Insanity Realized

Alice In Wonderland
Original release: July 26/28, 1951 (UK/US)

It's unbelievable how many film adaptations there have been of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. But most of the time, if somebody starts talking about a girl called Alice who gets lost in a Wonderland, he or she is most likely speaking of either the original books or Disney's famous adaptation of them. Come on, who here has never heard of "the teacup ride"? (The ride itself, Mad Tea Party, has been a favorite at Disneyland Park ever since the entire park opened in 1955.)

It sounds blunt, but it's true: this movie is a mess. The scenes seem at first entirely random, and in many ways they are. Of course, you can't do too much else with Carroll's books, which barely have any plot on their own. Walt Disney's intention was to center the entertainment factor of the movie around its visuals and music, rather than a strict story. Actually, the studio found it difficult to pull off just right; the movie was officially proposed in different formats at least four times after 1945.

Nevertheless, there is in fact a plotline: Alice is bored with her lessons and wishes she could be in her own world of "nonsense." Upon accidentally entering such a world, she proceeds to chase after the White Rabbit for a surprisingly long time, continually revived by her curiosity. Over time she realizes that though nonsense can seem fun, it can also feel pointless; under certain conditions, it can even do serious damage to a person's spirits. She eventually decides that logical thinking does indeed have its place in the world. For a glimpse into the more serious points of the movie, watch the following clip; it's a surprisingly sorrowful, despairing musical number that Alice sings to herself after she's gotten hopelessly lost in the woods.



Well, it may be a mess, but it's an entertaining mess. It's impossible to sit through more than ten minutes of this movie without laughing out loud. I myself have a personal affinity for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum: I played Dum in a stage adaptation of Carroll's works when I was in middle school. In any case, here's a clip of the infamous Cheshire Cat to tickle your funny bone and cheer you up after that last particularly melancholy clip.



Think his voice sounds familiar? That's Sterling Holloway! He voiced a great number of Disney characters in the early years, including the stork from Dumbo and the python Kaa from The Jungle Book.

The movie doesn't just have humor and fantastical visuals; it also has some surprisingly catchy tunes. Once you've seen this movie, you'll keep humming its tunes for a week afterward. I've had "Painting the Roses Red" playing in my head the entire afternoon, myself.

For an adaptation of such a tricky pair of books, this movie does a nice job and is really quite enchanting to watch. This Disney classic won't disappoint.

Mahewa's rating: 4.0/5

Bring on the Canines.

This film was made by Steven Spielberg's studio Amblimation, later renamed Amblin Entertainment. Don Bluth used the studio to produce one of his most best-known, An American Tail: Fieval Goes West. This particular film has no connection to Bluth, though as I understand it, it has quite a following anyway.

Balto
Original release: December 22, 1995

Based on a true story, Balto tells the story of the eponymous sled dog who led a team of dogs bringing coveted antitoxins to a diptheria-stricken Nome, Alaska in 1925. Obviously, the movie takes several liberties from what history tells us of the epidemic. In real life, the transfer of the medicine from Nenana to Nome was a relay race, and Balto was a Siberian Husky and leader of the last leg of the race. In the movie, essentially one sled team (aside from the Balto/Steele swapping as lead) makes the entire journey round-trip, and Balto is an outcast...specifically, a half-wolf. Well, if you're going to make a movie, I guess you have to get your conflict somewhere.

There appears to be some overlap between The Lion King fans and Balto fans. I first learned this when I discovered what is now one of my favorite sites, The Lion King Source, and saw that it had a sister site, aptly named Balto Source. How strange; I hadn't heard much about Balto before, at least not nearly as much as about many Disney movies. So after months of knowing its fans, I finally decided to take a peek at it. I wasn't sure what to expect. Now that I've seen it, I can say that there are definite pros and cons.

Pros:

• Animals! Everybody loves animals. I'm sure that the abundance of fluffy canines contributes greatly to its appeal, since the dog is such a popular animal. ("Canine supremacy," Mahewa growls.) And I'm sure I'm not the only one who likes to see lots of flowy, swishy follow-through with animated fur.
• A cute romance. Oh, okay, okay. Maybe that's not a pro to some of you. But I like it. The recreated "Northern Lights" worked well as a unifying element, and they looked nice.
• A deeply conflicted, but distinctly 'good,' protagonist that you want to identify with. Unlike Charlie B. Barkin. Took way too long for that dog to start looking like a nice guy...
• A healthy dose of action. Grizzly bears, top-dog duels, rocky cliffs, avalanches, falling icicles! Whoo! (Even though the grizzly bear attack scene was a dead rip-off of The Fox and the Hound.)
• Mysticism (and wolves ^^). I love the scene where Balto realizes that he can take pride in his wolf heritage, and howls to the wind. I also thought that the shot where the Northern Lights shifted into a howling wolf head was pretty wicked awesome!

