The Best Years of Movies

If you’re a movie lover like I am, you might wonder at some point what year could be characterized as “the year of Hollywood’s best movies.” That’s not a very easy decision to make, because there are several choices. It really just depends on what kind of movies you’re into. I thought that in this piece I would share with you a few examples of Hollywood’s most memorable years – even if they aren’t really the best, it’s my take on it.

1939

The Wizard of Oz

Gone With the Wind

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Stagecoach

Of Mice and Men (with Lon Chaney Jr.)

Dark Victory

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Love Affair

Ninotchka

Wuthering Heights

1939 was a truly phenomenal year for movies because of these 10 films, most beloved by many, and all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.  

1962

Lawrence of Arabia

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Music Man

The Miracle Worker (with Angela Lansbury)

The Manchurian Candidate

Mutiny on the Bounty (with Marlon Brando)

One could say that 1962 was a year for “heroes who did not possess superpowers,” but were heroic in their own unique way. From the adventurous T.E. Lawrence, to the simple, yet sophisticated Atticus Finch, to the ground-breaking Helen Keller.  

1984

Amadeus

Ghostbusters

Places in the Heart

The Natural

Beverly Hills Cop

Footloose

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Karate Kid

Romancing the Stone 

Sixteen Candles

1984 was the year many actors “burst onto the scene” in in their first major roles.  Each of whom went on to gain popularity in their own unique way, such as Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles, Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid, Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, and Kevin Bacon in Footloose. Although Amadeus would win the Best Picture Oscar that year, one might also primarily remember ’84 as the year of Ghostbusters, since it became one of the highest-grossing comedies of all time. ’84 would also be the year of Sally Field’s famous “You like me!” speech at the Oscars when she won Best Actress for Places in the Heart.   

1987

The Last Emperor

Broadcast News

Moonstruck

Fatal Attraction

The Untouchables

Throw Momma From the Train

Stakeout

Dirty Dancing

The Princess Bride

Overboard

Each of these films were financial, critical, and public successes, except for The Princess Bride and Overboard. Both were box-office flops, but The Princess Bride has gone on to gain cult status today. That being the case, film audiences may remember ’87 because most likely it included some of their all-time favorites.

1989

Driving Miss Daisy

Field of Dreams

Glory

Batman

The Little Mermaid

Steel Magnolias

My Left Foot

When Harry Met Sally

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Lethal Weapon 2

Back to the Future part 2

Fletch Lives

1989 is a very interesting year for movies because, in addition to Driving Miss Daisy winning the Best Picture Oscar, and Julia Roberts being cast in her first major role in Steel Magnolias, ’89 was the “foundation” year of many of the most popular film franchises ever. Tim Burton’s Batman led to the creation of Batman: The Animated Series, as well as 3 sequels to the movies, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, and Back to the Future part 2 didn’t do quite as well as any of their predecessors, though they did well enough for the creative teams of each film go on with additional sequels. It was also the year for the “Disney Renaissance,” because The Little Mermaid paved the way for the creations of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and many others. 

1994

Forrest Gump

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Pulp Fiction

Quiz Show

The Shawshank Redemption

Dumb and Dumber

Ed Wood

Maverick

The Lion King

Speed

Miracle on 34th Street (with Richard Attenborough)

’94 can initially be remembered as the year of Forrest Gump, Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, or The Lion King. The Lion King would be the highest-grossing film for the next 9 years, until Finding Nemo and it currently is the 4th highest-grossing animated film of all time, underneath Minions at 3rd Place, Toy Story 3 at 2nd, and Frozen at 1st. Pulp Fiction did extremely well with finances, audiences, and critics when it was first released, but it has continued to gain popularity today in the 21 years it has been since it was released. Forrest Gump won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks), beating The Shawshank Redemption in both categories (Best Actor in a Leading Role-Morgan Freeman), though both did equally well with audiences. What’s unique about this year is, as in 1962, it included a variety of sophisticated characters which are now part of culture at large.

1995

Braveheart

Apollo 13

Babe

Sense and Sensibility

The Usual Suspects

Toy Story

Pocahontas

The Bridges of Madison County

The American President

Sabrina (with Julia Ormond)

Tommy Boy
Grumpier Old Men
While You Were Sleeping

1995 could be remembered as the year Mel Gibson’s epic Braveheart won the Best Picture Oscar, or as the year Chris Farley made his feature film debut in the cult classic Tommy Boy, or also as the year Pixar Animation Studios forever changed the way we looked at animated movies by creating Toy Story. No doubt 1995 truly was a year of creativity for the movies.

So there’s my list.  What other “movie years” would be on yours?

20 Reasons to Love Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story

You might or might not be aware of this, but November, 22nd, 2015 will mark 20 years since Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story was released. That being the case, I thought I would share with you 20 reasons why Toy Story (1995) is worthy of every movie and/or Disney lover’s respect. 

