You really have to give credit to Disney studios. Starting with Snow White in the 1930's, they have carved an unforgettable path in film and animation, often being a major part of most of our lives as we grow up. From using the death of parents on film to help teach kids how to cope with loss, to addressing issues like gender and love, there is a uniformity to animated Disney films. You walk away from them feeling better about life. They just carry that Disney magic, and you carry it with you after seeing their films, too. But you can't help but notice it is the same Disney movies that seem to always get brought up when people discuss the studio. Lion King, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Frozen, to name a few. But there are certain animated Disney films that just didn't get the love of the some of the more well-known films, even though they deserved it. Here are seven Disney movies that just don't get the love they deserve.

1. The Black Cauldron

Of all the Disney animated films, this one was my favorite growing up, yet it seems like seven people saw it. Based on the book of the same name by Lloyd Alexander, The Black Cauldron was awesome because it was darker than most of the stuff we were getting from Disney at that point. Just the Horned King as the main villain was enough of a selling point. Add to that the simple fact that he raised an army of the dead to fight for him and you realize this was the first Disney movie with zombies. Animated zombies at that, and years before they were popular. How did that not receive wide appeal is beyond me, and that will be a running theme of this list.

If you have not seen The Black Cauldron, you need to go find a copy, right now. It just proves Disney needs to do more fantasy stuff.

2. Robin Hood

Why is it when people talk animated Disney movies, no one talks about Robin Hood? The 1973 animated adaptation of the famous character that featured characters from OTHER Disney movies was awesome. Other characters from the Jungle Book, to be specific. Yes, it was like they went and got the cast of The Jungle Book to act in a play about Robin Hood. How cool is that, and why don't they do it more often?

On top of that, the music was some of the best ever featured in a Disney movie. Yes, I just said that, and here is the proof:

(YouTube Clip)

I can promise you that you will be singing (and whistling) that song for the next two weeks. Outside of that, though, the movie was wholly charming and well told rendition of the classic Robin Hood tale.

3. Treasure Planet

A few days ago, I posted a video of a dog trying to save a fish's life. It was an amazing act of empathy between different animals, and it got me wondering how many other times this or something like it has happened between animals of different species. I showed a friend the video of the dog, and the next day I got this video in my email. As you will see, it is the same kind of thing. A bear sees a crow fly into his area in the zoo by mistake, and it lands in the water. The bear can clearly see the crow struggling, and what it does next is the last thing you expect to see from a bear.

(YouTube Link)

What is most remarkable is not just the fact that the bear saves the crow from drowning, but that you can see it is trying to be delicate and not hurt the crow when he removes him from the water. For a minute, you think the crow may have gotten messed up, then it just hops up and does its thing and the bear goes back to just being a bear.

Again, you ever think we could learn some humanity from animals? Ironic, I know. But also pretty amazing.

Image Via Alexander Lanslang

I think we can all admit we love gifs, right? In the last few years, these simple, moving pictures have taken over the internet (except for Facebook, which for some odd reason, still doesn't allow them to be posted). Seems every site has a gif section now, and if you have ADD like most of the internet generation you can just skim from gif to gif for hours, not even aware you are losing time.

Though there are many places to do this on the net, I would have to say that Zor.De is easily the best site out there for a constant flow of gifs (usually set to some really odd music that only makes the experience that much more insane). I will just warn you to lower your speakers if they are on when you first get to the site, as jarring techno and some insane, looping images can be a little intense when you first show up.

But after a minute and three gifs or so, it is really hard to navigate away from this site. Be forewarned, it may eat hours of your day. Or seconds. That is what is so great about it, that is up to you.

I know we ran a piece recently about dangerous toys that got recalled, but what about the controversial toys? The toys that may not pose any physical threat to the child, but can wrp the kid's mind and send a really odd message? Thankfully, WatchMojo put together a rather eye-opening list of toys that got recalled for various colorful reasons. I will say this, I still have my Entertech AK water gun. The thing looks photo realistic and hangs on the back wall of my office to intimidate new comers. Unfortuately, could never find that last Barbie doll they talk about. Not like I looked or anything...

