The Animation Commendation

My Top 13 Favorite Animated Disney (Canon) Songs!

Well, due to the popularity of my last “Top 13” list, I decided to make another one! And today’s post takes a dive into an aspect of Disney’s animated films that is loved by everyone: its songs!

The vast majority of the Disney Canon films are musicals, or at least feature a song or two. And the magic of Disney along with the magic of many of Disney’s songwriters including the Sherman Brothers,

Alan Menken and Howard Ashman,

"We're...second....awesome!" — “We’re…second….awesome!”

and many others whose names are relatively unknown to the majority of the world, make these songs enjoyable, cherished, and memorable to us all!

So the question is, “Which of the songs are my favorites?”. To find that out, I went through all the songs of the Disney Canon films and picked out the ones that I really loved…all 40 of them!

Yeah, then came the nigh impossible challenge of shortening that “shortlist” to 13! (This was soooo much harder than figuring out my top 13 favorite animated Disney canon films)! So if you don’t see your favorite Disney song on here, don’t be mad! It most likely was in my shortlist to begin with and didn’t make my top 13!

Oh, why top 13? Because I’m not superstitious!

Note: I personally believe that one’s favorites can change over time, so this is my list as of February 2013. With that said, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Continue reading “My Top 13 Favorite Animated Disney (Canon) Songs!”

My Thoughts: ROCK-A-DOODLE (1991)

Oh boy, we’re back to watching Don Bluth movies! That just goes to show you how bored I’ve been recently. For those of you who don’t know, I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Don Bluth, nor would I even call myself a small fan of the man! Nonetheless, being an animated film fanatic, I felt it my duty to watch all his movies! True, they’re not terrible, but I don’t love any particular one of them! I will give him credit though that his animation always is top-notch and there are some enjoyable things in all his movies! An example of a movie portraying top-notch animation and some enjoyable things is this one: “Rock-A-Doodle”! Continue reading “My Thoughts: ROCK-A-DOODLE (1991)”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #20: Georges Hautecourt

Well, even though Walt Disney has left us on our journey, his legacy still remains! Disney’s 20th animated feature, although not worked on by Disney, was given the approval to go ahead before Walt had passed away! “The Aristocats”, released in 1970, was the beginning of the post-Disney years and what I term the “Iffy Era”. I don’t really consider the ’70s and ’80s as a “Dark Age”; but they definitely weren’t lucrative years! Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #20: Georges Hautecourt”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #19: Akela and Rama

Sorry for the long delay! We are now at Disney’s 19th animated feature and the last one that he personally worked on before he died!

Don't hold back those tears now! — Don’t hold back those tears now!

Released in 1967, “The Jungle Book” was both a commercial and critical success. It was so good that Gregory Peck tried his hardest to get this film to be nominated for the “Best Picture” award at the Oscars! Unfortunately, the erroneous idea that animated films are “kiddie flicks” and incomparable to live-action movies was present and his efforts were shut down.

"Members of the Academy, if you grant me that nomination, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you!" — “Members of the Academy, if you grant me that nomination, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you!”

It wouldn’t be until 1991 that an animated film would get nominated for the “Best Picture” Oscar! We’ll come to that one when we get there in our project. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #19: Akela and Rama”

“Wreck-It Ralph” Wrecks Competition…Again…at the Annie Awards!

Well, the Disney feature won 5 awards including “Best Animated Feature” and “Voice Acting in a Feature Production (Alan Tudyk as King Candy)”! I still have yet to see this film, and all this hype just makes me want to see it more!

Singer Patty Andrews Dies at 94!

Singer Patty Andrews of the famed “Andrews Sisters” has passed away sadly at the age of 94! Patty Andrews (1918-2013) died at her home in California due to natural causes.

Patty, along with her sisters LaVerne and Maxine (who predeceased Patty), were popular singers in the ’30s and ’40s. They even made appearances as themselves in films such as “Buck Privates” and “In the Navy”, both starring the comedic duo of Abbott and Costello.

There also is a connection between them and Disney animation. They sang the “Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet” and “Little Toot” segments from Disney’s “Make Mine Music” and “Melody Time”, respectively!

In the end, many old-timers and young folk are sure to mourn the loss of the last of the Andrews Sisters!

Brad Bird’s “1952” Retitled as “Tomorrowland”!

As you all know, Brad Bird’s secret Disney film project, “1952”, has been causing a lot of talk amongst the Disney fans and movie lovers alike. This has been escalated recently after Mr. Bird tweeted pictures of a Disney box with paraphernalia apparently associated with this motion picture. And now, we have even newer developments: The film is now renamed as “Tomorrowland”! This will be sure to get tongues wagging again! Whaddaya think it’s about? Does an adventure occur at Tomorrowland? Is it about the formation of Tomorrowland? Does it have nothing to do with Tomorrowland and is just given a distracting name? Lemme know in the comments.

The film is scheduled to be released on December 19, 2014. George Clooney is expected to star. For more info, check out http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tomorrowland-disneys-1952-brad-bird-415934

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #18: Hobbs

I can hear you saying, “WHO?!” and you probably have a right to say that. Hopefully, everything can be explained as we progress.

We are visiting Walt Disney’s 18th animated feature film, “The Sword in the Stone” (or as I like to call it, “How Many Times Can You Hear Wart Say, ‘Wha..?Wait. Whoa!’?“).

Released in 1963, it was the last animated Disney film released during Walt Disney’s life. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #18: Hobbs”

“1952” Photos Revealed! What Can It Be About?

Brad Bird’s secret project tentatively starring George Clooney entitled, “1952” has been….well, kept a secret. But the director has tweeted two photos that may help us form hypotheses on what this film could possibly be about!

Well, let’s hear your hypotheses! What do you think this film is about?

Disney’s “Aladdin” Coming to Broadway in 2014!

Disney’s animated classic, “Aladdin”, is coming to Broadway in 2014! The show will feature music and lyrics by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice of course as well as by Chad Beguelin. Are you excited for this? Do you think this show is a good idea?