"Tangled" as 50th. A Disney List

At some point in the chronology of me dealing with Tangled, a complicated psychological rollercoaster for this lifelong Rapunzel lover, I had completely forgotten (or maybe never known?) that it was to be the 50th Disney animated feature.

I think I wasn't counting the compilation films but Disney does. Here's a helpful reminder from Disney of that rich history (which I saw courtesy of All Things Fangirl). How many have you seen?

The video comes after the jump.






The ones I've seen are in bold. Some I haven't seen so childhood so I dare not "rank" them though it's tempting to imagine watching them all chronologically and doing so... I just need a free 300 hours or so to watch and write up. Easy. Links go to previous posts if there are any -- every time an animated film comes out I realize it may be the biggest deficiency here at TFE. I never talk about them. Can't figure why -- I've also pinpointed my three childhood favorites and my current holy trinity. An asterisk indicates films I was basically obsessed with during their release.

1. Snow White (1937)

2. Pinocchio (1940)

3. Fantasia (1940) Childhood Obsession

4. Dumbo (1941)

5. Bambi (1942)

6. Saludos Amigoes (1942)

7. The Three Caballeros (1944)

8. Make Mine Music (1946)

9. Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

10. Melody Time(1948)

11. The Adventures of Ichobad & Mr Toad (1949)

12. Cinderella (1950)

13. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

14. Peter Pan (1953)

15. Lady & The Tramp (1955)

16. Sleeping Beauty (1959) Holy Trinity & Childhood Obsession

17. 101 Dalmations (1961)

18. The Sword in the Stone (1963)

19. Jungle Book (1967) Childhood Obsession

20. The Aristocats (1970)

21. Robin Hood (1973)

22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)

23. The Rescuers (1977)

24. The Fox and the Hound (1981)

25. The Black Cauldron (1985)

26. The Great Mouse Detective* (1986)

27. Oliver & Company (1988)

28. The Little Mermaid* (1989) Holy Trinity

29. The Rescuers Down Under (1990)

30. Beauty & The Beast* (1991) Holy Trinity

31. Aladdin (1992)

32. Lion King (1994)

33. Pocahontas* (1995)

34. Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

35. Hercules (1997)

36. Mulan (1998)

37. Tarzan (1999)

38. Fantasia 2000 (1999)

39. Dinosaur (2000)
40. The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
42. Lilo & Stich (2002)

43. Treasure Planet (2002)

44. Brother Bear (2003)
45. Home on the Range (2004)
46. Chicken Little (2005)

47. Meet The Robinsons (2007)

48. Bolt (2008)

49. Princess & The Frog (2009)

50. Tangled (2010)

Yeah, yeah, Nathaniel, that's all well and good. But when are you going to really write about Tangled? Ergh. I know, I know. For what it's worth, I had a conversation with Michael (who writes "Unsung Heroes") about Tangled over dinner a couple of days back -- where we'd place it in the Disney hierarchy, its strength and weaknesses. I'll share that in a couple of days. Must transcribe first. But by then you'll all have seen it, right?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eat up. Drive safe. Hug loved ones. And thanks for being so faithful to The Film Experience. We give thanks for your patronage. We'll be back when we're back at some point tomorrow and a bit over the weekend. Enjoy your holiday.

Amen.

See a movie. There's so much good stuff in movie theaters right now (links go to post collections): fun musicals like Burlesque & Tangled both of which I already want to see again; Oscar hopefuls that are totally worth seeing even if they're not quite "Best of Year" like 127 Hours & The King's Speech; Things I can't vouch for (haven't yet seen) like Love and Other Drugs and Harry Potter's and The Final Money Grab Pt 1; If you're entertaining at home, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Kids Are All Right are must-sees on DVD.

FYC: Leonardo Island

One of the smartest FYC moves I've seen in terms of a screener making full use of its identity as an Oscar campaign is for Shutter Island. The disc didn't come with the typical eyebrow raising desperation of "please nominate us for every category that exists!", but narrowed its focus. The cover only suggests Picture, Director & Actor.

In fact, one might say that the packaging squints so hard to focus that it grows a the great crease of a worry line right before your eyes. All the better to remind you of its identical twin that Leonardo DiCaprio has grown between his eyes over the years. That worry line serves him so well in this anguished performance.

But, there's more. As you open it up -- remember this is a Shutter Island ad -- it becomes an orgy of Leos. Brilliant move, that. By charting his growth as an acclaimed child actor to massive adult star, all the way from that critically acclaimed leading debut This Boy's Life (1993) to 2010's Inception (sneakily swallowing up the vote splitting competition, in order to better serve Shutter Island) it basically uses the visual language of FYC: Career Tribute Nomination.