Cons:

• Poorly animated humans. The only decent-looking human is the girl Rosy.
• Predictability. Several times I felt like saying, "I saw that coming." Also, there were a couple of scenes where I thought the staging/pacing/camera work could have been made a lot more dramatic than they were.
• Immemorable soundtrack. I liked the introductory music, but after the first scene I paid no attention to the music at all. Very generic.

Did you know that this film contains live action segments? The introduction and conclusion are filmed in New York, where two characters talk about the story and see the statue and memorial of the famous dog. These scenes serve to reemphasize that the movie was grounded in real history. Here's the statue if you're curious.

I can see how one might make a connection between Balto and The Lion King: they're both about animals, which is always an appealing theme, and they involve many classic movie elements: drama, action, adventure, romance. However, I have to say that Balto doesn't even come close to top dog on my list...pardon the pun. It's good enough, but not excellent.

Mahewa's rating: 3.0/5




My younger sister watched this with me and said that she really liked it. She also accurately noted that I didn't seem very "enthusiastic" after the viewing was over. To each his own, they say. You may very well come to like this movie; then you'd be right at home with my good friends on Balto Source.

It's About Time.

I decided that one of Studio Ghibli’s works was long overdue as a feature here. So here we go!

Spirited Away
Japanese release: July 27, 2001
U.S.A. release: September 20, 2002

You may have noticed that I’ve mentioned Hayao Miyazaki before in this blog. And with good reason: he is heralded by many critics as one of the best film directors alive today. I have long wanted to include one or more of his works on this blog, if only to include more non-Disney works. Yet when I watched it, I was simply blown away. This man is a genius!

The movie opens very effectively, with a scene that showcases our characters and story setup well: young (and lazy) Chihiro and her parents are moving, but Chihiro herself is extremely sullen about the move and is often stubborn with her parents. They wind up in an unexpected, mysterious place inhabited by spirits, and Chihiro has to learn to work hard and do what is right if she is to rescue her parents and escape the spirit world.

The fantastical setting of this film is very different from our usual idea of a fantasy, i.e. a “western” or “medieval” fantasy. There are funny little stone monuments shaped to look like short, rotund people. Out of nowhere we see oozing black shadows, human-sized frogs, and weird creatures that look like they have roots growing out of their mouths. The way in and out of the spirit world is a grassy hill or a flooded sea, depending on which side of the gap you’re in. Chihiro must hold her breath crossing a bridge, is controlled by her true name being taken away, and isn’t allowed to look back as she leaves. Yet even though this created world seems a bit haphazard and unorthodox, you can’t help but be drawn in by it. It is thorough, imaginative, and just looks so good!

Actually, I was a bit surprised at the animation. The animation of the characters seems to be at a lower frame rate than we are used to, so it looks slightly chunky in places. But the coloring and shading is so smooth, the expressions and motions so lifelike, and the background art so spectacular that you don’t really care about the walk cycles. All you can think when you see this movie is “gorgeous!” I decided that the best way to let you glimpse this visual wonder without revealing too much of the story was its trailer, so here it is.



Our story is in essence a coming-of-age story. Chihiro has never had to do any manual labor; as Lin says, “Haven’t you ever worked a day in your life?” In the opening sequence, she comes across as apathetic and clings selfishly to memories of her old home. She doesn’t appear to be very fond of her parents until she loses them. Yet over the course of the film, she learns to accept hard work, make new friends, and make the right moral choices. The scene with the river spirit who has suffered from pollution is a test of bravery and responsibility, the temptation scene with No Face one of resistance to greed, and the rescuing Haku segment one of love.

Yet many other characters have learning experiences, not just Chihiro. The giant, spoiled baby Boh leaves his pen for the first time and takes it upon himself to learn to walk so that he can stay with Chihiro. No Face, even though his greed, still cares for Chihiro, and follows her to Zeniba’s place and gladly stays there as an assistant. And Haku, of course, gradually breaks free from Yubaba’s power through his love for Chihiro.

Before we go, I have to slip in a word about the music. It was provided by the New Japan Philharmonic, which gives many segments a majestic quality. But in several scenes, the music is simply a piano solo, giving the film a lonely, mystical tone. It is really quite beautiful.

I can do no less than to call this film a masterpiece. If you haven’t seen it yet, then you are in for a real treat.

Mahewa’s rating: 5.0/5




If you’re still not convinced, Rotten Tomatoes gives this flick a whopping 97% approval rate! Check it out for yourself.