Fantasia

Fantasia was released in 1940 and was Disney's first hybrid film. (This is where they use both animation and live action.) It's production cost was very high, it got mixed reviews, and it was released during World War II, which lost most of Disney's European audience. Mix it all together, and it's not surprising that Disney couldn't turn a profit on this movie.
Another problem the public had with Fantasia, is a lot of people felt like it was too "uppity" for them. They liked the cartoons that Disney produced for the theaters. Many people felt like this was a Disney that was too classy for them.
I can see how Fantasia would be viewed that way. It is made with classical music, which has a reputation for being hoity-toity.  It is often seen by your regular Jo, as ancient, boring, and irrelevant.
Now please, don't think that I, in any sense, feel this way about classical music. I think that classical music is not only beautiful but stimulating and beneficial. Many pregnant ladies like to believe their unborn children also feel this way. I think the only thoughts a fetus has are about how dark it is inside a uterus.
Another thing about Fantasia: it's odd. It is very fitting with the music, sure, and I find it entertaining, yes, but you have to admit that crocodiles kidnapping hippos and ostriches (while dancing ballet no less) is not a common occurrence.
Note* if crocodiles kidnapping hippos and ostriches all while dancing ballet IS a common occurrence for you, please contact me. I would like to know more.
Another thing Fantasia's got going against it: Disney's previous movies and shorts were based on a solid (Or at least some what linear) story line, whereas Fantasia doesn't really have that. It's a collection of musical shorts that, while entertaining, can easily become boring.
The brother recently informed me that this movie was released as part of a traveling roadshow. This basically meant that not as many people had the opportunity to see it, and it was very costly for Disney to rent out theaters and install the special sound system that was required.
Basically, Fantasia has a lot going against it. Let's make a list:
The Various Short Comings of Fantasia
1. High production cost
B. European audiences were *cough* busy
III. Viewed as too "high brow" by common audiences
4. It was (as the brother so kindly put it) "experimental"
E. It was not released like Disney's other films had been, and not to a very large audience.
And yet, it still has that one thing going for it: it's memorable. Who's childhood wasn't studded with the entrancing fairies or the happy go lucky satyrs? Or those incredibly adorable mushroom people? (I just want one of those in plush) Disney knew that this movie was long lasting, which is why they were able to create Fantasia 2000. Disney is very intuitive. You've never seen a Charlie the Lonesome Cougar: All My Friends are Dead  have you?
So while Fantasia did not do very well at the time of it's release, with a little bit of Disney Magic, it has stood the test of time.
Next Movie: The Reluctant Dragon

The epitome of cute.

Pinocchio

Pinocchio was released in 1940. It was critically acclaimed (it won two academy awards), but did not do so well commericially. This was mainly due to World War II. (remember that kids, you'll be tested on it later.)
I've always thought Pinocchio was an odd story. An old lonely toy maker finds that one of his creations has come to life, and sends him out into the world the day after being created. (But he'll be okay right? He has a grasshopper to guide him!) Unfortunately, the questionable vagrant grasshopper fails in his duties pretty quickly when Pinocchio runs away with a fox to become an actor. He gets kidnapped by an extremely creepy beard man and is put in a bird cage. A fairy comes and bails them out.
On his way home, Pinocchio runs into the aforementioned fox, and he convinces Pinocchio that he is sick. Pinocchio runs away AGAIN and goes to Pleasure Island. A bunch of boys go crazy on said island and get turned into donkeys, which are then sent to work in the mines. Pinocchio escapes before going full donkey and runs home. (How he expected to explain his newly acquired donkey parts to his father, I'll never know.) But lo! What is this? Gepetto is gone! He somehow got swallowed by a whale! Somehow...
Naturally, Pinocchio goes to save him. (take notice, the water has no effect on his ability to survive. Jiminy is also unaffected which makes zero biological sense.) They eventually find the whale. (He probably got picked on in whale school for being named Monstro, which is probably why he's so angry.) Gepetto accidentally pulls Pinocchio and Jiminy out of the water while fishing. There is a happy reunion. Then they light the whale on fire from the inside. He sneezes them out. Somehow Pinocchio manages to almost drown himself during the ruckus, despite his insensitivity to water earlier in the movie. Gepetto finds him washed up on the beach and Pinocchio becomes a real boy. Yay.
Trippin' right?
But while the story is very strange, (especially through a child's eyes) there is something to say for the smaller things in Pinocchio.
While watching this, my brother pointed out something called "Mickey Mousing". This is the style that many early Disney films share in respect to sound. When something happens visually, it also happens musically. Instead of sound effects as we know them, these effects were more playful and pleasant. For instance, when something crashes or drops or anything loud happens, it was usually accompanied with a drum or a cymbal or a triangle.
Another thing that is great about Pinocchio is the music in general. "When You Wish Upon a Star" won an academy award for Best Original Song. It later went on to be a Disney icon seconded only by Mickey Mouse himself. And the other songs in the movie aren't so terrible either. For one thing, they're extremely catchy. ("Give a Little Whistle" is stuck in my head as I type this.) And anyone who has seen Pinocchio will recognize the songs "An Actor's Life for Me" and "I Got No Strings".
The animation has something to be said for it too. It is very detailed, especially scenes in Gepetto's workshop with creative, funny little toys and clocks scattered everywhere and kittens and goldfish dancing and singing along with the old toy maker.
So, while Pinocchio is a very strange movie in and of itself, it is still a Disney classic with great aesthetic value.
Next movie: Fantasia

