Film Review #55: The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride

The sequel to what was then one of the Top 5 most successful films ever, if any of these Disney sequels had the right to feel any sort of pressure whatsoever, it was definitely this one.  Of the four renaissance films that are the most revered, Disney had done justice for Aladdin, but completely ruined Beauty and the Beast.  If Disney was to do their most successful film ever justice, they would have to pull out all of the stops and make a movie that would be able to resonate with audiences for generations to come, or else suffer the impending lack of draw The Lion King would suffer from.  Does this sequel meet those standards.  Kind of?  I guess so, in a way...

Plot: Picking up where the original left off, Simba and Nala are celebrating the birth of their daughter, Kiara.  While the Pridelands continue to thrive now that Scar is gone, one group of individuals is most certainly not happy with the change in leadership.  A group of lionesses, led by the wicked Zira, were banished from the Pridelands for being loyal to Scar and his terrible reign.  But not before Scar had apparently named Zira's youngest son, her newborn Kovu, as his heir after he died.  As one would expect, Kovu and Kiara meet and easily become friends, much to Simba and Zira's frustration.  Simba wants to teach his daughter to be as wise and brave a leader as Mufasa was, while Zira plans to fill Kovu's kind young heart with the bitter hatred Scar had in his.

After several months, Kiara has grown into a lioness and is allowed to have her first hunt.  Simba, still fearful of his daughter's safety, sends Timon and Pumbaa out to keep and eye on her, which annoys the princess.  Kovu, meanwhile, is being used as a plan to kill Simba and claim the Pridelands in the name of Scar once more.  After saving Kiara's life from a fire, the two rekindle their friendship, which even blossoms into a romance.  Simba even begins to trust Kovu, claiming his hatred of Scar prevented it at first, but Zira plans an ambush for the King, when she begins to question her son's position on the matter.  Though he survives, Simba's pride is seriously injured and he banishes Kovu from the Pridelands, while Zira and her lionesses prepare to wage an all out war on the Pridelands.  It is up to the two star-crossed lovers to save their two families from re-enacting the bloodshed the days of Mufasa and Scar brought.

What's Bad?: While Kiara, Kovu, and Zira all have good quality backstories to go back on, the only major character that has little to no reason for his actions is Simba.  As I explained in a previous article, Simba's only motivation towards banishing Zira was his hatred towards Scar, which shatters any good feelings a fan of the original had, myself included.  I never felt Simba should have taken his anger towards Scar out on the others, unless there was a good reason for him to.  Some fan articles have reason to believe that Zira apparently killed Simba and Nala's first child, a lion cub named Kopa, but until it is confirmed in the canon story, I will not hold that against Zira.

Also, similar to Eeyore's role in Pooh's Grand Adventure and Genie in the Aladdin sequels, the side characters from the original film don't have much to do with anything.  Nala falls back into the sub-minor character role, along with Zazu.  Timon and Pumbaa serve as de facto comic relief again, but have even less to do in this film than in the first.  At least Rafiki gets to be a matchmaker, which I think is degrading that he went from wise spiritual instructor to match maker.  But Timon and Pumbaa serve little to no purpose in the movie outside of comic relief.  But hey, at least their not in Little Mermaid 2...oh wait...

What's Good?: While no where close to being the caliber of music of the original, the music in this film is still pretty good.  The score particularly is pretty good for a sequel.

The characters of Kiara and Kovu both get a good amount of development, and act as the angels to their parents devils, wanting to get to know each other before judging.  Their chemistry is very believable and each of them goes on their own roads towards discovering who they are, while not allowing their families to judge for them.

Zira is also one of the most entertaining Disney Sequel villains not named Jafar that appears and poses a serious threat to the well-being of the characters.  Her motivation is not original, but the lengths she is willing to go to avenge Scar are pretty damn intimidating.  And while only making a cameo in the film during Simba's nightmare, the threat Scar poses throughout the movie may be even more ominous in this film than in the original.  Who knew he had followers after the hyenas offed him?

