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Tag Archives: daisy duck

January Review: Fantasia 2000

26 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 2000's, Comedy, Disney, Drama, Fantasy, Movie Reviews, Musicals

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

2000, 2000's, 2D animation, action, al hirschfeld, angela lansbury, animated, animated feature, animated movie, animated movie review, animated musical, animated short, animated shorts, animation, animator, animators, anthropomorphic animals, art, ballerina, Beethoven, bette midler, brave tin soldier, Camille Saint-Saëns, Carnival of Animals, Carnival of the Animals, carnival of the animals finale, cgi animation, computer animation, continuation, continued, daisy duck, deer, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animated movie, disney animation, disney love, disney review, Dmitri Shostakovich, Donald Duck, Edward Elgar, eric goldberg, fairy tale, Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Fantasy, Fifth Symphony, film, firebird, firebird suite, flamingo, flamingoes, flight, flood, flying, George Gershwin, gershwin, giant whale, Great Depression, great flood, hand drawn animation, hans christian andersen, Igor Stravinsky, jack in the box, James Earl Jones, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mickey Mouse, music, nature, New York, noah's ark, Ottorino Respighi, part 2, penn, penn and teller, Pines of Rome, pomp and circumstance, rebirth, review, Rhapsody in Blue, sequel, sorcerer mickey, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, spring sprite, stars, steadfast tin soldier, Stravinsky, supernova, Symphony No. 5, teller, the steadfast tin soldier, themes, tin soldier, traditional animation, volcano, Walt Disney, whale, whales, yo-yo, yoyo

Fantasia-2000-poster-689x1024

Last year I talked about Fantasia, which is not just one of my favorite Disney movies, but one of my favorite movies in general. And if I may be self-indulgent for a moment, it’s also one of the reviews that I’m the proudest of. Fantasia is a visual, emotional masterpiece that marries music and art in a manner few cinematic ventures have come close to replicating. One question that remains is what my thoughts on the long-gestated sequel is –

…you might wanna get yourselves some snacks first.

As anyone who read my review on the previous film knows, Fantasia was a project ahead of its time. Critics and audiences turned their noses up at it for conflicting reasons, and the film didn’t even make it’s budget back until twenty-something years later when they began marketing it to a very different crowd.

hippie.jpg

“I don’t wanna alarm you dude, but I took in some Fantasia and these mushrooms started dancing, and then there were dinosaurs everywhere and then they all died, but then these demons were flying around my head and I was like WOOOOOAAAHHH!!”

caricature self

“Yeah, Fantasia is one crazy movie, man.”

hippie

“Movie?”

Fantasia’s unfortunate box office failure put the kibosh on Walt Disney’s plans to make it a recurring series with new animated shorts made to play alongside handpicked favorites. The closest he came to following through on his vision was Make Mine Music and Melody Time, package features of shorts that drew from modern music more than classical pieces.

Fast-forward nearly fifty years later to the golden age known as the Disney Renaissance: Walt’s nephew Roy E. Disney surveys the new crop of animators, storytellers, and artists who are creating hit after hit and have brought the studio back to his uncle’s glory days, and thinks to himself, “Maybe now we can make Uncle Walt’s dream come true.” He made a good case for it, but not everyone was on board. Jeffrey Katzenberg loathed the idea, partly because he felt the original Fantasia was a tough act to follow (not an entirely unreasonable doubt) but most likely due to the fact that the last time Disney made a sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, it drastically underperformed (even though the reasons for that are entirely Katzenberg’s fault. Seriously, watch Waking Sleeping Beauty and tell me you don’t want to punch him in the nose when Mike Gabriel recalls his opening weekend phone call).

Once Katzenberg was out of the picture, though, Fantasia 2000, then saddled with the less dated but duller moniker Fantasia Continued, got the go-ahead. Many of the sequences were made simultaneously as the animated features my generation most fondly remembers, others were created to be standalone shorts before they were brought into the fold. Since it was ready in time for the new millennium, it not only got a name change but a massive marketing campaign around the fact that it would be played on IMAX screens for a limited run, the very first Disney feature to do so. As a young Fantasia fan who had never been to one of those enormous theaters before, I begged and pleaded my parents to take me. Late that January, we traveled over to the IMAX theater at Lincoln Center, the only one nearest to us since they weren’t so widespread as they are now, and what an experience it was. I can still recall the feeling of awe at the climax of Pines of Rome, whispering eagerly with my mom at how the beginning of Rhapsody in Blue looked like a giant Etch-A-Sketch, and jumping twenty feet in the air when the Firebird’s massive eyes popped open. But did later viewings recapture that magic, or did that first time merely color my perception?

