Box Office Theory Forum’s Top 100 Disney Movies

[Eric Prime]

#30

Moana

1,322 points, 32 lists

"When you use a bird to write with, it's called tweeting."

 

Box Office: 687.2M

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

Metacritic: 81

Awards: 2 Academy Award nominations, 2 Annie Awards and 4 nominations, 2 Empire Award nominations, 1 Grammy Award and 1 nomination, 1 NAACP Image Award nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: N/A

 

Its Legacy: The final Disney film of John Musker and Ron Clements. The highest-selling home video of 2017. One of the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios movies ever. Part of the Disney Princess lineup. One of the most-viewed films on Disney+ and on streaming every single year. Made Lin-Manuel Miranda a major player at Disney. Has a major presence in the Disney theme parks. A television series sequel is set for release. A live-action remake is in the works. Gave Jemaine Clement a paycheck.

 

Commentary: This Polynesian adventure is the epic swan song for John Musker and Ron Clements, the directing duo behind iconic Disney hits like Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Princess and the Frog. And ending on your biggest hit ever? One that has become a massive part of the Disney empire with a giant franchise and merchandise still selling like hot cakes? One adored by kids and adults alike as one of Disney’s absolute bests? That’s a good high note to end things on.

 

It’s such a bouncy, dynamic, fun animated feature. One that boasts great characters, from the brave, fearless Moana to the fun-loving goofball Maui, to the stupid chicken, to the glamorous crab monster Tamatoa. It’s a film with utterly stunning, gorgeous animation, with incredible water effects that still look incredible even today, and stunning hair physics. Amazing character acting, great voice acting, great jokes. Just an all-around great feature.

 

But what really elevates the film is the music. Courtesy of America’s Sweetheart Lin-Manuel Miranda, the tunes are bouncy, cleverly written, incredibly catchy, and bring so much personality and heart to the story. The epic islander song “Where You Are”, the all-timer “I Want” song with “How Far I’ll Go”, the hilarious rap “You’re Welcome”. Every single tune lands and makes the experience all the better and has done a ton to make this princess tale a favorite across the world.

 

Will the sequel deliver the goods this Thanksgiving? We won’t know until then, but it’s got a high bar to meet, that much is certain.

 

[Arlborn]

Moana, Avengers, Infinity War and Winter Soldier already gone, and still almost 30 movies to go? Color me surprised.

 

It's going to be mostly animated though, isn't it? It feels like it.

 

[Eric Prime]

#139 - Return to Oz (312 points, 6 lists)

 

#138 - Ponyo (320 points, 12 lists)

 

#137 - Cool Runnings (322 points, 8 lists)

 

#136 - Gangs of New York, The Insider (325 points, 7 lists, avg. ranking #48)

 

#135 - Bridge of Spies (329 points, 7 lists)

 

#134 - Remember the Titans (332 points, 8 lists)

 

#133 - Crimson Tide (337 points, 7 lists)

 

#132 - Armageddon (342 points, 9 lists)

 

#131 - Onward (352 points, 10 lists)

[Cap]

On 2/22/2024 at 5:15 PM, Eric Web said:

#33

Mary Poppins

1,288 points, 20 lists

 

 

 

 

 

LMFAO this list is such trash.  

 

 

[Arlborn]

30 minutes ago, Eric Web said:

#139 - Return to Oz (312 points, 6 lists)

 

#138 - Ponyo (320 points, 12 lists)

 

#137 - Cool Runnings (322 points, 8 lists)

 

#136 - Gangs of New York, The Insider (325 points, 7 lists, avg. ranking #48)

 

#135 - Bridge of Spies (329 points, 7 lists)

 

#134 - Remember the Titans (332 points, 8 lists)

 

#133 - Crimson Tide (337 points, 7 lists)

 

#132 - Armageddon (342 points, 9 lists)

 

#131 - Onward (352 points, 10 lists)

Ah, Cool Runnings was so close, what a pity.

[Eric Prime]

#29

Tangled

1,339 points, 31 lists

"Frying pans... who knew, right?"

