Disappointing Disney Movies: Part One

In case you didn’t already know, I love Disney, probably more than most people. But that isn’t to say that they haven’t let me down on numerous occasions. Sadly, even Disney make mistakes! Take a look at the Disney films that were the biggest disappointments to me…

10. Beauty and the Beast (Live Action)

    

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way saying this was a bad film, because it wasn’t. But the original Beauty and the Beast was my favourite movie growing up, and one that I hold very dear to my heart. It is completely flawless. Then in March of last year, the live action remake was released. Yes, it was a good, fun film that I’m sure the kids loved. But it didn’t have a patch on the original. Maybe I set my expectations too high, but to me everything just seemed so over the top which wasn’t to my taste at all. Not to mention the fact it was unnecessarily made longer, with new scenes that added nothing at all to the plot. Emma Watson definitely looked the part of Belle, and I expected her to be wonderful, but sadly I was disappointed. For a start, her overly posh voice really did not feel right for character, and don’t get me started on her singing. I know the original Belle was well spoken, but this was a whole other level. The best things about this film were Luke Evans as Gaston and Ewan McGregor who made a wonderful Lumiere. It’s a shame the rest of the film let it down.

9. Pocahontas

   
   

Disney’s 33^rd animated classic was of course inspired by the story of the famous Native American, Pocahontas. However, for me it was sadly the worst of the ‘Princess’ films. Despite the fact there is truth in the story (although as far I know it is a very fictionalised tale of the American heroin) and the plot carries powerful messages about America’s past, it just isn’t very gripping at all. With its cultural importance, Pocahontas could have been made so much more powerful and had a serious impact. Like Beauty and the Beast, it is by no means a terrible film, there is just nothing that makes this film special or makes it stand out in any way. Compared to other Disney soundtracks, this one is rather boring and I don’t particular enjoy any of the songs (except maybe ‘Colours of the Wind’ which is okay). It’s not one that I find myself singing along to, which is an unusual find. The whole movie was just a bit bland, and for me, didn’t live up to the standards set by so many incredible Disney films.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

   
   

The first two Pirates of the Caribbean films were incredible, there is no doubt about that. The two movies that followed however, didn’t have quite the same effect. The third wasn’t brilliant, but I suppose it is still a decent film to watch on a rainy day. But after At World’s End, the franchise bid farewell to two of its lead actors, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom and well, it all went even further downhill from there. The opening few scenes of On Stranger Tides are actually rather good and entertaining, which did lift my expectations. But they were knocked straight back down again as the film went on. The action scenes may be strong (although perhaps too frequent) and there isn’t really anything wrong with the acting, but the plot is flawed. It’s boring and hard to follow a lot of the time, and therefore completely overshadows all the positives. The film introduces us to a whole bunch of new characters, neither of which felt like they belonged in the POTC world. To me, it felt too late into a franchise to bring in a load of newbies, instead they should have just stopped after the third! Despite all of this, it was still the highest grossing film of the franchise so of course they went on to make a fifth, which although I have yet to see, I have heard it is the worst yet. Stop now Disney, please.

7. The Good Dinosaur

   
   

The Good Dinosaur was Pixar’s sixteenth Feature film, released back in 2015. Like every other Pixar movie, the animation is beautiful in every possible way, it’s just a shame the plot doesn’t match up to that. Don’t get me wrong, The Good Dinosaur tells a nice, heart warming story. We follow Arlo the dinosaur as he searches for his parents, befriending a young ‘critter’, who is in fact just a young human boy. The whole thing is just a little lacklustre for my liking, particularly for a Pixar film. There is nothing that makes the film overly exciting or unique in any way at all, which is why it was such a disappointment. The kid in the film isn’t particularly cute or likeable, just annoying for most of the film! And Arlo isn’t much better. The Good Dinosaur is a nice family film and I’m sure there are plenty of children that absolutely loved it, but I wasn’t overly impressed. I know Pixar can do so much better! It is not difficult to understand why it is Pixar’s lowest grossing film to date.

6. WALL-E

   
   

Sorry Pixar, but this one wasn’t great either. This seems to be an unpopular opinion amongst Disney fans, but I really did not enjoy WALL-E. I remember watching this one at the cinema when I was 12 years old, and I ended up ridiculously bored ridiculously quickly. I had hoped that this may change watching it now as a 22-year-old, but I can confirm this was definitely not the case. It’s. So. Boring! It is by no means the worst film I’ve ever seen, and I can see why other people love it so much, but Pixar very rarely let me down so this was a huge disappointment. I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as I enjoy other Pixar masterpieces. There are some very touching moments in the film, but when a film is so dull it is hard to appreciate them. Pixar, this was not your finest hour.

 

 

To be continued…