life and capture the man, Deadshot, forcing him to reveal who it was that hired him.
Believing their leader to be injured, if not dead, Atlantis is taken over by Aquaman's brother Orm. After a quick recovery, both Aquaman and his wife are taken prisoner by the evil brother as he declares that he will destroy the surface world. However, the League comes to the rescue again as they work with Aquaman to stop Orm from using a thermal machine at the Arctic Circle which could flood the world.
Probably one of the better early two-parters, "The Enemy Below" introduces Aquaman and helps to set up his character for his later appearances in both the first two seasons and again in Unlimited. The animation is still pretty good, and we are still in the process of establishing the universe and our heroes place in it.
When Aquaman goes to visit the surface world conference, a hired assassin fires a bazooka at the man, critically injuring him. The Justice League comes to his aid as they work to save the man's life and capture the man, Deadshot, forcing him to reveal who it was that hired him.
Believing their leader to be injured, if not dead, Atlantis is taken over by Aquaman's brother Orm. After a quick recovery, both Aquaman and his wife are taken prisoner by the evil brother as he declares that he will destroy the surface world. However, the League comes to the rescue again as they work with Aquaman to stop Orm from using a thermal machine at the Arctic Circle which could flood the world.
Probably one of the better early two-parters, "The Enemy Below" introduces Aquaman and helps to set up his character for his later appearances in both the first two seasons and again in Unlimited. The animation is still pretty good, and we are still in the process of establishing the universe and our heroes place in it.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Ultraman Episodes 23 - 25
Ultraman! Ultraman! Here he comes across the sky! *Cue the corny intro theme and it's trippy background*
Continuing along with the last handful of episodes from Ultraman, we discover a science base underwater and a mystery comet! Our first episode "My Home Is Earth" largely concerns a missing astronaut who has mutated into a huge monster and has become obsessed with getting his revenge on humanity for what was done to him. This...is probably one of the better episodes in my opinion, since it isn't just a random monster of the day but someone who was once human and went through some changes to become what he is today.
The Underwater Science Base follows the team as they investigate the destruction of support lines that connect a newly constructed underwater base to the surface. Upon arriving they engage against a very angry monster with a drill like beak.
Our final episode of the night is "Mystery Comet Tsuiphon." When a comet races past Earth it's radiation that is emitted might cause hydrogen bombs to explode. The team races to the Japanese Alps where they know a monster lives that has swallowed a warhead and remains in hiding. Though upon arrival they discover not one monster, but three that are locked in a furious battle.
Continuing along with the last handful of episodes from Ultraman, we discover a science base underwater and a mystery comet! Our first episode "My Home Is Earth" largely concerns a missing astronaut who has mutated into a huge monster and has become obsessed with getting his revenge on humanity for what was done to him. This...is probably one of the better episodes in my opinion, since it isn't just a random monster of the day but someone who was once human and went through some changes to become what he is today.
The Underwater Science Base follows the team as they investigate the destruction of support lines that connect a newly constructed underwater base to the surface. Upon arriving they engage against a very angry monster with a drill like beak.
Our final episode of the night is "Mystery Comet Tsuiphon." When a comet races past Earth it's radiation that is emitted might cause hydrogen bombs to explode. The team races to the Japanese Alps where they know a monster lives that has swallowed a warhead and remains in hiding. Though upon arrival they discover not one monster, but three that are locked in a furious battle.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Lost in Space
Lost in Space, while the trailer made it look great the actual film itself is.......nowhere near as awesome as it's made out to be. Though this isn't surprising given how it's based off a rather crappy t.v show.
The film follows the Robinson family and Major West as they try to travel to the distant planet, Alpha Prime to set up a special gateway that will allow people from Earth to travel there instantly. Even in the first few minutes there's one rather large problem, the beginning tells us that the nations have made peace and yet here we are in a war against terrorists. I suppose they didn't get the memo about world peace? Dr. Smith, our villain, sneaks aboard the ship and sabotages things so that the mission will fail. However, his device fails and knocks him unconscious trapping him aboard the ship. Waking from their cryo-sleep, the Robinsons find their large robot in the middle of causing damage and they are forced to avoid roasting in a sun by shooting through it with their hyperdrive which causes them to become lost in space.
Following this, they find out that they are in the future and discover a wrecked ship that had been searching for them. After a quick chase by metal spiders, the family crash lands on a nearby planet where they begin to repair things and sets up our final showdown with the evil Smith.