 

Box Office: 592.5M

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%

Metacritic: 71

Awards: 1 Academy Award nomination, 2 Annie Award nominations, 2 Golden Globe Award nominations, 1 Grammy Award and 1 nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: N/A

 

Its Legacy: One of Walt Disney Animation Studios' highest grossing films. The most expensive animated movie of all time. The eighth-biggest movie of 2010. Rapunzel would join the Disney Princess line. Earned a stage show on the Disney Cruise Line. Appeared in Kingdom Hearts. Earned a television series in 2017. Gave Brad Garrett a paycheck.

 

Commentary: If The Princess and the Frog started Disney Animation’s Revival era of classics, Tangled solidified it was here to stay. Like its princess predecessor, Tangled was the perfect blend of contemporary and classical. Taking all the elements we love from Disney, their artistry, their humor, their lovable characters, while still modernizing them to fit with then-current beliefs and values and styles. Even modernizing from the writing and conventions of the 90s Disney movies. What results is a fanciful, highly creative, and sweet-hearted princess story that also allows interesting insights into emotional abuse and the importance of love and human connection.

 

The film boasts two great leads in Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Both fit the typical princess and prince conventions. A sheltered woman who wants more from life, a dashing hero who doesn’t realize he wants love until the end. It’s standard stuff, but both the strong voiceover performances and distinct personalities the two share allow for great banter and incredible chemistry, with a romance that is easy to root for and empahtize with. Meanwhile, the typical evil stepmother role is given a lot more dimension with writing that focuses on microaggressions and emotional manipulation. Subjects that only now are being dissected in terms of how parents abuse their children with them. Sometimes even by accident.

 

All of this is also wrapped up in some utterly stunning animation. The film was designed to look like a painting come to life, resulting in warm and lush colors that still looks amazing over a decade later. In fact, the film looked so good, being faithful to classic Disney while also strikingly modern, that it would be the template for nearly every Disney CGI movie since then. It led to some complaints in recent years, but you can’t deny it’s a style that works and has a lot of personality.

 

The film ushered in a new era of Disney Animation, it’s a huge fan favorite with kids and adults today, it has become a very sturdy and powerful franchise in the Disney Princess empire, and continues to serve as one of the most important and loved Disney movies ever. You only get movies as good as this every couple of decades.

 

[Eric Prime]

#28

Fantasia

1,343 points, 22 lists

"Classical music intensifies"

Box Office: 76.4-83.3M

Rotten Tomatoes: 95%

Metacritic: 96

Awards: 2 Academy Honorary Awards

 

Roger Ebert's Review: "If there's one thing the book makes clear, it's that there's a lot more to animation than just drawing little animals and cartoon characters and having them hop around. The artists experimented for weeks with the fairy sequence, and eventually used a whole arsenal of techniques to get the desired effects: not only straightforward drawing and traditional animation, but foreground and background matte paintings, gels, trick dissolves, multilayered paintings and other special effects. The effortless magic of the sequence hardly suggests the painstaking work that went into it."

 

Its Legacy: Ranked #5 on National Board of Review's Top Ten Films of 1940. One of the 45 "great films" determined by the Vatican. #58 on AFI's Top 100 Movies. Earned numerous controversies for racist caricatures and partial nudity. Earned a sequel in 2000. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" would become one of the most beloved and iconic Mickey Mouse cartoons of all time and saw a live-action adaptation. Parodied by Looney Tunes and The Simpsons. Became the highest-selling VHS of all time for a while. Considered a definitive example of animation, its artistry, and what the medium can achieve.

 

Commentary: Easily Disney’s most experimental and out there feature of the bunch, there is not one other movie like Disney’s Fantasia. Even its sequel Fantasia 2000 isn’t really like this 1940 masterpiece. The film is famed for combining the wonders of Disney animation with classic music composed by Leopold Stokowski. There’s no real narrative per se, but rather a series of animated segments all themed around one piece of music. Sometimes the segments have a plot, sometimes they don’t. Some of these are sillier, some of these are more serious. Some focus on characters, others are on an environment or even the passage of time.

