Favorite Animation Movie?

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:46 pm

I have to go with "Swan Princess."

STRYPER wrote:1982 - Secret of Nimh (not at all accurate to the book but a great movie anyway)

I love those books! $\:D/$ I had no idea they made them into movies!

Laura Ingalls · Post by **Laura Ingalls** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 9:45 am

I've seen the movies at our library, but I refuse to watch them butcher the books that I love.

Lucy Pevensie · Post by **Lucy Pevensie** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 4:48 am

Laura Ingalls wrote:I've seen the movies at our library, but I refuse to watch them butcher the books that I love.

I tend to be nervous about watching movies-from-books since they always seem to stray from the storyline for one reason or another. :\

JesusIsAlive · Post by **JesusIsAlive** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:24 am

Laura Ingalls wrote:I've seen the movies at our library, but I refuse to watch them butcher the books that I love.

The only movie that I have refused seeing because of my "mental movie" of it, was "Jane Eyre"

STRYPER · Post by **STRYPER** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:38 pm

Chandler wrote:I have to go with "Swan Princess."

STRYPER wrote:1982 - Secret of Nimh (not at all accurate to the book but a great movie anyway)
I love those books! $\:D/$ I had no idea they made them into movies!

If you love the books that much then I'd probably advise you to stay away (and never let your kids see it either).

Here's something I wrote for IMDB a while ago...
*CAUTION!! LONG REVIEW AHEAD!!!*

----------------------------
For those that where not previously aware, “The Secret of NIMH” was actually based off a best selling, award winning children’s book called, “Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,” written by Robert C. O’Brien in 1971. The book is a children’s classic (noted as one of the top “100 Best Books for Children”), while the movie is piece of animation history. However, the two are not alike and the film is one of the worst adaptations of a book in the history of cinema.

First of all, let me explain that I adore the movie. It is a brilliantly animated film with excellent directing and great score. It is historic for The Secret of NIMH was the first major production by the legendary Don Bluth. Don Bluth was an animator at the Walt Disney studios in the “dark ages” of animation (i.e. right after Walt died) in the mid 70’s. In 1979, Bluth and several of his associates ditched the sinking Disney and started their own studio. Their first product was this adaptation. Based on the success of The Secret of NIMH, Don Bluth would go on to direct and produce classics such as An American Tale, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven.

However, despite all the praise appropriately deserved for this film, Bluth, along with fellow writers Will Finn and Gary Goldman, failed miserably at adapting O’Brien’s classic to a script. Before I go on, I should mention the rest of this writing contains “spoilers” as much as one could call the plot details of a 25 year old film and 35 year old book…

In both versions, a field mouse is anxious about a dilemma. Her son Timothy is gravely ill with pneumonia and cannot be exposed to chilly air but her home is in the middle of farmers planting field. If she doesn’t move, her house will be torn up by the spring plow but if she does move, she risks the death of her son. Desperate for help, she is lead to strange rats whom she is surprised to discover not only know of her but have the necessary means of solving her impossible predicament.

Now… here is where the versions drastically differ…
Book:
-The name of the field mouse is Mrs. Frisby
-Nicodemus is a kind rat with an eye patch over one eye and a long scar upon his face running through said eye. He is older that most of the rats but not ancient and is the humble appointed leader of the rats. He does not die.
-Jenner is Nicodemus’s best friend but is annoyed with the rats’ plan to leave the farm and move to Thorn Valley. Before Mrs. Frisby ever meets the rats, Jenner has peacefully but emphatically contested The Plan but, after the decision was made democratically in favor of the Plan, left the colony with 6 supporters. Later on in the book we learn that seven rats were electrocuted at a hardware store when trying to move a small motor. Nicodemus and the others assumed these rats were Jenner and his supporters. Jenner did not don a sword nor did any other rat carry weapons.
-The rats tap into the farmer’s electricity and water, thus the source of their majestic underground dwelling. There is no magic stone nor magic of any kind.

Movie:
-The name of the field mouse is Mrs. Brisby
-Nicodemus is an ancient rat, too frail to move without a staff, and takes the role of the benign emperor over the vast empire of rats. In a diabolical plot, he is killed in the moving of Mrs. Brisby’s home.
-Jenner is the undeniable enemy and clearly loathes Nicodemus and anyone who agrees with him (like Justin). Greedy for power and unable to contemplate a world without electricity, Jenner executes a plan to not only kill Nicodemus but destroy the process of moving the Brisby home. Then, once he sees the magical stone is out of hiding, Jenner is willing to kill Mrs. Brisby and Justin to get the stone. He is killed by Justin’s sword and Jenner’s own accomplice’s knife.
-The rats not only have electricity but apparently have magic stone and a magic mirror which apparently has some baring as to the success of their colony.

The movie is a fabrication of the original story. While the film is a little more action packed and “swashbuckling” thanks to the inclusion of swords, it never reached the same aurora as the book. The film decides to briefly skim over how the rats become super intelligent and the inclusion of NIMH. In the book, the 8 chapters chronicling the history of how the rats came to be is probably the most remembered and well written portions of the book. Changing a plot detail or skimming over key portions is understandable in adaptations of books (despite the fact that the Secret of NIMH was incredibly short even for an animated feature at 82 minutes), however, completely changing the development of the major characters and giving them entirely different outcomes is unacceptable.

