Gotta a few Music Fridays coming as I'm behind on posting the last two and I really want to get back on schedule seeing as I have two events coming up.
While Mickey is no stranger to adaptions, he's taken on the works of Dickens and Twain but who was the last person's work I'd thought show up as a Disney adaption starring Mickey? Shakespeare. Well back in '99, there was an adaption of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream using Mickey and friends. Now I'll admit that I know next to nothing about this play and I've not seen any work of Shakespeare. Well, not in traditional sense at least but I've seen a ballet of Romeo and Juliet and it had to have been one of the worst things that I've ever seen but I'm not really into ballet. I bring all of this up because while there will be some references to the original body of work, it mostly comes through research. Even still, this short was rather enjoyable. Now I do apologize as I couldn't find a picture for every character in this short. Also as to help you out and moreso me, I was able to find a description of what characters our leads were portraying.
A Midsummer Night's Dream was adaptated into a Disney short starring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck as Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena, respectively.
Hopefully this helps with setting up the short a little bit more. With that out of the way, let's get started.
The Plot
We open the short in Athens with our 4 leads at Duke Von Drake's as Minnie has been promised to Donald as an arranged marriage but she doesn't love Donald, she loves who? Say it with me, Mickey. However if Minnie doesn't marry Donald, it'll result in death. Therefore Mickey and Minnie decide to run away and elope. We see that Daisy is in love with Donald but the feeling aren't mutual as Donald has a bit of an affection for Minnie as well. You know as a Disney fan, that's a bit weird but it serves the story and also I have to point out that I find it humorous that in this adaption that Daisy had a crush on Donald while in The Three Musketeers Donald had a crush on Daisy and she wasn't interested in him in the least. Getting back on topic though this is where the trouble for our leads once they run away, Daisy and Donald as they're overheard by Oberon, king of the fairies and he hears Daisy's attempts at wooing Donald and he has the fairy Puck as played by Goofy here go and spray him with a flower potion but Puck sprays the wrong person and ends up spraying Mickey and Mickey falls in love with Daisy as this potion is one of those things were the person who's sprayed fell in love with the first person they see. Now I don't know how close the short's plot is to the original but for this short, I enjoyed the story that was told save for the ending, where it was revealed to all be a dream. I'm personally not a fan of those endings and I do believe that they could have ended the short without going that route and really, this is the only adaption starring Mickey to do that. All of the rest for a lack of better word end in their setting. Ah, well if that's only my complaint, it's not a big one but still that irks me a tad.
Narration
Narrator - John Cleese
I gotta say I loved the narration in this short and yes, you read that name right. John Cleese of Monty Python fame was the narrator for this short and while I'm not big on Monty Python as I've seen little of their stuff, I enjoyed his narration in this short. It was very eloquent and refined and it fit the tone of the tale quite well. Now I'm not certain but I believe Cleese actually quoted lines from the play and if that is the case, that's a rather nice touch.
Characters
Per usual I'll be breaking it down into Main, & Supporting.
Main Characters
Mickey voiced by Wayne Allwine
Mickey was unique in this short as we see he truly does love Minnie and willing to do anything protect her such as leaving Athens to elope with her. Of course all this goes awry when Puck (Goofy) sprays him with the potion and he chases after Daisy instead. To be fair Oberon tells Puck to look for a young man in Athenian clothing and Mickey's robe did have a Made In Athens tag. Again as I said up top, it was weird seeing Mickey chase after Daisy. And I mean really chasing after Daisy. It was funny if a little strange but really this short was all about love getting mixed up. Of course at the end of the day, Mickey does end up with Minnie. Seeing Mickey be out of character in this one was a lot of fun but I was happy to see end up with Minnie.
Minnie voiced by Russi Taylor
Minnie was rather simple in this short as she loved Mickey and only wanted to be Mickey but her father had promised her to Donald and if she didn't go through with it, she would be killed. Pretty grim and those are some high risks while stated aren't really explored save for Mickey and Minnie trying to escape. Minnie's performance was really subdued compared to the other three characters.
Ah, it's been a while since KP has appeared on A Look at Disney. Now I wish that I could say that this was a warm welcome but no, today I'm taking a look at my least favorite episode from Kim Possible. Now in all fairness, it's not a full episode as it is from one episode where they had two 15 minute shorts. Something that the show didn't do too often but these episodes usually weren't memorable but this one I have always looked at as silly and dumb. To think out of every episode, it was essentially boils down to a 15 Minute short, I consider my least favorite.
The Plot
The plot is something that I'll admit was unique but just didn't work for me. We open on Kim and Ron driving up to a house as they think the family's baby is missing but no instead our pacifier had been stolen and this is where the episode takes a huge plummet. Apparently worldwide, baby's pacifiers have been stolen and with help from Wade, KP finds out that there is an old town somewhere in the UK that used to have a nanny training academy that may have a connection to the sudden disappearances of the pacifiers. This is where we meet our villain for the episode Nanny Nane who used to be a teacher at the Nanny academy and from KP and Ron's visit to the local ice cream parlor, one is led to think that she rules the town with iron fist. Which apparently she does as she has an army of super babies that can take down the town. I repeat super babies. Look I know that KP has faced some bizarre situations but super babies, really?!?! Apparently Nanny Nane has a machine that turns adults into these super babies. There's the episode's required cliche because how many shows have used the trope of a character getting younger as we see a young Ron in this and here take a look at little Ron..
