I'm coming back!

It has been three long years since I sat down and watched a Disney movie with the intention of writing about it. Well, I'm back!! I'm trudging my way through college so I don't know how often I will be able to post on this blog, but now that Disney Plus is a thing, I have our beloved Disney movies at my fingertips! Next up is Robin Hood! From here on out, I may change my style of writing the posts; instead of making commentary as I'm watching each movie, I may just give a general overview of what I think about each one. We shall see. I'm excited to get this going again!

The Aristocats (1970)

Hello again! It's been a while, but it's time for me to change into my sweats and slippers, sit back, and watch The Aristocats! I think I've only seen this movie a few times, and not in a very, very long time. It has never stood out to me as a Disney movie I really liked, but we shall see what I think of it now!

Ooh it's French! Somehow I never noticed that before. This is the very first Disney movie to take place in France. Nice!

"Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay"! I remember this scene very clearly from my childhood. I just never knew what it meant or why Georges was singing it like a maniac, although I just now looked it up to discover that it is in fact a real music hall song from the 1890s. Fascinating. You learn something new every day!

Wait... you want the inheritance to go to your CATS?? This is the ultimate cat lady, y'all. Madame Bonfamille wins the prize for most cat ladyish cat lady.

At first, I really liked Edgar. I thought he was a good and loyal servant. WELL I WAS WRONG. I TRUSTED YOU, EDGAR!

Wow. Duchess is one friendly cat. I don't think there are any cats in existence that are this friendly or loving toward their owner AND a mouse. She and her kittens even share their food with Roquefort the mouse, who, as a side-note, is also the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Kaa the Snake, Cheshire Cat, and more! Yay for classic Disney voice actors! Anyway, I like Duchess a lot. Not only because she's sweet and friendly, but also because she is hopeful and bright, even in the terrible situation she gets in. Bless that cat and her kittens.

Let's talk about Thomas O'Malley. He's such a classic, smooth-talking guy. He's a lot like Tramp from Lady and the Tramp. He's like a heartthrob from an old Hollywood movie. And such a gentleman. He's a good guy. I like him a lot. Also, he's a hero. He's selfless and sacrificial and he's such a great father figure for the kittens. Oh, and he has a great sense of humor. He's perf, and in my book he's the best (or one of the best) Disney cat.

My favorite part in this whole movie is "Everybody Wants to be a Cat". It's full of jazzy goodness with a French twist! Kind reminds me of the musical An American In Paris. It takes place in Paris and it's full of jazz. I love it! Scat Cat is like the Louis Armstrong of cats and they're swing dancing to the music. It's wonderful!

Let me say more about Duchess and how much of an angel she is. Her attitude is GREAT. She's no where near the kind of aristocrats who are spoiled and stuck-up. Spoiled, yes, but she doesn't let the privileged life she's used to living affect her outlook on the rest of the world. She welcomes O'Malley and his alley cat friends openly into her life. She's more than accepting and tolerant of their different lifestyle-- she embraces it and chooses to look upon the situation with joy. Duchess is definitely up there with Thomas O'Malley. They'd both be the #1 Disney cat in my book. They really need more credit for being such wonderful and inspiring characters. We can learn lessons from these cats, you guys!

I enjoyed this movie. The music and the cats were what made it so fun to watch. I'm really a fan of the music. I might even go buy the Jazz Loves Disney album! I'm finding that I'm getting more and more into jazz, especially old-fashioned jazz, and I appreciate that Disney uses it in many of their movies. Yay jazz!

My rating:

Here, enjoy some cat jazz.

The Jungle Book (1967)

"I would have obeyed my first impulse and walked away." No, Bagheera, I think your first impulse would be to eat him. And let's be real; the wolves' first impulse would also be to eat him. Black panthers and wolves are, after all, carnivores.

Bagheera is awesome though. He may be grumpy, refined and grandfatherly, but he sure has a big heart to make sure Mowgli is taken care of, and to know that he'd be better off in the man village.

The voice actor of Kaa is also the voice of Winnie the Pooh, so what I'm hearing is Winnie the Pooh making snake noises...

The elephant scene is just too adorable!

