Disney Movies Ranked (Round 3) The "Gilded Age"

Disney Movies Ranked: (3) The "Gilded Age"

Hello everybody! I'm back with round 3 of ranking Disney movies. Just a reminder this is part of a series where I critique every single Walt Disney Animation Studios film, and "rank" them on a number of things such as music, character development, etc. If you'd like to visit past rounds, you can do so by clicking the link(s) below:

Round 1 "The Golden Age" (here)

Round 2 "The Silver Age" (here)

So, today I will be critiquing Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, and The Jungle Book. These four movies make up a very interesting time in the history of Disney animation. A lot of fans consider these four movies as part of Disney's "Silver Age", while other fans consider these four films to be the beginning of Disney's "Dark Age". I find that my own opinion is somewhere between a mix of the two.

If Cinderella was the princess movie that saved traditional animation in its earliest form, then Sleeping Beauty is the princess movie that killed it. The production of the movie took much longer than anticipated, and was very expensive for its time. I believe that the animators were trying to make this movie their artistic masterpiece. Unfortunately, the movie bombed at the box office, and critics didn't care that much for it. Perhaps the film's creators had spent too much time focused on the art, and not enough time on the characters and story--the things that gave past Disney movies their magic.

Tons of people at Walt Disney Animation Studios were laid off after the failure of Sleeping Beauty. Walt Disney started to lose interest in animation, and he started pursuing other projects. Morale was low, and it seemed like animation was on its way out. It was during this hard time that the studio started creating the movie 101 Dalmatians. The art director for the movie knew that drastic changes would need to be made in order for this movie, and Disney Animation, to succeed. Thus, the technology known as Xerography came into play. Essentially, this technology allowed the animators to skip some of the more costly steps of animation, which meant that animated movies could be made for less money, and thus make enough profit to keep the studio in business. 101 Dalmatians smashed the box office, making almost 5 times as much money as it cost to make, and the critics loved it too. Xerography was the golden goose.

The next few movies after 101 Dalmatians would go on to have decent success, and were pretty good movies in their own right. And, thanks to Xerography, it looked like Disney would be able to continue creating animated movies for years to come. It looked like this would be the beginning of Disney's second "Gold Age". However, it turned out that this would be a mere gold-coating, or a "gilding". Despite 101 Dalmatians' success, Walt Disney continued to show little support to his animation department. Animators, and others who worked on the films, were beginning to wonder if their leader had abandoned them. Animators were starting to leave, animated movies started becoming more about profit than artistry, and Disney Animation started to lose its vision.

That's not to say that the movies in this round are bad--because most of them are excellent. They are bittersweet in the fact that they are heart-warming and well done, but also mark the beginning of Disney's decline--both the company, and the man himself. This age looks good on the surface, but underneath it is a cold, dark weight. Which is why I've decided to call this age, "The Gilded Age".

Here are some great videos that discuss the history that I cited above: here and here.

Okay, so now that my long-winded introduction is out of the way, let's start talking about the movies themselves!

1. Best Male Lead

4th Place: Mowgli (The Jungle Book)

Mowgli is at the bottom of this list for being the same thing that Alice from Alice in Wonderland was: a plot device to simply move us through the movie. He doesn't really contribute anything to the movie other than getting kidnapped and nearly eaten by different animals--forcing the side characters (who I would argue play a larger role than he does) to come and save him. Mowgli is a very head-strong, immature, and annoying character, a lot like Peter Pan. He never listens to reason, and we don't really see him make any growth or development in the movie.

Yes, he's just a little kid, but so was Pinocchio technically, and he made a lot of growth in his movie. Heck, even Peter Pan sort of overcame his ego-centrism. Mowgli does beat Shere Kahn and finally enters the man-village at the end of the film, but those are really more of cases of him being at the right place at the right time, rather than him demonstrating any character growth. To be honest, I kind of feel like Mowgli's character is an insult to children, showing nothing but the annoying and infuriating side of children, while neglecting to show the wonderful and growth-filled side of them. 