 

And man oh man, is this something glorious. This is a film that shows the beauty of not just how animation can craft incredible stories and imaginative scenarios, but also how music on its own can create a mood, feeling, and experience. Just a few notes can create a story and be the basis for something profound and emotionally gripping. This is a film that reminds us that internal character drama and epic stories can be great. But sometimes, something as simple as the changing of the season or the falling of leaves can be just as, if not more powerful.

 

Sadly, this was an experimental piece that didn’t really work out financially. It cost a fortune to make, lost a ton of money in its initial release, and any hopes of a follow-up, which Disney hoped to do, was dashed in favor of conventional storytelling. And while package films like Fantasia would exist in the 1940s when Disney was trying to get money after they lost tons from World War II, those films were far cheaper and far less ambitious than Fantasia. And honestly, films like Fantasia will never really hit the same for younger audiences who are more into Snow White or Lion King.

 

But in a way, I guess that makes this all the more special. This is a film that boasts itself as one of, if not the most unique piece of animation in the Disney Animation feature film canon, and it’s a film that is still dazzling and enchanting all these years later. Everything happens for a reason I suppose

 

 

 

[Eric Prime]

#27

Princess Mononoke

1,347 points, 18 lists

" Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still, you find reasons to keep living."

 

Box Office: 194.3M

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Metacritic: 76

Awards: 3 Mainichi Film Awards, 2 Japan Academy Film Prizes, 1 Annie Award nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: "Hayao Miyazaki is a great animator, and his "Princess Mononoke" is a great film. Do not allow conventional thoughts about animation to prevent you from seeing it. It tells an epic story set in medieval Japan, at the dawn of the Iron Age, when some men still lived in harmony with nature and others were trying to tame and defeat it. It is not a simplistic tale of good and evil, but the story of how humans, forest animals and nature gods all fight for their share of the new emerging order. It is one of the most visually inventive films I have ever seen."

 

Its Legacy: The highest-grossing film in Japan until Titanic. The highest-grossing Japanese film until Spirited Away. Helped boost popularity and recognition of Studio Ghibli in the West. Influenced the themes and characters of Avatar. The first Ghibli film to be dubbed into English by Disney. Considered one of the greatest Ghibli movies and animated movies of all time. Gave Minnie Driver a paycheck.

 

Commentary: While not a big hit in the West (though obviously it was huge in Japan), Princess Mononoke was many viewers’ big introduction to the famed works of Hayao Miyazaki. And because Miyazaki told Harvey to fuck off and say “no cuts” to his masterpiece, this became a film that turned many into diehard Ghibli nerds, thanks to the stunning animation and powerful storytelling. One that depicts man vs. nature, man vs. man, and, in a way, man vs. self.

 

And it’s the storytelling of Mononoke that is the most captivating. Within the "movies people are mad Avatar stole from but not really" subgenre, this is perhaps the most layered and dense when it comes to the subject matter. The common way these films are made is typically a black and white conflict. Which isn't an inherently bad thing. Yet this film makes the bold decision to not have a clear antagonist. 

 

Prince Ashitaka, forest dweller San, and industrialist Lady Eboshi all have likable attributes to them and clear set goals that are relatable and sympathetic. But they all have disagreeable and vindictive sides to them. Ashitaka is largely unbiased in the fight between man and the nature gods, but he's really only in this battle for selfish reasons, to be free of a curse put upon by outside forces. San cares for the world she lives in and has a strong spiritual side, but she hates humanity with a passion, and will gladly kill innocents on the belief she is doing the right thing. Lady Eboshi has destroyed nature due to her industrialization and creation of weapons, but also does this because she clearly wants to support her community that's full of sick lepers. It's a fight between humanity vs. nature, but one that's full of tough conflicts. Is destroying the beauty and wonder of our homeland worth keeping people alive and working? Or is humanity worth killing after how much we've already killed the natural world?

