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For over 100 years, Walt Disney Animation Studios has fostered a true sense of magic in the hearts of children and adults alike. From their mesmerizing musicals to gorgeously illustrated animated features, Disney has cultivated an image not only as one of the industry's animation giants but also as one of the most recognizable entertainment companies of all time.

Though Disney is often associated with films from their Renaissance Era, including iconic works such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid, Disney's classic films catalyzed the studio's indelible impact. Establishing itself with a unique catalog of characters, enchanting music, and an unbreakable commitment to imagination and wonder, Disney's earliest animated features set the stage for a vibrant future to come.

Dumbo Made Audiences Believe That Elephants Could Fly Dumbo is an Easy Character to Fall in Love With

A film that delicately balances heartbreak and triumph,...

Disney Animation Studios is widely regarded as the powerhouse of all animated studios, and the animated Disney movies ranked showcase how and why the studio is totally unrivaled in the world of animation. While the conglomerate also owns Pixar - yet another studio that's the gold standard of animation Disney has amassed dozens of classics over a century. Though other studios outside of ones owned by Disney have had their successes too, Disney has consistently stayed at the top of the game ever since the studio's first feature animated film release, Snow White, in 1937.

Although Disney has had some not-so-great releases (and some box office bombs), the House of Mouse has mostly nailed the art of creating box office smash hits - particularly in recent years. Disney also has a very strong company brand and has been a major part of people's childhoods for generations, with movies like Snow White...

Most Disney villains are afflicted by some kind of comeuppance at the end of the story, yet a rare few mysteriously escape all punishment. I grew up watching a lot of Disney movies, and the standard formula is that the universe will conspire to strike down a villain if the heroes are too pure to kill them. In softer circumstances, they will go to prison for their crimes. The best Disney villains are remembered for their dramatic, unapologetic villainy, which would make it almost satisfying to see them go free.

However, these fan-favorite Disney villains also tend to be the ones killed in a dramatic final battle, while more understated characters get away with it. The most evil Disney villain plans are essential parts of their stories, but the implication is that people will be punished for truly evil acts. The best endings of Disney and Pixar movies understand what...

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney has been known to include some darker elements in their family-friendly animated features. While Disney is known for its high-quality films aimed at young audiences, it has never avoided including dark aspects that pushed the age rating to its limits. Most of these darker stories were featured in the features released throughout the 20th century, although some of the more recent releases have occasionally featured dark moments, storytelling, or visuals.

These darker elements vary from scary villains to complex themes to terrifying visuals. These moments not only pushed the limitations of its age limit but also showed their young audiences the power of complex and darker storytelling while remaining mostly family-friendly. Some of these moments in Disney films stood out as especially dark.

The Pink Elements From Dumbo Disney Pushed the Limits of the G Rating...

The Twisted Childhood Universe continues to subvert fairy tale tropes with Pinocchio: Unstrung. The upcoming slasher drops a new poster revealing the titular character unshackled with "nothing holding him back."

The filmmakers of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey released new details about Pinocchio: Unstrung, a reimagining of the children's fantasy novel but with a very dark turn. Bloody Disgusting dropped the film's new poster with an exciting confirmation: the doll for the titular marionette will be crafted by FX artist Todd Masters, whose long line of credits includes makeup and prosthetics for Child's Play, Slither, and Tales from the Crypt. The poster teases what could be Pinocchio's first kill on the loose; the victim could very well be Geppetto if the film leans on the premise of the Italian novel.

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Disney has been making feature-length animated films for over 80 years. Fans commonly like to separate the studio's output into seven distinct eras based on the key creatives involved, the animation techniques used, and the creative and critical success the studio achieved. These eras include the popular Disney Renaissance of the 1990s and the Disney Revival era, which the studio has been in since 2009. The era that started it all and launched Disney's dominance of the feature animation space was the Disney Golden Age.

The Disney Golden Age lasted from 1937, with the release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 1942, with the release of Bambi. It consisted of five films and marked Disney's transition from animated shorts to standalone feature films. It was an era defined by innovations and experimentation that was cut short by the outbreak of World War 2. All five of the films in the Golden Age are...

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Soon after the birth of Mickey Mouse, one animator raised Walt Disney Productions far beyond Walt’s expectations. That animator also led a union war that almost destroyed the company. Art Babbitt worked for the Disney studio throughout the 1930s and up to 1941, years in which he and Walt were driven to elevate animation as an art form, as seen in Snow White, Pinocchio, and Fantasia. But as America emerged from the Great Depression, labor unions spread across Hollywood. Disney fought the unions while Babbitt embraced them. Soon, angry Disney cartoon characters graced picket signs as hundreds of artists went out on strike…

The press called them “Loyalists.” But there were many reasons why hundreds of nonstriking Disney artists drove to work the morning of May 28, 1941. Dumbo and Bambi would not be completed without them. They also shared a gratitude toward Walt, who...

