Madagascar

Madagascar is a DreamWorks film which is quite recent because it was released on 2005. In this film I cannot decide what my favorite character is. All of them are amazing and very funny.

The principal characters are a zebra called Marty, a lion called Alex, a giraffe called Melman and hippopotamus called Gloria.

At the Central Park Zoo, Marty is celebrating his birthday and he says to his friends that he would like to see what is outside the zoo. At night, Marty talks to the penguins because they also want to escape from the zoo and they give them some tips. He decides to go to the train station and go to Connecticut for the night. When Gloria, Alex and Melman discovered what he has done they follow him. At the station the four friends, with the penguins and two chimpanzees are sedated with tranquilizer darts. The zoo, under pressure from animal-rights activists, decides to send the animals to a Kenyan wildlife preserve. During their travels, the penguins escape from their enclosure and take over the ship, intent on taking it to Antarctica. Their antics on the bridge cause the crates containing Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria to fall off the boat and wash ashore on Madagascar.

The animals believed themselves to be in San Diego but there, they meet a pack of lemurs led by King Julien XIII and they learn their location. Alex gets angry with Marty because he wants to come back to the civilization but Marty, Melman and Gloria are enjoying the island.

The problems start when Alex starts showing his hunting instincts because he had been away from the prepared steaks for too long. The group is accepted by the lemurs, though King Julien's adviser, Maurice, cautions them about Alex's predatory nature. King Julien ignores Maurice's concerns and persuades the group to help the lemurs fend off the fossa, who hunt the lemurs as prey. While initially Alex scares the fossa away and is worshiped by the lemurs, he becomes delusional because of his starvation and attacks Marty. Unable to overcome his instincts and hunger, King Julien banishes Alex to the far side of the island, where the fossa live. Marty begins to regret seeing what Alex has turned into.

The penguins come back from the Antarctica because they had not liked it. Marty, Gloria and Melman run to tell Alex that with the ship they could come back to New York. When they are in the far side of the island they are attacked by the fossa but Alex appear and save them. When they go to the beach they discover that the ship has run out of fuel but the penguins satisfy Alex’s craving of meat with sushi.

Pocahontas

Now, I am going to talk about Pocahontas because my parents had said me that when I was younger I liked it so much so I decided to watch it again. I did not remeber almost anything about the film but I have discovered that I really like it. My favorite character is Meeko because it is so funny and Grandmother Willow because I find quite strange a tree talking because normally, in this kind of films the characters are humans and animals but not trees.
In 1607, a ship of British settlers of the Virginia Company sets sale to the "New World". Onboard the ship are Captain John Smith, and the voyage's leader Governor Ratcliffe, who believes the local Native Americans are hiding a vast collection of gold and seeks to gain it for his own. The ship gets caught in a storm, and Smith saves a young, inexperienced man named Thomas from drowning, Smith later admitting his lack of interest about the "New World". In the local tribe in the New World, Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, dreads being possibly wed to Kocoum, a brave warrior who she sees as too "serious" when conflicting with her spirited personality. Chief Powhatan gives Pocahonatas her mother' necklace as a present. Pocahontas, along with her friends, the gluttonous raccoon Meeko, and hummingbird Flit, visit Grandmother Willow, a spiritual talking willow tree who alerts her to the presence of the Englishmen.
Governor Ratcliffe has a fortress built in a wooded clearing, naming it James Town, and quickly has the crewmen begin digging for gold. Smith departs to explore the wilderness, and eventually encounter Pocahontas, the two quickly bonding, fascinated by each other's worlds. The two end up falling in love, contradicting with Chief Powhatan's orders to keep away from the men, after Kocuom and other warriors engage the men in a fight. Meanwhile, Meeko meets Percy, Ratcliffe's spoilt dog, and becomes the bane of his existence. Pocahontas introduces Smith to Grandmother Willow, and avoids two other crewmen. However, Pocahontas' friend Nakoma discovers her relationship with Smith and warns Kocuom. Thomas also follows Smith, and both he and Kocuom witness the two kissing. In a jealous rage, Kocuom attacks and tries to kill Smith but is himself killed by Thomas. An enraged Chief Powhatan declares war on the crewmen, and Smith is to be executed at sunrise.
Thomas warns the crewmen of Smith's capture, Ratcliffe rallying the men to go to battle as an excuse to remove the tribe and find their non-existent gold. Pocahontas goes to Grandmother Willow, but Meeko hands her a compass which points her in the direction of Smith, leading to her destiny. She successfully stops Smith's execution, but Ratcliffe tries to shoot Chief Powhatan in anger, Smith taking the bullet. Ratcliffe is captured and arrested by the crewman. In the end, Smith is forced to return home to get treatment, with Pocahontas and Chief Powhatan's blessing to return in the future.

