Are there any GOOD disney movies? - Page 4

[Potty Diva]

But, the hyena's didn't become outcasts until they teamed up with Scar, right?

Anyway, I didn't really *roll* my eyes, but I was a bit confused how you could see these things and I can't. What should I be looking for specifically?

[PM]

Were they part (invited to) of that initial sequence in which the baby lion is presented to the other animals? And when the papa lion is describing the circle of life, I believe the hyenas are described as having no part in that. Really, I'm not an expert - I barely screened the movie because my mom's friend said it was a great movie for 2 year olds!

My major beef with Disney isn't racism - it's the violence, the portrayal of families (very few mothers around), the portrayal of young woman and how they exert power (fluttering eyelashes).

[Potty Diva]

My major beef with Disney isn't racism - it's the violence, the portrayal of families (very few mothers around), the portrayal of young woman and how they exert power (fluttering eyelashes).

This I agree with to some extent, and I find he portrayel of women just silly, but not something I expect Kailey to immulate, especially since TV and movies make up about 5 percent of her life

But I do understand your position on the subject

[alsoSarah]

I love this thread so much!

[PM]

:LOL

[PM]

Oh and PottyDiva - My mom wonders how I see the negative in everything too!

[burritomama]

One more thing.

Part of it for me is not just the revisionist history, stereotypical characters, etc. (stop me before I go on...) but also who we (my lil familia) choose to support and who choose not to -- the same reasoning that finds us seeking out local businesses instead of corporate ones (buying at the farmers' market instead of, say, Vons; the local pharmacist instead of RiteAid; the local coffee shop instead of Starbucks) and supporting alternative or progressive consumer options (clothe diapers, organic farmers, thrift stores, etc.).

[tanjarine]

disney

Its funny that growing up that was pretty much all the choices that were around for films when I was a kid. I know I have seen all the disney movies in the theatre and later on at home when we had a vcr. But truth be told Disney films are just adult romances done up in animation to appeal to children. Its funny many adults find them more intriguing than children. They are filled with violence, mature themes, deceit, and concepts way beyond kids comprehension. Also they push the boundaries of name calling and often use words like stupid and jackass.. Someone is always left out, and there always seems to be a dying parent or only one parent in the picture. All the female heroines are almost identical except for hair colour!! As well none of the films follow the actual story as it was originally written.
All in all I totally hate disney films with the exception my kids watch the new Fantasia sometimes. Other than that we dont watch any disney (is shrek disney??)) ha we watch that.
I just think there are so many other choices out there as far as movies go for kids. And children enjoy them much more than the roller coster ride of disney.. There always seems to be a child in a terrible situation like kidnapping, or being held captive.. There is always a villain and their comic releif side-kick full of smart ass remarks. The villains get obnoxious and overdramatic songs.. THere is often subliminal messages and phallic symbols in disneys work.. I could go on and on.. ha.. there are so many things I can point out that is wrong with these films. The heroines always deceive their parents to run off after a man!!


My personal favourites and recommendations is the Little Bear videos by maurice sendak.. so sweet and innocent i can not find one thing in it that i dont like.. and they have a loving family and live a natural life. It is a big favourite in our house and its something we can all watch together. My kids get so much inspiration for play out of it and there are at least 10 different videos of it. They celebrate solstice, go camping together.. sometimes they sleep all in bed together. As well there are lots of books from which the movies were made so those make nice bedtime stories.
My boys really like trains so they love the Thomas the Train videos.. and generally i like them but dont always agree with everything that happens in them because they are always arguing over who is better and who is lazy etc.. but not too bad.
Other than that we watch some of whats on PBS.
We are lucky we live in a time where we have alot of choices although sometimes that makes it difficult!!!
Just my two cents!!

[rainsmom]

Ive got a collection of Disney that I had way before dd was conceived.....I just love animated movies for their art .

