Top Ten DISNEY movies

10. FREAKY FRIDAY (both titles) I can't understand my animosity towards comedies. We went to see "Meet the Fockers" yesterday and yes, I did laugh, but it was outshined by the amount of squirming I did at watching Barbra Streisand as a sex therapist. Same goes for many of the comedies I watch. Their humor is borne out of a protagonist that is put in absurd, difficult situations and we laugh due to our own misplacements.
Which brings me to this picture. But the message of understanding is so emphasized, I didn't cringe. I mean, the end of the movie is positive--but it comes about in a direct route, not some weird circumference designed to make you weep or have a positive American ending.

9. SPIRITED AWAY--And talk about your American ending. This is, like, the anti-Disney movie. The characters are far from cute, but the heart, the emotion underneath carries the tale in a new direction. It was new to me and I wanted to see more 'manga,' afterwards. It captured a culture that Americans have never known (and would gleefully love to supress) about life in the Shiinto realms. I was totally engaged.

8. SWORD AND THE STONE-I had an opportunity to meet Bill Peet, when his college buddy, Mrs. Prokop, my second grade teacher, invited him to speak. Little did I know the power of such a moment, until, when forced to take "Kiddie Lit" in my own college courses, I was required to visit his texts. They were amazing pieces of art and the written word, right up there with Silverstein and The Pokie Puppy. It was only a matter of time before Disney grabbed him by the throat. But before you could say, "the book was better," the artwork was maintained as Walt merged the items into a seamless whole. I remember treating myself to watching it on Sundays when I had to clean the entire video store. It’s memories will be tied to second grade and vacuuming.

7. MONSTERS, INC.-- I knew that I wanted to have something from the wunderkinder Pixar on here, and I am still tempted to say "the Incredibles." I read a review of this movie and it said it best when it mentioned, 'how about a kid's movie that is so mature, you send your kids to get popcorn so you don't miss anything?' That described the beautful creations of Pixar. Incredibles was mature and still action packed--it was totally unexpected up until the end. But I just could not see myself reflected in it's eyes. I'm the scary movie lovin' dark comedy spewing kinda person. I'm seen in Monsters, Inc.

6. THE RESCUERS--My mom remembers me telling her how this was my favorite movie upon leaving the movie theatre. You have to give Disney credit. How many adults, way back when, were willing to see movies with their kids? I still am shocked when I saw Jurassic Park 2 with a row of school age youngsters watching it utterly alone…and not being scared. Yep, those halcyon days of family are surely gone. But not because of Disney, mind you. But that is another article. Here? My mother and I saw the movie together. I was mesmerized. She was as well. And that bonding was important. When we saw the book, I remember her asking if I wanted to read it. When Part two came out, we thought back. It was a very personable experience I’ll always remember.

5. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN-I know, I know. I don’t ever rate this at my best ride when I go to Florida or California, but I do actually ride it, no? My favorite is the Haunted Mansion, but the movie for that pretty much sucked. With this movie, the loopholes are large enough for a galleon to sail through, but the details are so succinct, you could see the screenwriter riding the boats at Disneyland again and again just find how much to tie together. And it has. It was a summer movie through and through, with a performance by Johnny Depp that was worth the nomination it earned.

4. WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT?--Okay, here ya go. The legend. This is the only film that makes it to both of my top ten all time lists this year. I loved this movie from the start, when it debuted at the top of my list. I saw it the day it came out, bought tickets early, knowing the buzz was right up my alley. For me, it was perfect. It was a forties gumshoe (I love mysteries), film noir (ditto), had animation (hello? Why are we here?). I was so there. I still get taken away when I watch it.

3. HUNCHBACK of NOTRE DAME-This movie, like Mulan, hit me at a point in my life that it hard for me to review. Not hard, as in "I was having a swinging good time and don’t remember," but in the other direction…I remembered too much. I had just gone through leaving my assholic partner for several years and wasn’t sure where I wanted to go, I just knew I couldn’t stay where I was. I was single, more or less, for the first time in my life. I was single before I met my ex, but I was scared, fat and afraid, so I jumped on the first gravy train heading my way--him. But after him? When I realized I could do more, BE more, I left. I remembered how hard it was to get him to see a movie or get out away from his precious cannabis. And how he was begging me to come back and be with him. Yet he couldn’t see this movie unless he had four of his friends with him. So I went alone. In it, a hideous man learns he can be out in the world, alone, just as I was doing. It struck chord at the right time. The music was surely theatrical; the image was pitch perfect. And talking gargoyles? Oh how creepy, and very Joe. I was on the right course. I had found sanctuary in Disney.

2. TARZAN--I had always joked about the day some guy takes me to a Disney park and wants to be there with me is the guy I would surely marry. Well, one day that happened. Someone read my most subtlest of hints (Christmas gifts of Disney books, posters of maps on the walls, stuffed animals as surprises) and took me there without my prompting. And I married him. So it seemed only natural that the first Disney movie we saw together would become our theme song and set the tone for the relationship from there on out. A romance movie, Tarzan was also considered by many critics to be the best Disney movie ever made. It used all of the pieces of the repitoire at Disney’s disposal and didn’t go into gaga mode or cutest marketing for kids. What ended up was a family action movie that kept the soul of the book while going in its own creative direction.

1. MULAN--My husband is going to kill me for this, but I can’t help it. I like to think that we had Tarzan together, but in order to get to that place, that space in my life where I could accept someone else, well, there had to be this movie. A movie about being yourself and helping yourself. A movie with a dragon in it. It was quintessential modern Diz, with a musical action (you don’t see any successful live action pulling that stunt, do you?) overload, feminism abounding and gay subtext. This is what I go to see Disney for.