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There was no doubt about it. You were in labor. It had been clear for a while. Your contractions started somewhere around last night, waking you up from a pleasant dream. They didn’t really bother you at first, and they could’ve easily been brushed off as Braxton Hicks. But the quicker they came and the longer they lasted, the more uncomfortable they got. Painful. It wasn’t just your belly that hurt. The pain started spreading around your body, rushing to your inner thighs and lower back, even making your chest and arms hurt. Your whole body felt sore and tired after hours of labor, and you knew it would only get worse from here. So here you were now, leaning up against the countertop, swaying your hips as you breathed and moaned through a particularly intense contraction. They were coming in every eight minutes now, lasting about a minute each. You felt very tired and pained from the process, with your hips aching like crazy and a deep pressure nestling into what you were sure was your cervix. You had to be at least 5 centimeters dilated by now. You had your hospital bag ready to go by the door, and you made sure there was enough gas to get you to the hospital. Everything was set… As the contraction finally waned, you turned around to lean back, supporting yourself with your hands as you arched your back, letting your huge belly stick out in front of you. You'd be delivering twins. A pretty big set of twins. One boy and one girl. You had no doubt that it'd be a difficult delivery, but you weren't scared. In fact, you were excited! A perfect pair of children for you to raise. It would be one hell of a journey, and there were plenty of ups and downs ahead of you. You were ready, though. You knew you could do it! Waiting in anticipation for the next contraction, you decided to have a small snack. A small cup of yogurt that you took out of the fridge and brought to the counter with a small spoon, slowly easing yourself onto the chair. You eat slowly, wanting to avoid getting a stomach ache or make it come back up. After the seventh or-so bite, you feel another contraction start to build up, quickly grabbing at the counter edge and tensing up as it slowly reaches its peak. You can't help but groan through the pain as it circulates down to your thighs and up to your shoulders, making your whole body bear through all of it. Your toes curled and your back arched forward, you feel the pressure build in your pelvis even more, causing your moan to shift into a soft yell. Thankfully, though, it finally peaks and starts to ebb away, allowing you to relax your laboring body and sit back up straight. The pressure is still there's though, and you shift your hips in your seat to try and manage it. Pop. You freeze. Some of the pressure is suddenly gone, but it is quickly followed by a wet feeling between your legs. You look down to try and look at your seat, but your belly gets in the way. You then heft yourself off the seat to try and get a better look, reaching down to the front of your pants at the same time. On the seat is a very small trickle of fluids, gently trickling off the edge onto the floor below. Likewise, your pants feel wet and warm, starting from the crotch and spreading to the inner thighs. You could feel more liquid dribbling onto your fingers with every movement you made. A soft, strange odor fills the room, and as you process what just happened, your heartbeat picks up in speed. Your water broke. This is it. Your children are coming today. And there was nothing you could do about it. After your little moment of shock, you decide to quickly finish the rest of your yogurt and figure out your next course of action. The first thing you did was clean up the mess of amniotic fluid. It was a little difficult, since more was coming out with every step you took, but you eventually got all of it cleaned up, right in time for the next contraction. You braced against the wall with your shoulder, one hand pressed against your back while the other gripped the curve of your belly, sliding down into a gentle squat. You let out a loud groan as the pain hit you like a wave, and you felt the pressure return, a little stronger than before. You were opening up some more, and the contraction came only seven minutes after the last one. Fifty seconds of the pain came and went, and you managed to heft yourself back up straight. Your labor was now in high gear. With a quiet breath, you bit your lip and set your resolve. The hospital sounded pretty good right about now, and judging by where you were at in your labor, it was now or never if you wanted to get there. With all of that in mind, you grabbed your keys from the cabinet, waddled over to your door, hefted your bag onto your shoulders and started out for the car. As you got yourself situated into the driver's seat, you felt another contraction grip your womb, and you grabbed it with both hands as you winced through it. The hospital was about an hour away, and your contractions were seven minutes apart. You weren't sure about your dilation, but with the rest of the information you had, you were fairly confident in getting there in time. So after the contraction was over, you slotted your keys into the ignition, turned, and pulled out of the driveway. The first few minutes of the drive were pretty uneventful, with you weaving through the neighborhood and eventually pulling onto