New Disney titles for 2012 (Rescuers Aristocats Pocahontas etc.) !

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

The character animation of Bernard and Bianca in The Rescuers is miles ahead of the animation of the same characters in Down Under. Medusa is also a stunningly vile and cruel creation, and Penny simply breaks your heart, in two key scenes. It's the difference between Walt's seasoned and experienced (and incredibly talented) crew trying to go out with a bang and young animators stretching themselves with new technology (and having a ball, it looks like).

Milt Kahl went a bit over the top with Medusa, in my opinion -- he knew it was going to be his last character and he pushed it hard making a personal statement. There was talk in pre-production of having Crullea deVille return as the villain, but they dropped the idea -- but you can sense Kahl trying to "out-Cruella" Marc Davis. Kahl was a bit of a hot-headed prima donna. He knew he was the best animator on the lot in terms of technique ("I had no limits" he famously said), but Walt was always around to soothe his ego and calm him down. Kahl would blow his top, and march into Walt's office and rant and rave, and Walt would listen and tell him he was right and everything would sort out, and Kahl then returned to his desk and fume in private, his anger sated.

Without Walt, there was no one around that could soothe and calm the mercurial Mr. Kahl. During production of Robin Hood, for instance, he stormed down the hallway screaming "You're all garbagemen!" He finally snapped during The Rescuers, abruptly quitting towards the end of production. His work on the film, though, is unmistakable (as is Don Bluth's sequence, a go-absolutely-nowhere sequence where Bernard and Bianca take a short cut through a zoo -- so little happens during this scene, Disney didn't even bother including it in books and records of the film. But you know you're watching Bluth when Bernard starts sticking out his tongue. Bluth followed Kahl's lead and stormed out of the studio a few years later, taking some of the talent with him. Monkey see, monkey do.).

So I find the character animation in general more interesting and therefore the actual *acting* in Rescuers to be superior to Rescuers Down Under, but RDU buries The Rescuers in terms of production values, and if MacLeach isn't the equal of Kahl's Medusa, RDU has one unique creation that makes a statement all it's own -- Marahute. Glen Keane sealed his legend with this film, after the astonishing bear fight from Fox and the Hound. His Great Golden Eagle is a form of entertainment unto itself. Keane's work is mind-blowing, almost too good, as you look forward to seeing it again for most of the movie, and they hold Marahute back until the end.

I could talk about these two movies all day long -- MacLeach received criticism for being too complicated, but I loved his look, and thought the animation ambitious, and I'll take ambitious animation from Disney any day over - say - rushed animation on a budget (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) or worse, recycled animation (Robin Hood). Joanna is a fun riff on the alligator sidekicks Nero and Brutus in the original film, and boy, is she fun to watch (her egg-stealing scenes are real highlights of the film). John Candy demonstrates why he should have worked more in animation. His performance is a real treat.

People talk about The Black Cauldron being a kind of bastard step-child of Disney, when the truth is that the film has done quite well on home video, and October release dates near Halloween serve the film nicely. Rescuers Down Under, by contrast, so underperformed at the box office, it reminds me of Maltin's comments about Fantasia - it's not that people went to see it and didn't like it, they just didn't go see it. Something about it put them off. Opening night, in Austin, in the only THX-certified theater playing RDU...I was the only soul in the cinema. The marketing was pathetic (even the trailer for it in front of Fantasia turned me off) and Disney has done nothing to promote the film ever since. RDU is the real bastard step-child of Disney animation, because it doesn't fit this whole "renaissance" narrative (actually it does, it just didn't make any money).

I suspect the brief "Crocodile Dundee" fascination with Australia in American culture from 1986 had worn off by 1990, and the concept of The Rescuers in Australia seemed like the cheap marketing ploy that it was (for some reason, call me crazy, but methinks Katzenberg and Eisner had something to do with that idea). Regardless, the resulting film is a technical wonder, overflowing with ambition, joy, and - yes, damn it - heart. It does not deserve its ignominy.

couldnt. agree. more!

