Number Twenty Four: The Fox and the Hound

The Fox and the Hound

1981

In this world, there are three things that can make me cry. One I will not discuss, ever. Another is Charlotte’s Web, probably the saddest movie to exist, or that will ever exist. The second saddest is The Fox and the Hound, the third thing that reduces me to a sobbing bucket of tears.

If you’ve ever seen this movie, you’d understand. From the minute it begins to the second it ends, it’s depressing. When a movie starts out with a mother fox being shot by an evil hunter, you know you’re in for a downer.

Watching a young fox’s reaction to his other dying is just heart wrenching. Fortunately for this baby fox, a kind old woman takes him in, and raises him just like a pet. She names him Tod, because he acts like a toddler. Such a creative name.

Across the road, Amos, a hunter, but not really an evil one, brings home a new hound puppy named Copper. Amos tells Copper that he will one day grow up to be a mighty hunting aid. Amos leaves his other dog, Chief in charge of Copper, hoping he will teach him to be a good hound.

One day, Tod and Copper meet, and become instant best buddies, despite the fact they are naturally supposed to be enemies. But so what if society says they can’t be friends? It does’nt matter at all for them.

Until Amos finds out that is. When he sees Tod on his property, he attempts to kill him, and then threatens him with death if he ever comes back again. Which he does, of course. Death threats are not enough to keep best friends apart.

However, month long hunting trips are. Copper leaves with Amos and Chief for the winter to learn how to be a hound dog. Tod remains at home, waiting for the day his friend will come back. Big Mama, an owl, tries to tell Tod that Copper will come back a changed dog, but Tod refuses to listen to her.

Sadly he should have. Once he returns, Copper has grown into his role as a hound dog. He tells Tod that he still wants to be friends, but things are too different now. As they are talking, Amos awakes and finds Tod on his property. This leads into an intense chase, ending in near tragedy. Chief is struck be a train and falls of a bridge, nearly dying. Knowing it is Tod’s fault, Copper vows to never forget about this.

Amos also knows it’s Tod’d fault, and tells the widow he had been living with to get rid of him. Reluctantly, she releases him into a game preserve where he should be safe.

Should be, but isn’t necessarily. Tod takes a liking to the wilderness, as he has found a pretty vixen to spen

d his time with, named Vixey. The creativity in these names is almost unbearable! But his happiness is not here to stay, for Amos still wants his revenge, even if that means sneaking onto the preserve to finish off Tod. With him is Copper, and they eventually find Tod and Vixey, and another chase begins. This one ends in a bear attack. All the ruckus angers a HUGE ugly mean terrifying nasty devilish bear. Seriously, this thing still somewhat frightens me. With glowing red eyes and giant fangs, I’m sure he’d scare you a bit too.

Amos has the misfortune of stepping in one of his own hunting traps, leaving him helpless against the bear. Tod, still caring very much about Copper and his safety, steps in and fights off the bear, leading him off a cliff and down a waterfall. That takes care of the bear! Yay!

Tod brushes up on the shore of the lake, where Copper is able to find him. Amos comes by and thinks about shooting Tod, but Copper steps in the way. Amos lets Tod live, and takes Copper home. The end.

Sniffle. This movie is so freakin sad. The whole thing, from the death at the beginning to the final scene when Copper leaves Tod behind. Nearly nothing happy happens to whole time.

Yet, this is my second favorite Disney movie. I used to watch it almost daily, I adored it so much. Part of the reason is it’s quite adorable. Watching a baby fox and puppy play together would melt even the hardest of hearts.

Despite the fact the story is a little depressing, it still is endearing. It’s nice to have a children’s movie that doesn’t need to have a happy ending to still be wonderful. It’s sad, yes, but it’s also real. Well, real if you ignore the talking animals and such. Friendships sometimes do not last due to the changes of time. Somehow watching this movie makes that reality clearer, but not in a harsh sense. Whatever this film does, it does well, and I’ll always love it.

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): All my little siblings, who were as depressed as I was about this tale.

Best Song: “Best of Friends.” Aww, it’s so cute, and sweet, and yet, still sad. Basically, the whole movie's feel in one song. 

Best Part: When Copper and Tod first begin to play together, it reminds me of my childhood, and how I wish I could be a kid again. 

Number Twenty Three: The Rescuers

The Rescuers

1977

I want a pet alligator now. Is that something I can have? He’d be a good watch animal! I think I would name him Al. Al would eat anyone I would tell him to, and he would love me very much. I’ll have to look into alligator care now I suppose.

