MY FAVES: ANNA

ANNA: Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King will always be my Top 3 because they featured a lot in my childhood. I fell in love with the songs and characters, and spent hours upon hours listening to the soundtracks and making up dance routines in my lounge room! I can't wait to see Belle and the Beast immortalised in real life in the upcoming Beauty and the Beast live-action remake!

 

ANNA: I really don't like the Fantasia movies. I get way too easily bored by them. That's why they're at the bottom of my list. But I do love Disney movies (although I have a lot to catch up on!) and I hope the kids of today can learn to love them as much as I do!

 

MY FAVES: SHENZI

 

SHENZI: My top three - Aladdin, The Lion King and Big Hero 6 - are all about family and where to belong. Aladdin has to be Number 1, as the music is so amazing and the movie is full of mystery and wonder. I particularly love Abu and the Magic Carpet. It's definitely the Genie who makes this movie though! R.I.P. Robin Williams...

The Lion King is a ground breaking movie, and it's obviously been the inspiration for my avatar on this blog! By actually showing Mufasa die, it makes you realise how fragile life is and what true family means. You can't go past the powerful music in this movie either. It's so incredible. The comic relief of Pumba and Timon truly makes this movie brilliant, along with old Rafiki ("Hush-bish-kwana-squash-banana")

Big Hero 6 is a modern classic with amazing imagery and family values paramount. It's so great!

SHENZI: I find the Fantasia films to be like sketch shows: there's too many different stories, and therefore I don't make any major connection. Most of the music is good, but I don't appreciate them much as overall movies.

SHENZI: The only ones I missed are a few of the package films of the 1940s, so I did pretty well!

All Disney films have elements of romance, humour and family values, and I think it's the latter that really pulls on the heart-strings. It's been great to watch them this year. I am most definitely satisfied with my care!
 

MY FAVES: PASCAL

PASCAL: Yes, it seems the new stuff is my fvourite. Frozen is at the top of my list because it has it all: girl power, a touch of romance (but not too much!), quirky sidekicks, laughs, tears, amazing animation and songs that I never seem to get sick of!

PASCAL: Dinosaur is at the bottom because... well, it's boring. Deadly boring! And bleugh. To be honest, I can't even remember why I didn't like it so much; It was so bad, I've blanked it from my memory!

Apart from that, I love Disney so much because it is magical! It can transport you to worlds you can only dream of. No matter what age you are, you can be a Disney Princess at heart... or at least in costume! You can learn so much from Disney. I can't get enough of it... And don't get me started on the theme parks!!

I think I'll be a Disney Princess forever...

MY FAVES: MALEFICENT

MALEFICENT: "A Disney Film Is Only As Good As Its Villain" used to be my motto... But now I have a variety of reasons for picking my faves: the villain, the hero, the comic timing, the artwork, the music, the story... All of these elements come together to make my favourites.

Sleeping Beauty will always hold the top spot in my heart. A combination of the best evil villain (obviously!) matched with the fantastic artwork in the style of Eyvind Earle, beautiful Tchaikovsky music and a good telling of a classic fairytale make it the best.

   

There are some films with such amazing songs, they've got a permanent place in history. The writers, singers and film attached to those songs will be part of that legacy and never forgotten. That in itself is a special thing. 

  

MALEFICENT: You'll notice I prefer hand drawn animation, as the 3D films aren't up in the top of my list. This is just my preferred style of animation, but I have to admit, Big Hero 6 & Wreck-It Ralph are such excellent films that they rank higher than many of the 2D films.

  

2014's "Year of Disney" was a very special year for me. I've always loved Disney films and they were a huge part of my childhood. It's been wonderful to see the progression, fill the gaps with things I'd missed, and see some films I hadn't revisited in a long time. Most of all, it was great to do it all with such an amazing group of fun people who share some of the best common interests!!!

MY FAVES: HAKU

HAKU: I'm going to buck the trend here and admit that most of my top films are NOT those based on fairy-tales! Even though it is the newest, Big Hero 6 has jumped straight to the top of my list. No other film in the collection has made me say "AGAIN!" as soon as it finished. I've always been a big fan of The Emperor's New Groove for its off-the-wall comedy. As was mentioned before, Frozen is so far removed from Hans Christian Andersen's "Snow Queen" it's practically an original story.

 

HAKU: While I certainly bow to the pioneering talents of the artists who established and then pushed the envelope with hand-drawn animation, I am more excited by the possibilities of digital. I see it as an evolution; so many of the skills needed for 2D animation are also required for 3D - and then some! I think Walt Disney himself would be proud of what his company has produced in recent years.

MY FAVES: WENDY

 

WENDY: I've chosen these movies as my favourites because they're the ones I could happily watch multiple times. They've got memorable songs, they make me laugh and they remind me of my childhood. (... except for the more recently released ones, of course!)

WENDY: The nine that are listed here as "missed" are the movies I didn't get around to watching in the past year. I have seen most of them before, but it's been too long since I watched them last to properly rank them.

I'm glad that watching all of these Disney films this year hasn't changed my perspective on the ones that I love the most. It's been really interesting to reflect on how we connect to these films, and comparing perspectives with others in the group.

MY FAVES: MERRYWEATHER

MERRYWEATHER: I've chosen The Princess and the Frog as my Number 1, because life has twists, and this is reflected in the story. We all want health and happiness for ourselves and others, and we think our lives need to go a certain way. However, our dreams can come true in ways we had never even considered! I thought the movie would follow the classic fairy-tale, but I never thought Tiana would become a frog and marry Naveen! Her goal was her career; she just wanted her restaurant.

The rest of my "Top 5" are there because of their strong themes of sibling love. I love The Little Mermaid for its songs and characters. Ariel sees Eric for who he really is; it doesn't matter that he isn't a merman. Her father can't see past that fact.

MERRYWEATHER: I have 18 films to watch for homework!

Disney films are so special. They can have you in tears or fits of laughter. They touch peoples' hearts in different ways, and they bring out different emotions with each viewing.