Animated Disney movies inspired by English literature

Disney has used mythology historical characters, fairy tales and fables as the foundation for some amazing animated films. But, curiously for such an American icon, its also drawn on the diverse world of English literature for some of its most successful projects.

Alice In Wonderland (1951)

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland became the first animated Disney feature to use classic English literature as a bedrock. In the Disney version, elements from both the original Alice adventure and the sequel Through The Looking-Glass were combined to give a strong flavour of the Carroll's perversely warped universe.

Unfortunately, UK reviewers weren't kind to it, and it was one of the first Disney productions to be accused of 'Americanising' a literary classic.

In retrospect, Alice In Wonderland represents some amazing work in animation, but also in art direction by Mary Blair. Where it slightly fails is in harnessing the frenetic action sequences into solid story telling.

Given how rich the source material is, it's not a surprise that Disney has been tempted back to Carroll's wildest imagination with their recent Tim Burton directed live action version, Alice In Wonderland.


Peter Pan (1953)

The second animated Disney feature to use a classic British book as its inspiration took J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and made is accessible to a much wider audience.

It's actually worth pointing out that Barrie originally wrote this as a play, but the novelisation which first appeared in 1911 was entitled Peter & Wendy.

While most of the elements from Barrie's Pan transfer well to the Disney version, there are some darker overtones in the novel which are left out, probably for good reason.

I've tried to forget the sequel Return To Neverland, and the prequel Tinker Bell, but the 1953 animated Pan is an animated classic that stands the test of time marvellously.


One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)

Whenever a villain isn't quite threatening enough, many reviewers will refer to Cruella De Vil as the model of how it should really be done. That's an accolade to this inspired conversion of the work of novelist and playwright Dodie Smith, and the amazing skills of animator Ub Iwerks and his Disney team, who put this movie together.

It was the first to use cell Xeroxing, and this gave the production an entirely different visual impact to the animated features that came before it. Forget the live action versions with Glenn Close and talking animals, this is the best Dalmatians movie by a country mile.


The Sword In The Stone (1963)

As a child, I enjoyed this Arthurian animated romp without ever realising that it was based on the T. H. White's The Once And Future King (yes, the same book that Charles Xavier talks about, and Magneto is reading in X2!).

The book is divided into four parts, of which The Sword In The Stone is actually just the first part, and covers Arthur's early mentoring by Merlin.

The Disney version is light, bright and mixes magic, humour and adventure in equally large helpings. But, given how dark the later chapters in the book become, I can see why they stopped at The Sword In The Stone.


Winnie The Pooh (1966 onwards)

Pooh first appeared in a series of sixties short animated movies after Disney licensed certain rights to characters and stories by A. A. Milne. What made these productions so endearing was the stylised illustration look and the unique voice talent of Sterling Holloway as Pooh.

The original illustrations by E. H. Shepard inspired the Disney artists, and the charm of the original stories of Christopher Robin, Pooh, Piglet and friends are now timeless classics in their own right.

Since then, Disney has been tempted to stray away from the Hundred Acre Wood and Milne's source material, introducing a Gopher (not indigenous to the UK), and more recently replacing Christopher Robin with a girl, no less!

But we're promised that Pooh is going back to his roots when Disney releases an all-new Winnie The Pooh feature film next year. Not bad for a bear of very little brain...


The Jungle Book (1967)

Okay, I accept that Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay, but he's generally accepted to be a British author, and so I've included his classic animated movie as one of those that should be here.

What most people don't realise is that The Jungle Book in print contains fourteen stories in all, about which only some are about Mowgli and his unorthodox upbringing.

Those responsible for converting this into a movie did an exceptional job, tuning into the very modern vibes about man in harmony with nature, while working in lots of visual gags and even some memorable musical numbers.

The inclusion of songs wasn't purely a Disney invention, the Ripling original has some, but not The Bare Necessities and I Wanna Be Like You in it.

The other highlights of this film are the numerous exceptional voice talents, including Phil Harris as Baloo, George Sanders as Shere Khan and Sterling Holloway (Pooh) as Kaa the Python.

