Ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies

Well, you guys knew this was coming.  As I have done with most of the grouped together movie series I review, I will be ranking the films that are contained within the most ambitious saga of films in cinematic history.  The MCU has opened the possible gateway for an abundant group of followers and copycats, so before this gets too crowded and confusing, let's start with ranking these currently 11 films (I'll do an update for Ant-Man, Civil War, and Dr. Strange) of the universe in the first of a few more lists.

11. Iron Man 3 (2013)


This film was insanely disappointing in terms of the rest of the universe.  Had it set up Tony's actions in Age of Ultron, I would probably like this film a bit more, but it lacked the charisma and awesomeness the first two films had and this was also a really bad use of your Ben Kingsley.  It also brought about questions such as "Where the heck is the rest of the Avenger team?", but I guess that's kind of nitpicky.  Oh well, Marvel had to make a dud at some point.  Too bad it was for the universe's poster boy.

10. The Incredible Hulk (2008)


If a film is so bad that it's lead actor and almost the entire cast is booted out of the entire MCU after one movie, shouldn't it belong at the bottom?  Not necesarrily.  Considering Ang Lee almost wrecked the character with his steaming pile of animal dung, this could have been so much worse.  Edward Norton isn't a terrible Hulk, but it seemed like he didn't care throughout the bulk of the film.  And that is a shame, since he is a great actor.  At least the MCU is going to recognize this film with a character's return during Civil War, but more on that in the next Marvel post.

9. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Since you guys know I worship the ground the first Thor movie was based on, you'd understand the disappointment I have towards this one.  This one had way too much Natalie Portman and way too ugly a realm in the Dark World.  Thor and Loki were still awesome and I did love the action scenes, but the rest of the film was just a gigantic misstep in this saga.  But at least it wasn't Iron Man 3.  That's got to count for something, right?  Right?

8. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Maybe I need to look at this film with a more worldly prospective, because all I hear about it is that it is one of the best MCU films, even though it's only connection to the saga is Thanos and even that is only a brief moment or two.  The world was just a bit to confusing and out of the norm for me to like,  I don't know, maybe I'll warm up to it when the sequel comes out, but who knows how long that will be?  Besides, I'm more interested in Thor: Ragnarok than this or any other film in 2017 with exception given to Black Panther.  But overall, I will get excited when this team joins forces with the Avengers.  Just not too excited.


7. Iron Man 2 (2010)

While in no means a huge leap forward like it's predecessor, Iron Man 2 did add some really cool action scenes and arguably the best character in the franchise in Natasha Romanov.  I think this is the kind of film people wanted Hancock to be, a superhero on hard times that has to rebound and save the day in the end.  And Tony goes through some tough stuff in this film, including drunken escapades and dying thanks to the pallidium core in his arc reactor.  Whiplash isn't too good a villain, but he's certainly better than Killian and the Mandarin in the last film.  But enough bashing for that one, for now...

6. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Yes, this movie is just as stupid as people say it is.  And yes, this film is just as awesome as some people have said.  Despite being a very clunky and silly action movie, The First Avenger is an awesome clunky action movie.  It has great character and really creates another part of the universe for us to interact in (WWII era US and Europe).  Chris Evans looks the part and acts the part, Hugo Weaving is awesome as Red Skull and even Peggy Carter kicks ass.  It's just a good well made action movie that sets up The Avengers quite well.

5. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) 

By all accounts, Age of Ultron should top this list.  It is The Empire Strikes Back of the MCU.  It lets us get to know the characters more, introduces a powerful and terrifying new villain, the team is nearly broken beyond repair and it sets up the hell that awaits the team perfectly.  All of the characters get their moments to shine, although some get more and some get a little less than we'd wanted.  But the only reason this film is not any higher is because the other four films are just better.

4. Iron Man (2008)

The first film in the MCU really set up the rest of the saga perfectly.  Not only does this film give us the origin story of the most iconic hero in the saga yet, but it also established S.H.I.E.L.D. and gave us one of Jeff Bridges most badass roles.  One of the best Superhero movies ever, Iron Man gives us everything we could have possibly asked for in the best Superhero Summer ever.  Awesome characters, great effects, and a chilling villain, this film is absolutely sensational.  Impressive, most impressive.

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) 

Yes, the most acclaimed of all of these movies does manage to find a slot in this countdown.  Why wouldn't it?  It's suspenseful, it's action packed, it's emotional, and on top of that, it sets up Captain America's character for the remainder of the MCU so well that is makes his weaknesses in his first two movies palatable.  Having him join forces with Black Widow was also freaking awesome.  All I hope is that Bucky does come back for Civil War, because I think there is so much more to do with his character.  A nearly flawless film in conception and execution, The Winter Soldier finally made me learn to love Cap's character and ideology.  The patriot soldier isn't much of a patriot anymore.

2. Thor (2011)


I cannot gush enough about how much I love this movie.  It's attention to detail and it's amazing retelling of a truly Shakespearean superhero.  The fish out of water story is done to sheer perfection in this movie, as Thor's interactions with Jane and the human world are freaking hilarious.  And the conflict between family members of the ruling family of Asgard is one that could easily have been mistaken for something out of Game of Thrones.  One thing this movie really does remind me of is The Lion King, specifically the relationship between Mufasa and Scar.  Mufasa loves Scar like a brother, but is unable to cope with his villainy.  Nevertheless, Thor made a significant impact on me for the whole MCU that only one film could possibly top...

1. The Avengers (2012)

Was there any doubt?  When you combine six of the most badass characters in all of comic books and put them all on one screen, it should be almost impossible to top.  But the amazingness of this movie goes beyond the simple love of mindless Superhero action.  The comedy in the writing is freaking unreal, the characters (for the most part) are likable, and the effects are still amazing even after having seen Age of Ultron.  But the action set pieces are what draws me back again and again.  The amazing scene of Hulk smashing the massive Chitauri monster in New York, him mauling the crap out of Loki in Stark Tower, Iron Man vs Thor, Thor's massive lightning storm, I could go on forever about all the awesomeness in this movie.  Simply put, The Justice League has a HUGE hill to climb if they think they can top this.

Film Review #107: The Prince of Egypt

If you guys know me well, then you know that I am not a deeply devout person.  I haven't had much of a religious side to me since my Grandmother died in 2009 and I've been very cynical and blackhearted to the subject since.  Several years passed and I found a movie that I hadn't seen since I was a very little kid: The Prince of Egypt.  Figuring I held the film to some religious standard, I decided to buy a copy and take a gander at what I was sure was going to be a film that pandered to me about the Old Testament.

What I got from the movie was quite possibly the greatest animated film in the history of the medium.  I'm not even joking.  This film is a magnificent, bold and epic retelling of a story millions of people hold to their hearts from a more worldly prospective and it pays off for the film wickedly.  It takes full advantage of the animation medium and excels at it to the point where I thought this was a Disney Film for the longest time.  It is a film that does not sugarcoat the epic story of the Exodus and even adds more layers to the story that even Cecille B. DeMille failed to add in his magnum opus, The Ten Commandments.  It's a beautiful film that, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lion King before it, added an epic tone to the animated medium which had been sorely missing since the 1940's.  Animtion was definitely alive and active if even DreamWorks could outdo Disney and Pixar in a year.

