Xator Nova Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Something I thought up for fun. DISNEY ANIMATED CANON - TIER LIST: Rules: - Only films from the Disney Animated Canon. In other words, no Pixar, no Direct-to-Video, and no anime dubs from Studio Ghibli. - Positions are based in merits of cinematography and narrative; or their contributions to the animation industry. - This is more an especulation topic than an actual academic discussion, so please, no flame wars. Top Tier (6): [9.0 - 10.0](Films that are structurally perfect, or nearly perfect, or revolutionary in animation or filmmaking. Their little flaws, if any, are mitigated by their numerous merits.)Fantasia [10.0]Snow White [10.0]Beauty and the Beast [10.0]Bambi [10.0]Pinnochio [9.5]The Little Mermaid [9.3]High Tier (8): [8.0 - 8.9](Films with important flaws that prevent them of being masterpieces. However, their merits are so impressive that it is impossible to underestimate or dislike these films.)The Lion King [8.8]Frozen [8.5]Aladdin [8.5]Cinderella [8.5]Rescuers Down Under [8.0]Great Mouse Detective [8.0]Hunchback of Notre Dame [8.0]Sleeping Beauty [8.0]Upper-Mid Tier (11): [6.6 - 7.9](Solid films, but not amazing. Above the average. They have more merits than flaws, and possess a particular niche.)TangledMulanWreck-it-RalphDumboPeter PanThe Many Stories of Winnie PoohPrincess and the FrogFantasia 2000Lilo & StitchAlice in WonderlandTarzanMid Tier (15): [5.0 - 6.5](Average films. They aren't bad, but are limited by their flaws, which decrease the impact in the audience.) Lady and the TrampBoltWinnie Pooh (2011) Fox and the HoundJungle Book Robin Hood The Emperor's New GrooveThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Treasure Planet Atlantis: The Lost EmpirePocahontasMake Mine MusicMelody TimeBrother Bear One-Hundred and One DalmatiansLower-Mid Tier (10): [3.5 - 4.9](Severely limited films due to technical disadvantages in narrative or animation.) Hercules Meet the Robinsons Sword in the Stone DinosaurThe RescuersOliver & CompanyThe Black CauldronThree CaballerosSaludos AmigosFun and Fancy FreeLow Tier (1): [2.0 - 3.4](Films with numerous flaws which mitigate their few merits. In other words, bad films)Chicken Little [2.0]Bottom Tier (2): [0.1 - 1.9](Films with no redeemable qualities, or have had a considerable negative impact in industry.)Aristocats [1.5]Home in the Range [1.5] Discuss. Edited April 3, 2014 by Xator Nova Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 What's so bad about Aristocats? You vastly underestimate Jungle Book. Walt Disney died during production, and they still churned out a movie that featured an Academy Award winning song, and is something like in the top50 grossing films of all time due to having three re-releases. I think it's pretty darn good considering the times and trials overcome while the maker of Disney world fucking died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRDRHAWK Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I want to punt this tier list so bad for the awful placement of Oliver & Company alone Bolt should be at least two tiers lower, and Oliver & Company and the Aristocats upped significantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I highly disagree with the lowness of The Rescuers, Robin Hood and the Sword In the Stone as well as the artistocats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 SitS was pretty bomb in the box office Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostyFireMage Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Chicken Little needs to be at the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) I disagree with The Sword in the Stone's placement too. It should be higher, imo. That movie is just pure gold! I also think The Great Mouse Detective should be higher. Those feels, man... I also disagree with One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Oliver and Company, The Aristocats, The Emperor's New Groove, Hercules, The Rescuers, and Dumbo, they should be higher too. The Little Mermaid wasn't all that cool, imo. And where are all the sequels? I realize not many of them are really great, but a few are, like the Aladdin trilogy, The Lion King II, Kronk's New Groove, and Lady and the Tramp II. But Bambi and Fantasia for top tier: YES! :D Oh, and you misspelled Pinocchio. :P I'll tier the sequels since you didn't. At least the ones I've seen, lol. Top Tier The Lion King II: Simba's Pride The Return of Jafar Kronk's New Groove High Tier Aladdin and the King of Thieves (sequel to The Return of Jafar) Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure The Rescuers Down Under Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Mid Tier Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (the only reason I put this one this high though, is because of John Smith's badassness in it. John Rolfe is lame. xP) The Hunchback of Notre Dame II The Fox and the Hound 2 Atlantis II: Milo's Return Low Tier Fantasia 2000 The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea (hey, I didn't like the first movie, so how would I like the second? :P) Cinderella II: Dreams Come True I believe I've seen Mulan II as well, but all I remember is the basic plot, so I didn't put it up here. Damn it, I have to see Bambi II. How come I never saw it when I loved the first so much?! D: Edited April 2, 2014 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterIceTeaPeach Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Lion King, Bambi and Beauty and the Beast were my favourites in my childhood. But Aristocats was really good. I cannot remember that I have ever watched a bad classic Disney film, although I have not seen all of them from this list yet and some sequels like Cinderella II etc. Edited April 2, 2014 by MisterIceTeaPeach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randoman Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I really think you're rating a lot of the Disney movies rather low, especially Treasure Planet (it should at least be mid tier, even after taking into account box office success). Sure, it didn't become as popular as many other Disney movies, but it arguably has the most interesting hero-villain relationship in Disney history (especially with how Silver breaks the general "pure evil" archetype most Disney villains have), with how Silver develops and changes throughout the story and how he's split between the treasure he's dreamed of finding his whole life and his newfound role as Jim's father figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Cynthia- Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I