To be honest, it was a bit hard to pay attention to the film just because of how boring it was. The dialogue and characters were boring, especially William Hurt as the father who speaks in only one octave and sounds extremely bored. This is of course compared to the youngest daughter Penny who sounds like she has been sucking too much helium between scenes. The only good actor is Gary Oldman, who probably fired his agent for landing him this terrible job.
Lost in Space. Hopefully it continues to stay lost instead of returning to plague us more, though thankfully no sequels or remakes have been put forward. *sigh of relief*
The film follows the Robinson family and Major West as they try to travel to the distant planet, Alpha Prime to set up a special gateway that will allow people from Earth to travel there instantly. Even in the first few minutes there's one rather large problem, the beginning tells us that the nations have made peace and yet here we are in a war against terrorists. I suppose they didn't get the memo about world peace? Dr. Smith, our villain, sneaks aboard the ship and sabotages things so that the mission will fail. However, his device fails and knocks him unconscious trapping him aboard the ship. Waking from their cryo-sleep, the Robinsons find their large robot in the middle of causing damage and they are forced to avoid roasting in a sun by shooting through it with their hyperdrive which causes them to become lost in space.
Following this, they find out that they are in the future and discover a wrecked ship that had been searching for them. After a quick chase by metal spiders, the family crash lands on a nearby planet where they begin to repair things and sets up our final showdown with the evil Smith.
To be honest, it was a bit hard to pay attention to the film just because of how boring it was. The dialogue and characters were boring, especially William Hurt as the father who speaks in only one octave and sounds extremely bored. This is of course compared to the youngest daughter Penny who sounds like she has been sucking too much helium between scenes. The only good actor is Gary Oldman, who probably fired his agent for landing him this terrible job.
Lost in Space. Hopefully it continues to stay lost instead of returning to plague us more, though thankfully no sequels or remakes have been put forward. *sigh of relief*
Monday, January 3, 2011
Snakes On A Plane
"I have had it with these mother f---ing snakes, on this mother f---ing plane!" How I could not agree more, Samuel L Jackson.
After witnessing Eddie Kim commit a murder, Sean is taken onto a large plane by FBI agents Flynn and Sanders so that he can testify in LA against Kim. However, the man is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep Sean from doing this and plants a large crate of poisonous snakes on the plane, and circulates a pheromone that makes them even more aggressive and prone to attack people without being provoked.
What follows is chaos. The snakes are unleashed halfway through the flight and make quick work of a majority of the films extras, and traps the survivors at the front of the plane. When Agent Sanders is killed, it is up to Flynn and stewardess Clare to help keep people alive until the plane can be landed. As they try to repel the snakes in the air, Special Agent Harris enlists the aid of Dr. Steven Price so that they can gather all of the needed anti venom to save those who have been bitten on the plane.
Snakes on a Plane isn't exactly scary at all, the action not quite as large a "thrill-ride" as some claim it to be. The CGI snakes look pretty poor in my opinion and could have been handled better. A fair part of the dialogue and interactions feel quite awkward, especially in the beginning of the plane ride as well gets a bit silly - Samuel L Jacksons "speech" near the end most notably. There is also one large plot hole I can't help but scratch my head at. If these hyper aggressive snakes are all crammed in the same crate, why the hell didn't they all kill each other? As well, why did they include an enormous 19 foot python? Surely that one snake being removed would have made room for at least a dozen more poisonous ones.
Despite his silly speech, Samuel L Jackson is probably one of the better parts of this film, as well as the presence of Juilianna Margulies. Both actors do their best with an awkward script and a mediocre idea. Recommended as a popcorn flick only, but don't expect anything too great.
After witnessing Eddie Kim commit a murder, Sean is taken onto a large plane by FBI agents Flynn and Sanders so that he can testify in LA against Kim. However, the man is prepared to do whatever it takes to keep Sean from doing this and plants a large crate of poisonous snakes on the plane, and circulates a pheromone that makes them even more aggressive and prone to attack people without being provoked.
What follows is chaos. The snakes are unleashed halfway through the flight and make quick work of a majority of the films extras, and traps the survivors at the front of the plane. When Agent Sanders is killed, it is up to Flynn and stewardess Clare to help keep people alive until the plane can be landed. As they try to repel the snakes in the air, Special Agent Harris enlists the aid of Dr. Steven Price so that they can gather all of the needed anti venom to save those who have been bitten on the plane.
