tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post569880870735949331..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: DISNEY ANIMATION: TALE AS OLD AS TIMETimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-54023113621409312782015-09-22T20:56:58.727-05:002015-09-22T20:56:58.727-05:00It is obvious to even the youngest viewers that B&...It is obvious to even the youngest viewers that B&B takes place in France, but it never occurred to this geography nut that it takes place in a specific part of the country. I'm not really expecting a reply after almost six years, but do they mention this in the DVD commentary? (In answer to the obvious follow-up; no, I haven't seen the B&B DVD.) Obviously 101 Dalmatians, The Aristocats, Oliver and Company, The Great Mouse Detective, and of course part of Peter Pan also took place in real-world locations but of course "theme park versions" as it were of prestigious capital cities as opposed to France's still somewhat wild backcountry. Always nice to see a reminder that there's more to France than Paris (or Nice or Omaha Beach).<br /><br />Which brings me to my second question; if this is supposed to be southeastern France, do you think it's any coincidence that that's the location of the former province of Gevaudan? As in the werewolflike cyptid Beast of Gevaudan which supposedly terrorized the region in the 1700s, and basis for Brotherhood of the Wolf? (Okay, on closer inspection Gevaudan was in south-central France, but close enough.)<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_G%C3%A9vaudanAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13026223469597010422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-41447895789334136402015-06-21T01:22:52.220-05:002015-06-21T01:22:52.220-05:00The feminist concern with this film isn't so m...The feminist concern with this film isn't so much that it teaches little girls that they're incomplete without a husband. The concern is that it feeds into the belief about how an abuser is a Basically Decent Person at heart and you totally shouldn't leave him. In real life, the Beast rarely transforms into a prince.<br /><br />It makes for a nice story, though.cinderkeyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01578961959712679966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-55695914936767664942012-11-22T05:37:56.969-06:002012-11-22T05:37:56.969-06:00I realize it is a form of heresy to say this, but ...I realize it is a form of heresy to say this, but Beauty in the Beast is, flat out, BETTER than Pinocchio, Bambi, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Snow White. It is Disney's single greatest achievement, the truly perfect blend of everything they have ever done well and will ever do well. Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546972990126033036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-41237173720028210662010-10-01T11:45:17.332-05:002010-10-01T11:45:17.332-05:00This is my favorite film EVER and I'm very hap...This is my favorite film EVER and I'm very happy you wrote that excellent piece! <br /><br />Thank you :)James Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16055933146552583102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-85749034482451613912010-06-13T08:52:56.930-05:002010-06-13T08:52:56.930-05:00A great review for an equally great piece of cinem...A great review for an equally great piece of cinema. I can add nothing to it except maybe one thing. As you've pointed it out in some of your previous Disney reviews, many of the Disney villains have a much more interesting and memorable personality than the heroes themselves (I think this was the main problem with Aladdin). It is not the case here. Gaston is one of the very few Disney villains who I absolutely cannot relate to - I can, on a certain level, understand the possible driving forces of Ursula, Maleficent or Scar, but Gaston is just a total jerk. At the same time, the Beast gets as much (or more, I cannot tell) screen time as him, and yes, he's definitely no Prince Charming (at least not until the very end). The scene in which Belle teaches him to read (in the extended cut) reminded me of the similar scene from Wuthering Heights. I wonder if it was intentional.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-47533903648457317602009-12-06T16:30:33.641-06:002009-12-06T16:30:33.641-06:00Loved this film and your analysisLoved this film and your analysisAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05097441437159417314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-8000155604118086072009-11-27T20:46:48.628-06:002009-11-27T20:46:48.628-06:00First, let me just voice my appreciation: I found ...First, let me just voice my appreciation: I found your website looking for slasher reviews, and while they've been great, this series has been a delightful surprise. I also have some dread for what you may say about Aladdin, which I rediscovered this past spring.<br /><br />Next, I second the comments suggesting a compilation. And it may not be too difficult to pull off either: political blogger Andrew Sullivan has been soliciting his readers for "The View From Your Window" photos for three years, and he's now publishing a them in a coffee-table book through Blurb. He was able to keep the price down on the first one or two runs by crowd-sourcing, taking pledges--essentially, the more copies of the book pledged for publication and purchase, the wider the costs were spread and the lower the price ($16.25, down from around $30).