Best of Disney Animated Features (23-14)

23. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
This was the type of movie you never expected Disney to make, but they did a great job.  Disney has always excelled at creating believable fantasy worlds and this movie features several different worlds with distinctive styles.  The arcade, Fix It Felix, the terminal, Hero's Duty and Sugar Rush are all unique, but fit together perfectly in the same movie.  The character animation is clever as the characters all move in their respective video game styles.  The story is pleasant and the characters are touching.  Definitely unlike the usual Disney fare, which is not a bad thing.

22. Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
I have written about this movie on this blog extensively.  It is a package feature with two completely solid shorts.  Wind in the Willows features some of Disney's best character animation and a lot of wit.  Legend of Sleepy Hollow perfects atmosphere and has one of the best scary scenes ever.  I wrote about it more here.

21. Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
This is probably the most divisive Disney movie ever made.  It is not perfect, but there is much more good than bad.  It handles its mature themes very well and has some really three dimensional characters.  The music and score is just really grand and supports the scale of the film's visuals.  There is a grandeur to this movie that is really beautiful, the design of Notre Dame is absolutely stunning.  The movie's problems come from its attempts to force comic relief to make it a kid's movie.  It is a shame that Disney did not trust the great story and material they had, but even with its flaws it is a sight to see.

20. Winnie the Pooh (2011)
In an age of reboots, sequels and remakes it is rare to see a movie actually maintain a franchise's quality and improve on some aspects.  This movie is consistent with the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh but uses the characters a bit differently.  This movie seems very simple, but there is a lot of creativity and heart to it.  Its humor is sharp and the new songs are great.  Disney has not supported this movie at all, but you do need to look it up.  One of the most underrated movies in recent years.

19. Emperor's New Groove (2000)
After 13 years this remains one of my favorite buddy comedies.  The jokes hold up and never get old, in fact many of them age well and get funnier after repeated viewings.  This is a buddy comedy with energetic jokes that also features the usual great Disney backgrounds and animation.  This is a rare example of where using a celebrity's personality enhances the movie.  The personas of David Spade, Eartha Kitt, John Goodman and Patrick Warburton add so much to this movie; they were all perfectly cast.  This failed at the box office, but it quickly grew a well deserved audience.

18. Tangled (2010)
This was the first time Disney put their own stamp on a computer animated film.  They utilize lessons that they perfected in traditional animation and it makes this movie stand out.  The characters are much more expressive and feature more personality than the usual CG film.  Disney also took advantage of computer animation by exploring depth and its animation of Rapunzel's hair.  This is a fun movie with fun songs and characters.  The first Disney movie in a long time that the general public noticed and it deserved the attention.

17. One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
One of Disney's most pleasant features.  Long before computer animated movies thrived on volumes of similar characters such as Minions, Disney found a way to create 101 traditionally animated dalmatians.  The main dogs are cute and have a lot of personality.  The scene stealer is the villain Cruella de Vil, who remains one of the best known bad guys of all time.  While not a laugh out loud comedy, it is extremely clever with touches such as the Midnight Bark.  While Disney is great when they are making artistic leaps they are just as good in these little features that are just fun.

16. Princess and the Frog (2009)
Disney's return to traditional animation highlights what works about the art form.  The movie is full of fantastic backgrounds, colors and characters with individual personalities.  Bruce W. Smith's animation of Dr. Facilier and Eric Goldberg's Louis are the stand outs, but all of the characters are great.  Tiana is an admirable role model that has more of a character arc than most Disney princesses.  The story is clever and touching.  This was a fun throwback with surprisingly good songs from Randy Newman, I always enjoy this movie.

15. Dumbo (1941)
Disney took a break from its epic artistic endeavors to tell a smaller story and they created a really sweet children's movie.  This one always gets the heartstrings, the scene of Jumbo's trunk cradling her child is one of the most tender scenes ever animated.  It is cute, sad, fun and even a bit surreal.  This is one of the most iconic Disney features and it definitely holds up.

14. Tarzan (1999)
This seems like an unlikely source material for a Disney movie, but it works beautifully in animation.  The jungle background is gorgeous and Glen Keane's movement of Tarzan is impressive.  Having the king of the jungle tree surf and move like an ape adds so much to him.  The story of an adopted child torn between two worlds is really fascinating.  Phil Collins' non-diagetic songs make this movie feel unique instead of a traditional Broadway musical.  This was a big hit and is still the best adaptation of Tarzan.

Unsung Disney Legends: Glen Keane

We all know the characters, the movies and the songs but it is easy to forget that we are not watching actual characters.  Many people designed and worked on them.  Todays retrospective is on Annie Award and Winsor McCay Award winning industry icon: Glen Keane.

The Bear

Keane's first work in animation was as a layout artist on TV series such as Star Trek: The Animated Series.  For Disney he was a character animator for Penny and Bernard in The Rescuers and Elliot the Dragon in Pete's Dragon.  He also did models and animation on A Family Circus Christmas, which is significant because his father was the creator of Family Circus.

But the scene where Keane made his mark was when he was supervising animator on The Bear in Fox and the Hound.  While the movie is lovingly remembered by those who grew up with the film it is not well regarded by animation critics.  Fox and the Hound has many story problems and the animation is not the best, however every thing I have read on the film praises Keane's animation.  Back in 1981 Disney animation was in a rut and this scene was the highlight that took many by surprise.

I grew up with Fox and the Hound and I vividly remember The Bear and the emotions I felt seeing this realistic, relentless force of nature who was a threat to the main characters.  Those eyes and that snarl are extremely terrifying and emotional.  A great start to a great career.

