Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Of the Disney animated films that I've watched thus far, Atlantis: TLE is the only one that I definitely want to see again. It's because it feels very non-Disney: it's sci-fi, there's no furry things in peril and at times it even has more in common with anime (the beginning and end, especially).
It's a Jules Verne-esque story about Milo Thatch's (Michael J. Fox) lifelong desire to find the fabled city, but beyond that it's about family, it's about truth, folly, fear, compassion, respect, moral choices and following your heart. The story moves too quick for it's own good, but I loved it, nevertheless.
Voice work is superb. The CGI actually works alongside the traditional. And, remarkably, even the obligatory comedy character was bearable.

4 vegetables out of 5

Robin Hood (1973)

Disney's animal kingdom version of the Robin Hood story has a talking fox (Brian Bedford) in the title role. The primary antagonist of the film is Prince John, a maneless lion voiced by the wonderful Peter Ustinov, who's assisted in his wrongful deeds by a scheming snake named Sir Hiss (Terry-Thomas).
The animal type chosen for each of the characters reflects their different personalities, making them a genuinely good fit; e.g. Robin is cunning and fleet-footed, while the Sheriff of Nottingham is an overweight wolf.
The set-pieces, such as the archery contest and the daring prison break, are the kind of thing that will probably please and/or excite younger viewers, and there's even a few scenes that I suspect some adults will enjoy. Overall, I'd hoped it would be better, but it could just as easily have been a lot worse.

3 collection days out of 5

Tarzan (1999)

The opening eight minutes of Disney's Tarzan are fantastic - it's pure drama, dialogue-free, a perfect example of how animation alone can be used to tell a gripping story. The protagonists are sympathetic and the four-legged villain is terrifying. But then the animals talk... in English... with US accents and it takes an elephant-sized dive directly into Cocked-it-up Swamp.
The humans fare better in that respect, particularly Minnie Driver as Jane Porter, and Brian Blessed as William Clayton the shotgun-loving hunter.
When the talking animals are absent the whole thing recovers part of its opening appeal, with occasional musings on the importance of family and understanding the emotional needs of others being precise and timely.

3 vine climbs out of 5

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

aka 101 Dalmatians

Disney's dalmatian adventure is a simple story that moves from A to B to C without asking too much of a viewer. That's not a criticism in itself, simplicity can be a great strength in animation, but, on the whole, the dognapping yarn had me literally catnapping long before the credits rolled.
I liked the 'classic Hollywood' feeling that was most evident early on, and the wonderfully named Cruella De Vil, a wiry villainess who wants the many pups made into a fur coat, certainly looked the part (she wouldn't seem out of place in a Roald Dahl novel, either), but once again it was primarily the beautifully rendered Disney backgrounds that appealed to me, not the talking animals.

2½ all-dog alerts out of 5

Basil the Great Mouse Detective (1986)

aka The Great Mouse Detective /

The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective

It's Disney's version of Sherlock Holmes but with small animals instead of humans. Basil of Baker Street (Barrie Ingham) is Sherlock; the Watson role is filled by Dr. Q. Dawson (Val Bettin), who also serves as the film's narrator; while Basil's nemesis is a sewer rat named Ratigan (Vincent Price). Under threat is the entire British Monarchy; well, the animal side of it, at least.
After a surprisingly scary opening scene, and despite enjoying the character designs, I didn't warm to the story as much as the writers probably would've liked a viewer to have done - except, that is, during the exuberant finale. Set inside a clock tower, amid mechanical cogs fraught with danger, it put the famous mouse's cognitive skills and quick reflexes to the test.

2½ forces in motion out of 5

Peter Pan (1953)

Disney's version of J. M. Barrie's most famous play, Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904) popularised the green duds and elfish ears look that for many people is the definitive version of Peter. The screenplay handles the eve of young Wendy's transition into maturity with ease, but the mute fairy Tinker Bell is the film's most interesting character; driven by jealously for the mischievous Peter's affections she's arguably a more complex villain than even Captain Hook, the film's second best character. The remainder of the cast, especially the Lost Boys, are borderline annoying, but that's maybe just through adult eyes, and kids may feel differently.

