From March 13, 2013
SCORE: B
Apparently, this movie got "mixed reviews" when it was released on DVD in 2004. I'm not sure why. It's by far the best movie done by the DisneyToon studios (the studio that produces off-shoot Disney films that sometimes get into theaters like the Duck Tales movie, A Goofy Movie, Return to Neverland, Jungle Book 2, etc. or they usually go straight to DVD).
The animation in this movie is very well done, in my opinion, especially Donald's facial expressions (when he's deciding whether or not to leave) and the Beagle Boys. The squash and stretch is good, without being overdone as it is in many animated films.
The watercolor backgrounds look good too.
There are points where the plot drags / is boring. Maybe that's why this film got mixed reviews when it was released.
Some Notes:
- I like the opening and ending of the movie because they incorporate comic books, which I always love.
- I kept thinking of Babs Bunny (from Tiny Toon Adventures) while listening to Daisy Duck, because they're both voiced by Tress McNeille.
- The tower where the Beagle Boys are taking Minnie looks almost exactly like the Rapunzel tower from "Tangled" which would have been in development at the time this was made, I think.
- Pete refers to the Mickey Mouse Club at one point, which doesn't make any real sense other than the connection that the kids in the Mickey Mouse Club were called Mouseketeers.
- There's a Disneyland reference, I think, when there's a sign in the dungeon that Mickey reads that states: "You must be this tall to survive prison"
- The Goofy / Clarabelle scene is done particularly well. Good music and animation.
- Mickey is referred to as "just a little guy" multiple times in the movie, which I guess is sort of a reference to "The Prince and the Pauper" short from the late 80s.
- The scene at the end (the sword fight between Mickey and Pete) sort of references the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit short "Oh What a Knight" with its strong shadows on the wall during the fight.
- I liked hearing Rob Paulson's voice (as the Turtle/Trubadour). I've been a fan of his since he did Raphael in the 1987 TMNT series, then Animaniacs, and now as Donatello in the new CG TMNT cartoon from Nickelodeon.
- I noticed an Art Director in the credits with the name Toby Bluth. I wonder if he's related to Don Bluth.
