Disney Movie Challenge: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE:  With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.  

It’s hard to believe that there was once a time when Disney didn’t own everything. In the early 1930’s Disney was finding success with Mickey Mouse and other short cartoons but Walt had bigger plans. He wanted to make an animated feature film. When he first announced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934 many referred to it as "Disney's Folly" and numerous people tried to talk him out of it. But as we all know nothing stops Walt from getting what he wants. So production began, and Snow White became the first feature length Cel Animated film. Prior to Snow White there had been other feature length animated films but those were silhouette animations. The oldest surviving animated film is The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a 1926 German film (check out the trailer here https://youtu.be/G_9L7r8NIBc) One of the things Walt Disney did best is push technology to the limits. For their animated films Disney Studio created the Multiplane Camera with Snow White being the first feature to use that method of shooting. Here is a cool video of Walt Disney himself explaining how the system works https://youtu.be/YdHTlUGN1zw .

The movie is based on Grimms’ Fairy Tale Snow White. The story is pretty straightforward. An evil queen is jealous of the beauty of Snow White and wants her killed. But The Huntsman, who the queen commanded to kill Snow White, lets her go free. Snow White runs into the forest where the forest animals help her find shelter at the seven dwarfs' house. She helps tidies up the place and makes them food so they agree to let her stay. Eventually the queen figures out that Snow White is still alive and uses an enchanted apple to kill Snow White. The only thing that can save Snow White is true love's kiss. Which of course happens and everyone lives happily ever after.

The movie set the template for future Disney Princess movies so it feels formulaic watching it now. It has everything we have come to expect in a Princess movie, evil stepmother or queen, Prince Charming, and true love’s kiss saving the day. But there is a reason that this became a formula, and that is because it works. Watching it now it still holds up pretty well. The animation looks great, the characters are memorable (the older I get the more I relate to grumpy), and the score keeps things moving. I felt the songs are one of the weakest parts of the film, although for some reason I do love Heigh-Ho. The movie also drags at parts. Especially after the Dwarfs and Snow White meet. It’s cute but kind of boring. The movie does pick back up when the queen shows up again. The crazy thing is everything moves pretty quick once the queen convinces Snow White to eat the apple.  The movie ends like 10 minutes later. It does feel kind of rushed.  We can’t talk about Snow White without talking about the ending. The prince kissing a presumably dead girl and waking her up is cheesy (and a bit creepy). But again it’s what we have come to expect from Disney films.

OVERALL: Snow White is a solid film. It drags at parts and has an ending that feels rushed but still holds up.  Even thought it was groundbreaking and set the precedent for movies to come afterward it will be 13 years till the next Disney Princess movie (Cinderella) comes out.

Random facts: 

The voice of Snow White singer Adriana Caelotti was never able to capitalize on the film. It is reported that Walt Disney said “I'm sorry, but that voice can't be used anywhere. I don't want to spoil the illusion of Snow White” and blocked her from getting other jobs in the movie industry.

The movie was the highest grossing movie of all time when it came out. Held the record for 2 year till Gone with the Wind came out in 1939.

Walt Disney won a special Oscar for "significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field". It had a big statue and seven little statues.

The plural form of Dwarf has an odd history. Dwarfs was the preferred plural form but then J.R.R Tolkien came around with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series and used Dwarves as the plural. And now everyone is confused what the proper spelling is.

2012 OSCAR SEASON

 

Well the summer movie season is over and now the fall and holiday movie season is upon us.  This is the  time of year when almost all the movies that will be nominated for Oscars will be released.  For Oscar Junkies like myself it is a time of trying to guess what movies will be nominated and are a must see.  Of course the fun thing about Oscar season is that one week a movie looks like a sure bet then the next week it will be out of the question.  Plus smaller movies will get a big bounce and more buzz if they perform well at The Toronto Film Festival which hasn’t happened yet so there might be some movies that are still unknown to get some buzz. 

Right now here are the 10 movies that have the most buzz that will be coming out in the next couple of months and are sure to have some nominations. 

 

1.  The Master 9/14 -  Paul Thomas Anderson last gave us the Best Picture nominee There Will Be Blood in 2007.  Now he is back with a controversial move that seems to tell the rise of Scientology.  Looks like it has great performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.  The September release could mean it will be forgotten about by the time the nominations are due but right now it looks to be a strong contender.

