The Secret of Nihm - a sick dying child Land Before Time - a child with a dead mother All Dogs go to Heaven - an orphaned child An American Tail - a child who lost his family' Had these movies been made by Disney, they would have probably recieved a bunch of criticism for all those stories. Thank God Don Bluth is ex-Disney and gets a pass for it
Does Don Bluth even make movies anymore? And i would have put Anastasia on the 5 best list instead of American Tail. I dont know for some reason i never cared about American Tail that much and i liked the sequel better when i was younger.
Beth Anthony I personally prefer Bartok, but I love Anastasia as well. Even if it imitated Disney, it did it pretty well. The music and the visuals are beautiful and the characters and loveable.
My top four favourites are "The Secret of N.I.M.H.", "The Land Before Time", "All Dogs Go To Heaven", and "Anastasia". "The Land Before Time" and "Anastasia" were major life changers for me. "The Land Before Time" sparked my childhood love of dinosaurs, and "Anastasia" began my love of the Romanov family, which has truly become one of the focal points of my life. I'd have liked to see Don try his hand at an adaptation of "The Little Mermaid". The mermaid dying and becoming an air spirit after she chose not to kill her prince (yes, that really happens to her in the original story) really reminds me of how Charlie dies (and possibly goes to Hell) before being allowed into Heaven for him having saved Anne-Marie
The fact that active central heroines were so darn hard to come by in 1980s American animation makes Mrs. Brisby shine all the more brightly -- the diamond in the dark. A pity Bluth never gave us such a marvelous female lead again, with only Anastasia coming close.
I loved Thumbelina the art , the songs especially "let me be your wings". As a little girl I was head over heels for the movie, didn't even notice any similarities with Disney. I still love this movie today.
I actually think he think the nail on the head with that comment about how writing a script is like a child developing in the womb. The process of writing has a lot of weird metaphorical parallels to childbirth; it's no wonder writers think of their works as "their babies".
secret of nimh all day every day. Not only are the story and thematic elements pitch perfect, but it's also incredible visually. Each locale is so finely detailed and has its own unique feel, and the animation on every character and fx was top notch... makes me wanna just go watch it right now.
In "Peeble and the Penguin", why do the penguins have fingers, clothes, and teeth? I know I see it on other bird cartoon films, but here, it just doesn't fit.
Yeah, it made no sense at all. Not because of the farm animals, but because they never needed chanticleer in the first place since the sun rose by itself, but I still liked it. Maybe it was because it captured a small percentage of my childhood. The part that I really liked was when they first saw the beautiful landscape of the city when they were in the sewer.
I absolutely Love The Secret of Nihm! But I absolutely hate It's Sequel because it removes all the Darkness of the Original and makes it Overly Sappy like A Troll in Central Park
Good job on the list. Now here's my thoughts on Bluth's films: Secret of NIMH: Haven't seen it in a while, but from what I remember it was good. I really got to watch it again. An American Tail: Pretty solid. Great characters, wonderful songs, excellent animation, and a great parallel to American history. Land Before Time: My personal favorite. I just loved the dynamic between the five kids and they each had strong personalities. The soundtrack and animation are also a delight. All Dogs Go to Heaven: While the story does have a few bumps and most of the songs are forgettable, the story is still good, and the characters and animation are solid. I also like how it includes a lot of adult material, in spite of being a supposed family film. Rock-a-Doodle: I remember watching this one a lot as a kid. Nowadays, I kind of see it along the lines of "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story" or "The Fearless Four," in which the execution is so bizarre that it's kind of entertaining. Not good by any means, but still interesting to see for how strange it can get. Thumbelina: Aside from the animation and maybe one song, I hated this film. The story was all over the place, the remaining songs were insufferable, and the characters were either forgettable or annoying, especially the bird sidekick. A Troll in Central Park: That's all that needs to be said. Pebble and the Penguin: I also used to watch this one a lot as a kid. While definitely one of Bluth's weaker efforts, I find it better than most of his 90s movies (minus the Anastasia films). The story was at least consistent and I found most of the songs somewhat tolerable. Anastasia: Pretty decent. It had a fair story, some likable characters, nice animation (minus some CGI effects), and mostly great songs. Bartok the Magnificent: I found this one incredibly boring until the third act. Titan A.E.: A pretty cool film, even if the characters could've been stronger.
