Atlantis: The Lost Empire is one of Disney’s lesser known movies. I saw it and I couldn’t believe how underrated it was. It’s a wonderful movie. The beautiful scenery, the funny lines, the valuable message, and not to mention the native voices vocalizing at some parts in the background were beautiful. The only thing it lacks is great, memorable songs (or any songs, for that matter).
You may or may not have heard of this, but back when Walt Disney made short cartoons (totally unlike the spongebob-style type cartoons, if you know what I mean), they made their version of The Ugly Duckling. I just saw it last night, and I was surprised to find myself tearing up! I thought it would just be a cute little cartoon to watch…but it really made me cry! Poor little guy…yelled at on the day he was hatched…just because he’s different.
They didn’t talk at all, but their emotions were expressed very well…plus the music brought out the feelings of it, too.
The only reason why it’s lesser known is because it’s an older animation and plus, a lot of older Disney has been buried by modern Disney.
I’m gonna throw this one out there: The Digimon Movie. It was essentiallytwo of three OVAs combined to be feature length, but since I watched Digimon as a kid I liked it. I actually thought the firts two parts with the season one cast were pretty good, but I’m not so into the part iwth the new cast.
The Chipmunk Adventure is awesome. It has hot air balloons, the song Wooly Bully, and singing chipmunks. What’s not to like?
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958) by Czech director Karel Zeman. The film combines multiple techniques–stop-motion-animation, traditional animation, live action–often in the same frame. Zeman’s goal was to give life to the original woodcut-engraving illustrations in Jules Verne’s books at the time of their initial publication (c. 1890s).
Here’s a glimpse of Zeman at work, including some shots of the stop-motion-animated glass figurines from his short film Inspiration…which is aptly titled:
One of my favourite animated movies from my childhood was Don Bluth’s Rock-a-Doodle. As absurd as it is, I really like it. Though the live-action parts are pretty random, the animation is fun and it’s just an overall fun movie. It’s hated a lot, though, as people think it’s where Bluth jumped the shark. I disagree, it’s a cool movie, albeit rather random.
Random is an understatement. An evil owl turns a boy into a cartoon cat by breathing planet breath on him during a flood. Yes, read that again and try not to go insane.
Every time someone went mad in a Lovecraft story it was because of that very thing.
I never really cared for Rock-A-Doodle when I was little, but I did eventually buy it in high school. It’s surprising what the DVDs are going for. I mean, they’re not priced super high, but I know I didn’t spend more than $6 on it from Fry’s. The only Don Bluth movie I like all-around is The Land Before Time, but I nonetheless own all of his (not home video) work except for Pebble & the Penguin, which is just ehhhh. I liked his stuff when I was a kid, even though they were never really the best movies. I remember watching them on video often and seeing them in theaters in the '90s (no one else was there! ). I also never, ever confused his work with Disney, despite not knowing who he was.
Two underrated movies that aren’t exactly gems but might be remembered by many: Once Upon a Forest and Little Nemo.
Persepolis and Triplets of Belleville were already mentioned a loooong time ago, so I s’pose they’re not worth mentioning again. I’ll suggest some anime instead: Barefoot Gen, anything by the late Kon Satoshi, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Only Yesterday is also a must-see for the Ghibli fan. I already praised Whisper of the Heart. The director, Kondo Yoshifumi, died of an aneurysm before he could make another masterpiece. His directorial style is often confused for that of Miyazaki’s, if that’s any indication of his talent!
It’s tough for me to point out where it falters. I like the movie and agree that it’s underrated, but… I’m completely dumbfounded! I think the story, animation, and art direction are all up to par for Disney, and there’s a clear development in the character of Jim Hawkins and his relationship with John Silver. Otherwise, the movie falls a little flat. It almost makes it, though. Almost! I would overall award it a B grade, so it lands in the middle of my Disney rankings.
Everyone at my school, and basically everyone I’ve talked to about it. I really love it, personally. Especially near the middle, where a song plays and Silver shows Jim the ropes. <3
That’s strange. Maybe they didn’t give it enough of a chance because it’s sandwiched between somewhat mediocre movies (inferior may be a better word), so that influenced their opinion. I think the consensus among critics was that it was a beautiful looking film that almost made it but not quite. So that’s nothing worth hating!
Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Brother Bear, and Home on the Range, the last of which is probably the stinkiest out of all those. That’s not to say that I don’t find any merit in these films. I own them and have watched them a couple times. Atlantis has a fun adventure plot, Brother Bear succeeded in making me cry, and Home on the Range had a very inviting color palette and cute side characters on the farm (not to mention the awesome cameo by a short man in a purple suit).
I’d say Treasure Planet is better than all of those, but I think Lilo & Stitch is the best Disney film from that decade.
For me I find that while online it’s not hard to find fans, in real life I come across people who have not seen The Road to El Dorado way too often. It really upsets me that the writers are so vocally unhappy with the film that DreamWorks put out because myself and plenty others like it just fine! (if not madly in love with it). What really depresses me is that it did the worst out of any film from the company. Sad face!
). I also never, ever confused his work with Disney, despite not knowing who he was.
I really love it, personally. Especially near the middle, where a song plays and Silver shows Jim the ropes. <3