 

2.  Argo 10/12 – Ben Affleck has been making a name for himself as a director after Gone Baby Gone and The Town.  This time he is directing himself in a movie that is not in Boston.  Based on true events during the Iran Hostage Crisis where the CIA sent operatives into Iran pretending to be Canadian filmmakers making fake movie called Argo.  The Iranians bought the story and now it is a movie.  Based on true events gives the movie an edge at Oscar time and many people think Affleck should have been nominated for The Town so this has a great chance of getting some nominations. 

 

3.  The Sessions 10/26- One of the big breakouts from Sundance earlier this year The Sessions is about a man in an iron lung who wants to lose his virginity at the age of 38.  His priest helps him hire a sex surrogate.   There is usually one small independent  comedy that  usually end up being nominated and this one has the best chances with a great cast of John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone), Helen Hunt and William H. Macy.  Probably will not win anything but is a must see.

 

4.  Lincoln 11/9 – This is the movie that screams Oscar more than any other.  Directed by Spielberg and staring Daniel Day-Lewis and based on true events.  Spielberg’s last movie War Horse had mixed reviews and still ended up being nominated for Best Picture so I don’t see how this one cannot be. 

 

5.  Anna Karenina 11/16 -  Joe Wright has had two movies nominated for Best Picture Pride and Prejudice and Atonement.  Both starred Keira Knightley and were based on a book.  Anna Karenina is no different.  Based on the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy about a Russian Princess this looks like it has everything Academy voters look for in a period piece. 

 

6.  Life of Pi 11/21 -  This looks like a visually stunning movie if the whole concept is a little weird.  But it is based on a popular book and if done right might be able to make it work.  But a movie about a guy on a boat with a tiger, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan floating in the ocean after a shipwreck sounds like strange story and might be a tough sell especially with no famous stars. 

 

7.  Hyde Park on the Hudson 12/7-  Another historic movie about a president this one about FDR.  With Bill Murray playing the president in what could be one of his best performances the movie will be getting a lot of buzz, but I don’t know if it will generate enough to get a Best Picture nomination or just a Best Actor for Murray which seems to be very likely. 

 

8.  The Hobbit 12/14-  The first in the Trilogy.  After score three Best Picture Nominations for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Peter Jackson is back with the prequel.  As of now there is no reason to think it won’t be nominated.

 

9.  Zero Dark Thirty 12/19-  After becoming the first female to win Best Director for The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow is back with another war movie.  A movie about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden she has been working on it since The Hurt Locker finished but had to change it after he was found and killed making it one of the most timely movies coming out. 

  

10.  Django Unchained. 12/25-  Quentin Tarantino makes some violent films and somehow ends up getting them nominated for Best Picture.  His first western about a slave who becomes a bounty hunter and searches for his wife looks like it will be no different.  Reteaming with Christoph Waltz who won Best Supporting Actor for Inglourious Basterds and an all-star cast including Jamie Fox, Leonardo DiCaprio and of course Samuel L. Jackson it looks like it will be a lot of fun and probably score another nom for Tarantino. 

 

90 Greatest Movies of the 90's

As everyone knows by now I love lists, so when Paste Magazine made a list of the best movies from the 90’s that really got my attention. 

Number 1 was an easy pick and not a big surprise.  There are lots of surprises though.  The biggest surprise for me was that I have only seen about 2/3 of the movies on the list.  Feel like I am slacking.

The list does confirm what I have always said and that was 1999 was a great year for movies with 19 movies from ‘99 on the list, and 1994 was another great year for movies with 14 movies on the list.

I have listed all the movies but if you want the reason certain movies were selected you can go to the website   http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/07/the-90-best-movies-of-the-1990s.html

Without further ado here is the list with Best Picture winners highlighted in red.

More thoughts at the bottom.

1.      Pulp Fiction (1994)

2.      Schindler’s List (1993)

3.      Magnolia (1999)

4.      Three Colors Trilogy (1993,94,94)

5.      The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

6.      Fargo (1996)

7.      Goodfellas (1990)

8.      Hoop Dreams (1994)

9.      Rushmore (1998)

10.  The Apostle  (1997)

11.  Fight Club (1999)

12.  The Big Lebowski (1998)

13.  Dead Man Walking (1995)

14.  The Usual Suspects (1995)

15.  Toy Story 2 (1999)

16.  Sling Blade (1996)

17.  Being John Malkovich (1999)

18.  Crumb (1994)

19.  Jackie Brown (1997)

20.  Boogie Nights (1997)

21.  Bottle Rocket (1996)

22.  Chungking Express (1994)

23.  Unforgiven (1992)

24.  Reservoir Dogs (1992)

25.  Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)

