2012 Disney Movie Madness Tournament: Round 3

Round 2 of the Disney Movie Madness is over. I received quite a few more ballots for this round than Round 1. It made for a couple of interesting contests. Most movies advanced by a comfortable margin. There was also the tightest race of the entire tournament thus far. Once again I waited to vote last but my choices did not decide any of the races.

 24 classic Disney films have been eliminated. It’s now down to the “Enchanted Eight”. The winner of these match ups will be awarded the title “Bracket Champion” and a spot in the “Fantasy Four”.

Here are the pairings for Round 3.

Pixar Bracket Final: Finding Nemo VS The Incredibles  

I really am rather surprised that there is not a “Toy Story” film in this match up. I guess as popular as the characters from that franchise are the movies are not considered by you, the voters, among Pixar’s best. I agree with this final match up. Both of these adventure films are really about relationships; that’s what makes them wonderful films.

2^nd Golden Age Bracket Final: The Lion King VS Beauty & The Beast

A better name for this contest would be “Clash of the Titians”. I mean the all time highest grossing hand-drawn animated Disney film against the first animated film ever to be nominated for the “Best Picture” Oscar. Both have great heros, supporting characters and comic relief characters. Let’s not forget the Asher/Menken soundtracks. This is going to be a very interesting vote.

Story Book Bracket Final : Snow White VS Cinderella

Of course it comes down to a pair of princesses. One is wishing for the one she loves and the other is dreaming that someday her prince will come. They are both definetly “old school” and classics but among Walt Disney’s greatest film accomplishments. Choose your favorite.

Animal Tales Final : Jungle Book VS 101 Dalmations: After surviving the closes vote of the tournament (beating Lady & The Tramp by 1 vote, I did not vote in this one) once again the animal characters from The Jungle Book go up against 101 puppies and a countless number of spots. Sometimes a movie just can’t get a break.

So there, you have the Bracket Final match ups. Pick your Bracket Champions and  let them move on to the Fantasy Four. You can vote from now until 10PM CST Sunday April 1. That’s when I will announce the movies that will  compete for the chance to go head-to-head for the title of tournament champion.

You can vote by messaging me your ballot on Facebook or emailing it to me at Rewindguy909@aol.com.

Here’s this round’s voting template:

Pixar Bracket Final: Finding Nemo VS The Incredibles  

2^nd Golden Age Bracket Final: The Lion King VS Beauty & The Beast

Story Book Bracket Final : Snow White VS Cinderella

Animal Tales Final : Jungle Book VS 101 Dalmatians

2012 Disney Movie Madness Tournament: Round 2

The first round of the 2012 Disney Movie Madness tournament is over. I appreciate all of you who voted. Thanks to your choices I didn’t have to cast any decided votes.

There wasn’t really any “upsets” in this first round. There were four matchups that were “sweeps” in that one movie got all the votes. Five of the battles were as close as they could have been without ending in a tie. I’m not going to give the direct results because I don’t want to prejudice the rest of the tournament.

The thing that stood out for me was that those of you who included your reasons for your choices had pretty valid reasons.

Also there were recollections of  some special personal memories. Once again it just goes to show that Disney movies are interwoven into the fabric of a lot of people’s lives and relationships.

Now it’s time to announce the match ups for Round 2: the bracket semi-finals.

Pixar Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Finding Nemo VS Cars-For me this is the battle of the supporting characters-who’s it going to be Dory or Mater?

Semi-Final 2: The Incredibles VS Monster Inc-These two are so different from each other; my guess is that individual choices will be very easy. It’s going to be interesting to see where the majority vote falls.

2^nd Golden Age Bracket

Semi-Final 1: The Lion King VS The Little Mermaid-A match up that should be the bracket or even the tournament finals; but it’s comes up in this round. A battle of the Titians. One film almost single handedly revived Disney animation. The other is considered the apex of the 2^nd Golden Age. Pick your favorite.

Semi-Final 2: Beauty & The Beast VS Aladdin-If this round has a “mismatch” this is it. Perhaps “Prince Ali” should have saved that 3^rd wish for this tournament

Story Book Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Snow White VS Tangled-The first animated feature goes up against the 50th. Princess against princess. The 7 Dwarfs take on the gang from the Ugly Duckling pub. Each feature true love bringing someone back to life. The winner of this match up  has a great chance of winning this bracket.

