Originally Posted By Disney and beyond For all the great films that seem to always be in the limelight, there are sure to be a few great ones that will be lost in the mix. I have always thought The Great Mouse Detective seems to get lost in the mix. Vincent Price pulls off a great Villian Performance, and the film has many great moments, my personal fav being the whole idea of Ratigan's planned death for Basil, including his escape.
Originally Posted By Route66 For me it's Fantasia 2000. On Imax this film was AMAZING! I can't wait for the blu-ray.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Brother Bear. It's one of the few movies that I can watch over and over and over (I've probably seen it at least 10 times in the past couple years, compared to most where I watch them once or twice and they sit on the shelf for a long time). Maybe it's a guy thing, but there's just something there that really connects to me and the whole thing really just works. I'm not really one to get teary-eyed in a movie, but Brother Bear gets me every single time. From what I can tell, most people didn't really like it a whole ton, but there's nobody out there who really opposes it either. It's just one of those things that reached out and connected with me right away. Other honorable mentions would have to go to Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pocahontas. Hunchback just took the entire animated genre to a new level. It's the best overall cinematic presentation of any animated movie that I can think of. The only one that even comes close would be Wall-E, but it still had its flaws. Hunchback took a great story and presented it in a very grand way, with great visuals and music that can't be beat (I'm still waiting to see them do a stage version of it in the US. I'm hoping that they give the ensemble handbells and work that into it). Similar to Brother Bear, Pocahontas just sort of connected with me. The music is really good, and it does a good job of telling a story in a complete manner (even if it's a fictional interpretation of a factual story). It also raised the bar on the cinematic presentation of animation, with some really creative scenes thrown in there. For some reason, none of these films are terribly popular with the general public, but they really just seemed to be very well done and did a good job of connecting with me.
Originally Posted By Disney and beyond Hunchback and Pocahontas are both imfamous because they drastically alter their source material. That is the reason that they have a bad reputation.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Hunchback and Pocahontas are both imfamous because they drastically alter their source material. That is the reason that they have a bad reputation.<< Now The Little Mermaid, on the other hand ...
Originally Posted By Disney and beyond Pocahontas gets a ton of slack because it is based on history, so deriving from the source material really screwed things up. Hunchback was so drastic. The Villian of the book wasn't even the villian in the movie. With Mermaid, the story isn't as beloved as some others, and It keeps the basic jist, just adding a villian and a happy ending.
Originally Posted By Route66 Brother Bear is my favorite if WDFA films. The story is very good, there is a transformation scene and the art is breath taking. The Frank Lloyd Wright/Arts and Crafts style they used is beautiful. I bought both of the Giclee's from Brother Bear, they are just gorgeous.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead For me, the underrated winner is "Rescuers Down Under." An amazing score, great voices, great REAL scary villain, authentically Australian, and just beautiful all over. The flying scene with the eagle is my favorite scene from a Disney film. And call me crazy, but my runner-up is "Lion King 1 1/2." I adore this movie. It' creative and funny. It gets a bad rap cuz it's surrounded by, you know, other cheapquel crap, but I think it's kind of brilliant. Ooooh. I just remembered the one that drives me crazy. "Teacher's Pet." For the life of me, I can't understand why this movie didn't make $300 million. I love it to death, even though (and especially because) its so beautifully uglyl. The songs are so good, Nathan Lane is insane. Uh. So misunderstood. I also think "Melody Time" and "Make Mine Music" don't get the credit they deserve. Poor Johnny Fedora...