The animation also is well.  I guess this was one of the few Disney Sequels that actually had a budget higher than that of a grilled cheese sandwich.

Overall: The Lion King 2 is a fairly well rounded Disney Sequel that is able to contend with the original in some instances, but falls far back in others.  Nevertheless, this film would be a dividing point between the three acts of Disney Sequels.  Act I was no easy ride, but it still wasn't unbearable.  But I warn you all, Act II is going to be absolute Hell guys.

Report Card

Hero:                                  B-
Heroine:                             B+
Villain:                                A
Side Characters:                B-
Songs:                                 B-
Musical Score:                   B
Animation:                          B
Story:                                  B
Themes                               B+

Film Review #54: Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World

Talk about a film with no expectations whatsoever.  After the absolute disaster of The Enchanted Christmas, no one had any faith in any Disney Sequel whatsoever.  It didn't help that the next announced sequel was a sequel to the most disappointing canon Disney Film of the last several years.  But once the film was  put out on video, it exceeded many people's expectations, particularly my own.  Though I do like Pocahontas, I won't deny that the film has a few serious flaws, from historical to ethical.  But Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World seems to be an attempt to answer several people's attitude towards the original, and it not only holds a candle to the original, but it may actually be better than most people think.

Plot: John Smith is being hunted in London for apparently acting treasonous in Jamestown, and is apparently killed by Ratcliffe.  The former Governor claims that Smith had fallen to his death by accident, while also demanding that war with the Powhatan Tribe is the only way to preserve piece in the colonies.  King James I is reluctant to act until John Rolfe returns with Chief Powhatan.

Back in America, Pocahontas continues to question her place in the world after learning of Smith's death.  But upon meeting with John Rolfe (Billy FREAKING Zane), Pocahontas elects to travel with him to England in order to charter peace with the settlers and their King.  Upon reaching England, Pocahontas is in awe of what she finds, until Ratcliffe arrives on the scene and informs her and Rolfe about his plan to build an armada to attack the Native Americans, which bears the King's signature.  Though Rolfe tries to reason with James, Ratcliffe tricks the King into insisting Pocahontas come to a ball and proving the "savages" manners and civilized behavior.  At first, much to both Ratcliffe and Rolfe's surprise, Pocahontas does very well.  But when Ratcliffe brings in a bear to torture for their entertainment, Pocahontas takes a stand for the beast and is thrown into prison.

Rolfe and his new ally, John Smith, sneak into the Tower of London and bust Pocahontas and her guardian out of jail and intend to keep her on the run and take back home.  But the Princess insists on fighting for her people and convinces the King of Ratcliffe's treason.  The heroes must stop Ratcliffe's armada before a war begins.

What's Bad?: While not nearly as bad as The Enchanted Christmas, the animation still isn't at a strong caliber when compared to the original.

What's Good?: Basically, everything else.  John Rolfe is much more of an engaging male lead than Mel Gibson's Smith was, while Pocahontas takes more of a proactive role in the story.  Their chemistry in the film is much more visible and easier to believe in than Smith's and Pocahontas's was.

Ratcliffe is much more underhanded and evil in this movie than in the original, which makes his character much stronger.  No longer just a greedy douche who wants gold, he wants to annihilate the entire Native American race out of pure vengeance.

The pacing of the plot, which was a major problem for the original film, is corrected here.  The film picks up pace when it needs to, and slows the pace down when it needs to.

Overall: This may sound incredibly odd, but this may be one of those 1/20 Disney Sequels that improved upon the original.  The characters are better written, the story is tighter, without as many flaws, and the history is finally put into check (Pocahontas and Rolfe actually did marry and have a child).  A solid Disney Sequel, though not a solid film in general.  A passing film, but still no masterpiece.

Report Card

Hero:                                 B
Heroine:                            A-
Villain:                               B
Side Characters:               C+
Songs:                                C
Musical Score:                  B-
Animation:                         B-
Story:                                 B+
Themes:                             B+

Does it hold a candle to the Original?:      YES!

