Due 11/14
Today we will practice making claims. Even though this inquiry paper is not an “argumentative” essay intended to persuade, you still need to make claims based on 1) what you learn in your research and 2) the relationships between these ideas.
So, today we’ll practice using something that is hopefully easier and more fun: animated movies.
FIRST, read Chapter 8 of The Craft of Research, PDF is here. This explains some best practices for writing strong and specific claims.
SECOND, complete this Disney/Pixar movie bracket. For each pair, choose whichever movie you think is the best movie (not which one you like more). Work your way through the pairings until you have a winner. If you haven’t seen some of the movies, that’s okay — probably most people haven’t seen all of them. You can either just pick the ones you have seen, or pick which ones seem best based on your knowledge of them. Remember: BEST, not FAVORITE. There are a couple places on the bracket where it says “play-in winner.” This is because the bracket is originally from an internet contest where people voted on what would take these slots. Here, either ignore and advance the other movie, or you can choose one of your own favorites that isn’t on the bracket.
THIRD, once you have your winner, practice writing a strong claim about why this movie is the best of all of the other movies. Remember to use the best practices you learned from reading Chapter 8 of The Craft of Research. Post your claim as a comment on this post.
FOURTH, look at the other comments to read others’ claims. Either offer suggestions for how to strengthen the claims or write counter claims in response to those you disagree with. Why is your movie better than this specific movie?
Although there are many great Disney movies, Lion king is far superior because of its excellent storyline and animation, which covers death and life.
I think the concepts of life and death is little too broad, and could be explore further especially since the protagonist struggle and was affected by the death of his father. To make your claim stronger you should mention how the animation portrays the influences that death plays in the life of those still living. This claims could also apply to the movie Coco.
Although there have been great computer-animated 3D animations since the release of Toy Story 3, Toy Story 3 continues to be the best Pixar movie 12 years later, highlighting the struggle of growing up and having to let go of the past, while embarking on a new journey.
I feel your the first part of your claim (although X) was a bit too specific. You mentioned animated 3D movies, in contrast to just regular animated films, which narrowed the pool of movies to choose from. And though you analyzed Toy Story 3 quite well, I expected you to remark on its 3D animation style since you mentioned it earlier.
Despite the extensive enjoyability of different films, ultimately, Beauty and the Beast is the best Disney/Pixar film because it presents applicable lessons, creatively portrays events, and serves as a trailblazer for the encouragement of independence.
I feel the topic of applicable lessons could be explored further. What specific applicable lessons are presented by Beauty and the Beast? I have not watched Beauty and the Beast in a while, but the movie explores lessons in the ballpark of “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Also, applicable lessons, creatively portraying events, and serving as a trailblazer for the encouragement of independence are characteristic of the Disney movie, Tangled.
I felt you had a good claim and there was nothing to strengthen so I wrote a counterclaim.
Although Beauty and the Beast is a great film when asking for the best film the movie Up takes that slot because it has everything Beauty and the Beast offers and even adds to it by having a deeper meaning and a better-constructed storyline.
This is a classic argumentation move for counterclaims – when it’s A vs. B, and the person arguing for A lays out certain criteria, arguing that B wins because it wins at everything A wins at PLUS some other stuff. It’s saying “I think my thing is best, but even if I play by your terms and treat your values as the most important, my thing wins under THOSE criteria too”
Even though Disney has created so many critically acclaimed animated films, the movie Up continues to be the best Disney film to date because it is a well-constructed story, with comedy, heartwarming and heartbreaking feelings, great animation, and delivers deeper meaning throughout.
Though your claim about Up was very detailed and organized well, there are other movies that I feel fit the criteria you described for Up that made it the best movie. For instance, Aladdin and Mulan arguably had the same traits as well, so what is it about Up specifically, that makes it better than those movies?
This is a great example of one type of counterclaim — “your reasoning applies just as well to other things, so, why THIS thing instead of MY thing?”
Although events are portrayed dramatically compared to other Disney films, Tangled is the best Disney film because it encourages others to follow their passions, as nothing is impossible.
I think that this a good claim but there’s Moana which also has this encouragement to follow your passions. I also think that Tangled may have another theme to it b/c it was only after someone came to her that she gathered the courage and was filled with the desire to explore the world.
I think taking one’s destiny in hand is only one facet to Tangled, and one many other Disney movies share. Try talking about something more specific about Tangled like the number of lessons it teaches you (like standing up for yourself and others, or being strong enough to get out of abusive relationships (familial wise), etc), or how Disney overcame animation challenges and pioneered new ways of animating, the impactful use of symbolism, etc.