Plot: Fearing the rising population of Hebrews in his empire, Pharaoh Seti sends his men into the Hebrew villages to slay the newborns and stop the overpopulation in the kingdom of Egypt.  But one woman manages to elude the guards and sends her infant son adrift on the Nile, praying that he will be kept safe from the wrath of the Pharaoh.  The basket drifts all the way to the private waterway of the Queen, who takes the young baby in as her son, naming him Moses.

Many years later, Moses (Val Kilmer) and his older brother Ramses (Ray Fiennes) are reckless teenagers having fun at the expense of the High Priests Hotep and Hoi and to the dismay of Seti (Patrick Stewart), who demands that Ramses follow in his footsteps and rule their dynasty with an iron fist.  After some prodding from Moses, Seti agrees to give Ramses some more responsibility and ultimately names him Prince Regent.  The priests present Ramses with a gift: a slave girl.  But when she acts hostile towards him, Moses is awarded the girl.  But she manages to escape her captives and flees towards the Hebrew village.  Moses follows her, hoping to meet her, but is discovered by his actual brother and sister.  While his sister (Sandra Bullock) desperately tries to reach Moses, he refuses to believe her of his true heritage, until he comes across the hieroglyphics depicting Seti's ruthless slaughtering of the Hebrew babies.

 Moses ultimately stands up for an elderly slave being whipped and accidentally murders the guard.  Fleeing into exile, Moses officially denounces his ties to the Egyptian monarchy and travels the desert for many days until he encounters the village of the slave girl he had allowed to escape in Egypt, Tzipporah (Michelle Pfeiffer).  The villagers take him in and he ultimately wins the girl's heart.  But Moses eventually comes across the Burning Bush and the God of the Hebrew's, who tells Moses that he is to be sent to bring freedom to the Hebrews and bring them to a land of milk and honey.  Moses and his wife return to Egypt, only to find that Ramses has succeeded his father on the throne.  Despite the two's mutual desire for them to return to their brotherly past, both dig their lines in the sand as liberator and conqueror and their love for each other is put to the ultimate test when God unleashes the Plagues on the kingdom Moses once called home.

What's Bad?: Again, like in Antz, the overuse of star power in the voiceover cast can be distracting in this film.  While many of the voices fit in almost perfectly in the world the animators create, I would be lying if the combo of Steve Martin and Martin Short didn't distract me on a few occasions.  But the moments are very minute.

What's Good?: When working on an adaptation, you often want to take a different perspective from other famous retellings of such classic stories.  The Ten Commandments brought the Bible to Hollywood and made a more entertaining version of the Exodus story.  Meaning, it made Moses the good guy and Ramses an arrogant villain who is ultimately broken by the Plagues.  Why do I bring this up?  Simple.  The Prince of Egypt reminds us as an audience that Moses and Ramses were raised together as brothers.  Instead of being rivals, it's more likely that these two were once inseparable friends.  And this film spends a vast amount of time setting up their friendship and we have to witness this strong bond between hero and villain fall apart as they find themselves on opposite sides of a war neither truly wants to win.  This relationship is quite possibly the strongest in any animated film, even though it ends tragically.

Ralph Fiennes is extremely powerful as Ramses, playing him both as the brash and irresponsible Prince and the strict and arrogant Pharaoh.  He gives it his all in this movie and really makes the relationship mentioned above that much stronger.  Ramses is a tormented prince, who without a positive person in his life in his brother, takes up the role his father demanded he follow and ultimately becomes the villain who we're actually sad fails in his own ambitions because we love this character.

The animation style is also really interesting.  Unlike following the "Barbie/Ken" stereotypes in many other animated films around the same time (Quest for Camelot, Mulan, Hercules, Anastasia), it takes the Pocahontas approach and decides to make the people in this film look more like realistic and less like the stereotypes people were getting sick of by this time.

There is also a scene I have to talk about.  It is what I call a perfect scene.  After Ramses refuses to free the Hebrews one final time, Moses explains to his family about God's decision to take the first-born males in every household.  From his final declaration about the Plagu to the next major musical number, there are only two spoken lines and they are both spoken by Ramses to Moses as he lays his son to burial:

"You...and your people...have my permission to go."
"Leave me!"  

And the two expressions each man makes in their next two scenes are the most powerful in the movie.  As Ramses cradles the body of his dead son, he looks back towards Moses with a look of absolute derision and hatred, one that very few animators can master.  And upon getting the answer he'd been praying for, Moses collapses and sobs outside the palace, finally understanding just how much he had to lose in order to follow his faith.  He knew that at this moment, there was nothing he could go back to in Egypt.  Any hope or prayer he had of bringing his family back together, was gone.

Lastly, the music in this film is as good as most of the musicals Disney was making during their renaissance.  Disney veterans Stephen Schwartz (Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Hans Zimmer (The Lion King) took over the music of this epic story and brought the power and raw emotions from those movies and thrust them into the limelight for this moving story that everyone needs to know.  The songs are miracles in themselves, as it proved that Disney did not have the monopoly on animated musicals and that DreamWorks could actually succeed in this medium.  Too bad no more animated films the studio would make would outdo this one's, but that's for another time.

Overall: An animated version of the miracle of many religions all around the world is also a miracle of a film.  In an era where even the slightest misspoken religious word or phrase could bring about a terror attack, this film is a bold and theatrical interpretation of one of the most famous moments in religious history.  But it will not hesitate to cover the darker more graphic moments and ultimately makes you turn off the movie feeling both happy and empty on the inside.  You cheer for the Hebrew's escape, but you question "what could have been" between Moses and Ramses.  In an era where 2-D animation was fading faster than it ever had before, DreamWorks proclaimed that he medium still had a few bullets left and they most certainly saved one of their best for last.

Final Grade: 97 or A+

Next Review: The Road to El Dorado
Then: Chicken Run
Later: Joseph: King of Dreams
Finally: Shrek

Film Review #106: Antz

I have a very, and I mean VERY complicated relationship with DreamWorks SKG.  I would ordinarily look at this film studio run by former Disney Executive Jeffery Katzenberg (one of the greatest men who ever lived), as a film studio that pretty much exists to rip off and spite Disney and it's entire existence.  And, I'm kind of right.  After all, Katzenberg left Disney after The Lion King premiered with really bad blood with Michael Eisner and Roy Disney and set out to make himself the greatest executive who ever lived.  The studio's earliest films are basically rip offs of the more successful Disney films of the time and are generally not remembered or not remembered fondly by many animation fans.  But they you get films like The Prince of Egypt, of Kung Fu Panda, or the How to Train Your Dragon films that are done so well on their own that you cannot believe that the same studio that made these masterpieces was also making turds like Over the Hedge, Madagascar 2-4, Shrek 3-4, The Croods and of course the dreaded Turbo.  So, despite me having a lot to say about the mediocre and bad DreamWorks films, I feel compelled to give the studio credit when it deserves it.  So, like I have done with Disney and Pixar, I will now be tackling DreamWorks head on.

Let's start with their first animated film, Antz, which is pretty much a more adulterated version of A Bug's Life, all the way down to the lead being an ant.  Despite this, I actually kind of like this film a bit better.  Surprised?  Well, get used to it.  DreamWorks has a way of making some of their pure rip off movies being entertaining and this is no exception.