Film Review #53: Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas

If SimbaKing94 ever held a dark secret in his vault that he could reveal, it would be that I actually liked this film as a child.  After all, I was only 3 or 4 when the film came out, so I was easily entranced by the prospects of a sequel to one of the first movies I had ever seen.  I stopped watching this around 2000, and after several years, I rented the film from my local library on video and I showed it to my cousins while babysitting them.  And?  I hated it.  I still hate it!  This movie makes me feel sick even by thinking about it.

When it comes to Disney Sequels, you'd have to be a special brand of awful to surpass the absolute piece of animal dung that is known to the world as Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.  And here is the main reason why I hate this film so much: I freaking love Beauty and the Beast.  It is one of the single greatest films ever made, period.  Every scene, from the stain glass opening, to the 'Be Our Guest" scene, this film is one of those films that can reach near perfection level.  When you create a sequel, you should keep it in the same ballpark of relevance in both story and tone.  This is why both Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves work as sequels to Aladdin.  But when it comes to the single most acclaimed animated film ever made, you'd think Disney would at least make an effort to make this film work.  NOPE!

PLOT (if you could call it that): It's Christmas time around the enchanted castle, but the Beast has forbidden the servants from celebrating Christmas.  Naturally, Belle makes a stand against this rule, not knowing about the Beast's dark past on this day.  An evil pipe organ named Forte (Tim Curry) and his hench-flute Fife (Paul Reubens), try everything in their power to thwart the other objects intentions to celebrate Christmas and bring Beast and Belle together.

What's Bad?: In short, everything.  Every single solitary second of this film makes me cringe.  The fact that all but Chip's original voice and Richard White (Gaston) appear in this movie makes me sick, the fact that this was even considered to be Disney's big 1997 holiday season draw next to a re-release to video of The Jungle Book makes me sick in the stomach.

The film's biggest crime, outside of existing, is the fact that it tramples all over the established relationships in the original film.  Belle, who not only lost her freedom and father in the first film, but was imprisoned in a dark castle filled with strange objects and a hideous monster, has in this film been transformed into a life coach for the Beast.  Not only did Belle not warm up to the Beast until he stopped being a spoiled little brat, but she wouldn't even give the Beast the time of day before that.  But here, she's just like one of those hired motivators people need to get out of bed in the morning.  DIDN'T THE BEAST TRAP YOU IN THIS FREAKING PLACE?

As for the Beast, his character development also takes a huge step backwards.  The movie claims that the events in it take place after the Beast rescued Belle from a pack of wolves.  In essence, that would mean that the Beast would at least start acting more human at this point, not often losing his temper at the mere sight of his shadow (THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENS!).  He should have restrained himself to an extent in this movie, not act like a spoiled brat throwing tantrums that would make even Veruca Salt cringe in disgust.  But, like how Belle's character was shamelessly ass-raped in this movie, Beast is still the grouchy monster we see in the first half of the original movie, without the feeling of sorrow and despair we felt for him then.

The songs are sickening.  Not one of them should ever be heard by a mortal.  These songs should be the punishment for people who commit terrible crimes and are sent to Hell.

The animation makes "The Flintstones" look like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle.

What's Good?: It's not a long movie...

Overall: The scariest part of this, is that we have hardly touched the iceberg of mediocrity the Disney Sequels would be so infamously known for.  We have over 20 more films to go, and the darkest days are still ahead for these films.  But on it's own, The Enchanted Christmas is an extra level of awful, with an extra side of horrid atrocities.  When Beauty and the Beast comes back out of the vault in 3 or four years, PLEASE PEOPLE!  DO NOT BUY A COPY OF THIS PIGSHIT!  PLEASE!  SAVE OUR CHILDREN FROM THESE HORRID ABOMINATIONS!