TARZAN

Another funny Disney film that I have always liked is Tarzan. I like it very much because despite the fact that it is sometimes quite sad it is also very funny.

It is an American 1999 film which is based on the story Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The film starts when a couple and his infant son escape from a burning ship, ending up on land near uncharted rainforests off the coast of Africa. They build a treehouse there, but one day Sabor (a leopardess) kills the couple. When Sabor was going to eat the child Kala (a gorilla whose son had been killed by Sabor) heard the baby cries and run to the treehouse. There she escapes with the child. She calls him Tarzan and Kala takes him to the gorilla troop to rise as her own despite his mate Kerchak’s disapproval. 

Tarzan grows up with the gorillas and he makes a friendship with the female gorilla Terk and the paranoid elephant Tantor. As a young man Tarzan kills Sabor protecting the troop and earning Kerchak’s respect.

One day, some explorers (Professor Porter, his daughter Jane and their hunter-guide Clayton) appear. Jane is accidentally separated from the group and attacked by a pack of baboons. Tarzan saves her and he discovers that he is like her, a human. Kerchak warns Tarzan to stay far from the humans but he does not do it. He comes back to the human’s camp and starts to learn their language and to know the human world. The explorers want Tarzan to take them to the gorilla troop but Tarzan refuses to do it because he is afraid of the threat of Kerchak.

When the explorers' boat returns to pick them up, Clayton persuades Tarzan that if he shows the group the gorillas, then Jane will stay with him. Tarzan agrees and leads the party to the gorilla troop's home, while Terk and Tantor lure Kerchak away to avoid having him attack the humans. Porter and Jane are excited to meet and mingle with the gorillas, but Kerchak returns and threatens to kill them after witnessing Clayton threatening some gorillas with his rifle. Kerchak heads directly towards Clayton but Tarzan is forced to hold Kerchak at bay while the humans escape, and then leaves the troop himself, alienated by his actions. Kala reluctantly takes Tarzan back to the treehouse where she found him as a baby, and shows him his true past.

Due to what Kala has shown Tarzan he decides to leave with the explorers and when they arrive to the ship they are all ambushed by pirates and it is then revealed that Clayton desires to capture and sell the gorillas in England for a fine price. Tarzan and the others are then locked up in the hull of the ship, but are rescued by Terk and Tantor and race back to the gorilla home.

Clayton and his men go back to the gorilla troop to capture them. Meanwhile Tarzan, with the help of some animals attacked the humans and imprisons them in the cages where they have planned to imprison the gorillas. Kerchak is fatally shot and Clayton dies because he leaves hanged because he does not realize that a vine snap was around his neck. Kerchak, in his dying breath, accepts Tarzan as his own adopted son finally, and names him the leader of the gorilla troop.

The next day, Jane and Porter are prepared to leave and Tarzan says them that he prefers to stay with the gorilla troop to continue his position as the new leader. Finally, Jane decides to stay there with Tarzan because they are in love and his father, Porter follows her.

Peter Pan

Another Disney film that I remember with a lot of affection is “Peter Pan” because it made me believes that maybe, Peter could come to my house and teach me how to fly and to be a child forever.