Walt Disney, sadly, died during the making of The Jungle Book, so it marks the end of an era in that respect.

Bedknobs And Broomsticks (1971)

Yes, I accept this is essentially a live action movie, but it does have plenty of animation in it also, so I thought I'd include it.

The source material here was two books by English author Mary Norton, entitled The Magic Bed Knob, Or, How To Become A Witch In Ten Easy Lessons and Bonfires And Broomsticks. It features the pre-investigative Angela Lansbury and quintessential Brit David Tomlinson.

In many respects this movie is a soul mate to Mary Poppins (1964), having a very similar feel and ingredients. It's all tons of fun, and who can't love a Disney movie that has Nazis in it getting a kicking from a British museum collection?

I often wonder if Angela still has that bedknob somewhere?


The Rescuers (1977)

I wasn't anticipating including this until I realised that Margery Sharp, writer of children's novels The Rescuers (1959) and Miss Bianca (1962), from which this movie took its inspiration, was English.

Margery Sharp went on to write many books involving the Rescuers, the last being published a year after the movie was released.

What I love about this production is that, while the animal characters are attempting to rescue the abducted child, Penny, she's not remotely compliant with Madame Medusa and her henchmen, especially the alligators, Brutus and Nero.

This movie came at an important time for Disney animation when it'd had a difficult period adapting to the changing tastes of seventies children. It doesn't have the technical wonder of earlier movies, but it's jolly entertaining all the same.


The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Eve Titus, the author whose book was the trigger for this movie, was a New Yorker, but she was happy to cite the works of Conan Doyle, and Sherlock Holmes is at the heart of what The Great Mouse Detective is all about.

What's important about this production is that it was an important steppingstone to an animation revival. The first film directed by animator Ron Clements, he then went on to deliver The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and most recently The Princess And The Frog.

In the UK, it was released as Basil The Great Mouse Detective, if I recall correctly. If, or rather when this gets a Blu-ray release I know at least one contributor here who'd give an aging relative or two to own a HD copy of this movie.


Other notables

The Lion King has many parallels with Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.
The Black Cauldron is based on Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles Of Prydain, which borrows in turn from Welsh mythology.
Treasure Planet, an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's adventure novel Treasure Island.
Oliver & Company is a reworking of Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens.

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Mayfaire releases free kids movie schedule ‎

Another sure sign of summer is the return of the free kids' matinees, beginning June 15 at the Mayfaire 16 theaters. The complex – part of the Regal Entertainment Group – will have two free screenings each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning through Aug. 12.

Viewers will have their choice of a “G” or “PG”-rated feature, with new offerings each week. The screenings will be revivals of child-friendly releases and pop hits from the past few years. Admission is free. (The catch is, the snack bar will be open; obviously, management expects to make a profit off sales of treats, including Mayfaire's “Kid's Reel Deal” specials.) Doors open at 9 a.m., and the screenings begin at 10. Seating will be first come, first served.

Here's the line-up, according to Mayfaire:

• June 15-17: Either “Doogal” (G) or “Planet 51” (PG). “Doogal,” a 2006 animated yarn about a candy-loving dog who saves the world, features the biggest film performance to date by Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show.” (He's the voice of the bad guy.) “Planet 51,” from last fall, follows an astronaut who lands on a planet of little green folk who live a suburban lifestyle. Suddenly, HE's the scary space alien.

June 22-24: “Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything” (G) or “Imagine That” with Eddie Murphy (PG).

June 29-July 1: “March of the Penguins” (G) or “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (PG). (Note: “March of the Penguins” is one of the greatest nature documentaries ever filmed, but be warned: It might be rated “G,” but not all the baby penguins live, and the results might upset younger children.)uly 6-8: “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” (G) or “Hotel for Dogs” (PG).

July 13-15: “Arctic Tale” (G) or “Monsters vs. Aliens” (PG).