Semi-Final 2: Cinderella VS Pinocchio-If this was last year’s tournament this match up would be more interesting. The match up of “ A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” against “When You Wish Upon A Star” has some clout. The match up of their respective films not so much. Sure the clash of these two classic story book films has some “noise” to it. But it’s nothing compared to the “Big Bang” of this bracket’s first semi-final.

Animal Tales Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Jungle Book VS Lady and The Tramp-These films have very similar stories. Their main characters find themselves in a world where they don’t quite fit in. However one of them is a musical and the other is a film with some songs. Both have some strong supporting characters. This one is a toss up for me. Don’t make me have to decide.

Semi-Final 2: 101 Dalmations VS The Aristocats-Again very similar films. The choice in this match up is puppies or kittens. Which one do you like best?

This bracket looks like it’s going to have the most interesting final matchup in the next round.

So there you have the pairings for round 2 of the Disney Movie Madness tournament. Feel free to think about your choices. Then you can send your votes by FB message or email (Rewindguy909@aol.com).  You have until 10PM Thursday March 29. If you voted in Round 1 keep on voting. If you missed round 1 jump in for round 2. Have fun deciding,. I hope you are enjoying this tournament as much as I am.

Here’s this round’s voting template:

Pixar Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Finding Nemo VS Cars:

Semi-Final 2: The Incredibles VS Monster Inc:

2^nd Golden Age Bracket

Semi-Final 1: The Lion King VS The Little Mermaid:

Semi-Final 2: Beauty & The Beast VS Aladdin:

Story Book Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Snow White VS Tangled:

Semi-Final 2: Cinderella VS Pinocchio:

Animal Tales Bracket

Semi-Final 1: Jungle Book VS Lady and The Tramp:

Semi-Final 2: 101 Dalmations VS The Aristocats:

2012 Disney Movie Madness Tournament: Round 1

The NCAA Men's and Woman's basketball tournaments are in full swing. As I am writing this post the "final four" of the Men's brackets have been determined.  


Even though I really enjoyed my "Disney Music Madness" tournament last year; I never intend to introduce a 2nd edition this year. However, the excitement over the WKU team making it to the "big dance" along with the Wild Cats of UK being in the #1 seed has persuaded me to change my mind. So this year's Disney Madness is all about animated movies.


In addition, this year I've encouraged my family and friends on Facebook to actively participate by voting in each round. So thank you to all who are reading this post with the intention of being involved. 


Just a few "house keeping" things and procedures that apply throughout the duration of the tournament. First thing is to remember that I am doing this for fun. Since last year I made the choices and picked the winner all by myself to have the input and discussion of others, this year, should be fun. So let me say it again: let's just have fun. Remember it's just a game. 


The 32 movies and the brackets they have been placed in and the seedings are all chosen and organized by me. They are based on my likes and affections for the participating films. They will not be changed. 


You can vote for each match up of each round but only once. To vote send me a message on Facebook with your choices or email me at the address listed at the end of this post. Feel free to give your reasons behind your decision they may persuade me one way or the other. You do have to vote for all match ups in each round. If your vote message is not complete it won't count. In the event of a tie I will make the tie-breaking decision; that's why you might want to advise me of your opinions. 


When you do vote try your best to only consider the movie and nothing else with perhaps the exception of it's box office success. There are a lot of movies in this tournament that have become huge merchandise franchises for Disney, sparked some TV spin offs, been incorporated into an attraction or show in a Disney theme park, and some have even spawned a sequel or two. Forget about those aspects. Although I will be mentioning box office numbers a lot when describing bracket match ups but that's only because I'm trying to share some info about the film but trying to hold back on including my personal opinions for this first round. I want you to remember vote with your heart. It will result in the film that truly exhibits the real spirit of Walt Disney winning it all.   


Having established those standards let's get to the first round. There are 32 movies in this tournament. They are all Disney animated feature films released from between the years 1937 and 2011. They have all been released in theaters at least once and released on DVD. Now, it's time to reveal the brackets and the matchups. I will expound on how and why they are what the way they are.  


The first bracket is called the "Pixar Bracket". I know a lot of the most popular and successful Disney released films are Pixar productions. While there may be several films in this bracket that have the potential to be "final four" films if included in other brackets. But as a body of work the Pixar films deserve to be in their own bracket in this tournament. I have chosen 10 Pixar films for the tournament but only 8 of them are in this bracket. 


