Top 10 Worst Disney Sequels!

A few months ago, I did a Disney Sequel month and I promised I'd do a Top 10 worst list! Well, since it's New Year's Eve, I decided that I should end the year with a list and why not keep my promise and do my Top 10 Worst Disney Sequels, followed tomorrow with the best or less awful ones! So here are my personal worst sequels, and it's cool if you don't agree, this is just my opinion!

10) Tarzan II! This midquel is entirely unnecessary! It just expands on the first quarter of the movie with the themes and characters, but it does nothing to progress the plot of the first film! The comedy is bad overall with awful, stupid and worthless antagonists and George Carlin's talents are wasted, which was a very odd casting choice in my opinion, as Zugor! Tarzan is just annoying, running away from home when he feels like he doesn't belong, which was directly taken from the first film! I will say the animation is good and Glen Close is good as Kala, but she only appears for a couple of scenes and isn't central to the main plot! Overall, a stupid plot with bad characters and isn't even worth watching!

9)The Return of Jafar. This was the first ever Disney sequel and it's not great! The main problems I have are clear: the story focuses on Iago and is stupid and lazy, the animation is very cheap, the characters now are boring and annoying and the songs...ugh! This would show the norm of the sequels, being very lazily put together and are not at all memorable or worth your time and money! But this one in particular because it makes Aladdin stupid and forget what he learnt in the first film, and Dan Castellaneta is definitely no Robin Williams, even if he really tries! Adding in new characters for the TV series also confused me, but then again, I'm guessing this was also the TV pilot to the series since Jafar is finally killed and Aladdin wants to go on many adventures! Overall, a weak start to a very weak line of sequels!

8) Jungle Book 2! I am surprised this got a theatrical release because this is damn awful! The plot is just like the first movie, with a few changes here and there and I hate how annoying the characters are! The animation isn't close to theatrical quality, which just makes me question why- oh wait MONEY! Yeah, the songs are terrible, the characters are one dimensional, everything is stupid and I hate the Phil Collins vulture who I wanted to just strangle! The only good thing I can say is the voice acting from John Goodman and Tony Jay, and even at that point, their performances aren't strong enough to make me notice the flaws in this crap! This just shows what was intended as a direct to DVD film should've stayed as a direct to DVD film, just like this year's Planes!

7) Mulan II! This one completely contradicts Mulan in the first film! She's selfish because she thinks the emperor's daughters should 'follow their hearts and marry for love' while the lives of many people are at stake because of war and arranged marriage is a huge part of Chinese culture which she knew in the first movie! Not only that, but Mushu is awful and the antagonist, voiced by not Eddie Murphy and the songs are just terrible! The only one I could feel for was Shang, but because we're meant to root for Mulan, we're meant to see him as a dick who she's marrying! I mean, come on, do they actually know anything about each other besides working together in the army? The animation isn't terrible, but the plot is just lazy and ruins the first film for me!

6) The Fox and the Hound 2. In this, Copper and Todd join a band with a dog voiced by the late Patrick Swayze...yeah I think you can see the major problem with this midquel, IT'S POINTLESS AND STUPID! The original movie was more poignant compared for other Disney movies and this midquel is completely irrelevant to what's going on in the first film because we know by the end they'll get separated from the role society gives them! I mean, it's as if the writers had never seen the first movie, and all they did was add in cliched plots and boring country songs because they just thought Copper and Todd would stay friends forever, and have comedic slapstick added in to make your kid laugh instead of focusing on the actual friendship and how it's affecting the people around them! Even if the animation isn't that bad, I still really dislike it compared to the first film!

5) Cinderella II: Dreams Come True. This movie is an example of the three part never existed TV sequel, and the words to describe it are pointless and worthless! The characters are annoying and boring (seriously, Cinderella is so out of character in it), the stories are juvenile, predictable and it just feels like they knew one of them wouldn't be strong enough to hold up for 70 minutes, so they decided to add useless and boring plots which would only make your 3 year old laugh for about 30 seconds! The animation is really sub-par, the music and songs are terrible, and of course, this garbage a massive waste of time and money! Despite being just over 70 minutes, this felt like an eternity to watch! As for the third one...well you'll have to wait and see in my next list!

