Top 10 Animated Disney Films

Hello, there.  Sorry, I've been away.  I'm working on moving, and I've also been focusing on other non-blog writing (I go through phases of that.).  So, what's been going on?

Well, after my Pixar post, someone united all the Pixar stories into one fabulous universe, so I guess my post was a little ahead of the curve.  Woohoo, though!  I love this theory!

Also, a royal baby was born, so in about 25 years, we can have a remake of Princess Diaries 2, with the new Mia proclaiming a total, "Yes!" to Prince George.  Or, you know, delay Princess Diaries 3 until then and uniting Genovia and the UK under one flag between Princess Mia's kid and Prince George--a union which I guess would probably result in a lot of pear-flavored tea.

Which already exists.  Go figure.  Former Queen Clarisse probably drinks this every night!

But, anyway, on to the real purpose of today's blog post:  to finally give my rundown of my absolute favoritest Disney animated films.  So hop on your albatross and get ready to fly away to Neverland as we count down Katrina's top 10 films in the animated Disney canon (a not-so-easy task, as Disney has made so many awesome films!).

10.  The Fox and the Hound--I've never actually cried in this film, but childhood memories prevail!  I mean, it's about this cute little fox and puppy that grow up, and they're supposed to hate each other, but they don't, so trouble happens and stuff, and no one dies, but Tod learns he can't just live among humans because Amos Slade can't get the concept of a pet and a wild critter settled in his hick, hunter mind.  In fact, for all you know, Amos Slade is Man from Bambi.  Think about it.  (Note:  Katrina has not read the book, but I hear it's even more emotional than the movie.)

9.  Lilo & Stitch--"Meenga-ala-queesta!"  I am not quite sure what I just said, but I'm pretty sure I just insulted you.  Anyway, take the beautiful tropical beaches of Hawaii and throw in Experiment 626, the cutest little evil genetic experiment blue ball of fur to ever invade!  I mean, Stitch is just so adorable and fluffy, and then they made three more movies and a TV show, and, and, and...Aunt Pleakley, Uncle Jumba, Cobra Bubbles, "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride," cousin!  Yeah...I may have had a bit too much Lilo and Stitch in my life as a teenager.  Wait, what am I talking about?  I'm still waiting for my experiment.

8.   The Jungle Book--"Look for the bare necessities, the simple bear necessities."  "I wanna be like you-oo.  I wanna walk like you, talk like you, too-oo-oo!"  Another early childhood favorite.  And come on, it's got some of the best Disney music ever--probably because of the Sherman brothers.  If you're wondering who they are, they're basically half the Disney songs you love; the other half is basically Alan Menken, although there are a few other amazing artists who have composed Disney songs.  Another reason I love this movie is ever since I was little, my favorite animals have been lions, tigers, bears, snakes, monkeys/apes, and hyenas.  This movie hits four out of six of my favorite animals.  Rock on, The Jungle Book.  (Psst, the book is good too.)  Favorite Songs:  "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You"

7.  Aladdin--"I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid..."  "You ain't never had a friend like me!"  "Arabian NIGHTS, like Arabian DAYS!"  Ah, remember way back into your childhood before Middle Eastern culture was turned into a culture we were trained to despise and hate?  That was the 1990s, and although Muslim culture is never something I'm going to praise, Aladdin probably came out in the perfect environment.  We got to fall in love with it before we had to go and fight the land where Genie and Magic Carpet and Iago and Jafar live.  Plus, this film still makes me want a genie.  If I were given the choice between a genie and a Time Lord, I'd take the genie, use my first wish on something cool, the second on a Time Lord, and the third to free the genie.  Bonus points if the genie is as awesome as the big, blue Genie we came to love as kids.  Favorite Songs:  "Friend Like Me," "Prince Ali," and "A Whole New World"

6.  Mulan--Yes, this is probably one of Disney's most feminist films, but Mulan also happened to come out right around the time I hit my boy-hating stage (Yes, I was delayed and hit it when I was eight.  Big deal.).  When I sang the words, I would make them be about girls instead and stuff.  But then I grew out of it but still liked Mulan, even if the movie is a bit feminist.  I mean, let's focus on the historical innacuracies of it all too!  I mean, the real Mulan (according to the poem) had siblings (which Disney cut out) and managed to supposedly hide the whole "I'm a girl" thing for years until her friends came to visit her and saw her as a woman.  I guess Shang walking in at the end to find Ping as a girl wouldn't have made as exciting as a film as a bunch of guys dressed up as girls breaking into the palace.  It certainly would have been less awkward, though.  Oh, also, let's not forget the fact that this film has Mushu, the coolest dragon (not lizard, he doesn't do that tongue thing) in the history of dragons.  Favorite Songs:  "Reflection," "I'll Make a Man Out of You," and "A Girl Worth Fighting For"

