Why WALL-E is My Spirit Robot

I'm sure many of you are familiar with idea of spirit animals, but I believe that we all have a spirit robot too.  What is a spirit robot, you ask?  Well, much like a spirit animal, a spirit robot is a robot from television or movies that embodies the personality and soul of a person.  Robots can be protective like the one from Lost in Space, aggressive like the Terminator, or transformative like Optimus Prime.

When thinking about which robot most embodies me, a few came to mind such as R2-D2, Kevin from Saved by the Bell, and most obviously, Number 5 from Short Circuit.  Number 5 is the one that most people would probably associate with me just based on both of our desires to collect input.  We're both very curious creatures.  But when starting to look a little deeper, another robot comes to mind, WALL-E.  Why WALL-E?  Well, here are some reasons.

1. He's also very curious.  He's fascinated by every little thing and is always looking to learn new things about his world.  I'm very much the same.  I am naturally curious about just about everything.

2. He appreciates the little things.  As a result of being so curious, he is able to appreciate little things that other may miss, like the beauty of a fire extinguisher in space.  I, too, often discover things that others may miss and appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the world around me.

3. He sees the world differently than anyone else around him.  In a world filled with other robots concerned solely with their directives, WALL-E sees the treasures in the trash like light bulbs and Rubik's cubes.  I often get funny looks from people as I describe something that I see or make a connection to something that is completely abstract and different from what others see.  And I'm writing about spirit robots.  How many other people do you know who would write about that?

4. He is a collector.  Some may even say he is a hoarder.  His home is full of things he has collected from the trash.  I am also a collector.  Most of you know about my pin collection, but I also have a collection of hats, ticket stubs, Legos, and a variety of other knick knacks that I have seen and decided to keep.  Like I said, I am fascinated by the world and I collect things that showcase that appreciation.

5. He can make people laugh.  Sometimes he does this without even trying.  I can definitely relate to this.  People have been laughing at me and with me for years.

6.  He likes to dance even though he looks awkward doing it.  See the laughing at comment from above.  I have no rhythm, in fact I probably have as much rhythm as a robot, but I still like to dance.

7. It takes awhile for people to appreciate him.  Because WALL-E is so different from everyone else around him, people often treat him differently, often shunning him.  But he stays true to himself and eventually people and bots see him for the wonderful person with the huge heart he is.  I also feel like I am a difficult person to like and that people don't give me a chance when they first meet me.  But if they give me a chance and spending some time getting to know me, they will see how awesome I really am.

8. All he really wants is someone to share his world with.  He is so excited to show EVE his trinkets, and he wants so badly to hold her hand and dance with her, imitating the movie he has been watching for years.  That's all I want, too.  I know that I'm unique and interesting and see things differently, and I wish I could describe the look I constantly see on people's faces when I talk to them.  That look is starting to wear on me.  I want someone to look at me with love and appreciation, and want to hold my hand and dance with me, like WALL-E.

And that is why I think WALL-E is my spirit robot.  What about you?  Have you thought about who your spirit robot might be?  Feel free to share if you have.

And the Greatest Disney Animated Movie Ever is...

The Lion King

Well, this isn't much of a surprise.  The Lion King was the favorite at the beginning of the tournament and it took down all challengers.  The championship match wasn't really that close with The Lion King winning 7-3.  While this might not be my favorite Disney movie, the people have spoken.  Here's the final bracket.

I want to thank everyone who read and voted throughout the tournament.  This was a fun one for me.  But now it's over and I've already started thinking about next year's bracket.  We will be looking to decide who the greatest movie badass is next year, so if you have any suggestions for who should be included, please send them my way.  Until then, keep reading this blog and my pin blog!

Greatest Disney Animated Movie Championship

After weeks of voting, we're left with the top two overall seeds in the tournament.  I guess we could have skipped all the early rounds and went right to this, but what would be the fun in that?  The Final Four matches were both close as expected.  In fact, at one point both matches were tied at 4.  But then The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast pulled away for the wins.  So here's the current bracket.



There's not much to say about the final matchup.  Both films are worthy of the top spot.  They are both beloved by all and contain memorable songs and characters.  Personally, I enjoy both of the films.  I don't really know how to distinguish between the two for purposes of voting.  Although, Belle is one of my favorite princesses.  I still think The Lion King will hold serve and come out on top as I predicted from the very beginning, but my predictions haven't been entirely accurate so who knows.  Let's vote!


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Greatest Disney Animated Movie Final Four!

