Toon Talk: Top 10 of 2001
Page 3 of 3
(c) Disney
#9 - Monsters, Inc.
A Disney/Pixar Production
Filled with heart and humor that a certain
snot-nosed ogre could only dream of showing, Monsters, Inc. continued the lucrative
collaboration of Disney's marketing might and Pixar's artistic heights. The vocal pairing
of John Goodman as the coolly collected Sulley and Billy Crystal as the hyperactive Mike
Wazowski garners inspired hysterics, with moppet Mary Gibbs' Boo adding the all-important awww
factor.
Click for full Toon Talk review
(c) Disney
#10 - The Princess Diaries
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
How refreshing to see a live action family
film that doesn't resort to crude gags and low humor. This modern-day fairy tale come true
overcomes it's predictability with charming performances from the luminous Julie Andrews,
the suave Hector Elizondo and spunky film newcomer Anne Hathaway, who rightly joins the
ranks of the ever elegant, yet human, Disney princesses. A worthy addition to Disney
live action classics, the film is now available on video and Disney DVD.
Click for full Toon Talk review
Honorable Mention:
(c) Disney
John Henry and For the Birds
These two 2000 shorts were first seen by the
general public in 2001: John Henry on The Disney Channel and Pixar's For the
Birds with Monsters, Inc. The former (soon to be released in the Disney DVD Disney's
American Legends) is a beautifully retold tall tale of the man "born with a steel
hammer in his hand"; the latter a lunatic look at the lives of our feathered friends.
Click for full Toon Talk review of John Henry
• • •
(c) Disney
As 2001 winds to a close, we Disney fans have a lot to look forward to in 2002, including:
- The theatrical releases of Return to Neverland and not one but two animated features: Lilo & Stitch and Treasure Planet.
- DVD deluxe treatments of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Walt Disney: The Man Behind the Myth and Monsters, Inc.
- Special edition DVDs for Newsies, Tron and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
- The video premieres of Cinderella II: Dreams Come True, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and Disney's American Legends.
- Possibly Phase Two of the Walt Disney Treasures DVDs. (I'm hoping for Song of the South, the True Life Adventures series, the World War II era and the original Mickey Mouse Club.)
And a double dose of Beauty and the Beast: first, an exclusive IMAX/Large Screen presentation of the film, newly amended with a never before animated musical number, opening January 1st. And, come October, the tale as old as time will get the Platinum Edition treatment on a deluxe two-disc DVD set.
So stay Tooned in 2002 for more Toon Talk.
Discuss It
-- Kirby C. Holt
Kirby is a lifelong Disney fan and film buff. A frequent contributer to the LaughingPlace.com Discussion Boards, he currently resides near one of the Happiest Places on Earth: Orlando, Florida.
Took Talk: Disney Film & Video Reviews by Kirby C. Holt is posted whenever there's something new to review.
The opinions expressed by our Kirby C. Holt, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future plans of the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted December 28, 2001