submarine cartoon you were wrong to root

Silly and sublime in equal measure-as well as a film that served to introduce generations of kids to the joys of classical music-this is one of the Mouse House’s finest. Abstract color patterns rise and fall to Bach, life-size mushrooms dance to Tchaikovksy, a hippo and an alligator do a slapstick Ponchielli ballet, and the devil himself summons dark spirits to Modest Mussorgsky’s churning Night on Bald Mountain. Aside from some interstitial material narrated by Deems Taylor (during which Mickey himself greets star conductor Leopold Stokowski), the music dictates Fantasia’s visual-aural flow. While in postproduction on the short, Disney decided to surround it with similar vignettes scored to other classical compositions, and Fantasia was born. So Walt Disney commissioned the elaborate short “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Accompanied by the highly hummable Paul Dukas composition of the same name, it follows the red-robed rodent as he magically brings an army of broomsticks to life. Stokowski!”ĭefining moment: Sorcerer’s apprentice Mickey Mouse finds himself on the wrong end of the broomsticks.īy the end of the 1930s, Mickey Mouse, the bedrock character of a growing empire, had declined in popularity. In Disney’s extravaganza, eight fantastical vignettes are scored to music by Bach, Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky.ĭirector: No less than 11 directors slaved on individual sequences, many without credit.īest quote: “Mr. But visually it’s breathtaking, one of the few genuinely hallucinatory cinema experiences, and fully deserving of its high placement here. To be fair, they’re probably both right: The script is silly, the story is cringeworthy, and the Beatle characterizations are a bit soft. Art maniacs, meanwhile, will tell you it’s a dazzling work of the imagination, harnessing every animation technique available at the time to create an eye-frazzling, insanely inventive trip. This may prove to be the most divisive film on our list: Hardened Beatlemaniacs will tell you that Yellow Submarine is a travesty, employing fake (and not especially convincing) Liverpudlian accents to tell a nonsensical tale steeped in late-’60s acid-fried sentiment, never mind that the Fab Four pop up in person at the end to give their blessing. The cartoon Beatles rampage through a psychedelic Pop Art dreamscape.ĭefining moment: The gorgeously downbeat “Eleanor Rigby” sequence, utilizing monochrome photos of Liverpool. But the cumulative effect is unique and utterly all-encompassing, returning us to a world we have all, at one time, lived in-and perhaps will again. The visual style is unmistakably Japanese (unadorned and artful) and the theme song is so sugary-chirrupy-sweet that it’s impossible to dislodge once heard. There is darkness at the film’s heart-the fear of losing a parent, the loneliness and frustration of childhood-but its touch is gossamer-light, delighting in simple pleasures like raindrops on an umbrella, dust motes drifting in the sun and midnight dances in the garden. This is a story whose roots go deep: into Japanese tradition and culture, into its creator’s personal past, into a collective childhood filled with tales of mystery and a love of all things that grow. But in its own quietly remarkable way, it’s also one of the richest and most overwhelming. My Neighbor Totoro is the gentlest, most unassuming film on this list, a tale of inquisitive children, mischievous dust fairies, magical trees and shy sylvan creatures. Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki seems to sprout his from seeds, planting them in good earth and patiently watering them until they burst into bloom. Some filmmakers build their great artworks with blood, sweat and toil. Miyazaki proves he has the heart of a child, the eye of a painter and the soul of a poet.īest quote: “Trees and people used to be good friends.”ĭefining moment: The first appearance of the roving cat-bus will have viewers of all ages gasping in delight.

Submarine cartoon you were wrong to root