Report Card

Hero:                                 D-
Heroine:                            F
Villain:                               F
Side Characters:               C-
Songs:                                F
Musical Score:                  D-
Animation:                         F
Story:                                 F
Themes:                             D-


Does it hold up to the Original?: 

Disclaimer: I do not have the brainpower to take on another Beauty and the Beast sequel, so no Belle's Magical World just yet...

Film Review #52: Pooh's Grand Adventure

When I said that I wanted a darker more ambitious Disney Sequel, I never said I wanted it for Winnie the Pooh!  Pooh's Grand Adventure is the most uncharacteristic of all of the sequels and would hold that distinction until 2004.  It's tone and scenes are much darker and more grim than the recent Disney fare.  You don't want to see this from a Winnie the Pooh flick, but you would like to see Disney keep this angle moving forward.  I guess I am just too difficult a person to satisfy.  Oh well, let's start at the beginning.

Plot: On the last day of summer, Pooh spends the entire day having fun and playing with his best friend, Christopher Robin. Christopher tries his best to try and tell Pooh something, but is too distracted by the fun they have to tell him.  As the two sit in a tree discussing the future, CR gives Pooh some encouraging words before the bear falls asleep.

The next morning, Christopher Robin is nowhere to be found, and Pooh and the others are in a frenzy trying to find him.  Owl unintentionally misinforms them of his whereabouts from a note smothered in honey, telling them that he has gone off to a place called "S-C-H-O-O-L!", which he calls skull.  Without Christopher to guide them, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, and Rabbit all go off in search of him, while encountering many terrifying and sinister things, including a "skullasaurus", all while fighting off they're own inner fears and doubts about being either not brave enough, strong enough, or smart enough to survive on their own.

What's Bad?: Why was this the film Disney chose to make it's darkest sequel?  Why couldn't a soul searching journey like this have been saved for something like Mulan 2 or Tarzan 2, ya know, the piss awful sequels that could have used a story like this?  I mean, as the film reaches it's finale, we hear a musical number about Pooh expressing his sorrow for not being able to find Christopher Robin, which would bring me to tears every time I watched it as a kid.  Then, about five or ten minutes afterwards, Pooh's friends all think he's been eaten by the "skullasaurus"!  Why did this have to be so dark?

What's Good?: And yet, through it all, this still remains one of the stronger Disney Sequels.  It has good character development, good songs, stellar animation, and still maintains a good standard for the Winnie the Pooh franchise.  While not being called for, the character development in the film is stellar, particularly the main animals.  The characters have to learn to act without their guide in the Hundred Acre Wood, and Jim Cummings' performance as Pooh is the only main performance in these sequels outside of Scott Weinger's Aladdin that could contend with other main Disney Films.

Each character goes through their own development, except for Eeyore, who serves more or less as a comic relief, but still works very well in that role.  Rabbit, for instance, needs to learn to lead the others into the "Great Unknown", all while being unable to get his garden to apply to his own schedule.  As for Tigger and Piglet, they must overcome their own personal doubts and fears to help guide the team throughout "Skull".

The animation is also very good, which would also mark the last sequel with comparable animation with the original until about 2005.

Overall: While not maintaining the sense and morals of this original classic, Pooh's Grand Adventure is still a well suited Disney Sequel that still holds the entertainment value both the original had and Aladdin and the King of Thieves had.  It's a good film, but not an absolute gem.

Report Card:

Hero:                                A+
Heroine:                          N/A
Villain:                             N/A
Side Characters:              A
Songs:                              B
Musical Score:                B-
Animation:                       B+
Story:                               B-
Themes:                           B+

Is it as Good as the Original? :                    NOT REALLY

Film Review #51: Aladdin and the King of Thieves

After the immense success The Return of Jafar had on home video, it seemed more logical to keep funneling out these Disney Sequels out at an unquestionable rate, or as long as the film had popularity.  At this point, in 1996, despite being overshadowed by The Lion King in terms of grosses, Aladdin was still the most successful franchise Disney had to market.  With a hit TV show set to end, Disney moved ahead with plans to release a third and final chapter in the saga.  It didn't receive much attention or garner many pre-orders...that is, until Disney announced Robin Williams was returning.