26.  Before Sunrise (1995)

27.  Saving Private Ryan (1998)

28.  The Thin Red Line (1998)

29.  The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

30.  Toy Story (1995)

31.  The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

32.  Trainspotting (1996)

33.  Malcolm X  (1992)

34.  Out of Sight (1998)

35.  Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

36.  The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

37.  Boyz N Da Hood (1991)

38.  Office Space (1999)

39.  The Matrix (1999)

40.  Short Cuts (1993)

41.  L.A. Confidential (1997)

42.  Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

43.  The Player  (1992)

44.  Se7en (1997)

45.  The Ice Storm (1997)

46.  Three Kings (1999)

47.  Heat (1995)

48.  Metropolitan (1990)

49.  Miller’s Crossing (1990)

50.  Casino (1995)

51.  The Lion King (1994)

52.  The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

53.  The Remains of the Day (1993)

54.  Exotica (1994)

55.  Groundhog Day (1995)

56.  Heavenly Creatures (1994)

57.  Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

58.  JFK (1991)

59.  Good Will Hunting (1997)

60.  The Professional (1994)

61.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

62.  Beauty and the Beast (1991)

63.  Election (1999)

64.  Clueless (1995)

65.  The Iron Giant (1999)

66.  After Life (1998)

67.  American History X (1998)

68.  Princess Mononoke (1997)

69.  The Game (1997)

70.  The Sixth Sense (1999)

71.  Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

72.  A Taste of Cherry (1997)

73.  Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

74.  As Good as it Gets (1997)

75.  Thelma and Louise (1991)

76.  Apollo 13 (1995)

77.  The Wrong Trousers (1993)

78.  Boys Don’t Cry (1999)

79.  The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1996)

80.  Bound (1996)

81.  Braveheart (1995)

82.  Quiz Show (1994)

83.  Burnt By the Sun (1994)

84.  A Bronx Tale (1993)

85.  Waking Ned Devine (1998)

86.  The Truman Show (1998)

87.  Barton Fink (1991)

88.  Forrest Gump (1994)

89.  American Beauty (1999)

90.  True Romance (1993)

A few thoughts on the list. 

First thing that stands out is Eyes Wide Shut and Bringing out the Dead.  Two movies that do not deserve to be on the list.  Eyes Wide Shut was an awful movie and Bringing Out the Dead was so-so at best.

Saving Private Ryan should be higher on the list then 27. 

There is no way Jackie Brown should be higher than Reservoir Dogs and probably shouldn’t even be on the list

1997 is well represented on the list also with 13 movies. Interestingly enough the Best Picture Winner of that year and the highest grossing movie of the decade Titanic is not on the list.

Speaking of Best Picture winners 6 out of the 10 winners of the decade made the list. (Dances With Wolves-1990, The English Patient-1996, Titanic-1997, and Shakespeare in Love-1998 did not make it)

The Coen Brothers are the most represented directors with 4 movies on the list (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Miller’s Crossing, and Barton Fink) Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and David Fincher each have 3 movies on the list. 

There are three documentaries on the list (Hoop Dreams, Fast Cheap and Out of Control, and The Battle Over Citizen Kane).

There is one short The Wrong Trousers

There are 7 animated films (Toy Story 2, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The Iron Giant, Princess Mononoke, and The Wrong Trousers).

Oddly Austin Powers 2 made the list but not the first one.

They admit in the article that there was probably more foreign movies that should have made the list. The one that stands out to me is Life is Beautiful (1997)

Missing from the list in my opinion

10 Things I Hate about You (1999)

A Few Good Men (1992)

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Pleasantville (1998)

There’s Something about Mary (the funniest movie of the decade)

And what about big budget Michael Bay action movies

Armageddon (1998)

The Rock  (1996)

Let me know what your thoughts are on this.

Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for the 2012 Academy Awards. Some of the categories are complete guesses and some are upsets I am hoping for. For the most part I feel the great love of The Artist will have it winning many categories.

