Curtis' Top 60 Favorite Films: #'s 20-11

We are at #'s 20-11. We are getting close to the top 10 then to the big number 1, so let us not waste any time! 

#20

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

This is the first film on the entire list that stars my favorite actor of all time, Jack Nicholson, and there will be a couple more ahead on the list. Jack Nicholson plays Randall McMurphy, a criminal who has been sent to a mental ward, just for him to avoid going to prison again. There he meets and befriends several of the inmates including Dale Harding (William Redfield), Chief (Will Sampson), Billy (Brad Dourif), Charlie Cheswick (Sydney Lassick), Martini (Danny DeVito), Max Taber (Christopher Lloyd), and Jim Sefelt (William Duell). But while at the institute they must live with the harsh, strict, and cold Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). There are three aspects of the film that make me really love this one. One is Jack Nicholson's performance as Randall, of course. Nicholson is just my favorite actor of all time, almost any role that he is given he has fun with it, he has a blast with it. In every moment that he is on screen, he is completely one with his character. He has so much dedication and fun with his performances that is equal to the amount of fun I have every time I watch him. Nicholson's performance as Randall is very sincere and very genuine. On top of that the character is very enjoyable as well. He just has this lust and passion for life, any situation whether it would be positive or negative, he always seems to find the fun in it and make not only his day but for others bright up, without being too pushy, sentimental, or whimsical. It makes for a great character as well as one of my favorites in all of cinema. I think Randall could also be one of Jack Nicholson' least darker roles. Nicholson has always been known to play deranged and poorly mentally stable characters. But this character seems like a straight and normal human being, despite the crimes he has committed. I always get the feeling when watching this film I always see the real Jack Nicholson. Though I do not personally know the REAL Jack Nicholson, the performance still does seem very real and human like. Then we got Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched, a character that you will hate so much to the point where you actually begin to love the character as one of cinema's great villains. Fletcher owns this performance with her intimidating monotone voice, her soul destroying glares, and what seems to be just cruel and unfair treatment she gives to the patients at the ward. Nurse Ratched is like Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life, just a despicable villain that was written so well, it's hard not to like her at the same time. The last and probably the most important reason why I love the movie is the friendship that Randall and the other patients of the ward share with each other. There is this sense that they give each other hope and a belief that things will turn out great or maybe they already have. Its the strongest thing that keeps surviving and the one thing that monster Nurse Ratched cannot shut down. The dialogue between the guys are written great, the good deeds they do for each other are saintly, and their friendship seems more than genuine. Overall One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one film that sure didn't fly over my head. 

