Best Disney Movies of the 1990s Part 1

BEST DISNEY MOVIES OF THE 1990s Part 1

Today, I want to jump away from technology and give my opinion on the best Disney movies of the 1990s. Yes, I'm a little scatter-brained.  

My list includes, in chronological order for now:

• The Little Mermaid (1989, close enough)
• Beauty and the Beast (1991)
• Aladdin (1992)
• The Lion King (1994)
• Toy Story (1995)
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
• Mulan (1998)
• Tarzan (1999)

That's a lot to get through, so I'm doing this in 8 separate posts.  At the end, I will compile the final scores and see which movie wins my ultimate affection.  (I will explain why Pocahontas is not here at the end.)  I have creating my own ranking system with 4 categories: Plot, Animation, Characters, and Music; each out of 10 points (10 = phenomenal, of course).

Let's rank them starting with the oldest and watch the evolution to see if the movies get better, worse or stagnant. 

The Little Mermaid

~Plot ~ 6 out of 10

• Some reviewers, such as one of my idols, the Nostalgia Critic, view the plot and message of 'The Little Mermaid' to be "If I want something real bad, I can get it by misbehaving." I disagree, to a degree (the degree being 'dis').  When analyzing the plot of any Disney movie, we have to remember it caters to a young audience.  There were some good messages, namely that true love can defeat any obstacle (like not being able to talk) and dreams can come true (a staple in any Disney flick).  There is some good complexity in the plot itself.  It moves from a young girl longing to escape the ocean to an overbearing father angering her into make a deal with the devil - a drag queen devil. Then she tries to woo the man she loves without being able to speak and is sabotaged by the drag queen devil, who is then defeated by being stuck like a pig after she attains all the power of the oceans and Ariel can live happily ever after with her new hubby. I'm giving it a 6 out of 10 because the main character helplessly looked on while Ursula completely ignored a massive ship coming towards her.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KayUKqw5aTg

~Animation ~ 6 out of 10

• For 1989, this was very good animation. It was much better than Disney's blockbuster failure, 'The Black Cauldron' or anything that came before.  Having to draw splashing waves and moving bubbles would have been very challenging, not to mention sea storms and drag queens.  The colors were also bright and lively, just like the sea itself. 
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8OBlq_svBY
• Overall, as you can see from the clip, while the animation is really good, it still shows signs of lesser technology.  The images and figures could be sharper and clearer. When you compare it to what we have today, it gets a 6 out of 10. Maybe a little unfair, but 'thems the breaks.'

~Characters ~ 6 out of 10

• Ariel shows bravery and daring, while being loving and gentle.  But she is also naive, which is necessary for there to be a plot, I suppose.  Anyone with common sense would know to avoid this person.

• That being said, Ariel is still a strong female protagonist.  Facing the complete uncertainty of being able find her prince and make him fall in love with her, she boldly goes where no mermaid has gone before. Sure she does this on a whim under the pretense of 'love at first sight,' but she acts on her passions, which is more than many of us can say.
• Ursula is one of the better Disney villains. She devises a plan that has a high probability of success, if she would just pay attention to her surroundings, DBB (death by boat). She not only gives Ariel an impossible task (falling in love without a voice in three days, good luck with that), but she also attempts to crush Ariel's spirit by stealing the man she loved and easily convince the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the Sea to give up his steroids (in a matter of speaking).  But like all Disney villains, attention to detail was not her strength and her demise was unavoidable.  
• Sebastian is my favorite supporting character. He's a complete stick in the mud and tough to deal with, but he is also loving, funny, and a great singer.  He really isn't as annoying as he could be, maybe because of the cool accent, maybe because he's a crab, I don't know. But he is sure more tolerable than this guy.

Yes, I do act exactly the same in all my movies, thanks for asking

Sorry, I meant Scuttle.

• I think Scuttle's voice, which should have been funny, is just intolerable. I get a splitting migraine every time I hear his voice.... Maybe that's just me.  Anyway, Flounder is a cute little guppy and a steadfast friend, but not a very interesting character.  
• King Triton is tough as nails when he needs to be, but he does love his daughter.  I still don't understand why he allowed Ursula to live unchecked in an evil lair WHERE ANY OF HIS 7 DAUGHTERS COULD RUN INTO HER.  Again not a very deep character. And Eric is just a pretty boy. End of story. 
• Overall, the supporting cast is not very deep (this will be a theme for future Disney movie critiques), but the main character is well flushed out and we connect emotionally with this princess's struggle to find true love in three days. Not an easy task.  There seems to be a pattern here...6 out of 10.

~ Music ~ 8 out of 10

• There are some GREAT songs in this movie, including "Part of Your World," "Under the Sea," "Poor Unfortunate Soul" and "Kiss the Girl (the weakest of the bunch)."  My personal favorite is "Poor Unfortunate Soul" because firstly, I love the villains, but also because it does a superb job of building to an epic climax. You can hear the frustration in Ursula's voice as she urges Ariel to 'go ahead, sign the scroll.'  Combined with the striking visuals in this scene, this song alone puts 'The Little Mermaid' high on any list. 
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oU85k7oOCo
• Combined with the upbeat "Under the Sea" and the heartfelt and touching "Part of your World," I give this music an 8 out of 10. 
• Disney don't play when it comes to music.

So in the end, "The Little Mermaid" gets 26 out of 40. We'll have to see how this compares to my other reviews as they are posted. I'm not even sure how the rankings are going to turn out!