Where to start? Where to start? Again as I said, KP has faced some bizarre scenarios in her crime fighting days but I honestly think this one takes the cake as the most out of left field. Again, I know that the KP villains were over the top but the problem here wasn't the villain was over the top but rather her plan was and just seemed convoluted and nonsensical. Yeah, I know that seems like a silly complaint for Kim Possible but this one just seemed all over the map with it's idea. Now I'll give the writers credit as this episode did tell a coherent story. Albeit a dumb one. And really that's my biggest problem. Ah, well enough about the plot, let's move on.
Episode Title
Nursery Crimes
Now while I do feel that the episode title is a bit generic. It is one of the better things about this episode, even though I believe this title has been used for other shows that shall remain nameless because they are much worse than the worst episode of Kim Possible.
Characters
Now I'll just be breaking this down into Main & Villain and sadly that means I won't be talking about Rufus as he really didn't play a role in this episode but if you want a laugh, he was the star of the short that aired in the same episode as this one. Titled Chasing Rufus, which is a fun episode.
Main Characters
Kim voiced by Christy Carlson Romano
Oh, I don't if I mentioned this up top but this was season 4 episode meaning it aired during the final season of Kim Possible and in some ways, I'm grateful for that. Anyways it can be noted that this is a season 4 episode by KP's new mission outfit. As for KP herself in this episode/short (whatever you want to call it), she was her usual self though I thought she was bit bland in this episode not for a lack a trying but really, the characters just weren't that exciting in this episode and there was no development, it was just gag after gag. Though I must give the show credit in that KP found a unique way of saving the day because as she put it, this wasn't a saving the day thing but rather a babysitting thing. And we actually get to see some of KP's babysitting skills in motion.
Now this was cute and funny and perhaps a bit creative and it is one of the few things that I liked in the episode but all the same, it doesn't save this episode.
Ron voiced by Will Friedle
Again with Ron, we don't see anything out of the ordinary with Ron save for the very end when we see him in a giant diaper. I have decided not to post that as there is only so much dumbness one can take. According to Ron, he found it to be a comfortable change of pace and let's just leave it at that. Sure, it was funny seeing Ron go through the machine but in the end, it just got boring and repetitive seeing go through the machine and well I must give Ron credit as he's the one that saw what Nanny Nane was doing and described it as sick and wrong, I can see that and good news, we have pictures.
Again as I mentioned above those super babies are actually adults and this is the machine that turns them into babies. By the way, is it just me or does anyone else think of a certain sequel to a horrid film when they hear super babies, c'mon you know what I'm talking about.
I imagine this episode is at least better than that film as I never sat through all of it. Getting back on topic, that is pretty much all there is to say for KP & Ron.
Villain
Nanny Nane voiced by Jane Carr
I talked at great length about this villain's evil scheme and how she thought she could make more stealing pacifiers and to be fair the academy closing drove to this point as strict nannies had faded out and she wanted to show that she could make more money making babies unhappy then happy? To this, I say huh?! Seriously, I don't get this. Now maybe I wasn't paying attention but again huh? It just doesn't add up in my mind. Also on a sidenote, why would you use a new villain so late in your final season. Well I guess it just goes to her being a throwaway character she's never mentioned again and I already talked about KP babysat her way to victory above and really, there is nothing more for me to say.
My Final Thoughts
Yep, boy does this come handy for stuff like this. Just like with Davis, this perfectly sums up my feelings about this episode. Though to be fair I'd take the worst episode of KP over anything involving Davis but this only better by a margin. A slim margin at best. Now I know not every episode of a show will be a hit but man this one is just bad. Folks, there 86 other episodes of this show to watch, you can skip this one. And seriously if you want to see Disney treat nannies right, you should know what to turn to. Just pop in your copy of Marry Poppins but as for this, let's pretend it never happened. I think the worst thing about this is that it aired two episodes before the series finale. I think that makes me even angrier at this episode knowing that now.
One of my favorite events that I've ever done was Automobile Month, it was a blast taking a look at all of these car based material from Disney. Now I had thought of doing a follow up to it but sequels aren't always as good as the original. Anyways, I bring this up today because there was one article that I had thought of doing for Automobile Month that I couldn't figure out to do until today. That being the Top 6 Disney Automobile Characters but alas I've finally managed to figure out how to do this. Join me as I countdown my favorites.
6. Benny The Cab - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Benny is such a fun character and I love the idea of him being a cab that has an attitude of a cabbie. That is such a funny concept and while he has a bit of an edge to him, we see that he is loyal to his friends and willing to help them out in jams. Plus he's got a great look to him. He may not have been the film very long but he certainly lit up the screen when he was onscreen but all of the other characters shine too and while, he's just a minor character when compared to others, he's still great.
5. RC - Toy Story
Now I just love RC and as I said in the past, he's my favorite Toy Story character. The reason I like him is because he's loyal and the idea of him being treated like a pet is rather cute. It works though because he is loyal through and through. Plus the way, RC was used in the finale to save Woody and Buzz was really cool. Now again, this may be a bias as I used to own an RC. Still, I love him and I think that he's really cute and lovable.
