Movie #417 - The Lion King

The Lion King
1994 - Rated G - 1 hr 29 min
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
Starring: Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Moira Kelly, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Who doesn't love this movie? And who hasn't -- at some point -- quoted those iconic lines? "Everything the light touches..." "The king has returned..." "Hakuna Matata..."

Really, this one's so ingrained in my generation's childhood, it's hard to escape.  And now that it's a Broadway musical, everyone else loves it too.  It's easy to see why, with such a gripping story of deceipt that even adults can love, the kind of jokes that get mom, dad, and the kids all laughing, and some of the best songs Disney ever churned out of their powerhouse years.  This puts the cap on Disney's golden age for me.  I'll watch it over and over and over again.  Anytime Ellie asks.

Movie #201 - Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams
1989 - Rated PG - 1 hr 47 min
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Starring: Kevin Costner, James Earle Jones, Ray Liotta

Here's a classic, for you.  But watching it now, as an adult, it's kind of a weird movie.  I mean, his cornfield talks to him and within the first ten minutes of the movie, he's already figured out what the voice in the corn wants him to do.  Build a baseball field, obviously.  I remember this taking longer, but it's seriously only the first ten minutes.

So he builds it.  They come. "He" comes (Is it Shoeless Joe, the "he"? Or someone else? Hmmm?) And no one ever explains why ghost baseball players come out of the corn and play ball. Or why old men can step over the line and become younger and play ball with them.  Or why said old man can't go back once he steps out.  The message of this movie still resonates, but it's a little cheesy after all this time.  If you can ignore the slight lameness, you'll enjoy it now just as much as you might have before.

For the rest of you, you can just reminisce about when Kevin Costner had a career.

Movie #197 - Fantasia / 2000

Fantasia / 2000
1999 - Rated G - 1 hr 14 min
Director: James Algar, Gaetan Brizzi, et al.
Starring: James Levine, Steve Martin, Leopold Stokowski, Bette Midler, James Earl Jones

This movie came in a two-pack with Fantasia, so now we own it.  I'd never seen it before, but it's more of the same.  Animated classical pieces, a bit more modern and a bit more enhanced.  They do include the Sorceror's Apprentice here as well, but it's the exact same version.  I guess this is only irritating if you watch both Fantasia movies back to back.

It's a nice tribute to the "revolutionary" idea of Leopold Stokowski and Walt Disney back in 1940, but I'm glad they're not making more of these.  It's a nice way to get kids to listen to classical music, though.  Ellie had a blast with these.