Plot: Woody Allen stars as a neurotic ant named Z.  Z feels that he doesn't have a place in the world and that he's just a basic ant in a colony of billions.  And the other ants just mock him and tell him to get back to work.  One night at a bar he begins dancing with a female ant and they really hit it off.  But the female is revealed to be Princess Bala (Sharon Stone) and a lovestruck Z becomes determined to meet her.  He coerces his longtime friend Weaver (Sylvester Stallone) into trading places with him in the army to allow him to meet up with the princess, but his battalion is sent off to war with a group of termites, which is actually a scheme set forth by General Mandible (Gene Hackman), who schemes to get rid of the Queen's loyal soldiers in order to stage a coup.

Z returns from the battle a hero (though he spent most of the time cowering), and is taken before the Queen.  But when his identity is about to become exposed, Z takes Bala hostage and vanishes from the colony.  While Bala continues to demand he take her back, Z decides to leave the colony life and begin searching for the legendary city known as Insectopia.  Eventually, Bala warms up to Z as they have many encounters with various insects and dangers, but Bala is found by Mandible's second in command, Cutter (Christopher Walken) and taken back to the colony.  Bala is imprisoned by Mandible, who plots to kill her mother and the rest of the "inferior" members of the colony with a flood and make her the Queen of his new colony, leaving Z to return to his exiled people and try to help them escape the schemes of the wicked general.

What's Bad?: Antz was probably the first animated film to overdue the whole famous cast as a cartoon thing.  I mean, here's a brief list of just some of the stars in the movie:

Woody Allen
Sharon Stone
Dan Aykroyd 
Christopher Walken
Sylvester Stallone 
Jennifer Lopez
Gene Hackman
Danny Glover

While that may not be distracting to you all, it was certainly distracting to me.  I don't hear characters when I listen to the dialogue in this movie.  I hear the actor reading these lines in a normal movie.  I mean, I instantly think of Lex Luthor whenever I hear Gene Hackman talk in this film.

What's Good?: While it may not have the charm that A Bug's Life had, this film most certainly has the gusto to make a film that would entertain all audiences.  It deals with many things that animated films do cover, but it takes different angles.  If people felt the whole "being one of a kind" angle was stale through films like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Toy Story, Mulan, or Hercules, then I reccomend you take a gander at this film.  It uses cynicism and a more worldly approach to it's storytelling when compared to Pixar's offering, which was more of an Americanized approach.

Gene Hackman as Mandible is exactly the kind of villain I wanted Shan-Yu to be in Mulan.  He's efficient and threatening but also cool and calculated.  He will lose his temper, but plays the part of both the diplomat and the war lord really well.

And while he may be out of place in this movie, I just have to comment on how freaking awesome Christopher Walken is in this film.  His character doesn't really do much except switch sides by the end, but since it's Christopher F***ING Walken, I'll give him a thumbs up in anything he's in.

I also like the animation in this a bit better than in A Bug's Life.  It's more realistic and gritty and it makes me feel like I'm actually in an ant colony.  While I did like the colors of the world in A Bug's Life, I just feel that it didn't make this world believable enough.  It felt like a bug movie taking place in a Pixar world, rather than a bug movie taking place in a human world.

Overall: Aside from it's clunks, this film is still pretty damn impressive.  And unlike other future DreamWorks films, this seems to take more risks and exploit more of an adult appeal with not just the jokes but the story and themes too.  It wasn't just about fart jokes and using swear words, but also about appealing to adults as well as children.  Good start, DreamWorks, but you're not there just yet.  You're going to need and EXTRA good film to impress me...and BY GOD do they have one coming up next...

Final Grade: 89 or B+

Next Review: The Prince of Egypt
Then: The Road to El Dorado
Later: Chicken Run
Finally: Joseph: King of Dreams

Film Review #105: Monsters University

So, if Cars 2 or Brave didn't steer you away from Pixar in 2012, then I'm more than sure you figured that the prequel to one of their most famous films was a surefire hit that would endear itself to audiences on the same level as Pixar's finest.  While not the best Pixar film, Monsters Inc. had a certain charisma and charm to it that allowed it to not fall it's way into Animated Limbo alongside the many less than stellar films that came out around the same time.  Yep.  Too bad the prequel threw all of the good things out and replaced it with a cliched college buddy comedy that offers no twists, no surprises, no charm, no charisma, and was completely blown out of the water by the studio that was once referred to as Pixar's little brother (Disney Animation).  This film has officially signaled the decline of Pixar (not in terms of revenue but in terms of quality).  Cars 2 was not a hiccup and Brave couldn't save Pixar if it turned out to be Beauty and the Beast.  The end had come.  And Pixar is most certainly not going out with a bang.  Let's just get over with it.

Plot: Set several years before the events of the first film, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) is a freshman at Monster University as a scare major in the hopes of becoming a great monster at Monsters Inc.  But he is constantly overshadowed by his fellow freshman James P. Sullivan (John Goodman), who feels that college would be a breeze for him and slacks off most of the first semester.  This draws intense criticism from the Dean of the university, Abigail Hardscrabble who decides to flunk them, Mike for not being scary and Sulley for being lazy.  But Mike proclaims that he can win by taking on the Scare Games, but now understands that he must join forces with Sulley in order for both of them to avoid expulsion and ultimately join the ranks of the great Monsters above them.  However, the only fraternity on campus that would take them is Oozma Kappa (the nerds), who Mike decides he has to train for the games so that they could achieve their dreams.

What's Bad?: Monsters University has many of the same problems as Brave had, only this time it's more insulting.  If fans of Brave called their film a homage to the Disney Classics that proceeded it and I was able to criticize that, I can also criticize those who say that this is an homage to the college comedy movie.  My problem with this is that Pixar's films were once original ideas.  Even their lesser films were original films (to a degree).  Finding Nemo was not an homage to anything, nor was Cars, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story, or The Incredibles.  They didn't homage or rip off anything.  They existed as their own entity while other people in the medium were relying on gimmicks and pop cultural references.  I'm willing to give the last film a chance because it was paying an homage to Disney storytelling, so long as that means I can trash this film for using every college comedy cliche imaginable (one's an overachiever the other's a slacker, the dean that doesn't understand them, the nerds vs the jocks competition, etc.).

Somewhere along the line, someone in the animation industry decided that people acting like complete assholes to each other was what friendships were built on.  This is not just a problem in motion picture.  In many animated shows nowadays, people think that the only way friends can be friends is if they act like scumbags to each other and just apologize (you know, the Anakin Skywalker effect).  Only a few shows can get away with it, mostly because they started out like this (Regular Show).  But why do Mike and Sulley have to act like such asses to each other throughout this movie.  It really makes me wonder how these two could have ended up such good friends in the original movie.  Imagine if a dynamic friendship like Timon and Pumbaa's was established on being a-holes to one another and using the other for selfish...wait bad example!  Imagine if Buzz and Woody...wait that's bad too.  Um... I got it!  Imagine if Pooh and Tigger were condescending asses to each other.  Yeah, that worked.

Another thing that bugs me is this whole notion that the two characters are striving to become the monsters at the beginning of the first film.  Meaning, they were trying to learn about how to be bigoted monsters that scare and think children are terrifying.  Why make a prequel that craps all over the message of the original film?