The Final Four is set!  And just like I thought it's an all 90s-era field.  Granted, all of the movies that made the Final Four are really good and there's a reason they were all high seeds, but I still thought one of them might go down before this point.  There were some close calls, but not close enough.  And none of the Elite Eight results were particularly close.  I do think that the voting results have a lot to do with the demographics of the voters as well.  Most of my friends who likely voted are around my age and we all have an affinity for those movies from our childhood.  So it's not too surprising that the Final Four is comprised of movies from the five year range 1989-1994.  Here's how the bracket shapes up now.



As for the two semifinal matchups, here are my thoughts.  In the first matchup Aladdin goes up against The Lion King.  From the beginning, The Lion King has been the odds on favorite to win the whole tournament.  And of these four movies I think Aladdin is the least admired, which isn't to say it isn't beloved, but I don't hear people gush over Aladdin like the other three participants.  For that reason I think The Lion King advances easily.

The second matchup should be a little closer.  Beauty and the Beast is heralded as one of the best animated movies of all time.  It's blowout win against Cinderella showed that when it comes to princess movies, it is the clear number one.  The songs are memorable, the animation is beautiful, and the story is timeless.  It should be the favorite to advance.  But The Little Mermaid is the movie that resurrected the Disney brand.  After a down period in the 80s, The Little Mermaid was released and restored Disney's crown as the top dog.  And a lot of people love and cherish that movie, myself included.  It is one of my all time favorites.  The songs are equally memorable from this movie, and the story is wonderful.  Not to mention it has one of the best villains of all time.  I could honestly see either of these two movies winning.  So let's find out who will!

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Greatest Disney Animated Movie Elite Eight!

The Sweet Sixteen did not disappoint.  We had some very close matchups.  My personal favorite, Robin Hood, put up an incredibly valiant effort against Beauty and the Beast.  It jumped out to an early lead before Beauty stormed back.  Ultimately, Robin Hood fell by a single vote, 10-9.  While I'm a little heartbroken that it wasn't able to advance, I'm very proud that it put up a such a strong fight against one of the pre-tournament favorites.  In another one point decision, Aladdin edged out Peter Pan, 10-9.  This doesn't surprise me as much, as I thought Peter Pan would have a real shot to pull the upset.  In the end, though, it came up a little short.

Most of the other matchups were fairly competitive.  Bambi gave Cinderella a run for its money, falling only four votes shy.  Dumbo and Jungle Book went back and forth before Jungle Book pulled away and won 12-7.  Even 101 Dalmatians kept it close with The Lion King for a little while before falling.  The biggest blowout belonged to Pinocchio, which pretty much wiped the floor with Fantasia, winning 15-3.  I don't think that result is too surprising.

I was surprised, however, by how easily Snow White dispatched Tangled.  Based on previous voting results, I thought Tangled had an excellent chance to pull the upset.  But Snow White jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for another of my favorites, Sleeping Beauty.  Despite taking an initial lead over The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty lost steam and then lost the matchup, 13-6.  I was really hoping that would be a little closer and even though I also love The Little Mermaid, I wanted Sleeping Beauty to win.

Nonetheless, here is what the bracket looks like as we head into the Elite Eight.



The Elite Eight matchups offer some interesting matchups.  My prediction of an all early 90s Final Four is still a possibility.  Each of those early 90s movies are up against an age old classic.  The Lion King gets to try its hand against The Jungle Book.  I really don't see The Jungle Book getting enough love to win this matchup.

Aladdin, however, might have a fight going against Pinocchio.  There's something about Pinocchio that people love.  I think it has something to do with Jiminy Cricket and "When You Wish Upon a Star".  Although, Aladdin does have "A Whole New World" so this could be a battle of who likes which song more.

In the ultimate princess matchup we have Beauty and the Beast facing off against Cinderella.  I feel like these are the two princess stories that get the most love and are most referenced as being the quintessential princess dreams.  I guess we'll find out which princess comes out on top.

The final matchup pits Disney's first movie, Snow White, against the movie that revitalized the Disney brand, The Little Mermaid.  I'm starting to think that Little Mermaid may be the sleeper pick to win the whole thing.  Although, I underestimated Snow White in the last round, too, and look how that worked out.

But if you've read this far, then I've tortured you enough, so let's get to the voting!

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Greatest Disney Animated Movie Sweet Sixteen

On to the Sweet Sixteen!  The second round wrapped up, and as has been the case through most of this tournament, there were no surprises.  Only one lower seed advanced, Robin Hood, which was a 5 seed beating a 4 seed, not much of an upset.  It did, however, make me happy because Robin Hood is my favorite Disney movie.  In the other matchups, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Tangled, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid all cruised to easy victories.  So much for my Oliver and Company has a chance theory.  Snow White actually struggled for a bit against Lilo and Stitch, but eventually pulled away.  I don't quite understand the love for Stitch.  I've never liked that movie.  Anyway, here's what the bracket looks like now.




