Disnographic of the Month - Cats

Although Disney started with a mouse, believe it or not there are quite a lot of cats throughout the films. Here are some thoughts about my findings:

• I counted Si & Am as one cat, since they are, after all, Siamese twins. Also I didn't want to skew the data.
• Surprisingly, the number of good cats far outweighs the number of bad ones. I suppose cats typically get a bad reputation, which is why the bad ones may be more memorable. Make sure to vote for your 'favorite' bad cat in the poll!
• When categorizing these cats into wild and domestic, I just couldn't figure out the Cheshire Cat. Any opinions?
• I'm pretty stoked about the way I presented this info. In case you needed more proof that I truly am a Disnerd.

Laura's Top 5, so far

Over the past months I've often been asked which Disney movies are my favorite. Well, my answer is slightly biased due to my ardent devotion to the Renaissance era (1989-1999). So, since we haven't gotten there yet, I thought I'd list my top 5, out of the ones I've watched and reviewed thus far--all the movies from 1939-1988.

 5. Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
why i love it 30 words or less: this one just edged out a few others, because remembering that this was made in the 1930s, the art, storytelling and music are simply groundbreaking.

4. 101 Dalmatians
why i love it in 30 words or less: i only need one word to explain this one: PUPPIES!

3. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
why i love it in 30 words or less: Watching this movie is like revisiting my childhood, a place I love to go. I'm a sucker for nostalgia.

2. Lady & the Tramp
why i love it in 30 words or less: Racist cats aside, this movie was quite sweet. Considering they only have 80 minutes, the love story is well-developed. And the iconic spaghetti scene? Genius!

1. Cinderella
why i love it in 30 words or less: I've always had sentimental reasons for loving Cinderella, but now I also appreciate its humor, beautiful animation, great music, and message of hope.

Coming soon: my picks for favorite/least favorite hero/heroine, villain, sidekick, songs and more!

What are your favorites from the first half of the Disney canon?

#20: The Worst One So Far

(c) Disney

 The Aristocats, 1970
watched January 15, 2012

In case you're like me and never bothered to see The Aristocats, you are not missing much. Needless to say, this was one of the worst Disney animated films I've ever watched. We haven't gotten to Home on the Range though. So I am thinking perhaps we haven't hit rock bottom yet. Yikes.

I'm not quite sure what to say about a film that I really didn't like. I've maintained a fairly optimistic voice on this blog, but it's hard not to be critical of this one. Watching this film reminded me of all the reasons I love the other ones, and how this one fell short on so many levels.

An engaging story
One of the strengths of animated films is that the story is established before any drawing happens. This is why the best animated films are so seamless. All the editing happens in advance, and only the crucial, important moments are captured. Aristocats "rambles" on in ways that made me wonder why certain sequences were kept in. The scenes when Edgar the butler is being chased by the two dogs feel especially random and unimportant. I found myself wanting to get back to the main characters, Duchess and Thomas, instead of wasting time on the gags of Edgar crashing into a windmill and repeatedly losing his umbrella. Who cares about that? 

Characters that you can relate to (or, for you grammar snobs, "to which you can relate")
The main character is a Parisian cat (with a mysteriously Hungarian accent) who lives in a mansion with her extremely wealthy mistress. Duchess is pampered, proper and poised, with no experience in the 'real world'. While this bears striking resemblance to Lady and the Tramp, Duchess does not possess the same qualities of Lady's vulnerability and charm, and I felt little sympathy for her. Her character does not seem to have any emotions; she is neither happy nor sad nor frightened enough for me to feel connected to her story. Additionally, Thomas O'Malley, the street-wise alley cat Duchess meets, seems two-dimensional and predictable. Been there, done that.

A threatening and complex villain
Pretty much the entire plot is ruined when we are introduced to the villain. The butler, named Edgar Balthazar, overhears his mistress Adelaide Bonfamille creating her will, indicating that her entire fortune is to go to Duchess and her kittens. The jealous, greedy butler decides to take action so that he can inherit her wealth. Now, if I were in this situation, I would probably just kill the cats and get it over with. End of story, right? He could have easily poisoned them with something more deadly than sleeping pills. So, when Edgar instead "catnaps" them and drops them off into a river (inside a basket, so they wouldn't drown), I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel on the whole film. Why go any further when the whole threat rests on the stupidest villain move in the history of villains?

Memorable melodies
My favorite Disney animated films contain some of the best songs. Their melodies are not only the kind that can get stuck in your head for days, but they also embody the heart of the film's story, express the characters' innermost thoughts, and captivate the audience. In Aristocats, all we get is a jazzy rendition of "Everybody Wants to be a Cat," performed by a gang of racially stereotyped alley cats. Don't get me started on the "Chinese" Siamese cat who plays the piano with a couple pairs of chopsticks, while singing "ching chong" speak. Ugh.