 

There's no real answer to give, because the film itself doesn't want to give that answer. These are all characters with distinct backgrounds and passions that it's hard to say there is any right or wrong. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't find that a problem. I'm largely not a fan of the "both sides" mantra. Both in real life and in media. It largely excuses actual horrible people and their atrocities and implies they are the same level as people who genuinely care and want to do good. It's gross centrist behavior that rewards evil. And having this trotted out in a film is propaganda to keep the "both sides" belief that is literally killing our world.

 

Still, I would be lying if this movie didn't make me think. Think about how complicated our world can be and think about how tough it is to be in a terrible, life or death situation where compromise is impossible. And there are few movies that have really gotten into my head and look at a conflict that, frankly, is very basic in most films and in my own head, and thus unravel it as something with a lot more depth and grayness that I sometimes try to ignore

 

And in that regard, a film that recontextualizes my own views...that's what art should strive to be. And I guess that means, even if I don't entirely agree with its philosophies and mantras...that I love it.

 

[DAR]

That last honorable mention list for none of those to crack the top 100 proves some of you have space dementia 

[4815162342]

2 minutes ago, DAR said:

That last honorable mention list for none of those to crack the top 100 proves some of you have space dementia 

 

 

DAR to the list submitters:

 

 

[Eric Prime]

#130 - Tombstone (353 points, 8 lists)

 

#129 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (362 points, 10 lists)

 

#128 - 25th Hour (368 points, 7 lists)

 

#127 - The Parent Trap (1998) (375 points, 10 lists)

 

#126 - The Rescuers Down Under (375 points, 7 lists)

 

#125 - The Menu (381 points, 13 lists)

 

#124 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (381 points, 7 lists)

 

#123 - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (394 points, 8 lists)

 

#122 - The Straight Story (395 points, 5 lists)

 

#121 - Lincoln (401 points, 8 lists)

[Eric Prime]

#26

Pulp Fiction

1,412 points, 22 lists

"That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence."

Box Office: 213.9M

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

Metacritic: 95

Awards: 1 Academy Award and 6 nominations, 2 BAFTA Awards and 7 nominations, 1 Golden Globe Award and 5 nominations, 4 Independent Spirit Awards and 1 nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: "The screenplay, by Tarantino and Roger Avary, is so well-written in a scruffy, fanzine way that you want to rub noses in it - the noses of those zombie writers who take "screenwriting" classes that teach them the formulas for "hit films." Like "Citizen Kane," "Pulp Fiction" is constructed in such a nonlinear way that you could see it a dozen times and not be able to remember what comes next. It doubles back on itself, telling several interlocking stories about characters who inhabit a world of crime and intrigue, triple-crosses and loud desperation. The title is perfect. Like those old pulp mags named "Thrilling Wonder Stories" and "Official Detective," the movie creates a world where there are no normal people and no ordinary days - where breathless prose clatters down fire escapes and leaps into the dumpster of doom."

 

Its Legacy: One of the highest-grossing independent movies ever upon release. Made Quentin Tarantino a household name. Saved John Travolta's career. The breakout performance of Uma Thurman. Solidified Samuel L. Jackson's popularity. Won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Considered the Star Wars of indies. The script would be released as an NFT. #95 on AFI's Top 100 Movies. #94 on the 2007 edition. Gave Ving Rhames a paycheck.

 

Commentary: What Quentin Tarantino concocted, a film that dared to be different and unconventional from every other movie released beforehand, is a rare case of a game changer. A film that completely upended tradition on what a movie is supposed to be, played around with concepts and ideas that were so familiar to so many people, and gave audiences something they didn’t even know they wanted in the first place. And while there would be tons of Pulp Fiction wannabes produced all throughout the 90s, you just can’t match a visionary as unique and postmodern as Tarantino’s.

 

With Tarantino’s love for dark humor and his self-referential attitude, Pulp Fiction was a film that combined everything you could want in a movie, while also telling it in a unique format that wasn’t really typical for movies back then and even now. The film focuses on lengthy diatribes and monologues, with dialogue that is offbeat and weird, but also immensely quotable. The film frequently referenced other movies and expected viewers to recognize the homages and pastiches right away. The film was wholly ironic, blending slick and witty and light comedy with harsh ultraviolence that you didn’t see anywhere else. All the while, the story was told completely out of order, following a wide variety of characters who didn’t seem to fit in with what another character was going through.