3 scurvy brats out of 5

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Disney's take on the King Arthur tale focuses on Arthur as a "scrawny" boy. With only a brief mention of the rich lore that preceded his birth, the crucial contrast + comparison between son and father is absent. Instead, it explores young Arthur's education by Merlin, a process of learning by doing.
The abridged narrative makes sense given that it's a film targeted at children, but the story is little more than a collection of transformation events stitched together, with lessons regarding actions and consequence failing to hit their mark. Characterisation of Merlin and Arthur is good, I loved the backgrounds, and the squirrel scene had a special charm, but the film is a pretty forgettable attempt at adapting the famous story for a younger audience.

2½ wizard blizzards out of 5

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

An enchantress disguised as a beggar teaches a selfish young Prince a powerful life lesson by making his physical appearance representative of his inner wickedness. All things considered, that's a pretty darn extreme reaction from a woman who, to be fair, is pretending to be something she's not - lie much, witch? In contrast, by merely acting according to his nature, the Prince was being honest. So who's the most contemptible in this scenario?
To break the curse the Beast must win the love of another. Luckily, bookish Belle, living the life of Riley but wanting more than a charming provincial town can offer, stumbles into Beast's castle while searching for her father.
Successfully recreating a Broadway musical style, Disney's BatB is memorable mostly for the titular creature's design and voice work.

3 anthropomorphic household items out of 5

30 Days of Night (2007)

The premise of 30 DoN is for me the best thing about it. It's a vampire story set in an Alaskan town, an icy location that once a year is plunged into a month of darkness. With no daily sunrise to force them into hiding, the bloodthirsty predators don't have to stop feeding (until they run out of food).
The build-up, i.e, before the invasion begins proper, is very good; it feels as if the town is winding down while the people themselves are gearing-up for the long night ahead. It's a shame that that same sense of interest isn't sustained.
Once the killing starts it's little more than fast-moving menaces stalking another pocket of survivors. There's a troubled relationship element that was a nice idea, but it lacks weight and is, frankly, as bland as shit is brown.

2½ cold cuts out of 5

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)

A Hong Kong martial arts movie based on a Japanese manga, Riki-Oh is a strange one. It begins with the titular fighter (played by Fan Siu-Wong) being incarcerated in a privatised prison, a facility with a stylised use of space. He quickly gets on the wrong side of the prison's deadliest occupants, including a hook-handed assistant warden. However, the greater the challenge, the more determinedly the super-human Ricky rises to meet it.
The infamous level of violence in the film is over-the-top ridiculous, but it occasionally crosses the line into gorily disturbing. Happily, the simplistic plot does at least attempt to give Ricky a streak of noble sensitivity.
Fei Lit Chan's minimalist, almost Carpenter-esque music was my favourite part.

2½ chest bullets out of 5

Bugsy Malone (1976)

The owner of the speakeasy that Bugsy (Scott Baio) frequents is under threat from a rival gang leader. Bugsy, in need of money, gets involved.

A childhood favourite that I still adore today, Dir. Alan Parker's first feature is a prohibition era gangster musical. If that wasn't strange enough, the entire cast is made up of children, the guns shoot splurdge (custard), and the cars are pedal-powered. The characters are mostly genre stock types played straight; i.e. they aren't written as if for kids. It lacks the emotional punch that adult actors would bring to it, but it has a charm and integrity all of its own.

The songs by Paul Williams enrich the experience and are well-placed, but it is a little odd hearing adult vocal performances coming from kids.

4 soulful soliloquies out of 5

The Killing (1956)

A group of men carry out an unprecedented robbery from a busy racetrack while the horses are running a high profile race in Stanley Kubrick's taught noir based on crime writer Lionel White's Clean Break (1955) novel.
An unseen narrator occasionally guides us as the daring event and its aftermath is shown from various perspectives, building up a compete picture from a number of striking smaller pieces, each helped along by lengthy takes and some long and revealing tracking shots. The hard-boiled dialogue keeps the pace steady even when the plot demands that the telling be low key.
If you're a fan of Tarantino and want to see where he got some of his more interesting ideas from, then The Killing should definitely be on your list.

3½ timetables out of 5