Do Not Disavow

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Do Not Disavow By: Rick Davis   When Charlemagne established law Salic in barb’rous land, The gospel flourished, and he saw Christ’s praise on every hand.   (“Do you approve his methods now?”) I do not disavow.   King Godfrey took Jerusalem From bloody paynim hands And brought a halt to Musselmen Invading Christian lands.   (“He did some mean things anyhow!”) I do not disavow.   King Richard with his scarlet shield And passant lions ‘bossed Rode forth again unto the field To regain what was lost.   (“His deeds at Acre you allow?”) I do not disavow.   Unto the Germans Luther brought The gospel full restored, And Calvin at Geneva taught The glory of the Lord.   (“The Jews? Servetus? Holy cow!”) I do not disavow.   Stonewall and Lee like knights of old Fought for their native soil, The true and lovely to uphold Against the tyrant’s spoil.   (“Those vile racists ...
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Best Don Bluth Films

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Don Bluth films. When they were good, they were better than anything Disney could dream of making, but when they were bad…well, let’s just not mention “A Troll in Central Park”… But how can one separate the wheat from the chaff? Fear not, for, inspired by one of my students who listed his top 5 Disney films, I have compiled the Top 5 Best Don Bluth Films.


1. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
This movie scared me so bad as a kid, but I loved it. This was Don Bluth’s first film and his best. It shows just what makes a Don Bluth film special: a willingness to explore darker themes, an eye for real conflict often missing from more cutesy films, and yet with enough bright, colorful, lighthearted scenes to make the movie perfect for kids.

2. Anastasia (1997)
Okay, I admit it. I like romantic comedies. However, this romantic comedy/adventure is better than any live action guy/girl adventure movie I’ve seen. Also the time period makes for a gorgeous film.

3. An American Tail (1986)
A movie about the plight of Jewish immigrants moving to America from Russia, and of the corrupt employers who oppress them. Sounds like a great kids’ movie, right? Well, it is if you make the main characters mice!

4. The Land Before Time (1988)
If you only know about “The Land Before Time” from the 5 billion awful straight to video sequels, do yourself a favor and watch the original. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you really hate T-Rex.

5. All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
This was a very strange movie. From the concept of dog-heaven and dog-hell to the giant singing alligator, nothing about this movie should actually work. And yet it does, brilliantly.

Comments

Erica said…
BIG-LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT.

Couldn't resist. Agree with this list 100%. Although I never wound up hating T-Rex. That might explain why I love Jurassic Park, or why I have a sharptooth toy sitting on the desk right now....
06 May, 2012 22:32
Anonymous said…
I never saw a Don Bluth film I didn't like (I've only seen 4 of them).

I'll say this: parts of them all scared me a lot (All Dogs still disturbs me a bit overall, Dragon from NIMH scared me the most there, the cats--especially the Cossacks--in American Tail and the fight between Sharptooth and Littlefoot's Mom [especially, for some odd reason, that musical orchestra bell cue when the earthquake starts]).

I'll also say this: the animation for these films is just a wonderful hodge-podge of color and light. Some scenes have a grittier, dirtier feel (the reveal of the Mouse of Minsk, Charlie's nightmare sequence) that I think many animated films from other sources sorely lack. That look really helped the scenes it appeared in.

It's a shame Don didn't continue directing animation well into the current time.
05 October, 2012 07:07
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