Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #18: Hobbs

unknown suspect

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!’?“).

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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”

My Top 13 Favorite Animated Disney (Canon) Films!

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Well folks, it’s about time that I open up my latest section of this blog: my “Top 13” Lists! Face it, we all love lists and love reading other people’s opinions, and I’m no exception. So I thought to myself that I should start making a few lists and hopefully some people would be interested in reading them!

I'm stuck reading this, aren't I?
I’m stuck reading this, aren’t I?

So I went ahead and decided my first list to be, “My Top 13 Favorite Animated Disney (Canon) Films”! It seemed an appropriate list to start with seeing as I’m already doing a project involving the Disney Canon. Maybe some of you were curious as to which films are my personal favorite?

"Simply, (yawns)...Ecstatic!"
“Simply, (yawns)…Ecstatic!”

 After looking through the list of the Disney Canon films and after much painstaking editing and re-arranging (I never realized how hard ranking things can be! To those of you who make lists often, I tip my hat to you!),

"Darn, I can't make the joke about the hat being the fastest piece of clothing because it goes on a head!"
“Darn, I can’t make the joke about the hat being the fastest piece of clothing because it goes on a head!”

I’m ready to share the results with you all!

Note: I personally find one’s favorites and preferences can vary over time, minutely, if not majorly! So keep in mind that as of January 2013, this is my list! Maybe when I look back at this list in the future, I’ll wonder why my #6 film was not #12? Or why my #10 film was not my #3? Or why my #7 film was even on the list to begin with?

Also, I have not seen “Wreck-It Ralph” yet, but I have seen all the other films in the Disney Canon! Hopefully, I don’t love “Wreck-It Ralph” so much that it affects my top 13! Oh, you’re probably wondering to yourself, “Why top 13?” Well, it’s because I’m not superstitious!

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With that said, sit back and enjoy my top 13 favorite animated Disney (Canon) films! Continue reading “My Top 13 Favorite Animated Disney (Canon) Films!”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #17: Towser and Lucy

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The “Twilight Bark” can bring you the canine-related news, but “The Animation Commendation” will bring you the Disney canon-related news! And today, we venture into Disney’s 17th animated feature, “One Hundred and One Dalmatians”. Released in 1961, the film was a great success and became loved by us all. It was a thrilling film of how far one goes to save one’s family. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #17: Towser and Lucy”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #16: Queen Leah

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Come once upon a dream with me as we investigate Disney’s 16th animated feature, “Sleeping Beauty”. Released in 1959, this film was meant to be a masterpiece. Intricate detail was put into the animation and backgrounds. Two versions of the film were made: a widescreen version and a regular version. And to top it all off, this was the most expensive animated Disney film to date! Walt and his crew were hoping for this to be a success! Was it? No!

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Like “Alice in Wonderland”, this film was not an initial success, but rather saw box office profits through future re-releases. The underperformance of this film was the reason that Walt decided not to make another animated film based on a fairy tale again. And the Disney Studios would not make an animated film based on a fairy tale until 1989’s “The Little Mermaid”. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #16: Queen Leah”

85th Academy Award Nominations for “Best Animated Feature”

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So yes folks, the Oscars nominations have been released and the five animated films nominated for “Best Animated Feature” are: Continue reading “85th Academy Award Nominations for “Best Animated Feature””

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #15: The British Polyglot Professor

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Traveling along the Disney Canon, we have to embark at the 15th stop: “Lady and the Tramp”. Yes, released in 1955, the love story about two dogs of different statuses has made its way into the hearts of many! The story is an interesting one: it’s based on a story man’s dog, based on a short story in “Cosmopolitan Magazine”, inspired by an actual event involving Walt Disney and his wife, and/or possibly plagiarized from feminist María Lejárraga.

Walt, if you grant me accreditation, , 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!
“Walt, if you grant me accreditation, 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!”