Oddly enough I did somewhat enjoy this film as a little kid, but only becuz I loved the actor who voiced Stanley. He had that distinct "fatherly figure" voice similar to Frosty the Snowman. That was pretty much the only good thing about this film, otherwise I wouldn't remember it. As for "The Pebble and the Penguin", could not care less about the main character since I did not like his voice.
Some people often delude themselves into thinking kids are precious and innocent and can do no harm. I'm guessing those people musta had a charmed and sheltered childhood.
I've only watched four movies by Don Bluth, so here they are: 1. An American Tail 2. The Secret of NIMH 3. All Dogs Go To Heaven 4. The Land Before Time
I like all Don Bluth films i have seen. And the only one i haven't seen is a troll in central park. I think Bluth is one of finest directors the medium of animation has.
I know, right? I don't mind a little Don Bluth myself. I think that the best thing Don Bluth and Disney have in common is that they made great films for all to enjoy!
Firstly, kudos to you for not having Anastasia as your number one. I love that movie, but I feel like it's not Bluth's best, and it's always at people's number one spot. NIMH is definitely the more superior movie. As for Thumbelina, Pebble and the Penguin, and Troll in Central Park, those movies are guilty pleasures for me. I know they're flawed, especially TICP, but I'm a huge sap and these movies are particularly sappy. I had only seen Pebble and the Penguin for the first time recently, but I ended up loving it. I don't think it's as terrible as people make it out to be, but I do agree that it's definitely one of Bluth's weaker films.
I feel like most people’s dislike of Anastasia comes from the fact that it stems from a real historical tragedy. Sure, it’s just a hypothetical What-If story regarding the rumor that Anastasia had survived, but the reality is hard from a fairy tale. As you probably know, in reality, Anastasia didn’t survive, and was murdered along with her family, as the discovery of their remains later confirmed. The movie itself is actually based on the story of one of the most infamous Anastasia impersonators, though her grandmother never met her or any of the other impersonators. Also, contrary to what the story tells, Rasputin was not an evil sorcerer who started communism by infecting people with hateful feelings; that’s just Tsarist propaganda.
As someone who grew up with NIMH, Anastasia is far superior. I prefer my animated movies to be more lighthearted. Life is too dark as it is. It's another reason why I love Fievel Goes West far more than the original. Heck, both thge first two American Tail movies are better than NIMH. Those movies gave me my love for mice, not NIMH.
The "but on crack cocaine!" part had me howling. The only decent thing at all about Pebble and the Penguin is Tim Curry voicing Drake. You know what's really gutwrenching about American Tail? The horrid treatment it recieves on DVD releases on TV broadcasts: slightly zoomed in screen, unnecessary added sound effects and redubbed voices in a very late scene.
This is a list I can certainly agree with. It's nice to include the quote from Bluth about what went wrong with "A Troll in Central Park". (It's also worth noting that that movie has the distinction of having one of the worst box office records for any animated movie, as well as the fact that one of the songs from "Thumbelina", "Marry the Mole", made it the first animated feature to win a Razzie). "Titan A.E.", I honestly think, is simply okay, like "Anastasia". I don't think it's the greatest film ever, though it is quite spectacle, but if you asked me to make a sci-fi-fi movie with this sort of material, that would probably be it. Which brings me to another point I'd like to make briefly: yes we are at an age where we express opinions as explicitly our own, and that's all for the better. BUT...when talking about something like opinions, it is kind of harsh and even contradictory to bring up subjects like lack of compitency or laziness on a writer's part. I won't act like I've never been guilty of that, but I think this is something we need to keep in mind sooner or later before we give things like zero points to content (in cases like "Frozen" or "Equestria Girls": if your opinion is that you don't like something, fine, but try and express what YOU would come up with for what you'd like to see, rather than just ramble on about how this isn't someone's best work. (But pretty much ANYONE can do better than "A Troll in Central Park". That movie was more like a hastily-produced first draft of a concept for a film that was just forced to come into full fruition against Bluth's own will.)