GRADE: E 

#19 

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Considered by many to be Tim Burton's magnum opus. Though he did not direct it, he still was the brains behind the story, characters, settings, and designs and a lot of his trademarks do still shine through. And man what a fun yet still wonderful film this is. The film features the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon) who gets tiresome of the same Halloween routine every year and searches for something new that could spark his interest. One day he comes across a set of trees that have the magic to take one into another world that celebrates a different holiday. Jack chooses the one that has a Christmas tree imprinted on it, and of course he ends up in the world of Christmas Town, where Christmas is celebrated 24/7 and where Santa Claus, or "Sandy Claws" as the residents of Halloween Town refer to him as, and all of his elves reside. Of course the holiday of Christmas greatly sparks the interest of Jack as he makes haste to share with the rest of Halloween Town his new discovery and actually attempt to make Christmas his. He convinces the Halloween Town ghouls to make his Christmas vision possible as he actually plans to take over Santa's job for the year as the giver of toys t children all around the world. But Jack and the rest of Halloween Town may know less about Christmas and what makes it work than they thought, as disaster may come in the form of a walking talking skeleton dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. First off the character of Jack Skellington is just a wonderful, fun, yet surprisingly relatable character. He has this rush and love for adventure and discovering new things. He's an explorer and a thinker who loves to come across new ideas and ways of thinking. But like most of us, sometimes his curiosity does get the best of him and it leads him into making mistakes. And when he makes mistakes, he openly acknowledges them instead of ignoring them, and on top of that he learns from his mistakes and strives to do better. I love that, it makes a great character and hero trait! The music is just wonderful to listen to. Both the songs and score are written by Danny Elfman and both greatly add to the wonderful atmosphere and tone the film has. The songs are beyond catchy and the lyrics are written with genius effort. A lot of people often compare the whimsical tone of the songs to a lot of Dr. Seuss books, and to tell the truth both Tim Burton and Danny Elfman took heavy inspiration from Dr. Seuss' works while making the film, primarily from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The score by Danny Elfman is beautiful. It's magical, it's whimsical, it's upbeat, it's subtle, it is overall enjoyable to listen to throughout the film. But what I love most about the film is it's wonderful and awesome atmosphere. To this day people debate whether this film is more for around Halloween, Christmas, or both. I would say both, but then again I kind of lean towards Halloween. Why? Because the atmosphere screams Halloween! From the setting designs, to the music, and to the overall spectacle of the film, this film provides a wonderful atmosphere. And it is even more awesome around Halloween! Watch this film ion Halloween night in your living room or bedroom with the lights off, and let the atmosphere that the film provides jut engulf you. It is a tremendous feeling and I make sure I go out of my way to watch this film every Halloween night so I can keep reliving that feeling! But even when it's not Halloween or Christmas, this film is still great to watch the whole year round. The stop-motion animation is still impressive to this day and greatly holds up. Every time I watch the film, all I can think about is the hours spent animating this film! It truly proves that animators, whether for traditionally hand drawn, CG, or stop-motion are one of the most unsung heroes working in entertainment. Everything about the film is impressive and a marvel, I just simply love it! 

GRADE : E                          FULL REVIEW: The Nightmare Before Christmas Review

#18

Jaws (1975)

Not the first, but one of the firsts from director Steven Spielberg that helped put him on the map for one of Hollywood's most revered filmmakers, Jaws was a film that turned to be more than what it was planned to be. And it succeeds it in it! When a great white shark starts eating swimmers and tourists out in the waters of a New England town, Amity Island, the island's police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) must get on the case. When the attacks get out of hand at a 4th of July beach celebration, he hires oceanographer Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), and a shark hunter named Quint (Robert Shaw) to set out into the ocean and hunt down the swimming monster of the deep. Of course what I like about the film is the relationship between Brody, Hooper, and Quint. Sure they argue, bicker, and poke fun at each other a lot, but what I love about it that it just shows men being real men, always action prone and quick to anger yet trying to find the fun and joyness out of it every time. One of my personal favorite scenes is when they are all in the basement of the boat getting plastered, telling stories, and singing. It shows that even though the three hardly ever come to a mutual idea, there is still that friendship and camaraderie still present. But the main attraction of the film is of course the shark itself. Interestingly enough, I'm surprised that this film does get a good number of backlashes not just from animal lovers and animal rights activists, but just from ordinary average people. People argue that the film portrays sharks as heartless demons who do nothing but eat people, yet sharks always have to eat in order to survive, that's just how nature made them. But here' the thing, with this film they actually managed to give this shark an almost human like personality. I know animals do feel emotions, studies have definitely shown, heck we do not even need that much scientific research to prove it. we can nowadays easily tell if our dog is happy, angry, or sad. But this shark has this obsessed vendetta, rage, or whatever you want to call it against these men. The film makes this shark very smart, giving him an almost villainous personality. It sounds absolutely silly at first, I don't blame you, in fact this film was supposed to be just a standard B-movie horror flick. But giving the shark such a personality like this really fascinates me, which is why it is considered by most and myself than just a B-movie. The personality seems legit and not forced like any other silly B-movie horror. You can feel that the shark actually wants to get these guys and not only eat them but just straight out murder them. I think, that's awesome! That famous theme and  score by John Williams adds to the suspenseful tone of the film and it gets really upbeat whenever tension or action is rising . Speaking of which, the tone is pretty good as well. The feeling of being out in the middle of the ocean where civilization is nowhere to be seen is the same feeling whenever a film is set in dead outer space. There's this great sense of loneliness, isolation, fear, and heart pounding suspense. You don't know what is going to happen next, what's coming for you, what you'll experience, and how you will get out the situation. A feeling like that is such an adrenaline, it feels great! This film provides enough to dive in the great deep into it. 