4. Lighting McQueen - Cars/Cars 2
Now I know that the Cars film are looked at as the oil stain on Pixar's resume so to speak but I'll admit that Cars is my second favorite Pixar film behind Toy Story 2. McQueen is a great character in the first film as we really get to see him grow into more of a character and become a better person, err car. You know what I mean but I really enjoyed his arc seeing him learn that there is more to life then just racing and become a more well rounded being.
3. Mater - Cars/Cars 2
Yeah, I know but just but I like Mater and I feel no shame in admitting that I enjoy Larry The Cable or the fact that I liked Cars 2. Now I'll admit that film isn't perfect but it was fun seeing Mater get a chance to shine even if he really didn't need a film as the Tall Tales let him shine fairly well. Mater was the funniest character in the first film and most certainly my favorite character of the film. I know it's not popular opinion to like him but it's my opinion and at the end of the day, I like Mater because he feels like a character that I'd like hanging around.
2. Herbie - The Love Bug
How could I do a list like this and not include Herbie? Herbie is the classic Automobile character. He's just so lovable and as I said in my review of the first film, Herbie is like a child, which makes him all that more endearing and one of the things that I love is that with Herbie, they were able to express emotion without relying on speech and instead you had rely on watching Herbie to see how he feels and it works. Now I still say that the scene where Herbie tries to commit suicide is rather eerie but it is effective in making feel bad for Herbie and not want to see him want to go through with it.
1. Susie The Little Blue Coupe - Susie The Little Blue Coupe
Ah, Susie. Fun fact for ya before I started Automobile Month, I'd never seen Susie The Little Blue Coupe but I'm glad I did as this has become my all time favorite Disney short. As for Susie, she's such a lovable character and getting to see her change through her life. Just as with Herbie, she doesn't talk and instead you have to rely on her expressions to figure out what is going on. It's also really funny and intriguing seeing her interact with all of her different owners. Just like Herbie, when she's down, you feel bad for her and when she's happy, you feel good for her.
There you have it, my Top 6 Disney Automobile Characters. I hoped that you enjoyed this Top 6. Peace!
Disney, repeat after me: It already exists! Look I get that you think because Pirates was successful that other attractions will work as films. But let's take a look at that, The Country Bears, didn't work. It was a flop and fans of the attraction hated it. The Haunted Mansion, I've talked about the problems I have with that one, it was unbalanced. I get that you wanted it to be a family film and I do know about the del Toro reboot but so little has been said on that, I'm starting to wonder if it's been canceled. The three Pirates films after the first one didn't do as well and at best get mixed reactions from audiences. I've heard about The Magic Kingdom film that you want to do and that may be cool and there is The Jungle Cruise film coming up with Tim Allen and Tom Hanks. Two actors, I really like but from little info you've given on that film, it sound cliched because so many films including The Haunted Mansion have done a story of a parent trying to reconnect with their children in a fantastical setting.
Now that we've gotten your track record of attraction films out of the way, let's go back to the statement that I used at the beginning of this article. Look you know it and I know it, Mr Toad's Wild Ride unlike most of the other attraction based films is based off of something. In this case, the classic and funny short, Wind In The Willows.
Now, I must ask doesn't it seem a bit silly and maybe a little odd to make a film based off an attraction that is based off a short. Now yes, I do understand that it is just a short but still like most everything you do, it has a lot of fans as does the attraction. Now I enjoy the short and as for the attraction, I have no opinion on it as I've yet to ride it but still, doesn't it seem like this is an odd choice for an attraction based film? When there is already a short with this storyline that inspired this attraction. Disney, look I'm a fan. Always have been and always will be but sometimes your decisions just seem odd. This is a good example of something I don't quite understand. Do I think this film will be bad? As of right now, I don't know but my main issue with this is that it feels unnecessary. Now I've read up some on this film and look I know that you'll never see this but here's an idea. Why not re-release the short to theaters alongside this new film and not sweep it under the dust because right now I get that impression or why not just re-release short by itself. Call me crazy but I actually think people would go to see The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad in theaters. That is one of those Disney films from the canon that doesn't get much recnogtion these days and probably would help from a re-release in introducing this generation to these characters. Many have said it and I believe it but there is nothing like seeing a Disney film on the big screen and this would be a great idea to re-release this film.
Until I can learn about this film, I hold my reservations but I just don't see the need for this one. I believe that best way to end this si with a song...
Hello and welcome back to Music Fridays. Today, we conclude our look at these novelty albums if you will from Disney with Mickey Mouse Disco. So grab your bell bottoms and a leisure suit as we get down with the Mouse. Groovy! Okay, I'll stop but c'mon.
Mickey Mouse Disco/Disco Mickey Mouse (I've seen it labeled both ways)
Oh yeah! This song knows how to get you hooked that intro had me. I love the sound of it and again this is song that I would label as cheesy but it's a novelty song, most of them are. This song is just so upbeat and happy that I can't help and love it. Also the lyric about the ladies makes me wonder if Minnie ever got jealous.