Snakes on a Plane isn't exactly scary at all, the action not quite as large a "thrill-ride" as some claim it to be. The CGI snakes look pretty poor in my opinion and could have been handled better. A fair part of the dialogue and interactions feel quite awkward, especially in the beginning of the plane ride as well gets a bit silly - Samuel L Jacksons "speech" near the end most notably. There is also one large plot hole I can't help but scratch my head at. If these hyper aggressive snakes are all crammed in the same crate, why the hell didn't they all kill each other? As well, why did they include an enormous 19 foot python? Surely that one snake being removed would have made room for at least a dozen more poisonous ones.
Despite his silly speech, Samuel L Jackson is probably one of the better parts of this film, as well as the presence of Juilianna Margulies. Both actors do their best with an awkward script and a mediocre idea. Recommended as a popcorn flick only, but don't expect anything too great.
Breakfast Pals
Easily the shortest cartoon I have ever come across, Breakfast Pals only lasts for a minute and half and is only a fraction of the time I spent watching Little Gray Neck last night, which came in at just over 19 minutes (roughly the same as an average animated show).
Breakfast Pals opens to show two little boys eating some rather crappy cereal that is just far too soggy. The one boy who happened to be sleeping over tells his friend about the breakfast pals, and summons them with a whistle. Who should appear? Snap, Crackle and Pop. Of course, the other cereal has mascots too and those three aren't happy about the Rice Krispie trio moving in and what proceeds is a quick fight to determine who is better.
I.....can't describe how hilarious it is to watch Snap, Crackle and Pop beat up cereal mascots. The animation is rather poor compared to other shorts and thankfully this doesn't last long, even if it's amusing in it's complete mindfuck way.
Breakfast Pals opens to show two little boys eating some rather crappy cereal that is just far too soggy. The one boy who happened to be sleeping over tells his friend about the breakfast pals, and summons them with a whistle. Who should appear? Snap, Crackle and Pop. Of course, the other cereal has mascots too and those three aren't happy about the Rice Krispie trio moving in and what proceeds is a quick fight to determine who is better.
I.....can't describe how hilarious it is to watch Snap, Crackle and Pop beat up cereal mascots. The animation is rather poor compared to other shorts and thankfully this doesn't last long, even if it's amusing in it's complete mindfuck way.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Expendables
Stallone. Willis. Li. Lundgren. Statham. Austin. Schwarzeneggar. Rourke. All these leading action stars of the 80's and 90's come together in one large ensemble cast for the Expendables.
Stallone leads the all star cast as a mercenary group, who we at first find dealing with a pirate group off of the coast of Somalia. We are quickly introduced to our group, sans a few of the mentioned names. After a small moral complication, Lundgren's character is kicked out of the group due to his drug abuse and psychological problems. Returning to New Orleans, they are soon offered a new job to overthrow a dictator in South America. Taking on the job the group is soon thrown into a small web of betrayal and lies that ends in an explosive confrontation on the fictional island as they go in to do what they do best.
The film truly does have an all star cast of action actors, though some are not quite as well known to me as others. Sadly Jean Claude Van Damme is not present in this film, nor is Steven Seagal despite both being offered roles. We do however have a great cameo scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis take on the roles of a rival mercenary leader and a mysterious employer. A small shame that those two were not able to have larger roles in the film.
The Expendables is a great action film and a throwback to those that came before it. Aside from the small casting choices that irked me, the only real complaint that I have about the film is just how dark things can be at times and makes it difficult to track what is going on at times. Well worth a watch to action fans, or those looking to see what all the fuss is about.
Stallone leads the all star cast as a mercenary group, who we at first find dealing with a pirate group off of the coast of Somalia. We are quickly introduced to our group, sans a few of the mentioned names. After a small moral complication, Lundgren's character is kicked out of the group due to his drug abuse and psychological problems. Returning to New Orleans, they are soon offered a new job to overthrow a dictator in South America. Taking on the job the group is soon thrown into a small web of betrayal and lies that ends in an explosive confrontation on the fictional island as they go in to do what they do best.
The film truly does have an all star cast of action actors, though some are not quite as well known to me as others. Sadly Jean Claude Van Damme is not present in this film, nor is Steven Seagal despite both being offered roles. We do however have a great cameo scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis take on the roles of a rival mercenary leader and a mysterious employer. A small shame that those two were not able to have larger roles in the film.
The Expendables is a great action film and a throwback to those that came before it. Aside from the small casting choices that irked me, the only real complaint that I have about the film is just how dark things can be at times and makes it difficult to track what is going on at times. Well worth a watch to action fans, or those looking to see what all the fuss is about.
