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Song of the Day #6,004: ‘Friends on the Other Side’ – Keith David

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#2 – The Princess and the Frog (2009)

The mid-2000s saw Disney switch to computer animation, a move tied to the studio’s merger with Pixar. When The Princess and the Frog opened in 2009, it had been five years since the last hand-drawn film (and that was Home on the Range, the movie with the dubious distinction of being last on my list of 64 Disney animated features).

With the exception of a minor Winnie the Pooh feature in 2011, this is also the last time Disney has used this traditional animation method, which is a real shame. While computer animation can be astounding in its own way, nothing can match the elegance and beauty of hand-drawn work.

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Song of the Day #6,003: ‘Reflection’ – Lea Salonga

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#3 – Mulan (1998)

The best film of Disney’s Renaissance Era, Mulan is equally satisfying as a coming-of-age drama, a war movie, and a romcom.

Based on a Chinese legend of a daughter who disguised herself as a man to take her father’s place in war, this movie has a gravitas lacking in many of Disney’s films. But it balances that weighty subject matter with real hilarity, mostly in the form of Eddie Murphy’s dragon sidekick Mushu.

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Song of the Day #6,002: ‘One Jump Ahead’ – Brad Kane

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#4 – Aladdin (1992)

Aladdin was the first film from the Disney Renaissance period that I really embraced. Sure, I got swept up in the acclaim for Beauty and the Beast — the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture — but it didn’t work for me the way this one did.

Maybe it’s as simple as this being the first princess movie that was really about the prince. The “street rat” Aladdin is a great character, witty and resourceful, mischievous but kind-hearted. The movies aren’t exactly lacking in male protagonists, but he felt like something new from Disney.

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Song of the Day #6,001: ‘Once Upon a Dream’ – Mary Costa and Bill Shirley

Continuing my countdown of favorite Disney Animation movies following my marathon viewing of all 64…

My Top Ten Disney Animation Movies
#5 – Sleeping Beauty (1959)

My next pick is the greatest film of Disney’s first half century — Sleeping Beauty. This was Disney’s third princess film, and last until The Little Mermaid 40 years later.

To differentiate Aurora’s film from those of her predecessors Snow White and Cinderella, extra care was paid to the visuals, especially the painterly backgrounds that some execs worried were so impressive they would distract from the plot.

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Song of the Day #6,000: ‘I Know (Live)’ – Elvis Costello

With apologies to Duran Duran, whose ‘The Wild Boys‘ would have been today’s Throwback Weekend selection, I’m suspending my usual programming to acknowledge another milestone for the blog.

Today is my 6,000th post, a number that frankly feels a little obscene. Have I really been doing this every day for 16 1/2 years? Apparently so.

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