Mowgli is so very stubborn. He's like one of those ADHD kids that will not cooperate, and if they don't like you they'll try to hurt you, just like Mowgli tries to punch Baloo but it has absolutely no effect on him. Baloo just stands there watching this scrawny 10-year-old try to release his anger on him-- a bear at least three times his size. Haha!

I love how they literally put groove into each step Baloo takes. Every time he talks, he sounds about ready to burst into song, and every move he makes is a little dance. It adds to his character! This is why we love Baloo!

The vultures kinda remind me of The Monkees... after I made this comment in my head, I discovered that they were actually supposed to be based on bands of the British Invasion, so I guess I got it right! Cool!

Isn't that girl a little too young to be singing about a husband and seducing Mowgli? Aren't they both like ten? Wow. No. Just no.

One thing I particularly liked about this movie was the music. Without the music, it just wouldn't have been as enjoyable. It's really good music, too. It's the kind of music that makes you want to get up and dance and sing along. The music was so good, in fact, that they put two of the songs in the 2016 live-action adaption, and I don't think that was even considered a musical. They just had to add those songs, because they're great!

Final comment: Baloo rocks my world.

My rating:

Mary Poppins (1964)

This movie was okay until Mary Poppins showed up. The moment she showed up, the movie became spectacular!












Mary Poppins makes me want to be a nanny. In fact, Mary makes me want to be Mary... I just want to be practically perfect in every way!


I would like to stop a moment and talk about Mary and Bert's relationship. Most people think that they have a romantic relationship, but personally support the opposing idea. I think their relationship is purely platonic, and that they are more of a dynamic duo than a couple. Okay, moving on...

Dick Van Dyke is a legend. My goodness, he's 90 years old and he's still got moves. Even when he's gone, the world's love for him will go on. It's so difficult and heart-breaking to think that he's getting older and will be gone one day; probably within the next decade. We love you, Dick!

Feed the Birds is a song that is dear to my heart. When I was little, we had a Disney CD with songs on it like "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", "You Can Fly", and "Feed the Birds". Feed the Birds was the last song on the CD, so when my parents played it as we went to bed, that would always be the lullaby to put me to sleep. It's so melancholy yet so peaceful. This is just one of many things that built up my childhood! (Oh my gosh, I just found the CD and now I'm listening to it. Yay nostalgia!!)

"Do you think I can't see past the end of my nose?" Yes. We do think that, Mr. Banks.

Fun fact: Dick Van Dyke, as well as playing Bert, also played Mr. Dawes Sr., and while he was still in that costume, he would walk around the studio lot making people think he was an actual old man, and there's a story in which a bus stopped for him so he could cross the street, which took forever, and once he crossed and the bus started moving, he would run alongside it as fast as he could! Good old Dick Van Dyke!

I wish friendly neighborhood chimney sweeps were a thing. They're the best thing ever!

Mr. Banks may be a bit rigid, but he is also awesome. Throughout the entire movie, you see him react to every situation (whether bad or good) maturely and patiently, for the most part. Compared to a Disney father like George Darling, he does very well at keeping his temper and staying calm. For goodness' sake, he lost his very important job because of his children, and is there any yelling? No. He goes very collectedly to the bank to face his bosses. Does he become upset? No! He starts laughing and realizes that his family and his happiness matters more than keeping this orderly, sophisticated lifestyle. Be like Mr. Banks.

My rating:

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

I find it surprising that The Sword in the Stone is not one of the more popular Disney movies because it's based on such a famous legend, but somehow the tone of the movie seems different from other Disney movies, so perhaps that's it.

I think it's cool that this version of Merlin is a wizard as well as a time traveler. It brings some light-heartedness and humor to the movie-- with all the references to modern culture and technology that the medieval characters don't understand a word of.










Guys, I found my new favorite Disney song lyrics:

"You must set your sights upon the heights

Don't be a mediocrity

Don't just wait and trust to fate

And say, that's how it's meant to be

It's up to you how far you go

If you don't try you'll never know

And so my lad as I've explained

Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Precisely right!

I almost ship Arthur with the female squirrel. I'm sorry, but I really do. I would actually kind of like to see her as a human... apparently there's a fan head canon that after Arthur becomes king, Merlin turns the female squirrel into a human so she can be with Arthur, because, let's be honest, you can see how in love she is with Arthur and you want there to be a happy ending. That would actually be completely ridiculous, but admit it. The romantic part of you wants it to happen...