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney's first full length movie. It premiered in 1937 and is still quite popular to this day.
As a kid, I didn't really care for this movie. I thought that Snow White, as a princess, was very thin in character, too much of a follower, and was likely to get herself into trouble wandering into strange houses. I craved princesses with more spunk and quality. More modern princesses like Tiana or Belle (Belle should also be wary of wandering in to strange houses/castles.)
After watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs this time around, I did find some virtues in Snow White. It is a major plot point in the story that she is extremely beautiful. (Her step mother tried to kill her out of jealousy. I see serious therapy in need here.) But she is not vain whatsoever, quite the opposite. She is kind and sweet and loving to everyone, which saves her in the end. The assassin that the queen sends, doesn't kill her. Not because she is beautiful, but because she is such a selfless princess.
That being said, I don't think that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would survive in today's movie industry. If you kept the plot and the characters the way they are and changed the quality of the animation and sound to modern levels, the movie would still bomb. For the time period, this movie was revolutionary and extremely well done. But today, Snow White is just too flimsy in comparison to modern princesses.
Snow White is the kind of character that just sort of lets things happen to her. When the hunter comes to kill her, she stands there in shock. When she runs into the forest and gets the willies scared out of her, she collapses to the ground in tears and stays there until the animals come and help her. She falls asleep in random people's beds. She eats apples after being warned not to take anything from anyone. This is not a strong female character.
And yet, despite all this, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is still seen as quite the Disney classic. It is a movie that somehow, (perhaps with a little help from Disney magic) has truly stood the test of time.
Next movie: Pinocchio

Introduction Part 2

I know I said I would write about Snow White in this post, but Miss White will have to wait.
In my last post I was a little vague about exactly what I would be doing for my challenge.
So let's lay down some of the rules.

1. I must watch all the movies in order. The only exception being, if someone invites me to watch it with them. (I don't want to be a party pooper!)

2. If I do watch one with somebody (upon their request), I must re-watch said movie when I get to it on the
list.

3. After I watch the movie in it's rightful place in line, I can go back and watch it again any time after that.

4. I must watch every movie in its entirety. (blinking excluded)

5. The means of acquiring said movies are irrelevant. Do what it takes.

6. Crying when Mufasa dies is not optional.

 We will now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Introduction

I like lists. I love the way you can organize things using a list. What a great invention. Whoever thought of that, give him a prize.

Anyway.

I was looking at a list of Disney movies and I realized I had seen almost all of the animated Disney movies. Suddenly I had the urge to watch all the animated Disney movies in order. BUT NO. That's not good enough. No, I must watch all the Disney movies! WATCH ALL THE MOVIES!!

Okay, no, not technically. Only the theatrically released Disney movies. But that is still not to be underestimated! This still makes up a list of 359 movies to date. 

So I guess the best place to start is at the beginning...

Next post, Snow White!