Madam Medusa owns a pair of lovely alligators. Lucky duck. However she uses her alligators for evil. I would use mine for good! He’d only eat yucky people, like murderers or people who let their car alarms go off at three in the morning. Not that I have any people like that on my street, no not at all.

Madam Medusa is evil because she has kidnapped the orphan Penny. Kidnapping a normal kid is one thing, but kidnapping an orphan is just downright wrong. They’ve already had a bad enough life, why make it worse? But Medusa has no soul (She is after all a Ginger) so she’s alright with taking Penny and forcing her to help find the Devil’s Eye, a giant diamond. The diamond is located in a cove, with the only entrance into said 

cove is a tiny hole.

Tired of being shoved down a hole every day, Penny sends out a message in a bottle asking for help. Fortunately for her, the Rescue Aid Society, a society of mice that help people out, received her cry for help, and sent out two of its agents, Miss Bianca and Bernard the janitor to save her.

With the help of a albatross, the two mice arrive at Medusa’s houseboat. There, after nearly drowning and being eaten by some misunderstood alligators, B&B are able to help Penny find the Devil’s Eye. This makes Medusa very happy, until she is attacked by swamp animals helping out the agents and Penny, and probably eaten by her precious alligators. With Medusa out of the way Penny is able to return to her orphanage. After becoming famous for donating the Devil’s Eye to a museum, she is adopted by a very nice family and lives probably happily ever after. B&B congratulate themselves for a job well done before immediately heading out on another assignment. The end!

This is one of the most underrated Disney films. If you think about which Disney movie is your favorite, some common answers would be Beauty and the Beast or maybe The Lion King! No one ever thinks of The Rescuers. I am beginning to wonder why, because this movie is spectacular. The opening sequence of still paintings is quite stunning. The characters are funny, the villain is insanely evil, there is a nice message about how powerful faith and hope are in bad situations, and the stars are mice. Really, when all of that is added together, it creates a solid film, one I have absolutely nothing to complain about.

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): I was in recovery today from having an endoscopy, so my sweet little brother watched this with me. Awww he’s so nice.

Best Song: Hmmm. I really liked this soundtrack, like a lot, so for the first time I’m having trouble picking a clear best song. Okay, after relistening to them all, “The Journey” is my decision. Yes. I think.

Best Part: One of the swamp animals, a muskrat named Luke, has a habit of shoving moonshine down everyone’s throats, which nearly causes them to explode. 

Number Twenty Two: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

1977

“Why did Piglet go to the bathroom? He wanted to see Pooh!” Hehehe, a very crappy joke I know. But I (unfortunately) think of it every time I watch this lovely movie.

In my world, this movie is dearly beloved. This is mainly due to all the character. Rarely do I watch a film that I adore every single character, but this is one of those exceptions. Probably due more to the actual author who created them, A. A Milne, the movie still deserves credit to bringing each of these various animals to life.

All of the various characters in this story are so vibrant and different, it’s wonderful. Because the animals are what make this movie, I’m going to do something different. I’m not going to talk about the plot; I’m going to talk about all sweet characters, ‘cause I can. So there. One weird thing is that all these animals seem to have some serious psychological problems, but I’ll discuss that as they come.

I might as well cover Pooh first. He is kind of the main character. He’s a bear! A really tubby one. He’s short, fat, and proud of that! For real, he actually says that. His stomach problem is due to his obsession with honey. Or hunny, as he spells it. He’s really not too bright, but what do you expect from someone whose brain is made of stuffing? Despite the fact he is a stupid fatty, he’s quite endearing. He gets stuck in doorways, trees, and practically everything else. But he’s adorable, and you can’t help but love him. He does seem to have an over eating problem though. He needs to work on that.

What sound does a donkey make? Eeyore! Yes, it did take me quite a while to figure out that name. Shut up, I bet it took you forever too! Anyway, Eeyore is the most depressing cartoon ever created, which why he’s so cool. When you watch him and hear him talk, you just want to jump inside the screen and give him a big hug. He’s so sweet too. He went searching for a new house for one of his friends in the middle of a flood. That’s dedication. I can’t help but smile whenever he says “Thanks for noticing me.” He’s the so sad, yet so fantastic.

Kanga and Roo, two kangaroos, (the names for these creatures are so creative) are the most meh characters the whole film. They’re the nice mom and son, who don’t really do much. So I won’t write much.