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by romac

Mine came in today! Will be watching both tonight.

love how they feel the need to pump aladdin in order to sell Home On The Range

Originally Posted by EricJ

There is such a thing as "A villain you love to hate"--Captain Hook would probably be the first synonymous example that leaps to mind, with Maleficent tied for second ahead of Hades (or even Dr. Facilier). Shan Yu from Mulan got our respect on probably the least amount of villain screentime ever, there's enough funny and scary about Stromboli from Pinocchio, Alameda Slim got the show-stopper scene from "Home on the Range", and heck, even Silver got our sympathy by the end of Treasure Planet. You have to sympathize with a good baddie at least once, and enjoy the style and effort he puts into ruining the hero's day...They are the plot, after all.

A villain who's just mean and annoying--and with a bit too much sarcasm--just comes as someone you want to push offscreen, or off a cliff, whatever works, and do it pretty early on. Clayton in Tarzan springs to mind, as does the complete lack of any appeal for Ratcliffe in Pocahontas...I remember I was trying to put my finger on what was wrong with Atlantis by the final reel, and singled out the James Garner villain: "Remember George C. Scott from RDU? Yeah--That kind of thing. If the villain's just obnoxious, the whole story feels like a waste of time."

the fact that sometimes baddies are just that - bad, is exactly why I loved TRDU (and many other movie's you mention)

I'm sure we'd all be much quicker to complain had Disney stuck to the same formula for Villains in EVERY movie.
Sometimes, they want you to sympathise with the big-bad, sometimes they want you to hate them (whether by love for the hero or even via pure annoyance) and I for one commend and appreciate Disney for having such varied types of villains

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

What's this "we" business? Are you a group of people posting under the name "Eric J"? Do all of you known as EricJ come to this forum in a shared bad mood? If so, the collective known as Eric J should have a cookie and a bite of chocolate and maybe some lemonade or a bit of ice cream before all of you post. The Eric collective's thoughts might be better received if all of you weren't so hostile and so fond of caps, large fonts, and angry emoticons.

Anyway, since all of you EricJ's are asking, RDU is full of inventive sequences:

* Message around the world -- marvelous, funny, inventive, thirlling, charming.
* John Candy -- such an endearing voice for animation, and actually, his death was a great loss to the art form, as he had a bright future ahead of him as an animation vocal talent. All of his scenes are winsome and appealing. I especially love the two "flight drops", from the snowstorm take-off in New York, to the wheel-well cannonball drop over the Sydney opera house, and his hospital scene remains a hoot (especially the cheerfully evil nurse mice...almost a scene out of Monty Python).
* Already mentioned Joanna. In college, I hauled friends over to see RDU when it came to home video, and in both cases, she brought the house down. From the eggs and ant-hills scene, to biting into that rock and pulling a Chuck Jones and losing a tooth during a frozen take, she's a joy.
* Much commentary was made of MacLeach's terrifying tractor, mostly because of the technology, but it was also a striking visual tool, and much invention was made of it, particularly a Spielberg-inspired action sequence with the three mice trying to find safe harbor without being squashed or blended by the thing.
* Romantic and surprising use of pastel colors, particularly in Bernard's aborted proposal sequence in the outback. Can't wait to see these colors on Blu. Probably the best sequence with the mice in the film.
* Wonderful, thrilling cliff-hanging climax -- easily besting the somewhat bizarre alligator-skiing conclusion of the orginal. Great use of dramatic angles, and for once in an animated film, you actually feel that one of the principals could die. "Bernard the Hero" is an unexpected and dramatic sequence, that still finds room for light comic touches.



There are more than a few Disney villains suffering from Obnoxio the Clown syndrome. In fact, most of them do.

and can sometimes work better ie in the case of TRDU

[fly4rabbi]

Not sure if I missed it somewhere but do we have prices for Home on the range and TP? I saw above Disney store was $20 which I don't have around here. Wish there was coupons for these

[MJW]

Originally Posted by fly4rabbi

Not sure if I missed it somewhere but do we have prices for Home on the range and TP? I saw above Disney store was $20 which I don't have around here. Wish there was coupons for these

Neither title was in Best Buy or Target's sale papers this week, and Amazon has them for about $19.99 each. Sadly, it doesn't look like there will be a coupon, since we probably would have seen it go live over the weekend, unless Disney is really waiting until the last minute.