This film is based on the book Peter Pan or The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up written by J. M. Barrie. It was originally released on February 5, 1953. This film was an animated one but, in 2003 another films appeared with real characters.

I couldn’t remember very well the film and the details so I watched it another time some weeks ago.

My favorite character is the crocodile which ate Captain Hook’s hand and which is pursuing the Captain because it wants to eat more.

The story begins when George (the father) gets angry with because Wendy is tells stories about Peter Pan to her brothers, John and Michael and from the point of view of George it makes children less practical. But, that night, when the parents go out, Peter appears and teaches them how to fly with the help of Tinker Bell, his pixie friend. They go to the island of Never Land.

When they were arriving to the island, Tinker Bell makes a plan to kill Wendy because she is jealous of her but it does not make effect. When Peter find out what has happened he gets very angry and banished her forever (though she is eventually forgiven).

 In the island, some pirates, under the orders of Captain Hook, kidnap the Indian Tiger Lily, because they want to use her knowledge to discover where the hideout of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys is. Then, John and Michael with the Lost Boys decide to go to the island of the Indians without knowing anything about what had happened with Tiger Lily. The Indians capture them because they think that the children are responsible about the disappearance.

Meanwhile, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids but then, the mermaids flee in terror when they see Captain Hook. Peter and Wendy spy Hook and they see that the pirates have captured Tiger Lily so they free her and Peter is honored by the tribe. The tribe frees the Lost Boys and Wendy’s brothers.

Then, Hook takes advantage of Tinker Bell’s jealous and he makes her say him where the location of Peter’s lair is. Then, Hook shuts the fairy in a lantern. Meanwhile, Wendy and her brothers are planning how to return to London and they invite the Lost Boys and Peter to go with them. The Lost Boys accept the offer but Peter gets angry because he does not want to grow up. They leave Peter in the hideout but when they come out they are raped by the pirates. Hook makes and plan and deceive Peter, he sends him a present which is a bomb. Tinker Bell gets to arrive on time and saves Peter. They quickly go to Hook’s boat to save the children. When they arrive there, they see that the pirates are making the children jump into the water. Finally, Peter helped all the children and starts to fight against Hook. Peter throws the Captain to the water and the crocodile starts to prosecute him.

At the end, Peter and the Lost Boys take Wendy, John and Michael to London and leave them home. When their parents arrive, Wendy tells them about what had happened while they were out. The parents look out the window and see what appears to be a pirate ship in the clouds. Mr. Darling, who has softened his position about Wendy staying in the nursery, recognizes it from his own childhood, as it breaks up into clouds itself.

The Lion King

I have been asking my friends what is their favorite Disney film, most of them have told me that it is “The Lion King”. I like it too but I think that it is sometimes very sad and I prefer funny films. My favorite character in this film is Rafiki because, despite the fact that it is not a principal character and he does not appear a lot of times in the film I laugh I lot with him. I also like Timon and Pumbaa for the same reason.

Reading about the film I discovered that it is based on the Bible stories of Joseph and Moses, the Epic of Sundiata and the William Shakespeare play Hamlet.

The film starts when Rafiki presents Simba (the new son of lion King and Queen) to the rest of the animals. In the future Simba would be the lion king, so he is taught about the lands where he would be the king but there is a land where it is not recommended to go because it is inhabited by hyenas.

Simba’s uncle, Scar, have always wanted to be the king, so, one day he provokes a stampede where Simba’s father, Mufasa, dies. Then, Scar makes Simba feel guilty and Simba decides to run away from there, allowing Scar to be the King.

Then, Simba meets Timon and Pumbaa (a meerkat and a warthog) and he grows up with them without knowing that Scar is allowing the hyenas to stay in the kingdom making the rest of animals run away from there. Because of that, the food starts to be scarce and the lions have a lot of problems to survive.

