Gerawallstar

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the 51st Walt Disney animated film called Winnie the Pooh. This film is the last hand-drawn film from Disney. Fun fact: Disney was originally going to make one hand-drawn movie every two years after the modest success of The Princess and the Frog. Unfortunately, Disney had this stupid strategy of releasing this film on the very same day as the final Harry Potter movie called Harry Potter and the deathly Hallows part II, making this film flop at the box office. After the box office failure of this film, Disney scrapped the idea of making more 2D films and eliminated hand-drawn animation all together. In my opinion, I like this movie. It’s a really good movie but not the best film of the revival era sadly.
Story:
The story has three stories bundled together starting with Pooh searching for Honey, the second being about a contest searching for Eeyore’s tail, and the last story about Pooh and his friends searching for the backson. The stories in this film are relatively good but the issues is that unlike the 1977 film where there are several stories, theres only three stories which isnt a lot for a Winnie the Pooh film. This problem is even more noticeable when you realized this film is only an hour long. That doesn’t mean that this ruins the overall story because there are some good moments in the story. For example: there are a few funny moments such as Roo requesting Piglet to go search for something and the funny moment where Pooh mistakes Rabbit for saying a knock knock joke when he talking about a knot. I also loved the scene where Tigger was trying to cheer Eeyore up. Its really entertaining. The message of the movie is really good. It teaches kids to be more considerate towards others than always yourself. The story is fine but could still use more work with a longer runtime and more stories. I give the story 6 stars.
Animation:
The animation is fantastic. As Disneys last hand-drawn film, the animation really holds up. It has that classic animation style reminiscent of the original Winnie the Pooh. The characters designs are solid. And the CGI effects of the honey look surprisingly great. The best part of the animation is the chalkboard sequence in one of the songs. My criticism with the animation is that it may be too good. Dont get me wrong, the animation is still amazing but it feel like it’s too polished to the point where it didnt really need to be updated. Christopher Robin’s eyes for instance should’ve stayed as it was in the original. The animation is still a piece of art, and it makes me wish that Disneys has done more of this animation. I give the animation nine stars.
Characters:
The characters are really enjoyable. I loved the titular character Winnie the Pooh. Hes naive but loveable. I loved his character development at the end of the film. Tigger is the same loveable energetic character we all grew up with. He is my favorite out of the characters in the franchise. The other characters such as Piglet, Owl, and Eeyore are also enjoyable. Rabbit has a different voice actor this time around named Tom Kenny, who was famous as his role of Spongebob Squarepants. I not only loved the Rabbit character but Tom Kenny brings out a wonderful performance as Rabbit. My problem with the characters are that there aren’t a lot of new characters. With the exception of a balloon, which I wont count. Oh and Kanga and Roo are sadly not in this movie a whole lot. The characters are good and the same ones we remember watching from the 70s film. I give the characters seven stars.
Songs:
The songs are memorable. Kirsten and Robert Lopez who would later write songs for Frozen wrote the songs for this movie. The songs do have that same quality songs that the Sherman Brothers have wrote. It makes you think that the songs in this movie were written by them. The opening song “Winnie the Pooh” sunged by Zooey Deschanel is great and catchy. However the original is better. “Its gonna be great” is memorable. “Everything is Honey” is fantastic especially because of the wonderful animation. “The Backson” is the best song of the movie and my personal favorite. The chalkboard style animation, and the funny suggestions of what the backson is what makes this song stand out. “The Winner Song” is somewhat annoying. These songs are memorable and have a distinct charm to the movie. I give the songs seven stars.
Verdict:
Winnie the Pooh(2011) is a good and faithful reboot to the original. Sure it may the weakest film of the revival and it doesnt have new characters, along with a hour long runtime ruining opportunities to make new stories. However it does make up for its flaws with beautiful hand-drawn animation, great characters are fun songs to listen to. Out of all the reboots, and live-action remakes nowadays, this film is one of the rare reboots that has heart. I give this movie seven stars out of ten. 7/10.

Hey Guys Gerawallstar, here. And I am here to review the 1989 Walt Disney 28^th animated film The Little Mermaid. In my opinion, this was one of the best films I have seen from Disney in a long time. This is the film that felt like a Disney film, again. This film indeed brings us to a new era, known as the Disney Renaissance, after being in a darker period in Disney history, where they were releasing poor to mediocre films. This film brought back the Disney princess line that was missing for 30 years, after the box office bomb of Sleeping Beauty. This film also brought back the Disney Fairytale. On top of all of that, it was the most critically/financially successful film since The Rescuers, which meant that it finally beated a Don Bluth film. In this case, All Dogs go to Heaven.

Production/Development

After Walt Disney’s death in 1966, Disney was entering a darker period in Disney history known as the dark ages. During that time, they were producing films that were critical/financial failures such as The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Fox and the Hound, etc. On top of all of that, in 1985, Disney released their expensive film called The Black Cauldron, which bombed at the box office, not making back its budget, almost leading the Walt Disney Animation Company to shut down. Thankfully, in 1986, when they released The Great Mouse Detective, while it was not financially successful, it made enough money to save the company from Bankruptcy. That film, and Oliver and Company were also the films that stepped Disney into the plate, preparing for a film that would lead them to the Disney Renaissance. In 1988, there was also a film that was released called Who framed Roger Rabbit, where it made a lot of people take animation seriously again, and resulting in Disney entering a new renaissance, with this film, The Little Mermaid.

