Disney+ is coming next week, and with it comes a bunch of old movies.
This is my initial recommended watch list. I’ve tried to go heavy on relatively older movies for the benefit of younger viewers who maybe missed some of this when it first hit theaters. Hell, I saw at least half of these on VHS back in the day. Lots of you weren’t around for that, I know.
I’ve tried to skip the obvious. You don’t need me to tell you about Star Wars or a blockbuster that came out just five years ago. Most of these are favorites from when I was a kid, meaning the late 70s to early 90s. That doesn’t seem that long ago to me, but I’ve got teenagers myself now, so I know it seems like an unfathomably long time to some of you. The newest entry on this list is 2008’s Bolt. That might be a little too new for the criteria, but what can you do?
After some internal debate, I’ve decided to list these in the order in which I intend to watch them.
15 Must-Watch Movies from Disney+
1. The Black Hole (1979). One of the great science fiction movies of my childhood. I think Disney was trying to cash in on the Star Wars craze, but like Transformers: The Movie, the film itself far surpassed expectations. Obsession, madness, terrifying robots… this one has everything.
2. Willow (1988). George Lucas did a lot of weird stuff before and after Star Wars. One of his weirdest, most awesome projects was Willow, which is a high fantasy adventure very much in the spirit of The Lord of the Rings. The title character is a hobbit stage magician who has to save the world, accompanied by his warrior sidekick Madmartigan (Val Kilmer).
That this movie is being re-released is a miracle. It’s been on ice for decades. You can’t even rent it, and it has a HUGE cult following. Definitely check it out.
3. The Rocketeer (1992). A 1940s pulp-style action-adventure story in which a kid with a rocket-pack fights Nazis. The Rocketeer has been in and out of print in comic book form for decades, but to my knowledge, this is the only movie. That it was a super successful one-off that time somehow forgot is one of those weird injustices that I’ll never understand.
4. Tron (1982). Tron probably doesn’t count as a deep cut, but my guess is that if you’re younger than 40, you’ve probably never seen the original. It’s totally worth watching just to witness the design aesthetic. It was like nothing we’d ever seen before back in 1982, and in some ways, it still is.
The 2010 sequel Tron: Legacy isn’t nearly as good, though it shares the same design sense while incorporating modern visual technology. That might make it worth your time. There’s also a 2012 cartoon series, Tron: Uprising, that my kids and I enjoyed more than the Legacy. Uprising actually breaks some new ground around those original designs. It was what Legacy should have been.
5. The Black Cauldron (1985). A film version of one of my favorite young adult fantasy series, The Chronicles of Prydain. When I wasn’t reading The Uncanny X-Men back in 6th grade, I was reading Prydian.
This isn’t a great piece of film, per se, but it is a classic piece of hand-drawn high fantasy Disney animation, and it’s got a much darker, much more malevolent heart than the House of Mouse would ever let its creative team embrace in the 21st century. That’s doubly true for Disney cartoons.
6. The Muppet Movie (1979). Again, I don’t know if this counts as a deep cut, but the original Muppet Movie is brilliant. If you’ve never seen it, make some time and fix that immediately.
If you like the Muppets, there are a million sequels. Most are at least decent. Several are legitimately great.
7. Flight of the Navigator (1986). Boy finds spaceship and goes on a magical journey. I promise you, this movie is a thousand times better than you think it will be just from that description.
8. Remember the Titans (2000). Arguably the greatest football movie of all time. Maybe this one’s not a deep cut. However, it came out almost 20 years ago, so I’m betting that a bunch of you haven’t seen it.
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| Screenshot from Remember the Titans |
Don’t miss it. This one’s great.
9. The Rescuers (1977). Two animated mice and a pelican have to save a little girl from some crocodiles. The movie itself is gloriously insane, and there’s at least one sequel, The Rescuers Down Under, that I’ve never seen. Can’t wait to show this to my kids.
10. Treasure Planet (2002). An animated science fiction version of the classic Treasure Island, not quite in the Disney house style. It’s very cool and more than a little weird.
11. Pete’s Dragon (1977). A boy and his magical animated dragon have to save a small portside town. Disney remade Pete’s Dragon a few years ago, but the new version didn’t seem to go over. I don’t think it recaptured the magic of the original. Not surprising considering the studio’s decision to go away from their hand-drawn house art style in favor of CGI for the dragon.
As a kid, I particularly loved the music.
12. Bolt (2008). A dog on a TV show thinks he has super powers, and it’s great!
If my oldest daughter were to put a list like this together, Bolt might be at the top of it. The movie came out 11 years ago. To her, that seems like a long time.
13. Escape to Witch Mountain (1975). A brother/sister team has magical powers, so bad guys try to use them for their own ends. Disney remade this a few years ago with the Rock; this is the original. If you like it, there’s also 1978 sequel called Return to Witch Mountain. My wife and I both remember these movies fondly.
14. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). The sequels have been unmitigated schlock, but the original Pirates of the Caribbean was terrific.
Maybe you’ve seen this; I don’t know. It came out 16 years ago, so your kids probably haven’t.
15. The Love Bug (1969). The hilarious adventures of a magic VW Bug. When I was telling my wife Sally about Disney+, this was the first movie she asked about. I remember it fondly as well, though it’s been decades since I’ve actually seen it.
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| Screenshot from The Love Bug. |
If you like it, there are a million sequels.
Unbelievably, I've not seen nine of these films. Really not sure how I missed Treasure Planet. That sounds up my alley.
ReplyDeleteTreasure Planet is cool.
DeleteGlad I could come up with some (relatively) deep cuts for you.