(YouTube Link)

I will go on record to say that Super Soaker they talk about almost wins for being the most disturbing and unsettling. That commercal for it is hilarious, though, for all the wrong reasons. I would say the photo of the toy see you above wins, and by wins, I means loses. That is just not okay.

Image Via PBS

We have all seen how cute it can be when a cat cuddles with another cat, or when two bunnies snuggle up together. But how cool is it to hear those stories about animal odd couples. Two animals from different species who just seemed to find each other and find some kind of strange and intense connection in the process. It shows us the nonjudgmental purity of animals, and it shows us that we could all learn a thing or two about how we should all treat one another.

Animal Planet put together a really adorable list of ten animal odd couples, and if it doesn't make your heart feel a couple sizes bigger after watching, I suggest two viewings, back-to-back. I will admit, the tarantula and the frog are definitely an odd couple, but it will make you look at both species differently.

They don't judge each other, so why do we?

First off, yes, this really happened. in 1988, there was a direct-to-VCR Puss in Boots musical that starred the enigmatic and awesome Christopher Walken as the titular lead. Yes. Again, not kidding. I know it sounds like something the internet would make up, but this exists. I know there are a lot of Christopher Walken fans out there, and with good reason. He is an odd, intruiging man who usually has a looming presence. But flash back to him in Puss in Boots and you see a whole different side to the star. We all knew he could dance because of the wonderful Fatboy Slim video he starred in, but did you know he was classically trained in theater acting, which means singing, too!? Just take a few minutes out of your day to watch this mad man leap around and sing about being a cat. Trust me, it will immediately improve your day, and quite vastly, I might add.

There are almost TOO MANY things worth mentioning here. From the outfit to the creepy mustache, even as a singing and dancing human-cat, there is something ominous about this man. The funniest thing about Puss in Boots is in Walken's biography, he claims it is his favorite work.

That just sort of blows the mind even more.

Image Via Tivo

Television has evolved a long way in the last decade. From the content of what we watch, to the way we watch it. One of the things that has changed the way we watch TV is TiVo. You need to remember, TiVo was allowing us to record TV long before that was common. Now you can pre-record most shows on most cable companies, but that has much to do with the fact that these pioneers kicked that movement off first. Well, looks like they are ready to go all 2.0 up in here.

In a recent press release, Tivo announced its newest DVR and just what it is capable of. How does 26,000 hours of recorded TV sound? Apparently, Tivo think you will be into it. They even (aptly) named it Tivo Mega. Just a few of the things TiVo Mega will offer are:

• Storage: 24 Terabyte RAID 5 HDD
• Six tuners
• Streaming live and recorded TV to smartphones and tablets anywhere: Built-in stream transcoding
• Multi-room: Whole home capable
• 26,000 hours of SD recording space, approximately 4,000 hours of HD recording space
• Content navigation:
  • Universal search across cable, video-on-demand and web apps including Netflix and YouTube
  • "What to Watch" provides a personalized dashboard with recommendations for what's on now, next and tonight
  • Collections offers editorial collections based on current events or categories including new fall TV, Shark Week, Holiday, Emmy or Oscar winners, etc.
  • Channel guide with filters to enable users to get to what they want as quickly as possible
• Free application for smartphones and tablets: manage your DVR with your phone or tablet through remote Season Pass® management, a recording scheduler that allows you to add or remove recordings and enhanced WishList® management
• Remote: TiVo Slide Pro Remote included, Full QWERTY-format slide out keyboard makes text entry fast and easy and RF signal for maximum power removes line-of-sight requirements
• Networking: Ethernet and MoCA
• Hardware configuration: Hot user-swappable drives, offering protection from data loss

It is an undeniably powerful and impressive system, but I just cannot see anyone who would ever need to capture that much TV. Essentially, that system seems to imply the constant recording of all shows, ever. If that's your thing, Tivo Mega will drop in 2015 to the tune of about five thousand dollars. Better start saving now, you TV lovers.