5.  Tangled--"And at last I see the light!  And it's like the fog has lifted!"  Ah, after eight years of mediocre movies (Well, Meet the Robinsons had its moments, but I tend to overthink time travel when there's as many paradoxes involved as in that film, and there was also The Princess and the Frog, but that was more a movie for the sole purpose of "let's get a black princess so we can say we have racial equality."), Disney finally gave us what we wanted:  a fairy tale, set in fairy tale times, with a princess who needs help, and a guy to help her out.  This is the movie that turned the frying pan cliche into something awesome, that took the required Disney Princess horse and gave him more personality than quite possibly every other horse ever, that took the room of scary people and made them sing and dance with the heroine, instead of singing and dancing while plotting against her.  This is the film that restored my faith in Disney films again.  Favorite Songs:  "When Will My Life Begin," "I've Got a Dream," and "I See the Light"

4.  Beauty and the Beast--"Tale as old as time, true as it can be..."   If I could pick one word to summarize this film, it would be:  elegant.  This movie just spills over with pure Disney magic:  the music, the animation, the characters, the love story.  Belle is my second favorite Disney Princess, and she's probably the one I'm most like.  I also read a lot and can polish off huge books in a matter of days.  Yes, there's the whole, Bell develops Stockholm Syndrome thing or whatever, but her bonding with her captor, whom she learned to love despite his angry, beastly exterior, broke the spell so they could live happily ever after.  Favorite Songs:  "Belle," "Be Our Guest," and "Beauty and the Beast."

3.  The Emperor's New Groove--"Boo-yeah!" "You threw off my groove!"  "Happy, happy, birthday, from all of us to you!"  "Cheese me no likey!"  "Let me guess, we're about to go over a huge waterfall."  "Squeakity, squeak, squeak, squeaken."  "I'm a llama again!"  "I'll turn him into a flea."  "My spinach puffs!"  "What's with the chimp and the bug?"  "He's doing his own theme music?"  "LLAMA FACE!"  "It's a good thing you're not a big, fat, guy, or this would be really difficult."  "Why do we even have that lever?"  "That's a harp...and that's a dress."  "Hey, I've been turned into a cow, can I go home?"  "Well, in my dream, Dad had to kiss a llama!"  "That's a little too far back."  "Why would I kidnap a llama?"

2.  The Little Mermaid--"What would I give to be where you are?  What would I pay to stay here beside you?"  Growing up in Japan with few to no friends, I often longed for America, and I sang "Part of Your World" a lot as my way of wishing for them.  Ariel became my Disney Princess because we both longed to be somewhere we couldn't be.  To this day, she is still my favorite.  Although I have become more Belle than Ariel over the years, The Little Mermaid will still always be extremely special to me.  Hey, come on, what girl, even as an adult, doesn't want to be a mermaid?  Also, this is another film with fantastic music.  Favorite Songs:  "Part of Your World," and "Under the Sea"

1.  The Lion King--"NAAAAAAANTS INGOYAMA BAGITHI BABA!"  Ah, nothing like realizing you forgot to turn down the volume on your TV when the opening notes of the majestic masterpiece "Circle of Life" come booming out of the speakers, sending you halfway to the Serengeti.  And after you turn the volume back down and watch the reporters animals all bow to Prince George Simba, you've officially sold yourself to this film.  And then you meet Scar and the hyenas (I should note this film covers my two favorite animals The Jungle Book missed.).  And then you're annoyed at Zazu, but Simba just can't wait to be king.  Then the wildebeest kill Mufasa (Still haven't cried over that.), and Simba runs away.  We learn the meaning of "Hakuna Matata" from Timon and Pumbaa (and also get introduced the concept of bromance years before it happened).  And despite how good those grubs looked, most of us still haven't eaten bugs.  And then Simba and Nala feel the love tonight, and Scar is defeated, and happily ever after.  This, my friends, is my absolute favorite animated Disney film, and I haven't traded it for another one in nineteen years.  Forget the genie, I want a pet lion.  STAT!  Favorite Songs:  "Circle of Life," "I Just Can't Wait to Be King," "Hakuna Matata," and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

So, that's that.  The 10 best animated Disney films that Katrina has ever seen.

Bonus Mention:  The Legend of Sleepy Hollow--I've only seen The Wind in the Willows part of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad once, but I grew up on the Sleepy Hollow part because I'm named Katrina after the book character.  Although this film can't rightfully hold a spot on the list because of my only liking half, I feel it deserves to be mentioned because it holds a spot very close to my heart, even if that Headless Horseman scared me half to death as a child.  Still, I mean, that's completely a good thing.  It's probably the reason I'm not scared of half the stuff I see on Doctor Who as an adult.  Seriously, people, scare your kids to a certain limit when they're little.  It'll help them grow up either well adjusted or just very, very weird.

Also, I'm disconnecting my Internet in about an hour and a half, so I have no idea when the next post will be, although I feel an MK post brewing.

Also, remember, when we hit 1895 posts, I will finally post about Sherlock! :)

My Top 10 Pixar Feature Films

Don't worry.  I will eventually finally get to my favorite animated Disney features, but first:  Pixar!