Gopher is a gopher. Weird right? When he shows up, it’s not for very long, but when he is onscreen, he’s either falling down a whole or trying to blow something up with dynamite, so I guess you can guess he’s fabulous.

There are a lot more animals to talk about than I thought. Originally I thought this would be the easiest way to write about Winnie the Pooh, but I’m not so sure anymore. Oh well I must continue! And I’ll do that with Rabbit! This small mammal is driven to madness every time someone messes up his house or garden. He is must have everything perfect at all times of his life, or his brain might just explode. I also wish I could jump into the movie so I could go make his house dirty, but that could be mean. It would be funny though! Uptight and bossy, his antics are still hilarious to watch, especially when others ruin his stuff.

“What kind of animal is Piglet?” “… A pig dummy.” My brother was the sad person who asked that question. 

Piglet is a nutcase. He can barely exist without throwing a panic attack. He’s still sweet, even giving up his house when his friend needs it. But that causes him great amounts of stress, you can be sure. Geez all these animals are so messed up. It makes you wonder what the author was trying to teach his audience of small children.

One of the non messed up characters is Owl. Actually, come to think of it, he’s a bit narcissistic, and does love to hear himself talk. Are there any sane people in this movie?

Well of the one person in this movie, Christopher Robin, I’m pretty sure he’s crazy too. He spends all his time talking to stuffed animals, and he thinks they talk back. When he’s older I bet he’ll be off to the funny farm! I wonder if they’d let him bring his precious animals. At least he’d have friends that way!

Last but not least, is TIGGER!!!!!! Or T-I-Double Gah-Err. That spells Tigger! Duh. Everyone knows that. He’s loud, obnoxious, ruins everyone’s stuff, particularly Rabbit’s, and has a habit of bouncing too much. I want him for a best friend. I’d talk to him, and let him run around and bounce all he wants! He’d adore me, and we’d go to the park together. It sounds dandy doesn’t it?

I love this movie. There isn’t any other way to say it. Everyone in it is wonderful, and they way it plays out like a story book come to life is awesome. Despite the fact all the characters are off their rockers, I adore each and every one. Especially Tigger. Can I keep him?

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): Since it was my little sister’s birthday, I watched it with her. Yay Kayleigh!

Best Song: “The Wonderful Thing About Tigger.” Duh. Have I mentioned I love Tigger?

Best Part:  Every scene Tigger’s in. Have I mentioned I love Tigger?

Number Twenty One: Robin Hood

Robin Hood

1973

Sometimes, having an older sister sucks. Most of the time I find it most enjoyable, but sometimes they do something terribly annoying. A good example of when they stink is when they kidnap movies, like Robin Hood. My family USED to have two copies of this movie, until my devious sister swept in and took them both to California, leaving me to hunt down a copy. Fortunately I was able to do so, so all is not lost.

Robin Hood, as most of you should know, is a noble thief who robs from the rich to give to the poor people of Nottingham. Prince John, the ruler of the land, taxes these poor sad folk until they’re nearly dead. But thanks to Robin Hood, the citizens still have some hope for the future.

One day, Robin Hood and his trusty sidekick Little John are walking through the forest when suddenly they see Prince John’s caravan coming along the road. They dress up as fortune tellers and manage to steal gold from the very Prince himself. This is why Robin Hood is awesome, because he has the guts to actually steal from a prince. I love Robin Hood.

Once he finds out he has been robbed, Prince John throws a fit. He demands Robin Hood be found and punished. But because Robin Hood is fantastic and everyone loves him, he is never turned in and continues to rob from the rich.

Until one day when he hears about an archery match, and the prize is a kiss from the lovely Maid Marian, the vixen (Oh yeah they are foxes! Did I mention that yet?) he’s been in love with for practically ever.  Of course, since he’s Robin Hood, and awesome, he wins the match! Yay!

But all the guards and people figure out he’s Robin Hood, so they try to kill him. Not yay. Again, since he’s Robin Hood, and awesome (I’ve said that I know. But it’s true!!!) he escapes. Eventually he even steals back all the money from Prince John, burns his castle, and gets the true King Richard back on the throne. Because he’s just that awesome. In the end he marries Maid Marian and they live happily ever after. The end.

