Peter Pan is a better Disney cartoon than I remember

* * * (out of 5)

Peter Pan was playing on the Wonderful World of Disney a few weeks ago so I Tivo'ed it to see how it matches my memories. I saw it when i was a kid and about 15 years ago on video and remember that time falling asleep on it several times before getting through it. Well, this time it only took two viewings to get through it, but boy were the sleep bugs crawling in my eyes tonight. So-called "classic" Disney animation was made for a different time, I guess. All the old cartoons, like Cinderella, The Aristocats and Snow White are set at a tempo that puts me to sleep. And the music is just one notch above lullabies.

However, this one had more action than I remember and a quicker pace. Peter's skirmishes with Captain Hook are exciting and funny, but you never really doubt that Peter will emerge victorious. He can fly and Hook has one hand, that is a major advantage. I didn't remember Tinkerbell being such a jealous, spiteful thing. She almost has Wendy killed by the Lost Boys. And I loved the alligator waiting patiently for Hook to come near him in the water, tapping his front foot, one two three fingers at a time.

How many stages of Disney animation have there been now?

1--The Classic Era, that starts around 1937 with Snow White and runs through 1971 with The Jungle Book and Robin Hood. Walt knew how to entertain.

2--Is the Lesser Era, after Walt's death when the company tried to follow the same old formulas, but came up short. 1971-1987: Sometimes there'd be a good Oliver and Co., but then there was a Tron or The Fox and the Hound, which were poor substitutes. This era ended in 1987 with "The Great Mouse Detective", which was a fun story about a mouse who lived in Sherlock Holmes's house. The following year Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out and Disney animation was reborn.

3--The New Classics-- a short period, but what a fruitful one. 1989-1994: Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King. A Murderer's Row of animation. This era ended when Jeffery Katzenberg was forced out by a jealous Michael Eisner and Katz helped start Dreamworks. While Eisner greenlighted crap like Pocahontas and Mulan, Katz was making Shrek.

4--The Dog Era--From 1994 until 2006, Disney gamely tried to keep hand-drawn animation alive, but many of their new products were dreary (Hunchback of Notre Dame) or unmemorable (Atlantis), and even when they had a good one like Hercules, it didn't catch on with the movie going public.

5--Pixar Era---1995 until Infinity and Beyond. Starting with Toy Story, Disney formed an alliance with one of the greatest motion picture companies in history. Pixar has produced 9 movies over the years and each one has been a commercial and critical smash, collecting oodles of awards including Oscars and selling billions of Happy Meals. This year's WALL-E has an excellent shot at being nominated for Best Picture and gives tremendous hope to all us Disney fans that the future looks very bright indeed. As they sing in Peter Pan, we know "You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly."

The Freditor

There's Something About Mary: One classic comedy that stands the test of time

* * * * * (out of 5)

I became a member of the online community in July 1997 and one of my favorite things to do then as now was to write movie reviews. In the summer of 1998, I went nuts extolling the virtues of the most original comedy of its time, There's Something About Mary . Back then I worried that maybe I was just flush with new excitement and the feeling would not last. Well, after at least 7 or 8 years I watched it again tonight. All the way through I've seen this movie maybe 4 times now, but tonight I laughed like it was all new again.

Along with Dumb and Dumber, the Farrelly Brothers' first movie, it has set the benchmark for all the funny comedies we see today. Will Ferrell, Sasha Baron Cohen (Borat), Adam Sandler and Judd Apatow have all taken the formula of the Farrelly Bros. and made huge fortunes with it. But Mary is some kind of movie.

A comedy about not one but four stalkers going after this girl in Miami. Ben Stiller was just wetting his feet in his first foray into utter embarrassment humor. This movie also made him a movie star and a household name. Matt Dillon revived his career acting in a comedy, playing against type as the sleazy dweeb, who doesn't mind killing a dog to get the girl. And Cameron Diaz once again shows that you don't have to be the best looking girl at the dance just the one with the sweetest energy to lure all the boys.

It is so appropriate to watch this movie tonight, first because it coincides with the release of Ben Stiller's new movie, Tropic Thunder and because it was Brett Favre's one and only movie appearance and what a shocking ending to find out he was the notorious "Brett Fa-Vava-Re". Plus, Brett made his playing debut tonight as the quarterback of the New York Jets.

I rarely channel surf or even watch a movie a second time on TV, but I lucked out with this one tonight. Thanks HBO.

The Freditor