Macho Duck
Once again, the Donald song delivers perfectly. Do I even need to tell you what song is one is parodying? Here's a hint, The Village People. If you haven't figured it out, this is Disney's take on Macho Man and I do love it, it's nice to actually see a song that lets Donald shine instead making look like a fool. Nice work, Disney! This is a good song. C'mon say it with me: He's a macho macho duck. One More Time!
Mousetrap
This is another fun one. I love the idea behind this song and the way, the women whisper mousetrap is a nice touch. This while not as flavorful as the first two is still fun in it's own way. Even if if some of it does leave a little to be desired but all the same, I like it.
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
For our last song, I decided to take a look at one of the many Disco flavored covers on this album At the end of the day, I decided to go with the cover of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. Now it does sound drastically different than the classic but I like it. Listening to this cover transports me to the parks and if a cover can do that, it's all right in my books. I would never say that it's as good as the original but I still enjoy all the same and I find it to be a decent cover.
Well I hope you've enjoyed my look at these novelty albums. Join me next week when we celebrate the 50th Music Fridays as I have slew of guests that'll be joining me including: CunningRunt, Lindgren, writzbok, DisneyOtoko, and Dark Jak. As they talk about some of their favorite Disney songs and don't worry, I have a song on here as well.
Hello and welcome back to Vs. Today on Vs., I'm pitting two villains against each other. From New Orleans, The Shadow Man, Dr. Facilier and The Sea Witch herself, Ursula. Hmm, this is the first male/female Vs. I'm sure some of you wondering why I chose this match up. Well believe it or not, these two do share certain similarities such as both tricking a main character from their respective films into signing a contract that hands over something of importance to the main lead to the villain. As a reminder, here are the categories that I'll use for judging, Personality, Desire, Song, Death, and finally The Film Factor! Which as a reminder is a look at which character worked better in their respective film. Now you may have noticed a new category, that being Death. I've added this one in for villains and works in the same way the Defining Moment works for the main leads. A good villain has a good death and while that should not be remembered for, if the villain has a great death it feels right for the character. With all of this out of the way, let's begin.
Personality (Round 1)
Dr. Facilier
Hmm, how can one describe Facilier? I've got it, suave. Seriously, Facilier is so charming and suave and over the top yet subtle at the same time. It works so well and I love it. I think his song, Friends on The Other Side really sums his personality and Keith David's delivery helps to sell the personality of The Shadow Man, so well. He is just so much fun and every time he's on scree, he steals the scene.
Ursula
Before we get to far into Ursula's personality, there is a fun fact that I want to bring up. The basic design of Ursula was based on famed drag queen and actor from the original Hairspray, Divine. Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the personality, Well, she's over the top too but not in the same way as Facilier. I think she is more subdued but there are moments of her coming across as a pima donna but again it works for her character and she is fun to watch. This is such a hard area to judge as I like both of the personalities for these characters but if I had to pick one that was more exciting, I'd have to go with The Shadow Man. Therefore this round goes to...
Dr. Facilier
Desire (Round 2)
Now let's take a look at these two's desires. What do they want?
Dr. Facilier
As much as I love The Shadow Man, if there is one under developed part of him in the film is that what he wants never really seems clear. Well, no that's not it. He wants to take over New Orleans and get Big Daddy's money but part of my problem is that with this, I was asking myself "why?" Why because it just doesn't make sense and also add in the fact that I kind of wish that we would have gotten some interaction with Facilier and Big Daddy, this would have worked better for me. Because throughout this entire film, we don't see Big Daddy acknowledge Facilier and it comes off as though he doesn't know Facilier exists. It just doesn't seem to work.
Ursula
Now Ursula's desires seem to be a bit more clear and on a grander scale than Facilier's. She wants to take over Altantica and rule an entire kingdom. That's a grand scale all right and she goes about it in a better way by using Ariel who is the daughter of the king and by using Triton's daughter, you put more on the line in my opinion. Also her plan to get her desire seems more clear and straight and narrow. Also she came closer and even got Triton to hand over the triton and the crown. Therefore this round goes to...
Ursula
Song (Round 3)
Now to my favorite part, the song.
Friends On The Other Side (Dr. Facilier)
Man, I love this song. This is how you do a good villain song. This will go down as one of the most remembered Disney villain songs if it has not already. It's fun, and it helps to get a feel of the character and another thing I didn't pick up on until listening to the song for the third or fourth time is all of the subtle foreshadowing in the song. I mean when Facilier is talking about Green, he's referring to his plan of turning Naveen into a frog. That is such a nice touch.
Poor Unfortunate Souls (Ursula)
Man, I love this song and I love how direct Ursula is. She doesn't hide behind any layers and just gets to the point of what she wants. It is a great song, don't get me wrong and one of my favorite villain songs because it works so well but I think I find myself listening to Friends On The Other Side more. It should be no surprise who wins this round but I have to give credit to both of these songs in that they both nice set up for these characters. As I said though this round goes too..
Dr. Facilier
Death (Round 4)
Which villain had the better death scene? Let's find out.
Dr. Facilier
Geese, is this one creepy moment. Everything from the reprise of Friends On The Other Side to seeing the voo doo dolls coming out of the grounds like zombies and seeing Facilier pulled into essentially Hell is creepy as heck and makes for a great death scene and added the touch of seeing his frightened face on a tombstone is a nice touch. Now I don't know if it's because of New Orleans being the setting for this film but I get a very Haunted Mansion esque vibe with this death scene and it works well.