Given that Shutter Island came out very early in the year and that the Best Actor category still looks to be in flux, this could actually work. Unlikely sure but not out of the realm of possibility.

And hasn't 2010 actually been quite a year for him. Isn't he having a year comparable to Sandra Bullock's in 2009? The comparison doesn't spring up naturally, exactly. Leo's big year didn't feel like a breakthrough year since he had no career valley to bounce back from. Nor did he really have something to prove in terms of acting prowess. But consider the strange popularity correlations between Sandy's 2009 and Leo's 2010. For this exercize we have to forget all about All About Steve (2009)  but who would object to doing so?

1. Big Beloved Headliner Star
2. First movie of year  that's right in star's wheelhouse (romantic comedy The Proposal | Scorsese drama Shutter Island) opens and becomes big domestic hit in the 100+ range.
3. Riskier followup opens just five months later (Sandra's The Blind Side | Leo's Inception) and becomes a massive blockbuster in the $250+ range.

Isn't that... odd? Box office and timing between releases is pure coincidence you could say as devil's advocate. But how's this for an eery detail: If you compare Sandra's twin blockbuster 2009 grosses with Leo's 2010 double your difference of (domestic) bank is a miniscule $182,000. Isn't that crazy?

I'm not suggesting that Leo will suddenly become the golden boy who wins a surprise Oscar in February or that his marriage will fall apart in scandal directly afterwards (he's not even married!) so the comparison is strained. Furthermore, nobody expected Sandy to become an Oscar winner (until the happening was under way) and everyone has expected that about King Leo from day one. But beloved massive careers do have unifying elements no matter who the stars are; the industry and the public root for said star to succeed ...and to eventually win the most coveted movie prize of them all.

FWIW, Leo's best performances imho.

1. What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
2. The Aviator (2004)
3. The Departed (2006)
4. This Boy's Life (1993) 
5. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
6. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
7. Shutter Island (2010)
8. Titanic (1997)
9. Revolutionary Road (2008)
10. (Everything else blends together qualitatively for me, as something like charismatic coasting at regular best and callow confidence at irregular worst. So I eagerly await a full top ten. He's only 36. Decades of movie triumphs presumably await.)
    *

7 Word Reviews: Black Swan, Rabbit Hole, The King's Speech

What I've been up to: Wrote up a piece for Tribeca Film on the avalanche of screeners and the insanity of the holiday season inbetween rush of screenings. Also was buried in avalanche of screeners and rushed 'tween screenings whilst fretting about the holiday. Symmetry! Posting will be light for the rest of the week (it can't be helped: holidays, off-blog duties, etcetera) but December will be robust with excitement.

Until time frees up itty-bitty teeny-weeny reviews.

Black Swan
In which a ballerina loses her shit when she wins the lead role in Swan Lake.
7WR: Thrillingly fuses camp (?) horror and highbrow metaphor. A-

The King's Speech
A new king sees a speech therapist as WW II approaches.
7WR: Fussy but somewhat endearing. Unfortunately few surprises. B


Kawasaki's Rose
Czech Republic Oscar submission about a decorated psychiatrist who may or may not have been an informant during the Communist region.
7WR: Heavy novelistic depth buffered by nimble storytelling. A-/B+

Rabbit Hole
A married couple struggles as they approach the anniversary of their child's tragic death.
7WR: Refreshingly unhistrionic grief; Kidman superbly three-dimensional. A-/B+
*

Which movie weapon...

... would you want in a fight? And no, I won't tell you who your opponent is before the battle. Go.

Just some examples. Don't feel like you have to wield them.

*

Ruffy the Werewolf Cuddler

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JA from MNPP here. Perhaps you heard the news of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot that was announced yesterday? Strangely it sounded just like a couple million geeks exploding. E! got a written statement from the man who made Buffy in the first place and has nothing to do with this reboot, Joss Whedon, and he made with the funny:

"Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, "Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER." Apparently I was misinformed."

He's referring to the new writer name-checked in the news, one Whit Anderson, whose IMDb page no doubt jumped about a billion percent in the span of a couple of hours. She's apparently a fan of the original series who came up with a "fresh" "funky" "fun" take. "This is not your high-school Buffy," exclaimed one producer! Well okay then! Who'd want that anyway? Pfft.