Ah, yes, Pixar--the film company of the Millennials' childhoods.  The movies for which we get more excited about the sequels than the intended audience.  A company founded by George Lucas and associated with both Steve Jobs and the legacy of Walt Disney.  Is there any wondering why this company has without fail produced films that make us go, "PIXAR FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

So, I'm sure some of you clever brains have already done the mental calculations and come to the shocking realization that when you follow Katrina Policy of counting sequels and prequels at the same time as the regular film so as not to bog down the list with unnecessary stuff...Pixar really only has 10 films.  So, yeah, you will see every full length Pixar film somewhere on this list.  So where does your favorite film rank on Katrina's scale of awesomeness?  Well, either scroll down to your favorite one or politely and calmly read through the list and discover for yourself.

10.  WALL-E--This isn't a kid's film.  It's an hour and a half nearly-silent film about how we need to take care of the Earth, watch our weight, and not allow machines to control our lives.  This is an especially odd message coming from a bunch of animators who spend their days in front of computers.  My only fun memory of this film is when a group of us college students watched it with a four-year-old who kept asking, "Mr. Seth, Mr. Seth, why is WALL-E...why is WALL-E doing that?"  Adorable kid and it made for a fun memory.  Still, I think it was a little bit too message heavy.  And clearly over the head of a four-year-old.  I'm not quite sure who your audience was, but when I put in a Pixar film I'm expecting a kids' film adults can enjoy, not...whatever WALL-E is.

9.  Brave--I really hope not liking Brave is some sign I'm getting old.  To me, this film was just...okay.  I mean, I was all excited about this archery, but then I felt like it was lacking (Perhaps too much Hawkeye and Katniss in my life?).  I felt like I was promised more archery than what I was received.  Plus, the film was all about turning Merida's mother back into a human from being a bear, and not so much about defeating Mordor Mor'du.  I guess I felt this would be a lot more action and stuff, which shows how good my friends were at keeping it from me that Merida's mom turns into a bear.  I mean, there's still some classic Pixar comic relief in there, but it's still not Pixar's finest moment.  Oh well, at least Merida will go down as the only Disney Princess to walk away with her first film without a guy.

8.  A Bug's Life--I feel so bad relegating these childhood memories to number eight, but I promise you this that if I were able to show proper rankings of how I feel about eight through one, they would be very, very closely ranked.  A Bug's Life was the first of the Pixar films to show the bloopers during the credits (a trend they've sadly strayed from in recent years) and have a teaser trailer that featured a scene not in the film.  It has really great humor, like most Pixar films.  For all time, grasshoppers are now evil.  They used to be cute and cool, but now I know they do nothing but oppress ants all day until they're eaten by birds.  Typing this is making me want to go back and watch it again, but sadly my house is completely Pixar-less.

7.  Ratatouille--Ah, the film that was a pain to learn to spell.  But, Pixar made up for it with, once again, great humor, a bit of a love story, and a misunderstood rat who just wanted to cook because he's a picky eater that would starve to death if the Pixar universe was actually realistic.  But, nonetheless, the fact that Remy overcomes all the odds and gets to live the next year or two left of his short rat life helping the son of his cooking idol run a restaurant.  Plus, there's the fact that you find out that ratatouille is not the name of the character, but rather a peasant dish that snaps the secondary villain back to his childhood when he was possibly less critical of all the food in the world.

6.  The Incredibles--Pixar made its first (and so far only) foray into the superhero world with this film, and I instantly wanted another.  I mean, yeah, this was neither the best nor the coolest film they had made, but for a girl who knew nothing of superheroes outside of Larry Boy (VeggieTales), Underdog, and Powerpuff Girls, this was a cool movie.  Being more exposed to the superhero world now, I can see how Pixar referenced the way superheroes are often ostracized from society and that superpowers seem to gained genetically.  And, of course, it's got Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone (aka Lucius Best), which has made me wonder how Frozone becomes Nick Fury a few years later, but I'm sure it's the same explanation of how the Human Torch is also Captain America.  So sorry, terribly off topic.  It's kind of like I went monologing in them middle of that.  Speaking of which, why do superheroes and supervillains allow each other to monologue like that all the time, anyway?  I mean, it's like, just defeat the guy!  Plus, we also can't forget the best character in the film.  No, not Mr. Incredible, not ElastiGirl, not Violet (who isn't even cool enough to go get a codename), not Dash, and not Jack-Jack.  None of the characters the film is named after.  No, it's E.  Duh!  Designer of superhero costumes, hater of capes (Disney has not yet informed Thor of this apparently, but he's also immortal), owner of a high tech mansion, slapper of sense into superheroes.  Seriously, she needs to be part of the Avengers.  NOW!

5.  Up--You cry for the first eleven minutes but spend the next eighty-five smiling and laughing and just in general--SQUIRREL!  Sorry about that.  Anyway, despite the fact that Carl has way too few balloons to lift his house off the ground and the fact that Russell's parents apparently don't notice that he's missing for however long it takes them to go to Paradise Falls in South America and back, this film ended up being pretty great.  I mean, you've got Kevin the snipe who isn't all we think he is.  We have talking dogs, heroes who become nemeses, cranky old men, balloons, talking dogs (wait, did I say that already?).  And, come on, the whole message is "Adventure is Out There" but that life itself is an adventure, even if you don't get to go someplace cool.  SQUIRREL!