Development:

The Little Mermaid was originally planned as part of Walt Disney’s earlier films, originally planned to be released two years after Snow White, but that was scrapped. In 1985, Ron Clements, and John Muscker were interested in the film adaptation while working on The Great Mouse Detective at the time. Clements wrote a two-page script, and retrieve it to Jeffery Katzenberg, but he put that on hold, because he thought that it would be similar to the plot of the upcoming 1984 live action film Splash. However, the next day, he approved of the project the following day, next to Oliver and Company. A lot of changes to the 1930’s writers of the Han’s Christian Anderson’s story were the same changes made by Disney Writers in the 1980s. During that year, Clements and Musker expanded the two-page idea into a 20-page script, and eliminated the role of the mermaid’s grandmother and expanding the roles of the Merman King and the sea witch. However, Katzenberg put that film on hold to work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988. Speaking of sea witch, the design of Ursula was based on a drag queen performer named Devine, and Bea Arthur from The Golden Girls, originally auditioned for the role of her. Unfortunately, she turned it down, so they gave the part to other actors such as Nancy Marchand, Charlotte Rae, Roseanne, etc. But in the end, they gave the role to Pat Carrol. Whats interesting about Jodi Benson’s role as Ariel in the beginning was that her recorded dialogue was used as a playback to guide through the live-action settings, which that was how they used the animation in the film. During that time, this film was Disney’s expensive film to date, next to The Black Cauldron, and they opened up a satellite feature animation facility in Lake Buena Vista, Florida within the Disney MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, to help contribute ink and paint support of the film. For the music, this film was one of the first films to feature Broadway musicals. One of the songs “Part of your World” was originally going to be cut from the film by Katzenberg, mainly because one of children during screening were getting rowdy when the song was playing, but in the end, they kept the song. So with all of that, The Little Mermaid was finally released in November 16, 1989.

Story:

The plot is about a 16 year old mermaid named Ariel who goes on land, which was forbidden to encounter a boy that she is in love with. On top of all of that, she makes a dangerous deal signing a contract to an evil sea witch by allowing to become human for three days to be with the boy she likes, but the price is that she had to lose her voice. Let me just say that I loved the plot here. This story is fantasitc and very exciting to see from Disney after 20 years. It tramples any plot from almost all of the Disney films from the dark ages. There’s a lot that I loved about the story. I loved the beginning scene where Ariel forgets the show that she’s supposed to sing, the storm at the sea scene, Ariel saving Eric during the storm, the romantic subplot between Ariel and Eric, the wedding scene the battle between Ursula, and Ariel/Eric, Eric saving the day by defeating Ursula, and even the ending. Everything that was presented in this movie was done amazingly. The beginning really reflects that Disney has finally made it to a new era of animation Not to mention that there’s also some pretty good humor, as well. I laughed at the scene where Ariel dropped her fork when she is having dinner with Eric. I also laughed when Ariel was having the time of her life while touring the kingdom with Eric. I also laughed at the scene where the chef tries to kill Sebastian the crab. My main problem with the movie is the ending. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a great ending, but I would have appreciated if the main character apologized to her father from the mistakes that she has made. They were originally going to show that in the deleted scenes, but Katzenberg took that out because he wanted the ending to look like Die Hard. Aside from my mixed thoughts of the ending, this is the best story I have seen from Disney in a long time. Superb job, writers. I give the story nine stars.

Animation:

Just like the story, the animation is also amazing. The animation really looks like a classic Disney film. They really took advantage of animating most of the human characters using xerography so well. The underwater environments, and the main characters were animated perfectly. I love all of the colors that they used in the animation. The little details like the bubbles were great too. Fun fact about the animation: The reason why the bubbles were animated like this was because Disney wanted to go all the way with the animation, so they animated the bubbles from China, since it was hard to animate underwater. There’s even a future animated style that will be used heavily in other Disney renaissance films called the CAPS System. It was showcased in the end, along with Ariel singing her final verse of her “I want” song on the rocks. There was also some interesting CGI in the film as well, like in the ship during the final battle with Ursula. I have to say its very innovative. If there’s one criticism I have with the animation is that most of the human characters, as well as most of the backgrounds do look kind of odd, and limited. With this being the last Disney movie to have Cel-animation and xerography, it’s obvious that there are still some sketchy human characters/backgrounds because of the xerography. But aside from that nitpick, the animation is amazing, and very beautiful. I give the animation nine stars.

Characters

The main problem I have with the movie are two of the main characters. Let’s start off with Ariel. In my opinion, she is a mixed bag. There are a couple of things that I liked about her. First off is Jodi Benson’s wonderful performance as her. Another thing I liked about her that is when she is not talking when she loses her voice(no offense to women), her singing voice,  her curiosity around humans, and objects, along with her motivations of getting what she wants, which I kind of criticize. Let’s get to the issues with the character. My main problem with Ariel is that she is very whiny, bratty, and that she goes out of her way of doing rebellious things. I get that she is a teenager, and that most teenagers often do rebellious things, but what I don’t like about her in particular is how despite being rebellious, she does some really dangerous things. Like selling her body to the devil in order to fall in love with the boy she loves, almost putting everyone who loves her, in danger. What’s worst is that she gets what she wants in the end with no consequences, and she never learns anything in the end. It creates a bad message by teaching a child that they can get rewarded without facing the consequences of the things they did wrong. I say this because even though this is a Disney film, and they cannot do a lot of darker themes, in the original novel, she dies, because she didn’t want to leave Eric, when she was giving a decision of killing the prince, to become a mermaid again. And as a Disney princess, I definitely don’t think that she is a good role model/image for children, especially since she is the first princess to start off a new era for Disney in over 30 years. As for Eric, he is kind of bland. I don’t why, but his design kind of reminds me of Dave Seville’s design from the 1980s cartoon series Alvin and the Chipmunks. He really doesn’t do anything in the movie that exciting, except for being with Ariel, and defeating Ursula in the end. Speaking of Ursula, she is hands down one of the best Disney villains. Her manipulation, design, and the way how villainous she acts is amazing. She is also very funny. Pat Carroll, did a wonderful job voicing her.  I guess one of the underrated characters in this movie in my opinion is King Triton: the father of Ariel. I get that a lot of people tune him off for being prejudice towards humans, and being strict/controlling with Ariel, but what I love about him is that he is very realistic, and he does everything he can to protect her daughter, and make her happy. One big example of this is when he sacrifices himself in order to save his daughters life from Ursula when she was captured. Oh, and he also learns to let go of Ariel, and accepts humans in the end. He is the character that gets the most development, instead of the main character, ironically. My favorite character in the movie is the side character Sebastian the crab, voiced by Samuel E. Wright. I crack up every time he is on screen, whenever he is trying to make sure he doesn’t get killed by the chef for example. I also loved how he gives fatherly advice to Ariel. His singing voice is good, too. Flounder is also a cool character. Scuttle the Bird is your typical comic relief, but he does serve some decent humor, especially for the kids. I give the characters eight stars.