GRADE: E                                               FULL REVIEW: Jaws Review

#17

Psycho (1960)

This film is one that begins suspenseful from the start. Directed with genius ideas and suspense by icon Alfred Hitchcock. Psycho features the story about the inner demons of a trouble motel owner named Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the complex conflict he has with his mother, and the killing of one of his guests, Marion Crane (Janet Leigh). The suspense this film has is almost unbelievable. Even from the beginning where Marion runs away with her boss' money gives an uneasy tension and suspense throughout this first 10-15 minutes of the film. You can feel her almost slipping into selfishness and insanity. You can practically see it almost consume her. Then in that infamous shower scene, where she washes away all her guilt and frustration, which you can almost see as a metaphor as washing away her dark intentions, its her unexpected killing that puts her out of her misery before she slips fully into insanity. Speaking of which, the shower scene has probably the best suspenseful build up a thriller can have. I'm sure even if a lot of us have never seen Psycho, we probably already know about the shower scene. The lady screaming in the shower as someone is either stabbing or attacking her while that infamous eerie violin screech is being played. It's been homaged and parodied in countless comedy films and TV shows. But man even though I did know that the scene was coming and how it was going to play out the first time watching this film, the build up to it is rather nail biting. The film just takes its time building up to the scene as it actually progresses in real time when leading up to the scene. That's genius! The biggest selling point of the film though is Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. Bates makes for one of the greatest villains to be ever put to cinema. He's definitely uneasy to be around,  and is very troubled, but there is also that sympathetic side of him, which honestly actually boosts the character's creepy factor. At points you do sympathize with him, but you know in your head that if you do sympathize just a little too much when actually meeting him, you will become to close to him, hence that would be incredibly dangerous. On top of that the character is a ticking time bomb. You do not know when he is going to strike, how, and what reason. Perkins and Hitchcock knew how subtly hide Bates' emotions and inner thoughts, making the audience have no clue what he is thinking and what he plans to do next. From beginning to end Psycho offers a gothic and psychological thrill ride filled with great visuals, great characters, and terrific suspense!  

GRADE: E                FULL REVIEW: Psycho Review

#16

The Shining (1980)

When it comes to horror, author Stephen King, is pretty hit and miss. He can come something really inventive or thought provoking, then at other times he can come up something that starts out interesting, but turns out very silly at the end. "The Shining" is one of his stories that to this day gets a lot of praise, and Stanley Kubrick's, my favorite director's, adaptation The Shining, fully realized the creepy and gothic story and is celebrated as one of the greatest horror films of all time. And there are reasons why that it is and why I consider this to be one of my all-time favorite films. The film offers a lot of creepy atmosphere and build up. Though I believe the real scary stuff does not happen until probably an hour within the film, a lot of it from the beginning acts in the same vein as the Norman Bates character. A lot of it still gives that uneasy feeling like something bad is going to happen. The story features a struggling writer named Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) being hired to watch over the Overlook Hotel during the late winter to mid-spring season along with his wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd). But soon the eerie spirits of the hotel start to haunt Danny and soon Jack driving him to cabin fever insanity, also leading him to go against his family and try to murder them. It sounds like the most sadistic and unethical premise to be presented when you hear about it, but as it the final product was presented, everything does plausibly tie up. From the start Jack Torrance is troubled and a ticking time bomb. No matter how calm and collected he may seem during the beginning of the film, Jack Nicholson had the character's inner demons still somehow, for a lack of a better term, shine through. Yes, again my favorite actor of all time Jack Nicholson stars in this gem, and here he does what he does best. Some may see that Nicholson is only a type cast actor, but I could not care less. To me whenever he is in a performance, Nicholson is fully devoted to it. He has fun with it while at the same time perfectly representing the right vision and perspective that works the best.  I also have to admire the character of Wendy to be so brave and devoted despite the scary situations she and her son are constantly in. She definitely shows fear, but she knows she just has to face in order to protect her child. On top of that, yes, this is a Stanley Kubrick film. He just knows the right angles to shoot, and how long to keep  certain frame. He is the master of the suspense, uneasy tone, and the connection between our reality and an alternate one. With its nail biting suspense, greatly written characters, terrifyingly scary moments, and entertaining ghost story, The Shining truly a masterpiece of modern horror!