July 20-22: “Tale of Despereaux” (G) or “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”

July 27-29: “Charlotte's Web” (G) or “Night at the Museum 2”

Aug. 3-5: “Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (G) or “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”

Aug. 10-12: “The Polar Express” or “Ice Age 3: “Dawn of the Dinosaurs”

Any questions? Call the Mayfaire office at 256-1857.
Soon at Cinematique

When I did my piece last week on the reopening of Cinematique at Thalian Hall, I ran out of space to mention a couple of their coming attractions.

July should be a very good month for Cinematique. For July 12-14, its feature will be “Greenberg,” the new indie comedy from director Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and the Whale”), starring Ben Stiller as an angry, dysfunctional ex-musician who winds up house-sitting for his brother in L.A. Greta Gerwig – whom A.O. Scott of The New York Times called “the definitive screen actress of her generation” – co-stars.

Then, on July 19-21, Cinematique will screen the Swedish screen adaptation of Stieg Larsson‘s international best seller “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” (The Americanized version, from director David Fincher, isn't due out until 2012.) A Swedish journalist teams with a tattooed computer hacker to try to solve a young girl's disappearance. The case leads them to a powerful but secretive family and a string of ghastly murders 40 years earlier.As if that weren't enough, the month winds up July 26-28 with “The Secret in Their Eyes,” the Argentine crime thriller than won this year's Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Cinematique is back on its Monday-through-Wednesday schedule, with screenings at 7 p.m. in the Thalian Hall main stage at 310 Chestnut St. Tickets are still $7.

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Shrek: The Final Chapter

For nearly a decade the Shrek franchise is the figurehead for the unimaginative animated entertainment. Compared to Pixar, a company that seems the genre to reinvent each time it delivers another award-winning CG marvel, stand-up lite humor and constant pop culture shout-outs of tired tent pole DreamWorks’ seems to represent the antithesis originality and creativity. The good news about Shrek: The Final Chapter (formerly known as Shrek After Forever ) is that for once, the creators of this series cracking try something new and fresh. The bad news is that the above attempt at innovation is still shrouded in the same old hackneyed humor.

At first, it seems that everything will be as usual Shrek. Now an anguished father who have no time to wallow in the excesses of his ogre past, our big green Goof (again voiced by Mike Myers) are forced to feed and diaper are windy children put up with the Donkey’s (Eddie Murphy) daily Shenanigans, and suffering his wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) and scowl disapproval. After an incident at a birthday party, Shrek goes in the “magical contract expert” Rapunzel (Walt Dohrn), who promises him 24 hours of pre-wedding fun for a day in the history of the sample. A pause, Shrek signs long parchment. Within moments, he was transferred to a version of Far Far Away, where anarchy rules, ogres are hunted and used as slaves, and no one remembers our clumsy hero. It is the beast one way to find the spell and getting his slipper, but thankfully back to reality.

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Shrek Forever After

If and when I ever have kids, before I teach them their ABC’s, before I teach them to walk and definitely before I teach them to talk, I will teach them not to talk…during movies. I don’t care if it’s a kid’s movie or if I take my 4-year-old to see BASIC INSTINCT 5, they will know to save their questions and comments till after the lights come up again. Okay, that tangent aside – from which you can determine the audience that made up my showing – I’d like to say the people at Dreamworks surprised me with their fresh approach to the fourth film in this series.

Sure they had some of the typical jokes dealing with flatulence and Eddie Murphy hamming it up as Donkey singing way too many songs, but the plot device that sets the story in motion is surprisingly adult, and with the endless number of fairy tales at their disposal, they were able to use some new devices to add to their old formula and come up with a funny, enjoyable film that I actually heard most of…despite the best efforts of my younger fellow movie-goers.Shrek (Mike Myers) has a measure of celebrity in the land of Far Far Away, and babies to take care of and continuous playdates with the family of his obnoxious and oblivious friend, Donkey (Eddie Murphy). Because of this, he has a bit of a mid-life crisis and longs for the days of being a feared ogre. In an attempt to get at least a day back of that desired past, he makes a deal with the crafty Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn – yeah, nobody really knows who he is).