Best Picture – The Artist

Best Director – The Artist

Best Actor – The Artist

Best Actress – Viola Davis- The Help

Best Supporting Actor – Christopher Plummer – Beginners

Best Supporting Actress – Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Original Screenplay – Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris

Best Adapted Screenplay – Moneyball- (This is one of the tightest races it is a close call with The Descendants but I am an Aaron Sorkin fan so going with Moneyball)

Best Animated Feature Film-Rango

Best Foreign Film- A Separation

Best Art Direction- Hugo

Best Costume- Jane Eyre (Always go with the movie that has the biggest costumes and it was either Jane Eyre or Anonymous)

Best Original Song- “Man or Muppet”

Best Original Score- The Artist (Since it is a silent movie the score makes the whole movie but in my opinion it wasn’t that great. I hope that John Williams wins for either War Horse or The Adventures of Tintin)

Best Documentary- Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Best Documentary (Short) – The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (complete guess)

Best Cinematography – The Tree of Life (the only thing people can agree on about The Tree of Life is the cinematography)

Best Editing – The Artist

Best Make-Up- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (why not Harry Potter should win at least one award)

Best Sound Editing- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (no one is talking about Transformers winning any awards and Hugo is actually the frontrunner in the sound categories but I predict upset)

Best Sound Mixing - Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Visual Effects- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Hugo are the frontrunners and both are better movies but Transformers is just one giant special effect and should get some recognition)

Best Short Film (Animated) - La Luna (complete guess)

Best Short Film (Live Action) – Time Freak ( I actually have seen 2 movies in this category and this is one of the funniest short movies and hope it gets the award)

Best Picture Nominees and Politics

I once read an article that said the movies that are nominated during an election year represent the issues of the day. I read this in 2000 when the movies nominated for Best Picture of 1999 included American Beauty, The Sixth Sense, The Cider House Rules, The Insider, and The Green Mile. The article claimed based on these movies the issues that were most on people’s minds were Family Values (American Beauty, The Sixth Sense and The Cider House Rules), corporate corruption (The Insider) and capital punishment (The Green Mile). Since then we have had 2 more elections and it hasn’t been to clear how the all the movies lined up with the issues although some movies are obvious. In 2004 Mystic River dealt with child molestation and violent crimes but what issues did Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King represent? In 2008 the issues were much clearer. We again had corporate corruption (Michael Clayton), the power of oil and religion (There Will be Blood), Teenage Pregnancy (Juno) and violence in society (No Country for Old Men).

So what about 2012? Well with 9 movies nominated it is harder to say. A recurring theme is the idea of looking for something. Hugo, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and War Horse all have boys looking for something a key, a dad’s secret, and a horse. Midnight in Paris, Hugo, and The Artists take a nostalgic look at the past. But overall the social issues addressed are jobs, war, race, and care for the earth and others.

Here are the nominations and how they might represent the talking points of this year’s election. Some of these are a stretch and some are really easy, and since I didn't see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or War Horse I am just going on what I have heard about them.

The Artist- A movie about how new technology threatens ones lively hood. Issues addressed – Fear of the new and the loss of jobs. Jobs will be a big issue in the election.

The Descendants- About a man who struggles with to keep his family together during the sickness of his wife. Issues addressed – Family Values with side plots that involve capitalism vs. conservationism and end of life issues like living wills. This election cycle has not been so much about family values but the side plot of preserving a piece of land or using it to make money has been talked about.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – About a boy dealing with the aftermath of 9/11. Issues addressed –After 10 years we are still dealing with our feelings about that day. 9/11 always seems to be a talking point during the elections.

The Help - About black maids in the South during the 50’s. Issues addressed- Racial tensions. Race is another talking point that always seems to find its way into the discussion.

Hugo – About a boy looking for the key to his robot and how he fits into the world, also the loss of ones lively hood after technology changes. Issues addressed- Dealing with loss and finding your place in the world. With a lot of people out of jobs everyone is looking for how they fit into the current picture.

Midnight in Paris – About a guy who looks back on the past as being a great time. Issues addressed – The way we romanticize the past and not look at how it really was. There have been lots of talk about returning to the policies of the past when everything was better.

Moneyball – About a poor team trying to compete with teams with more money. Issues addressed – The struggle between the rich and the poor. The perfect movie for the Occupy Wall Street crowd.

The Tree of Life – About spirituality and the struggle between human nature and grace. Issues addressed- The battle between doing what is good for the many vs. what is good for self. This can be another metaphor for the battle between socialism and capitalism.

War Horse – About a boy who looks for his horse during WWI. Issues addressed – The effects of war on people. With the country ending one war and the talk of a war with Iran you know that this will be a hot topic.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space

My first by request movie review. Thanks Chris for suggesting the movie.
So what if Giorgio Tsoukalos was right and Ancient Aliens did visit us in the past but instead of gods they were clowns? And what if they came back in their big top tent spaceship and started killing people?  That is the question that Killer Klowns from Outer Space asks (I love that there is actually a quote about ancient aliens in the movie).  Obviously this movie is just another cheese fest from the 80's. 

