In what proved to be a knockdown, drag out brawl that went down to the wire, “Oliver & Company,” the charming take on the Dickens classic, “Oliver Twist,” about a homeless kitten who joins a gang of dogs, took down Winnie the Pooh’s hyper-active buddy, “The Tigger Movie” by a mere 28 votes, 186-158, in a Disney March Madness “instant classic.” While Tigger heads back to the 100 Acre Woods to lick his wounds, Oliver & Co. will be moving on to face #6 seed “Cars.”
A dejected Tigger leaving the arena last night after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Oliver & Co.
While Tigger’s loss came as a surprise to many, it was not a surprise to our long-time bracket analyst, Mike Hudak, who was on the money in this pregame video report he filed with The Commish from his home base yesterday:
Also a surprise in the minds of many observers was the inclusion of “Pocahontas” and “The Aristocats” as play-in participants, as many felt they made strong cases for direct inclusion in the Field of 64. Forced to partake in “The First Four,” those perceived wrongs have now been righted, however, as each movie cruised to an easy victory yesterday.
Pocahontas’ lopsided 236-115 victory over “Robin Hood” went about as expected. While Friar Tuck, Little John and the rest of the Merry Men put up a surprisingly strong fight early on, once the Pocahontas squad trotted Vanessa Williams out to center court to belt out “Colors of the Wind” during a 1st quarter TV timeout, well, that was all she wrote.
Team Pocahontas celebrating their big “W” last night
Pocahontas & Capt. Smith hopefully cut the celebration short though, as their victory earns them a match-up against the Princess Region’s #1 seed, “Cinderella.” Gonna need your “A” game for that one, kids!
The Aristocats’ 287-77 blowout victory over “Atlantis: The Lost Empire” came as a big surprise to, well … nobody, right? I mean, come on, people! It’s right there in the title! The movie wasn’t called “Atlantis: The *VICTORIOUS* Empire” for a reason, know what I mean? And just like the fabled continent itself, the movie’s hope of tournament glory are also now sunk. Next up for The Aristocats is a 1st round match-up in the Mickey Region vs #6 seed “Coco.”
Aristocats be strutting into the 1st round like …
Our 4th and final “play-in” match saw “Meet the Robinsons” cruise to an easy 225-118 victory over “Return to Neverland.” The Robinson’s celebration was short-lived, however, as the realization set in that they now have to face the tournament’s overall #1 seed, Toy Story.
With the “play-in” games concluded, the full 64 team bracket is now complete. I’ve attached an updated one at the bottom for ya, because “customer service” is my middle name (my parents were kinda weird, like that).
Moving right along, we’ve got 4 more contests on tap for today as bracket play gets under way …
PIXAR REGION: #8 “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” vs #9 “A Bug’s Life”
Here we go, the Pixar Region kicks off tournament play with an interesting match-up pitting #8 “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (1977) vs #8 “A Bug’s Life” (1996). Don’t really remember the Winnie the Pooh movie but I’m guessing it had something to do with that tubby, little cubbie causing chaos and mayhem in his never-ending quest for honey. Pooh’s opponent? Pixar’s “A Bug’s Life,” an animated homage to Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” (think “The Magnificent Seven”) about a group of circus bugs mistakenly hired as mercenaries to protect a colony of ants from a band of pillaging grasshoppers.
MICKEY REGION: #7 “Sleeping Beauty” vs #10 “Monster’s University”
A couple of heavyweights going at it here in the 1st round, with Princess Aurora, as the title character in the classic “Sleeping Beauty” (1959), going toe-to-toe with Mike, Sully, and the rest of “Monster’s University” (2013), the acclaimed prequel to “Monster’s Inc” (the #2 seed in the Princess Region).
SMALL WORLD REGION: #4 “Inside Out” vs #13 “The Sword in the Stone”
Next up, we have Pixar’s 2015 sleeper hit, #4 seed “Inside Out,” a sweet, charming story about a young girl’s personified emotions trying to lead her through life, taking on #13 “The Sword in the Stone,” the 1963 adaptation of the legend of King Arthur.
PRINCESS REGION: #8 “WALL-E” vs #9 “Fantasia”
Our final contest of the day may be the most interesting as #8 WALL-E (2008), Pixar’s futuristic tale about a robot left behind to clean-up an abandoned, garbage-strewn Earth, takes on the #9 seed, “Fantasia,” the 1940 Mickey Mouse film, generally hailed as a groundbreaking masterpiece in animation.
Well, that’ll do it for today, folks. Check back tomorrow for our next update.
The Commish
PS: Rules Clarification … in the event of a tie, the lower seeded squad (i.e. – the underdog) will be declared the winner, and advance to the next round.
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