I'm no fan of Disney, (TRON excluded) but as I was out riding with Seli this year, she told me I was amiss to have never enjoyed the film called Lion King. She promptly delivered her box set of Disney's 20 best films of all time.
I watched Lion King and then the sequel, and discovered how they are really films about the results of bad babysitters. Nothing more. *yawn* Then I watched Beauty and the Beast in German and...wow, sleepytime.
As you know, I think, Ani comes over on Thursdays to watch Amazon Prime films with me. So far we've enjoyed Secretariat, Seabiscuit, and Black Beauty (the 90s one). We end up using a lot of tissues.
I grudgingly flipped through Seli's luxury Disney album and longed for the days when Aristocats, Lady & the Tramp, and Fox & the Hound would fire my pre-teen world imagination. Really, I named my first cat Thomas O'malley.
Then I got to the end and saw something I'd heard of but knew nothing of.
Wall-E.
Hrm. Ah heck, it's only time. I stuck it in the Blu-ray player.
Within 5 minutes I was engaged, and within 60 I realized there was no dialog, barely any, and it was completely fascinating, containing dozens of "easter eggs" and tributes to Apple products and other tech. I pulled my TV closer (really, I should just put it on wheels, I'm always pulling it up to the couch).
Have you seen Wall-E?
Don't look it up. Cuz if you do, it's ruined for you.
I think the beauty of it was my total surprise - I had no idea. It is right up my alley.
X, X, and X. That's how I'd lure you, but no!
Don't look! Just download!
The icing on the cake was the credits song. OMG, they hired Peter Gabriel to do a song just for this film! And it had me all emotional, cuz, well, I'm about that age to appreciate him.
I found tears in my eyes.
***
Thursday came and I said, "Ani, try this Disney film out. Trust me, I'm never wrong."
She laughed and cried.
Halfway through, J joined us and cried and laughed too (German guys are open to emotions, it's nice.) We were passing the tissues around.
Now I'm sitting here betrayed by Disney that they don't do more films like Wall-E.
Please don't look at trailers if you haven't seen it. Just watch it. You cannot enjoy it if you know what will happen.
***
Last week Ani pointed to Seli's big Disney box and said, "Finding Nemo?"
OK. I'd already seen Nemo, but OK. It's there, it's free.
***
I had forgotten how humorous the film is! I must have LOL'd 20 times! "That poor goldfish took a ride on the porcelain express, never to be seen again." (!!!) Ani had no idea....
But she loved it too, even though she insisted on watching in English (with English subtitles, cuz there are a lot of crazy accents in Finding Nemo (NY, Australia...).
Tomorrow she wants to see the sequel, Finding Dory.
But Amazon has refused to offer it for rent on Prime, and to buy it would cost 8Euros, and I don't even own the first part....so...
My husband dialed up a schoolteacher colleague of his who also loves Disney and he's procured a version of this Finding Dory for us.
That's great, I started looking up the film ........which I had no idea about.....
Then....wha...
.... Finding Dory has Peter Gabriel singing a theme for the movie, 'Solsbury Hill' - which I'm sure you all know.
Cool.
Full freaking circle.
From my discovery of Wall-E.
Don't don't you go look at anything about Wall-E, if you don't already know. It's the surprise that makes it beautiful. And if you're in America, I guess this warning, this whole thing, is for nothing, cuz you would have heard at least *something*. Ok then.
I suffered through Lion King One, Lion King Two (the need for even better babysitters) and then Beauty and the Beast, as a grown up. Don't suffer as I did.
Get Wall-E and enjoy. Well done Disney (PIXAR, ahem)
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5 comments:
I love Disney. Secretariat is a Disney movie. They have all of the Marvel titles (Iron Man, Avengers, et al), the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the Lone Ranger (huge fan), Bridge to Terabithia, Remember the Titans, national treasure and a wrinkle in time are all favs. Some of them are definitely directed at kids, but they still have a ton of good flicks.
I loved Wall-E. Love a film about hope and inspiration.
Lion King, I've heard is based on Hamlet.
Happy Trails!
A Disney film now is different than a Disney film of the past. They can put their names on movies rather than be the designers. Yes, Wall-E is very good. I always hear it in my head as it is said in the movie. The Secretariat book is very good also. The great thing about The Lion King movie is that it brought The Lion King Broadway production.
You forgot to mention THE WORST Disney movie of all time: The Little Mermaid.
Srsly, in the original HCA story the prince marries somebody else and the mermaid commits suicide.
And don't even talk to me about the sequel.
Gahhhhh.
KB, you are right, and we own the Iron Man/Avengers 3D (Cuz we're huge Joss Whedon fans). You should try not to crack up laughing when you hear Germans say the word "Avengers." !!!
National Treasure with N Cage? We own it too, I just watched a N Cage film with Ani tonight, that she requested, "City of Angels." Wrinkle in Time was one of my favorite childhood books, I'm totally looking forward to seeing it on film! But also scared that it won't be what I have in my mind.
CH, Hope and inspiration, yes!
KB, I have lately learned exactly what you are saying. I always hear it too, Wall-EEEEEE! If you read the book Secretariat, did you perhaps read Sea biscuit? By Laura Hillenbrand? If so, did you also read her book Unbroken? I loved both and the second has nothing to do with horses, just another non-fiction written lavishly.
Aarene, it's in the box, I could have accidentally watched!!! I know the original, and the other Disney originals, simply cuz I'm in Germany. Horror films, they would have been *lol* But I don't think the mermaid commits suicide, I think she just fails in her mission and turns to sea foam, right? Or was that on purpose?
There's a SEQUEL!!!!!!!!!???
But hey, check out Wall-E! Seriously.
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