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My Top 21 Favorite Donald Duck Shorts

08 Saturday Jun 2019

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 1930's, 1940's, 1950's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, Action-Adventure, Christmas, Comedy, Disney, Fantasy, Halloween, Movie Reviews

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

1930's, 2D animation, action, Action-Adventure, animated ducks, animated short, animated shorts, animation, ants, art, black pete, canvas back duck, caricatures, cartoon duck, cartoon ducks, cgi animation, clarence nash, classic disney, classic disney characters, classic Hollywood, Comedy, computer animation, computer dot don, daisy duck, der fuehrer's face, Dewey, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animation, disney couple, disney couples, disney golden age, disney love, disney review, Donald Duck, donald duck and the gorilla, donald's better self, donald's dinner date, donald's lucky day, donald's nephews, donald's quack attack, donald's rocket ruckus, donald's snow fight, duck, duck pimples, ducks, ducktales, goofy, hand drawn animation, House of Mouse, Huey, huey dewey and louie, Kingdom Hearts, Louie, mathmagic land, Mickey Mouse, Mouse Works, mr. duck steps out, music store donald, nephews, officer duck, Peg-Leg Pete, Pete, propaganda, short, shorts, soup's on, spike the bee, the autograph hound, the clock watcher, the trial of donald duck, tony anselmo, traditional animation, trombone trouble, Walt Disney, world war two propaganda

donald-duck-birthday.jpg

Last November we celebrated a milestone for one of Disney’s most iconic characters. Today we gather for another – Happy 85th Birthday Donald Duck!

There’s a certain irony to Donald’s popularity: in the theme parks or shows like The Mickey Mouse Club or House of Mouse, Donald is portrayed flagging behind Mickey in fame and adulation if not outright forgotten. But in the real world so many people prefer Donald over Mickey, and I can see why. Mickey’s status as the company’s mascot rarely allows him to be a mischievous rascal like in the old days. Donald on the other hand has always been the feisty fowl generations could relate to due to how much he’s put through the wringer and his resulting temper flares.

Because he’s not on as high a pedestal as The One That Started It All, he’s given more freedom of personality, and, as a result, much more to do. Donald’s worn a variety of hats throughout his five-and-fourscore-long career. This also expands beyond traditional media. You’d be hard pressed to find a Donald Duck video game that isn’t at least a little fun to play. Getting to bash things with his trademark temper tantrums is a treat, and Disney always takes full advantage of it. In fact, before Sora was created to be the protagonist for Kingdom Hearts, Tetsuya Nomura imagined Mickey as the main character, but Disney wanted it to be Donald! They’re well aware that no matter how bad the scenario, Donald can take a licking and keep on ticking, and that’s done him well these past 85 years.

So to mark the special occasion, I’m counting down my Top 21 Favorite Donald Duck Shorts. Why that many? Because I like to go eleven steps beyond.

The rules from before apply: I’m not counting segments from or complete feature films like Saludos Amigos or The Three Caballeros. Donald has to be the main focus of the entire short feature, and not just “Mickey’s name is in the title though Donald takes up 90% of the action but it’s totally a Mickey short, you guys, for reals”.

But par the course for this blog, a few Honorable Mentions first:

  • Pomp and Circumstance – This highlight from Fantasia 2000 has Donald assisting Noah before the flood then reenacting An American Tail with Daisy on the ark.
  • Trick or Treat – A Halloween classic where Donald falls victim to a witch’s tricks after he deprives his nephews of their treats.
  • Donald and the Wheel – Two spirits of innovation try to inspire caveman Donald to invent the wheel, but it doesn’t quite stick. Meant to be educational, but the music is unbelievably catchy.
  • Drip Drippy Donald/Early to Bed – These shorts featuring Donald being robbed of a good night’s rest would be hilarious if they weren’t so relatable.
  • Donald’s Dilemma – The title’s a bit of a misnomer; Daisy’s the focus and there’s barely a dilemma. But it reveals a darker side to her romance and shows just how far she’d go to hold on to him.
  • Orphan’s Benefit – While an ensemble piece for Mickey and Friends, it’s Donald who steals the show as usual.
  • Commando Duck – Horribly blatant anti-Japanese sentiment aside, this World War Two-era short of Donald behind enemy lines has a fun chase at the climax.
  • Cured Duck – Donald tries to cure his temper once and for all with an insult machine.
  • Slide Donald Slide – Another one of Donald’s quarrels with Spike the Bee wins points for mirroring the World Series game playing on the radio, but winds up here because Spike is technically in the wrong this time around.
  • The Wise Little Hen – The one that started it all.
  • Donald’s Double Trouble – Donald hires an inexplicable doppelganger with better manners and English to win back Daisy only for it to backfire terribly.
  • Donald’s Golf Game – Donald goes golfing with his nephews and their usual amount of mischief.
  • Donald’s Valentine Dollar – Donald must retrieve his last dollar from all sorts of shenanigans in order to purchase a valentine for Daisy. It’s completely silent, but that repetitive piano music can get grating.
  • Donald’s Camera – Donald’s attempt to shoot wildlife with a camera instead of a gun goes as well as you’d expect. Interestingly, I never knew about the original ending for years since they abruptly cut it off whenever they aired it on tv.
  • Sleepytime Donald – A sleepwalking Donald takes Daisy out on a late night date, and it’s up to her to make sure he doesn’t wake up in a precarious situation.
  • Mickey’s Philharmagic – Yes it’s a 3D show in the Disney parks and Mickey’s name is in the title, but don’t be fooled. Donald is the star of the show, and seeing him interact with some of the most iconic musical moments of the Disney Renaissance in stunning CGI animation for the time is astounding.

