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

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 in Gurgi. It’s loosely based on The Chronicles of Prydain book series but unfortunately it was an economic flop. (I don’t think Disney are planning a live-action remake of this one, but they definitely should). Do check it out if you can. That being said, it’s up against The Lion King – a titan in Disney lore. It has perhaps my favourite Disney villain with his own excellent song, and side characters that are interesting. A particular shout-out to the three hyenas (Whoopi Goldberg et al) and Mr Bean as Zazu. Brilliant brilliant casting. I’m sure there’ll be plenty more opportunities to wax lyrical regarding the voice cast for the main characters. The Hamlet influence is undeniable but it’s so well done, and nearly all of the songs are good (not quite a full set). But again, more about that in later rounds. Lion King advances here on its character arcs and voice casting alone.

Match 10 – #15 Tangled (2010) vs #18 The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)

A Rapunzel retelling and a comedy. Tangled is good standard Disney fayre with all the familiar beats and narrative elements. ‘I See the Light’ is the centrepiece; a beautifully animated scene with a suitably simple yet anthemic song to accompany it. The Emperor’s New Groove is perhaps the funniest Disney film. There are many memorable one-liners and the narration at the beginning of the film is used to great comedic effect. David Spade and John Goodman are the central duo, wonderfully complementing one another in their vocal pitches and intonation, and Patrick Warburton is Kronk, the lovable villain’s sidekick who is written well in a role that could have been throwaway and forgettable yet is anything but. Yzma is quite an average villain in my opinion. The character motivations are there but it reminded me too much of Cruella de Vil. Similarly Mother Gothel is serviceable, nothing that sticks in the memory though. Overall I enjoyed The Emperor’s New Groove more. Mostly for the laughs and spot-on voice casting once again. Another upset as the #18 seed progresses.

Match 11 – #7 Aladdin (1992) vs #26 Alice in Wonderland (1951)

You may think this is an easy one. It is not. I enjoy both of these films greatly. The outstanding thing about Wonderland is the huge ensemble cast of memorable characters; the cheshire cat, the mad hatter and the march hare, the pipe-smoking caterpillar, tweedledee and tweedledum, the white rabbit, the Queen of Hearts and all the cards, the dodo, the weird handyman lizard, the walrus and the carpenter (and the oysters!)…..there’s a lot of them and they’re all combined effectively into a coherent story. By all accounts, this adaptation probably shouldn’t have worked (see Tim Burton’s remake for reference). It’s also fascinating that there aren’t really any standout songs, no musical ditty to lean the whole narrative against. Impressive stuff. Aladdin does have that tentpole song in ‘A Whole New World’, a duet nonetheless. The score is fun, the story piques interest, and the voice cast…..Aladdin is great, Jasmine is fine, Iago is brilliant, Jafar is solemnly scary, and the Genie is genius. Robin Williams gives perhaps the best Disney voice performance ever as the lamp-dwelling wish-granter. It’s an unexpectedly funny character (I thought he was going to be a villain of sorts) and both Williams and the animators are clearly having a lot of fun. You hear stories of the improv on set etc. and it’s fair to say without the Genie, this film is a little lacklustre. However, the Genie is present and triumphantly leads Aladdin into the next round.

Match 12 – #10 The Little Mermaid (1989) vs #23 Lady and the Tramp (1955)

The start of the Renaissance vs. a one scene wonder. I didn’t see either of these films until last year and I have to be honest, Lady and the Tramp did not resonate with me at all. It’s famous for a meatball scene but the rest of it is extremely forgettable. There’s no catchy songs, no interesting characters, and the whole things feels very unfinished somehow. Perhaps it’s the editing style; the confidence to fade to black multiple times which sadly doesn’t aid the story or push the narrative forward. I’m very surprised at how high it’s seeding is in this tournament. The Little Mermaid, on the other hand, does have a compelling plot as we follow Ariel in her boredom with, and rebellion against, life under the sea. Ursula is pretty terrifying, Triton is a well-used plot device, and there are one or two memorable songs. (Didn’t particularly take to Sebastian as I know a lot of people do). All in all it’s an easy win for The Little Mermaid. Expect much stiffer competition in Round 2.