After watching this movie again after many years and with a new maturity, I realize that Arthur is probably one of the most honorable and admirable male Disney characters. He is humble, obedient, respectful, and he doesn't give up on his goals. For a twelve-year-old boy, that's awesome! He is rather naive, but even so, he has a certain strength and virtue, and that's what will make him a great king.

My rating:

I'll just comment that I was debating strongly between 3 stars and 4 stars. I've stopped doing fractions with my ratings, but if I were still doing them, I'd give The Sword in the Stone a 3.5. I don't think it's as good as the other movies I rated at a 4 star, but it's still a good movie.

101 Dalmatians (1961)

Everyone needs a Pongo. If it weren't for Pongo, Roger and Anita never would have met and gotten married. None of this movie would have happened if it weren't for Pongo. You rock, Pongo!

These dogs are so smart yet still so doggish. Every dog-like thing they do is justified somehow and made to seem human, which is why they're so likable and you just gotta love them to death! They're not barking at nothing to annoy you or make you angry; they have a really good reason behind it, but I guess we'll never know what they're thinking. It's funny to think that the humans in this movie had absolutely no idea what was happening or how all the puppies got saved. It was all due to the unknown genius of dogs.

Cruella De Vil is seriously the worst kind of person there is on the face of the earth. She and her henchmen might actually be the most villainous villains in all of Disney history. They may not have any dark magic or anything, but still they are utterly terrifying. I mean, for one, they hate animals and senselessly abuse them, but they were plotting to skin puppies, which is probably the nastiest, evilest thing I can think of for a Disney villain to do. You wanna take over the world? Sure, but STAY AWAY FROM THOSE PUPPIES.

Cats should be more like Sergeant Tibbs. A normal cat from any other cartoon probably wouldn't have cared less for those puppies, and there's no way they would ever take orders from a dog like Tibbs does. I like you very much, Tibbs. You're a hero in so many ways!

Not only is Cruella a horrible person, she's also a horrible driver...

I really liked this story. It was a great story full of love and joy and sacrifice and heroism. Very good movie.

My rating:

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

If Aurora is dreaming about a prince she doesn't know multiple times, I wouldn't be as calm or swoony as she is. I'd be a bit concerned. But then again, it is pretty exciting.

May I just say that Prince Phillip is a hunk? I mean look at him. He may be a cartoon character but Disney does a really good job at making people crush on cartoon characters.

My sewing looks like Flora's sewing, no kidding.

This movie is basically Snow White, obviously because of the whole "true love's kiss will break the spell" thing, but also because Aurora's dream is to meet her one true love, and that's pretty much all you know about her character. Other than that, all we know is that Aurora loves animals and can sing and look graceful. I hate to compare princesses, but unlike Aurora, we could see that Snow White was loving, compassionate, hard working, etc. We don't ever get a good reason to make Aurora our favorite princess. However, I am not going to judge people who love Aurora, seeing that she's my best friend's favorite princess. She isn't one of my favorite characters, but I suppose that was just Disney dropping the ball.

YEAH!! COLOR FIGHT! 

Gosh darn it, fairies. You're ruining everything. You're the worst moms ever, seeing that you gave away Aurora's secret location and exposed her to Maleficent, all of which could have been avoided if you had only been mature and decided on the color for the dress. AND you left her alone on the day that Maleficent said she would prick her finger. And how did you expect Aurora take all of this well? Everything she's ever known is a lie and literally the only other person she's met, a person whom she really likes, she's being told she can never see again. You thought she would be okay??? Gosh, I'd never leave you alone with my children...

Wow, fairies, you just keep getting worse and worse. While the kingdom is celebrating the arrival of the princess, you're standing over her potentially dead body. Way to not tell her own parents!

I expected more from you, Phillip. Your sword fighting skills disappoint me. (He's literally just swinging at the air.) I still like you though.

Okay, so, I'm not a big fan of this movie because it doesn't really teach any kind of lesson. I like the idea of dreaming of one day meeting your true love; I'm all about true love, buuut it left me wondering what I was supposed to take away from it. Always a classic fairy tale, but that is what I think.

My rating: