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<b>Luke</b> on Disney's Animated Films of 2004:
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As far as animated films go, <i>Teacher's Pet</i> was a bright spot. Heralded by critics but ignored by audiences, the film is easy to appreciate as a sharply-written, quick and bouncy comedy. It wears its TV roots on its sleeve and yet it's more fun than the most recent "Disney classic" <i>Home on the Range</i>.
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While one of the studio's weaker efforts as far as Feature Animation go, <i>Home on the Range</i> is far from all bad. It's got some interesting characters, nice visuals, and a pretty decent plot. To pinpoint why it's not all that impressive then, it'd be easy for me to simply say "the usual Disney magic isn't there." But that's a bit of a cop-out and none too enlightening. <i>Home on the Range</i> is a mild film; mildly entertaining, mildly amusing, but never funny or clever enough to label as great, memorable, or particularly Disney. The tongue-in-cheek, self-knowing comedy has worked in the passed, and very well with something like the slapsticky <i>Emperor's New Groove</i>. There's just not enough here.
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Everything that's "wrong" with <i>Home on the Range</i> is done "right" in <i>The Incredibles</i>, Pixar's latest masterpiece. There's nothing really to compare Pixar to at this point, but that shouldn't surprise us, as they've been setting trends since before they completed the first animated feature film. Though I don't think they've topped <i>Toy Story</i> yet, every Pixar production since it has raised the bar for animation and managed to wow us in new ways. It's tough to compare the studio's works -- their six films have been so universally satisfying -- nonetheless, I'd say <i>The Incredibles</i> is one of their best. With Brad Bird's intelligent and electrifying adventure, we can throw any claims of "Pixar formula" out the window; the film is a tour-de-force that takes a variety of new directions (human characters, a nearly 2-hour running time, family dynamics) with stunning results. This may not only be the best film I've seen this year, but the best I've seen this half-complete decade.
<hr><b>DisneyGuru</b> wrote:
How can I say this.
I have seen none of the 2004 Disney Releases.
*DG, shrugs off with embarassment*
<hr><b>Marielle</b> wrote:
From the film list, I've seen:
Miracle
Home on the Range
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
The Incredibles
National Treasure
My favorites of those were: National Treasure, The Incredibles and Miracle. Those three were amazing! Home on the Range was my least favorite. In fact, it hardly seemed like Disney to me.
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From the video list, I've seen:
The Lion King 1 ½
Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
I thought they were all enjoyable. The animation in Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas was fascinating!
<hr><b>Disneykid</b> wrote:
<b>The Lion King 1 ½</b> (***)
The miracle of the decent DTV sequel surfaced. The animation is gorgeous and blends almost seamlessly with the portions taken from the original. Despite the overabundance of gas jokes (which is to be expected from a from a film starring Timon and Pumbaa), at times the film was quite clever in its alternate viewpoint. This is by far one of the better DTV's Disney's come out with (though my favorite is still Pooh's Grand Adventure).
<b>Home on the Range</b> (***)
This was a cute, unasuming movie, but it didn't rise up above that. I thought the music was great, but the characters and story all felt rather cookie-cutterish. Out of the "new age" Disney movies from 2000 onward, I rank this above Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet but below Brother Bear, Fantasia 2000, The Emperor's New Groove, and Lilo and Stitch. Although it's a nice feel-good movie, it's not the note I want Disney 2-D to leave on (I wished Disney hadn't switched the release dates of Brother Bear and this, since BB is a much better note to leave on).
<b>The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement</b> (***1/2)
This is a major guilty pleasure.. It has a predictable plot, it's less quirky than the superior original, and it takes itself too seriously which the original never did. I guess it's because I love the characters so much, and the movie does have its share of charming moments. I think Garry Marshall and the cast did a good job with what they have. Any flaws with the film I place solely on the screenwriter (why didn't they use the first one's?) who didn't fully comprehend the tongue-in-cheek tone of the original.