The only reason I've not gone the "This is what i'd do" route is because it's often been encouraged that reviewers critique a movie for what it is and not what they want it to be. Although, it is a good way of saying how incompetent a writer is because i'd be illustrating how better ideas are possible.
It's also important to keep in mind that as bad as something might be, there are probably several contributing factors beyond the artists control that might have forced it to turn out differently from what they intended. The creator still holds responsibility, but every artist comes up short on his/her potential every once in a while.
Of course but a finished product is a finished product, behind the scenes facts can explain why a film is the way it is but they don't suddenly improve a film's watchability or quality. Imagine this scenario: I make a cake with the best of intentions, wanting it to taste really great but then it gets burnt in the oven and it's disgusting. I could defend myself by saying "I wanted to make a really good cake but it got burnt!" but that doesn't mean that the cake is suddenly easier for people to eat, it's still burnt and inedible. It'd be irrational and unfair to ask those people to feel obligated to enjoy my burnt cake, just because I started off with good intentions.
You're absolutely right. All I'm saying is if your going to criticize a product on the basis of it being your own opinion, think twice before being quick to say it's laziness or incompitence on the creator's part.
Personally, I think Don needs better script writers/storytellers! Still, I think his better movies are An American Tail and The secret of Nimb. Mostly the stuff that involve mice and the theme of family, and the sense of scale.
Secret of Nimh was a bit of a flop in 1982. The film got new life on VHS, DVD, Blu Ray and streaming but it took years to break even and turn a profit.
I actually grew to like Thumbalina. Rushed, yes. But I like how old archetypes of the decent to the underworld and through the seasons are paired with life lessons and finding oneself.
top 5 best: 1 The secret of NIMH 2 Anastasia 3 The Land before time 4 An american tale 5 Titan A.E. top 5 worst: 1 A troll in central park 2 The Pebble and the Penguin 3 Thumbellina 4 Rock a doodle 5 Bartok the magnificent (however I like number 4 and 5 of the worst choices)
@@Funnyanimalperson I never really got into Land Before Time. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good movie, but Land Before Time felt rushed story-wise and didn't always seem to know what tone it wanted to set (the result of studio interference, as I understand). Both Secret of NIMH and An American Tail have solid stories and are more tonally consistent, so I would rank both of them ahead of Land Before Time.
Here are my Top 5s: BEST: 1. The Secret of Nimh (Don Bluth's greatest Masterpiece, imo!) 2. An American Tale 3. A Land Before Time (Hard to decide because it's as good as American Tale) 4. All Dogs go to Heaven 5. Anastasia (I think it was good. Not great, but good.) WORST: 1. Thumbelina (Yes, I think that movie is WORSE than Troll in Central Park because it's so boring and forgettable and the "heroine" is more annoying and naive than the Troll) 2. A Troll in Central Park 3. The Pebble and the Penguin 4. Titan AE (I love Science Fiction and Don Bluth, but this movie was so goddamn boring and disappointing) 5. Bartok The Magnificent / Rock A Doodle
I still genuinely enjoy Bartok the Magnificent. Barton himself is charming and adorable, and I find his motor mouth to be quite funny at times. Plus Piloff, Baba Yaga, and Bartok's bear companion all add to the movie quite positively. It was and still is one of my favorite Don Bluth films
"Girl with no agency" is a good way to put it. There's nothing that gets me more angry in a movie than a girl who can't speak up for herself and doesnt show anger or fight to get away from a guy coming on to her while another guy is expected to be the "bigger man" Its understandable if the bad guy is some scary individual keeping the girl hostage and can easily over power her yes, and yes any girl would love for a guy to be able to protect her and take out the bad guy, but when you're a girl in a movie who is just literally standing in the middle of two guys who are fighting and waiting for one of them to "win you over", it makes you look uncaring as a character and I can't exactly feel sorry for you Belle had two men technically fight over her, but she didn't just stand around waiting for Gaston to win and she didn't expect the Beast to fight, she also physically tried to stop Gaston herself before the Beast interfered
The thing is, Mrs. Brisby is NOT a "badass", but the point is, she doesn't have to be. All she needed was courage, determination, and love, not any great amount of physical ability.
The Actual threat of the trolls is VERY downplayed, and mainly saved for the finale. For the most part, the film plays things very safe and pads the story out with pointless cute filler.