Ursula
Yeah, this one. Not so much! The only word that could come to my mind when re watching this scene is lame. Because for a villain like Ursula to be taken out like that feels like she is being sent out on a wimper. For a great villain, her death scene doesn't deliver. Throughout all of the film most of her scenes make her feel like she is on a high note and don't get me wrong seeing her that big is a high note but having her taken out but having Eric drive the ship into her stomach is just silly. With that it should be no surprise who wins this round. This round goes too...
Dr. Facilier
The Film Factor (The Final Round)
Here we are, The Film Factor, the final round. Which character worked better in their respective film, let's find out.
Dr. Facilier
Oh, Facilier. You are such a great villain and work so well. Your charm and suaveness help to make you such a memorable character and quite the scene stealer. This character was so much fun and every time he was on screen, I paid attention to him because he was the best character in all of his scenes. Not a moment goes by with him, where I'm bored and that makes for a great character.
Ursula
Ursula, while still a good character and great villain doesn't have the same screen presence as The Shadow Man. She's really good and certainly memorable but I don't feel that she commands the same screen presence as Facilier. Don't get me wrong, she delivers in every scene but when it comes down to it, I think this round had to go to..
Dr. Facilier
The End Result
So in our first ever male/female Vs., Dr. Facilier wins by a score 4 - 1. He had the better personality, better song, better death and he worked better in his film. The only thing is his desire wasn't very clear but still, he's a great villain and while she didn't win, I still like Ursula but in this Vs., it went to Facilier.
Now I know that I normally don't review direct-to-video films because typically, they're not very good and I like to pretend that the cheapquels never happened but I've made an exception as I actually like this film. Now I'll admit that are some problems with this film but that is to be expected. Now I'm not overlooking these problems because they're there but I still find myself enjoying this film despite what problems it may have.
The trailer shows you what your going to get. A simple, silly and fun take on The Three Musketeers. If you want a more serious take on this tale from Disney, there is the Tim Curry version. There's two things that I thought I'd never say in the same sentence. Now I'll admit it isn't as strong as the previous adaptions starring Mickey, Donald, & Goofy such as The Prince and The Pauper or Mickey and The Beanstalk but for what it is, it's an enjoyable ride.
The Plot
Again as stated, this is a loose adaption of The Three Musketeers with Mickey, Donald and Goofy in the lead roles and Pete as our main villain, the captain of the musketeers. Pete looks down on Mickey, Donald, & Goofy who start out the film as janitors for the royal palace but Captain Pete has plans to kidnap the princess and appoint himself king. Yeah, that isn't explained very well but let's just go with it. In order to do this though, he decides to make our three leads musketeers as Minnie who is the princess asks for bodyguards and Pete thinks that getting them to protect her will make his plan work. It's simple and a little silly but it showcases these classic characters rather well.
Narrator
The Troubadour voiced by Rob Paulsen
If there was any one character I didn't particularly care for, it would be The Troubadour. He served as our narrator for the film and I don't mind the idea of a narrator for a film. I think what they were trying to do here was Robin Hood did with Alan-a-Dale. In having an onscreen narrator that broke the fourth wall and talked directly to the audience. It just didn't work here because this character felt forced in. The only time you'd see him is when a song would come up and while those were nice and the idea of using classical music is writing lyrics to them was fun, he felt unneeded. Now he did have interaction at least once with the cast as Donald and The Troubadour do share a scene together.
Now to be fair, he did play an important role in getting the story going as when the film opens, we see this take place on TV set with a show similar in vein to the likes of Masterpiece Theater but maybe it is just my personal preference, I think I would've preferred if the film had cut that part out and just gone straight to the story.
Characters
Now that we got the narrator out of the way, I'll be breaking these next set of characters down into Main, Supporting, & Villains.
Main Characters
Mickey voiced by Wayne Allwine
Now as I've stated in the past, Mickey is my favorite character but that doesn't mean I know everything about him and I bring this up because in this film, they present a flaw that while seemingly obvious, I'd never seen it touched upon before this film. Being Mickey's height. Now while I don't mind the idea of giving these characters flaw, I don't if this was the right flaw to give Mickey. As for Mickey's personality, he wasn't changed too drastically. He was the same old likable mouse that was willing to do good and save the day and protect Minnie who of course, he falls in love with. Would you expect anything less? Oh I'd be remiss if I didn't bring the scene during the first sword fight with The Beagle Boys where they cut off his musketeers clothes and you see Mickey in his regular clothes. That was pretty funny.
Donald voiced by Tony Anselmo
Donald's flaw in the film probably bugged me the most out of the main three's. In this Donald is shown to be a coward and to me that just doesn't gel and also Donald already has a flaw with his short temper. Now maybe it wouldn't have worked in the context of the story that this film was trying to tell but I'm sorry, I just don't cowardice when I think of Donald Duck. I think of someone that has a good heart but can't control his temper. I'm sure they could've found a way to work that into this tale. Still, Donald was a lot of fun here and I guess you could make the argument that this is a story within a story as we see a studio set and Donald along with the rest of the cast are just actors in this realm. Is that a cheap excuse? Perhaps but I think it works. Now just like Mickey, we do get to see Donald in his sailor outfit that one point and I actually think that it's funnier than with Mickey with a great bit of dialogue between Mickey and Donald.
