What is Your Favourite Disney Animated Film and Why?

[Squilookle]

I'll never forgive Atlantis: The Lost Empire for so blatantly copying Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water.

Aladdin is weirdly personal for me, because I know Aladdin in real life. One of my best friends is an attractive dark-skinned street rat of partially Arabic descent who does parkour, and everyone I know calls him Aladdin.

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?


As for me, it's gotta be Robin Hood. Every time.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Alladin for me as I find it the most entrtaining out of the films (Robin Willaims is the main cause of it).

 

[Hawki]

Limiting this to Disney animated films that came out in cinemas (and that I've seen, obviously), I'll go for a top 5 and say:

5) Treasure Planet
4) Beauty and the Beast
3) Frozen
2) Aladdin
1) The Lion King

Since the question is "why," I'll probably say that TLK gets the top spot because it works on numerous levels. As in:

-The story of coming of age
-An adventure spanning a lot of time and space
-Characters are well written
-Beautifully animated

I guess it's the same reason why the Lord of the Rings is my favorite film trilogy, as TLA, like LOTR, works on both the micro and macro level. In Lord of the Rings, I can remember the Siege of Minas Tirith as readily as Frodo and Sam hugging, with both being excellent for different reasons. In The Lion King, I can remember the wildebeast stampede as readily as Simba crying over his father. Of the Disney films I've listed, Aladdin gets second place for pretty much the same reason, but doesn't quite have the same graduer.

And admittedly I grew up with those two films (and Beauty of the Beast), so I will admit there's that. But let's just say that Frozen gets the no. 3 spot for a reason as well.

 

[King Billi]

Pinocchio.

A film I feel is often overlooked among the truly great Disney films, it certainly was by me until I rediscovered it just a couple years ago.

I feel It shows a massive improvement in animation quality compared with its predecessor 'Snow White' which was released only a few years before it. It is such a visually rich film.

Geppetto and Pinocchios relationship as a father and son is much more effective and emotional I feel than any of the "true love" prince/princess stories disney would fall into telling over and over again after this. Especially affecting are the moments when they feel they've lost each other.

Other than that...

Honest John and Gideon are Hilarious.

Pleasure Island is terrifying.

When you Wish Upon a Star!


"Pretty Huh."

 

[Nazulu]

Fantasia was my first favourite film from way back. I've only just replaced it recently, but it's still in 2nd as it got me into music and animation too by going beyond the standard set up.

In fact, Fantasia is still in the top 5 greatest as far as I can see. So much originality, amazing visuals, and the execution for great power. We don't even get that power anymore for fuck sake!

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

I think my favourite is a tie between Mulan and Lilo and Stitch, Mulan because it's a great action movie and has great music, but Lilo and Stitch also tells a very human and understandable story with the sci-fi as cool set dressing.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'll never forgive Atlantis: The Lost Empire for so blatantly copying Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water.

Nadia itself was blatantly copying Laputa: Castle in the Sky though. More so I feel than Atlantis did Nadia. But then Hideaki Anno was palls with Hayao Miyazaki so it never felt like a straight-up rip off.

OT: Aladin

I don't consider it their best or most impressive, it's just the most fun Disney movie for me. It's short and sweet with likeable characters, great songs, a terrific villainous/comedy duo, and an emotional core that's not a romance but a friendship. And obviously Robin Williams as the Genie is the one of the best Disney characters.

 

[Plinglebob]

For me Beauty & the Beast is probably the best film of all time so definitely my favourite Disney film. Can't think of a single thing wrong with it. Acting is great, music is fantastic, animation is superb and the ballroom scene still looks fantastic.

 

[Asclepion]

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?

Inspired by it. I don't see much in common between the two beyond the designs of Zigzag and the Genie. Fat opulent sheiks, beautiful princesses, evil viziers, and giant scimitar-wielding guards are all common tropes of an Arabian Nights style world. I've only watched the Recobbled Cut (tragic story, really), and Aladdin is still the superior film.

Also I said I am friends with a dark-skinned acrobatic guy who lived on the streets and whose nickname is Aladdin. Sometimes the reasons we like something are subjective.

 

[Asita]

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?

Er...the two films really don't have that much in common plotwise, and the Princess and the Cobbler was released a good year after Aladdin.

 

[necromanzer52]

The jungle book.

I love how the plot isn't some kind of good vs evil scenario. Instead, it's just about some kid wandering around the jungle and the various creatures he encounters. And the music is fantastic.

 

[flying_whimsy]

I gotta be honest: Frozen. ***** at me all you want, I still think it's the best.

After that, probably Tangled, Atlantis, Hunchback, and Aladdin (I like the old stuff, but it just doesn't resonate with me quite as much). I generally don't count Pixar as disney, otherwise Up and Wall-e would trounce just about everything.

 

[Squilookle]

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?

Er...the two films really don't have that much in common plotwise, and the Princess and the Cobbler was released a good year after Aladdin.

They have loads in common. And sure Cobbler came out a year later... after being in production for over thirty years, and having many of the key personnel behind Aladdin work on it beforehand...

 

[Asita]

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?

Er...the two films really don't have that much in common plotwise, and the Princess and the Cobbler was released a good year after Aladdin.