GRADE: E                FULL REVIEW: The Shining Review

#15

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985)

This film is honestly the oddest and most surreal entries in this entire list. A film about Pee-Wee Herman makes my Top 20 list! I placed this film in this entry and even I myself is finding it really strange. But honestly I could not help it, because in my opinion this film is a marvel. I go as far as saying that I personally think it is the best comedy film of all time! I am serious this is my favorite comedy! When I watch this film, I laugh and I laugh HARD all the way throughout. It just has great moments, small and extravagant that make me bust my guts with laughter. The film features Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) as someone stole his most precious bike. So he goes on road trip to find his beloved bike that he feels he MUST get back, while on the way meeting strange characters and getting into odd situations. A simple and somewhat silly premise but what they do with it, makes it a comedic marvel from beginning to end. Pee-Herman the character himself is an enjoyable and humorous man-child. He's the kind of guy that just gets excited about anything, but what makes the character so much more enjoyable that he is not the only odd character in his world. His world is fully of very odd and strange characters, and it is just to fun to watch him work off of and interact with them. Plus, I cannot begin to list the amount of great memorable and comedic moments in the film, The Breakfast Machine scene, Pee-Wee and Francis fighting over the bike, the meeting at Pee-Wee's basement, being chased by Simone's ex-boyfriend, the Alamo, the rodeo, the biker bar, the clown/Devil dream, LARGE MARGE, this film is chocked full of weird but outrageously hilarious moments. The film just has the perfect timing in when to bring out joke, how long to play it out, and when to move on to the next joke. And actually being Tim Burton's directorial debut, it ain't a bad first. That is pretty much all I can say about, the most I can say that it has great comedy that successfully works! 

GRADE: E

#14

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

We return to the world of our favorite adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford). His first film actually in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  In Indy's first adventure, he must race against the Nazis and his arch-rival, French archaeologist Rene Belloq, to search for the lost Ark of the Covenant in Egypt as he is joined by his good friend Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). The grand spectacle and feeling of adventure is masterfully presented in this film. This is because a lot of the action scenes are nail biting off the edge of your seat joy rides. Director Steven Spielberg is mostly known for creating sentimental, whimsical, and magical moments in his films but the area he is totally underrated in is directing action scenes. Setting up scenes that is filled with a lot of action and suspense are like a walk in the park for Spielberg and this definitely shows in this film, the rest of the Indiana Jones films, and another Spielberg film that will appear a little further on in the list (hint hint). Every time when you think the action scene is about to end, there is always something else trying to get at our hero, making the scene more tense and nail biting. The action scenes are full of rush, excitement, danger, and good old 1930s serial film climax moments. The character of Indiana Jones himself is also what makes the film so good. Harrison Ford is known to be Indy in the other films, but as were introduced to the character, we already from the get go see that this is  old time charming classical adventure hero we all want to see in our adventure films. He's tough, but has a soft heart, he's brave, but has his limits to whenever he faces a challenge he has never faced before, also when he is prone to action, his ethics and standards always get in the way to stop him from doing something crazy. What I also love about this certain Indiana Jones film and why its my personal favorite is that here you can really get a sense that something huge is at stake here. I mean the Shankara Stones and the Holy Grail were sort of big deals too. But Temple of Doom was more like a problem that could have been solved at any time, and though in Last Crusade the world would be in deep trouble if the Nazis got their hands on the Grail, the whole film seemed more like an adventure/buddy-comedy with Indy and his dad more than just a straight adventure film and not a lot was really taken that seriously. Sure there are comedic moments and silly out there moments in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and though I LOVE Last Crusade, I mean that film is also on this Top 60 List for Pete's sake, I am just saying that the two have slightly different tones. I tend to lean towards Raiders of the Lost Ark's more. This is because there's this epic as well as dramatic spectacle that it has throughout like this is heavy stuff we are dealing with. I love films that can take something so simple and make it a grand adventure and that is what Raiders of the Lost Ark does for me. It creates an enjoyable, nail biting, fun, action packed, and epic adventure throughout and it is never a severe bore. 