4.  Monsters, Inc.--To clear everything up, I have not seen Monsters University yet, so I have Monsters, Inc. ranked solely on the merits of the first film about two buddies who have to deal with a human girl Sully accidentally lets into the Monster World.  And then Boo has this adorable costume and draws adorable pictures and has these adorable pigtails and speaks adorable babble speech, and...and...CUTENESS OVERLOAD!  Plus, Randall and Henry J. Waternoose make excellent villains.  And Randall's got a pretty sweet skill there with the whole chameleon thing going on.  The door storage warehouse scene with them jumping all over the world was also excellent.  I now want to run into the Abominable Snowman (even though he doesn't actually exist, I know) and have lemon flavored snowcones.  Plus, look, monsters are more scared of you than you are of them.  23-19!  23-19!  We have a 23-19 here!  I am so looking forward to finally seeing Monsters University sometime.

3.  Cars and Cars 2--Cars 2 didn't affect my third favorite all-time Pixar film's ranking mostly based on the fact that the original Cars was awesome and the Japanese part of Cars 2 basically made the film for me.  That segment was so highly accurate, I nearly died of laughter.  So what lets the Cars franchise rank so high?  Well, you've got Mater, "as in Tow-Mater, except without the 'tuh!" making me laugh at nearly every turn.  And there's that whole heart-touching song "Our Town" about how Radiator Springs used to be in the glory days of Route 66 that makes you realize how history is passing.  Plus, the fact that Lightning doesn't actually win the final race was an excellent choice.  I like having a film every once in a while that points out that winning is everything, especially in the participation award-fueled (no pun intended) world kids are living in.

2.  The Toy Story Trilogy--A trilogy redeemed by the third film is a rare sight, especially in the realm of Disney.  How many of us will admit that we had some Toy Story toys around the house or at least wanted them?  Woody and Buzz are, like, the BFFs of our childhood.  We began to wish that we might accidentally see our toys come to life.  But the sequel came, and everything became, "Meh" for me.  As more Pixar films came out, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 found themselves falling on my list.  But redemption came in 2010 with the release of the third and final film of the trilogy.  I was a junior in college, and watching the film, I could remember the pain of giving up/leaving my own toys behind as I went to college not that long ago.  Oh, so many little children love and will love the story of Toy Story 3, as they see the continuation (and hopefully finale) of the lives of their favorite animated toys.  But for those of us who grew up with with the Toy Story franchise, this film represented everything we had done, were doing, or would do.  With this film, we learned that childhood was something we would have to bid farewell too.  Sweet pages were closing in our lives, but it was okay.  Those toys we gave up would continue to live and be happy with their new owners.  And although we were sad, they would be happy because toys are meant to be played with--not kept in museums or boxes.

1.  Finding Nemo--GET OUT OF MY WAY, CHILDREN OF 2015, I'LL HAVE BEEN TWELVE YEARS FOR THIS SEQUEL!  He-loo, weee aaare the Fiindinng NEE-moo FANS!  Wee can speeak wha-ALE.  "Mine!  Mine!  Mine!  Mine!"  "FISHY, WAKE UP!"  And what's the other address all of us have memorized besides our own?  P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney.  WE REMEMBERED!  "Hi, I'm Dory."  "Fish are friends, not food."  "Duude."  You'd think that a story about a father on his way to go find his son wouldn't garner such a dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase.  I mean, this is such a common theme in movies.  And they just redid with clownfish and we fell in love.  Plus, we never were so interested in dentistry as in those few intense moments with the dentist's fish watching it like it's a spectator sport.  And then Disney-Pixar was like, "Maybe a sequel" but then were like, "Nope."  And then they were like, "Hey, Ellen, how about a sequel for real this time?"  And the world was like, "Oh, yeah!"  Because, let's face it, the sharks, the turtles, the pelicans, the fish school, the fish tank gang--I mean, that was all great and stuff, but who was our favorite character?  Let's see...Corey.  No, I mean, Lori.  Oh, right, Dory!  So that is why I am so pumped and excited that two years, four months, and ten days from now, Finding Dory will be a real thing.  Because Finding Nemo is the best Pixar film of all time.

So, ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's list.  Coming up next time, my final list in the Disney series.  And then I can finally move onto other stuff!

Top 5 Disney Combination Animation and Live Action Films

Ah, the wonders of Disney.  I mean, first they lure you in with these adorable cartoons when you're just a little tot, and before you know it, you're watching PG-13 action films like Pirates of the Caribbean.  Okay, hopefully, there's about 10 years in there, but not always.  Like my youngest brother, who kind of started in on the whole PG-13 thing when he was, like, nine.  And then there's the kids who just start out life that way.  Anyway, that's a whole different topic fit for some parenting blog.  Since I'm not a parent, I can't really give out parenting advice, although I'll probably find myself in that position as a teacher.  Anyway, after I've taught for a while, then maybe I can start giving out parenting advice, but this is not that day!  Today is the day that I submit before you my Top 5 Disney films that are a combination of both animation and live action.

