Disney Decades: The 1950s - Part 1

Cinderella

The 1950s ushered in a new era for Disney. By then, the company had well established itself in the animation world. Many see the films in this decade as some of Disney's best work and I have a tendency to agree. However, they open the decade with one of their weakest, in my opinion.

Now, technically there is nothing wrong with Cinderella. It is a bright, colorful movie that tells the fairy tale of Cinderella pretty well (although, depending on which version of the original you read, it cuts out some of the more grisly aspects). I just never found it particularly interesting. Truth be told, this is probably because Cinderella was made to appeal more to girls than to boys.

The character of Cinderella suffers the same fate as Snow White in that she is merely a one-dimensional character to whom things happen and who has no real say in events. Either she is under the control of the evil Stepmother or, in some ways, the Fairy Godmother and never really makes any decisions on her own, until the very end. Again, this is something that Disney struggled with for years - the challenge of making their princesses into compelling characters instead of stereotypes and it is not the fault of the fairy tales themselves, at least in this case. And again, the Prince fares no better, again having no name (although he has come to be known as Prince Charming, although he is never referred to as such.

So, once again, Cinderella is overcome by its secondary characters, especially the mice, who help Cinderella in any way they can, and the cat Lucifer, who tries to thwart these same mice in any way he can. These characters are fun, creative and, combined with the adorable energy of the Fairy Godmother, liven up the movie enough to make Cinderella a diverting, if forgettable, film, at least in my book.



Favorite line: Cinderella tries to think of something nice to say about the cat - "Lucifer has his good points, too. For one thing, he... Well, sometimes he... Hmmm. There must be something good about him."

Alice in Wonderland

Here is another Disney feature which many people like, but which I could never get into. Alice herself is yet another bland heroine who doesn't do anything really, except meander from episode to episode and ends up precisely where she began, having not learned anything or developed in any real way. However, I fault the book for this, in that Lewis Carroll's book doesn't really give them much of a character to work with. Later adaptations tried to give the entire adventure some sort of point and develop Alice somewhat, to varying degrees of success (Disney's live action 2010 version being one of the more successful, in my opinion).

However, Carroll's book was always more about the zany inhabitants of Wonderland than about Alice anyway and here, this film excels. Every single critter Alice meets leaves a distinct impression on the viewer, although that impression will probably somehow be connected to sheer insanity. My favorite has always been the Caterpillar, for some reason, although the Queen of Hearts, when her over-exaggerated temper tantrums, is pretty entertaining as well.



Ultimately, though Alice in Wonderland feels disjointed and without any overarching theme to connect us to Alice, the entire movie comes across more like a long nightmare than a cohesive story. So, while certainly one of Disney's more memorable films, due to its overall general craziness, it is not one of Disney's better films by far, lacking a strong enough story or characters to be so.

Favorite line: A poem straight from the book, given to the Dormouse: "Twinkle twinkle little bat! How I wonder what you're at!...Up above the world you fly like a tea tray in the sky"

Peter Pan

This movie represents an interesting conundrum. On one hand, it is a generally faithful adaptation of J.M. Barrie's play about the boy who wouldn't grow up. On the other hand, it takes that play and adds oodles of slapstick humor, a definitely politically incorrect song, and fairly different ending. The result is a movie that feels more for kids than anything Disney had made, at least for me.

First of all, Peter Pan is a blast to watch. The characters are all fun and engaging, the animation is colorful and the story has a larger-than-life feel to it. The immature attitude of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys is perhaps toned down a bit from the original play, but certainly the idea of children living without a mother is still there. Of course, the film's depiction of the Native Americans is far from flattering, but neither was the play's, so I a more willing to accept it on the basis that it accurately portrays the attitudes of the time the play was written, no matter how stereotypical or inappropriate they seem to us today.

Then we have the pirates. Barrie's Captain Hook was a sinister figure, feared by everyone except Peter Pan. Disney's Hook is essentially a buffoon, subject to many comic pratfalls and slapstick comedy. Yes, he is mean, but in an indifferent, bullying way and comes across for the most part rather silly instead of threatening. On the other hand, most of his scenes are truly hilarious, my favorite being the fight in the Skull Rock. The rest of the pirates are equally half-mean, half-comic, and although this humorous spirit is pretty far from the book, it works well here.



Peter Pan remains, then, a fun, adventure-filled film, worthy of the Disney name, although its goofiness may delegate it more to children than anyone else.

Favorite line: Smee, to Hook, after the Captain shoots pirate with an exceptionally bad singing voice - "Oh, dear, dear, dear, Captain Hook. Shooting a man in the middle of his cadenza? That ain't good form, you know."