I don't deny that Rock-a-Doodle is a mess upon reflection as an adult, but I loved this movie as a kid and I have a soft spot for it even today. But I'd sooner watch Rock-a-Doodle than any bad children's films of more recent memory...*cough*Emoji Movie*cough*
I'm the few that actually doesn't hate Pebble and the Penguin. It's not a masterpiece by far but it's not a terrible film either. I liked the characters, the setting and the animation. It's not insulting or mean spirited. It's a decent film that I like just fine.
The captions at 4:18 said "I can show you shit" Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
well in my opinion Mr Jambareeqi sir. I love Don bluth, one of my friends inspired me about him! so I like all of the don bluth movies (Except A troll in central park which was AWFUL!! and it does the same for Rock a doodle but its a bad one lets say 75% bad so anyways) #10. Thumbelina #9. Bartok the Magnificent #8. The Small One #7. The Pebble and the Penguin (I love penguins so don't judge me!) #6. All dogs go to heaven 1 and 2 #5. Titan A.E. #4. Banjo the Woodpile Cat (True its small but I count it since it's a cute one #3. An American Tail #2. The Secret of NIMH and finally #1. The Land Before Time
Thumbelina is my guilty pleasure but I respect the fact that others won't be entertained quite as much and I do see some of the film's flaws especially with that god-awful "Marry the Mole" *pukes* BTW There's also Mr. Mole voiced by John Hurt (the voice of the Horned King in The Black Cauldron, Disney's least proudest achievement).
Don Bluth has done some incredible films but shockingly I've only seen The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven. I have An American Tail on a 3-film DVD with Land Before Time and Balto. It never even struck me as an interest to even give it a try after all these years. Think I should?
An American Tail is hard to stomach and can be too mean spirited for some, it's grueling but you'll be rewarded as a viewer by the end. However, if that isn't your cup of tea then maybe avoid it in favour of another Bluth film
The theme of that DVD set is probably Steven Spielberg. Spielberg was the producer of An American Tail, Land Before Time, and Balto. And I would definitely recommend An American Tail. It's my personal favourite, not just of Bluth's films, but of animated movies in general.
Throughout the whole bad movie countdown I couldn’t stop wondering “what’s with bluth and sticking tits on birds?” Also I loved Thumbelina as a kid, but it just now occurred to me that I... can remember almost nothing about it. Which says a lot.
As critical as I sometimes am of Don Bluth, his movies still have a unique visual style, and if they're sometimes bizarre, uneven and chaotic, at least that means they have an individual stamp on them. Nowadays, when so many animated movies look and feel bland, predictable and unremarkable, I'd welcome a chaotic mess of a movie like Rock a Doodle. I would rather live with the WORST of Bluth's movies than the BEST of Sony or Illumination.
My top 6 favorite Don Bluth films would be: 1. The secret of Nimh 2. An American Tale 3. Land before Time 4. Anastasia 5. All Dogs go to heaven 6. Titan A.E.
I absolutely agree with your top pick. This was a movie I for some reason never got to see as a kid oddly enough. I'm 26 now, yet saw the movie for the first time 2 years ago, and I was amazed. I can see why people praise this movie, and why people are so upset with the downfall of Bluth's quality throughout the 1990's.
My Top 3 Best and Worst Don Bluth Movies Worst Dis-Honorable Mention: Rock a Doodle (It's bad. But, I find it so bad that it's interestingly entertaining. Like Batman and Robin) 3. The Pebble and the Penguin (Dull and bland and nonsensical. But, at least they tried.) 2. A Troll in Central Park (Boring, too whimsical, and the plot feels like its non existent with too much filler) 1. Thumbelina (One of the worst movies I've ever had to sit through...period) Best Honorable Mention: An American Tail (I put it down there because it does get too cutesy wootesy and too child friendly for my taste. But, I still consider it a good movie) 3. The Land Before Time (Good movie with a mature message about life and death for kids) 2. All Dogs Go To Heaven (A childhood favorite I grew up with watching religiously) 1. The Secret of NIIMH (One of the best animated films I've ever seen and Don Bluth's best film and for a good reason)
My top 5 Best Don Bluth movies: 1) The Secret of NIMH 2) The Land Before Time 3) An American Tail 4) Anastasia 5) All Dogs Go to Heaven My top 5 Worst Don Bluth movies: 1) Thumbelina 2) A Troll in Central Park 3) Rock a Doodle 4) Bartok the Magnificent 5) The Pebble and the Penguin
Aww, I rather liked Pebble and The Penguin when I was little. I was VERY little though, so that probably explains it. I was personally in love with penguins (especially in movies!) but I can't disagree with anything that you said. True, I was really surprised as a kid when Rocko was nice all of a sudden to Hubie! Even as a little kid I was confused by that progression. I think the greatest reason why I wasn't turned off by the movie when I was so small was because when you haven't seen any cookie-cutter characters, there are none. So, I hadn't had any expectations at all. I like the way it was described here.