Via Uproxx

Photo By Terja Sorgjerd

Long exposure photography is awesome. I could sit here and use a thesaurus to try to choose fancier words to open with, but really, long exposure photography is awesome. Doesn't matter how you say it. It gives the photographer the time to capture more than just one moment, it gives them the opportunity to catch a section of time, and represent it in one photo. Sometimes, the end results can show us a surreal version of our own daily lives, sped up so we can see just how fast and constantly we are always moving.

Airows put together this amazing gallery of long exposure photography that we cannot recommend enough. They also took the time to make sure each piece was credited to the proper artist. So if you see a shot that really steals your breath, Google the name. All too often in galleries like this, the work is admired and displayed, but the artists get uncredited. Nice to see them getting the props they deserve for their stunning work.

It also gives us all a chance to look at life a different way, and remind us there is beauty in everything. Even our maddening, hyper-fast, daily lives.

I think it is sometimes easy to look at animals and not realize that they are a bit of purity in an impure world. People want to write off their actions as all being based on the need to survive, so let me ask you, what is the dog doing in this video that will ensure it survives? Nothing. The dog simply sees that this fish is struggling, and somehow is aware enough to try to get water on the fish. It is as simple an act as one could do, yet it is impossible to watch the video and not get hit right in the feels. Don't worry if you cannot understand any of the background dialog, as this is all happening in Thailand.

(YouTube Link)

Though apologies to anyone who finds this video sad, that is not how you should take it. You should walk away from this amazed at the empathy one animal felt for another, even of a different species. They say empathy does not exist within the animal kingdom (they being most psychologists), yet here we have a one minute video that proves that not to be true.

I know some humans who could learn a thing or two from this dog about how we should treat one another, even if we are a little different. Very powerful stuff.

Image Via Warner Bros.

As we are sure many of you are aware, The Shining is a film that seems to have countless "fan theories" floating around about some deeper meaning buried in the film by director Stanley Kubrick. The kicker is, none of these theories can (or ever will) be confirmed or denied, because Mr. Kubrick is no longer with us. And to know anything about the secretive director is to know, even in life, he would have never confirmed or denied anything. As an artist, he seemed to genuinely enjoy the mystery and hushed rumors that seem to circle his films after they came out. From Eyes Wide Shut to The Shining, fans of film have gone over his work with a fine toothed comb, sometimes finding things where there are none (and sometimes, coming up with some solid theories that really seem to have some weight to them).

Among all the fan theories about Stanely Kubrick's work, few are quite as extensive as this dissection of the movie The Shining. If you are a fan of the film, you could easily lose hours on the site. Couple things to be aware of. The site is quite old (which you can tell in one glance). It is sometimes a little hard to read, but once you get into the flow of it, there are some really captivating ideas about what Kubrick may have been saying with certain shots in the film. If you can get past the WEB 2.0 appearance of the page, there is some substance to what is being said. The moon landing stuff is really interesting. Though some of this stuff is touched on in the documentary Room 237, even that film does not quite go into the detail that the website does.

Granted, some of it is just grasping at straws, but if you are a fan of the film or the legendary director, it is well worth checking out.

Writing is not as simple as it may look from the outside. Some people may see sites like Neatorama and think writing is easy and they want to do it, but the truth is, there are many rights and wrongs when it comes to grammar. It is stuff you may remember learning in grade school and on, but if you are not a writer, they are rules you tend to forget about. How many times a day on Facebook do you see someone use the wrong version of the word "there"? That is just one of many examples of how grammar can slip you up if you are not paying attention. But that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to grammar and all its fine-print.

Online College actually has a remarkable list of the 20 most controversial rules in grammar. Being one who uses the language often and every day for my work, I find this list incredibly helpful at pointing out some of the sillier rules of grammar whilst also reminding us why those rules actually exist. A good example here is about the word "irregardless":

"Irregardless" appears in at least three different official dictionaries, though all of them admit it's not exactly formal. More traditional grammar aficionados don't think the word deserves to move beyond its slang origins, while others think it's about time the rule-makers acknowledge the evolution.

