BOT's Top 100 Movies of All Time - Hindsight is 2020 Edition

[The Panda]

 

 

"How can you read this? There's no pictures!"

 

 

About the Movie

 

Synopsis

 

"Having lived a life in selfishness, young Prince Adam is cursed by a mysterious enchantress to having the appearance of a monstrous beast. His only hope is to learn to love a young woman and earn her love in return in order to redeem himself. Ten years later, his chance shows itself when a young maiden named Belle (Paige O'Hara) offers to take her ill father Maurice's (Rex Everhart's) place as his prisoner. With help from the castle's enchanted staff, Belle learns to appreciate her captor and immediately falls in love with him. Back in the village however, unscrupulous hunter Gaston (Richard White) has his own plans for Belle."

 

Its Legacy

 

"Though Walt Disney Animation Studios has existed in some form for almost 90 years, there is no more important period in its history than the Disney Renaissance, which lasted for the final 15 years of the 20th century. This is the era when more than a handful of Disney’s recent financial, if not full-throated creative, triumphs were released, from the more modestly successful The Great Mouse Detective to The Little Mermaid to The Lion King to Fantasia 2000. (The term “Disney Renaissance” was coined by fans, not in-house, so the definition of when the period extends from can, and should, be stretched to include both the 1986 Sherlock Holmes-esque adaptation that convinced Disney executives to keep funding animated projects and the 1999 “sequel” to Fantasia, which is a fitting tribute to the 1940 classic.) The Disney Renaissance, despite encompassing so many different films, is best identified by a series of elements that now approach the level of cliché: a fairy-tale-inspired story, an epic romance, catchy songs, goofy comic-relief sidekicks, and a fearsome-yet-charming villain. Just one film occupies the peak of Disney’s Renaissance period, proving so brilliant and influential that the studio has tried and failed over the last 25 years to replicate its power: Beauty And The Beast.

 

Beauty And The Beast is a beautiful synthesis of old-fashioned and modern aspects; it is more progressive than previous Disney princess films while hewing to familiar tropes. Our heroine, the brainy but beautiful Belle, would typically wind up with the equally attractive Gaston, whose looks are such that other women in the small town where everyone lives swoon and faint when he walks by them. But the story zigs instead of zagging in its romance. Belle is headstrong and courageous enough to save her inventor father from the clutches of a vain prince-turned-tortured-beast; though she starts as the Beast’s prisoner, the two eventually, genuinely fall in love with each other at his castle in the middle of nowhere. Often, Disney romances play out in predictable, sometimes dull fashion: Two pretty people without a ton of personality fall in love, primarily because the story demands it. If there’s anything that undercuts the power and emotion of this film’s romance, it’s that the Beast turns into a conventionally attractive young man in the finale, even though Belle fell for a monstrous-looking creature first. Yet even that reveal can’t rob the climax of its emotional heft.

 

Howard Ashman’s shoes are hard to fill, and so is the footprint left by Beauty And The Beast. Ashman’s indomitable spirit is the X factor that makes this movie feel as vibrant, as pure, and as emotionally honest as it does, and is what’s missing from films like Frozen and The Princess And The Frog. The 1991 film aches with life and passion as much now as it did upon its initial release; the songs, the snappy humor, the lush animation, the character development, and even the technical ambition on display (as when the camera swoops up to an angelic mural during the title sequence) are all incomparable. The people at Disney will continue to try to top Beauty And The Beast, and it’s hard to blame them for the effort. But like Ashman’s genius, the film’s excellence isn’t so easily replicated."

- Josh Spriegel, The AV Club

 

From the Filmmaker

 

 

 

Why It's the Greatest

 

Critic Opinion

 

"Beauty And The Beast has a clear and effective frugality. Within 15 minutes, we've been introduced to all of the characters, and given the Beast's backstory for later reference. Within 30, we've established absolutely everything needed for the story to progress organically and smoothly to it's climax. It's a remarkably well-paced story, and indeed, it does progress, almost invisibly to a marvellous, crowd-pleasing romantic slice of animated bliss. Both main characters are given considerable weight, and are fully developed into three dimensional beings, leaving us rooting for their union.  Several of the musical numbers stand out, one is the title song, lightly sung by Mrs Potts (Angela Lansbury). It is an exhilarating piece of music and animation, which comes to a climax in the technically challenging ballroom scene. As the characters' feelings soar, so does the camera, while the music lifts the viewer up to complete the experience.

 

The other musical gem is Gaston, in which the townsfolk gather to praise the villain, a diseased amalgamation of alpha male power fantasies. It's an adorably pompous number in which the antagonists plot to claim Belle as a prize, and provide all the necessary adjuncts to Gaston's dangerous and foolish character.  Beauty And The Beast is a magical film. The sheer craftsmanship, through script, story, song, and unadulterated uplifting emotion is nearly peerless. It ushered in a New Golden Age from Disney, yet the standard has dropped yet again, with the thinly scripted Dinosaur its lowest point. Pixar Animation Studios has taken up the slack with a series of animated triumphs (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL·E), and Disney has wisely retained it under its wing.  It's the story! All else is secondary."

