Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Facebook 30 Day Movie Challenge

I know, I know, I am a terrible blogger. I am also a very involved college student where Spring Fever has just struck right around the same time as midterms. So I apologize for my lax blogging these last few days, I would say it won't happen again, but you know me and I don't like making promises I can't keep. Oh well, on wards and upwards.
Day 8: Favorite Animated Feature
For me, this one is very difficult because I love animated films. I honestly wish we had an animation class at my university because I feel like they are so much different from live action films and need to be discussed in different ways. That being said I cannot continue without breaking down this category into a few sections:
1. Favorite Pixar Movie: Monsters, INC.
For many people, Monsters, INC. is not their favorite in the long list of amazing Pixar films. And I have to admit that it is very difficult to choose, I love them all. For me, Monsters, INC. stands above the rest because of the pure idea of it. We all feared the monsters in our closets and under our beds, but to make a movie about it from the monsters' point of view? Genius. The room with all the doors of kid's closets everywhere and shredding them when they get too old? Inspired. It also has that funny, sentimental touch that is a special quality of (almost) all Pixar films. The relationships between Mike and Sully and then Sully and Boo are heart warming and sweet. You have to admit that you teared up a little in the last scene (okay, maybe you don't, but I did). The animation is incredible, I love every hair on Sully's body and all the unique characteristics of each monster. I also love a good villain and Randell is one evil dude. And while it is not the most quotable Pixar film (that obviously goes to  Finding Nemo), I think it has some great lines and really truly funny moments. It is a film I still enjoy watching.
Honorable mentions go to The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story.
2. Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin 
Aladdin has always been my favorite Disney movie. While I may identify with Belle, the street rat with big dreams and a heart of gold won over my own heart. He was probably the first animated character I had a crush on. The score is fantastic, as always, and I still know the words to every song. I love every single character from the fierce and independent Jasmine to the cunning and scheming Jafar. Aladdin is where I, like most children, also fell in love with Robin Williams. Even from an early age I could appreciate his humor and now even more that I get more of the jokes. I love his vocal work, he is perfect as an animated character and has some great lines. To me, Aladdin will always define my childhood.
Honorable mentions go to The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan.
3. Favorite Non-Disney/Pixar Movie: Anastasia 
Anastasia is the movie that's so good you think it's a Disney movie. It is another movie that defined my childhood because I loved it and watched it so much. I even did a dance to "Once Upon a December" way back in my days of ballet. 
What's not to like? There's mystery, romance, singing, and a villain who's completely off his rocker. Dimitri was another one of those animated guys I had a crush on; he was so smooth and charming yet vulnerable all at the same time. And I loved Anastasia as an orphan tough enough to be one of the guys, but finally becoming her own as a princess. 
I still remember watching this film with my family for the first time and my dad commenting on the amazing animation. For the time it was remarkable, every footprint appears in the snow when Anya walks and phantoms from the past appear from the walls in ghostly blurs. It was a film that clearly showed Disney it wasn't the only cool kid on the block. 
Honorable mentions go to Shrek for breaking all the rules, Fantastic Mr. Fox for its reality and hilarity, Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas for being a really dark "non-kid" animated movies and How to Train Your Dragon for pure cuteness.
I also really still need to watch Spirited Away and The Secret of Kells. 

2 comments:

  1. Cool list! I dig basically all of the films mentioned here! I also totally had a crush on both Aladdin and Dmitri, something I've only come to admit in more recent years.

    I, too, adore animation in general and if you're interested I have some recommendations of animated films that are a little more off the beaten path? Although feel free to ignore it, also!

    Tekkonkinkreet: gorgeous, experimental anime

    Mary and Max: heartbreaking stop-motion from Australia

    The Triplets of Belleville: fantastic and strange film from French animator Sylvain Chomet

    A Town Called Panic: absolutely crazy (and hilarious) Belgian stop-motion

    Sita Sings the Blues: Nina Paley mixes several animation styles, plus it's a musical!

    The Adventures of Prince Achmed: The oldest surviving animated film, from German director Lotte Reiniger. It's done in gorgeous cut-paper silhouettes.

    And if you don't mind things on the creepy side, I really dig the stop-motion work of Czech animator Jan Svankmajer. He mixes live-action with stop-motion and it's just weird and uncanny. Alice and Little Otik are probably my favorites.

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  2. No, thanks so much for your comments! I love getting suggestions for new movies especially foreign ones. I haven't heard of many of these before.

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