Jungle Boogie

The Jungle Book (1967)

Rated: G

Runtime: 78 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Mowgli

Sidekicks: Bagheera, Baloo, Colonel Hathi, King Louie

Villain: Kaa, Shere Kahn

Music: “The Bare Necessities”, “Colonel Hathi’s March”, “I Wan’na Be Like You”, “My Own Home”, “That’s What Friends Are For”, “Trust in Me”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ½ ears. 1 for Mowgli, 1 for Bagheera/Baloo/Colonel Hathi/King Louie, 1 for Shere Kahn, and 1 ½ for two awesome songs.

After years of somehow avoiding seeing this movie (several times my former boss Rebecca played this move at work), a Salty review is finally here! Sadly there is no princess ... but Mowgli is a fun little man cub. He is surrounded by several strong characters: Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, Colonel Hathi the elephant, and King Louie the orangutan. Kaa the python is a great mini-villain, but he is overshadowed by the awesomeness of Shere Kahn the tiger. The music is fantastic, with two top-tier songs: “The Bare Necessities” and “I Wan’na Be Like You”.

I wish I had seen this movie as a kid. It was one of the best ones I have seen so far. Oh, and Mowgli does “The Sloppy Swish” which hadn’t happened in a while, so that was cool. Lots of great things happen in this movie and should help it perform well in the bracket. And now I can talk about this movie with all the cool kids!

Squirrel Trouble

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

Rated: G

Runtime: 79 minutes

Princess/Heroine: none

Prince/Hero: Arthur

Sidekicks: Archimedes, Merlin, Kay, Sir Ector

Villain: Madam Mim

Music: “Higitus Figitus”, “Mad Madam Mim”, “That’s What Makes the World Go Round”, “The Sword in the Stone”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 2 ½ ears. ½ for Arthur, 1 for Archimedes, and 1 for Merlin’s Chucks.

So, my girlfriend really liked this movie as a kid.... Now she says it’s almost unwatchable. My problem with it was that it took 75 minutes for them to get to the sword in the stone. Arthur was ok as the hero and future king. No princess/heroine. Archimedes the owl was pretty funny. Merlin wore Chucks so he gets a cool point. Kay and Sir Ector were ... well, just there. Madam Mim, I guess she was the villain? And the songs were forgettable, nothing worth mentioning.

The only thing I can say about this movie is that girl squirrels don’t take no for an answer ... which is kind of troubling in a kids’ movie. This movie will probably end up somewhere in the middle of the pack. So it will be a coin flip to stay/go in the bracket.

Kanine Krunchies

One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)

Rated: G

Runtime: 79 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Perdita

Prince/Hero: Pongo

Sidekicks: Anita, Roger, Nanny, Captain, Colonel, Sergeant Tibbs, and lots of puppies

Villain: Cruella De Vil, Horace, Jasper

Music: “Cruella De Vil”, “Dalmatian Plantation”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ears. 1 for Perdita/Pongo, 1 for all the puppies, 1 for Cruella De Vil, and 1 for the song “Cruella De Vil”.

This movie had a super groovy feel/look/sound to it, and it totally worked. Pongo and Perdita are great parents to their 15 puppies. Anita and Roger are cool; Nanny takes care of everything; Captain, Colonel, and Sergeant Tibbs are a good team; and the puppies are all cute. Horace and Jasper are good henchmen and say things like “Bob’s your uncle”. Cruella De Vil definitely steals the show. She says things like “Cheerio” and “Daaahhhling”, lived in Hell Hall, and drives a sweet car ... I’m guessing a Coupe-de-Ville. Not much music, but “Cruella De Vil” is a classic!

This is the second movie I ever saw in the theater; Back to the Future was the first. I wonder what my life would have been like if they had been reversed. Perhaps I would have a witty outgoing phone message about puppies? On a side note, Cruella is awesome and crazy enough to help this movie succeed in the bracket.

Sweet Sixteen

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Rated: G

Runtime: 75 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Princess Aurora

Prince/Hero: Prince Phillip

Sidekicks: Fauna, Flora, Merryweather

Villain: Maleficent

Music: “I Wonder”, “Once Upon A Dream”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ears. 1 for Princess Aurora, ½ for Prince Philip, ½ for Fauna/Flora/Merryweather, 1 for Maleficent, and 1 for the music.

A visually pretty movie with terrifying moments sprinkled in. Princess Aurora is very likeable and is able to stand up for herself. Prince Phillip is brave at the end but comes off a little creepy upon meeting Aurora in the woods. Fauna, Flora, and Merryweather do a great job raising Aurora, but need to be more careful with their magic. The music is nice, balancing Tchaikovsky with typical Disney lyrics in “I Wonder” and “Once Upon a Dream”. Maleficent is awesome, casting spooky curses and turning into a dragon as part of her repertoire.

The scene in which Princess Aurora is walking through a hallway and up the stairs towards the spinning wheel is super scary.... It made me feel like I was watching a Hitchcock movie. Since this is an all-around good movie, with star power in Maleficent, it should do well in the bracket ... as long as Flora and Merryweather don’t blow it by fighting over pinks and blues!

That's a spicy meatball!

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Rated: G

Runtime: 76 minutes

Princess/Heroine: Lady

Prince/Hero: The Tramp

Sidekicks: Jock, Trusty

Villain: Si, Am

Music: “Bella Notte (This is the Night)”, “He’s a Tramp”, “The Siamese Cat Song”

Rating—out of 5 Mickey Mouse ears: 4 ears. 1 for Lady, 1 for The Tramp, 1 for Si and Am in “The Siamese Cat Song”, and 1 for the spaghetti scene.

I would have to say this is Disney’s first true love story. Lady is adorable and enjoys herself some coffee and doughnuts. The Tramp is a hit with the ladies. Jock and Trusty are good friends for Lady to have around. There is not much music in this movie, but there is an enjoyable little number called “The Siamese Cat Song” sung by Si and Am, two naughty little kitties. I really liked that bit, but I might be biased because of my cool Siamese cat Gizmo.

Your classic good girl meets bad boy story. No great characters, but no bad ones either. The strength of this movie is the spaghetti scene, arguably one of the best scenes in any Disney movie. I can’t count how many meatballs I have pushed with my nose to impress a lady. That one scene should help the movie in the bracket.

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!