GRADE: E

#13

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

A film that really needs no introduction, because it is one of those that if one does not like, people will say they really have no soul. Who Framed Roger Rabbit features the story set in 1947 Hollywood in a world where cartoon characters coexist with humans, private eye detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) tries to crack a murder case which involves the killing of a professional prankster and owner of Toontown, Marvin Acme, and all fingers point to famed cartoon rabbit Roger Rabbit (voiced by Charles Fleischer). This is because he was hurt by seeing pictures of his stunningly voluptuous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voiced by Kathleen Turner), playing "patty cake" with Acme. Valiant decides to help the rabbit clear his name, despite his hatred and prejudice against toons after one killed his brother...by dropping a piano on his head. But he must at the same time protect Roger from the clutches of the sinister Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd), who plans to execute the rabbit. Almost just everything about the film works. The characters,  the jokes, the writing, the mix of hand drawn animation with live action scenes, it is all a marvel. Bob Hoskins has probably one of the best acting in this film. I think Eddie Valiant is pretty much the best role he has played. This is simply because you actually believe he is interacting with the cartoon characters through his acting. Every expression, every gesture, every reaction, and every delivery of dialogue feels more than genuine and you can tell that Hoskins was really involved in and devoted to the role. On top of that Eddie Valiant makes for such a great and complex hero for a family film. Roger Rabbit is also enjoyable and funny for his over the top silliness and positive outlook on life and comedy, no matter what deep or dangerous situation he faces. Christopher Lloyd, who also happens to be one of my favorite actors, plays a chilling yet very entertaining villain as Judge Doom. This is another one of those great, devoted, and entertaining roles that Lloyd just slips right into and totally lost in. He seems to be having a blast portraying Doom as I have a blast just watching him. The comedy in the film is more than outstanding. Along with the likes of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Aladdin, and Ghostbusters, this is another one of those great comedy films. Every comedic moment makes me laugh at shear perfect comedic timing and dialogue that is presented in the film. But I think the biggest selling point to whatever reason people like the film so much is the appearance of our favorite cartoon characters interacting with the real world. Whether it would be the characters of the Looney Tunes, from Disney, from MGM, etc. the stars of the Golden Age all appear in this film and all of their cameos are never wasted. It really is something that probably should not be looked at as much or as something to get people in the theater seats, but really it should be more than appreciated. Every scene with these character appearances are used to perfection and they either turn out really funny, heartwarming, or both. The scene where you see both Mickey Mouse AND Bugs Bunny is so surreal yet so enjoyable because these are the most popular icons when it comes to cartoons and animation and no one would ever dream of seeing the two on the screen together, talking and interacting off of one another. And I can watch that scene where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are having that piano duel at the club a million times it is that enjoyable and hilarious. These two are probably one of my all time favorite cartoon characters, these two funny ducks from the two separate rival cartoon companies, and they are sharing a comedic scene together. THIS IS THE ULTIMATE NIRVANA! From beginning to end, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is truly a marvelous gem in cinema because it gives the best feeling anyone could have, feeling like a child again. 

