Does anyone else get very emotional when you watch Disney movies these days? I do. Almost every Disney movie somehow makes me tear up. I don't know if it's part nostalgia, or just being an adult and thinking about the movies in broader, more adult contexts, but it happens often.
Examples:
- When Pocahontas gets everyone to stop fighting, and her father holds up his club that he was about to kill John Smith with, in a bid of peace... (I think the music kills it for me with this one)
- In the Fox and the Hound, when she drops the fox off in the game preserve, the truck ride over... (truthfully, this has pretty much ALWAYS made me cry)
- In Mary Poppins, when their father walks to the bank, knowing he will be fired for his job due to his children misbehaving, but he accepts it, and when he pauses to look at the steps of the cathedral, recalling how his children just wanted to feed the birds and he told them they were throwing their money away doing that...
- In The Little Mermaid... when she hugs her dad, King Triton, at the end, saying she loves him...
- When Simba ascends Pride Rock to take his place as king (again: music)... and also when Mufasa dies and Simba just wants him to wake up (but who doesn't tear up at that one?)
- When Andy leaves his toys behind with someone new in Toy Story 3
- The opening montage in Up
- When Belle tells the beast she loves him at the last second
- Honorable mention: The Wizard of Oz (not Disney, but mostly thought of as a 'kids' movie) Last time I watched it, I teared up multiple times.
I recently watched Mary Poppins, and had a few thoughts. 1, I really, really hope that parents still share this movie with their children. It's getting up there in how old it is, and I worry this one is going to be shoved off as an "old" boring movie, or simply forgotten about. But 2, it is such a magical film! I watched it and remembered how fascinated I used to be with everything Mary Poppins did. Sliding up and down the banisters? What kid didn't want to do that?! I realized it actually has a big message for adults, which is to never grow up too much, never take life too seriously. That's the issue with the father, he becomes so focused in his job and his responsibilities, having order, and what is "right" that he loses interest in games, having fun with his children, or remembering what it is like to see the world through a child's eyes. By contrast, Mary and Bert both make a living and have adult responsibilities, but they are still very much in tune with their inner-child, finding plenty of time to enjoy life and have fun. Who knew that was such a deep movie? Anyways, if it's been a while since you watched this, please go check it out from your library. It is a gem!And the other night, I again watched Inside Out, which I think has become my all-time favorite Pixar movie. It's just so darn creative and brilliant! And I don't use those terms lightly. (Spoiler warning! if you've never seen it...)
<spoilers>
Never have I ever seen a concept as complex as the brain and depression so creatively explained, and in a kids' movie, no less. Because essentially, that's what they illustrate: depression. As the girl slowly loses all of her key personality traits and feelings, and ends up feeling nothing, where she no longer even feels sadness, she is essentially falling deeper and deeper into depression.
</spoilers>
If you've never seen Inside Out, I highly recommend it. It's funny and brilliant, truly brilliant.
On the other hand, The Good Dinosaur has to be the absolute WORST Pixar movie of all time. I could not even believe it was a Pixar movie, it did not live up to their caliber AT ALL! The plot was fairly predictable, yet still didn't make much sense, and I didn't laugh once during the entire thing. And some parts were downright disturbing. I could tell the times when they were trying to be funny—and like, Oh, that was a joke, I was supposed to laugh there—but it was not entertaining or funny at all. Don't waste your time on that one.
I also just watched Coco finally, and it was... alright. I'd give it a 6/10 rating. It was just a little strange because it's essentially all about the Day of the Dead, and therefore death, and almost all of the characters are skeletons. I didn't think it was nearly as witty as other Pixars.
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