3rd Place: Prince Phillip (Sleeping Beauty)

Oh hey, would you look at that--a prince that Disney decided to actually name during the movie! I didn't even have to Google what his name was! Okay, so if you've read my past posts, you know that I'm not very nice to early Disney princes. I've had very similar complaints about the past ones, and I pretty much have the same complaints for Prince Philly here. He does edge out Mowgli though for having some cool action scenes (the first Disney prince we ever see do any actual fighting), a better romance (though it's only slightly better), and not having an annoying personality. I mean, he's still basically a piece of painted cardboard, but at least he is nothing worse than mediocre. Wow, that might be a bigger insult than calling Mowgli annoying...

  

2nd Place: Arthur (The Sword in the Stone)

Now, Arthur is the kind of character that Mowgli should have been. Arthur plays a very similar role to that of Mowgli's--he's basically there to move us from point A to point B. However, Arthur actually learns something during the journey. Arthur learns about using his intellect to overcome obstacles, learns about the pitfalls and heartbreaks of young love (sort of), and to top it all off, he's not a little snot. When bad things happen to him, we feel sorry for him, because we're shown how hard he tries. We feel like the ups and downs of Arthur's story are earned.

Winner: Pongo (101 Dalmatians)

Yep, another dog won best male lead. I swear I'm not biased (looks down at my adorable pet dog). So, Pongo shares many of the characteristics I found admirable in the Tramp. He's selfless, energetic, and loyal. The very first scene of the movie is Pongo trying to help Roger fall in love and get married, if that's not loyalty, then I don't know what is! 

However, unlike the Tramp, we get to see more of Pongo's father and husband life, and I feel like that's what really makes him shine. I absolutely loved how giddy and excited Pongo was about his puppies. It was a very good depiction of what I imagine being a new father is like. I also enjoyed how he treated Perdita. He was very loving and gentle with her, and never once was he condescending or patronizing towards her. When he found out where their puppies were being held, he didn't even hesitate to bring Perdita with him--he didn't tell her to say behind, he didn't tell her that she shouldn't come, because he knew that their puppies meant just as much to her as they did to him.   

2. Best Female Lead

4th Place: Shanti (The Jungle Book)

Blink, and you'll miss The Jungle Book's only female character (well, besides Winifred, the elephant). So, Shanti is never actually named during the movie (what's with all of these nameless romantic interests Disney?) Shanti herself isn't a bad character, it's just that she doesn't really have any time to do anything during the movie except flirt with Mowgli. Which is kind of odd. Raise of hands ladies, how many of you would instantly start flirting with some random guy in the jungle who you've never met? And then lure him back to your village? Just a little weird there.

3rd Place: Princess Aurora/Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty)

"You know how we made two other movies about a princess trapped in a difficult situation who has a supernatural friendship with animals, and has a really mean old woman trying to ruin her life? Well let's do it again, except this time, let's not give her a character arc, and only give her 15 minutes of screen time, that sounds like a great idea!" --Disney.

Man, I'm not even sure what to think of Aurora. She isn't a terrible character. She has an okay character design, her singing voice is pretty good (for the one scene we get to hear it), and she doesn't have a personality like honey on helium like Snow White does. Her biggest problem is that she literally only has 15 minutes of screen time in an 80 minute movie named after her. I mean Snow White was annoying, but at least she was in her movie. And Disney can't use the excuse that they were new and didn't know what they were doing, because Cinderella was a princess written almost 10 years prior to this, and her character blows Aurora out of the water.

I guess, just like Prince Phillip, the best thing I can say about Aurora is that she'll never be anything worse than mediocre. 

2nd Place: Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)

"The magnificent, marvelous, mad, mad, mad madam Mim!" Mim is technically a villain character, but she's really the only main female character in The Sword in the Stone. And, the movie has other antagonists who can take her place in the villain/antagonist section. 

Madam Mim is one of those crazy, kooky characters who works. She's kind of like an evil, female version of the Mad Hatter. She doesn't have to bear the weight of being a main character, so she's allowed to be as completely outlandish and manic as she can be. And let me tell you, her character really takes advantage of this. The one or two scenes with Madam Mim in them are a joy to watch, as her character makes up for the rather slow pacing of the movie's third act. 

I especially loved the wizard's duel between Madam Mim and Merlin. It was kind of cool to see all the different animals she turned into, and how she used those forms. The battle is fun, whimsical, and incredibly memorable, much like Mim as a character. Whereas sorceresses in Disney's past mainly used their powers to kill princesses, Madam Mim just uses her powers for lunacy's sake.  

