Last month I shared with you my current
favourite songs and today I thought I would mention my all-time favourite
films. I might do another post on my favourite TV series, but that would
probably be a very long list. Here are my top twelve favourite films (in year and
alphabetical order):-
The
Wizard of Oz (1939)
This is the oldest of my favourite films
and it is a classic! I don’t think a synopsis is needed by me for this film. It
is a really magical film, especially for the era it was made in where there was
no CGI and they had to get creative for the special effects. I really enjoy
this colourful, magical and musical film.
Return
to Oz (1985)
The film is set after Dorothy returns
home from Oz. It isn’t really a continuation of the Wizard of Oz film as it was
made decades later and doesn’t feature any original cast. It also isn’t a
musical. Dorothy finds herself back in Oz and realises it needs saving from
some terrible people as a lot has changed there since she returned home. I do
still enjoy this film.
The
Princess Bride (1987)
This is a fantasy comedy film and it is
probably my 2nd best favourite film ever! The story is basically
told by a Grandfather to his Grandson in the film and we see the story play
out. A farmhand (Westley) has to go through some tough trials to save his true
love, Princess Buttercup from an unwanted and forced marriage to the Prince
Humperdinck. There is a lot of fun on the way and some great quotes (“As you
wish” / “Hello, My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die”).
The
Little Mermaid (1989)
This is a Disney musical adaption of The
Little Mermaid fairy tale. A young mermaid Princess longs to walk on land and
happens to fall in love with a human. The film is about her finding the man she
falls for and the obstacles that face them. As it is a Disney film, there is a
happy ending and the Princess gets her Prince! I love the music and it is my
favourite animated Disney film and Ariel is my favourite Disney Princess.
Thumbelina
(1994)
This is a Don Bluth Ireland Ltd musical adaptation
and I used to watch this all the time as a child and it is still my favourite version
of the story of Thumbelina. The music is so fun and catchy and makes you want
to dance. The story is that a woman longs for a child and is given a tulip by a
witch. When the tulip opens there is a small girl inside, the woman names her
Thumbelina (the size of your thumb). As time goes by, Thumbelina wishes she
knew people of her own size. She meets a fairy Prince and falls in love. They
end up apart and the rest of the film is about them finding each other again.
Anastasia
(1997)
This is an animated musical inspired by
the Russian Revolution and the fall of the Royal Romanov Family. It is a Fox
Animation film (not Disney), but I think it has the same magic as a Disney
Princess film if not more as it is loosely based on the real Princess Anastasia
of Russia. There is a sidekick Bat (Bartok) who is quite funny and adds that
element to the film, even if he is on the side of evil.
Ever
After (1998)
This is a film inspired by the fairy
tale Cinderella and is set in Renaissance-era France. It stars Drew Barrymore
as Danielle de Barbarac (Cinderella) and Dougray Scott as Crown Prince Henry
(Prince Charming) and it is my all-time favourite film. There are quite a few
quotes that I love from the film.
Mighty
Joe Young (1998)
This film is about a giant mountain
gorilla called Joe, being raised and protected by Jill Young, played by
Charlize Theron in Uganda. It goes through how they met and the lengths they
have to go through to ensure that Joe can live a free and safe life away from
poachers. One of my favourite scenes is with the ferris wheel at the carnival.
It makes me tear up a little every time I see this part of the film.
Bartok
the Magnificent (1999)
This is an animated adventure comedy
film starring Bartok the Bat from Anastasia. It is mean’t to create a backstory
for Bartok, showing us what he got up to before becoming Rasputin’s sidekick in
Anastasia. This is also a Fox Animation film and features five musical numbers,
even though it is not classed as a musical animation.
Lion
of Oz (2000)
This is a CinéGroupe animated musical set
before the events in the Wizard of Oz. It is the Lion’s story on how he found
himself in Oz. It is also about courage and believing in yourself. It is a
great film with a great message for children and I love all of the songs. The film
ends where the Lion meets Dorothy on the way to the Emerald City.
The
Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea (2000)
This film is set after the events of the
first film and Ariel has now become a mother. There is now a threat in the sea,
so a barrier is created between land and sea to protect the new baby Princess
from the threat. As the baby grows up she longs to be in the sea and become a
mermaid. She isn’t sure why she feels this way as she is unaware her mother
(Ariel) is a mermaid. Eventually the threat takes over and it is up to the
young Princess to save the day and unite the humans and mermaids. This is also
a musical adaptation like the first film. I really like the music and my favourite
Disney film is The Little Mermaid and I am obsessed with the mythology of
mermaids in general!
The
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
This is the second film in the newest
Narnia series and it is my favourite one out of the three made. It’s set one
thousand three hundred (1,300) years after the Pevensie siblings left Narnia at
the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. That’s how many years in
Narnian time, but in Human Earth time it has actually only been a year. You can
only imagine the vast changes in Narnia in that many years, but to the siblings
it’s only been a year since they left. I just love the battle scenes and it is
a coming of age film, especially for the two older siblings. The ending credits
song is so sad, but beautiful (The Call by Regina Spektor).
I do like quite a few other films too,
but the above are my absolute favourites. I also like watching franchise films.
Here are some honourable mentions; Grease
(1978), Splash (1984), The Black Cauldron (1985), Dirty Dancing (1987), Mannequin (1987), Ghost (1990), The Swan
Princess (1994), Double Jeopardy
(1999), Coyote Ugly (2000), A Knight’s Tale (2001), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001), Harry Potter series (2001-2011), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003),
Pirates of the Caribbean series
(2003-2007), The Chronicles of
Narnia series (2005-2010), The
Hobbit trilogy (2012-2014), Split
(2016) and Patrick (2018).
My current list of films I still need to
watch are; Saving Private Ryan (1998),
Avatar (2009), The Danish Girl (2015), A
Quiet Place (2018), John Wick:
Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019), Spider-Man:
Far From Home (2019), What Men Want (2019) and Extraction
(2020).
The ones I am waiting on to be released
in the cinemas after the pandemic are; Wonder
Woman 1984, Peter Rabbit 2, Black Widow, Mulan, The King’s Man, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard and The King of Staten Island.
Do you have any suggestions for other
films I might like?
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