Now, obviously, with the increasing prevalence of CGI, the line between what's a live action film and what's a combination live action and animation film becomes more and more blurred.  So, how does one determine what to include when they're doing such a list?

I think that's supposed to be a beaver.

After sitting down and doing much thinking (and by that I mean I've been sporadically thinking about this on and off for about ten years now), I finally determined that the determining factor was that it couldn't be just a few animated characters thrown in.  I mean, yes, Pirates of the Caribbean has skeleton pirates and fish people animated because it just looks neater than the dorky costumes of the anytime-up-to-the-90s and Chronicles of Narnia animates the talking animals because well...I mean, have you seen the old BBC version?  Let's talk about a need for advances in technology.  Seriously, go Google it.  Right now.  Yeah...

Anywho, back to the topic, I guess you could say that when a live action character is placed in an animated world or transforms into an animated character, OR an animated character is either placed in the "real" world or transforms into a live-action character, then you have what I consider to be a "true" combination animation-live action film.  (Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 end up kind of fitting into some sort of gray area that I'm not quite sure how to describe, but those aren't really films as much as animation shorts set to music.)

So, finally, after all that rambling on and on about how I reached my decision of what counts as what, during which time I managed to somehow NOT give a summary of Disney's history of mixing these two media, I present to you my top five combination animation-live action films.

5.  James and the Giant Peach--Okay, so this one was really hard for me to determine if it could indeed be counted as combination animation and live action mostly because the animation used is stop motion, which means they moved the figures a tiny bit, snapped a picture, moved the figure a tiny bit again, snapped a picture.  It's an extremely time-consuming process that's also brought us such wonderful works such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Chicken Run (which is actually claymation, a form of stop motion).  In the end, I decided I should count it because it is in fact called stop motion animation.  In other words, I decided it got to count.  Basically, it makes it because I've only seen eight of Disney's films like this, and Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros are basically more like Donald's advertisements for Latin America than actual films, and I can't remember a thing about So Dear to My Heart other than it's something about a lamb.  Besides, who doesn't enjoy getting creeped out as a child about a gigantic rhino in the clouds and dream about flying away in a peach with a bunch of bugs?  No wonder Tim Burton was involved with this project.  I'm surprised Johnny Depp or Helen Bonham Carter (or both) didn't voice one of the bugs.  Also, come on, it's based on a book by Roald Dahl.  Seriously, adults want us read this man's books and have us watch movies about his books and then wonder why we don't grow up to be normal well-adjusted human beings.  I WATCHED A FILM ABOUT A CHILD WHOSE PARENTS WERE KILLED BY A RHINO!  And I actually liked watching this.  Count me into the legions of children permanently scarred at the hands of Roald Dahl.

Why this stuff did not frequent my nightmares, I do not know.

4.  Song of the South--*dodges all the rotten fruit and garbage tossed at her; Okay, now let's all calm down and talk about this film peacefully.  Now, some of you have never heard about this film, but you have all probably heard of the ride that goes with it:  Splash Mountain.  Yes, the only time I know of that a ride has overshadowed the film it was about.  Why did this happen?  Oh, because some people couldn't handle the fact that Uncle Remus was a slave who didn't hate his masters.  Now, I know this is going to be hard for some to handle, but 1) not all slave owners were mean hateful people who constantly beat their slaves within and inch of their lives and 2) not all slaves hated their masters.  In fact, some loved their masters so much that even after being freed, they elected to stay back and work for them.  This did lead to other problems such as sharecropping, etc., and, yes, some slaves did stay back because they didn't know any other life, but that's also kind of the point.  In fact, Disney has stated that SONG OF THE SOUTH IS SET AFTER THE CIVIL WAR (a fact they sadly didn't make clear in the film), so technically they aren't slaves.  They're just the slaves that chose to stay behind because some did that.  If they had a good master and they knew nothing else, they didn't really need to "get out of Dodge" while they still could.  They were happy to remain on that plantation and chose to stay.  Furthermore, although Disney could have told its Bre'r Rabbit stories simply as an animated cartoon, they did choose to include the character of Uncle Remus as storyteller.  So, although it's a very controversial film, I personally like it.  I watched it for the first time when I was probably sixteen and was well aware of the controversies.  And I ended up liking it.  I mean, I love Bre'r   Besides, come on, it's got the song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"!  How could someone hate "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"?  Okay, probably lots of people do, but it just is so happy-sounding!