Winner: Perdita (101 Dalmatians)

Boom, that's right. A husband and wife have won Best Male and Female leads! I'm not going to have as much to say about Perdita as some of the other female characters on this list, because I feel like so many of the traits I love about Perdita are the same traits I admire in Pongo. She's just as selfless, courageous, and loyal as he is. Unfortunately, she does have less screen time than he does--although she still has a very respectable amount.

The scene in which Perdita braves the blizzard with Pongo to find their puppies highlights everything I love about her character. She's willing to do anything for her puppies. And she's willing to stand by Pongo's side no matter what. She doesn't just sit at home under the chair, fretting about him or the puppies, she goes with him to rescue them. She's kind of like Lady from Lady and the Tramp, but also kind of dog superhero. 

3. Best Villain/Antagonist

Just a little side note here. I've realized that sometimes, Disney movies don't really have "villains", but simply just antagonists. Sort of like the gossipy elephants from Dumbo or Aunt Sarah and her cats from Lady and the Tramp. They're not really evil, but they still serve as opposition to the protagonists. Because of this, I've decided to rename this section, "Best Villain/Antagonist".

4th Place: Sir Ector & Sir Kay (The Sword in the Stone)

"That'll be ten de-merits!" So this round has some pretty good villains and antagonists, so just know that these villains are all ranked fairly close together in my view. That being said, Sir Ector and Kay are the weakest of the villains/antagonists on this list. They're sort of just your generic, mean adoptive family who makes the adopted protagonist work to satisfy their own laziness. 

They do have their redeemable qualities. They do their job well--you really do feel sorry for Arthur when Kay or Sir Ector are abusive towards him. Their character designs are also fun to boot. Ector is like a red-headed walrus, and Kay does a good job looking and acting like a red-headed neanderthal. I really liked their reactions to Merlin's magic--like the scene were they freak out over the kitchen cleaning itself, and then get absolutely destroyed while fighting the enchanted dishes and cleaning utensils. Seriously, if I saw my kitchen cleaning itself, I'd thank whoever made it that way and let it keep doing its thing.

3rd Place: Kaa (The Jungle Book)

That's right, I thought Kaa made a better villain than Shere Kahn. Shere Kahn was a good villain in his own regard, and he'd rank 3rd place on this list too. However, I just had more fun watching Kaa. First of all, I found it really creepy how he had the same voice as Winnie the Pooh (watch a clip of the movie with him in it and you'll know what I mean), which was a good thing because he's a snake, he's supposed to be a little creepy. He's also pretty menacing if you stop to think about it. The movie tries to make his hypnotism into a joke, but he nearly kills Bagheera with it once during the film, and Mowgli twice. And if his hypnotism had worked on Shere Kahn, he probably would have come close to killing him too. He also managed to convince Mowgli to trust him twice, even after he tried to kill Mowgli the first time. And while that might not be that impressive, because Mowgli's just a kid, he also manages to trick Shere Kahn, a villain whom the entire jungle is terrified of, into believing him. He's a natural deceiver.

2nd Place: Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)

This might be a surprise to you, it kind of was for me, Cruella de Vil didn't win this section. However, she came within millimeters of winning. Cruella de Vil is probably one of the most iconic Disney villains ever. I mean first of all, just look at her character design--she's Creepy, with a capital "C". The moment you see her, you just know she's going to be a great villain. And who can forget her diabolical plan to turn dalmatian puppies into fur coats? That is evil.

However, despite her evil looks, and her atrocious disregard for the lives of adorable puppies, Cruella doesn't really do much as a villain. For the most part, her cronies, Boris and Jasper, do that for her. She kind of just sits in bed and cackles evilly. I mean, towards the end of the movie, she does get involved in that crazy car chase, but even then, Boris and Jasper are doing half of it. She just doesn't really stand on her own when it comes to doing villainy. She might be one of the most memorable villains, but let's be honest, do you remember what she actually does during the movie, or do you just remember her dalmatian fur fettish and catchy song?