Mickey Mouse: Lie? Well, lie or no lie. Musketeers don't run from danger, and as long as we wear these uniforms, neither do we? Donald Duck: You said it! [Rips uniform off] Donald Duck: It's every duck for himself!
Goofy voiced by Bill Farmer
Now out of all of the flaws given to our main three, Goofy's felt the most natural and more ore less an extension of what he is already known for. Being well Goofy. As with A Goofy Movie, it comes through here rather well that Goofy is well meaning but a tad clumsy. It's simple and it works rather well and I mean Goofy uses his goofiness to his advantage at one point to take down The Beagle Boys at the beginning when they had kidnapped Minnie and Daisy. Now I'll say that I'm a bit disappointed that unlike Mickey or Donald, we didn't get a cameo scene of Goofy in his regular outfit but it's not a big deal, really. Goofy was probably the best character because he felt the most natural out of all them. Oh, I should also mention that Goofy ends up with Clarabelle at the end. Going a bit off topic, I always found that a bit confusing because Disney seems to like switch up Clarabelle's boyfriend between Goofy and Horace Horsecollar. According to the Disney Wiki, her first official boyfriend was Horace and it really wasn't until around the start of House of Mouse that Goofy became her boyfriend. I think that makes her the only classic Disney character to have more than one boyfriend. My personal take on this issue, it's weird but Disney can do what they want with their characters.
Supporting Characters
Pluto also voiced by Bill Farmer
What is there to say about Pluto? He was in this movie. That's about it, really. This isn't a hit on Pluto as I love this character. Heck I listed him as my favorite Disney dog when I counted down the Top 6 Dogs of Disney but I've noticed sometimes when Pluto is included in ensemble pieces such as this, he seems to be overshadowed. Not saying that's bad and I do appreciate his presence as it just feels right to include him along with Mickey, Donald and Goofy and he does serve his purpose of aiding our heroes but for the most part, he's just a background character.
Princess Minnie voiced by Russi Taylor
Again just as with Mickey, Minnie was her usual self and for this film that worked well. She ruled the kingdom and she was important to Pete's plan to kidnap her and take over the kingdom as stated above. Of course, she falls in love with Mickey and the feeling is mutual and honestly out of the three romances, this is the one that feels the most natural and most well developed. Of course that's not to say, the others felt forced as the audience is more than likely aware of the relationships of these characters save for Goofy and Clarabelle. In this film, she's sweet and simple.
Daisy voiced by Tress MacNeille
Daisy in this film reminded me a lot of how she was in House of Mouse and that makes sense seeing as this film came out not too long after that show. She cracked jokes and wise-cracker. She was really funny and had a sense of dry wit. Now as stated up top, all three of our main characters end up with a love interest. The reason I bring this up is because while we see Donald have a crush on Daisy in this film, she doesn't exactly return the feelings and to see her and Donald end up at the end seems a bit out of left field. Again, you could say that this is a film within a film and Donald and Daisy are already a couple but on it's own, it just seems to come out of nowhere. There is a funny line when Minnie comments on how her and Mickey have the same last name. Dumb but it's cute.
Minnie: Ah... Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Oh! Look Daisy! Mickey and I have the same last name! Ah...
Daisy: Well, It must be destiny. Good thing destiny doesn't control my love life.
Daisy: Well look at me. If it did, I'd get stuck with mister... [imitating Donald, both laughing]
Music
All For One and One For All
As stated up top, they take classical pieces and set lyrics to them. This piece is the Gallop from Orpheus in The Underworld, which until looking this up, I'd never heard of and as for this song, it's fun. It's probably one of the best in the film. It gets the story going nicely and I'm happy I found this clip because if you look closely at the hat given to Mickey, you see that musketeers that inspire our three leads are the character from the original series of books.
Love So Lovely
Here again, this piece of music is Dance of The Reed Flutes from The Nutcracker and the Romeo and Juliet overture. This in my opinion feels the most Disney esque of how the songs in this film. It's really cute and rather simple. Funny at first I hated this song while watching the film but listening to it again, I find it rather enjoyable. Isn't it funny how one's opinion can change so quickly.
Petey's King of France
As far as villain songs go, this one is okay. It's not bad but not anything memorable and for someone like Pete, I feel he deserves something better. My feelings on this song are that it's there but why? I mean yes, it is exposition but it's not a good song. As for the music used here, it is In The Hall of The Mountain King. Which listening to on it's own without Pete's lyrics makes for a much better piece of music as it is far more entertaining but I don't think they chose the right piece of music to set a villain song. I get the idea for a villain song listening to it but I don't think this was the right choice. Yeah, part of it does sound villainous but I still say that this piece of music was the wrong choice for Pete.
Sweet Wings of Love
This song is cute and sweet if not sickly so. This one time where I'm not bugged by The Troubadour. I think I should be more clear I like his music but I'm just not fond of the character. This is a sweet love song for Mickey and Minnie. Simple and cute. The piece of music used here was Blue Danube. Which again listening to it on it's own is really pretty.