4) The Little Mermaid 2; Return To The Sea. This is probably the worst example of the Disney Sequel formula of the child of the main character from the first film learning the lesson their parent learnt. Why? Because it's the exact same story, except not as enjoyable, not as creative and the characters are stupid with what they do, and the new ones are rip offs! The villain isn't threatening (it doesn't really help she's voiced by Pat Carroll who voiced Ursula), Tip and Dash are cowardly versions of Timon and Pumbaa and everything is so contrived! I love the original, and to call this movie a musical would be false advertising! This movie just shows how lazy DisneyToon Studios can be with their storytelling with these crappy Disney sequels!

3) Atlantis: Milo's Return. OK, I know you guys probably think that this is too low on the list, but this is based on how it is compared to the predecessor, and it's a mixed bag to me with the first Atlantis movie. I mostly like it for the stunning animation and a few funny bits, but the characters and plot were too lame for me, considering it's Disney trying to be all modern and hip for the younger audience. This has no cohesive plot in this sequel, I can't even describe it! It's just 3 episodes from a canned TV series (it's true, there was meant to be an Atlantis series which got canned after the movie bombed) and they just put in random bits to try and link them together, which fails horribly! The animation is beyond bad, the voice acting is bad and it just feels so lazy and incompetently put together!

2) The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2! Honestly, this was so close to number 1! Seriously, I truly dislike this movie! Yes, the first movie is dark compared to other Disney films, but it took risks while this did not and it's almost as if the writers forgot what happened! Clearly the budget was spent of getting the original voice actors back because the animation is very shoddy! The plot is completely unnecessary and predictable, it's up to the point that it feels like Disney just looked at bad fanfiction just so they could get their paychecks sooner and they could just it get over with! What they did to the characters was just unforgiving, making them dull and generic with no positive qualities whatsoever! Same goes to the new ones, especially the villain because this movie is just a massive waste of time and money!

1) Belle's Magical World! OK, I'm just going to say it! I truly despise this sequel
with a passion! There's no creativity whatsoever, the stories are beyond ridiculous compared to the amazing first movie and clearly this was just another cash in like the rest of the crap on the list! But do you why this is number 1? This is frigging Beauty and the Beast! Disney's greatest love story is just horribly butchered with this piece of crap, which clearly the writers and animators couldn't care less about with how insultingly put together it is! There isn't even a flowing narrative, it's just 3 stories put together with nothing being linked to it! The animation is cheap, the characters are butchered, the songs are bad and the plot..ugh! Avoid this abomination at all costs, especially those who love Beauty and the Beast like me!

Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera PC Game

Now, I know I've reviewed animated movies on this blog since the start back in July, but now I've decided to do something a bit more unconventional. It is animated technically, but not a movie. Now, I am a fan of a specific genre of PC games which are hidden object games. I have played a variety of them rather they be an original work or an adaptation of a book or fairytale. I know I may be a bit dated with games like I don't have Disney Infinity (nor do I intend getting it cos of how much money it would cost), but I love PC games and in particular from a company called BigFish Games. You can download games on their website & become a member, but that would cost money so I prefer to buy the discs from places like Game, Amazon or PC World. And today, I'll be reviewing the very first one I got called Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera, based on the book by Gaston Leroux. Not only I'll be reviewing the story, characters and design, but also the gameplay and special features. I will say that am a fan of The Phantom of the Opera, but in particular the book and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. So can this game show the classic love story is good for gaming, or has this Angel of Music hit a bad note? Let's take a look!