the main road. It wasn't until you reached a stoplight that your latest contraction came around, and as you bored yourself through the pain, you realized that it had been six minutes since the last one. You sat for a moment to ponder it, but as the light turned green and you pulled forward, you decided there was no reason to worry. Things were starting to pick up a little bit, but there was still plenty of time to reach your destination. The next couple of red lights came and went. You pulled up to the third one, gently tapping your free foot against the floor mats, and suddenly realized that you had hit every light at red so far. You felt a small film of sweat develop on your forehead, and you gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as the latest contraction hit you. Six minutes, again. The pressure had gotten even stronger. You pondered on your situation again. If you were to hit every red light up to the hospital, and if your labor was to progress any faster, you'd most likely get pretty close to giving birth before you got to the hospital…. You looked up to see the light change to green, and you eased your foot onto the pedal to pull forward. There was no way you'd have to stop at every light, right? You'd be fine. You'd get to the hospital, you'd have your baby in a safe environment, and everything would turn out just right. The next set of lights you came up to ended up being red. Again. And again. And again. You were starting to get nervous. Contractions were now four minutes apart from each other, lasting a little over a minute each. The pressure in your cervix was getting stronger and stronger. And you had just realized the downward force the contractions were having. You needed to push. Not desperately, but you recognized the urge. You gripped your steering wheel even tighter. Things were going a lot faster than you had planned for. You resolved to speed up between lights in the hopes of beating them. It worked for the first couple of times, giving you a good bit of hope that you'd make it. Unfortunately, the hope was quickly dashed as you saw the latest red light up ahead. You pulled to a stop and lurched forward as you were hit with a new contraction, the most intense one yet. The urge to push was slowly growing, getting harder and harder to ignore. You could feel your first baby sitting low within your pelvis. Very low. You were still a good twenty minutes away from the hospital, and as you got out of this latest contraction, you realized that the light was still red. You started to panic. What was taking so long?? The pressure was so intense, you were sweating a great deal, and you didn't know how long you could push past your body's instincts. Finally. The light turned green, and you pressed your foot down on the pedal, tires screeching as you shot forward. The next light wouldn't be for a little while. You could make it. You had to make it! But you couldn't! But you can! But you can't!! The throbbing deep within your gut could no longer be ignored. Contractions were now two minutes apart, with the latest one hitting you with so much intensity that you almost couldn't keep yourself straight on the road. You had to push so bad. What do you do?! You only have a short moment to consider your options. Push on through to the hospital, or risk giving birth on your own. There was no way for you to call an ambulance in the state, and even if you could, they couldn't possibly get there in time. The contraction ebbed away. You saw the next intersection a couple blocks ahead. Green light. Your grip on the steering wheel is knuckle-whitening. You can't control yourself any longer. You sigh heavily and slow down, pulling off to the side of the road quite sharply. As the car jerks to a stop and you shift the gear into park, you are hot with another contraction. You tell out in pain and desperation, and finally, after all the effort, you lean back into your seat and push. A strong force of effort, directed into your bottom. You feel something move. It isn't much, but you can feel it. The head squeezing through your cervix, threatening to escape into your birth canal. You push as long and hard as you can before you finally lose energy and relax into the seat. It was now that you realize that you still have your pants on. With a shaky hand, you reach down to your belt buckle and push the button, feeling the strap slide off your gravid figure, freeing you and giving you room to breath. Both hands then reach down to the hem of your sweatpants and pull down, managing to get them down to your knees until you could reach no further. You move to get your panties down next, but a contraction interrupts your action and you screech in pain, bringing your knees up as much as you can as you follow your urges. You feel more movement down below. A gentle shift as your first baby fills your canal with it's head. You stop pushing and reach down to your panties again, managing to get the thin-laced fabric halfway down your thighs before you have to push again. More movement. You feel so full. So much weight that just needs to come out between your legs. You pull the armrests down and grip them with your hands, pushing once more. Your legs quake from the effort, and you feel the body of your newborn slowly inch down towards its exit. Pretty soon you feel a fullness in your loins, causing you to gasp and yell out in surprise. You reach down with one hand to feel