Oh, and reusing jokes?  Really?  Is that how low the humor levels in animation have fallen?  Unless the joke was extremely funny in the first film (which it wasn't, it was just a mildly comedic joke), this is a complete and utter waste of my time.  Where is the good comedy in films anymore?  I guess I'll have to fuel the fire for a Rant of the Month...

What's Good?: The only thing in this film that kind of entertained me was the dean.  Helen Mirram plays her off as this extremely strict woman who does not tolerate even the slightest bit of nonsense from either Mike or Sulley.  But even she gets nerfed by the plot of the movie, which makes her into the villain although these two have not deserved any credit from me yet (it's a prequel).

Overall: If this was Pixar's swan song, I want my money back!  I know they have a line of new films coming up with Inside Out premiering in a few weeks, but I am not convinced Pixar has warranted my trust with their recent film pool.  Cars 2 was unforgivable, Brave was passable, but this is where I draw the line.  When you insult a film I actually liked as a kid, this is where I say "adieu Pixar". Unless Inside Out is the greatest animated film they've come out with since Up, count me out!

Final Grade: 55 or F

Next Review: Antz
Then: The Prince of Egypt
Later: The Road to El Dorado
Finally: Chicken Run

Other Posts:
In Depth look into Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Top 75 Favorite Movies (re-vamped)
Top 150 Disney Songs

Film Review #104: Brave

What is there to say about a film that left little to no impact on you whatsoever?  How can you properly judge a film that was so blown up as the magnum opus of an animation demi-goddess like Brenda Chapman (who's worked on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Prince of Egypt), and it wasn't good enough to warrant praise yet still wasn't bad enough to warrant flack and disgust.  This film just, happened.  And no one has spoken of it since.  Brave was supposed to be a groundbreaking film that propelled Pixar into a new dimension and would make up for the abomination that is Cars 2.  It would be the first Disney Movie made since Mulan to truly appeal to the female empowerment message that "Girls can do everything Boys can".  Too bad it didn't provide us with anything original.  Oh well.  I guess Pixar has to go through a dark age of some kind after all of that greatness (and also Cars).  But why did it have to start before I was married or became a father?

Plot: In Medieval Scotland, a princess named Merida is determined to become a ruler of her kingdom without having to marry a man, much to the dismay of her mother, Queen Elinor.  Mother and daughter continue to bicker about Merida's role in her kingdom until Merida ultimately ends a tournament for her hand in marriage by defeating all of the participants in an archery contest.  Merida leaves in frustration, encountering a mystic in the woods who agrees to help Merida change her life.  The change transforms her mother into a bear and she is warned that unless she can mend the bridge between her and her mother, the change will become permanent.  Mother and daughter then must mend the broken bridges as the clans are on the brink of war and save their kingdom before the king kills the wild bear and Elinor loses her humanity.

What's Bad?: Unlike the vast majority of Pixar films, this film lacks originality.  It seems very much like a Disney film trying to disguise itself as a Pixar film.  It has the magic transformations, the headstrong teenaged female lead, adorable little kid sidekicks, dopey dads, and a medieval tone that seemed to try to fit alongside films like Aladdin and Cinderella before sitting next to Toy Story and Up.  Ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, but I hold Pixar up to a significantly higher standard than I do it's main peers.  This was the studio that produced the films that were good despite not having much of the formulamatic structure that animated kids films had in the 90's (teenage/ young adult romance, big dramatic villains, comic relief, musical numbers, and overall likable quality).  Pixar created movies that stood against those animated stereotypes and instead of relying on the typical Disney tropes, it gave us movies that included:

A Buddy Comedy about Toys
An Epic Journey of a Father searching for his Son
A Love story between robots
A Superhero movie about an older Superhero who tries to come out of retirement
The journey of an old man to keep his promise with his love

What's Good?: The only thing about this film that stands out is the animation, which is once more brilliant.  That's really the only major compliment you can give the mediocre to bad Pixar films.  But this film in particular has some significant animation.  The film really gives us the illusion of being in Scotland, in the same sense as how films like Bambi and The Lion King gave us the illusion of being in the woods and Africa.  The mysticism and majesty of the world is on full display in this film.

Overall: Brave was not the only major film of 2012 to be an enormous disappointment, but it was definitely one of the most infamous.  It was the film that was supposed to change the animation landscape forever, but it fell apart almost as quickly as it took it's place.  There was a game changing animated film coming, but Pixar would not be the one to make it.  Pixar is in dire need of a shakeup and perhaps they shouldn't look to their roots to reboot their legacy.  Perhaps they need to look inside themselves and understand just what they were about for their great 15 year run.  Because the next film is definitely not an improvement...

Final Grade: 76 or C

Next Review: Monsters University
Then: An In Depth Look at Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Later: Antz
Finally: The Prince of Egypt

Film Review #103: Cars 2

How could you, Pixar?  How could you make THIS as a followup to Toy Story 3?  How on earth could you have done this to me?  Well, this day had to come eventually.  In a contest no one wants to be the winner of, Cars 2 is not only the worst Pixar movie hands down, but it may very well be the worst Disney Sequel ever made (and this includes Hunchback 2 and The Enchanted Christmas)  It's clumsy, it's unfocused, it's a cheap marketing gimmick, and it's plot and story are so far out of left field that it confuses me that John Lassetter was the one who greenlighted this.  Was this Disney's evil plan all along?  To force Pixar to make bad movies while Disney makes good movies?  Because it's not working (Frozen aside).  Ugh, let's just get this over with.

Plot: Lightning McQueen is invited to compete in a World Grand Prix, which is being held in Japan, France, and Britain, in order to help promote a biofuel called Allinol which is being plugged by a car named Miles Axelrod.  Though he wants Sally to go with him, she insists that Mater travel with him to the cup, which Lightning begrudgingly agrees to.

While abroad in Tokyo, an American "spy car" is being attacked by evil henchmen cars from an unknown "mastermind" named Professor Zundapp.  He passes his information along to Mater, who is recruited by two more spies under the belief that Mater is just playing the part of a big stupid car.  We also learn that the Allinol could ignite if it's exposed to a high electromagnetic pulse, to which the spied believe that Zundapp schemes to use to ward people off of the new oil and keep utilizing fossil fuels.

What's Bad?: Who the hell thought this film had potential?  Seriously, who at Pixar thought this was the film EVERYONE had to see?  Who even thinks this stuff up?  A spy car movie?  Really?  And on top of that, who would give Cars a sequel before all of the other MUCH BETTER Pixar films?  Cars isn't the worst, but why give it a sequel?

Unlike the first movie, which focused mostly on Lightning McQueen's humility, this one focuses on Mater (Larry the Cable Guy), because...the kids like him, I guess.  He's not only twice as annoying in this one, but when he's put alongside a great actor like Michael Caine, it's only a recipe for disaster.

The absolute worst part of this movie is the "twist ending".  I'm not going to give it away (hey, if I had to suffer through this movie, you should too), but let's just say the person who is fronting this whole scheme to stop biofuel is quite literally the last person you'd expect.  And it doesn't even make it a nice twist.  Instead, it will leave you scratching your head in absolute confusion.  It makes so little sense that it may actually kill the twist endings in movies forever.

What's Good?: It didn't assassinate Pixar's credibility.  Nope, we'll deal with that atrocity a little later!  It just hurt it a bit.