According to Anderson, she "will take the touchstones of the Whedon world but frame them in 'a new story' that is very much of the moment." Well as a fan - some might say fanatic - of Joss' show, I want to help Anderson out. Offer up some ways she can honor the show while making it new. Here are JA's rules for rebooting Buffy:


Because she is in the title, you've got to have a Buffy. But does her last name have to be Summers? I'd stay away from that. No Winters either. Stay away from seasons in general. And since this isn't our "high school Buffy," maybe she shouldn't be a cheerleader? She can't work at a fast-food place either. And no magic shops! Stay away from those. She shouldn't like to shop either, that's been done. And no dancing. No ice-skating. No climbing out her window at night. No crimped hair on a whim. No sudden disappearance of cleavage.

Under no circumstances can she have a sister that is a Key. Or a lock, or a door, or a doorstop, or one of those bells that jangles when someone comes through a door, or one of those sausage-shaped stuffed animals that sits at the bottom of a door and keeps out a draft.

As for her Scooby Gang (note: do not use the phrase "Scooby Gang"), there can't be a nerdy guy in love with her named Xander. Or Alexander. Or Alex. Or Al. Or Der. This non-character cannot live in his parent's basement, join the swim team, read comic books, or almost marry an ex-demon (you should probably avoid demons altogether). No librarians named Giles, or Rupert, or Ripper. You'll probably have to have a Watcher but call him or her something other than Watcher. Seer? Looker? There can't under any circumstances be a nerdy girl named Willow. No girls named Fern or Maple or Oak either. No variants of Deciduous. No Conifer. There can be no witches. There can be no lesbians. There can be no lesbian witches. You can however make magic into a drug addiction, because that was stupid.

Other names to avoid: Cordelia. Cordy. Mordelia. Mordy. Harmony. Melody. Harm. Parm. Oz. Ozzy. Fozzy. Fonzie.

Because they're in the title too there must be vampires. But she cannot fall for a vampire with a soul. Or a chip. She cannot be torn between two vampires or between a vampire and a werewolf - any attempts at Twilight-izing the Buffy name will lead to a rogue band of Buffy fans creating a time machine and going back in time to stop your parents from ever meeting each other.

No Angel. Angle. Spangle. Charlie Rangel. That last one just because that wouldn't make any sense. Why would Buffy take up with a disgraced Congressman? Tomfoolery. No Spike. William the Bloody. William the Lightly Salted. Bob the Builder.

There can be no Master or Mayor, no Glory or Adam. No Ruler or Governor or Splendor or Eve. No Summer's Eve. No Sunnydale. No Foggybog. No Hellmouth or Heckbellybutton.

There can be no musical. No music. No sound effects whatsoever. No dialogue. No curse of silence from fairy-tale goblins either! No lighting. No darkness either though, that has too many past connotations. No projected images on the screen. No actors, no director, no budget and no sets.

That about covers it. Good luck with your script, Whit!
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Two Men We Love

Both of whom need better movies but whatever. Ewan at least is doing okay for himself this year. The Ghost Writer is excellent and I Love You Phillip Morris opens soon. (Finally)

Hugh Jackman Ewan McGregor

Social Network Typography (and Screenplay Structuring)

Saw this at Rope of Silicon and just loved it. The mind boggles at the complex architecture / spacial relation skills? required to pull this off...



...of course it wouldn't be that special if it didn't have the platform of Aaron Sorkin's amazing dialogue and/or Zuckerberg's wit (from transcripts presumably), now would it?

Best Screenplay. Having recently rewatched both The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network the screenplays for both play even stronger than they initially did. Sturdy blueprints for potentially great movies they were. Both screenplays are so witty, well constructed and filled with engaging character-specific details. There's just very little that's generic about either film and there's so much that's generic about the bulk of movies released in any given year, you know? But maybe Kids has the more graceful structure arcing as it does from kids (son) to parents back to kids (daughter) without feeling too deterministic or purposefully symmetrical but still smartly pinpointed (one summer). Social employs the more traditional continual flashback frame structure but perhaps its more ambitious in scope and it's hard to top some of its killer lines. My point is: They'd both better be Oscar nominated. I love both of them but I like to weigh these things for a good long while before I name my nominees or medalists.

 FWIW the writer's branch used to be my favorite Oscar branch but I don't trust them at all anymore after the finger they gave Rachel Getting Married in 2008. Whatthehell?

Which screenplays are you enamored with this year?
*

Game of Thrones

Quick show of hands. How many of you have read the fantasy classic GAME OF THRONES by George R.R. Martin? HBO is making it into a series now which comes as such a relief. Long novels are so much better suited to series format than movies and yet they're rarely adapted that way. You can follow the production diary here. I'm only 650 pages into the first novel -- god this is long -- but it's a page turner: superbly paced, tense, multi-layered, fine prose, and unpredictable plotting (a rare thing in fantasy novels).