Chains of Love
While this may be another love song, it's just so funny and the piece of music used her just works so well and I think it fits these characters rather well. This is a cute little sequence that I rather enjoy. As for the music used here, it is Habnera from the opera, Carmen. It's funny that while I've heard most of these pieces of music elsewhere, they seem entertaining in a different way here. As a matter of fact, the first time I heard this one was during an episode of Hey Arnold, where the class went to go see Carmen.
This Is The End
I have two different feeling about this song, on the one hand, I like it as it feels epic but at the same time, it comes out of nowhere and I'll concede that is true for most of the songs in this film but this one just seems to be the most random as for this number, I believe it to be the most popular piece of music in this film. It is Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. Which while I thought it was this one that appeared in Fantasia as well, it was actually Symphony No. 6 by Beethoven that appeared in that film.
L'Opera
The setting for this one makes this one a lot of fun and unlike the other pieces of music in this one, this one takes multiple excerpts from The Pirates of Penzance. Which I believe is the opera that is being conducted onstage while our heroes fight. It's simple and a lot of fun with some silly moments. Probably another piece I really enjoy from this film.
All For One (Reprise)
What better way to end the film then with the song that started it all? This reprise while short is a bunch of fun and emulates the feelings of the original quite well. Though I prefer the original version over the reprise myself.
Three Is a Magic Number
Now while this song didn't appear in the film itself, it's one of those songs that was made for the film and can I just say thank goodness it didn't appear in the film because while I don't hate it, it doesn't fit in with the idea of using classical pieces of music. In my opinion from going from those songs which I really enjoy and then all of the sudden have a generic pop song pop up, would ruin the flow of the music in this film.
Villains
The Beagle Boys all voiced by Jeff Bennett
Now let me just get one thing out of the way, while these characters are labeled as The Beagle Boys, they aren't the same as the ones from DuckTales. I have to say I love stuff like this and The Prince and The Pauper where Pete gets classic Disney henchmen as his henchmen. Here in this film, they were comedic foils which was a lot of fun and they were somewhat of a threat but not a big threat but they were still pretty funny.
Lt. Clarabelle voiced by April Winchell
Clarabelle serves as Pete's second in command in hopes to take over the kingdom. It was strange seeing Clarabelle in a villainous role but she turned good by the end of the film when she and Goofy fell in love. I loved her personality in this one but of course, they used her personality of the one from House of Mouse where she's a bit sarcastic. That's a nice touch. Also I just have to bring this up, it's a bit funny that Clarabelle worked alongside Pete in this as she was once a victim of his guards in The Prince and The Pauper. Again, I use my actor theory here.
Captain Pete voiced by Jim Cummings
Pete was just so much fun in this film, even if I didn't care for his song and at points he felt underused but when I want to see my favorite Disney villain done in a nice fashion, this is a good film to turn to. Now I'll admit, his scheme was cliche but it makes sense in the context of the film. There is always something fun about seeing people of power being evil such as Pete. Now going back to the flaws I pointed for our three heroes, Pete is the first one to point them out. Again Pete only hires Mickey, Donald, & Goofy as bodyguards for Minnie because of how clumsy they are and thought with them protecting her, it'd be easier to go through with scheme. Jim Cummings' performance was stellar in this film by the way too and also have to love that he has some Disney references in his dialogue.
Pete: [quoting the _"Mickey Mouse Club"_ theme as he throws Mickey into a cage] Hey, there! Hi, there! Ho, there! You're as welcome as can be!
So long, runt. I've got me tickets to the opera. A little something called I just Can't Wait To Be King!
My Final Thoughts
Is this film perfect? No but it is entertaining and for a direct-to-video film, it's better then most. It was a lot of fun and while there are some problems with this film, it does not detract from my enjoyment of this movie. It's short but for what it's worth, if you like these characters, it's worth a watch. I really enjoy the music in this film and the characters well, I love these characters and I like most everything they're in. Now I wouldn't go as far to say that it's worthy of a theatrical release but for a direct-to-video film, it's enjoyable and better then most everything else that came out direct-to-video.
Hello and welcome back to Music Fridays. Today, we will once again be delving int the obscure novelty albums from Disney as we Rock Around The Mouse. Speaking of which that brings me to our first song...
Rock Around The Mouse
I love the image for the cover of this album fits the mood of this song rather well. It has a '50s vibe to it and it is just so much fun. Although Goofy as a soda jerk, intriguing casting there. This is just a simple song but it is just so much fun and that's all the song is trying to be. Fun and it works.
Pinocchio's Boogie
This one is okay and has a good moral to it but I don't think the idea of the song fits with this genre. It's not bad but just seems lacking. A similar problem, that I noticed with the first song. Of course coming off of Splashdance, which was awesomely cheesy, it's hard to say that these songs are as good but on their own. They're okay.
Quackety Quack
Now this is more like it. This song is so much fun even if the voice of Daisy is a bit jarring but only because I'm not used to hearing her sound like that. This song is so funny and I actually remember a different variation of this song growing up but I have to say that I like this one better if only because hearing Donald fight back is so funny and so in character with him. So far this is the best song.
