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View Full Version : The Best of Mark Dindal

Semaj
05-08-2006, 01:12 PM
Cats Don't Dance - 3.5/5
The Emperor's New Groove - 4.5/5
Chicken Little - 4.0/5

Dindal was a pretty unconventional director, often preferring to blend Warner Bros.-style humor into Disney-esque storytelling.

The Emperor's New Groove, along with Lilo & Stitch, was one of Disney's few strong films during their most recent decline.
Chicken Little shows that Disney CAN prosper with computer animation.
Cats Don't Dance is an underrated and under-appreciated piece from WB's 90's animation era.
Cartoonnetwork
05-08-2006, 05:51 PM
I also like Dindal and I like this poll.

I think Chicken Little (3/5) is clearly the worst one and it probably wasn't only Mark's fault, I guess there were too many people involved in the process of something, cause I can't explain how it turned out so mediocre (and some parts are worse than that) considering the quality of his other two films. The father and son story was awful and Runt, the pig, is more annoying than Jar Jar Binks, but some things like the alien invasion were well done and fun to watch.

Emperor's New Groove was very fresh and for me, funnier and wackier than Shrek and I really liked all the characters and the humor in it. It isn't superb in therms of plot or storytelling but it's quite original and a very enjoyable film to watch. 5/5, being generous.

Cats Don't Dance is a very cute homage to the golden era of cartoons and cinema...but the real cartoons and films from that era are far better, still, but that's valid for the greatest film/homage ever too (Who Framed Roger Rabbitt). 4-4,5/5
Reverend Lovejoy
05-09-2006, 10:22 AM
I also like Dindal and I like this poll.
I think Chicken Little (3/5) is clearly the worst one and it probably wasn't only Mark's fault, I guess there were too many people involved in the process of something, cause I can't explain how it turned out so mediocre (and some parts are worse than that) considering the quality of his other two films. The father and son story was awful and Runt, the pig, is more annoying than Jar Jar Binks, but some things like the alien invasion were well done and fun to watch.


I agree with you on the Runt thing. I always assumed that he was there as comic relief for the little kids, so I never gave him much attention. I was more interested in the alien invasion, the baseball scene (my favourite scene in the whole film) and the better characters, not mentioning names (*cough* Turkey Lurkey *cough*).

I enjoyed The Emperor's new groove and I have yet to see Cats Don't Dance, but at this point I'm voting for CL.
StarskyMaxwell
05-09-2006, 12:44 PM
Great poll, Semaj.

Cats Don't Dance: Absolutely wonderful, stylish and fluid animation, with beautiful designs and great expressions, and great and creative homage to the classics. Still, the story doesn't do that much for me and the songs drag on a little too long, but it's still a well-deserved 4,5/5.

The Emperor's New Groove: Absolutely hilarious, wacky and enjoyable. Along with Lilo & Stitch, best thing to come out of Disney in ages. 5/5.

Chicken Little: Do we really need to consider this as a Mark Dindal film? Sure, it had his feeling on some scenes, but overall it was more of a executive brainstorming CGI flick, let's face it. 2.5/5, I would be generous and give it a I-don't-know-if-well-deserved 3, but the grades are already too similar to Cartoonnetwork's.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-10-2006, 09:49 AM
Chicken Little: Do we really need to consider this as a Mark Dindal film?

Well, it was directed by him... :uhh:
StarskyMaxwell
05-10-2006, 10:29 AM
So what? Looking at it this way, Simpson Safari was executive produced by Matt Groening. What I meant was, that for me, half of the movie doesn't feel like Mark Dindal, but like meeting after meeting of executives ranting and wondering about what kids like this days.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-11-2006, 09:24 AM
Well, when you put it that way...

Still, I'm not going to deny that. What with the songs and Dreamworks-style pop-culture stuff in CL... that said, it's been a long time since I've found anyone likeable in an animated movie. :D

Oh, and sorry to edit this, but I'm beginning to disagree with some of that stuff. It was rather obvious that CL was trying to keep up with Dreamworks, but to compare it to Shrek? Please. If you do that, you clearly haven't seen that many movies. Complaining about pop-culture references is also rather pointless. This film was put into production 5 years ago, and if it had been released then, nobody would have cared. It's just now that it seems bad. It would be a good idea to see past the songs and the other stuff and just concentrate on the film, and if you still don't like it, I won't say anything. Just remember, it could have been a lot, lot worse.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-14-2006, 08:53 AM
Oh, and sorry to bump, but not voting for Chicken Little just 'cause it marked the start of Disney's CGI career doesn't make you clever - it makes you stupid. CL was originally going to be 2D, for those who care. And people who badmouth this movie without seeing it (as a lot of people have done on the CL thread) is even more stupid. Okay, I think I've said enough... ;-/
Reverend Lovejoy
05-25-2006, 10:17 AM
Sorry to bump (again :ashamed: ) but CL has just came out on DVD in the UK today.
Anyone else seen it? (Don't be ashamed!)
TriforceBun
05-25-2006, 12:37 PM
Chicken Little--nothing too special, but generally watchable. I actually liked Runt a lot more than Fish. B- for this tepid piece of entertainment.

Emperor's New Groove--hilarious from start to finish. A-

Haven't seen Cats Don't Dance, it didn't really appeal to me.
Conker Maddix
05-26-2006, 05:32 AM
Emperor's New Groove.

I haven't seen Cats Don't Dance but it's hell of alot better than Chicken Little.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-26-2006, 09:38 AM
I haven't seen Cats Don't Dance but it's hell of alot better than Chicken Little.