<br /><br />The caveat is Sullivan helped keep the price low by electing not to take a cut--it was his readers' material after all. Your case is different, but I have no doubt that there's a way for it to happen.<br /><br />See <a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/11/announcing-the-view-from-your-window.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eileen-gittins/crowdsourcing-content-and_b_366122.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> for more info.Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14709333325776591295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-68032530451760463052009-11-27T16:05:57.692-06:002009-11-27T16:05:57.692-06:00Tim, I've been following the Disney retrospect...Tim, I've been following the Disney retrospective and have been positively twitching with anticipation for your review of Beauty and the Beast, the first film I ever saw in theatres and positively my favourite Disney film of all time; for me, only Wall-e, nearly twenty years later, has anywhere near the level of grace. <br /><br />I recently rewatched Beauty and the Beast with my film student hat on, and was positively blown away by the sheer grandeur; I agree with everything you've said about it. I have some mad scribblings where I also mention that I feel it is the most mature and adult of the Disney love stories with some of the best characters ever created, and where I tried to somehow put my feelings on the ballroom scene into words, but words just keep failing me.<br /><br />Well done, as always. I'm thrilled to know that a fellow cinephile feels the same way I do about this film. I look forward to the rest of your reviews!Miahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06551777705125877613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-1469488617514018092009-11-27T11:09:14.084-06:002009-11-27T11:09:14.084-06:00One bit of international trivia: Beauty and the be...One bit of international trivia: <i>Beauty and the beast</i> was the first animated Disney movie to get a Castilian spanish dub for release in Spain. Until then, they were all released with the American spanish dub. <br />Disney was the only company doing this, and not even them did it with their live-action movies, it would have outraged the audience. But since cartoons are for kids, it seems nobody cared. I guess people were used to it from their childhoods. Also, I believe it was perceived as a Disney trademark, because only they did it. And I also believe audiences accepted the exotic (for us) accents as part of the fantasy world that the movies presented.<br />But in 1991 someone must have thought animation was coming of age, or they smelled the Oscar nom months in advance, or they just realized they needed a proper dub to get the grown-ups to take their animated movies seriously and go to see them even without kids.<br />They did a very good dub, with good singing voices and stuff. And it's been like that since then.<br />So, that's the story.<br /><br />I do hope you get some kind of book deal out of this Tim...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-5011521084967028082009-11-27T06:51:34.749-06:002009-11-27T06:51:34.749-06:00I came back to your blog after a long period of ge...I came back to your blog after a long period of general cinematic malaise just this evening, some four or five hours ago, to discover a Disney series. As I was reading all of these essays you published this one, on <i>Beauty and The Beast</i>, a film I am inclined to call my favorite of all time, Disney or animated or otherwise, and while I am now fully exhausted from <i>so many words</i> I am also purely delighted.<br /><br />And stunned. You contain an immense wealth of knowledge of the Disney studio that deserves a more formal compilation, and I'm seriously considering how I can provide the means for you to achieve such a thing. But in any case, or in the mean time, thank you for this.John Holdunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07611069187072548497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-82091590517094884872009-11-27T04:58:12.763-06:002009-11-27T04:58:12.763-06:00I've been reading these from the very start. I...I've been reading these from the very start. I have one word for you: you're writing a book that should be published.Paulo Brabohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01201187183106200537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-68758176522423630842009-11-27T04:08:16.057-06:002009-11-27T04:08:16.057-06:00There's a whole lotta hyperbole in this review...There's a whole lotta hyperbole in this review (perhaps more than in <i>any</i> other review you've <i>ever</i> written!), but everyone will forgive you because Beauty and the Beast is just so damn excellent.<br /><br />But now I'm afraid of what's to come. My own childhood, coming a few scant years after yours, was built on Aladdin and The Lion King more than The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, and if you knock those too hard then... then... <br /><br />Well, you'll be locked in your castle for eternity, I suppose, with a terrible wilting rose and no one to comfort you and your cold heart. Until The Princess and the Frog comes along and saves you?<br /><br />Seriously though this is an incredible feature and I can't imagine how much work you're putting into it. It feels like I'm spending hours every day just reading em! Keep it up, people you don't know are rooting for you!Erikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16854847604020842811noreply@blogger.com