This list was WAY harder to narrow down than yesterday's list of animated favorites! I grew up watching so many classic Disney movies over and over and over. I almost cried when I realized I had to leave both Davy Crockett movies off this list. They were so formative for me! But I haven't watched them in years now, so I'm leaving them off... but mentioning them here so they aren't entirely neglected ;-)
Once again, titles are linked to my reviews when applicable.
1. The Lone Ranger (2013) John Reid (Armie Hammer) returns to his Texas hometown after years away at law school. Bad guys ambush him, his brother, and a company of Rangers -- everyone else dies, but a renegade named Tonto (Johnny Depp) saves John Reid's life, and together they try to bring down the greedy men responsible for the deaths of their family members. It's a twisty, fable-like origin story that I never tire of.
2. The Parent Trap (1961) Twin sisters (Hayley Mills as both) with divorced parents (Maureen O'Hara and Brian Kieth) scheme to bring their parents back together. It's been one of my favorite movies since I was a teen.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) resorts to commandeering, raiding, pillaging, plundering, and otherwise pilfering his weasely black guts out, all to regain his beloved ship. More fun than a barrel of undead monkeys!
4. The Three Musketeers (1993) Young d'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell) just wants to be a Musketeer, but he ends up embroiled in unmasking a plot against the king. His three Musketeer friends (Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, and Oliver Platt) are hilarious and awesome too. I actually like this better than Alexandre Dumas' book :-o
5. The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) When three little swindlers kids show up in a slowly-declining California gold rush town, a gambler (Bill Bixby) just passing through winds up taking care of them. One gold strike, one marriage of convenience involving the local stagecoach driver (Susan Clark), one bank robbery by the bumblingest outlaws in the west (Don Knotts and Tim Conway), and one capture of a notorious outlaw (Slim Pickens) later, and they can finally live happily ever after!
6. The Swiss Family Robinson (1960) A shipwrecked family (John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, and Keven Corcoran) builds a new home on a deserted island. And fights pirates. An absolute highlight of visiting Disney World last year, for me, was getting to explore the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse there!
7. Cinderella (2015) Ella (Lily James) treats her stepmother (Cate Blanchett), a prince (Richard Madden), and her fairy godmother (Helena Bonham Carter) with courage and kindness. It's a straightforward, cottagecore retelling of the classic fairy tale, and it delights me.
8. Kidnapped (1960) A young Scotsman (James MacArthur) gets kidnapped by slave traders hired by the uncle who has cheated out of his inheritance. He and a fierce highland gentleman (Peter Finch) join forces to escape and make their way back to his home to claim what belongs to him.
9. That Darn Cat! (1965) An adventurous teen (Hayley Mills) enlists her sister (Dorothy Provine), her best friend (Tom Lowell), and an FBI agent (Dean Jones) in her plot to rescue a kidnapped bank teller from two icky robbers (Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin) by following her cat around town. Um, yes. It's very funny and zany and sweet.
10. The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) During the Great Depression, a young teen (Meredith Salenger) hitches rides across the whole country to find her dad (Ray Wise), sometimes helped by a wolf, and sometimes helped by a sarcastic young hobo (John Cusack). I saw this when it was first released to VHS in the mid-'80s and have been a John Cusack fan ever since.
Spot any favorites of your own? Any here you've been meaning to see, but haven't gotten around to yet? Let's discuss in the comments!
This is my second contribution to the 100 Years of Disney blogathon hosted by Silver Scenes. Be sure to check out their blog for all the delightful posts people have written to celebrate this event!
I was always a much bigger fan of Disney's animation movies than of its live action flicks. I think it was because Disney (at least in the 1960s) relied too heavily on a stable of the same actors over and over again, like the ones you mention, and I got tired of them.
ReplyDeleteDebra, that reliability of seeing familiar actors and actresses in different Disney movies is actually part of what makes me love them. If you tell me a movie has Hayley Mills or James MacArthur or Dorothy McGuire in it, I am instantly interested because I know I will at least enjoy their performance, even if the movie overall doesn't thrill me.
DeleteThe first Pirates of the Carribean movie is such a fantastic film, the sequels just can't measure up to it.
ReplyDeleteNatrateGlow, that is so true. I think part of the problem is that the first movie's screenwriters wrote Jack Sparrow as a serious role, but Johnny Depp took him and tilted the character off-kilter, which makes the movie amazing. The next couple movies wrote Jack Sparrow off-kilter, and then Johnny tilted him even farther sideways, which turned him too silly. Movie 4 was better, and I still need to see 5. But the first one is the only one I own on DVD. It's just too spectacular to be matched.
DeleteInteresting selections, Rachel! I never even heard of Natty Gann! I think we grew up with different Disney live-action films. I would definitely include That Darn Cat and The Parent Trap on my list as well but would probably add some corny selections like One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing or Blackbeard's Ghost. And definitely The Love Bug and Bedknobs and Broomsticks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Metzingers! Oh my goodness, The Journey of Natty Gann is such a good movie. I need to review it here -- it is a very under-known film, but an real delight.
DeleteI haven't seen One of our Dinosaurs is Missing OR Blackbeard's Ghost, though the latter is on my Disney+ watchlist because I love both Peter Ustinov and Dean Jones, so I really must watch it.
Metzingers, just wanted to tell you that my kids and I watched Blackbeard's Ghost on Tuesday (to celebrate International Talk Like a Pirate Day, of course), and we laughed SO HARD!!! Oh my goodness, that is an excellent movie. Thanks for reminding me I have been wanting to see it.
DeleteA big "Yes" to The Parent Trap, Swiss Family Robinson, and The Journey of Natty Gann. But no Pollyanna? It holds up amazingly well and never gets sappy (which could have easily happened). I'm also surprised 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was omitted in favor of more recent movies.
ReplyDeletePollyanna is great!
DeleteRick29, I do like Pollyanna. And 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, too. But... this is a list of my favorites, and I do not love either of them as much as the movies on this list.
DeleteElisabeth walked down the aisle to 'La Valse de L'Amour' from Cinderella 2015, so that's just another reason for me to love that movie. 🥹
ReplyDeleteEva, that is a beautiful choice for a wedding processional! Wow!
Deletethe Storyenthusiast
ReplyDeleteThe Apple Dumpling Gang! I can't count how many times I watched that one growing up. I was able to revisit it in recent years and it still brought me so much joy.
ReplyDeleteStoryenthusiast, yes! The Apple Dumpling Gang is STILL so funny and warm and wonderful, even when watched as an adult. I might even love it more now than I did as a kid, and that's saying something because it was one of my favorites back then too. A true gem.
DeleteTerrific list! I’m a big fan of the older Disney live action movies like Swiss Family & Apple Dumpling Gang; my list would include The Love Bug, Shaggy Dog, Johnny Tremaine & Those Calloways. My kids who are teens now consider Escape To Witch Mountain as one of the best movies ever!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anonymous! Shaggy Dog and Shaggy D.A. are both lesser favorites of mine :-D So many fun old Disney films out there!
DeleteAh, this is a great list! Disney's catalogue is nicely diverse, as you know. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rebecca! Yes, Disney has a little something for everyone :-)
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