That is but one of twenty remarkable facts about grammar and writing that anyone who has the slightest interest in the medium should check out with aplomb. 

Every now and then you come across a short film on YouTube that just blows your mind. It often manages to make more of an impact in its short screen time than some major length movies. That is how I feel about The Cat with Hands. A short film written and directed by Robert Morgan. I wont sit here and ruin any of how this story plays out, and I feel the name may give a little too much away, but regardless. Take three and a half minutes out of your day to get a chill up your spine. Also, you may never look at cats the same way again. It may be a bit dated, but this never gets old and is worth re-introducing every couple years to make sure more people are traumatized by it.

(YouTube Link)

It's funny. There are writers and actors and directors who spend millions and months and man-hours on making epic films that hope the audience walks away from affected. This proves, it only takes three minutes and a really twisted story to accomplish that same thing.

Image Via Cartoon Network

I am sorry to say this, but someone has to. Batman: The Brave and the Bold was an awesome show. It stripped all the grittiness away from the most recent versions of the caped crusader and brought back his golden age sensibilities (and many of his golden age enemies). Problem was, kids didn't know who anyone was and why it is was so cheesy at times, and adults didn't know it existed. So, like many good things, it got canceled.

The good news is, over time, people have realized just how hilarious and fun this show was, and it is developing a rather prestigious cult following as a result. A great place to jump on-board for this show would be this list over at Topless Robot that talks about the top ten episodes of that awesome show. Just to prove how dark it was at times, despite the visuals:

Many people wrongly believed B:BatB was pandering to kids, but this dark, vengeance-fueled episode clears up any such misconception. The story revolves around Batman hunting down his parents' killer, Joe Chill, while being supernaturally observed by the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger.

So though the visuals and characters may have thrown some people off, a couple hours with the show revealed just how great it was. If you have never seen this show and are a fan of the bat, do yourself a favor and read the list then go look up the show. Yes, it was THAT good.

Image Via James Jean

If you are not familiar with the work of James Jean, you should take a moment to check out his site. A Taiwanese-American artist, his work has hints of the East and West as clear influence, and to try to tie him down with just one style is impossible. With a nice balance between fine art and commerical work, he is that artist many artists strive to be, riding that line between keeping your art a passion, yet also managing to find a fan base and make a living off of it.

One cool way he decided to do that was to release a book of temporary tattoos of his amazing work. Though the book is not set to drop until September 16th, you can pre-order it now and ensure you have one of the nicest collections of temporary tattoos ever.

Growing up in the 80's, temporary tattoos were always the same thing. A big black cat or the word "Mom" inside a heart. Maybe a butterfly or two for the ladies. Other than that, nothing. But it is safe to say times have changed. One of the cooler things we have seen in a while. We hope more artists jump on-board with this idea. I wouldn't mind walking around with some James Jean or Tara McPherson art on me.

Via SuperPunch

Image Via Hard Rock Live Hollywood

There are usually two schools when it comes to magic. People who hate it, and people who enjoy it. There rarely seems to be anyone who is in the middle of that. But even for the most jaded non-magic fans, there has to be a certain allure to Penn and Teller and just how they satirize exactly what they do so well. The thing is, we are all used to hearing Penn do the talking, and Teller be the silent one (please note the irony in names). Well, The Smithsonian has an amazing article about magic written by Teller himself, in his own words.

While the article itself may be a few years old, safe to say most missed out on this little gem of an article written by one of magic's better halfs (so well known for never saying a word). It is nice to read some of his idealogies on magic and finally get some insight into how the quiet half of Penn and Teller thinks.

Heck, I'd even recommend those not into magic check the piece out. It just might give you a new apprecation for just what these guys do. They are the anti-magic magicians. That pretty much makes them the most punk rock magicians who ever existed.