1949 - Frozen

I took my son to see this yesterday afternoon and it was his first 3D experience, which had him pretty excited with the prospect of having things flying at his face.  Ever since Pixar showed up on the block Disney's line-up of films have always felt like they were the not-so-talented cousin - this puts Disney's films back on track, in my opinion.  For me it was up there with the films they were making in my youth - Little Mermaid, Lion King, Aladdin, etc... But what's even better here is we've got an update and a modern message - which I won't ruin with a spoiler alert.  It has an ending that's perfect and inspiring.  It's funny without being silly or annoying - it respects it's audience which can't be said for the humour in most kinds films.  If you've got a little one I highly recommend this one.

1772 - The Jungle Book

I haven't watched this in a really long time.  As a child I was involved in Cub Scouts and this is where all of the names of the leaders is ripped off from (well, technically I suppose they're ripped off from the book).  Tonight was a movie night with my little guy and my wife recommended this one for him (I wanted Wizard of Oz, but he's informed me that he's not old enough to not be scared of the scary witch - fair enough).
He loved the hell out of this film.  Baloo made him howl with his physical antics, and he really got caught up with the story and how it played out.  The animation style and limitations are so dated, but it's lovely to see that that doesn't matter story-wise to someone so with such fresh eyes.  I'm going to do my best to keep him in a mixture of classic and modern films - he's got enough of an attention span so long as something's good.
Every movie geek father dreams of having a movie geek child - and so far - so good!

1702 - Toy Story

Now that my son is about to turn three we're starting "movie night" in our house.  A day I've been looking forward to with him since… well… I even knew I was having a kid.  The only true way to re-experience a film for the first time is watching it with someone who hasn't seen it - and that goes double when watching it with a kid.  He really really got into this.  He laughed in some really interesting places.  Got emotional and invested in the characters, and when it was done he instantly wanted to watch it again.  It'll be interesting to see what he thinks of it tomorrow, but it was top marks from him tonight.
Now - how did I feel about the film again?  Well, first I forgot that Joss Whedon worked on the script.  So that was fun.  I also noticed some little easter egg things that I never noticed before.  I'm going to say a lot of lovely things in a moment, but I couldn't help but notice a big flaw in the film this time around.  Buzz Lightyear spends the majority of the film believing that he is not a toy, but a real space ranger.  HOWEVER, when Andy comes into his room, he plays dead just like all the other toys.  Why would he do that?  Why would he play along with this boy instead of confronting him like he does all the other "creatures" in the room?  This actually bothered me quite a bit and I might search around to see if Pixar's ever been called on that hole and what their response is…
But other than that it's a really great film.  From a story perspective it's a really great example of escalating conflict.  Things get worse and worse in this film and the planting and paying off is done with a shitload of skill.  If you've missed this film for some reason, it really is a must see.  I can even let the Buzz thing go 'cause the rest of the film is so damn great.  So… it'll be interesting to see how soon he forces us to watch this again!

1671 - Tangled

This came highly recommended and despite the fact that I've always liked big epic kid films, since Ephraim doesn't watch a lot of television yet (just starting to introduce him to television and whatnot) I haven't watched many outside of PIXAR lately.  Of course I was at my sister's and the twins picked this up halfway through, so I caught the back half, then when I got back to the farm I noticed that it was on netflix, so I was able to pick up and see the whole thing.
The quality of this is, I believe, in no small part to the fact that John Lasseter is now the CEO of Disney and oversees their production slate.  The film is gorgeous, and despite the use of CGI animation it really feels like it pays homage to the old Disney fairytale films that made that place such a powerhouse. 
I think that they did a really lovely job of taking the foundation of the Rapunzel story and turning it into an epic tale.  I liked what they did with the magic and the hair and it's connection to the witch, I thought that was really smart.  And I liked how connected everything was to the main storyline of her being a lost princess.  The characters were really excellent, particular the non-speaking roles of the horse Maximus and the little chameleon dude.  Eugene and Rapunzel are a really fantastic pair and you really root for them.  The fact that she beats the hell out of him when he climbs up his tower really sets the tone for the flick (wonderful reoccurring gag with the frying pan as well).  Mandy Moore is delightful as our heroine and you develop a bit of a crush on her as the girl, and then you're downright smitten with her by the time she has her transformation at the end.
I thought that this was a really great flick and it's the kind that I look forward to showing my kids once they're old enough for it.  I'm looking forward to whatever else Disney kicks out under Lasseter's direction as well.