To see how the seedings work etc. check out the previous post here as well as the tournament bracket.
Let’s do this!
Match 1 – #1 Pinocchio (1940) vs #32 Brother Bear (2003)
A classic versus a pretender. Brother Bear is one of only two 2000s Disney Animated Classics that I have seen – and this was a decade that saw me through 7 years old to 17, one would have thought the prime time for Disney Animated consumption. Alas, this decade was owned by Pixar who kept producing high quality film after high quality film (Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles etc.) Don’t get me wrong, Brother Bear is fine; I enjoy the brother/family dynamics and the comedic moose, but unfortunately Disney has done both brothers and comedy much better elsewhere, and this 2003 effort is pretty forgettable. Pinocchio on the other hand is anything but. The songs, Pleasure Island, the donkeys, Jiminy Cricket, Stromboli, Monstro, Geppetto, the blue fairy….and of course the titular puppet and his journey and relationship with all of the above. It’s a classic for a reason and the transformation scene is hauntingly terrifying to this day. Pinocchio holds seed comfortably and advances to the 2nd round.
Match 2 – #16 Mulan (1998) vs #17 The Jungle Book (1967)
The battle of the catchy songs. On the face of it this is a tough one – on the one hand we have a journey of epic proportions with a whole country at stake, on the other we have a simple exploration of belonging. Both have compelling main characters whose respective arcs are well-rounded and filled with sufficient highs and lows, conflicts and resolutions. Interestingly, the rebellion of Mulan is vindicated by the end whilst Mowgli’s rebellion is quashed and shown to be folly. Regarding songs I would give the slight edge to The Jungle Book for ‘The Bare Necessities’ and ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ in particular, but score wise Mulan is a clear winner – a beautiful mix of orchestral and electro-rock exhibited well in the track ‘Short Hair’ where Mulan prepares to leave her home. Another edge that goes Mulan’s way is due to Eddie Murphy’s hilarious turn as sidekick Mushu, a quick-talking miniature dragon. Whilst Jungle Book has a whole plethora of supporting characters like Ka, Baloo, Bagheera, King Louie, Shere Khan and the Beatles vultures(!), none of their character arcs really go anywhere or are particularly memorable in any way. The voicework of George Sanders as Shere Khan is good but nowhere near the comedic brilliance of Eddie Murphy. Additionally, whilst I do like the ending of Jungle Book it does feel a tad short overall. I wouldn’t say it’s anticlimactic but I think there was perhaps more to say in terms of wrapping up other characters’ arcs. Mulan advances.
Match 3 – #8 The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) vs #25 The Rescuers (1977)
The 1977 showdown. Two underseen films that deserve more credit. Winnie the Pooh is an anthology of sorts tracking Pooh and his quest for honey as well as the capers of other favourite characters from the A.A. Milne books such as Tigger, Piglet, and Rabbit. It is charming and fun, the book framing structure works very well, and it contains the 2nd best Disney dream sequence featuring elephants. The Rescuers follows two mice on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl. The villain Medusa is comically scary (though failed to ever really instil fear) and the opening scene and title credits is one of the best. ‘Someone’s Waiting For You’ is also one of the more underrated Disney songs in my opinion. I’m surprising myself and am giving the W to Pooh here. What is essentially a handful of short films, none of which have an antagonist character, really shouldn’t work very well – but it does and is actually very re-watchable. (Also, a shout out to 1997’s direct to video ‘Winnie the Pooh’s Most Grand Adventure’ – one of my most played VHS tapes during my childhood).
Match 4 – #9 One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) vs #24 The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Lots of dogs in this match-up. Pongo and Perdita lead the way in Dalmatians in their search and rescue mission for their puppies. Cruella De Vil is a formidable villain nicely counterbalanced by Jasper and Horace’s incompetency. The Fox and the Hound is certainly less memorable; Todd and Copper’s friendship is the core driving force of the plot though it does suffer from predictable twists and turns and the motivations of Copper are at times loose and less believable. Comparing this to the rather less complex plot of Dalmatians, we can see that the motivations behind Pongo and Perdi’s actions make sense throughout the film, so though it is worth applauding The Fox and the Hound for trying to be more complex it does in the end come unstuck. The car chase scene in Dalmatians is also a standout and plenty more that I’m sure will be mentioned in further rounds to come. Dalmatians is the 4th film to advance to round two.
The Draff 