Beautiful animation
After watching films like Bambi and Sleeping Beauty, the artistry in Aristocats is extremely disappointing. There is something compelling about how most Disney films use color, brush strokes, and shapes in a style that can only work with animation. It creates a sense of wonder and fantasy, further pulling the audience into the story. Aristocats is, in a word, sloppy. The lines were rough, the colors rather garish, and the backgrounds were stiff and boring. The characters are portrayed as if the animators were rushing through the drawings. At the end of the day, the medium did nothing to serve the purpose of telling an already uninteresting story any better.

So, ladies and gentlemen, now you know that yes, even a Disnerd such as myself can actually say something negative about a Disney movie. This makes me even more eager to get to the Renaissance movies! Can't wait for March to come!

Letting the cat(s) out of the bag

(c) Disney, thanks disney.wikia.com

I'm full of puns when it comes to the topic of race, apparently.

So... anyway.

Since Aunt Sarah's Siamese cats, Si and Am, are the first (and only, for several decades) Asian characters in the Disney animated canon, I thought it important to write a post about how they are portrayed.

It seems like Disney held nothing back in bringing every negative Asian racial stereotype to life in this pair. Their extremely slanted eyes and buck teeth seem to underline their overall suspicious demeanor. They speak a very heavy "pidgin" dialect which accentuates their foreignness. That there are two of them could even imply that all Siamese [cats] are the same.

Si and Am's song "We are Siamese" is unfortunately quite catchy, probably the most memorable in the film. I know that as a kid that's the one that stuck with me. But its tune and harmonies mimic a certain oriental musical style, and here it is used to give a chilling, uncomfortable feeling.

Most of all, Si and Am are undoubtedly villains. Even while Aunt Sarah seems to have a change of heart at the end of the film, there is nothing redeeming about Si and Am. We have seen racial stereotypes in previous movies (such as Dumbo and Peter Pan, which I never got to talk about), but this is the first time the stereotyped characters have been pegged as outright villains.

So what do we do when a good film like Lady & the Tramp features such offensive racial stereotypes as Si and Am's characters?

I should mention that most of the other animals in Lady & the Tramp also have distinct ethnic accents, which are associated with their personalities. Jock is a feisty Scottish terrier. Trusty is a slow-speaking, old-fashioned Southern hound. There's also an English bulldog, a Mexican chihuahua and a Russian borzoi (I had to look that one up, definitely never heard of that one before.) The filmmakers made a deliberate choice to give each animal character certain traits that would make them stand out and give them more of a personality to act and animate to. This seems to make sense when you're dealing with a lot of animal characters that could be hard to differentiate from one another.

But I think the offense here lies in how Disney allows viewers to make assumptions about the people groups that are associated with their characters. Having interacted with not a few ignorant people, the broken "Engrish" that the Siamese cats use brings back bad memories of people making fun of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans alike. It perpetuates the idea that because someone sounds Asian or even just looks Asian, they are somehow less civilized, educated, and decidedly "other." Similarly, the mischievous nature of Si and Am harken back the idea of "yellow peril" which was definitely fresh in the minds of Americans at that time, less than a decade after World War II ended. I find it unfortunate that Disney did not use their influence to reverse the impact that World War II had on attitudes towards Asians, but rather enforce negative stereotypes.

Although this movie was made nearly 60 years ago, the stereotypes of Asians portrayed in Lady and the Tramp still linger. This has led to events as terrible and violent as the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, and as embarrassing and ignorant as the YouTube "Asian rant" by a UCLA student just this year. And because of that, we must recognize the ways timeless films like this shape our ideas about race and ethnicity.

#15: Isn't it unromantic?

Lady & the Tramp, 1955
watched November 27, 2011

(c) Disney, thanks disneyscreencaps.com

While most Disney films get their material from children's books or classic fairy tales, Lady & the Tramp is the first original story made for an animated feature. The film cleverly portrays a dog's point of view, from the camera's lowered perspective, to the way that Lady's owners are referred to simply as 'Jim Dear' and 'Darling'. This also translates over to the biggest threats in the story: the dog-hating Aunt Sarah, her mischievous and creepy Siamese cats, and the fear of being taken to the pound. I particularly enjoy this movie is because I cannot resist cute animals, which I think I have mentioned before.

But what everyone remembers about Lady & the Tramp is the beautiful love story between Lady, the sheltered cocker spaniel who lives with a well-to-do couple, and the Tramp, a 'footloose and collar-free' mutt. (By the way, Tramp is not technically his real name, which is totally what I thought watching this movie as a child. He actually never calls himself by a specific name, which fits in well with his character.) Not insignificantly, we see here the first well-developed "romance" in the Disney animated canon. Curious that it should be about two dogs rather than a human princess and prince.