[CampbellzSoup]

I'm skipping on Home on the Range guys :-X

[zackisthewalrus]

Has anyone posted good packaging pics for Treasure Planet and Home on the Range yet (including back cover, inserts, disc art, etc)?

[yumny]

Originally Posted by CampbellzSoup

I'm skipping on Home on the Range guys :-X

Not a soul will be blaming you.

[Lnds500]

Treasure Planet Blu-ray Review is up

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

Treasure Planet Blu-ray Review is up

Aspect ratio choice seems a little odd. I've only recently started buying blurays so I am naive to this. Why convert TP to 1.68 if it was already orignally a 1.85?

[Lnds500]

Originally Posted by JavaJulien

Aspect ratio choice seems a little odd. I've only recently started buying blurays so I am naive to this. Why convert TP to 1.68 if it was already orignally a 1.85?

The CAPS films were created in 1.66:1 but in the US they were projected in 1.85:1. 1.68:1 is much closer to the original than 1.85:1. People in here have different opinions as to what 'original' means. Blu-ray.com usually displays the theatrical aspect ratio as the original.

Bottom-line, you get more picture on the Blu-ray than what you got in the original theatrical version.

[JavaJulien]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

The CAPS films were created in 1.66:1 but in the US they were projected in 1.85:1. 1.68:1 is much closer to the original than 1.85:1. People in here have different opinions as to what 'original means'. Blu-ray.com usually displays the theatrical aspect ratio as the original.

Bottom-line, you get more picture on the Blu-ray than what you got in the original theatrical version.

Ok, gotcha.

[Lnds500]

Just to make sure I'm not crazy or that I'm imagining things

I used the review's screenshots to show what I mean by aliasing. Tell me what you think

[anthonyb]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

Treasure Planet Blu-ray Review is up

I suppose it's no surprise that there's no Home on the Range review up yet...

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

Treasure Planet Blu-ray Review is up

I just read it. Again, aside from some minor banding and aliasing this is an almost perfect transfer and I don't think it won't disappoint anyone.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I just read it. Again, aside from some minor banding and aliasing this is an almost perfect transfer and I don't think it won't disappoint anyone.

Picking it up at midnight. Sorely tempted to pick up Home on the Range, only because it's he only DFA title I've never owned, but I know I'm never going to watch it, unless to hear Menken's score and songs ("Will The Sun Ever Shine Again?" is terrific).

Anyhoo, from what I gather from Mr. Brown's review, there are no new bonus features on the Blu-Ray for Treasure Planet?

[kenny3001]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I just read it. Again, aside from some minor banding and aliasing this is an almost perfect transfer and I don't think it won't disappoint anyone.

i just wish it did got a CAPS remaster

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by Lnds500

Just to make sure I'm not crazy or that I'm imagining things

I used the review's screenshots to show what I mean by aliasing. Tell me what you think

This is due to rendering some of the 3D elements at low resolution. There's not much that could realistically be done about it. To fix it they would not only have to go back and re-render all the 3D, but also re-composite all the affected shots, assuming they even had all the files to make it possible. There's just no sense in doing this kind of overhaul for a movie like Treasure Planet.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by kenny3001

i just wish it did got a CAPS remaster

?!? Who told you that it didn't? Can you please cite a source?

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

This is due to rendering some of the 3D elements at low resolution. There's not much that could realistically be done about it. To fix it they would not only have to go back and re-render all the 3D, but also re-composite all the affected shots, assuming they even had all the files to make it possible. There's just no sense in doing this kind of overhaul for a movie like Treasure Planet.

Monsters Inc. had pronounced aliasiing issues with Sully's Fur. That's why I said I wouldn't be surprised if TP suffered some aliasing issues. Sometimes, you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.