Author Topic: Disney+  (Read 4811 times)

Bondo

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2020, 12:47:57 PM »
Steamboat Willy: It may not be racist, but it is a bit weird that the way to get Minnie on the boat involves a forced upskirt. A lot of violence.

Gallopin’ Gaucho: It is six minutes long but I managed to fall asleep for most of it. Can’t tell if the cat was trying to eat Minnie or woo her by force. These are not Bechdel Test passers.

The Barn Dance: Seriously though, WTF is up with crappy men literally trodding over a woman, never asking her what she wants.

Plane Crazy: I was liking this quite a bit until Mickey sexually assaulted Minnie. Also, while it works perfectly well in context, seeing the shoutout to Charles Lindbergh made me think about how both he and Walt Disney were antisemites.

Karnival Kid: These hot dogs are real nightmare fuel. Leans into minstrelsy at times but I suppose the first one that didn’t actively annoy me.

Mickey’s Follies: Some light vaudville. Fair enough.

Haunted House: Flouncy skeletons are flouncy. Appreciate how it plays with your expectations. Best one yet.

Blue Rhythm: I mean, if I were finally able to have voices in my films, I’d probably record appealing ones, not scratchy ones. Probably too much of a nitpick to note things like Mickey’s piano playing not lining up with the sound, or that his shortening of Pluto’s trombone does not change pitch.

Flowers and Trees: A bit rapey. Dead tree is an incel. Is that why forest fires happen?

Mickey’s Gala: Fan Service, the short. In addition to Junior’s sightings I saw Laurel & Hardy and Mae West. The short within a short structure is good, nice twist. Probably my favorite but I reckon this set as a whole is close to the basement.

I’ll get back with the D+ shorts next time.

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2020, 03:25:56 AM »
Plane Crazy: I was liking this quite a bit until Mickey sexually assaulted Minnie. Also, while it works perfectly well in context, seeing the shoutout to Charles Lindbergh made me think about how both he and Walt Disney were antisemites.

I have heard this myth before and have to say, based on a little research, it appears to be bogus. If he was, why did the Beverley Hills chapter of B'nai B'rith give him their Man of the Year award in 1955? What is the basis of your accusation?

Bondo

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2020, 05:26:58 AM »

Dave the Necrobumper

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2020, 06:31:27 AM »
Not strong support for the idea, it does appear to be complex. Which means the claim should not be made without large notice that there is no strong evidence to support it, and there is evidence to show his support of Jewish people.

Junior

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #14 on: February 13, 2020, 10:15:41 AM »
As always, school stuff has caught up with me and I've let this slide a bit. Here's some brief thoughts on the things I've watched.

Mary Poppins

As always, Julie Andrews is incandescent. She's practically perfect in every way. This time around, though, I felt weirder about some of the implications of the story. The strangeness of this woman magically appearing in order to whip a house into order so that the male head-of-household can retain his job and piece of mind. The suffragette's passion gets kind of pushed to the side as this vision of strict-but-fun domestic bliss rights every wrong then flies away once she's sure the patriarchal order can continue. It's just a bit icky. Still, some great songs and segments here make it fun to watch. Which is maybe the most insidious thing about it.

B+


The Jungle Book

Story? What's that? Again, some of the songs are good and I have some nostalgic fondness for a few of the characters. But this time around, it was majorly weird to hear Winnie-the-Pooh trying to seduce everybody else in the form of a snake. And the ending, which again posits hetero-romance as a positive force of domestication, is bad. Like, a major sour note. And much of the animation feels less good than the other stuff I've seen for this class.

C+


The Wide World of Disney: Disneyland Through the Seasons

Gosh, I love this shit. There's something fascinating about the combination of boasting, selling, and myth-making that is on display here. Throw in nostalgia for a place I've never been and a time I wasn't born in and you've got a real stew going. There's about 15 minutes spent on the opening of It's A Small World, which has the kind of benign liberal racism that feels quaint in today's climate of racial resentment. It is also kinda funny to frame this as a "through the seasons" thing, which it kinda sticks to, when it's all happening in the temperate climate of sunny California. But whatever, it's cool. History and advertisement all at once.

A-
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1SO

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #15 on: February 13, 2020, 01:00:13 PM »
Mary Poppins

As always, Julie Andrews is incandescent. She's practically perfect in every way. This time around, though, I felt weirder about some of the implications of the story. The strangeness of this woman magically appearing in order to whip a house into order so that the male head-of-household can retain his job and piece of mind. The suffragette's passion gets kind of pushed to the side as this vision of strict-but-fun domestic bliss rights every wrong then flies away once she's sure the patriarchal order can continue. It's just a bit icky. Still, some great songs and segments here make it fun to watch. Which is maybe the most insidious thing about it.

