Rank the Big Four, with a twist!

[Mooky]

You're welcome, Duster and thank you for participating; thanks to everyone else as well. Reading your responses, just something I wanted to add to this:

Snake Jafar and Genie Jafar – Yup, this one is clever. Of course, Jafar had to be dumb enough to think that somehow being a Genie was a better deal than being the most powerful, FREE sorcerer in the world, but I’ll let it slide.

It also shows the dichotomy between Aladdin and Jafar and the way they treat others. Aladdin took the time and effort to get to know the Genie and become friends with him, and that's the only reason he knows being a genie isn't all it's cracked up to be; it's akin to slavery. Jafar on the other hand is greedy and just wants power and status, and doesn't care to familiarize himself with others. It's something the live-action movie could have played with a bit more, had they cast Jafar and Aladdin who were equally smart and charismatic, but used their wits for different purposes.

[Disney Duster]

You're so welcome, I was so glad to participate.

I would say Jafar becoming the Genie's master would have clued him in to the idea a genie is a slave, but you make a point if he had gotten to befriend the Genie more he would have really understood how bad it was to be a genie.

Yes, it would have been interesting in the remake if Aladdin and Jafar were both so evenly matched and yet Aladdin still outwitted him.

[Escapay]

I hate that I missed out on Locales and Outfits during my first go-round, so I'm going to add an entry here for them, but also add two more rankings:

Location:
1. Beauty and the Beast: Rural France
2. The Lion King: Pride Lands of Africa
3. The Little Mermaid: Atlantica & Denmark
4. Aladdin: Arabian Peninsula

I've only been to France, so I can't really judge the other three locations accurately but rather by the Disneyfication of them in the films. Beauty and the Beast gets the top spot for being the most faithful to its locale, while also being the locale I'd most want to visit as well. The Lion King surprisingly follows by sheer virtue of being awe-inspiring animated recreations of the natural world, as well as the fact that as an animal-focused narrative, it does a great job portraying their environments. The Little Mermaid is third as Prince Eric's kingdom is just some generic European whatever, without anything specifically Danish about it. Atlantica is a wholly fictional creation, so it should get more points for that, but at the same time, we don't really see enough of it in terms of how an underwater kingdom functions. Aladdin is fourth, regrettably, mostly because it's an ambiguous amalgam of the Middle East (where the Aladdin folk tales are typically published/assumed to be set) and Southeast Asia (where the Aladdin folk tale is actually set). It's also a bit more on the stereotypical side, a sort of "How the West sees the Middle East" rather than authentic to it.

Costume Design:
1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Aladdin
3. The Little Mermaid
4. The Lion King

The mundane and conforming look of the towns people versus the stark sky-blue of Belle. The gradual ascent from a cloak and pants into formal evening wear for the Beast. The fact that all the Enchanted Objects have some semblance of a style to them even though they're not actually wearing clothes, and then their clothes matching their Object personality/style when in human form. Beauty and the Beast gets the top spot. Aladdin follows next because, again, you see costumes as a form of narrative evolution for most every character. Street Rat to Fake Prince to Prince Consort. Jasmine's three outfits being largely the same, but color choice suggests different intent for each one. Genie. Just, Genie. The Little Mermaid is third because the breadth of variety for Ariel's outfits in her human form (plus a couple sets of threads for Prince Eric) doesn't make up for the fact that everyone else wears mostly the same outfits (or seashells) throughout the entire film. Whereas Aladdin uses variety for a few characters as a narrative device, The Little Mermaid only really uses it for aesthetic design. The Lion King has no costumes unless you count Timon's grass skirt and the Hyenas wearing animal skulls at one point.

Production Design:
1. Aladdin
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. The Little Mermaid
4. The Lion King

Complementing Costume Design has to be a film's Production Design, but with an eye for how well the picture as a whole is designed. This time, Aladdin takes the top spot because of that Hirschfeld lens and and the way every line has to follow specific rules on how they're drawn. Beauty and the Beast follows because, my goodness, all the detail within the Beast's castle alone helps carry that film. The townspeople kind of suffer the "Saturday Morning Cartoon" syndrome, but the dichotomy between the intricacy of a column at the castle versus the simplicity of a thatched roof in the town further drives home the point that these places are worlds apart. The Little Mermaid gets to be more inventive with its look because, again, Atlantica and and an underwater kingdom is entirely fictional. It's being created from scratch and has to look believable. The Lion King is last because its faithfulness to recreating the real animal world leaves little room for designs to deviate. And because it's so strong in recreation locations, it's not as original as the other three.

Story:
1. Aladdin
2. Beauty and the Beast
3. The Lion King
4. The Little Mermaid

Sure, we've ranked characters and songs, openings and climaxes. But the story at play should also factor into our enjoyment of these films. I'm not going to go into some nitpicky armchair critic pokings at plot holes, but rather how the overarching journey of each film plays out. And Aladdin has it in spades because each major character has their own unique arc that plays out parallel to the other, creating a weaving tapestry of different stories of desire (Aladdin's desire for a better life, Jafar's desire for power, Jasmine's desire for choice and agency, Genie's desire for freedom). Beauty and the Beast is a story based upon the moral of how judgment should stem from inner qualities, not outer appearances. It shows a triumph of goodness and moral fiber within the Beast, as well as the dangers of the cult of personality for Gaston. I'd rank it higher than Aladdin save for the fact that this is a top-heavy cast with only a few getting truly developed as characters (namely the triumverate of Belle, Beast, and Gaston), with the supporting players simply that. The Lion King also suffers from this, as the most dramatic arcs are served solely for the protagonist and the antagonist, with other characters largely staying the same between the beginning and the end. And in spite of its Shakespearean and Biblical origins, the story has become simplified to the point of losing the complexity that made Henry IV, Joseph, etc. such compelling stories to begin with. Finally, even though I've grown to like The Little Mermaid a lot more over the past ten years, I still don't fully gel with the 1980s-she-gets-what-she-wants-after-all nature of it. Yes, she gets what she wants, but Ariel doesn't really answer for all the consequences of her impulsive teenage actions. The melancholic beauty of the Andersen tale gets traded for a Disneyfied happily ever after, which works for this adaptation but still... something has to be last.

New Overall:
1. Beauty and the Beast (49 points, formerly 35)
2. Aladdin (49 points, formerly 37)
3. The Little Mermaid (35 points, formerly 28)
4. The Lion King (25 points, formerly 18)

With the addition of the new points, this suddenly has Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin tied, although I still like to give the overall edge to Beauty and the Beast.

Alby

[Disney Duster]

Another ace post from Alby. I would say, The Little Mermaid does show some story and character evolution with its costumes. Ariel starts as a mermaid horny for a human (nothing but skimpy shells), gets undressed for him (loses her tail when she becomes human), falls into blushing, budding love for him (pink dinner dress), feels peace and calm with him (blue peasant dress), becomes a royal, regal, higher-plane-reaching human permanently (sparkling purple dress) and becomes a happy bride, finally getting what she wants and the heaven she sought, and is ready to be a responsible adult (white wedding dress).

Prince Eric similarly has an evolution. He starts with seafaring casual duds as he is just seeking adventure and fun, then a dark suit when Vanessa makes him act like the dead married prince he never wanted to be, for her dark purpose, and finally he wears a white suit for his happy, heavenly wedding where he takes on royal responsibility.

I am unsure what a "cult of personality" is. You said it about Gaston.

Anyway, another super smart post from Alby. Of course, all you guys' posts in here are smart.