Songs

The songs are the biggest highlight of the movie, besides the story. These songs in this movie are terrific. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman both did a wonderful job writing and composing the songs. Daughters of triton is short, but a fine song. “Part of your world” however is a revolutionary song. Jodi Benson’s singing voice is awesome. My favorite song of the movie is “Under the Sea.”  I know its childish and all, but I have a story about the song: When I heard this song the first time as a kid, I was so amazed by it. It was very catchy. But the reason why I loved that song a lot is because this song represents a hidden message stating that Disney is finally back into the animation world entering a new renaissance, after struggling through and through the past 20 years being in the dark ages making low quality/poor box office films. That is why I loved this song, a lot. It is so amazing. “Kiss your Girl” is a fun romantic song. It really puts you in a romantic mood. Another song worth mentioning is “Poor unfortunate Souls.” Its dark, upbeat, and it definitely shows how an awesome villain Ursula really is. The funniest line in the song is definitely the “Body language” line. “Les Poisson” is a very funny song with Sebastian dealing with running away from the chef, just so that he wouldn’t get killed. The music here is perfect, and memorable. Props to you Alan Menken, and Howard Ashman! I give the songs ten stars.

Verdict:

The little mermaid is an amazing movie, that has brilliant story, amazing animation, great characters, and exceptional songs. While I do have a few problems with the main characters like Ariel, and Eric, this film was an excellent comeback for Disney. It also helped paved the way for other hits such as Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, ushering in a new era known as the Disney Renaissance. Thank you, Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and John Musker/Ron Clements for making this film the legendary Disney classic that it is today. I give this movie nine stars out of ten.

9/10

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here and I am here to review the 16^th Walt Disney animated film called Sleeping Beauty, which was released in 1959. When this film came out, it was a disaster at the company with the film bombing at the box office and also having a mixed critical reception. This film bombed so hard that it almost killed the Disney company, because the it was their expensive film of the time. Its failure caused the company to switch their future animation styles from cel-animation to xerography. What is my opinion on the film despite it not being a success? Eh.

Story:

The story is about a young princess named Aurora who was born into royalty. The evil sorcerer didn’t get invited to the christening, so she devises a plan to kill the princess by putting a spell on her eventually causing her to fall into a deep sleep on her 16^th birthday. The story right off the bat is a con. The reason why I have a problem with the story is because it is very boring. There are some moments in the story where the scenes get too boring that it wanted to put me to sleep such as the kings being drunk. I don’t remember much that was exciting or worth remembering. That doesn’t mean that there are some good moments in here. The climax is very exciting and iconic with the prince battling the villain. The moments between the three fairies are funny. The cake and dress scene was hilarious. The ending was also good. The story is average for the most part. I give the story six stars.

Animation:

The animation is the best part of the film. It looks beautiful! Everything from the visuals, colors, effects and even the character designs makes the animation astounding. They do a good job making the animation look like a painting. It feels so rich and colorful. This is where the expense of the movie’s budget came from, and it looks like a piece of art. There is a lot of experimentation in the animation alone. Firstly, this is the first time Disney has experimented using xerography during the climax scene with the villain, which would be implemented in future Disney films after this one. Second, this is the first Disney film to be shot using the Super Technirama 70 widescreen process and the second Disney film using Widescreen whereas the other Disney films are shot on a 1:85 ratio. I honestly would’ve loved to see this film on the big screen. The animation is beautiful and the best-looking visuals in any animated film. I give the animation ten stars.

Characters:

Do the characters make up for the middle of the road story? Unfortunately no. The characters are the weakest part of the movie. A lot of the characters are bland and boring. Starting off with the sleeping beauty herself, Aurora is the worst Disney princess. She is boring, dull and she doesn’t even appear much in the movie. All she does is sleep throughout the movie. Although the last part does make sense in terms of story. Prince Phillip is also boring. He does do a lot in the middle half of the film, but that doesn’t redeem himself for being too bland. The parents are funny but dull. Now that we got the bad characters out of the way, lets move on to the good characters. The villain Maleficient is one of the best Disney villlians of all time. She is evil, manipulative and the way she transformed into a dragon during a climax shows how much of a badass she is. She is known as the best Disney villians of all time. The three fairies Flora, Fauna and Merriweather steal the show. They crack me up everytime they are on screen whether they bicker with each other, or when they find ways to save the princess. I always liked Fauna. The characters are allright for the most part, but they do have some good characters as well. I give the characters six stars.

Songs:

There are not a lot of songs in this movie to make a songs category, but despite that there is a song that I give praise to. And that song is “Once upon a dream.” That song is simple and charming. It warms my heart every time I listen to it. The other song “Scamps” However is a terrible song. The score is the best part of the movie, because every time something dramatic happens or during the climax, the score builds up through and through making these moments powerful. The songs are good, but they are not perfect. I give the songs seven stars.

Verdict:

Sleeping Beauty is all right. It has THE best animation/villain, and the fairies steal the movie. Unfortunately, the story and most of the characters including the main leads brings this movie down for the most part. I’m sorry if you are fans of this movie that are upset with my score, but I hope you guys see this as a honest Disney fan perspective. I give this film a 6.5 out of ten.

6.5/10.