3.  Alice in Wonderland--Honestly, you wouldn't believe how many time I have flipped back and forth on whether or not this should be counted as live action or combination.  I finally had to settle down on it being a combination because Alice does end up in a very computer-animated world.  I mean, nearly everyone besides her, even the human characters such as the Red Queen, Stane, and the Mad Hatter, is partly to fully computer animated.  So, I would definitely loosely say that this is a human character entering an animated world.  Anyway, why do I love it?  Johnny Depp.  Do I need any other excuses?  I'm sure a normal, sane person would, but I am neither normal nor sane.  The awesomeness of my top two is the only thing preventing me from just automatically assigning Johnny Depp the top spot.  (Yes, I have issues.  I know.  Even Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant combined couldn't cure them, so I figure the only person who can stop this is Future Husband, whomever he may be.)

2.  Mary Poppins--"WAIT!  This isn't your #1?  What is wrong with you?"  Absolutely nothing.  I just really, really like my #1, but I can't deny Mary Poppin's sheer awesomeness.  I mean, although the combination animation-live action is only one segment of a very long movie (for a kid), it's the part that really sticks with you as a kid.  You know, along with every other part.  Who doesn't want to ride up the bannister (attempting to ride down even?  Which caused me injury at least once as a child) or have a tea party on the ceiling?  And, come on, unless you're a scientist who knows long chemical names, the longest word you probably know is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious; and, yes, I did spell that from memory).  If you have watched Mary Poppins, you have wished that your horse would escape the carousel, that penguins could be your waiters, and that your house would have a fireplace so that a chimney sweep could come and dance on the roof.  Well, okay that last part not so much because I'm actually scared of roofs.  I have friends who have seen the freak-outs, and my mom has video evidence.  Anyway, Mary Poppins has never been put in the Disney vault, which is where movies go every ten years or so until Disney can manage to gather up enough demand before swooping in and saving our not-so-inner childhoods with yet another release, restored to greater than its original glory, with more bonus features than the last time it was out.  Mary Poppins instead just gets to stay on the shelves all the time until the next edition comes out, which since next year is its 50th anniversary, will probably be happening in the next few months or so.  You know why?  Because this is an amazing movie with the most wonderful songs, like "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Jolly Holliday, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "I Love to Laugh," "Feed the Birds," "Chim-Chim Cheree," and "Step in Time."  Plus, it's been made into a Broadway play.  So what manages on Katrina's private list to beat out this classic?

1.  Enchanted--Yes, I must admit that if you made me choose between Mary Poppins and Enchanted, I'd probably go for the latter.  I'm almost ashamed to admit it because in comparison to the great classic that is Mary Poppins, Enchanted is just...a spoofy fairy tale thing.  But, that's why I liked it.  Disney basically made this movie into a treasure hunt of "Count the Disney (and Non-Disney) References," even bothering to include references to movies not yet released at the time!  Plus, Giselle and Robert's (and Morgan's) love story is so sweet, and it does teach girls a very important lesson about the fact that we need to wait and not just rush into relationships (never mind the fact that Edward and Nancy end up rushing into a marriage at the end anyway).  And Disney does do a bit to make up for the fact of 70 years of evil stepmothers by making Giselle, a princess-type character, into Morgan's stepmother and showing how absolutely wonderful of a stepmother Morgan saw Giselle could be.  Personally, at the end, I even ended up falling a bit in love with Nancy's character.  Yes, you initially are designed to dislike her, but to see the fact that she still fell in love with cured-of-mutant-gene Cyclops Prince Edward at the end and also got her happy ending was simply marvelous.  Plus, come on ANDALASIA GETS GOOD CELL PHONE RECEPTION!  How many other fantasy worlds actually have good reception?  Okay, so I admit that from a strict interpretation of all things, Mary Poppins is probably the better film, but as for me, I just like the idea of curling up with myself and a blanket and watching Giselle sing about "That's How You Know" a guy loves you and hoping that someday my guy will come and we can have "True Love's Kiss" (after, of course we date for a good, long while and are engaged).  Plus, I promise you, Future Husband, that I am not bringing any chipmunks into the relationship.

Please Note:  Any promises Katrina makes about a lack of chipmunks in future relationships could be broken if she ended up finding a chipmunk who was willing enough to do this.

So, there you go, Katrina's Top 5 Disney Combination Animation and Live Action Films--a list even she admits has problems because it doesn't follow "what should be."  Then again, why should a few Academy Awards determine my number one?  I shall wave my princess flag high in the air and declare my love for Enchanted, the love story that makes more Disney references than the Geek boards on Pinterest.

The Top 10 Live Action Disney Films (Now 11)

So, a couple years ago, which is probably closer to being three years ago at the present time (Man, time flies even when you're doing nothing!), my friends and I were riding back from church one night, and someone asked what our top five Disney films in both the real life and the animated conversations.  Anyway, apparently when you make these lists, Katrina isn't allowed to count the sequels to her favorite film as separate films but rather must group them as one film.  However, Thomas is totally allowed to declare Where the Red Fern Grows as a Disney film, despite the fact that it's actually made by a tiny insignificant company, and...Yeah, he doesn't care, so why am I even bothering to rant about this?

Sorry, dude, this is not a Disney film!

Anyway, Top 5 is such a challenge, so I'm going to make my list here a Top 10 so I can talk about more excellent Disney films.

