Search form

Favorite underrated Disney film?

38 posts / 0 new
Last post
Favorite underrated Disney film?

For me, they would be The Rescuers Down Under and The Fox and the Hound.

What about the original "Fantasia".

Supposedely, that didn't do well at the box office when it first came out. I have Fantasia 2000 and love it. I especially like the one with the Jazz music.

The Great Mouse Detective.

The turning point from the stagnation in the 70's to the rise of the mega-blockbusters of the 90's. TGMD was the film the animation crew cut their teeth on before tackling Little Mermaid, and in doing so showed the audiences they had the stuff to rightly follow the 9 old men.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

What about the original "Fantasia".
Supposedely, that didn't do well at the box office when it first came out. I have Fantasia 2000 and love it. I especially like the one with the Jazz music.

Oh, yes--I forgot those two. The original Fantasia is one of my favorite films, period. Its grace, its subtlety, its sense of life and sense of depth, and its music and well-crafted characters (without a word of dialogue) set it apart from its imitators such as Allegro no Troppo (which, BTW, is still a great film, with great music.)

I have to say New Groove is mine also.

The Great Mouse Detective.

The turning point from the stagnation in the 70's to the rise of the mega-blockbusters of the 90's. TGMD was the film the animation crew cut their teeth on before tackling Little Mermaid, and in doing so showed the audiences they had the stuff to rightly follow the 9 old men.

Funny you should mention that one. The Great Mouse Detective will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first Disney feature I ever saw in a theatre.

I have to say New Groove is mine also.

I have not seen that one.

The Emperor's New Grove is one of the best Disney movies I've seen. It's one of my top 5 favorite animated features, and my second favorite Disney movie.

5 years later, Mark Dindal has a new animated movie coming out: Chicken Little. Unfortunately, it has the same screenwriters as Brother Bear, so it's hard to imagine that it could be as good as E.N.G[b].
[/b]It has a pretty good voice cast though. Who knows? Not me.

Hey, everyone!

I'll finally break my lurker status to speak up for my own fave underground Disney feature, Treasure Planet.

I'm quite fond of Treasure Planet, too. In spite of the alien cast and the odd goofball sidekick it's rather on the realistic side in terms of animation. I guess that's something one has got to get used to. (Still, it isn't as 'realistic' as Prince of Egypt, for example, which kind of defies its own purpose of being animated because there's so little cartoony stuff going on in it.)
I was pleasantly surprised by Jim's character. I usually don't like those young, grim, cheated-by-life, "tough guy" stereotypes, the kind you find in every other teen drama. But Jim (in combination with Silver) was a nice break from those.
What I'd have liked in terms of story is more background for Silver. The focus is clearly on Jim but I think actually seeing a bit of what Silver had to go through before finally coming withing reach of his life-long ambition and making his sacrifices and sufferings a bit more visible would've helped both characters. Apart from the occasional malfunction in his leg, Silver's cyborg implants seem to enhance his physical abilities and make life easier for him rather than convey the image of an outwardly crippled man.

Artisticlly I really like Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Treasure Planet
(I am one of the few that does, but I think they are fantastic...i could have helped them a little with the stories though)

Storywise I really liked The Sword in the Stone and The Great Mouse Detective

Comedicallywise I liked The Emperor's new Groove

but my all time favorite underated movie overall is...

The Black Cauldron

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that has been given to us." ---Gandalf

I'll be annoyingly repetitive and say "New grove" too... I had an animation tutor that used to say that some films are made only for animators to enjoy, and that "New grove" and "cats don't dance" were perfect examples of this "genre" :rolleyes:

"check it out, you know it makes sense!" http://miaumau.blogspot.com/

I'm going to go with "A Goofy Movie." Don't quite know why, but I really like that movie for some odd reason. I think Power Line is too funny of a character.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Well, as much as I didn't like it when I rewatched it, when I was a kid I *loved* The Black Cauldron

I also think Alice in Wonderland is great and is really underrated. It was created in th eearly 50's after Disney was still recovering from his studio being basically taken over for the War effort...if I recall correctly.

The Great Mouse Detective.

The turning point from the stagnation in the 70's to the rise of the mega-blockbusters of the 90's. TGMD was the film the animation crew cut their teeth on before tackling Little Mermaid, and in doing so showed the audiences they had the stuff to rightly follow the 9 old men.

Mine too, Ken! Remember Delaney treated us all to that movie when it came out? After Black Cauldron it was like phoenix rising from ashes.
I remember being a little inspired and at the same time a little depressed returning to our mice on the drawing board.

