Match 5 – #2 The Lion King (1994) vs. #18 The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
The Emperor’s New Groove is the funniest Disney film. It is also one of the most quotable and rewatchable. The soundtrack is good and it is still quite underseen, with only 141,000 ratings on imdb. The Lion King won 2 Oscars (score for Hans Zimmer and song for ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’) and was nominated for 2 of its other songs (both much better than the winner btw). It’s characters and voicework saw it comfortably through the first round and indeed will see it through the second. Emperor wins the comedy but it’s villain is weak, there are no memorable songs, the soundtrack though good is not even in the same league as Zimmer’s ‘This Land’, ‘…To Die For’, and ‘King of Pride Rock’. The characters are also fairly timeless, borrowing well from Hamlet and others, and the voicework (see here for details) is also superior. This is still only scratching the surface of what The Lion King has to offer. Maybe the quarter finals will require further exploration?
Match 6 – #7 Aladdin (1992) vs. #10 The Little Mermaid (1989)
2 films of the Disney Renaissance that are held in high regard by many late 80s/90s kids. Spoilers: I do not hold either of them in high regard. Enjoyable? Yes. They both have good plots, a mix of interesting and less interesting characters, and some fun visual flare. High regard, though, requires more. The genie does hold Aladdin together somewhat and without him it would be very bland indeed. Ursula is scary and I really like her design but to balance that Triton is a plot device that though used well is not really a character. Perhaps it is the main characters that I take issue with the most. They’re both selfish and determined to define themselves, to make up the rules, and to manipulate others for their own ends. You could argue that Aladdin comes good to a certain extent but Ariel doesn’t (as far as I can tell). In fact, she gets her own way in the end and is granted the desires of her heart, breaking Triton’s in doing so. It’s actually pretty sad. Aladdin’s tentpole song is also better than The Little Mermaid’s and the narration at the beginning is fun and well done. Aladdin flies through to the quarterfinals.
The Draff 