Mickey Motion
Ah, the one song I knew from this album before I even started this thing. I love this song not as much as Mickey, She's Got a Crush On You but it is just so much fun and I love the way that it is sung. And I love the Mickey voice in this song. This song is just so much fun and perhaps the best song of this group. I know what I said up top but I'm allowed to change my mind.
We're still not done with these novelty albums. Join me next week for the final one of these as I take a look at ...
Welcome to a special Classic Shorts Showcase, you guys voted on this one and by a vote of 4 out of 9, The Country Cousin won. You did vote for a good short. Yes, you did!
The Plot
The plot is rather simple but it works. Morty Citymouse invites his cousin, Abner Countrymouse to come live in the city with him and see what city life is like. Throughout the entire short, we see all their different lifestyles clash. Morty is one of the upper class while Abner is a simple country mouse who doesn't need much in life to get by and they both different in their style and Morty tried to improve Abner to fit in his style but it was too much for Abner especially after he got drunk. What is it with Disney mice getting drunk? Is there an AA for mice or something? Back on topic, Abner gets drunk and hears too many loud noises and it drives him crazy and causes him to go back home to the country. The plot while simple is a good one. It was fun seeing these two characters and how different they are. One more thing to bring up is the music helps to drive the story seeing as the characters never talk.
Characters
Now seeing as there is only 2 characters, I'm not breaking it down this time. Let's begin!
Abner Countrymouse
Abner was a really fun character. His down home side came out while his cousin tried to show him to be a proper city mouse and as he said in his letter, he wanted to stop being a hick. Which rubbed me the wrong way because I hate the idea of changing people to be what others want. Y'know this is one short where I feel like I knew the story because there have been so many iterations of it in the past but I still enjoyed this one all the same.
Morty Citymouse
Morty was bit of an annoying character but at the same time, I think that was intentional but each time that he was trying to correct Abner, it drove me up the wall a bit. I mean he wasn't as annoying as other characters I've talked about in the past but at the same time, he was a nuance.
My Final Thoughts
You guys picked a pretty decent short, the characters were okay. It's not the greatest and I don't think it's the most memorable but it rather enjoyable!. Join me next week when I take a look at...
I've decided to review the short film The Cat That Looked at a King. This short film was created for the 40th anniversary DVD re-release of Mary Poppins. I really love the fact that Julie Andrews came back for this. Even though there has been some debate over whether or not, her character in this short film is in fact Mary Poppins. For my money, I do believe that in this version that Julie Andrews did in fact reprise her role of Mary Poppins. Which we will get to when I talk about her some more. Also while Dick Van Dyke does not appear in this short film, there is a callback to Bert as the short film opened on two British children looking at chalk drawings in the same location as where Bert did his drawings. According to Julie Andrews, the was re-created to emulate the feel of the one of the original film.
The Plot
The plot is rather simple and it is based upon part of the Mary Poppins book, Mary Poppins Opens The Door. In this short, we follow two British children and Mary Poppins as they jump into a drawing as they watch a King who is in love with facts and knowing everything play a game of wits with a Cat that happens to know more then she let's on. Now after they jump into the drawing, Mary Poppins (I'm standing by this) and the children become side characters who just happen to observe and she becomes more of a narrator.
Characters
The King voiced by David Ogden Stiers
The King is shown to be a well meaning person that seems to have his nose stuck in books looking for answers for everything. He believes that everything needs a logical answer and only thin with his brain and not his heart. Which has led him to ignore his Queen. His love because he is so caught up in looking for facts for everything. He's a fun character and if a little silly but well meaning
The Cat voiced by Tracey Ullman
The Cat is a fun character. She at least The Cat is a she but that is neither here nor there. The Cat sees through the King and tries to get to see past the books and see that there is more to life then just looking for facts by asking him in questions in a game, where the answers that can't be found in a book. The Cat is a rather sly character and that fits in rather well with her. She's not a bad character but she in a way reminds me of how Mary Poppins dealt with Jane and Micheal by getting them to think beyond the facts. She was really unique.
The Queen voiced by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
As stated, The King seems to ignore his Queen because he is so caught up in looking for facts. Alas The Queen stays by his side. She doesn't have very many lines in here but she does love The King but just wishes that he would pay more attention to her and that's fair to say.
Mary Poppins played by Julie Andrews
Again as I said while describing the plot, Julie Andrews really seemed to have some fun reprising her role here. As I said, I truly do believe that she once again played Mary Poppins in this and I say this because there were a few personality traits of Mary Poppins that popped up in this short film such as her being stern with the children, denying the events that took place a la the way Mary Poppins denied the horse race in the first film. Again, though as stated previously after the short jumps from the real world to the picture, she becomes a bit more of a observer and comments on the events of the story. It's fun and it works, really well.
My Final Thoughts
This short film is cute and a decent follow up to Mary Poppins. Again as I said there is debate as to whether or not that this is Mary Poppins in this but I do think that there is evidence to say that there is. One last thing to mention, is at the end of the short is that it ends with a silhouette of Mary Poppins' shadow. It's a lot of fun and cute but of course, it doesn't come close to the film but it wasn't trying to be as grand as the movie. That would be too hard. Instead it was just a cute little follow up that felt like a visit for fans of the old film to see what Mary Poppins is up to now.