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here and I am here to review the 32nd Disney animated film which is called the Lion King, which was released in 1994. This film was a phenomenon to Disney when it came out. It was critically acclaimed and a financial powerhouse making over $967 million worldwide. It was originally the highest grossing animated film of all time, the highest grossing 2D animated film ever, the highest grossing film of 1994, and more importantly it was Disney’s highest grossing film for nearly two decades until Frozen. In my opinion, I loved this movie. This is without a doubt, Disneys magnum opus.
Story:
The story is about a young lion named Simba who is chosen to be the next king of the pride lands. This story has got to be the most amazing told story in a disney film. Its simple but the way they tell it in this film is fantastic. There are a lot of memorable moments from the beginning scene when Simba was born to the iconic fight scene between Simba and Scar. The death scene of Scar is one of the saddest death scenes in not just disney but movie history too. The emotions coming from Simba pulls your heartstrings. It’s no wonder that everybody talks about this scene The message in the film of learning from your past is an inspiring message that not just kids but adults can learn from too. It’s a universal message that we can all learn from. The climax is brilliant and the ending is emotional. This story is uplifting and perfect. I give the story ten stars.
Animation:
One word to describe The animation is that it’s breathtaking. I loved the colors, and the outstanding visuals. I also loved how big and grand in general the movie is. For example: after the opening sequences Scars tries to take a mouse with its paw. Normally that doesnt sounds like a big deal but the way that the camera zooms in on that really makes his paw look huge. The visuals during the wildebeest scene is epic that they used CGI to animated the wildebeest, which makes it very unique for it’s time. Fun fact: it took the animators a year to animate just one scene with the wildebeest in CGI. Even the songs do a fantastic job showcasing intense visuals like in the villain song. The animation is supern. I’m giving the animation ten stars.
Characters:
These characters have got to be the most iconic Disney characters I have seen. Simba is a wonderful Disney character. I loved his voice acting, determination to be king, and the way he learns from his mistakes throughout the movie. Nala is a great character with her wonderful relationship with her and Simba, and in how she tries to convince Simba to go back to the pride rock. Mufassa is a wonderful father to simba. He has go to be the best animated dad character in Disney and animation. His death sequence is hard to watch. Zalu the bird is a funny comic relief. Rafiki is good as a wise monkey and mentor to Simba. Timon and Pumba are over the top comic relief characters done right. They both bring so much humour into the movie and they dont use them too much to slow down  the film thank goodness. Scar is without a doubt the best Disney villain of all time. He is devious, manipulative and hes also very smart in how he tries to murder Simbas Father. A lot of people hated how he regresses into a conning villain to a whiny child throughout the movie but I dont mind that because with him becoming that as he becomes king in the middle half of the film, it shows how much of a cold b@$+@÷d he is. Kind of reminds me of the Sheriff from Robin Hood. These characters are perfect. I give the characters ten stars.
Songs:
The songs are unforgettable and upbeat thanks to the legendary Elton John. The Circle of Life was my favorite opening song as a kid and I still love it to this day. It gives me goosebumps. I just can’t wait to be king is a fun song. Gives it a Jackson 5 beat to it. Be prepared is a wonderful villian song. The dark and green colors, and the choir shows off how dark and scary Scar is. Hukuna Matata is another song that I loved as a  child. It is so funny and catchy song. It will never I mean ever get stuck in your head. Can you feel the love tonight is a song that i normally would hate but i dont mind it here. Plus it is a good song that they put in there to showcase the relationship between Nala and Simba. The Morning Report is a song that I despised. It is so darn stupid! Thankfully it wasnt places in the movie. So that doesn’t affect my score. The songs are fantastic. Thank you Elton John. I give the songs ten stars.
Verdict:
The Lion King is a perfect disney movie with its fantastic story, powerful animation, outstanding characters and memorable songs. I am glad that out of all the Disney movies out there, this one became a phenomenon. It really deserves to be Disneys magnum opus. Which is why I’m giving this film ten stars out of ten.
10/10.

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the 31st Walt Disney Animated film called Aladdin, which was released in 1992. When this film was released, it was critically and financially successful. Part of it was because this film came out at a time when Disney was in their renaissance era, making successful films such as The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. This film was the highest grossing film of 1992. In my opinion, this film is amazing. It’s funny, and well-written.
Story:
The story is about a street rat named Aladdin wanting to fall in love with a princess named Jasmine. So he gets three wishes from a powerful genie to get the princess he wants. I just want to say that the story is amazing in tis writing and humour. The concept of princess Jasmine wanting to marry someone she desires and rebelling the rules requesting by her father is great. The romance between Aladdin and Jasmine is great, and it is probably the romance I think the younger generation can relate to. There are other scenes such as Aladdin escaping the cave of wonders, and the scene where Aladdin enters the castle as Prince Ali that’s stands out in the movie. The introduction of the genie is very funny as well. If there is one nitpick I have to say about the story is the liar revealed scene. I mean the way they pull it off is amazing, and well-written. But the issue I have with that is how this film started the ridiculous liar revealed cliche that we see in a lot of 90s animated movies, especially nowadays. I wouldn’t look so down on this cliche had the films that uses it either do it well or add twist like this one. I’m sorry, but I kind of blame this film for that. The story is terrific and one of Disneys best stories in their films. I give the story 9 stars.
Animation:
The animation in this film is beautiful. The color looks great, and the visuals are eye popping. There is a lot of hard work presented in the animation with using the CAPS System. I also loved how the animators animated the big eyes of both Aladdin and Jasmine for instance. This film uses a lot of CGI. A prominent example is in the Cave of Wonders. A lot of people think that the CGI looks dated. However, I think it holds up to this day, and it looks very impressive for it’s time. The animation is awesome and breathtaking. I give the animation 10 stars.
Characters:
The characters in this film are amazing. I loved Aladdin’s and character arc where he acts insecure throughout the film trying to get the girl he wants, and then realizing that he has to be himself throughout the film. Its something I can relate to. Princess Jasmine is also a person I can relate to. When I watched this film as a kid, I hated her because I thought that she was a spoiled brat. Now that I am older, I can understand why she is the way she is in the movie because she wants to date someone she wants and live her own life. I myself want to love my own life, and not live the life I am expected to live. In my opinion, her desire of wanting more in this world is better than Ariel’s motives. Jafar is an outstanding villain. He is menacing, manipulative, and he brings out intriguing ways to get what he wants. The dad character is funny. The standout character is the Genie voiced by Robin Williams. The genie is fantastic with his hilarious pop culture references, him supporting Aladdin and his humor. I thank Robin Williams for giving an outstanding performance ad the genie. You will be missed. My least favorite character is Iago the parrot. I used to find him to be annoying, but he kind of grew on me as time went on. I just find his voice to be a little ear-grating. The characters are amazing and all of them have wonderful character arcs. I give the characters 9 stars.
Songs:
The songs in this movie are fantastic. I loved the soundtrack. Thank you, Alan Menken. The beginning song “Arabian Nights” is a fun way to introduce the setting of the movie. “One jump, ahead” is a great and catchy song featuring the titular character. Scott brings out amazing vocals. “Friend like me” is my favorite song. The Broadway style, animation, and the lyrics are what makes this song my favorite. “Prince Ali” is a fun and catchy tune. “A whole new world” is a relatable love ballad with Aladdin showing Jasmine the world. It is the pinnacle of Disney love songs. The reprise version of “Prince Ali” sunged by Jafar is also fun. The songs in this movie are iconic. I give the songs 10 stars.
Verdict:
Aladdin is an excellent disney movie with its its beautifully told story, stunning animation, iconic characters and memorable songs. It may have a few flaws with the liar revealed trope and Iago, but this movie is still deservedly listed as “one of the greatest movies of all time.” I give Aladdin a 9 out of 10.