10.  Eight Below--Basically, it's a movie about a dog team of eight dogs who are left behind in Antarctica when their humans have to evacuate due to severe weather.  So, basically, it's about the dogs surviving and the humans trying to raise money to go back and rescue them.  (Spoiler/Warning:  Some of the dogs do die!).  It's just a really cute movie about dogs and stuff.  Plus, I've seen the statue dedicated to the real dogs this happened to (Only they were fifteen of them in real life, and the people who left them behind were Japanese.), so that makes it even cooler.

9.  Treasure Island--Okay, if you know me, you're not surprised that pirate films have made this list--more than once.  Also, if you know me, I'm not really a huge fan of Robert Louis Stevenson's novels.  I mean, the man has incredible plot lines, but his writing style makes me want to stab myself with something.  Seriously, I have tried three times (Treasure Island, The Black Arrow, and Kidnapped), and each time it's been like, "Awesome plot; terrible writing style!"  A thousand English majors are now on their way to set me straight, probably.  Well, I suppose we can have a lovely discussion on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables when they get here, as I'm reading through that.  Better get the tea and scones ready...Oh yeah, back to Disney's Treasure Island film.  Yes, wonderful film involving pirates and stuff.  Basically, this film makes the list solely based on the virtue of having pirates on it.  Well, that and another film I wanted has too much computer animation to count as a live action film.  Also, this film gains bonus points because it was Disney's first full length live action film.

8.  Old Yeller--Confessions of Katrina:  I still haven't cried watching this film.  Still, I mean, it's got the awesome dog and all the animals, and basically this movie is really cool.  Plus, it's a classic.  I mean, like, three or four generations of Disney fans have loved this film by now, even if it doesn't make us cry.  After all, who doesn't like a film about kids who want dogs?  Okay, probably if you have cynophobia you don't, but that relates more to my opinion on weird fears people apparently actually can be diagnosed for, and not to Old Yeller.  Well, hydrophobia relates to the film, but not cynophobia.

7.   Davy Crockett films--I kind of hesitated including this because both Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates were both actually movies chopped up into three and two parts respectively and shown several weeks apart on ABC's Disneyland series.  Nonetheless, nowadays, we view them as two separate films (unless you had the DVD edition my brothers and I did as a teenager which split them into their separate parts and included the parts of Walt Disney talking before and after them), not five parts of a miniseries.  I guess if Pride and Prejudice (1995) as a film, then Davy Crockett counts too.  Anyway, after that long intro, this one also makes it because it's epically cool; it's a fictionalized account of the historical character Davy Crockett; and because it inspired a fashion statement of coonskin caps in children.  Seriously, if you didn't grow up in a world where at least one kid you knew had a coonskin cap, even in the '90s, I'm seriously doubting how cultured you were as a kid because my family lived in Japan, and we kids had a coonskin cap.

6. Swiss Family Robinson--Watching this movie was my own personal reward for finishing the book (The first ever e-book I completed, on my Palm Pilot back in the day.), and, honestly, it is a pretty cool film that fortunately Disney has cancelled the remake of.  Seriously, some remakes just don't need to happen.  Some would say all remakes should be banned, but I cover up my ears like Gollum and mutter, "Not listening! Not listening!" while simultaneously clutching my copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory like it's some precious object that others think is out to destroy the world.  Actually, Gollum himself is a perfect example of why certain remakes need to happen.  Just go look up the original animated Lord of the Rings stuff.  Yeah, now stop dissing Hollywood for doing remakes.  Ahem, anyway, although Swiss Family Robinson does significantly deviate from the book, Disney nonetheless made it into a pretty stinking awesome movie that deserves to be watched over and over.

5.  The Princess Diaries films--Okay, let's see:  To summarize, in her younger days Catwoman, granddaughter of Mary Poppins, was bullied in high school by Rapunzel and eventually dates Captain Kirk.  Oh yeah, and she finds out she's secretly been a princess her whole life, which elicits the appropriate response of, "Shut up!" (which either means she was in shock or that because this is Disney, suddenly all the animals within a fifty foot radius began to speak to her, and she wanted them to stop talking right then and there). Along the way, she gets to paint by popping balloons, mattress surf, find out she can't actually marry Prince William, ends up looking like a moose temporarily, and gets a couple foot-popping kisses.  If you watch these movies (and watch both because Disney actually made a sequel as good as the first film!) and don't laugh at least once, something is wrong with you.  Seriously, these films are absolutely hilarious and quotable.