Story: You'd think the plot would be a direct adaptation of the book and you collect the objects to continue the story. No, actually! It's a sequel taking place years later and you play Christine and Raoul's daughter, Evelina, who is invited to the Opera House where the Phantom lives after a child confuses her for Christine. The Phantom makes her find black roses throughout the opera house and other tasks which will eventually lead up to him meeting her again, even though it's not her and each chapter ends with a flashback to an event from the book which shows the explanation as to what happened between him and Evelina's mother and what lead the Phantom into despair. The story is actually really good and I like that the protagonist Evelina is the one to do everything all by herself, and it is easy to follow. The The only problem I have is the ending. It feels very disappointing after everything you have to do in order to get to the Phantom and we don't actually know what happens to Evelina after The Phantom takes her to his lair, nor does he ever know that she's actually Christine's daughter. I could argue that it was made to be left ambiguous, but it does imply that there will be a sequel, but there has been no news thus far. Even in the bonus level, nothing happens to progress the plot after the game, but even with that, the story is still really good for a game like this! Heck, if anything, this plot is better than Love Never Dies as a Phantom of the Opera sequel!

Design: From the start of this game, you can see that the visuals look fantastic. Each cutscene looks like a painting with the style being similar to an old movie. The designs of the characters are perfect, especially the design of Christine which in particular looks beautiful. But clearly the Phantom's design is my favourite, and I find the take of the mask covering his whole face being creative. Actually, is it me or does he look similar to the Phantom in the Australian version of Love Never Dies? The attention to detail is perfect, and even the design within the game looks amazing. The inside of the opera house looks beautiful, with a Gothic style and it gets creepier and creepier as you go further into the game, like in the prop storage room or the church. The lighting also helps create an ambiance with the dark colour scheme, but places like Christine's room look very beautiful. The architecture actually looks amazing and honestly, I don't have any flaws with the visuals of this game! When going into this, I thought it was going to look cheap, but the designers really put effort into the look of the game!

Characters: Like I mentioned before, this is a sequel and there are only a few characters in this. You play Evelina de Chagney, Christine and Raoul's daughter who look eerily similar to her mother. We may not know much about her personality, but from playing her she seems to be brave and independent as she goes through the neglected and haunting opera house all by herself. Christine and Raoul only appear at the beginning of the game and in the flashbacks, but in the bonus level, Christine seems to be kind as she clearly cares for the Phantom and knows how frail he is and that he still wants love. The only other characters who appear in the flashbacks are Joseph Buquet and the managers, but we know who they are and how they came into the story. Finally, there's the Phantom himself and is easily the best character in the game! He's still the twisted yet tragic and mysterious man who yearns for his love to return, and still believes he's her Angel of Music. The voice acting is superb, especially from Gavin Hammon (I think that's who it is. I looked it up & according to tumblr that's who it was) as The Phantom, having that tragic side, but while also sound really hot. Sorry, that's my honest opinion. The rest of the voice acting is professional and I like the characters in this game, and I'm glad to see my favourite ones are back.

Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty simple and easy to follow thinking about. It includes the basics like a tutorial at the beginning of the game, a time limit for the minigames which gives you the chance to skip if you can't do it on time and the difficulty is pretty easy in the games. Another thing I loved was if you were stuck at finding an object or don't know what it is, you can put the cursor over the word and a silhouette of the object can be seen in the mirror at the corner, which makes things much easier if you want to avoid using the hint button. The collector's edition also has an integrated strategy guide for each quest, and it is very helpful if you don't know what to do in the game.

Special Features: If you have the collectors edition, which I do, the game will include a bonus level which takes place after the game in the Phantom's lair. It doesn't do much to progress the plot, but it is still enjoyable. There's also a scoreboard up depending on how long you played the game and how much of it you accomplished in a percentage after finishing it. May not do much, but it's still fun to see the names of other characters from the book who aren't present in the game. The final one is a digital edition of the original book by Gaston Leroux. No, seriously, it's the full novel. I had the book beforehand, so it is enjoyable to read if you don't have it. And that's it for the special features. Not as good compared to others which would normally include wallpapers, the soundtrack, cutscenes and concept art, but still fun nonetheless.