Winner: Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Maleficent may not be as loud as Cruella de Vil, but she's definitely more menacing, and arguably more evil. Cruella wanted to kill puppies, which is definitely evil, but in her eyes, they were just animals, not intelligent beings with feelings. Maleficent wanted to murder and torment people who she knew were intelligent beings, and she relished in the pain she caused people. Cruella is the bully who tells a girl she looks ugly, Maleficent is the bully who tells a girl to kill herself. They might have the same result, but one definitely has more malicious intent than the other.

I loved how powerful Maleficent was. She just dominated every scene that she was in. Whether it was her shooting lightning at people, gloating over captured Prince Phillip, turning into a ferocious dragon, or cursing Aurora, she just had a powerful, sadistic, demonic presence. I loved how she was mostly calm and collected, but also capable of explosive rage and vitriol. 

Cruella de Vil might be an evil person, but Maleficent is an evil leader.  

4. Best Side/Supporting Character(s)

4th Place: Anita & Roger (101 Dalmatians)

I really liked Roger and Anita, they don't deserve fourth place, but somebody has to be in fourth. I really liked Roger being a musician. It added some flavor to his role of being Pongo's owner. He isn't just a cookie-cutter owner, like Jim Dear and Darling were from Lady and the Tramp. Unfortunately, Anita kind of is. They don't really develop her that much, which is sad, because I feel like they could have.

3rd Place: Bagheera & Baloo (The Jungle Book)

I have to give Bagheera and Baloo a lot of credit. Both of them found some random human boy in the jungle and decided to take him in and protect him, when they could have easily just walked away. They have wildly different personalities, but at their core, their both kind and gentle souls who want what's best for Mowgli (the fact that they can even put up with Mowgli scores them a point in of itself). 

Baloo is often portrayed as the type of guy who just doesn't care about anything. And with his song "the Bare Necessities" it can be easy to see how someone might think that. However, Baloo is much more than just a care-free bear. Sure, he's a little irresponsible, but nobody's perfect. Something that I really like about him is how much he believes in Mowgli. He believes that Mowgli is capable of living in the Jungle, even if he's a little incompetent at the moment. He gives Mowgli room to grow (whether or not Mowgli actually does grow is a different story).

2nd Place: Merlin & Archimedes (The Sword in the Stone)

I really enjoy the comedy that these two bring to The Sword in the Stone. They play off of each others' personalities really well. They're just two grouchy old men who grouch at each other, and it's comedic gold. Merlin is just a zany, crazy kaleidoscope of a character, who goes from being wise and educational to cantankerous and hilarious in a heartbeat. Archimedes provides mostly the dead pan, sarcastic humor.

They're not exclusively comic relief characters, which is a blessing. Both of them also take on the role of teaching Arthur, and I find the scenes in which they share their passions with him really well done. The scenes that stick out are when Merlin transforms him into different animals to teach him important lessons, and when Archimedes teaches Arthur the "art" of flying.

Winner(s): Flora, Fauna, & Merryweather (Sleeping Beauty)

These three play such a big role in the movie that it should really be named, "Maleficent and the Three Good Fairies". Seriously though, I really enjoyed these three a lot more than Aurora. They provide the comedy and the heart of the movie. Merryweather (blue one) is the comic relief, Fauna (green one) is the heart, and Flora (red one) is kind of a mix of the two.

If you think about it, they also kind of have their own growth arc. They go from being passive observers, to proactive protectors. At first, they start off fairly passive, and can't seem to do anything but watch as Maleficent curses Aurora. They start to grow as they willingly give up magic for 16 years in order to protect Aurora, and then, after Aurora's curse is fulfilled (due partially to their own blunder of accidentally exposing Aurora's location to Maleficent), they go into Maleficent's lair and give Prince Phillip to slay her.

5. Best Music/Songs

4th Place: Sleeping Beauty

The only song I really remember from this movie was, "I know you from once upon a dream". The song is okay, but it's not great. The rest of the music for this movie was just forgettable. Which is kind of sad, because its art was very well done, and would have been nicely complemented by a good score of songs and music.

3rd Place: The Sword in the Stone

The songs from The Sword in the Stone were kind of just alright. They were fun while they lasted, but I didn't really find myself thinking about them that much after the movie. The songs kind of just do their jobs and then move on.