Little Gray Neck
Oh my heart beats. Or so claims the unnamed rabbit character on multiple occasions as he watches poor Little Gray Neck's story unfold.
This is just one of the oddities in tonight's short. Little Gray Neck follows a small duck who injures her wing trying to escape from a fox and the trials she goes through to learn to fly again. Joining Little Gray Neck is her rabbit friend, the wise woodcock that teaches her to fly again and the evil fox. Little Gray Neck does have a mother, who assumes the small duck has died based off a few scattered feathers....and promptly flies off with the others down south for the winter.
The entire short is just....hilariously odd. Time passes quickly and we don't really see a ton of how our hero learns to fly again aside from the woodcock tricking her once when they first meet. Even after she learns to fly, she goes off to find the fox to play a trick on him which is rather risky considering how the fox has gotten the better of her before. The animation is alright, but the entire story and characters make it fairly uninteresting.
This is just one of the oddities in tonight's short. Little Gray Neck follows a small duck who injures her wing trying to escape from a fox and the trials she goes through to learn to fly again. Joining Little Gray Neck is her rabbit friend, the wise woodcock that teaches her to fly again and the evil fox. Little Gray Neck does have a mother, who assumes the small duck has died based off a few scattered feathers....and promptly flies off with the others down south for the winter.
The entire short is just....hilariously odd. Time passes quickly and we don't really see a ton of how our hero learns to fly again aside from the woodcock tricking her once when they first meet. Even after she learns to fly, she goes off to find the fox to play a trick on him which is rather risky considering how the fox has gotten the better of her before. The animation is alright, but the entire story and characters make it fairly uninteresting.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? Snow White of course! Disney's first full length animated film is still one of the most beloved classics to this day.
Snow White follows our titular heroine as she discovers one day that the Evil Queen wants her dead, jealous of her beauty. However, the Huntsman betrays the Queen and refuses to kill the innocent girl, telling her to flee deep into the forest where she meets the seven dwarfs. At first the dwarfs are quite unsure of Snow White, mistaking her at first for a monster (and with a voice like hers, who could blame them?) but eventually see the right in showing her hospitality and take her in. Though their intentions are noble, the Queen uses her evil magics to find that Snow White is still alive and hunts her down in person to kill her personally.
Considering that the film was the first of it's kind by the Disney studio, the animation is a large step above their earlier efforts in the Mickey Mouse shorts and the Silly Symphony series, most notably that of "The Goddess of Spring." The human characters are no longer quite as rubbery in the arms, but still aren't quite at the same level as say, Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. The backgrounds and color scheme chosen suit the movie rather well and I can't imagine how the film would have looked if the company had gone with brighter colors.
Given their fondness for using music in their animated work, Snow White contains a number of enjoyable songs and all fit the film perfectly. There aren't really any songs that feel out of place, or hamper the story at all as each moves the story along in its own way. Perhaps the most enjoyable of the songs is the I'm Wishing/One Song that Snow White and the Prince sing, given how it makes up the majority of their relationship and establishes at the least, his interest in Snow White.
The film has many highlights, one such example is the wonderful character of the Evil Queen who still can send chills down the spine with her regal bearing and icy looks. Her voice actress does a fantastic job providing the vocals of both the Queen and the Old Hag. As the film goes on the Queen only gets better, though it's hard for me to decide if her best scene is that of her transformation or the ending when she threatens to crush the dwarfs with an enormous boulder.
Snow White's funeral scene of course, cannot go unmentioned. The visuals, lack of dialogue and the music all blend amazingly well to create a very memorable scene that can still bring forth a tear or two to viewers.
One final example is the flight through the forest is also quite frightening as everything seems to come to life and leap out at Snow White as she runs terrified from the Huntsman. One of the best parts is the enormous log that turns into an alligator (crocodile?) and appears to swallow Snow White, leaving her dangling above a pond where more wooden alligators threaten her.
For Disney's first attempt at a full feature, they succeeded quite well in creating a timeless classic that only gets better with each viewing and never grows old.
Snow White follows our titular heroine as she discovers one day that the Evil Queen wants her dead, jealous of her beauty. However, the Huntsman betrays the Queen and refuses to kill the innocent girl, telling her to flee deep into the forest where she meets the seven dwarfs. At first the dwarfs are quite unsure of Snow White, mistaking her at first for a monster (and with a voice like hers, who could blame them?) but eventually see the right in showing her hospitality and take her in. Though their intentions are noble, the Queen uses her evil magics to find that Snow White is still alive and hunts her down in person to kill her personally.