Overall this is an amazing PC game with a very well written story, amazing and gorgeous visuals, likeable main characters, easy gameplay and easy level of difficulty, but a downer ending and a couple of good special features. I recommend this to Phantom of the Opera fans as well as hidden object game fans like me because this is actually a great sequel! Just go and buy or download it because it does have replay value, if you can ignore the ending.

Story: 8/10
Visuals: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Special features: 7/10
Overall: 9/10

Animation in Obscurity: Thumbelina

OK, now that the Animation Advent Calendar is over for this year, let's get back to the other segments of the blog, with Animation in Obscurity, with one of Don Bluth's films from the 90s, Thumbelina! Now, I know I already reviewed A Troll In Central Park, but this was before I decided to change my format in reviewing and I actually have more to say about it after looking back at it, so I'll do an update review for it. Anyway, this was released in 1994 and Don Bluth decided to release this first over A Troll in Central Park because he thought it would be a bigger commercial success...and boy was he wrong! This movie made $11 million over a $28 million budget and it got pretty bad reviews. And it would become infamous for being the only animated film to ever win a Razzie. You heard right! The ONLY one EVER in the animation genre to win a Razzie! As a kid, I will say that I loved this movie. I never saw it in cinemas cos, well, I wasn't even born until the year after the release and I used to love watching it on VHS. So does this movie deserve that distinction of winning a Razzie, or is this just a small movie which needs to have a bigger reputation? Let's find out!

Story: Before I go into my thoughts on the story, it's important to know that this movie was released in 1994 and was in production since 1991. Why? Because that was when the Disney Renaissance was in full swing, and clearly, Don and the creative team took some 'influences' when it came to the story. How? It steals every Disney cliche at the time, especially from The Little Mermaid. You know what, I'm just going to do a list of similarities to Disney's The Little Mermaid and this:
1) Both movies are based on Hans Christian Andersen fairytales.
2) It stars a red head woman wishing to be something they're not (Ariel the mermaid wanting to be human & Thumbelina wanting to be big)
3) They fall in love with a prince they just met and their main goal is to get back to them.
4) The title characters are voiced by Jodi Benson (how didn't she notice the similarities?)
5) It's an animated musical
6) Everyone loves Thumbelina for her voice!
Anyway, I am aware that the plot and conflict in Thumbelina are similar to the story it's based on, but the problem is that there is nothing for kids to get out of it and most of the new material has no purpose whatsoever, like the movie being set in Paris even though none of the story takes place there-oh wait, it's the city of love. The plot overall is actually rather incompetent thinking about it. I mean, Thumbelina's suitors consist of fairies, toads, beetles and moles...yeah! And she's pretty passive in all of this. And clearly she's stupid enough not to think of asking the bird to fly her home instead of the bullshit about following your heart leading you home! The pacing is very rushed, the autumn lasts about 2 days until winter comes, and then at the very end, spring comes. I mean, does this movie's timeline mean one year is really 3 days or something?! Also, the romance is WAY too rushed, even worse than Ariel! They literally want to get married after 1 hour of knowing each other (too bad Elsa from Frozen isn't there to be blunt about marrying a man she just met) and they have nothing in common. However, I am willing to forgive that since they are young and Thumbelina is portrayed as VERY naive, and wants true love. The movie doesn't even answer the questions it raises, and there is way too much going on, making everything feel underdeveloped up to the very end. We only see what happens to all the antagonists during the end credits, including the minor ones who had no purpose whatsoever. Because you know, kids will want to stay during the end credits to see barely made out illustrations! Yeah, this story is one giant mess, and is definitely a weak edition to Don's animated films, but at least it's not as incompetently put together as A Troll in Central Park!

Yes, there's a female toad with giant breasts in this...the whole idea is just wrong in the first place!