My faves are:
Jungle book
arisocrats
mary poppins
alice in wonderland
robin hood (from the 70s)
emperors new groove
Pinnochio

NOT DISNEY, bu I also love:
wallace and Gromit (all 3) & any NICK PARK movies
Chicken Run (another Nick Park)
Willy wonka
Willow
toy story l and II
shrek
monsters Inc
bugs life
Dinosaurs
wild thornberrys
Where the wild things are
Wizard of Oz
How the grinch stole christmas
All the Winnie the Pooh series
charlie Brown series
Gullivers Travels
FRosty the snowman
Rudolph the red nosed reindeer
Schoolhouse Rock
Stuart Little (the movie)

And from the library Ive rented:
Chrysanthemum and other Kevin Henkes stories
VERY hungry catapillar
Mama, do you love me?
Goodnight Gorilla

I have the red balloon in my collection, but dont know where it came from and have never watched it....guess I will.

[merpk]

Okay, since we're not limited to Disney :blech in this thread, will chime in ...

There's a series, by a company called Rabbit Ears, of American folktales (and they have another series called "We All Have Tales" that are international folktales), and my kids adore these videos.

They're narrated by very big stars, and have wonderful musical tracks ...


Some of my kids' favorites ...
"Johnny Appleseed," narrated by Garrison Keeler(with a lovely bluegrass track) ...
"John Henry," narrated by Denzel Washington (with BB King doing the tunes) ...
"Follow the Drinking Gourd," narrated by Morgan Freeman (music by ... can't remember).
"Squanto and the First Thanksgiving," narrated by Graham Greene. Good time of year for this video, remember, Turkey Day is comin up ... though this one does make them very sad at points, which is okay, considering the truth of Thanksgiving, IYKWIM, and it really gives the story over beautifully and (IMHO) honestly.



There are many more, too. Those are just particular favorites, but we have yet to see a bad one from this series. They have a fan Website, but I don't think the company exists anymore.




My kids love "The Red Balloon," too.





Agreeing with the Disney movie appraisals of PM and everybody else ... though we do have the "Fantasia" movies, and the kids like those ... but are terrified by "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."



The things my kids love most, though, are "documentaries" for kids. You know, the ones about the different professions, or perhaps "Here Comes a Train," or "Building Skyscrapers," "Garbage Day," "I Dig Dirt," loads more along those lines, and two videos by Vermont Storyworks are absolute favorites, "Let's Go To the Farm" and "Baby Animals." (Those last two are my favorites, too ... )




Pure cute animation? The only ones they (& I) really love are "Kipper," based on the books by Mick Inkpen. Though it is a Nick, Jr. series ... we don't have cable, so we just get to see the videos when Grandma buys 'em for us ...

[Lucysmama]

ITA with the mamas who pointed out all of the viscous racism in Disney movies. One thing you forgot: Peter Pan. They sing a song called, "What Made the Red Man Red"!!!!!! And the Dumbo crows are just awful and although we own the movie (bought for dd for Christmas by Grandma : ) we have never watched it.

We do allow Pooh on occasion, and we want to get Mary Poppins, which I think is a wonderful movie, one of their best. I also LOVED Sword in the Stone as a child, though I have not seen it in a while. Also, it's not Disney, but dd currently has an obsession with Charlotte's Web.

My dd has a tape that Grandma gave her of assorted songs from movies. There is a Mickey and Minnie cartoon that is set to this song that is incredibly offensive. The particularly bad lines are: "Anything that Joe would suggest to her, Jane would ALWAYS think it was best for her!" and "Ma is rich; Pa is rich, so now what do we care?!?!"

Someone else mentioned how their dd knew the story of Cinderella although they had never seen the movie. Listen to this: When my dd was 13mos old, she shouted, "POOH!" in a store when she saw a Pooh display. It was one of her first words.
She had never seen a Pooh video/show in her life. We don't have any TV channels, and had no Pooh in our house. How the hell she knew that was Pooh and was excited and happy to see him, I will never kknow. And I will always wonder.... :