Overall: This is the first Pixar film that will get a failing grade.  Simply astonishing that an animation company responsible for some of the greatest animated films of all time would create this!  This film is the perfect example of a franchise killing sequel, something Hollywood is become really good at.

Final Grade: 45, or F

Next Review: Brave
Then: Monsters University
Later: Planes/ Planes: Fire and Rescue
Also: An In Depth Look at Phase III in the MCU (post-Age of Ultron)
Finally: Antz

Chapter 2 (KAIRI): The Dwarf Woodlands

Chapter 2 (Kairi): The Dwarf Woodlands

        When the light dissipated around Kairi, she found herself in a meadow filled with many beautiful wild flowers.  On her first journey to her own world, she began to wonder what Sora and Riku would do in her situation.  Hm, Sora would probably rush off and try to help someone out anyway he can.  And Riku would probably do some reconnaissance.  I guess I could do a mixture of the both.   The first aspect that caught her attention was a tall castle looming in the distance.  "I wonder who's castle this is."  Before Kairi could go and explore, someone cleared their voice behind her.  Kairi turned to face two little men marching their way towards her.  While the beardless one stumbled about quite ridiculously, the other seemed in no mood to joke.  His sour face rubbed Kairi the wrong way, but she figured she could probably make a friend easier by talking rather than ignoring.  "Can I help you?"
        "Heh!  You got a lot of guts if you want to go to that there castle!" he responded grumpily.
        "I'm just trying to make sure this place is safe from the Heartless" Kairi explained.
        "Then don't be dumb!  There hasn't been nobody in that there castle in years" the dwarf grumbled.  "All that's in there is monsters and ghosts!"
        Kairi laughed.  "There's no such thing as ghosts" she insisted.
        "Well, ya shouldn't be here in the first place!" he continued bitterly, studying her apparel.  "Ya look familiar, girl.  Why do I think I've seen ya before?"
        "I'm sorry, but I've never been here before.  My name is Kairi.  I was sent by King Mickey to make sure this world is safe from the Heartless."  Kairi' summoned her Keyblade to her hand.  "This is the task that is set for any Keyblade Master."
        "A Keyblade, huh?" the dwarf asked.  "We've seen plenty of that there weapon around here.  That diamond thief for instance and the girl who took out the monsters in the Queen's Castle.  But what about that thug that tried to hurt Snow White?"
        "Hurt Snow White?" Kairi gasped.  "Who would want to hurt Snow White?"
        As Kairi finished asking her question, a small squadron of Shadow Heartless emerged from the woods nearby.  The dwarfs jumped behind Kairi.  "Ah!  Them monsters are back!"
        "Leave them to me!" Kairi exclaimed, charging forward towards the new enemies.

Defeat All of the Heartless

        Kairi summoned a bolt of lightning to eliminate the last Heartless, sighing with relief as neither of the dwarfs had been harmed.  The grumpy looking dwarf approached her once more.  "Well I'll be.  Never thought a girl would be the one to save ol' Grumpy!  Maybe you can actually help us."

        Kairi nodded.  "I'd be honored.  What do you want me to do?" 

         Grumpy looked off towards the woods.  "We're planning a little reunion with Snow White.  She's supposed to be here soon.  But those monsters are everywhere.  Would ya mind clearing them out?  I don't want those things to ruin our luncheon with the princess!"  

        Kairi smiled.  "Alright.  I'll see what I can do."  

        Grumpy nodded.  "Good.  I'll go off to the mines and tell the others you'll take care of the monsters.  Dopey, you stay here with her!  Don't do anything stupid!"  Grumpy dashed off into the woods.  

        Kairi crouched down to the beardless dwarf and waved.  "Hello, Dopey!" 

        Dopey waved, but stumbled over his two feet.  As Kairi pulled the Dwarf back to his feet, she looked into the woods where Grumpy had departed.  "I guess we'd better get to work."  The dwarf tugged at Kairi's hand and led her down the path towards the woods.  As she was led off, Kairi looked back at the dark castle in the distance.  Something tells me I'll have to go back there.  

        Kairi took careful notice of the woods as she and Dopey wandered through towards the Dwarf's Cottage.  It was much darker and deeper than the outside had let on.  She began to feel goosebumps all over her body.  "Something isn't right here."  

        Dopey began to wander ahead when he was ambushed by more Heartless.  Kairi leaped forward and summoned her Keyblade.  "Stay back, Dopey!"  The simple dwarf hurried behind her, but Kairi saw even more Heartless appearing in the forest.  Kairi sighed.  "I guess this is what he meant.  These Heartless are everywhere!"  As a Shadow jumped towards her, Kairi blasted it away with a pulse of blue energy.  

Defeat All of the Heartless while Protecting Dopey!

Info: If Dopey is hurt too much, it's Game Over!

GET BONUS:

Kairi: +5 HP (Total Now 25)

Kairi Learned Aerial Recovery

        As Kairi and Dopey reached the end of the dark forest, she sighed with relief.  She looked down to the little dwarf, who still surprisingly wore a smile on his face.  "You seem alright.  Are you alright, Dopey?"

        The dwarf nodded happily. 

        Kairi looked ahead.  "So is your house up ahead?"

        Dopey nodded once more.

        "Then I guess we'd better get going.  Let's just hope that that's all of the Heartless we see for a while."  Kairi followed Dopey as they left the forest behind.  

        As Kairi and Dopey arrived near the Dwarfs Cottage, they noticed that none of the Dwarfs had come, as of yet.  Kairi looked around nervously.  But she could find none of Dopey's friends or family anywhere.  "Doesn't look like anyone's home.  I wonder where Grumpy went."

        Kairi looked down a path that led to the mountains near the cottage.  Grumpy stumbled down the path, a look of worry and dread on his face.  "This is terrible!  Our friends are trapped in the Mines!  There's some evil spell on it, that's for sure!"  

        Kairi groaned.  "I'll bet it's Maleficent!  I'll have a look for you."

        Grumpy shook his head.  "No can do, Red!  You'd just get lost looking for my friends in there.  Stay here and wait for Snow White!"  

        "But you've never dealt with the Heartless before, Grumpy!  Let me go and look for them, while you wait here for Snow White.  Dopey can come with me to make sure I don't get lost."  

        Grumpy was about to argue, but stopped himself.  "Just be careful, Red!"

        "My name is Kairi!" 

        "Whatever!" the dwarf grumbled.  He scurried off into the cottage, leaving Kairi and Dopey to look out towards the path to the mines.  As the two hurried off towards the remaining dwarfs, a shadowy being appeared, staring at the two with a menacing look in her eyes.  The shadowy being was draped in regal attire and wore a magnificent crown atop her head.  Despite her outer beauty, the woman was vain and had thoughts of malicious evil in her eyes.  

        "Yes" she called to Kairi, who was too far off  to hear.  "Run you fools!  You'll need all the power you can muster to retrieve the dwarfs from their peril!  And while you play around in a mine, I'll be free to rid myself of that cursed Snow White once and for all!"  The specter of the Wicked Queen cackled as her plan slowly began coming to fruition.  

