Stanislaus

The War with Grandpa, which could easily be seen as a kind of spin-off of the Fokers trilogy, will never make a dent in the comedy world, but it is acted and filmed in a likeable way, without it slipping into the nastiness or annoyingly whiny characters that abound in American comedies. The viewer is served a fairly simple story about a grandfather and his grandson, spiced up with solid jokes and non-violent wisdom about the importance of family. Thumbs up for the old guard cast of Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour and Cheech Marin, they really rocked.

I had seen Spielberg's Hook and 2003's Peter Pan, which I rated with an average three stars, and I can't go any higher in the case of the original Disney classic. The Neverland tale of the Flying Boy, his wacky gang, the vengeful Hook, the incompetent Smee, and one gluttonous crocodile didn't wow me either, which is a shame considering the possibilities this fantasy world had to offer. I found the songs very bland and couldn't form any kind of relationship with any of the characters. If I want to go to Neverland, I'd rather reach for the feature film starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

As much as I like movies with canine heroes, 101 Dalmatians didn't really appeal to me, despite the large number of barking characters. The film doesn't have any downright humorous scenes, and despite the suspenseful nature of the plot, I wasn't really riveted, except perhaps at the very end. The only scene that made any kind of impression on me was the dog march in the blizzard, otherwise it was more of a sequence of scenes that lacked the real verve. Even the main villain, Cruella De Vil, didn't have the right bad-ass-charisma.

Sleeping Beauty is a story about the struggle between pure love and pure evil, between kindness and hatred. Even if you are familiar with this classic tale, the film still managed to pleasantly surprise me with the hilariously clumsy trio of fairies trying to dress the cake, or the demonic figure of Maleficent, Mistress of All Evil, who brimmed with chillingly terrifying charisma. The icing on the cake (not the one from the fairies) was the attractive animation and the beautiful song “Once Upon a Dream”, which nicely permeated the entire film.

With Pocahontas, it's obvious at first glance where James Cameron later drew from when writing the script for Avatar. The love story of two people from different worlds, who were not at first at all happy with each other, impresses with its cultural-ecological touch, which gives the film an extra-fairytale overlay. The more serious scenes are balanced by humorous moments with Meek the raccoon and Percy the dog, and spiced up with the pithy wisdom of Grandma Willow. A sweetly made fairy tale about tolerance of the new and the unknown, which surprises with a not-so-typical Disney ending.

Aladdin captivates the viewer above all with its boundless imagination in the field of animation, a pleasant musical score and a brisk story. A large part of the film's appeal is without doubt the character of the Genie, whose various transformations and many allusions from different areas were endless, and who, along with the monkey Abu, was the main source of humour. Of the songs, I liked “A Whole New World” the best, and I'm glad the 2019 live-action remake wasn't a carbon copy, so the original gave me a few nice surprises.

The Little Mermaid does not have much to surprise in terms of story, but it does offer a few lessons that the viewer will take away in older age; the blending of boundaries between two different worlds (here human and marine) or a reasonable and healthy relationship between parents and children. In this case, the film doesn’t rely so much on humour, although it does have a few genuinely funny moments (Sebastian and the cook or the goofy seagull) and musical numbers to lighten the atmosphere, but it’s built on a dramatic-romantic story of two seemingly very different beings who were not entirely happy at first. Of the characters, I was most intrigued by the diabolical Ursula, who made for a very suspenseful and frightening conclusion. A weaker four stars!

There are countless films about Hercules and the Disney version of this famous story about the invincible strongman is undoubtedly one of the funniest. In terms of animation, it is a smart piece with many nice ideas and allusions to contemporary culture. Besides the action-fantasy scenes, Hercules is brimming with many funny moments, mainly provided by the incompetent sidekicks Hades, Pegasus and the satyr Phil. Hercules himself isn't all that remarkable, but it was funny to watch him brimming with enormous strength, but also shyness and trepidation when the murderously seductive Meg came along.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame refers in a kind and unobtrusive way to the old familiar saying of don't judge a book by its cover, or in this case don't judge others by their deformities or skin colour. In addition to the nicely delivered message of tolerance towards others, the film offers a story of all colours with a beautiful musical score and more than one humorous moment, especially provided by the gargoyles and the goat. Despite the demonic character of Frol and the darker ending, the film radiates an incredibly positive atmosphere that makes it an enjoyable watch.

Who doesn't know the classic tale of The Beauty and the Beast? I'm glad that after a long time I finally decided to watch the Disney adaptation, whose unmistakable charm persists even years after its premiere. At first glance, the rather simple story of two (seemingly quite) different individuals is presented in a very sweet and sincere way, complemented by a multitude of characters in the form of enchanted servants and enriched by an overwhelmingly pleasant musical score, which makes the film a wonderful experience, which, thanks to the boundless imagination of the animators, playfully resists the ravages of time.