It’s a new year and we can all agree 2021 pretty much sucked. Know what else sucked? 2020. The sucktitude of these two years was mostly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has affected health, business, and even entertainment. As you are all aware, the pandemic hit early in 2020, which resulted in no new MCU properties being released that year. MCU movies were … Continue reading MCU Disney+ Year In Review – Wandavision
A GOOFY MOVIE (1995): Written by: Jymn Magon, Chris Matheson & Biran Pimental The movie’s two showstoppers, “Stand Out” and “I2I” one after the other. Nothing in history is more “1990s” than this. Of all the shows on the much-fabled “Disney Afternoon” Saturday Cartoon block, the one I would consider LEAST LIKELY to have gotten a theatrically-released Full-Length Feature would have been Goof Troop. I dunno if … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: A Goofy Movie
POCAHONTAS (1995): Written by: Carl Binder, Susannah Grant & Philip LaZebnik And NOW WE COME… to the END of the Renaissance. The most hilarious thing about this is that Disney thought this was going to be their MAGNUM OPUS. Like, after Beauty and the Beast got some Oscar Cred, they were like “THIS TIME FOR SURE!” and put everything into pushing this as some kind of dramatic spectacle. The … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Pocahontas
“Avenge me KIMBA– I mean SIMBA.” THE LION KING (1994) Written by: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts & Linda Woolverton So with the Disney Renaissance still going strong, they released a risky little picture about lions that was only INSPIRED by other stories rather than basically taking the whole thing and Disney-fying it. However, it was THIS film that turned out to be the uber-smash of the … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Lion King (animated)
ALADDIN (1992): Written by: Ron Clements, John Muser, Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Burny Mattinson, Roger Allers, Joe Ranft, Daan Jippes, Kevin Harkey, Sue Nichols, Francis Glebas, Darrell Rooney, Larry Leker, James Fujii, Kirk Hanson, Kevin Lima, Rebecca Rees, David S. Smith, Chris Sanders, Brian Pimental, Patrick A. Ventura & Ed Gombert Ya know, if you wanted to keep the hits coming after The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Aladdin
One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled.It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear.It was the age of gargoyles.Stone by day, warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years.Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again!We are defenders … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Gargoyles
OLIVER AND COMPANY (1988): Written by: Charles Dickens (original story), Vance Gerry, Roger Allers, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, Dave Michener, Pete Young & Mike Gabriel This one is odd, comparing it to the rest of the Disney Animated franchise. I mean, “Take a famous story and make them animals” has been done, and “people in modern times” had been done, but the fact that this is … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Rescuers Down Under & Oliver and Company
THE LITTLE MERMAID (1989): Written by: Hans Christian Andersen (original story), Roger Allers, Howard Ashman, Ron Clements & John Musker And now we come to the TRUE game-changer at the studio- the movie that started The Disney Renaissance, and helped define a decade. Coming out in the late 1980s after a series of “scratchy outline” movies and weaker faire, this Fairy Tale-based story had some work … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Little Mermaid
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991): Written by: Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (original story), Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont (adaptation novel that heavily influenced this), Linda Woolverton, Brenda Chapman, Burny Mattinson, Brian Pimental, Joe Ranft, Kelly Asbury, Chris Sanders, Kevin Harkey, Bruce Woodside, Tom Ellery, Robert Lence & Roger Allers The Disney Animated Canon features some spectacular works of art, and many excel at various things that … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Beauty and The Beast
THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (1986) Written by: Eve Titus (original books), Vance Gerry, Peter Young, Steve Ulett, John Musker & Ron Clements The whole concept behind this one is a bit odd, and it’s based off of some children’s book I’ve never heard of- basically mouse versions of Sherlock Holmes & Watson, and a rat Moriarty. And Basil lives right below Sherlock himself. God bless Public … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Great Mouse Detective
THE BLACK CAULDRON (1985): Written by: Lloyd Alexander (Original Book Series), Ted Berman, Vance Gerry, Joe Hale, David Jonas, Roy Morita, Richard Rich, Art Stevens, Al Wilson & Peter Young This is a controversial one for many reasons. It basically Disney-fies a semi-popular children’s novel (The Chronicles of Prydain, which noted Webcomic author Randy Milholland of Something Positive fame REALLY enjoys- he’s said some great stuff about it), … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Black Cauldron
THE FOX AND THE HOUND (1981): Written by: Daniel P. Mannix (original novel), Ted Berman, Larry Clemmons, David Michener, Peter Young & Burny Mattinson Another one based off of a forgotten novel (with many changes- initially Tod & Copper didn’t know each other; Chief also dies in the novel), this one wasn’t a major hit, but has a cult following, largely due to the bittersweet nature … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Fox & The Hound
Penny: But if I don’t get back to the orphanage… I’ll never get adopted.Madame Medusa: Adopted? What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?Penny: *sheds a single tear* — Seriously, HOLY SHIT THE RESCUERS (1977): Written by: Margery Sharp (Original Books), Larry Clemmons, Vance Gerry, Ken Anderson, Frank Thomas, Burny Mattinson, Fred Lucky, Dick Sebast, David Michener & Ted Berman This is an odd … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: The Rescuers
ROBIN HOOD (1973): Written by: Larry Clemmons, Ken Anderson, Vance Gerry, Frank Thomas, Eric Cleworth, Julius Svendsen & David Michener Robin Hood came out at a time when Disney’s fortunes were a bit on the wane, and so some cost-cutting was required. After deciding to take the classic tale and make all the characters animals (a brilliant move- it instantly separated the work from the COUNTLESS Robin … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Robin Hood
The worst that one could say of The AristoCats is that it is unmemorable. It’s smoothly executed, of course, and enjoyable, but neither its superficial story nor its characters have any resonance.-Leonard Maltin THE ARISTOCATS (1970): Written by: Tom McGowan & Tom Rowe (Original Book), Larry Clemmons, Eric Cleworth, Vance Garry, Julius Svendsen, Frank Thomas & Ralph Wright BLEH. A movie all about jazz music (one … Continue reading Jab’s Disney Reviews: Winnie The Pooh & The Aristocats
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