Watziznehm: I love The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers Down Under! Has anyone seen the Disney version of Robin Hood? The old animated one with the animals playing the parts. In my opinion that movie rocks!

I agree with the Robin Hood lovers. It was always one of my favorites as a kid. Robin himself is of course an irresistable hero, but then the movie is so full of love, fun, songs, and excitement. My other favorite Disney films are Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, and Beauty and the Beast. Most of those aren't the usual favorites, but I loved them.

I know! The main thing that I love about the movie is that it proves that a guy and a girl can be friends without them having something more.

I'm like this with a guy friend that I have and we watched this movie at home and he indicated to me that we are a lot like the characters Jesse and Leslie. And it really is inspiring in that way to our friendship. It also made us cry and we appreciated each other more after the movie ended.

yeah, that's just what I mean!
I have been really inspired by it for the book I am writing and for life.....I have friends like Jesse.
and the story is so much like real life that it's fun to watch because I feel like I am in the story myself! It's almost nostalgic for me because I have had friends like Jesse or Leslie and it reminds me of that.

Disney movies:

Bambi was the first one I saw (in a drive-in no less!), so it has a special place in my heart. Other favorites include Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast, and The Rescuers Down Under (which I also think is better than the original).

The Lion King is another favorite. In many ways, it and Beauty did to traditional animation what Star Wars did for live-action movies: a revolution in special effects.

I still have a Simba stuffed animal that I got when I was three!

Some long-time friends' daughter had an old Nala costume that she wore just about all the time until she outgrew it. They have an old home movie showing her singing "Hakuna Matata" at a very young age.

I will admit that The Rescuers Down Under has more epicness to it but am i the only one who really likes the original Rescuers? Anytime I want to feel better it's a great laugh for me for some reason. IDK. I love Rescuers Down Under too.

I also love American Tail!

LH: I know I tend to make friends with guys that are a lot like Jesse and the movie does have that sense of real life to it.

American Tail is good but it's not Disney, I think it's a Don Bluth film (as are The Secret of NIMH and many others).

The Rescuers Down Under is much better than the first but I still think it's far too stereotypical of Australia. It's not like that. Although the villain's pet goanna is totally awesome.

American Tail is good but it's not Disney, I think it's a Don Bluth film (as are The Secret of NIMH and many others).

I thought this was Past Movies? Not Past Disney Movies. lol!

Yeah I know it's not Disney. It was something that i came up with in my mind. It's Universal and so is Land Before Time. I love Land Before Time.

Y'all do know there is a topic specifically for Disney, yes? Not that you can't discuss it here, but it's heavy duty over there. (It was hidden on SO's 4th page.)

Yeah the land before time is cute. One of the dinosauars really annoys me though. well at least on the new tv series of it.

I used to like Land Before Time, but not really anymore. Has anyone seen The Brave Little Toaster? I thought those were really depressing.

^I LOVED Land Before Time...still do now . I just bought a few tapes off of ebay actually . I kinda liked Brave Little Toaster when I was younger but not too much. Now when I watch it it seems weird and depressing.

Alright, well I've already posted this review on FB, but I thought I would go ahead and share it here.

-------------------------------------

Well, last night I was finally able to see James Cameron's "Avatar". I went in with moderately low expectations for the overall story, but was hoping to be blown away by the visuals. Thankfully (or not so thankfully depending on your view), I was not disappointed.

I feel their is no reason to restate the plot seeing as how everyone has at least heard what the basic story is. From here on out, I'll break down the basic components of the movie and review each one before giving an overall score.

-----------------------------------

Story:

The story is basically what you would expect from all the other reviews floating around: predictable, yet entertaining. It was easy to see where every scene was going: from Jake wandering through the forest of Pandora before stumbling upon a predatory creature to Ney'tiri telling Jake about a special rider that brought peace to the Na'vi (guess what happens later in the story?)

The only somewhat unpredictable part of the film was the end battle, though even that sequence had it's "of course that was going to happen" moments. The story is definitely fun, but terribly predictable (something that Cameron's earlier Sci-Fi film, "Aliens" completely avoided) and heavy handed on the whole "save the environment" message. The undermining green message only gets two really big preachy moments in the film, which unfortunately feel rather out of place to the rest of the film.

----------------

Acting:

A truly mixed bag here. Some of the actors do a good job with their characters, though most come off as too stiff (think the Star Wars prequels but with a little more range of emotion). Sigorney Weaver unfortunately is one of the worst when it comes to rather bland acting, especially in the first half of the film. Sam Worthington does a good job as Jake, giving you a character you can actually relate to in a way. All the the other human characters give decent performances.

Now surprisingly or not so surprisingly, the best performances are given by the "performance capture" characters: Jake in Avatar form and Ney'tiri. After getting over the initial impression of seeing giant blue cat/human aliens, the avatar and Na'vi characters actually blend right in to the film to the point that you're not thinking "Oh, that looks so fake!".

One little problem though with Mr. Worthington: his accent is all over the map. Sometimes he sounds like a guy from NY while at other times his Australian accent is quite heavy. Same thing with Zoe Saldana as Ney'tiri. Sometimes she speaks in broken english like the other Na'vi while sometimes she has an almost Valley Girl accent.