Pixar Bracket 


Match Up 1: Finding Nemo VS Wall-E
Both of these films were directed by Andrew Stanton. "Nemo" has one of the best supporting characters in any Disney animated film. "Wall-E" has the lead character with a limited vocabulary but his adventures are "out of this world."


Match Up 2: A Bug's Life VS Cars
A Bug's Life was the 2nd Pixar film ever released (co-directed by Andrew Stanton) and has one of my favorite Pixar characters,  Flick. It goes up against the film that sparked a sequel and introduced  Mater, another very strong supporting character.


Match Up 3: The Incredibles VS Toy Story 3
Bob Parr and his family are "super" and they show it by working together to defeat the evil Syndrome. "The Incredibles" won the Best Animated feature" Oscar. What can be said about Toy Story 3? A lot. But let me just sum it up by saying when it comes to box office earnings this was Pixar's billion (yes, billion) dollar baby. 


Match Up 4: Toy Story 2 VS Monsters Inc. 
The Pixar bracket first round match ups concludes with the first Pixar sequel. It's matched up against the film whose sequel (actually a prequel) is scheduled for summer 2013 release. This will be a tough choice. Just to let you know these two films were consecutive Pixar releases (1999 & 2001 respectively). Monster's Inc got the better box office take by $60 million. Together they made just over a billion dollars worldwide. Both won "Best Song" Oscars as well.  This one is a toss up. It's up to you. 


The next bracket is based loosely on what is referred to as the "2nd Golden Age" of Disney animation. This is considered the decade of 1985 to 1995. I have included the last 2 Pixar movies in the tournament in this bracket as well; along with the "Best Animated Feature" Oscar winner from 2009. Some of the "2nd Golden Age" films should be considered top contenders to win this tournament. But then again it's all up to your votes. 


2nd Golden Age Bracket: 

Match Up 1: The Lion King VS Lilo and Stitch
This is a mismatch. I mean, just last fall, 17 years after it's initial release, a 3D edition of The Lion King made nearly $100 million here in the US alone. Lilo and Stitch may be a "feel good" movie with a "lovable" anti-hero but it's no Lion King. If you're a fan of Lilo & Stitch, you may resolve to just be glad you were selected to be included in the tournament. 


Match Up 2: The Little Mermaid VS The Rescuers Down Under
I've already had a pair of my family members express their predetermined choice of "Mermaid" as the tournament winner. I know of one other perspective voter who, all though she has not expressed it,  just might feel that way as well. The Little Mermaid is the 1989 film that breathed life back into the Disney animation studio. It is one of the modern Disney classics. 


Despite it being the lowest  grossing Disney animated film  of all time (until "Mars Needs Moms" came out last year) "Rescuers Down Under" is in this bracket for a pair of reasons. First of all it was the one Disney movie that played in the movie theater I worked at in the early 90's; for that reason I saw it many times. I really like it. 


Second, in the documentary "Waking Sleeping Beauty" it is expressed by several Disney animators that production and computer animation lessons learned during the making of  "Rescuers 2" served as the launching pad for the "2nd Golden Age." This is another one of those "it's an honor just to be invited" match ups. 


Match Up 3: Beauty & The Beast VS Toy Story
A "clash of titans" in the opening round of the tournament.  Beauty & The Beast was the first animated feature ever nominated for "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. A $220 million box office in the first release and $47 million in the 3D release this past January. As I said, it's iconic; but it's up against another giant. The first Pixar film that launched a franchise. The technology used  was ground breaking. The story of toys coming alive (when we were kids didn't we all believe this happened every night) and being devoted to their owner. Tough choice. Don't make me make it alone. 


Match Up 4: Aladdin VS UP: A flying carpet against a flying house. I have a lot of opinions about each. Aladdin gave us a new princess, Jasmine. UP gave us Doug the talking dog. The box office results for each was well over $700 million. It comes down to which you like best: The performance of Robin Williams as Genie or the touching love story portrayed in the first 10 minutes of UP. 


The third bracket is filled with movies that are based on books. Most of them are considered fairy tales. There are more fairies, witches, and princesses in this bracket than the rest of the entire tournament. Nearly all of them are considered Disney classics and 75% of them were productions supervised by Walt Disney, himself. 