Hey Guys. Gerawallstar here. You know one of those shows that you loved as a kid, but you suddenly started to have an amazing appreciation of them as an adult? Hey Arnold is one of those shows. Hey Arnold is the show that I saw the majority of time as a kid, and I loved it. But now that I’m seeing it as an adult, it gets better and better once you grow older. The episode that I’m going to talk about that proves my statement is the 22 minute Christmas special Arnold’s Christmas. This episode is about Arnold and Gerald trying to search for Arnold’s neighbor Mr. Hunyh’s daughter Mai that he has lost during the Vietnam war during Christmas. What I loved about the episode is how it doesn’t heavily focus on Christmas. Yes it does have some Christmas elements in there but this episode does a phenomenal job explaining about issues that kids wouldn’t understand such as Vietnam. That in my opinion really makes this show hold up very well after 23 years because this is one of the few kid shows that really focus on adult heavy themes, and I loved it. They do not talk down to the audience discussing about war. This is a perfect episode to teach kids about Vietman War. The actual backstory of Mr Huhyh leaving her daughter during the Vietnam war was very depressing. Another reason why I loved this episode is because of Helga. I loved how she went our of her way to buy a perfect Christmas present to impress Arnold. Her obsession towards Arnold is hilarious. The way that she sacrificed giving her Nancy Snow Boots Christmas present to Mr. Bailey, that was on the shopping list for Arnold and Gerald to bring back really shows you how much she cares for Arnold. I even loved how she persuade Mr. Bailey to do the search even when he is tired. The reunion scene between Mr. Huhyh and Mai is tear-jerking, and as well as the last emotional line when Helga says outside “Merry Christmas Arnold.” Overall, Arnold’s Christmas is a perfect Christmas special for a show like Hey Arnold. With this being the only Christmas special that Hey Arnold has ever done, the writers really paid off making this a powerful and effective Christmas special. I would absolutely recommend watching this special every Christmas. I give this special a 10/10.

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the 45th Walt Disney animated film, and quite likely their worst film called Home on the Range, which was released in 2004. When this film came out, it was a huge critical and commercial flop that it almost killed Disney’s 2D animation department until The Princess and the Frog 5 years later. In my opinion, this film is just mediocre. It’s not as bad as Chicken Little or The Aristocats, but it is one of their worst films that Disney has made.
Story:
The story is about a cow named Maggie voiced by Roseanne Barr who gets sold off to a new farm called Little Patch of Heaven, while the owner Mrs. Calloway gets a letter informing about her farm about to shut down. So it’s up for Maggie and the other cows to save the farm before the farm gets sold off. This story right off the bat is bland. Its your typical save the building storyline. But that’s not the main problem with the story. My main problem with the story is that its dull and unoriginal to the fact that this feels like a storyline you see in Barney the Dinosaur. This is not the story aimed at adults, but only little kids. Even toddlers ages 2-5. Another problem with the story is the terrible pacing. It’s too fast paced where they dont ever slow down the pacing. It’s like the movie is on a rollercoaster. The only good thing about the movie is the climax. It’s not much but it is at least entertaining. The story is dull and uninspiring. I give the story two stars.
Animation:
The animators is good. The backgrounds are colorful and the animators did pull off bringing the visuals a western feel to the film. I love the character designs. One of the songs did provide some solid animation feeling reminiscent of the nightmare scene from the mini adventures of Winnie the Pooh. My big problem with the animation is that while it is good on it’s own, it’s not Disney level good. The animation feels like it’s from a Disneytoon direct to dvd film, and that is fine if the film was from there. But from the best animation company in the world that is Disney animated studios?! They had no excuse to pull off THIS level of animation. On top of that, the cows are designed weird with their geometric angular designs. I give the animation seven stars.
Characters:
These characters have got to be the lamest and frustrating characters that I have seen. The cows like Maggie and Mrs. Calloway are annoying with how mean spirited they are. Maggie is just annoying while Mrs Calloway is just so stuck up. Grace the Cow is just your typical voice of reason. The absolute worst character in this film is Buck the Horse. My god. He is so annoying and loud that I wanted to shoot it with a gun. Pearl is a sweet and kind hearted farmer who cares so deeply about her farm animals. The villain Alameda Slim is terrible. His motivation is dull and he is just so forgettable. Thankfully what prevents these characters from being awful are the good voice acting and their performances. I loved Jennifer Tilly as Grace. She was hilarious in her role as Grace. Dame Judy Dench and Carol Cook were good as well. I also liked Randy Quaid’s perfromance as the villian, even though I loathe the villian itself. Patrick Warburton despite being an irrelevant cast member/celebrity was also funny. The voice performances I despised were Roseanne Barr, and Cuba Gooding Jr as the horse. I’m sorry, but I found them to be very annoying playing these characters. The characters are dull on it’s own but thankfully the terrific voice performances of the actors make up for it by being passable. I give the characters five stars.
Songs:
The songs are performed by the legendary musician Alan Menken, and I feel so sorry for him composing the songs. I dislike the songs for the most part in this movie. The opening title song was good. “Little patch of heaven” is not only forgettable but ridiculously sappy. “Yodel-adle-eedle-idle-oo” the villain song is one of the worst villain songs I have heard of. All the song is about the villain Alameda Slim singing about yodeling cows. “Will the sun shine again” was decent but on the nose about it being emotional. The score is just there. The songs for the most part are forgettable. I give the songs four stars.
Verdict:
Home on the range is a mediocre film on it’s own but as a Disney film, it truly is one of the worst. While it has good animation and excellent voice performances that save it for being a bad movie, the story, songs, and characters, make this film stand out as the film that almost killed 2D animation. I would never recommend this film to adults or Disney fans but I would recommend this to little kids or toddlers as it is a harmless distraction for them to watch. I give Home on the Range a five out of ten.
5/10.

