Month: September 2017

Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 2 (Matches 1 & 2)

September 30, 2017

Match 1 – #1 Pinocchio (1940) vs. #16 Mulan (1998) Both of these films are top notch, almost certainly top 10 for me. But what makes them so great? What makes them resonate with me? I guess fundamentally they both have at their respective centres the compelling journey of a relatable character. Pinocchio is set … More Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 2 (Matches 1 & 2)

Electric Dreams: The Hood Maker – a review and a few thoughts on adaptation

September 21, 2017

An enjoyable trope of the sci-fi genre is when the world presented to us has different rules to our own. These differences can be political and social (1984), biological (Children of Men), technological (Ex Machina) or indeed a mixture of all these and more besides (Blade Runner). Part of the fun of reading and/or watching … More Electric Dreams: The Hood Maker – a review and a few thoughts on adaptation

Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 Round-Up

September 17, 2017

Well, this embarkation has been tougher than I thought. Disney really have produced some excellent films over the years. Here’s a quick breakdown of how Round 1 panned out. In terms of seedings (see here for explanation) we saw 6 upsets, the biggest being the #28 The Rescuers Down Under taking down the #5 Fantasia. Our #6 … More Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 Round-Up

Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 (Matches 13-16)

September 15, 2017

Match 13 – #3 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) vs #30 Robin Hood (1973) The classic of Disney classics and Robin Hood as a fox. And Little John as a bear. And Prince John as a whiny lion. As a film it’s odd and somewhat endearing and a structural mess, but I really … More Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 (Matches 13-16)

Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 (Matches 9-12)

September 2, 2017

Match 9 – #2 The Lion King (1994) vs #31 The Black Cauldron (1985) Have you seen The Black Cauldron? It’s really good. An adventure story with hints of Sword in the Stone and Hercules, a super scary villain voiced by John Hurt, a bit of influence on Hunchback also, and an odd lovable sidekick … More Disney Animated Classics Tournament – Round 1 (Matches 9-12)