Animation: Even if this is one of Don's bad films of the 90s, the animation is still really good. The character designs are the classic Don Bluth look, especially with the humanoid characters, with a more realistic look compared to Disney. However, it's pretty clear they took influences from Ariel and I do have a problem with how the animals look, particularly when it comes to birds. I don't know, I thought they looked way too cutesy and cartoony for something like this. I think he should've gone for something like in The Secret of NIMH where the animals were more realistic, but still had a kid friendly feel to them with the eyes. The character animation is similar to rotoscoping with the humans, and it's actually really well done, especially during Let Me Be Your Wings. The backgrounds are also very pretty look at and they can get rather creative as the camera is normally shown from Thumbelina's or the fairies' perspectives and everything is to scale. Also, it can get very colourful with the places Thumbelina goes to from the Beetle Ball to the Vale of the Fairies. If I did I have another problem with the animation, it would be the use of CGI in the backgrounds at the beginning of the movie, which looks really obvious and pretty bad. OK, I know Disney did the same in the 90s, but it looked amazing!

Characters: Like I mentioned before, there are way too many characters in this for us to care about! First, there's Thumbelina, who is pretty much a Disney Princess and is actually more passive, lets people use her without doing anything and constantly whines and moans and is uninteresting. Bit of a far cry from Belle or Ariel! Prince Cornelius is just as bland, and actually quite creepy looking back at this with how he acts to Thumbelina. Hell, he wants his parents to postpone the winter, even though it would be out of balance for a woman he just met the night before! Jacquimo reminded me way too much of Henrie from An American Tail, except he annoyed the hell out of me and was just stupid! Thumbelina's mother has little screen time, and honestly, I found her to be more interesting than the other bland protagonists! Now...onto the antagonists, starting with...actually there's no primary antagonist, this movie has hundreds! Mr Beetle did make me laugh because of Gilbert Gottfried's performance, but he annoyed me during the rest of the movie. The Toad who wants to marry Thumbelina was never intimidating, although this could be intentional and I think he's meant to be more of a comic relief, but never made me laugh. Mrs Toad, voiced by Charo who Mrs Toad is clearly modelled after, was just nonsensical and stupid and had very little screen time and is never mentioned again afterwards! Mrs Fieldmouse was also annoying, trying to push Thumbelina to marry Mr Mole, but she wants to marry him herself for his money....yeah that makes no sense! Mr Mole, voiced by John Hurt, has no personality at all and is just there for Thumbelina to be forced to marry! Overall, the characters are bland, one dimensional, stupid and annoying!

 

Songs: The songs were composed by Barry Manilow, and they're not all that great. Songs like Thumbelina and Follow Your Heart just annoyed me with the awful lyrics and really childish tunes and they had no purpose whatsoever. Soon is pretty good with Jodi Benson's voice sounding beautiful, but the lyrics are too generic and it's way too short to make it anything memorable. Then there's On The Road by the toads, which is catchy, but of course, it has no purpose whatsoever! Then there's the infamous Marry The Mole, which caused this movie to win a Razzie. Is it really that bad? Well...yes it is! But I'd take that any day over the songs from Rock-A-Doodle or A Troll in Central Park. If there is one song that's actually remotely good in this, it would be the love song Let Me Be Your Wings. It may be considered a rip off of A Whole New World in visuals, melody and lyrics, but it is actually really good compared to the rest. Even the reprise Thumbelina sings is beautiful to listen to and the visuals also look great. I can't say they're insufferably bad like The Lorax or A Troll in Central Park, they're just generic bad animated movie music bad. But at least one of them is actually good and shows Barry Manilow did put in some level of effort.

