My Collection, Part 1 - Animation

It was great to see "The Simpsons" come out onto the big screen after so many years of being a TV Series. I would love to see a few more movies like this be released. The plot of this film was alright, but there were some great moments of humor throughout the movie.

This is one of my favorite animated features. I've always enjoyed stop motion animation, and this film is a great use of that style. This is based off the book by Roald Dahl, and it perfectly captures the very dark atmosphere of the story. The bugs in the peach truly are terrifying, yet very friendly to James.
This film features some great voice acting from actors who normally appear in live action films. Richard Dreyfuss is fantastic as the Centipede, and Susan Sarandon is wonderful as the spider. David Thewlis and Miriam Margoyles are also superb. Everyone should watch this film, and read the book.

This is a really great Henry Selick film. The characters are portrayed very well. The movie could have actually been a little bit darker. It was quite light in comparison to Neil Gaiman's novel. I would've liked to see it get very dark. There are some really nice moments throughout this film, and it is definitely well worth watching. Dakota Fanning does very well in the title role. They Might Be Giants recorded a full soundtrack, but only one song was used, because the others were "too dark." I would have loved to hear their version of Coraline.

This is a wonderful film, directed by Henry Selick, and based on Tim Burton's darkly wondrous Christmas story. Henry Selick creates a world very similar to Tim Burton's own world, and succeeds greatly with this film. This film is accompanied with wonderful, original music written by Danny Elfman. The atmosphere of this movie begins as Patrick Stewart's voice narrates the opening words to Burton's rhyming tale.
This is a wonderful film that should be seen by all.

This film is written and directed by Tim Burton and encompasses the dark atmosphere that he strives for. This film is not quite as good as "The Nightmare Before Christmas," but still provides some very intricate use of stop motion capture technology.
This film has some duller moments, but is a very well done movie overall. Danny Elfman sings a wonderful song in the film, and Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter do a great job in their voice work.

This is a series of short animations (by different animators) that connects Batman Begins to Batman: The Dark Knight. This is an alright series, but shows nothing overly impressive.

This film is part animation and part live action, and it is one of the best films of the 80s. This is a wonderful film that shows off some skillful combination of animation and live action. Bob Hoskins is very funny in the lead live action role, and the animated characters of Roger and Jessica Rabbit seem to have a live of their own.
This is a great movie, because it shows the adult side of cartoon life. Cartoons need to have a little bit of fun every now and then. One of my favorite parts of watching this movie is seeing a lot of familiar characters from Disney wandering around behind the scenes as they are being filmed. This is a great film.
The highlight of this film is definitely Christopher Lloyd as the terrifying villain, Judge Doom. Lloyd portrays a very dark character, and terrifies any child who watches the film with his cruelty against the Toons.
This is definitely a classic that isn't just for kids.

I feel that this movie tells a great fantasy, with a great cast. However, the movie was made for the sake of showing off how well motion capture technology can be used. The movie could have easily been live action, and now it just looks strange to watch the realistic animation. This is only an alright film.

This is a decent computer animated feature, featuring some nice voice acting from Emma Watson and Robbie Coltrane. The film has no superb plot, but is a nice animated family movie.

Bambi is one of Disney's crowning achievements in presenting an animated film that teaches a lifelong lesson. Bambi is unique in the Disney spectrum because it features minimal dialogue, apart from necessary speaking. This is a wonderful gem of a movie that every child or adult should take the time to watch. It also is a very sad film, and shows how a child must cope with death for the first time.
The soundtrack to this film is beautiful. "Little April Shower" is a gorgeous choral piece from the film that fully captures the sounds of nature using voice. It's a beautiful song for a gorgeous film. Definitely a classic.

This is a wonderful Disney movie from the height of Disney animation. It features great characters and voice acting, and some wonderful songs by Alan Menken & Howard Ashman. While lightening the mood of the original dark tale, "Beauty & The Beast" does include some very dark moments, and the Beast is very scary when he flies into a rage.
The voice acting in this film is phenomenal, partially due to that fact that Disney used a lot of Broadway legends to voice some fairly small roles. Angela Lansbury performs a gorgeous rendition of the title song as Ms. Potts, and Jerry Orbach performs a great rendition of "Be Our Guests." One of my favorite aspects of this film is seeing the transformation of the characters back into their human forms. The animators put a lot of effort into making sure every character was somewhat similar to the object they were turned into.
This film also features a great villain: Gaston, voiced by Richard White. This is a great character that enhances the original tale very well, and keeps the plot moving swiftly.

