Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Producer: Walt Disney
Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell, Pinto Clovig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw
Rank: 34

Every so often, a film comes along that changes the way people look at its genre. For the animation genre, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs not only changed the way people look at animation, but really created the animated film genre. Before Walt Disney came along, animation was a simple novelty- people would see cartoon shorts before the main feature when they went to the theater. Sure, cartoons were cute, but Disney turned animation into an art.

It doesn't really matter that the story is specifically Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney could've easily decided to do Hanzel and Gretel, or The Princess and the Pea, or anything else for that matter. Yes, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a great story, and the characters are very memorable, but the importance of this film comes from the contribution it has made to the cinema world. Because of this film, the multiplane camera was invented, giving more depth and realism to animation. (See video below.) Never before had such care, devotion, and passion been dedicated to a cartoon. In fact, most people don't even think of Disney features as "cartoons," but as "animation." Really, there is no difference, except for the fact that Disney films have the highest standards of quality animation, and people view them as so much more than "just a cartoon."

Many in Hollywood even dubbed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the nickname "Disney's Folly," certain it would be a complete failure and send the Disney Studios into bankruptcy. After all, who would ever want to sit through a cartoon that's an hour and a half long? But of course, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a huge success, paving the way for all of the other Disney classics, such as Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King, among the others. It paved the way for all of the other animated feature favorites: The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Spirited Away, Panyo, and many others.

Could you imagine, though, if Walt Disney had listened to his critics and pulled production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Could you imagine if he had decided not to build Disneyland, as his creditors had advised? There would, most likely, not be a Disney Company around today. If you have passion about something, don't let anyone else tell you that you can't do it. If you believe you can do it, then it doesn't matter if anyone else believes you can do it. Go out and prove them wrong. Do it for your self! If anyone who had ever been criticized for a new idea or invention had decided to give up at the first sign of another person's doubt about it, we certainly would not have much. What if someone had told Neil Armstrong that he'd never be an astronaut? What if someone told John F. Kennedy that he wasn't smart enough to be president? What if Abraham Lincoln was told it was a waste of time to try to free the slaves because he'd never be able to? The thing is, all of them were probably at one point told that, but they didn't take the criticism to heart, and changed the world. Besides, most of the time when someone tells you "You can't," what they're really saying is "I hope you don't because I know I can't." Live your dreams, pursue your passions, make the world a better place. Nothing is impossible unless you believe it is! As Walt Disney once said: "It's fun to do the impossible."

Here to tell you a bit about the multiplane camera is Walt Disney:

Trivia:
•Pinto Clovig, who provides the voices for Grumpy and Sleepy, also provided the original voice for Goofy in the Disney cartoon shorts.
•Although often credited as the first-ever full-length feature animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was actually not. The first was done by a female director in Germany, and it was the story of Pinocchio. However, Pinocchio was silent, black and white, and extremely unsuccessful.
•Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film ever to have a soundtrack album released.
•In 1938, Walt Disney received an Honorary Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The award inscription read "For Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field." There was one tall statue and seven miniature ones given to him.


Movies to Go: 77

Intolerance

Movie: Intolerance (1916)
Director: D.W. Griffith
Starring: Mae Marsh, Robert Harron, Margery Wilson, Frank Bennett, Josephine Crowell, Alfred Paget, Howard Gaye
Rank: 49

"Your political views are different than mine, so I don't have any respect for you."

"I have different beliefs about the existence of a higher power than you do, so you must not be as smart as I am."

"My paycheck is much bigger than yours, and it must be because you're not as deserving as I am."

"You don't look as good as I do, so therefore I don't have to be nice to you."

"I don't understand your sexual orientation, so I don't think you should have access to the same things I do."

Yesterday morning, you went outside. You took a leisurely stroll down the street, enjoying the beautiful weather. While you were out, there was someone who judged you because of what you were wearing. Later in the afternoon, you got in your car and ran a few errands. As you drove down the street, someone tailgating you judged you because of your bumper sticker. That night, you went to dinner with a friend without realizing you had a stain on your shirt, and someone judged you because of it.