One day, Simba, Timon and Pumbaa were attacked by a lion but then, Simba recognizes that she is Nala, a friend of his childhood. They start talking and Nala tells him about what is happening in the kingdom. At first, Simba decides that he is not going to do anything because he feels guilty about what happened with his father. The wise Rafiki tracks Simba down and summons Mufasa's ghost for him. Mufasa tells Simba to remember who he is and that he must return home to take his place as king.
Simba, with Nala, Timon and Pumbaa returns to the kingdom and the hyenas with Scar start a battle against the lions. At the end, the lions win and Scar dies. The hyenas run away from there and the animals start to come back. Simba starts being the king and he has a puppy with Nala.

Mulan

My favorite films apart from Harry Potter are, usually, Disney films. I love them because they are normally very funny and they remind me my childhood. It is very difficult for me to choose one, but I think that my favorite one in “Mulan”.

I never get tired of seeing that film and I laugh a lot with it. Among the characters, my favorite one is Mushu.

The film tells the history of a young girl called Mulan whose father is chosen for the war against the Hun invasion. To protect his father, she decides to disguise herself like a man and to replace her father in the war.

The family’s ancestors order their “Great Stone Dragon” to protect Mulan but a small dragon called Mushu takes the dragon place. Then, the small dragon teach Mulan how to act like a man and she and her new friends, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po become skill warriors under the command of Li Shang. On day, they arrive to a village where the General Li and his forces have been wiped out by the Huns. When they leave the village, the Huns attacked them in the mountains but Mulan buries most of the force in an avalanche. She is hurt in the battle so she has to reveal that she is a woman. Li Shang abandons Mulan in the mountains and they start their way to the Imperial City to report the news to the emperor. However, Mulan sees how some Huns are alive and they want to go to Imperial City to capture the emperor.

Then, Mulan goes to there to tell her friends what she had seen but no-one believed her. The Huns get to capture the emperor and they shut themselves up in the palace to kill him. Mulan draw up a plan and she, Li Shang and her friends, with the help of Mushu save the emperor.

Finally Mulan proves that a woman can do the same as a man without minding their sex.

My Neighbor Totoro

Some days ago, I remembered that my sister and I liked a film called “My Neighbor Totoro” and that ten years ago we saw it lots of times. I couldn’t remember the plot so I decided to watch it again.

The film tells the history of a father and his two daughters who move to a new rural house in Japan because they want to be near the hospital where their mother is admitted because of an unnamed illness. The daughters find that the house is inhabited by tiny animated dust creatures called “black soots”.  When the family become comfortable in the house and start enjoying their life there, the soots leave the house.

One day, Mei (the smaller daughter) is playing in the garden when she sees two white ears in the grass. She starts to follow the ears under the house and she discovers two small magical creatures. They start to run and Mei follows them across a path in the forest. There, she meets a giant creature and call him Totoro. She falls asleep there with Totoro. Then, the father and Satsuki (the bigger daughter) find Mei sleeping alone in the forest. When she tells them about Totoro her father tells her that he is the keeper of the forest.

A rainy day, Satsuki and Mei decide to go to the bus stop to wait for his father with his umbrella. While they are waiting there, Totoro appears and gives the girls a bundle of nuts and seeds. Then, a bus which seems like a cat arrives at the bus stop and Totoro takes it.

One night, the girls are sleeping when a strange noise wakes up Satsuki. She discovers that Totoro and the other two creatures are dancing around the piece of garden where they had planted the seeds. Then, Mei and Satsuki go there and start making the dance with them. The result is that from the seeds, it starts to grow up a giant tree. The sisters pass the night with Totoro. The following day, the tree has disappeared but the seeds have started to grow.

The daughters are looking forward to seeing their mother because she is going to pass the next weekend at home with them, because she is feeling better but, when the weekend is arriving, the mother gets worse so the doctor don’t let her go home. Mei gets angry and when no one is looking after her, she starts to run towards the hospital but she gets lost. The family and the neighborhood try to find her but, after a lot of time with no results, Satsuki decides to tell Totoro about what had happened. Then, Totoro calls the catbus which takes Satsuki where Mei is and, after that, it takes them to the hospital to visit their mother. There, they discover that her mother is better and that she is going to visit them home the next weekend.