 

It was a film that, frankly, required you to pay attention and expected you to be smart enough to get what was happening and accept the odd conventions. And thankfully, or I guess not thankfully, Miramax understood the assignment, picked up the movie right away, and treated it with respect and care. And sure enough, audiences were obsessed with the movie. Obsessed with the story, the characters, and especially the writing. It made Tarantino a household name, influenced tons of other artists in the decades to come, and made postmodernism cool and hip to modern audiences. And in many ways, Pulp Fiction served as the Star Wars for independent movies and independent filmmakers.

 

Pulp Fiction’s success made Miramax the go-to company for indies, and made tons of other hopeful directors realize they didn’t need the big studio system. Just so long as you had the passion, the money, the connections, and the right festival, you could go far and get people interested in your work. Tarantino and Pulp Fiction resulted in studios like Focus Features and Fox Searchlight, boosted the popularity of filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, and Wes Anderson, and made independent films just as popular as the big boy blockbusters.

 

And we’re still feeling Pulp Fiction’s impacts. Even now, as studios push for big tentpoles and nostalgic toy commercials, indies are still considered an integral aspect of every studio lineup, whether it be to get acclaim and prestige in your lineup, or to boost your streaming service. Disney is still well aware of that despite their focus on Marvel and Pixar, with recent hits like The Menu and Poor Things finding as much, if not more success than their big-budget extravaganzas. And again, that’s due to Pulp Fiction. It’s weird to think this is as integral to Disney history as Snow White or The Lion King or Frozen, but...it is. And that’s pretty freakin’ cool.

 

 

[DAR]

6 hours ago, Eric Web said:

#130 - Tombstone (353 points, 8 lists)

 

#129 - Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (362 points, 10 lists)

 

#128 - 25th Hour (368 points, 7 lists)

 

#127 - The Parent Trap (1998) (375 points, 10 lists)

 

#126 - The Rescuers Down Under (375 points, 7 lists)

 

#125 - The Menu (381 points, 13 lists)

 

#124 - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (381 points, 7 lists)

 

#123 - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (394 points, 8 lists)

 

#122 - The Straight Story (395 points, 5 lists)

 

#121 - Lincoln (401 points, 8 lists)

WTF

[Eric Prime]

#25

Zootopia

1,420 points, 26 lists

"Life isn't some cartoon musical where you sing a little song and all your insipid dreams magically come true. So let it go."

Box Office: 1.025B

Rotten Tomatoes: 98%

Metacritic: 78

Awards: 1 Academy Award, 6 Annie Awards and 5 nominations, 1 BAFTA Award nominations, 1 Golden Globe Award, 1 Grammy Award nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: N/A

 

Its Legacy: The second-highest-grossing original movie of all time. Earned several theme park attractions and an entire land at Shanghai Disneyland. Earned a television spin-off. Praised and criticized for its allegorical treatment of racism. Turned millions of children into furries. A sequel is in the works. Gave Idris Elba a paycheck.

 

Commentary: Using talking animals to serve as fable and allegory is nothing new. Even using them to explain the evils of racism and prejudice has been done before. Yet what directors Bryan Howard and Rich Moore created with Zootopia was a film that truly upended the usual fare of these talking animal movies and really made something that spoke to the then-current political climate, while still serving as a timeless action adventure comedy with a lot of charm and personality.

 

While it has earned copaganda accusations in recent years, and I can’t blame that idea, it’s still a very mature, very nuanced, yet still understandable looks into concepts that, many would argue, are too confusing to explain to a child audience. It uses the predator vs. prey dynamics to really illustrate the biases we have as individuals, intentional and unintentional, and how they impact others. We create these ideas, these stereotypes in our head, and it can go both ways. In gender, in race, in creed, and so on. And this film tackles how these biases impact our world, but also how we can move from that and be better towards the people around us. All the while, not being simplistic or preachy in its messaging.

