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To keep it simple, I’ll rule out Disney-Pixar movies. First, I would start with the “big 5” from Disney’s early days: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. These five features showcase the pioneering of animation techniques in the service of storytelling. Then there’s The Three Caballeros, the best of the ‘anthology’ Disney films of the 40s and probably the most underrated (or under-watched) Disney movie ever; the animators really went to town on that one, being less burdened by traditional narrative, though it does contain some awkward live-action/cartoon hybrid footage. Lady and the Tramp was the first feature-length animation filmed in CinemaScope widescreen, while One Hundred and One Dalmatians brought a particular emphasis to line and introduced xerography to the animation process. Mary Poppins is the obvious choice for a majority live-action feature (with one animation hybrid sequence); that leaves one more spot which I’ll leave open. I expect many will recommend features from the Disney Renaissance period which I’m personally less enamoured with than the best of the earlier ones, but they’re certainly worthwhile.
Additionally I can recommend a few of the short films Disney made in its heyday: the black-and-white Steamboat Willie, the first with a synchronised soundtrack which also introduced Mickey Mouse to the world; and the Silly Symphonies cartoons such as Flowers and Trees, the first film released in the full-colour three-strip Technicolor process, and The Old Mill, which pioneered the use of the multiplane camera later showcased in some of the early feature-length films. There’s also Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, the first cartoon in CinemaScope, which is annoyingly not on Disney+ but can be found on YouTube. Of course there’s also the whole range of shorts featuring Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto and the rest, many of which are on Disney+. Showing any of these before a feature-length Disney could be fun.
ReplyCopy URLPirates of the Caribbean:COTBP, DMC and AWE. There’s more creativity in there than in what passes for quality entertainment these days (coughmarvelcough). Also, it’s so sexy and mature it’s a wonder that this trilogy came from Disney. Hans Zimmer score is an unsung hero. Terrific characters and beautiful cast, quotable lines, spectacle like no other. Don’t bother with #4 and #5.
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