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Christmas Shelf Reviews: Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

01 Saturday Dec 2018

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 1980's, Christmas, Comedy, Disney, Horror, Movie Reviews, TV Reviews

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

1980's, A Christmas Carol, adventures of ichabod and mr. toad, animated, animation, black pete, Bob Cratchit, charles dickens, Christmas, christmas carol, christmas classic, christmas story, daisy duck, Disney, disney animated, disney animation, disney review, Donald Duck, ducktales, Ebenezer Scrooge, ghost, ghost of christmas future, ghost of christmas past, ghost of christmas present, ghost of christmas yet to come, ghosts, goofy, graveyard, graveyard scene, Jacob Marley, jiminy cricket, London, magic, Mickey Mouse, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Minnie Mouse, mole, mr. toad, Peg-Leg Pete, Pete, rat, Scrooge McDuck, the wind in the willows, Tiny Tim, traditional animation, Uncle Scrooge, willie the giant

mccposter

Some stories are so timeless, so resonant, and so iconic that they deserve to be retold for every generation.

And then there’s Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, which according to IMDB has nearly 200 adaptations. If you decide to watch one a day, it’s almost enough to see you through to next Christmas! And do I need to recap the story of A Christmas Carol? It’s so ubiquitous that the only people who don’t know it must have grown up under a rock. That’s the only explanation I’ll accept.

I wouldn’t call this over abundance of A Christmas Carol a bad thing, however, as each version manages to bring something unique and memorable to the original tale. Like with Peter Pan, there’s one for every generation – well okay, more like five, but you get the idea. It’s great to see people discussing which one they believe is best because there’s no shortage of fascinating takes out there (As for me, I find the best straight adaptation is the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, the best take with a twist is the Muppets one, and the best modern day/parody one is Scrooged). But of course we’re here today to talk about one particular adaptation many have grown up with. For some, it was even their very first exposure to A Christmas Carol. I should know. It was for me.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol actually began as a read-along record album produced in the 70’s and narrated by Scrooge McDuck himself. There’s little differentiating it from its eventual animated counterpart, though the cast of holiday haunts is slightly altered – jolly old wizard Merlin from The Sword in the Stone is the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Snow White’s Wicked Witch takes an even more frightening turn as the Ghost of Christmas Future. In an attempt to revive Mickey Mouse’s waning popularity, it was decided that the story would be perfect fodder for a brand new short. It was originally supposed to premiere on television as a regular holiday special in 1982, but after an animators’ strike delayed production, the short was given a theatrical release one year later alongside a re-issue of The Rescuers. So yes, Mickey’s Christmas Carol was technically the Olaf’s Shoehorned Holiday Adventure of its time. I’m happy to say it earned a much more deserved positive reception, however, even gaining a Best Animated Short Oscar nomination.

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So…About The Three Caballeros’ New Show…

08 Sunday Jul 2018

Posted by UpOnTheShelf in 2010's, Action-Adventure, Comedy, Disney, TV Reviews

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Action-Adventure, adventure, classic disney, Comedy, daisy duck, Disney, disney animated, disney animation, disney review, Donald Duck, felldrake, jose carioca, jose carrioca, legend of the three caballeros, myth, panchito, shellgoose, television review, three caballeros, xandra

If you’re as die-hard a Disney fan as I am, then you’ve already heard the news about a certain new avian-centric animated series produced by the mouse house; One that hasn’t been officially announced yet but has fellow Disneyphiles riled up nearly as much as when the Ducktales reboot was launched.

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