One understandable note of change was the subtle but obvious change of the main character’s name from Mrs. Frisby to Mrs. Brisby. The script was actually written with Mrs. Frisby and the dialogue was even recorded as such. However, midway through the production, Frisbee (the company that makes the flying discs), approached the studio about possible lawsuits. They quickly re-recorded dialogue and edited out all references of “Frisby” seeking to avoid any legal entanglement as they were a brand new production company.

In the end, I must remind that I love the movie and I love the book. I simply hold that the film was poorly adapted.

jasonjannajerryjohn · Post by **jasonjannajerryjohn** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:55 pm

Has anyone seen Nightmare Before Christmas?

Elf of Rivendell · Post by **Elf of Rivendell** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 9:18 am

jasonjannajerryjohn wrote:Has anyone seen Nightmare Before Christmas?

No, except for the "This is Halloween" and "What's This?" sequences--which were enjoyable to watch. I've heard most of the soundtrack, though. 'tis good. ^^

Kairi · Post by **Kairi** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 10:10 am

Mira Winter wrote:
jasonjannajerryjohn wrote:Has anyone seen Nightmare Before Christmas?
No, except for the "This is Halloween" and "What's This?" sequences--which were enjoyable to watch. I've heard most of the soundtrack, though. 'tis good. ^^

ditto
I like listening to "What's This" because it's so good, and I like singing "This is Halloween" to freak out the rest of my family.

H Tide · Post by **H Tide** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 12:17 pm

Chandler wrote:I have to go with "Swan Princess."

Me too! It was my favorite when I was little.

Chandler · Post by **Chandler** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:10 pm

STRYPER wrote:
Chandler wrote:I have to go with "Swan Princess."

STRYPER wrote:1982 - Secret of Nimh (not at all accurate to the book but a great movie anyway)
I love those books! $\:D/$ I had no idea they made them into movies!
If you love the books that much then I'd probably advise you to stay away (and never let your kids see it either).

Thanks for the info, STRYPER!

the_newfie_haystack · Post by **the_newfie_haystack** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:42 pm

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT NOBODY'S MENTIONED THE IRON GIANT. Seriously, that was one of the best movies ever. Here are two other movies that were failed to mention.

1. Balto. (1995) A very beautiful movie with an amazing soundtrack.

2. The Prince of Egypt. (1998) I love this movie, simply love it. It's probably one of the most accurate Bible movies out there. Simply stunning.

Haystack

STRYPER · Post by **STRYPER** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:04 pm

the_newfie_haystack wrote: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT NOBODY'S MENTIONED THE IRON GIANT. Seriously, that was one of the best movies ever. Here are two other movies that were failed to mention.

1. Balto. (1995) A very beautiful movie with an amazing soundtrack.

2. The Prince of Egypt. (1998) I love this movie, simply love it. It's probably one of the most accurate Bible movies out there. Simply stunning.

Haystack

Oooh good additions. All three of those are among my favorites and I completely forgot about them

Balto used to crack me up as a kid.

the_newfie_haystack · Post by **the_newfie_haystack** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:58 pm

STRYPER wrote:
the_newfie_haystack wrote: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT NOBODY'S MENTIONED THE IRON GIANT. Seriously, that was one of the best movies ever. Here are two other movies that were failed to mention.

1. Balto. (1995) A very beautiful movie with an amazing soundtrack.

2. The Prince of Egypt. (1998) I love this movie, simply love it. It's probably one of the most accurate Bible movies out there. Simply stunning.

Haystack
Balto used to crack me up as a kid.

I know, Boris especially made me laugh, along with the polar bear brothers. (Forgot their names, hee-hee.)

Haystack

LizzieG · Post by **LizzieG** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:57 am

I can't think of a non-Disney animation movie that I really liked

My sister loved All Dogs Go to Heaven for awhile, but I didn't care much for it.

When I was younger, we got a box set of fairy tale movies that were inferior to Disney's versions, and while most were very forgettable, I believe the Little Mermaid version scarred me for life. I still have a fairly vivid memory where she jumps off the ship at the end and dies (becomes sea foam, apparently). I actually just saw Disney's Little Mermaid last year, and was half-expecting that same sad ending.

The Top Crusader · Post by **The Top Crusader** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 12:38 pm

The Simpsons Movie! $\:D/$

Movieman · Post by **Movieman** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 3:25 pm

Does anyone remember "Titan A.E."? I really liked the plot of that movie, as well as the style of animation.

The Top Crusader · Post by **The Top Crusader** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:40 am

Yeah a friend of mine and I went to see that, just because the name sounds funny when you randomly yell it out and drag out the EEEEEEE at the end of it. But it actually was pretty cool, although I don't think it was very well received or whatever.

STRYPER · Post by **STRYPER** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 11:21 am

movieman85 wrote:Does anyone remember "Titan A.E."? I really liked the plot of that movie, as well as the style of animation.

Though I didn't include it on the list, Titan A.E. was also produced by Don Bluth....

Movieman · Post by **Movieman** » Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:37 pm

The Top Crusader wrote:It actually was pretty cool, although I don't think it was very well received or whatever.

Now that I think about it, I can't remember more than a handful of animated movies (that weren't Disney movies) that did well in the box office.

Aslan · Post by **Aslan** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:50 pm

An American Tail is AMAZING!!!
The Land Before Time would probally be my second