Where the Wild Things Are

Animation in the early eighties was not in good shape and Disney animation was not taking any risks.  When Keane saw 1983's Tron he was amazed by the revolutionary use of computer animation and could not understand why Disney animation could not experiment with it.  Keane collaborated with John Lasseter who would clearly go on to do great things with CGI on a short animation test based on Where the Wild Things Are.  Disney did not move forward with the project although they owned the rights (although I wished they had since it would have been much better than the live-action version we finally got in 2009).  Nevertheless this test was revolutionary at the time.

Professor Ratigan

Keane had been a character animator on the character of Gurgi in The Black Cauldron, but he really stole the show oin what is considered a comeback for the cartoon studio when he was supervising animator on the villain of The Great Mouse Detective.  The world's greatest criminal mind is a clear cartoon creation, acting larger than life in every frame.

Ariel

When Glen Keane heard the song Part of Your World he demanded to work on Ariel.  Other animators asked why, because pretty girls were not his thing.  Keane responded that he had to.  He had an emotional connection to that song and wanted to bring it to life.  His love for this character is really a large part of what makes The Little Mermaid work.  Ariel is a character of passion and love, emotions that the audience completely buys into.  This was Keane's first real gracefully moving character, which the rest of his characters would become known for.

Marahute

What is unquestionably the highlight of the underrated movie The Rescuers Down Under is the opening flying sequence.  It is absolutely breathtaking and a great first use for the CAPS computer animation system.  Keane did the supervising animation for the eagle Marahute.  Keane animates this character with such majesty and gives it the perfect balance between realistic and fantastic.

Beast

Keane showcases his incredible range on the character of the Beast from the Academy Award nominated Beauty and the Beast.  The creature could be more menacing than The Bear from Fox and the Hound and yet more heartfelt than Ariel.  The most loved sequence is the ballroom scene which is just lovely to be hold and also fascinating to watch when you realize how graceful this beast is moving.

Aladdin

The next title character Keane animated was in Aladdin based on a Tom Cruise type persona Keane adds depth and emotion to an action star.  Much like with Ariel, it is heartbreaking to see Aladdin sing about wanting something more.  The character works in broad physical comedy, serious actions and more intimate character scenes.

Pocahontas

In my review of Pocahontas I named Keane's animation as the thing that makes the main character work.  Story wise there is not much to relate to, but the strength that Keane gifts her with makes her very compelling.  She is not a showcase of an ideal of female beauty, but rather she has an intimidating posture and strong movements.  Seeing this character run and jump or even just stand in the mist is a great experience.

Tarzan

I remember seeing Glen Keane on the Movie Surfers before on the video of Mulan discussing the upcoming movie Tarzan and how he was inspired by seeing his son do extreme sports.  The influence of skateboarding and snowboarding seems like an odd fit for a classic jungle character but it is just the kind of new thing that the story needed.  Keane's animation of the muscular dreadlocked lead is thrilling.  Naturally Keane is able to give the character strong emotions and use the character arc.

Long John Silver

Silver in Treasure Planet is very different from most of Keane's work.  This character is sloppy, overweight and at times unlikable.  But Keane was the perfect choice to animate this classic character as he was able to make his fatherlike connection with Jim, two-faced nature and conflicted emotions seem natural.  This is an underrated feature and while not Disney's best there is so much to like, Keane's work on Silver being one of them.

Tangled

Glen Keane was originally the director on Tangled (known as Rapunzel at the time).  But he had to step aside due to health reasons but he did stay on as a producer.  He also had designed the characters for the film.  Keane worked on combining traditional animation and computer animation styles.  His process was the inspiration for the Oscar winning short Paperman.  Tangled was the last Disney feature that Keane worked on as he has since left the company, but hopefully we will see the legend work on something very soon.

New Disneyland: Fantasyland

Snow White's Castle

Fantasyland needs a castle.  A good one to use would be the Prince's castle in Snow White.  Disney's first movie ends with Snow White looking at a castle in the sky.  Would be fun for audiences to finally get to see more of it.

Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Parasols

Dumbo the Flying Elephant is one of the most enduring and popular Disney attractions of all time, the format was even replicated in Adventureland's Magic Carpets of Aladdin.  For this new Disney theme park the flying carousel ride would be giant open umbrellas with seats attached at the bottoms.  This would have a feeling of suspension, differing it from the other rides.

Fantasia Fantasies

This would be a dark ride featuring characters and scenes from Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.  Even if the movies aren't the best known they are some of Disney's most visually pleasing.  They would be great images up close, plus classical music could be playing the whole ride.

Princess and the Frog Bayou Adventure

Another new dark ride based on a movie that isn't the best known.  Princess and the Frog is a beautiful movie with a lot of images for imagineers to draw from.  Since a majority of the movie takes place on the bayou this would be a water ride, ala it's a small world.  This would help to raise the movie's profile and place in Disney's catalog.

Mickey's Beanstalk

Based on Mickey and the Beanstalk from Fun and Fancy Free.  Audiences would in a roller coaster style cart that would work its way up a long beanstalk and through the sites of the giant's castle before descending back down.  A combination of a roller coaster and a dark ride.  Not sure how to make this safe or feasible, but let the imagineers sort it out.

Rapunzel's Tangled Slide-Do

There would be four long slides styled after Rapunzel's blonde hair that would be built around each other to appear like it is tangled hair.  Again, not sure how to make this safe or feasible but it is a fun idea.

Nightmare Mountain

The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of the few Disney brands that teenagers and young adults allow themselves.  Disney should make a thrill ride out of it.  The mountain from the movie is iconic and inside it could have a Space Mountain style thrill ride for older guests featuring characters from the movie.