A sequel?! It takes a lot to get a good interrobang out of me, but a sequel will definitely do it. I can't decide if I have a ton to say, or basically nothing to say about this one. Also, seeing as how this movie came out the same year I was born, I feel like I should have a stronger emotional connection to it (that's how movies work, right?) I'm gonna try real hard to differentiate my review from the first one and keep my feelings separate, but again, seeing as how this is a sequel (one of two I will be reviewing) that might prove difficult. Also, how the hell did this sequel (and Fantasia 2000 and Winnie the Pooh) make it into the category of Disney Animated Classic, while Aladdin and the King of Thieves went straight to VHS? Whoever made that decision is a grade A jabroni.
Characters: 4
I feel like they upgraded the characters in a lot of ways from the first Rescuers movies. Then again, I don't remember what that one scored, so that statement has a moderate chance of being foolish. First things first: Bernard is just great. He's likable, he's lovable and he's waaaay too good for Bianca. Also, I know I mentioned Bob Newhart in my last review, but he really is the perfect voice for this character.
I mean... that's pretty perfect.
Bianca sucks balls. And that's all I have to say about that.
Let's talk about Jake for a second. He'd be a great character if he wasn't such a douche. I mean, c'mon dude. You're being just the worst. And your little "way to go, mate" at the end doesn't make up for the fact that you've been cock-blocking my boy from the beginning. Just stop it.
Let's get down to brass tacks here. The reason this movie rates so highly here is her:
I assume Marahute translates to something, but I'm gonna think it means "giant feathered ass-kicker." She's crazy cool and whips Cody through the air like a sack of shit. And he LOVES it.
And them:
Percival C. McLeach is one of the coolest, best voiced and most underrated villains around. I seem to have a fondness for these villains (you know, the ones you never see at the parks or on sing-alongs, but are voiced by tremendous actors and really bring it.) First it was John Hurt as the Horned King, next Vincent Price as Ratigan and now George C. Scott as McLeach. Fucking Patton! That's about as big as it gets. (Fun fact: George C. Scott was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his role as The Beast in the 1976 TV movie "Beauty and the Beast." He was, appropriately, the Beast.) AND he has a goanna named Joanna. AND she's hilarious!
If it weren't for Bianca and Jake, this would've been a strong 5.
Music: 1
Now this just isn't fair. Henri continues to fight me tooth and nail saying that a movie's score should be included in this category, but it's not my interpretation. That being said, this was not a musical (only the 2nd so far, if memory serves me.) So I can't, in good faith, award any points. Don't worry; the aesthetics category will be receiving it's due. I've also decided that a 1 is the lowest score. I haven't dished out any 0's yet, and I don't think I will.
Aesthetics: 5
Aha! This score is so fucking good. "Cody's Flight", or as I call, "that fucking majestic Marahute music" is so good. Part of my fondness for it probably comes from the fact that they continuously blast it at Epcot. And damn, I love Epcot. Also, welcome to the show Pixar. It was wildly obvious from the get-go that Pixar was involved, what with the ultra computerized nature of the intro to this movie. It's obviously not the cleanest computer animation I've ever seen, and it is a little weird, but it's so different! It's a refreshing change of pace and it really sets this movie apart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLvFFbycIlg
Watch that to about the minute mark if you need to see exactly what I'm talking about. Shit, watch the whole thing if you wanna spend 3 minutes of your day just real happy.
This movie was just much cleaner than the first one, and many others surrounding it. I dig it. I dig it hard.
Plot: 3
Okay. So I really like this story. I really like the villain. I really like pretty much everything that's happening. But there are a few issues that led me to this score. 1st:
WHAT.THE.FUCK.IS.THIS.ABOUT?! (Another interrobang?!) (Another?!) I fear we've gotten into an interroloop.
Seriously though. What was that scene about? My theory is that the guy who wrote the Saw movies used to write for Disney, and this is the only scene he ever wrote that got put into a film. This fucking guy rustles my jimmies:
And not in a sexy way. I just hated that scene. It wasn't humorous. It was nightmarish.
The other part of this movie I, for a lack of a better word, hate is when Cody and those animals are stuck in a cage and that lizard just uses his tail to unlock the door. That's frustratingly too easy.
ALSO! Why can some animals talk in this movie and some animals can't? I need some consistency. I'm all about anthropomorphism, but make it consistent!
Overall Enjoyment: 3
Turns out I don't have the connection to this movie that I should. It's good to watch. But if I'm gonna pick a Disney movie to watch, this probably doesn't crack the Top 5 of my go-to's.
Guys, we are totally back on track! Sure we took us 3 months to review The Little Mermaid after watching Oliver & Company, but look at us now! Two movies in as many weeks!