Now, with all of this criticisms I've given in the review, do I believe Thumbelina deserved the distinction of being the only animated film to ever win a Razzie? Surprisingly, no! Trust me, I have seen much, much worse garbage than this (refer at my Happily N'Ever After & Justin & The Knights of Valour reviews) and this is actually a more forgiveable movie Don made in the 90s compared to others like Rock-A-Doodle or A Troll in Central Park. However, Thumbelina is still a weak and very flawed movie, with an incompetent story that has recycled Disney cliches, pretty bad songs except for a few and an annoying crowd of characters, but the animation still looks gorgeous nonetheless. I don't really know who to recommend this to, probably to children under 5 or those who just want to watch every Don Bluth film.
Story: 2/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 3/10
Songs: 4/10
Overall: 4/10

The Snowman

Today is Christmas Day and I wanted to review a special which is particularly meaningful for me. This 30 minute British animated short is based on the Raymond Briggs book of the same name. Released in 1982 it became a massive success and ended up being nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Short. Oddly, the book it's based on has no words whatsoever and the story is told by illustrations. The short does the same, but it instead uses music to reflect what's going on and how the characters are feeling with no dialogue at all, except for the famous flying sequence which has choir boy Peter Auty (often confused to be a young Aled Jones) singing the renowned song Walking in the Air, which was written and composed by score composer Howard Blake. A sequel short was released in 2012 called The Snowman and the Snowdog, which I haven't seen yet, but I think I'll take a look at it and review it for the next animation December month/advent calendar as well as a stage adaptation of The Snowman which can be seen at Christmas in London. So did this quaint British short deserve that Oscar nomination, or is it as bas as discovering someone destroyed the snowman you just built? Let's find out!

Story: Even though it has no dialogue, I actually like the plot. It's about a boy who decides to build a snowman when he sees it snowing outside. The snowman ends up coming to life in the night which the boy discovers and ends up causing hijinks in the house, as well as riding a motorbike around a small village. The snowman and the boy end up flying to the North Pole with other alive snowmen and meets Santa Claus. By the next day the snowman has melted, but the boy still has his scarf given to him from Santa, making us question whether or not the events were real. The story manages to be entertaining and funny, and nowhere else does that come through the music and animation. I was never bored by it as a child, even with no dialogue, and I think what shines is the friendship between the boy and the snowman. At times it may seem like some scenes are pointless like when the snowman rides a motorcycle or tries the boy's parent's clothes and make up, but they are entertaining to watch.

Animation: even if it was made for TV, the animation is actually really good! The overall style is very reminiscent that of the book it's based on, with a more sketchy feeling to the backgrounds and character designs, as well as appearing flat, with only a bit of natural lighting to give it dimensionality. In fact, it's as if the illustrations are taken straight out of the book and are animated. The character designs themselves are rather kid friendly and the character animation is actually pretty top notch. I'm surprised with how good the animation is, and it's almost as if a child created it, but in a good way!

Characters: There are only 2 main characters, so this will be quick. The boy, called James, is pretty much the cliched kid who likes to play in the snow and is implied to be a bit mischievous as he shows the snowman around. Speaking of the Snowman, he's likeable and is shown to be friendly and enjoyable when it comes to the human world. Santa Claus himself is a kind man and all the snowmen at the party are interesting and have individual personalities, but we only see them for one scene. I know, it may seem short, but the characters are memorable and likeable!



Overall this is a holiday classic with a sentimental story, good animation and likeable characters. I recommend this to everyone during Christmas because it's a staple in my childhood and I still love to watch it even now!
Story: 9/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

Top 10 Best Disney Princess I Want songs!

Since it's Christmas Eve and I haven't done a list in a while, I decided to try and do something different. Since Frozen is out and I love the Disney princesses (well, specifically Belle, but that's for another time) I thought I'd do a list involving them. I didn't want to do a Top 10 Best Disney Princesses list because I was saving that for later next year, so I thought I'd do a songs list involving them. the Disney Princesses are infamous for having their own song in their movie wishing for their own desires and help to set up their characters, whether it's wanting to get married to a handsome prince, or just freedom and adventure. This list won't include similar I want songs from other animation companies, so no songs from Anastasia or Thumbelina or Quest For Camelot will be included! And for those who complain about the order, this is my personal opinion and doesn't have to reflect anybody else's for those who are reading this. So this is my Top 10 Best Disney Princess I Want Songs!