----------------

Special Effects:

Alright, this is really what the film is all about and all I can say is..... WOW! Even on a small screen without the 3-D vision this film looks amazing. There are a few shaky blue screen moments throughout the film when live action actors are standing in-front of CGI backgrounds, but these are few and far between.

Where the film truly excels is with the Na'vi, avatars and the wild life/locations on Pandora. Obviously a lot of time was spent on fine tuning the production design and it shows. The whole world of Pandora looks and feels real. The creatures on Pandora while alien, have just enough of a familiarity to them that they still work (the Banshees are the best creature designs).

The Na'vi and avatars were created by using "performance capture", an advanced version of the same technology that brought us Gollum and Davy Jones (from PotC 2-3). Thankfully, the Na'vi and avatars look and perform like real actors. No blank eyes or too fluid movement, the animation is good enough that you sometimes forget that they are completely CGI creations.

The military air craft are also handled well, looking both extremely cool and realistic. The mechanical battle suits are some of the coolest sci-fi creations in a long time.

---------------

Score:

Alright, I've already pretty much said what I had to say about the soundtrack on my Blog (go read it, hint, hint), but I'll add a few more thoughts here now that I know how the score works in the film.

As I figured, the score fits the film very well, though there are a few moments where the music could have been better. The score is still "James Horner's Greatest Hits" with practically everything he's ever done thrown into the score. While this is annoying in-and-of itself, what's really disheartening is the fact that Horner failed to give the Na'vi and Pandora a distinct sound. Instead we get African-esque singing and percussion with synths.... lots and lots of synths.

Also most infuriating is the fact that the end credit suite is mostly made up of Leona Lewis singing "I See You" with only 2 and a half minutes of score finishing up the credits. If that wasn't bad enough, the end credits music is simply pieces of the Na'vi music taken from earlier in the film. GAH!!!!!

-------------------

Of being alien, yet familiar:

Understandably when you have aliens that are main characters you try and give them traits that are familiar to the audience so that you can relate to them. This is good.... when handled well. Unfortunately, the Na'vi come off as simply a cat-like, blue skinned cross between African tribes and Native Americans. From their skimpy cloths and piercings (African) to their ceremonies and ideas about the spirit world (native American), they are too familiar to be taken as a truly alien race.

Something else I noticed that no one else seems to mention: the sound effects in "Avatar" are way too familiar. Several of the dinosaur roars/cries from "Jurassic Park" make their way into the sounds of the Pandora creatures. Also, the black lizard/cat things that chase Jake near the beginning of the film sound like a combination of a dog and a hyena.

---------------

The Battle:

Once again, Wow. The end battle between the Na'vi and the military is truly epic and is nearly flawless when it comes to effects and staging. After the initial introduction to Pandora, the final battle is worth seeing the film alone. It's truly that good.

Oh yes, and the evil marine Commander gets a great death scene at the end.

---------------

Content warnings:

Alright, first off their is a TON of cursing. Pretty much every word that could fit into a PG-13 film is said at least once. Why all the cursing? I really have no idea. Most of it is completely unnecessary.

Since the Na'vi basically wear only loin cloths, there's a lot of blue skin on view. Though, unlike what some sites have said *coughpluggedIncough* it's not very problematic. Their big blue cat aliens, not very attractive if you ask me....

There is one quick make-out scene where Jake (in avatar form) and Nay'tiri kiss and hug. Nothing graphic is shown or heard.

There is a good deal of bloodless violence, especially during the end battle. Lots of humans get shot through with arrows while Na'vi are ruthlessly gunned down. There are also a few bloody scenes.

And there is a good deal of strange mysticism throughout the film. Be forewarned.

---------------

Closing:

Despite the films flaws, I highly enjoyed watching "Avatar". Is it an instant classic worthy of being called the best film of the decade? Heck no! Not even close!! But it is a grand tour de force of special effects and how far CGI has come since the early days way, way back in the late 70's.

So, if you watch it, don't go in expecting much. Just enjoy it for a fun ride through an amazing CGI world.... which really, at it's base, is what the whole film is.

One last thing: the film translates very well to a small screen minus the 3-D. So, if you missed it in the theater (as I did), it will still look very impressive at home.

---------

Rating

3 1/2 out of 5

Did someone say Aliens?

"Game over, man! Game over!"

"We're in the pipe. 5 x 5"

"Spunkmeyer! Spunkmeyer...?"

"Let's Roooock!"

And of course the awesome trailer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t08xyZi_3-Y

I could go on like this for days, so I'll stop myself short. See what you started PC004? Seriously though I'd like to see Avatar. I missed it in the theater and won't get to experience the "big screen" effect so many folks have told me about, but if it looks as good as you're saying it is then I'll probably rent it one night. I'm always a sucker for a giant battle scene and if the one at the end of the film is that good then that'll just be icing on the cake. I have to agree with you that I hate when movies get a bit too...message-y. I think it'd surprise Hollywood to know most folks just like seeing a good story and not so much having a message crammed down their throats in the process.

I finished watching the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring last night. It was excellent. Of course they changed some thing but it is one of the best book to movie adaptions I have seen. I loved it. The only thing I was upset about was that they combined the beginning of The Two Towers with the end of the movie. I didn't start reading The Two Towers til this morning so I was bawling when

@Glenstorm the Great: Wait, are you saying you haven’t seen The Fellowship of the Ring before! Or any of the Lord of the Rings movies!!!! How have you survived for the last eight and a half years without seeing it!!!