This Weekend’s Film Festival – Disney Essentials

With Disney's THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG opening in LA and NYC this Thanksgiving weekend, This Weekend's Film Festival turns its spotlight on essential Disney animated features. The lineup features vintage classics and a modern masterpiece. It doesn't matter if you love Disney animation or haven't seen the films in years or ever, this week's fest is a cinematic lesson in the power and magic of animation.

It makes sense to start the festival where Disney started. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES was viewed before its release as Walt Disney's folly. Skeptics believed animation couldn't work at feature length. Disney knew that the frenetic pace of animated shorts couldn't be sustained for 80+ minutes. So he went to fairy tales and made it a musical, a formula that would serve the studio very well over the years. Upon its release, the skeptics were quieted and the film was hailed as a masterpiece. As I said in my original review, "The story is a simple tale of good versus evil, but on a grand scale." Snow White is pure good and the Queen is pure evil. When the Queen sends the huntsman into the forest to cut out Snow White's heart, he can't kill such innocence, so he lets her go. In the woods, she meets the dwarves, a group of untidy tiny men who she brings grace and civilization to. The dwarves quickly fall for the charms of the beautiful princess — even Grumpy warms up to her. In the end, true love is all that can save the pure Snow White. Combining beautiful imagery with a simple theme, SNOW WHITE still holds up today as proof that adults can enjoy entertainment made for children when great characters are at the center.

Walt Disney followed up SNOW WHITE with another musical fairy tale, PINOCCHIO. "Lessons are common to films intended for children, but this animated adventure never preaches, but never shies away from its message. The world is full of temptation, so how can a naïve puppet not go bad?" to quote my original review. Geppetto dreams of having a son and one night the Blue Fairy honors his wishes and brings his puppet Pinocchio to life. The fairy makes cricket Jiminy his conscience. The innocent puppet is easily lured off the right path by huckster fox Honest John and his foolish cat partner Gideon. One moment the devious duo is selling Pinocchio to the cruel puppeteer Stromboli and the next their sending him to Pleasure Island, which turns out to be anything but. In an effort to save his wooden boy, Geppetto ends up swallowed by the giant whale Monstro. Pinocchio must learn from his mistakes, save his father and possibly get his wish of becoming a real boy. Filled with poignant songs, the film reaches high points musically with "I've Got No Strings" and "When You Wish Upon a Star." Brought to life through life with brilliant animation, nuanced characters and a story that never talks down to any member of the audience, the film is considered by many as the crowning achievement in Disney animation.

Next up is another coming of age tale, BAMBI. As I said in my original review, "It’s… bold like PINOCCHIO in that it wasn’t afraid to take its premise to emotionally challenging and deep levels." The story of an innocent deer learning to be an adult was the first non-musical animated feature for Disney. The audience watches as Bambi encounters many of the firsts of life, including his first steps, making friends (which includes the energetic rabbit Thumper and the shy skunk Flower), his first snow, learning about the dangers of the world and eventually first love. For these woodland creatures, Disney broke from their tradition of creating cartoonish looking animals. These more realistic designs along with the lush painterly forest backgrounds transport the viewer into the world. Upon it's release the film courted controversy dealing directly with the death of a parent and its portrayal of man as an unseen destructive force. Many sportsmen felt it demonized them, while others saw the film as a powerful message for animal rights. In the end, if SNOW WHITE is a grand tale of good versus evil than BAMBI is a grand tale of the circle of life.

Before BAMBI, Disney experimented with FANTASIA. This anthology film features seven sequences set to classical music. The most memorable based around Paul Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” featuring Mickey Mouse as the hapless apprentice to a sorcerer who gets in trouble when his use of magic gets away from him. Without words, the story is pure cinema, fitting the music perfectly. The sequences range from the abstract experimental "Toccata Fugue in D Minor" to the "Silly Symphonies" inspired "Nutcracker Suite" segment. The evolutionary origin of the planet from raging volcanoes to savage dinosaurs is brought to life with the primeval energy of "Rite of Spring." Greek mythological creatures dance in "The Pastoral Symphony" sequence. The ballet is satirized with hippos in tutus partnered by alligators, set to Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours." The production comes to a rousing ending via a medley of Moussorgsky’s “Night at Bald Mountain” and Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” A god of evil summons his demons one dark night only to be pushed back into the shadows by the chimes of church bells, a chorus of "Ave Maria" and the breaking of dawn. As I said in my original review, "Nothing so bold or adult has come out from Disney animation since. Few major studios have ever attempted something so experimental."

To close this week's lineup we have the only animated feature to be nominated for best picture — BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. One of the signature achievements of the Disney renaissance, the film presented a new kind of princess in Belle. The smart country girl is interested in more things than landing a handsome "prince." This is why she rejects the arrogant Gaston, who only wants her because of her beauty. When her father is captured by a cursed prince, she trades her freedom for her dad's. The prince, now a beast, has put on a beastly emotional mask to hide his physical appearance. If the Beast wants to be turned back to his human form, he must fall in love and be loved in return. The enchanted objects of his castle, who were his former servants, do whatever they can to make Belle feel like a guest so that she can see the inner beauty of the Beast's heart. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman won Oscars for their songs, including the winning title song. The film begins joyously with the nominated "Belle" and hits a rousing crescendo with showstopper "Be Our Guest." This tightly drawn romance has something to say about embracing inner beauty. As I said in my original review, "With its mature characters and Broadway-style musical numbers, this film was truly made for the whole family in mind. Adults were freed from having to drag children along with them to see an animated feature. With this film, animation grew up in many ways."

To partake in this essential lineup for any movie fan then simply head to the video store, update the Netflix queue, visit HelloMovies.com for streaming sites, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings, or support the site by purchasing the films on DVD or Blu-ray at the links below.