52 Movies Down!

We have reached the end of the first year of our Disney Movie challenge. That's 52 movies! Here is a recap of the movies we have watched this year:

1. 101 Dalmatians

2. 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure

3. 101 Dalmatians (Live Action version)

4. 102 Dalmatians

5. 16 Wishes

6. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

7. A Bug's Life

8. A Christmas Carol

9. A Far Off Place

10. A Friendship in Vienna

11. A Goofy Movie

12. An Extremely Goofy Movie

13. A Kid in King Arthur's Court

14. A Knight in Camelot

15. A Mom for Christmas

16. A Ring of Endless Light

17. A Saintly Switch

18. A Tale of Two Critters

19. African Cats

20. Air Bud

21. Air Bud: Golden Receiver

22. Air Bud: World Pup

23. Air Bud: 7th Inning Fetch

24. Air Bud Spikes Back

25. Air Buddies

26. Airborne

27. Aladdin

28. The Return of Jafar

29. Aladdin and the King of Thieves

30. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

31. Alice in Wonderland

32. Alice in Wonderland (Live Action Version)

33. Aliens of the Deep

34. Alley Cats Strike

35. Almost Angels

36. America's Heart and Soul

37. Amy

38. Angels in the Outfield

39. Angels in the Endzone

40. Annie

41. Around the World in 80 Days

42. Atlantis: The Lost Empire

43. Atlantis: Milo's Return

44. Avalon High

45. Babes in Toyland

46. Back Home

47. Bad Hair Day

48. Balloon Farm

49. Bambi

50. Bambi 2

51. Bears

52. Beauty and the Beast

Wow! That was a lot. And we started and ended the year with such great classics. 

Here is a recap of the things we have learned from these movies. (not all are meant to be serious!)

Disney Villains don’t need magic powers to be super scary
Always recount your kids if you lose count
Do not let your fur-obsessed boss find the creepy sketches you make of coats made from your pet’s fur because she will want to make your creepy drawing a reality
Hypnosis doesn't stick
Think before you wish - skip the one about wanting to be old! 
Giant squids are terrifying
Don't just assume things 
Keep Christmas in your heart always
Just don't go to the Kalahari
Listen to Grandpa
Focus on what is important in life
It is never too late to go back to school, and being able to embarrass your kids is an added incentive 
Never underestimate a pissed off princess
Keep your laptop charged and download an up-to-date encyclopedia in case of time travel
Do not throw mannequins away in the dumpster
Appreciate and use your talents
Do not assume others have it easy, you never know how difficult they may have it until you walk a mile in their shoes
Bears will steal your house
Documentaries can be super cool and educational
Treat your pets nicely
Some dogs have many hidden talents
Sometimes girls and dogs are way better at soccer than boys :P 
Put GPS chips in your pet's collars because these dog's get kidnapped all the time!
Using the same plot over and over is really getting old
Do not leave all the puppies alone
Moving to a new place can be difficult; finding a new hobby can help
Just be yourself
Forgiveness can lead to a change in your enemy's attitude
Family is the greatest treasure
Some days are not so good but you can try to make the best of it
Logic exists for a reason
Live life on your own terms
Some creatures can live and thrive without sunlight
Practice hard and stick with your team
Choir boys mean business
America has a lot of beautiful and interesting places to visit off the beaten path
Do not underestimate someone based on a disability 
It could happen
Everyone is a fan when the team starts to win
The sun will come out tomorrow obviously
There are many obstacles on the way to success
Great power should not be in the hands of bad people who would take advantage of it
Short Stories aren't very cohesive 
Girls can rule too
Keep track of your finances
There are many differences between England and the U.S.
Perfect is overrated
Faith is powerful
Man can be animal's enemy
Man is tricky
Male bears might kill young cubs
Beauty is found within
 So some of these movies have had better messages than others. We like to be entertained but it is nice to learn something new, too. 

I feel like I should award some of these movies. Here are my favorites of this year.

Favorite Live Action Movie: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 

Favorite Animated Movie: Aladdin (tough one! A Goofy Movie and Beauty and the Beast are both high up there, too!!) 

Favorite Disney Channel Movie: Alley Cats Strike

Favorite Sequel: The Return of Jafar

Least likely to ever watch again: 9 of these movies got a low 1 star rating from me this year, but I think the one I definitely won't watch again is a Tale of Two Critters unless I need help sleeping! 

