What in the world inspired me to do that?
With a change in schedules at work, I had the day off which means MOVIE MARATHON. And as you will learn, I am horrible about picking movies for myself. Also picking themes for said marathon days.
Today’s marathon is sponsored by the letter “D” — Disney.
After nearly spending 40 minutes looking for the right marathon, I decided to head over to Disney+ to continue on with my chronological order of Disney movies, which is impossible to do because not every film is available for streaming. So, I started with the first that was available that I have not seen.
From there, I took a hard consideration in either going in order or taking the year it was released and doing another “A Day in The Year” theme. I even considered picking an actor from that movie and doing a day of them. It wasn’t until the end of the first film did I decide how I’d spend my day — I’d allow Disney to decide.
After the first film, Disney+ gives you a suggested film. That is what I’d watch. And so on… Here is what happened to my day.
Third Man on the Mountain (1959)
Third Man on the Mountain is a light-hearted family film about a young lad, Rudi Matt, who dreams of climbing the highest mountain in his Swiss Alps town. His father had been killed climbing it, so its his life’s mission to conquer what other men feared.
While he is an experienced rock/mountain climber, he’s still a novice. He finds himself saving an advanced climber, Captain Winter and befriends him. Winter requests his company on the deadly hike to the top of the Citadel. Yada Yada Yada.
For a movie of this age, the climbing scenes were remarkable and had me gripping my chair—even for a family film. The storyline was enjoyable. Coming from a published novel, “Banner in the Sky” it makes sense why Walt Disney took this movie under his wing. Quite enjoyable.
The Island at the Top of the World (1974)
I didn’t have high hopes going into “The Island at the Top of the World” when Disney+ recommended it to me. I thought it would be Land of the Lost meets Around the World in 80 Days. I was wrong.
This film was about a rich Frenchman whose son has gone missing in the Artic. He enlists the help of a blimp builder and an archeologist to go on a mission to find his son. This endeavor leads them to find a lost civilization of Vikings living in a tranquil village away from the world. They don’t even know there are others out there until these strangers invade their sacred land.
While the film is preposterous, it was interesting enough for me not to be bored. The acting was well done and story good. My issue with the film is that these native Vikings didn’t speak English but Disney provided no subtitles either. We had to rely on the commentary of the archeologist to translate, but even he said that he didn’t know the language, yet he could translate it. Hmmm…
Shipwrecked (1990)
Now this is Home Alone meets Pirates of the Caribbean. It takes quite a while to get the cast shipwrecked but when they do… engage the hijinx.
This family high seas adventure is about a boy who is sent off to become a seaman in order to save his family farm. He must learn to navigate the ways of being a sailor while being barely a teenager. When the boat is battered by a storm, he finds himself stranded on a deserted island where he finds pirate booty. And of course, the pirate wants it back.
I can see the appeal for young boys during that era, and even young girls as the main character has a Teen Beat face. Sadly, it’s his only film.
There is a bit of corniness to the story but holds up well for the time in Disney history. I’de give it a solid 3-stars.
Jumping Ship (2001)
The only redeeming quality of this film is looking at very good look guys. The Lawrence brothers are together but not as brothers. Joey is a rich entitled kid who doesn’t have a job and has to look good all the time. Andrew is his friend (how this old man and teenagers are friends is a mystery), who Joey takes to Australia for a yacht vacation.
Then you have Matthew who is the captain of the “charter” that Joey rented. Of course, this is when chaos ensues.
I really believe this film was just a way to allow Joey Lawrence to shred his dignity and put himself in a lot of slapstick adventures. The plot is boring. We have a lot of just looking at the Lawrence brothers without any real point. It feels like the last 30 minutes is when the plot thickens and not even like a hearty stew. Its watered down chicken broth that is lackluster.
I’m sure this was a Disney Channel original at some point because it wasn’t worth theatre time.
Tiger Cruise (2004)
What could go wrong when the group of kids have a 5-day cruise aboard a Navy aircraft carrier sailing from Hawaii to San Diego?
9/11 happens.
This Disney film takes place in the hype of 9/11 films, but gears the film for families, of course. It’s a Disney movie.
Hayden Panettiere stars as the daughter of a commander (Bill Pulman) who goes on this cruise to convince her father to retire from the Navy and come home for good. During their voyage, 9/11 happens and the crew of the USS Constellation doesn’t know if they will return home or be called to war with a boat full of kids.
Disney tiptoed over the events, keeping it light-hearted… but to me, if this was to be a 9/11 film, that should have happened quicker. There was a lot of unnecessary boredom in the first half of the film, making the last half more important but rushed. Nothing special for this Disney Channel original.
Let’s Be Tigers (2021)
OMG. What was this 15-minute short that Disney+ recommended for me. It’s about this girl who is babysitting just after her mother died. She’s mean. She’s horrible. And she should not have been babysitting.
While the kid was adorable, what purpose did this short have. She ignored the kid, yelled at him… he almost gets killed. And for what?
Please, someone tell me what purpose this film was for.
And that was my day with Disney+