They have loads in common. And sure Cobbler came out a year later... after being in production for over thirty years, and having many of the key personnel behind Aladdin work on it beforehand...

Really.

Aladdin: A story where a power hungry vizier and would-be sorcerer enlists the help of a good hearted vagabond to unwittingly acquire a genie's lamp, which results in that vagabond discovering the lamp's power and uses it to masquerade as a prince so he can woo the sultan's daughter before the vizier steals the lamp and usurps power, at which point the vagabond has to defeat the vizier turned sorcerer. Loosely based on a middle eastern folk tale of the same name.

Princess and the Cobbler: A story where the city's protection by three orbs atop the tallest minaret is shattered when a nameless thief steals those orbs, which the king forsees as making the city fall to a one-eyed army, whom the vizier defects to. The Cobbler and the Princess seek out a witch for help, recruit a band of brigands as body guards en-route, and return to the city to find the one-eyed army approaching, which the Cobbler manages to defeat in a David and Golith-esque act.

I'll be honest, I see about as much overlap between the two films as I do between Edge of Night and The Dawn will Come, not a lot of similarity, but a few common notes that make people think they resemble each other more than they actually do. Do they have points in common? Yes, even some scenes play out remarkably similarly. Do they share enough that one film could reasonably be called a rip off of the other? No.

 

[likalaruku]

I've have huge issues with the Disney Corporation in the past 15 years, their business practices, the way they killed off cell animation in the west, their wishy washy watered down retellings of public domain stories, the way they use their lawyers to fight tooth & nail to prevent anyone else from dipping into the Public Domain Well, I hate Pixar, & I don't like that they now own Marvel & Lucasarts properties....But let's keep things positive today. ::Takes a sedative::

It's a tie between The 3 Caballeros (1944), Fantasia (1940) & Make Mine Music (1946). I dig their really spontaneous shit that makes you question what kind of drugs the animators were on, & up until mmm....1995, Disney Movies had pretty good music, even if I have grown to resent child friendly white washed watered down retellings of once-dark fairy tails, & yet still end up absolutely detesting Disney's Once Upon A Time TV series for trying the opposite.

I should also add the Gargoyles Pilot, which was 2 episodes edited into an hour long movie. The 90s Disney Afternoon was their last truly good original content.

I did enjoy the Lion King, but having actually seen Jungle Emperor Leo & Kimba the White Lion, I can 100% guarantee Disney was lying about it not being a remake. Oh, I also liked The Hunchback of Notre Dame & The Great Mouse Detective...because of their villains. Couldn't give two shits about the heroes.

If it wasn't restricted to animated stuff, I'd add Bedknobs & Broomsticks & Return to Oz, which combined 2 Oz books but actually managed to follow the books better than the MGM movie did.

 

[PapaGreg096]

Lilo and Stitch, I love it how it combines real world problems, the Hawaiian atmosphere, and Sci Fi themes

 

[templar1138a]

Trying to choose between Alladin or The Lion King, probably The Lion King.

I can't decide between the two. I enjoy singing both "Friend Like Me" and "Be Prepared" at karaoke night. I impress people when I sing the former because the DJ's disc doesn't actually show the lyrics on screen, and I scare the shit out of everyone with the latter when I get to "YOU WON'T GET A SNIFF WITHOUT ME!"

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

I've always felt that Sleeping Beauty had some of the best animation work ever done by Disney. Also I am a fan of The Black Cauldron because it was a huge risk, and I thought it was well done. Maybe I'm just a fan of the darker toned Disney flicks, of which there aren't that many.

 

[Squilookle]

So let me get this straight, you tear apart Atlantis for ripping off an anime, then you vote for Aladdin, which we all know was an utter rip-off of The Princess and the Cobbler?

Er...the two films really don't have that much in common plotwise, and the Princess and the Cobbler was released a good year after Aladdin.

They have loads in common. And sure Cobbler came out a year later... after being in production for over thirty years, and having many of the key personnel behind Aladdin work on it beforehand...

Really.

Aladdin: A story where a power hungry vizier and would-be sorcerer enlists the help of a good hearted vagabond to unwittingly acquire a genie's lamp, which results in that vagabond discovering the lamp's power and uses it to masquerade as a prince so he can woo the sultan's daughter before the vizier steals the lamp and usurps power, at which point the vagabond has to defeat the vizier turned sorcerer. Loosely based on a middle eastern folk tale of the same name.

Princess and the Cobbler: A story where the city's protection by three orbs atop the tallest minaret is shattered when a nameless thief steals those orbs, which the king forsees as making the city fall to a one-eyed army, whom the vizier defects to. The Cobbler and the Princess seek out a witch for help, recruit a band of brigands as body guards en-route, and return to the city to find the one-eyed army approaching, which the Cobbler manages to defeat in a David and Golith-esque act.

I'll be honest, I see about as much overlap between the two films as I do between Edge of Night and The Dawn will Come, not a lot of similarity, but a few common notes that make people think they resemble each other more than they actually do. Do they have points in common? Yes, even some scenes play out remarkably similarly. Do they share enough that one film could reasonably be called a rip off of the other? No.

Well I'm not one to want to rain on your parade, so 'Whatever you say', buddy. Whatever you say...