1941 - Dumbo

So after Pinocchio and Fantasia underperformed at the box office, Disney was looking to recoup his losses. What he needed was - not a hit, exactly, but something that could be considered a success if it made the same amount of money as the last two. So they bought the 8-page story attached to an unproduced prototype toy and made a movie in a few months on a fraction of their previous budgets. Nervous? So am I. So pick up a cellophane pack of orange...

Read More

1940 - Fantasia

In my last post, I gave you the basic idea of Fantasia, so no need to rehash that here. Seven classical pieces and one comedy bit, linked with introductions from music historian, minor radio celebrity, and pin-up model Deems Taylor. Actually, Taylor presented a bit of a sticky situation for me. The original cut of Fantasia was a 124 minute roadshow, which was edited down to 115 minutes by chopping up Taylor’s intros. For the recent DVD release, they...

Read More

A MINOR SETBACK AND FANTASIA… 3?

Well, I knew going into this that staying on schedule would by tricky at best, and in a way, having a setback this early is good, right? Riiiiiight? Because you know how when you get a new computer, sometimes it’ll restart itself randomly to do little updates or whatever? And you know how word processor programs are supposed to recover your work after an unexpected shutdown but sometimes they don't? And you know how when I get on a roll I forget...

Read More

The New Headline Image

If you wanted to see it bigger, here you go. Just give a click. Open it in a new tab for the largest size availab...

Read More

1940 - Pinocchio

One of the things I’ve always heard people say about Pinocchio is how much it scared them, or how disturbing and traumatizing it is for kids. Now I get that, I really do. In a couple weeks I’m going to have to watch those damn pink elephants on parade, and that still gives me the jibblies. But in this case, I never really felt it. I saw this a few times when I was younger, but it never made much of an impression on me. I think that was because I...

Read More

1937 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Well, here it is. The big one. The first one. The first feature length cel animated movie in the history of ever. And I’m glad to be starting with this one for two reasons. First, I’ve never seen it in its entirety, and given its importance to the history of animation, that’s a bit shocking to me, and it’s already something I’ve been meaning to do for quite some time. Second, four years ago, I developed an intense and resentful personal grudge against...

Read More

My (Somewhat More Than A) Year With Walt Disney Animation Studios

Hi! I’m Brian. This holiday season, as my work schedule overwhelmed me and I fell far behind on my other writings, a thought stuck me. There are 52 weeks in a year. There will be, at the end of this year, 52 films in the Disney Animated Canon. And what I really need is something that occupies even more of my time, AND has a strict deadline, which I am terrible at keeping. GOOD LIFE CHOICES HERE, FOLKS.So, yes, I will be watching one Disney movie...

Read More