Thankfully we have entered the Renaissance, so we have like 10 years of universally loved movies to enjoy before we have to get to watch...less loved films (looking at you Dinosaur).
Anywho, first Disney Animated Classic sequel (followed by Fantasia 2000 and Winnie the Pooh, who is in charge of picking which movies get sequels, and why haven't they been fired?)! At least this one has poachers!
Plot: We all remember the Rescuers, right? Little mice get sent around the world to save kidnapped children! Solid storyline. It's a classic formula, and it keeps the audience entertained. Really, I have little to complain about. I mean some of this seems improbable:
but it's the Outback, where just crazy things happen all the time. Who am I to say that eagles aren't fucking giant and let kids ride on their backs? and that those same kids can't scale hundreds to feet up sheer cliffs? Australia, amirite?
Really, the story is pretty bad-ass. Poachers. All sorts of Australian animals. Heroes in unexpected places. It's really great.
The real issues with this movie all come from one source, and it is Wilbur in the medical truck with the doctor mouse. I don't know who looked at the storyboards for this movie, saw that subplot, and said "oh yeah, that will be a funny and entertaining and not at all disgusting and terrifying! let's make sure those scene stay in." That person was wrong. Even as a child, that Doctor Mouse has made me uncomfortable. To this day, I am confused about what is even going on there. Why is that doctor also like a torturer? What...just what? I hate it, and it makes me want turn off the TV anytime I see it. Yuck.
just looking at this guy makes me feel weird. Serious point deductions.
3
Characters: Heads up, this movie has lots of characters.
I like to think I'm pretty well-informed about animals; I mean, I've read my fair share of ZooBooks. But I had no idea that Australian monitor lizards were called goannas, I just read that on the Wikipedia, and now I am dying...you know cuz McLeach named his goanna Joanna. Awesome.
I really like a lot of characters in this movie. McLeach is a good villain. He is strong, and funny, and also evil. He wants to shoot animals in a world in which (some) animals can talk! That elevates it from poaching to murder, in my opinion making him evil where Cruella de Vil was just cruel. He's a strong candidate for most under-appreciated Disney villain.
Bernard is #1; we all love him, no arguments. John Candy is as funny as Wilbur the Albatross as his story-line would allow. Cody is a good kidnapped child: likeable enough that you want the mice to save him, and not totally helpless and sad like normal kidnapped children probably are.
Marahute is a beautiful and strong eagle. I'm a huge fan. All of the animals that McLeach has captured are good too! I like the the koala the most, he is full of sass.
Wow this movie did really great, I like all the characters! Oh, oh wait...Goddammit Ms. Bianca: I hate you, and you ruin everything. I know I have expressed my hatred for Bianca in the past (you know, in the last Rescuers), but this one tops it. Last movie she was just detrimental to the mission, and overall pretty dumb. This movie she is a jerk to Bernard, and that is just unacceptable. Bernard is a very nice mouse! Bianca and Bernard are clearly in a committed relationship, you know, as he is about to propose to her. And yet, she spends her whole Australian trip cozying up with a Kangaroo Rat!
I mean, look at this!
even if her attentions for Jack the Kangaroo Rat are completely innocent, and just how she treats strangers who show her around strange country, maybe she should check herself, she's obviously hurting Bernard's feelings. He looks so sad! whatabitch.
3 points, because Bianca blew it.
Music: No songs. No songs! It's only the 2nd Disney movie to not have songs. And, it's a very sad thing too. Though, I'm not sure how well this movie would function as a musical.
But since we couldn't have songs, at least the score for this movie is awesome. They play parts of it at Epcot, and it's one of my favorite things about the park.
Cody's Flight was once the only song I had on my ipod for like 2 weeks, because it was the only song I wanted to hear.
Seriously, just listen to this jam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jK2ZxEK1CEk
3
Aesthetics: Hey Pixar, welcome to the game! There are parts of this movie where the computers are so obvious, that it is funny. You know, now, 24 years later. I bet in 1990 though, those graphics were crazy. I don't know, but I imagine people thought it looked really cool.
It's dated, but it's different! Change is good, especially after the animation of the 80's. I like it!
3.5
Overall Enjoyment: I really did enjoy watching most of this movie. It has solid characters, compelling plot, and cute animals!
It also has Bianca and that creepy-ass doctor mouse.
3.5
Total Score: 16
Highlights:
Did you know koalas have 2 "thumbs" per hand? I did! And so did Disney, hooray!
Also, did you know that Disney released The Rescuers Down Under the same weekend as Home Alone was released? Damn. Tough break. Sucks to suck.
But the real highlight of this film is the Hawaiian mice:
so cute!
ps i haven't gone through to edit yet, pardon any grammar/typo issues.
