The hook brings you back

Peter Pan (1953)

Rated: G

Runtime: 77 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Tinker Bell

Prince/Hero: Peter Pan

Sidekicks: Wendy, John, Michael

Villain: Captain Hook

Music: “Following the Leader”, “The Second Star to the Right”, “What Made the Red Man Red?”, “You Can Fly!”, “Your Mother and Mine”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ½ ears. 1 for Peter Pan, 1 for Tinker Bell, ½ for Wendy/John/Michael, and 1 for Captain Hook.

I kept expecting Rufio to appear but he never did ... but that’s ok because this movie had everything else to make it a fantastic adventure. Peter Pan was a little bratty but a great hero; Tinker Bell was a little mischievous in her ways, but she came around at the end. The Darling children (Wendy, John, Michael) were all good. Captain Hook was amazing, a top-of-the-list kind of villain. The music gave us “What Made the Red Man Red?”, a little racist gem about Native Americans.

I really liked this movie.  It’s got a little something for everyone: a cute boy for the girls, a pretty pixie lady for the boys, an evil pirate, and lots of adventure. I even learned some new words. I can’t wait to call someone “codfish” or refer to something as “poppycock”. And I guess “second star to the right” is a Star Trek thing. My Trekkie friends will want this to do well in the bracket ... and it probably will.

Chasing Alice

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Rated: G

Runtime: 75 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Alice

Prince/Hero: none

Sidekicks: Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Dormouse, Mad Hatter, March Hare, White Rabbit

Villain: Queen of Hearts

Music: “Alice in Wonderland”, “All in a Golden Afternoon”, “In a World of My Own”, “Painting the Roses Red”, “A Very Merry Un-birthday (The Un-birthday Song)”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ears. ½ for Alice, 1 for Caterpillar/Cheshire Cat/Dormouse/Mad Hatter/March Hare/White Rabbit, 1 for Queen of Hearts, and ½ for music.

Alice in Wonderland ... more like Alice’s Friends in Wonderland. I enjoyed this movie but Alice was not as much the focal point of the movie as I thought she would be. She was good, but the movie is dominated by all the friends she meets along the way. Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Dormouse, Mad Hatter, March Hare, and White Rabbit are all great in their own way. Queen of Hearts was evil with her cheating at croquet and offing with heads and such. No hero, and the music was fun but nothing stood out.

A fun movie overall, with lots of interesting characters and weirdness Alice keeps getting herself into. I have read the book, and I remember there being more of Alice in it ... I think. As far as the movie in the bracket ... well, you can’t have March Madness without the March Hare and the Mad Hatter!

An incredible Cinderella story

Cinderella (1950)

Rated: G

Runtime: 75 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Cinderella

Prince/Hero: Prince Charming

Sidekicks: Bruno, Fairy Godmother, Gus, Jaq

Villain: Anastasia, Drizella, Lady Tremaine, Lucifer

Music: “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, “Bibbidi-Bobbidy-Boo”, “Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale”, “So This Is Love”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ½ ears. 1 for Cinderella, ½ for Prince Charming, 1 for Bruno/Fairy Godmother/Gus/Jaq, 1 for Anastasia/Drizella/Lady Tremaine/Lucifer, and 1 for the music.

And we’re back! It’s good to have a full-length movie to review. And there is a princess! Cinderella is great, similar to Snow White, but an improvement. Prince Charming is ok. Bruno, Fairy Godmother, Gus, and Jaq do their part to get Cinderella where she needs to be. Anastasia, Drizella, Lady Tremaine, and Lucifer are all nasty villains. The music is sweet and fun. “Bibbidi-Bobbidy-Boo” is a classic anyone can sing along to, and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” is what Disney is all about.

After a long spell of movies that were good but not great, Cinderella really gets things moving again. This is probably a lot of people’s favorite Disney movie. And the term “Cinderella” means so much to the Men’s NCAA Tournament. So with all that going for it, expect this movie to do well in the bracket; Cinderella will definitely crash the party and be around well after midnight!

Legen...wait for it...scary!

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Rated: G

Runtime: 68 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Katrina Van Tassel

Prince/Hero: Ichabod Crane, Mr. Toad

Sidekicks: Angus MacBadger, Cyril Proudbottom, Moley, Ratty

Villain: Brom Bones, the Headless Horseman, Mr. Winky, Weasels

Music: “The Headless Horseman”, “Ichabod”, “Katrina”, “Merrily on Our Way (to Nowhere in Particular)”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ears. 1 for Ichabod/Mr. Toad, 1 for Angus/Cyril/Moley/Ratty, 1 for the Headless Horseman, and 1 for the fact that there is a Mr. Winky.