Film Review #102: Big Hero 6

I have to be fair here.  Big Hero 6 had a lot to prove for itself when it first came out last Fall.  Whenever an animated film (or any film for that matter) follows up a film that was so brilliant that it is almost impossible to compete with it, it puts an unbearable amount of pressure on the new film.  A direct comparison point with this film can be drawn from another Disney animated film that followed an immensely popular movie: Pocahontas.  There was almost no chance of either of these films surpassing The Lion King or Frozen in any meaning of the word.  How could this film even come close to matching something as emotionally enthralling as it's predecessor?

To be quite frank, I was very underwhelmed when I saw this film.  Not only is this film not in the same wavelength as Frozen or any of the other Disney Classics, I'm not even sure this would rank in my Top 25 Disney Films.  It's not that the film is bad, but it was just a good film with nothing too special about it.

Plot: (Taken From Wikipedia) Hiro Hamada is a 14-year-old robotics genius who lives in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo. Raised by his aunt and older brother Tadashi after the death of his parents, he spends his time participating in illegal robot fights. To redirect Hiro, Tadashi takes him to the robotics center at his university, where Hiro meets Tadashi's friends: GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred, as well as the healthcare companion robot Baymax that Tadashi created. To enroll in the school, Hiro signs up for the school's science fair and presents microbots: swarms of tiny robots that can link together in any arrangement imaginable. Professor Callaghan, the head of the school's robotics program, is impressed, and Hiro is accepted into the university. Alastair Krei, a businessman and president of Krei Tech, attempts to buy the microbots, but with Callaghan's advice, Hiro declines to sell them. When a fire breaks out at the university, Tadashi rushes in to rescue Callaghan and is killed in an explosion.

Several weeks later, a depressed Hiro accidentally activates Baymax, who follows Hiro's last microbot to an abandoned warehouse. There, the two discover that someone has been mass-producing Hiro's microbots, and they are attacked by a Kabuki-masked man controlling the bots. To catch the man, Hiro equips Baymax with armor and a battle chip containing various karate moves. After the masked man attacks Hiro, Baymax, GoGo, Wasabi, Honey, and Fred, the six form a superhero team. The six go to Fred's mansion and begin to plan, and Hiro superpowers his friends with powers pertaining to their field of science. Suspecting that Krei stole the microbots and caused the explosion, they discover a secret, disused Krei Tech laboratory, which was researching teleportation technology until the disappearance of a test pilot. While detaining the masked man, they discover him to be Professor Callaghan, who started the fire as a distraction to steal Hiro's bots while leaving Tadashi to die. An enraged Hiro removes Baymax's healthcare chip (leaving only the battle chip) and orders him to kill Callaghan. Baymax almost does so, but Honey re-installs the healthcare chip to stop him. Furious at his friends' intervention, Hiro storms off with Baymax. When Hiro tries to remove the healthcare chip again, Baymax stops him, saying that vengeance is not what Tadashi would've wanted. This causes Hiro to break down, yelling that Tadashi is gone. To console him, Baymax plays several humorous videos of Tadashi running tests during Baymax's development. A remorseful Hiro later apologizes to his friends, who forgive him, and the team reunites to stop Callaghan.

The group discovers that the vanished test pilot in Krei's lab was Callaghan's daughter Abigail, and that Callaghan is seeking revenge on Krei for his daughter's apparent death. Callaghan attempts to kill Krei and destroy his headquarters by sucking both into a teleportation portal with no exit. The team saves Krei and destroys the microbots; but the portal remains active. Baymax detects Abigail inside, alive but in hypersleep, and he and Hiro leap into the portal to rescue her. After finding Abigail's podship, the thrusters on his damaged armor fail, and Baymax uses his armor's right-hand rocket fist to propel Hiro and Abigail back towards the portal opening and stays behind. Hiro and Abigail make it back, and Callaghan is arrested. Sometime later, Hiro discovers Baymax's healthcare chip (which contains his entire personality) clenched in his rocket fist, and rebuilds him, whereafter the six friends continue their exploits through the city, fulfilling Tadashi's hope of helping those in need.

During the end credits, it is shown through newspaper headlines that Hiro has been awarded a grant from the university, where a building has been dedicated to Tadashi. In a post-credits scene, Fred accidentally opens a secret door in his family mansion and finds superhero gear inside. His father, a retired superhero, arrives stating that they have a lot to talk about as they embrace.

What's Bad?: One of the many criticisms the new Marvel films are being given are the lack of appeal from the supporting casts.  Thor's friends in Asgard along with Jane's assistant are viewed very lukewarmly, while a good portion of the new members of the Avengers are not going to get development (Black Panther, Spider Man, Captain Marvel, etc.).  The same can be said about the supporting cast in this film.  They're kooky, supportive, and fun to an extent, but none are able to develop strong personalities.  Maybe Disney plans to build this up as another Marvel Franchise, but I digress.

Also, I found I couldn't really find myself liking the villain, Professor Callaghan.  He lacks the appeal of most of the villains that preceded him and the many Marvel Villains he would be joining.  I mean, at least Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane in Iron Man was at least a likable douche.  But this character's motivation is as basic as it goes and his overall turn did not make me feel surprised.  I guess I'm getting too old for these films...

What's Good?: Baymax, on the other hand, was a real refreshing comedic and heartfelt character to me.  Usually, a side character is either heartfelt and sincere (Kala or Mufasa), or just there to be comic relief (Timon and Pumbaa, Mr. Smee, Mushu, Olaf).  But there are some who can walk the boundary between both perfectly (Baloo, The Genie, Charlotte LeBouff, the Beast's servants).  Baymax fits in alongside these gems.  Not only does he serve as a friend and a partner to Hiro, but also as a replacement for his deceased brother.  He looks out for Hiro and keeps him on the straight and narrow path.  Baymax makes the movie for me, but he doesn't have the power those other characters in their own movies has above.

Also, while I don't think the film as a whole matches well with Frozen, I think the animation is still the best in the business (outside of How to Train Your Dragon 2, which deserved to win the Oscar over this).  The animation is fast paced, brisk and colorful enough to keep Disney a cut above it's competition, which still relies on the style over substance approach.

Overall: Aside from Baymax and the animation, Big Hero 6 has little to push it into the elite Disney Animation category.  It's not funny and witty like Aladdin, captivating or groundbreaking like Frozen, or as powerful and moving as Fantasia or The Lion King.  Nevertheless, if this is going to be one hiccup in Disney's continued Second Renaissance, I will without a doubt go and see their next film...whatever it ends up being...

Final Grade: 80 or B-

Top Disney Songs of ALL TIME: (120-111)

As we grow older, we take different things from all of the movies we watched as kids.  But an obvious thing that remains with us from when we're kids until we die is the music.  Music is an absolutely vital part to the formula of a majority of Disney Films and has been a part of the company since it's inception.  Over time, the songs of changed, but the quality is still a huge cut above the rest.
I never thought I would have to do a countdown like this, but I feel I have to now, especially since the Disney Musical seems to be back in action thanks to the success Aladdin has had on Broadway and the smash release of Frozen.  Songs are an integral part of most Disney movies and are some of the best songs we've ever seen.