Oh, hello there. Is it time for this again? Disclaimer: I haven't written in a while, so this may be longer than usual.
The first Princess movie in 30 years! Let's see how it goes!
Plot: Alright! So Ariel, who is very rude, pretty much gives a big f-you to everyone, and endangers herself and her friends all for the purpose of liking people (not people in general, people the humans). Then she falls in love with (an admittedly very dreamy) human. Who, remember, is a different species. Now, call me close minded, but it's wrong; I mean, I like animals, but I don't want to marry one! Much less have a giant stone statue of one in the middle of favorite chill spot. Ariel, however is totally cool with her interspecies love, even though Eric has probably killed and eaten like, all of her friends. Whatever.
King Triton is a good dad! He just doesn't want Ariel to become someone's dinner like all of everyone's friends did. But she doesn't listen to him (it's a common theme), and instead goes with the Sea Witch's advice. The Sea Witch. I mean. How stupid do you have to be to trust someone named The Sea Witch?
Ariel loses her voice, has to get (very beautiful) Prince Eric to fall in love with her anyway. It's a movie, so it happens. The real question, is why does she get to hang out with him so much? He is the prince, and she is just some naked chick he found on the beach. I can understand him putting her up in castle and helping her get back on her feet, that's just how good guys roll. But, why is she eating dinner with him, and going around the country-side in his carriage? Why would the prince spend so much time with some hobo who can't talk? Shouldn't he be ruling the kingdom?
Also, I'm not buying that even Prince Eric can steer a broken, sunken ship with no sails directly into Ursula during a magical tempest. Sorry.
All in all, there is a plot, though thankfully, we are getting to the Disney era where I'm beginning to expect more than just the existence of a plot. Disney movies should tell great stories; I think the Little Mermaid does. Even though it is driven by the stupidity of the protagonist, The Little Mermaid is a solid and entertaining story. All in all, pretty good. 3.5
Characters: Ariel is the worst. She isn't smart, she isn't considerate, and she is pretty self-centered. She totally blows off Sebastian's concert in the beginning, even though he wrote a song just for her, and the whole thing was her big debut. Like, this thing is all about you, which you would be her jam, because she is also all about her. But she's busy trespassing on sunken ships, and harassing Flounder. Seriously, Ariel is really mean to Flounder!
this little dude is just a kid who is scared, and she's all like "Sharks are gonna get you loser! Also, you're fat!" Bitch. Then she goes to the Sea Witch for help even though everyone knows she is terrible. She literally has to swim through a sea of Ursula's victims to see her. Also, her home looks like this:
clue #1 that that is not a good place to be! The rest of the movie Ariel doesn't talk (thank god), so that's all we have to judge of her. She sucks.
On the other hand, we have King Triton. Who is just the best dad, he's just dealing with an idiot child. He obviously loves her and doesn't want her to get eaten, which doesn't seem all that unreasonable! He also looks like this:
Now that is a king.
Ursula is one of the best villains we've had so far. Super solid. I wish she'd gotten to keep that Trident longer, I would love to see what she did with the ultimate power. Too bad she got skewered. She also sings my 3rd favorite Disney song. No, no...not that one....yeah, that's right. This one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLS86g3_NYI
Sebastian and Scuttle can shove it. Prince Eric is sufficiently charming.
3
Music: Oh hot damn, this movie has my jams. Of course, the aforementioned Vanessa song. Also, I kareoke Part of Your World like an angel. If you close your eyes, it's like Jodi Benson is in the room with you. I swear it.
Kiss the Girl is a good'un. But, I have to say, I don't like Under the Sea. I just...I don't. Maybe I enjoyed hearing this song at one point, but I will say with certainty that it is the most overplayed Disney song, and I am over it. We should all join together to ban it from everything, especially my Pandora radio. 4
Aesthetics: The animators did a really great job reminding us that we were underwater. They made all the mermaid's hair do that underwater thing, and I loved it. Also, so. many. bubbles. It must have been someone's job just to draw bubbles all the time.
I just looked it up, it wasn't. But, over 1 million bubbles were drawn! That's a ton of bubbles!
I also like (but maybe ironically) that the animators just decided that instead of giving Ariel "fairy-tale-like" dresses as they did with the other princesses thus far, they were just going to dress her like she was going to an 80's prom.
#sleevesandbedazzle.
oh, also:
i really just love that they did this so much, that aestheics gets an extra .5 added to it's score!