Pocahontas Review
Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review Walt Disneys 33rd animated film Pocahontas, which was released in 1995. This film was the film that caused the decline of not only 2D animation, or the Disney Renaissance, but Disney in general. The reasons being are because during the late 80s/early 90s, Disney was back into the animation realm with hits such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. They were all the biggest critical/financial hits that Disney has ever made, which made Disney enter into the Disney Renaissance starting with The Little Mermaid. Fun fact: Pocahontas was supposed to be the next big hit from Disney, while The Lion King was supposed to be their more experimental film. Ironically, things were opposite between those two films: The Lion King went on to become the highest grossing animated film of all time for nearly two decade until Toy Story 3 in 2010, while Pocahontas would become a critical/financial failure from Disney. Critics trashed the film, and the box office numbers were inferior towards The Lion Kings almost $1billion box office numbers. After seeing the movie, I can see why Pocahontas was a disappointment. Oh, and the Disney Renaissance films and their 2D films would go and dip in quantity and quality after this film, because none of the films after it were successful as the other disney renaissance films before this film, with the exception of Tarzan.
Story:
The story is based on the historical event from actual Pocahontas, where it follows a romantic story between Pocahontas and JOHN smith journeying into the new world with the settlers to begin their new lives. On top of that, Pocahontas’s father disapproves their relationship, and wants her to marry her own kind, while John and his kind search for gold. I will admire Disney for taking a brave turn by making a story based on actual historical events. Unfortunately, their version of Pocahontas was not very good at all. The biggest problem with the film that everybody hates is that the story is historically inaccurate, and that the romance is dull. Admittedly, they are right about the story being very inaccurate, and it not being faithful to the actual Pocahontas story. However, this is DISNEY’S Pocahontas, so its obvious that they aren’t going to go THAT darker territory with this film as much as dark as the actual story is. But like I said before, in my opinion, the problem with the story and the movie is that their version of Pocahontas was not told well. The reason being is because the plot is boring, there are so many childish antics between the animals side characters, and the romantic scenes between John Smith and Pocahontas are incredibly dull. Their romance is very weak. This version of Pocahontas feels like it came from, as Nostalgia Critic puts it “After School Specials” where the story is the same story told before and nothing new. As for the implementations of the comic relief animal characters, the movie doesn’t know if they want to tell a mature story, or have a family friendly feel with the characters, making the tone feel very inconsistent. If there are some things that I like about the story, then the things that I do like are the scenes with Grandmother Willow, and the message of Prejudice and acceptance, despite being preachy to death. The story feels very choppy with the inconsistency with its tone and some boring romantic scenes. I give the story five stars.
Animation:
Despite some ridiculous flaws with the story, the animation on the other hand is phenomenal. The animation is a complete 180 over the so-so story. The visuals are gorgeous, and the colors look amazing. The animation has that realistic flavor to the film that makes it look like you are seeing the historical events. I loved the integration of the CGI elements in the film with the canoes, and the Grandma Willow tree, as well as the designs of the human characters like Pocket and her native American kind. It offers a lot of realism to the film. If theres one flaw I have with the animation, then the problem has to do with the design of Radcliffe and John Smith. As much as I love the realistic facial textures of the characters in the film, Radcliffe and John Smith’s facial designs look very odd to me. The animation is fantastic with the colors and the realistic background/CGI. I give the animation nine stars.
Characters:
The characters are a mixed bag. They are not that memorable. Let’s start with the main lead Pocahontas. I do not like Pocahontas at all. She is my least favorite Disney Princess. I know I’m being too harsh on her character as there are some people that like her. I just want to say that as much as I loved her independence and playful attitude in the beginning of the film, she is very boring and kind of dull. John Smith is no better either. He is also a boring character. The comic relief animal characters such as Meeko, Flit and Percy are all the worst characters in the film. They don’t offer any laughs for me in the film, and the film tries way too hard to make them funny in scenes that are not supposed to be funny. Radcliffe is one of the worst Disney villains out there. Not only he is boring, but his sole motivation for getting gold is so stupid. The only character that I kind of liked in the film is Grandma Willow. I loved how grandmotherly she is to Pocahontas. She is a sweet tree, and honestly, she is the character that brings in a lot of laughs for me in the film. That’s not a good sign. Although it just hit me: it doesn;t make sense that the animals don’t talk but a tree can.  The characters are dull and forgettable. I give the characters four stars.
Songs:
The songs in this film are very good. Alan Menken did an outstanding job with the music. My favorite songs are “Just around the riverbend”, and “Colors of the wind.” Colors of the wind really shines the most because of its beautiful lyrics and stunning color animation. “The Virginia Company” is a good, and catchy beginning song that pumps you up for the movie. Fun fact about the song “If I never knew you”: that song was not included in the movie. It was later added on the 10th anniversary DVD in the Bonus Features. That song is very good. Mel Gibson and Judy Khun both did a terrific job singing that song. “Savages” is okay. The lyrics might be repetitive, but the song is catchy as fire. I like it. “Listen to your heart” is forgettable. The song that I wanted to like, but don’t is “Mine, Mine, Mine”. The song may have some catchy lyrics, but the song is terribly written because all it is about is Radcliffe singing about wanting gold. It is kind of cartoony when you think about it. The songs are great, and very well composed by once again, Alan Menken. I give the songs eight stars.
Verdict:
After being a disappointment after the juggernaut success of The Lion King, I can see why that is. I dont hate Pocahontas that much, because it has stunning animation, and great songs. However, it suffers greatly from lousy storytelling, and dull characters, making this film average. If you like Disney films, I would recommend this film, as there are some people that like this film. But for me, I would’ve just said no to this film, if I was given a choice to recommend this film to anyone. I give this film a six out of ten.
6/10

Klaus Review

Hey Guys. Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the new Netflix movie Klaus. Klaus is an amazing movie. It is definitely a Christmas classic, and the hard work that was put in to this movie paid off.