6) Colours of the Wind from Pocahontas. I was deciding between this and Around the Riverbend, but I personally prefer this. The song which Pocahontas sings to John Smith, shows her desires for him to see the world from a different perspective and it sounds beautiful! Composed by Alan Menken, the song has a mystical feel to it throughout and is almost poetic as Pocahontas expresses that everyone is linked to nature and it shouldn't be damaged. She also expresses her desire for people to join together in peace instead of fighting and having prejudices. The lyrics by Stephen Schwartz also help set the tone of the song as more serious compared to others, but it doesn't get too boring for children. I love the song even if I personally don't like the movie as much as other people do, as I find Pocahontas boring myself. However, this song is one of the aspects I like in the movie.

4) Reflection from Mulan. In the movie, Mulan expresses her feelings that if she was herself, it would bring shame to her family. After the disaster when she goes to see the matchmaker to help find a good husband, the song shows that she cares about her family and their honour, but she knows that she can't be the woman they want her to be as she's more rebellious and clumsy than graceful and poised. I love Lea Salonga's performance and the song can really help me feel for Mulan as I feel like her at times, not being able to be myself for others. I personally don't like Christina Aguleira's version compared to the version in the movie, but I will say it's better than other crappy pop versions of Disney songs.

2) Belle reprise from Beauty and the Beast! What I love about this song is that Belle doesn't really know what she desires specifically besides adventure. It's not like other Disney princesses who just want to find a prince and get married, Belle doesn't have a desire for romance or marriage to a man she doesn't know. She just wants to be free of her 'provincial life' in her village where everyone considers her odd for being well read and not fawning over the conceited town hero Gaston. I love Alan Menken's music and Howard Ashman's lyrics for the song, and Paige O'Hara gives Belle a sweet but mature quality which really helps with the song and for Belle's character. Another thing I love is her expression for someone to understand what she wants, and that she doesn't specifically say a prince or a man, just someone who has the same beliefs as her. I love this song and is one of my favourite Disney songs, as well as in the movie.

1) Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid! Was is really a surprise? This is just perfect as an I want song as Ariel expresses her desire to have legs and see the human world. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman couldn't have made it more perfect, with the magical and beautiful melody and the amazing and breath-taking lyrics, which help make us feel for Ariel and her plight to leave the sea and become a human. Jodi's Benson's vocals are just amazing and she makes the song that much better. The reprise of the song is also really beautiful to listen to and is more grand compared to the first version, as Ariel's new goal, besides being human, is to be with Prince Eric who she saved from drowning. I love this song and is my favourite one in the movie, both in visuals and music. It's just perfect as an I Want song and it's all thanks to Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Jodi Benson.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

For Christmas Eve, I decided I was going to review a more unorthodox animated Christmas movie for you! This animated film was the film which got me interested in renowned director/producer Tim Burton. After watching lots of his movies, I've found him to be a fantastic director with his unique Gothic and whimsical style and the quirky characters predominantly played by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter striking me. And if you must know, my favourite Tim Burton movie would have to be Edward Scissorhands before you go crazy asking me! Now, this was released in 1993 under Touchstone Pictures since Disney thought it was too dark to be under it's name and because they thought children would be frightened by it. So now this movie is 20 years old and Christmas is near, the time has finally come for me to review it. Don't get me wrong, I love watching this on Halloween, but I consider it more of a Christmas film because of the plot which I'll go into when talking about the story. So does this movie still hold up after 20 years, or do Christmas and Halloween simply not mix at all? Let's find out!