Considering that the film was the first of it's kind by the Disney studio, the animation is a large step above their earlier efforts in the Mickey Mouse shorts and the Silly Symphony series, most notably that of "The Goddess of Spring." The human characters are no longer quite as rubbery in the arms, but still aren't quite at the same level as say, Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. The backgrounds and color scheme chosen suit the movie rather well and I can't imagine how the film would have looked if the company had gone with brighter colors.
Given their fondness for using music in their animated work, Snow White contains a number of enjoyable songs and all fit the film perfectly. There aren't really any songs that feel out of place, or hamper the story at all as each moves the story along in its own way. Perhaps the most enjoyable of the songs is the I'm Wishing/One Song that Snow White and the Prince sing, given how it makes up the majority of their relationship and establishes at the least, his interest in Snow White.
The film has many highlights, one such example is the wonderful character of the Evil Queen who still can send chills down the spine with her regal bearing and icy looks. Her voice actress does a fantastic job providing the vocals of both the Queen and the Old Hag. As the film goes on the Queen only gets better, though it's hard for me to decide if her best scene is that of her transformation or the ending when she threatens to crush the dwarfs with an enormous boulder.
Snow White's funeral scene of course, cannot go unmentioned. The visuals, lack of dialogue and the music all blend amazingly well to create a very memorable scene that can still bring forth a tear or two to viewers.
One final example is the flight through the forest is also quite frightening as everything seems to come to life and leap out at Snow White as she runs terrified from the Huntsman. One of the best parts is the enormous log that turns into an alligator (crocodile?) and appears to swallow Snow White, leaving her dangling above a pond where more wooden alligators threaten her.
For Disney's first attempt at a full feature, they succeeded quite well in creating a timeless classic that only gets better with each viewing and never grows old.
Steamboat Willie
Perhaps Mickey Mouse's most famous cartoon short, Steamboat Willie is also one of the Disney companies oldest fully animated shorts, losing out by just a hair to "Plane Crazy."
Now, the one thing to note about Mickey is that in the older Black and White days, he was.....crazy. Not quite the Mouse we know today, Mickey was much more cheeky and full of energy, constantly using his surroundings to make music in the shorts whether it's an inanimate object or a living animal.
Steamboat Willie follows Mickey Mouse as he works on Pegleg Pete's boat, though the latter character takes a backseat this time around. Noticing Minnie as she rushes to catch up to the boat for a ride, Mickey helps her on board and what follows is a series of gags that starts with a goat eating Minnie's sheet music for "Turkey in the Straw." As Minnie uses the goat to play the music by cranking it's tail, Mickey runs around the boat using everything possible to play the song in time. I do mean everything. A cat is thrown around, pots and pans banged on, a duck, piglets and the mother pig are all used to play along in time to the music. It was sort of disturbing to see Mickey Mouse of all people being so abusive towards animals, yanking on their neck, tails and using the one pig as an accordion, all with a smile on his face.
The short itself holds up pretty good considering just how old it is. While it doesn't have the same charm as later Mickey shorts, it has it's own unique charm in it's zany pace. Of course, the animation is rather crude but from here out things can only look up for Disney as it's animators refined their technique which we will see tonight with the review of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Now, the one thing to note about Mickey is that in the older Black and White days, he was.....crazy. Not quite the Mouse we know today, Mickey was much more cheeky and full of energy, constantly using his surroundings to make music in the shorts whether it's an inanimate object or a living animal.
Steamboat Willie follows Mickey Mouse as he works on Pegleg Pete's boat, though the latter character takes a backseat this time around. Noticing Minnie as she rushes to catch up to the boat for a ride, Mickey helps her on board and what follows is a series of gags that starts with a goat eating Minnie's sheet music for "Turkey in the Straw." As Minnie uses the goat to play the music by cranking it's tail, Mickey runs around the boat using everything possible to play the song in time. I do mean everything. A cat is thrown around, pots and pans banged on, a duck, piglets and the mother pig are all used to play along in time to the music. It was sort of disturbing to see Mickey Mouse of all people being so abusive towards animals, yanking on their neck, tails and using the one pig as an accordion, all with a smile on his face.
The short itself holds up pretty good considering just how old it is. While it doesn't have the same charm as later Mickey shorts, it has it's own unique charm in it's zany pace. Of course, the animation is rather crude but from here out things can only look up for Disney as it's animators refined their technique which we will see tonight with the review of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
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