This will come as a surprise to no one, but I'm a little bit obsessed with classic animated Disney movies. Regular readers of this blog know how much I love writing Disney-themed lists, from drunks, tarts, and cute couples to dapper dressers, villain sidekicks and awesomely inappropriate songs. For this one, I thought I'd take a look at some of my favorite animated sequences, with no criteria other than being absolutely stunning to look at. Yeah it's a top 9. Oh well.
Fantasia (1940) - The Winter Fairies
This movie is full of gorgeous animation, but my personal favorite part is the winter fairies during Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The winter fairies glide along the ice, leaving a trail of frost behind them. It's beautiful.
The Three Caballeros (1945) - Bahia
In a movie full of fun and high-energy songs and sequences, this scene of lush landscapes set to the song "Bahia" takes things slow and invites you to take in all of the breathtaking colors.
Cinderella (1950) - Sing Sweet Nightingale
I've heard that Walt's personal favorite bit of animation was when Cinderella gets her pre-ball makeover. While it's definitely a sight to behold, Cinderella's image reflected in rainbow colored bubbles takes the cake for me. The colors shift and the images move together perfectly synchronized...it's pretty amazing.
Alice in Wonderland (1951) - March of the Cards
The idea of animating this scene by hand is mind boggling. The cards flip and turn and never look anything less than perfect. And check out that Mary Blair-influenced background!
You can watch it here.
Sleeping Beauty (1959) - One Gift
This absolutely mesmerized me as a kid. While the film as a whole is beyond compare visually, this sequence is hauntingly lovely, with ghostly images of the future princess floating among stylized birds and roses. This might be my all-time favorite.
The Lion King (1994) - The Circle of Life
From the rising sun to the pull back from Pride Rock just before the title, this whole scene is iconic. My favorite part is when we follow Zazu flying in; the movement of his wings is so realistic, and that bow to Mufasa, and now I'm crying. Dammit, Disney.
Mulan (1998) - Attack of the Huns
This is the biggest "Oh shit" moment in any Disney movie for me. Echoing the stampede in The Lion King, this rush of the Huns coming down the mountain is flawless and terrifying to watch. The goosebumps start when you see them start to appear and you realize how many there are...it's extremely well done.
Fantasia 2000 (1999) - Rhapsody in Blue
Okay this one might be cheating...it's not a scene so much as a 30 minute chunk of the movie. But I absolutely love the animation style in this, made to look like the style of caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. It's very abstract for Disney and it is by far the best part of this overlooked film.
Tangled (2010) - The Lanterns
When I saw this for the first time, this scene took this movie from "Aw, cute" to "Wow!" for me. You feel like you're there watching all of those glowing lanterns fill the sky, and all set to that lovely song. Well done, Disney!
What's your favorite?
I have too many favourites to name one but three that I do like are the "Pink elephants on parade" sequence from Dumbo, the "Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria" segment from Fantasia, and "Be our guest" from Beauty and the Beast (You can't go wrong with dancing/singing cutlery).
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