#12

The Toy Story Trilogy (1995, 1999, 2010)

Another series of films that I believe need no introduction, Pixar's highly successful and popular Toy Story films are a staple in animation cinema and are celebrated as the one of the greatest animated films of all tine. The first installment involves a cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) who belongs to a young boy named Andy. He's the favorite until a new toy comes to town, a spaceman action figure named Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen). Lightyear thinks he is a real space ranger and he gets the attention from Woody's toy buddies and especially Andy, which of course causes jealousy. After an accident featuring Woody trying to get rid of Buzz, the two get separated from Andy at a gas station and through a series of events, they land in the hands of a toy torturer, a delinquent boy named Sid. Woody and Buzz must put their rivalry and differences behind if they ever want to return to Andy before he and his family moves. In the second installment, picking up where the first film left off features a new and fresh story starring our favorite characters. In Toy Story 2, Woody is kidnapped by a greedy toy collector named Al (voiced by Wayne Knight) who wants to add Woody to a collection of Woody-related vintage merchandise which includes a cowgirl doll named Jessie (voiced y Joan Cuscack) a horse named Bullseye, and the Prospector Stinky Pete (voiced by Kelsey Grammar). Al plans to sell the collection to a toy museum in Japan that is offering Al some big money if sold. Learning that if the collection is not sold, Jessie, Bullseye, and Pete, would go back into storage, so Woody has a dilemma whether to abandon his new friends to go back to the relationship he has with his longtime owner that may end in the next several years when Andy is grown out of toys, or to a life where he knows he can be recognized forever and be where he thinks where truly belongs. Meanwhile Buzz and the other toys of Andy's room make a brave and bold attempt to rescue Woody and bring him home. And finally in Toy Story 3 , Andy is now a grown 18-year old young man off to college. Now Woody, Buzz, and the other toys fear that Andy might be done with them for good, so they decide to stowaway in a donation box to be dropped off at a daycare center. There they meet all sorts of toys, including their leader, a strawberry scented stuffed bear named Lotso Huggin Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty), who tells them that while at the daycare, the toys never have to be worried about being abandoned or forgotten as there are always children there to play with them. But when all seems good, the toys quickly learn that the daycare center may not be as fun as it seems as they are forced to play with uncontrollable toddlers. On top of that, Lotso turns out to be a power hungry dictator that runs the daycare like a prison. So in prison film style, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toy gang must escape the daycare and return to where they truly belong, with Andy.  There's so much to say about why I am absolutely in love with these films that I do not know if I can say so briefly. Well for starters I grew up with these films like my whole life and the more I watch them they get better and better. I know the third installment came out a few years ago and I was around 17 years old, out of childhood, but it still felt like the film was targeted more to my generation who grew up with the series from the get go, rather than to children of today with its more dramatic, complex, and even darker story. There is also the animation which just gets better as the film series progresses. I know by today's standards the CG animation of the first film probably does not hold up well today. But being the FIRST ever CG animated feature length film, I can excuse it. Plus for back then it was impressive. I take that back, lots of it today is still impressive. The textures and details on certain objects and characters in the first Toy Story still looks very realistic. The comedy in these films are also what makes them great. I would say out of the three, the funniest would probably be the first one as I laugh at that one the most, but the other do provide for some great, memorable, and clever comedic moments as well that will make me laugh as hard as I do with the ones in the first film. The characters of course are a big reason why I like these films so much. Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, Hamm, and Rex are all so memorable, funny, and well written that they practically evolve as the films progress and that makes me appreciate them more. This is especially the case for Woody as he does a learn and share a lesson with the audience by the end of each film. The first, willing to make friendships instead of rivalry, the second, to cherish each memorable and happy moment as long as it has to lasts, the third and probably the most adult, learning to let go. As much as the first film provides a good message as well as some good character development scenes, it's really the second and third films is where the characters begin to grow and they become more real and relatable to us. At times we are faced with dilemmas, the inevitable, the complex mysteries of the future, and knowing when it is the right time to let go of what we cherish the most and look ahead in the future. I used to prefer the first film overall the first films, but then I begin to realize that this trilogy as a whole really tells one whole story. A story that follows and grows these characters into learning new lessons throughout their lives and presenting them with new challenges whether it would be danger or ethical choices. So as a whole I like all three films equally because to me they tell one whole story and one helps the other make the both the story, characters, and challenges evolve. The way these films were released where very smart as the folks at Pixar knew just when to begin and end the Toy Story series. They are just a powerful trio of films as one that provides entertaining and lovable characters, impressive animation, entertaining comedy, well written stories, and most of all childlike heart. They continue to this day to be my favorite Pixar films. 