Megan Leavey Bleecker Street Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite Written by: Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, Tim Lovestedt Cast: Kate Mara, Ramón Rodríguez, Tom Felton, Bradley Whitford, Will Patton, Sam Keeley, Common, Edie Falco Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, Opens: June 9, 2017 When I was a kid I thought that Norman Ferguson and Tee He’s “Pinocchio” was […]

The post Megan Leavey Review: Could have you in tears of joy appeared first on Shockya.com.

As we continue on, I need to once again clarify that if this list was “Joshua Gaul’s 50 Favorite Movie Musicals,” it’d be a quite a different list. But, if my tastes determined what is definitive, I’d be asking you all to consider Aladdin as a brilliant piece of filmmaking and wax nostalgic about my love for Batteries Not Included and Flight of the Navigator (not for the musicals list, of course). Much to my dismay, my tastes are not universal. I’d like to think my research methods are.

courtesy of themoviescene.co.uk

30. Annie (1982)

Directed by John Huston

Signature Song: “Tomorrow” (http://youtu.be/Yop62wQH498)

Originally a 1924 comic strip, the beloved stage musical about a red-haired orphan girl was brought to the big screen in 1982 and directed by John Huston (yes, that John Huston – director of The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen, not to...

Saludos Amigos

Directed by Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, William Roberts

Written by Homer Brightman, Bill Cottrell, Dick Huemer, Joe Grant, Harold Reeves, Ted Sears, Webb Smith, Roy Williams, Ralph Wright

Considering Saludos Amigos in comparison with its follow-up, The Three Caballeros, is akin to analyzing the pregame to the Super Bowl. (Our guest, Jeff Heimbuch, may disagree but will surely appreciate comparing these two movies to such a titanic worldwide event.) I’m often very vocal about not enjoying Disney’s release strategy for some of their lesser animated films—or, if you like, films they consider to be lesser even if the fans of those films are legion—specifically how they combine films in a Blu-ray combo pack. If you like Pocahontas and want it on Blu-ray, great! You’re cool if the film is packaged with its direct-to-dvd sequel, yeah? Well, you don’t have a choice,...

The Three Caballeros

Directed by Norman Ferguson

Written by Homer Brightmen, Ernest Terrazas, Ted Sears, Bil Peet, Ralph Wright, Elmer Plummer, Roy Williams, William Cottrell, Del Connell, and James Bodrero

Is objectivity possible in analyzing art? Is there a way to define what is and isn’t successful, what is and isn’t good, in a work of creative blood, sweat, and tears? Is there a way to completely divorce yourself from the subjective, from the past, when watching a film, for example? Maybe I’m biting off more than I can chew here, especially since I ask all of these questions in reference to The Three Caballeros, of all things, but after our podcast, I began to consider these ideas anew. While I found the film slight if somewhat charming, I was compelled to ponder the idea of subjectivity versus objectivity thanks to our guest, Jeff Heimbuch, who spoke...

Fantasia

Directed by Samuel Armstrong; James Algar; Bill Roberts and Paul Satterfield; Ben Sharpsteen and David Hand; Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, and Ford Beebe; T. Hee and Norm Ferguson; & Wilfred Jackson

Starring Deems Taylor

A few weeks ago, I read a great article by Drew McWeeny of HitFix wherein, while describing how his two children responded to one of the first and most important Disney live-action films, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he posed this question: are Disney movies automatically “for kids”? This is, unfortunately, a very common criticism levied by people who either should know better or don’t educate themselves on the history of film, let alone Disney films. You know what criticism I mean: “Oh, that’s just for kids.” “It’s a kids’ movie. Who cares?” Sometimes, when I nitpick some aspect of a Disney film, whether it’s live-action or animated, I hear that complaint. Why...

Blu-ray Review

Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD combo)

Fantasia

Directed by: James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe, Norm Ferguson, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen

Cast: Leopold Stokowski

Running Time: 2 hr 5 min

Rating: G

Due Out: November 30, 2010

Plot: Seven classical pieces of music are animated in a film that’s meant to be the visual representation of what you hear when listening to these pieces.

Who’S It For? Unlike most animated films, this requires a more mature audience. Though there’s nothing objectionable in the material, it might be dull for kids.

Movie:

The most experimental of any of Disney’s animated feature films, Fantasia tells seven stories, all set to music. The most famous is The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Mickey Mouse wearing a red robe and blue hat covered in stars. Even people who haven’t seen the...