We're left with a lot of chalk.  The lowest remaining seed is a 7 seed, Dumbo.  But we certainly have some heavyweight matchups in this round.  All the remaining movies can be considered classics, so I'll try to hesitate using that term too much.  The first matchup features The Lion King versus 101 Dalmatians.  I don't think Dalmatians has quite the following to take down the behemoth that is The Lion King, but maybe they can make it a little closer.  The other matchup in this region might be a little closer.  Dumbo already pulled off one upset, knocking off Frozen, but The Jungle Book was one of my sleeper picks to go deep in the tournament.  This one might be close.

In the Aladdin region, the 1 seed should be a little worried going up against Peter Pan.  Honestly, I think this matchup could go either way.  Peter Pan is a timeless story, but Aladdin is favorite among my generation.  I'm intrigued.  The second matchup features two of Disney's earliest films, Fantasia vs Pinocchio.  I think this will be another close matchup.  Fantasia is a beautiful movie, but Pinocchio is Pinocchio.

The real question surfaces in the Beauty and the Beast region.  Can my favorite, Robin Hood, take down the top seed, Beauty and the Beast?  I love Beauty and the Beast, but nothing tops Robin Hood in my book.  It's so wonderfully uplifting.  In the bottom half of the region, Cinderella faces Bambi.  Bambi might be able to keep this close for a while, but I think Cinderella pulls away easily in the end.

The final region features 1 seed Snow White against the newest movie left in the bracket, Tangled.  Considering that Snow White struggled in its last matchup and Tangled has rolled so far, I think there might be an upset in the works here.  I know many people take issue with Snow White's story and characterization, but it's such a historical masterpiece that I would be sad to see it go out this early.  But maybe the other history buffs like me will push it through.  The final matchup is probably the toughest for me to vote for.  Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid are two of my absolute favorites.  I think Sleeping Beauty is the best of the princess movies, but Little Mermaid was my favorite of the early 90s Disney revival films which were a huge part of my childhood.  I want to see both of them in the Final Four.  Why did I seed them in the same region?!  Stupid fairness and subjectivity.  Enough of this, let's vote.

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Greatest Disney Animated Movie Round 2 Part 2

Well, it was bound to happen eventually.  We have a tie.  In fact, we have two ties!  You may be wondering what the procedure is for breaking a tie.  It's a very sophisticated process.  Since this is my bracket, whoever I voted for, wins.  That may not seem very fair to you, but if you don't like it, then make your own bracket.  But let's cut the suspense and get to the winners.

The first tie was between the 4 and 5 seeds in the Lion King Region, 101 Dalmatians and Mulan.  I knew this would be a close matchup, and sure enough it was.  While I did enjoy Mulan, my vote was for 101 Dalmatians.  The dogs are cute, the villain is iconic, and it even inspired a live action remake.  It deserves to move on.

The second tied matchup was much more of a surprise.  The 2 seed Frozen ended up tied with 7 seed Dumbo.  I really thought the immense popularity of Frozen would carry it through this matchup easily.  While Dumbo is an iconic movie, I wasn't sure how many people really like it enough to get it to the Sweet Sixteen.  Apparently, more than I thought.  And because my vote went to Dumbo, it advances.  Now there might be some serious Frozen overkill that led to this vote as well.  Personally, I enjoyed the movie and I think Princess Anna is adorable, but story wise I found it very lacking.  With that said, I'm still very surprised that it went out this early.

The other matchups in the Lion King region were fairly predictable.  The Lion King cruised to a victory over Pocahontas, and The Jungle Book held off an early surge by The Fox and the Hound to advance.  All the top seeds in the Aladdin region advanced as well.  Early voting results looked like Alice in Wonderland and Wreck-it Ralph might have a chance to pull the upset, but Peter Pan and Pinocchio, respectively, eventually pulled away.

Here's what the current bracket looks like.


Moving on to the next two regions, there are some very intriguing matchups.  In the Beauty and the Beast region, I think Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella will advance easily.  But the 4-5 and 3-6 matchups could be very close.  Can my favorite, Robin Hood, upset everyone's favorite animal love story, Lady and the Tramp?  I foresee a close vote there.  And I really don't know what to make of Hercules' chances.  I didn't like that movie, but the more I talk to people, the more I hear how much people like it.  Bambi might be in trouble.

The Snow White region features the only double digit seeds remaining.  I don't believe Hunchback has the chops to take down Sleeping Beauty, but Oliver and Company showed me something in the first round.  I think Oliver and Company has a decent chance to beat Tangled and be the only double digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen.  Of course, I also wouldn't be surprised if Tangled runs away with the vote.  I don't foresee Snow White or Little Mermaid having any trouble advancing.  But let's find out.  Proceed to the voting!

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