• It’s a product of Pixar Animation Studios, but also Walt Disney Pictures, which is the film company who has undoubtedly created the greatest animated movies of all time.
• It was the first movie ever to be animated completely by computer-generated imagery.
• It’s a very clever story that appeals to both adults and kids.
• The movie features the unforgettable song by Randy Newman, “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.”
• All of Woody and Buzz’s friends are humorous in their own, unique way.
• Its success brought Pixar Animation Studios the money, but also the inspiration to produce all of the films that have come out since then. (i.e. A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters Inc. (2001), Finding Nemo (2003), Toy Story 2 and 3 (1999, 2010), etc.).
• Toy Story (1995) also spawned a musical/stage version that plays on the Disney Wonder Ship of the Disney Cruise Line. The film also led to the creation of two television specials, Toy Story of Terror! (2013), and Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014), and several shorts that have played in front of other Disney films, Hawaiian Vacation (2011), Small Fry (2011), and Partysaurus Rex (2012). Toy Story 4 is on its way as well and will be released in 2017.
• The voice cast of the film is tip-top. It’s nearly impossible to imagine any other actor in it. Tom Hanks was Pixar’s first choice to play Woody, but Billy Crystal was the studio’s first choice to play Buzz Lightyear. He declined, which he later regretted (fortunately he went on to become better known throughout the world as the voice of Mike Wazowski), and Bill Murray was considered for the role. Finally, the role was offered to Tim Allen, and he accepted.
• The movie was directed by John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar Animation Studios, who was also one of the original story writers for the film. In addition to that, Lasseter was one of the original story writers, as well as the director of A Bug’s Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Cars (2006), and Cars 2 (2011).
• It consists of many pieces of unforgettable dialogue, written by 8 brilliant writers, i.e. “YOU ARE A TOY!,” “You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity, farewell,” “Hey Hamm, look I’m Picasso…I’d don’t get it…You uncultured Swine! What are you looking at, you hockey puck!”
• One of the film’s writers was Joss Whedon, the director and co-writer of The Avengers (2012, 2015) franchise. It was his own personal idea for the Pixar animators to create the character of Rex, the neurotic dinosaur.
• The lighting in the movie makes everything in the movie seem extremely realistic, that it becomes hard to believe that anything in the movie is animated, and not live-action.
• There are cute “Easter Eggs,” in the film, such as a Mickey Mouse Watch in Andy’s bedroom, and on Andy’s bookshelf, there are books with the names of all of Pixar’s short films produced prior to Toy Story (1995), including Tin Toy (1998), which was what hatched the idea of toys being alive in the minds of the Pixar Animators. “Toy Story” Easter Eggs can also be spotted in other Disney/Pixar films.
• Former United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey voiced the Toy Sergeant in the film and its sequels. His voice-over performance is so brilliant, that it almost becomes hard to believe that he is acting. And in addition to that, it’s no wonder that he used to work for the Marine Corps.
• The movie received 3 Academy Award nominations, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” and Best Original Musical or Comedy Score. Although it lost in all 3 Categories, it did however manage to win a special Academy Award for Unique Achievement in Film, which was presented to John Lasseter. 
• The iconic Steve Jobs was one of the film’s Executive Producers. He originally suggested Bob Dylan be the writer and performer of the soundtrack before Randy Newman came into the project.
• Joe Ranft, one of the film’s writers, also provided the voice of Lenny the Binoculars. Ranft would also voice a number of other Pixar characters (i.e. Heimlich the Caterpillar in A Bug’s Life (1998), Jacques the Lobster in Finding Nemo (2003) and Red in Cars (2006)), before his untimely death of a car crash in 2005.
• Andrew Stanton, another one of the film’s writers, provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear’s enemy, the Evil Emperor Zurg in Toy Story 2 (1999). Stanton also go on to win 2 Best Animated Feature Academy Awards for his writing and directing of Finding Nemo (2003) (He also provided the voice of Crush in the movie.) and Wall-E (2008).
• John Ratzenberger, who provided the voice of Hamm, has gone on to lend his voice to every Pixar film, including Inside Out (2015). He is the only actor to do so.   
• Like many Disney movies, watching Toy Story (1995) is a heartwarming experience whenever you see it, but unlike many Disney movies, Toy Story (1995) will also make you thankful that you have the friends you have in your life, because true friendships last forever.

Not Quite 101 Facts about Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians

Walt Disney’s 101 Dalmatians (1961) is a very special film for the studio, and there are many reasons why that is so. Ever wondered why? First and foremost, it was Disney’s first animated feature that didn’t tell the story of magical fairies or the romance of a Princess and Prince Charming. Instead it was about a family of animals who get kidnapped or “dognapped,” looks after each other, and ultimately find their way back home. In addition to those, I can’t tell you 101 reasons, but I can tell you some reasons. 