Despite the returning presence of Robin, he is only a footnote in what today remains the only non canon Disney Sequel you will ever here me say "YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!"  Aladdin and the King of Thieves represents a last gasp of breath from the new Disney Studios in terms of quality of story, dialogue, character, music, and animation.  Every film from Pooh's Grand Adventure forward would be directly compared to this film.  It is one of the top ten best sellers on home video for all time, and is a high quality film.  Though it still fails when in comparison to the original, this is one of the few that can actually pose even a minute threat to the original film.

PLOT: Agrabah is brimming with excitement over the upcoming wedding of Aladdin and Jasmine.  Despite most of the city praising the couples marriage, Aladdin begins to doubt his ability to lead and be a father in the future.  He reveals his tragic past of orphanage to Genie, wishing his father would be around to see it.  Just before the wedding begins, the legendary group of thieves known as The Forty Thieves raid the wedding in search of an Oracle.  Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, and the others fend off the thieves, who are forced to retreat when the King of Thieves fails to recover the Oracle, which could reveal the location of an ultimate treasure.

The Oracle reveals to Aladdin that his father is not only alive, but trapped within the world of the Forty Thieves.  Aladdin sets out to find him, ultimately learning that his father Cassim (John Rhys Davies) is the King of Thieves.  Aladdin is challenged by one of the thieves, Saluk (Jerry Orbach), who intends to undermine everyone's faith in Cassim by killing his son.  Aladdin manages to survive and Saluk is sent supposedly to his death.

Iago convinces Cassim to return to Agrabah under the false pretenses of being there for Aladdin's wedding, but really to acquire the Oracle.  Saluk, who survived his duel, approaches Razoul and sells out almost all of his former allies in order to get Cassim caught.  But Razoul catches Cassim stealing the Oracle and reveals his true identity to the Sultan, who locks him in the dungeon.  Aladdin disguises himself as his father in order to free him and distract the guards, but is revealed in the process.  Though Aladdin escapes, he refuses to leave Jasmine at the altar again.  Father and Son part ways, but Saluk and the remaining thieves capture Cassim and force him to bring them to find the Ultimate Treasure.  Aladdin and the gang must prevent this treasure from getting into the wrong hands and save Cassim from both the Thieves and himself.

What's Bad?: The only flaws in the movie are when you compare it to the original Aladdin, in which you see several big mistakes.  Saluk, for example, is a good villain, but not nearly as good as Jafar.  And while the Genie's humor in the original film is more geared towards older adults, the Genie's humor in this film is mostly geared towards kids.

What's Good?: Everything else about the film works well.  I always love when a film focuses on a relationship that is different from the original film.  While the original film focuses on a love story, this is much more of a Father-Son story.  Aladdin and Cassim do butt heads, but it only further shows the respect and love they have for each other.

The songs are pretty catchy too.  While none of them are household names, they are pretty good.  My personal favorite is "Out of Thin Air", the main song between Aladdin and Jasmine.

But c'mon guys, the only reason this movie is as good as it is is because of one man, Robin Williams.  With his warm welcome back to the franchise, Williams gives the Genie something both the Return of Jafar and series incarnations failed to, actual serious laughs.  I love Dan Castellaneta and all, but Williams IS the Genie.