between your legs. Your private region feels like it's bulging, firm and round with the head of your child. You draw in a deep breath and push some more. The bulge gets bigger, and you feel a new sensation. A burning sting in your nethers. You cry out in pain. It hurt so bad, you wanted to quit. You couldn't, though. You had to do this. More pushing. You felt your passage open up wider and wider to stretch around the crowning head. Heavy breathing and loud grunting were the only sounds you could hear. You bore down once more, your free hand cupping around the emerging head as it finally popped out from its exit. You were so close. Just a few more pushes, and you'd have them in your arms! You waited for the baby to rotate before you resumed the pushing, bringing your knees up once again as you supported the emerging infant. You reach down with your other hand as you feel one shoulder emerge, followed by the other. You were so tired. So pained. But it would be over soon. So soon. Drawing in one final deep breath, you duh your chin deep into your chest, forcing you self into one final push, your voice breaking out into a strained cry of effort. You felt slow movement, but you kept pushing. You pushed and pushed snd pushed, never stopping once. You just had to keep going. You had to do it. And with a final shriek of effort and pain, you felt a sudden give, and a weight fell into your hands. Relief washed throughout your body, and you collapsed back into the chair. Your instincts immediately told you to bring the newborn to your chest, and you sat there. Panting, sweating. You pat the small body on the back, waiting to hear that first cry. And so it came. A sharp wail of life, crying out for its caregiver. You immediately felt a lump in your throat, and a stinging moisture in your eyes. You looked down at the little pink person that you embraced, watching as it moved its little arms and legs. After a certain quick check, you pulled the hem of your shirt down and directed him to your teat. He slowly started to calm, shifting his little face around weakly before you felt his lips connect. You smiled as tears ran down your face. You did it. You just gave birth to your son. And his sister was well on her way. Thankfully, your body allowed you to wait until the firstborn finished his suckling, and you were hit with yet another contraction, following it with a nice gentle push. You were exhausted from the first bout, and thankfully things seemed to be much easier. Push, breath. Push, breath. Progress was a lot quicker, and you quickly felt the fullness in your nethers. You reached down to support the head, managing to push it out with ease, followed by the neck, the shoulders, and finally the rest of the body. You brought your newborn daughter up beside her brother, giving her a very gentle pat on the tush to encourage her cries. There was a couple of seconds of silence, but thankfully her ear-splittingly joyful shrieks filled the air. You gave her her first supper as well, and allowed yourself a moment to finally relax with your twins. Truth be told, this was far from the ideal birth you were envisioning, but you honestly couldn't care less. Here they were. Your children. You earned them with all of your labored efforts, and now you had the next 18 years to look after them. Teach them. Care for them. Douglass and Michelle. Your perfect bundles of joy.

Summary: Finally, Disney decided to cut their films to a manageable amount, and this resulted in wonders for the company. Profit was, at times, sacrificed to make a good movie, but in the end, the term was very profitable and features some of Disney’s best films. 81. The Wild One of the worst and most obvious ripoffs ever made- ‘Madagascar’ is the superior movie, and no human on Earth should watch this or feel pride in doing so. 80. The Shaggy Dog Ok, so ‘That Darn Cat’ is among the biggest bombs in Disney history, and famous for ruining a middle 20th century classic. What made Disney think this was gonna be any different? It literally led Razzie nominations and awards again, and was almost equal lame execution. The franchise is dead, so please keep it that way! 79. Stay Alive The reason the likes of ‘Halloween,’ ‘Scream,’ ‘Nightmare on Elm Street,’ ‘Saw,’ etc. are all memorable slasher films and franchises are cause they are good and well written. What the hell was this? 78. Annapolis It’s a drama, but I laughed at how cringe these scenes were. 77. Wild Hogs It’s a biker movie gone horribly wrong. ‘The Bikeriders,’ starring Austin Butler, was an amazing movie. Watch it instead of this any day. 76. Primeval Watch ‘Crawl,’ not this. 75. Old Dogs I love Robin Williams, and apparently behind the scenes of this film, he was unable to be creative. Obviously a bad decision with this horrible movie. 74. Brother Bear 2 Disney were still in the stage of giving literally any animated movie they made a sequel no matter how many people were upset by it. ‘Brother Bear’ is a memorable movie and an Oscar nominee, but why make a sequel? This sucked and felt repetitive, but thankfully, its ending changed nothing to preserve the franchise. 73. You Again It’s like the 45th time Disney tried and failed to make a romcom on a cheap budget. The concept has been well exhausted, and at this point, Disney should have just given it up for at least a decade. 72. When In Rome Just like ‘You Again;’ too many dumbass romcoms. 