I wish I could say that John Favreau’s remake of The Lion King was terrible, but I can’t say that. I can’t say it when it has the best visual effects money can buy, the great Caleb Deschanel handling the cinematography, and Hans Zimmer, Elton John, and Tim Rice back doing the music in addition tot Beyoncé. They are doing the very best they can, in service of the director’s vision: And that’s the problem: The vision is disappointingly mediocre.
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I didn’t watch many of the Disney classics when I was growing up. The only ones I clearly remember watching during my childhood are The Lion King, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. But I also have some vague recollections about watching others, like Pinnochio. Those memories are that it used to scare the hell out of me, particularly the scenes where the kids are turned into donkeys. I guess that is what kept me away from it for so long. Now as an adult, I’m not scared any more, but as I was watching it, I could not help but think that this is the stuff that nightmare are made of
That’s nothing against the film, which is quite excellent. But how can a kid not be scared when after a cute introduction, you meet a giant fox that takes our beloved main character and sells him to an evil puppeteer? Or when that same fox kidnaps him and sells him to a man who would take him to Pleasure Island, only to be later nearly sold in a child trafficking ring? (And to think that he was the only that made out of there!) Or how about finally going back home to find out that your dad is not only missing, but he has been swallowed by a whale? I’d hate to be a kid again and watching it for the first time.
Besides that, like I said, it is a fantastic movie. During the three years that it took to release this after Snow White, the animation got better. The designs are more complex that those in the previous movie, and it features some of the most beautiful are direction that I have ever seen. The characters are written perfectly and properly performed. And aside a few logic flaws, it is almost perfect. However, I must say that the first 20 minutes are hard to get through, and this is mostly due to Jiminy Cricket. He redeems himself the moment Pinocchio goes to school, but during this time I hated that he was breaking the fourth wall, his painful one-liners, and some of the moments that were focused on him were totally unnecessary, like the one that involves him trying to sleep and the clocks. But once the story gets going, it all gets better.
Overall, it is a better movie than Snow White, but it’s still has some big flaws that just cannot be ignored.
Dumbo | Ben Sharpsteen, 1941
In the making of featurette that included on the Blu-ray of Dumbo, it is remarked many times that this was the movie that saved Disney after high-budget movies like Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi did not initially do well at the box office. The reason was that the animators were given a lower budget, yet they could not sacrifice the quality of the story. And for those reasons, the money it made and the back-to-basics approach to storytelling, Dumbo is now recognized as one of Disney’s top classics. Now, I don’t think it is as great a movie as The Lion King, Beauty & The Beast, The Little Mermaid, or even The Princess and the Frog. Yet, it is one of the most emotional movies I’ve ever seen, and one of those few movies that leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy when it is over.
Dumbo, in case you didn’t know is the story of a young elephant with huge ears that works for a circus. His mother obviously loves him, but the other elephants see him as a disgrace to their kind. One day, when some obnoxious youths tease him about his ears, his mom lashes out at them, which makes the people that manage the circus lock her up. So, now Dumbo, with his friend Timothy the mouse must find a way to impress the ringmaster so that they will release his mom. But things aren’t as easy as they expect.
While the story is one of the most powerful that Disney has ever told, the reason why I don’t consider it as great as some of the other classes is because it just isn’t up to the standards that the company had set for its self before the release of the movie. Sure, there are reasons for that, and a lower budget did not mean that the animators did a half-assed job. It’s just that it just feels cheaper.
With that said, that did not affect my overall enjoyment of the movie at all. First off, Dumbo is like the cutest thing ever. Second, it is so emotional. From the moment that Jumbo opens the package from the stork, you can see the affection she feels towards her son, and how she is willing to even shut off her own kind to protect her son. Then there is the intense sequence when she loses control, and of course the great scene where Dumbo visits her in the cage. The animators did a fantastic job in conveying these emotions. And the music that plays during the last scene I mentioned is pure perfection. And in the end, when everything turns out for the best for our beloved hero, I could not help but feel happy.
While to a great movie I can see why Dumbo is considered a classic. It is endearing, has great animation, considering the budget, and it just makes me happy. I recommend buying it on Blu-ray if it is available where you live. I live in the U.S. and had to import it from Mexico because it never got announced for release here in the U.S. so that is always an option. My point is that is that if you are going to revisit or watch this movie for the first time, Blu-ray is the best way to experience it as the transfer is beautiful. I love this movie.
In terms of cinema, what will 2009 be remembered as? There are many possiblities, but it is kind of hard to tell right now. One such possibility is that it will be remembered as the year of the woman, as many are already calling it. And yes, there have been many instances that can help it be looked back as such. The biggest one, is the fact that Kathryn Bigelow made history by being the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker and to be the first woman to direct a Best Picture winner, both being very deserved. Then there are the box office stories. Sandra Bullock had two box office hits in 2009: The Proposal and The Blind Side, with the latter being the first movie to cross the 200 million dollar mark with a woman getting sole billing on the posters. Meanwhile, Meryl Streep showed with Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated that actresses don’t have to be young to drive movies towards making more than 100 million dollars. Also, both of those movies were written and directed by women. Then there are the not-so-financially-successful but acclaimed movies that were focused on female character and/or were made by women such as An Education, Precious, Julia, Drag Me to Hell, and others.
A Journey Through Cinematic Heaven and Hell 