Bad Weather in Disney Movies
Hurricane Irene has been battering the East Coast of the United States all weekend, and on Sunday morning when the eye of the hurricane passes over, Irene will be the first hurricane to hit New York City since 1985’s Hurricane Gloria. As a city resident in a non-evacuation zone, I am hunkered down in my apartment with my flashlight and fully-charged laptop, ready to weather the storm.
2011's Hurricane Irene, image from earthobservatory.nasa.gov
To commemorate this historical event in true Disney-fashion, I present some of the memorable storms from Disney’s past. Good luck to everyone in Hurricane Irene’s path! I wish you, your family, and your property the best!
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In the opening scene of the film, the Family Robinson’s ship is under attack by pirates and a fearsome storm. The family is trapped inside the ship as the storm rages, and when they emerge the next day, they discover that they have been abandoned. The family sails for a deserted island which they transform into their new home using provisions from the shipwreck. On the island, the family thrives and is able to fend off another pirate attack and establish their own “New Switzerland” colony. |
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In the animated segment Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Pooh Bear visits his friends in the Hundred Acre Woods to wish them a happy Windsday. Piglet almost blows away in a gust of wind, Owl’s house blows over, and Pooh meets Tigger for the first time. The next day, the rain, rain, rain comes down, down, down and floods Pooh’s and Piglet’s houses. Pooh Bear rescues Piglet from a waterfall, and when Piglet gives his house to the homeless Owl, Christopher Robin throws the pair a hero’s party in celebration for their kindness. |
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A hurricane brewing during Prince Eric’s birthday celebration wrecks Eric’s ship and sends the prince sinking to the depths of the ocean. Eric is rescued by Ariel, and their love story begins when the mermaid sings to him on the shore before disappearing back into the ocean. Another storm features prominently at the end of the film when the sea witch Ursula uses King Triton’s trident to create a deadly ocean whirlpool, trapping Ariel at the bottom. Ursula is defeated by an expertly-steered shipwreck, and Eric and Ariel live happily ever after. |
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When he discovers that the Beast is real and not just a figment of Maurice’s imagination, the villainous Gaston leads an angry mob to the Beast’s castle to slay him. In a torrential downpour, Gaston attacks the Beast, greatly wounding him, before falling to his own death. As the rain continues to pour, Belle declares her love for the Beast who has proven his good heart again and again. Suddenly, the storm ends and the Beast is transformed once again into a handsome prince, and the prince and Belle live happily ever after. |
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When Simba finally confronts his Uncle Scar in the film’s climax, a bolt of lightning strikes the underbrush, setting fire to the area around Pride Rock. Simba and Scar battle in a dramatic landscape of fire and lightning, and Scar reveals that he killed Simba’s father Mufasa. It is not until Scar succumbs to an angry pack of hyenas that a rain shower finally puts out the brush fire. Simba reunites with Nala and the other lionesses of his pride and finally takes his place as the lion king. |
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The identical Hallie and Annie (both played by Lindsay Lohan) are sent to the isolation cabin for bad behavior at summer camp, and although the two despise each other at first, it is during a rainstorm that they finally become friends. They discover that they are twins who were separated as babies and raised as only children of their single, divorced parents, with no knowledge of each other. Hallie and Annie decide to switch places to get to know the parents they have never met and to get their parents back together again. |
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In the film’s opening scene, a great tidal wave engulfs the city of Atlantis, submerging the city and cutting it off from the outside world for thousands of years. It is later revealed that the wave was a tsunami created by misusing the power of the life-force crystal known as the “Heart of Atlantis”. The cartographer Milo and his crew of adventurers rediscover the lost city, and Milo helps the Atlantean princess Kida read her people’s ancient ruins so she can learn how to harness the power of the crystal to avert another disaster. |
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Enchanted borrows from a number of classic Disney fairy tale films, and the climatic ending in which Giselle battles Queen Narissa who has transformed into a ferocious dragon is no exception. Like many other Disney films, this epic battle between good and evil takes place during a lightning storm, only this time it is the Princess and not the Prince who is equipped with a sword to slay the dragon. Giselle is helped in the end by her furry chipmunk sidekick, and Narissa falls to her death like so many Disney villains before her. |
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In one of the most epic special effects battles ever produced, Calypso, the Goddess of the Sea, is released from her human chains and wreaks havoc on the ocean as the Brethren Court battles Davy Jones and the English armada. There’s a maelstrom and a whirlpool, and amidst the rain and the fighting, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann are engaged and married by Captain Barbossa. Will Turner is stabbed, and he survives by taking the place of Davy Jones as the captain of the Flying Dutchman, bound to the sea except for one day on land every ten years. |
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In Bedtime Stories, a number of enchanting things happen when the bedtime stories that Skeeter Bronson tells his niece and nephew begin to come true. First, there is a surprise shower of gumballs while Skeeter is in his car, only he doesn’t realize that a crashed candy truck is responsible for the confectionery downpour. Later, when Skeeter is getting to know the sweet elementary school teacher Jill, there is another sudden shower, only this time it is a more traditional rain shower that helps bring Skeeter and Jill closer together. |
Cool I wish I could be on disney channl but ill be there
coolio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!