4
Overall Enjoyment: This movie was really enjoyed! What I said about Under the Sea still stands. And I wish Ariel wasn't the worst. But all in all, it was great, and I love it. The Little Mermaid is one of those movies I'm always down to watch...you know, if someone else suggests it. 4
Total: 19
Highlights:
Dear Disney Animators, only 2% of the world has red hair. what is up?
so far we have: Lampwick, Smitty (that's the mean kid who harasses Dumbo, then gets spanked), Anastasia Tremaine, The Tweedles (both Dee and Dum), Alice's Sister, Peter Pan, Anita, Sir Kay, Sir Ector, Madame Medusa, Taran, Jenny, and Ariel. With more to come! It's crazy! Source
So it took me wrapping up my first year teaching, driving to New Hampshire and back for a family wedding, flying back to Massachusetts for a funeral and then making our pilgrimage to Disneyland to finally get around to (re)watching The Little Mermaid and writing this review. But I have a feeling this is gonna be a good one. I mean, this film marks the beginning of Disney’s Renaissance. So the next 10 films or so will probably do very well in a lot of areas. But let’s stop talking about it and do the damn thing.
Music: 5
Let’s face facts: when “Part of Your World” (one of Disney’s most iconic songs) is the FOURTH best song in the movie, you’ve done something right. That’s right. I think “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, “Kiss the Girls”, and “Under the Sea” are all superior songs in both lyrics and jamminess. Those four together, and let’s throw in “Fathoms Below” for shits and giggles, and you’ve got one of the best soundtracks Disney has to offer. Plus the score, the first done by Disney Legend Alan Menken, is just about perfect - but that’ll be considered more in the aesthetic category. This is the first Disney movie to really play like a musical in the theater sense. It’s simply a musical juggernaut.
Aesthetic: 4
So a couple of things to point out here. This movie looks good. In fact, it looks great. However, some of the character movements are slightly awkward. I think they were at a very cool stage of making characters more life like (especially in the face region) but it wasn’t quite perfect yet and so it comes off a little weird to me.
This frame above is kinda what I’m talking about. Like, it’s a cool looking shot. It’s got some weird dimension stuff and layers, but she just… doesn’t look right to me! There was actually one really cool shot during “Kiss the Girl” where it moved from under the water to above and it had an interesting “camera floating in the water” vibe. Above all, I think this movie is a good segue into the Renaissance, aesthetically, but I’m not floored. I wrote this whole section with a 3 at the top, then I remembered I’m considering the score here, and that shit blew me away. So I added a point. Alan Menken is a boss.
Plot: 3
So there is definitely a solid plot to this movie. Definitely solid. But I couldn’t help feeling that it was all a little… cliche. Maybe that’s not fair, because this was made in 1989, like the year before I was born. So it’s a little rich for me to be calling something that literally occurred before me cliche. But this movie was simply full of all of the stuff you’d expect. Kid vs. Parent, love with some complications, comic sidekicks, valiant prince destroys evil etc. It’s just predictable. I’m not saying it’s bad. In fact, it’s got everything that makes movies like this classic. But I’ve been spoiled by some of the more refined films of Disney canon and this stuff just doesn’t cut it for me in the plot department anymore.
Characters: 4
Some conflicting feelings in this category. Let’s start with her:
I shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable watching a Disney movie, But I think we all know she is too hot. But’s also a 16 year old mermaid. But also Jodi Benson has a sexy voice. But also she’s a cartoon. It’s hard to deal with. So the points all balance out for her. I can neither award nor deny points. So let’s move on.
Prince Eric doesn’t do anything for me. Besides all of those pretty incredible times when he scaled ships with wildly impressive forearm strength, he’s weak. I mean… Kiss the girl already!
How about these two:
Flounder is mostly just the most annoying. But Sebastian is the best. He’s a musical badass and a Jamaican talkin’ crab with a heart of gold. Just a real solid character.
The best part of this film, from a character perspective is obviously this mamma-jamma:
What a scary bitch. She’s absolutely ruthless, straight up eating people for fun. She is always keeping an eye open for a way to strike a deal and make her way back to the castle where she once lived (boy, would I watch that prequel.) And what’s the best way to get back at Triton? Fuck with his kids of course! Classic! She’s got one of the best Villain songs, and she’s easily one of the most iconic villains in terms of voice and style. Just watch this video of Pat Carroll reading the Haunted Mansion intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwoTHwJmyCg
She’s a total badass in person and character.
Let’s end it with this:
Just look at those pecs. Also, I loved it when he went crazy and destroyed all of his youngest daughter’s possessions. Awesome. +1
Overall Enjoyment: 4
It’s super hard not to love this movie. It’s a whole new kind of Disney movie. It has the Broadway theatricality that hadn’t been seen in any movie yet, but would become one of the most important elements of almost every classic to follow. The story is captivating, the characters are lovable and the music is simply perfection. I give it a 4. For me, a perfect 5 in this category would need a boost in a few areas: humor, plot development and character strength. It’s soooo close.
Not too shabby! And damn it feels good to be back!
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