71. Tales from Earthsea Disney were looking to go 3 for 3 on anime features, but they failed miserably on what should have been their “third time’s the charm.” Again, rated by my friend. 70. G-Force Disney actually spent $150M on this…Disney actually spent $150 MILLION ON THIS!!! 69. Roadside Romeo Just barely better than the movie under it. 68. Confessions of a Shopaholic The first Confessions film sucked, why was this one supposed to be different? 67. The Last Song Stop. The. Damn. Romcoms. 66. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause The first one was great, the second one exceeded expectations, the third one finally killed the franchise. To be fair, it didn’t wreck it. 65. College Road Trip It’s funny on a cheap budget, but its plot armor is as penetrable as an apple. 64. Step Up …and walk out of the room if this movie comes on. Truly horrible 63. The Invisible Bad CGI and a plot that is based on Dead Man from DC and Warner Bros. makes this feel so unoriginal and uninteresting. Watch ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold,’ because that does this idea better in Dead Man’s episode. 62. Step Up 2: The Streets It was better than the original, but what did it have to beat? Still utterly terrible. 61. Bedtime Stories I mean, I did fall asleep watching this, so it kind of does its job! 60. Stick It! Nope- in all elements, it belly-flopped. 59. The Secret of the Magic Gourd It’s supposed to be a live action film that focuses on classic Disney magic, but hiring Frankie Chung as the main director, whom had no experience with Disney films before, was probably a poor idea. 58. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time The advertising team single handedly saved this film, promoting it out of their minds seemingly knowing that its $200M budget was a poor decision on Disney’s part. It did not break even, only earning $337M, but taking a loss of $125M is better than $300M any day. It failed in adapting the video game, but to its credit, it was the highest grossing video game movie at the time. 57. Morning Light It tries to capture the same interest that ‘Aliens of the Deep’ and ‘Ghosts of the Abyss’ did, but director Mark Monroe should have known he was not nearly as talented as James Cameron in writing and directing. 56. The Guardian This is as if ‘The Greatest Showman’ was translated to a military setting, and it is definitely among Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher’s worst projects. 55. Surrogates It had the right idea and I can imagine the pitch rightfully deserved the $80M budget. It was $25M behind the break even point for a reason, and that was because people realized it wasn’t all it was hyped up to be. 54. Leroy & Stitch To its credit, it has the humor that the direct sequel originally sucked out of it, and it’s far from a good film, but it does world build well. 53. Star Wars: The Clone Wars If Dave Filoni didn’t rescue this series with the best character and world building (only behind, of course, George Lucas) the franchise has ever seen, this movie would be much lower. The Clone Wars is literally one of the best series under Disney’s control ever made, and to think Ahsoka and Maul went from an annoying kid and underwhelming villain to the most well developed characters arguably in the whole franchise. Terrible start to it with this film, but it all eventually panned out in 2021. 52. Race to Witch Mountain The Witch Mountain franchise has a few references around a couple Disney resorts. It was a decent entry first time around that many said was around the best. That is a hint that, when there was no sequel, entailed, you should let the franchise die. A very underwhelming sequel. 51. The Proposal Another. Damn. Romcom. But. Better. Not. By. Much. Though. 50. Miracle at St. Anna This movie had so much potential to be one of Disney’s best films, but this is among Spike Lee’s worst entries. 49. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Nicolas Cage carries this plot that was doomed from the start. 48. Walt & El Grupo The Walt we all know and love would not have liked this himself. 47. The Switch It’s weird and somewhat uncomfortable- it tries to be funny, but I think it fails in that aspect. And guess what it’s a rendition of? A ROMCOM! 46. The Tempest* The costume design is an arguable improvement from the Shakespeare play- yet, it can’t be argued Shakespeare did the story better five centuries earlier. 45. Hannah Montana: The Movie People seem to agree that this did not honor the legendary the series established, and the fact it wasn’t just put on Disney Channel is something I don’t understand. But, everyone I know said it was decent, so I’ll abide by the popular opinion. 44. The Game Plan Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was a football player at the University of Miami, and seeing him put on the pads again for this underrated sports film makes for an entry I only view as decent. 43. Beverly Hills Chihuahua It’s funny and engaging, and although it can be cheesy, it’s a decent entry that probably should have been a Disney Channel release. Still earned a couple references on property though. 42. Ponyo My friend rated this anime, and he said, against popular opinion, did not like this- I put it just below the halfway point to meet his expertise alongside others. 