 

This is of course also helped by an amazing world, with a creative location that allows for tons of ingenuity and creative visuals and a fantastic leading duo of the optimistic rookie chief and the pessimistic con artist who are forced to work together. And of course, tons of clever animal jokes. The sloth DMV scene? Perfection incarnate. Breaking a billion dollars, Zootopia still shines as a funny, prescient, and creative animated feature that will for sure make kids furries for life. And speaking of, if I can go furry trash here...I mean, all of them are beautiful, but Nick Wilde is just like...the perfect man. I need him. Badly.

 

 

[Eric Prime]

#24

Avengers: Endgame

1,420 points, 20 lists

"AVENGERS...assemble."

Box Office: 2.799B

Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

Metacritic: 78

Awards: 1 Academy Award nomination, 1 Annie Award, 1 BAFTA Award nomination, 1 Grammy Award nomination, 3 MTV Movie Awards and 1 nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: N/A

 

Its Legacy: The former highest-grossing movie of all time. Ended the Infinity Saga with a bang. One of the most expensive movies ever made. Features one of the most epic climaxes in Marvel movie history. Set the stage for the future of the MCU. Gave Bradley Cooper a paycheck.

 

Commentary: Here was a movie that had so much to prove. It didn’t have to just be a fun popcorn movie. It didn’t just have to be a good follow-up to that epic Infinity War cliffhanger. This film had to be the perfect finale to a whopping 11 years of movies. Marvel Studios needed to give a three-hour feature that emphasized how far we had come in this Infinity Saga, offer tons of fan service for people who had been with this since day 1, deliver an epic climax that blew everybody away, finish up dozens of character arcs and stories, and set the stage for more Marvel stories to come. And somehow, someway, the Russos, Markus, and McFeeley did just that.

 

So many incredible setpieces. So many awesome character moments. So many great jokes and one-liners. So many strong emotional beats, bits of melancholy where we are all reminded of what we have lost and also how far we have come. And it all leads to one of the greatest climaxes in Marvel history. A moment that seared into every MCU’s fan as an all-timer. Everything they could have hoped from this series and more was in that climax, and it made this whole epic odyssey all worth it.

 

Since then, the MCU has been in some weird rough patches. And in some respects, maybe they should have just ended things right here. But because this one film stuck the landing and gave us an exciting finale we will never forget, as well as a box office run for the ages, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will never truly lose relevance or popularity. Ever.

 

 

 

[Human]

It shocks people when I tell them I have never seen Endgame and have no plans to see it.

[grey ghost]

RE: Endgame

 

One of the greatest climaxes 

In history. Not just Marvel history.

Edited February 27 by grey ghost

[Arlborn]

19 hours ago, Eric Web said:

#24

Avengers: Endgame

1,420 points, 20 lists

"AVENGERS...assemble."

Box Office: 2.799B

Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

Metacritic: 78

Awards: 1 Academy Award nomination, 1 Annie Award, 1 BAFTA Award nomination, 1 Grammy Award nomination, 3 MTV Movie Awards and 1 nomination

 

Roger Ebert's Review: N/A

 

Its Legacy: The former highest-grossing movie of all time. Ended the Infinity Saga with a bang. One of the most expensive movies ever made. Features one of the most epic climaxes in Marvel movie history. Set the stage for the future of the MCU. Gave Bradley Cooper a paycheck.

 

Commentary: Here was a movie that had so much to prove. It didn’t have to just be a fun popcorn movie. It didn’t just have to be a good follow-up to that epic Infinity War cliffhanger. This film had to be the perfect finale to a whopping 11 years of movies. Marvel Studios needed to give a three-hour feature that emphasized how far we had come in this Infinity Saga, offer tons of fan service for people who had been with this since day 1, deliver an epic climax that blew everybody away, finish up dozens of character arcs and stories, and set the stage for more Marvel stories to come. And somehow, someway, the Russos, Markus, and McFeeley did just that.

