Film Snark

The headless horseman in black clothing and a red cape rides a black horse with white hair and red eyes. His horse is rearing up and he holds a silver sword. Opposite him is Ichabod Crane, an extremely skinny white man with a large nose, brown hair, a green coat, green pants, tan stockings, brown shoes, riding a gray horse who is crouching in fear. Ichabod is pulling on the reins and leaning back in fear. They are in front of a large, old tree.
B-
Disney Animated Features

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Released: October 5th, 1949

Ohhhh, Ichabod Crane, why are you the best cartoon ever?

This is a CLASSIC. To be honest, I don't know if I've ever watched the Mr. Toad segment all the way through, but it was a great one. I'm actually shocked at how little I know about Wind in the Willows, and I feel like I should read it. I didn't realize Mr. Toad was landed gentry. 😂

Notable Grossness

The fat girl at the Van Tassel's party is the ugly, annoying one that Brom makes a disgusted face about and then tries to pass off on Ichabod.

Mr. Toad, a gray toad wearing a red jacket, yellow sweater, blue bow tie, gray pants, white stockings, and gray shoes stands on top of a yellow carriage holding brown leather reins, while a white horse with a gray tail, and a straw hat rides forward pulling the carriage. They're both shouting. The caption reads, 'I'm so rich there are no consequences!'

Of course, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is perfect at Halloween, and other than it's weird random fat-shaming, it's a complete joy. The animation is great, the action is intense and scary, and the characters are well developed (except for Katrina). I wish the entire plot wasn't the rivalry between Brom and Ichabod, but aside from that, it's really just a joyful thing to watch. To me this is peak Disney short cartoon.

February 2nd, 2021
Pete's Dragon
A movie release poster shows a group of white people, 4 men, a woman, and a young boy, surrounding a green animated dragon with pink wings and red hair. The poster says "Coming at Christmas, Walt Disney Productions' Pete's Dragon"
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Five human actors, a woman, a man, and three children of various ages, sit on a flying brass bed with a floral blanket, with the moon and clouds behind them. Below them, illustrated animals are in various poses: two fish dance together (one in a suit); two fish and an octopus play in a band together with the words "The Briny Boys" on the front of the drum kit; an alligator, a rhino, and a gorilla run around a soccer field in yellow and green athletic outfits; a lion in a crown and red royal robe stands with one foot on the soccer ball; and a secretary bird in a suit with glasses stands watching.

Recent Snark

Bert, a chimney sweep, Jane, a young blonde child in a red dress and yellow overcoat, Michael, a young strawberry blonde child in short pants and a button coat, and Mary Poppins, a nanny in a red dress with a black hat with white flowers, stand on a rooftop, covered in soot.

Mary Poppins

Julie Andrews is a genuine delight, whether she's being fun or she's irritated. It's not just her voice, her whole presence is just delightful. George and Winifred Banks are excellent side characters, and the kids are as adorable as they need to be. Dick Van Dyke is a national treasure and I won't hear a word against him.

Structurally, there's not really a plot, but that makes sense given that it's based on a series of kind of episodic books. It's also very long. I think the length and episodic nature takes away from the character study of stuffy, cross Mr. Banks and how he learns from his children (and Mary Poppins and Bert) how to retain a sense of wonder and joy. But it's consistently fun. The music is delightful, the dancing is wonderful, and the adventures Mary Poppins and Bert and the kids go on are spectacular. I'm sure I have nostalgia for it but I think this stands up, to be honest.

The dings on the grade are for occasional bad costumes, bad makeup, the length, the imperialist nonsense. I'm honestly tempted to raise it back up because of the flawless animation/live action melding.

September 13th, 2022
Bigfoot, a giant humanoid creature with red fur, sits in front of a cardboard box with a downward pointing arrow on the side, wearing a pair of white men's briefs underwear on his head. He holds the crotch hole open with his fingers so he can look out. Goofy, a dog-like humanoid cartoon with black skin and a pale face, and long ears, watches from his yellow car several hundred feet behind Bigfoot, with his son Max in the passenger seat; Max looks similar to Goofy.

A Goofy Movie

I know this is shameful for someone my age but I've never seen this movie before. I may have caught bits of it when my brothers were younger, but the only thing I remember is Pauly Shore doing the leaning tower of cheese-a. I'm pretty much going into this one blind.

March 1st, 2022