think Aristocats might be kinda racist or something and that's why it's down there? I have no idea why Hercules is so low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 (edited) Racist? WTF? The Aristocats is about cats, not black people vs white people or anything. :/ I loved the movie and I don't even like cats. That's saying something. Edited April 2, 2014 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Cynthia- Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 The 'asian cat' portrayal is a little...questionable. Then again, so are the cats in Lady and the Tramp and that's pretty high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elieson Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Racist? WTF? The Aristocats is about cats, not black people vs white people or anything. :/ I loved the movie and I don't even like cats. That's saying something. Oh my goodness Remember those old cartoons that got banned from television that had crows in them? That was a satire of race, despite them being crows, you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Geez, some people take some stuff way too seriously. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZemZem Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 Aristocats and Oliver and Company need to go up. Lilo and Stitch, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSilver Posted April 2, 2014 Share Posted April 2, 2014 I think i'm the only one who isn't that fond of frozen, i mean the movie was nice but...... idk i just don't really like it that much... (Lol at chicken little and home in the range, they were pretty bad to me XD) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewjeo Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 This tier list for bottom tier. But seriously trying to objectively rank Disney movies relative to each other is a pointless endeavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookofholsety Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 if the aristocats is ranked so low solely for having a racist caricature background character, then the little mermaid should be as well given that its racist caricature character (sebastian) is actually fairly important that said, loltiering films who cares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Refa Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Man, I hate the Aristocats. And I didn't even watch the movie, just hearing that commercial on like every VHS I owned...it was like nails on a chalkboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 The voice actor for Gepetto was anti-Semitic as shit, punt it to the bottom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemma Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Gosh, I gotta watch all these movies again. It's been so long since I've seen many of them. The Great Mouse Detective... I recall a lot of brilliant suspense, dynamic animations and sound effects, and solid character design. It makes a lot of the scenes memorable. The Big Ben scene was so epic, a great climax. Just out of curiosity, how much research did you put into this? If you had to factor in historical context and such, I bet you had to do a bit of studying. I'd like to hear someone knowledgeable discuss who the best Disney characters are as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Refa Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Oh, I watched that one (The Great Mouse Detective) recently! Like, for the first time. It's fantastic, and I don't even have any nostalgia glasses for it. You should definitely rewatch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xator Nova Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Expected reactions: - People wanting The Lion King to rise to Top Tier. - People wanting Frozen to drop below Tangled. - People wanting Hercules to rise. Reactions I actually get: - People defending The Aristocats. o_o The Aristocats is at the bottom due to being similarly lazy to Home on the Range in terms of narrative structure. Both of them present a very implausible and nonsensical premise for the first third of the movie... and then both movies pretend to replace narrative with filler for the other two thirds. In Home on the Range, it was crappy humor, while in The Aristocats, it was crappy fanservice. Not the sexual kind, but fanservice in the sense that it deliberately tries to look cute in order to appeal to the audience so that it tries to compensate for its lack of substance (kind of like moe, before it was popular). Everything else is weak in the film: the characters, the designs, the animation, the story. No redeemable qualities. Inconsistent and boring movie overall. None of the films in the Disney Animated Canon are offensive, though. However, one could argue that both The Aristocats and Home on the Range insult the audiences' intelligence. In order to be truly offensive, it should offend moral sensibilites in some way. I'm going to remove the "offensive" from the bottom tier criteria. It is misleading, and I concede it was my fault. ----- Must I assume that there are no problems with the Top / High Tier positions? -> Considering raising Treasure Planet to Mid (I read a good argument somewhere in the last page), and dropping Lady and the Tramp to Mid. ---- "Just out of curiosity, how much research did you put into this? If you had to factor in historical context and such, I bet you had to do a bit of studying. I'd like to hear someone knowledgeable discuss who the best Disney characters are as well." - I read a lot about the history of animation, and had to watch all of the films. I take into account what was possible for the era, obviously. I won't penalize Snow White for some nonsense like not having CGI. - Best Disney Characters is complicated, since there's a ton of characters and a lot of criteria. Best Princesses or Best Villains would be easier to rank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemma Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) You should totally rank the Disney villains~ Oh, I watched that one (The Great Mouse Detective) recently! Like, for the first time. It's fantastic, and I don't even have any nostalgia glasses for it. You should definitely rewatch it. Yeah, I'll definitely get my hands on it somehow. I'm just itching to watch it again! Edited April 3, 2014 by Gemma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 I watched The Great Mouse Detective on Netflix. It's probably still there. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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