Honestly a troll in Central Park is the only one of his I don't like, I haven't seen Bartok in a long time so i don't fully remember it but I love Rock a doodle
NIMH is not a mythical place Brisby goes to, to find the rats. They live in the rosebush. They escaped from the National Institute of Mental Health or NIMH where they were experimented on. This is how they became intelligent. A "secret" of NIMH that they wanted to keep.
Great best and worst countdown video. My favourite Don Bluth films are Anastasia, All Dogs Go to Heaven and Thumbelina but I don't have a least favourite because I haven't seen that many.
I admit that Pebble and the Penguin, Troll in Central Park, and Thumbelina are pretty lackluster, but are guilty pleasures of mine because I loved them as a kid. While I do see the problems in these films, I do look back on them fondly.
I think rock a doodle could’ve worked. As a kid I enjoyed it but it was the ending I had problems with. It was too sad and I couldn’t figure out whether or not it was a dream, whether he went to another world. As a kid and even as an adult I never liked it when the main character was rescued by waking up. Another example of that would’ve been Disney is Alice in wonderland. Not the Tim Burton Version, the original. Again I loved everything about that movie right up until the ending.
I always watched more Disney films than Don Bluth films when I was younger, but I used to absolutely adore the Land Before Time (I still do as a matter of fact and I've watched it more times than I can count over the years, it never fails to make me cry). I think I also had All Dogs Go to Heaven on VHS, but for some reason it never stuck with me in quite the same way Land Before Time did.
I recommend you to check out An American Tail, it's a really wonderful film and it's a huge favorite film of mine. If you enjoy the Land Before Time, I'll say you might really enjoy An American Tail as well. An American Tail and its sequels are on Netflix these days, just to let you know :)
I appreciate the movies of Bulth that come closer to real life. Those movies for me being, Secret of NIMH, Anastasia, An American Tale, and Land Before Time. Secret of NIMH tackles themes like animal testing, facing scary things in order to protect family and death. Anastasia, tells the famous tale of the Romanov family and at the time kept on the belief that one of the princess's had survived. An American Tale shows in a child-friendly manner the true life of the immigrants who moved to New York in 1885. Land Before Time, sure it's about dinosaurs, but also about how after a natural disaster, a group kids try to find their familys again. After that, the rest are just magic-filled movies just to bring wonder and laugh to the viewers. Some of them being not so great than others.
Little bit of trivia, when Don Bluth was showing Thumbelina to a test audience, he actually went as far to play the Disney logo before the film would start, thats how far he was on cashing in on Disney
Troll in Central Park was only salvageable because dom deluise but good God those kids were just the worst kids in any movie or show or really anything ever. Just cut them out of the whole movie and it might be somewhat decent
I may have been too little to see what was wrong with the penguin movie (I was three), but even someone as dumb as me knows that Thumbelina was annoying.
Worst 5: Bartox the magnificent 4: pebble the penguin 3: Rock o doodle 2: thumbelina 1: a troll in Central Park Best 5: all dogs go to heaven 4: Anastasia 3: an American tail 2: land before time 1: secret of nimph
My top 5 best Don Bluth movies: 1) The Secret of NIMH 2) The Land Before Time 3) An American Tail 4) Anastasia 5) All Dogs Go to Heaven Top 5 Worst Don Bluth Movies 1) Thumbelina 2) A Troll in Central Park 3) Rock a Doodle 4) Bartok the Magnificent 5) The Pebble and the Penguin