*Warning: This post contains spoilers for Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.*
101 Dalmatians was released on Blu-Ray/DVD today. I grew up with this movie, and my love for it has only grown. It was one of the few animated Disney films that didn’t include prince and princesses. It was a film where Pongo was the lead, and his human, Roger, was a background character. This movie is a classic, and needs to be in every Disney collection for multiple reasons.
5. The Barking Chain
Be honest. After watching 101 Dalmatians, you wonder if the barking chain really exists when several dogs start barking. You want them to have their own message system because it was essential to the movie. If the barking chain didn’t exist, the puppies may have never lived.
4. Cruella De Vil
Cruella wasn’t a witch. She was simple a woman who loved fur coats. Some of the most nastiest villains are humans. Cruella is at the top with villains because she chooses to skin puppy dogs for a new coat.
3. Heart
The multiple relationships shown in this movie is enough of a reason to watch it. Pongo and Perdita go the distance to find and save their children. They couples show healthy, loving relationships. Then there are the relationships the humans have with the dogs. They are more than just pets, they are family. You want the happiness for this family. Hearts will still sing for joy when Lucky is revealed to be alive and not dead after the hundredth rewatch.
2. Roger
Roger was one of my first loves. What sealed it for me was the scene he created his song about Cruella De Vil. There was something about his attitude I was attracted to at an early age. He may not be classically good looking by Disney standards, but the attitude they gave him all the more appealing.
1. The Puppies are Fandom
As the film goes on, you may come to discover you share many things in common with the puppies personality wise. I believe the younger generation of dogs would have been all over Tumblr if it had existed back then.
***Warning: This contains spoilers to Disney’s Big Hero 6***
I am in love with Big Hero 6. To be honest, I probably fell in love with it during the Disney panel at New York Comic Con…at least I became deeply infatuated with it. The clips they showed with the cast and crew discussing the film had my nerdy heart needing to see this film, and the movie did not disappoint.
Everyone already knows a genius is more than capable of becoming a hero with the Iron Man franchise, but this film showed nerds who are more relatable becoming super heroes. Four out of the six heroes in this film are science students who each have there own quirks. Then there is Fred, the mascot who is a science enthusiast.
Of course it wouldn’t be a Disney or comic book story if there wasn’t some sort of tragedy. It can’t be just a simple tragedy. It has to make the audience become empathetic with what is happening to the characters on the screen. If the audience is only sympathetic, then it is not a great film. This film tore at the heart strings, but what was also beautiful was the science nerds rallying together. No one needs to suffer alone, and the lovable robot, Baymax, comprehended this. It was one of the many things which made him so lovable. He was made to be a healthcare robot.
“Will this stabilize your pubescent mood swings?” – Baymax
However, Baymax became this character so easy to love because Tadashi created him, and it felt as if a piece of him was imparted in this robot. Baymax not only helped with the physical pain, but the emotional pain as well.
“It is all right to cry, crying is a natural response to pain.”- Baymax
The story and characters were fantastic, and one of my favorite elements was how it embraced the comic book scenario. Fred is not just a science enthusiast but also a huge comic nerd. He is the one who points out it is like a comic book. He is all for this becoming the group’s origin story.
“A lunatic in a mask just tried to kill us.” – Go Go
“How cool is that? I mean, it’s scary, obviously, but how cool?” – Fred
The animation was amazing. It was awesome to see how the animators were able to combine both elements of San Francisco and Tokyo together fluidly. What made it even better was the feeling of stepping into a world that comic books hold. There were many times I felt like I was watching a comic book come to life on the big screen.
All I can say now is don’t always follow Fred’s own lifestyle choices especially when it comes to underpants, and even though you may be satisfied with your care it may still hurt afterwards.
*Sugar is not people. Unless it is. Proceed at your own risk.
As I compile my list of spooky movies, the wind outside is roaring and the rain will likely keep the tiny pirates and monsters from coming by this evening. (Oh, well: More candy for meeeee!)