I'm excited for the new year and all of the movies that we will see in 2016. There are so many new ones coming out this year - get ready! 

Beauty and the Beast

The last movie of the year is one of my favorites, Beauty and the Beast. I remember every girl in my class wanted to be Belle for Halloween the year it came out. Such a classic tale of learning that appearances aren't everything.

There are so many great songs in this movie, but we love to sing the Gaston song in our house. 

Bears

Next up is another Disney Nature movie, Bears. I loved this film! I was surprised but they did it so well. I learn a lot from these movies and this is no exception. So far I am loving all of the Disney Nature films!

In this movie we follow a female bear after she has given birth to her cubs. She has to find them food and keep them safe from any other bears that might pose a threat, as well as this crazy wolf who is always stalking her family. It's amazing to see how much they have to go through just to survive. 

Bambi 2

Next we watched a sequel that was a Straight to Video movie. I had never seen this one before but it is supposed to be set in the middle of the first movie, a "Mid-quel" I guess.

I actually enjoyed this one a little more than the original because it was more entertaining. The movie was about Bambi's father having to take care of Bambi after his mother died. He tries to find another mom to take care of Bambi for him while also training him to be the next Great Prince of the forest. 

Bambi

This week we watched another Disney Classic - Bambi. This movie is so sad! But now the kid won't stop saying "bird!". 

I'm sure most people can say they have seen this Disney movie, so no need to go into detail. There are some silly parts and some boring parts. 

We took our reindeer, Amber, out on an adventure to the city. 

Balloon Farm

Disney's Balloon Farm was an odd one. I'm still not really sure how the magic worked and why people would spend so much money on balloons. I didn't enjoy this too much. It was a mix of being bored and confused I think. 

I still don't understand what that guy was and what he was doing with the balloons and why he was picking out seeds so messily. I guess I will never find out. 

We tried some crafting with water balloons we had laying around. Here is a balloon covered flipflop.

Bad Hair Day

This movie came out earlier this year on The Disney Channel. I like DCOMS so this was right up my alley. The girl is a bit awkward and funny trying to figure out her life and the cop is hilarious and also trying to figure out her life. It is a cute movie and I enjoyed it. The kid enjoyed it as well, especially because the actress in it is in one of his favorite Disney Channel TV shows right now. 

Taking our inspiration from the beautiful and sparkly necklace in the movie, the kid made his own necklace with sparkly beads. 

Back Home

In this movie, a young girl is evacuated to America at the start of World War II and has just returned after the war to England. Adjusting to the lifestyle and culture of England after spending her formative years in America seems to be a big struggle as she now considers herself American. 

It wasn't a very entertaining movie but I suppose it was a bit educational. The girl liked to use stencils, especially on the walls, so I took inspiration from that and used some circle stencils and paint on my scrapbooking project. 

Babes in Toyland

YAY! We finally made it to movies that begin with the letter "B"!! I watched Babes in Toyland for the first time with the kid.

I don't know where to begin. I might have been really tired, but I didn't follow this one at all. It felt so scattered... I really couldn't tell what the story was about! Where are we? Why didn't this girl know she had money? Why did she just believe and accept what these people said about her fiance and then go and say yes to some other guy's proposal? And suddenly we are in a toy workshop... I'm lost. 

Anyway, I decided to start on my annual Christmas Activity Calendar or December Bucket List. I have some pretty fun activities planned for this year. Can't wait! 

Avalon High

It is time for another Disney Channel Movie. This one is called Avalon High.

The actress from the recent Tomorrowland movie is in this and I so desperately wanted to like her Disney Channel movie but something about it seemed off. It all felt rushed and almost like for a second they were surprised that the Camelot characters were reincarnated and then a second later they got over it. But Disney sure loves to make movies about Arthur and Merlin! 

Since I watched most of the movie myself, I did the activity myself with a friend at work. We went for a walk at lunch through a trail, much like the one that Allie and Will run on in the movie. 

Atlantis: Milo's Return

I think they meant to make a TV series out of this, but instead put three episodes into a sequel and moved on and away from Atlantis after it didn't do well in the box office. 

If these stories were part of a TV series, we might watch it. But it was a randomly pieced sequel that didn't make much sense to the story overall. I found it hard to follow. Not much else to say about it!