Whatever the main inspiration of the film, we all have to agree that this movie is pretty much perfect! I personally have no problems with it. The animation, backgrounds, and character designs are perfect and beautiful. The characters are lovable. The voice acting is admirable (even if including, arguably, the first use of a celebrity voice in animated films),

Blue Sky Studios' Inspiration!
Blue Sky Studios’ Inspiration!

the story is precise, and the movie keeps you entertained. I honestly wouldn’t consider it to be one of my favorite Disney films, but it’s still an amazing work of art!

With that said, let’s focus on the…umm…well…the …focus of this project: the forgotten/minor characters! This case was similar to “Peter Pan” in which my choice of forgotten/minor character was one I really didn’t want to go with; but in the end I gave in. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #15: The British Polyglot Professor”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #14: The Hot Water Pirate

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Let’s fly to Neverland, folks! We are viewing Disney’s 14th animated feature film, “Peter Pan”. Released in 1953, the film was a commercial success after the somewhat failure, “Alice in Wonderland”.

The film’s story, again extremely well-known, is about a boy who doesn’t want to grow up named Peter Pan. He lives in a fantasy world called Neverland where he has fun with the Indians, talks with the mermaids, and battles the villain Captain Hook and his gang of pirates. After Peter Pan loses his shadow in the house of the Darling family,

Sneaking off to Dreamworks Animation to sell a story idea
Sneaking off to Dreamworks Animation to sell a story idea!

he goes back to retrieve it and decides to bring the Darling children along to see Neverland. And that’s basically the story. Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #14: The Hot Water Pirate”

My Thoughts: MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (2012)

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So I’ve finally seen this film that (hopefully) ends the “Madagascar” franchise with a trilogy! I was never a fan of the “Madagascar” franchise and never thought much of the other two movies! So the fact that I actually LIKE this movie is somewhat of a shocker! And although I do like it, I also think that it’s not a great movie nor is it perfect. So with that in mind, let’s take a deeper look into this movie and my thoughts regarding it. Continue reading “My Thoughts: MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED (2012)”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #13: The Mome Raths

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I hope you’re not late, not late, for a very important date; because we have to venture into Disney’s 13th animated feature, “Alice in Wonderland”. This was a film that Walt Disney had wanted to make for a long time, even before “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”; but due to various reasons, the film was finally made and released in 1951. Sadly though, it was not a box office success and had to wait over 20 years to be re-released in theaters! During its re-releases, the movie became a financial hit and an animated classic; possibly due to people seeing it as an LSD trip of sorts!

There's no knowing where we're going! Or which way the river's flowing!
There’s no knowing where we’re going! Or which way the river’s flowing!

Whatever the reason, we all can agree that “Alice in Wonderland” has got to be one of the most strangest books and films that we’ve ever read or seen in our lives! And in my opinion, what makes this movie so likeable and perfect are its characters: its PLETHORA of characters; its PLETHORA of ODDBALL characters; its PLETHORA of MEMORABLE ODDBALL characters! So picking a forgotten one was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to complete that task! Let’s follow the Mad Hatter and March Hare’s advice by starting at the beginning and when we arrive at the end, stop! Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #13: The Mome Raths”

Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #12: The Palace Guards

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I want to apologize for being a bit late with this post. It took me a while to obtain a copy of this film; because unlike the others, this was one I hadn’t seen in a long time and I needed to re-watch in order to determine its forgotten/minor characters. With that said, let’s waste no further time and dive right in!

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After the 6 package films and the end of WWII, Walt Disney decided to return to feature animation. Now because of losses made by the earlier movies and the war; Walt had to make a movie that would be a hit. If this movie flopped, Walt Disney Studios would have most likely gone bankrupt and been shut down! So based on the fact that Walt Disney Studios is still around today, you can guess that his 12th animated film was indeed a massive hit! We are of course talking about the 1950 masterpiece, “Cinderella”! Continue reading “Disney Canon-Forgotten/Minor Characters #12: The Palace Guards”