I knew I was picking underdogs, but in some cases I was surprised (after voting and then seeing the results so far) just how underdoggy some of my choices were.
So I’ve seen nearly all of these. I think the original Wreck-It Ralph and Zootopia may be the only ones I still need to get to. I work for a trivia company, and I’ve written and edited a number of Disney quizzes that used this exact list (the one on Wikipedia) for the scope, so I’ve gotten to a few more each time we need to produce new content. It’s kind of fun to watch these in order, too, to see the development in structure, narrative, and character development, as well as the obvious technical improvements.
And so for the first batch, I picked Alice in Wonderland. I didn’t realize how much I loved Alice until, at the end of our weeklong trip in March, I discovered that all the film-specific souvenirs I’d gotten were Alice in Wonderland. All of them. Pins, ears, Loungefly bag. It hadn’t even been intentional. I just looked at what I was packing in my suitcase, and that’s what I had. So I guess I have a favorite.
In the very diverse 1970-1999 group, I am currently the sole vote for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I knew there wouldn’t be many votes for that, but I didn’t know I’d be the only one. The top four in that category were what I’d have predicted. And they’re great movies, but they’re all so…omnipresent…that they don’t feel fresh to me. And I need a bit of freshness in my favorites. The other ones I considered were Mulan, Tarzan, and Hercules. Along with Hunchback, kind of the B-Team of the '90s. And I’m okay with that.
When that group got split up, I picked The Fox and the Hound for my Dark Ages selection. A movie that makes me cry that much wins points.
Lulls: I mean, I love the longshots, and even I couldn’t go with anything other than Emperor’s New Groove or Lilo and Stitch and knew they’d be top two by a wide margin. (I picked ENG.) Much appreciation for anyone who voted for something else in that category. The other movies need love… I just couldn’t give it to them.
Latest Hits: I’m back with a dark horse. Frozen II all the way (or most of it). It was just so darn well-thought-out. It’s a puzzle movie, and the main antagonist is in the past, but there’s still drama and conflict, delightful characters, great songs, and such a beautifully complex storyline that appears confusing at first but unravels at exactly the right pace. I like the original Frozen just fine, but I loved this. My second choice would have been Moana, and not just because of the soundtrack. The current top vote-getters are all good movies; it’s a category with absolutely no wrong answers.