41. Disney’s A Christmas Carol It’s hated by many, but it’s meant to be funny. CGI is roughly terrible, but it does well to retell the story. There were much better renditions of it, but it gets top half. 40. Trail of the Panda It was ok, but nothing special by any means- it was severely overhyped, and the definition of “mid.” 39. High School Musical 3: Senior Year After two massively successful releases on Disney Channel, we finally got a theater rendition, and in all honesty, it was underwhelming and rather forgettable. Still, it ended the franchise on a melodious note, and it promises to be enjoyable for at least half of the audience. It’s unfortunately mid. 38. Déjà Vu The writing in this movie is not the best, but Denzel Washington alone makes this a good film. 37. Dan In Real Life Just like ‘Déjà Vu’ (except with lead Steve Carrell) the main actor is forced to carry, and he does astoundingly. 36. Alice in Wonderland* It is definitely far from the original, but the visual effects and creative way of retelling the story is worthy of a decent rating. It had a couple Oscar nominations, and there’s a reason it was at the 2011 Academy Awards. 35. The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Beginning Disney finally decided to stop cutting the budgets for their sequels and actually improving them. The story is good and better than the direct sequel, and although the plot seems less interesting, it is a vast improvement from ‘…Return to the Sea.’ 34. The Fox and the Hound 2 Copper and Tod are among Disney’s most lovable characters, and this sequel tries to be as heartwarming as the first without trying too hard to upend the original, which made for a beautiful side story that rightfully took place in between the original movie’s timeframe. It got a budget increase which made for beautiful animation. Overall, it’s more than watchable. 33. Cinderella 3: A Twist In Time It was rare for Disney to go 3 for 3 for movies in a franchise, and they were ready to complete a franchise six decades in the making with a much better budget- it was risky to do so by telling the story of a stepsister and basically turn all the first film accomplished on its head, but it all panned out with a redemption arc and a climax that finally saw Lady Tremaine and Drizella TRULY defeated. I loved this movie, and it is genuinely a good film. 32. Glory Road It’s the basketball version of ‘Remember the Titans,’ and while it’s not bad nor repetitive, it isn’t at the level of the competing film. 31. Goal! The Dream Begins I’ve mentioned I’m an athlete, and the specific sport I play is soccer (football if you’re not from the US or Canada), and this insane story was a fascinating watch that had me engaged from start to finish. This biopic captures the insanity of this situation, and the question is if ‘Next Goal Wins’ will overtake it as Disney’s best soccer movie next week? 30. The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo This debuted Disneynature to the world, and it showed just how much they had grown from “testing genres” to actually hiring people who knew how to enact it. This is visually stunning, educative, and the best documentary about flamingos the world has ever seen. 29. Swing Vote It’s a shame that critics hate on this movie, because it is unique and funny. The measures are basically unrealistic, but it makes you feel as though it is possible. From start to end, it’s intriguing, and I’d recommend watching it. 28. Apocalypto Mel Gibson is known throughout Disney as the voice of John Smith, but he is a damn good director, and this was a fantastic example of Disney finally putting their foot down and giving a POTENTIAL blockbuster a low budget, which in the end, was critical as the film turned a $20M profit. Anyway, this movie beautifully captures the Mayan Empire in its rise and fall, and it’s intriguing from start to end. This movie was bashed by critics for being “stereotypical,” but the general audience (per the reviews I’ve read) don’t seem to agree with that narrative. I liked it, and if you’re in a history class studying Ancient Central American empires, I’d recommend this. 27. Earth What a way to start Disneynature’s box office run- it encompasses the company’s goal of defining the beauty of this planet, and it is visually stunning with utterly fantastic cinematography. 26. Oceans Ok, so they just one upped ‘Earth.’ It’s striking, incredibly educative, and with National Geographic relaying loads of underwater documentary material over this decade, we get a project that was better than half of them on Disney’s first try. 25. Eight Below This film is the first and only time I have seen an animal relay the emotions of the entire film. It’s heartwarming, exhilarating, and often tense, and it knows exactly when to speed up and slow down. 24. Bambi 2 Ok, I may piss a lot of people off saying that I actually enjoyed this more than the first- it is in no way a better movie, but it’s more enjoyable. The animation is clean, dialogue is amped up to gracious degrees, and the plot managed to mirror the forest’s hunting situation seven decades later while having a visible villain as well as a much needed relationship with Bambi’s father. This is among the best straight-to-DVD sequels, and this reignited my love for the franchise. 23. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure This is a great sequel to the original, and it does extremely well to highlight Tink’s curiosity in a funny, lovable film. 22. The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story The best composers Disney could have asked for are finally explored in this entry, and it is intriguing to watch the story of these men that changed the company for the better unfold. 