 

So many incredible setpieces. So many awesome character moments. So many great jokes and one-liners. So many strong emotional beats, bits of melancholy where we are all reminded of what we have lost and also how far we have come. And it all leads to one of the greatest climaxes in Marvel history. A moment that seared into every MCU’s fan as an all-timer. Everything they could have hoped from this series and more was in that climax, and it made this whole epic odyssey all worth it.

 

Since then, the MCU has been in some weird rough patches. And in some respects, maybe they should have just ended things right here. But because this one film stuck the landing and gave us an exciting finale we will never forget, as well as a box office run for the ages, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will never truly lose relevance or popularity. Ever.

 

 

 

A lot lower than I thought it would be.

[Eric Prime]

#120 - Iron Man 3 (402 points, 10 lists)

 

#119 - The Jungle Book (2016) (404 points, 12 lists)

 

#118 - Quiz Show (405 points, 8 lists)

 

#117 - Freaky Friday (2003) (411 points, 9 lists)

 

#116 - The Last Duel (420 points, 8 lists)

 

#115 - Robin Hood (429 points, 9 lists)

 

#114 - A Bug's Life (434 points, 17 lists)

 

#113 - Whisper of the Heart (438 points, 7 lists)

 

#112 - Chunking Express (447 points, 9 lists)

 

#111 - Spider-Man: Homecoming (451 points, 13 lists)

[Eric Prime]

#23

The Little Mermaid

1,448 points, 27 lists

"Teenagers. They think they know everything. You give them an inch, they swim all over you."

 

Box Office: 235M

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Metacritic: 88

Awards: 2 Academy Awards and 1 nomination, 2 Golden Globe Awards and 2 nominations, 2 Grammy Awards and 3 nominations

 

Roger Ebert's Review: What's best about "The Little Mermaid" is the visual invention with which the adventures are drawn. There is a lightness and a freedom about the settings - from Triton's underwater throne room to storms at sea to Ursula's garden of captured souls (they look a little like the tourists buried in Farmer Vincent's back yard in "Motel Hell"). The colors are bright, the water sparkles with reflected light, and there is the sense that not a single frame has been compromised because of the cost of animation.

 

Its Legacy: The film that began the Disney Renaissance. Brought Disney back to fairy tales and back to musicals. Ariel would become one of the most praised and criticized Disney Princesses ever. Influenced nearly every Disney fairy tale since its release. Appeared in Kingdom Hearts. Appears in all the theme parks. Earned two direct-to-video sequels. Earned a Broadway show. Earned a TV series, with a new on on the horizon. Earned a live-action remake. Considered one of the greatest animated movies of all time. Gave Kenneth Mars a paycheck.

 

Commentary: The very film that saved Disney itself...well, kind of. It was actually a solid succession of films alongside other marketing factors that led to Little Mermaid becoming a huge juggernaut. Of course, it’s easier to put it all on the flashy princess movie that everybody loves and makes a ton of money even today. But...what was I talking about? Oh yeah, movie.

 

This was Disney’s epic return to the world of fairy tales. Something they ignored since Sleeping Beauty 30 years ago. And it was an amazing return. Simply because this was a rare case of a film that captured everything we loved from what came before, while also having its own personality and paving the way for so many other future classics.

 

It’s a film that is reminiscent of classics like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, from the romance story to the fun side characters to the beautiful castles and backgrounds. Yet everything about it feels so fresh and modern and unique even after all these years. Must have been truly mind blowing in 1989. With incredible music, powerful sequences, and gorgeous colors, all of this works perfectly thanks to the incredible character that is Ariel.

 

Sure, it can be easy to mock or mischaracterize her. But she captured so many people’s hearts and imaginations for obvious reasons. She was determined, she was active, she was curious, she was vibrant, and full of so much personality. Both in the incredible character animation of Glen Keane and the incredible vocals of Jodi Benson, both of whom had brought so much life and energy and earnestness to the character. This was a princess for the modern age and her personality would influence future heroines like Belle, Jasmine, Tiana, Mulan, Elsa, and more over the coming decades.

 

And over 30 years later, Little Mermaid still feels modern and distinct and resonant, with the recent remake finding success and popularity with a whole new generation of audiences. It's the kind of legacy most movies dream of having.