That sounds fair, right? I mean, isn't it easy to know who isn't our equal just by looking at them? It gets even easier when we find out little bits of information about them. It's safe to assume that anyone who is a Christian just isn't that bright, just like anyone who is an atheist is immoral. Illegal immigrants are the sole ones responsible for our current economic woes. The homosexuals are destroying the morals of the nation and are going to corrupt our children. Obese people, well, they're just too lazy to make a worthy contribution to society.

Sometimes, it feels as though we label each other because we are just too busy with life to be bothered to get to know who a person really is. We make judgments based on one past experience that we've exaggerated in our own minds or some out-dated stereotype that was never based in reality to begin with. Sometimes it seems like we fight so hard to eliminate anyone who is not like us. The world would be easy if we all shared the same ideas and beliefs, right?

Wrong.

Life has never been, nor will ever be, easy. (Personally, I think that's one of the things that makes life beautiful.) But if we were all the same, new ideas would never evolve. If we all agreed, if no one ever stood up and questioned why things are the way they are, we'd still be living in caves. If life were like that, it would be dull, and cease to exist.

I doubt if many of you have seen the film Intolerance. To be frank, I'm certain most of you never will. Sitting through a three-hour silent film about hate and injustice isn't many people's idea of a Sunday afternoon, but if there were any lesson I'd hope you would get out of my 100 Movies project, I hope it's from this film here. I'll be honest and say that I was both excited about seeing this film and dreading it at the same time. In cinema classes of years past, Intolerance always comes up as a point of discussion at one time or another, yet none of my film teachers ever showed it in class. Most likely, I'll never watch this film again, but it will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Intolerance follows four stories. All of the stories are long and involved, and moving, but I'm not going into plot synopsis. (If you really want the plot, you should look for it through Google or IMDb.) All four of the stories deal with intolerance, of looking down upon another human being because of a difference of opinion, class, culture, and religion. In all stories, love in blocked by injustice and bigotry, and in two of the stories the lover's die without ever being able to be with the one they desire. It is because of blind hate that love cannot bloom, because of judgments of trivial details rather than who a person really is.

Throughout the film, there is a shot of a woman rocking an empty cradle, and the words "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Rocking" appear on the screen. This is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman, about a bird who loses his mate. The bird has an unyielding love for his mate, and when she disappears he searches for her, anxious to find her once again. But they cannot be together because of forces larger than themselves, and so the bird eventually gives up, and in a way, he dies. Much like this poem, the love that could've conquered the world is crushed by the evil of judgment in Intolerance.

The sad thing is, though, that even though this film is just six years shy of being a century old, the same thing still happens in the world today. We are constantly judged for the little details about ourselves. And whether or not we want to admit it, there has been a time when we ourselves have judged others for something on the surface. The beautiful thing about being human, though, is we have a choice about how we view people. You may not be able to help how people view you, but you can control how you choose to see others.

Do you want to know how things will change, seriously? What could possibly make the world a better place? Us!! We can change the world, really. We cannot change others, but we can change the things we do. There are so many forms of discrimination and prejudice out there, but it's not something that is built into human nature, it is something that is learned! Stop saying sexist jokes, stop using racial slurs, because even if you don't believe yourself to be prejudice you are still fueling the fire by keeping the stereotypes alive. You never know who may be taking you seriously, or who may be hearing what you are saying! People who judge others based on superficial trivia learned to do so from someone else. Don't let it spread! Hate ends here, if we want it to.

Out of the Cradle, Endlessly Rocking


Movies to Go: 78

Star Wars

Title: Star Wars (a.k.a. Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope, 1977)
Director: George Lucas
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness
Rank: 13

To all of you out there who are over twenty-five and still get a rush of glee at the thought of adding another piece to your action figure collection, to anyone who makes electronic sounds as they mime swordplay, to anyone who has ever been called a scruffy-looking nerf herder- you owe a debt of thanks to George Lucas.

I know there are several people out there who would throw out AFI's list without hesitation had Star Wars not been included. Of course, it's on there, and in the top 15 nonetheless! And with good cause, too. Any self-proclaimed film buff, sci-fi fanatic, or cultural history major would be mocked if they had never seen at least one (often times, if they had not seen ALL) of the films from the Star Wars franchise.