As the title promises the movie is about killer clowns from outer space.  After seeing a meteor crash while making out two teenagers go and discover that it really was a space ship that looks like a circus big top.    After further investigation they find out that the clowns that live inside the space ship are there to kill people.  Using tracking balloon animals, killer popcorn, and cotton candy cocoons to kill their victims the clowns unleash mayhem on the town.  Debbie and Mike with the help of Debbie's ex-boyfriend Dave who is a police officer set out to save the town.  Dave figures out the only way to kill the clowns is to shoot them in the nose.  With the help of two idiot brothers who drive an ice cream truck they manage to save the town.

The movie is silly and funny with very little gore and not very scary.  With a rating of PG-13 you can barely consider this a horror movie.  But it was obviously meant to be just a wacky movie. Unlike a movie like Troll 2 which was made to be a serious horror movie but failed at it.  I love that the space ship is a circus tent, the fact that the popcorn kills people, and the crazy way Dave destroys the head clown at the end. The premise is extremely out there but the movie does not take itself too seriously and can be enjoyed for the pure silliness that it is.  This is the perfect movie for people who like those really silly horror movie and it is probably best enjoyed with a group of friends who love the same.
 

Academy Award Predictions

Tuesday January 24^th the Academy Award Nominations will be announced. Here are my predictions on who is going to be nominated in some of the major categories. 

.

Best Picture- This year for the first time there is no specific number of nominations for Best Picture. It can be anywhere from 5 – 10 with the actual number most likely coming somewhere in between. For my predictions I will go with the 7 movies I am pretty sure will get nominated.

1. The Artist-

2. The Descendants

3. The Help

4. Hugo

5. Midnight in Paris

6. Moneyball

7. War Horse- seemed a lock for Best Picture for a while but it’s recent snub by the Directors Guild it seems to be losing some ground

Three movies that are right on the cusp of getting nominated but I don’t think will are

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-With its recent nomination at the Directors Guild it seems to be getting some more attention but seems like it is too little too late.

9. The Tree of Life- A movie that really divided critics the question has always been will Academy voters give it enough first place votes. It seemed a long shot but it has been getting a lot of traction lately.

10. Bridesmaids- A movie that has gotten much love but raunchy comedies do not usually get Academy Nomination and there is no reason to think this year will be any different.

Best Director-With Spielberg’s recent snub at the DGA’s it makes this category a little more complicated.

1. Michel Hazanavicius-The Artist

2. Alexander Payne- The Descendants

3. Martin Scorsese- Hugo

4. Woody Allen- Midnight in Paris

5. Terrence Malick-Tree of Life - While I don’t think he will get a Best Picture nom I think they will give him a Best Director nom.

Best Actor-

1. Jean Dujardin – The Artist

2. George Clooney – The Descendants

3. Leonardo Dicaprio – J. Edgar

4. Brad Pitt – Moneyball

5. Michael Fassbender – Shame

Best Actress

1. Viola Davis – The Help

2. Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady

3. Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

4. Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

5. Charlize Theron - Young Adult

Best Supporting Actor – While I hope Ben Kingsley gets nominated for Hugo right now it doesn’t look good. And I do not think Andy Serkis will get nominated for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

1. Christopher Plummer – Beginners

2. Albert Brooks - Drive

3. Jonah Hill – Moneyball

4. Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn

5. Nick Nolte – Warrior

Best Supporting Actress

1. Bérénice Bejo – The Artist

2. Mellissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids – I think the only chance Bridesmaids has of getting an Oscar nomination

3. Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

4. Octavia Spencer - The Help

5. Jessica Chastain – The Help (while she has been in 3 other movies she could be nominated for it looks like this is the one she will get. Although I think she was better in Take Shelter)

Best Original Screenplay- The big question is wheather or not Bridesmaids can sneak its way onto the list. There are not that many strong contenders so it is possible.

1. Will Reiser – 50/50

2. Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

3. Woddy Allen- Midnight in Paris

4. Tom McCarthy – Win Win

5. Diablo Cody – Young Adult

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants

2. Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball

3. John Logan- Hugo

4. Tate Taylor – The Help

5. Steven Zaillian – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Best Animated Feature

1. The Adventurs of Tintin

2. Cars 2

3. Rango

4. Kung Fu Panda 2

5. Puss in Boots