While Disney has created many enjoyable and impactful movies, Inside Out is the greatest movie that Disney has created because it teaches people, specifically children and their parents, that it’s okay to feel sad and how their emotions work at a young age.
To strengthen your argument I would suggest writing about how the visuals and the animation makes it more persuasive as a movie to children
Although there are many well-crafted and popular Disney movies, I believe that Aladdin is the best movie on this list because of its phenomenal soundtrack, thoroughly developed plot and characters, and phenomenal live action adaptation. Many great movies on this list perform amazingly well on certain criteria (i.e. the Lion king had stellar plot and character development) but do not match Aladdin in performing highly on all the criteria together (i.e. The Lion King’s live action adaptation was not very good).
I think the overall idea of your claim is good but it could be worded better. You write “Although there are many well-crafted and popular Disney” then start giving examples as to why Aladdin is a well-crafted movie. The usage of the word popular isn’t necessary. If you did want to keep it in, you could probably add an example relating to it. Other than that, you could also combine both your sentences. For example: “Although there are many well-crafted Disney movies, I believe that Aladdin is the best movie on this list because other movies often don’t have a phenomenal soundtrack, thoroughly developed plot and characters, or a phenomenal live action adaptation but Aladdin has all three.”
I think this is a really good example of a strong claim, because you’re arguing that Aladdin wins Best Movie under MANY different criteria, so no mater which one you think is most important, Aladdin is still the best.
It engages not just with different reasons, but with different values, which helps you make your argument ~appeal~ to multiple audiences – people who value plot most, or music most, or themes most, etc.
The unconventional lack of dialogue is what makes WALL-E the best movie because it revealed that the movie’s stunning visuals, world building, and characters was all that it needed to create a deeply emotional and compelling story.
I really like how you introduced your claim and how you started with what makes WALL-E the best movie. I think you could have gone into further detail about the visuals and other reasons why you believe the movie is the best.
Although underrated and rarely talked about, Treasure Planet is the best Disney animated movie because of its unique blend of fantasy and sci-fi elements, stunning visuals, and a mature and compelling storyline.
Your claim is well written but I still see the possibility that your claim is flawed in that a movie like WALL-E has all the aspects you speak of regarding a blend of fantasy and sci-fi, stunning visuals, and a compelling storyline.
Although Disney has created many infamous animated films, all of their other movies pale in comparison to the movie Up, and it continues to be the best Disney movie ever made, due to it objectively having the most heartbreaking story and its unmatched ability to take this sorrow and balance it into an emotionally relatable story about pursuing the dreams of you and your loved ones.
The idea that this is one of the most heartfelt movies is true, but how does this make it the best? What about heartbreaking movies is good, especially for a kid’s movie? Is it because it appeals to not just children due to this?
Although there are different 3D animated movies that contains the best Pixel Region “Toy Story” because it shows how to become growing up by facing different dificulties and solve it with collaboration.
The best-animated Disney movie would be “Lion King”, for years it has been ranked as the number one view for its heartfelt scenes while also maintaining a theme of villains and heroes. In addition the charming characteristics of each character embraces the movie.
Although Disney has produced many amazing movies surrounding many different life lessons, Ratatouille is the best Disney movie created. From the amazing animations and the details portrayed throughout the movie to the comedic and overall joyous plotline Ratatouille illustrates a wonderful message in a fun way which makes it better than all the previous Disney movies.
Despite its relatively basic and “rough” animation compared with today’s standards, Toy Story qualifies as the best of Disney’s vast catalog. A classic example of Disney movies (particularly Pixar) being entertaining for both adults and children, Toy Story effectively conveys the values of friendship and cooperation which are so fundamental for children to internalize in a lighthearted yet resonant fashion that no other film of its kind approaches.
(Also I don’t really know most of the other movies so well/at all. Sorry!)
That’s okay! The point of the exercise isn’t actually to talk about the movies, just to practice the claims 🙂
Although there are many great Disney Movies, WALL-E will always be the most meaningful as its storyline treats a subject which is fearsome for our future. Technology is definitely a concerning development in our society. The animation was also so heartwarming and touching
“The Incredibles” is the best Disney movie because it combines elements of action, adventure, and humor with engaging characters and a compelling story. It features strong themes of family, teamwork, and personal growth, and the animation and action sequences are visually stunning. Overall, “The Incredibles” is a well-crafted and entertaining movie that appeals to a wide range of audiences.