Stiltskin uses the deal to take over Far Far Away in an alternate universe where –IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE-style – Shrek has never been born, where Donkey doesn’t know who he is, where Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) is a Garfield wannabe, and his wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz), is a leader of an ogre resistance. The film is then spent trying to find the way to undo Rumpel’s treachery and get Shrek back to his old life, and in the process we see his army of witches flying at us in 3D, a Gingerbread Man doing a great send up of GLADIATOR, and an underused Pied Piper which had the possibilities for more laughs.The adult theme that SHREK FOREVER AFTER touches on that most kids won’t get is what truly made the film for me. The smarter kids might get the underlying theme of the unhappy monotony of the family man, AKA their fathers, but essentially the construct is used really well in setting up the other situations, most of which are done well. The 3D enhances the animation a bit, but not enough to warrant the bump in price, and the parts that come out at you seem like gimmicks rather than necessary to furthering the story.

The voices we have come to equate with these characters do their job, especially Antonio Banderas as Puss, but the new character – Rumpelstiltskin – that had the most opportunity to add to the story needed to be a recognizable, menacing or conniving voice (maybe Danny Devito or Ben Stiller). Walt Dohrn is an obscure writer and animator who adds nothing in his portrayal of the villain, and that was noticeably lacking. But other than that, this is impressive for the fourth film in a franchise. It is a funny, engaging film for all audiences that did not simply regurgitate the jokes from its previous films. Mike Myers should take note if he ever thinks of making another AUSTIN POWERS flick.

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Are cartoons just for kids?

Animated movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. When others are out enjoying the sun on a weekend, I'm sometimes hiding in a movie theatre seeing the latest animated offering. However, many times I find myself doing it alone. You see, a lot of the people I know in New Zealand seem to be of the opinion that animated movies are "just for kids". Personally, I disagree with that in a big way.My first job in the UK was working as a Cast Member (Sales Assistant) at The Disney Store. Working in these stores was likened to being part of a show because it was our job to create the Disney magic in a store. I grew up going on holidays to the Disney theme parks and as a result I'm a bit of a Disney fanatic and I'm glad to say that working for them for five years, though enlightening, didn't turn me off Disney films.

There are so many awesome animated films out there. Some of my own favourites include Bolt, How to Train Your Dragon, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, Flushed Away, Toy Story, Tarzan, Ice Age, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, Shrek and The Lion King. One of my friends said he hasn't seen most of these films; that made me sad.

One of my absolute favourite animated movies isn't considered a classic at all - in fact it was a complete box office failure for Disney. Treasure Planet is not just your average animated film though. The thing that made it different was having a villain who experiences character growth and redemption. Good lord, that's a bit complex for the kids, isn't it? That film was written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, who went on to write Pirates of the Caribbean, and I can't help but wonder if Treasure Planet had been released after that blockbuster, it might have got an audience once Pirates had officially come back "in".

What I loved about that film was its tremendous heart by painting Jim Hawkins as a delinquent lad who hasn't had a father figure in his life since his dad left home. Usually villains (and sometimes the protagonist) in animated movies are basically either just evil to their very core or the ultimate nice guy and neither was the case with this film - which I appreciated. It didn't treat the audience like infants, so when I was watching it I didn't feel like it was patronising. Kids are smart though; they can handle more complexity than we often give them credit for.

Other things I've come to notice in animated movies are the trends and rivalry between some of the animation studios. Dreamworks Animation is headed by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was responsible for many of Disney's biggest animated hits such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Beauty & The Beast. After Disney let him go, I understand there was some bad blood between them, which became evident when films like Finding Nemo and Shark Tale were out around the same time.

However, I think they took this a little too far when Dreamworks made a film called Madagascar about a bunch of animals breaking out of the Central Park Zoo in New York and going to Africa. Why do they escape the zoo and go to Africa? I haven't the foggiest, and didn't really give a damn. On the flipside was a film Disney made called The Wild about a lion cub from the Central Park Zoo who gets separated from his father when he's trapped in a green shipping container. His father "Samson the Wild" sets out to rescue him along with several other animals including a funny British koala played by Eddie Izzard.

