My Top 5 Favourite Disney Classics

I mentioned last week that I feel like I’m reverting back to a child-like state, especially when it comes to my desire lately to re-visit all of my favourite Disney flicks from my youth, and to buy them on DVD.

I mean, it was a little disconcerting to realize on Easter weekend that it was the Saturday night of a long weekend, and I was in my pj’s at 9 PM watching Aladdin.  And yet, I really didn’t want to be anywhere else!  I’ve been thinking a lot about Disney movies lately, especially after discussing them at book club a few weeks ago and how frustrating that darned Disney Vault is… I hate that I have to wait for a movie to come “out of the vault” to buy it!  (Thank goodness Amazon has some ways around that!!)

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time you know that watching movies is one of my favourite things to do.  But I didn’t get my love of movies from my own parents.  I mean, sure, we watched movies at home from time to time when I was a kid, but they were usually my dad’s choice, which meant that I did not enjoy them.  Westerns.  Cowboys and Indians.  Not a little girl’s idea of fun…

I credit my love for movies to three different sources:  my friend Stacy who had a huge collection of movies on VHS and often let me borrow from her; my cousin Patti who frequently invited my brother and I along when she was taking her boys to the theatre; and the McCann girls who lived next door to us when I was really young, who sometimes came over with the latest Disney Classic for us to watch in my basement.

I still love Disney movies, especially the ones I grew up with.  So today I’m sharing my Top 5 Favourite Disney Classics.  (Which, by the way, is not an easy list to come up with, because there are SO many to choose from!)

5.

Cinderella

This is my first memory of watching a Disney movie, and I remember the McCann girls letting me borrow it when I was little.  I watched it over and over again.  It was pure magic to me.  It makes me smile to know my niece Danica watches it now and gets that same feeling of magic.

4.

Beauty & The Beast

To be honest, when it first came out, it wasn’t my favourite.  I don’t think I truly appreciated it until I saw it as an adult.  I bought it for Danica’s third birthday, and she didn’t love it right away either – but I know after she went to Disney World this past winter, seeing Belle in person was a highlight for her!  (and it would be for me too, if I ever get there!!)   I guess Beauty & the Beast grew on both of us. ;)

3.

Aladdin

I remember Patti taking us to see Aladdin in theatres when I was  a kid, and it was instant love for me!  I also remember playing the video game on my brother’s SEGA.  Re-visiting it a few weekends ago was a trip for sure.  I gained a new appreciation for Robin Williams as the Genie.  He really did an amazing job.  Plus, Aladdin’s a friggin’ stud.

2.

Robin Hood

This is one of the few I remember watching at home as a kid.  Do you remember when they used to have Disney Family Night on Sunday nights on TV, back when we only got 2 or 3 channels?  They always aired a Disney show or movie, and sometimes, if we were lucky, my mom would let us take our Sunday night steak supper in to the living room and eat in front of the TV.  If Robin Hood was the movie on, I’d beg her to let me watch it.  It’s still one of my absolute favourites.  And I think those were the few nights that I actually didn’t mind eating steak! haha!

1.

The Little Mermaid

OK.  Confession time:  Prince Eric?  He was one of my very first crushes.  Yes.  You read that right.  I had a crush on an animated character.  It was between Prince Eric and Chachi there for a while.  My very first loves.   But it was more than just Eric… The songs, the story line, the characters, Ursula as one of the greatest Disney villains… The Little Mermaid had it all for me!  It remains my all-time favourite!

Do you see now how hard this list was to compile?  Have you noticed that I’m missing Disney masterpieces such as The Lion King and Snow White and Sleeping Beauty?  Bambi, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book?  Pochahontas, 101 Dalmatians, Dumbo?  Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and The Tramp?  Tarzan, Toy Story, Mulan?   The list just goes on and on!!

So… can you do it?  Can you pick a Top 5?  I’d love to hear what others choose as their favourites!