But what makes Star Wars such a cherished piece of cinematic history? Several things, actually. It could be the epic battle scenes in space, the hot princess, the clever dialogue, or the memorable characters and special effects. Really, though, Star Wars is great because it's a story about the underdog defeating a monster much bigger than himself by just having faith.

Underdog stories are always a hit, especially when the underdog comes out on top, because we all feel like we are the underdog at times. The world is big, and we are just one person, and sometimes it may feel like we make no difference. Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, get up, go to work, come home, pay taxes, go to bed. Lather, rinse, repeat. We are just one little, replaceable cog in the wheels of the world. But when we see someone who is, as we often feel ourselves to be, an unlikely hero stand up for what is truly right and come out ahead, we feel hope, and a deep satisfaction that someone was able to "stick it to the man." I know I don't need to tell any of you what happens in Star Wars (and if I do, then it's time to take a day off work and watch the films, but don't worry I won't tell anyone), I'm sure many of you are more familiar with the details that I am.

Not only is it an underdog story, but Star Wars also has a political consciousness. The Rebels fighting against the Empire is essentially the "everyman" fighting against the corrupted government. Especially with the current state of things, the government has always taken criticism from the citizens. The government is big and powerful, and often it feels as though we just have to sit back and take whatever they decide to dish out. But, like Luke, Leia, Han Solo, and the rest of the Rebel Alliance, we do have power. Binding together and standing up for what is right is one of the most amazing things a group of people can do. Even the little things can make a difference in morality, and encourage us to never give up.

Star Wars also deals a lot with faith in oneself, in the form of the Force. Luke cannot defeat the Death Star with the computer, but when he closes his eyes and takes that leap of faith, he is triumphant! It isn't until we believe in ourselves that we can accomplish anything. If you believe you can do it, then you can, regardless if anyone else believes you can. As Yoda said "Do or do not; there is no try."

Star Wars is a legacy to film and fandom. No other series has been admired, parodied, or referenced in other films as much as Star Wars films have. I could list pages of projects that have taken inspiration from the Star Wars franchise (Spaceballs, anyone? Or how about FanBoys?), endless arguments of Star Wars vs. Star Trek, and hundreds of thousands of people out there who share the hero's name that have constantly heard the line "Luke, I am your father" throughout their lives.

Thank you, George Lucas, for making it cool to be a nerd. And to all my readers out there, may the Force be with you!




Movies to Go: 79

Toy Story

Title: Toy Story (1995)
Director: John Lasseter
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Jim Varney, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger
Rank: 99



Change is inevitable, as we all know. Yet, even though we know change cannot be stopped, we often still fear change. It can be scary when the life you are used to and love suddenly changes, just as Woody's life changed. He was always Andy's favorite toy, until Buzz Lightyear arrives and captures Andy's playtime affections, threatening to leave Woody in the toy chest to collect dust. It doesn't matter if a king suddenly loses his wealth and becomes a peasant, or if a poor man wins the lotto and has riches beyond his dreams: change can be difficult for anyone. As humans, we tend to get used to things and like what we are familiar with, which is why it is so easy to fall into routines. But, as Woody learned, change isn't always a bad thing.

Through an amazing toy-journey, Woody and Buzz both discover new things about themselves. Change can be, and often is, a good thing. Woody and Buzz become the greatest of friends because of change. If we always stay in our comfort zones, we will never develop or evolve as people. My life is vastly different from what it was five years ago, and I know my life will be greatly different five years from now. To me, this is an exciting thing. I love life, I love where my life is right now, but if I thought that I was going to be here for the rest of my life it would make me sad. Change comes either by force or by choice, and adapting to change can be greatly rewarding, if we face the things that we fear about change. Life is not frozen- it's constantly moving, constantly growing and developing. It's a beautiful thing, really. Life without change would be uninteresting and nothing new would ever happen.