21. Meet the Robinsons Yeah, I don’t think the directors were looking to have a genuinely sad movie, but rather one almost entirely developed in a fictional, futuristic world that took every turn imaginable. It has an emotional end that stresses two important things- the necessity of having a family and that the future holds bright things for everyone. I loved this movie, and it’s unfortunately disregarded by many. 20. National Treasure: Book of Secrets It’s a movie basically as enjoyable as the first, and while the action lacked on some occasions, it helped cement Ben Gates as one of Nicolas Cage’s most iconic roles. Critics obviously hated on this (as it was not as good as the first, which they previously bashed), but the audience wasn’t fooled, as the film turned a massive $160M profit, and rightfully so. 19. Bridge to Terabithia This story truly captures the extent to which a child can dream, and as the story unfolds, it encases your emotion more and more until it all comes full circle in a tragic, fun filled finale. What a movie that got everything right. 18. Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue This movie takes full advantage of who Tinker Bell is and her connection with those larger than her. It has a heart racing climax and has a hilarious second story, but the two leads are obvious and the resolution is a kindhearted Disney ending. 17. Enchanted* This is the first film that Disney has made that ALTERS between an animated and live action world simply divided by a grate. It’s a great story about true love, and James Marsden is the humorous supporting character. Overall, I loved this. 16. Invincible This is a fantastic biopic that captures everything you would want in a sports film- triumph, humor, struggle, grit, and passion is all beautifully synchronized in this outstanding story. As a football fan, I support the Philadelphia Eagles, so this film is very special to me. 15. Secretariat I tend to often say that there are three horse movies that compete to be the best ever made: ‘Flicka,’ ‘Seabiscuit,’ and ‘Secretariat.’ This, to me, fights with ‘Seabiscuit’ for top two, and it may have been robbed of an Oscar nomination. Loved this movie so much. 14. Bolt* Notably one of Pixar’s biggest wins in the eyes of critics, it just barely pulled above the break even point thanks to Disney pulling various marketing campaigns to help the film profit around $1M in the box office. It’s fun, entertaining, and really makes this dog a character to remember. This film has many references around the world, and it rightfully does. 13. Tinker Bell Bradley Raymond, that guy who almost wrecked three Disney franchises with underwhelming sequels, thought that it was a good idea to make a movie about Peter Pan’s sidekick that scaled the whole world down to a smaller size, and it was genius. He absolutely redeemed himself in the directing business with this franchise, and ever since, he has been a staple on various Disney storyboards from finally grasping what a good film should look like. This captures who Tinker Bell is and how she came to be, and expanded the world of Peter Pan with 3D animation. 12. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian This was the best Narnia movie ever made, and it is generous in action with an incredible script and amazing CGI that does well to stay within the boundaries of the book while putting so many unique elements in the story. This was a perfect representation of the book that had to have gone well beyond CS Lewis’ wildest dreams. This was robbed of a Best Visual Effects nomination at the Oscars. 11. Tron: Legacy* This movie took everything the original did on a $17M budget and translated it using every last bit of its $170M budget. This had some of most jaw dropping CGI Disney had ever done, and the fact it continued a live action story three decades after the original while telling a story that kept you on the edge of your seat for the entire time was insane. It pains me not to put it in the top ten, but that doesn’t take away the fact that this sequel served as the model for Tron Lightcycle/Run, and it is among my favorite Disney movies. 10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest* Here’s a fun fact- this movie was gonna be cancelled, but a vote by Disney’s Board of Directors gave it the green light, and it was only separated by one vote. Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp made sure the decision wasn’t a fluke, and from acting, to CGI, to cinematography, and of course, clear cut direction, there was nothing to hate. It’s also funny as hell as it should’ve been. For a $225M movie, well done. 9. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End* The original three POTC movies are what many will argue should have been the only three in what would’ve been a perfect franchise. This has one of the most intense climaxes you will ever see in a Disney movie, as twists and turns are hurled in every direction. This should have been the end to this franchise, and CGI, directing, acting, and cinematography were all at its finest. It’s extremely funny, heart racing, and cementing of Jack Sparrow’s iconic character. This movie cost $300M, and it was worth every cent. 8. Up* People are probably gonna hate me for this, but if I’m going to be honest, while I thought this was a great and imaginative film, with the exception of the opening scene and a few references in the movie, I don’t understand why this was so emotional throughout. It’s funny, has a great plot, and the characters are memorable, and it deserves to be Top 10. But Top 5, I don’t really think so. 7. Ratatouille* It promotes trying new friends and pursuing your passions more than any Pixar movie ever had previously, and it’s a unique story driven by so many twists that mirror the creativeness of that studio. It is, alongside ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ the direct reference of France at World Pavilion in EPCOT, and it does best the other movie as it has its own attraction. It’s got a great plot, great animation, and humor beyond imaginability. 6. Toy Story 3* This movie took an entirely different direction and used emotion as a key element in this movie. It covers the themes of abandonment, adjustment, discomfort, loneliness, and as the climax shows, family. This is one of the most well written Pixar projects with the best animation of the whole franchise, and the ending was simply perfect. This is where the franchise should have ended, but trust me, we’ll get to ‘Toy Story 4’ soon enough. Point is, this was a family friendly comedy movie made about toys, yet it made me cry. 5. Cars Simply a hilarious comedy that had a unique concept with many turns no one saw coming, making the fantastic plot ever more interesting. The cast of characters is memorable and great, and this is among Pixar’s best movies despite what Rotten Tomatoes says. If you ever choose to choose that website, keep in mind it was so successful that Bob Iger made a whole land for it in Disneyland. Now that I’m older, the jokes in this movie just hit harder. 4. The Prestige* Christopher Nolan recently cemented himself on the Mount Rushmore of directors (who, to me, are him, Spielberg, Scorsese, and Tarantino- sorry Kubrick, Coppola, and Cameron) with ‘Oppenheimer,’ and this movie was the one that put him on the map. This is simply one of Disney’s most enticing films that not only shows you how good Nolan was at his job with so little experience at the time, yet the opening minutes pull you in and spit you back out at the end and make you really admire this masterpiece. 3. WALL-E* This film is famous for directly telling humanity to WAKE UP. This movie showed you what climate change and pollution could do to our planet, and despite little dialogue being exchanged among the main characters, a robotic love story is somehow formed. This movie was a forewarning to Earth, translated into a comedic film that is watchable for all ages, and WALL-E easily became one of Disney’s most lovable robots after this. Still, one of Disney’s best messages ever in a film. 2. The Princess and the Frog* Never in a million years would anyone have thought of adapting this multi century fairy tale into the present day, and of all places, in the bayou of New Orleans. Disney were very bold in making this film, and with previous run-ins with controversy like ‘Song of the South,’ they had to get this spot on, and they did. All the music is symbolic of New Orleans, and all of the characters are memorable additions to Disney. This is among the best princess movies of all time, and I loathe not putting it #1. Yet, we have to “Dig A Little Deeper” (PS that is my favorite song in the movie). 1. Tangled* It cost $260M to make this movie, it only profited $10M in the box office, yet it ended up being a major part of Fantasyland at Disney World and on the back of a Disney Cruise Line for the entire Caribbean to see. This has among the best plots, characters, twists, music, and of course, animation in Disney history. The fact the writers played around with the mere concept of “never judge a book by its cover” was genius. As I just said, the music was astounding as every single song is a Disney classic today, and this renovated adaptation of Rapunzel may very well go down as the best in history despite the fairy tale being centuries old. Mandy Moore’s voice is a gift from above, and for a fun fact, I actually have an indirect connection with her! I’d prefer not to say what exactly for personal reasons, but that’s a little fun fact about me. Overall, one of Disney’s best ever movies hands down. Tell me whether you agree or disagree in the comments! 2011-15 will be out tomorrow! Also, yesterday, I posted a schedule for when my stories would return, and I screwed up. I have a Disney Junior and Disney Channel movie ranking in the works, and I forgot to include it in the upcoming dates. Also, I was lucky enough to see ‘Poor Things’ a month before it airs in theaters, and I’d like to do a spoiler-free review on it. I am, due to my own error, not going to rearrange the revealed dates, but rather, make a few stories, take a break from writing, then reveal these ratings in later November. Lastly, I’d like to announce an official major change to this platform- the success of movie reviewing has been widely evident, as I’ve gotten nearly four thousand views in this series in just a matter of days- therefore, while The Lion Guard will remain as my primary content on this page, I will also be doing movie ratings as Disney releases new projects for the rest of 2023, into 2024, and beyond. Thank you for all the support and the clarity that I can diversify my page. Looking forward to the future!