One of these films had a heart, one did not. One of these films had very detailed animation, the other had penguins. One of these films made a lot of money, one of them did not. Madagascar was made and released before The Wild hit theatres and totally stole its thunder. Having seen Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, I can say that the sequel was infinitely better than the first film because they actually bothered to come up with their own story for it instead of shamelessly ripping off a project in development elsewhere. That really damaged my respect for Dreamworks Animation for a long while.

Having seen How to Train Your Dragon last month, I am glad to say that Dreamworks appears to be back on track with what's most important - a great original story combined with eye-popping animation. I found the dragon riding scenes in this film much more spectacular than those in Avatar, and that's not because I was one of the few people on the planet who disliked Avatar. These really are breathtaking visuals - I even shed a tear or two.

Do you think animated films are just for kids or is it okay to like them as an adult? Are you a big kid at heart or far too sensible to be into all that child's play these days?

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Family Movie Night returns with 'Avatar' ‎

Canyon Lake families will be pleased to know that a favorite summer tradition is back! Taking advantage of warm evenings and a lovely setting overlooking the Lake, Friday night Movie Nights at Holiday Harbor are beginning tonight and will continue twice a month through August. Families are invited to bring their own blankets, chairs and snacks.

Tonight’s show, which begins at 8 p.m., will be “Avatar,” an epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, and Stephen Lang. The film is set in 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The film’s title refers to the genetically engineered Na’vi-human hybrid bodies used by a team of researchers to interact with the natives of Pandora.

Reel People Ron and Leigh Martel gave “Avatar” a rating of A- and A respectively, saying, “’Avatar’ is 161 minutes and rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, sensuality, language and smoking. Cameron’s meticulous illustrations display exotic plants, bizarre animals, mutant transformers and a lab even more intricate than Doppler 7000. With such spectacular cinematography, see this movie, if only to visit the dazzling Pandora.”

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Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn in 3D

As ongoing negotiations are still made with regards to the cast’s salary here is another update for the Twilight Fans out there. Summit Entertainment is making final arrangement as to make the hit movie franchise of Twilight the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in 3D.As we all know that movie trends today are gearing up for 3D animated movies and which brought more viewers to the film.

I think that Summit Entertainment are also gearing up for the new trend in the movie industry. This move could give the franchise a more income obviously because of the higher ticket prices and on the other side it could also attract more viewer to watch the film. But negotiations are still on the process and final decisions are still being made. One things for sure thatTwilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is definitely a two part movie. So for those Twilight Fans here is a news for you Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is set to be released this 2011.

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Toy Story 3 Gets Exclusive PS3 Content

It's not exactly the huge exclusive that'll drive sales, but Disney Interactive has released details about Playstation Move support and an exclusive playable character only available in the PS3 version of the Toy Story 3 video game.

The game is set for release June 15, ahead of the theatrical debut of the Toy Story 3 movie. Like typical Disney movie-based games, players will progress through a linear story-driven adventure that follows the progression of the film. That's the core mode of gameplay.

There's also a mode called "Toy Box," which lets players complete various missions and walk around in an open-world environment. This is where the PS3 exclusive part comes in.

In Toy Box mode, PS3 owners will be able to play as the main villain, Emperor Zurg. The Dart Vader-inspired toy bad guy will not be available in any other console version of the game. Additionally, even though the game comes out next month, it will be updated to add functionality with the Playstation Move motion controller when that is released this fall.

"It was cool working with Sony and this new technology to create downloadable mini-games designed specifically for this new motion controller," wrote producer John Day on the Playstation Blog. Further details about the Move's compatibility were not discussed, but this makes Toy Story 3 the first third-party game to announce a future game update for Move support. It's rare for a movie tie-in game to make big news, but Toy Story 3 is definitely noteworthy.

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