SDG here with a quick Decent Films update.
This morning I posted my full review of Watchmen, opening today in theaters.
I also got up three more new reviews today, which is almost unheard of for me — but they’re also the first reviews I’ve posted in nearly a month, what with my trip and other stuff I’ve had going on.
Two of the new reviews are for recent Disney DVD releases. The must-get: Pinocchio, celebrating its 70th anniversary (a year early!) with a Blu-ray release — and even if you don’t have a Blu-ray player yet, it comes with a bonus standard DVD version of the film, so get the Blu-ray anyway!
The not-so-much, celebrating its 20th anniversary a little late: Oliver & Company, possibly the nadir of the post-Walt malaise before the Disney renaissance began with The Little Mermaid. (Another possible contender for nadir: The Black Cauldron.)
Rounding out my four reviews of the day, one I’ve been promising for awhile: Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. Not a must-see by any means, but at least Luhrmann’s trying.
Another post soon.
Can’t wait for your upcoming review of Doubt!
I remember my mother taking my sisters and me to see “Pinocchio” in the early 60s, when it was re-released. I think I might have to get the DVD. Or maybe mention it to said sisters, as my birthday is next month.
Early happy birthday then, bill912. 🙂
SDG,
Glad to see you don’t approve of Watchmen, though I didn’t expect you to. 😉 Glad also to see that you like Pinocchio, a favorite of my childhood.
If Oliver & Company is torture, chain me to the wall.
That is the first Disney movie I can remember seeing in a theatre.
PINOCCHIO TRAUMATIZED ME. UGH I HATE THAT MOVIE.
Hugo: There is no need to shout.
Yes, I know people who feel that way about Pinocchio. Also The Wizard of Oz and a lot of other movies I love or like. Most recently I recommended Coraline as a movie I like for older kids (10 to 12 and up) but wouldn’t recommend for younger or sensitive kids.
You can’t always predict what will traumatize children. There was a time in my life when the Adam West “Batman” series sometimes scared the snot out of me (I liked it anyway and tried to watch it when I could, except when it got too stressful and I had to turn it off).
As I’ve mentioned earlier, my eight-year-old son has no problem with decapitated orc heads or exploding Nazi faces, but anything having to do with parental separation completely freaks him out.
I think good children’s literature and cinema can sometimes should be be a little traumatic, within limits. I even think kids want and need fiction that stresses them a little, again, within limits.
Bottom line, parents have to know their kids. For the right kid, Pinocchio is about as good as it gets.
Benedict: Ha! Well, Oliver aside, you grew up with a generally better class of Disney animated feature than I did. 🙂