We took inspiration by going on our own little adventure into the woods to take some pictures of the Halloween costume we have picked out this year. The kid also dressed up as Harry Potter and a Ghostbuster for some parades in the area. 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

This time around we watched Atlantis: the Lost Empire. This movie is seriously underrated as far as Disney Animations go. I feel like when this came out, people were too focused on new things like chat rooms and getting their first cell phones before me. Or maybe I'm thinking that because I was just starting my teen years and those things seemed important to me instead of going out to see a Disney movie (you know how teens are...). 

I really liked that this was more of a science fiction and the animation was interesting and different. There were some funny characters, but there was also a lot of people dying in this movie. With Disney animations, I typically expect one or two key characters to go, but this one had lots of people dying here and there. I might be a little traumatized. 

We took inspiration from the glowing crystal and had a glow stick party with the kid's cousins. We played glow stick tag and what time is it Mr. Fox and just ran around with them in the dark by a fire pit. Fun times.

Around the World in 80 Days

The Kid was much too busy to watch our next movie with us, which was fine because it wasn't super entertaining for his age (or ours.. really). 

Some parts were funny, and I did like a lot of the cast, but the movie overall was certainly not the best and most entertaining for a family movie. There are many others to spend your valuable time watching. But I don't care - I am loving this Disney mission and glad to have another one under my belt.

The kid has been learning some geography. We started with a map of the United States. He is learning all of the states and their locations. Each time he gets one right, he gets the M&M that was sitting on that state. He likes that part! 

Annie (1999)

Our next movie is Annie - the 1999 TV movie version that aired on ABC. I think it may be our first musical, too. I like musicals. 

Annie is a classic, of course, but this version was not the best. It was a TV movie after all. Annie has been redone several times over the years. I do like the cast in this one, though. 

We were pretty boring about the activity this time around and just did some house chores. I didn't even get a picture of it! Unfortunately for the boys I do know all the words to It's a Hard Knock Life. I'll have to make them miserable with that next time I clean. 

Angels in the Endzone

This week we watched the sequel to Angels in the Outfield - Angels in the Endzone. I don't think either of my boys were really entertained, but this cast was pretty interesting! David Gallagher and Matthew Lawrence! Oh, to be a pre-teen reading those teen magazines again. 

The kid doesn't even remember watching this one. It was predictable and a bit boring, but we got through it. Definitely not comparable to the original.

We went to the local high school to see them play football. They lost, but what are you going to do? It's not like we have any angels out there helping our team. The kid had a blast since it was his first football game ever. 

Angels in the Outfield

I am very excited to watch this movie with the kid for his first time. We watched Angels in the Outfield all the time when I was little. 

There are so many memorable parts of this movie - when the guy sits on the nachos, when the little kid at the ball park literally runs home, or when the entire stadium stands up to do the angel signal. I'm excited to see the kid like it, too. Some movies from my youth seem like they are just too generational for today's kids, but these classic sports movies can still easily entertain young sports fans.

We took inspiration from the movie and played a twist on baseball. We used the kid's new Nerf bow and arrow and played with a plastic bat. The boys seemed to enjoy it! And the arrow is made of foam so no one got hurt. 

Amy

The next movie on our list is called Amy. I watched this one alone but thought it was very moving! I don't think it is one my little guy would sit still for, though. 

The movie was about a woman who leaves her rich lifestyle and husband to teach poor deaf kids how to speak. Then she has her kids play football against a team from another school and I'm sure you can guess who wins. I found the movie emotional and a lot better than I was expecting. I have also been wanting to learn ASL for a while now, especially after watching Switched at Birth on ABC Family. 

We didn't really use the movie as inspiration to start school - I'm sure every kid is doing this activity right now - but it was a significant day for the kid. He is starting at a new school and learning new rules and all sorts of crazy things they teach kindergartners these days, much like Amy does in the movie. 

Have a great school year, everyone!

America's Heart and Soul

We had the opportunity to watch this fantastic documentary called America's Heart and Soul. It was so interesting and eye-opening. 

The documentary shows the lives of different people in different situations living all across the United States. It is amazing to see how other people live in your own country. The lives of the people in the documentary seemed so different from my own, yet we all had something in common - living in the United States. It was really cool and definitely educational. 

I just happened to be traveling that weekend to Connecticut for a bridal shower so I took the boys with me and we explored Hartford and some places outside Hartford, including this pretty pond we walked around. CT is only a couple of states away but it seemed like a different world!