GRADE: E 

#11

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

A marvelous animated gem from beginning to end. A Beast (voiced by Robby Benson) that lives in a castle was a prince who was cursed into his beastly form by an enchantress sake of his mean and cruel spirited nature. The only way he can break the spell if he finds love what he himself can love and the other can love him in return, and he must do so before all the petals of a magic rose wilt away. And in a nearby French village, a bright and beautiful young woman named Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara) is seen by the villagers as beautiful but odd as she does not act like a woman of her age but rather loves read and dream. She is though sought out by the vain, mild-mannered, selfish, and self-absorbed brute hunter Gaston (voiced by Richard White). But soon fate brings the Belle to come face to face with the Beast at his castle after she finds her father there as the Beasts' prisoner, after he had gotten lost in the woods and entered the castle in order to look for a place to stay for the night. Belle agrees to the Beast that she will be taken as prisoner in place of her father. At first the Beast and Belle do not get off at a good start and their relationship starts off bitter. But after a chain of events and Belle and the Beast starting to become more friendlier to each other by teaching and learning from one another, the two in fact become closer as this fairy tale presents a magical and beautiful story about forgiveness, redemption, and true love. The animation of the film is pretty impressive to this day. Every time I see this hand drawn animation, I keep thinking to myself that I would believe that this film actually came out yesterday. The songs everybody knows them. These are the catchy, memorable, and heartwarming tunes that can only be brought by the genius songwriting team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who also did the music for the other Disney films The Little Mermaid, and some of Aladdin. If I were to pick out my favorites it would be a tie between "Be Our Guest" and the title song itself "Beauty and the Beast". One is an entertaining Broadway-style showstopping romp and the other is a soft, romantic, beautiful, and emotional love ballad that sums up the entire message and beauty of the film's story in a nutshell. The whole film in fact feels like watching a Broadway show on screen. The grandness of the scenes, the big musical numbers, the passionate voice acting, the romantic story, it all feels for a lack of a better word, magical. But the heart of the film lies in the characters of Belle and the Beast and their relationship. Belle in my opinion is Disney's best animated heroine, because she's outstandingly beautiful yes but she has good ethics, she is smart, she learns from her mistakes, she adapts to her situations, she is kind but definitely has her limits, and jut represents the goodness of humanity. She makes for the perfect candidate to turn the Beast's life around and to save him from his sadness and inner torture. Surprisingly, Beauty and the Beast  can be considered to have a very adult and complex story. I know Disney has other films that has very dark themes like The Black Cauldron and The Hunchback of Notre Dame,but the Beast is what makes the story surprisingly adult. Even in his beastly form he seems to show some real genuine human emotion and inner dilemma. Even when he is a jerk while being a Beast, a lot of it is understanding. Years of being in his state because he was someone rather than someone else he could have been is something that can be painful and regretful to live with. Belle makes for the candidate because she has the patience and love that hardly anyone can give, which is what makes her so special and the romance between them so precious and heartwarming. Beauty and the Beast  is simply the perfect telling of a romantic fairy tale while being complex but also never afraid to show the magic and wonder of being a fairy tale. It's one of my top favorite Disney films and I plan to view it good number of times more in the future. 

GRADE: E

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