4.  The Chronicles of Narnia films--Ooh, look, MORE evidence that remakes should happen.  Honestly, go back and watch the original BBC stuff, and just agree with me that Disney did a good job of remaking it.  Now if they would just FINISH the project before Peter starts going gray, that would be cool.  Plus, the epic Liam Neeson voices Aslan.  Really, Disney, finish what you've started.  I'm waiting.  Plus, your soundtracks are awesome!  I mean, you do lose a couple points for the whole Susan-Caspian romance thing (Need I remind you she's hundreds of years older than him?) and adding plot elements to Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but oh well.  Further awesomeness was rewarded, though, because the films are based on books by C.S. Lewis, who is pretty much cooler than almost any other Christian fiction writer in the history of Christian fiction, except for John Bunyan (although Pilgrim's Progress, being an allegory, I'm not quite sure how to categorize).  Also, although these film contains certain amounts of computer animation to them, I feel they basically function as live action films with computer animation added where needed (Unlike Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which was sadly cut from this list due to too much computer animation. *sniff sniff *tries not to cry; cries a lot)

3.  101 Dalmatians--Oops, yeah, sorry, we've got two remakes in a row here.  Wait, I'm not sorry.  At all.  This is the remake, which, although it deviates even further from the books than Disney's original animated version, that proves that some remakes can happen.  I intend absolutely no dis to the original animated version at all.  It's just that, since I was little, if you gave me a choice between the animated and live action versions, I was totally choosing live action.  The live action version is ten times funnier.  Like, seriously, if you haven't seen it, go out and find it and watch it.  There is a sequel known as 102 Dalmatians, but that's not really necessary to life.  I mean, it's cute to watch once or twice, but it's just not as good (like most Disney sequels).

2.  National Treasure films--And the history nerd side of Katrina strikes and glows like the bombs bursting in air at Fort McHenry the night the first verse of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was penned.  Yeah, no one who knows my history side should be surprised to see that this film is my #2.  I mean, just the cleverness of how it was all pieced together (with a couple slight historical improbabilities in the first one and a bunch in the second one) connecting all the clues.  It makes history into a scavenger hunt.  Plus, come on, Sean Bean doesn't die!  He gets arrested, but he doesn't die!  That's got to count for something!  Anyway, my recommendation for this film is that if you are not a history person, do not watch this film for the first time with a history person in the room.  Make sure no one in the room is a history person first and then hit play.  Because we will correct the film's mistakes verbally without the help of IMDb.  And even despite that, we'll still be all, "This is so awesome!" at the end.

1.  Pirates of the Caribbean quadrilogy (to become a pentalogy in 2015)--Okay, you all knew this was coming, so don't act surprised.  PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN IS THE BEST MOVIE SERIES EVER!  It's my ringtone; it's the origin of my love of Johnny Depp (Incidentally, the only reason The Lone Ranger is not on this list is because I haven't seen it yet, and if you spoil it, you are in so much trouble.); it's the reason I love movies and documentaries about pirates.  PIRATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  No, my obsession with this film is not logical in the least.  In fact, one could contend it is highly illogical because no human being should be getting this excited about movies that she knows aren't as good as the original.  However, I would like to point out that it is the highest grossing Disney movie franchise*, so it's not like my love is completely misplaced.  So, yeah, there's never another like good ol' Captain Jack, savvy?  Plus, come on, the first time I ever cried from a movie was when Jack got eaten by the kraken in Dead Man's Chest.  And then about five minutes later I was screaming because of the surprise twist and how I couldn't wait a year for the next film.  And then I had to wait four years after that film for On Stranger Tides to come out.  Seriously, I should be handling the Sherlock thing much better after how long I waited for a fourth pirates film and how long I'm waiting for a fifth (Yes, it's happening!).  I mean, between three and four coming out, at least I occupied by time by reading the books, but Disney isn't publishing as many Pirates books anymore, so that's out.  So, yeah, if you can't tell by the end of this paragraph what Katrina's absolute favorite live action Disney film (actually film series because Thomas wouldn't let me make it my top four spaces!) is, you really don't know me.  Because all you have to say is "Pirates" or "Jack Sparrow" or "Black Pearl," and I turn into this hyperactive crazy thing for between several minutes and a couple hours.  Yeah, you can tell me that I have issues...but "sticks and stones, love."  Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!

"I can go like this" is the perfect response for if anyone asks me if I can do anything else but wait for Pirates 5 to come out

*not counting Marvel or Star Wars, both of which Disney owns now, as I see those as completely different things, especially since Disney hasn't actually made any Star Wars films yet and that anything Disney's doing with Marvel is a continuation of what was going on when they bought it

Oh, and finally, to end with:

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY TO PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN!  Thank you to Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Johnny Depp, and the rest of the cast and crew for an amazing adventure.  Seriously, without all the effort and madness you put into this film, our lives would be much sadder.  So, thank you, for everything you have done, even though you will probably never read this

AND, TO ALL THE HATERS:

ETA:  So, I feel like an idiot because I just realized I didn't rank Holes, which is sitting right in the same room as me and which is most definitely one of my absolute favorite Disney films, ranking at #3, which then reranks everything else and knocks Eight Below off the list.  I have no idea why I forgot it, but, yeah, I love Holes, both book and movie.  I feel the movie did a FABULOUS job at portraying the book.  It's got awesome multiple plot lines that end up intertwining at the end.  So, yeah, I guess this list is now 11 movies long, but, oh well.  I can't believe I forgot Holes!