• It was released in 1961, which was around the time where the Xerox machine had just been invented. 101 Dalmatians was the very first Disney animated feature to apply drawings to the Xerox machine, instead of just the typical “Ink and Paint,” style.
• Walt was initially displeased with the final cut of the movie. He preferred the typical “Ink and Paint,” style whenever he made an animated movie, which is ironic, because he was always looking to take good ideas a step further, and make it more and more magical. He made his peace with the movie, however, shortly before his death, 5 years after the release of the movie, in 1966.
• Dodie Smith, who was the author of the original “101 Dalmatians,” book, was very pleased with the final cut of 101 Dalmatians (1961). She even wrote to Walt Disney’s Head of the Story Department, Bill Peet, telling him that he had improved on her book.
• When Walt was casting the voice talent of the movie, he brought in an actress named Lisa Davis to read for the role of Cruella De Vil. Lisa Davis had previously done test shots for Alice in Wonderland (1951), but unfortunately did not get cast in that movie. She read for Cruella, but felt that she did not identify with the role, but that she did identify with the role of Anita. She was very anxious about telling Walt that he had made a mistake in considering her for this role, but she politely said, “Excuse me, Mr. Disney. I don’t feel like Cruella De Vil at all. I feel like Anita.” Walt then said, “Well, would you like to read Anita?” She said “Yes, very much.” She read for Anita, and was cast in the role. 
• Walt ultimately cast Betty Lou Gerson in the role of Cruella De Vil. Gerson had previously made her Disney debut in Cinderella (1950), portraying the narrator who opens up the story at the very beginning of the film.
• Betty Lou Gerson, however, did not provide live-action modeling as reference for the animators, because she was a very elegant actress, and did not look a great deal like the ugly Cruella De Vil. That being the case, Disney hired Mary Wickes to provide the live-action modeling. Mary Wickes is still given screen credit as a voice talent in the film, despite not actually having lent her voice to it. Mary Wickes’s very last film role was another Disney animated feature that she did lend her voice to, which was The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). She played Quasimodo’s female gargoyle friend, Laverne. She unfortunately died the year before the film came out, in 1995, before she had finished recording all of her dialogue. Jane Withers succeeded her in the role, and provided the singing voice for her character as well.
• Ben Wright (who I wrote about in an early blog post) was cast as Roger Ratcliff. Nearly 30 years after 101 Dalmatians (1961), Ben Wright voiced Grimsby, Prince Eric’s elderly guardian, in The Little Mermaid (1989). No one who worked at Disney at the time of The Little Mermaid (1989), knew that he had voiced Roger in 101 Dalmatians until he told them so.
• Bill Lee provided the singing voice of Roger in the film. Bill Lee is best known throughout the world for lending his singing voice to the leading male stars of Hollywood movie-musicals who couldn’t sing in her life, including Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music (1965). Surprisingly, Ben Wright, who was Roger’s speaking voice, portrayed the evil Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music (1965).
• Marc Davis, who was the supervising animator of Cruella De Vil, as well as the characters of Princess Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, Tinker Bell, Bambi, and Thumper, retired from the studio after 101 Dalmatians (1961) was released. He did however, continue to provide character designs for Disney park attractions, including Pirates of the Caribbean, The Haunted Mansion, The Enchanted Tiki Room, The Jungle Cruise, and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. His widow, Alice Davis, who worked as a costume designer for the studio, provided all the costume designs for the characters that he designed.
• 101 Dalmatians was re-adapted for live-action in 1996, with Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil, 35 years after the release of the original cartoon film, and 30 years after Walt Disney’s passing.
• Teen angst film auteur, John Hughes (writer/producer/director of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), The Breakfast Club (1985), Sixteen Candles (1984)) was one of the producers of the live-action 101 Dalmatians (1996). His specific approach to the movie was “I didn’t want the audience to see this as one of my movies. I wanted the picture to seem as though Walt Disney himself had come up to me and said ‘Ok, I know you can’t draw, but if you were to adapt this for live-action show me how you would do it.’”
• Dodie Smith published the original “101 Dalmatians,” book in 1956, the year after Disneyland first opened, in 1955.
• Dodie Smith’s inspiration for the character of Cruella De Vil, came from when a friend suggested to her, in an non-evil context, “You know, Dalmatians skins would make a nice fur coat.” The statement intimidated her, and the character of Cruella De Vil was born.

101 Dalmatians (1961) is definitely a beloved film for Disney! The studio’s previous animated film, Sleeping Beauty (1959) had been a flop for the studio, and they had to fire several employees as a result of that, but 101 Dalmatians (1961) was a success for the studio both financially and publicly, so it got the company back on it’s feet. It truly is a beautiful story that lives on in the Disney legacy in its own special way. It might be in your top 5 or 10 favorites, and it might not be, but it’s generally impossible to love Disney without loving this movie.