B+
I'm trying to grasp how you came to this insight. Mr. Banks is fired from the bank and he changes his ways, learning to not be so rigid and spend more time with the children. Her magic extends beyond the house to Mr. Dawes Sr. (who literally laughs himself to death) and the rest of the Board, who previously fired Banks but now offer him the new opening on the Board. The fact that they are all flying kites indicates that the Bank will be run differently now. So, even Banks' job is changed. Mrs. Banks being a suffragette is a metaphor for her being neglected as a wife and wanting to be seen as an equal in her own home, not just the mother of Mr. Banks' children. (Mrs. 1SO thinks that Mrs. Banks will continue to be an active advocate until the cause is won, this time with her husband's support.)

Have you seen Saving Mr. Banks? It gives an interesting different view of events, portraying the real woman who inspired Mary Poppins, keeping a house together while the father struggled with alcoholism.



The Jungle Book

C+
There are about 10-15 minutes in the middle I like - the two big songs - but Jon Favreau's remake puts the story back in, gives the characters motivations and is superior to this film in almost every way.

Teproc

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #16 on: February 13, 2020, 02:08:49 PM »
I don't see what's wrong with the ending of the Jungle Book ? Seeing the girl brings Mowgli back to his nature: he is a man, not an animal. Not denying his own nature is what makes him different from Louie, the ape who thinks he is a man. That romance is the way in does not seem particularly wrong to me.
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Junior

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #17 on: February 13, 2020, 08:52:21 PM »
Mary Poppins

As always, Julie Andrews is incandescent. She's practically perfect in every way. This time around, though, I felt weirder about some of the implications of the story. The strangeness of this woman magically appearing in order to whip a house into order so that the male head-of-household can retain his job and piece of mind. The suffragette's passion gets kind of pushed to the side as this vision of strict-but-fun domestic bliss rights every wrong then flies away once she's sure the patriarchal order can continue. It's just a bit icky. Still, some great songs and segments here make it fun to watch. Which is maybe the most insidious thing about it.

B+
I'm trying to grasp how you came to this insight. Mr. Banks is fired from the bank and he changes his ways, learning to not be so rigid and spend more time with the children.


Yes, and it might be different if he didn't happen to get rehired by the end of the movie with a promotion, no less. He's gonna be a better dad now, and he was rewarded for this change with the requisite capitalist improvement (though with what we know of capitalism, we might guess he'll soon backslide given an increase in expectations at the workplace).

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Her magic extends beyond the house to Mr. Dawes Sr. (who literally laughs himself to death) and the rest of the Board, who previously fired Banks but now offer him the new opening on the Board. The fact that they are all flying kites indicates that the Bank will be run differently now. So, even Banks' job is changed.


This is all part and parcel to the liberal fantasy of the film, though, right? The dream of being able to perfectly balance work and home life even though we know how rare that is.

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Mrs. Banks being a suffragette is a metaphor for her being neglected as a wife and wanting to be seen as an equal in her own home, not just the mother of Mr. Banks' children. (Mrs. 1SO thinks that Mrs. Banks will continue to be an active advocate until the cause is won, this time with her husband's support.)

That's not a great vehicle for that metaphor tho. It feels diminishing of the importance of the suffrage movement, and it disappears when narratively convenient, even though the suffragettes were a righteously passionate group.

Quote
Have you seen Saving Mr. Banks? It gives an interesting different view of events, portraying the real woman who inspired Mary Poppins, keeping a house together while the father struggled with alcoholism.

I have, and I like it a lot as a film and a bit of mythmaking, though I'm not sure how much explanatory power I'm comfortable giving it.

At least we can agree on the new Jungle Book. One of the few good "live action" remakes the company has made.
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1SO

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #18 on: February 13, 2020, 10:27:52 PM »
Much as I'd love a good debate about Mary Poppins, I can't figure where to go from here. I see magic in it (and not just the musical numbers) while you seem to be on more of a Pennies From Heaven vibe. What you call "liberal fantasy" I see as the happy ending the film has earned.

Jungle Book... so good.

Junior

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Re: Disney+
« Reply #19 on: February 14, 2020, 06:25:17 AM »
I'm not saying in not enchanted by it. It's delightful. It's just also, you know, kinda messed up. It's the Disney way.
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