Touchstone and Beyond: The Best and the Rest of the Past Year

Marquee Attraction: Highs and Lows of 2024-2025

Plot Synopsis

A sixth year has come and gone in my endless rewatch of the Disney movies made at Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures studio. These two Disney labels were used to make the more adult and contemporary films that just wouldn’t look right being released in theatres under the Walt Disney Pictures film studio.

Out of forty-one movies I watched this year, here are the best of the year.

1) What About Bob?

This unbelievably funny film about an obsessive patient of a successful therapist, made me laugh. The fact that Bill Murray spends most of the movie driving Richard Dreyfuss crazy with his antics makes the film a one of a kind in cinema. The fact that I had the chance to hear Richard Dreyfuss talk about how much Bill Murray drove him crazy in the film, will make me a fan of this film forever.

2) Bridge of Spies

It’s directed by Steven Spielberg, and it stars Tom Hanks. The film is set during the Cold War, and it’s phenomenal. This is one of those films that Dreamworks had released through a special deal with Touchstone, and I do believe it is a masterpiece of spy craft, and a performance that was Oscar worthy for Tom Hanks. He looks so good in the lead and fills every scene with magnetism that makes the viewers hold their breath throughout the movie. Mark Rylance did win the Oscar, and as much as I loved Rylance’s performance, it was Hanks who made this film so memorable.

3) Indian Summer

This is an example of coming back to a film that you loved when it was released and realizing that you have great taste. The movie may take viewers back to summer camp, but it is the cast that makes this story live on the screen. Having Alan Arkin as the camp patriarch is perfection.

4) The Hurricane

Denzel Washington. That’s all that I need to say about this film. He brings the life of Ruben Carter to the screen, and the injustice that he received being imprisoned for decades for a crime he didn’t commit. Washington is at his best, and he does not disappoint, from the quiet moments of reflection to the boxing scenes, Denzel is a star that few could even be on the same level with. This film is brilliant, and a must see.

5) Kundun/The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit:

Martin Scorsese’s bio pic of the Dalai Lama is one of his best films of the 1990’s. The way he weaves the film together is part history lesson and part survival story. Scorsese’s delicate touch with Kundun, and how he chose to bring this story to life is simply a masterpiece.

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit is a joy to watch. When a movie makes you happy then this is one to watch repeatedly. The fact that it has ties to Ray Bradbury, and Roy E. Disney solidifies the movie in the Disney pantheon of being a must watch.

The Bottom 3 of the Year

An American Werewolf in Paris

Ouch! I love Tom Everett Scott, but this film is brutally gory, while trying to be funny and fails badly at all attempts. The script is all over the place, and the movie is a mess.

Gone Fishin’

This film should be funny, but Danny Glover and Joe Pesci were not meant to be the stars of a buddy comedy about two guys who love to fish. As bad as the script is, and the stupidity of the main characters is on a whole other level of bad, the most egregious part of this movie is how often the two lead characters say each other’s name in the film.

The Other Sister

I want to like this film. I want to say that Juliette Lewis’ portrayal of a developmentally disabled woman is incredible. However, the film falls apart instantly. Lewis’ Carla Tate comes from a family of stereotypical characters that makes the movie hard to bear at times. Even Diane Keaton and Tom Skerritt can’t save the movie as the parents. I have yet to find a Garry Marshall film that I have enjoyed.

Bill’s Hot Takes

The Walt Disney Company used to take risks with their films. The movies I watched this past year eclipse anything that the company has released this year. Originality, and a desire to tell a story was something that really stood out to me this year as I dove back into the archives of Disney films.

In today’s world, What About Bob? would never have made it to the silver screen. This would have been the premier Disney+ movie of the week. The problem is that What About Bob? is best digested when you sit in a theatre and laugh with others.

Indian Summer would have been a Disney+ production dumped in the middle of summer and quickly lost on one of the many tiles of the streaming service.

Not all films are great. Gone Fishin is awful. But at least the studio was willing to take a chance on this idea and gave the movie a theatrical release. The story of Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures is not about the greatness of their film library. Some are truly wonderful and others are best forgotten.

The story that everyone should know and remember about these films is that they were a part of one of the most important growing moments in the Disney company. This was the answer to breaking away from just being a family friendly movie company. Disney wanted to compete with others, and appeal to everyone.

Disney wasn’t perfect during these days of Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures creativity. Kundun was buried upon its release because of protests from China. The film is difficult to find a physical copy of, and it cannot be found easily on streaming platforms. Disney bowed to pressure and tried to bury a cinematic masterpiece.  

Disney has always tried to grow and adapt. When Touchstone Pictures ceased operations in 2016, the idea of Disney making adult films seemed to wither away. However, Disney tends to repeat themselves.

The acquisition of 20th Century Fox shows that the house of mouse is back in the game with making more adult films. I look forward to seeing Predator: Badlands when 20th Century Studios releases the newest installment of the sci fi franchise this year.

Content on the streaming service is paramount to Disney+ surviving the battle for eyeballs. Hopefully, the best and worst of Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures find a home on the company’s streaming service.

Coming Soon:

Next week, a look back at People Like Us.