This is one of the best Disney "sequels" ever created. This occurs during the plot of the original, but in a section that was overlooked. This is one of the few Christmas movies that can be easily watched throughout the year. The entire cast returned for this film, and a few new characters were introduced.
The movie featured some great new songs, such as "Stories" and "Don't Fall In Love." The songs were by Don Black. This movie added some more great voices, such as Bernadette Peters as the Christmas angel, Angelique. The highlight of this film is definitely Tim Curry's terrifying voice being used to play Forte. Forte is a gigantic pipe organ, and is absolutely terrifying as the film's villain. Forte is intent on destroying the Beast in order to remain in his powerful form as a Pipe Organ. Forte is a very well developed character.
This is an amazing sequel, and equally as amazing as the original, with one of the greatest Disney villains, voiced by one of the greatest voices.

Wes Anderson normally directs witty live action films, but he has changed his scope to cover a stop motion style for Fantastic Mr. Fox, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's book. This is a brilliant film. It contains all of the usual elements of a Wes Anderson film, in that it includes very witty jokes and a star studded cast, including George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, and Willem Dafoe, to name a few.
The dialogue in this feature is incredibly sharp and witty, and the actors do a great job of voice acting throughout the movie. The farmers are great portrayals of man, and the rat is a great farce of many of Willem Dafoe's roles in the Mafia films. This is a really great movie for everybody to enjoy.

This is one of Disney's most underrated and heartwarming films that shows how friendship will prevail through the tough times. This begins with a cute tale of two friends, voiced by Corey Feldman and Keith Coogan. This is an adorable start to the film. When the Fox and the Hound grow up, the Hound is a hunting dog, and the Fox technically becomes what is normally considered prey. Mickey Rooney and Kurt Russell take over the voices of the characters.
Jack Albertson does very well in voicing the film's villain, Amos Slade. This hunter will stop at nothing to trap and kill the Fox. It's hard to believe that this voice is the same voice that plays Charlie Bucket's lovable Grandfather in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. This is a very good film.

The sequel has very little to do with the original, apart from sharing a title. The main characters are overshadowed by the background roles. The voice cast is fairly impressive, featuring Patrick Swayze, Reba McEntire, and Jeff Foxworthy. However, this film is mediocre at best.

This is another great film from Disney's golden era. Aladdin portrays a very lighthearted version of the tale told in "Arabian Nights." The music in Aladdin is a wonderful array of songs written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. The cast is quite great, and the story is told wildly.
Robin Williams is definitely the star of this film, as he perfectly captures the insane joy of the Genie, while still portraying the anguish of being trapped. The Genie is one of the films' highlights, and Williams does a pretty great job of singing. Another great part of the film is definitely is villain, Jafar (Jonathan Pryce) and his naggy sidekick, Iago (Gilbert Gottfried). Pryce's deep voice really captures the anguish of a plotting member of royalty who is tired of being second best. This is a great film, that keeps an audience is constant suspense.

This is a wonderful Disney movie. Once again, this movie lightens the original tale in order to make it family-friendly, but retains some great dark moments throughout. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken make a wonderful soundtrack to this film that encompasses many different styles of music.
Jodi Benson is wonderful with the touching "Part Of Your World" and Samuel E. Wright is amazing with the Reggae style instant classic "Under The Sea." However, the show is stolen by the wonderful portrayal of the villain Ursula by the low voiced Pat Carroll. The song "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is absolutely brilliant with Carroll's belting voice. The final scene of Ursula's wrath is absolutely terrifying. A great movie.

This is another rare Disney sequel that is comparable to the original (in my opinion). The cast returned to voice their characters, and it featured some great new music. Pat Carroll returned as Ursula's grieving sister, Morgana, and does a great job in showing her versatility. This is a great family film, with some dark moments, and great music.

This is a nice, heartwarming Disney tale about family. This film provides some great use of Elvis Presley's music, and features no really big names in the voice cast. It's a great movie. One of the most touching moments in this film is when Nani (Tia Carrere) sings a beautiful rendition of Aloha 'Oe to wish Lilo's worries away. It's a gorgeous scene of the film that can bring tears to my eye.
This is one of Disney's more dramatic films, and there is a lot of sadness in the film, that is eventually resolved by an unlikely addition to the family.

