Today is Mickey Mouse house visionary Walt Disney’s birthday. The iconic entertainer changed the face of film with his animated wonders, introducing some of cinema’s most popular cartoon (and live-action) characters for the big and small screens. We felt inspired to take a look at some of the studio’s underdog projects — those films that may have been overlooked while the empire changed direction, along with a few obscure movies you may have missed along the way. Click through to see which of Disney’s woefully underrated, or fascinatingly strange projects made the list. Feel free to add your picks below.
As unlikely as it seems, there’s no mistaking Disney’s short film Destino as a collaborative project with surreal maestro Salvador Dalí. Melting faces, shapeshifting ants, and uncanny eyeballs galore, Destino was an endeavor that began in 1945 and almost never saw the light of day. Financial woes that plagued Disney during World War II slowed production across the board. Destino was resurrected in the late ’90s by Disney Studios France and rebuilt from the original storyboards. The animation is a classic example of the avant-garde experiments that sadly many of Mickey’s audiences know little or nothing about.
Comments (17)
Watcher in the Woods scared the crap out of me when I was a little girl! Still love it!
I remember watching the scene where the eclipse happens as I child (back then, I didn’t know what movie was) and feeling uneasy and lured at the same time. That uneasy feeling David Lynch’s Twin Peaks would gave me later as a teenager.
Anyway, I recently watched and is gorgeous. I absolutely loved it.
@Janette: yeah, it’s so great. and that ending is nutso.
@Paulina: agreed.
I’ve seen nearly all of these, a few were favorites as a child but I didn’t realize “Watcher” and “Something Wicked…” were Disney… whoa!! “Destino” is one of my favorites, of all things… of all time. Much love for Dali!
These are great! And while it’s not a Disney flick, if you like these, you’ll appreciate “The Blue Bird,” a film from 1940 that’s like a really dark “Wizard of Oz,” starring Shirley Temple. I was pretty freaked out by this when I saw it on tv as a kid in the 70s & as an adult, still am mildly obsessed with this bizarre film.
There are a lot of movies that are not in this list. Disney movies are something you need to watch out for.
Quite enjoyed “The Great Mouse Detective” when I was younger :)
Once upon a time, there were talks about doing a third “Fantasia”. Maybe “Destino” would had been part of it. As lovely as it is, I also adore “The Little Matchgirl” and “One by One” (this one maybe a litte more).
But two of the most obscure Disney shorts are “Lorenzo” and “John Henry”. Specially the first one; the others are available on You Tube, but trying to find “Lorenzo” is almost like trying to find the Holy Grail.
And YES! to “Treasure Planet”. I found myself enjoying that movie more than I thought I would. And “I’m still here” is the most underrated song of the Disney canon.
What, no love for “The Black Hole”? Despite the somewhat daft script and cutesy robots it has a great score, fantastic pre-CGI models and special effects and was beautifully shot.
I had (still have it actually)the old PC game from Sierra Online for The Black Cauldron. It was basically King’s Quest set in the Black Cauldron world.
I personally would have also include Pecos Bill… Love that movie!!
I really like Something Wicked… the book was even better. Just came across an animated short loosely based on a Christmas Carol. It captures our time and is heartwarming. http://www.redstate.com
whoa @MozaikAngel i LOVED the blue bird growing up. prob my fave shirley temple flick — and i would watch at least two a day every time i stayed with grandma :) thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Some of my favorites listed here. Jonathan Pryce in Something Wicked is AMAZING. Also loved Watcher in the Woods and, in a similar vein, Lady in White.
Seriously, how is Atlantis not on this list? That movie was ahead of its time. My dad loves Sci fi, but is not a cartoon guy. And he loved it. I think it had Cree Summer, Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Leonard Nimoy, and that guy who played the dad on Frasier.
How about Flight of the Navigator, or Earth Star Voyager?
Treasure Planet has my vote.
Post a new comment