Story Book Bracket


Match Up 1: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs VS Sleeping Beauty
This competition is almost a "no brainer". "Sleeping Beauty" has a princess; a charming prince; not just one but, 3 funny fairies; a dragon, and one of the most evil Disney villains of all time, Maleficent.  But "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" started it all. It is the feature that made this tournament possible. Enough said. 


Match Up 2: Tangled VS The Princess And The Frog
A pairing of the two most recently released Disney animated features in this bracket are paired up in this match up. At the US box office Tangled holds a 2 :1 edge. I have a rather unique personal connection with both of these films. Paula and I had a private screening of both. We were the only ones in the theater on Christmas Eve 2010 & 2009, respectively. 


Match Up 3: Peter Pan VS Cinderella
This is a tough choice between the film that introduced the world to Tinkerbell and the movie with the character who is considered the first Disney princess, Cinderella. Your vote will depend on if you believe that "a dream is a wish your heart makes" or in the magic of pixie dust. You decide.


Match Up 4: Sword In The Stone VS Pinocchio
I put these two films against each other because their stories are similar. They both feature 2 young boy characters who on their journey to becoming who they are destined to be learn valuable lessons that will help them be just that. I think the deciding factor in choosing which to vote for are the supporting characters. As promised, I won't expound on my opinion, but when it comes to my choice I'll give you two words: Jiminy Cricket!


The last bracket in this year's tournament are all films that feature animals. It also includes the last feature Walt Disney had a hand in creating. Some are popular Disney classics while others are among the lesser known features. But all of them are deserving of their place in the tournament. 


Animal Tales Bracket


Match Up 1: Jungle Book VS The Fox and The Hound
Friendship is the overall theme of both of these films. With classic characters like Baloo the Bear and King Louie along with the songs of the Sherman brothers Jungle Book is a real heavyweight, not only in this match up, but in the entire bracket. Todd & Copper, the main characters in Fox & The Hound, are likable enough but they pale in comparison. 


Match Up 2: Lady & The Tramp VS Dumbo 
This is another 1st round pairing of two iconic Disney films. Lady & The Tramp has one of the most memorable kisses in movie history. I know that I suggested that you  judge your votes on just the movie and not consider its residual effects on the Disney company. But when it comes to Dumbo I would like to point out that there is a car from the Dumbo ride in Disneyland on exhibit in the Smithsonian Instituter's American History museum. Just saying...


Match Up 3: 101 Dalmatians VS Robin Hood
A movie with cute cartoon puppies against a movie that's a twist on a legendary story. 101 Dalmatians has a catchy song and a classic villain: Cruella DeVil. Robin Hood is basically the  characters from the Jungle Book recast in the roles of the residence of Sherwood Forrest. 


Match Up 4: Winnie The Pooh (2011) VS Aristocats
I know  you are probably wondering why I've put last year's Winnie the Pooh movie in this tournament. Well, to explain that I have to express an opinion. You see I went to the theater to see this movie because it was an attempt to relaunch a Disney franchise that has lost some of it's popularity over the last decade. I was curious as to how they were going to do it. I was pleasantly surprised. I found this reboot of the characters from the 100 acre wood. The dialogue and the music makes it very entertaining. 
The Aristocats has cute kittens and yet another memorable character voice by Phil Harris: Thomas O'Malley. 


So there you have the first round match ups. Sixteen pairings of 32 of my favorite Disney animated movies. Now it's up to you to help me decide which films should go on to Round 2. 


At the suggestion of my wife I've created a voting template. You can copy and paste the list below and somehow indicate which movie you are voting for. 


Pixar Bracket 
Match Up 1: Finding Nemo VS Wall-E
Match Up 2: A Bug's Life VS Cars
Match Up 3: The Incredibles VS Toy Story 3
Match Up 4: Toy Story 2 VS Monsters Inc. 

