I am really surprised at how many of these I have never seen! I didn’t grow up in a “Disney” family, never went to the parks on a family trip after age 2. I tell my mother my adult obsession is due to deficiency in my childhood, although early exposure may have made it worse! The dark ages/renaissance pretty much covers my childhood and young adulthood and while the “renaissance” movies were good they weren’t a huge deal to me at the time. I marked TLM because it was the first one I remember entering my consciousness as really popular, and because my son just played Eric in the play which I loved even more than the movie!
Among “the lull”, the only one I had seen until recently was Brother Bear, which my older boys loved when they were little. I thought it was a great story, I liked the message, and it exposed me to an aspect of Native American culture I hadn’t heard much about before. We just recently watched Lilo and Stitch, so I finally get what Stitch is and it was cute, but dated now. My DD5 and I just read The Emperors New Groove in our Disney Adventure storybook last night and both of us were just bemused, didn’t really get it. The movie must be better.
Among the newest movies, Frozen was such a phenomenon I had to pick it, but really I love Frozen, Moana, and Encanto all so much.
I can’t think of a controversy in the poll structure or much to comment on today. I’ve seen every single movie, and most more than once. Didn’t realize just how much they, along with their scores, have affected my life until seeing the giant list in front of me. Wow, so much nostalgia. Best poll yet.
Part 1 : I voted Sleeping Beauty - the ‘high fantasy’ fairies, dragons, knights, castles, etc with the unique art style set my expectations of animated movies for years to come. Snow White was a close second, given how groundbreaking and important the movie was for establishing what was possible with animation.
Part 2 : Beauty and the Beast - Great storytelling, major integration of computer animation with hand-drawn, amazing music, cultural phenomenon. Changed the rules for animated movies going forward, continued what little mermaid was able to start, and established Disney broadway.
Part 3 : Lilo and Stitch - fun balance of sci-fi and family messages with great original characters. Brother bear was a close second for me in quality of characters and storytelling with real cultural significances.
Part 4 : Frozen - the craze around the movie (and the frequent times it played in my house in the background) cause me to not actulaly like the movie, but acknowledge it as a ‘best of an era’ with big music, modern storylines, and storytelling. It hit the zeitgeist like none other, except maybe Encanto (which I personally don’t care for, so I’m still going Frozen).
For 1 & 2, I went with the movies I watched over and over again as a child, which were The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. I actually haven’t seen any of the movies in poll 3! Apparently I have some homework to do! Poll 4 was the most difficult, because I love soooo many of those movies, but Baymax is (obviously) my favorite character so I had to go with Big Hero 6. But Baymax doesn’t feel “Disney” to me, as much as I love it.
Sooooo this is tough because for me what makes a movie rewatchable is the music. So all my choices are around what I think is the best sound track…maybe that should be a separate poll. However, Little Mermaid was probably my favorite movie as a kid and has a special place in my heart but Lion King is both the best soundtrack and the best film from the renaissance, it’s not even debatable a little bit lol. Fantasia is a beautiful film as are most of the classics, truly artistic. Very tough to choose but The Jungle Book has the best soundtrack imho. Princess and the Frog is my favorite soundtrack of the modern films but I know many a kid would tell me to Let it Go.
It’s funny because Parts 1 and 2 I voted based mostly on my preferences as a child and young adult. Parts 3 and 4 I voted mainly on what my daughters loved most!
@LTinNC82 You may be right about Moana, but as a character, Moana is near the top. I just love her. And at the time the movie came out, we had a woman here at the City where I work who is half Samoan. Her joy at having a Pacific Islander Princess really rubbed off on me.
Apparently I have some homework to do! Poll 4 was the most difficult, because I love soooo many of those movies, but Baymax is (obviously) my favorite character so I had to go with Big Hero 6. But Baymax doesn’t feel “Disney” to me, as much as I love it.