- Scott MacDonald, Eye for Film

 

User Opinion

 

"Shit movie.  That's all I'll say for now cause I woke up a minute ago and I don't wanna sound like a fucking idiot.  D+" - @That One Guy

 

Oops... That was for the 2017 'film', here's a quote for this one:

 

"This was the kind of direction Thor needed," - @Squaremaster316

 

The Panda's Haiku

 

Stop remaking, Disney

 

It's not funny anymore

 

You're bad at it.  Stop.

 

 

Factoids

 

Placement on Prior Lists

 

2012 - 77, 2013 - 68, 2014 - 44, 2016 - 47, 2018 - 40

 

Director Count

 

Stanley Kubrick - 3, Richard Linklater - 3, The Russo Brothers - 3, Lee Unkrich - 3, Alfonso Cuaron - 2, John McTiernan - 2, Roger Allers - 1, John G. Avildsen - 1, Brad Bird - 1, Ash Brannon - 1, Mel Brooks - 1, Frank Capra - 1, James Cameron - 1, John Carpenter - 1, Damien Chazelle - 1, Ron Clements - 1, Clint Eastwood - 1, David Fincher - 1, Terry Gilliam - 1, Michel Gondry - 1, Alfred Hitchock - 1, Rian Johnson - 1, Terry Jones - 1, David Lean - 1, David Lynch - 1, Katia Lund - 1, Akira Kurosawa - 1, John Lasseter - 1, Fernando Meirelles - 1, Rob Minkoff - 1, Hayao Miyazaki - 1, Adrian Molina - 1, John Musker - 1, Christopher Nolan - 1, Bob Persichetti - 1, Jan Pinkava - 1, Sam Raimi - 1, Peter Ramsey - 1, Rodney Rotham - 1,   Martin Scorsese - 1, Steven Spielberg - 1, Andrew Stanton - 1, Quentin Tarantino - 1, Gary Trousdale - 1, Orson Welles - 1, Billy Wilder - 1, Kirk Wise - 1, Kar-Wai Wong - 1

 

Franchise Count

 

Pixar - 5, Marvel Cinematic Universe - 3, WDAS - 3, Before Trilogy - 2, Spider-Man - 2,  Toy Story - 2, Cameron - 1, Die Hard - 1, Indiana Jones - 1, Monty Python - 1, Nolan - 1, Predator - 1, Rocky - 1, Scorsese -1, Star Wars - 1, Studio Ghibli - 1, Terminator - 1

 

Decade Count

 

1940s - 2, 1950s - 2, 1960s - 3, 1970s - 4, 1980s - 7, 1990s - 6, 2000s - 11, 2010s - 11

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2020 by The Panda

[Jake Gittes]

2 minutes ago, MrGamer said:

Dat recovery

[Also Sprach Zarathustra intensifies]

[baumer]

Citizen Kane....no comment

 

The massive and completely confusing hard on this site has for anything animation is very sad very funny and vexxing all at once. 

[The Panda]

9 minutes ago, Jake Gittes said:

Damn that was a hell of a drop. Glad we came back to our senses 

[MrGamer]

2001 fighting its way back on to the list.

 

[charlie Jatinder]

Beauty and The Beast 

over Aladdin

over The Lion King 

over Toy Story films 

[lorddemaxus]

48 minutes ago, baumer said:

Citizen Kane....no comment

 

The massive and completely confusing hard on this site has for anything animation is very sad very funny and vexxing all at once. 

Considering that 95% of the animated films on here are from Disney, I'd say that this site doesn't have enough of an hard-on for animated movies.

Edited July 19, 2020 by lorddemaxus

[Ethan Hunt]

WE NEED MORE HARD ONS FOR FINDING NEMO 

[Eric is Quiet]

32 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

WE NEED MORE HARD ONS FOR FINDING NEMO 

Sorry, Zootopia already gave me my fix OwO

[MrGamer]

44 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

WE NEED MORE HARD ONS FOR FINDING NEMO 

[titanic2187]

Maybe after this we can do something like the greatest acting of all time

[Madhuvan]

Disney Animation movies are on the list because they are literally childhood for many. 

 

 

 

 

[Madhuvan]

I gave only Top 40 for consideration. 

 

Otherwise most of the movies would be Disney animated classics. Lol. 

[Cap]

2 hours ago, charlie Jatinder said:

Beauty and The Beast 

over Aladdin

over The Lion King 

over Toy Story films 

Yes. As it should be. 

[cannastop]

15 hours ago, The Panda said:

Kids do not like it

 

Oops, that's the 2019 version

 

Please ignore, move on

[Dementeleus]

1 hour ago, Ethan Hunt said:

WE NEED MORE HARD ONS FOR FINDING NEMO 

I mean, Baumer did say FTSBF

[Dementeleus]

BATB is probably the best of the “Renaissance” Disney movies. I think it’s the only one worth including on a list like this. 

[baumer]

3 minutes ago, Plain Old Tele said:

I mean, Baumer did say FTSBF

 

😂

[YM!]

2 hours ago, Ethan Hunt said:

WE NEED MORE HARD ONS FOR FINDING NEMO 

We need more hard ones for Ratatouille

[Dementeleus]

Honestly, what grates on me with Ratatouille is Patton Oswalt.... he sounds so ridiculously American.