2nd Place: 101 Dalmatians

I really love the jazzy, 1950's style of music this movie went with. The score was just incredibly well done. The music matched the art style perfectly, and really added to the characters' personalities. And of course, who can forget Roger's theme song for Cruella de Vil? There, I just got it stuck in your head :).

Winner: The Jungle Book

Out of all the movies on this list, The Jungle Book is the movie with the most variety when it comes to songs. We get the elephant's march song at the beginning, followed by the unforgettable "Bare Necessities", followed by two villain songs with "trust in me", and "I wanna be like you". And then the vultures get to finish things off with the slower paced, "We're your friends". There's basically a song for everyone. 

6. Best Romance

4th Place: Mowgli & Shanti (The Jungle Book)

I don't really care that much for this romance. Mostly because it's used as an ending. It's sole purpose is to end the movie and have Mowgli end in a place different from where he started off. It's a rather lazy plot device in my opinion, and I really think they should have tried something else to end the story.

3rd Place: Aurora & Phillip (Sleeping Beauty)

Oh look at that a cardboard prince for our cardboard princess, they're perfect for each other! To top the stories of two generic main characters, we get a generic romance story. I mean, yeah they sort of have chemistry, but that's really only because they seem to have never met anyone else. They could have been a better couple, if the movie had given them time to get to know each other.

2nd Place: Arthur & the Girl Squirrel (The Sword in the Stone)

So, this is a rather sweet (despite being one-sided) romance in my opinion. I couldn't help but join Merlin in smiling and laughing at these two. The girl squirrel is just adorable in her efforts to win Arthur over. And I was really touched by her courage in trying to save Arthur from the hungry wolf, risking her own life in the process. It was really quite sad to see the shock and disapointment on her face when Arthur got changed back into a human. And the part where she just cries as she watches him walk away...man. Probably one of Disney's few tragic love stories.

*sniff*

Winner: Perdita & Pongo (101 Dalmatians)

Aw, look at them. Aren't they a cute couple?

Okay, okay, here's the real picture for them:

So, these two pictures highlight what I love about Pongo and Perdita's relationship perfectly. In the top picture, we see that Pongo and Perdita are both willing to risk their lives to defend their family, and their willing to stay by each other's side no matter what. It's kind of rare that you actually see a married couple fight together in an animated movie, or any type of movie for that matter. But in real life, aren't most couples fighting together to provide what's best for their children?

The second picture shows just how safe they are with each other. They both just look so peaceful together. It's this kind of peaceful bliss between husband and wife that I think movies need to show more of. I mean, seeing a couple who are truly at peace around each other and just obviously love each other to bits is so heart warming--that's why movies like Up, Wall-E, and this one are so well received. This is true love, not meeting some random guy in the woods and falling in love with him that same day.

7. Best Overall

4th Place: Sleeping Beauty

This movie has some amazing art, and has some very good characters in Maleficent and the three good fairies. It's just such a shame that the rest of the movie is so...boring. Interestingly enough, I actually fell asleep during my rewatch of this movie, which is sort of fitting I suppose. So much potential, but poor execution.

3rd Place: The Jungle Book

Very enjoyable songs, some lovable side characters, and a mediocre story and main character. I definitely think that the live-action remake of this movie was much better. It definitely wasn't a failure by any means, but it just felt a little formulaic and under-baked.

2nd Place: The Sword in the Stone

A movie that had a lot of heart to it. I found myself really enjoying the characters in this movie. And I also liked the world as well, I feel like the animation really brought it to life. Unfortunately, I think the plot itself lacked a clear focus. Arthur spent the majority of the movie learning lessons from Merlin that he never ended up using. It would have been more fulfilling if he had.

Winner: 101 Dalmatians

A fantastic movie that was truly heart warming and just really fun to watch. It has great music, fun character designs, unique art design, and very memorable villain. This movie saved animation and paved the way for its survival in the future years to come. It showed that animation could be well done, and still be profitable enough to sustain itself. Financial success aside, this movie took its story seriously, and didn't dumb down any of its themes. It was a movie about family and the power of loving parents, and it embraced it.

***

Alright, so that's the end of this round! Let me know what your opinions are, and where you agreed or disagreed with my rankings. These are all just my opinions, so you're just as right as I am. 

Next time, I'll watch and critique The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and The Rescuers!