Overall: The film is fairly good on it's own.  The only direct to home video film worth getting, this film is a sheer delight from start to its Arabian Nights finale.  If not for the tragic story of Father and Son, Robin Williams more than welcomed return makes for a very solid film and a definite worth it

Report Card

Hero:                                95
Heroine:                           90
Villain:                              85
Side Characters:              95
Songs:                               85
Score:                               85
Animation:                        85
Themes:                            90
Story:                                90

Does it Hold up?:              Not Really

\

Top Ten Greatest SCENES of Animation in Disney History

From the first conceptual designs of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to the beautiful imagery of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and from the technical wonder of the ballroom dance in Beauty and the Beast, to Elsa's creation of her frozen fortress, the Walt Disney Animation Studios has been the cornerstone of the animation world.  Every animator in the history of the art has looked to Disney as an inspiration, a reference, and a guide in preparing their own legacies.  Some animators look to the characters, others to the music.  But most Disney Animators are sold on the craft based on a few specific scenes.  Often, we need a good reminder on how breathtaking the art of animation can be, and how it is much more stylized and can break the barriers of belief more than live action.  And in many Disney Films, we get one or two specific scenes where the animation takes center stage and the stuff of legends is created.  And while some animated films achieve much higher levels of depth in the art than others, Disney as a whole dominates the animation world, and with good reason.  That's most certainly not a knock on Miazaki or Pixar, but Disney did it first and set the stage.  Here is a list of ten of just a handful  of the greatest scenes of animation in animation history.

Rules for this List:

1. Disney CANON features Only

2. No Repeat Films, otherwise "Fantasia", "Frozen", "The Lion King", and "Pinocchio would dominate this list

3. The Scene must be a standout moment for the film and (to an extent) the history of Disney Animation

Worth Mentioning:

 Topsy Turvy (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

The Wildebeest Stampede (The Lion King)

 

Night on Bald Mountain/ Ave Maria (Fantasia)

 

Gown Transformation (Cinderella)

 

Forest Opening (Bambi) (I had a REALLY hard time keeping this off)

THE LIST:

10. Big Ben Chase (The Great Mouse Detective)

A film that doesn't gain the recognition it deserves is known for one reason.  While there are rumors that The Black Cauldron was the first Disney Film to use CGI, it's in the The Great Mouse Detective where the technology is used at it's best in those early days.  While chasing after Professor Ratigan's blimp, Basil, Olivia, and the evil Ratigan crash into Big Ben.  It's here, where we're able to see just how enormous the gears working the world's most famous clock are to the mouse world.  CGI is used to create the gears, and as the first piece of CGI in the history of Disney Animation, it is done superbly.

9. Escape from the Cave of Wonders (Aladdin)

After Abu touches the Forbidden Treasure, the Tiger God decides to go all out in an attempt to kill both Aladdin and the monkey, before they are able to give the lamp to Jafar.  Aladdin nearly falls into a pool of lava, but the magic carpet saves him and from there, it's like going on YouTube and watching a First Person view on a roller coaster.  From the incredible CGI lava, to the sweeping camera rotations around the cave, this scene is a thrill to watch, and makes all of the things that happened in Raiders of the Lost Ark totally lame.

 8. The Storm (The Little Mermaid)

The one thing The Little Mermaid has going for it over something like Aladdin, is that most of the scenes, particularly this scene and the Final Battle are all hand drawn, with little to no help from computers.  As Prince Eric celebrates his birthday, a sudden hurricane hits the seas (maybe Triton lost a game of cards or something).  From here on, the special effects team takes complete control from the characters.  The water moves at an almost realistically terrifying rate, every lightning bolt is over indulged into amazing territory, and every hit and turn the ship takes can almost be felt by the audience.  The perfect example for a "stand alone" scene.

7. Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Fantasia)     

The opening piece to Fantasia easily hooks the person watching with not only the power of the music itself, but the animation Walt Disney was able to get out of his animators based solely on the music alone.  Unlike other pieces in the program, Toccata and Fugue illustrates what a person might think about instantly upon hearing the music for the first time.  Instead of Mickey Mouse dancing, it is just masses of color moving in sync with the music, to geometric objects floating in space.  It is a one of a kind moment in animation that should not be copied, even though the film's less than stellar sequel attempted to.