I unfortunately have something negative to say about this movie, which makes my heart sad. Because don’t get me wrong, I love Robin Hood! I do, I swear! Just not as much as a I used to. A vast majority of it isn’t new, they copied from lots of older Disney films, like The Jungle Book, Snow White, even Bedknobs and Broomsticks. When I say copied, I mean they literally took sound clips and jokes from these movies, due to low budget for the film (Oh yeah, that’s right, I’m actually doing research!). So from the creativity aspect, I can’t give this film much credit.

But I don’t really care, because I LOVE Robin Hood. I always have, and I always will, because of the story of Robin Hood. The whole “steal from the rich, give to the poor” has always appealed to me. When you add in animals playing all the characters, it makes for a delightful time. I don’t really care if it’s a borrowed film, the story is why I love it, and why I always will.

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): NO ONE. Yeah. I’m sad now. You all are jerks! I’m going to go cry in my corner now.

Best Song: “Not in Nottingham.” What, Mumford and Sons didn’t actually sing it in the real movie? Psh, whatever.

Best Part: Lady Kluck, a chicken (duh) taking down all the rhinoceros guards. She’s one fierce hen. I wouldn’t want her on my bad side.  

Number Twenty: The Aristocats

The Aristocats

1970

“Aristocats, aristocrats! Oh I get it!!” My friend Rose is such a genius, obviously proved with that statement there. She also has the hots for the main character, O’Malley, who is a cat. Rose is a freak, but I love her anyway.

Once upon a time in Paris there lived an old lady. She had way too many cats. Four to be exact, one cat and her three kittens.. Yes, that is too much. Since she is old, she has hired a lawyer, a close personal friend, to write out her will. In it she leaves her entire estate to these four little cats.

This is dumb. She is dumb. Who leaves all their money to their cat? Crazy people, that’s who! Edgar, her faithful butler, overhears this all, and decides to rid them all of the blasted cats!

If I was Edgar, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t do the same thing. Yes, I know, this makes me a horrible person. But if I had just lost out on a fortune to a bunch of cats, I’d be very, very angry. So Edgar does what any mad person would do. He drugs the cats and drops them off the side of a bridge.  Once there, the cats finally wake up, and begin to panic a bit.

But never fear cats, help comes in the form of this alley cat named O’Malley. He’s pretty awesome and helps bring the cat, whose name is Duchess by the way, and her three kittens back home. Once there, they must defeat the evil (in the movie’s eyes, I still say he’s alright) Edgar, and ship him off to Timbuktu. After evil Edgar is sent off, O’Malley is allowed to join the happy reunited family. The end.

Awwwwww. I love kitties. And cats. Which are the stars of this movie. Hence the name. They’re so cute. So when you have a movie that is all about something cute, then the movie is cute! That makes logical sense right? I say yes. And it’s my blog so my opinion is all that matters! Man, that makes me feel so powerful. I’d watch out for me if I were you!

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): ROSE!!!! My lovely wife who I have missed.

Best Song: “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat.” Rose’s life song.

Best Part: The “marinated” goose. You’ll only understand that if you’ve seen this movie, so if you hadn’t, go watch. Right now!

Number Nineteen: The Jungle Book

The Jungle Book

1967

I’m moving to the jungle. It’s official. I’m packing my bags right now. I wonder if I get wifi in the jungle. Well, if I discover I don’t, I guess this would be the last you’ll ever hear from me again.

Mowgli has a name I hate to spell. He was also a child who was raised by wolves. The former fact is more important, to me anyway. The latter however is a key plot point, so I’ll talk about that instead. One day this panther named Bagheera (another terrible name to spell) finds a baby in a basket. So he gives it to some wolves to raise. After a while, this baby turns into the boy named Mowgli I just talked about.

Because he is old now, the jungle animals decide he has to go back to the man village, or the tiger Shere Khan will eat him. Om nom nom! Why didn’t they just return him to the man village at the beginning? Wouldn’t have that made the most sense? Well I guess I wouldn’t expect a panther to be the most logical of creatures.

Bagheera volunteers to return Mowgli to the man village, so off they go through the jungle on an adventure! Yay! I love adventures! Who doesn’t? Actually, lots of people, and I seem to be friends with most of them. Humph.

As they are tramping throughout the forest, they stumble upon a variety of creatures, such as the terrifically trippy Kaa, a snake who can hypnotize you with his eyes that look like they are made from Easter eggs. He tries to eat Mowgli, whose name I’m almost going to give up on typing right, but Bagheera saves him, and they continue on through the jungle.