Story:

The story is about a selfish lazy affluent boy named Jesper who moves into a small town named Smeerensberg to deliver letters to children in order to get his act together, while getting help from a mysterious man named Klaus. The story for the most part is good. Unfortunately, the story is also the biggest problem I have overall with this movie. Lets get to the good stuff first. I thought the writers did an effective job in showcasing the origin story of Santa Claus. The two Krum and Ellingboe families bickering at each other does tie in very well with the message about being kind to one another. My favorite scene in the movie of the children doing good deeds to get presents when they were writing letters to Klaus. I loved how the writers handled the kids by being vested into education, and writing letters as seen in them writing letters to Klaus for example instead of trying pander towards modern children and modernizing the film by showing them by playing smartphones. It’s the heart of the film. You might argue that this film takes place in the 15th or 16th children, and they don’t exist yet. But I’m here to say that it didn’t stop Ice Age Collisions Course and Norm of the North by being modern despite taking place during the ice age. I’m glad they didn’t do that here. With all of the praises that I did with the film, what is it that I don’t like with the story that is the weakness of this movie? My biggest problem with the story is that while it is good, the story feels like a story we have seen countless of times where we have a spoiled and lazy character who acts selfish but turns himself around in the end. I get what they are trying to do, and I like the way they tell the story, but it feels so predictable. Another flaw I have with the story is that stupid liar-revealed trope during the third act, and I don’t like it that it was shown in this movie, despite it being very brief. The story is good but it could’ve been a whole lot better. I give the story seven stars.

Animation:

What I love about this film the most is the animation. The animation is phenomenal, and groundbreaking. I loved how Sergio Pablo’s the director went back to hand-drawn animation. I haven’t been excited to see 2D animation back since I saw The Princess and the Frog . I am glad that Netflix took the risk of making a 2D animated film at a time when other mainstream animation studios wouldn’t. During production of this film, Pablos stated that “Our goal is not to bring 2D animation back, but to move it forward.” What makes this animation style so unique is that Pablo’s has used new Technology in utilizing the lighting and texture such as Klas(Klaus Light and Shadow) and M.O.E. And they used both techniques making the animation feel more modern and in in a 3D-Style, which is difficult to do in traditional animation. The way that the characters, and the effects such as the wind are designed with the lighting and textures looks fantastic. Pablos has done an great job in bringing bringing the medium forward with the lighting that really makes it have potential for other animation studios possibly using the same thing. Looking at you, Disney. Yes, there’s still some CGI with the buildings, but the fact here is that this is still the traditional animation that we all loved. Thank you, Sergio Pablo’s and the animation team for bringing back 2D animation. I give the animation ten stars.

Characters:

The characters in this film are great and relatable. I loved Jesper the Postman. His spoiled, and selfishness gives him a Kuzco vibe to his character. I loved how his character development started to show when he befriended the little girl Margu, showing more of his kinder side. Klaus is a great character. I loved his backstory, and his relationship between him and Klaus as the movie progresses. Alva is a likeable character. I loved how she was so desperate to leave Smeerensberg at the beginning of the movie but changes her mind to fulfill her actual goal in teaching later on. The little girl Margu is so cute. I loved the friendship of her and Klaus. Fun fact: Margu is voiced by a Sami native. Which is something that I praise this film entirely. They did a fantastic job representing the Sami Culture here by bringing an actual Sami person to voice a Sami Character in the movie. Mogen the ferryman is hilarious. His sass and sarcasm makes him a stealshower in the movie. The other characters such as Mrs. Krum and the krum/ellingbo clan are just allright. The characters are great and memorable. I give the characters nine stars.

Songs

The songs for the most part are okay. The songs are underwhelimg though because instead of having a Christmas themed soundtrack, the songs mostly consist of modern pop songs, which hurts the music from having a timeless Christmas score. It is also very distracting. I do love the score for the movie presented by Alfonso Agular. The only song that’s semi-decent is invisible by Zara Larsson. I love the lyrics, but I hate the pop tune. The songs are average, but disappointing. I give the songs six stars.

Verdict:

Overall, Klaus is a great return to traditional animation, and a great start for this being Netflix’s first original animated feature. Despite my issues with the story and soundtrack, the animation is spectacular, and the characters are so charming and likeable that you want to root for them in the movie. This is a must-watch for someone that wants to see a classic Christmas movie. As for 2D animation, I am confident that the film Klaus, and the Netflix Cartoon show based off the Dr. Seuss’s book Green Eggs and Ham will revive 2D animation, and usher it in a new animation renaissance. I give this movie 8 stars out of 10.

8/10.