6. Flight of the Eagle (The Rescuers Down Under)

If only I had skill in drawing.  If I did, not only would this blog not exist, but I'd also be out there trying so hard to match the power of this scene.  This cemented my dream to become a Disney animator, if the next five didn't already.  I was a late bloomer to this film and it's original film.  I didn't grow up with this film, but boy do I wish I did.  I wish I could quote this movie like I can The Jungle Book or Aladdin, because this is one of the single greatest scenes in history.  Cody rescues Marahute from the trap and is accidentally knocked off the cliff.  The eagle catches him.  But instead of just flying him to the nest, the Eagle carries him throughout Australia and showing off the animators skills.  And in this, you still haven't seen Bernard or Bianca!  BADASS!

                                                                       

5. Ballroom Dance (Beauty and the Beast)         

In the single most romantic scene in Disney Animation History, the magic of Beauty and the Beast is heightened to an extraordinary degree in the film's romantic climax.  As Belle and the Beast's relationship continues to blossom, the objects plan a romantic dinner for the two.  Beast shows off his swag and his returning human manners, and Belle takes him to the ballroom to dance.  As they do so, the animators explode with creative ideas as they use sweeping camera movements to show normally unseen motions of the dancing.  The animation takes center stage, and the film reaped the reward of Golden Globe glory for it.

4. Monstro Chase Scene (Pinocchio)

As far as animation is concerned, Pinocchio is probably the most perfect film ever made.  Every second of the film is technical perfection.  This goes double for the film's epic climax, as Pinocchio and Geppetto attempt to escape from the belly of the mighty Monstro by making him sneeze.  In his fury, the whale unleashes his wrath on the duo, crashing and flailing his massive body towards them.  The waves are not meant to be normal waves, but to illustrate the need for the present situation.  There is no comic relief in this fight.  Only intense frights and jaw dropping animation that is still breathtaking even 74 years after it's initial release.  Kudos Disney!

3. "Let It Go" (Frozen)

As Elsa begins to accept the fact that she will never be allowed to live the life she was told to, she begins to explore what her powers were capable of.  Instead of doing a flashy "Friend Like Me" style musical number, Disney Animators take advantage of their medium and use their tools and skills to create the most breathtaking scene of animation they'd had in almost twenty years.  Elsa is finally allowed to have free reign of her powers and creates her own dream world made entirely of her powers of ice, including the beautiful castle she creates.  Combine that with a stellar song, and this makes for an epic moment in Disney History.  Is it a wonder why this film quickly eclipsed Tangled as Disney's second highest grossing film?

2. Mufasa's Ghost (The Lion King)

Originally, Simba was supposed to have his famous "To Be or Not To Be" scene on his own accord, without any help from his father.  But the famous storytellers in Disney decided on a much more marvelous approach to telling the single most important scene in their epic movie.  To have Mufasa appear before his son in cloud form, which not only symbolized the great king's star metaphor from earlier in the film, but it also gave the "B Team" an opportunity to show that The Lion King was not the B Movie it was conceived to be.  The specter of Mufasa becomes more of a 3 dimensional shape as the scene progresses in order to show to Simba that it really was him and to show of the color palette Disney had to work with.  From being an initial dark blue to turning into a heavenly glow of warm colors, this scene gave audiences around the world chills for years, and made this the single greatest achievement the Post Walt staff would create.

1. The Final Battle (Sleeping Beauty)

But the greatest achievement in the history of animation occurred in Disney's most ambitious film it's ever attempted.  As the film races to it's hectic climax, Phillip battles through hordes of Maleficent's goons, escapes through volleys of arrows and boulders, and a quickly retracting drawbridge.  But before the prince could reach his beloved princess, he must battle his way through a massive forest of thorns created by the wicked fairy.  But even this cannot stop the Prince, who leaves the witch with no other alternative but to face him herself.  This results in the single greatest transformation in animation history, as the wicked Maleficent transforms into her terrifying dragon alter ego.  As Prince and Dragon clash, the flames from the dragon singe the thorns and make for stellar animation.  Sleeping Beauty is considered the apex of the animation form and it rightfully deserves to be named so, which is why this scene is the greatest in the history of Disney Animation.