Peter Dinklage has quite a role in his hands. He plays Tyrion Lannister, the manipulative, whip smart "imp" of the royal house of Lannister (the Lannisters are the villains mostly... Martin does a fine job of making sure your allegiances shift on occasion.)  Tyrion  is possibly the most complex character in a book that's teeming with vivid personalities. Not all of them are multi-faceted exactly but they all pop out from the page.  Do you think other vertically challenged actors applaud or resent him? There aren't that many roles out there and doesn't he gets them all. I remember registering shock when I saw Jordan Prentice in In Bruges. I was like "Peter Dinklage missed out on a role?"

EW has a new photo gallery of the characters. Looking through it I'm a bit worried about the budget (something about the costumes or armor seems too simple?) and I don't like how they've visualized Daenys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) at all though that whole thread is my least favorite part of the stories many tentacles.

Are you excited for this production?

7 Word Reviews: From Rapunzel to Woody

Until I find more time... 7 words must suffice.

Tangled 
Disney's animated Rapunzel musical (Skip the 3D, save money.)
7WR: Gorgeously rendered central image / conflict. Tonal slips.  B+
[More to come on this one soon. Sorry for wait.]

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
Woody Allen's annual comedy. This one focuses on a failed writer (Josh Brolin) whose new work just doesn't measure up to the old (hmmmm) and the women in his life.
7WR: Woody, lazily confessing, quotes Shakespeare "...signifying nothing."  D*

Inside Job
Oscar finalist documentary on the global economic crisis.

7WR: Dry, linear 'Recitation O' Horrors'. Beautifully shot. B

The Way Back

Peter Weir's true WWII era story of escapees from a Siberian work camp.

7WR: The walking dead; only haunts in stasis. B/B-

*That grade might be generous. It might be my second least favorite Woody Allen film. Nothing "tops" The Curse of the Jade Scorpion.

Oscar Prediction Revisions. Plus: Screener Land.

The Oscar charts are now fully updated for November. Peruse and report back! For any of you leaving for the holiday early Happy Thanksgiving!

Can The Way Back get a makeup nom
for all those wounds, sunburns and
life-threatening health issues?

So here's a momentary giving of thanks: I'm truly grateful for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences no matter how often I grouse about their choices. The Oscar race is fun. Plain and simple.

Here is the prediction chart index...
I'd love some feedback on the male acting prizes, in particular. I don't think it's so clear yet in either category though we have two handfuls of "likely" players.


Gold Derby recently released a list of which screeners have arrived in the mail for voters. This is the first year I've been receiving them with regularity thanks to the BFCA membership but I have been mysteriously denied The Karate Kid. Hmmmm. You can add 127 Hours, Greenberg, Let Me In, Stone, Made in Dagenham, Inside Job and Black Swan to that list of movies that have gone out to voters. As usual the studios are cutting it close. Are all the studios hoping that theirs are the last films screened before voting? Voting for the BFCA, for example, kicks off on December 6th. That's but two weeks away.

I've yet to screen: Barney's Version, Biutiful, Black Swan, Burlesque, The Fighter, Frankie & Alice, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, How Do You Know, The King's Speech, The Illusionist, Love and Other Drugs, Rabbit Hole, Somewhere, The Town, The Tourist and True Grit. The list above will clue you in immediately as to why festival trips are so crucial. Otherwise you get months behind. So that's roughly 1 a day for me before voting. Can I do it?

It's more complicated than it sounds ...though these are good problems to have. (One mustn't bitch about having too many potentially good movies to see.) First one has to align the screenings -- I already had to cancel 2 of those 16 to see the 1 press screening of Burlesque. Now, this might seem like a foolish choice but it's CHER. So shut it, haters! Then there's the not so small matter of my actual life (not without boring uncinematic demands), plus the very not small matter of writing about the same movies (an even larger chunk of time), interviews (Tilda where are uuuuu?), plus the other 2010 movies like documentaries, foreign film submissions, random arthouse things (Claire Denis's White Material has opened. I must make time.) Thankfully after the BFCA voting I'll have another 3 weeks before my own hand-made awards show begins with which to fill in any holes. But in short: I-N-S-A-N-I-T-Y.

Most of the people in the awards game from journalists to bloggers to publicists to golden hopefuls won't be getting much sleep until late February. Here we go.