Finally, the last of the collections! And it was easily the best. Mr. Toad was pretty cool. His horse Cyril and his friends MacBadger, Moley, and Ratty were a lot of fun. Mr. Winky (yeah I know) and the Weasels were good and made the first story complete. But the treasure is Ichabod and the Headless Horseman. The forest scene is absolutely terrifying. Katrina is a little flirty with the boys. Ichabod somehow is a ladies man. Brom Bones is a good bully. But the Headless Horseman is awesome. He still scares me. The music for both parts is fun, but nothing memorable.

I visited Sleepy Hollow, New York, a few years back and I did cross the bridge from the story. I remember being pretty spooked out. So that memory, and the fact that both parts of this collection were really good, should allow this movie to hold its own in the bracket.

A girl named Slue

Melody Time (1948)

Rated: G

Runtime: 75 minutes

Princess/Heroine: horse/squirrel/bird, Slue-Foot Sue

Prince/Hero: Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, Pecos Bill

Sidekicks: Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, Widowmaker

Villain: none

Music: “Blame it on the Samba”, “Blue Shadows on the Trail”, “Bumble Boogie”, “Little Toot”, “Lord is Good to Me”, “Melody Time”, “Once Upon a Wintertime”, “Pecos Bill”, “Trees”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ½ ears. 1 for horse/squirrel/bird/Slue-Foot Sue, 1 for Johnny Appleseed/Little Toot/Pecos Bill, ½ for Widowmaker, 1 for the music.

This movie is another collection of shorts. I am enjoying them, but I miss the full length movies. The female horse/squirrel/bird were the heroines of the film and Slue-Foot Sue was good as well. Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, and Pecos Bill were heroes in their own way. Donald Duck, Jose Carioca, and Widowmaker as sidekicks did their job. Unfortunately, no villain. The music has something for everyone; “Bumble Boogie” was a lot of fun, “Little Toot” made me laugh, “Once Upon a Wintertime” was pretty.

Me. Need. Princesses. And villains. Once Upon a Wintertime might make the Christmas rotation. Bumble Boogie is crazy and Little Toot is cute. In all honesty all these “collections” are starting to jumble together. This movie will probably follow the others out of the bracket early. Only one left to watch and it is one of my favorites ... so onward to Sleepy Hollow!

Someone call Benson and Stabler

Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Rated: G

Runtime: 73 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Bongo, Mickey Mouse

Sidekicks: Donald Duck, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket

Villain: Lumpjaw, Willie the Giant

Music: “Fun and Fancy Free”, “Lazy Countryside”, “My Favorite Dream”, “My What a Happy Day”, “Say It With a Slap”, “Too Good to be True”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 1 ½ ears. 1 for Bongo/Mickey, ½ for Donald Duck/Goofy/Jiminy Cricket, 1 for Lumpjaw/Willie the Giant, minus 1 for the party I will talk about later.

This movie is 2 short movies; Bongo is a circus bear that does a pretty good job beating up a big bear and gets the girl; Mickey Mouse is a giant killer and pulls off a Doc Brown move to rescue the golden harp. Donald Duck, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket are ok in their roles. Lumpjaw is ok as the mean bear; Willie the Giant plays basketball so that is pretty awesome. The music is ok, pretty much forgettable.

I thought I had seen the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment before, but what I actually saw as a kid was Brave Little Tailor ... another movie in which Mickey Mouse battles a giant. The movie loses points for its absolutely CREEPY ventriloquist/dummies/old man/little girl/alcohol party. I can’t get this one out of the bracket quick enough!

Before Sunrise...with hats!

Make Mine Music (1946)

Rated: G

Runtime: 75 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Peter, Willy the Whale

Sidekicks: Ivan the Cat, Sasha the Bird, Sonia the Duck

Villain: Casey, The Wolf

Music: “After You’ve Gone”, “All the Cats Join In”, “Blue Bayou”, “Casey at the Bat”, “Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet”, “Make Mine Music”, “The Martins and the Coys”, “Two Silhouettes”, “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met”, “Without You”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 3 ½ ears. 1 for Peter/Willy the Whale, ½ for Ivan the Cat/Sasha the Bird/Sonia the Duck, 1 for Casey/The Wolf, 1 for the music.

No princess, but two pretty good heroes in Peter and Willy the Whale. There were fun sidekicks for Peter: Ivan, Sasha, and Sonia, and two good and different villains: Casey and The Wolf. There were many songs (you would expect this from a movie called Make Mine Music); the most memorable were the fun “After You’ve Gone”, the naughty “All the Cats Join In”, the pretty “Blue Bayou”, and the sweet “Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet”.

The Martins and the Coys wasn’t as “controversial” as I had heard it to be, Casey at the Bat was a lot of fun, Peter and the Wolf was fantastic, Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet was a great love story, and The Whale Who Wanted to Sing was heartbreaking. Not sure how it will do in the bracket, but it’s worth watching.