<b>The Incredibles</b> (****)
Wow! Although the trailers impressed me, I had a feeling that this would be one of the weakest Pixar efforts - and I was sorely wrong. This has become my 2nd favorite Pixar film after Finding Nemo (which I like more mainly due its amazing one liners which Incredibles didn't have so much of). I loved how much edgier it was than the studio's other films and how original it was (Pixar's always original, but this one really felt unique and unpredictable). Definitely one of the year's best films.
<b>Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas</b> (***)
This was rather cute, though not much more. I liked the CGI animation, even if textures were weird (Pluto looks like he's made of cloth and everyone else looks plastic). I prefer the original 2-D film, though, not because of the animation, but because the stories were allowed to develop more. Beause there was so many short segments in this one, the film ended up feeling rather slight and shallow (heck, it's only an hour long if you deduct the 9 minutes of credits!). It's still worth a viewing, though.
<hr><b>orestes</b> wrote:
I've only seen three...
Mickey. Donald & Goofy: The Three Musketeers
Home on the Range
Lion King 1 1/2
All were enjoyable but none were spectacular.
<hr><b>That1GuyPictures</b> wrote:
I thought the Incredibles was Incredible, Home on the Range wasn't all that great, Teacher's Pet was...interesting, The Three Mousketeers brought the name of Mickey Mouse to an all-new low point, The Lion King 1 1/2 wasn't all that impressive, and the rest all looked so pathetic I didn't want to see them. (Except for National Treasure, which to me was surprisingly good.) So I really enjoyed Treasure and Incredibles. But so far, other than those two, the only films that have impressed me this year were not released by Disney. (Seeing The Polar Express in 3-D at an IMAX theatre was AWESOME!) I have yet to see Miracle, Mickey's X-Mas, or Around the World in 80 days yet, but I want to see them...Oh well...maybe next year, when I have time.
<hr><b>Jake Lipson</b> wrote:
Okay, my turn! It's been pretty slim pickings this year for Disney movies, and I've avoided most of them; I've seen four, and have two more that I want to see (Miracle & National Treasure), but definately hope they can do better next year.
<i>Home on the Range</i> -- I loved this movie. It's a rapid-fire comedy that you can basically watch and laugh your butt off for 76 minutes. It's also beautifully animated with a great style, especially in the backgrounds, and has the usual amazing Alan Menken score to boot. Yes, it's not perticurarly deep, but it wasn't trying to be. No, if I had chosen, I would not have had Disney's traditional animation go out on something like this, but it gets a bad rap because it IS last. If there were a lot more in the pipeline, I think this one would be appriciated more.
<i>The Incredibles</i> -- One of the best movies of the year, this one was exilirating. As usual, Pixar managed to blend a technological breakthrough to marvel at with a rock-solid, very engaging, and deeply moving story. Great characterization, and I loved the dysfuncitonal family aspect since all famalies can find relate to it somehow or other; Syndrome is the best Pixar villian next to Hopper; and the action scenes totally blew me away. The highest compliment I can give it is that it truly does live up to its name.
<i>The Lion King 1 ½</i> -- The best direct-to-video sequel ever, period. Having grown up on the original movie, it was great to spend another 75 minutes in the Pride Lands I know and love so well, and it was interesting and hillarious to see the same story told from another perspective. Animation here is top-notch, blending pretty nicely with the original's clips. I just wish they could've reused the old recordings of the songs, because it irks me every time since they sound out of place and different. Ah well. Great job, Disney!
<i>Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers</i> -- The best direct-to-video original production ever! It was just great seeing the classic characters together again, and their interplay is great; reminded me why they work so well together. Like others have said, I love how it combines the feel and appeal of the classic shorts with a slightly modern sensability (House of Mouse, Mickey's MouseWorks, etc.) The story is well done, the music is great and very funny, and I just wish it was longer. Here's hoping for more of these trio DTVs (and maybe theatrical releases, please?)!