Please note that not every single Disney Song has been nominated (mostly because there are at least over 300 songs from all forms of media).  So I decided to put in as many of the songs as I possibly can.  A preliminary list of over 200 songs has been trimmed down to a spry 150.  This is a list of opinion gathered over a series of weeks of enlisting opinions of dozens of people, all whom have different tastes in music.  Heck, my Dad even helped with this.  But here we are:

120. "Sally's Song", The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

The Nightmare Before Christmas belongs in the categories alongside such big time animated musicals as Aladdin, The Lion King, Frozen, and Beauty and the Beast.  Danny Elfman did a brilliant job writing the songs for this film.  This one in particular is an underrated gem.  It's very rare that the leading lady's "I Want" song is as depressing as hers.  Sally pretty much accepts that Jack's obsessions with Christmas will forever trump any potential romance she could have with him.  Not only is it really refreshing to not here this huge ballad for Sally, it also fits brilliantly in the film as one of the later songs in the film.  It's not too over the top and it doesn't detract from the plot in any sense.  It's a great song, even if it's pretty damn depressing in it's lyrics.  Kudos, once again, to one of the best animated films of all time.

119. "Topsy Turvy", The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)


That is the way to make a Top 10 list.  Two songs with little to nothing in common at all and completely different in tone.  Topsy Turvy is just another one of those really out of tone songs from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, yet it seems to gel well with the rest of the movie.  Quasimodo's first exposure to the outside world it not exactly one that is too sane.  It's the Festival of Fools in Paris, where dogs walk people, dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet.  This song also has the bit of importance that it keeps the plot moving forward quite well, as Quasimodo is exposed to the world below the Bell Tower, he, Frollo, and Phoebus are exposed to Esmeralda the first time, and he's ultimately crowned the King of Fools.  Wild and zany, this song is good enough to not warrant my displeasure, something this film is very poor at BTW...

118. "Wherever You Are", Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search For Christopher Robin (1997)

How could Disney make me bawl my eyes out with this song when I was a kid?  This song is unnecessarily sad for a film that was also such.  This is pretty much the song where Winnie the Pooh practically gives up on ever reuniting with the missing Christopher Robin.  I'm almost in tears listening to this song once again while I'm writing this list.  Then, of course, this film and I have a very complicated history.  As I had finished watching this film a few minutes before my grandmother lost her battle with cancer.  I cannot watch this film without tearing up at this point.  Why did it have to be Winnie the Pooh?  Why, Disney?  Why?  I FREAKING LOVE WINNIE THE POOH!

117. "Pink Elephants on Parade", Dumbo (1941)


Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the mindfuck of your lives.  The sweetest most adorable movie Disney could have ever made suddenly transforms into a drug ridden hallucination with giant bubbles transforming into...um...PINK ELEPHANTS!  I just need to ask this: Who the F*ck thought this was a good idea?  This does not seem like a Walt Disney approved idea.  Then again, I don't really want to know what went on in that guy's mind, not after watching "Der Furhers Face".  I will never be able to get Donald screaming "Heil Hitler!" a hundred times out of my memory, almost as I'll never be able to get this walking drug hallucination out of my mind.  Well, I guess we know Dumbo can only take one trunk full of alcohol...

116. "I'm Wishing/ One Song", Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Outside of "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" this is the very first major Disney Song ever to reach audiences ear drums back in the day.  While Adriana Caselotti's voice isn't exactly on par with someone like Jodi Benson, Paige O' Hara, or Idina Menzel, it does fit the operatic musicals popular at the time.  If these two songs had failed to captivate audiences, we'd be looking at a very different world today.  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs really normalized the movie musical, along with The Wizard of Oz and Pinocchio.  Snow White sings about finding her true love and her true love finds her.  There isn't too much to be descriptive about, although the fact that this does help promote the story (the Queen oversees the Prince's love song).  This was a lot more important a song than people think, but it's just not the best...

115. "Endless Night", The Lion King (1997)

One of the things that the original film did not allow for was a musical number in which Simba could fully immerse himself in his grief and misery following Mufasa's death.  The Broadway show did a lot of things right by the source material, but this was an added improvement that makes the story all the more powerful.  Despite being able to crack jokes and enjoy his life with Timon and Pumbaa in exile, Simba's despair and misery ultimately get the best of him in the long run.  Simba sings a song about his desire just to be able to hear his father's voice one last time before his death.  "Endless Night" is one of the most powerful songs you will ever hear, yet it still isn't the best from the Broadway show.  Just letting you guys know, both the Broadway and Film versions of one of my all time favorite films will be heavily represented in this countdown...






114. "Someday", The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

While I do like Phil Collins rendition of "You'll Be in My Heart" and tolerate Michael Bolton's rendition of "Go the Distance", this was the very last of those soft pop songs that ended a Disney film that I really adore.  From 1991-1996, every Disney film's end credits played a soft pop version of a previously heard song ("Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" for example) or in the case of Pocahontas or The Hunchback of Notre Dame, they used replaced songs that had no room in the original film.  This anthem sung by All 4 One is one of the best songs to end a film I've ever heard.  It fits the film so well, that the upcoming Broadway show is likely to add this song into the plot of the show somehow.  This film is already stuffed with great music, and this is no exception to the rule.  Kudos to Disney, once again...

113. "Son of Man", Tarzan (1999)


I have a love-hate relationship with the music in Tarzan.  Some days, I love to listen to rock tempo given to the songs of this new world I'm being introduced to, and on other days I can't stand listening to Phil Collins voice.  It really does depend on the day.  But "Son of Man" is one of those songs from the film that I cannot ever get mad at.  It's the song I listen to first on my iPod when I work out at the gym.  It's the main, most recognizable song from the film and it's upbeat tempo and introduction to Tarzan's rapidly rising reputation in the jungle.  This song is great in both it's construction and conception.  Phil Collins did not strike out with this film, and that warrants a pass.

112. "Zero to Hero", Hercules (1997)

There are instances where the songs in Hercules drive me nuts!  The randomness of these songs agitate me so.  Yet I could pick three songs in this film more than worth the time in listening to.  Just like how "Son of Man" gave us a montage of Tarzan's rise to prominence, "Zero to Hero" gives us an upbeat musical montage of the numerous monsters Hades sent out to wipe out our hero and all of the ways he achieved victory.  It gives us a lot of in jokes and pop cultural references (People were getting a little tired of them at this point), yet it keeps to it's Disney roots and makes the song at the very least memorable.  And I can't judge Disney for that...

111. "The Headless Horseman", The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)


The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is without a doubt the best of the Package Projects (it's kind of hard to review six films in a row that are either good or mediocre, nothing spectacular in any of them), and it shows in the Sleepy Hollow segment.  As a desperate and jealous Brom Bones sees an opportunity to scare Ichabod Crane off the land owned by his love Katrina, he takes full advantage of Ichabod's superstitious beliefs and gives us a musical story of the ghost of their small village in New York.  It's not only a catchy song, but Bing Crosby is magnificent in this song.  This segment gives us no reason to sympathize with either Ichabod or Brom, but we have to concede this last bout between brain and brawn to the burly bully of Sleepy Hollow.  His musical number is a lot more interesting than Ichabod's intro song.

Top Disney Songs of ALL TIME (130-121)

As we grow older, we take different things from all of the movies we watched as kids.  But an obvious thing that remains with us from when we're kids until we die is the music.  Music is an absolutely vital part to the formula of a majority of Disney Films and has been a part of the company since it's inception.  Over time, the songs of changed, but the quality is still a huge cut above the rest.
I never thought I would have to do a countdown like this, but I feel I have to now, especially since the Disney Musical seems to be back in action thanks to the success Aladdin has had on Broadway and the smash release of Frozen.  Songs are an integral part of most Disney movies and are some of the best songs we've ever seen.