2nd Golden Age Bracket: 
Match Up 1: The Lion King VS Lilo and Stitch
Match Up 2: The Little Mermaid VS The Rescuers Down Under
Match Up 3: Beauty & The Beast VS Toy Story
Match Up 4: Aladdin VS UP

Story Book Bracket
Match Up 1: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs VS Sleeping Beauty
Match Up 2: Tangled VS The Princess And The Frog
Match Up 3: Peter Pan VS Cinderella
Match Up 4: Sword In The Stone VS Pinocchio

Animal Tales Bracket
Match Up 1: Jungle Book VS The Fox and The Hound
Match Up 2: Lady & The Tramp VS Dumbo 
Match Up 3: 101 Dalmatians VS Robin Hood
Match Up 4: Winnie The Pooh (2011) VS Aristocats 



Again, send your votes to me by message on Facebook or by email (Rewindguy909@aol.com). The votes must be received by Tuesday March 27 at 10 PM central time. I really appreciate you joining me in this tournament. It makes it some much more fun. Let the voting begin.  

He was just One Of "The Boys"

It's been over a month since I've posted on this blog but I felt I needed to write something about the passing of songwriter and Disney legend, Robert Sherman (pictured on the left in the picture).He died on March 5 in London at the age of 86.


He was half of the songwriting duo Walt Disney often referred to as "The Boys."

In this short post I’m not going to even try to go into the many accomplishments of Mr. Sherman’s astounding career. What I will do is tell you about how, along with the music written by his brother, Richard, his lyrics have had a lasting effect on my life.

Along with a handful of others, Robert Sherman is the reason I am the Disney fanatic that I am today.

The very first movie I ever remember seeing at the theater was “Mary Poppins.” I went with my Uncle Gene. As an impressionable 4 year old I left the theater singing classic lyrics to songs like: “A Spoonful of Sugar” and  “Let’s Go Fly A Kite”.  

I continued to enjoy that very same set of songs while listening to one of the very first LP record albums I ever owned. It was full of “Poppins” hits sung by Mary Martin and the Do-Re-Mi children’s choir. It was listening to this album over and over again that caused me to fall in love with the song “Feed The Birds.”

In 1967 the Sherman brothers came into my life again with the songs in what is my 2^nd favorite Disney move of all time, The Jungle Book. (it was #1 until “Lion King” was released in 1995).

Some of my other favorite Disney movies that featured the Sherman brothers’ songs are “The Sword In The Stone” and “The Aristocats”.

They also wrote songs for some of my favorite movies that aren’t from Disney. They teamed up once again with Dick Van Dyke in, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and provided the memorable musical score for the animated films, “Snoopy Come Home” and “Charlotte’s Web.”

 In 1974, when I was a teenager, I used to spend hours in my bedroom playing records pretending I was a radio DJ. Among them was Ringo Star’s hit “You’re Sixteen”. I still remember the unique label on the 45 single. I didn’t know it then but that song was written by the Sherman Brothers. It was their most successful Top 40 hit.

Of course the place where most people around the world hear Sherman Brother’s songs on a daily basis is Disney theme parks. Their most infamous composition is the theme music for the quintessential Disney park attraction, It’s A Small World”.

A simple and haunting little melody with lyrics that point out and celebrate all that the people of the world have in common and the emotions they all share.

I am sorry to say that even though I’ve been to Walt Disney World twice I have yet to ride “Small World”. But it is definitely on my “to do” list for my next trip, whenever that may be.

But I have experienced the attraction that would be 2^nd on the list when it comes to the Sherman brothers’ connection to Walt Disney World. I have been on “The Carousel of Progress”. The marquee song of that attraction is “There’s A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.”

The lyrics were written by Robert Sherman and the music by his brother Richard for the attraction which was first exhibited at the 64 New York World’s Fair. The song and the attraction is one of the direct links to Walt Disney that remains in Walt Disney World.

One of the first public performances of the song was as part of a promotional film Walt Disney made for General Electric, the attraction’s sponsor at the World’s Fair. The picture at the top of this post is a still shot from that film.  

Finally, my most recent enjoyment of Sherman Brothers music is a compilation album called “Poppin Guitars: A Tuneful Of Sherman.” It’s a tribute album of unique guitar arrangements of the Shermans’ songs.

Even though it’s an album of instrumentals and thus mainly a tribute to the compositions of Richard Sherman, when I listen to it I can’t help but sing along with lyrics like: “You come on like a dream, peaches and cream”, “Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, or “ Feed the birds, tuppence a bag. Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag.. Just like Walt Disney, that last one is my all time favorite Sherman Brothers song.

I wouldn’t be able to sing any of those words if it wasn’t for one man…Robert Sherman.

Thanks Mr. Sherman. You will be missed.