This is a great recent animated feature from Disney. It has some great music, performed by some very renowned artists, such as Sting, Rascal Flatts, Eartha Kitt, and Tom Jones. The music is catchy and modern, and the characters are lovable and very humorous. David Spade is great in playing his usual role as the Emperor, John Goodman is great as Pacha.
The two characters to really listen for is Eartha Kitt in a triumphant portrayal of the evil Yzma, and Patrick Warburton as her incredibly dimwitted, yet surprisingly smart assistant, Kronk. This is a really bright, fun animated feature.

This is a nice follow-up to the first film. This focuses on everybody's favorite character, Kronk, as he is looped up once again into Yzma's plan. The cast reunited, and made a great film, with a lot of genuinely heartwarming moments.
There were plans to make a third installation in the series called Yzma's new groove, but it was never made due to Eartha Kitt's passing. Nobody can replace a legend.

This is Disney's adaptation of Robin Hood, featuring many lovable animal characters representing the characters of the original classic story. This is not my favorite Disney animation by any means, but it is still worth watching.

This film is one of the darkest that has been produced by Disney. This film brings together a group of lovable characters that must go on a quest in order to stop an evil king from destroying all that is good in the world. This is a very dark film that will no longer be made in today's children's film.
John Hurt (now known as Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter) is terrifying as the Evil demon king. This is a great underrated Disney classic.

This is one of Disney's more recent successes. It tells a great Native American style story of a man whose ruthless hunting for revenge causes him to become a bear himself. This is a great story of redemption and learning a lesson. It features some very heart-wrenching moments, and the only comedic relief is in the form of two Canadian moose, one of which is voiced by Rick Moranis.
Joaquin Phoenix does a great job as the Kanai (the lead bear). The highlight of this film is definitely the soundtrack, which is written and performed by Phil Collins, and features Tina Turner. The soundtrack is brilliantly done, and captures the journey that the film takes it's viewers on.

The Aristocats is a film more focused on jazz music than the journey of the cats. It's a very touching feature, but is often overshadowed by the similar story of animals trying to escape a killer, 101 Dalmations. This film is well worth watching just because of the music, performed by artists such as Phil Harris, Scatman Crothers, Thurl Ravenscroft, and Maurice Chevalier (immediately before retirement). This is an overlooked Disney feature, that is definitely worth watching, as it has some great humor, and really good music.

This is one of my all time favorites. This movie is overlooked far too often when people view Disney movies. This movie, based loosely on the stories of Sherlock Holmes, is a great film for everyone to watch.
The highlight of this film is definitely the legendary Vincent Price, who voices the dastardly villain, Rattigan. Price even had a try at singing in the film, and does a fantastic job of it! Another great moment is Melissa Manchester's catchy song at the mouse adult club, "Let Me Be Good To You."
This often overlooked film is one of the best.

This is another overlooked Disney film that is one of the better movies in their releases. This can be found in most five dollar bins of movie stores, but it is a quality film. The Brave Little Toaster has some great 80's style music, and features a touching tale of appliances on an adventure to find their master. This is a very dark story at moments. There is a scene is a scrap yard, where cars sing of their past life before being crushed into cubes. Another scene features an air conditioner blowing himself up in rage.
The villain in this movie never speaks, but is truly terrifying. The magnet makes it his mission to capture the appliances and put them in the incinerator, completely unprovoked.

This is a pretty good sequel. The adventure isn't nearly as fun as the original movie, however, the movie has a great soundtrack composed by Broadway composer William Finn.

This is a great Disney movie that contrasts the light with the dark side of the world. This movie shows that it's what's on the inside that counts.
Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay) is probably the scariest villain that Disney has ever presented, because it is so realistic. Frollo has episodes of lust and complete evil throughout the film. He is a terrifying man. Tom Hulce, Kevin Kline, and Demi Moore are great at their character's voices. This is a great movie, which combines some wonderful humor with some horrifying darkness.
The soundtrack by Stephen Schwartz and Alan Menken is brilliant, providing listeners with a huge chorus and orchestra to make the plot move in rapid suspense. The gypsies are surprisingly seductive for a Disney movie, and viewers see the darkness of the slums. Paul Kandel is fantastic as the gypsy narrator, Clopin.

This is one of Disney's more humorous approaches to an epic adventure, and it works quite well. The music by Alan Menken and David Zippel is fantastic. The songs in this film are incredibly catchy, and the unique, modern style of this portrayal of the Greek legend is set from the get-go when Charlton Heston's narration is interrupted by a musical quintet of 5 R&B ladies. This is a really nice film.

Nobody can ever forgot Disney's choice to create a film without words; using nothing other than classical music by various composers. This film tells a magnificent fantasy, and is definitely worth watching. It is quite lengthy.