Mine too, Ken! Remember Delaney treated us all to that movie when it came out? After Black Cauldron it was like phoenix rising from ashes.
I remember being a little inspired and at the same time a little depressed returning to our mice on the drawing board.

I still remember what you said upon emerging from that theatre ( the old Vogue) : "I need oxygen...".

Yep, it was twenty blinkin' years ago!

Somedays it seems like only two!

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

It's the blinkin' years that go the fastest.

I'd have to say...

Hey, everyone!

I'll finally break my lurker status to speak up for my own fave underground Disney feature, Treasure Planet.

I know the movie has its problems, but it's my own favorite for two simple reasons:

1. I had been (still am) trying to animate a male teenager filled with angst and confusion, and seeing Jim animated (Yay! John Ripa!) was both inspirational ("Ohhh, Jim's amazing!") and a slap in the face ("Ohhh, my guy really sucks." X_x) I snapped up the one Treasure Planet artbook I could find just for the few actual drawings of Jim it contained.

2. I thought the development of the friendship between Jim and Silver was done very well. I especially love the moment when they size each other up upon first meeting. In fact, the interrelation of those two characters are the only reason I really do love the movie. It's not often you see a friendship based on mutual respect appear in (Western) animation. And then when Jim realizes Silver is the enemy--*happy shivers*

And to be honest, I guess I do have a third reason. It's Jim again--he's so cute!! If I were 15 years younger, I would have had an enormous crush on him, just like I did for boring old Eric from The Little Mermaid. *giggles*

Yay! Treasure Planet!! I only wish I could have worked on the movie, even if it was something as unglamorous as being the coffee go-fer. The chance to watch Jim's animators at work!! Ohh!! *eyes sparkle*

Okay, I'll be quiet. I guess I've come out of lurkdom with a bang! Hee!

Smiles,

Sabrina/s2m

"Something Wicked This Way Comes."

Didn't say it had to be an animated. Movies is movies.... :D

But...

...If you're gonna get all stickler on me, I'd say "Fox and the Hound."

"...It is a foolish mistake to even try to second-guess the public. Make things for yourself and if by chance someone agrees with you, it's coincidental."

--Julian Schnabel

Well... it's my time. You has remembered a lot of movies, and I agree that the best are The Great Mouse Detective, Fox and the Hound, Goofy Movie and (I guess you have forgotten this one) Oliver and Company. Look at the art of this one. It's amazing and its story is nice too.

"Something Wicked This Way Comes", did Disney make that? I had no idea. Bradbury was one of my favorite writers as a teen, and still is. And the film was good, especially if you had read the story.

I have to say I always enjoyed the "Chip n Dale" shorts, especially their Christmas ones.

Pat

Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.

I watched the making of fantasia 2000 yesterday. I wouldn't mind having the 3rd disc of the Fantasia Anthology. I bought "Brother Bear" on Friday. I haven't watched it yet, but for $9.99 with a gift card, I thought it was a good deal.

favorite underated disney movie

mine would have to the origanal fantasia and the fox and the hound those are two of my 4 favorites the others being the lion king and shrek (is sherk really disney)

Those are both great. I liked Alice in Wonderland (I think that's underated, that's what I read anyway...).

I don't know how well exactly The Emperor's New Groove was received in the US but it's a great little cartoony movie to me. I'm with Spoooze! on Alice - like that one, too! And Sleeping Beauty, really nice layout work which did the 70mm format justice. (I'm also a sucker for Tchaikovsky!)

I started to say "New Groove" too.

Boom Baby!

Speaking of "New Groove", I'd love to have the two disc DTS version of this movie.

I just didn't want to pay for price for the two disc version so I got the one disc instead.

Definitely "New Groove". It's probably one of the most subtly funny of the bunch. I think it may a bit over most kids heads as far as slipping very subtle jokes in.

The timing is brilliant, too. Oh, man, now I've got to put another DVD on my must purchase list. Thanks alot guys. :)

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

My fav. underrated...

My favorite underrated Disney movie is Dumbo! The animation is absolutely amazing--if you watch it with no sound, it becomes really clear how much work the animators put into the expressions and body postures of the animals.

Plus, it's charmingly old fashioned...

Features are easy - what about shorts?

Hello.

Features seems to be easier to name - I nust say I like the Orlando film, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch and Brother Bear. All three did well at the box office.

What about Disney shorts?

One of my favorites is; Ward Kimballs' oscar winning film- IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BIRD!

THE BAND CONCERT is another and MICKEY'S TRAILER another.

Thanks.