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Ooooh. I just remembered the one that drives me crazy. "Teacher's Pet." << I was going to put that one as my second choice. Had people gotten over the art style, they would've seen a brilliantly subversive movie.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros "Hunchback and Pocahontas are both imfamous because they drastically alter their source material. That is the reason that they have a bad reputation." I know that this is a problem, but I guess I was able to get past that and just accept them as purely fictional original stories. If you pay no attention to the fact that they are supposed to follow a certain formula laid out long ago, they are really quite clever. Nobody ever seems to mind that Ariel didn't die at the end of The Little Mermaid or that Tinkerbell wasn't a total twit in Peter Pan (though she did certainly have a bit of an attitude problem). If people can put the other (probably more accurate) versions of the stories aside and just take the movies for what they are, I think they would really enjoy them.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA 'Hunchback of Notre Dame' is an under-rated movie and is really terrific. Had I been the director, I would have made it even more of a drama. While I enjoyed the gargoyles that spoke to Quasimodo in his mind, I would have toned down the comedy, and cut the song 'A Guy Like You.' The opening sequence 'Bells of Notre Dame' is sensational, as is 'Hell Fire.' I also really enjoy 'Tarzan.' Again, the opening sequence 'Two Worlds One Family' is superb -- which leads right into the sequence with Tarzan being attacked by the leopard and saved by the mother gorilla. Beautifully done. Also the sequence where Jane is chased by the herd of insane baboons, and ultimately saved by Tarzan is fantastic. 'Trashin' the Camp' borders on annoying, but overall, 'Tarzan' is another under-rated movie.
Originally Posted By basil fan There are so many films that I think get less than their due, partly because promos tend to play up the mega-hits. But my top choice for underrated Disney animated feature is Treasure Planet. It is magnificent, yet either despised or ignored. Worst of all, Disney decided it would flop and told the public so, thus creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. >The Villian of the book wasn't even the villian in the movie. I don't think I can agree with that statement about Hunchback. I purposely read the book before I saw the movie, and I thought Frollo was the villain, well, as much as there was a villain in the book. He certainly wasn't as black and white of a villain as in the Disney version. But he tried to kill Phoebus and molest Esmeralda, he stood by when she and Quasi were tortured, even though both instances were his fault. Only he raised Quasi out of compassion instead of compulsion. Anyhow, that was my take on the book when I read it. Easy Disney Costumes <a href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/disney/costume.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/...ume.html</a>
Originally Posted By Route66 I really enjoyed Treasure Planet until they played a GooGoo Dolls song in it's entirety to some kind of angst ridden montage sequence. I had never seen anything like it and it zapped me right out of the story and fantasy of a very creative film.
Originally Posted By u k fan <<<I really enjoyed Treasure Planet until they played a GooGoo Dolls song in it's entirety to some kind of angst ridden montage sequence. I had never seen anything like it and it zapped me right out of the story and fantasy of a very creative film.>>> For me that's different than having Phil Collins in Tarzan. I never considered hunchback underrated, but then I loved it from the start. It must be me, but I love Treasure Planet and I also find much to like in Home on The Range. I think it's genuinely very funny. With the exception of Chicken Little I think that most of Disney's recent features are underrated!!!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I'm with the OP on The Great Mouse Detective. I really enjoy that one. I love the fact that they weren't afraid to make the hero vain and somewhat unlikable in spots. And I also love the planned-death scene the OP mentioned. I also enjoyed Home on the Range more than I thought I would. Treasure Planet too. And now I have to see Teacher's Pet.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I love the fact that they weren't afraid to make the hero vain and somewhat unlikable in spots.<< That's what I like as well. This is more like Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes than Basil Rathbone's portrayal.
Originally Posted By basil fan I don't have to tell you how much I like Basil and GMD! I also hate, hate, hate the song in Treasure Planet. I mute it every time. I wish more people would give Home on the Range a try. lots of entertainment value there. I wouldn't call Lady and the Tramp underrated, though. It's in my top 5, but I think it is acknowledged as great by both the public and the media. Complete Guide to Disney's Mickey Mouse Shorts <a href="http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/disney/shorts.html" target="_blank">http://www.whatsitsgalore.com/...rts.html</a>
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle Pocahontas gets another vote from me. It's one of my favourite Disney movies ever, actually, and I think it's a shame that it wasn't more well-received. Also, I'll put in another vote for Treasure Planet. I hadn't seen it for years when I watched it 6 months ago, and I was blown away all over again. It is SO much better than it's made out to be. Come to think of it, I really enjoyed Brother Bear and Hunchback too.