Please note that not every single Disney Song has been nominated (mostly because there are at least over 300 songs from all forms of media).  So I decided to put in as many of the songs as I possibly can.  A preliminary list of over 200 songs has been trimmed down to a spry 150.  This is a list of opinion gathered over a series of weeks of enlisting opinions of dozens of people, all whom have different tastes in music.  Heck, my Dad even helped with this.  But here we are:

130: "With a Smile and a Song", Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

My sister would always run out of the room after that insanely dark run through the forest Snow White goes through, or would try to turn off our videotape of this film.  Every time, I would have to show her this song.  As Snow White did, my sister would know that even though things can be scary and dark, a smile and a song can overcome our fears.  This song was one of the few songs that would put me to sleep as a baby and was certainly a key song in showing us how rangy in tone this film was.  We could have a psychotic flight through a scary forest, a silly cleaning song with forest animals, back to an intense transformation scene.  The music is what carries Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs throughout the ages and is the foundation on which the entire musical future of animated films owes it's legacy to.  And we're just touching the tip of the iceberg for Snow White's songs.  

129: "The Phony King of England", Robin Hood (1973)

As bad as the first 20 years after Walt's death were, the films released in that era actually had decent songs in their pipeline.  This song is no exception.  As the townsfolk of Nottingham celebrate Robin's heroic escape from Prince John's archery tournament trap, they also have some fun at the expense of their so called monarch.  While this song is also infamous for it's reusing of animation throughout the duration, it still is a fairly jaunty tune that makes up for the film's overall lack of quality.  And while the song ultimately ends up blowing up in the face of the folks of Nottingham, it's still an above weak Disney Song that is revered by children and brings back a few decent memories from our childhoods.

128: "Candle on the Water", Pete's Dragon (1977)

Honest to God truth, this was the song that my parents danced to at their wedding.  This song was so strong that it kept them from getting divorced once, but it ultimately couldn't save the marriage in the long haul.  So, unlike other Disney Movies, we hold little to no affinity to Pete's Dragon in our household.  Truth be told, I don't remember much about this movie, but I do know Helen Reddy is singing for someone she loves.  And this song was actually one of the few songs I would fall asleep to when I was a baby.  So the link in our family to this film and this song is strong enough to have existed once.  Maybe if I do a look back on this list (which is something I apparently like to do), I'll love this song a bit more.  But until then, the song was just thrust out of the Top 100 by a few better songs.

127: "Little April Showers", Bambi (1942)

This is one of those songs that is so simple yet so evocative that one would think that this would have definitely found itself on the Top 100.  Who knew that it was possible to create a song about a rain storm?  I know I couldn't write a song about rain without it being too depressing.  As our titular character is exposed to the rain for the first time in his life, we are able to listen to the choirs Disney assembled and sing a less than understandable line of lyrics.  While we can't understand much outside of "Little April Showers" we are also able to see how all of the animals of the forest cope with the harshness of Mother Nature and her storms.  It not only captures how baby fawns actually act in the rain, but actually how little kids act when they are first exposed to the rain.  Impressive song and one of the few that I was able to play on the piano, but not strong enough to upend some other songs on the countdown...

126: "The Ugly Bug Ball", Summer Magic (1963)

Whether we'd like to admit it or not, we're all exposed to Burl Ives fairly early in our lives.  Be it through Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, any of his holiday songs, or this rare Disney gem.  While the rest of the film isn't much to the eyes, this song is one of the few good things in it.  You can avoid this film and just go out and but the "Bare Necessities" Sing Along Songs VHS, and it actually is a good thing if you do.  The tune is insanely catchy and it's almost impossible to get out of your head if you listen to it.  I actually listened to it when I was at work today.  It's one of those many mediocre Disney movies that has a few decent songs.  The film is avoidable, but the song is good enough for your pleasure.

125: "Trust in Me", The Jungle Book (1967)

The Jungle Book is filled with an assortment of good songs.  While two in particular push this film's music over the top, this sinister tune with Kaa is one of those above average villain songs that we get in Disney Movies (yet oddly enough no recent film 2011-2015).  Kaa takes full advantage of his hypnotically trapped meal, singing a truly despicable tune about how the young man-cub should trust him, even though were it not for the ironic arrival of Shere Khan, the boy would have been well on his way into the snake's digestive systems.  This song is a perfect sendoff to Kaa, as after this song and the following scene, the snake is never seen again in the film.

124. "Mine Mine Mine", Pocahontas (1995)


One of the few things Pocahontas had to prove was that Alan Menken could survive in the world without his partner Howard Ashman, who many believed to be the brains of the operation.  His work with Tim Rice on Aladdin and with Stephen Schwartz here is good enough to warrant praise.  And while Mel Gibson most certainly isn't the best singer on the planet, he does seem to be giving the songs in this film an honest effort.  As Rarcliffe rallies his settlers to begin digging for gold, he promises them an endless amount, one that would dwarf the gold found in El Dorado.  Although they find literally no gold, their ambitions in the song are shown in full force.  You can't argue with ambition if it's sung well enough.

123. "All in a Golden Afternoon", Alice in Wonderland (1951)


This song was not put in necessarily for the lyrics, but mostly for the instrumental score behind it.  While Alice is trying to catch up to the fleeting White Rabbit, she encounters a bed of snooty flowers and the insects that populate the garden.  As with most of the scenes in this film, the characters get their one scene, act obnoxiously or rudely to Alice and are almost never seen again.  In this case, the flowers overly praise themselves and their beauty in a pleasant yet hard to comprehend lyrically musical number.  Even Alice gets to sing a line or two.  But the tune is just impossible to get out of your head.  They played this song on the bus ride from our hotel to the Magic Kingdom at 7 AM and it didn't get out of my head until I rode Splash Mountain 4 hours later.  Damn is this song catchy...

122.  "Someone's Waiting For You", The Rescuers (1977)


As much as I don't like this movie, I do recognize good songs when I hear them.  The music in The Rescuers is, in the long run, just as surprisingly mediocre as the whole movie.  But I was exposed to this song before I saw the movie (in the Disney Sing Along for "Under the Sea"), so I will likely hold this song in fairly higher esteem than I do the movie it originated from.  While not nearly strong enough to win the Oscar in 1977, this song is still worthy of being a Disney Song.  One of two songs from this film sung by an omnipotent singer, this is easily the best, even though it stalls the movie like mad when it plays.  Then again, do I really mind, when it's the only thing memorable from that film?

121. "He's a Tramp", Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Let's be fair, people.  The only thing people remember about Peggy Lee these days is how she tried to sue Disney for money when Lady and the Tramp first came to home video in 1987.  I think she tried to oversell herself.  To take part in a Disney Animated Film is to immortalize yourself.  People will always want to learn more about the people who don't f*** with Disney.  As Peggy sings a dog pretty much written for her, she tells Lady in the dog pound just what she's in store for now that she'd fallen in love with the Tramp.  It's catchy and one of the more memorable parts of that film, but boy does it piss me off when people try to mooch money for doing absolutely nothing.  That's like saying Harrison Ford should sue George Lucas for not consulting him when he sold his rights to Star Wars.  Not good business, but a good song nonetheless.