Posted Tue Mar 29, 2011 at 12:50 PM PDT by Aaron Peck
by Aaron Peck
Celebrated animator Don Bluth left the Walt Disney Company in 1979. It's still easy to see the realistic animator's mark on Disney classics such as 'Sword in the Stone,' 'Robin Hood,' and 'The Jungle Book.' After he left Disney, he went off on his own, and animated many more classics that have yet to find their way to Blu-ray. With the releases of 'Anastasia', 'The Secret of NIMH', and 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' we find ourselves looking over Bluth's illustrious career, hoping and praying that some of his other movie soon find homes in high-definition.
'An American Tail' – Produced by Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, 'An American Tail' is the story of the Mousekewitzes and their journey from Russia to America to find a new, better life. Fievel became Bluth's first well-known character. Sure, 'Secret of NIMH' came out before 'An American Tail,' but the Bluth company didn't really have a mascot, so to speak, until Fievel hit the screen. Just like at Disney, Bluth's animation and popularity was built upon a mouse.
'The Land Before Time' – We're not talking about the umpteen sequels that the first movie spawned. Those were all cash grabs, but the first film of the franchise was fantastic. Together with his business partners Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, Bluth pieced together a sweeping tale about earth during prehistoric times. Setting the movie's plot and heart squarely on the shoulders of a Longneck named Littlefoot.
'Rock-a-Doodle' – One of Bluth's lesser known animated features was a guilty pleasure of mine as a kid. My cousin and I wore out his VHS copy of it, because we would watch it over and over again. I remember it fondly even though I'm not a big Elvis fan.
'Thumbelina' – Based on the fairy tale of the same name, Bluth wrote and directed this wonderful little film. It's not as famous or noteworthy as his other classics, but it's a well done animated feature that features some of Bluth's patented, beautiful animation.
'Titan A.E.' – This is actually one of my favorite animated films of all-time. Definitely one of the best science fiction animated features out there. I have have hopes that the stellar visuals created by Bluth and his company will no doubt blow us all away when they finally hit Blu-ray. 'Titan A.E.' isn't just one of my most wanted Bluth films on Blu-ray, it's one of my most wanted films period.
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