They don't make 'em like this anymore

[Metal Mario]

I just got done watching Lady and the Tramp for the first time in years, and it was absolutely wonderful from beginning to end. It's good to watch these old Disney classics after you've reached adulthood, because then you can appreciate the movie on its artistic merits; you can take pleasure in the visuals, and the music, and the writing, and the voice acting, instead of just viewing it through the eyes of a simple child who needs to be entertained for ninety minutes. (If you haven't seen Sleeping Beauty lately, watch it; it'll blow your ****ing mind.)

And you know what? They just don't make them like this anymore. Lady and the Tramp was an utter delight. It had drama, comedy, suspense. The story was original, the dialog was thoughtfully written, the animation was pristine.....even Disney themselves can't manage something like this today. Today's children's movies are contrived, cynical, and joyless. They're preachy, their narrative is practically nonexistent, and their characters are grating. And they're filled with fart jokes, sexual innuendo, and smart-ass references to Paris Hilton and Quentin Tarantino and a hundred other things that young children have no business knowing anything about.

It's a lost art. Too bad.

[CaptHayfever]

Princess and the Frog, man. Totally old-school.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Valigarmander]

Not too long ago, I rewatched a few old Disney movies that I hadn't seen in a while. Watching them as a child is completely different than watching them as an adult, and there's a lot of stuff that just goes over your head when you're too young to understand it. I remember watching The Great Mouse Detective and The Rescuers: Down Under and thinking "they don't make 'em like this anymore," too.

I also rewatched A Bug's Life a couple weeks ago. Meh.

[Metal Man]

Sleeping Beauty is especially a wolf in sheep's clothing.

All kinds of PR is done on the cutesy princess and prince part, but then you have Maleficent and suddenly it seems closer to the Wizard of Oz for dark destruction than a Disney movie.

[Erdawn Il Deus]

Rescuers. Down. Under. Best opening scene of any movie ever.

[Apollo the Just]

I love re-watching old movies, because in some cases you realize what utter crap it was that you used to watch, and in others [thankfully] you realize how freakin' awesome they are to watch, and all the great details you totally missed out on as a kid.

[PK FIRE!]

I love the princess and the Frog it really recaptures alot of the greatness that Disney films once had. Also upon rewatching Bambi I must say I'm kind surprized by the mood whiplash that happens after the death of his mother.

I saw the new Alice in Wonderland a few weeks ago, it was okay, then a rewatched the old animated Disney version, witch was better(to me atleast.)

Though, the the whole time I was watch both I kept thinking to myself that heaving read the book seemed to take some charm out of them to me. Speaking of witch I need to go reread that to figure out why Burtin set his film up the way he did.

- You stupid dog.

[Metal Mario]

^Save yourself some time and just read Through the Looking Glass. That's where most of it comes from.

[ZeldaGirl]

I love Sleeping Beauty, and it's waaaay under appreciated.

But:

They're preachy, their narrative is practically nonexistent, and their characters are grating. And they're filled with fart jokes, sexual innuendo, and smart-ass references to Paris Hilton and Quentin Tarantino and a hundred other things that young children have no business knowing anything about.

What exactly are you referring to? Live action Disney, I can see it a little, but their animation for the most part has been spot on.

[Valigarmander]

I don't think he was talking just about Disney movies, just children's films in general.

And he's right, a lot of films today go more for cheap jokes and pop culture references than a better focus on storyline and more integrated humor. I remember watching Monsters vs. Aliens last year thinking, "I want my seven dollars back so I can rent The Fox and the Hound."

[ZeldaGirl]

^Ah, I had just assumed based on this statement:

even Disney themselves can't manage something like this today.

Wasn't quite sure. But, yes, I'd agree with that sentiment, for the most part...

[Rainbow Dash]

i enjoy pop-culture references because i get them :(

[Booyakasha]

I like 'Aladdin', but I can't but wonder---will my niece 'get' the Genie's impressions of Jack Nicholson and Rodney Dangerfield? Will her children? grandchildren? I mean, eventually, the vast majority of people won't understand the joke there---hurts the 'timeless' quality you expect from classics.

[ZeldaGirl]

Well, I mean, I didn't really get the references at the time, but it didn't matter to my child-self.

[Valigarmander]

I like 'Aladdin', but I can't but wonder---will my niece 'get' the Genie's impressions of Jack Nicholson and Rodney Dangerfield? Will her children? grandchildren? I mean, eventually, the vast majority of people won't understand the joke there---hurts the 'timeless' quality you expect from classics.

Are you a genie that grants wishes, while doing imitations only my dad gets?

[Metal Mario]

I like 'Aladdin', but I can't but wonder---will my niece 'get' the Genie's impressions of Jack Nicholson and Rodney Dangerfield? Will her children? grandchildren? I mean, eventually, the vast majority of people won't understand the joke there---hurts the 'timeless' quality you expect from classics.

Jack Nicholson movies will live on just as sure as Aladdin will, so I don't think that'll be an issue.

[Booyakasha]

^You're missing the point. Familiarity with any source material is inevitably going to be less common as time wears on. And even if a Jack Nicholson reference is still hugely recognisable a hundred years from now, will there be even one man in a thousand who'll recognise the William F. Buckley impression Genie did twice in the movie? (I mean, one can hope, but realistically...)

[CaptHayfever]

The thing with referential humor is that if it's done right, even people who don't know the source can laugh at it because they'll just think it's absurdist humor. And kids love absurdism.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Benaitiaya]

it was some thing i dont know