Next they meet Baloo, (Not Balloon, as spellcheck wishes he was named). He’s a fun loving easy going laid back bear. And he’s the coolest thing, pretty much ever. I want to be his friend, if that is possible. When I escape to the jungle I’ll try to find him.

Baloo doesn’t think Mowgli should return to the man village, so he attempts to raise him. Mowgil (GAHHHHH I give up on this stupid kid’s name!!!!). Unfortunately, Jungle Boy is kidnapped by a bunch of monkeys. Baloo fails as a parent.

All the monkeys wanted Mowgli to teach them how to make fire, but since he wasn’t raised by humans, he has no clue how to do it. Everything works out though, Baloo and Bagheera rescue him, and destroy the monkeys living quarters, all in one fell swoop! What on earth does that saying mean anyway? After googling, I learn it is Shakespearian. I should have guessed.

Now that he has been saved from the monkeys, it’s time that Mowgli be eaten by a tiger! Doesn’t that sound exciting? Mowgil (Ha, that sounds like a cow fish! Right? Please tell me that Mowgil makes you think of a cow fish. That’s it, I’ve lost it) has a falling out with Baloo because he decided Mowgli needed to go to the man village after. Determined to make it on his own, Jungle Boy runs off, and meets up with Shere Khan, the evil tiger.  He tries to kill Mowgli, because he is a man. All men want to kill tigers with either fire of guns, according to Shere Khan, so he eats them. Or tries to. He is unsuccessful in his attempts to eat Mowgli, as he has some help  from vultures that were supposed to be the Beatles, and Baloo, who has returned. Yay!

After the attack, Mowgli sees a human girl for the very first time. Baloo tries to warn him they are nothing but trouble, but Mowgli doesn’t listen. He’s hooked, and goes off to live in the village forever. Bagheera and Baloo happily walk back into the forest. JUNGLE. I mean jungle. My poor brain. The end.

As long as I don’t have to spell anything from this movie, I love it. It paints a lovely picture of what it is to be carefree and free spirited. And it has elephants. Really. That’s all I aks for in a movie.

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): No one. That’s right. Well, my mom, aunt and sister were in the room, but they were all reading, so they do not count. Aren’t I pathetic? Feel bad for me.

Best Song: “Bare Necessities.” Ahh, so much love for this song.

Best Part: “What do you want to do today?” “Uhh I don’t know, what do you want to do?” This was said by the almost Beatles vultures, and really, I don’t know how many times I’ve had that exchange with my friends over my lifetime, it’s just an awesome quote. 

Number Eighteen: The Sword in the Stone

Sword in the Stone

1963

If I were an animal, I would be a squirrel. Cute, slightly insane, and never runs out of energy. This really has nothing to do with this movie, I just think it’d be awesome.

I bet if I was friends with Merlin, he’d let me be a squirrel. He would know how terrific of an idea that would be! It is now one of my goals in life to be friends with Merlin. I’ll have to work on that.

Merlin is a wizard. Duh. If you didn’t know that, then you need to move out of that rock you’re living under. He is also fantastic. Have I said that about him yet? Because seriously, he is. What’s not to love about a crazy old man who has a crazy long beard who holds crazy magic powers?

In this movie, Merlin helps out a little lad named Arthur or Wart for short. How this is for short, or why anyone would want to be called that, I do not know. I don’t make the movies, I just make fun of them.

Anyway, Wart is a squire in training. He’s really not good at the whole squiring thing. So Merlin decides to tutor him, because he had a vision about Wart being important or something. A lot of really bizarre and random things happen, all leading up to Wart becoming king of England, just for pulling Excalibur out of a stone! Yay! Then end.

Yep! That’s all I’m going to say. If I wrote out exactly what happens in this movie, I’d be here for the next four hours. Even though it’s only a little over an hour long, SO much stuff happens in that short time period. I’d go crazy trying to explain it all.

I will however say that I love this movie, and mainly for one reason. Mad Madame Mim. Imagine if I got a hold of magic, and you’d have Madame Mim. She’s insane, dangerous, and simply wonderful. She hates sunshine and can turn herself into a snake. What more do you want in a character? I’d say nothing, and with a character as awesome as her, what else could you want in a movie? I’m not over exaggerating about this movie, go watch it, right now!

Movie Watching Budd(y)(ies): Leslie, who is really in need of a medal or award or something of the sort, for watching so far seven of these movies with me. She’s quite awesome.

Best Song: “Mad Madame Mim.” You should have guessed.

Best Part: Do I really need to say it?