When I was a little kid, I used to watch all the Disney movies. I couldn't wait to get the newest Disney movie on VHS for Christmas every year. For quite a while, my family and I had quite the collection going of Disney VHS tapes. After a couple of floods in our basement, the number seemed to drop quite considerably. I still have a small collection of them somewhere, I just don't want to dig through them in my basement.
Even today, I still see as many of the new Disney movies as I can. The most recent one that I have seen was Wreck-It Ralph. Even though the film was in CG, I still really enjoyed it. I don't really care what people think. I LOVE DISNEY! I always have, and I always will.
So, in the spirit of Disney, I have compiled a list of my top 10 all-time favorite Disney movies. Now, this list will not include any Disney/Pixar film, nor will it include any live-action Disney movies. It will just strictly be the Disney animated films. So, I don't want to hear anyone complain about me not putting any Disney/Pixar films!
HERE WE GO!:
10.) DUMBO
This movie is a classic. It is one of Walt Disney's first films that he ever made. In fact, it was number 3. It is also one of the most clearly racist Disney films. Everyone always remembers the black crows (one of them went by the name of "Jim Crow"). That was pretty racist. But there was also that slave scene that not everyone remembers. All of these men pour out of the locomotive in the middle of the night. It is pouring rain, and they have to set up the circus tent. Well, all of the men are black and don't have faces. Then, they start singing this really racist song about being roustabouts who don't have time to read and write because they have to work. Sound racist to you? Either way, it is a really touching story about a mother elephant who wants nothing else but to be with her son, and visa-versa, and learns how to use his disability as a weapon. Who doesn't like that kind of story?
9.) THE JUNGLE BOOK
This movie is a great film about how a human boy grows up with a pack of wolves in the (African?) jungle. The film is actually an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's popular novel. Of course, as Disney does with everything, they definitely made it suitable for children. Everybody loves the laid back, easygoing bear by the name of Baloo. His classic Disney hit, The Bear Necessities, is one of the greatest Disney songs ever written. It made you want to eat a whole bunch of prickled pears, whatever the hell those things are. I always like to try and emulate myself after Baloo.
8.) PETER PAN
Peter Pan is actually my fiancee Stephanie's favorite Disney movie. Who doesn't love Peter Pan? This is ALSO a film version of a classic children's novel written by J.M. Barrie. Peter Pan is the boy who doesn't grow up because he lives in Neverland, where no one ever grows up. For some reason, he is the only one that can fly. He gets his flying ability from the fairy dust from his bitchy companion, Tinkerbell. Why he never gave any fairy dust to the rest of his lost boys was always kind of weird to me! If he did, he would have a whole army of kids who can all fly! Maybe he wanted to make sure that he would not be overthrown by any of the other Lost Boys? I don't know. Stephanie's favorite character is Wendy. She always wanted to be Wendy when she was working down in Disney. My favorite is probably Captain Hook. I liked Dustin Hoffman's version a lot better, but I liked the cartoon version too.
I do love this movie. It is the movie that introduced Eddie Murphy to the voice acting world. Then, he started doing all the Shrek movies, and lost all of his awesomeness in my eye. Anyways, he was the best part of this movie. This movie also introduced me to Stevie Wonder. I had never heard of him before this movie. If you remember, at the end of the VHS, he sang the song "True To Your Heart" with 98 Degrees. It also introduced the world to Christina Aguilera who sang the hit song "Reflection." Of course, my favorite is "Make a Man Out of You," which was sung by none other than Donnie Osmond. It was a movie that really shed a badass light on the stereotypical "Disney Princess" (even though she wasn't really a princess).
6.) THE SWORD IN THE STONE
Now, when I first started telling people that this was one of my favorites, I was met with a lot of opposition. Then I realized that all of that opposition came from the female perspective. You see, most females (most, not all) do not like this movie. When I asked my guy friends (meaning the ones who like Disney movies), they told me that they also thought that it was a good movie. I don't know what it is about this movie, but ever since I was a kid, I have always found this movie fascinating. The story of King Arthur and how he came to be brought to life by Disney. I think my favorite character is probably Archimedes, the pet owl of Merlin.
5.) POCAHONTAS
My buddy Jed and I may have sang "Colors of the Wind" when drunk at a party one night. The weirdest thing about it was not the fact that we knew every word to the song, but the fact that we both sang with such passion in our voices because we loved the song so much! I do really like this movie. I think that it is one of those movies that was passed over because it came out the year after The Lion King, and people were still kind of getting over the amazement of that movie. I think one of the reasons for why I liked this movie so much is because it deals with American history, for which I am a huge fan of. Yes, I know that this movie is not historically accurate at all. If it were, then it Pocahontas would have been much younger, which would have made John Smith look like a total creeper. Another amazing thing about this movie it that the character of Tom, the young screw-up who shoots and kills Kocoum, Pocahontas' preordained husband, is actually voiced by none other than CHRISTIAN BALE! I know! Crazy, right?
4.) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
This is one of the most under-appreciated Disney movies of all time, as well as being in my top 5. Every time I watch this movie, I get the chills. Not a lot of movies can actually do that. I also think that "Hellfire" is one of the most badass songs that Disney has ever produced. Of course it is. The entire score was written by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken. ENOUGH SAID! The content level is actually pretty heavy, even watching it as an adult today. I think that they did a good job with Victor Hugo's classic tale of the deformed bell ringer from Notre Dame. I think that Frollo is one of the most villainous villains that Disney has ever created. I think I've said enough about this movie. If you haven't seen it, you really should go and see it!
3.) ALADDIN
Of course, this movie had to be on my list. I think everyone agrees that this is definitely one of Disney's best films, although my fiancee would disagree. She thinks that the movie dates itself with all of the pop culture references that Genie makes. I think that she is probably right. I don't really think that people will remember this movie in about 20 years, nor will the newer generations appreciate it as much as I did. This movie is one of the first movies that I remember going to the movie theaters to see. I went with my Uncle Billy. He used to bring us to the movies all the time. Even to this day, I can sit and watch this movie and still laugh my ass off. I think that Robin Williams is the perfect voice actor.
2.) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
This movie is probably at the top of everyone's list when it comes to Disney movies. It may even be at the top of your list for greatest movies of all time. I mean, it is the first Disney movie that was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It is also the only animated movie to be nominated during the time when it was only 5 movies that were nominated. That is freakin' impressive! I also have a tiny secret... Belle is my FAVORITE Disney princess. If I was a cartoon prince, I would find Belle the most attractive. I mean, she is not only pretty, but she is also extremely smart! Being smart is kind of important for me. I mean, it's a tale as old as time, bro!
1.) THE LION KING
Hands down, The Lion King is my favorite Disney movie of all time! I can literally watch this movie over and over again. I think this is the only Disney movie in which I know all of the lyrics to all of the songs in the movie. Not only is it my favorite Disney movie, it also has my favorite Disney song, "Be Prepared". I love this movie. This movie has also become the cause of a lot of controversy on this blog site. You see, a lot of people say that this movie is actually BASED off of William Shakespeare's famous play Hamlet. I happen to disagree. Apparently, this pisses a lot of people off. I am not changing my opinion, so stop your whining! Anyways, this movie is awesome. They tried to make a couple of sequels, but I did not see the 3rd one. I was not a big fan of the 2nd one, so I didn't want to see the 3rd. Nothing can match the awesomeness of the original. Whenever I think of the history of Disney movies, I always refer to it in my mind as movies that are made before or after The Lion King. That's how much I love this movie.
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So, there's my list. Tell me what you think on facebook, twitter, linked in, or on this very blog post!