I feel that this film was only created in order to show the new special effects that could be used if Fantasia was created today. However, a nice story is still told.

I have Volume 1 & 2 of the short film collection, and they are all truly beautiful. This collection is well worth having, and includes many shorts, whether they be humorous or very touching. This is an amazing set.

This is a nice superhero movie by Disney-Pixar. It really captures the atmosphere of a Superhero movie. The heroes are really well created. Samuel L. Jackson does a great job as the hero Frozone. This movie shows some great humor within this family of superheroes. This is a really fun movie to watch.

This is definitely Disney Pixar's crowning achievement in film. This is an absolutely beautiful movie which shows what "Gran Torino" should have been. Edward Asner is so touching as Carl; a man tortured by heartache. Christopher Plummer does very well as the maniacal Charles Muntz. This is one of the most touching stories in existence.
The 10 minute montage at the beginning of the movie is enough to have made some audience cry, and it is amazingly well done. A gem of a film.

This is a mediocre film with a standard adventure plot, and a great voice cast of Martin Short, James Belushi, and Tim Curry. It's such a shame that a brilliant cast like this went to waste.

One of the few non-Disney films that rivals the Disney classics. This is a great story of the corruption that spread throughout Russia. This tells a historical story with the assistance of a little bit of magic.
Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) is quite a terrifying villain, after coming back from the dead. "In The Dark Of The Night" (sung by Jim Cummings) is a very great musical number. Meg Ryan, John Cusack, Hank Azaria, Kelsey Grammar and Bernadette Peters have some great voice work. This is a gem of a movie.

This is a classic film of toys that come alive to play. This is a beautiful story that made every child want to apologize to their neglected toys in the past. This is a really nice, heartwarming film. The voice cast is phenomenal (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen). This is a great movie, with an amazing atmosphere.

This movie is really well done, though not quite on par with the first movie. This is another beautiful story that is well worth watching. The music of this film is gorgeous, with Sarah McLachlan tearing listeners hearts out with "When Somebody Loved Me." Kelsey Grammar was fantastic as the villain, Stinky Pete.

This is my favorite of the Toy Story trilogy. This story provides a great conclusion to a great trilogy. This made many viewers cry as they realized that they were about to leave their childhood behind. This is a gorgeous film about the toys and their struggle to move on after one owner leaves them behind. The ending to this story will leave viewers completely satisfied and complete.
Keep an eye out for characters of the past Toy Story movies.

Need I say anything about this gem of a movie? The Lion King is Disney's triumph, complete with the humor or Timon & Pumbaa, the sorrow of Mufasa, and the redemption of Simba. This is a gorgeous movie, with a wonderful soundtrack by Elton John and Tim Rice, and a wonderful cast, included James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, and Nathan Lane. This is a brilliant movie that should be watched by everyone, young and old.

This is a fairly good film, though incomparable to the original. This follows the next generation of lions, taking over Pride Rock. This is a really sweet film, with some great musical numbers, especially "He Lives In You."

This is the story of Timon and Pumbaa, which takes place during the original story. It has some pretty hilarious explanations to why everything played out the way it did, and some pretty good new songs.

This is another of the few animated movies that managed to rival Disney. It has one of the best soundtracks, with Steve Perry (Journey), Andrea Corr, Bryan White, and Eric Idle. This movie is a wild adventure filled with humor and darkness.
Gary Oldman does a great job as Ruber, the villain. This is a wonderful movie that should never be neglected from a list of the best animated films. This is a gem.

Hoodwinked! is a great adaptation of the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. It sets the classic tale up as a criminal investigation, and viewers get to see each characters point of view on the chain of events that happened throughout the story. This is rich in humor, and Anne Hathaway, Patrick Warburton, and Glenn Close are fantastic in their voice roles.

This movie very quickly became one of my all time favorites. This film has not been seen by nearly enough people as it should be. This Australian film is pure gold. It is a stop motion feature that is not for children. It deals with very unique humor and darkness as the story progresses. The contrasting styles and similarities of the characters lives are portrayed perfectly in the animation.
Sometimes, I forgot that this was an animated feature. Even if you are not a fan of animated movies, this is well worth the watch. The story is so incredibly unique and amazing; and should not be easily forgotten. Everybody should watch this movie. By the end, everyone may have teary eyes. It is a true gem.

This is a unique animation intended for adult viewers. The style of the animation is very unique, and it is presented very well.

Audiences are brought into the dystopian future world, and Robert Downey Jr is a welcome addition to voice acting. A really interesting movie that is well worth a watch.