I think I like the underrated Disney films better than the overrated ones. I like that whole seventies/eighties period before all the major successes and I also like the 'package features' of the late forties. I'm a huge fan of Ichabod and Mr Toad. Having seen that before "Beauty & the Beast", I think B&B owes a lot visually to the earlier film, and I think it was done much better the first time. The best package feature is Melody Time, which I prefer over Fantasia.

The Rescuers has some of what I consider to be the greatest animation ever put on film, and I like the prevailing mood and the whole spooky swamp atmosphere.

The Black Cauldron is a film where I just don't see the flaws that others seem to. Okay, I don't find the hero and heroine as interesting as the side characters, but there's some really cool scenes and animation, and I never found it boring or cringeworthy. It's a film that I always thought would be okay for them to re-visit and do a dtv sequel to(unlike Cinderella or Bambi for example), since it's only one book out of a series, and it does seem to have a bit of a fanbase. Likewise Basil of Baker street. I don't think that film is perfect, but I like those characters, and I love that world.

The final period of decline in Disney animation is I think somewhat underrated. Even though I rate these as amongst the most cringeworthy films Disney produced, you have to admit, there was a huge amount of variety, and they were trying lots of new things. Atlantis was a huge departure, both in style and subject matter, though a huge disappointment also. Visually they are amongst the most stunning, and even though it was a period of decline, they still managed to produce The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo and Stitch, two bona-fide classics.

The worst Disney features are Pete's Dragon and Pocahontas. Embarrassingly bad for me to watch, but even these have redeeming qualities, and other people seem to like them.

i really like 'a goofy movie', not so much the second one though. i love the animation of the 'perfect cast', and the big foot scene.

also the old school robin hood movie, where him and maid marion were fox's and prince john was a lion. i just saw it this weekend for the first time in years, and it was so funny. Prince John's animation when he's screaming, "I AM THE KING!!!" is hilarious. I really enjoyed the performances of the sheriff of notingham and hiss too.

http://ben-reynolds.com
Animation and Design

Short films? Too many to name, but just a few (I just wish I could remember their names):

Any of their Halloween films, especially their version of Sleepy Hollow. I used to love their Halloween special where they'd show clips from their Halloween related films.

Any of their shorts relating to science and math. We watched one in high school when we starting geometry. Way better than the text book.

Any of the Goofy acting out what the narrator is talking about. They still make me laugh.

And of course Darkwing Duck was way underrated. It's too bad it came at the end of the Disney after school reign in the eighties/early nineties.

Funny enough, I was never a big Mickey Mouse fan. All the other side characters were way more amusing.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

Funny enough, I was never a big Mickey Mouse fan. All the other side characters were way more amusing.

The best Mickeys are the early ones. Once he became mega-popular, the studio had to tone down his antics in response to parental complaints (seems like that kind of silliness was common back then too - sigh...)

All of my favorite Mickey cartoons are black and white - before the flesh-colored face and before he became a supporting character in his own cartoons.

The best Mickeys are the early ones. Once he became mega-popular, the studio had to tone down his antics in response to parental complaints (seems like that kind of silliness was common back then too - sigh...)

All of my favorite Mickey cartoons are black and white - before the flesh-colored face and before he became a supporting character in his own cartoons.

Good point. I'd agree with that. The really earlier stuff was just plain insane (by today's standards anyway). Really imaginative.

Producing solidily ok animation since 2001.
www.galaxy12.com

Now with more doodling!
www.galaxy12.com/latenight

"Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Seriously underrated. Fantastic music, even though it's not pop-radio friendly. Great story, darker than most Disney fare. Didn't care for the gargoyles, mostly the Jason Alexander one because I'm not a fan. Still, when people rattle off the Disney features of the past few years, they always skip this one.

I'm really glad acetate assassin said Robin Hood. I always loved the characters in that movie. Alice in Wonderland was another I really liked.

I also liked some characters in the animated sequences of Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Song of the South (especially SoTS)

DSB, nothing beats the b&W cartoons. Truly when Mickey was at his best.

"Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Seriously underrated. Fantastic music, even though it's not pop-radio friendly. Great story, darker than most Disney fare. Didn't care for the gargoyles, mostly the Jason Alexander one because I'm not a fan. Still, when people rattle off the Disney features of the past few years, they always skip this one.

I really like Jason Alexander on Seinfeld, but he doesn't seem to work very well anywhere else. I think this film would have worked, if it had stronger character designs, and better voice talent(all around).

The opening by the Brizzi's was excellent, and everything pretty much worked for me up to the point where Quasimodo opened his mouth. The voice just completely clashes with the character. Terrific animation on Quasimodo, but I just couldn't take that voice. Subsequently I saw the old film version from 1939, and it's a much stronger effort.

I have to say that Bambi is my fave... and in my opinion... Bambi is under-rated.