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Dumbo next for National Film Registry

posted 12 years ago by onelostfanpaul
3 replies | jump to latest

In 1988 The Library of Congress initiated the National Film Registry. Every year this orginization would select 25 culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films to be preserved for future generations. Last year Bambi was finally selected for this honor, joining the ranks of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Beauty and the Beast, and Toy Story. The orginization invites members of the public to e-mail nominations, and films with significant public support are given greater consideration for selection. I believe that Dumbo is long overdue for this honor, and have sent an e-mail nominating it to be one of this year's selections. If you are a fan of Dumbo, please join me. It will only take a few seconds of your time, and is much more effective than say, online petitions, since the orginization is actually asking us for our suggestions. Forest Gump's selection last year was largely credited to wide public support.

The e-mail address is [email protected] I included a brief explanation of why I felt that Dumbo was culturally significant, but all you need to do is say that you are nominating the film for inclusion in the National Film Registry. You are allowed to nominate up to 50 films a year, but the more you nominate, the greater Dumbo's competition will be. If you have any friends who like Dumbo, or frequent any Disney fan sites, be sure to spread the word!

[–] louiethigpen 12 years ago

You are not the only one who nominated Dumbo. I nominated it last year but Bambi beat it. I nominated it again for this year(2012).

You want a Disney film that REALLY deserves to be preserved, nominate Song of the South. I have been trying to get it preserved for many years now and it is long overdue for this honor. I would appreciate it if more people nominated it along with me. If Song of the South gets preserved than it will finally get released on DVD and Blu-Ray.

FYI: Dumbo is one of my "Big Four" Disney films that I always nominate. My "Big Four" consists of Dumbo, Song of the South, The Black Cauldron(I know not many people like it but I LOVE it) and Tarzan.

[–] onelostfanpaul 12 years ago

Glad to hear that you have shown support for Dumbo as well. Personally, I was thrilled that Bambi was chosen last year, and feel that it deserved inclusion in the Registry more than any other unselected Disney film, including Dumbo. I fear that the Registry might not select two Disney films in consecutive years, but personally, I feel that the small number of Disney animated features so far selected (only 6, including 1 from Pixar) is very disproportionate to their impact on American culture.

I completely agree that Song of the South deserves inclusion, though I personally feel that Dumbo should be the next Disney film added to the Registry. Dumbo is probably one of the most widely seen and beloved animated films of all time, while Song of the South's general lack of availability to the public has made it a rather obscure film and somewhat diminshed its cultural relevance (though at the same time, I suppose that the controversy has actually added to its cultural relevance in some ways).

I'd probably say that the other Disney features most deserving of inclusion are Cinderella (sort of the quintessential Disney film), Lady and the Tramp (its relevance transcends the medium of animation, and applies to romance told in any medium of film - the spaghetti scene is probably one of the most iconic moments in the history of cinema), Mary Poppins (first Disney film to be nominated for a major award, including Best Picture), and The Lion King (seen by many as the pinacle of Disney animated films).

I have to say that I am with the majority on The Black Cauldron. It certainly is not a bad film, but the story seemed too expansive and dramatic to be done proper justice by Disney's 80 minute, family oriented approach. Tarzan is a fantastic film, maybe even one of Disney's best, but personally, I am not sure that it has had the cultural impact to justify its inclusion in the Registry at this point. Mulan is a personal favorite of mine, but there are other Disney films that have simply had a more significant impact on American culture and thus, deserve to be included first. Some day down the road though, hopefully Tarzan, Mulan, and maybe even The Black Cauldron will be added to the Registry.

[–] louiethigpen 12 years ago

Thank you for your support.

Dumbo, Song of the South, The Black Cauldron and Tarzan are not the only Disney films I have nominated. I have also nominated The Hunchback of Notre Dame( I personally love this one), Hercules, Fantasia 2000(If Fantasia made it, then Fantasia 2000 should because the animation in the Firebird segment is very beautiful), Sleeping Beauty, The Rescuers(I personally feel that this one should be preserved), The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Groove, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh(This one should be preserved), Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin(This is the only sequel that I have nominated and I believe it is good enough to be preserved), The Santa Clause, I'll Be Home For Christmas and the live action version of the Jungle Book (The one with Jason Scott Lee as Mowgli. I love this film!! I personally feel this film deserves more recognition and needs to be preserved)

Last year, at one point, I nominated Dinosaur. It is unknown if I will nominate it again.

Yes, I did nominate Cinderella as well(She was the first Disney Princess that I thought was very beautiful). I agree that it also deserves to be preserved. i also nominated Mulan last year. I also am working on nominating

The only Disney films that I do not nominate are the sequels(some are good but I do not see them as getting preserved, except maybe for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, that one was good), Home on the Range(this one would probably never get recognition because it was responsible for the traditional animation to almost die)and a few others.

The Disney films I would definitely nominate once they become ten years old are Tangled, The Princess and the Frog(Dr. Facilier is one of the coolest Disney villains), Enchanted, Bridge to Terabithia, Alice in Wonderland(The Tim Burton one. I personally really love this film), The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Winnie the Pooh.

Now if you are wondering which non-Disney animated films I have nominated, here they are below:

The Prince of Egypt (I personally believe this one deserves preservation)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
The Iron Giant
Quest for Camelot
Balto
The Last Unicorn
All Dogs go to Heaven
The Land Before Time
An American Tail