:angry: :banghead:
Didn't I say something about that sort of crap???? How can you judge one movie if you've never seen the other? I haven't seen Cats Don't Dance either but you don't hear me saying it's worse, do you? People never give CL a chance, that's the problem. Oh, and Triforcebun, I wouldn't call it tepid either. I watched it with someone else today, and they liked it, and they were older than myself.
Conker Maddix
05-26-2006, 07:58 PM
Sorry Reverend Lovejoy. just IMO i think the previews of Cats Don't Dance is better than Chicken Little. i'll try to rent Cats Don't Dance then.
Ivan
05-26-2006, 08:02 PM
Me and my sister got Cats Don't Dance on video about six/seven years ago. I haven't watched it for about two years, but it's my favourite out of those three.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-27-2006, 07:40 AM
Sorry Reverend Lovejoy. just IMO i think the previews of Cats Don't Dance is better than Chicken Little. i'll try to rent Cats Don't Dance then.

Fine. I didn't mean anything, I just don't like people dissing CL automatically.
Paul
05-27-2006, 07:55 AM
Chicken Little is a poorly animated, cliche-loaded movie for kids and kids only. His "dissing" was perfectly valid. I haven't seen the other two on this list and already know that they're better.
Mira
05-27-2006, 02:26 PM
The Emperor's New Groove 4.5/5 Surprisingly great movie, very funny a lots of action and great characters. This is what Disney is supposed to be about.

Cat's Don't Dance 3/5 I saw this not too long ago. It's for kids, there's really nothing here that would appeal to adults or even teens at all. It's a cute movie, but not something I'd ever care to see again.

Chicken Little 1.5/5 I really hated it, I knew I was not going to like it, but this is one of the most annoying and awful animated movies around. I don't think I'll be checking out Valiant anytime soon.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-28-2006, 08:59 AM
Chicken Little 1.5/5 I really hated it, I knew I was not going to like it, but this is one of the most annoying and awful animated movies around. I don't think I'll be checking out Valiant anytime soon.

If you think CL is bad, you'll prefer Valiant. Trust me.
Semaj
05-28-2006, 09:37 AM
Chicken Little and Valiant are both 3-D, but if you're giving the films individual assessments, that's a rather superficial judgement. I never saw Valiant, nor do I plan to anytime soon.

Chicken Little seems to be one of those films where you either love it or you hate it. Of course the story was fueled by executive "notes", but they wisely chose a producer-director team that at least understands and appreciates the animation process.

So yeah, no need to fight about it.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-29-2006, 12:50 PM
Thank you, Semaj. Again, each to his (or her) own. I have my own issues with Chicken Little (I wasn't too keen on the plot, and some of the characters) but, heck, how can I hate a film I managed to write a whole story about?

Oh, and say what you want about CL, Runt, Fish and the other kids, but Mayor Turkey Lurkey is one of my favourite CGI movie characters ever. His appearance alone makes up for 25% of that movie. Insult him at your peril. :irked:
TriforceBun
05-30-2006, 11:53 PM
Was the mayor the guy that constantly read from cue cards? He was pretty funny.

The best part of Chicken Little was the in-movie film created based off the characters at the end, and how different they were from their counterparts.
Reverend Lovejoy
05-31-2006, 01:10 AM
Was the mayor the guy that constantly read from cue cards? He was pretty funny.


Yep, he was. He's also on my avatar.
Again, insult him at your peril.
Simpsons Forever!
05-31-2006, 02:07 AM
By far, The Emperor's New Groove. C+
homer5000
06-04-2006, 01:06 AM
Cats Don't Dance and Emperor's New Groove have a similar feel to it that Chicken Little tries to attain but really doesn't most of the time. (every scene w/ Mayor Turkey Lurkey is pure Mark Dindal, though) The reason? CL drags...BIG TIME. His other two movies run at breakneck speed until the end. (then again, the other two are about fifteen minutes shorter than CL)

Also, Chicken Little has a good executive feel to it. Rather than letting Mark have his creative freedom, it seems that the good folks at Disney made a rather big imposition on the script, trying to make it more like Shrek than anything, y'know, so the kiddies will come. (damn you Shrek 2 and your 400+ mil gross)

Cats Don't Dance and Emperor's New Groove...pure zaniness, just the way I like it. Yet, while Cats Don't Dance is a little underrated, glorious gem that so obscure that my local Target put it in a two-pack w/ Quest For Camelot, Emperor's New Groove has a strong place in my heart. So Groove it is...
Reverend Lovejoy
06-04-2006, 09:05 AM
Cats Don't Dance and Emperor's New Groove have a similar feel to it that Chicken Little tries to attain but really doesn't most of the time. (every scene w/ Mayor Turkey Lurkey is pure Mark Dindal, though) The reason? CL drags...BIG TIME. His other two movies run at breakneck speed until the end. (then again, the other two are about fifteen minutes shorter than CL)


Congractulations, you've earned my respect (assuming that was a compliment... :shifty: )
homer5000
06-04-2006, 02:07 PM
^Oh...wow...I did not read your posts before then. Strange...
Reverend Lovejoy
06-05-2006, 10:30 AM
Yes, I know I'm weird. To be honest, I don't even care which film wins this poll (Emperor's New Groove was a great movie, and I haven't seen Cats Don't Dance). I just want people to give CL a chance. BTW, who are the other two people who voted for it?
Anyway, Turkey Lurkey rules.