Story: I know, at the start the plot may sound ridiculous as it's about the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington trying to take over Christmas after discovering a door leading into Christmas Town and immediately falling in love with it. But the way they tell it is funny, original and heartwarming. It shows Jack has good intentions even though the rest of the town see it from a macabre perspective and that his obsession which it ends up backfiring horribly on Christmas Eve. There's also a subplot involving Sally, a Frankenstein monster-style rag doll having a crush on Jack and trying to stop him from taking over Christmas because of a vision she saw about Christmas being destroyed. Despite the short running time of just under 70 minutes, it never feels rushed because everything in the plot is tied up by the end without tons of exposition. It surprises me with how original it is, because not once does it ever feel cliched or forced, and the twists and turns are what you'd expect from Tim Burton. It's also quite psychological with Jack's obsession with Christmas and it can lead to some really comedic moments, as well as surprisingly some heartwarming moments! I love the story, it's so unique and original and is a classic Tim Burton movie. I don't really have any problems with the plot at all, I love it so much!

Animation: The stop motion may look a bit dated after 20 years, but it somehow still looks very good. The character designs are unique and the classic Tim Burton style, in a sense that they're gruesome, creative and likeable. The worlds look very creative and I love the contrast between Christmas Town and Halloween Town with the different colour schemes like Christmas Town is more bright and whimsical, while Halloween Town is more dark and macabre with their view on Christmas. The character animation is really well done and it still amazes me after 20 years with the stop motion. The use of CGI is also creative on the ghosts and it's only used a little bit, but enough so it doesn't distract us from the amazing the stop motion. I also love the flying scenes when Jack goes to deliver presents and it's nice to see how different Jack looks in the human world. If I had one problem, it would be it can be obvious when something's stop motion and when something's moving in real life, like the bugs falling into the lava and the smoke surrounding Halloween Town. Still, besides that, the animation still looks amazing and holds up after 20 years!

Characters: Even if there's an array of characters in this, I love all of them! Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, wants to take over Christmas because of his obsession with it, and he actually has good intentions even if the town has a macabre perspective of the holiday! Sally is also likeable as she knows something terrible is going to happen with Christmas and wants to help Jack realize that taking over isn't the answer and wants to be free of Dr Finklestein, but she also has feelings for Jack. Oogie Boogie is a great villain in a sense that he's intimidating and is a gambling addict that never plays fair, but my problem with him is we don't know his motives for kidnapping Santa and wanting Jack dead. Santa or 'Sandy Claws' himself is more of a grouch after everything he goes through and is the first to know Sally was the only one to make any sense. Lock, Shock and Barrel are really funny and are probably my favourite characters, most likely because of their funny personalities. The rest of them are also likeably weird, like the mayor, the werewolf, the witches, everyone! I love every single character, they're whimsical and fun as well as distinguishable which Tim Burton is known for.

Songs: I love every single song in this movie! They were all composed by Danny Elfman and they all have the whimsically enjoyable feeling which I love them for. This Is Halloween is a fun number introducing us to the world the characters live in. Jack's Lament is a more quiet and thoughtful song about Jack wanting more and is missing something after hundreds of years of doing the same thing every year, which I also enjoy. What's This is really fun and enjoyable and is probably one of my favourite scenes in the movie. The song at the town hall isn't really my favourite song in the movie, but it's still fun. Kidnap The Sandy Claws is my favourite song in the movie with the catchy yet grotesque lyrics and fun tune. Making Christmas is also fun and whimsical, and I like seeing the contrast between Halloween Town's version of Christmas and Christmas Town's version of Christmas. Oogie Boogie's song has a fun jazz feel to it which I also love! Sally's Song is one of my personal favourites with Sally lamenting about her feelings for Jack, and thinking he won't love her in return. The ending song which is a reprise of almost all the songs is very enjoyable and the way they all mix together is creative. I love all the songs in this, there was a phase where I could listen to it everyday!

Overall, I love this movie with an original and fun story, amazing animation, likeable characters and memorable songs. This is not only one of my favourite Christmas or Halloween movies, this is one of my favourite movies period! I'd recommend this to any animation or Tim Burton fan, because this is one of them movies you can watch either on Christmas or Halloween and it is timeless!

Story: 10/10

Animation: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Songs: 9/10

Overall: 9.5/10