I’m not a fan of excessive gore or torture porn, so you won’t find a lot of the popular horror films of the last decade here. Instead, I go for psychological thrillers, violence in service of the plot, and, weirdly, anything with Christina Ricci.
So, if you’re looking for something to watch this evening in between handing out candy – or later this evening – I have a few suggestions. (Descriptions may include spoilers, though I’ll try to keep them to a minimum.)
The first of my Christina Ricci picks, this Kevin Williamson-Wes Craven joint production is as tongue-in-cheek as the Scream franchise and, if you pick up the unrated version, only slightly less bloody than any of Craven’s many slasher series. But, in this werewolf-in-the-modern-age story, what I love about this movie is how it doesn’t even try to redeem its villain, as so many other stories try to humanize the monsters.
2) Notorious(1946)
Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
Spook Factor: 2 Ghostfaces
Of my three favorite Hitchcock films (The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes are the other two.), this post-war psychological thriller is guaranteed to stay with you long after the credits roll. While the specifics of the plot are dated, the tension that is artfully ramped up over the course of the movie will eat away at you – as will your curiosity over what becomes of the film’s villain after he’s last seen on screen.
3) The Addams Family (1991)
Starring: Raul Julia, Angelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci, Joan Cusack
Spook Factor: 1 Ghostface
The next of my favorite Christina Ricci movies, I’m hard-pressed to pick the first of the two theatrical Addams movies over the second (The summer camp! The baby jokes! David Krumholtz!), but the first outing of the creepy and kooky family on the big screen stands out because it holds up so well as both a comedy and an artifact of its time. As a little girl who loved both Barbies and the Beetlejuice cartoon, this was the first movie I’d ever seen that reflected my interests in a way that didn’t make me feel like my interests were completely out of place.
4) The Burbs (1989)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
Spook Factor: 4 Ghostfaces
How terrifying can a Tom Hanks movie be? Let me put it this way: This movie so scared me as a child that I blocked it out for years, convincing myself it was a nightmare I’d had until I discovered it was real as a teenager. It has a cast full of big 80s Hollywood names, and the humor walks the fine line between morbid and ‘how did they get that past the censors’ in this dark comedy that will make you think twice about your neighbors.
5) Penelope(2006)
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Catherine O’Hara, Richard E. Grant, Peter Dinklage, Nick Frost
Spook Factor: 1 Ghostface
This is, frankly, more a fairytale than a cautionary tale, but as it concerns disguises – and as the denouement takes place on Halloween – I’ll include it. It’s not the strongest plot or the tightest written of these films (and it pales next to Ricci’s turn in Sleepy Hollow), but it’s a good choice if you find yourself settling in for a Halloween evening with a pint of ice cream, and you don’t want to scare yourself silly tonight.
6) Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Starring: Bing Crosby
Spook Factor: 5 Ghostfaces
I was never the sort of person who hid behind the couch when I was scared – until I saw Disney’s animated short of Washington Irving’s classic short story. If you’re a fan of all subsequent variations on the story (Theatrical releases, stage, TV movies and the TV show), you’ll enjoy this. And if you’re wondering why I deemed it the spookiest of all the entries here, watch it and consider it was intended for children when it was released 64 years ago.
7) From Hell (2001)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm
Spook Factor: 4 Ghostfaces
Into every life a little true crime must fall, and this adaptation of a graphic novel investigation of the Butcher of White Chapel, Jack the Ripper, is my pick. It’s heavy on gore and while, truly, the most frightening element might strike you as Graham’s attempt at an English accent, the genuinely terrifying aspect of this story is knowing the British government might have turned a blind-eye toward one of their own in order to save face.
8) Fright Night (2011)
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots
Spook Factor: 3 Ghostfaces
While I love the 1985 original version of this movie, the 2011 remake arguably has a better plot and far better special effects. If you have the time this weekend, it’s worth doing a double-feature of both movies, but if you have only time for one this week, make it the remake and settle in for some genuine laughs and a few cringe-and-giggle moments.
We Watch for the Plot 