Toy Story may be about change, but it also made changes to the face of animation. It was the first full-length feature film to be completely computer animated. Toy Story paved the way for films like the Shrek tetralogy, the Ice Age trilogy, Kung-Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, How To Train Your Dragon, and of course all of the other gems PIXAR has given to the world (A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, and coming June 30th is Toy Story 3). Even Beowulf could fall into this category, as well as a slew of others that have already been made and are being released in the coming years. Toy Story gave birth to a new generation of films, ones which the entire family can enjoy: kid-friendly, but just as appealing to adults, with a few adult-aimed jokes hidden throughout the films (I noticed this time that at one point Woody mockingly calls his friend "Buzz Light-Beer" instead of "Lightyear"). These films are admired by fans of all ages, bringing families and friends together once again. See? Change isn't always a bad thing.

Trivia:
•Every PIXAR movie has four things in common: 1) A visual reference somewhere in the film to another one of their projects. 2) A list of "Production Babies" (babies that were born to people who contributed to the film while it was in production). 3) A short film that accompanies it in the theaters. 4) John Ratzenberger does the voice of one character.
•In Toy Story, the visual reference to another PIXAR project is in Andy's room: among the books on his bookshelf (can be particularly seen when Woody is hosting the toy-meeting) there are books whose titles are PIXAR shorts, one of them having John Lasseter (the director) listed as the author. Also, the gas station Buzz and Woody fight at is Dinoco- the company that Lightening McQueen hopes to be sponsored by in PIXAR's Cars (2006).
•Toy Story was the first film to be completely computer animated. Each frame took between four to thirteen hours to render. (There are 24 frames in each second, the film is an hour an twenty minutes- you do the math.)
•There's a nod to Disney on Andy's wall: he has a Mickey Mouse clock.


Movies to Go: 82

BEN-HUR

Title: Ben-Hur (1959)
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Charlton Heston, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd
Rank: 100

First, let me say thanks for sticking around during this hiatus. I've missed my 100 movies project deeply, and I've missed writing about the movies! Today I'll be (finally) writing the posts for the five movies I've watched since writing up The Grapes of Wrath nearly two months ago. Hopefully, there will be no more breaks after this!

Ben-Hur is an amazing film, one that molded the face of epic cinema. These days, it is common for film budgets to reach into the tens of millions, but back in 1959 MGM spent the astronomical price of $15 million to produce Ben-Hur. No expense was spared, and the results were well worth the price. It grossed an estimated $70 million, and saved MGM from bankruptcy. (source: IMDb/B.O.Mojo) But aside from saving one of the best-known studios from going under, Ben-Hur is a legacy, leading the ways for such films as Spartacus, Shindler's List, Titanic, Lord of the Rings, (all of which are on AFI's list) and many other appreciated epic movies. Every detail of this film was planned out and given careful attention, making it an absolutely beautiful film to view. The extras, the soundtrack, the sets, the script- everything about this film is grand and glorious! (Just make sure you have some time: Ben-Hur runs about three and a half hours long.) Ben-Hur raised the bar for films, calling them to be grander and push the bar of greatness.

The plot of Ben-Hur is one that touches many people. Judah Ben-Hur (played by Charlton Heston) is a man who, though wealthy, respects all people. Even though he is offered security and a high official rank if he gives the names of Jewish people who speak against the emperor, he turns it down without second thought and assertively protests the emperor to free all the Jews. Later, a controversy arises and he is made a slave. After three years of torture, he saves the life of the man who had beaten him down all those years when a boat accident nearly kills him. He never loses faith, never gives up hope, even when there is nothing he can see to hope for. He is freed after saving his slave-driver's life, and uses his freedom and new found social rank to fight for the rights of the people.

The story of Judas Ben-Hur parallels a story that is one of historical importance. Whether or not a Christian, nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Jesus Christ. Throughout Ben-Hur's journey, he comes across Jesus several times, and even though it is seemingly insignificant in gesture, Christ influences Ben-Hur each time they intertwine. When Jesus is being led to crucifixion, Ben-Hur is there watching in agony over the torture he is witnessing. Risking his own life, he gives Jesus a drink of water, returning the same favor Jesus gave him years prior. What is great about this is that the audience never sees Christ's face nor hears his voice, which instills the power of this man on the people, the mystery, and faith.

An epic movie is nothing without a good story to tell, but with an excellent and compelling story, Ben-Hur is a film that defines what an epic really should be. Fifty-one years after it was made, it still continues to be a major piece of discussion in any cinema class and a powerful influence on filmmakers today.


Movies to Go: 83