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the 36th Walt Disney Animated film Mulan, which was released in 1998. Mulan came out at a time when the Disney Renaissance was about to end. It was a decent critical and financial hit for the company. As the years go by, people fell in love with the film, and they put the film in the top 10 best Disney films. In my opinion, this film is very good. I like the film, but I don’t love it like a lot of people do.
Story:
The story is about a girl named Mulan disguising herself as a man to fight in the war to defeat the huns in place of her ill father, while also fighting to prove herself that she is capable as a woman to fight in war. What makes the story stand out is how Disney portrays female empowerment with Mulan trying to fight in war defeating the huns. Disney has really gone out of its way  in tackling the themes of gender, sexuality, and traditions of women in the chinese time period of the film such as being unable to fight in war, or forced to get married. I also give praise to this film for not sugarcoating war when Mulan and the men were fighting against the huns. An example of this was when one of the songs in the movie was cut abruptly when the men were witnessing a disaster territory. Theres no happy moments, but only dark and gloom which makes it a realistic reflection of war. The actual climax is even intense and epic in the fight with the huns and the battle between Mulan and the villain. My biggest issue with the story is the comedy. Dont get me wrong, there are a few funny moments in the film, but the comedy can be very weak and inappropriate at times such as when Mushu and the cricket accidentally launced the missle up in the sky starting the intense war scene with the huns. Its not as bad as Hunchback and especially Pocahontas, but I would appreciated it more if they toned down the comedy a little bit just so that the movie could be more serious, and not have tonal issues. I also wished that they took out the dance number at the end. It felt out of place in this movie. The story is good, and it portrays the war and women in the time period very well. I give the story seven stars!
Animation:
Holy smokes! Disney has done it again with the animation in this film. Okay, it’s not perfect but close. Fun fact: this was the first Disney film that was worked on at the Walt Disney Studios in Orlando Florida. The animators did a terrific job with the animation working over there for the first time. The visuals are breathtaking and amazing. I loved how grand the animation gets here, especially in the climax. I even love the chinese symbolisms where the visuals provide decent use of chinese culture. I heard one reviewer complained about the animation being too much like a Saturday Morning Cartoon, and I agree with that. The biggest problem with the animation is that it does feel like a Saturday morning cartoon at times with the way that most of the characters are designed. The animation is gorgeous and one of Disney’s finest efforts. I give the animation nine stars!
Characters:
My biggest issue with the movie is surprisingly the characters. I’m sorry, but I find most of them a little weak. Let’s start with the good characters. Mulan is an excellent female character, and one of my favorite Disney Princesses next to Tiana and Belle with her excellent female empowerment, her determination to fight in the war in place of her sick father. She is a excellent role model to girls representing a great female heroine. The leader Li Shang is also a great character with his excellent leadership skills as a new leader, and his character arc in the film. I even like Mulans family, too. That’s where the good stuff ends. The characters Yao, Ling and Chien Po are funny representing the three stooges, but I find them to be very very tropey and forgettable characters. Mushu is my least favorite comic relief. While he is funny too, I don’t like Eddie Murphy as Mushu. It’s not that he is bad as him, but he doesn’t fit for a character like Mushu where he fits in a role like Donkey from Shrek. Disney choosing a celebrity to voice a character in a lot of the renaissance films except for Aladdin, Hercules, and The Lion King feels phoned-in. Lastly, the villain Shang Yu is the worst villain in Disney because he is so bland and a generic bad guy. I am mixed on the characters in here. I give the characters five stars!
Songs:
The songs in this movie are great. But they are not anything amazing. As much as I love the memorable songs “Honor to us all”, and “A girl worth fighting for” for representing gender roles, and satirizing them, the issues with these songs are that they do feel typical. “Reflection” is amazing. It’s a great song with a great message of identity, and learning about yourself. “I’ll make a man out of you” is the standout song where it shows a perfect montage of Mulan trying to train with the group she is in, failing and eventually succeeding. Voice actor B.D. Wong does a good job singing the song. The songs are good, but not top 10 worthy of best Disney songs. They are not the best songs to me. I give the songs eight stars!
Verdict:
I know this is everyone’s favorite Disney film, but as great as I find Mulan to be, it’s honestly not as strong as the other Disney films out there. It has a good story, fantastic animation, and great songs, but most of the characters, and the comedy does weaken the film a little bit. I would still recommend this film if you want to learn about female empowerment, and gender roles. May not be the best film, but it has an amazing female protagonist. I give this movie an 8 out of 10!
8/10.

Hey guys! Gerawallstar here, and I am here to review the 43rd Walt Disney Animated film called Treasure Planet, which was released in 2002. When this film was released, it was a box office bomb and it received mixed reviews by critics. This was a failure that it caused Disney to put an end to 2D animation. In my opinion, this is a good movie. But it is sadly not a favorite of mine.
Story:
The story takes is a retelling of Treasure Island where it is about Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver search for treasure. I have a mixed response for the story. Dont get me wrong: there are a lot of good things in the story, as well as some heavy hitting emotional moments. But the issue I have with this story is that its about Treasure Island, and the setting where the story takes place in space and the future is very distracting. They have cool ideas, but the choices they make while telling the story puts it off for being good. Like why do they have futuristic technology in the 1800s where the actual story takes place, and why do they have actual ships, and not real spaceships? How can they even breathe without helmets in space? These things together don’t make any sense. Another flaw I have with the story is the comedy. Why on earth are they relying so desperately hard on humor? It’s not all that funny. In fact most of it is juvenile. What I like about the story is that I loved how they handle the emotional scenes like the relationship between Jim and Long John Silver. The climax is great, and the action scenes are a lot of fun. The story has interesting ideas and well done emotional moments, but the humor and the setting being the story down a lot. I give the story five stars.
Animation:
The animation is beautiful, but it is also too dated. I love the backgrounds. They look amazing. The characters designs are cool looking as well. Unfortunately the CGI animation is a big con. They used a lot of the Deep Canvas technology utilizing the Cg aesthetics of the movie. Sure it may looked kinda cool back in 2002, But the CGI is dated with most of the objects like the ships look more like plastic Ship Toys. I will say this: I loved the CG animation of Long John Silver’s hand. That looks cool. I give the animation seven stars:
Characters:
The characters are great, and they make this movie a blast. But there are some characters that are obnoxious. Jim Hawkins may be your typical rebellious teenager but I find him to be very relatable. Hes rebellious because he’s struggling to adapt because his father left him. There are moments in the move where I feel very bad for him. Long John Silver is a interesting anti-hero, because while his motivation is to get the treasure, he does a good job being a father figure to Jim. I love the moments between these two in the movie. Captain Amelia is a wonderful character. I loved her leadership role, intelligence, and I loved how Strong she is as a captain. Morph is a cute character. His interactions with the other characters makes him adorable. Dopper is not that interesting. He can be annoying and he is unfunny. B.E.N. however, is VERY annoying. He is loud, rude and obnoxious. I know he is not in the movie that long, but every time he is on screen, I just wanted to tell “Shut Up!” when he is there. These characters are great, while some characters are lacking. I give the characters eight stars.
Verdict:
Treasure Planet is a good movie, but not the underrated masterpiece as everyone says it is. It has it’s great moments of the relationship between Jim and Long John Silver, decent animation, and well rounded characters, but the setting, humor and most annoying characters do hurt this film a little from being the greatest Disney film ever made. It definitely did NOT deserved to bomb though to justify eliminating 2D animation. I give this film 7 stars out of 10.
7/10