Wrecks-n-Effect

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 101 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Vanellope von Schweetz

Prince/Hero: Wreck-It Ralph

Sidekicks: Fix-It Felix, Jr., Sergeant Calhoun

Villain: King Candy

Music: “Shut Up and Drive”, “Sugar Rush”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ears. 1 for Wreck-It Ralph, 1 for Vanellope von Schweetz, 1 for Fix-It Felix, Jr. and Sergeant Calhoun, ½ for King Candy, and ½ for “Sugar Rush”.

The last movie on my list to watch! It was much better than I had thought it was going to be. Wreck-It Ralph is a “bad guy”, but he is really a good guy at heart. Vanellope von Schweetz is a sweet girl with a bit of sass. Fix-It Felix, Jr. and Sergeant Calhoun are a great pair of sidekicks. King Candy is a mean, grumpy man. “Sugar Rush” is a super fun song that plays when we are introduced to the world of candy-car racing. One of the funnier Disney films I have seen.

I was expecting this movie to be a series of bad jokes and overloaded with videogame cameos, but it is a great movie for all ages. The characters are all good and the movie is visually amazing. And Q*bert is in it a lot! So now that I have watched all 52 movies, my tournament can begin. Look for this movie to do well for it is the latest and most in people’s memory.

Honey Pot 2: Electric Boogaloo

Winnie the Pooh (2011)

Rating: G

Runtime: 63 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Winnie the Pooh

Sidekicks: Christopher Robin, Eeyore, Kanga, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Roo, Tigger

Villain: none

Music: “A Very Important Thing to Do”, “The Backson Song”, “Everything is Honey”, “It’s Gonna Be Great”, “The Tummy Song”, “Winnie the Pooh”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 2 ½ ears. 1 for Winnie the Pooh, 1 for all of Pooh’s friends, and ½ for “Everything is Honey”.

The Wu-Tang, I mean the Pooh-Gang is back for another crazy adventure. The usual suspects are here except for Gopher. Winnie the Pooh (the leader) is great, balancing his love for his friends with his love of honey. Eeyore, Kanga, Owl, Piglet, Rabbit, Roo, and Tigger are their usual selves. No princess/heroine or villain, which is typical for a Pooh movie/short. The music is ok, “Everything is Honey” is probably the best song. The movie is only 63 minutes long, so a lot happens in a short amount of time.

Good times are always had when watching Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Adventures are to be had, friendships are everywhere, and Pooh ends up with Christopher Robin in the end. For the most part nothing bad ever happens to anyone, so if this movie doesn’t make it far in the bracket it will be the most heartbreaking moment in Pooh’s career. But he’ll always have honey.

In like Flynn

Tangled (2010)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 100 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Rapunzel

Prince/Hero: Flynn Rider

Sidekicks: Pascal, Maximus

Villain: Mother Gothel

Music: “I See the Light”, “I’ve Got a Dream”, “Mother Knows Best”, “When Will My Life Begin”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ½ ears. 1 for Rapunzel, 1 for Flynn Ryder, ½ for Pascal/Maximus, 1 for Mother Gothel, and 1 for the music.

Even though there are only a handful of major characters, they all succeed in their roles. Rapunzel is a great heroine, and she wields a mean frying pan. Flynn Rider is handsome and a bit of a bad boy. Pascal and Maximus are good sidekicks for Rapunzel and Flynn. Mother Gothel is just plain evil. The music is fun, with “I See the Light” and “I’ve Got a Dream” being the best songs. This movie really hit it big and seems to be one of everyone’s favorite Disney movies in recent memory.

I really would have liked to have seen this movie hand-drawn to see what Rapunzel’s long hair would have looked like. But I think it looks just fine how it is. With all its popularity amongst my family and friends, it is sure to be one of the movies picked to go to the final four in my bracket tournament. But what will Salty Chewbacca pick it to do???

Froggy Frog World

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Rating: G

Runtime: 97 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Tiana

Prince/Hero: Prince Naveen

Sidekicks: Charlotte, Louis, Mama Odie, Ray

Villain: Doctor Facilier, Lawrence

Music: “Almost There”, “Dig a Little Deeper”, “Down in New Orleans”, “Friends on the Other Side”, “Gonna Take You There”, “Ma Belle Evangeline”, “When We’re Human”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ½ ears. 1 for Tiana, ½ for Prince Naveen, 1 for Ray, 1 for Dr. Facilier, and 1 for the music.

This movie is underrated in my opinion. Tiana is great. She cooks, she sings, she does it all. Prince Naveen is a little cocky, but he is a good guy underneath it all. Charlotte is a good friend to Tiana, Louis can play the trumpet with the best, and Ray is a romantic at heart. Dr. Facilier reminds me of Prince and is spooky. The music is fantastic, with something for everyone. “Almost There” is sweet, “Dig a Little Deeper” is fun, “Friends on the Other Side” is terrifying, and “Ma Belle Evangeline” will make you cry.

I am glad Disney returned to hand-drawn animation for this movie, though they quickly returned to computer animation for the next film. I think it adds an extra bit of charm to this movie. I am also glad that an African-American princess was finally chosen, and did well at the box office. It should also do well in my bracket tournament that is so close to being ready! Only 3 movies to go ...