Lady and the Tramp are the quintessential star-crossed lovers. They embody the adage 'opposites attract' to a tee. Lady, naive and fragile, hasn't experienced much outside the comfort of her family's home. In contrast, the Tramp has seen it all. He lives anywhere he pleases, goes anywhere he pleases. Their obvious differences amuse and intrigue each other.

The relationship begins with excitement and wonder. The Tramp woos Lady with promises of fun and fulfillment in his adventurous lifestyle. When she doubts her place in the family at the arrival of a baby, Tramp uses that vulnerability to show her that there's more to life. And it certainly does seem appealing. After all, who wouldn't be smitten after a moonlit Italian dinner, a long walk through the park, and an... ahem... enchanting night spent together? But then Lady is caught and taken to the pound, and she learns that the freedom the Tramp promises is not guaranteed. When the other stray dogs inform her that the Tramp has had his share of flings, Lady believes she's been played.

But as their romance fades, the audience sees love demonstrated in a very different way. In the climax of the film, the Tramp pursues the evil rat to protect the baby, even when he knows that Lady is still angry with him, and that entering the house endangers him to being caught (and he is). This is the moment when love goes beyond empty promises and false ideas of perfection. This love becomes courage and selflessness.

Amidst many fairy tales (including some we've already seen) that portray romantic relationships as the passion between starry-eyed dreamers, the love displayed in Lady and the Tramp isn't just the infatuation of one "Bella Notte." It's an enduring, unselfish love. And that's the best kind of Love Story there is.

A Thankful Disnerd

Since it's Thanksgiving (well, it was last week anyway), I thought I'd write a little bit about what I'm giving thanks for in this "Disnerd" season of my life.

1. Friends - When I began this Disnerd Adventure fourteen weeks ago, I had no idea if anyone would really care what I was doing. And while I'm sure some people think I'm crazy (yes, I know what those looks from my male coworkers mean), I've been joyfully surprised that quite a few friends have come nearly every week to watch these movies with me. I also know a few non-Madison friends who have been following my blog regularly. As silly as this may seem, it's been quite affirming to know that there are people reading this blog and joining in this journey with me. For all these friends, I give thanks.

2. The opportunity to write - The main reason I started this blog is because I enjoy writing and I wanted a fun but constructive way to keep it up. I'm truly loving the time I have each week to sit and reflect on these stories. I'm thankful for the quiet times I have at home, many which are spent researching and writing for this blog.

3. Libraries - Believe it or not, I actually checked the library system to make sure all of the movies were available before I even started this blog. (I actually only own about six or seven of the animated Disney movies.) I am very thankful for the library system in south central Wisconsin, which allows me to view these films without spending a dime. Also a shout-out to the friends who have lent me their nice, non-scratched-up DVD editions for a few of these movies.

4. Walt Disney - In my research I'm learning a lot about the man behind these movies, Walt Disney himself. He was a brilliant storyteller and artist, and I would be remiss not to give him credit for impacting not only my life but our culture for the past 80 years. I don't believe Disney was infallible, but it's hard to deny that he created some of the most memorable stories and characters ever to grace the screen. I'm thankful for the legacy he leaves in his films and the ways they bring joy to my life.

5. The Ultimate Story - Perhaps some may think I'm silly for loving Disney's "fairytale endings," but I think it only reflects my love for the greatest story, the one about a perfect Creator who became a man. This is the story that brings us life, joy and hope to the fullest. I am thankful for the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who conquered the greatest villain - death itself, so that those who trust in him can live "happily ever after,"* not just in some far distant future, but right here, right now. As I've journeyed through watching and writing about these films through the lens of this Good News, the beauty and truth of this Story has me giving thanks every day.

*Perhaps that term may strike a nerve with you. Well, let's dialogue about what "happily ever after" really means! Count on a future blog post about this!


And now, the Disnerd Thanksgiving celebration

Thanksgiving was a challenging holiday to Disnefy since the main tradition mostly includes...well, eating. Fortunately, the movie this week features one of the most iconic dinner scenes of all time, Disney or otherwise. So, in Lady & the Tramp style, I hosted a spaghetti and [turkey] meatballs Thanksgiving dinner. Don't worry, no kissing was involved. Kind of wish we had accordion music though. I may or may not have busted out singing "Bella Notte" at some point.

I was excited because this was the first time I really hosted a dinner where we sat at the table! All of this stuff is my roommate's, but it looks quite fancy doesn't it?

These candles were my own added inspiration. I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot of Mickey-shaped things this year. 

The spaghetti! Yes, the meatballs were homemade with ground turkey. That was the "Thanksgiving" part of the dinner I guess.Quite delicious, if I say so myself!

We were a small, but thankful bunch. :)

Somehow it's much cuter when Lady and the Tramp are slurping up spaghetti. (No, I did not eat my entire dinner this way.)

Happy Thanksgiving!