The Truman Show...for dogs

Bolt (2008)

Rating: PG

Runtime: 96 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Penny

Prince/Hero: Bolt

Sidekicks: Mittens, Rhino

Villain: Dr. Calico

Music: “Barking at the Moon”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ears. 1 for Bolt, 1 for Mittens and Rhino, and 1 for the Jenny Lewis song “Barking at the Moon”

I like Jenny Lewis! Wait ... that was supposed to come later in the review. Penny is a good heroine, but she isn’t in the movie much. Bolt is a good dog and is loyal to his “person”. Mittens and Rhino are both funny and keep Bolt going through tough times. Dr. Calico is evil, but he shares the same fate as Penny: not in the movie enough. And he is only evil on the TV show. Ok, back to Jenny Lewis. She sings “Barking at the Moon”, a sweet song during a montage where Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino are trying to get to Hollywood.

Another solid movie for Disney. I like the relationship between Bolt and Penny, and Bolt and Mittens. A good thing about Penny not being in it much: Miley Cyrus does the voice. I think 96 minutes of hearing her talk would have driven me nuts. Depending on the matchup, this movie could win a game or not. Did I mention I like Jenny Lewis?

Good night, future boy!

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Rating: G

Runtime: 95 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Lewis

Sidekicks: Goob, Wilbur Robinson, Carl, Frankie, Tiny

Villain: Bowler Hat Guy, Dor-15

Music: “Another Believer”, “Little Wonders”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 2 ½ ears. 1 for Lewis, 1 for Goob and Wilbur, and ½ for Bowler Hat Guy/Dor-15.

A time travel movie! I am a sucker for a time travel movie. This is a fun little adventure. Unfortunately, there is no princess in the movie. Lewis is a good hero that, no matter what, “keeps moving forward”. Goob is a funny friend for Lewis to have around and Wilbur is a cool kid, even though Lewis doesn’t know it (yet). Bowler Hat Guy is a jerk and Dor-15 is super evil. The music is not that good, led by “Little Wonders” performed by Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 fame.

It’s better than Disney’s three previous releases (Brother Bear, Home on the Range, and Chicken Little), so that was nice. The time travel stuff is pretty easy to follow, so kids won’t get bored. If this movie gets a good matchup in the bracket, I might pick it to win once just because ... but it’s no Back to the Future.

Skyfall

Chicken Little (2005)

Rating: G

Runtime: 81 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Chicken Little

Sidekicks: Abby Mallard, Fish Out of Water, Runt of the Litter, Kirby, Foxy Loxy

Villain: none

Music: “All I Know”, “One Little Slip”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 0 ears. Fitting, because a 0 looks like an egg. A little chicken egg.

Oh crap, another movie without a princess or a villain. Chicken Little was cute, but not that funny a character. There were lots of sidekicks to follow, but none of them really stood out. They just all had their own really bad jokes. With no princess or villain to write about, that just leaves the music. The Barenaked Ladies and Five for Fighting supply us with two forgettable songs ... kind of like their actual careers. I must apologize to my friend Rebecca (a huge BNL fan), but it’s true.

I think the roughest three Disney movie stretch is over (Brother Bear, Home on the Range, and Chicken Little), so it’s pretty much smooth sailing from here on. Only six more movies to go! As for this movie’s fate in the bracket, I am sure that it will fall from the sky pretty early. Now I am off to eat Kraft dinner and buy really fancy ketchup.

E-I-E-I-NOOOOO

Home on the Range (2004)

Rated: PG

Runtime: 76 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Maggie

Prince/Hero: none

Sidekicks: Grace, Mrs. Calloway, Pearl, Audrey, Buck, Jeb, Junior, Larry, Lucky Jack, Ollie, Rusty

Villain: Alameda Slim, Rico, Wesley, The Willie Brothers

Music: “Little Patch of Heaven”, “Will the Sun Ever Shine Again”, “Yodle-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo”, “(You Ain’t) Home on the Range”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: ½ ear for Grace

If you thought Brother Bear was bad ... this was so much worse. I don’t even want to write about it. But I will. Maggie was a terrible character. I mean, seriously; Rosanne Barr’s voice was the best they could do? No prince/hero. Too many sidekicks and only one (Grace) was tolerable. As for villains ... a yodeling cowboy named Alameda Slim was someone’s genius idea. The music is forgettable, which at this point was pretty much expected. There, I survived and wrote almost a whole paragraph!

This was the last traditionally hand-drawn Disney movie until 2009. I love the old classics, so I will miss them, but if they are going to be as bad as this I won’t. This movie probably has the least chance of winning a “game” in the bracket. Oh, I wish there was a princess movie to watch next to get me excited about writing a review.

Strange Crew

Brother Bear (2003)

Rated: G

Runtime: 85 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Kenai

Sidekicks: Denahi, Sitka, Koda, Rutt, Tuke

Villain: none

Music: “Great Spirits”, “No Way Out”, “On My Way”, “Welcome”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 1 ear for Rutt and Tuke.

This is one of Disney’s weaker movies. No princess and no villain is not a good combination. Kenai is not that memorable a character nor are his 2 brothers, and Koda is pretty annoying. The best part of the movie is Rutt and Tuke; Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas are hilarious basically playing (voicing) their characters Bob and Doug Mackenzie from Strange Brew. Phil Collins and Tina Turner supply the music, and it is pretty bad. It’s like The Lion King ... but not good.

I guess all I can say is you would be best to skip this movie and just watch Strange Brew to get the laughter and brotherly love you are looking for. Don’t look for this to be in the bracket for long, and starting with this movie is/was a really tough stretch for Disney movies that I am sure I will be glad to be through as quickly as possible.